# Play is a Serious Business: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 4, Test 2, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 4, Test 2, Reading Passage 3. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 27 | H | By allowing link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other, play may enhance creativity. |
| 28 | F | If you plot the amount of time a juvenile devotes to play each day over the course of its development |
| 29 | A | Eighty percent of deaths among juvenile fur seals occur because playing pups fail to spot predators approaching. |
| 30 | H | He points out that play often involves complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialized signals and rules. |
| 31 | I | With schooling beginning earlier and becoming increasingly exam-orientated, play is likely to get even less of a look-in. |
| 32 | B | Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals, although a few of the larger-brained birds also indulge. |
| 33 | A, C, F | A popular explanation of play has been that it helps juveniles develop the skills they will need to hunt, mate and socialize as adults. |
| 34 | A, C, F | it allows young animals to get in shape for adult life by improving their respiratory endurance. |
| 35 | A, C, F | The latest idea suggests that play has evolved to build big brains. |
| 36 | B | I concluded it's to do with learning, and with the importance of environmental data to the brain during development |
| 37 | G | Bekoff likens it to a behavioral kaleidoscope, with animals at play jumping rapidly between activities. |
| 38 | E | the benefits of increased exercise disappear rapidly after training stops, so any improvement in endurance resulting from juvenile play would be lost by adulthood. |
| 39 | D | larger brains (for a given body size) are linked to greater playfulness. The converse was also found to be true. |
| 40 | A | Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain's levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells. |

## Why these answers are right

**27. H.** You need the paragraph about play creating unusual, useful connections in the brain. Paragraph H ends by saying play allows "link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other" and may enhance creativity. Unusual connections that boost creativity are beneficial, so the answer is H.

**28. F.** This item asks where recording young animals' daily play time gives insights. Paragraph F says that if you "plot the amount of time a juvenile devotes to play each day," you see a pattern linked to a sensitive period. Plotting time is recording it, so F is correct.

**29. A.** The prompt wants a description of physical dangers linked to play. Paragraph A says play "can even cost animals their lives," giving the example that eighty percent of young fur seal deaths happen when playing pups miss approaching predators. Death from predators is a physical hazard, so the answer is A.

The why and the trap for questions 30 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/play-is-a-serious-business/answers).

[Practice Play is a Serious Business](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/play-is-a-serious-business)