A neuroscientist reveals how to think differently: reading answers and analysis
A neuroscientist explains what makes an iconoclast, someone who does what others say can't be done. Their brains differ in perception, fear response and social intelligence: they get around the brain's energy-saving shortcuts, handle the fear that novelty triggers, and can sell their ideas to others.
All three blocks follow the passage. The multiple choice (27-31) covers paragraphs 1-4. The YES / NO / NOT GIVEN statements (32-37) sit in paragraphs 5-6, on novelty and fear. The sentence endings (38-40) come from the last two paragraphs.
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.
How to attack this block: The wrong options reuse the passage's own words (firing patterns, circuits, photons, hardwired) but twist what they refer to. For each question, find the sentence that answers it and match the meaning, not the vocabulary.
Question 27
Answer: CParagraph 1, third sentence
What is neuroeconomics trying to find out?
the field known as neuroeconomics, which studies the brain's secrets to success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors
Question says → Passage says
understand how the brain is linked to achievementstudies the brain's secrets to success
competitive fieldsan economic environment… differently from competitors
Why: 'Secrets to success' is achievement, and an environment where you must beat 'competitors' is a competitive field. That's C.
The trap: D copies 'firing patterns of neurons in specific parts of the brain' from the sentence before. Those patterns are the discovery that led to the field, not what the field studies. A is the 'revolution' that already happened; B ('good decisions') is too general.
Question 28
Answer: BParagraph 2, first sentence
What makes iconoclasts different, according to the writer?
This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways
Question says → Passage says
distinctivedifferent
their brains function differentlyit is their brains that are different
Why: The writer corrects himself: 'more precisely', it's their brains that differ, in perception, fear response and social intelligence. That's B.
The trap: C (personality) is the view of the 'naysayers', which the writer rejects with 'But'. A misreads 'circuit': each function uses a different circuit, but iconoclasts don't create unusual ones.
Question 29
Answer: DParagraph 3, middle
Why does the brain work efficiently?
the brain will interpret this information in the quickest way possible. Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information
Question says → Passage says
relies ondraw on
previous eventspast experience
Why: To save energy, the brain interprets information fast by drawing on past experience. 'Relies on previous events' is a paraphrase of 'draw on past experience', so D.
The trap: A takes 'eyes' and 'quickest' from the same lines, but the brain interprets what the eyes send quickly; it doesn't 'use the eyes quickly'. C contradicts the 'fixed energy budget'.
Question 30
Answer: CParagraph 3, last two sentences
How does the writer describe perception?
Perception is not simply a product of what your eyes or ears transmit to your brain. More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is a product of the brain.
Question says → Passage says
a result of brain processesa product of the brain
Why: 'Product' means 'result', so 'a product of the brain' is C.
The trap: A and B both use words from these sentences, but the writer says perception is 'not simply' what the senses transmit and is 'more than' photons and sound waves. D is wrong too: the shortcuts work so well 'we are hardly ever aware of them'.
Question 31
Answer: BParagraph 4, third and fourth sentences
What does the writer say about how an iconoclast thinks?
Their brains do not fall into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person's brain.
Question says → Passage says
avoidsdo not fall into / have found ways to work around
cognitive trapsefficiency pitfalls / the perceptual shortcuts that plague most people
Why: 'Pitfalls' are traps, and the next sentence adds that iconoclasts 'work around' the perceptual shortcuts. Avoiding thinking traps is B.
The trap: C uses 'hardwired', but the writer says perception is 'not' hardwired. D picks up 'opportunity', which in the passage describes learned perception, not iconoclasts having more chances.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 32-37
How to attack this block: The first two are clear YESes on novelty. After that, watch for added reasons and extra claims: 'too shy' and 'other fears become irrelevant' add ideas the writer never discusses, while 'easily' and 'illness' are directly contradicted.
Question 32
Answer: YESParagraph 5, first two sentences
Does meeting new things make the brain think in new ways?
Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments.
Question says → Passage says
Exposure to different eventsbombard the brain with things it has never encountered before / Novelty
forces the brain to think differentlyforces the brain to make new judgments
Why: 'Things it has never encountered' are different events, and 'forces the brain to make new judgments' is thinking differently. Even the verb 'forces' is the same.
The trap: Some students hesitate because paragraph 6 says novelty triggers fear. That doesn't cancel what novelty does for perception.
Question 33
Answer: YESParagraph 5, last two sentences
Are iconoclasts unusually open to new experiences?
Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different.
Question says → Passage says
unusuallyextraordinary
receptive towillingness to be exposed to / embrace
new experienceswhat is fresh and different / novelty
Why: Every part lines up: 'extraordinary' is 'unusually', 'willingness to be exposed to' is 'receptive', and 'fresh and different' is 'new'.
Question 34
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 5, last sentence
Does the writer say most people are too shy to try new things?
Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different.
Question says → Passage says
Most peoplemost people
try different thingsavoid things that are different
Why: The writer says most people avoid different things, but never gives shyness as the reason. Later he blames fear of uncertainty and ridicule, not shyness.
The trap: The first half matches so well ('most people… different') that YES is tempting. The reason 'too shy' is what isn't given.
Question 35
Answer: NOParagraph 6, second and third sentences
Is fear easy to overcome if you think like an iconoclast?
Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast… the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule.
Question says → Passage says
easily overcome feara major impediment / difficult to deal with
Why: The writer calls fear a 'major impediment' to iconoclastic thinking and says these fears are 'difficult to deal with'. That contradicts the idea that it's easy.
The trap: The last line says iconoclasts don't let fear inhibit their reactions, which pushes people to YES. Not letting fear stop you is not the same as overcoming it easily.
Question 36
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 6
Do other fears stop mattering once fear of embarrassment matters less?
the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule
Question says → Passage says
concern about embarrassmentfear of public ridicule
Why: Fear of ridicule is named, but the writer never links it to other fears or says what happens when it shrinks. There's no cause and effect to check.
The trap: Both fears appear side by side, so it feels like the passage connects them. It just lists them.
Question 37
Answer: NOParagraph 6, last sentences
Is fear of public speaking a mental illness?
This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature
Question says → Passage says
a psychological illnessa mental disorder
Why: It affects a third of people, so the writer says it's 'too common to be considered a mental disorder'. The statement says the opposite.
The trap: 'Phobias' a few lines earlier sounds clinical, but the writer calls them 'trivial' and then rules out the illness label.
Sentence endings (A-E)
Questions 38-40
How to attack this block: Two endings (D and E) borrow words from the passage without matching any beginning. Link each beginning to its paragraph: why success is rare, what the social brain studies, and the areas iconoclasts work in.
Question 38
Answer: AParagraph 7, last sentence
Why is it hard to be a successful iconoclast?
Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.
Question says → Passage says
demandingsuccessful iconoclasts are so rare
both perceptual and social intelligence skillsperception becomes intertwined with social decision making
Why: Iconoclasts need to see differently and then sell their ideas, which needs social intelligence. The two skills are bound together, and that is why success is rare. That's A.
The trap: D (open to criticism and rejection) matches 'alienation and failure' in the last paragraph. But that's a risk iconoclasts face, not the reason the thinking itself is demanding.
Question 39
Answer: BParagraph 7, middle
Why is knowing about the social brain useful to iconoclasts?
there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain and how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making
Question says → Passage says
focuses on how groups decide on an actionhow the brain works when groups coordinate decision making
useful to iconoclastsThese brain regions play key roles in whether people convince others of their ideas
Why: The social brain research is about groups making decisions together, and iconoclasts need to win groups over. 'Coordinate decision making' becomes 'decide on an action'. That's B.
The trap: E echoes the definition of social intelligence ('understand and manage people'), but that's a skill the iconoclast needs, not what social brain research studies. Nothing is said about how organisations manage people.
Question 40
Answer: CParagraph 8, first sentence
Why are iconoclasts generally valuable?
Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business.
Question says → Passage says
an asseta major asset to any organization
works in many fields, both artistic and scientificin every area from artistic expression to technology to business
Why: 'Every area' is 'many fields', 'artistic expression' is artistic, and technology stands in for scientific. That's C.
The trap: D (criticism and rejection) is in the same paragraph as 'alienation and failure', but that's the downside. The sentence beginning asks why they're an asset.
D copies the 'firing patterns of neurons' line, but that's the discovery that led to neuroeconomics. The field studies success in a competitive economy.
Most people do avoid different things, but shyness is never given as the reason. NOT GIVEN.
Words from this passage worth keeping
iconoclast(Paragraph 1)
a person who challenges accepted ideas
naysayers(Paragraph 2)
people who doubt or reject an idea
march to a different drumbeat(Paragraph 2)
think or act differently from most people
impeded(Paragraph 3)
held back or obstructed
pitfalls(Paragraph 4)
hidden traps or mistakes that are easy to fall into
plague(Paragraph 4)
keep causing problems for
inhibit(Paragraph 6)
hold back or prevent
intertwined(Paragraph 7)
closely connected
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The full Cambridge 9 Test 2 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 9, Test 2, 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.
