Book 5 Reading Test 2 · Passage 2 · Questions 14–27
This guide reviews the adapted questions on this website. Wording and answers can differ from the original paper.
This passage surveys theories of humour, playful behaviour and research into laughter in the brain. Several researchers are mentioned, so keeping names beside claims is more reliable than trying to remember the discussion as one continuous explanation.
Question types: True / False / Not Given, note completion and matching endings
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How to approach this passage
- Note which idea belongs to Koestler, Plato, Ritchie or Derks. The questions sometimes test attribution rather than whether an idea is generally believable.
- Watch absolute words such as all. A researcher describing patterns in jokes does not necessarily claim that every joke follows one format.
- Questions 21–23 are text notes in this adapted version, not a missing diagram. Find the named brain region first, then identify the activity or function linked to it within the two-word limit.
- For the matching endings, test the full grammatical sentence and the meaning. Humans responding to thoughts, individual reactions and the value of humour research refer to different points in the passage.
Worked review example
Question 14 claims Koestler considered laughter biologically important in several ways. His description of laughter as a luxury reflex without a biological purpose contradicts that claim, so FALSE is correct.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not assume social laughter and cognitive laughter involve identical processes just because both are described as laughter.
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 | FALSE |
| 15 | NOT GIVEN |
| 16 | TRUE |
| 17 | FALSE |
| 18 | TRUE |
| 19 | NOT GIVEN |
| 20 | TRUE |
| 21 | problem solving / problem-solving |
| 22 | temporal lobes |
| 23 | evaluating information |
| 24 | C |
| 25 | A |
| 26 | F |
| 27 | D |
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