Matching features/Headings: Practice Test - 3 | Reading for Academic IELTS PDF Download

Directions: Analyse the given passage carefully!

A. A noticeably shameful attribute of society in recent times is the Bystander effect, where the general public blatantly ignores a person who may be a victim of a road accident or in some kind of need. Bystanders do not only remain indifferent to the condition of the victim, but in a grotesque example of apathy, they also go to the extent of capturing the event in a video to share on social media or even click a selfie with the victim in the background.
B. Why are people so unemotional? Simply put, this happens when a person feels discouraged to get involved in an emergency, especially in the presence of others. It is called the Bystander Effect. The concept of the Bystander Effect was popularized by social psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latane after the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City in 1964. Bystanders outside Genovese’s apartment watched while she was stabbed to death, neither trying to stop the crime nor calling the police for assistance. According to Darley and Latane, there is a perceived diffusion of accountability and social influence that leads to the Bystander effect. Onlookers, they believe, are more likely to help if there are fewer witnesses present.
C. Another example of increasing apathy is the video of an unkempt man in a dirty coat walking with the aid of crutches and struggling. Ignored by onlookers as he tried to get up, he was eventually brought back to his feet by a homeless man. Helping the downtrodden is perceived as damaging to our social standing in society. Conclusions drawn by a research published by the International Ombudsman Association, an individual's hesitation in coming to the aid of the less fortunate is the fear of social consequences or the stigma of being associated with a person in distress.
D. The larger question about the culture of indifference has a lot to do with the bystander behaviour, says Wesley Perkins, a sociology professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. The Bystander phenomenon is generated by the perception that other people are not doing anything about it. Therefore I shouldn't either. However, when these events come to the knowledge of the public, 'people think everybody is mean and cruel-hearted and doesn't care" Perkins says. 'But much of the Bystander phenomenon happens because people are looking on and thinking, if they don't see someone else coming to the person's aid, then the person must not be in trouble. Also, people are more likely to do the right thing when they notice the same behaviour being elicited by other individuals. It is only the real heroes who step out of a group to help.
E. Transferring responsibility is the most common response. Paul Rogat Loeb, lecturer on ethics and the author of Soul of a Citizen', speaks about his conversation with the factory workers who processed plutonium for nuclear weapons. Loeb asked, 'Do you think it is a good thing?' Promptly denying their responsibility, the factory workers disassociated themselves from the potentially horrific consequences of their actions. The prevalent attitude is that someone else will do what is needed. 'We hope people do the right thing. We hope someone takes care of the poor, says Loeb.
F. According to legendary Greek philosopher Aristotle, man is an inherently social animal. It would not be possible for us to survive without one another, not only because of the lack of sustenance but because we would probably go insane living alone. But looking at the society we live in today, it appears that humans have become apathetic not only towards the community and the environment but also towards fellow human beings. The Bystander effect is evident even on the internet, where users watch others get bullied or threatened. Unless the feelings of irrelevance that breed this apathy are addressed, people are going to find comfort in being apathetic as a tool of self-preservation.

Q. The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-ix, as your answer to each question.
Note: Please find list of heading IELS reading practice (i,ii,iii,..) to match with the approriate paragraph (A, B, C...) given below.
List of Headings:

•  i Difference in social status discourages helpful behaviour
•  ii A gruesome act
•  iii An impact of presence of others
•  iv Becoming emotionless is a convenience
•  v An inhuman response
• vi Beautiful and affluent are valued more
• vii Shouldering off accountability
• viii One inaction leads to another
• ix Hesitating to help

1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
6. Paragraph F

Solution of 1:

Paragraph A = v
Paragraph A - A noticeably shameful attribute of society... ignores a person who may be a victim of a road accident or in some kind of need. Bystanders do not only remain indifferent to the condition of the victim, but in a grotesque example of apathy, they also go to the extent of capturing the event in a video to share on social media or even click a selfie with the victim in the background.

Solution of 2:

Paragraph B = iii
Paragraph B - Simply put, this happens when a person feels discouraged to get involved in an emergency, in the presence of others. It is called the Bystander Effect.. Onlookers, they believe, are more likely to help if there are fewer witnesses present.

Solution of 3:

Paragraph C = i
Paragraph C - Helping the downtrodden is perceived as damaging to our social standing in society.. An individual's hesitation in coming to the aid of the less fortunate is the fear of social consequences or the stigma of being associated with a person in distress.

Solution of 4:

Paragraph D = viii
Paragraph D - The bystander phenomenon is generated by the perception that other people are not doing anything about it, therefore shouldn't either'.. much of the a bystander phenomenon happens because people are looking on and thinking, if they don't see someone else coming to the person's aid, then the person must not be in trouble.'

Solution of 5:

Paragraph E = vii
Paragraph E - Transferring responsibility is the most common response.. The prevalent attitude is that someone else will do what is needed.

Solution of 6:

Paragraph F = iv
Paragraph F - But looking at the society we live in today, it appears that humans have become apathetic not only towards the community and the environment but also fellow human beings. Unless the feelings of irrelevance that breed this apathy are addressed, people are going to find comfort in being apathetic as a tool of self-preservation.