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4 real statements, Test 11 Passage 3 — claims, not just facts
Yes/No/Not Given looks almost identical to True/False/Not Given, but it asks about the writer’s claims and opinions, not just stated facts. Here are 4 real statements from Test 11’s passage on expert birders.
Q32 — a direct match
Q32: “The study found that expert birders performed better than novices at identifying birds shown in the experiment.”
The passage states “the more experienced birders consistently outperformed the novices at correctly identifying the birds shown” — a direct match.
Answer: YES
Q33 — the opposite claim
Q33: “The structural brain differences between experts and novices disappeared once age was taken into account.”
The passage states the structural difference “held regardless of the participant’s age” — the exact opposite of disappearing once age is accounted for.
Answer: NO
Q34 — an absolute-language trap
Q34: “All researchers in the field agree that specialised skills can protect the brain from age-related decline.”
The passage says this broader idea “has attracted some scepticism among researchers in the field,” with one scientist calling it “a long-disputed” hypothesis — the opposite of universal agreement. The word “all” in the statement is the giveaway.
Answer: NO
Q36 — mentioned, but not quite claimed
Q36: “The study’s authors plan to conduct a longitudinal follow-up study in the near future.”
The passage says researchers in the field note that establishing causation “would require longitudinal studies” — but it never says this specific study’s own authors plan to run one. Close, but not actually stated either way.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
DEB
4 statements from Test 11’s expert-birder passage