Yes/No/Not Given: Practice Test - 8 | Reading for Academic IELTS PDF Download

Directions: Do the following statements/questions agree with the views of the writer in the Reading Passage? Write:
YES: if the statement agrees with the views of the writer.
NO: if the statement contradicts what the writer thinks.
NOT GIVEN: if it is impossible to know what the writer's point of view is.
Passage: According to Professor Martin Seligman, probably the world’s leading figure in this field, happiness could be but a train ride – and a couple of questionnaires – away. It was Seligman, a psychologist from Pennsylvania University, who kick-started the happiness science movement with a speech he made as President of the American Psychological Association (APA). Why, asked Seligman, shocking delegates at an APA conference, does science only investigate suffering? Why not look into what steps increase happiness, even for those who are not depressed, rather than simply seek to assuage pain? For a less well-known scientist, the speech could have spelled the end of a career, but instead, Seligman landed funding of almost £18m to follow his hunch. He has been in regular contact with hundreds of other researchers and practicing psychologists around the world, all the while conducting polls and devising strategies for increasing happiness.

Q.1. Martin Seligman was the president of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Q.2. Seligman considered happiness as a train ride.
Q.3. After startling the delegates with his speech, Seligman’s career came to an end.
Q.4. The delegates in the APA replied to Seligman that the artists better handle happiness.
Q.5. Seligman lost contact with the psychologists and started conducting polls alone and devising strategies to increase happiness.

Solution of 1:

Martin Seligman was the president of the American Psychological Association (APA) – YES.
we come to know from the passage that Martin Seligman was made the president of the American Psychological Association (APA). So, the answer is YES.

Solution of 2:

Seligman considered happiness as a train ride – YES.
we understand from the passage that according to Seligman, happiness is probably the world’s leading figure, but it is also a train ride. So, the answer is YES.

Solution of 3:

After startling the delegates with his speech, Seligman’s career came to an end – NO.
it is clearly mentioned in the passage; for a less well-known scientist, unlike Seligman, the shocking speech in front of the delegates could have spelled the end of their career. So, the answer is NO. Here, startling refer to shocking. 

Solution of 4:

The delegates in the APA replied to Seligman that the artists better handle happiness – NOT GIVEN.
it is not mentioned anywhere in the passage that the delegates replied to Seligman by stating happiness will be better handled by the artists. So, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

Solution of 5:

Seligman lost contact with the psychologists and started conducting polls all alone and devising strategies to increase happiness – NO.
it is mentioned in the passage that Seligman was in regular contact with the psychologists and researchers while conducting polls and devising strategies to increase happiness. So, the answer is NO.