IELTS Forcast Reading Test 2026 - Q2 Test 5 with Practice Test, Answers And Explanation
Luyện tập đề IELTS Forcast Reading Test 2026 - Q2 Test 5 được lấy từ cuốn sách Forcast Test 2026 - Q2 với trải nghiệm thi IELTS trên máy và giải thích đáp án chi tiết bằng Linearthinking, kèm answer key và list từ vựng IELTS cần học trong bài đọc.
IELTS Forcast Reading Test 2026 - Q2 Test 5 with Practice Test, Answers And Explanation
Passage
❓ Câu hỏi passage 1
Question 1 - 5
Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G
1
Why chemically cleaning graffiti may cause damage.
2
The benefit of a precautionary strategy on the gentle removal.
3
The damaging and accumulative impact of graffiti on the community.
4
The need for different preventive measures being taken to cope with graffiti.
5
A legal proposal made to the owner of building against graffiti.
Question 6 - 7
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO statements are true concerning the removal of graffiti?
A
Cocktail removal can be safer than water treatment.
B
A small patch trial should be conducted before the large-scale removal.
C
Chemical treatments are the most expensive way of removing.
D
There are risks for both chemical and mechanical method.
E
Mechanical removals are much more applicable than chemical treatments.
Question 8 - 9
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO of the following preventive measures are mentioned as effective against graffiti in the passage?
A
Organise more anti-graffiti movement in the city communities
B
Increase the police patrols on the street
C
Build a new building with material repelling to water
D
Installing more visible security cameras
E
Provide a whole new surface with a chemical coat
Question 10 - 13
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Ancient graffiti is of significance and records the of daily life for that period.
The police can recognize newly committed incidents of graffiti by the signature which is called '' that they are familiar with.
Operatives ought to comply with relevant rules during the operation, and put on the suitable .
Removal of graffiti from a new type of coating surface can be much convenient using .
Passage
❓ Câu hỏi passage 2
Question 14 - 18
Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H
14
A description of recent innovations in TV broadcasting.
15
A mention of the main goods and services advertised to children.
16
A reference to a current limitation on television advertising aimed at children.
17
Two techniques used to encourage children to watch TV commercials.
18
A type of advertisement that may make children believe the opposite of what is true.
Question 19 - 22
Look at the following statements and the list of researchers below.
Match each statement with the correct researcher, A-H.
Write the correct letter, A-H.
List of Findings
A
Kunkel
B
Kunkel et al
C
McNeal
D
Turow
E
Greer et al
F
Liebert et al
G
Palmer & McDowell
H
Geis
19
Advertisements often aim to teach children that a brand is fun rather than telling them about what is being sold.
20
Originally children’s programmes were only broadcast when adults rarely watched TV.
21
Children have a significant impact on what adults buy.
22
Tests showed that children can follow information if simple words are used.
Question 23 - 26
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
How very young children perceive commercials
Children below the age of 4 or 5 do not understand the difference between television programmes and commercials. In fact, these children often mistake an advertisement for a from the programme they are watching. This is despite the fact that children’s TV programmes usually include announcements called to show whereby a person or cartoon figure from the programme is used to sell a product during the commercial break. From the age of 4 or 5, children begin to realise that commercials are different from TV programmes: for example, they may then recognise that there is a difference in length or that advertisements are than actual TV.
Passage
❓ Câu hỏi passage 3
Question 27 - 30
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes on your answer sheet.
27
Why does the writer have a mixed feeling about the book?
A
The guilty feeling made him so.
B
The writer expected it to be better than it was.
C
Sacks failed to include his personal stories in the book.
D
This is the only book written by Sacks.
28
What is the best part of the book?
A
The photo of Sacks listening to music.
B
The tone of voice of the book.
C
The autobiographical description in the book.
D
The description of Sacks’ wealth.
29
In the preface, what did Sacks try to achieve?
A
Make a herald introduction of the research work and technique applied.
B
Give a detailed description of various musical disorders.
C
Explain why he needs to do away with the simple observation.
30
What is disappointing about Tony Cicoria’s case?
A
He refuses to have further tests.
B
He can’t determine the cause of his sudden musicality.
C
He nearly died because of the lightening.
D
His brain waves were too normal to show anything.
Question 31 - 36
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
31
It is difficult to give a well-reputable writer a less than totally favorable review.
32
Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata is a good treatment for musical disorders.
33
Sacks believes technological methods is of little importance compared with traditional observation when studying his patients.
34
It is difficult to understand why music therapy is undervalued
35
Sacks held little skepticism when borrowing other theories and findings in describing reasons and notion for phenomena he depicts in the book.
36
Sacks is in a rush to use new testing methods to do treatment for patients.
Question 37 - 40
Complete each of the following statements with the best ending A-F from the box below.
List of Endings
A
show no music-brain disorders
B
indicates that medication can have varied results
C
is key for the neurological community to unravel the mysteries
D
should not be used in isolation
E
indicate that not everyone can receive a good education
F
shows a misconception that there is a function centre localized in the brain
The content covering dissociations in understanding between harmony and melody
37
The study of treating musical disorders
38
The EEG scans of Sacks’ patients
39
Sacks believes testing based on new technologies
40
DOL IELTS Đình Lực
05/05/2026
📖 Bài đọc passage 1
Is Graffiti Art or Crime?
A
A. The term graffiti derives from the Italian graffito meaning ‘scratching’ and can be defined as uninvited marking or writing scratched or applied to objects, built structures and natural features. It is not a new phenomenon: examples can be found on ancient structures around the world, in some cases predating the Greeks and Romans. In such circumstances it has acquired invaluable historical and archaeological significance, providing a social history of life and events at that time. Graffiti is now a problem that has become pervasive, as a result of the availability of cheap and quick means of mark-making.
B
B.
It is usually considered a priority to remove graffiti as quickly as possible after it appears. This is for several reasons. The first is to prevent ‘copy-cat’ emulation which can occur rapidly once a clean surface is defaced. It may also be of a racist or otherwise offensive nature and many companies and councils have a policy of removing this type of graffiti within an hour or two of it being reported. Also, as paints, glues and inks dry out over time they can become increasingly difficult to remove and are usually best dealt with as soon as possible after the incident. Graffiti can also lead to move serious forms of vandalism and, ultimately, the deterioration of an area, contributing to social decline.
C
Although graffiti may be regarded as an eyesore, any proposal to remove it from sensitive historic surfaces should be carefully considered: techniques designed for more robust or utilitarian surfaces may result in considerable damage. In the event of graffiti incidents, it is important that the owners of buildings or other structures and their consultants are aware of the approach they should take in dealing with the problem. The police should be informed as there may be other related attacks occurring locally. An incidence pattern can identify possible culprits, as can stylised signatures or nicknames, known as ‘tags’, which may already be familiar to local police. Photographs are useful to record graffiti incidents and may assist the police in bringing a prosecution. Such images are also required for insurance claims and can be helpful in cleaning operatives, allowing them to see the problem area before arriving on site.
D
There are a variety of methods that are used to remove graffiti. Broadly these divide between chemical and mechanical systems. Chemical preparations are based on dissolving the media; these solvents can range from water to potentially hazardous chemical ‘cocktails’. Mechanical systems such as wire-brushing and grit-blasting attempt to abrade or chip the media from the surface. Care should be taken to comply with health and safety legislation with regard to the protection of both passers-by and any person carrying out the cleaning. Operatives should follow product guidelines in terms of application and removal, and wear the appropriate protective equipment. Measures must be taken to ensure that run-off, aerial mists, drips and splashes do not threaten unprotected members of the public. When examining a graffiti incident it is important to assess the ability of the substrate to withstand the prescribed treatment. If there is any doubt regarding this, then small trial areas should be undertaken to assess the impact of more extensive treatment.
E
A variety of preventive strategies can be adopted to combat a recurring problem of graffiti at a given site. As no two sites are the same, no one set of protection measures will be suitable for all situations. Each site must be looked at individually. Surveillance systems such as closed-circuit television may also help. In cities and towns around the country, prominently placed cameras have been shown to reduce anti-social behavior of all types including graffiti. Security patrols will also act as a deterrent to prevent recurring attacks. However, the cost of this may be too high for most situations. A physical barriers such as a wall, railings, doors or gates can be introduced to discourage unauthorized access to a vulnerable site. However, consideration has to be given to the impact measures have on the structure being protected. In the worst cases, they can be almost as damaging to the quality of the environment as the graffiti they prevent. In others, they might simply provide a new surface for graffiti.
F
One of the most significant problems associated with graffiti removal is the need to remove it from surfaces that are repeatedly attacked. Under these circumstances, the repeated removal of graffiti using even the most gentle methods will ultimately cause damage to the surface material. There may be situations where the preventive strategies mentioned above do not work or are not a viable proposition at a given site. Anti-graffiti coatings are usually applied by brush or spray leaving a thin veneer that essentially serves to isolate the graffiti from the surface. Removal of graffiti from a surface that has been treated in this way is much easier, usually using low-pressure water which reduces the possibility of damage. Depending on the type of barrier selected it may be necessary to reapply the coating after each graffiti removal exercise.
🔥 Đáp án & giải thích 1
1
D
Giải thích chi tiết
☺️ Ứng dụng Linearthinking để giải quyết dạng bài Matching Information
📌 Dạng Matching Information chúng ta nên làm cuối cùng, sau khi đã làm các dạng câu hỏi khác nhé DOLBIES, bởi vì lúc này mình đã đọc và hiểu nội dung của bài rồi, cộng thêm nghệ thuật Specify của Linearthinking → sẽ nhanh chóng tìm được vị trí đáp án hơn!!
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Step 01: Read the question to predict
Hiểu câu hỏi: Why chemically cleaning graffiti may cause damage
Specify & Predict: Đoạn văn sẽ đưa thông tin chi tiết hơn về các chất/ dung môi hoá học dùng để tẩy graffiti và chúng có thể nguy hiểm, từ đó gây hư hại, ví dụ: hóa chất mạnh làm hỏng bề mặt vật liệu, gây ăn mòn, ...
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Step 02: Khoanh vùng đoạn văn
🔍 Từ khóa: “chemically cleaning graffiti”, “cause damage”
-> Dựa vào các từ khoá trên, có thể khoanh vùng được đoạn D vì có xuất hiện các cụm như "chemical preparations" (các chế phẩm hoá học); "solvents" (dung môi); "potentially hazardous chemical cocktails" (hỗn hợp hoá chất tiềm ẩn nguy hiểm) -> Đây là giải thích cụ thể cho vì sao tẩy graffiti bằng hoá chất có thể gây hư hại.
Children’s comprehension of television advertising
A
A. In 1874, long before the advent of television, the English Parliament passed a law to protect children ‘from their own lack of experience and from the wiles of pushing tradesmen and moneylenders’ (James, 1965). The act is one of the earliest governmental policies to address children’s vulnerability to commercial exploitation and was produced before major corporations earned huge profits by marketing products directly to children. Yet the issues underlying this 19th-century policy remain much the same in the 21st century.
B
Television has long been the predominant medium that advertisers have chosen for marketing products to children. It is estimated that the average child sees more than 40.000 television commercials a year, most of which are 15 to 30 seconds in length (Kunkel, 2001). According to another estimate, children aged 14 years and under make $24 billion in direct, purchases and influence $190 billion in family purchases, underscoring the high stakes involved (McNeal, 1987).
C
A number of factors have contributed to an unprecedented growth in both the amount and type of advertising directed at children. First and foremost among these are changes in the media environment. In decades past, television programming targeted at children was limited and relegated to time slots unpopular with their parents, such as Saturday mornings of television advertising (Turow, 1981). Today, the number of channels received in the average US home has escalated with the diffusion of cable television and satellite technologies. In this new multi-channel era, there are numerous national program services devoted exclusively to children. Naturally, these channels deliver significant amounts of child- oriented marketing messages. Although parent may be pleased that their youngsters can now watch children’s programming at any hour of the day, they may not recognize that such viewing opportunities entail much greater exposure to advertising than any previous generation of youth has experienced.
D
Approximately 80% of all advertising targeted at children falls within four product categories: toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants (Kunkel et al, 1992). Commercials are highly effective at employing specific features designed to attract children’s attention. For example, they use the strategy of introducing unique sound effects and rapidly moving images (Greer et al, 1982). The other most common persuasive strategy employed in advertising to children is to associate the product with playfulness and happiness, rather than to provide any actual product-related information (Kunkel et al, 1992). For example, a commercial featuring Ronald McDonald dancing, singing, and smiling in McDonald’s restaurants without any mention of the actual food products available reflects a playful or happy theme. This strategy is also found frequently with cereal ads, which often include cartoon characters to help children identify the product. In contrast, most commercials fail to mention even the major grain used in each cereal.
E
Another common feature of advertising to children is the use of product disclosures such as 'batteries not included’ or 'each part sold separately'. Studies make clear that young children do not comprehend the intended meaning of these disclaimers. For example, fewer than one in four kindergarten through second grade children could grasp the meaning of 'some assembly required' in a commercial. In contrast, the use of child-friendly language such as 'you have to put it together' more than doubled the proportion of children who understood the qualifying message (Liebert et al, 1977). The phrase 'part of a balanced breakfast’ is also a frequent disclosure included in most cereal ads to combat the concern that sugared cereal holds little nutritional value for children. Research shows that most children below age 7 years have no idea what the term ‘balanced breakfast’ means (Palmer & McDowell, 1981). Rather than informing young viewers about the importance of a nutritious breakfast, this common disclaimer actually leaves many children with the misimpression that cereal alone is sufficient for a meal. This pattern of employing creative terminology in advertising content so as to obscure certain information that might be unhelpful to the sponsor is a long-standing practice that often misleads the consumer (Geis, 1982).
F
Very young children do not recognize that there are two fundamentally different categories of television content: programs and commercials. Most children below the age of 4 or 6 exhibit low awareness of the concept of commercials, frequently explaining them as if they were a scene in the program itself. Once this confusion diminishes, children first recognize the difference between programs and commercials based on either affective (‘commercials are funnier than TV programs') or perceptual (‘commercials are short and programs are long’) cues (Blatt et al, 1972).
G
Although most children's programs indicate that a commercial break is coming (e.g. by saying 'We’ll be right back after these messages’), research reveals that these ‘separators' generally do not help children to recognize advertising content (Palmer & McDowell, 1979). This likely occurs because they are not perceptually distinct from the adjacent programming that surrounds them; in fact, many separators feature characters that appear in the same show that the commercial has just interrupted. When an ad includes one of the characters featured in a program, this is known as host-selling. This type of advertising makes the task of discriminating between program and commercial content particularly difficult for young children (Kunkel, 1988) and is thus restricted in the US by the Federal Communications Commission during children’s programs.
H
In sum, because young children lack the cognitive skills and abilities of older children and adults, they do not comprehend commercial messages in the same way as more mature audiences, and are therefore uniquely susceptible to advertising influence.
🔥 Đáp án & giải thích 2
14
C
Giải thích chi tiết
Ứng dụng Linearthinking để giải quyết dạng bài Matching Information
📌 Dạng Matching Information chúng ta nên làm cuối cùng, sau khi đã làm các dạng câu hỏi khác nhé DOLBIES, bởi vì lúc này mình đã đọc và hiểu nội dung của bài rồi → sẽ nhanh chóng tìm được vị trí đáp án hơn!!
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Step 1: Phân tích câu hỏi (Matching Information) A description of recentinnovations in TV broadcasting.
Dự đoán thông tin cần tìm (SPECIFY):
“Recent” ⇒ thường sẽ có mốc kiểu today / in recent decades / now.
“Innovations in TV broadcasting” ⇒ có thể là công nghệ / hình thức phát sóng mới làm thay đổi việc xem TV, ví dụ: cable, satellite, multi-channel, number of channels increased.
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Step 2: Locate bằng chứng
Đoạn phù hợp là Paragraph C vì đoạn này nói về sự thay đổi môi trường truyền thông và công nghệ mới làm tăng số kênh TV.
Câu bằng chứng đúng trọng tâm trong C:
“Today, the number of channels received in the average US home has escalated with the diffusion of cable television and satellite technologies.”
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Step 3: Đối chiếu paraphrasing (để chắc chắn match đúng)
recent ⇔ Today (hiện nay)
innovations in TV broadcasting ⇔ the diffusion of cable television and satellite technologies (các công nghệ phát sóng mới: truyền hình cáp & vệ tinh)
a description ⇔ câu trong đoạn C đang mô tả sự thay đổi: số kênh tăng lên do các công nghệ này
⇒ Vì vậy, thông tin “A description of recent innovations in TV broadcasting” match Paragraph C.
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❌ Những đáp án “bẫy” hay dính
Bẫy đoạn B: có nhiều số liệu về TV commercials và việc trẻ xem rất nhiều quảng cáo. Skim/scan thấy “Television” + thông tin hiện đại dễ tưởng là “innovations in broadcasting”, nhưng đoạn B chỉ nói về quảng cáo và mức độ tiếp xúc, không nói về công nghệ phát sóng mới (cable/satellite/multi-channel).
Bẫy đoạn G: có nhắc “commercial break”, “separators”, “host-selling”. Nhìn lướt dễ tưởng là “đổi mới trong broadcasting”, nhưng đây là kỹ thuật/định dạng quảng cáo và nhận biết quảng cáo, không phải đổi mới công nghệ phát sóng như cable/satellite.
Norman M. Weinberger reviews the latest work of Oliver Sacks on music.
A
A. Music and the brain are both endlessly fascinating subjects, and as a neuroscientist specialising in auditory learning and memory, I find them especially intriguing. So I had high expectations of Musicophilia, the latest offering from neurologist and prolific author Oliver Sacks. And I confess to feeling a little guilty reporting that my reactions to the book are mixed.
B
Sacks himself is the best part of Musicophilia. He richly documents his own life in the book and reveals highly personal experiences. The photograph of him on the cover of the book— which shows him wearing headphones, eyes closed, clearly enchanted as he listens to Alfred Brendel perform Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata-makes a positive impression that is borne out by the contents of the book. Sacks' voice throughout is steady and erudite but never pontifical. He is neither self-conscious nor self-promoting.
C
The preface gives a good idea of what the book will deliver. In it, Sacks explains that he wants to convey the insights gleaned from the "enormous and rapidly growing body of work on the neural underpinnings of musical perception and imagery, and the complex and often bizarre disorders to which these are prone." He also stresses the importance of "the simple art of observation" and "the richness of the human context." He wants to combine "observation and description with the latest in technology," he says, and to imaginatively enter into the experience of his patients and subjects. The reader can see that Sacks, who has been practicing neurology for 40 years, is torn between the "old-fashioned" path of observation and the new-fangled, high-tech approach: He knows that he needs to take heed of the latter, but his heart lies with the former.
D
The book consists mainly of detailed descriptions of cases, most of them involving patients whom Sacks has seen in his practice. Brief discussions of contemporary neuroscientific reports are sprinkled liberally throughout the text. Part I, "Haunted by Music," begins with the strange case of Tony Cicoria, a nonmusical, middle-aged surgeon who was consumed by a love of music after being hit by lightning. He suddenly began to crave listening to piano music, which he had never cared for in the past. He started to play the piano and then to compose music, which arose spontaneously in his mind in a "torrent" of notes. How could this happen? Was the cause psychological? (He had had a near-death experience when the lightning struck him.) Or was it the direct result of a change in the auditory regions of his cerebral cortex? Electroencephalography (EEG) showed his brain waves to be normal in the mid-1990s, just after his trauma and subsequent "conversion" to music. There are now more sensitive tests, but Cicoria has declined to undergo them; he does not want to delve into the causes of his musicality. What a shame!
E
Part II, "A Range of Musicality," covers a wider variety of topics, but unfortunately, some of the chapters offer little or nothing that is new. For example, chapter 13, which is five pages long, merely notes that the blind often have better hearing than the sighted. The most interesting chapters are those that present the strangest cases. Chapter 8 is about "amusia," an inability to hear sounds like music, and "dysharmonia," a highly specific impairment of the ability to hear harmony, with the ability to understand melody left intact. Such specific "dissociations" are found throughout the cases Sacks recounts.
F
To Sacks's credit, part III, "Memory, Movement and Music," brings us into the underappreciated realm of music therapy. Chapter 16 explains how "melodic intonation therapy" is being used to help expressive aphasic patients (those unable to express their thoughts verbally following a stroke or other cerebral incident) once again become capable of fluent speech. In chapter 20, Sacks demonstrates the near-miraculous power of music to animate Parkinson's patients and other people with severe movement disorders, even those who are frozen into odd postures. Scientists cannot yet explain how music achieves this effect.
G
To readers who are unfamiliar with neuroscience and music behavior, Musicophilia may be something of a revelation. But the book will not satisfy those seeking the causes and implications of the phenomena Sacks describes. For one thing, Sacks appears to be more at ease discussing patients than discussing experiments. And he tends to be rather uncritical in accepting scientific findings and theories.
H
It's true that the causes of music-brain oddities remain poorly understood. However, Sacks could have done more to draw out some of the implications of the careful observations that he and other neurologists have made and of the treatments that have been successful. For example, he might have noted that the many specific dissociations among components of music comprehension, such as loss of the ability to perceive harmony but not melody, indicate that there is no music center in the brain. Because many people who read the book are likely to believe in the brain localisation of all mental functions, this was a missed educational opportunity.
I
Another conclusion one could draw is that there seem to be no "cures" for neurological problems involving music. A drug can alleviate a symptom in one patient and aggravate it in another or can have both positive and negative effects in the same patient. Treatments mentioned seem to be almost exclusively antiepileptic medications, which "damp down" the excitability of the brain in general; their effectiveness varies widely.
J
Finally, in many of the cases described here the patient with music-brain symptoms is reported to have "normal" EEG results. Although Sacks recognises the existence of new technologies, among them far more sensitive ways to analyze brain waves than the standard neurological EEG test, he does not call for their use. In fact, although he exhibits the greatest compassion for patients, he conveys no sense of urgency about the pursuit of new avenues in the diagnosis and treatment of music-brain disorders. This absence echoes the book's preface, in which Sacks expresses fear that "the simple art of observation may be lost" if we rely too much on new technologies. He does call for both approaches, though, and we can only hope that the neurological community will respond.
🔥 Đáp án & giải thích 3
27
B
Giải thích chi tiết
☺️ Ứng dụng Linearthinking để giải quyết dạng bài Multiple Choice
Step 01: Read the question to understand
Simplified: Why does the writer have a mixed feeling about the book?
Main idea: Cần tìm chỗ tác giả lần đầu tiên nhắc đến cảm xúc của mình về cuốn sách và lý do đằng sau cảm xúc "lẫn lộn" đó.
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Step 02: Locate relevant information
🔍 Từ khóa: “mixed”, “Oliver Sacks”, “reactions/ feelings"
-> Dựa vào các từ khoá trên, có thể tìm thấy trích dẫn ở đoạn A.
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Step 03: Read relevant information to understand
📌 Trích dẫn: “So I had high expectations of Musicophilia, the latest offering from neurologist and prolific author Oliver Sacks. And I confess to feeling a little guilty reporting that my reactions to the book are mixed.” (Đoạn A)
Simplified: I had high expectations of Musicophilia → My reactions to the book are mixed .
Main idea: Người viết đã có kỳ vọng cao → nhưng cuối cùng phản ứng của người viết lại bị lẫn lộn => Cảm xúc lẫn lộn phát sinh từ sự chênh lệch giữa kỳ vọng cao >< thực tế. Ở đây ngụ ý thực tế quyển sách không được như mong đợi.
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Step 04: Compare meaning with meaning
❌ A. The guilty feeling made him so.: Sai. Cảm giác tội lỗi (guilty feeling) là hệ quả của việc có cảm xúc lẫn lộn/phản ứng hỗn hợp đối với một tác giả uy tín ("I confess to feeling a little guilty reporting that my reactions... are mixed"), chứ không phải nguyên nhân gây ra cảm xúc lẫn lộn đó.
✅ B. The writer expected it to be better than it was.: Đúng. "I had high expectations" (Tôi có kỳ vọng cao) và "my reactions... are mixed" (phản ứng của tôi là lẫn lộn) ngụ ý rằng cuốn sách đã không đáp ứng được kỳ vọng cao đó, tức là người viết đã kỳ vọng nó tốt hơn thực tế.
❌ C. Sacks failed to include his personal stories in the book.: Sai. Bài đọc khẳng định điều ngược lại, rằng Sacks "richly documents his own life in the book and reveals highly personal experiences" (tài liệu hóa phong phú cuộc đời mình và tiết lộ những kinh nghiệm cá nhân cao).
❌ D. This is the only book written by Sacks.: Sai. Bài đọc gọi Sacks là "prolific author" (tác giả viết nhiều sách), ngụ ý đây không phải là cuốn sách duy nhất.
It is usually considered a priority to remove graffiti as quickly as possible after it appears. This is for several reasons. The first is to prevent ‘copy-cat’ emulation which can occur rapidly once a clean surface is defaced. It may also be of a racist or otherwise offensive nature and many companies and councils have a policy of removing this type of graffiti within an hour or two of it being reported. Also, as paints, glues and inks dry out over time they can become increasingly difficult to remove and are usually best dealt with as soon as possible after the incident. Graffiti can also lead to move serious forms of vandalism and, ultimately, the deterioration of an area, contributing to social decline.
C. Although graffiti may be regarded as an eyesore, any proposal to remove it from sensitive historic surfaces should be carefully considered: techniques designed for more robust or utilitarian surfaces may result in considerable damage. In the event of graffiti incidents, it is important that the owners of buildings or other structures and their consultants are aware of the approach they should take in dealing with the problem. The police should be informed as there may be other related attacks occurring locally. An incidence pattern can identify possible culprits, as can stylised signatures or nicknames, known as ‘tags’, which may already be familiar to local police. Photographs are useful to record graffiti incidents and may assist the police in bringing a prosecution. Such images are also required for insurance claims and can be helpful in cleaning operatives, allowing them to see the problem area before arriving on site.
D. There are a variety of methods that are used to remove graffiti. Broadly these divide between chemical and mechanical systems. Chemical preparations are based on dissolving the media; these solvents can range from water to potentially hazardous chemical ‘cocktails’. Mechanical systems such as wire-brushing and grit-blasting attempt to abrade or chip the media from the surface. Care should be taken to comply with health and safety legislation with regard to the protection of both passers-by and any person carrying out the cleaning. Operatives should follow product guidelines in terms of application and removal, and wear the appropriate protective equipment. Measures must be taken to ensure that run-off, aerial mists, drips and splashes do not threaten unprotected members of the public. When examining a graffiti incident it is important to assess the ability of the substrate to withstand the prescribed treatment. If there is any doubt regarding this, then small trial areas should be undertaken to assess the impact of more extensive treatment.
E. A variety of preventive strategies can be adopted to combat a recurring problem of graffiti at a given site. As no two sites are the same, no one set of protection measures will be suitable for all situations. Each site must be looked at individually. Surveillance systems such as closed-circuit television may also help. In cities and towns around the country, prominently placed cameras have been shown to reduce anti-social behavior of all types including graffiti. Security patrols will also act as a deterrent to prevent recurring attacks. However, the cost of this may be too high for most situations. A physical barriers such as a wall, railings, doors or gates can be introduced to discourage unauthorized access to a vulnerable site. However, consideration has to be given to the impact measures have on the structure being protected. In the worst cases, they can be almost as damaging to the quality of the environment as the graffiti they prevent. In others, they might simply provide a new surface for graffiti.
F. One of the most significant problems associated with graffiti removal is the need to remove it from surfaces that are repeatedly attacked. Under these circumstances, the repeated removal of graffiti using even the most gentle methods will ultimately cause damage to the surface material. There may be situations where the preventive strategies mentioned above do not work or are not a viable proposition at a given site. Anti-graffiti coatings are usually applied by brush or spray leaving a thin veneer that essentially serves to isolate the graffiti from the surface. Removal of graffiti from a surface that has been treated in this way is much easier, usually using low-pressure water which reduces the possibility of damage. Depending on the type of barrier selected it may be necessary to reapply the coating after each graffiti removal exercise.
B. Television has long been the predominant medium that advertisers have chosen for marketing products to children. It is estimated that the average child sees more than 40.000 television commercials a year, most of which are 15 to 30 seconds in length (Kunkel, 2001). According to another estimate, children aged 14 years and under make $24 billion in direct, purchases and influence $190 billion in family purchases, underscoring the high stakes involved (McNeal, 1987).
C. A number of factors have contributed to an unprecedented growth in both the amount and type of advertising directed at children. First and foremost among these are changes in the media environment. In decades past, television programming targeted at children was limited and relegated to time slots unpopular with their parents, such as Saturday mornings of television advertising (Turow, 1981). Today, the number of channels received in the average US home has escalated with the diffusion of cable television and satellite technologies. In this new multi-channel era, there are numerous national program services devoted exclusively to children. Naturally, these channels deliver significant amounts of child- oriented marketing messages. Although parent may be pleased that their youngsters can now watch children’s programming at any hour of the day, they may not recognize that such viewing opportunities entail much greater exposure to advertising than any previous generation of youth has experienced.
D. Approximately 80% of all advertising targeted at children falls within four product categories: toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants (Kunkel et al, 1992). Commercials are highly effective at employing specific features designed to attract children’s attention. For example, they use the strategy of introducing unique sound effects and rapidly moving images (Greer et al, 1982). The other most common persuasive strategy employed in advertising to children is to associate the product with playfulness and happiness, rather than to provide any actual product-related information (Kunkel et al, 1992). For example, a commercial featuring Ronald McDonald dancing, singing, and smiling in McDonald’s restaurants without any mention of the actual food products available reflects a playful or happy theme. This strategy is also found frequently with cereal ads, which often include cartoon characters to help children identify the product. In contrast, most commercials fail to mention even the major grain used in each cereal.
E. Another common feature of advertising to children is the use of product disclosures such as 'batteries not included’ or 'each part sold separately'. Studies make clear that young children do not comprehend the intended meaning of these disclaimers. For example, fewer than one in four kindergarten through second grade children could grasp the meaning of 'some assembly required' in a commercial. In contrast, the use of child-friendly language such as 'you have to put it together' more than doubled the proportion of children who understood the qualifying message (Liebert et al, 1977). The phrase 'part of a balanced breakfast’ is also a frequent disclosure included in most cereal ads to combat the concern that sugared cereal holds little nutritional value for children. Research shows that most children below age 7 years have no idea what the term ‘balanced breakfast’ means (Palmer & McDowell, 1981). Rather than informing young viewers about the importance of a nutritious breakfast, this common disclaimer actually leaves many children with the misimpression that cereal alone is sufficient for a meal. This pattern of employing creative terminology in advertising content so as to obscure certain information that might be unhelpful to the sponsor is a long-standing practice that often misleads the consumer (Geis, 1982).
F. Very young children do not recognize that there are two fundamentally different categories of television content: programs and commercials. Most children below the age of 4 or 6 exhibit low awareness of the concept of commercials, frequently explaining them as if they were a scene in the program itself. Once this confusion diminishes, children first recognize the difference between programs and commercials based on either affective (‘commercials are funnier than TV programs') or perceptual (‘commercials are short and programs are long’) cues (Blatt et al, 1972).
G. Although most children's programs indicate that a commercial break is coming (e.g. by saying 'We’ll be right back after these messages’), research reveals that these ‘separators' generally do not help children to recognize advertising content (Palmer & McDowell, 1979). This likely occurs because they are not perceptually distinct from the adjacent programming that surrounds them; in fact, many separators feature characters that appear in the same show that the commercial has just interrupted. When an ad includes one of the characters featured in a program, this is known as host-selling. This type of advertising makes the task of discriminating between program and commercial content particularly difficult for young children (Kunkel, 1988) and is thus restricted in the US by the Federal Communications Commission during children’s programs.
H. In sum, because young children lack the cognitive skills and abilities of older children and adults, they do not comprehend commercial messages in the same way as more mature audiences, and are therefore uniquely susceptible to advertising influence.
a description
B. Sacks himself is the best part of Musicophilia. He richly documents his own life in the book and reveals highly personal experiences. The photograph of him on the cover of the book— which shows him wearing headphones, eyes closed, clearly enchanted as he listens to Alfred Brendel perform Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata-makes a positive impression that is borne out by the contents of the book. Sacks' voice throughout is steady and erudite but never pontifical. He is neither self-conscious nor self-promoting.
C. The preface gives a good idea of what the book will deliver. In it, Sacks explains that he wants to convey the insights gleaned from the "enormous and rapidly growing body of work on the neural underpinnings of musical perception and imagery, and the complex and often bizarre disorders to which these are prone." He also stresses the importance of "the simple art of observation" and "the richness of the human context." He wants to combine "observation and description with the latest in technology," he says, and to imaginatively enter into the experience of his patients and subjects. The reader can see that Sacks, who has been practicing neurology for 40 years, is torn between the "old-fashioned" path of observation and the new-fangled, high-tech approach: He knows that he needs to take heed of the latter, but his heart lies with the former.
D. The book consists mainly of detailed descriptions of cases, most of them involving patients whom Sacks has seen in his practice. Brief discussions of contemporary neuroscientific reports are sprinkled liberally throughout the text. Part I, "Haunted by Music," begins with the strange case of Tony Cicoria, a nonmusical, middle-aged surgeon who was consumed by a love of music after being hit by lightning. He suddenly began to crave listening to piano music, which he had never cared for in the past. He started to play the piano and then to compose music, which arose spontaneously in his mind in a "torrent" of notes. How could this happen? Was the cause psychological? (He had had a near-death experience when the lightning struck him.) Or was it the direct result of a change in the auditory regions of his cerebral cortex? Electroencephalography (EEG) showed his brain waves to be normal in the mid-1990s, just after his trauma and subsequent "conversion" to music. There are now more sensitive tests, but Cicoria has declined to undergo them; he does not want to delve into the causes of his musicality. What a shame!
E. Part II, "A Range of Musicality," covers a wider variety of topics, but unfortunately, some of the chapters offer little or nothing that is new. For example, chapter 13, which is five pages long, merely notes that the blind often have better hearing than the sighted. The most interesting chapters are those that present the strangest cases. Chapter 8 is about "amusia," an inability to hear sounds like music, and "dysharmonia," a highly specific impairment of the ability to hear harmony, with the ability to understand melody left intact. Such specific "dissociations" are found throughout the cases Sacks recounts.
F. To Sacks's credit, part III, "Memory, Movement and Music," brings us into the underappreciated realm of music therapy. Chapter 16 explains how "melodic intonation therapy" is being used to help expressive aphasic patients (those unable to express their thoughts verbally following a stroke or other cerebral incident) once again become capable of fluent speech. In chapter 20, Sacks demonstrates the near-miraculous power of music to animate Parkinson's patients and other people with severe movement disorders, even those who are frozen into odd postures. Scientists cannot yet explain how music achieves this effect.
G. To readers who are unfamiliar with neuroscience and music behavior, Musicophilia may be something of a revelation. But the book will not satisfy those seeking the causes and implications of the phenomena Sacks describes. For one thing, Sacks appears to be more at ease discussing patients than discussing experiments. And he tends to be rather uncritical in accepting scientific findings and theories.
H. It's true that the causes of music-brain oddities remain poorly understood. However, Sacks could have done more to draw out some of the implications of the careful observations that he and other neurologists have made and of the treatments that have been successful. For example, he might have noted that the many specific dissociations among components of music comprehension, such as loss of the ability to perceive harmony but not melody, indicate that there is no music center in the brain. Because many people who read the book are likely to believe in the brain localisation of all mental functions, this was a missed educational opportunity.
I. Another conclusion one could draw is that there seem to be no "cures" for neurological problems involving music. A drug can alleviate a symptom in one patient and aggravate it in another or can have both positive and negative effects in the same patient. Treatments mentioned seem to be almost exclusively antiepileptic medications, which "damp down" the excitability of the brain in general; their effectiveness varies widely.
J. Finally, in many of the cases described here the patient with music-brain symptoms is reported to have "normal" EEG results. Although Sacks recognises the existence of new technologies, among them far more sensitive ways to analyze brain waves than the standard neurological EEG test, he does not call for their use. In fact, although he exhibits the greatest compassion for patients, he conveys no sense of urgency about the pursuit of new avenues in the diagnosis and treatment of music-brain disorders. This absence echoes the book's preface, in which Sacks expresses fear that "the simple art of observation may be lost" if we rely too much on new technologies. He does call for both approaches, though, and we can only hope that the neurological community will respond.
high expectations of Musicophilia
My reactions to the book
are mixed
Main idea: Người viết đã có kỳ vọng cao → nhưng cuối cùng phản ứng của người viết lại bị lẫn lộn => Cảm xúc lẫn lộn phát sinh từ sự chênh lệch giữa kỳ vọng cao >< thực tế. Ở đây ngụ ý thực tế quyển sách không được như mong đợi.
