Questions 31-33
■ ■ ■ ■ I
Below is a list of steps (A-l), four of which the speaker took in her career. The first step is A. What are the next three steps? Write your answers in the correct order in Boxes 31-33 on your answer sheet.
Career steps
A took an MA in music.
D followed a course in journalism.
G a music critic on a national newspaper on a retainer.
Questions 34-36
The speaker mentions four disadvantages to being a music critic. One has been marked for you. Tick the other three disadvantages. Write your answers in Boxes 34-36 on your answer sheet.
Disadvantages
A being pestered by the concert-goers while working B being bothered by enthusiastic accountants C the loneliness
D having to deal with people on the telephone E the low pay
F being glamorous
G meeting uninteresting people
H writing reviews of concerts within tight time limits
Question 37
Circle the correct letter.
37. As regards travelling, the speaker...
A enjoys it a little.
B goes abroad ten times a year.
C visits other European countries at least ten times a year.
D goes to Iceland regularly.
Questions 38-40
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each space, complete the blanks below.
38. Michael Ignatieff’s TV series dealt with th e __________ . 39. The critic’s job is to foster the talent o f ___________ .
40. As people are so unsure of themselves, what a critic says can act as an objective
B worked as a proof-reader. C was a freelance features writer.
E entered the editorial field. F became a full-time music critic
H became a part-time I became a sub-editor for an music critic. educational publication.
Reading Exercises 1 to 22
INTRODUCTION
The Reading Test in IELTS lasts for 60 minutes.
There are three reading passages, which may include pictures, graphs, tables or diagrams. The reading passages are of different length, from approximately 500 to 1,000 words. The total for the three passages is between 1,500 and 2,500. Each reading passage has several different types of questions, which may be printed either before or after the passage. Often the texts and the questions become more difficult as you read from Passage 1 to 3.
Question type
You may have to answer any of the following question types:
- multiple choice questions - gap-filling exercises
- matching paragraph headings with paragraphs in the Reading Passage - matching the two parts of split sentences
- short answers to open questions - Yes/No/Not Given statements - the completion of - sentences
- summaries - diagrams - tables - flow charts - notes
Problems
Candidates have a number of problems with this part of the IELTS exam, which may include the following:
Misreading instructions
It is important that you read all the instructions very carefully so that you are clear about what is required for the answer to each of the questions. The instructions are usually clear and easy to follow, and, in some cases, there is an example.
Candidates think that the instructions will be exactly the same as the textbook or other material they have been using to prepare for the exam. This may not always be the case, so make sure you read the instructions carefully in the exam itself.
Timing
Candidates often achieve a lower score than expected in this component of the IELTS exam, because they spend too much time on some sections and do not finish the test. It is very important to attempt to finish the test. You will not have time to read and enjoy the passages; instead, you should learn to work out what the question you are doing requires and find each answer as quickly as possible.
Candidates often find it difficult to leave a question that they cannot answer. This is understandable, but in the IELTS it is disastrous. While you are not answering a difficult question you could be answering two or three, or even more, easier ones. Then you can come back to those you have left blank afterwards.
Exercises 1 to 22 Reading
Topics
The reading passage topics vary, but are all of an academic nature. Candidates sometimes panic when they are faced with a reading passage on a subject about which they know nothing at all. It is important to remember that the answers to all of the questions are in the text itself. You do not need any specialist knowledge of the topic to be able to answer the questions. The test is designed to test your reading comprehension skills, not your knowledge of any particular subject.
A n sw er s h e e ts
You must complete the answer sheet within 60 minutes. You will not have extra time to transfer your answers from the question paper to your answer sheet. Candidates often think that, because they have time to transfer their answers in the listening section, the same thing happens in the reading section. It doesn’t.
Students often ask what is the best way to read for the exam.
Below are some hints about what you can do.
• Read as widely as you can, e.g. newspapers, journals, specialist magazines and so on. if you are preparing for a particular academic subject at university e.g. law, medicine, engineering, you should make sure that you develop the skills of reading with speed outside your subject area.
• As you read, look for patterns in the organisation of the texts. The different types of paragraphs are finite, but their arrangement can make them appear infinite in variety. See Reading Exercises 5,12 and 13.
• When you are reading, try to train yourself to read to understand the meaning of the passage rather than just reading the words. See Reading Exercises 1-11.
• As you read, always practise predicting what you are about to read.
See Reading Exercises 10 and 11.
• As you read generally, try to summarise a paragraph by giving it a brief heading. This will then come to you automatically with practice. See Reading Exercises 12 and 13.
• Learn to increase your speed while still reading the organisation and meaning of a passage. See Reading Exercises 14-16.
• Students often focus on words they do not know. This is dangerous in the exam, as it wastes time. You have to learn to let go and look at the overall meaning. See Reading Exercise 16.
• Spend a specific period each day reading.
• Don’t try to focus on all of the above at one time. Even focusing on one for a short period of time each day is tiring.
Reading Exercises 1 to 22
Exercise 1: How to read, or how to read efficiently?
When people are taught to read, generally speaking, they learn to read w o rd s . To read efficiently, however, you ajso need to read at another level: you need to be able to read meaning, a n d organisation in a text. As the reading section of the IELTS exam primarily tests your understanding of meaning and your ability to find your way around a text, it is, therefore, not enough just to be capable of reading words alone.
This Exercise helps you to begin developing different strategies to read a text fast and efficiently. The exercise looks at the organisation in a paragraph. Read the paragraph below s lo w ly , and then answer the questions which follow.
The building, completed in l 785, was erected by the enigm atic Frederick Hervey, Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry, in honour of Mrs Mussenden, the Earl's cousin. The Earl Bishop used the folly, which became known as the Mussenden Temple, as a library. Standing dangerously on the edge of a sheer drop into the North Sea, the temple dominates the coastline to the West. The structure's classical simplicity, with its dom e and Corinthian columns, is in stark contrast to the haunting Celtic landscape.
1. There are four sentences in the text. Which sentences give you the information below?
A The function of the building.
B The physical structure of the library.
C The location of the building.
D The history of the building.
2. None of the phrases in number 1 above can be used as titles for the paragraph. Why?
3. The author wrote the paragraph ...
A to describe the Mussenden Temple.
B to describe the Celtic landscape.
C to express his opinion of the madness of Frederick Hervey.
D to describe the function of the library.
4. The writer uses a series of synonyms in the paragraph. Which words are they?
5. What is the purpose of these words?
6. What type of paragraph is it?
A Is it argumentative?
B Is it a cause and effect paragraph?
C Does it express an opinion?
D Is it descriptive?
7. Below is a list of titles. Which is the most appropriate title for the paragraph?
A The enigmatic Frederick Hervey.
B The mystery of the Celtic landscape.
C The Mussenden Temple.
D The classicism of Frederick Hervey’s folly.
8. What is the relationship between the first sentence and the second?
9. What is the relationship between the third sentence and the fourth?
Exercises 1 to 22 Reading
10. There is a division in the text. Where does it occur?
11. What is the relationship between the two parts of text on either side of the division?
12. Look at the following sentence:
The building, erected by the enigmatic Frederick Hervey, Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry, in honour of Mrs Mussenden, the Earl’s cousin, was completed in 1785.
Compare this with the first sentence in the paragraph above.
What has happened to the information in the sentence?
What is the main information in the sentence above?
Exercise 2: Learning to read organisation
You can see from the previous exercise that to read a text effectively, you need to be able to read organisation.
You need, therefore, to learn to see a text in a different way.
In the passage below, there are 105 words. Each of the words has a meaning. These words and meanings are then divided into five sentences. Each sentence has, in turn, a specific meaning, which comes from the sum of the words in the sentence. This meaning is different from the sum of the individual parts, i.e. the words of each sentence. Take the following sentence, for example:
M useum s a n d a rt galleries shou ld be free o f charge to the g e n e ra l public.
If you add all the words together (13 words), the total is a proposal or suggestion about the issue of charges for museums or art galleries. You can see that when you put the words together you get something different:
meaning at another level. And not just one meaning! The sentence does, in fact, have other meanings, but you will see that later (see Reading Exercises 5-8).
Another way of looking at the sentence is that the words proposal and suggestion are summaries of the sentence. If you then add up the meanings of the sentences in a paragraph, you will have a different level of meaning. In other words, the sum of the meaning of the sentences, can help you work out the title of a paragraph.
Obviously, therefore, it is more economical to be able to read the organisation of the meaning of a paragraph and dip into sentences, where necessary. Individual words then become much less important. This exercise develops further the basic techniques about organisation that you learnt in the previous exercise.
Read the statements below and study the paragraph which follows. Decide which statements about the paragraph are true or false.
a the paragraph talks about drivers and their opinions, b the paragraph has no focus sentence.
c the paragraph contains three examples which illustrate drivers’ high opinion of themselves, d the second sentence is a transition sentence.
e you could remove the second sentence and put For example, at the beginning of sentence 3.
f the basic organisation in this paragraph is: problem/solution.
g the paragraph needs more text markers like then, indeed etc
h the author wrote the paragraph to show what happens when drivers are arrogant about their driving abilities.
i a suitable title is: Driver arrogance and the consequences.
Reading Exercises 1 to 22
Drivers often have an over-inflated opinion of their own driving abilities and think that most other people on the road fall well below their own high standards. Some even take it upon themselves to show their fellow road users how to drive. C ar drivers commonly treat the road as a stage where they show other motorists how skilful they are by out-m anoeuvring them. Another frequent sight on the road is an irate man hanging out of the window of his car instructing another driver on the art of road-craft. A similar situation is the football stadium full of referees, yelling instructions at the man in black.
Exercise 3: More about reading organisation
This exercise gives you more practice in reading organisation. Read the following paragraph as quickly as you can:
For many people, all the frustrations they face in their daily lives are relieved on the battlefields of the road. The cashier in the bank, or at the post-office, is also frequently the object of vented anger. And how often do we read in the newspaper dram atic stories about trolley rage in the supermarket, phone rage, air rage and so on? Admittedly, we do have the tendency to take out our pent-up emotions on others. But, surely, a better way to deal with these situations would be simply learning how to control our feelings.
Now decide which of the statements about the paragraph are true or false:
a the first sentence gives the focus or topic of the paragraph,
b the purpose of the paragraph is to show how people relieve their frustrations,
c the structure of the paragraph is as follows:
Specific Specific Specific General Opinion
example example example statement
\ \ __ ________
1
Concession « Contrast
d the fourth sentence is a generalisation or general statement, which acts as a summary of the examples in the previous three sentences.
e the fifth sentence is judgmental.
f this is a list or and paragraph.
Exercises 1 to 22 Reading
g All of the following are suitable titles for the paragraph:
(i) Relieving frustration
(ii) The best way to relieve frustration
(iii) The best way to deal with emotion in fraught situations (iv) Dealing with frustration
Exercise 4: A summary of functions
You saw in Exercise 2 that it is possible to summarise a sentence in a paragraph by giving it a name. These summaries then help you to read more efficiently as you are learning automatically to summarise sentences, and then larger chunks of text, i.e. paragraphs.
In this exercise, you are going to identify the meaning of sentences and paragraphs.