Reading- Brain

Read this quotation from paragraph 4.

This is why we love the movies: it’s like going on a roller coaster for the brain.

Why does the author use this comparison?

• A. To illustrate the level of excitement a movie can provide

• B. To explain the filmmaking techniques used by movie directors

• C. To show how movies help people cope with real-world worries

• D. To describe the mental processes involved with making a movie

Which word from paragraph 3 means “powerful” or “effective”?

• F. Potent

• G. Racing

• H. Attentional

• J. literally

What is the primary purpose of the boxed information at the end of the article?

• A. To persuade readers to watch movies in an actual theater rather than at home

• B. To explain why movies watched at home are less enjoyable

• C. To give advice for ways to enhance the home movie-watching experience

• D. To demonstrate why the convenience of watching movies at home is appealing

In paragraph 1 of the article, what type of evidence does the author present?

The fell beast‚ a black dragon with snake teeth and razor talons‚ swoops down on the wizard Gandalf. Cut to Frodo‚ a hobbit from the Shire‚ holding the ring of power over the fiery Cracks of Doom. As the ring falls‚ Mount Doom starts to explode‚ leaving Frodo stranded‚ surrounded on all sides by red-hot lava‚ and facing certain death.

• F. Factual data

• G. Personal experience

• H. Persuasive argument

• J. Anecdotal details

Which statement best expresses the main idea of paragraph 5?

But there’s another kind of magic at work here too: as we give up control‚ our sense of reality changes. “The way we know things are real‚” Holland explains‚“is when we interact with them. In a movie theater we’re not planning to do anything—we’re not going to change what we’re watching—and that turns off the systems we use for regulating our actions; in particular it turns off the system that tells us what’s real and what’s not real.” Deep down we know that what we’re seeing is make-believe‚ but because we’re not going to act upon it‚ because it doesn’t have a direct physical bearing upon us‚ we don’t test its plausibility in the same way we do normal life. It’s like that part of our brain goes on a temporary vacation. Film theorists and psychologists call this “suspension of disbelief” and because of it‚ fell beasts really are frightening‚ and we genuinely care about what happens to Frodo.

• A. Movies can make people ignore the difference between reality and fiction.

• D. People lose awareness of their surroundings in a movie theater.

• B. The way people relate to a movie depends on how realistic it is.

• A. Movies can cause people to become emotional.

According to paragraph 6, what does the limbic system control?

But something else is happening in the brain to make this possible too. In the same way that a smartphone has different apps for different jobs‚ and each one has a unique place on your home screen‚ the mind has different abilities‚ and each one has a distinct place in the brain. “Your knowledge that you’re only watching a movie happens in the front part of your brain‚” Holland explains. “That’s the most advanced part‚ where you do your thinking and planning.” But emotions come from a different area‚ the limbic system‚ in the back of the brain‚ one of the most primitive parts. “We feel real emotions toward unreal fictions,” Holland says‚ “because two different brain systems are at work.” In other words‚ even though our front brain knows that a movie isn’t real‚ the back brain never gets the message. When Frodo is rescued from the fire‚ our limbic system automatically produces a physiological response‚ and a feeling of genuine relief‚ as if it were actually happening. Movies may be an illusion‚ but the emotions they produce are real.

• F. Emotions

• G. Selective attention

• H. Comprehension

• J. Spacial awareness

Why does the author include paragraph 7?

Sadly‚ the intensity of the emotions that movies produce in us‚ and the consequent pleasure we get from watching them‚ may actually be diminishing. It has to do with the new ways in which we consume them. At home‚ or on our smart phones‚ movies are wonderfully convenient. But watching in this way limits their magic because we’re in control: we have the power to stop the film or fast forward bits we don’t like. On top of that‚ we are bombarded with distractions: unfinished homework lying on the coffee table‚ the text message that’s just arrived from a friend. The cinema is designed to take us away from all of that‚ and in doing so‚ it maximizes the psychological effects of film. “If you’re not giving up control to the movie‚” Holland says, “you’re getting a thinned-out movie experience.” More control might be more convenient‚ but it won’t mean more magic. Surely we deserve better than that‚ and Frodo does too.

• C. To suggest that newer movies lack emotional appeal for viewers

• B. To express concern regarding the ways people often watch movies today

• A. To contrast the enjoyment received from older and newer movies

• D. To explain why theater attendance has declined in recent years

Which of these best describes the author’s purpose for writing this article?

• J. To persuade people to avoid watching movies on smart phones

• H. To compare the experiences of watching a movie at home and in a theater

• G. To analyze the techniques moviemakers use to create popular movies

• A. To inform people about what makes a movie-watching experience enjoyable