This Academic IELTS Reading post focuses on solutions to IELTS Cambridge 5 Reading Test 2 Reading Passage 2 entitled ‘What’s so funny?’. This is a targeted post for IELTS candidates who have big problems finding out and understanding Reading Answers in the AC module. This post can guide you the best to understand every Reading answer without much trouble. Finding out IELTS Reading answers is a steady process, and this post will assist you in this respect.

IELTS Cambridge 5 Test 2: AC Reading Module

Reading Passage 2: Questions 14-27

The headline of the passage: What’s so funny?

Questions 14-20: TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to find out whether:

The statement in the question agrees with the information in the passage – TRUE
The statement in the question contradicts with the information in the passage – FALSE
If there is no information on this – NOT GIVEN

For this type of question, you can divide each statement into three independent pieces and make your way through with the answer.]

Question no. 14: Arthur Koestler considered laughter biologically important in several ways. 

Keywords for the question: Arthur Koestler, laughter, biologically important, several ways,   

In paragraph no. 1 the author states in the last lines, “.. .. . The writer Arthur Koestler dubbed it the luxury reflex: ‘unique in that it serves no apparent biological purpose’.”

Here, serves no apparent biological purpose = biologically not important at all,

This means the question directly contradicts the text.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question no. 15: Plato believed humour to be a sign of above-average intelligence. 

Keywords for the question: Plato, believed, humour, sign, above-average intelligence,   

In paragraph no. 2 the author states in lines 1-2, “ . .. . Plato expressed the idea that humour is simply a delighted feeling of superiority over others. .. .. .”

Here, we do not find any comment made by Plato in relation to intelligence.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question no. 16: Kant believed that a successful joke involves the controlled release of nervous energy.

Keywords for the question: Kant, believed, successful joke, controlled release, nervous energy,   

The answer to this question can be found in lines 2-4 in paragraph no. 2, “ . .. Kant and Freud felt that joke-telling relies on building up a psychic tension which is safely punctured by the ludicrousness of the punch line. . .. .”

Here, psychic tension = nervous energy, safely punctured = controlled release,

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question no. 17: Current thinking on humour has largely ignored Aristotle’s view on the subject.

Keywords for the question: current thinking, humour, largely ignored, Aristotle’s view,

Lines 4-6 in paragraph no. 2 gives us the answer to this question, “ .. . . But most modern humour theorists have settled on some version of Aristotle’s belief that jokes are based on a reaction to or resolution of incongruity, when the punchline is either a nonsense or, though appearing silly, has a clever second meaning.”

Here, most modern humour theorists = current thinkers, have settled on = have agreed on, some version of Aristotle’s belief = some of Aristotle’s view,

The lines suggest that current thinking on humour has agreed on some of Aristotle’s view on the subject.

So, the answer is: FALSE

Question no. 18: Graeme Ritchie’s work links jokes to artificial intelligence.

Keywords for the question: Graeme Ritchie’s work, links, jokes, artificial intelligence,

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 3. The author says here in lines 1-3, “Graeme Ritchie, a computational linguist in Edinburgh, studies the linguistic structure of jokes in order to understand not only humour but language understanding and reasoning in machines.. . .. .”

Here, studies the linguistic structure of jokes = Graeme Ritchie’s work, in order to understand = links, language understanding and reasoning in machines = artificial intelligence,

So, the answer is: TRUE

Question no. 19: Most comedians use personal situations as a source of humour.

Keywords for the question: most comedians, use, personal situations, as, source of humour,

The last lines of paragraph no. 3 talks about what a comedian does when delivering a joke, “ .. .. . A comedian will present a situation followed by an unexpected interpretation that is also apt.”

However, it doesn’t say anything about using personal situation as a source of humour.

So, the answer is: NOT GIVEN

Question no. 20: Chimpanzees make particular noises when they are playing.

Keywords for the question: chimpanzees, particular noises, when, playing,   

In paragraph no.5 the author mentions the sound chimpanzees make in lines 4-5, “ . .. .. Chimpanzees have a ‘play-face’ – a gaping expression accompanied by a panting ‘ah, ah’ noise… .. .”

Here, play-face = when they are playing, a panting ‘ah, ah’ noise = particular noises,

So, the answer is: TRUE

Questions 21-23: Labeling a diagram:

[In this type of question, candidates are asked to label a diagram with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage. Keywords are important to find answers correctly. Generally, this type of question maintains a sequence. However, we should not be surprised if the sequence is not maintained. Find the keywords in the passage and you are most likely to find the answers.]

Question no. 21: Right prefrontal cortex lights up – area of brain linked to _________

Keywords for the question: Right prefrontal cortex, lights up, area, linked to,

In paragraph no. 8, the writer says in lines 3-4, “ . .. . His scans showed that at the beginning of a joke the listener’s prefrontal cortex lit up, particularly the right prefrontal believed to be critical for problem solving.”

Here, lit up = lights up, right prefrontal = right prefrontal cortex, believed to be critical for = linked to,

So, the answer is: problem solving   

Question no. 22: _________ become active too  

Keywords for the question: become, active, too,  

Again, in paragraph no. 8, the writer says in lines 4-5, “ . .. But there was also activity in the temporal lobes at the side of the head .. .. .”

Here, activity = become active, also = too,  

So, the answer is: temporal lobes   

Question no. 23: Orbital prefrontal cortex is activated – involved with ___________

Keywords for the question: Orbital prefrontal cortex, activated, involved with,

Once again, in paragraph no. 8, the writer says in lines 6-8, “.. .. . Then when the punchline arrived, a new area sprang to life – the orbital prefrontal cortex. This patch of brain tucked behind the orbits of the eyes is associated with evaluating information.”

Here, sprang to life = activated, associated with = involved with,

So, the answer is: evaluating information   

Questions 24-27: Completing/Matching sentences with correct endings

[For this type of question, candidates need to match the beginning and end of sentences. Candidates need to look for keywords in the sentence-beginnings and find the relative paragraphs and then sentences in the passage. Skimming and scanning, both reading skills are essential for this question-type.]

Question no. 24: One of the brain’s most difficult tasks is to –

Keywords for the question: one of, brain’s, most difficult tasks,

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 9. In this paragraph, the writer says in lines 1-2, “Making a rapid emotional assessment of the events of the moment is an extremely demanding job for the brain, animal or human. .. .. .”

Here, Making a rapid emotional assessment of the events of the moment = respond instantly to whatever in happening, extremely demanding job = one of the most difficult tasks,

So, the answer is: C (respond instantly to whatever is happening.)

Question no. 25: Because of the language they have developed, humans –

Keywords for the question: because of, language, they, developed, humans,  

The answer can be found in paragraph no. 10. In this paragraph the author writes in lines 1-4, “ . .. All warm-blooded animals make constant tiny adjustments in arousal in response to external events, but humans, who have developed a much more complicated internal life as a result of language, respond emotionally not only to their surroundings, but to their own thoughts. .. .. .”

Here, who have developed a much more complicated internal life as a result of language = because of the language they have developed, respond emotionally = react to,

So, the answer is: A (react to their own thoughts.)

Question no. 26: Individual responses to humour

Keywords for the question: individual responses, humour,     

The last lines of paragraph no. 10 gives us the answer, “ . .. Whether a joke gives pleasure or pain depends on a person’s outlook.”

Here, Whether a joke gives pleasure or pain = Individual responses to humour, depends on = relate to, person’s outlook = person’s subjective views,

So, the answer is: F (relate to a person’s subjective views.)

Question no. 27: Peter Derks believes that humour –

Keywords for the question: Peter Derks, believes, humour,  

The last paragraph says, “ .. . As Peter Derks, a psychologist at William and Mary College in Virginia, says: ‘I like to think of humour as the distorted mirror of the mind. It’s creative, perceptual, analytical and lingual. If we can figure out how the mind processes humour, then we’ll have a pretty good handle on how it works in general.”

Here, the mind = the brain, we’ll have a pretty good handle on how it works in general = we may get valuable information about the operation of the brain,

So, the answer is: D (may provide valuable information about the operation of the brain.)

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 5 AC Test 2 Reading Passage 1

Click here for solutions to Cambridge 5 AC Test 2 Reading Passage 3