PASSWORD AND ANSWERS AT LAST OF THIS BLOG
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READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 -13 ,
which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Let’s all
be friends
New research shows how the people we are in social
contact with can influence us for better - and worse. Governments should take
heed.
From healthcare to climate change, governments today face
a range of problems in which they must persuade people to change their
behaviour. But maybe instead of relying on their powers of persuasion,
governments should consider using the science of social networks as a tool to
do this. True, many claims for the power of these are based on the hype surrounding
major social networking websites. But the basic idea is simple: people can join
together in groups with particular patterns of social links, and these patterns
then have important effects on the way they behave.
The shape of these networks has surprising effects. Take
an unlikely example: stage musicals. Brian Uzzi is a sociologist at
Northwestern University in Chicago. He is also a big fan of musicals. Musicals
have been big business for decades, but investors have to guess which shows
will be a hit. Bye Bye Birdie, a profitable 1960 production, ran for 607
nights. Bring Back Birdie, its 1981 sequel, closed after just four. Intrigued,
Uzzi used network science to find out why.
He investigated 321 American musicals that were launched
between 1945 and 1989, paying particular attention to whether the team of
director, producers, choreographers and writers had worked together before.
After crunching the statistics, he discovered something remarkable. Teams who
had never worked together, perhaps unsurprisingly, fared poorly: their 'weak'
networks meant a lack of creative vision, and lots of failures. And at the
other extreme, teams that had worked together successfully also tended to
produce flops. Sometimes, lacking outside creative input, the team just
rehashed the same ideas that worked the last time; sometimes, lacking
newcomers, they 'developed' their vision in unwise ways. Either way, lightning
rarely struck twice. But, in between, Uzzi found a point of balance. Groups
with exactly the right mix of new and old participants reliably produced hits.
This variation in the 'density' of the ties allowed easy communication and
fostered greater creativity; new ideas from the outsiders meshed with the
experience of the insiders. It made no difference whether a musical was about
cats or roller-skating, or who starred in it - what mattered was the nature of
the network binding its team together.
These insights have some fascinating consequences for
policymaking-particularly in the area of health. According to network science,
teenagers are more likely to adopt unhealthy eating habits if their friends'
friends consume junk food, even if they don't personally know those
individuals. Conversely, they may be encouraged to eat more healthily if their
immediate friends do. This opens up opportunities for governments to reduce
spending. For example, suppose a health authority has £100 and wants to improve
the diets of ten people. If it invests £10 in each individual separately, it
might only influence one or two. However, by investing the entire sum in
persuading one or two key individuals who are central to a social network, the
authority could trigger a cascade effect, influencing the entire group for a
fraction of the cost. The same principle could be applied to other areas, such
as encouraging physical exercise or quitting smoking.
However, the influence of networks is not always
positive. The same mechanisms that can spread healthy behaviours can also
amplify harmful ones. Financial panic, political extremism, and the rapid
proliferation of unhealthy fads can all be accelerated by tightly-knit social
networks. This presents a significant challenge for policymakers: how to
harness the power of social connectivity for good while mitigating its
potential for harm. Understanding the precise structure of these
networks—identifying the key influencers and the strength of the connections
between people—is therefore critical. Without this map of human relationships,
any intervention risks being inefficient or could even produce unintended
negative consequences.
Questions 1 -5
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for
each answer.
Brian Uzzi’s research into Broadway musicals revealed
that the success of a production was not determined by its subject matter or
cast, but by the 1 ............................ of its creative team. He found
that groups composed entirely of newcomers were often unsuccessful due to a
lack of 2............................ . Conversely, teams that had a history of
working together also frequently produced 3............................ because
they tended to reuse old ideas. The most successful teams had a 4............................
of experienced and new members. This balance in network 5............................
promoted effective communication and creativity.
Questions 6-10
Do the following statements agree with the claims of
the writer in Reading Passage 3?
Write:
YES, if the statement agrees with the claims of the
writer
NO if the statement contradicts with the claims of the
writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer
thinks about this
6. Governments are currently very effective at using
social network science.
7. Bring Back Birdie was financially successful.
8. Uzzi’s study analysed musicals from the first half of
the 20th century.
9. The eating habits of a teenager can be affected by
someone they have never met.
10. Investing money in central figures is guaranteed to
be more cost-effective.
Questions 11-13
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
The Implications of Network Science
Positive use for governments:
• Can be used to improve public health initiatives, e.g.,
diet and 11.................. .
• Targeting key people in a network can create a 12............................
effect, influencing many others.
Risks and challenges:
• Networks can also spread 13 ............................
behaviours, like financial panic or extreme views.
ANSWERS WITH LINES FROM PASSAGE
Questions 1–5
1. nature
Line from passage:
“…what mattered was the nature of the network binding its team together.”
2. creative vision
Line from passage:
“…their ‘weak’ networks meant a lack of creative vision, and lots of failures.”
3. flops
Line from passage:
“…teams that had worked together successfully also tended to produce flops.”
4. mix
Line from passage:
“Groups with exactly the right mix of new and old participants reliably produced hits.”
5. density
Line from passage:
“This variation in the ‘density’ of the ties allowed easy communication and fostered greater creativity…”
Questions 6–10
6. NO
Line from passage:
“…governments today face a range of problems… maybe instead of relying… they should consider using the science of social networks…”
→ They are NOT currently using it effectively.
7. NO
Line from passage:
“Bring Back Birdie… closed after just four.”
8. NO
Line from passage:
“He investigated 321 American musicals… between 1945 and 1989.”
9. YES
Line from passage:
“Teenagers are more likely to adopt unhealthy eating habits if their friends' friends consume junk food, even if they don't personally know those individuals.”
10. NOT GIVEN
Explanation:
The passage says:
“…could trigger a cascade effect, influencing the entire group for a fraction of the cost.”
→ “Could” = possible, not guaranteed.
Questions 11–13
11. exercise
Line from passage:
“The same principle could be applied to other areas, such as encouraging physical exercise or quitting smoking.”
12. cascade
Line from passage:
“…could trigger a cascade effect, influencing the entire group…”
13. harmful
Line from passage:
“…can also amplify harmful ones. Financial panic, political extremism…”
🎉 FINAL ANSWER KEY WITH LINES
| Q | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | nature |
| 2 | creative vision |
| 3 | flops |
| 4 | mix |
| 5 | density |
| 6 | NO |
| 7 | NO |
| 8 | NO |
| 9 | YES |
| 10 | NOT GIVEN |
| 11 | exercise |
| 12 | cascade |
| 13 | harmful |
PASSWORD: IELTS3
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