Seeing the colour of sounds, hearing the colour of numbers
Read Seeing the colour of sounds, hearing the colour of numbers and check the IELTS Reading answers. What is the colour of five? What is the sound of blue? To most of us such questions are either meaningless or suitable only for poetry. But for some people these are questions to which very precise…
Passage preview
What is the colour of five? What is the sound of blue? To most of us such questions are either meaningless or suitable only for poetry. But for some people these are questions to which very precise answers can be given. Five, for example, for some people is green, while others say the sound of a guitar is like someone blowing on their ankles. People who 'see' colour in numbers or letters of the alphabet and 'feel' sensation in sound have synesthesia - meaning literally 'joined sensation' - an extraordinary condition that causes certain senses to 'leak' into one another.
Vocabulary from this passage
5 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- hallucination noun
An experience involving the apparent perception of something not present
Scientists proved that synesthetic experiences are distinct from the hallucinations of illness.
- neurologist noun
A specialist in the anatomy, functions, and organic disorders of nerves
The neurologist studied how senses leak into one another in synesthetes.
- perception noun
The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through senses
Synesthesia gives us new insights into how normal perception works.
- repressed adjective
Restrained, inhibited, or oppressed, especially in a psychological context
Some believe the synesthetic mechanism is present in all adults but repressed.
- synaptic adjective
Relating to the junction between two nerve cells
Synesthetes may have kept their original synaptic connections intact from birth.
Answers with explanations
- 27. C
The statement says **hearing the names of things** affects the brain as **looking at things** does. In paragraph F, a **brain scanning experiment** found that when synesthetes were **listening to words**, brain areas normally active only for **vision** lit up. That is the same finding in different wording. The experiment is credited to Baron-Cohen, not Smilek or Ramachandran, who are connected with tests on number sight and meaning. Locke only described the condition early on. So the answer is Simon Baron-Cohen, C.
- 28. C
This finding is attributed to **Simon Baron-Cohen**. In his 1993 experiment, he proved the **consistency** of synesthetic associations by retesting subjects. The **92 per cent** consistency rate among synesthetes, compared to only 37 per cent in non-synesthetes, provided evidence that these associations are not merely products of a vivid imagination.
- 29. B
The individual who documented this specific case is **John Locke**. He recorded an early instance of **cross-sensory perception** where a visual stimulus (**bright red**) was perceived as an auditory one (**the sound of a trumpet**), marking one of the first Western descriptions of synesthesia.
- 30. A
The question paraphrases a quotation: **studying synesthesia can give fresh perspectives** matches 'can give us **new insights** into normal perception', and 'experience things differently' matches synesthesia being **abnormal**. The speaker is named at the start of the quotation, **Daniel Smilek**, so the answer is A. Be careful not to choose Baron-Cohen or Ramachandran, who appear in later paragraphs reporting experiments and not general benefits of research. Matching tasks reward finding the speaker's name next to the matching idea.
- 31. F
Paragraph **F** details an investigation using **modern medical technology**, specifically a **brain scanning experiment**. This technology allowed researchers to observe which areas of the brain 'lit up' during sensory tasks, providing physiological evidence for synesthesia.
- 32. I
Paragraph **I** mentions the **novelist Nabokov** as an example of a famous synesthete. It describes his specific perception of letters as colors, using him to illustrate the ongoing mystery that neurologists hope to solve in the future.
- 33. A
The **definition** is found in paragraph **A**. It explains the term's literal meaning as '**joined sensation**' and describes the 'extraordinary condition' where senses **leak into** one another. This provides the necessary introductory context for the rest of the passage.
- 34. F
The question needs **two different explanations** for why synesthesia is **uncommon in adults**. Paragraph F gives both: first, the idea that as we develop, **connections are pruned** so the mechanism is no longer intact; second, the challenge that **certain drugs** cause synesthetic experiences, suggesting the mechanism is still there but **repressed**. No other paragraph offers competing explanations, since the others describe history, tests or definitions. Recognising 'two explanations' as a contrast signalled by 'however' leads to F.
- 35. B
Paragraph **B** discusses the social experiences of synesthetes, noting that some **keep it a secret**. The reason provided is the **fear of ridicule** or people 'laughing at them,' highlighting the stigma sometimes associated with the condition.
- 36. TRUE
The statement says Kandinsky **admired** synesthetes. Paragraph C says he **believed synesthetes were like good, much-played violins**, which vibrate in all their parts. Comparing people to fine, well-used instruments is a clearly **positive** view, so the text supports the claim even though the word admired never appears. The writer also notes he was a **non-synesthete**, which does not change the attitude. Because the passage confirms the statement through its meaning, the answer is TRUE, not NOT GIVEN.
- 37. TRUE
The answer is **TRUE**. The passage states that historical associations between synesthesia and **mental illness** have 'long been **disproved**'. This confirms that the medical community no longer believes there is a link between the two.
- 38. FALSE
The answer is **FALSE**. The statement suggests that 'equal numbers' of men and women are affected. However, paragraph E provides statistics showing that **women are significantly more likely** (two to eight times) than men to be synesthetes, directly contradicting the statement.
- 39. NOT GIVEN
The answer is **NOT GIVEN**. While the text mentions that synesthetes have unique brain activity and potentially different synaptic connections, it makes no mention of their **powers of logic** or how they compare to the general population in terms of reasoning.
- 40. TRUE
The answer is **TRUE**. Paragraph F mentions a scientific 'notion' (possibility) that **everyone may be born** with synesthesia, suggesting that early in development, all our brain parts are linked before the connections are later 'pruned'.