Inside the mind of a fan
Read Inside the mind of a fan and check the IELTS Reading answers. At about the same time that the poet Homer invented the epic hero, the ancient Greeks started a festival in which men competed in a single race, about 200 metres long. The winner received a branch of wild olives. The Greeks called t…
Passage preview
At about the same time that the poet Homer invented the epic hero, the ancient Greeks started a festival in which men competed in a single race, about 200 metres long. The winner received a branch of wild olives. The Greeks called this celebration the Olympics. Though the ancient sprint remains, today the Olympics are far more than that. Indeed, the Games seem to celebrate the dream of progress as embodied in the human form. That the Games are intoxicating to watch is beyond question. During the Athens Olympics in 2004, 3.4 billion people, half the world, watched them on television. Certainly, being a spectator is a thrilling experience: but why?
Vocabulary from this passage
12 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- acquisition of language noun
The natural process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce, and use words
Mimesis is an essential part of consciousness, starting from the early acquisition of language in infants.
- elaborate adjective
Involving many carefully arranged parts or details; complicated and design-intensive in nature or structure
Archaeologists uncovered an elaborate network of underground channels that once supplied water to the whole city.
- electrophysiological adjective
Relating to the electrical activity of cells and tissues, especially nerve and muscle cells, and the techniques used to record it
Electrophysiological recordings revealed that the neurons fired just before the participant began to move.
- embody verb
To be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to an idea, quality, or feeling
Elite athletes embody the ideals of discipline and perseverance that many young people admire.
- internalise verb
To make an attitude or belief part of one's basic thinking through learning or unconscious assimilation
Children gradually internalise the social rules of their community simply by observing adults.
- intoxicating adjective
Having the power to produce a state of great excitement, elation, or mental stimulation in an individual
The intoxicating atmosphere of the final left even neutral spectators cheering at the top of their voices.
- lofty adjective
Of a noble or exalted kind; grand in character or aim, sometimes suggesting that the claim is rather high-flown
The committee abandoned its lofty ambitions once the budget was cut in half.
- mimesis noun
The representation or imitation of the real world in art and literature; the biological act of mimicking
Early childhood learning relies heavily on mimesis, as infants copy the gestures and sounds of their carers.
- novice noun
A person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation; a beginner in a particular skill
While a golf swing looks easy on television, it is virtually impossible for a novice to master.
- resonate verb
To produce or evoke a sympathetic response, or to vibrate in step with another system or stimulus
The singer's message continues to resonate with listeners who share her experience of migration.
- second nature noun
A characteristic or habit in a person that has become instinctive through frequent repetition or experience
For a professional athlete, a perfectly balanced stroke has become second nature through years of practice.
- tranquillity noun
The quality or state of being calm; a peaceful condition free from disturbance or emotional agitation
The monk's tranquillity during the storm impressed everyone who had expected him to panic.
Answers with explanations
- 27. F
The question asks why watching sport may be **emotionally satisfying**. Paragraph F supplies the explanation: we watch for 'the **feeling**, the human drama', and this feeling 'derives from **mirror neurons**', which let spectators share in the athletes' feelings 'because they are directly connected to the **amygdala**, one of the main brain regions involved in **emotion**'. Other paragraphs deal with how mirror neurons were discovered or how they affect performance, not with feelings. Answer: F.
- 28. B
'Beginners' paraphrases the **novice**, and 'sporting tasks difficult' paraphrases a skill that is '**virtually impossible**'. Paragraph B gives the reason: 'This is **because** most novices swing with their **consciousness**', using an area of the brain next to the premotor cortex, whereas for the expert the movements are embedded in the premotor cortex. The word because signals the explanation the question asks for. Answer: B.
- 29. E
A factor that must **combine with mirroring** points to a second requirement beside the brain's ability to imagine movements. Paragraph E says that the best athletes have a premotor cortex capable of imagining 'the movements of victory, **together with** the **physical properties** to make those movements real'. 'Sporting excellence' paraphrases 'the best athletes'. The extra factor is the athlete's physical ability, so only this paragraph matches. Answer: E.
- 30. C
A **comparison** of human and animal neurons needs a paragraph that mentions both. Paragraph C describes how mirror neurons become active when the **monkey** performs or sees an action, then adds that '**Humans** have an **even more elaborate** mirror neuron system', which is a direct comparison. Paragraph B also mentions the monkeys' cells but never compares them with human ones. Answer: C.
- 31. D
The question asks for the **first discovery** of brain activity linked to mirror neurons. Paragraph D gives the date and the discoverers: 'first discovered in **1954**', when '**Gastaut and Bert**' found that human brains vibrate with two distinct **wavelengths**. 'Brain activity' paraphrases these wavelengths. The 1996 monkey study in paragraph B came later and concerns the cells themselves rather than a first observation of brain activity. Answer: D.
- 32. E
'A **claim** linking **observation** to **improvement in performance**' is paraphrased by 'watching a great golfer makes us **better golfers**, and watching a great sprinter actually makes us **run faster**'. The sentence opens with 'It turns out that', a signpost for a claim. Paragraph F, by contrast, says that few people watch sport in order to become better athletes, so it does not make this link. Answer: E.
- 33. C
The question asks what 'grammar of movement' means. The passage builds an analogy: grammars of language are rules for forming a sentence, and '**grammars of movement**' are the '**networks of cells**' that are 'the bodily sentences we use every day', after the groups of cells that 'store vocabularies of motor actions'. So the term means a pattern of connected cells. A system of words is only the language half of the analogy, and the golf swing is merely an example. Answer: C.
- 34. A
The question asks how **expert** players perform. The writer contrasts novices, who swing with **consciousness**, with the expert, for whom the stroke is **second nature** and who hits the ball with 'the tranquillity of his **unconscious**', which means acting without conscious thought. Planning each phase is the opposite of an autopilot, nothing says experts skip practice (the action has become memorised), and thinking about others' actions concerns mirror neurons when watching, not performing. Answer: A.
- 35. C
The question asks for the **most common motive** for watching sport. The writer asks 'how many of us regularly watch sports in order to be a **better athlete**?', which rules out improving personal performance, and answers 'Rather, we watch sport for the **feeling**, the human drama'. That feeling is tied to the amygdala and emotion, so strong positive emotions fits. Feeling linked with other nationalities is only a by-product, and understanding what skill consists of is never given as a motive. Answer: C.
- 36. YES
The statement says **inexpert** players are **too aware** of what they are doing. 'Inexpert sports players' paraphrases the novice, and the writer says that 'most novices swing with their **consciousness**', so they are consciously aware of the action, while the expert acts on a perfected autopilot. This awareness is what makes the skill 'virtually impossible' for them. The statement matches the writer's own claim, so the answer is YES. Answer: YES.
- 37. NO
The statement reverses the comparison. The writer says that '**Humans** have an **even more elaborate** mirror neuron system' than the monkeys described just before, so it is the human system that is more complex, not the monkey one. 'More complex' paraphrases 'more elaborate'. Because the text states the opposite of the claim, the answer is NO rather than NOT GIVEN. Answer: NO.
- 38. NO
The statement claims that **looking at a photograph** can **activate** mirror neurons. The writer says the opposite: for 'a fixed image of a runner mid-stride, our mirror neurons are **totally silent**', and they 'only fire when the runner is **active**'. A photograph is a fixed image, and the cells need goal-orientated movement, so the claim is directly contradicted. Answer: NO.
- 39. NOT GIVEN
The text says only that Gastaut and Bert were '**French physiologists**' who found two brain wavelengths, so the 'researchers' half of the statement is covered. Nothing at all is said about whether they **played sports**, so the second half can be neither confirmed nor contradicted. A statement that is only partly supported is still NOT GIVEN when part of the claim is missing from the passage. Answer: NOT GIVEN.
- 40. YES
The statement says the **mu system** is at **rest** when we are engaged in an activity. The writer says the mu system 'is active when our bodies are **still**, and **disappears** whenever we do something active'. If the signal disappears during activity, the system is at rest then, so 'at rest' paraphrases 'disappears'. The statement matches the writer's claim, so the answer is YES. Answer: YES.