Magy's English Edu. Club
Cambridge 17 Academic Reading Test Four Passage Three
Timur Gareyev – blindfold chess champion
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–H.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
27. a reference to earlier examples of blindfold chess
The answer is D.
In paragraph D, the first recorded game in Europe was played in 13th-century Florence. In 1947, the Argentinian grandmaster Miguel Najdorf played 45 simultaneous games in his mind, winning 39 in the 24-hour session.
28. an outline of what blindfold chess involves
The answer is E
In paragraph E, the nature of the game is to run through possible moves in the mind to see how they play out. From this, regular players develop a memory for the patterns the pieces make, the defenses, and attacks.
29. a claim that Gareyev’s skill is limited to chess
The answer is F.
In paragraph F, he was not exceptional on any of these standard tests. We didn’t find anything other than playing chess that he seems to be supremely gifted at.
30. why Gareyev’s skill is of interest to scientists
The answer is B.
In paragraph B, in the hope of understanding how he and others like him can perform such mental feats, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) called him in for tests.
31. an outline of Gareyev’s priorities
The answer is H.
In paragraph H, the most important part of blindfold chess for me is that I have found the one thing that I can fully dedicate myself to.
32. a reason why the last part of a game may be difficult
The answer is E.
In paragraph E, but the ends of games are taxing too, as exhaustion sets in.
Do the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage 3?
Choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.
33. In the forthcoming games, all the participants will be blindfolded.
The answer is FALSE.
In paragraph A, while his challengers will play the game as normal, Gareyev himself will be blindfolded.
34. Gareyev has won competitions in BASE jumping.
The answer is NOT GIVEN.
In paragraph A, he gets his kicks from the adventure sport of BASE jumping.
35. UCLA is the first university to carry out research into blindfold chess players.
The answer is NOT GIVEN.
In paragraph B, in the hope of understanding how he and others like him can perform such mental feats, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles called him in for tests.
36. Good chess players are likely to be able to play blindfold chess.
The answer is TRUE.
In paragraph E, accomplished players can develop the skill of playing blind even without realizing it.
Complete the summary.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
How the research was carried out
37. The researchers started by testing Gareyeve’s ….
The answer is MEMORY.
In paragraph F, the scientists first had Gareyeve perform some standard memory tests.
38. For example, has was required to recall a string of …. in order and also in reverse order.
The answer is NUMBERS.
In paragraph F, these assessed his ability to hold numbers, pictures, and words in mind.
39. Although his performance was normal, scans showed an unusual amount of … within the areas of Gareyev’s brain that are concerned with directing attention.
The answer is COMMUNICATION.
In paragraph F, though the results are tentative and as yet unpublished, the scans found much greater than average communication between parts of Gareyev’s brain that make up what is called the frontoparietal control network.
40. In addition, the scans raised the possibility of unusual strength in the parts of his brain that deal with ….. input.
The answer is VISUAL.
In paragraph G, the scans also suggest that Gareyev’s visual network is more highly connected to other brain parts than usual.