Practice Reading: Yawning

In the 1960s, Robert R Provine faced difficulty in convincing his research students of the importance of ‘yawning science’. Despite its seeming eccentricity to some, Provine’s decision to study yawning was a logical extension of his work in developmental neuroscience.

The verb ‘to yawn’ is derived from the Old English ganien or ginian, meaning to gape or open wide. But in addition to gaping jaws, yawning has significant features that are easy to observe and analyse. Provine ‘collected’ yawns to study by using a variation of the contagion response*. He asked people to ‘think about yawning’ and, once they began to yawn to depress a button and that would record from the start of the yawn to the exhalation at its end.

Provine’s early findings can be summarized as follows: yawning is highly stereotyped but not uniform in its duration and form. It exemplifies the instinctive ‘fixed action pattern’ studied in classical animal behavior, or ethology. Unlike a reflex (a rapid, short-duration response to a simple stimulus), once initiated, a yawn progresses with the inevitability of a sneeze. The typical yawn lasts about six seconds on average, with durations ranging from three seconds to much longer. Yawns are not half-hearted; this intensity typifies fixed action patterns and explains why attempts to stifle yawns are futile. Like coughing, yawns occur in clusters with varying intervals, usually around 68 seconds but rarely exceeding 70. The frequency and duration of yawns are unrelated; individuals who yawn briefly or for extended periods do not compensate by yawning more or less frequently. Additionally, Provine's hypotheses about the structure and function of yawning can be tested using three distinct yawn variations that focus on the roles of the nose, mouth, and jaw.

i) The nose-closed yawn

Subjects are instructed to compress their nostrils when they sense the beginning of a yawn. Most subjects claim to be able to perform perfectly normal yawns with compressed nostrils. This suggests that the inhalation at the start of a yawn, and the exhalation at its end, do not necessarily require the nostrils – the mouth provides an adequate air passage.

ii) The clenched teeth yawn

Subjects are instructed to clench their teeth when they feel a yawn coming on, but allow themselves to inhale normally through their open lips and clenched teeth. This variation gives one the feeling of being stuck mid-yawn. This demonstrates that the gaping of the jaws is a crucial component of the fixed action pattern of yawning; without it, the sequence will not complete. Yawning is also shown to be more than a deep breath because, unlike regular breathing, inhalation and exhalation cannot be performed as effectively through clenched teeth as through the nose.

iii) The nose yawn

This variation tests the capability of the nasal airway to support a yawn. Unlike regular breathing, which can be done equally well through the mouth or nose, yawning is impossible through nasal inhalation alone. Similar to yawning with clenched teeth, nasal yawning gives the unsatisfactory sensation of being stuck midway through a yawn. However, exhalation can be equally effective through the mouth or nose. Through this method, Provine demonstrated that inhalation through the oral airway and the gaping of the jaws are essential for normal yawning. The motor program for yawning will not complete without feedback confirming the completion of these program components.

Yet yawning is a profound, widespread movement that involves much more than airway maneuvers and jaw gaping. During yawning, facial muscles stretch, the head tilts back, eyes narrow or close, tears are produced, saliva flows, the Eustachian tubes of the middle ear open, and many other cardiovascular and respiratory actions occur, although unspecified. Perhaps yawning shares components with other behaviors. For instance, is yawning a kind of 'slow sneeze' or is sneezing a 'fast yawn'? Both share common respiratory and other features including jaw gaping, eye closure, and head tilting.

Yawning and stretching share characteristics and can occur together as part of a global motor complex. Studies by J. I. P. deVries et al. in the early 1980s, using ultrasound to track movements in the developing fetus, observed a connection between yawning and stretching. A remarkable demonstration of the yawn-stretch link occurs in many individuals paralyzed on one side of their body due to stroke-induced brain damage. The prominent British neurologist Sir Francis Walshe noted in 1923 that when these individuals yawn, they are surprised and puzzled to observe that their paralyzed arm rises and flexes automatically, a phenomenon neurologists call an 'associated response'. Yawning apparently activates intact, unconsciously controlled connections between the brain and the motor system, causing the paralyzed limb to move. It remains uncertain whether the associated response indicates a positive prognosis for recovery or if yawning is therapeutic in preventing muscle deterioration.

Provine suggested that yawning likely serves multiple functions, making it unrealistic to pinpoint a single purpose. Yawning seems to signal a shift in behavioral state, transitioning from one activity to another. It also serves as a reminder that deep-seated, instinctual behaviors linking humans to the animal kingdom persist beneath cultural, rational, and linguistic overlays.

Questions 1-6

Complete the summary below using the list of words, A-K, below

Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

Early research by Provine on yawning

Through his observation of yawns, Province was able to confirm that 1…. do not exist.

Just like a 2 …, yawns cannot be interrupted after they have begun. This is because yawns occur as a 3… rather than a stimulus response as was previously thought.

In measuring the time taken to yawn, provive found that a typical yawn lasts about 4… He also found that it is a common for people to yawn a number of times in quick succession with the yawns usually being around 5… apart. When studying whether length and rate were connected. Province concluded that people who yawn less do not necessarily produce 6…. to make up for this.

Questions 7-11

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet.

7. What did Provine conclude from his ‘closed nose yawn’ experiment?

• A. Ending a yawn requires use of the nostrils.
• B. You can yawn without breathing through your nose
• C. Breathing through the nose produces a silent yawn.
• D. The role of the nose in yawning needs further investigation.

8. Provine’s clenched teeth yawn’s experiment shows that

• A. Yawning is unconnected with fatigue.
• B. A yawn is the equivalent of a deep intake of breath.
• C. You have to be able to open your mouth wide to yawn.
• D. Breathing with the teeth together is as efficient as through the nose.

9. The nose yawn experiment was used to test weather yawning

• A. Can be stopped after it has stated
• B. Is the result of motor programing
• C. Involves both inhalation and exhalation.
• D. Can be accomplished only through the nose.

10. In people paralyzed on one side because of brain damage

• A. Yawning may involve only one side of the face.
• B. The yawing response indicates that recovery is likely
• C. Movement in paralysed arm is stimulated by yawning
• D. Yawning can be used as an example to prevent muscle wasting.

11. In the last paragraph, the writer concludes that

• A. Yawning is a sign of boredom.
• B. We yawn is spite of the development of our species
• C. Yawning is a more passive activity than we Imagine
• D. We are stimulated to yawn when our brain activity is low.

Questions 12-14

Questions 12-14

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?

In boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

12 Research students were initially reluctant to appreciate the value of Provine’s studies.

13 When foetuses yawn and stretch they are learning how to control movement.

14 According to Provine, referring to only one function is probably inadequate to explain why people yawn.

Responses

1. K (Đoạn 3, “There are no half-yawns”)

2. H (Đoạn 3, “…but, once started, a yawn progresses with the inevitability of a sneeze.”)

3. D (Đoạn 3, “ It is not a reflex (short-duration, rapid, proportional response to a simple stimulus)…”

4. J (Đoạn 3, “The standard yawn runs its course over about six seconds on average…”)

5. E (Đoạn 3, “Just like a cough, yawns can come in bouts with a highly variable inter-yawn interval, which is generally about 68 seconds but rarely more than 70.”)

6. B (Đoạn 3, “producers of short or long yawns do not compensate by yawning more or less often. “)

7. B (Đoạn 4, “This indicates that the inhalation at the onset of a yawn, and the exhalation at its end, need not involve the nostrils.”)

8. C (Đoạn 5, “Subjects are asked to clench their teeth when they feel themselves start to yawn but allow themselves to inhale normally through their open lips and clenched teeth.”)

9. D (Đoạn 6, “Unlike normal breathing, which can be performed equally well through mouth or nose, yawning is impossible via nasal inhalation alone.”)

10. C (Đoạn 8, “…they are startled and mystified to observe that their otherwise paralyzed arm rises and flexes automatically in what neurologists term an ‘associated response’.”)

11. B (Đoạn 9, “Yawning is also a reminder that ancient and unconscious behavior linking the US to the animal world lurks beneath the veneer of culture, rationality and language.”)

12. YES (Đoạn 1, “When Robert R Provine began studying yawning in the 1960s, it was difficult for him to convince research students of the merits of ‘yawning science’”)

13. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)