# Changes in reading habits: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 16, Test 4, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 16, Test 4, Reading Passage 2. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 14 | A | Unbeknown to most of us, an invisible, game-changing transformation links everyone in this picture |
| 15 | B | we do not err as a society when we innovate but when we ignore what we disrupt or diminish while innovating |
| 16 | D | it will adapt to that environment's requirements |
| 17 | B | many college students actively avoid the classic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries in favour of something simpler |
| 18 | D | may be causing a variety of troubling downstream effects on reading comprehension |
| 19 | H | Mangen's group asked subjects questions about a short story |
| 20 | F | particularly in their ability to sequence detail and reconstruct the plot in chronological order |
| 21 | B | they sample the first line and then word-spot through the rest of the text |
| 22 | C | to understand another's feelings |
| 23 | YES | how that changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for which we read |
| 24 | NO | The subtle atrophy of critical analysis and empathy affects us all equally. |
| 25 | NOT GIVEN | leaving us susceptible to false information and irrational ideas |
| 26 | YES | We possess both the science and the technology to identify and redress the changes in how we read before they become entrenched. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. A.** After describing people on a plane using devices, the writer says that, unbeknown to most of us, an invisible transformation is changing the brain's reading circuit. Invisible and unbeknown mean hidden, and the change comes from technology use, so option A is the main point.

**15. B.** Turkle writes that society does not go wrong by innovating but by ignoring what it disrupts or diminishes while innovating. Not ignoring what we diminish means paying attention to what may be lost, which is option B.

**16. D.** The fourth paragraph says the reading circuit is not genetically given; it develops in an environment and will adapt to that environment's requirements, including the medium used. A circuit adapting to requirements matches option D, adjusting to whatever is required of them.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/changes-in-reading-habits/answers).

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