Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 541
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 541 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 541
READING PASSAGE – 2
BACK TO THE BASICS
A. Reality, as we perceive it, is not an absolute concept but a subjective experience tailored by our brains. Our understanding of the world is a complex construction, with our brains gatekeeping and interpreting the barrage of sensory information that floods our senses daily. The brain is less a passive receiver of data from our senses and more an active participant in creating our experiential reality. Our conscious world is as much about the unseen as the seen, and cognitive processes like memory, attention, and expectancy shape our lived experiences.
B. Thomas Nagel’s philosophical work, “What is it like to be a Bat?”, explores the disparity between human experience and the perception of other species. Nagel, a Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, delves into the concept of ‘umwelt’ proposed by Jakob Johann von Uexküll, a Baltic German biologist, which suggests every organism inhabits a unique perceptual world. Exploring the depths of consciousness and perception reveals a fundamental limitation imposed by our sensory organs. This thought-provoking exploration of subjective experiences challenges the concept of a singular, unified reality and instead presents a rich tapestry of diverse sensory worlds that exist within different life forms.
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C. Our language and culture are deeply influenced by the visual nature of human perception. Ailie McWhinnie, a Neuroscience PhD student at Cambridge University, explains that humans primarily use visual cues to construct their environment. However, other species such as bats and platypuses may rely more on auditory and electroreceptive senses.
Our linguistic patterns reflect this visual dominance, with metaphors often drawing on sight for conceptual understanding or phrases like ‘Seeing is believing’. Such centrality of vision in the human experience is not just a cultural artifact but also a biological bias that colors our interaction with the world, often leading us to overlook the rich tapestry of sensory information accessible to other species, thereby shaping a uniquely human-centric view of reality.
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D. The sensory capabilities of other species present a kaleidoscope of reality far different from our own, an idea captured by the concept of ‘umwelt.’ Bats navigate the night sky through echolocation, sending out sound waves and interpreting the echoes that return, painting a soundscape of their environment that is as rich to them as our visual world is to us.
Platypuses sense their prey through electroreception, detecting electric fields in the water—a sense so foreign to our own perceptions that it seems almost supernatural. Jewel wasps, on the other hand, use their stingers as sensory probes to manipulate their prey, underlining the myriad ways evolution has sculpted sensory organs to suit an organism’s needs, thus creating varied subjective realities shaped by biological necessity and environmental interaction.
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E. Our perception is not merely a passive reception of sensory stimuli but a proactive prediction of the environment, as explained by Stanford Neuroscience Institute’s discussion on brain function. This predictive perception means that what we sense at any moment is the brain’s best guess of the external world, using past experience to anticipate present and future events. This concept is illustrated in the interpretation of motion and color where the brain compensates for discrepancies between expected and received sensory input.
For example, motion-sensitive areas of the brain are activated not just by seeing movement but also by imagining it, blurring the line between perception and expectation. Sensory information, therefore, acts as a form of ‘error correction,’ allowing the brain to update its model of reality based on new, real-time data. This dynamic process reveals that consciousness is an ever-changing narrative, continuously edited by our brain to minimize the difference between prediction and reality.
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F. Life experience shapes perception in profound ways, as demonstrated by the contrasting interpretations of “The Dress” viral phenomenon. This peculiar case, where a single image was seen in dramatically different colors by different people, can be attributed to the individual’s subconscious assumptions about the lighting conditions under which the dress was viewed. Those who frequently bask in sunlight—’larks’—tended to see the dress as white and gold, while ‘night owls’ were more likely to perceive it as blue and black.
This indicates that our brains interpret visual information differently depending on our previous exposure to light. Similarly, the way people perceived ‘The Crocs’, a pair of shoes with indeterminate colors, varied depending on their previous encounters with light and color. This highlights how differences in sensory perception do not stem from the stimuli alone, but rather from the individual histories and contexts that shape our sensory experiences.
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G. At Neuroscience 2021, researchers unveiled breakthroughs in our understanding of perception and its relation to neurological conditions. The study uncovered the significant contribution of PV neurons in mice, enhancing their ability to discern auditory stimuli. This enables the rodents to distinguish target sounds even in the presence of background noise, similar to how humans can pick out a friend’s voice in a noisy party.
In addition, these experts also found that the feeling of owning our bodies not only connects us to our physical selves, but also enhances memory formation. This intersection of sensory processing and cognitive function opens new avenues for therapeutic interventions, suggesting that enhancing sensory perception could be a key to ameliorating the cognitive symptoms of various mental health disorders, such as ADHD or autism.
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H. Humans have drastically modified the sensory landscapes in which many animals live, with often detrimental consequences for their natural behaviors and survival. For instance, artificial lighting confuses migratory birds and insects, leading to fatal navigation errors. Similarly, noise pollution masks the sounds that prey animals rely on to detect predators, compelling them to devote more energy to vigilance and less to feeding and other essential activities. Recognizing the diversity of perception across species challenges us to consider the profound impact of our actions on other forms of life. As we continue to unravel the complexities of perception, future research must aim to bridge the gap between human sensory experience and that of other creatures.
Questions 14-19
Reading Passage 2 has eight paragraphs, A–H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–H.
14. a reference to human visual perception as it relates to language and culture
15. a reference to the doubt of a single reality perception
16. an explanation of how different experiences can change the way people see colors
17. examples of species with negatively unusual habits or cognitive abilities
18. a reference to the role of our brain in shaping our understanding of reality
19. an explanation of how brains anticipate the surroundings and how this impacts our interpretation
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Questions 20-22
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
The term “umwelt” captures the notion that the sensory capacities of other animals portray a kaleidoscope of reality quite distinct from our own. Bats use 20…………………….. to get about at night. By emitting sound waves and listening to the echoes that bounce back, bats create a sonic landscape that is just as detailed as the one we see. The platypus has a unique ability to use electroreception to find its prey by picking up on 21……………………..
This sense seems so unfamiliar to humans that it almost seems miraculous. This demonstrates how evolution has modified sense organs to meet the demands of species, resulting in a variety of 22…………………….. impacted by biological and environmental circumstances.
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Questions 23-24
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about the discoveries presented at Neuroscience 2021?
A. The newly revealed roles of PV neurons may explain why some people can hear better than others.
B. Body ownership is essential for memory development and physical self-connection.
C. The research on PV neurons in mice indicate potential for enhancing selective hearing in noisy contexts.
D. The presence of PV neurons was linked to enhanced cognitive abilities in all mammals.
E. Breakthroughs in sensory processing in mice may offer new treatment strategies for mental disorders
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Questions 25-26
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about human sensory perception?
A. Visual stimuli impact human perception, language, and culture.
B. When being in the dark, people navigate via echolocation just as well as bats.
C. Sensory perception is passive and precisely represents the external environment without further interpretation.
D. ‘The Dress’ phenomenon showed that personal biases in light exposure might result in differing color perception.
E. Humans are less dependent on vision and more dependent on other sensory inputs due to technology.
IELTS Academic Reading Test
IELTS Academic Reading Test
ANSWERS
14. C
15. B
16. F
17. H
18. A
19. E
20. ECHOLOCATION
21. ELECTRIC FIELDS
22. SUBJECTIVE REALITIES
23. B/E
24. E/B
25. A/D
26. D/A
IELTS Academic Reading Test