‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
Here are explanations of the Questions of passage named, ‘Music and the emotions’ which is from the Cambridge 12 book. The Questions that have been asked are ‘Sentence completion’, MCQs’ and Blanks’. You will find the locations of the Reading Answers, Keywords(highlighted and underlined) and justifications.
READING PASSAGE 3: Music and the emotions
| Question | Answer |
| 27 | DOPAMINE |
| 28 | PLEASURE |
| 29 | CAUDATE |
| 30 | ANTICIPATORY PHASE |
| 31 | FOOD |
| 32 | B |
| 33 | C |
| 34 | A |
| 35 | B |
| 36 | D |
| 37 | F |
| 38 | B |
| 39 | E |
| 40 | C |
Questions 27-31
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
The Montreal Study
Participants, who were recruited for the study through advertisements, had their brain activity monitored while listening to their favourite music. It was noted that the music stimulated the brain’s neurons to release a substance called 27………………………….
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine – a chemical with a key role in setting…’Here, ‘production’ and ‘release’ means the same. Moreover, ‘triggers’ and ‘stimulated’ are synonyms. Hence, the answer is ‘dopamine’
Answer: Dopamine
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
in two of the parts of the brain which are associated with feeling 28…………………………..
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The main keywords ‘two of the parts’ helps to locate an answer in the last line of the paragraph. ‘As these two regions have long been linked with the experience of pleasure, this finding isn’t particularly surprising…’Here, associated’ and ‘link’ are synonyms. In addition, ‘two of the parts’ is visible as ‘two regions’. Hence, the answer is ‘pleasure’
Answer: Pleasure
Researchers also observed that the neurons in the area of the brain called the 29……………………………. were particularly active
Location: 3rd paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the first line of the paragraph. ‘What is rather more significant is the finding that the dopamine neurons in the caudate – a region of the brain involved in learning…’Here, ‘region’ and ‘area’ means the same. Moreover, ‘ this region was involved in learning clearly states that this region was particularly active.
Answer: Caudate
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
just before the participants’ favourite moments in the music – the period known as the 30………………………….
Location: 3rd paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘were at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music. The researchers call this the ‘anticipatory phase’. Here, ‘call this’ and ‘known as’ means the same. Furthermore, ’15 seconds’ is the period.
Answer: Anticipatory phase
Activity in this part of the brain is associated with the expectation of ‘reward’ stimuli such as 31………………………….
Location: 3rd paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the first line of the paragraph. ‘a region of the brain involved in learning stimulus-response associations, and in anticipating food and other ‘reward’ stimuli…’Here, ‘anticipating’ and ‘expectations’ are synonyms. Thus, the answer is ‘food’
Answer: Food
Questions 32-36
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
32 What point does the writer emphasise in the first paragraph?
A how dramatically our reactions to music can vary
B how intense our physical responses to music can be
C how little we know about the way that music affects us
D how much music can tell us about how our brains operate
Location: 1st paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘, even though music says little, it still manages to touch us deeply…The pupils in our eyes dilate, our pulse and blood pressure rise, the … In other words, sound stirs us at our biological roots. Here, ‘pupils…dilate’, pulse and blood pressure…’ are the physical responses.
Answer: B
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
33 what view of the Montreal study does the writer express in the second paragraph?
A Its aims were innovative.
B The approach was too simplistic.
C It produced some remarkably precise data.
D The technology used was unnecessarily complex.
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword is ‘Montreal study’ and its reference is there in the beginning of the paragraph. ‘Montreal, Canada, marks an important step in revealing the precise underpinnings of the potent pleasurable stimulus’ that is music…’Here, ‘produce’ and ‘revealing’ means the same. Thus, this line clarify the answer as it produced precise underpinnings.
Answer: C
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
34 What does the writer find interesting about the results of the Montreal study?
A the timing of participants’ neural responses to the music
B the impact of the music of participants’ emotional state
C the section of participants’ brains which was activated by the music
D the type of music which had the strongest effect on participants’ brains
Location: 3rd paragraph (First two lines)
Explanation: The writer states, ‘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 in the music…’Here, ‘significant’ and ‘interesting’ are synonyms. Thus, the interesting finding is that it was most active around 15 seconds before…
Answer: A
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
35 Why does the writer refer to Meyer’s work on music and emotion?
A to propose an original theory about the subject
B to offer support for the findings of the Montreal study
C to recommend the need for further research into the subject
D to present a view which opposes that of the Montreal researchers
Location: 4th paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the second last line of the paragraph. ‘This is why composers often introduce a key note in the beginning of a song, spend most of the rest of the piece in the studious avoidance of the pattern…’Thus, the answer is B.
Answer: B
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
36 According to Leonard Meyer, what causes the listener’s emotional response to music?
A the way that the music evokes poignant memories in the listener
B the association of certain musical chords with certain feelings
C the listener’s sympathy with the composer’s intentions
D the internal structure of the musical composition
Location: 6th paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the fifth line of the paragraph. ‘ Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself…This ‘embodied meaning’ arises from the patterns the symphony…’Here, ‘embodied’ means ‘internal structure’ Thus, the answer is clear from the statement.
Answer: D
Questions 37-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
37 The Montreal researchers discovered that
Location: 2nd paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the first line of the paragraph. The writer says, ‘at their most active around 15 seconds before the participants’ favourite moments in the music…’ This means dopamine neuron become more active prior to (15 seconds before) the participants favourite moments in the music. Thus, the answer is clear.
Answer: F
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
38 Many studies have demonstrated that
Location: 4th paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in fourth line of the paragraph.’ Numerous studies, after all, have demonstrated that dopamine neurons quickly adapt to predictable rewards…’Here, ‘many’ and ‘numerous’ are synonyms. Here, ‘neurons quickly adapt’ means their activity decreases as they don’t get excited when the outcomes (rewards) are predictable.
Answer: B
‘Music and the emotions’- Reading Answer Explanation- CAM- 12
39 Meyer’s analysis of Beethoven’s music shows that
Location: 5th paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘Beethoven’s music’ helps to locate an answer in the middle line of the paragraph. ‘ He wants to preserve an element of uncertainty in his music, making our brains beg for the one chord he refuses to give us. Beethoven saves that chord for the end.’ Here, ‘uncertainty’ and ‘delays…what they expect…’ means the same. Moreover, the writer says, ‘saves that chord for the end’. Thus, the answer is clear.
Answer: E
40 Earlier theories of music suggested that
Location: 6th paragraph (Last paragraph)
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘While earlier theories of music focused on the way a sound can refer to the real world of images and experiences…’Here, ‘real world of images’ has been written as ‘actual images’. Furthermore, ‘experiences’ and ‘events’ means the same in the passage. Hence, the answer is C.
Answer: C
A our response to music depends on our initial emotional state.
B neuron activity decreases if outcomes become predictable.
C emotive music can bring to mind actual pictures and events.
D experiences in our past can influence our emotional reaction to music.
E emotive music delays giving listeners what they expect to hear.
F neuron activity increases prior to key points in a musical piece.
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