Amazon - Best Ielts Academic Reading Test 70

Psst … psst. Want tobe an iconoclast—someone who reallyshakes things up?
Do you want khổng lồ bethe next Bill Gates,Steve Jobs, Pablo Picasso, or Jonas Salk?
Then you must vì chưng three things, advises psychiatryprofessor Gregory Berns in his newbook, Iconoclast.

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First, see things differently from otherpeople—see what others vì not see. Second,conquer your fear of failure, of the unknown,and of ridicule. Third, be sociallyintelligent: Figure out how lớn interest peoplein your ideas and how khổng lồ sell those ideasto opinion leaders.

If you vày these three things, Berns believes,you are well on the road toexciting ideas, discoveries, inventions,or whatever you fancy.

Iconoclast goes on from there to give asophisticated yet readable introduction towhat people who see the world differentlyare like—in particular, how their brains arewired differently from ours. For one, aniconoclast’s amygdala—which adjoins thebrain’s temporal lobe and controls fear responses—functions in ways that will automaticallyreduce his or her fear response.

And what if you’re not a born iconoclast?
Are you doomed to lớn fail if you try to lớn createthat innovative nonprofit, program, orwhatever else you’ve long imagined? Notnecessarily, Berns reassures. & here herecognizes that although our brains may bepre-wired lớn work in certain ways, we canrewire them, khổng lồ some extent, to think moreiconoclastically.

For one, we can develop strategies toreduce our instinctive fears or tendenciesto think in conventional ways, often simplyby confronting these fears or this kind ofthinking; we might seek out novel experiencesand attempt khổng lồ feel a degree of comfortwith them, for instance. We don’t haveto let căng thẳng get the better of us, either: Wecan consider it a wake-up call to reappraisewhere we are in our lives & where weneed to lớn be. Và because we tend khổng lồ be lessfearful of that which is more familiar, we canget comfortable with ideas others considerstrange, và then couch those ideas so thatothers won’t be afraid to lớn contemplate them.

We might emulate Steve Jobs, for instance.Jobs, realizing that his ideas weretechnologically beyond most people’s understanding,purposely pitched his ideas lớn peoplewho were somewhat more technologicallysophisticated, and who would likely gainconverts through their own enthusiasm. Inother words, he carefully targeted his pitchesso that his ideas would “go viral.”

Berns also recognizes that iconoclasmis not an all-or-none phenomenon, and thateven the most creative people have days“when their thinking is stale & clichéd.”And he quite rightly separates creativityfrom ordinary intelligence, standing in contrastto those psychologists who cannot seeanything in creativity beyond what conventional
IQ tests measure—namely, conventionalthinking!

That said, the book probably undervaluesthe role of intelligence, & of analyticalthinking in particular. Part of what makes people successful iconoclasts is their skill inseparating their good ideas from their bad—the really creative ones from those that arestale or clichéd. Most successful iconoclastsnot only have a few great ideas that catchon, but also have many more ideas they discardas not creative or practical. They needthe analytical discernment to lớn recognizewhich of their ideas khổng lồ push. Analytical intelligenceis something we can develop,much the same way we develop muscletone—by using it and applying it lớn successivelyharder problems. We can also learnfrom our mistakes, and thereby develop discernmentin our thinking.

Berns also insufficiently credits severalfactors important in creative thinking. Perhapsforemost of these is our family và culturalbackground—whether we come froma background that values creative ideas orsuppresses them. We can, of course, reactagainst this kind of background, but peoplewho were brought up to lớn conform rigidlymust fight harder to lớn become iconoclaststhan bởi people whose creative ideas havebeen rewarded. Other vital factors in creativethinking are resilience—or our abilityto pick up the pieces after our ideas are rejectedby others again andagain—and whether or not wetake our ideas và ourselves soseriously that we can never movebeyond the last idea, consideringit the final truth.

A last objection: In describinghow creativity happens, Bernsoveremphasizes the role of sight.“Imagination comes from the visualsystem,” he states. (The visualsystem is our sense of sight and the biologicalapparatus that supports it.) But someonecan be blind và creative (Helen Keller).Moreover, someone can use other senses,such as the sense of sound, lớn express creativity(Mozart). We can even use the senseof smell creatively: Advertisers have discoveredthis and find creative ways lớn makeproducts appealing through people’s sensitivityto varying aromas. & some of us arecreative in a synthetic way, combining thesenses: Creators of operas, ballets, or musicalsmust combine the visual & the auditoryin a highly synthetic yet precise way.

In the end, though, Berns has writtenboth a technically sound và an inspiring book. It not only analyzes the nature oficonoclasm in fascinating detail, but alsoserves as a guide for people who feeltrapped by conventional thinking & wantto escape. The keys out of their prisons arein this book. It is up khổng lồ these readers to usethem lớn escape and mở cửa new doors.

Robert J. Sternberg is dean of artsand sciences at Tufts University. He isa former president of the American
Psychological Association & author ofnumerous books, including Wisdom,Intelligence, & Creativity Synthesizedand Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of
Human Intelligence.

IELTS Cambridge 9 chạy thử 2: AC Reading Module

The headline of the passage: A neuroscientist reveals how lớn think differently

Questions 27-31 (Multiple choice questions)

<‘Multiple choice questions’ is a common type of question set in IELTS Reading test. It is also found in Listening test. Most of the time, they come with four options but sometimes there are three options. Candidates need khổng lồ work hard for this type of questions because this may confuse them easily in passage 2 or passage 3. There will be long answers for each question, so they may kill valuable time. So, quick reading or skimming technique might come handy here. Remember that answers in 3 options out of 4 will be very close. So, vocabulary power will help a lot khổng lồ choose the best answer.

TIPS: Skimming is the best reading technique. You need not understand every word here. Just try to gather the gist of the sentences. That’s all. Read quickly & don’t stop until you finish each sentence.>

Question 27: Neuroeconomics is a field of study which seeks to lớn –

Keywords for this question: Neuroeconomics, seeks to,

In the first paragraph, the writer says in lines 3-5, “These discoveries have led lớn the field known as neuroeconomics which studies the brain’s secrets lớn success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors.”

The lines suggest that neuroeconomics is the field of study that looks for understanding the links between brain & creativity that leads to lớn achievement in different competitions.

Here, success = achievements

So, the answer is: C (understand how brain is linked to lớn achievement in competitive fields)

Question 28: According to the writer, iconoclasts are distinctive because –

Keywords for this question: iconoclasts, distinctive, because,

Take a look at lines 1-3 of paragraph no. 2, “This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways: perception, fear response, & social intelligence.”

The lines indicate that iconoclasts are different from other people (distinctive) because their brains works differently.

So, the answer is: B (their brains function differently)

Question 29: According to the writer, the brain works efficiently because –

Keywords for this question: brain, works efficiently, because,

In paragraph 3, the author states in lines 3-6, “For example, when confronted with information streaming from the eyes, the brain will interpret this information in the quickest way possible. Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information… . ”

So, according to lớn the passage, the brain functions quickly because it depends on events of the past.

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Here, quickly = in the quickest way, depends on = draw on, events of the past = past experience,

So, the answer is: D (it relies on previous events)

Question 30: The writer says that perception is –

Keywords for this question: perception,

Take a close look at the end of paragraph no. 3, the author states in the last lines, “More than the physical reality of photons & sound waves, perception is a sản phẩm of the brain.”

The lines indicate that perception is the outcome/product of the brain.

So, the answer is: C (a result of brain processes)

Question 31: According to lớn the writer, an iconoclastic thinker –

Keywords for this question: iconoclastic thinker,

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 4. Here, the writer says in lines, “Iconoclasts, either because they were born that way or through learning, have found ways khổng lồ work around the perceptual shortcuts that plague most people.”

Here, work around = avoid, perpetual shortcuts that plague = cognitive traps,

So, the answer is: B (avoids cognitive traps)

Questions 32-37: (YES, NO, NOT GIVEN)

In this type of question, candidates are asked khổng lồ find out whether:

The statement in the question agrees with the claims of the writer – YES

The statement in the question contradicts the claims of the writer – NO

If it is impossible to lớn say what the writer thinks about this – NOT GIVEN

Question 32: Exposure to different events forces the brain to think differently.

Keywords for this question: exposure, different events, forces, think differently,

The answer for this question is in paragraph no. 5. In the beginning of the paragraph the writer says, “The best way lớn see things differently lớn other people is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience và forces the brain lớn make new judgments.”

Here, think differently = make new judgments, exposure to lớn different sự kiện = khổng lồ bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before.

So, the answer is: YES

Question 33: Iconoclasts are unusually receptive to new experiences.

Keywords for this question: iconoclasts, usually, receptive, new experiences,

In paragraph no. 5, take a look at lines 3-4, where the tác giả says, “Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed khổng lồ what is fresh & different.”

Here, have an extraordinary willingness to lớn be exposed = unusually receptive, fresh & different = new experiences,

So, the answer is: YES

Question 34: Most people are too shy lớn try different things.

Keywords for this question: most people, too shy, try, different things,

From this passage we just learn that people avoid such things or activities which they try to lớn avoid. However, the writer does not mention whether most of the people are shy too try different things or not.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN  

Question 35: If you think in an iconoclastic way, you can easily overcome fear.

Keywords for this question: exposure, different events, forces, think differently,

In paragraph no. 6, in lines 2-3, the writer states, “Fear is a major impediment khổng lồ thinking like an iconoclast và stops the average person in his tracks.”

This means fear works as a blockade against thinking lượt thích an iconoclast. So, if someone thinks lượt thích an iconoclast, he/she cannot overcome fear.

So, the statement is contradictory.

So, the answer is: NO

Question 36: When concern about embarrassment matters less, other fears become irrelevant.

Keywords for this question: iconoclasts, usually, receptive, new experiences,

There is no information in relation with embarrassment being more or less.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question 37: Fear of public speaking is a psychological illness.

Keywords for this question: most people, too shy, try, different things,

We find the mention of public speaking in paragraph no. 6. Here, in lines 5-7, “But fear of public speaking, which everyone must vày from time to lớn time, afflicts one-third of the population. This makes it too common to lớn be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions.”

Here, too common khổng lồ be considered a mental disorder = so common that it cannot be considered a psychological illness,

So, the statement in the passage contradicts with the question.

So, the answer is: NO

Questions 38-40: (Completing sentences with correct ending)

Question 38: Thinking like a successful iconoclast is demanding because it –

Keywords for this question: thinking like, successful iconoclast, demanding, because,

In lines 1-2 of paragraph no. 7, the tác giả says, “. .. . To be successful iconoclasts, individuals must sell their ideas lớn other people. This is where social intelligence come in.” Here, we can understand that successful iconoclasts need social intelligence. Then, in lines 7-8, we find the reference of perceptual skills, “Perception is important in social cognition too…”. Finally, in the last lines, the writer talks about the demand of thinking lượt thích a successful iconoclast, “Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.”

Here, rare = demanding

So, the answer is: A (requires both perceptual và social intelligence skills)

Question 39: The concept of the social brain is useful to iconoclasts because it –

Keywords for this question: concept, social brain, useful, iconoclasts, because,

In paragraph no. 7, take a look at lines 3-7, “In the last decade there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain & how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making. Neuroscience has revealed which brain circuits are responsible for functions like understanding what other people think, empathy, fairness, and social identity. These brain regions play key roles in whether people convince others of their ideas.”

So, the lines suggest that the concept of ‘social brain’ plays key roles (is useful) to lớn iconoclasts as these brain regions focuses on group-decision making.

Here, groups decide on an action = groups coordinate decision making

So, the answer is: B (focuses on how groups decide on an action)

Question 40: Iconoclasts are generally an asset because their way of thinking –

Keywords for this question: iconoclasts, generally, asset, because, way of thinking,

The last paragraph gives us the answer. In lines 1-4, the author says, “Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to giải pháp công nghệ to business. They supply creativity and innovation not easily accomplished by committees. Iconoclasts face alienation & failure, but can also be an asset lớn any organisation.”

The lines indicate that iconoclasts are an asset because their process of thinking works in artistic và scientific fields.