ielts_trainer_2_academic_six_practice_tests

cover up our own wrongdoing [= first example of
a reason]. Second to this are lies we tell to gain
economic advantage [= second example] – we might
lie during an interview to increase the chances of
getting a job. Interestingly, ‘white lies’, the kind
we tell to avoid hurting people’s feelings [= third
example] . . .’.
18 B: ‘In one study [= an experiment] . . . children were
individually brought into a laboratory and asked
to face a wall. They were asked to guess what toy
one of Lee’s fellow researchers had placed on a
table behind them.’ The text goes on to describe
the children’s reactions during the experiment and
how they attempted to deceive the researchers. The
idea of possible encouragement comes from ‘The
research team were well aware that many children
would be unable to resist peeking [= taking a quick
look] at the toy.’
19 C: We are told that Sharot’s research has shown
that ‘while we might initially experience a sense
of shame [= a feeling of guilt] about small lies, this
[= the feeling] eventually wears off [= disappears].
The result, Sharot has found, is that we progress to
more serious ones [= lies].’
20 A: The text explains that ‘Goodger thinks it [= the
fact we are so susceptible to lies] has something
to do with our strong desire [= people’s need] for
certain information we hear to be true, even when
we might suspect it isn’t . . . “we might be comforted
[= feel reassured] by others’ lies or excited by the
promise of a good outcome” [= hopeful].’
21 A: Karen Goodger says that ‘for animals with higher
brain functions [= intelligent species], there’s also
a higher probability [= it’s more likely] that they’ll
demonstrate manipulative behaviours.’
22 B: The idea of telling lies with ‘increasing
sophistication’ is paraphrased in this part of the
text: ‘whereas the younger children simply named
the toy and denied taking a peek, the older ones
came up with some interesting reasons to explain
how they had identified the toy correctly.’ We are
then told that ‘Lee is reassured by this trend [= of
increasing sophistication], seeing it as evidence
in each case that the cognitive growth of a child
is progressing as it should [= the child’s cognitive
ability is developing in a normal way].’
23 gesture: ‘A common claim . . . is that liars won’t look
people in the eye [= avoid making eye contact] . . .
Another is that they are likely to gesture as they tell
their story, but so frequently [= they gesture a lot]
that it seems unnatural.’
24 details: ‘A difficulty that liars face is having to
remember exactly what they said, which is why they
don’t provide [= offer] as many [= fewer] details as
a person giving an honest account would [= people
who are telling the truth].’
25 stage: ‘It is also typical of liars to mentally rehearse
[= to carefully plan] their story, and this is why one
stage follows another in apparently chronological
fashion [= to be in logical order].’
26 still: ‘Recent research has also disproved the
widely believed notion [= something that many
people believe] that liars have a habit of fidgeting
[= moving around a lot] in their seats. Rather, it
seems that they keep [= remain] still, especially
in the upper body, possibly hoping to give an
impression of self-assurance [= come across as
more confident].’
READing PASSAge 3
Questions 27–40
27 A: The reviewer says ‘We hope an encounter with
nature might make us feel more “alive”. Would
we use this same term [= the adjective ‘alive’] to
describe nature itself, though? Forests and the
trees that form them are commonly perceived as
objects lacking awareness [= they are thought to
be passive], like rocks or stones.’ The phrase ‘beg to
differ’ means ‘to disagree’. So Wohlleben does not
agree that forests and trees live in a passive way.
28 C: The phrase ‘what sets it [= the book] apart’
means ‘what makes this a unique book’. The
reviewer gives examples of how Wohlleben
compares the behaviour of trees to the behaviour
of human families. ‘Anthropomorphism’ means
‘giving animals or objects human qualities and
characteristics’.
Distraction A The reviewer mentions how various
books ‘have done much to reformulate our views
about the green world’ and contain a message
about ‘sustainability’. This might imply that ordinary
people can help protect forests, but he explains
that these are features of all of the books. They are
not unique to The Hidden Life of Trees; B Wohlleben
thinks we should think more carefully before cutting
down trees: he says that once you know how they
interact and depend on one another, you ‘can no
longer just chop them down’. However, he makes no
distinction between which species of tree deserve
to be preserved and which less so; D The quote does
seem rather simplistic in its writing style, but the
writer doesn’t say how this style compares to the
style of other books of the same genre.
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