The unsung sense
Read The unsung sense, an IELTS Reading practice passage. Traditionally, smell has not been at the forefront of sensory research, pushed aside in favour of the seemingly more vital senses of vision and hearing. There has been a strong belief that people, especially compared to other mammals, are no…
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Traditionally, smell has not been at the forefront of sensory research, pushed aside in favour of the seemingly more vital senses of vision and hearing. There has been a strong belief that people, especially compared to other mammals, are not that influenced by smells.
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- capacity noun
The ability or power to do, experience, or understand something; a mental or physical faculty
Children possess an extraordinary capacity to acquire new languages without formal instruction.
- cognitive skills noun
The core mental abilities used to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention
The academic study demonstrated that environmental stressors can temporarily impair an individual's cognitive skills.
- dilute verb
To make a liquid thinner or weaker by adding water or another solvent to it
Researchers had to dilute the chemical solution before introducing it to the sensory test subjects.
- encounter noun
An unexpected or casual meeting with someone or something; a first-hand experience
The initial encounter with the exotic plant species was documented carefully by the botanist.
- evolutionary perspective noun
A conceptual framework that analyzes psychological and physiological traits through the lens of adaptation and survival
From an evolutionary perspective, the fear of sudden loud noises served as a vital survival mechanism.
- olfactory adjective
Of or relating to the sense of smell or the organs involved in smelling
The patient suffered temporary damage to their olfactory nerves following the viral infection.
- rational adjective
Based on or in accordance with reason or logic rather than emotional responses
Analysts are trained to make rational decisions based on empirical data rather than personal intuition.
- redundant adjective
Not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous or unnecessary in fulfilling a function
The old laboratory equipment became redundant once the digital tracking system was implemented.
- stimulus noun
A thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue
The auditory stimulus triggered a rapid response from the neural centers of the subjects.