Table of Contents
Passage
A James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of WisconsinMadison, played his first video game years ago when his six-year-old son Sam was playing Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It’s Dark Outside. He wanted to play the game so he could support Sam’s problem solving. Though Pajama Sam is not an “educational game”, it is replete with the types of problems psychologists study when they study thinking and learning. When he saw how well the game held Sam’s attention, he wondered what sort of beast a more mature video game might be.
B Video and computer games, like many other popular, entertaining and addicting kid’s activities, are looked down upon by many parents as timewasters, and worse, parents think that these games rot the brain. Violent video games are readily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some youth become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior. Recent content analyses of video games show that as many as 89% of games contain some violent content, but there is no form of aggressive content for 70% of popular games. Many scientists and psychologists, like James Paul Gee, find that video games actually have many benefits – the main one being making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level thinking skills that they will need in the future.
C “Video games change your brain,” according to University of Wisconsin psychologist Shawn Green. Video games change the brain’s physical structure the same way as do learning to read, playing the piano, or navigating using a map. Much like exercise can build muscle, the powerful combination of concentration and rewarding surges of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which strengthens neural circuits, can build the player’s brain.
D Video games give your child’s brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills required to win involve abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school. Some of the mental skills trained by video games include: following instructions, problem solving, logic, handeye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills. Research also suggests that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video games. There have been even studies with adults showing that experience with video games is related to better surgical skills. Jacob Benjamin, doctor from Beth Israel Medical Center NY, found a direct link between skill at video gaming and skill at keyhole or laparoscopic surgery. Also, a reason given by experts as to why fighter pilots of today are more skillful is that this generation’s pilots are being weaned on video games.
E The players learn to manage resources that are limited, and decide the best use of resources, the same way as in real life. In strategy games, for instance, while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might emerge. This forces the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics. Sometimes the player does this almost every second of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to researchers at the University of Rochester, led by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle or action games could be a training tool for realworld situations. The study suggests that playing action video games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Video games can be used to train soldiers and surgeons, according to the study. Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture, says gamers must deal with immediate problems while keeping their long-term goals on their horizon. Young gamers force themselves to read to get instructions, follow storylines of games, and get information from the game texts.
F James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of WisconsinMadison, says that playing a video game is similar to working through a science problem. Like students in a laboratory, gamers must come up with a hypothesis. For example, players in some games constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, they change hypothesis and try the next one. Video games are goal-driven experiences, says Gee, which are fundamental to learning. Also, using math skills is important to win in many games that involve quantitative analysis like managing resources. In higher levels of a game, players usually fail the first time around, but they keep on trying until they succeed and move on to the next level.
G Many games are played online and involve cooperation with other online players in order to win. Video and computer games also help children gain self-confidence and many games are based on history, city building, and governance and so on. Such games indirectly teach children about aspects of life on earth.
H In an upcoming study in the journal Current Biology, authors Daphne Bavelier, Alexandre Pouget, and C. Shawn Green report that video games could provide a potent training regimen for speeding up reactions in many types of real-life situations. The researchers tested dozens of 18- to 25-year-olds who were not ordinarily video game players. They split the subjects group played 50 hours of the fast-paced action video games “Unreal Tournament,” and the other group played 50 hours of the slow-moving strategy game “The Sims 2.” After this training period, all of the subjects were asked to make quick decisions in several tasks designed by the researchers. The action game players were up to 25 percent faster at coming to a conclusion and answered just as many questions correctly as their strategy game playing peers.
Questions
Questions 28-31 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 28-31 on your answer sheet.
28 What is the main purpose of paragraph ONE?
A Introduction of professor James Paul Gee.
B Introduction of the video game: Pajamas Sam.
C Introduction of types of video games.
D Introduction of the background of this passage.
29 What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?
A Video games are widely considered harmful for children’s brain.
B Most violent video games are the direct reason of juvenile delinquency.
C Even there is a certain proportion of violence in most video games; scientists and psychologists see its benefits of children’s intellectual abilities.
D Many parents regard video games as time-wasters, which rot children’s brain.
30 What is correctly mentioned in paragraph four?
A Some schools use video games to teach students abstract and high level thinking.
B Video games improves the brain ability in various aspects.
C Some surgeons have better skills because they play more video games.
D Skillful fighter pilots in this generation love to paly video games.
31 What is the expectation of the experiment the three researchers did?
A Gamers have to make the best use of the limited resource.
B Gamers with better math skills will win in the end.
C Strategy game players have better ability to make quick decisions.
D Video games help increase the speed of players’ reaction effectively
Questions 32-35 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
32 Most video games are popular because of their violent content.
33 The action game players minimized the percentage of making mistakes in the experiment.
34 It would be a good idea for schools to apply video games in their classrooms.
35 Those people who are addicted to video games have lots of dopamine in their brains.
Questions 36-40 Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-F) with opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
A The writer’s opinion
B James Paul Gee
C Shawn Green
D Daphne Bavelier
E Steven Johnson
F Jacob Benjamin
36 Video games as other daily life skills alter the brain’s physical structure.
37 Brain is ready to make decisions without hesitation when players are immersed in playing stressful games.
38 The purpose-motivated experience that video games offer plays an essential role in studying.
39 Players are good at tackling prompt issues with future intensions.
40 It helps children broaden their horizon in many aspects and gain selfconfidence.
Answers
Below are the answers, key words and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage The Innovation of Grocery Stores (Passage 1, Questions 1–13).
Questions 1–5: Matching Information (which paragraph A–G contains the information)
1. How Clarence Saunders’ new idea was carried out
Answer: D
Key words: carried out, launched, self-service
Explanation: “Saunders launched the self-service revolution in the USA by opening the first self-service Piggly Wiggly store … Customers paid cash and selected their own goods from the shelves.” This is where the idea was actually put into action. (Note: paragraph C also describes him “developing his concept” into a real store, so C is a possible alternative for this item.)
launched the self-service revolution / opened the first store = the idea carried out.
Answer: D
2. Introducing the modes and patterns of groceries before his age
Answer: A
Key words: before, full-service, clerk
Explanation: “At the beginning of the 20th century, grocery stores in the United States were full-service. A customer would ask a clerk … These grocery stores usually carried only one brand of each good.“
full-service stores with clerks = how groceries worked before Saunders.
Answer: A
3. Clarence Saunders declared bankruptcy a few years later
Answer: F
Key words: bankruptcy
Explanation: “Saunders was forced into bankruptcy in 1923 after a dramatic spat with the New York Stock Exchange.“
Answer: F
4. Descriptions of Clarence Saunders’ new conception
Answer: C
Key words: conception, three areas, layout
Explanation: Paragraph C describes the “cafeteria grocery” divided into three areas: the front “lobby,” the sales department, and the stockroom.
the three-part store design = a description of his new conception.
Answer: C
5. The booming development of his business
Answer: E
Key words: booming, 1,300 stores, growth
Explanation: “Piggly Wiggly ballooned to nearly 1,300 stores by 1923 … the third-biggest grocery retailer in the nation.“
ballooned to 1,300 stores / third-biggest retailer = the booming development.
Answer: E
Questions 6–10: Short Answer (ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER)
6. As an adolescent, Saunders took a job as a __ in a grocery store.
Answer: clerk
Key words: young, job, grocery store
Explanation: “a Virginia boy named Clarence Saunders began working part-time as a clerk in a grocery store when he was 14.“
Answer: clerk
7. In the new store, most of the clerks’ former work was done by __.
Answer: customers
Key words: clerks’ work, self-service
Explanation: Removing “unnecessary clerks,” the store let “customers … roam the aisles and select their own groceries.“
customers select their own goods = the work is done by customers.
Answer: customers
8. The section where customers pay was called the __.
Answer: lobby
Key words: payment, checkouts
Explanation: “A front ‘lobby’ forming an entrance and exit and checkouts at the front.“
Answer: lobby
9. The area behind the public area, open only to staff, was called the __.
Answer: stockroom
Key words: staff only, storage
Explanation: “the room only allowed for the clerks which was called the ‘stockroom’ or ‘storage room’ where large refrigerators were situated.“
Answer: stockroom
10. Customers were kept under surveillance at the __.
Answer: galleries
Key words: surveillance, supervisors, watch
Explanation: “over the shelving and cabinets units of sales department were ‘galleries’ where supervisors were allowed to keep an eye on the customers.“
supervisors keeping an eye on customers from the galleries = surveillance.
Answer: galleries
Questions 11–13: Multiple Choice
11. Why did Clarence Saunders want to drive the innovation of grocery stores?
Answer: C — he wanted to improve efficiency and make a good profit
Key words: reason, wasted time and expense
Explanation: He “noticed that this method resulted in wasted time and expense, so he came up with … a way for shoppers to serve themselves,” and self-service “cuts costs.” His motive was efficiency and profit, not simply his creative character (A).
wasted time and expense → self-service that cuts costs = efficiency and profit.
Answer: C
12. What happened to the first Piggly Wiggly store?
Answer: B — it did great business and expanded within the first twelve months
Key words: first year, nine stores
Explanation: “Saunders opened nine stores in the Memphis area within the first year of business.” (The 1,300 stores came by 1923, not in the first year, so C is wrong.)
nine stores in the first year = strong business, quickly expanded.
Answer: B
13. What remained of Clarence Saunders after his death in 1953?
Answer: C — his name was still connected with his famous shop, Piggly Wiggly
Key words: after death, remembered, name
Explanation: “his name was well-remembered along with the name Piggly Wiggly.” The Foodelectric store never opened (so A is wrong).
well-remembered along with Piggly Wiggly = his name stayed connected to the store.
Answer: C
| Answer Key (Quick Reference) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
| 1 | D | 8 | lobby |
| 2 | A | 9 | stockroom |
| 3 | F | 10 | galleries |
| 4 | C | 11 | C |
| 5 | E | 12 | B |
| 6 | clerk | 13 | C |
| 7 | customers | ||
