# Second nature: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 10, Test 4, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 10, 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 | transformation | a person's character cannot undergo a transformation in any meaningful way |
| 15 | young age | the key traits of personality are determined at a very young age. |
| 16 | optimism | optimism being one of them. |
| 17 | skills | developing qualities requires mastering a range of skills which are diverse and sometimes surprising. |
| 18 | negative emotions | you must be open to experiencing negative emotions. |
| 19 | E | As a newcomer, you also have to tolerate and laugh at your own ignorance. |
| 20 | C | train yourself to pay attention to good fortune by writing down three positive things that come about each day |
| 21 | G | courage is not motivated by fearlessness, but by moral obligation. ... Pury also believes that people can acquire courage. |
| 22 | A | his reticence would prove disastrous in the lecture hall. ... So he learned to be more outgoing and to entertain his classes. |
| 23 | E | Streeter learned to untangle her fears from her judgment of what her body and mind could do. |
| 24 | C | He therefore launched a support group to help others in similar situations. |
| 25 | G | he was miserable as his research wasn't compatible with his curiosity about healing. ... he switched labs to study how cerebrospinal fluid nourishes the developing nervous system. |
| 26 | H | took the evidence to a senior director, knowing his own job security would be threatened. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. transformation.** The summary says psychologists used to think a personality something was impossible. Section A states they long held that character "cannot undergo a transformation in any meaningful way," so the noun transformation (or change) fits, describing what was believed impossible.

**15. young age.** This gap follows "by a" and names the point when character becomes fixed. Section A says the key traits of personality "are determined at a very young age," so the two words young age complete the phrase within the word limit.

**16. optimism.** The summary asks for one of the easiest qualities to acquire. The paragraph after Section A says some qualities are less challenging to develop than others, "optimism being one of them." Less challenging matches easiest, so the answer is optimism.

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

[Practice Second nature](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/second-nature)