Reading for ielts

Collins I English fo r Exam s Thi/viên — PHON Els Van Geyte & Rhona Snelling Collins |English for Exams READING FOR IELTS Els Van Geyte & Rhona Snelling NTV Cong ty TNH H NHA XUAT BAN TONG HOP Nhan Tri Viet THANH PHO HO CHI MINH Collins Reading for IELTS ( Second edition 2020 Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers 2011, 2020 Vietnam's edition © 2020 by Nhan Tri Viet Co., Ltd Photo credits: p50 (photo 5): © Nick Fox / Shutterstock; p50 (photo 6): © Victor Ivin / Shutterstock; p56: © Krista Kennell / Shutterstock; p 86 (left): © Diana Zuleta / Shutterstock; p90: © Tupungato / Shutterstock All other images from Shutterstock Cover illustration: © Maria Herbert-Liew 2019 Sample IELTS Reading answer sheet (p143): Reproduced with permission of Cam bridge Assessment English © UCLES 2019 This edition is published in Vietnam under a license Agreement between HarperCollins Publishers Limited, UK and Nhan Tri Viet Co., Ltd., Vietnam Collins® and COBUILD® are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers Limited The Publishers gratefully acknowledge the permission granted to reproduce the copyright material in this book Whilst every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders, in cases where this has been unsuccessful, or if any have inadvertently been overlooked, the Publishers would gladly receive any information enabling them to rectify any error or omission at the first opportunity All exam-style questions and sample answers in this title were All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the Publisher This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the Publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of prihting Nevertheless, the Publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused HarperCollins does not warrant that any website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error-tree, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website writtpn hv thp authors About the authors Els Van Geyte is a DELTA-qualified teacher with a PhD in Linguistics She has many years of experience teaching English to international students at the University of Birmingham, where she works as an Educational Developer She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Rhona Snelling is a freelance ELT author and editor with extensive experience of teaching exam courses in private language schools and universities in the UK and other countries She has a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Oxford and is the author of Get Ready for IELTS: Speaking (Collins, 2012), Speaking (Collins, 2013) and co-author of Get Ready for IELTS (Collins, 2016) Authors' acknowledgements Els Van Geyte would like to dedicate this book to John and Jake McCarthy, whose support has been invaluable Rhona Snelling would like to thank her editor Matthew Duffy for his brilliant guidance and invaluable support throughout the project Contents Unit title Topic Page Introduction The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test Family m a tte rs Family and relationships Health care Health and fitness 16 Getting an education Education 24 Water Nature and the environment 34 Non-verbal clues Language and communication 42 Scientists at work Science and technology 50 The job market Employment and finances 60 Life's journey Youth and life stages 68 Community spirit People and places 78 10 On the move Holidays and travel 86 11 Culture Culture and modern society 94 12 Practice exam 102 Answer key 112 Sample answer sheet 143 Text credits 144 Introduction Who is this book for? Reading for IELTS will prepare you for the IELTS Reading test whether you are taking the test for the first time or f^ h e r^ * ^ ^*aS deen wr’^ en ^or tam ers with band score 5-5.5 who are trying to achieve band score 6.5 or It!?r|S*rU usin9 the same and that will help you assess your readiness for the actual exam ° 'nC Udes an Exam tutor checklist after the exam practice u Answer key A comprehensive answer key is provided for all sections of the book, including notes on why certain answers are correct or incorrect Using the book for self-study If you are new to IELTS, we recommend that you work systematically through the 12 units in order to benefit from its progressive structure If you are a more experienced learner, you can use the aims listed at the start of each unit to select the most useful exercises Each unit contains between three to four hours of self-study material Having access to someone who can provide informed feedback on the reading practice exercises is an advantage However, you can still learn a lot working alone or with a study partner willing to give and receive peer feedback Part 1: Language development Ideally, you should begin each unit by working through the Part 1: Language development exercises Try to answer the questions without looking at a dictionary ki order to develop the skill of inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words from context This is important because dictionaries cannot be used in the actual exam Part 2: Exam skills Work through the Part 2: Exam skills from beginning to end It is important to study the Exam information and Exam dps about each of the Reading task types, so that you become familiar with how to approach the different tasks in the test Doing this will also help you develop more general skills for reading The strategies covered should be thoroughly mastered so that during the actual exam you are fully prepared for each section and can focus on reading and answering the questions In the IELTS test itself, there is a time limit and you usually have to work fast, but while studying Part of each unit in this book, take your time and learn as much as you can about the different task types Part 3: Exam practice This section contains Exam practice questions and the Exam tutor After you have done the practice questions, it is a good idea to spend some time reviewing why certain answers are the correct ones and then work through the Exam tutor For this reason, we suggest you approach this part in the following way First the exam Here, you should focus on answering the questions correctly You should try and complete the Exam Practice questions within the time limit set, as this gives you the opportunity to practise under exam conditions After you have finished the Exam practice questions, make sure the format and spelling of your answers are correct Then, check your answers using the answer key at the back of the book Unit 12 Practice exam This is a complete Reading practice test This unit should be done under exam conditions Remember that the total allocated time is 60 minutes; there is no extra time to transfer answers Please keep this in mind when doing Unit 12 Using the book in the classroom If you are a teacher, you can use Reading for IELTS either as your main IELTS coursebook or as a supplementary course Detailed teacher's notes for each unit are available at: www.nhantnviet.com/collinsielts The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education, Australia There are tw o versions of the test: • Academ ic • General Training Academ ic is for students w ish in g to study at u n d e rgra d u a te or p o stgra d u a te levels in an E n g lish -m e d iu m e n viro n m en t General Training is for people w h o w ish to m igrate to an En g lish -sp e a kin g country T h is b o o k is p rim arily fo r stu d e n ts taking the A cadem ic version The test There are four m odules: Listening 30 m inutes, plus 10 m inutes fo r tran sferrin g an sw ers to the a n sw er sheet NB: the audio is heard only once Approx 10 questions per section Section 1: tw o speakers discuss a social situation Section 2: one speaker talks ab o u t a n o n -aca d em ic to p ic Section 3: up to four speakers discuss an edu cation al project Section 4: one speaker gives a talk of general acad e m ic interest Reading Writing 60 m inutes texts, taken from au thentic sources, on gen eral, acad e m ic topics Th e y m ay co n tain d ia g m s, charts, etc 40 questions: may include m ultiple choice, sentence co m p letion , co m p le tin g a d ia g m , g p h or chart, ch oosing h eadings, yes/no/not given, true/false/not given , classification an d m a tch in g Task 1: 20 m inutes, description of a table, chart, grap h or d iagram (1 w o rd s m in im u m ) Task 2: 40 m inutes: an essay in response to an a rg u m e n t or problem (2 w o rd s m in im u m ) Speaking Timetabling 1 -1 m inutes A three-part face-to-face oral interview w ith an exam iner Th e interview is recorded Part 1: introductions and general questions (4 -5 m ins) Part 2: individual lo ng turn (3 -4 m ins) - the can d id ate is given a task, has on e m inute to prepare, then talks for 1-2 m inutes, w ith som e questions from the exam iner Part tw o -w ay discussion (4 -5 mins): the exam iner asks further q u estions on the to p ic from Part 2, and gives the candidate the opportunity to discuss m ore abstract issues or ideas Listening, Reading and W riting m ust be taken on the sam e day, and in the order listed above Sp eakin g can be taken up to days before or after the other m odules Scoring Each section is given a band score Th e average of the fo u r scores p roduces th e O verall Band Score You not pass or fail IELTS; you receive a score IELTS and the Common European Framework of Reference The CEFR show s the level of the learner and Is used for m any English as a Foreign La n g u a g e e xam inations Th e tabl below show s the approxim ate CEFR level and the equivalent IELTS Overall Band Score: GBFR description CEPR level IELTS Band Score Proficient user (Advanced) C2 C1 7-8 Independent user (Intermediate - Upper Intermediate) B2 B1 5-6.5 4-5 is table contains the general descriptors for the band scores 1—9: :LTS Band cores Expert user Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding Very good user Has fully operational command of the language, with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations Handles complex detailed argumentation well Good user Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning Competent user Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies or.d m isu n d e rsta n d in g s C a n use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in famiHar situation^ Modest user Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes Should be able to handle basic communication in own field Limited user Basic competence is limited to familiar situations Has frequent problems in understanding and expression Is not able to use complex language Extremely limited user Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations Frequent breakdowns in communication occur Intermittent user No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English Non user Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words Did not attempt the test No assessable information provided arking - Listening and Reading papers have 40 items, how marks are translated into band scores: ;ening: 16 out of 40 correct answers: 23 out of 40 correct answers: 30 out of 40 correct answers: each worth one mark if correctly answered Here are some examples *ding: band score band score band score 15 out of 40 correct answers: 23 out of 40 correct answers: 30 out of 40 correct answers: band score band score band score iting and Speaking are marked according to performance descriptors iting: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting: Task achievement (Task 1) Task response (Task 2) Coherence and cohesion Lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy making: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting: Fluency and coherence Lexical resource Grammatical range Accuracy and pronunciation full details of how the examination is scored and marked, go to: www ieliiJQrci- Family matters Language development | Nouns for people; Useful collocations Exam skills | Identifying the main idea; Identifying paragraph structure; Expressing the main idea; Understanding matching headings tasks Exam Practice | Matching headings Part 1: Language development Nouns for people Look at the words in the box Which words can you use to describe the relationships of the people in the photos? acquaintance boss business partner colleague flatmate friend great-uncle half-brother mate relative sister-in-law step-sister stranger Which words in Exercise refer to people in yo u r fa m ily? you k n o w w e ll? Q Watch out Words that are close in meaning can be confusing and it is important to learn the different meanings you w o rk w ith ? you d o n o t k n o w w e ll? Read statements 1-5 and write T (True) or F (False) Then correct the false statements Use a dictionary to help you Guys an d mates are w o rd s th at are used to d e scrib e b o th m en a n d w o m e n in in fo rm a l la n g u a g e Yo u r great-uncle is the fa th e r of yo u r u n c le Triplets are three ch id re n b orn at the sa m e t im e Th e w o rd s half-brother an d step-brother d e scrib e th e sa m e fa m ily re la tio n s h ip Yo u r sister-in-law ca n be yo u r h u sb a n d 's sister or y o u r b roth er's w i f e Reading for IELTS Useful collocations ft Developing your knowledge of collocations will help you to understand the content of texts and increase your reading speed in the exam Complete sentences 1-4 with the words in the box Note how they collocate with the words in italics troubled extended adoptive non-identical close-knit close Did you know Lizzie has a _ twin? They don't look like each other at all! However, they have a very _ bond Many people see their _ L _ family regularly, but others only meet up at family events, such as weddings I consider myself fortunate to have such a _ family - we're in contact all the time and get on really well It was sad to learn about his upbringing It sounds like it was a childhood Though things improved dramatically when his _ parents gave him a home Read the passage W hat is the best title for the passage? The modern family unit is very confusing It is important for people to make a will Families undergo many distressing changes The modern family unit is becoming ever more complicated, especially when the family is often made up o f children from second marriages, A will is the only way to ensure that those you love or are obliged to care for are adequately provided for After the spouse has received his or her legal share, the rest o f the estate is shared by children or grandchildren If there are none, surviving parents will get a share If there are none o f these, any brothers and sisters who shared the same two parents as the deceased will receive a share If your family circumstances have changed, it is important that you make or update a will to ensure that your money and possessions are distributed according to your wishes For example, if you are married or enter into a registered civil partnership, this will invalidate any previous will you have made Read the passage in Exercise again Match the words 1-6 with the m eanings a- f will (noun) spouse (noun) estate (noun) a b c inheritance (noun) deceased (noun) invalidate (verb) d e f husband or wife, considered in relation to their partner (formal) a person who has recently died a legal document in which a person includes instructions about what should be done with their money and property after they die to make something no longer acceptable legally all the money and property owned by somebody when they die money and possessions that are received from somebody who has died Family matters Unit Part 1: Language development Life even ts Exercise 1 leave retire break m ortgage place new lyw ed Exercise (Suggested answ ers) Rent a place, new lyw ed couple, get a m ortgage, m aternity leave, career break, retire from W ords related to property Exercise 1c 2b 3a 4a Life stag es Exercise (Suggested answers) From you n ge st to oldest: infant, teenager, m iddle-aged, elderly, baby boomer, septuagenarian, octogenarian Useful nouns and verbs Exercise research belong w arn in g involvem ent agree Part 2: Exam skills Locatin g topics Exercise M arriage is the extra topic Paraphrasing Exercise (Suggested answers) a quantity, portion, com parative am ount / number, fraction, share, percentage b jobless, out of a job, not w orkin g, out of w ork, looking for work, redundant c the greatest rate, the highest percentage, a greater percentage than ever before Exercise more than one in six ,0 0 17.8 percent Exercise increasingly com petitive soar close in on lose out to Skim m ing Exercise Twice (/ married in my twenties and then again in my thirties.) No (About three years into the marriage, it became apparent that our views on these matters were diverging.) True False (unless you are particularly precocious or extremely self-aware) Exercise False (It was a whirlwind romance and although my friends and family said they were delighted, they were also clearly shocked at the speed of events There were even jokes at the office where we both worked as to whether we'd last a year.) Yes (We now have two beautiful daughters and a massive mortgage.) True (Our first year of marriage was probably the hardest whilst we learnt to adjust to the rhythm not only of each other, but of married life.) True (We are still very distinct individuals but we have learnt to compromise and appreciate our differences I think that's probably the secret to a good marriage.) True statements or not given Exercise TRUE NOT GIVEN (We can deduce that some do, and we may know that some do, but the statement does not say anything about any subsequent marriage.) NOT GIVEN (We may believe we know the answ er to this and / or have an opinion on it, but the statement does not include this information, e.g are more babies now being born to wom en over the age of 25?) TRUE True, false or not given Exercise NOT GIVEN (The text states that young people are McDonald's 'main customer base', so it is probably busy after school hours However, the text does not state that.) TRUE (According to a recent study commissioned by the company, customer satisfaction was 20 percent higher In those branches employing workers over 60.) FALSE (Only 1,000 out of 75,000 workers are over 60.) NOT GIVEN (The text states that Morrisons is the fourth largest supermarket in Britain The text does not provide the names of the other three supermarkets.) NOT GIVEN (It would seem that Morrison's are probably doing well, because they have created many jobs, but the text does not provide any information about its finances.) NOT GIVEN (It is possible that this is true However, the text does not provide any information on the ages of the other recruits.) TRUE (The 2,000 jobs include vacancies for checkout operators.) Part 3: Exam practice TRUE (This means that the average man is aged 32 when he asks 'Will you marry me?' and the average woman is 29 when she says ' Yes'.) TRUE (However, the greatest threat to the twenty-something marriage is when the couple reach their 40s and wonder if the grass could have been greener elsewhere.) NOT GIVEN (The text mentions that one person may have stayed at home whilst the other progressed in their career, but the text does not specify the gender.) (Also, couples who marry relatively early can grow apart, especially when one partner has been successful at work, travelled, met new people and grown in confidence while the other has been more homebased.) 132 Reading for IELTS FALSE (By contrast, the thirty-something marriage seems to sidestep these problems At this age, people are more established in careers and can start a relationship on a firm financial footing.) TRU E (For example, for someone who once had a domineering or anxious parent - forever quizzing them about their movements - an innocent inquiry such as 'What time will you be home?' can cause resentment.) N O T G IV EN (The text m entions starting a fam ily and the pressures of having small children but does not mention any pressure from the couple's fam ily.) (The demands o f small children can be a shock for couples and can test the relationship This sense o f burden is worse if the grandparents are older or not live nearby, and therefore cannot offer practical help.) Exam tu to r Skim m in g S ca n n in g No Look fo r paraphrases , The task tests your u nderstating o f inform ation in the passage; it doesn't test your knowledge of t e wo N O T G IV EN Unit Part 1: Language development Places and g ro u p s Exercise (Possible answ ers) Photo Photo Photo Photo 1: city, street 2: city, house, neigh b ou rh ood , street, suburb 3: cam pus 4: country, region Exercise small to large: house, street, cam pus (this will vary according to the individual educational establishment), neighbourhood, suburb, city, region, country Exercise If 2c 3a 4e 5b 6d W ords related to com m unities Exercise initiative setting outskirts im m ediate aw areness am ateur reputable Exercise Sim ilar: both in UK, both local and national Different: Street Pride has tw o fam ous supporters and one large organisation, higher number of people involved, plans for protests and building places Exercise role national group open local a cam p aign com m unities / a com m unity buildings Answer key 133 Exercise civic activist landmark figurehead Exercise suburban volunteer charitable participation initiative cam paign supporter activist Exercise charitable volunteers initiative participated cam paigner Part 2: Exam skills identifying topics Exercise 1a 2b 3c 4b Identifying types of information Exercise 1b 2c 3e 4a 5f 6d Exercise (a) As I have worked with volunteers and volunteer groups for many years I can vouch for the fact that the com m unity spirit is flourishing Every day I watch volunteers interacting with nature or their fellow human beings, and in doing so, (b) enriching themselves and finding a sense of fulfilment In my current job, I place volunteers with a variety of charities and organisations, (b) Our volunteers range in aae from 17 to 70 and come from a wide range of backgrounds, but they are all willing to give their time in order to help others They are proof that we live in a rich multicultural environment, (c) Volunteering is one of the most powerful forces for good in our society Exercise Don't forget the power of local governm ent when it comes to issues in your neighbourhood, (a) In geometry, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line In politics, if you have a local issue, take the shortest route and go first to your local council Some issues are far better dealt with at community level I live in an area where (b) there is lack of infrastructure, lack of amenities, and a risk of flood ing There is a tendency to become quite angry if such issues are not dealt with Keeping calm and electing the most level-headed member of the group as spokesperson will help your cause Another big problem is ghost estates, (c) neighbourhoods with half-empty or empty buildings Residents should ask their local politicians what will happen to these developments and how they plan to make things better M atching inform ation to paragraphs Exercise B (The villagers, led by a small steering group, banded together to raise enough money to save it: 241 people bought £50 shares, with another £5,000 coming from local donations and nearly £40,000 from charitable schemes.) A (According to the Rural Shops Alliance, 600 country shops closed last year Add the post office closure programme into the mix and thousands of neighbourhood hubs are being removed from village life.) B (241 people bought £50 shares, with another £5,000 coming from local donations and nearly £40,000 from charitable schemes.) 134 Reading for IELTS Part 3: Exam practice C (local environm ent: people living on busy streets, open space; behaviour: reduces interaction with neighbours, graffiti, antisocial behaviour, kids messing about) B (benefits: an opportunity to find out, askin g around: trying to meet the neighbours, try talking to someone in the nearest shop or café) G (organiser: hold a street party to boost community spirit) D (a crime prevention group, share a desire to create a safe area) F (problem s: a bad image ; advantages: boost community spirit) A (aspects: if the neighbours are friendly, will get involved in helping to deliver public services, setting up social enterprises and tackling local issues) Exam tu to r In order to understand the m ain idea and identify main topics reasons, explanations, exam ples, com parisons, sum m aries, descriptions Because it will sh o w you w h at type o f information, to scan for, and it will help you think about paraphrases that may appear in the passage No, the sentences will paraphrase inform ation from the passage No, there m ay be parts that are not needed, and there may be parts that will be used more than once Unit 10 Part 1: Language development A ccom m odation and transport Exercise 1 people carrier, 4x4 bike rentals, trucks, streetcars cruise, resorts, cottages youth hostels, cam psites Transport and tourism Exercise Transport: 1, 2, 4, 5, Tourism: 3, Sm aller-size 'city' cars, drivers four-w heel, larger vehicles, pollution, em issions Travel, cultures, countries cycle lanes, cyclists, transport consultant, drivers, congested roads cycle paths trucks, bicycle rental and bike-to-w ork schemes, traffic congestion tourist m arkets Exercise public congested poor gain traffic tounst Exercise b 2c 3a Answer key 135 Synonym s related to transport , Exercise customers holiday at home industry people who travel to work campaigners Word building Exercise involvement interaction attraction encouragement publisher / publication provision Part 2: Exam skills Recognising opinions and facts , Exercise 1 F 20 F 40 Exercise N Y: partly Y: addressed the demand Identifying opinions that agree / disagree Exercise NO (The text says the three reasons 'were split fairly evenly', meaning the three aroun«: % YES (These are all reasons: historic buildings and shoppinq are 'amonn th* w UP We e Very similar In s ize ) in Premier League Football.) ° nQ the b,ggest f r a c t io n s ' and there is 'strong interest Y E S (The text says the visitors have an 'appetite for luxury goods', meaninq thev lik* th different contexts: 'appetite' normally refers to hunger and in this co n te xts / Ke in e m ’ Note dow w ords are used in consum e luxury goods re ers t0 tde v 's'tors' desire (and 'hunger') to Y E S (The text describes them as 'luxury' items, so they are not basic 'Basic' here mP NO (It is often reported that China produces cheaper goods, but the text savs th 8nSthe opposite of 'luxury'-) are cheaper cheaper in in Bri Britain in China because of import taxes and tariffs.) a uxurV goods>are than Recognising 'm issing' inform ation Exercise NG (The writer referred to 'businessmen', not to 'businesswomen' We could ther wom en and is suggesting that they not travel for business However, the writer that the writer has excluded 'business people' In any case, the text does not mention businesswomen and we*^ C° U d ^ US'ng businessm en' to mean Chinese wom en not travel for business.) cannot be sure that the writer means that NG (The text mentions that visiting historic buildings is a reason for travelling We kno Tower of London are historic buildings and that many tourists visit them However th e t ha* Buckin9ham Palace and the and we cannot use our own knowledge of the world This statement seems logical but it** n0t mention them sPeci’f ica,,y NG (We have some information about this: we know that luxury goods are cheaper in B 't ^ mentloned in the text ) statement refers to 'most fashion items' and the text does not include information on other^ ^ C h in a ' However' the YES (The text m entions the increasing ease and cheapness of travel, which means that th J * ' 00 'te m s) greater than in the past.) 6ase and cheapness are now YES (The text says that new airports and runways increase the number of flights, so we know that thQ u ,dl Inere are more airports now.) 136 Reading for IELTS lentifying op in io ns and inform ation tercise a NO (They are 'b o o kin g holidays from their hom e', not staying hom e.) b N O T G IV EN (W e d o not kn o w w h y they avoid travel agents.) c Y E S (O ne in five is the sam e as tw enty percent; 'travel agents' and 'travel professionals are synony holidays directly' refers to 'avoiding travel age n ts' and 'b ookin g holidays from their h o m e ) ^ a N O T G IVEN (Being 'confident' has a far broader m eaning than being 'confident about boo ing inform atiom about custom ers feeling more confident.) f , b Y E S (If they 'say' it, they have 'noticed' it; 'n o w feel more able' refers to 'becom ing more i c NO (They are increasingly d oin g it them selves because they are 'becom ing more confident a ou ,hnnr,inn their ^ave any ) • a Y E S (W e kn o w of tw o setbacks: custom ers booking by them selves and competition.) omoetition has been b N O T G IVEN (W e not kn o w w h at travel agents or d on 't understand; we just know t a c negative for them because they have been 'suffering' from it.) c NO (It is gettin g worse: there is 'increasing pressure' for travel agents.) a N O T G IVEN (W e have no inform ation about travel age n ts' past behaviour.) b Y E S (He said they need to th in gs in order to 'survive'.) c NO (He thinks they need to react more quickly: 'act faster'.) < o it is a prediction or a a NO (W e d o n 't kn ow this; it is the opinion o f one person Also, he used the word pro a y , s sometimes, etc They probability rather than a fact Look out for w ords like probably, possible, may, might, seem> wnter ) m ake a difference to the m eaning of a statem ent and tell you som ething about the poin o * there are a third b Y E S ('Five years from n ow ' m eans 'in five years'; 'likely' and 'probably' are similar in meaning, fewer, then there are tw o thirds left.) c N O T G IVEN (W e kn ow there m ight be fewer, but the text does not say this Is becaus than 'will probably'.) bankruptcy 'will' is more certain cercise league table figure rise hit predict forecast art 3: Exam practice , , nnt , saysr tna fhat Thinness World Records did not NO (It is 'believed to be': it is a belief or an opinion, not a fact The text also recognise it as the shortest flight, w hich is more evidence that it is not official.) YES (The text m en tio n s'ju st over a m ile'd istan ce.) this for free.) NOT GIVEN (The text says the com pany 'offered', but it does not say that it offered to o YES (Students from 'either island' go to the capital of Orkney, Kirkwall.) Y E S (The comm ercial director uses the w o rd s 'p o p u la r'a n d 'v ita l'.) ^ osite of 'rarely'] NO (The airline 'regularly' flies visiting subject teachers to the islands 'Regularly is t ie opp xam tutor No, they are usually discursive or argum entative texts However, there may be-some facts wit W hen the statement agrees with the views of the writer given in the text W hen the statement contradicts the views of the writer given in the text W hen the text does not have any inform ation that relates to the statement No, the answers must come from the opinions expressed by the writer in the passage Answer key 137 Unit 11 Part 1: Language development Words related to culture Exercise b and c Photo 1: b (Art gallery) Photo 2: c (Aboriginal ceremony in Australia) Exercise Definition b: Definition c: ballet, literary festivals, customs, classical music, opera history Exercise (Possible answer) The text is about the perceived high cost of going to arts events and argues that, in fact, the costs are similar to other forms of entertainment and the arts can be accessed through screenings at cinemas Exercise Words that relate to money: affordable, too expensive, cheap, the cheapest, prices, free, wealthy Examples of the arts or entertainment: culture, opera, theatre, ballet, orchestral concerts, cinema ticket, music and comedy venues, soloists, conductors, (a good) seat, La Scala's Carmen, star performers, cinema transmissions, (world's greatest operatic stages), live audience, museum admissions, top-quality drama, music and dance Positive adjectives: innovative, impeccable, incredible, top-quality Negative adjectives: infuriating, astronomical, steep, plump Exercise a transmit b myth c impeccable d conductor f venue g plump h astronomical i relay e steep Word forms Exercise b noun c adjective f noun g adjective d noun e adjective h adjective i noun Exercise a myth - same form a conductor - same form astronomy - different form (noun) steep - same form plump - different form (verb) a relay - same form Part 2: Exam skills Identifying facts and opinions Exercise But they are also very difficult to create and often difficult to understand, (opinion) And, come to that, how does society pay for the arts? Answering this question is now more urgent than ever, (opinion) The government has recently announced that it will cut the arts budget (fact), so we need to think about what can be done, (opinion) 138 Reading for IELTS Recognising topics and features Exercise learning other languages, reading books, diet Exercise Text A: paediatricians' advice, children, electronic media / TV, technology, law Text B: globalisation, economy, international workforce, diversity Skimming and scanning Exercise (Suggested answ ers) Paragraph 2: nts of counterproductive work Main idea: aim of study: a comparison between the West and China concerning c behaviour Useful details: task performance and other work-related behaviours Paragraph 3: Main idea: attitudes towards counterproductive behaviour Useful details: the West and China have similar attitudes Main idea: attitudes towards task completion and individualistic aspe^ Useful details: Chinese managers value these more, but the West and Chi need for completion of tasks; China - centralised and planned economy -» ,nCreases P seen ise , mArkpt.Hrivpn Parap h rasin g Exercise our research looked at two issues theft from the company is unacceptable in any job their scores were the same as those of bosses in the West companies and their senior employees not pay enough attention to finishing work M atching statem ents to the text Exercise D (The recently rebuilt Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon was completed o n budoet a n d message which has been repeated often by the staff showing people round the new building Th is is a on time, a fa ct It co u ld be proved right or wrong.) A (But it is also deeply disappointing This is an opinion It cannot be proved right or wrong.) C ( £112.8 million was raised, a third privately two thirds from the Arts Council a n d the re g io n a l d e v e lo p m e n t agency This is a fact It could be proved right or wrong.) B (Theatre, says the RSC's artistic director, is about experiences 'shared in the same space in real t im e ' ’The theatre experiences we most enjoy,' he adds, 'are the ones with loads of problems but bags of character.' This is the opinion of the director It cannot be proved right or wrong.) Answer key Part 3: Exam practice A (He also mentions two languages that have no exact numbers The most studied of these is Piraha, which is spoken by only about 400 people It has a word for 'about one' and a word for 'about two' and A Piraha girl was once taken out of the village But after returning to the community, while she retained some Portuguese she quickly forgot how to count.) F (Our base ten system of the digits zero to nine, which has its origins in India, is now in use all over the developed world.) D (For exam ple, the W aim iri have words for one to three, and then say '3 + ', '3+2', '3 + ', '3 + + V , '3 + + ' and '3 + + '.) B (Animals and babies are good at discriminating quantities above five, so one would expect that the Indians are too even though they not have words to express such amounts And this is exactly what experiments have confirmed: when given tests that involve comparing sets of more than five dots on a screen, the Munduruku scored just as high as Westerners The words for three, four and five were approximations - as if what they meant to say was 'threeish', 'fourish' and 'fiveish'.) E (Our base ten system of the digits zero to nine, which has its origins in India, is now in use all over the developed world It is a natural system, but for several hundred years mathematicians have questioned whether it is the wisest base for us to have.) C (For example, one tribe, the Yupno, go as high as 34: their word for 34 is 'one dead man' These Papuan 'body-tally' systems are unusual because almost all other systems group numbers in much smaller sets.) Exam tutor The topics or them es within the text No, the order differs Because it will help you to predict the words or phrases that the writer may use in the passage Because it wiil help you to understand the main idea(s) of the paragraphs and the location of the main idea(s) (because the statements not follow the order of the passage) Because it will help you to find the specific details that are relevant to the statement 12 Practice exam Your score can only give you a rough idea of what you will achieve on the Reading component of the actual IELTS exam, but it should help you decide whether you are ready to take the exam or whether you need to revise some of the previous units The following table is an indication of the IELTS Band you might achieve based on your score on this particular practice exam: Scor* out of 40 IELTS Band 15+ 19+ 5.5 23+ 27+ 6.5 30+ 33+ 7.5 35+ Y o u g e t o n e p o in t fo r e a c h c o rre c t a n sw e r R e m e m b e r th a t s p e llin g a n d g r a m m a r m u st b e co rre c t 1AO Reading for IELTS READING PASSAGE Questions 1-5 Picasso / Pablo Picasso (Picasso is one o f the most iconic names in art, yet some o , , „ r, m ,r