(Update 2024) Ingenuity | IELTS Reading Practice Test Free

Table of Contents

Passage

A Ingenuity is the process of applying ideas to solve problems or meet challenges which involves the changes in condition as well as in politics and in the use of both natural and social resources. The term holds an opposite meaning of reproduction. This definition is more subtle than it first appears. Ingenuity, as used here, is explicitly narrower than nideas” per se, since it refers only to ideas used to solve practical problems, whereas many if not most ideas are not used in this way. Yet it is broader than “innovation,” since innovation implies novelty; and, although ingenuity certainly does not exclude novelty, practical ideas do not have to be novel to be classed here as ingenuity. The process of figuring out how to cross a mountain stream using a fallen log, build an airplane from a sheet of paper, or start a new company in a foreign culture all involve the exercising of ingenuity. Human ingenuity has led to technological developments through applied science, but can also be seen in the development of new social organizations, institutions and relationships .Ingenuity involves the most complex human thought processes, bringing together our thinking and acting both individually and collectively to take advantage of opportunities or to overcome problems.

B The requirement for ingenuity is defined as in response to a given resource scarcity as the “constant-satisfaction requirement,” which is the amount needed to compensate for any aggregate social disutility caused by the scarcity. It is, in other words, the minimum amount of ingenuity that a society needs to maintain at least its current aggregate level of satisfaction in spite of the scarcity. The request for ingenuity is in a growing trend in the past century. The constant-satisfaction requirement is not an economic constraint in the real world; rather it is an arbitrary, analytical benchmark against which we can evaluate society’s delivery of ingenuity. Many people who are optimistic about human ability to surmount resource scarcity implicitly use this constant-satisfaction benchmark :they argue that, with well-functioning economic institutions like markets, the level of satisfaction in a society over the medium and long runs will not decrease despite occasional resource shortages. In other words, these optimists assume that ingenuity will be supplied abundantly and cheaply enough to alleviate any disutility arising from scarcity and that the society will demand at least this amount of ingenuity.

Ingenuity
Ingenuity

C At any point in time, the constant—satisfaction requirement for ingenuity is partly a function of how far into the future we project this requirement. If we are concerned with maintaining constant satisfaction only into the near future, the present need for ingenuity might be quite limited. For example, if consumption currently exceeds the flow of a renewable resource, we might be able to tap the resource 1 s underlying stock—and thus maintain our satisfaction for the short term—without radically changing our institutions, behavior and technology. On the other hand, if we want to ensure constant satisfaction far into the future, our present need for ingenuity might be much higher; we might have to figure out now how to live within renewable resource flows. The exploration together with more ingenuity available to assist this make the change in the environment more rapidly.

D The supply of ingenuity refers to the amount actually delivered by the economic and social system. This amount is determined by the price society is willing to pay for it and by numerous other variables, including availability of financial and intellectual capital, society is capacity to generate practical knowledge, and the willingness of society to undergo social and technological change. Ingenuity is supplied into two temporal stages. The first is the generation of a potential solution to a particular problem ;the second is the delivery and implementation of that potential solution. Supply can be hindered by factors operating at either or both stages. Properly functioning economic institutions, especially markets, provide incentives to encourage conservation, resource substitution, the development of new sources of scarce resources, and technological innovation. Finally, “distributionists” acknowledge that there may be resource limits to human population growth, but for them the real problem is the maldistribution of resources and wealth. Poverty and inequality, in their view, are the cause not the consequence of high population growth rates and practices that deplete resources.

E A great number of changes have taken place in the recent years including some radical ones. However, the whole process is marching at a quite slow pace without being regarded as easily tracked. A persistent and serious ingenuity gap will cause major social changes like declining food production, reduced economic production, and large population movements. These changes undermine regime legitimacy and coercive power, and increase the likelihood of widespread and chronic civil violence. Serious strife will, of course, further debilitate what remaining capacity the society has to supply ingenuity in response to the original scarcity, especially by causing capital to flee. Countries with a critical ingenuity gap therefore risk entering a downward and self—reinforcing spiral of crisis and decay. All these changes increase the interaction between people which arouses increasingly huge pressure. One good example is the destroyed environment. Not only that, even some small changes can lead to unbelievable results.

F Actually we know little about how this society actually functions. One cause that leads to this phenomenon is that some disciplines such as social science take a long time to evolve. Ordinary people need to know more about the fact and should not burden the government the whole obligation to be in charge of ingenuity. Besides, different sections in the government should work with each other to do a better job since something like the climate and the survival environment of human are not the artificial systems that can be easily changed.

Questions

Questions 27-30 Classify the following implication according to whether the writer states. Write your answers in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet

27 Ingenuity

28 survival environment of human

29 wealth

30 reproduction

List of statement

A Can not be ultimately altered at human’s disposal

B Not only the government alone takes the responsibility

C has been not properly allocated

D Containing a reverse implication to ingenuity

Questions 31-33 Choose the correct letter, A,B,C or D. Write your answers in boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet.

31 The access to more ingenuity can produce a(an) alteration in the surroundings.

A Interesting

B Faster

C Enjoyable

D Boring

32 The fact that the huge changes appearing in the society take a considerableamount of time to be noticed makes their impact

A Detectable

B Incredible

C Hardly observed

D Unavoidable

33 What does the author say about the influence exerted even by the minor changes posed to environment as it is

A Not noticeable

B Just a little bit

C Considerable

D Not worth mentioning

Questions 34-40 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage? In boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the sataement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

34 The ingenuity has resulted in both technological and social significance.

35 The requirement for ingenuity in the past 100 years becomes increasingly huge.

36 More knowledge about ingenuity can better help people grasp current affairs.

37 Nations suffering from a crucial ingenuity gap may still have a prospect.

38 The future generation may criticize the government for its improper function in narrowing the ingenuity gap.

39 Most branches of learning have evolved with a too fast pace.

40 Common people should also be concerned about changes happening in our real society.

Answers

Ingenuity answers
Ingenuity answers

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