IELTS PREDICTION TEST

An important language development
Cuneiform, the world’s first known system of handwriting, originated some 6,000 years ago in Sumer in what is now southern Iraq. It was most often inscribed on palm-sized, rectangular clay tablets measuring several centimetres across, although occasionally larger tablets or cylinders were used. Clay was an excellent medium for writing. Other surfaces which have been employed—for example, parchment, papyrus and paper—are not long-lasting and are easily destroyed by fire and water. But clay has proved to be resistant to those particular kinds of damage.
The word ‘cuneiform’ actually refers to the marks or signs inscribed in the clay. The original cuneiform signs consisted of a series of lines—triangular, vertical, diagonal, and horizontal. Sumerian writers would impress these lines into the wet clay with a stylus—a long, thin, pointed instrument which looked somewhat like a pen. Oddly, the signs were often almost too small to see with the naked eye. Cuneiform signs were used for the writing of at least a dozen languages. This is similar to how the Latin alphabet is used today for writing English, French, Spanish and German, for example.
Before the development of cuneiform, tokens were used by the Sumerians to record certain information. For example, they might take small stones and use them as tokens or representations of something else, like a goat. A number of tokens, then, might mean a herd of goats. These tokens might then be placed in a cloth container and provided to a buyer as a receipt for a transaction, perhaps five tokens for five animals. It was not that different from what we do today when we buy some bread and the clerk gives us back a piece of paper with numbers on it to confirm the exchange.
By the 4th century BCE, the Sumerians had adapted this system to a form of writing. They began putting tokens in a container resembling an envelope, one made of clay instead of cloth. They then stamped the outside to indicate the number and type of tokens inside. A person could then ‘read’ what was stamped on the container and know what was inside.
Gradually, Sumerians developed symbols for words. When first developed, each symbol looked like the concrete thing it represented. For example, an image which resembled the drawing of a sheep meant just that. Then another level of abstraction was introduced when symbols were developed for intangible ideas such as ‘female’ or ‘hot’ or ‘God’. Cuneiform, in other words, evolved from a way used primarily to track and store information into a way to represent the world symbolically. Over the centuries, the marks became ever more abstract, finally evolving into signs that looked nothing like what they referred to, just as the letters ‘h-o-u-s-e’ have no visual connection to the place we live in. At this last stage in the evolution of cuneiform, the signs took the form of triangles, which became common cuneiform signs.
As the marks became more abstract, the system became more efficient because there were fewer marks for a ‘reader’ to learn. But cuneiform also became more complex because society itself was becoming more complex, so there were more ideas and concepts that needed to be expressed. However, most linguists and historians agree cuneiform developed primarily as a tool for accounting. Of the cuneiform tablets that have been discovered, excavated and translated, about 75 percent contain this type of practical information, rather than artistic or imaginative work.
Cuneiform writing was used for thousands of years, but it eventually ceased to be used in everyday life. In fact, it died out and remained unintelligible for almost 2,000 years. In the late 19th century, a British army officer, Henry Rawlinson, discovered cuneiform inscriptions which had been carved into the surface of rocks in the Behistun Mountains in what is present-day Iran. Rawlinson made impressions of the marks on large pieces of paper as he balanced dangerously on the surrounding rocks.
Rawlinson took his copies home to Britain and studied them for years to determine what each line stood for, and what each group of symbols meant. He found that, in the writing on those particular rocks, every word was repeated three times in three languages: Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian. Since the meanings in these languages were already known to linguists, he could thus translate the cuneiform. Eventually, he fully decoded the cuneiform marks and discovered that they described the life of Darius, a king of the Persian Empire in the 5th century BCE.

1. Cuneiform tablets were produced in different shapes and sizes. — {TRUE}
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Trích dẫn: “…most often inscribed on palm-sized, rectangular clay tablets… although occasionally larger tablets or cylinders were used.” (Đoạn 1)
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Giải thích: Bài đọc liệt kê nhiều hình dạng (chữ nhật, hình trụ) và kích cỡ (vừa lòng bàn tay, hoặc lớn hơn).
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2. When Sumerian writers marked the clay tablets, the tablets were dry. — {FALSE}
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Trích dẫn: “Sumerian writers would impress these lines into the wet clay with a stylus…” (Đoạn 2)
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Giải thích: Người viết ấn bút lên đất sét khi nó còn ướt (wet), trái ngược hoàn toàn với ý “đã khô” (dry).
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3. Cuneiform was often difficult to read because of its size. — {NOT GIVEN}
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Trích dẫn: “Oddly, the signs were often almost too small to see with the naked eye.” (Đoạn 2)
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Giải thích: Bài đọc có nói chữ rất nhỏ khó thấy bằng mắt thường, nhưng không khẳng định rằng vì thế mà chúng “khó đọc” (difficult to read) đối với người thời đó (có thể họ có cách nhìn hoặc kỹ thuật riêng).
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4. A number of languages adopted cuneiform. — {TRUE}
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Trích dẫn: “Cuneiform signs were used for the writing of at least a dozen languages.” (Đoạn 2)
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Giải thích: “At least a dozen” (ít nhất 12) tương ứng với “a number of languages”.
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5. Cuneiform signs can be found in some modern alphabets. — {FALSE}
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Trích dẫn: “In fact, it died out and remained unintelligible for almost 2,000 years.” (Đoạn 7)
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Giải thích: Bài viết cho biết hệ thống này đã hoàn toàn biến mất và không còn ai hiểu được trong 2.000 năm cho đến khi Rawlinson giải mã. Nó không để lại dấu vết trực tiếp trong các bảng chữ cái hiện đại.
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</ul>

Questions 1–5

6. …tokens, for example {stones} were often used.
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Trích dẫn: “…they might take small stones and use them as tokens…” (Đoạn 3)
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7. …the first tokens were kept in containers made of {cloth}.
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Trích dẫn: “These tokens might then be placed in a cloth container…” (Đoạn 3)
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8. …tokens were used as a {receipt} to give when selling something.
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Trích dẫn: “…provided to a buyer as a receipt for a transaction…” (Đoạn 3)
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</ul>
9. …tokens were put in a container that looked like a clay {envelope}.
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Trích dẫn: “…putting tokens in a container resembling an envelope, one made of clay…” (Đoạn 4)
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</ul>
10. …signs looked like what they indicated, e.g. {sheep}.
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Trích dẫn: “For example, an image which resembled the drawing of a sheep meant just that.” (Đoạn 5)
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</ul>
11. …eventually, cuneiform signs shaped like {triangles} were developed.
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Trích dẫn: “…the signs took the form of triangles, which became common cuneiform signs.” (Đoạn 5)
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</ul>
12. …according to experts, cuneiform was mainly used for {accounting}.
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Trích dẫn: “…most linguists and historians agree cuneiform developed primarily as a tool for accounting.” (Đoạn 6)
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</ul>
13. …Rawlinson copied the inscriptions onto {paper}.
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Trích dẫn: “Rawlinson made impressions of the marks on large pieces of paper…” (Đoạn 7)
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</ul>

Questions 6–13

PASSAGE 1

Do animals really remember?
Research into different kinds of memory
{A memory type described with reference to brain damage}
Humans are born time travellers: we can relive events that happened long ago or imagine ourselves in the future. Clues about different kinds of memory can be discovered from research conducted on people with certain brain injuries that cause them to forget autobiographical details without forgetting the information they picked up along the way. A man known as KC in the scientific literature, for instance, could play chess with no memory of having ever played it before. He could also remember sentences psychologists taught him without any memory of the lessons. KC had lost what psychologists now call ‘episodic memory’. Dr Endel Tulving, a Canadian psychologist, defined episodic memory as the ability to recall the details of personal experiences: what happened, where it happened, when it happened and so on. Dr Tulving argued that episodic memory was distinct from other kinds of memory and that it was unique to our species.
{Animals that can remember places and time}
But are humans alone in this respect? Dr Nicola Clayton, of Cambridge University, has performed experiments which test American birds called western scrub jays to see if they met any of the criteria for episodic memory. The jays bury several thousand pieces of food a year and remember the location of each one. Dr Clayton wondered if scrub jays simply remembered the locations or if they remembered details of the experience of hiding the food. She ran an experiment using two kinds of food: moth larvae and peanuts. Scrub jays prefer larvae to peanuts if the larvae are still fresh. However, if the larvae have been dead for even a few hours, the jays prefer peanuts. Dr Clayton gave the birds a chance to hide both kinds of food in a sandy hiding area. Dr Clayton noted exactly what the birds had hidden and where, and then put the birds in a cage. She later returned the birds to the area where they had hidden the food, in some cases after four hours and in other cases after five days. The time the scrub jays had spent away from their hiding area affected the type of food they looked for. The birds that waited only four hours tended to dig up larvae, while the birds that had to wait for five days passed the larvae by and dug up peanuts instead. To make sure they were not just smelling the rotten larvae and avoiding those spots, Dr Clayton replaced the sand with fresh sand in the hiding area as soon as the birds had hidden the food.
{Conflicting experimental results concerning animal memory}
Research with other animals to determine if they are capable of episodic memory has had mixed results. When experimental rats are exploring a maze they seem to be able to recall which kinds of food they encounter along the way. Observation of hummingbirds as they feed appears to show that they remember where and when they visited individual flowers for nectar. Tests using Rhesus monkeys have found that they can remember where they put food, but not how long ago they put it there.
{Evidence that man’s ancestors had a concept of the future}
True episodic memory, argues Dr Thomas Suddendorf of Australia’s Queensland University, involves more than just memory of information. It requires an awareness of the self and an ability to use the past to predict the future. He points to the discovery of stone tools which primitive humans used for killing animals 1.6 million years ago. Scientists assume that primitive humans had to find a way of adding much-needed protein to their diet. Anthropologists have determined that some of these tools were moved many kilometres from where they were originally made. ‘If you’ve just eaten, the only reason you’re going to take a tool with you is if you anticipate using it in the future,’ said Dr Suddendorf.
{Experimental evidence of a relation between past and future in human mental processes}
Recent brain scanning studies provide physiological support for this link between past and future. Daniel Schacter, a psychologist at Harvard University, studied how brains function as people think about past experiences and imagine future ones. When Schacter’s subjects constructed episodic memories, distinct networks of their brains became active, as recorded by brain scans. When they are asked to think about themselves in the future, many parts of the same episodic memory networks become active again, suggesting an inter-connection between the processing of the past and future.
{Research into various animals’ capacity for future planning}
Dr Suddendorf’s notions have spurred comparative psychologists to look for evidence that animals can also think ahead. Some studies suggest not. Cebus monkeys, for example, will eat until they are full and throw the rest of the food out of their cage, despite the fact that they will not have anything to eat the next morning. But in other studies, animals show more promise. ‘We tested squirrel monkeys to see if they could anticipate the future, and to our surprise it looks like they could,’ said Dr William Roberts, a comparative psychologist at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He and his colleagues ran a test in which they gave squirrel monkeys a choice of between one or four dates to eat. Not surprisingly, the monkeys took four. But the scientists then began to take away water from the monkeys before they gave them the choice. If the monkeys took four, the scientists kept the water away for three hours. If the monkeys took one, the scientists returned it in half an hour. The monkeys learned to choose one. Though they were not thirsty at the time, they seemed to understand that they would become so in future.

14. A memory type described with reference to brain damage
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Vị trí: Đoạn 1
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Dẫn chứng: “Clues about different kinds of memory can be discovered from research conducted on people with certain brain injuries… A man known as KC…”
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Giải thích: Đoạn này giới thiệu về episodic memory (trí nhớ tình tiết) thông qua ví dụ về bệnh nhân KC — người bị chấn thương não (brain damage/injuries) dẫn đến việc mất đi khả năng nhớ các sự kiện cá nhân.
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</ul>
15. Animals that can remember places and time
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Vị trí: Đoạn 2
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Dẫn chứng: “…test American birds called western scrub jays… The birds that waited only four hours tended to dig up larvae, while the birds that had to wait for five days… dug up peanuts instead.”
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Giải thích: Thí nghiệm chứng minh loài chim này không chỉ nhớ vị trí (places/location) giấu đồ ăn mà còn nhớ cả thời gian (time/how long ago) để biết khi nào sâu bướm sẽ bị hỏng.
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</ul>
16. Conflicting experimental results concerning animal memory
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Vị trí: Đoạn 3
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Dẫn chứng: “Research with other animals… has had mixed results. When experimental rats… seem to be able to recall… hummingbirds… show that they remember… Tests using Rhesus monkeys have found that they can remember where… but not how long ago.”
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<li>
Giải thích: “Mixed results” ở đây chính là các kết quả trái chiều (conflicting). Trong khi chuột và chim ruồi có vẻ có trí nhớ tình tiết, thì khỉ Rhesus lại thất bại trong việc ghi nhớ yếu tố thời gian.
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</ul>
17. Evidence that man’s ancestors had a concept of the future
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Vị trí: Đoạn 4
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<li>
Dẫn chứng: “…discovery of stone tools which primitive humans used… 1.6 million years ago. …the only reason you’re going to take a tool with you is if you anticipate using it in the future.”
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Giải thích: Việc tổ tiên loài người mang theo công cụ đá đi xa nơi sản xuất là bằng chứng cho thấy họ có khả năng dự tính cho nhu cầu trong tương lai.
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</ul>
18. Experimental evidence of a relation between past and future in human mental processes
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Vị trí: Đoạn 5
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Dẫn chứng: “Recent brain scanning studies… many parts of the same episodic memory networks become active again [when thinking about the future]… suggesting an inter-connection between the processing of the past and future.”
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Giải thích: Các cuộc quét não cung cấp bằng chứng thực nghiệm (experimental evidence) cho thấy vùng não nhớ về quá khứ và vùng não tưởng tượng tương lai có liên quan chặt chẽ với nhau.
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19. Research into various animals’ capacity for future planning
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Vị trí: Đoạn 6
</li>
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Dẫn chứng: “…look for evidence that animals can also think ahead. …Cebus monkeys… will eat until they are full and throw the rest… [but] squirrel monkeys… learned to choose one [to get water sooner].”
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Giải thích: Đoạn này tập trung vào các nghiên cứu trên các loài động vật khác nhau (various animals) để xem chúng có khả năng lập kế hoạch cho tương lai (future planning/think ahead) hay không.
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</ul>

Questions 14–19

Đáp án đúng: B và C
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<li data-path-to-node="8,0,0">B. The experimental subject KC was unable to recall the process by which he learned to play a particular board game.
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Dẫn chứng: “…could play chess with no memory of having ever played it before.” (Đoạn 1).
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Giải thích: KC biết chơi cờ nhưng không nhớ quá trình mình đã học nó như thế nào.
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<li data-path-to-node="8,1,0">C. In the case of KC, the subject’s episodic memory was affected by his brain injuries.
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Dẫn chứng: “…certain brain injuries that cause them to forget autobiographical details… KC had lost what psychologists now call ‘episodic memory’.” (Đoạn 1).
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Giải thích: Chấn thương não đã khiến KC mất đi trí nhớ về các trải nghiệm cá nhân.
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Questions 20–21

Đáp án đúng: A và E
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A. The experiments indicated that the birds could remember how long their food had been buried.
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Dẫn chứng: “The time the scrub jays had spent away… affected the type of food they looked for.” (Đoạn 2).
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Giải thích: Chúng biết chọn sâu bướm sau 4 giờ nhưng chọn lạc sau 5 ngày vì biết sâu sẽ hỏng theo thời gian.
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E. Scrub jays would rather eat certain nuts than decaying moth larvae.
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Dẫn chứng: “…if the larvae have been dead for even a few hours, the jays prefer peanuts.” (Đoạn 2).
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Giải thích: Lũ chim thích lạc (nuts) hơn là sâu bướm đã bị thối rữa (decaying).
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Questions 22–23

24. He cites as evidence ancient {tools} which early humans had taken some distance…
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Dẫn chứng: “…discovery of stone tools which primitive humans used… were moved many kilometres from where they were originally made.” (Đoạn 4).
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25. …squirrel monkeys chose not to take the extra {dates} they were offered…
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Dẫn chứng: “…gave squirrel monkeys a choice of between one or four dates to eat… The monkeys learned to choose one.” (Đoạn 6).
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</ul>
26. …in anticipation of wanting {water} soon afterwards.
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Dẫn chứng: “If the monkeys took four, the scientists kept the water away for three hours. If the monkeys took one, the scientists returned it in half an hour.” (Đoạn 6).
</li>
</ul>

Questions 24–26

PASSAGE 2

The Placebo Effect
With the right encouragement, your mind can convince the body to heal itself. What is the mysterious force that can do this?
Want to devise a new form of alternative medical treatment? No problem. Here’s the recipe. As a practitioner, be warm, sympathetic, reassuring and enthusiastic. Your treatment should involve physical contact, and each session with your patients should take at least half an hour. Encourage your patients to take an active part in their treatment and understand how their disorders relate to the rest of their lives. Tell them that their own bodies possess the true power to heal. Get them to pay you well. Describe your treatment in familiar words, but embroidered with a hint of mysticism: energy fields, energy flows, energy blocks, meridians, forces, auras, rhythms and the like. Refer to the knowledge of an earlier age: wisdom carelessly swept aside by the rise of blind mechanistic science. Oh, come off it, you’re saying. Something like that couldn’t possibly work, could it?
Well, yes, it could and often well enough to earn you a living. And a very good living if you are sufficiently convincing or, better still, really believe in your therapy. Many illnesses get better on their own, so if you are lucky and administer your treatment at just the right time you’ll get the credit. But that’s only part of it. Some of the improvement really would be down to you. Not necessarily because you’d recommended ginseng rather than chamomile tea or used this crystal as opposed to that pressure point. Nothing so specific. Your healing power would be the outcome of a paradoxical force that conventional medicine recognizes but remains oddly ambivalent about: the placebo effect.
Placebos are treatments that have no direct effect on the body, yet still work because the patient has faith in their power to heal. Most often the term refers to a dummy pill, but it applies just as much to any device or procedure, from a sticking plaster to a crystal. The existence of the placebo effect implies that even a complete fraud could make a difference to someone’s health, which is why some practitioners of alternative medicine are sensitive about any mention of the subject. In fact, the placebo is a powerful part of all medical care, orthodox or otherwise, though its role is often neglected and misunderstood.
At one level, it should come as no surprise that our state of mind can influence our physiology: anger opens the superficial blood vessels of the face; sadness pumps the tear glands. But exactly how placebos work their medical magic is still largely unknown. Most of the scant research to date has focused on the control of pain, because it’s one of the commonest complaints and lends itself to experimental study. Here, attention has turned to the endorphins, natural substances produced in the brain that are known to help control pain. Any of the neurochemicals involved in transmitting pain impulses or modulating them might also be involved in generating the placebo response, says Don Price, an oral surgeon at the University of Florida.
That case has been strengthened by the recent work of Fabrizio Benedetti of the University of Turin, who showed that the placebo effect can be abolished by a drug, naloxone, which blocks the effects of endorphins. Benedetti induced pain in a pressure cuff on the forearm. He did this several times a day for several days, using morphine each time to control the pain. On the final day, without saying anything, he replaced the morphine with a saline solution. This still relieved the subjects’ pain: a placebo effect. But when he added naloxone to the saline, and blocked the endorphins, the pain relief disappeared. Here was direct proof that the relief of pain by a placebo is carried out, at least in part, by these natural opiates.
Though scientists don’t know exactly how placebos work, they have accumulated a fair bit of knowledge about how to trigger the effect. A London rheumatologist found, for example, that red dummy capsules made more effective painkillers than blue, green or yellow ones. Research on American students revealed that blue pills make better tranquillisers than pink, a colour more suitable for stimulants. Even branding can make a difference: if Aspro or Tylenol are what you like to take for a headache; their chemically identical generic equivalents may be less effective.
It matters too how the treatment is delivered. Decades ago, when the major tranquilliser chlorpromazine was being introduced, a doctor in Kansas categorised his colleagues according to whether they were keen on it, openly sceptical of its benefits, or took a let’s-try-and-see attitude. His conclusion: the more enthusiastic the doctor, the better the drug performed. A recent survey by Ernst on doctors’ bedside manners turned up one consistent finding: physicians who adopt a warm, friendly, reassuring manner are more effective than those whose consultations are formal and do not offer reassurance.
Warm, friendly and reassuring are precisely what alternative treatment is all about, of course. Many of the ingredients of that opening recipe — the physical contact, the generous swaths of time, the strong hints of supernormal healing power — are just the kind of thing likely to impress patients. It’s hardly surprising then, that complementary practitioners are generally best at mobilising the placebo effect, says Arthur Kleinman, professor of social anthropology at Harvard University.

27. An appointment with an alternative practitioner — {D} ought to last a minimum length of time.
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Trích dẫn: “…each session with your patients should take at least half an hour.” (Đoạn 1)
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Giải thích: “At least half an hour” tương ứng với “a minimum length of time”.
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28. An alternative practitioner’s explanation of their treatment — {A} should be easy to understand.
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Trích dẫn: “Describe your treatment in familiar words…” (Đoạn 1)
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Giải thích: Sử dụng “từ ngữ quen thuộc” nghĩa là cách giải thích đó phải dễ hiểu với bệnh nhân.
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</ul>
29. If alternative practitioners have faith in their treatment, they — {H} should be able to get a high income.
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Trích dẫn: “And a very good living if you are sufficiently convincing or, better still, really believe in your therapy.” (Đoạn 2)
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Giải thích: “A very good living” (có cuộc sống tốt) đồng nghĩa với “get a high income” (có thu nhập cao).
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</ul>
30. Quite often, a patient’s illness — {B} can improve without treatment.
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Trích dẫn: “Many illnesses get better on their own, so if you are lucky… you’ll get the credit.” (Đoạn 2)
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Giải thích: “Get better on their own” tương ứng với “improve without treatment” (tự khỏi mà không cần điều trị).
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</ul>
31. Conventional doctors are aware of the placebo effect and they — {G} should give it greater recognition.
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Trích dẫn: “…conventional medicine recognizes but remains oddly ambivalent about [it]… though its role is often neglected and misunderstood.” (Đoạn 2 &amp; 3)
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Giải thích: Vì y học hiện đại vẫn còn “mơ hồ” (ambivalent) và “bỏ qua/hiểu sai” (neglected/misunderstood) về hiệu ứng này, nên tác giả ngụ ý họ cần phải công nhận nó nhiều hơn.
</li>
</ul>

Questions 27–31

32. In the third paragraph, the writer says that the placebo effect — {D} has a significant role in both alternative and conventional medicine.
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “In fact, the placebo is a powerful part of all medical care, orthodox or otherwise…” (Đoạn 3)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: “Orthodox or otherwise” có nghĩa là cả y học chính thống (conventional) và các loại hình khác (alternative).
</li>
</ul>
33. A reference is made to anger and sadness in order to show that — {A} personal feelings can alter our physical condition.
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “…our state of mind can influence our physiology: anger opens the superficial blood vessels… sadness pumps the tear glands.” (Đoạn 4)
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<li>
Giải thích: Cảm xúc (anger, sadness) dẫn đến các thay đổi vật lý (mặt đỏ, chảy nước mắt) chứng minh tâm trí có thể thay đổi tình trạng cơ thể.
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</ul>
34. Research on pain control attracts most of the attention because — {C} Pain-reducing agents might also be involved in the placebo effect.
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “Any of the neurochemicals involved in transmitting pain impulses… might also be involved in generating the placebo response…” (Đoạn 4)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: Các chất dẫn truyền thần kinh liên quan đến giảm đau được cho là cũng tham gia vào việc tạo ra phản ứng giả dược.
</li>
</ul>

Questions 32–34

35. Scientists now have enough information to understand how the placebo effect becomes active… — {NO}
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “But exactly how placebos work their medical magic is still largely unknown.” (Đoạn 4)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: Trái ngược hoàn toàn với ý “đã có đủ thông tin để hiểu”.
</li>
</ul>
36. As a result of experiments, some painkillers have been taken off the market. — {NOT GIVEN}
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<li>
Giải thích: Bài đọc chỉ nói về các thí nghiệm màu sắc viên thuốc (đỏ, xanh, xanh lá) hoặc thương hiệu (Aspro, Tylenol), không hề đề cập đến việc có loại thuốc nào bị thu hồi khỏi thị trường.
</li>
</ul>
37. Individual preference can have an impact on the effectiveness of different brands… — {YES}
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “…if Aspro or Tylenol are what you like to take… their chemically identical generic equivalents may be less effective.” (Đoạn 6)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: “What you like” chính là sở thích cá nhân (individual preference).
</li>
</ul>
38. Doctors expressed a range of views on the drug chlorpromazine… — {YES}
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “…categorised his colleagues according to whether they were keen on it, openly sceptical… or took a let’s-try-and-see attitude.” (Đoạn 7)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: Các thái độ “thích thú”, “hoài nghi” và “thử xem sao” chính là “một loạt các quan điểm” (range of views).
</li>
</ul>
39. Ernst’s study had a big influence on doctors’ behaviour with patients. — {NOT GIVEN}
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “A recent survey by Ernst on doctors’ bedside manners turned up one consistent finding…” (Đoạn 7)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: Bài đọc chỉ nêu kết quả khảo sát của Ernst về phong cách tiếp xúc bệnh nhân, không nói khảo sát này có làm thay đổi hành vi của các bác sĩ sau đó hay không.
</li>
</ul>
40. Alternative practitioners work in a way that is likely to trigger the placebo effect. — {YES}
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<li>
Trích dẫn: “…complementary practitioners are generally best at mobilising the placebo effect…” (Đoạn 8)
</li>
<li>
Giải thích: “Mobilising” (huy động/kích hoạt) tương ứng với “trigger”.
</li>
</ul>

Reading Test 46

IELTS Reading Exam

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