Music and the emotions: reading answers and analysis
Why does wordless music move us so much? A Montreal study found that music releases dopamine, and that the caudate fires most in the seconds before a favourite moment. The writer links this to Leonard Meyer's idea that music's feeling comes from patterns that are set up, withheld and finally resolved.
The summary (27-31) covers the second and third paragraphs. The multiple-choice questions (32-36) run through the passage in order. The sentence endings (37-40) jump around, picking up the Montreal study, the 'many studies' line and Meyer.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the passage yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
Q
Your answer
Answer
Questions 27-31 · Summary completion (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS)
How to attack this block: The summary follows the passage closely, so the answers come in order. Two gaps need technical terms you must copy exactly. The last gap asks for an example of a reward, and the passage names one inside a description of the caudate.
Question 27
Answer: dopamineParagraph 2, near the end
What substance did music make the neurons release?
music triggers the production of dopamine - a chemical with a key role in setting people's moods - by the neurons
Question says → Passage says
stimulated the brain's neurons to releasetriggers the production of… by the neurons
a substancea chemical
Why: 'Stimulated… to release a substance' paraphrases 'triggers the production of… a chemical'. The chemical is dopamine.
The trap: 'Neurons' sits in the same sentence, but the summary already has neurons. The gap is what they release.
Question 28
Answer: pleasureParagraph 2, last sentence
What feeling are the two brain regions linked with?
As these two regions have long been linked with the experience of pleasure, this finding isn't particularly surprising.
Question says → Passage says
two of the parts of the brainthese two regions / both the dorsal and ventral regions of the brain
associated with feelinglinked with the experience of
Why: The dorsal and ventral regions are linked with pleasure. The summary turns 'the experience of ___' into 'feeling ___', so the gap takes 'pleasure'.
The trap: 'Moods' appears in the same paragraph, but that describes what dopamine does, not what the two regions are associated with.
Question 29
Answer: caudateParagraph 3, first sentence
Which brain area was most active just before favourite moments?
the dopamine neurons in the caudate - a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus-response associations
Question says → Passage says
the area of the brain called thethe caudate - a region of the brain
particularly active just beforeat their most active around 15 seconds before
Why: The neurons that fire just before the favourite part are 'in the caudate'. The summary already has 'the', so write 'caudate'.
The trap: 'Dorsal' and 'ventral' are regions from the previous paragraph, linked to pleasure in general, not to the moments before the climax.
Question 30
Answer: anticipatory phaseParagraph 3, second sentence
What do researchers call the period just before the favourite moment?
The researchers call this the 'anticipatory phase'
Question says → Passage says
the period known as theThe researchers call this the
Why: 'Known as' paraphrases 'call this', and the name is in quotation marks: 'anticipatory phase'. You need both words.
The trap: 'Anticipatory' alone is an adjective and leaves the gap incomplete. 'Acoustic climax' is the moment itself, not the period before it.
Question 31
Answer: foodParagraph 3, first sentence
What example of a 'reward' stimulus does the caudate anticipate?
and in anticipating food and other 'reward' stimuli
Question says → Passage says
associated with the expectation ofanticipating
'reward' stimuli such asfood and other 'reward' stimuli
Why: The caudate is involved in anticipating 'food and other reward stimuli', so food is the example. 'Such as' signals that you need an example.
The trap: 'Music' is tempting because it's what the study is about, but the passage's example of a reward in this description is food.
Multiple choice
Questions 32-36
How to attack this block: Several questions ask about the writer's attitude or purpose, so look for his evaluation, not the facts. In the second paragraph he contrasts fancy technology with a simple experiment and praises the result. With Meyer, ask what job his work does in the argument, then what he says causes the feeling.
Question 32
Answer: BParagraph 1
What does the writer stress in the first paragraph?
When listening to our favourite songs, our body betrays all the symptoms of emotional arousal.
Question says → Passage says
how intense our physical responses to music can beour body betrays all the symptoms of emotional arousal / sound stirs us at our biological roots
Why: The paragraph lists strong bodily reactions: wider pupils, higher pulse and blood pressure, blood sent to the legs. It ends 'sound stirs us at our biological roots'. That's B, intense physical responses.
The trap: D is tempting because the brain is mentioned (the cerebellum). But the writer isn't saying music teaches us about the brain; he's showing how strongly the body reacts. A (variation) and C (how little we know) aren't discussed.
Question 33
Answer: CParagraph 2, middle
What does the writer think of the Montreal study?
they were able to obtain an impressively exact and detailed portrait of music in the brain
Question says → Passage says
remarkably precise dataan impressively exact and detailed portrait
Why: 'Impressively exact and detailed' is the writer's evaluation, and it matches 'remarkably precise data'. C.
The trap: B twists 'the experiment itself was rather straightforward' into a criticism. The writer says it simply, as a contrast with the fancy technology, not as a fault. D is wrong for the same reason: he never calls the technology unnecessary.
Question 34
Answer: AParagraph 3, first sentence
What about the Montreal results does the writer find interesting?
What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate… were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants' favourite moments
Question says → Passage says
interestingrather more significant
the timing of participants' neural responsesat their most active around 15 seconds before
Why: 'More significant' signals the writer's interest, and what follows is about when the neurons fire: 15 seconds before the favourite moment. That's timing: A.
The trap: C (the section of the brain) is tempting because the caudate is named. But the writer says the first finding about pleasure regions 'isn't particularly surprising'; the interesting part is when, not where. D is wrong because every genre was represented.
Question 35
Answer: BParagraphs 5 and 6
Why does the writer bring in Meyer's work?
To demonstrate this psychological principle, the musicologist Leonard Meyer… It is this uncertainty that triggers the surge of dopamine in the caudate
Question says → Passage says
to offer support for the findingsTo demonstrate this psychological principle / It is this uncertainty that triggers the surge of dopamine in the caudate
Why: Meyer's 1956 analysis shows music holding back what we expect, and the writer ties that uncertainty directly to the dopamine surge in the caudate. Meyer is used to back up the Montreal findings: B.
The trap: D (an opposing view) is the main distractor. Meyer opposes earlier 'connotative' theories, not the Montreal researchers. A is wrong because the theory is Meyer's from 1956, not the writer's own.
Question 36
Answer: DParagraph 6, second sentence
What does Meyer say causes the emotional response to music?
Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself
Question says → Passage says
the internal structure of the musical compositionthe unfolding events of the music itself / the patterns the symphony invokes and then ignores
Why: For Meyer, the feeling comes from the music's own patterns being set up and withheld, not from anything outside it. 'The music itself' is its internal structure: D.
The trap: A (poignant memories) describes the earlier theories Meyer argued against, where sound refers to real-world images and experiences. B mentions chords, but Meyer's point is about patterns, not chords fixed to feelings.
Sentence endings (A-F)
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: Each beginning names a source, so find that source first. Two endings are about past experience and initial mood, which the passage never mentions, so they're distractors. Don't confuse the ending about Beethoven delaying what we expect with the one about neurons adapting.
Question 37
Answer: FParagraph 3, first sentence
What did the Montreal team discover?
were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants' favourite moments in the music
Question says → Passage says
neuron activity increasesthe dopamine neurons… were at their most active
prior to key points in a musical piecearound 15 seconds before the participants' favourite moments in the music
Why: The researchers found dopamine neurons peaking just before favourite moments. 'Prior to' is 'before', and 'key points' are the favourite moments: F.
The trap: A (initial emotional state) sounds like a study result, but the passage never mentions the listeners' mood before the music.
Question 38
Answer: BParagraph 4, middle
What have many studies shown?
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.
Question says → Passage says
Many studiesNumerous studies
neuron activity decreases if outcomes become predictablequickly adapt to predictable rewards / then we don't get excited
Why: Neurons 'adapt' to predictable rewards, meaning they stop responding as strongly. The next sentence spells it out: if we know what's next, we don't get excited. B.
The trap: E is also about predictability, but from the composer's side. That's the Beethoven point, not what the studies demonstrated.
Question 39
Answer: EParagraph 5, middle
What does Meyer's analysis of Beethoven show?
Beethoven begins with the clear statement of a rhythmic and harmonic pattern and then, in an ingenious tonal dance, carefully holds off repeating it
Question says → Passage says
delays giving listenerscarefully holds off repeating it / saves that chord for the end
what they expect to hearour expectations of order / the one chord he refuses to give us
Why: Beethoven sets up a pattern, then 'holds off' repeating it until the end, making our brains 'beg' for the chord. That's delaying what listeners expect: E.
The trap: B (neurons adapting to predictable outcomes) is the same theme, but it's the studies' finding, not Meyer's musical analysis.
Question 40
Answer: CParagraph 6, second sentence
What did older theories say about music?
earlier theories of music focused on the way a sound can refer to the real world of images and experiences
Question says → Passage says
Earlier theories of musicearlier theories of music
bring to mind actual pictures and eventsrefer to the real world of images and experiences
Why: Earlier theories said music refers to real images and experiences, its 'connotative' meaning. 'Pictures and events' paraphrases 'images and experiences': C.
The trap: D (past experiences influencing our reaction) borrows 'experiences', but it's about the listener's memories, not music pointing to the real world. The passage never says that.
The interesting finding is when the neurons fire, 15 seconds before the climax. C is tempting, but the writer says which regions lit up was no surprise.
C. The writer calls the experiment 'rather straightforward' but praises its exact, detailed results. B (too simplistic) twists 'straightforward' into a criticism.
Words from this passage worth keeping
devoid of(Paragraph 1)
completely without
arousal(Paragraph 1)
a state of being excited or alert
underpinnings(Paragraph 2)
the basic causes or foundations of something
surges(Paragraph 3)
sudden large increases
labyrinth(Paragraph 4)
a complicated, confusing structure
studious avoidance(Paragraph 4)
deliberately and carefully avoiding something
flirtation with(Paragraph 5)
a playful, not serious, involvement with something
ingenious(Paragraph 5)
very clever and original
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The full Cambridge 12 Test 7 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 12, Test 7, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
