Read the passage and answer the questions:
Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often. This effort-saving instinct is a huge advantage. An efficient brain requires less room, which makes for a smaller head, which makes childbirth easier, and therefore makes survival more likely.
But conserving mental effort is only part of the story. Habits also have a powerful impact on our behaviors because once they are formed, they operate automatically. Even more importantly, habits can be changed, replaced, or ignored—but only if we understand how they work.
At the core of every habit is a neurological loop that consists of three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward. This loop is the foundation of all habitual behaviors. The cue is the trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode, the routine is the behavior itself, and the reward is what helps your brain remember the loop in the future.
Understanding this loop is the first step in taking control of habits, whether you want to break a bad habit or create a new one.
Choose the correct indirect speech conversion of the sentence.
"Scientists say, 'Habits emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort'".
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer
Scientists say that habits emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort.
Explanation
When converting direct speech to indirect speech, a critical grammar rule applies to the reporting verb:
If the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., "say"), the tense of the verbs inside the quotation marks does not change when converting to indirect speech.
Additionally, the statement describes a universal scientific fact/general truth about how the human brain functions, which also prevents any backshifting of tenses. Therefore, the simple present verbs "emerge" and "is constantly looking" remain exactly as they are in the original sentence.
Key Points
Reporting Verb Rule: Present tense reporting verb (say) → No tense change in indirect speech.
General Truths: Statements reflecting scientific facts maintain their original tense.