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Hard: Upper intermediate level and above, B2 and above 

Introduction

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1 You've probably seen the impossible happen, or at least thought you have. When a magician makes a card disappear, or throws a ball into the air, only for it to vanish, it seems that they are using amazing powers. But the magic isn't happening on stage. It's actually all inside your brain.

2 These illusions work because of essential processes that happen in our brains. Our senses provide an enormous amount of information about our surroundings. Our brains have evolved ways of prioritising what's important. We tend to notice the things that are most significant and remember those which have most meaning for us. What we perceive that we see or remember that we saw is actually a mental image.

3 These mental processes are exploited by illusionists to trick us into perceiving things in a particular way. In one famous trick, a ball is thrown into the air twice and caught and then vanishes into thin air on the third throw. This third throw is actually just a hand movement. Our brains predict that the ball will leave the magician's hand so we think we see it. The same process makes a dog run for a stick when we pretend to throw it.

4 During a magic show, we are often manipulated to think that we have a freer choice than we actually do. Magician-turned-psychologist Gustav Kuhn highlights how a performer's gaze can direct our attention towards some things and divert it away from others. Even babies naturally tend to follow where someone is looking.

5 Kuhn has become a researcher using the techniques behind different magic tricks to see what we can learn about how the brain works. He's even teamed up with a toy manufacturer to produce magic sets that explain our mental processes. Understanding these could be important because while magicians use these deceptions to entertain us, others use similar approaches to mislead us or spread disinformation.

Questions 

1. Match the headings to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 ________
Paragraph 2 ________
Paragraph 3 ________
Paragraph 4 ________
Paragraph 5 ________

a. Mental processes
b. A tool for learning
c. The illusion of choice
d. Doing the impossible
e. Making things vanish
f. Using the audience's brains

2. Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. Magicians have amazing powers.

a. True
b. False
c. Not given

2. Why do our brains prioritise the most important information?

a. to make tricks work
b. so we perceive a mental image
c. because we receive a large amount of information

3. Look at paragraph 3. What does 'it' refer to in the following sentence? Our brains predict that the ball will leave the magician's hand so we think we see it.

a. the magician's hand
b. the ball
c. a movement

4. What is mentioned as something that magicians can use to divert our attention?

a. telling stories
b. their eyes
c. playing cards

5. Magic sets can help teach how brains work.

a. True
b. False
c. Not given

3.    Use the words from the list to complete the summary of the article.

They look like magic, but 1)________ harness our brains to create a 2)________. Magicians are able to 3)________ the way we 4)________ the things in front of us. We may believe that something has 5)________, when it is still there.

perceive
deception
manipulate
illusions
exploited
vanished
mislead

Vocabulary

vanish
disappear, become invisible

illusion
something we see that isn't actually there/true

perceive
sense something

exploit
use to benefit from

illusionist
someone who perfoms magic tricks

manipulate
make someone or something act in a particular way

gaze
look in a particular direction

deception
making someone believe something that isn't true

mislead
to make someone believe something that isn't true

disinformation
untrue information designed to make someone believe something false

Answers

1.    Match the headings to the paragraph.

Paragraph 1 d) Doing the impossible

Paragraph 2 a) Mental processes

Paragraph 3 f) Using the audience's brains

Paragraph 4 c) The illusion of choice

Paragraph 5 b) A tool for learning

2.    Choose the correct option based on the content of the article.

1. b. False. When a magician makes a card disappear or throws a ball into the air, only for it to vanish, it seems that they are using amazing powers. But the magic isn't happening on stage.

2. c. Our senses provide an enormous amount of information about our surroundings. Our brains have evolved ways of prioritising what's important.

3. b. The pronoun 'it' refers to the ball leaving the magician's hand.

4. b. Magician-turned-psychologist Gustav Kuhn highlights how a performer's gaze can direct our attention towards some things and divert it away from others.

5. a. True.He's even teamed up with a toy manufacturer to produce magic sets that explain our mental processes.

3.    Use the words from the list to complete the summary of the article.

They look like magic, but illusions harness our brains to create a deception. Magicians are able to manipulate the way we perceive the things in front of us. We may believe that something has vanished, when it is still there.

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