Magy's English Edu. Club
Cambridge 16 Academic Reading Test Four Passage Two
Changes in Reading Habits
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
14. What is the writer’s main point in the first paragraph?
The answer is A. > Our use of technology is having a hidden effect on us.
In paragraph one, unbeknown to most of us, an invisible, game-changing transformation links everyone in this picture.
15. What main point does Sherry Turkle make about innovation?
The answer is B. > We should pay attention to what might be lost when innovation occurs.
In paragraph three, in this hinge moment between print and digital cultures, society needs to confront what is diminishing in the expert reading circuit, what our children and older students are not developing, and what we can do about it.
16. What point is the writer making in the fourth paragraph?
The answer is D. > Some brain circuits adjust to whatever is required of them.
In paragraph four, we know from research that the reading circuit is not given to human beings through a genetic blueprint like vision or language; it needs an environment to develop. Further, it will adapt to that environment’s requirements – from different writing systems to the characteristics of whatever medium is used.
17. According to Mark Edmundson, the attitude of college students
The answer is B. > has influenced what they select to read.
In paragraph five, English literature scholar and teacher Mark Edmundson describes how many college students actively avoid the classic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries in favor of something simpler as they no longer have the patience to read longer, denser, more difficult texts.
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-H.
18. There have been many studies on digital screen use, showing some …. trends.
The answer is D. > WORRYING
In paragraph six, multiple studies show that digital screen use may be causing a variety of troubling downstream effects.
19. Her team then used a question-and-answer technique to find out how ….. each group’s understanding of the plot was.
The answer is H. > THOROUGH
In paragraph six, in Stavanger, Norway, psychologist Anne Mangen and her colleagues studied how high school students comprehend the same material in different mediums.
20. The findings showed a clear pattern in the responses, with those who read screens finding the order of information ……. to recall.
The answer is F. > HARD
In paragraph six, results indicated that students who read on print were superior in their comprehension to screen-reading peers, particularly in their ability to sequence detail and reconstruct the plot in chronological order.
21. Studies by Ziming Lio show that students are tending to read … words and phrases in a text to save time.
The answer is B. > ISOLATED
In paragraph seven, Ziming Liu from San Jose State University has conducted a series of studies which indicate that the ‘new norm’ in reading is skimming, involving word-spotting and browsing through the text.
22. This approach, she says, gives the reader a superficial understanding of the …… content of material, leaving no time for thought.
The answer is C. > EMOTIONAL
In paragraph seven, in other words, we don’t have time to grasp complexity, to understand another’s feelings, to perceive beauty, and to create thoughts of the reader’s own.
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
Write YES, NO, or NOT GIVEN.
23. The medium we use to read can affect our choice of reading content.
The answer is YES.
In paragraph eight, it is about how we all have begun to read on various mediums and how that changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for which we read.
24. Some age groups are more likely to lose their complex reading skills than others.
The answer is NO.
In paragraph eight, it is about how we all have begun to read on various mediums and how that changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for which we read. Nor is it only about the young.
25. False information has become more widespread in today’s digital era.
The answer is NOT GIVEN.
In paragraph eight, it incentivizes a retreat to the most familiar stores of unchecked information, which require and receive no analysis, leaving us susceptible to false information and irrational ideas.
25. We still have opportunities to rectify the problems that technology is presenting.
The answer is YES.
In paragraph nine, it is a very hopeful principle when applied to critical thought in the reading brain because it implies choice.