Practical IELTS strategies 5 IELTS test practice book

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Practical IELTS Strategies 5

IELTS Test Practice Book

No patt of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher

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About this Book iv

The Way to Use this Book v

About the IELTS Test vi

The IELTS Band Descriptors vii Test 1 1 Test 2 21 Test 3 39 Test 4 57 Test 5 77 Test 6 99

Listening & Reading Answers 119

Some Reading Strategies 127

Sample Writing Answers 133

Speaking Sample Answers (Test 1) 165

Listening Scripts 179

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About this Book

So, you have Book Five of the Practical IELTS Strategies series Let us first be sure we know the meaning of those two key words

connected with real situations; right

Braciea! = or sensible; likely to be successful

a plan that is intended to achieve a particular purpose;

the process of putting a plan into effect in a skilful way

Strategy

The real situation is the IELTS test, and the particular purpose or plan is to give you the highest score you can achieve My other four Practical IELTS Strategies books are:

Book 1: Reading Book 2: Speaking

Book 3: Writing Task One [Academic Module] Book 4: Writing Task Two [Academic Module]

This book—Book 5—is the test practice book for the Academic Module of the IELTS Test Logically, this book should be used affer the first four books have been studied Much of the analysis at the end is based on knowledge from earlier books, particularly the writing sample answers Yet it is possible to practise the tests first, and then follow up with some dedicated study

of each component using the other books in this series

In this book, there are six tests This is because there are six types of IELTS Academic Task Ones (line graphs, pie charts, bar charts, tables of figures, maps, and diagrams), and we can thus have at least one example of each Of course, this means there is a great deal of practice for al/ components of the IELTS test In addition, there is:

a review of some of the reading strategies,

e sample answers to all writing questions, with additional comments, analysis, and vocabulary work,

¢ sample answers to some of the questions in the first of the Speaking Tests,

similarly with additional comments, analysis, and vocabulary work,

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The Way to Use this Book

There is much information here, thus, to maximise your learning, you need to use this book in the best and most logical way Try this procedure

ts Go to the Some Reading Strategies section, and work through this to help

prepare for the tests

Go to the Speaking Sample Answers section, and study these to similarly help prepare

Do Test 1

Check your listening and reading answers in the Answer Section, then

listen and read again to find out why you may have made mistakes Read this test's Listening Scripts while listening to them

Study this test's sample writing answers (Task One and Task Two), noting

the comments and analysis

Repeat Steps 3 to 6 for each of the other tests

Finally, if you have not done so already, read and carefully work through the other four books of this series: /ELTS Reading, Speaking, Writing Task

One, and Writing Task Two

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About the IELTS Test

IELTS refers to the International English Language Testing System, and it is the world’s primary test of English language proficiency, accepted by most academic and governmental institutions in the world The basic structure of the test is: Listening answer sheet] Academic Academic General Reading Reading FOU Academic General Writing Writing

Four sections, with 10 questions each, making 40 questions

[30 minutes plus 10 minutes to transfer answers to an

Three reading passages, with 13 or 14 questions each, making 40 questions [I hour in total}

Two tasks: Task One (transferring

information [Academic] or writing

a letter [General]), 20 minutes; Task

‘Two (writing an essay), 40 minutes [I hour in total]

Three parts: (1) the interview (short questions and answers)

Spea kin g (2) an individual long turn, and (3) a discussion (deeper questions

and answers) [14 minutes, approx.]

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The IELTS Band Descriptors Band Nine — Expert User

Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate, and fluent, with complete understanding

Band Eight — 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

Band Seven — 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

Band Six — Competent User

Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies,

inappropriacies, and misunderstandings Can use and understand fairly complex

language, particularly in familiar situations

Band Five — 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

Band Four - Limited User

Basic competence is limited to familiar situations Has frequent problems in understanding and expression Is not able to use complex language

Band Three — Extremely Limited User

Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations

Frequent breakdowns in communication occur

Band Two - 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

Band One — Non User

Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words Reproduced with permission of Cambridge English Language Assessment © UCLES 2014

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TEST 1

Section One: Questions 1-10 áà

-l Questions 1-5

Complete the sentences

Write ONE WORD OR A NUMBER for each answer

Example

4 They will study 5 Later they will eat _! Questions 6-10 Complete the table Peter’s opinion Mary’s

Peter and Mary will see a movie on Saturday afternoon

1 The movie Peter and Mary will see is a

2 Afterward, they will eat

3 On Sunday, they will start at

Choose the correct letter, G, B, or A

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Section Two: Questions 11-20 4

_1 Questions 11-17

Complete the table

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer

Rules at Stanford Hospital

Washing Hands Visitors | one signs and maximum: _ detail 11 available 14 must also 12 another must pass through 7 hands in the detail 15 13 nursery _| Questions 18-20

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IELTS Test Practic

Section Three: Questions 21-30 Ga _! Questions 21-25

Complete the summary

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer

The student is having problems with his 2» , so the lecturer recommends

writing a summary at the end of each ~~ These must not just be a 23 , but instead contain the main point or 2 Being

short is the - ~ issue in this type of writing

_| Questions 26-30 Complete the labels

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer Formatting a Summary

used later whenever

citation details in Summary paraphrasing or

27 ie 28

entire from the text

Actual summary Older books require

begins with a es ccStEeeeeeeisneonnitsieiaeseksan 29

26 ant about why used

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Section Four: Questions 31-40 (a

1 Questions 31-33

Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C

A are also called ‘joeys' B like forest and bushland 31 Kangaroos

C exist in large numbers 32 ‘Culls’ A involve rifles

B occur twice a year C started recently 33 Kangaroo meat is A popular in Australia B healthier C sometimes given to pets _1 Questions 34-40

Complete the notes

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ading (60 minutes)

Reading Passage One

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage One

It’s Only a Cockroach

T turn on the light in my kitchen that night, and then I see it | draw back, and my first instinct is to scream | control myself with difficulty, but find myself shuddering, unable to deal with the creature before me It’s only a cockroach, but its large size, long antennae, shiny appearance, and spiny legs, all present a particularly disgusting appearance And this is not just to me, but to everyone it seems, even to the point of phobic responses

This is certainly the over-riding reason I want these creatures totally eradicated from my apartment,

but with their offensive odour, passive transportation of microbes, and trails of droppings, they

also pose a distinct threat to domestic hygiene Clearly, cohabitation is not possible So, I do all 1

can to keep these pests away Food is stored in sealed containers, garbage cans have tight lids, my

kitchen is kept spotlessly clean, and my apartment swept and mopped nightly I have also sealed up possible entry points, but still, these loathsome things find their way inside I need a way to kill

them

The most precise cockroach killer is, typically, another insect A specific species of wasp targets

these creatures With a quick accurate swoop, it bites the cockroach at the main nerve centre of

its body, which results in a temporary paralysis This is very necessary, as we all know just how

fast cockroaches can run The wasp has only a few minutes to prepare its next sting, in the exact

area of the brain which controls the cockroaches’ instinct to escape After the paralysis departs,

the cockroach is subdued and docile, and doomed The wasp bites off the antennae to further discourage flight, then drags its victim away

Faced with such predation, cockroaches usually conceal themselves during the day, and with

their ability to flatten their bodies, they can disappear into just about any tiny nook, crevice, and

cranny There, they wait patiently for darkness before emerging to search for food, and will usually run away when exposed to light Given this, I am told that the slim and agile house centipede is

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Hidden there, the female lays egg capsules containing around 40 eggs, and with the insect’s relatively long lifespan (about a year), some 300 to 400 offspring can ultimately be produced The

result: once these insects have infested a building, they are very difficult to eradicate

Cockroaches do, however, have some subtleties They leave chemical messages in their droppings,

as well as emit airborne pheromones to signal other cockroaches about sources of food and water, and alert them to their own presence The latter is more important, for these insects are actually somewhat gregarious Research has shown that cockroaches make group-based decisions, and tend to co-operate One study placed a large number of cockroaches in a dish with three small shelters, and the insects divided themselves equally between two of them, leaving the third one empty When these shelters were exchanged for two very large ones, all the cockroaches arranged

themselves in just one These creatures, it seems, prefer the company of others, and a rather fair allocation of resources

Should I therefore feel any admiration? It is hard—in fact, in Western culture, cockroaches are almost universally depicted as repulsive and dirty pests In the insect’s most famous literary

appearance — Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’ —a man, Gregor, is transformed overnight into a monstrous insect, probably a cockroach (although the story never quite makes that clear) Gregor’s transformation results in very predictable responses from his family and friends, who

can never accept him again He eventually dies, outcast and lonely, despised and mistreated —a

potent symbol of alienation and rejection, yet in the Pixar animated feature ‘Wall-E’, a cockroach

provides essential companionship to a lone robot living on a planet scorched by a nuclear holocaust

Whatever the case, I am faced with a big problem: a large ugly cockroach crawling slowly across my sink, antennae waving as it explores around If I try to grab it, it will dart away and I doubt

whether I'll be able to catch it before it disappears into the numerous cracks and crevices of my old apartment So, I carefully remove my slipper, determined to squash the insect, but then almost scream again as it lifts on its legs raises membranous wings, and with a loud buzzing noise, flies

away Oh, just what I need —they can fly, too

_| Questions 1-4

Answer the questions

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer

1 What aspect of cockroaches makes the author

want them removed from the home?

2 What human aspect do they endanger?

3 Which insect is the best cockroach killer?

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TELTS Test Practice Book

_! Questions 5-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage One? Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN _ if there is no information on this

5 The author finds cockroaches more repulsive than centipedes

6 Cockroaches live longer than many other insects 7 Cockroaches will fight over food

8 Cockroaches are often the subject of research

_1 Questions 9-11

Complete the summary of the second haif of the passage Choose ONE WORD fiom the passage for each answer

Cockroaches use 9 in the air to communicate, and show a willingness to 10 , yet the author struggles to feel 11 for these

insects

_) Questions 12 and 13

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

12 Gregor A becomes a cockroach

B is a famous character C despises his friends D needs companionship

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Reading Passage Two

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage Two

Such a Fascinating Game

It is one of the world’s most popular games, played by millions of people at home in clubs, online,

by correspondence, and in tournaments It is chess, a humble arrangement where two players stare at a checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid, eyeing their 16 pieces

each as the first move is played When the opponent's king is checkmated, the game is over, but between the beginning and the end, a wealth of elegant, complicated, and fascinating moves and combinations can unfold

The origins of chess lie in Northwest India, around the 6th century At that time there existed a

game known as caturanga, which means ‘four divisions’, those divisions being of the military,

represented by the infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry These pieces were eventually to become the pawn, knight, bishop, and rook respectively, in the modern descendant of the game

Around 600 AD, caturanga spread to Persia, then, after the Muslim conquest of that region (beginning around that time), the game gained ground throughout the Islamic world, from where it

eventually spread to Europe

Around 1200 AD, Southern Europe began modifying the rules, and within 300 years the game had become recognisably the one we play today The queen had long replaced the earlier vizier to become the most powerful piece, while the pawns were given the option of advancing two

squares on the first move in order to accelerate play These new rules quickly spread across Western

Europe, creating the game now known as ‘western chess’ or ‘international chess’, to distinguish it from older or regional variants of the game

As for the players themselves, one would think that the best of them are necessarily smart, with extremely high IQs; however, research has not been able to confirm this link Some studies have

shown that good chess players may have strong IQs, but there appears to be no direct correlation between this and chess ability Paradoxically, the academically brilliant may even be less able at chess, and vice versa Evidently, there are other factors involved, such as spacio-visual insight and subliminal memory, not necessarily picked up by conventional intelligence tests, readily noticeable,

or even useful in real life

But there are non-mental factors which clearly play a role No one can doubt that raw talent is

necessary, but even the best and brightest must systematically undergo at least 10 to 15 years

of theoretical study and competitive practice before reaching world championship levels The American chess genius, Bobby Fischer, was only 13 when he produced the ‘Game of the Century’,

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All this shows the fixed place chess has in western culture, meaning also that this region has

historically, produced all the greatest players However, interest in chess is now growing in the East, although one problem there is the stiff competition it faces with local board games, such as Xiangqi and Go These are more popular by a wide margin, but regarding China for example,

with its huge population and state-sponsored training, it is fast becoming a major chess power The reigning women’s world chess champion is Chinese, and the country performs well in chess Olympiads The future for the game in this country looks bright indeed

Talking about the future inevitably leads to the subject of computer chess Serious chess-playing machines began to emerge in the 1970s and 1980s, but their abilities were far below that of the top human players Progress, although slow, was steady, and with increasing memory and faster processing, it was inevitable that one day a computer would be able to match humans Yet this is merely by brutally going through all the possible moves, millions per second, deeper and deeper into the position The final move-choices give the appearance of intuition and long-term strategy,

when in actual fact they are simply based on an unthinking and directionless material count In 1989, the computer ‘Deep Thought’ scored some wins against top human players, although

the world champion at that time, Garry Kasparoy, easily defeated the machine in some arranged

games In 1996, however, IBM brought out the next generation computer, ‘Deep Blue’, pitting it in

a match with this same player Although it managed to score the first win against a reigning world

champion, by losing three and drawing two of the remaining games, it lost the match However, a

return match the following year saw Kasparov facing an even better machine, ‘Deeper Blue’ This time, the computer triumphed 3'4— 214 And they are only getting better

As impressive as these results seem, most people agree that it is similar to a forklift beating a

weightlifter — somehow not a valid contest, and of little significance Yes, computers can win

games, but creativity and intelligence are still the province of human players It is these factors, as well as the tense psychological struggle of minds and the personalities involved, together with the limitless artistry of the positions themselves, which will always make chess such a fascinating

game

_1 Questions 14-16

Write TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN

14 There are 32 pieces at the beginning of a chess game

15 Caturanga was more complicated than modern chess

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_! Questions 17-19

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer

17 Which piece replaced the elephant?

18 Why were pawns given an extra ability?

19 Who was the youngest world champion?

_1 Questions 20-24

Give TWO examples of the following categories

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each example

Categories | An Example Another Example 20 mental abilities which great

chess players must have

21 requirements, apart from talent,

which create great chess players reasons accounting for

22 China’s chess success ~ |

| |

23 factors which enable computers | |

to equal human chess players

24 assets which human players have,

that computers do not

_| Questions 25 and 26

25 Deep Blue A was stronger than Deeper Blue

was stronger than Deep Thought won several games against Kasparov

00a

a8

eventually triumphed over Kasparov

26 Computers have significant creativity

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Reading Passage Three

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage Three

What’s in Blood?

Blood is the most specialised fluid within living animals, playing an absolutely critical role It symbolises life (‘new blood’), health (‘get your blood running’), personality (‘good

or bad blood’), and family (‘your bloodline’) This red fluid itself is something which most

people would rather not see, yet it contains such a complex soup of proteins, sugars, ions, hormones, gases and basic cellular components that it is certainly worth considering in

some detail

By volume, half of blood is the liquid part, called plasma The rest comprises specialised

components, the main one being red blood cells (technically known as erythrocytes) These transport oxygen molecules throughout the body, and also give blood its colour (from the

hemoglobin protein within, which turns red when combined with oxygen) Red blood

cells, as with all cells in the human body have a limited operating life They are produced within the marrow of bones, principally the larger ones, and live for about four months before they fall inactive, to be then reabsorbed by the spleen and liver, with waste products

absorbed into the urine

This contrasts with the other main cells of human blood: the white blood cells, technically known as leukocytes Similarly produced in the bone marrow, they are active only for three

or four days, yet they are essential in defending the body against infections White blood

cells come in many different types, each designed to deal with a different sort of invader —

bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasite When one of these enters the body, the white blood cells

quickly determine its nature, then, after mustering sufficient numbers of a specific type

(the period in which you are sick), they launch themselves into the fight, enveloping each

individual invasive cell, and breaking it down (leading to recovery)

That leaves the last main component of blood: platelets Their technical name is thrombocytes, and they are much smaller than red and white blood cells Also circulating

freely, they are responsible fer clotting the blood, and this is necessary to heal both external

and internal injuries Once again, they are produced in the bone marrow, and have the

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Blood’s complexity presents particular difficulties in the advent of emergency transfusions

These are avoided whenever possible in order to lower the risk of reactions due to blood incompatibility Unexpected antigens can trigger antibodies to attack blood components

with potentially lethal results Thus, if transfusions are to take place, a thorough knowledge and classification of blood is essential, yet with 30 recognised blood-group systems,

containing hundreds of antigens, this presents quite a challenge The ABO system Is the

most important On top of this is the Rhesus factor, which is not as simple as positive or negative (as most people think), but comprises scores of antigens These can, however, be clustered together into groups which cause similar responses, creating some order Of course, the simplest system to avoid adverse transfusion reactions is for patients to receive their own blood—for example, in a series of blood donations in anticipation of an operation scheduled some months in advance The second best system is to undertake cross-matching, which involves simply mixing samples of the patients’ blood with the donors’, then checking microscopically for clumping—a key sign of incompatibility Both of these systems are obviously impractical in an emergency situation, which is why

meticulous testing, documentation, and labeling of blood are necessary

In a true emergency, a blood bank is needed, with an array of various types of blood on hand Hence, blood donations must be a regular occurrence among a significant segment of the population In the developed world, unpaid volunteers provide most of the blood for the community, whereas in less developed nations, families or friends are mostly involved

In the era of HIV and other insidious blood-borne diseases, potential donors are carefully

screened and tested, and a period of about two months is recommended before successive whole blood donations

Given the vital role which blood plays, it is strange to think that for almost 2000 years bloodletting was a widespread medical practice It was based on the belief that blood carried ‘humours’, whose imbalances resulted in medical illnesses Bleeding a patient was

supposed to remove an undesirable excess of one of these Furthermore, the fact that blood circulated around the body was unknown It was instead assumed to be quickly created, and equally quickly exhausted of its value, after which it could stagnant unhealthily in

the bodily extremities Although the logic was there, it goes without saying that very few

patients responded positively to such treatment

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LELTS Test Practice Book

_I Questions 27-33

Reading Passage Three has eight paragraphs, A-H

Choose the correct heading for Paragraphs B-H from the list of headings Vrite the correct number, ‘, for each answer W 3 đc về Example Answer i Not as big, but needing just enough p vi Paragraph A ii ii Some attitudes to blood sẽ 27 Paragraph B

iii Good, but not so quick

vị An interesting treatment 30 Paragraph E vii A-shorter life, but just as important

| 31 Paragraph F

The principal part adds some colour

| 32 Paragraph G

- ix Bone marrow and blood

x Maintaining supplies 33 Paragraph H

_] Questions 34-37

Complete the table

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer

Blood Component Associated Fact red cells upon dying, dealt with by 34

white cells require 35 - before SilaEtfng iyzgSiS

platelets Their numbers need to be 36 carefully

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_! Questions 38-40

Write TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN

38 Blood cross-matching can be done without special equipment 39 In poorer countries, family members often donate blood 40 Bleeding people was a painful process

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ois

Task One

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task

The chart shows the unemployment situation in Australia in the year 2012

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task

The youth in many countries are unemployed and unskilled, while at the same time,

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Speaking (11-14 minutes)

All the words, apart from those ina dotted box , are the IELTS examiner speaking to vou Part One (4-5 min.)

Hello, my name is Examiner’s full name Test Can you tell me your full name, please? introduction, Can | see your identification, please? which

Thank you begins every

Now, in this first part, I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself test

Why don’t we talk about transportation in your hometown?

e How could you travel across your hometown?

e Is the transportation there good or bad? Why (not)? e How could you improve the public transportation?

Let's move on to talk about cooking e How often do you cook? Why?

e Are there problems involved in home cooking? What?

e Will you cook more in the future? Why (not)?

Let's talk about TV programs

e Do you have any favourite programs? Which? e How often do you watch these TV programs? Why?

e Do you think your television viewing habits will change in the future?

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Part Two Grin approx.)

Now I'm going to give you a topic, and I'd like you to talk about it Part Two

for one to two minutes Before you talk, you'll have one minute to introduction,

think about what you're going to say You can make some notes if which

you wish Do you understand? Here's some paper and a pencil, for begins every

making notes, and here’s your topic I'd like you to Part Two topic, Part Two

top line speaking

Describe a time when you were annoyed at someone’s behaviour

You should talk about:

where and when this happened

why this behaviour annoyed you how you dealt with this issue

and how it influenced or affected your life afterwards

One minute for note taking

All right? Remember, you have one to two minutes for this, so don’t worry if | stop you I'll tell

you when the time is up Can you start speaking now, please

Begin talking on the subject, and finish

before, or at, the two minute mark

Thank you

Did you tell other people about this event?

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Part Three (4-5 min.)

We've been talking about a time when you Part Two Topic,

underlined part , and I'd like to discuss with you one or two more general questions related to this So, let’s consider first of all:

Arguments

Why is it that some people have bad tempers? Is it possible to learn how to control one’s temper? What strategies can be used to resolve arguments?

Do you feel society is more litigious [willing to go to court]?

Behaviour among Families

Why are there often disputes among siblings?

Part Three introduction,

which begins every

Part Three speaking

Why do you think parents sometimes favour certain children? Is favouring children a problem in your saciety (e.g with boys)? Are such feelings changing nowadays? In what way?

International Disputes

Do you believe the world will be more peaceful in the future? Why? Can people, as individuals, help in any way?

What international disputes are you aware of [e.g about borders, religion, or territory]?

Do you think the United Nations is effective in resolving them? Thank you for coming That is the end of the speaking test

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TEST 2

Section One: Questions 1-10 4

_! Questions 1-5

Complete the instruction page

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS for each answer

Instruction Manual for |

Example electric motorcyle

Model Number: 4

The motorcycle should travel 2 km, provided that the battery is charged for 3 when the gauge falls below | 4 volts The battery weighs 5 kg., so care is needed when removing it for charging ae

_1 Questions 6-10

Complete the form

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Section Two: Questions 11-20 áa

_! Questions 11-15

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer 11 What resulted from compulsory membership? 12 The student union has many what?

13 Who controls many student unions? 14 When did the Orientation Week begin? 15 Where are the festivities held?

_1 Questions 16-20

Choose FIVE answers from the list, and write the correct letter, A-G, next to the questions Where can you

16 make friends?

17 reduce your stress after class? 18 pay reduced prices?

19 place personal notices? 20 obtain legal advice?

Section Three: Questions 21-30 4 _| Questions 21-25 Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C A The bookshop B Clubs & societies € The gym

D The conference room

E Student Union newspaper

F The Union cafeteria G The Union office

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23 These companies are demanding A insurance

24 The university can

B trained students C one month's work

A just pay for the program B easily pay for the program C not pay for the program

25 The university will remove the A students’ payment _! Questions 26-30 B travel allowance C completion bonus Complete the table Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS Jor each answer, Companies | | |

| Hepplewhite AJ & Sons Johnson Sansoni | | Distilleries Engineering Demolition Security No of Students = 5 § § August th st th Starting Dates 18 = 1 + Duration lu 24 days 29 30 | of Work Section Four: Questions 31-40 4) 1 Questions 31-33

Choose the correct letter;

31 T-Rex fossils are

A, B, or C

A quite plentiful

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32 Fossils are A usually torn to pieces

B mostly from former sea bottoms C easily found

33 Land-based fossils A number more than sea-based ones B were formed near watercourses C have given much information

_1 Questions 34-40

Complete the table and notes Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer Three Criteria for Fossilisation

| Hard body parts Geographical dispersion Long existence |

Ị

|

| plates, bones, e.g shells, raises the 35 = longer this time, — a | 34 chance of fossilisation better it is

e bodies composed of 36

8g: s very dispersed, over long time Ir a These fossils are

e were marine creatures

e meets three criteria

eg e Large size allows easier 39

T-Rex 9

e People are 40 by these, constantly looking for them

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Read ing (60 minutes)

Reading Passage One

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage One

Pine Trees

I am looking at a very thick twisted truck, rising to medium height, at which point appears a

stumpy canopy of spiky needles It’s a tree, but a very special one Ron Simonson, a park ranger

explains ‘It’s a bristlecone pine, and it’s been given the name Methuselah.’ I ask the obvious question, and Ron replies, ‘Because like Methuselah from the bible, this tree is very old, one of the oldest living things on Earth in fact.” | ask the next obvious question, and Ron replies, ‘Basically, Methuselah has existed throughout virtually all of recorded human history.’ I look again at this quiet and unassuming tree, beginning to realise it is worthy of great respect

Being in a cold climate, facing limited summer seasons, rooted in nutrient poor and dry soil, and

subject to high winds and withering winters, bristlecone pines mature very slowly indeed Yet mature they do, as with all pines becoming fractionally thicker every year as another growth ring

is added to their trunk By counting these, we can accurately state that, as of 2011, Methuselah was

4,842 years old, meaning that it sprouted as a seedling in 2832 BC, centuries before the ancient Egyptians began building their pyramids And that’s just one fascinating fact about that well-known species of tree— the pine,

Pines trees are native to most of the Northern Hemisphere Several species have adapted to the

harsh conditions of high elevations and latitudes, including Methuselah himself, growing among

the peaks of the White Mountains of Northern California Pines can be small, such as the Siberian

Dwarf Pine, or huge such as the Ponderosa Pine in the wilds of Oregon, and there are over 100

varieties in all They have been introduced into the more temperate portions of the Southern

Hemisphere, where they are now grown widely, becoming a familiar feature in parks and gardens

It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that almost everyone knows pines

These trees certainly have many telltale characteristics They are evergreen, usually with needle-

like foliage and a sharp pleasant ‘pine’ smell They are often large and imposing, with thick scaly

bark, and always produce their signature pine cones These formations are certainly not simple

They can be male (small, inconspicuous, and shedding pollen) or female (large, woody, and

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This last fact—the need for wildfires for regeneration —is another fascinating aspect of many pine species In fire-prone areas, it can result in extensive stands of pines, a good example being in ‘pine

barrens’ These are eco-regions of sandy nutrient-poor soil dominated by pines, since the frequency of natural (usually lightning-induced) fires weeds out the less fire-tolerant species It is perhaps sad that modern fire prevention methods have resulted in the decline of many pine species in the wild, and most ancient pine barrens are now being taken over by other forest vegetation

However, the situation is very different for home and commercial use, which has seen pines

become a very common sight As these trees grow fast, can be planted in dense arrays, and produce attractive and easily moulded wood, they are favourites for commercial plantations The wood is fragrant, but prone to decay, so it is most suitable for indoor or dry carpentry, rather than outdoors, where more durable varieties are necessary As for other uses of pines, their branches are valued as Christmas trees, and their wood is also pulped in factories for paper and chipboard production Pine

resin is a byproduct, and this is collected for distillation into turpentine, an important industrial

solvent

In a more homely sense, perhaps what people most like are the cones, the largest of which are regularly used by children and craft enthusiasts With the widespread distribution of pines across the Northern Hemisphere, cones form part of the many traditional cultures there, where they are used for decorative purposes, fire starters, bird feeders, or just intriguing natural playthings for young children Many people lament that modern manufactured toys in the more affluent of these

countries have displaced cones, although some Nordic communities still teach traditional *cone-

craft’ in high schools

For some reason, I always come back to Methuselah Ron tells me a story In 1964, a student was

taking a coring sample from another bristlecone pine in the area His coring tool broke, so the

tree was cut down to allow dating by an examination of a cross-section of its trunk Upon doing this, to the astonishment of all, 4,844 rings were counted, signifying that the tree was even older

than Methuselah Ron smiles wryly at the thought ‘We deliberately killed the oldest life on Earth, That’s one reason why we keep the location of Methuselah a secret This tree is precious, and must

be kept free from all human interference.’

_1 Questions 1-4

Complete the sentences

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS fiom the passage for each answer: 1 Every year, pine trees gain another

2 The Pyramids were built hundreds of years after 3 Typical of all pines are their

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_I Questions 5-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage One? Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information f ig 1

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN _ if there is no information on this

5 Ponderosa pines are the largest

6 Pines are familiar to most people

7 Birds usually spread pine seeds

8 Lightning storms benefit pine barrens

_) Questions 9-11

Choose THREE answers from the list, and write the correct letter, A-F, next to the questions

Factory owners

Users of turpentine

Which THREE groups of 9 A Plantation owners

people, A-F, particularly B Outdoor carpenters

like pine trees? 10 € People interested in craft 11 D Certain native communities

E

F

‘4 Questions 12 and 13

12 Pine cones are complicated

male

mostly the same size

On» often used as toys in affluent countries 13 Methuselah is A 4,842 years old

B the oldest tree ever

C visited by tourists

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Reading Passage Two

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage Two

An Insanely Dangerous Activity

Agnes Milowka was one of the foremost cave divers in the world Female, photogenic, and experienced, she had gained international recognition for her exploratory work in many underground caverns around the world In early 2011, she entered Tank Cave, near Mount Gambier, a seven-kilometre maze of narrow tunnels—yet ones she had explored many times before Deep inside, she parted company from her dive buddy to explore a tight passageway through which only

one person could pass What happened next will never be exactly known, but the nature of the cave suggests that she became disoriented during a ‘silt-out’ Unable to maneuvre quickly, with visibility almost zero, she could not find her way back, and her air ran out

Thinking of these last moments is disturbing, but illustrates the obvious dangers of cave diving

When anything goes wrong, divers cannot swim vertically to the surface, but must instead navigate

the entire way back The dive is immediately abandoned, but even with the full team at hand, the return is complicated by narrow tunnels, often lined with sand, mud, or clay, all of which can be easily disturbed —the dreaded ‘silt-out” — where, in a few seconds, the diver is in a panic-inducing soup of sediment, virtually blind Artificial light is swallowed in the pitch blackness, and there

always needs to be sufficient breathing gas In short, cave diving seems an insanely dangerous activity

Yet the cave-diving community disputes this, arguing that their sport is actually safer than normal open-sea recreational diving This is due to the much greater degrees of experience and training, and the special equipment used Most fatalities that have occurred are a result of breaking accepted protocols, where improperly trained and inadequately equipped divers take on caves well beyond their capabilities Cave divers maintain that, if the rules and guidelines are followed, their sport becomes acceptably safe In the rare cases where deaths have happened while following these, there have typically been unusual circumstances, such as unexpected currents or rock falls

So, what are those protocols? There are five major ones, all decided upon after extensive accident

analysis (the breaking down of accident reports to find their most common causes) Firstly, a cave

diver should be trained and experienced This is done in carefully documented components, each

dealing with increasingly complex facets of cave diving, and accompanied with relevant dive time before progression onwards is allowed The next rule is the same as with all diving, whether open-

sea or cave It concerns the maximum depths, and the decompression stops needed to allow the release of dissolved nitrogen from the blood This is all carefully calculated in a dive plan before

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