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Music and the Emotions Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Jul 02, 2024, 11:57

In the IELTS Reading section, your reading comprehension skills are rigorously tested. Lasting for 60 minutes, this segment comprises three passages, each accompanied by a series of questions in various formats like multiple choice, matching headings, and True/False/Not Given. Success in this section hinges on your ability to grasp key information, discern main ideas, and infer meaning from context.

 

To ace the IELTS Reading section, adopt effective reading strategies such as skimming for main ideas and scanning for specific details. Regular practice with sample questions and exposure to different question types will sharpen your skills for test day.

 

Prepare for an enlightening exploration of "Music and the Emotions," an insightful look into the factors that influence how music impacts our emotional state. Delve into the psychological mechanisms, challenges, and strategies that shape our emotional responses to music through engaging passages and accompanying questions, enriching your understanding of how music can evoke and manipulate emotions effectively.

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1. Music and the Emotions Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 14 based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam. 

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2. Music and the Emotions Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Music and the Emotions

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1.

Music and the Emotions Reading Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

 

 

Music and the Emotions Reading Passage


 

 

Paragraph A 

Why does music make us feel? On the one hand, music is a purely abstract art form devoid of language or explicit ideas. And yet, even though music says little, it still manages to touch us deeply. When listening to our favourite songs, our body betrays all the symptoms of emotional arousal. The pupils in our eyes dilate our pulse, and blood pressure rises, the electrical conductance of our skin is lowered, and the cerebellum, a brain region associated with bodily movement, becomes strangely active. Blood is even re-directed to the muscles in our legs. In other words, sound stirs us at our biological roots.

 

Paragraph B

A recent paper in Nature Neuroscience by a research team in Montreal, Canada, marks an important step in revealing the precise underpinnings of the potent pleasurable stimulus’ that is music. Although the study involves plenty of fancy technology, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and ligand-based positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, the experiment itself was rather straightforward. After screening 217 individuals who responded to advertisements requesting people who experience ‘chills’ to instrumental music, the scientists narrowed down the subject pool to ten. They then asked the subjects to bring in their playlist of favorite songs – virtually every genre was represented, from techno to tango – and played them the music while their brain activity was monitored. Because the scientists were combining methodologies (PET and fMRI), they were able to obtain an impressively exact and detailed portrait of music in the brain. The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine – a chemical with a key role in setting people’s moods – by the neurons (nerve cells) in both the dorsal and ventral regions of the brain. As these two regions have long been linked with the experience of pleasure, this finding isn’t particularly surprising.

 

Paragraph C

What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate – a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus-response associations and in anticipating food and other ‘reward’ stimuli – were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music. The researchers call this the ‘anticipatory phase’ and argue that the purpose of this activity is to help us predict the arrival of our favorite part. The question, of course, is what all these dopamine neurons are up to. Why are they so active in the period preceding the acoustic climax? After all, we typically associate surges of dopamine with pleasure, with the processing of actual rewards. And yet, this cluster of cells is most active when the ‘chills’ have yet to arrive and when the melodic pattern is still unresolved.

 

Paragraph D

One way to answer the question is to look at the music and not the neurons. While music can often seem (at least to the outsider) like a labyrinth of intricate patterns, it turns out that the most important part of every song or symphony is when the patterns break down, when the sound becomes unpredictable. If the music is too obvious, it is annoyingly boring, like an alarm clock. Numerous studies, after all, have demonstrated that dopamine neurons quickly adapt to predictable rewards. If we know what’s going to happen next, then we don’t get excited. This is why composers often introduce a keynote at the beginning of a song, spend most of the rest of the piece in the studious avoidance of the pattern, and then finally repeat it only at the end. The longer we are denied the pattern we expect, the greater the emotional release when the pattern returns safe and sound.

 

Paragraph E

To demonstrate this psychological principle, the musicologist Leonard Meyer, in his classic book Emotion and Meaning in Music (1956), analyzed the 5th movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. Meyer wanted to show how music is defined by its flirtation with – but not submission to – our expectations of order. Meyer dissected 50 measures (bars) of the masterpiece, showing how Beethoven begins with the clear statement of a rhythmic and harmonic pattern and then, in an ingenious tonal dance, carefully holds off repeating it. What Beethoven does instead suggests variations of the pattern. He wants to preserve an element of uncertainty in his music, making our brains beg for the one chord he refuses to give us. Beethoven saves that chord for the end.

 

Paragraph F

According to Meyer, it is the suspenseful tension of music arising out of our unfulfilled expectations that is the source of the music’s feeling. While earlier theories of music focused on the way a sound can refer to the real world of images and experiences – its ‘connotative’ meaning – Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself. This ‘embodied meaning’ arises from the patterns the symphony invokes and then ignores. It is this uncertainty that triggers the surge of dopamine in the caudate as we struggle to figure out what will happen next. We can predict some of the notes, but we can’t predict them all, and that is what keeps us listening, waiting expectantly for our reward, for the pattern to be completed.

2.

Music and the Emotions Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Music and the Emotions

Questions and Answers 1-5
  • Complete the summary below.
  • Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
  • Write your solutions for 1-5 on your answer sheet.

 

 

The Montreal Study

 

Participants who were recruited for the study through advertisements had their brain activity monitored while listening to their favourite music. It was noted that the music stimulated the brain’s neurons to release a substance called 1) ____________ in two of the parts of the brain which are associated with feeling 2) ______________. Researchers also observed that the neurons in the area of the brain called the 3) ______________. were particularly active just before the participants’ favourite moments in the music - the period is known as the 4) ____________.  Activity in this part of the brain is associated with the expectation of ‘reward’ stimuli such as 5) _______________. 

 

 

Music and the Emotions Reading Answers with Explanations (1-5)

 

Type of Question: Summary Completion

 

Summary completion questions provide a summary of part of the reading passage with several blanks. Your task is to fill in these blanks with appropriate words or phrases from the passage. The summary may cover a whole passage or a part of it, focusing on key points and main ideas.
 

How to best answer this question:

 

  • Quickly skim the passage to get an idea of its main ideas and structure.
  • Focus on keywords in the summary and look for them or their synonyms in the passage.
  • Carefully read the instructions to know the word limit and any specific guidelines.
  • Identify the part of the passage related to the summary. This often involves scanning for keywords or phrases.
  • Ensure the words you choose fit grammatically and contextually within the summary.
  • After filling in the blanks, review the summary to ensure it makes sense and adheres to the word limit.

 

 

1. dopamine

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph B

The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine – a chemical with a key role in setting people’s moods – by the neurons (nerve cells) in both the dorsal and ventral regions of the brain.
 

Explanation

The answer is directly stated in this line, where it mentions that music triggers the production of dopamine.


 

2. pleasure

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph B

As these two regions have long been linked with the experience of pleasure, this finding isn’t particularly surprising.

 

Explanation

The term "pleasure" is mentioned in Paragraph B, indicating that the regions of the brain associated with the production of dopamine are linked with the experience of pleasure.


 

3. caudate

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C

What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate – a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus

 

Explanation

The mention of "dopamine neurons in the caudate" is found in Paragraph C, where it discusses the specific brain region involved in anticipating stimuli.


 

4. anticipatory phase

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C
The researchers call this the ‘anticipatory phase’ and argue that the purpose of this activity is to help us predict the arrival of our favorite part. 

 

Explanation

The phrase "anticipatory phase" is used in Paragraph C to describe the period just before the participants' favourite moments in the music when the neurons in the caudate are particularly active.


 

5. food

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C

a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus-response associations and in anticipating food and other ‘reward’ stimuli

 

Explanation

The term "food" is mentioned in Paragraph C, where it refers to one of the "reward" stimuli associated with the activity of dopamine neurons in the caudate.

Questions and Answers 6-10
  • Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
  • Write your solutions for 6 - 10 on your answer sheet.

 

 

6. What point does the writer emphasize in the first paragraph?

 

  1. how dramatically our reactions to music can vary
  2. how intense our physical responses to music can be
  3. how little we know about the way that music affects us
  4. how much music can tell us about how our brains operate

 

7. What view of the Montreal study does the writer express in the second paragraph?

 

  1. Its aims were innovative.
  2. The approach was too simplistic.
  3. It produced some remarkably precise data.
  4. The technology used was unnecessarily complex.
     

8. What does the writer find interesting about the results of the Montreal study?

 

  1. the timing of participants’ neural responses to the music
  2. the impact of the music on participants’ emotional state
  3. the section of participants’ brains which was activated by the music
  4. the type of music which had the strongest effect on participants’ brains

 

9. Why does the writer refer to Meyer’s work on music and emotion?

 

  1. to propose an original theory about the subject
  2. to offer support for the findings of the Montreal study
  3. to recommend the need for further research into the subject
  4. to present a view which opposes that of the Montreal researchers

 

10. According to Leonard Meyer, what causes the listener’s emotional response to music?

 

  1. the way that the music evokes poignant memories in the listener
  2. the association of certain musical chords with certain feelings
  3. the listener’s sympathy with the composer’s intentions
  4. the internal structure of the musical composition

 

 

Music and the Emotions Reading Answers with Explanations (6-10)

 

Question Type: Multiple Choice 

 

Multiple Choice Questions in the IELTS reading test present you with a question followed by a set of options from which you must choose the correct answer. Typically, there are three or four options to choose from. You must carefully read the question and each option before selecting the correct answer.

 

How to best answer this question:

 

  • You must comprehend the passage to select the most accurate option.
  • Efficient skimming and scanning help locate relevant information quickly.
  • Some options may be designed to mislead you, so it's crucial to base your choice on evidence from the passage.
  • Multiple-choice questions can be time-consuming if you dwell on each option too long. Manage your time wisely to ensure you can attempt all questions.


 

6. B- how intense our physical responses to music can be

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph A 

When listening to our favourite songs, our body betrays all the symptoms of emotional arousal.

 

Explanation

The writer emphasises the intensity of physical responses to music, as evidenced by the description of physiological reactions such as dilation of pupils, increased pulse and blood pressure, and activation of brain regions associated with movement.


 

7. C- It produced some remarkably precise data

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph B 

marks an important step in revealing the precise underpinnings of the potent pleasurable stimulus’ that is music.
 

Explanation

The writer expresses admiration for the Montreal study's ability to generate precise data regarding the neurological effects of music, highlighting the importance of the findings.


 

8. A - the timing of participants’ neural responses to the music

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C 

the dopamine neurons in the caudate – were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music.
 

Explanation

The writer finds the timing of participants' neural responses to the music particularly interesting, as indicated by the activation of dopamine neurons in the caudate just before the anticipated moments in the music.


 

9. B- to offer support for the findings of the Montreal study

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E 
To demonstrate this psychological principle... Leonard Meyer... analyzed the 5th movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet.
 

Explanation

The writer refers to Meyer's work to provide additional evidence and support for the findings of the Montreal study regarding the psychological principles underlying emotional responses to music.


 

10. D- the internal structure of the musical composition

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F 

Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself.

 

Explanation

According to Meyer, the listener's emotional response to music is influenced by the internal structure of the musical composition, particularly the unfolding events and patterns invoked by the music.

Questions and Answers 11-14
  • Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
  • Write the correct letter, A-F, for the questions 11-14 on your answer sheet.

 

 

11. The Montreal researchers discovered that

12. Many studies have demonstrated that

13. Meyer’s analysis of Beethoven’s music shows that

14. Earlier theories of music suggested that

 

  1. our response to music depends on our initial emotional state.
  2. neuron activity decreases if outcomes become predictable.
  3. emotive music can bring to mind actual pictures and events.
  4. experiences on our past can influence our emotional reaction to music.
  5. emotive music delays giving listeners what they expect to hear.
  6. neuron activity increases prior to key points in a musical piece.

 

Music and the Emotions Reading Answers with Explanations (11-14)

 

Type of question: Matching Endings

 

Matching Endings" is a type of question commonly found in reading comprehension assessments. In this type of question, you are provided with a set of incomplete sentences (usually statements or questions) and a list of possible endings or completions. Your task is to match each incomplete sentence with the correct ending from the options provided.

 

How to best answer the question

 

  • Start by reading the incomplete sentence and understanding its context within the passage. 
  • Pay attention to keywords or phrases that indicate what information is needed to complete the sentence.
  • Quickly scan the relevant parts of the passage to find the information that matches the incomplete sentence. 
  • Once you've found potential matches in the passage, eliminate any endings that don't fit logically or grammatically with the incomplete sentence.
  • Compare the remaining options with the incomplete sentence and select the ending that provides the most suitable completion. 

 

 

11. F - neuron activity increases prior to key points in a musical piece

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C

were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music.

 

Explanation
The Montreal researchers discovered that the activity of dopamine neurons increased significantly just before participants' favourite moments in the music, indicating heightened anticipation or excitement leading up to key musical points.


 

12. F - neuron activity increases prior to key points in a musical piece

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph D

Numerous studies, after all, have demonstrated that dopamine neurons quickly adapt to predictable rewards.
 

Explanation

Many studies have shown that dopamine neuron activity increases in response to uncertain or unpredictable outcomes, suggesting that anticipation or uncertainty plays a role in neural responses to music.


 

13. E - emotive music delays giving listeners what they expect to hear

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E

how Beethoven begins with the clear statement of a rhythmic and harmonic pattern and then, in an ingenious tonal dance, carefully holds off repeating it.

 

Explanation

Meyer's analysis of Beethoven's music demonstrates that emotive music often delays fulfilling listeners' expectations by deviating from familiar patterns, creating suspense and anticipation until the expected resolution.


 

14. C - emotive music can bring to mind actual pictures and events

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph F

While earlier theories of music focused on the way a sound can refer to the real world of images and experiences..
 

Explanation

Earlier theories of music suggested that emotive music could evoke mental imagery and memories of real-life experiences, emphasising its ability to convey emotional and narrative content beyond just auditory sensations.

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FAQs

Q. Is there a specific strategy for tackling True/False/Not Given questions?

Ans. Yes, focus on identifying whether the information in the passage matches, contradicts, or is not mentioned in the question statement. Pay close attention to subtle differences in wording.

Q. Can I use the same reading strategies for both the Academic and General Training IELTS Reading tests?

Ans. Yes, many reading strategies are applicable to both versions of the test. However, familiarise yourself with the specific question types and formats for each version.

Q. Is it okay to guess answers if I'm unsure in the IELTS Reading test?

Ans. Yes, it's better to make an educated guess than to leave questions unanswered. You might still earn points for correct responses, as there's no penalty for incorrect answers.