Book 5 Reading Test 1 · Passage 2 · Questions 14–26
This guide reviews the adapted questions on this website. Wording and answers can differ from the original paper.
This passage uses Milgram's obedience experiment to compare explanations of human behaviour. Keep the experimental procedure separate from the later biological and sociological interpretations. The title is broader than the experiment, so a general essay about genetics will not answer the reading questions.
Question types: Paragraph matching, multiple choice and True / False / Not Given
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How to approach this passage
- Give each paragraph a short label: purpose, procedure, predictions, results or interpretation. This makes it easier to match a statement to the paragraph containing its particular detail.
- Separate what participants were told from what the experiment was actually investigating. Questions about the cover story require the stated explanation given to the teacher-subjects.
- When a question mentions psychiatrists' predictions, compare their expected result with the reported behaviour. A prediction is not the same as a finding.
- For the final statements, check whether the passage attributes an explanation to a theory or endorses it as proven. A possible survival explanation does not establish that the experiment settles the whole nature-versus-nurture debate.
Worked review example
The teacher-subjects were told they were helping investigate the effect of punishment on learning. For the adapted Question 20, that matches option B. The experiment's later interpretation concerns obedience, which is a different level of explanation.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not replace the passage with your own knowledge of Milgram. Match the exact claim, speaker and paragraph in the supplied text.
Show the adapted answer key
This key applies to the questions on IELTS Practice Jai. It is not an independently authenticated official answer key. Attempt the questions before opening it. Alternatives separated by a slash are accepted variants.
| Question | Accepted answer in this version |
|---|---|
| 14 | F |
| 15 | A |
| 16 | B |
| 17 | D |
| 18 | I |
| 19 | C |
| 20 | B |
| 21 | D |
| 22 | C |
| 23 | NOT GIVEN |
| 24 | TRUE |
| 25 | FALSE |
| 26 | FALSE |
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