IELTS · Reading

Academic Reading: Cognitive Science and AI Linguistics

20 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Academic Reading: Cognitive Science and AI Linguistics now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 20 questions

  1. Read the passage excerpt and answer the question:

    'Large language models (LLMs) operate on statistical probability distributions over extensive token sequences, predicting the most plausible continua…
  2. In the context of language models, what does 'grounding' in sensorimotor reality refer to?
  3. Read the passage excerpt:

    'The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or linguistic relativity, posits that the structural categorizations of a specific spoken language influence or determine the cognitive patterns…
  4. According to the excerpt, in which cognitive domains does weak linguistic relativity find empirical support?
  5. Read the passage excerpt:

    'Neuroplasticity—the brain’s capacity to structurally and functionally reorganize in response to learning, environmental enrichment, or neurological trauma—persists througho…
  6. According to the neuroplasticity passage, what cellular mechanism aids in recovery following a stroke (ischemia)?
  7. Read the passage excerpt:

    'In psycholinguistics, the Stroop effect illustrates cognitive interference during automated task execution. When experimental participants are tasked with naming the ink co…
  8. What broader cognitive phenomenon does the Stroop effect primarily demonstrate?
  9. Read the passage excerpt:

    'The critical period hypothesis, formulated by Eric Lenneberg, posits that primary language acquisition is biologically constrained to a developmental window extending from…
  10. According to the text, how do post-pubescent second language learners typically differ cognitively from child native acquirers?
  11. Read the passage excerpt:

    'Working memory, as modeled by Alan Baddeley, is not a unitary passive storage buffer, but a multicomponent active cognitive architecture. It comprises the central executive…
  12. Which component of Baddeley's working memory model integrates cross-modal information into unified sequential events?
  13. Read the passage excerpt:

    'Cognitive dissonance, first conceptualized by Leon Festinger, describes the distressing mental tension experienced when an individual holds contradictory beliefs, attitudes…
  14. According to the excerpt, how do people commonly resolve the discomfort of cognitive dissonance?
  15. Read the passage excerpt:

    'In developmental psychology, the acquisition of a 'Theory of Mind' (ToM)—the cognitive capacity to attribute mental states, such as beliefs, desires, emotions, and knowledg…
  16. Around what chronological age do typically developing children demonstrate a robust Theory of Mind in false-belief tasks?
  17. Read the passage excerpt:

    'Dual-process theories of cognition, popularized by Daniel Kahneman, delineate two distinct operational modes: System 1 and System 2. System 1 operates automatically, fast…
  18. How does System 2 cognition differ from System 1 in its utilization of cognitive resources?
  19. Read the passage excerpt:

    'In linguistics, universal grammar (UG)—formulated by Noam Chomsky—posits that the human brain possesses an innate, genetically determined Language Acquisition Device (LAD)…
  20. According to Chomsky's theory, what biological faculty enables human infants to acquire language?

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