🔥The power of music: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Kèm đáp án + Giải thích từ vựng

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.

The power of music

Robert Matthews looks at research into the effects of music

A
Music is becoming ever more popular electronically. To meet our craving for music, internet sites are using increasingly sophisticated ways of putting us in touch with artists we may not even know we like. Most work by trawling our existing files or online listening habits and looking for patterns so they can recommend new artists for their subscribers to listen to. The search often turns up surprises. But is it possible to tease apart our likes and dislikes to identify precisely what it is about some music that thrills us or leaves us cold?>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

B
For centuries composers have sought to create unforgettable music using accepted notions about the emotional appeal of certain combinations of sounds, yet only now are scientists starting to uncover what it is about these combinations that can have such a dramatic effect on our minds. Given that archaeologists have found musical instruments played by Neanderthals at least 50,000 years ago, why have scientists taken so long to investigate such a source of pleasure?

C
"For psychologists, who are always desperate to show that their work is rigorous, there's an image problem in tackling the emotionality of music," says Professor Norman Cook of Kansai University in Osaka, Japan, one of the pioneers of the new science of music. "Emotion is such a slippery topic." The other problem, says Cook, is the long-standing principle among psychologists that our response to music is an acquired one, rather than something that is stimulated by the effect of sound on our brain cells. Yet one of the first insights to emerge from this new branch of psychology is that music affects our brains at a very basic level.

D
Together with his colleague, Professor Takefumi Hayashi, Cook has been investigating one of the best-known examples of the emotional impact of music: the difference between major and minor chords. For centuries, composers have known that notes arranged to form major chords sound happy and upbeat, while those in minor chords sound mournful. In tests, even three-year-olds have been shown to link music in a major mode to happy faces and minor modes to sad faces.

E
According to Cook, analysis of how people respond to notes suggests a link with how our brains interpret certain sounds in everyday life. He points out that sad-sounding minor chords can be formed by raising the pitch of any of a set of notes, while dropping the pitch produces a major chord. The same change in pitch works as an emotional telltale in communication between some mammals, where rising pitch is used to communicate weakness or defeat, while falling pitch signals social dominance. It’s also present in our speech. "A rising inflection is used to denote questions, politeness or deference, whereas a falling inflection signals dominance," says Cook.

F
This suggests that music in major and minor modes taps into some very basic features of how we relate to the world and each other - perhaps dating back millions of years. Could music in general be doing something similar? Quite possibly, according to research into how music triggers certain types of brain activity. At McGill University in Canada, Professor Robert Zatorre and his colleagues...

Questions 19-22

Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.

A study involving collaboration between researchers in Oxford and Montreal
The participants in this study led by Dr Chen were chosen because they were not musicians, and they demonstrated a good state of 19.__________. Participants were given 20.__________ music with a very noticeable rhythm was being played. Previous research had indicated that listening to this type of music seemed to be of assistance to some 21.__________ people. By listening to it, their 22.__________ ability had definitely got better. The findings of Dr Chen’s study proved most informative.

Questions 23-26

Look at the following statements (Questions 23-26) and the list of researchers below. Match each statement with the correct researcher, A, B, or C. Write the correct letter, A, B, or C, in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.

NB: You may use any letter more than once.

23. Research into the brain activity set off by music may help people with speech defects.
24. It may be possible in time to improve a person's ability to recognize certain musical characteristics.
25. The way listeners react to certain musical combinations may be similar to the way they react to other noises.
26. When a person reacts positively to music, the same parts of the brain are stimulated as when certain animals react to a positive outcome.

List of Researchers

A Professor Norman Cook
B Professor Robert Zatorre
C Dr Joyce Chen

Vocabulary List

1. Sophisticated

• Definition: Advanced, complex, or refined - Phức tạp, tinh vi.
• Example: "Internet sites are using increasingly sophisticated ways of putting us in touch with artists..." - "Các trang web đang sử dụng những cách ngày càng tinh vi để kết nối chúng ta với các nghệ sĩ..."

2. Trawling

• Definition: Searching through something thoroughly - Sàng lọc, tìm kiếm kỹ lưỡng.
• Example: "Most work by trawling our existing files or online listening habits..." - "Hầu hết hoạt động bằng cách sàng lọc các tệp hiện có hoặc thói quen nghe trực tuyến..."

3. Thrill

• Definition: To excite or bring joy. - Kích thích, làm phấn khích.
• Example: "Identify precisely what it is about some music that thrills us..." - "Xác định chính xác điều gì ở một số bản nhạc khiến chúng ta phấn khích..."

4. Dramatic

• Definition: Sudden, striking, or impactful. - Đáng kể, gây ấn tượng mạnh.
• Example: "...can have such a dramatic effect on our minds." - "...có thể có tác động mạnh mẽ như vậy lên tâm trí của chúng ta."

5. Archaeologists

• Definition: Scientists who study human history through excavations and artifacts. - Nhà khảo cổ học.
• Example: "Archaeologists have found musical instruments played by Neanderthals..." - "Các nhà khảo cổ đã tìm thấy các nhạc cụ được người Neanderthal chơi..."

6. Principle

• Definition: A fundamental rule or belief. - Nguyên tắc.
• Example: "The long-standing principle among psychologists that our response to music..." - "Nguyên tắc lâu đời trong giới tâm lý học rằng phản ứng của chúng ta với âm nhạc..."

7. Acquired

• Definition: Learned or developed, not innate. - Được học hỏi, không bẩm sinh.
• Example: "...our response to music is an acquired one..." - "...phản ứng của chúng ta với âm nhạc là một điều học hỏi được...">> IELTS TUTOR có hướng dẫn kĩ PHÂN TÍCH ĐỀ THI THẬT TASK 2 (dạng advantages & disadvantages) NGÀY 04/8/2020 IELTS WRITING GENERAL MÁY TÍNH (kèm bài được sửa hs đi thi)

8. Inflection

• Definition: The modulation or change of pitch in voice or sound. - Sự biến đổi cao độ (trong âm thanh hoặc giọng nói).
• Example: "A rising inflection is used to denote questions..." - "Một sự biến đổi cao độ tăng được sử dụng để biểu thị câu hỏi..."

9. Dominance

• Definition: Power or control over others. - Sự thống trị.
• Example: "...while falling pitch signals social dominance." - "...trong khi cao độ giảm báo hiệu sự thống trị xã hội."

10. Stimulate

• Definition: To trigger or arouse a reaction. - Kích thích.
• Example: "...stimulated by the effect of sound on our brain cells." - "...bị kích thích bởi tác động của âm thanh lên các tế bào não của chúng ta."

11. Mournful

• Definition: Sad or expressing grief. - Buồn bã, tang thương.
• Example: "...while those in minor chords sound mournful." - "...trong khi những hợp âm thứ nghe tang thương."

12. Politeness

• Definition: Courteous or respectful behavior - Sự lịch sự.
• Example: "...rising inflection is used to denote... politeness..." - "...cao độ tăng được sử dụng để biểu thị... sự lịch sự..."

13. Telltale

• Definition: Something that reveals or indicates something else. - Dấu hiệu tiết lộ.
• Example: "...a rising pitch is used to communicate weakness or defeat..." - "...một cao độ tăng được sử dụng để truyền đạt sự yếu đuối hoặc thất bại..."

14. Collaboration

• Definition: Working together with others to achieve something. - Sự hợp tác.
• Example: "A study involving collaboration between researchers in Oxford and Montreal." - "Một nghiên cứu liên quan đến sự hợp tác giữa các nhà nghiên cứu ở Oxford và Montreal."

15. Demonstrate

• Definition: To show clearly or prove. - Chứng minh, minh họa.
• Example: "...they demonstrated a good state of physical health..." - "...họ chứng minh tình trạng sức khỏe thể chất tốt..."

Answers

Questions 19-22:
19. Physical health
20. Brain scans
21. Disabled
22. Walking

Questions 23-26:
23. C
24. B
25. A
26. B