# Why being bored is stimulating - and useful, too: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 1, Reading Passage 2

Source: Passage, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 1, 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 | iv | But defining boredom so that it can be studied in the lab has proved difficult. |
| 15 | vi | have recently identified five distinct types: indifferent, calibrating, searching, reactant and apathetic. |
| 16 | i | Mann has found that being bored makes us more creative. |
| 17 | v | repeatedly failing to engage attention can lead to a state where we don't know what to do any more, and no longer care. |
| 18 | viii | Boredom proneness has been linked with a variety of traits. ... those who bore easily face poorer prospects in education, their career and even life in general. |
| 19 | iii | our over-connected lifestyles might even be a new source of boredom. ... perhaps we should leave our phones alone |
| 20 | E | compares it to disgust - an emotion that motivates us to stay away from certain situations. |
| 21 | B | Of the five types, the most damaging is 'reactant' boredom |
| 22 | D | your efforts to improve the situation can end up making you feel worse. |
| 23 | A | Psychologist Francoise Wemelsfelder speculates that our over-connected lifestyles might even be a new source of boredom. |
| 24 | focus | This causes an inability to focus on anything, which makes time seem to go painfully slowly. |
| 25 | pleasure | People who are motivated by pleasure seem to suffer particularly badly. |
| 26 | curiosity | Other personality traits, such as curiosity, are associated with a high boredom threshold. |

## Why these answers are right

**14. iv.** Paragraph A explains that defining boredom well enough to study it in the lab has proved difficult, since it overlaps with other mental states and researchers disagree about its energy level. These are difficulties for scientific research, so heading iv fits best.

**15. vi.** Paragraph B describes how Goetz's team identified five distinct types of boredom and plotted them on two axes for arousal and positive or negative feeling. Sorting feelings into types on a chart is building a classification system, so the heading is vi.

**16. i.** In paragraph C, Sandi Mann argues that boredom has a purpose and reports that bored people produced more creative ideas for using a polystyrene cup. Greater creativity is a productive outcome of boredom, which makes heading i the right match for this paragraph.

The why and the trap for questions 17 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/reading/why-being-bored-is-stimulating-and-useful-too/answers).

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