‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’- Reading Answer Explanation – CAM – 12
Here are explanations of the Questions of passage named ‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’ which is from the Cambridge 12 book. The Questions that have been asked are ‘Finding information, Blanks and Yes/NO/Not Given. You will find the locations of the Reading Answers, Keywords(highlighted and underlined) and justifications.
READING PASSAGE 3: The benefits of being bilingual
| Question | Answer |
| 27 | EYE MOVEMENTS |
| 28 | LANGUAGE CO-ACTIVATION |
| 29 | STROOP TASK |
| 30 | CONFLICT MANAGEMENT |
| 31 | COGNITIVE CONTROL |
| 32 | YES |
| 33 | NOT GIVEN |
| 34 | NO |
| 35 | NO |
| 36 | NOT GIVEN |
| 37 | D |
| 38 | G |
| 39 | B |
| 40 | C |
Questions 27-31
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
| Test | Findings |
| Observing the 27…………………. of Russian-English bilingual people when asked to select certain objects | Bilingual people engage both languages simultaneously: a mechanism known as 28………………….. |
| A test called the 29…………………, focusing on naming colours | Bilingual people are more able to handle tasks involving a skill called 30………………… |
| A test involving switching between tasks | When changing strategies, bilingual people have superior 31………………….. |
27.
Location: B paragraph
Explanation: The main keyword ‘Russian-English’ helps to locate an answer in the middle line of the paragraph. ‘Some of… ‘language co-activation’, comes from studying eye movements. A Russian-English bilingual asked to ‘pick up a marker’ from a set of objects …’Here, ‘pick up a marker…’ means ‘to select a certain object’. Moreover, ‘observing’ and ‘studying’ means the same. Thus, the answer is Eye movements.
Answer: Eye movements
28.
Location: B paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is again in the same line of the paragraph.’ Some of the most compelling evidence for this phenomenon, called ‘language co-activation’, comes from studying eye movements.’ Here, ‘phenomenon called’ has been written as ‘mechanism known as’ in the question. Thus, the answer is clear.
Answer: Language co-activation
29.
Location: C paragraph
Explanation: The main keywords ‘naming colours’ are there in the fifth line of the paragraph. ‘In the classic Stroop Task, people see a word and are asked to name the colour of the word’s font…’Here, ‘stroop task’ is a test in which people are asked to name the colours. Thus, the answer is ‘stroop task’.
Answer: Stroop task
30.
Location: C paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the fourth line of the paragraph. ‘For this reason, bilingual people often perform better on tasks that require conflict management…’Here, ‘perform better on task’ means ‘more able to handle tasks…’Hence, it requires conflict management.
Answer: Conflict management
31.
Location: C paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the last line of the paragraph. ‘they do so more quickly than monolingual people, reflecting better cognitive control when having to make rapid changes of strategy…’Here, ‘better cognitive control’ means ‘superior cognitive control’. Thus, the answer is ‘cognitive control’
Answer: Cognitive control
Questions 32-36
Do the following ?
In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
32 Attitudes towards bilingualism have changed in recent years.
Location: A paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second line of the paragraph.’ In the past, such children were considered to be at a disadvantage compared with their monolingual peers.’ past few decades, however,… researchers to look more deeply at how bilingualism interacts with and changes…’Here, these lines show that how the attitudes towards bilingualism have changed in recent years.
Answer: Yes
‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’- Reading Answer Explanation – CAM – 12
33 Bilingual people are better than monolingual people at guessing correctly what words are before they are finished.
Location: C paragraph
Explanation: Though the writer talks about the guessing of words in the C paragraph. But there is no comparison that who is better at guessing words. Thus, no information available.
Answer: Not Given
‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’- Reading Answer Explanation – CAM – 12
34 Bilingual people consistently name images faster than monolingual people.
Location: C paragraph
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘For instance, knowing more than one language can cause speakers to name pictures more slowly, and can increase ‘tip-of-the-tongue states’…’The question statement contradicts the passage statement. Here, the writer says, bilingual people name images more slowly which is opposite to ‘faster’.
Answer: No
35 Bilingual people’s brains process single sounds more efficiently than monolingual people in all situations.
Location: D paragraph
Explanation: The answer to this question is in the second line of the paragraph. ‘When monolingual and bilingual adolescents listen to simple speech sounds without any intervening background noise, they show highly similar brain stem responses…’Here, the writer says, their efficiency is similar when there is absence of background noise. The question statement is only possible in the presence of background noise not in all situations.
Answer: No
‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’- Reading Answer Explanation – CAM – 12
36 Fewer bilingual people than monolingual people suffer from brain disease in old age.
Location: F paragraph
Explanation: Though the writer talks about the brain diseases in old age in F paragraph. Older bilinguals enjoy improved memory relative to monolingual people, which can lead to real-world health benefits. In a study of over 200 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease….’But there is no comparison about who suffer more from brain disease. Thus, no information available.
Answer: Not Given
Questions 37-40
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
37 an example of how bilingual and monolingual people’s brains respond differently to a certain type of non-verbal auditory input
Location and Answer: D
Explanation: The main keyword is ‘example’ and its reference is there in the second line of the paragraph. ‘When monolingual and bilingual adolescents listen to simple speech sounds without any intervening background noise, they show highly similar brain stem responses…’Here, ‘simple speech sound’ means ‘non-verbal auditory input’. Thus, the answer is clear.
‘The Benefits of being Bilingual’- Reading Answer Explanation – CAM – 12
38 a demonstration of how a bilingual upbringing has benefits even before we learn to speak
Location and Answer: G
Explanation: The main keyword is ‘benefits’ and its reference is there in the second line of the paragraph. ‘very early…researchers taught seven-month-old babies growing up in monolingual or bilingual homes that when they heard a tinkling sound, a puppet appeared on one side of a screen… imparts advantages’. Here, ‘before we learn to speak’ is similar to ‘very early’. Moreover, ‘benefits’ and ‘advantages’ are synonyms.
39 a description of the process by which people identify words that they hear
Location and Answer: B
Explanation: The location of the answer is in the last line of the paragraph. ‘In cases like this, language co-activation occurs because what the listener hears could map onto words in either languages..’Here, ‘could map onto words’ means ‘identify words’. Thus, the answer is B.
40 reference to some negative consequences of being bilingual
Location and Answer: C
Explanation: The main keyword is ‘negative consequences’ and its reference is there in the second line of the paragraph. ‘For instance, knowing more than one language can cause speakers to name pictures more slowly, and can increase ‘tip-of-the-tongue states…’Here, ‘to name pictures more slowly’ is a negative consequences.
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