According to the paragraph, what makes dance cognitively demanding?

Question

Accepted Answer

Correct answer: A — Concept — In a comprehension question of the form “according to the passage…”, the answer must be traceable to something the passage itself states; outside knowledge and mere plausibility carry no weight. The reliable method has two steps: Fix the meaning of the key term in the question. Locate the sentence where the passage speaks about exactly that term. Here the key term is “cognitively demanding” — demanding on the mind (memory, attention, processing several things at once), as distinct from demanding on the body. So the sentences to hunt for are the ones that describe mental work. Application The passage gives its own account of that mental load: Helena Blumen attributes the effect to “the intricate mental multitasking that dance requires”, which “engages various parts of the brain at the same time”. The last paragraph spells that multitasking out: “In dance, we have to learn patterns, we have to think symmetrically and asymmetrically, we have to remember sequences.” The mental work the passage names is therefore pattern learning and sequence memory — dance is cognitively demanding because it involves learning patterns and sequences. Cross-check — the other option values Option value What the passage does with it It is more repetitive than other exercises The passage places repetition on the opposite side of its own comparison: dancing “requires more brain power than simpler repetitive exercises”. It is less physically demanding than other activities The passage never ranks dance against other activities by physical effort; the ranking it draws is in brain power. It does not require strength and endurance The passage makes no claim at all about muscular requirements, and not needing a physical capacity would not by itself create mental load. Result — the passage grounds the cognitive demand of dance in learning patterns and remembering sequences.

Answer

A. It involves learning patterns and sequences

Answer

B. It does not require strength and endurance

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C. It is more repetitive than other exercises

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D. It is less physically demanding than other activities

Option value	What the passage does with it
It is more repetitive than other exercises	The passage places repetition on the opposite side of its own comparison: dancing “requires more brain power than simpler repetitive exercises”.
It is less physically demanding than other activities	The passage never ranks dance against other activities by physical effort; the ranking it draws is in brain power.
It does not require strength and endurance	The passage makes no claim at all about muscular requirements, and not needing a physical capacity would not by itself create mental load.