Listening to music during exercise improves exercise performance and reduces…
2021
Listening to music during exercise improves exercise performance and reduces discomfort. Scientists researched whether listening to music while studying can help students learn better and the results were inconclusive. Students who needed external stimulation for studying fared worse while students who did not need any external stimulation benefited from music.
Which one of the following statements is the CORRECT inference of the above passage?
- A.
Listening to music has no effect on learning and a positive effect on physical exercise.
- B.
Listening to music has a clear positive effect both on physical exercise and on learning.
- C.
Listening to music has a clear positive effect on physical exercise. Music has a positive effect on learning only in some students.
- D.
Listening to music has a clear positive effect on learning in all students. Music has a positive effect only in some students who exercise.
Attempted by 37 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Key idea: music clearly helps physical exercise, but its effect on learning is mixed and depends on the type of student.
Physical exercise: The passage states that listening to music during exercise improves performance and reduces discomfort, so there is a clear positive effect on exercise.
Learning: The studies were inconclusive overall. The passage specifies that students who needed external stimulation for studying fared worse with music, while students who did not need external stimulation benefited.
Combined inference: Therefore the correct conclusion is that music has a clear positive effect on physical exercise, and it has a positive effect on learning only for some students (those who did not require external stimulation).
Why other conclusions are wrong:
Claiming music has no effect on learning contradicts the evidence that some students benefited while others did worse.
Claiming a clear positive effect on learning for all students ignores the reported differences between students who needed external stimulation and those who did not.
Any statement that reverses which students benefit or ties learning benefits only to exercisers misreads the passage.
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