Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 536
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 536 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 536
READING PASSAGE – 3
THE HIDDEN POWER OF FRIENDSHIP
A. In the hustle of life, when love affairs often take center stage, the significance of friendships can sometimes be overshadowed. Yet, research in psychology underscores the indispensable role of stable, healthy friendships in shaping our well-being and longevity. In particular, Thalia Wheatley, PhD, a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, advocates for a deeper understanding of friendships. “Friendship is something we really need to understand. There’s been this preoccupation with romantic relationships, but many of our close relationships are with friends.”, she states.
B. There have been many studies analyzing the impact of friendships on one’s physical well-being. A meta-analytic review led by Julianne Holt-Lunstad from the Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University looks at 148 prospective studies to find the link between the number and quality of social ties and people’s health problems and deaths. According to the thorough study, people with strong social connections have a 50% higher chance of survival than people with weaker relationships. Notably, the negative influence of social relationships on mortality is found to be on par with well-established risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, surpassing the impact of physical inactivity and obesity.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. Building on these findings, Choi’s study in The American Journal of Psychiatry reinforces the correlation between having friends and enhanced life satisfaction. Choi’s comprehensive review of 38 studies further revealed that adult friendships, especially those providing social support significantly, can be used as a predictor of an individual’s wellbeing, or as a protection against mental health issues such as depression and anxiety throughout one’s life. “In the face of life’s challenges, having a close friend to turn to seems to be a buffer or protective factor against some of the negative outcomes we might otherwise see,” said Catherine Bagwell, PhD, a professor of psychology at Davidson College in North Carolina.
D. Delving into the physiological responses to friendships adds another layer to the importance of these bonds. Holt-Lunstad’s study (2007) reveals that individuals experience lower blood pressure reactivity when conversing with a supportive friend rather than an ambivalent one. To be more specific, the study involved 107 healthy adults examining the effects of the quality of a friendship on cardiovascular reactivity when discussing positive or negative life events with an ambivalent or supportive friend.
IELTS General Reading Test
During this study, participants underwent a two-session testing procedure. In the first session, participants rated their social network using the Social Relationships Index (SRI) and later brought in a specific friend selected by the experimenter based on random assignment to a relationship condition (supportive or ambivalent). Approximately two weeks later, participants and their friends entered the second session in a laboratory, where cardiovascular measures were taken during a 12-minute resting period and discussions about past events. Results indicated heightened systolic blood pressure reactivity when discussing negative events with ambivalent friends, suggesting potential health consequences related to the quality of social relationships.
E. Another study conducted by Kamarck et al. (1990) sheds light on the impact of social support during challenging tasks. Thirty-nine college-age females participated in the experiment, appearing either accompanied by a friend (“Friend” condition) or alone (“Alone” condition) in a laboratory setting. In the Friend condition, participants were supported by partners during two tasks, with efforts made to minimize evaluative potential. In the Friend condition, systolic blood pressure showed reduced intensity during a task. Simultaneously, diastolic blood pressure exhibited a diminished rise without companionship. These findings indicate interpersonal support may mitigate cardiovascular reactivity to stress, providing insights into the link between social relationships and cardiovascular risk.
IELTS General Reading Test
F. Beyond the physiological realm, neuroscience offers fascinating insights. A recent study on brain structure of Becht Al (2021) reinforces the significance of mentalizing processes – our ability to understand others’ thoughts and feelings – in friendships. The research finding suggests that the way our brains process social interactions, specifically in areas like the temporoparietal and medial prefrontal regions, is linked to friendships.
Specifically, studies on adults and children from Western European backgrounds revealed that individuals who share the same neural processing patterns tend to have closer social relationships within their friend circles. These findings hint mentalizing processes may influence how we form and maintain friendships. Over time, positive friendship experiences could also shape our brain structure and function, potentially influencing our behavior towards others.
IELTS General Reading Test
G. Given the obvious advantages of friendship, psychologists suggest fostering social connections throughout society, including in schools, workplaces, and public spaces. While researchers continue to explore how social connections support health and well-being, funding is being directed to studies on interactions between two people. New efforts include collecting fMRI data on friends communicating to unravel the magic behind these interactions that keep us healthy and sane.
“What we know is that if we don’t interact regularly, things go really bad remarkably fast. But what is the magic in these interactions that’s keeping us healthy and sane?” Wheatley wondered. “More and more researchers are saying there’s this huge part of human behavior we know very little about. Let’s change that”
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 27-31
The Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-G.
27. a statistic illustrating the benefits of relationships for longevity
28. a specific comparison to highlight the role of close friends in difficult times
29. a reference to common attitudes toward the two types of relationship
30. a correlation between a specific cognitive factor and social relationship
31. a contrast in the body’s responses when interacting with different groups of people
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 32-35
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Research on the physiological effects of friendships
Research on the physiological effects of friendships A 2007 study by Holt-Lunstad et al. examines how friendship quality impacts cardiovascular reactivity. In the first session, participants engaged with a friend with randomly assigned 32…………………………. Two weeks later, in a laboratory setting, participants and their friends discussed past events, with 33.………………………… applied during breaks.
Results show that discussing negatives with ambivalent friends hints at health consequences. Another study by Kamarck et al. (1990) investigates how social support affects individuals during difficult activities. With friends’ support, 34…………………………. was recorded in systolic blood pressure, while in a solitary interview where 35……………………. was unavailable, diastolic blood pressure showed a diminished increase.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 36-40
Choose the correct letters, A, B, C or D.
36. In the first paragraph, love affairs are mentioned to illustrate
A. the need to understand human relationship
B. the need for further research on friendship
C. the potential neglect of friendships’ significance
D. the indispensable role of healthy relationship
IELTS General Reading Test
37. What information is mentioned in the review of Holt-Lunstad in paragraph B?
A. the limitation of 38 studies about adult friendships.
B. further elements of life satisfaction beyond friendship
C. effective measures for addressing mental health problems
D. the role of supportive adult friendships toward individual’s well-being
38. Choi’s study in The American Journal of Psychiatry identified
A. Social connections are the primary psychological factor influencing survival rates.
B. Negative social relationships might lead to smoking and alcohol consumption, increasing the risk of mortality.
C. The impact of physical inactivity and obesity may be heightened by negative social relationships.
D. The review aims to explore how the quantity and quality of social relationships relate to people’s health problems and mortality.
IELTS General Reading Test
39. What neuroscience discovery about friendship is mentioned in the passage?
A. The processing of social interactions in certain brain areas is connected to friendships.
B. There is a strong relation between the positive friendship experiences and changes in brain structure and function.
C. Social interactions are processed in the temporoparietal and medial prefrontal regions.
D. Other people’ thoughts and feelings about us may influence how we form and maintain friendships.
40. In the last paragraph, what information is provided about the current and future research on friendship?
A. The magical benefits of friendship have been unraveled, thanks to the collected fMRI data.
B. More discoveries should focus on how individuals’ well-being can support their social connections.
C. Psychologists recommend the promotion of social connections across diverse areas.
D. More investment should be directed towards studies on interactions between two individuals.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
27. B
28. C
29. A
30. G
31. D
32. RELATIONSHIP CONDITION
33. CARDIOVASCULAR MEASURES
34. REDUCED INTENSITY
35. COMPANIONSHIP
36. C
37. D
38. D
39. A
40. C
IELTS General Reading Test