Why Fairy Tales Are Really Scary Tales — IELTS Reading Answers

In fairy tales, details of the plot

“In some versions, the wolf swallows up the grandmother, while in others it locks her in a cupboard. In some stories Red Riding Hood gets the better of the wolf on her own, while in others a hunter or a woodcutter hears her cries and comes to her rescue”

C: versions differ over whether the wolf swallows the grandmother or locks her in a cupboard, so plot details vary.

Tehrani rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales

“‘It might be that what we find interesting about this story is that it’s got this survival-relevant information in it,’ says anthropologist Jamie Tehrani at Durham University in the UK. But his research suggests otherwise.”

B: Tehrani accepts that the story contains 'survival-relevant information' but says 'his research suggests otherwise', rejecting that lessons explain its appeal.

Various theories about the social significance of fairy tales

“That hasn’t stopped anthropologists, folklorists* and other academics devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society”

F: academics keep 'devising theories to explain the importance of fairy tales in human society', so theories about their significance are numerous.

Insights into the development of fairy tales

“Tehrani has used the same approach to compare related versions of fairy tales to discover how they have evolved and which elements have survived longest”

A: Tehrani compared versions 'to discover how they have evolved and which elements have survived longest', giving insights into their development.

All the fairy tales analysed by Tehrani

“Checking for variants of these two tales and similar stories from Africa, East Asia and other regions, he ended up with 58 stories recorded from oral traditions”

E: he collected '58 stories recorded from oral traditions', so all the tales analysed came from oral sources.

“Once his phylogenetic analysis had established that they were indeed related”

D: the analysis 'established that they were indeed related', meaning the tales share a common ancestry.

“he used the same methods to explore how they have developed and altered over time”

F: he 'used the same methods to explore how they have developed and altered over time', i.e. how the tales changed.

“Certain episodes are very stable because they are crucial to the story, but there are lots of other details that can evolve quite freely”

B: certain episodes are stable, 'but there are lots of other details that can evolve quite freely', so less important details vary.

“Yet in his analysis such elements were just as flexible as seemingly trivial details”

C: elements crucial to the story proved 'just as flexible as seemingly trivial details' in his analysis, which is unexpected.

“The answer, it would appear, is fear – blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects of the story, such as the eating of the grandmother by the wolf, turned out to be the best preserved of all”

G: the best-preserved parts were 'blood-thirsty and gruesome aspects', so fear is what keeps details intact.

What method did Jamie Tehrani use to test his ideas about fairy tales?

1. AHe compared oral and written forms of the same stories.
2. BHe looked at many different forms of the same basic story.correct
3. CHe looked at unrelated stories from many different countries.
4. DHe contrasted the development of fairy tales with that of living creatures.

“Tehrani’s analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms”

B: Tehrani's 'analysis focused on Little Red Riding Hood in its many forms', so he compared numerous versions of one story.

When discussing Tehrani’s views, Jack Zipes suggests that

1. ATehrani ignores key changes in the role of women.
2. Bstories which are too horrific are not always taken seriously.
3. CTehrani overemphasises the importance of violence in stories.
4. Dfeatures of stories only survive if they have a deeper significance.correct

“they won’t stick unless they matter”

D: Zipes argues stories 'won't stick unless they matter', so features survive only when they carry deeper significance.

Why does Tehrani refer to Chinese and Japanese fairy tales?

1. Ato indicate that Jack Zipes’ theory is incorrectcorrect
2. Bto suggest that crime is a global problem
3. Cto imply that all fairy tales have a similar meaning
4. Dto add more evidence for Jack Zipes’ ideas

“But Tehrani points out that although this is often the case in Western versions, it is not always true elsewhere. In Chinese and Japanese versions, often known as The Tiger Grandmother, the villain is a woman, and in both Iran and Nigeria, the victim is a boy.”

A: Tehrani notes Chinese and Japanese versions make the villain a woman, contradicting Zipes' claim, so Zipes' theory is incorrect.

What does Mathias Clasen believe about fairy tales?

1. AThey are a safe way of learning to deal with fear.correct
2. BThey are a type of entertainment that some people avoid.
3. CThey reflect the changing values of our society.
4. DThey reduce our ability to deal with real-world problems.

“Clasen believes that scary stories teach us what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger, and so build up resistance to negative emotions”

A: Clasen says scary stories teach 'what it feels like to be afraid without having to experience real danger', a safe way to learn about fear.