A Neuroscientist Reveals How To Think Differently — IELTS Reading Answers

Neuroeconomics is a field of study which seeks to

1. Acause a change in how scientists understand brain chemistry.
2. Bunderstand how good decisions are made in the brain.
3. Cunderstand how the brain is linked to achievement in competitive fields.correct
4. Dtrace the specific firing patterns of neurons in different areas of the brain.

“These discoveries have led to the field known as neuroeconomics, which studies the brain's secrets to success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors”

Neuroeconomics studies 'the brain's secrets to success' in a competitive economic environment, matching option C's link between brain and achievement.

According to the writer, iconoclasts are distinctive because

1. Athey create unusual brain circuits.
2. Btheir brains function differently.correct
3. Ctheir personalities are distinctive.
4. Dthey make decisions easily.

“it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways: perception, fear response, and social intelligence”

'Their brains... are different in three distinct ways' means iconoclasts' brains function differently, which is option B, not their personalities.

According to the writer, the brain works efficiently because

1. Ait uses the eyes quickly.
2. Bit interprets data logically.
3. Cit generates its own energy.
4. Dit relies on previous events.correct

“Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is seeing”

The brain draws on 'past experience' to interpret what it sees, so efficiency rests on previous events — option D.

The writer says that perception is

1. Aa combination of photons and sound waves.
2. Ba reliable product of what your senses transmit.
3. Ca result of brain processes.correct
4. Da process we are usually conscious of.

“More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is a product of the brain”

'Perception is a product of the brain' is exactly option C: it results from brain processing rather than the senses alone.

According to the writer, an iconoclastic thinker

1. Acentralises perceptual thinking in one part of the brain.
2. Bavoids cognitive traps.correct
3. Chas a brain that is hardwired for learning.
4. Dhas more opportunities than the average person.

“Their brains do not fall into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person's brain”

'Do not fall into efficiency pitfalls' means iconoclasts avoid the cognitive traps that mislead average brains — option B.

Exposure to different events forces the brain to think differently.

“Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments”

Novelty 'forces the brain to make new judgments', which is different events forcing different thinking. YES.

Iconoclasts are unusually receptive to new experiences.

“Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different. Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different”

'An extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different' confirms unusual receptiveness to new experience. YES.

Most people are too shy to try different things.

“Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different But fear of public speaking, which everyone must do from time to time, afflicts one-third of the population”

The text says most people 'avoid things that are different' but attributes shyness statistics to public speaking, never explaining avoidance as shyness.

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

“Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person in his tracks”

Fear is 'a major impediment' that 'stops the average person', so iconoclastic thinking does not make fear easy to overcome. NO.

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

“There are many types of fear, but the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule”

The passage names fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule but never says reducing one makes the others irrelevant.

Fear of public speaking is a psychological illness.

“This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions”

It is 'too common to be considered a mental disorder' and is 'simply a common variant of human nature', so not an illness. NO.

Thinking like a successful iconoclast is demanding because it

“Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare”

Iconoclastic thinking demands both perception and social decision making, whose intertwining explains why such thinkers are rare — ending A.

The concept of the social brain is useful to iconoclasts because it

“In the last decade there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain and how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making”

Social brain research examines 'how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making', matching ending B.

Iconoclasts are generally an asset because their way of thinking

“Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business”

'New opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business' spans many fields, matching ending C.