Psychology · Level 1 · 121 words

A Picture Beside the Words

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

A learner reads that a seed first sends a root downward and then grows a shoot upward. Beside the sentence is a simple drawing with arrows. Later, either the words or the picture may help the learner remember the sequence.

Clear images and language can create more than one path back to an idea. The words name root and shoot. The drawing shows their positions and directions. When the two forms support the same meaning, each can cue the other.

More pictures are not always better. A decorative cartoon that adds no useful information may pull attention away. A confusing diagram can also compete with the explanation. The helpful picture selects the relationship that matters and makes it easier to see.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. What is the main idea of the passage?

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C. A relevant picture paired with words can support memory through two connected forms, while distracting images may interfere.
The passage explains mutually supporting verbal and visual cues, then limits the claim to clear relevant images.

2. Why can the drawing help the learner recall the sequence?

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D. Its arrows show the directions that the words describe.
The picture represents the same positions and directions, providing another cue for the idea.

3. What does “cue” mean in the second paragraph?

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A. serve as a signal that helps bring something to mind
Each form can prompt recall of the matching meaning stored with the other.

4. Which part grows downward first?

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B. the root
The opening sentence states that the root goes downward before the shoot grows upward.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.