# Visual Symbols and the Blind: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 4, Test 1, Reading Passage 3

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 4, Test 1, 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 | C | blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe the arrangement of objects and other surfaces in space |
| 28 | C | she traced a curve inside the circle ... Lines of motion, such as the one she used, are a very recent invention in the history of illustration. |
| 29 | A | the blind not only figured out meanings for each line of motion, but as a group they generally came up with the same meaning at least as frequently as did sighted subjects. |
| 30 | E | spokes extending beyond the wheel's perimeter signified that the wheel had its brakes on |
| 31 | C | dashed spokes indicated the wheel was spinning quickly. |
| 32 | A | Most guessed that the curved spokes indicated that the wheel was spinning steadily |
| 33 | G | We gave a list of twenty pairs of words to sighted subjects |
| 34 | H | how well blind people understand the symbolism behind shapes such as hearts ... the blind interpret abstract shapes as sighted people do. |
| 35 | I | to sighted subjects ... All our subjects deemed the circle soft and the square hard. |
| 36 | I | And only 51% linked deep to circle |
| 37 | C | linked deep to circle and shallow to square. |
| 38 | B | When we tested four totally blind volunteers using the same list |
| 39 | J | their choices closely resembled those made by the sighted subjects. |
| 40 | B | We have found that the blind understand other kinds of visual metaphors as well. ... Thus, we concluded that the blind interpret abstract shapes as sighted people do. |

## Why these answers are right

**27. C.** The first paragraph says recent studies show blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe how objects are arranged. Appreciating perspective means recognizing a drawing convention, which matches C. B is wrong because appreciating outlines means understanding them, not drawing them.

**28. C.** The writer was taken aback because the blind woman showed a spinning wheel by tracing a curve inside the circle. He explains that such lines of motion are a recent invention in illustration, so the surprise is that she used a symbol for movement, C.

**29. A.** The question asks what the Part 1 experiment showed. The writer says the blind not only figured out meanings for each line of motion but agreed on them about as often as sighted subjects, which shows a good grasp of movement symbols, A.

The why and the trap for questions 30 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/visual-symbols-and-the-blind/answers).

[Practice Visual Symbols and the Blind](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/visual-symbols-and-the-blind)