Are you tackling the reading passage “The Art of Deception” and looking for a thorough explanation? This is a fascinating academic text that delves into psychologist Paul Ekman’s research on “micro-expressions” as a tool for lie detection.
This article from ECE Language Center provides a detailed roadmap to help you fully master this reading passage. We will analyze the text, the question types, summarize the content, highlight key vocabulary, and provide a clear, step-by-step breakdown of the answers.
The Art of Deception IELTS Reading Overview
Passage Text
The art of deception
Do tiny changes of facial expression show whether someone is telling lies?
Forty years ago, the research psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman was addressing a group of young psychiatrists in training when he was asked a question, the answer to which has kept him busy ever since. Suppose the group wanted to know: a particular patient swears they are telling the truth. They look and sound sincere. So here is the question: is there any way you can be sure they are telling the truth? Ekman did not know the answer then but wanted to find out.
As part of his research, he had already filmed a series of 12-minute interviews with psychiatric patients. In a subsequent conversation, one of the patients said that he had lied to him. So, Ekman sat and looked at the film but saw nothing noteworthy. Then he slowed it down and looked again. Then he slowed it even further. And suddenly, there, across just two frames of the film, he saw it: an intense expression of extreme anguish. It lasted less than a 15th of a second, but once he had spotted the first expression, he soon found three more examples in that same interview. He termed his discovery “micro-expression”: very rapid intense demonstrations of emotion that the subject intended to be concealed.
Over the course of the next four decades, Ekman successfully demonstrated a proposition first suggested by Charles Darwin: that the ways in which we express disgust, contempt, fear, surprise, happiness, and sadness are universal. The facial muscles triggered by those seven basic emotions are, he has shown, essentially standard, regardless of language and culture, from the US to Japan and Brazil to Papua New Guinea. What is more, expressions of emotion are impossible to suppress and, particularly when we are lying, micro-expressions of powerfully felt emotions will inevitably flit across our face before we get the chance to stop them.
Fortunately for liars, most people will fail to spot these fleeting signals of inner torment. Of the 15,000 Ekman has tested, only 50 people, whom he calls “naturals,” have been able to do it. But given a little more training, Ekman says, almost anyone can develop the skill. He should know, since these tests were completed in the mid-1980s and the first publication of his research, he has been called in by the FBI and CIA (among countless more law enforcement and other agencies around the world), not just to solve cases, but to teach them how to use his techniques for themselves. He has held workshops for defense and prosecution lawyers, health professionals, even jealous spouses, all of them wanting to know exactly when someone is not being 100 per cent candid.
Most recently, Ekman’s research has featured in a new television series about the exploits of the fictional Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientist who studies involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why you might have been motivated to do so. According to the publicity blurb, Lightman is a human lie detector, even more accurate than a polygraph test. Ekman concedes he was skeptical when the producer first approached him with the idea of turning his life’s work into a TV series, and initially would have stopped the project if he could. In particular, he was fearful that the show would exaggerate the effectiveness of his techniques and create the quite inaccurate impression among audiences that criminals could no longer hope to get away with lying. In the worst-case scenario, he was concerned about unfair convictions, that one day someone not properly trained in his techniques might be sitting on a jury and wrongly find someone guilty of a crime simply on the basis of a television programme.
In the end, though, he was won over because the series is unusual in several respects. It is the first time, as far as Ekman is aware, that a commercial TV drama has been based on the work of just one scientist. That scientist is also deeply involved in the project, talking through plot ideas and checking five successive drafts of each script to ensure details are correct. He was also impressed with the producer’s manifestly serious and well-intentioned reasons for making the programme. Now that the first series has been completed, he believes probably 80-90 per cent of the show is based on fact and that’s good enough for what it is. After all, a drama, not a documentary.
Ekman, incidentally, professes to have been a terrible liar ever since he was a small boy and observes that the ability to detect a lie and the ability to lie successfully are completely unrelated. He has been asked by people running for high office if he could teach them to become more credible with the public but has always refused to use his skills in that way on ethical grounds. He also insists that there are various kinds of lies. A “true” lie can be identified by having two essential characteristics: there must be a deliberate intent to mislead and there must be no notification that this is what is occurring. This means that an actor or a poker player isn’t a true liar. They are supposed to deceive you, it’s part of the game, and the same is true of flattery. He prefers to focus on the kinds of lies where the liar would be on grave trouble if they were found out and where the target would feel properly aggrieved if they knew.
Questions
Questions 27 – 31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 27 – 31 on your answer sheet.
27. According to the writer, Ekman became interested in lying after a question from
A. peers
B. patients
C. students
D. teachers
28. The writer refers to the 12-minute interviews in order to…
A. illustrate how frequently patients lie
B. describe the origins of Ekman’s theories
C. compare Ekman’s research to previous studies
D. show how patients’ behaviour is affected by filming
29. What is the writer’s point in the third paragraph?
A. micro-expressions are common to all people
B. recent research has refuted an old idea
C. with practice we can learn to control our micro-expressions
D. human society is too complex to allow for generalisations
30. What are we told about Ekman’s conclusions from his tests?
A. It’s natural for people to lie
B. Few untrained people can detect lies
C. most liars suffer from periods of depression
D. all of his subjects were trained to identify micro-expressions
31. What point does the writer make about Ekman’s techniques in the fourth paragraph?
A. They take decades to teach
B. they have been in great demand
C. They have aroused the suspicions of some agencies
D. they can be used by a limited range of occupations
Questions 32 – 36 Complete the summary using the list of words, A–I, below.
The television series based on Ekman’s work
A new TV series based on Ekman’s work features a hero named Lightman, who detects lies. Initially, Ekman was unenthusiastic about the TV project because he feared the possibility of encouraging viewers’ 32 ______. For example, he was worried that one day the programme could result in 33 ______ not being carried out. Ultimately though, he has given the show his blessing because he is not aware of any other comparable programme based on a single person’s 34 ______. The 35 ______ of the show’s producer have been another pleasant surprise and, considering the genre of the programme, Ekman is happy with the show’s overall 36 ______.
A. consequences
B. crimes
C. false beliefs
D. motives
E. justice
F. accuracy
G. acting
H. research
I. ratings
Questions 37 – 40
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 37 – 40 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
- Ekman regrets the lies he told as a child.
- People who are good at lying tend to be good at detecting lies.
- Ekman has worked with poker players to help them lie more convincingly.
- Ekman is more interested in the types of lies with serious consequences.
Summary of the Reading Passage
The article “The Art of Deception” explores the career and discoveries of psychologist Paul Ekman regarding the detection of lies through facial expressions.
- Origins: Ekman’s work began with a question from a group of trainee psychiatrists about how to determine if a patient was being truthful.
- Discovery of “Micro-expressions”: By reviewing interview footage in slow motion, Ekman discovered “micro-expressions”—intense, fleeting emotional displays that subjects attempted to conceal.
- Universality: He proved that expressions for seven basic emotions are universal across all cultures and are impossible to suppress completely when lying.
- Practical Application: While most people cannot spot these signals naturally, the skill can be learned. Ekman’s techniques have been sought after by agencies like the FBI, the CIA, and various other professionals.
- Pop Culture: His work inspired a TV series. Initially, Ekman feared the show would create misconceptions, but he eventually agreed to collaborate, acting as a consultant to ensure accuracy.
- Views on Lying: Ekman distinguishes between “true” lies (intended to mislead with serious consequences) and socially accepted forms of deception (like acting or poker). He refuses to use his skills to teach people how to lie more convincingly.
Key Vocabulary and Structures
- Sincere (adj): Genuine, honest.
- Example: They look and sound sincere.
- Anguish (n): Severe mental or physical pain or suffering.
- Example: …he saw it: an intense expression of extreme anguish.
- Concealed (v-ed): Kept secret or hidden.
- Example: …emotion that the subject intended to be concealed.
- Suppress (v): To forcibly put an end to or prevent.
- Example: What is more, expressions of emotion are impossible to suppress…
- Candid (adj): Truthful and straightforward; frank.
- Example: …all of them wanting to know exactly when someone is not being 100 per cent candid.
- Skeptical (adj): Not easily convinced; having doubts.
- Example: Ekman concedes he was skeptical when the producer first approached him…
- Aggrieved (adj): Feeling resentment at having been unfairly treated.
- Example: …where the target would feel properly aggrieved if they knew.
- Useful Structure: “Fortunately for [noun], [clause]”
- Example: Fortunately for liars, most people will fail to spot these fleeting signals of inner torment.
- This is a sentence-initial adverbial phrase used to comment on the situation from the perspective of a specific group.
Answer Key and Detailed Explanations
Questions 27 – 31
27. Answer: C. students
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 1, sentence 1: “Dr. Paul Ekman was addressing a group of young psychiatrists in training…” “Psychiatrists in training” are equivalent to “students.”
28. Answer: B. describe the origins of Ekman’s theories
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes how Ekman reviewed interview footage, slowed it down, and discovered “an intense expression of extreme anguish,” which he termed “micro-expression.” This entire paragraph recounts the origin of his theory.
29. Answer: A. micro-expressions are common to all people
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 3, sentence 2: “…the ways in which we express disgust, contempt, fear, surprise, happiness, and sadness are universal… regardless of language and culture…” “Universal” and “regardless of language and culture” mean they are common to all people.
30. Answer: B. Few untrained people can detect lies
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 4, sentence 2: “Of the 15,000 Ekman has tested, only 50 people… have been able to do it.” This shows that very few people possess this ability naturally without training.
31. Answer: B. they have been in great demand
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 4 describes how Ekman was “called in by the FBI and CIA” and held workshops for various professionals. Being sought after by many agencies and professions indicates his techniques are in great demand.
Questions 32 – 36
32. Answer: C. false beliefs
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 5: “…he was fearful that the show would… create the quite inaccurate impression among audiences…” “Inaccurate impression” is synonymous with “false beliefs.”
33. Answer: E. justice
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 5: “…he was concerned about unfair convictions… wrongly find someone guilty of a crime…” “Unfair convictions” is a failure of justice.
34. Answer: H. research
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 6: “…a commercial TV drama has been based on the work of just one scientist.” The “work” of a scientist refers to their research.
35. Answer: D. motives
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 6: “He was also impressed with the producer’s manifestly serious and well-intentioned reasons for making the programme.” “Well-intentioned reasons” are the producer’s motives.
36. Answer: F. accuracy
Location & Explanation: Paragraph 6: “…he believes probably 80-90 per cent of the show is based on fact…” This refers to the overall accuracy of the show.
Questions 37 – 40
37. Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The final paragraph states: “Ekman… professes to have been a terrible liar ever since he was a small boy…” The text mentions he was a liar, but provides no information about whether he “regrets” it.
38. Answer: FALSE
Location & Explanation: The final paragraph states: “…the ability to detect a lie and the ability to lie successfully are completely unrelated.” This directly contradicts the statement in the question.
39. Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The final paragraph mentions “a poker player” as an example of someone who is not a “true liar,” but there is no information stating that Ekman has “worked with” them.
40. Answer: TRUE
Location & Explanation: The final paragraph: “He prefers to focus on the kinds of lies where the liar would be on grave trouble if they were found out…” “Grave trouble” is synonymous with “serious consequences.”
We hope this detailed analysis has cleared up any questions you had regarding ‘The Art of Deception.’ Remember, the key to IELTS Reading is not just reading quickly, but reading effectively and with purpose. By mastering keyword identification, logical analysis, and evidence-based reasoning, you will be able to confidently tackle any reading passage. Good luck with your studies!
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