IELTS TOEFL PTE YDS YÖKDİL iTEP: Recent Episodes
None
CAMBRIDGE IELTS BOOK 17 TEST 1 LISTENING (ACADEMIC IELTS AND GENERAL IELTS)
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/INTRO_0.mp3https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/01_0.mp3PART 1 Questions 1-10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Transport survey
Name: Sadie Jones
Year of birth: 1991
Postcode: 1………………….
Travelling by bus
Date of bus journey: 2………………….
Reason for trip: shopping and visit to the 3………………….
Travelled by bus because cost of 4…………………. too high
Got on bus at 5…………………. Street
Complaints about bus service:
– bus today was 6………………….
– frequency of buses in the 7………………….
Travelling by car
Goes to the 8…………………. by car
Travelling by bicycle
Dislikes travelling by bike in the city centre because of the 9………………….
Doesn’t own a bike because of a lack of 10………………….
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/02_0.mp3PART 2 Questions 11-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Becoming a volunteer for ACE
11 Why does the speaker apologise about the seats?
A They are too small.
B There are not enough of them.
C Some of them are very close together.
12 What does the speaker say about the age of volunteers?
A The age of volunteers is less important than other factors.
B Young volunteers are less reliable than older ones.
C Most volunteers are about 60 years old.
13 What does the speaker say about training?
A It is continuous.
B It is conducted by a manager.
C It takes place online.
Questions 14 and 15
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO issues does the speaker ask the audience to consider before they apply to be volunteers?
A their financial situation
B their level of commitment
C their work experience
B their ambition
E their availability
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/03_0.mp3Questions 16-20
What does the speaker suggest would be helpful for each of the following areas of voluntary work?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to Questions 16-20.
Helpful things volunteers might offer
A experience on stage
B original, new ideas
C parenting skills
D an understanding of food and diet
E retail experience
F a good memory
G a good level of fitness
Area of voluntary work
16 Fundraising ……………
17 Litter collection ……………
18 ‘Playmates’ ……………
19 Story club ……………
20 First aid ……………
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/04_0.mp3PART 3 Questions 21-26
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
Talk on jobs in fashion design
21 What problem did Chantal have at the start of the talk?
A Her view of the speaker was blocked.
B She was unable to find an empty seat.
C The students next to her were talking.
22 What were Hugo and Chantal surprised to hear about the job market?
A It has become more competitive than it used to be.
B There is more variety in it than they had realised.
C Some areas of it are more exciting than others.
23 Hugo and Chantal agree that the speaker’s message was
A unfair to them at times.
B hard for them to follow.
C critical of the industry.
24 What do Hugo and Chantal criticise about their school careers advice?
A when they received the advice
B how much advice was given
C who gave the advice
25 When discussing their future, Hugo and Chantal disagree on
A which is the best career in fashion.
B when to choose a career in fashion.
C why they would like a career in fashion.
26 How does Hugo feel about being an unpaid assistant?
A He is realistic about the practice.
B He feels the practice is dishonest.
C He thinks others want to change the practice.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/05_0.mp3Questions 27 and 28
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO mistakes did the speaker admit she made in her first job?
A being dishonest to her employer
B paying too much attention to how she looked
C expecting to become well known
D trying to earn a lot of money
E openly disliking her client
Questions 29 and 30
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO pieces of retail information do Hugo and Chantal agree would be useful?
A the reasons people return fashion items
B how much time people have to shop for clothes
C fashion designs people want but can’t find
D the best time of year for fashion buying
E the most popular fashion sizes
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/06_0.mp3PART 4 Questions 31-40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Elephant translocation
Reasons for overpopulation at Majete National Park
● strict enforcement of anti-poaching laws
● successful breeding
Problems caused by elephant overpopulation
● greater competition, causing hunger for elephants
● damage to 31…………………… in the park
The translocation process
● a suitable group of elephants from the same 32…………………… was selected
● vets and park staff made use of 33…………………… to help guide the elephants into an open plain
● elephants were immobilised with tranquilisers
– this process had to be completed quickly to reduce 34……………………
– elephants had to be turned on their 35…………………… to avoid damage to their lungs
– elephants’ 36…………………… had to be monitored constantly
– tracking devices were fitted to the matriarchs
– data including the size of their tusks and 37…………………… was taken
● elephants were taken by truck to their new reserve
Advantages of translocation at Nkhotakota Wildlife Park
● 38…………………… opportunities
● a reduction in the number of poachers and 39……………………
● an example of conservation that other parks can follow
● an increase in 40…………………… as a contributor to GDP
AUDIO SCRIPTPART 1MAN: Excuse me. Would you mind if I asked you some questions? We’re doing a survey on transport.
SADIE: Yes, that’s OK.
MAN: First of all, can I take your name?
SADIE: Yes. It’s Sadie Jones.
MAN: Thanks very much. And could I have your date of birth – just the year will do, actually. Is that all right?
SADIE: Yes, that’s fine. It’s 1991.
MAN: So next your postcode, please.
SADIE: It’s DW3Q 7YZ. Q1
MAN: Great. Thanks. Is that in Wells?
SADIE: No it’s actually in Harborne- Wells isn’t far from there, though.
MAN: I really like that area. My grandmother lived there when I was a kid.
SADIE: Yes, it is nice.
MAN: Right, so now I want to ask you some questions about how you travelled here today. Did you use public transport?
SADIE: Yes. I came by bus.
MAN: OK. And that was today. It’s the 24th of April, isn’t it? Q2
SADIE: Isn’t it the 25th? No, actually, you’re right.
MAN: Ha ha. And what was the reason for your trip today? I can see you’ve got some shopping with you.
SADIE: Yes. I did some shopping but the main reason I came here was to go to the dentist. Q3
MAN: That’s not much fun. Hope it was nothing serious.
SADIE: No, it was just a check-up. It’s fine.
MAN: Good. Do you normally travel by bus into the city centre?
SADIE: Yes. I stopped driving in ages ago because parking was so difficult to find and it costs so much. Q4
MAN: I see.
SADIE: The bus is much more convenient too. It only takes about 30 minutes.
MAN: That’s good. So where did you start your journey?
SADIE: At the bus stop on Claxby Street. Q5
MAN: Is that C-L-A-X-B-Y?
SADIE: That’s right.
—–
MAN: And how satisfied with the service are you? Do you have any complaints?
SADIE: Well, as I said, it’s very convenient and quick when it’s on time, but this morning it was late. Only about 10 minutes, but still. Q6
MAN: Yes, I understand that’s annoying. And what about the timetable? Do you have any comments about that?
SADIE: Mmm. I suppose I mainly use the bus during the day, but any time I’ve been in town in the evening – for dinner or at the cinema – I’ve noticed you have to wait a long time for a bus – there aren’t that many. Q7
MAN: OK, thanks. So now I’d like to ask you about your car use.
SADIE: Well, I have got a car but I don’t use it that often. Mainly just to go to the supermarket. But that’s about it really. My husband uses it at the weekends to go to the golf club. Q8
MAN: And what about a bicycle?
SADIE: I don’t actually have one at the moment.
MAN: What about the city bikes you can rent? Do you ever use those?
SADIE: No – I’m not keen on cycling there because of all the pollution. But I would like to get a bike – it would be good to use it to get to work. Q9
MAN: So why haven’t you got one now?
SADIE: Well, I live in a flat – on the second floor and it doesn’t have any storage – so we’d have to leave it in the hall outside the flat. Q10
MAN: I see. OK. Well, I think that’s all …
PART 2Good evening, everyone. Let me start by welcoming you all to this talk and thanking you for taking the time to consider joining ACE voluntary organisation. ACE offers support to people and services in the local area and we’re now looking for more volunteers to help us do this.
By the way, I hope you’re all comfortable – we have brought in extra seats so that no one has to stand, but it does mean that the people at the back of the room may be a bit squashed. Q11 We’ll only be here for about half an hour so, hopefully, that’s OK.
One of the first questions we’re often asked is how old you need to be to volunteer. Well, you can be as young as 16 or you can be 60 or over; it all depends on what type of voluntary work you want to do. Other considerations, such as reliability, are crucial in voluntary work and age isn’t related to these, in our experience. Q12
Another question we get asked relates to training. Well, there’s plenty of that and it’s all face-to-face. What’s more, training doesn’t end when you start working for us – it takes place before, during and after periods of work. Often, it’s run by other experienced volunteers as managers tend to prefer to get on with other things. Q13
Now, I would ask you to consider a couple of important issues before you decide to apply for voluntary work. We don’t worry about why you want to be a volunteer- people have many different reasons that range from getting work experience to just doing something they’ve always wanted to do. But it is critical that you have enough hours in the day for whatever role we agree is suitable for you- if being a volunteer becomes stressful then it’s best not to do it at all. You may think that your income is important, but we don’t ask about that. It’s up to you to decide if you can work without earning money. What we value is dedication. Some of our most loyal volunteers earn very little themselves but still give their full energy to the work they do with us. Q14/15
—–
OK, so let’s take a look at some of the work areas that we need volunteers for and the sort of things that would help you in those.
You may wish simply to help us raise money. If you have the creativity to come up with an imaginative or novel way of fundraising, we’d be delighted, as standing in the local streets or shops with a collection box can be rather boring! Q16
One outdoor activity that we need volunteers for is litter collection and for this it’s useful if you can walk for long periods, sometimes uphill. Some of our regular collectors are quite elderly, but very active and keen to protect the environment. Q17
If you enjoy working with children, we have three vacancies for what are called ‘playmates’. These volunteers help children learn about staying healthy through a range of out-of-school activities. You don’t need to have children yourself, but it’s good if you know something about nutrition and can give clear instructions. Q18
If that doesn’t appeal to you, maybe you would be interested in helping out at our story club for disabled children, especially if you have done some acting. We put on three performances a year based on books they have read and we’re always looking for support with the theatrical side of this. Q19
The last area I’ll mention today is first aid. Volunteers who join this group can end up teaching others in vulnerable groups who may be at risk of injury. Initially, though, your priority will be to take in a lot of information and not forget any important steps or details. Q20
Right, so does anyone have any questions …
PART 3HUGO: Hi Chantal. What did you think of the talk, then?
CHANTAL: Hi Hugo. I thought it was good once I’d moved seats.
HUGO: Oh- were the people beside you chatting or something?
CHANTAL: It wasn’t that. I went early so that I’d get a seat and not have to stand, but then this guy sat right in front of me and he was so tall!
HUGO: It’s hard to see through people’s heads, isn’t it? Q21
CHANTAL: Impossible! Anyway, to answer your question, I thought it was really interesting, especially what the speaker said about the job market.
HUGO: Me too. I mean we know we’re going into a really competitive field so it’s obvious that we may struggle to get work.
CHANTAL: That’s right – and we know we can’t all have that ‘dream job’.
HUGO: Yeah, but it looks like there’s a whole range of … areas of work that we hadn’t even thought of – like fashion journalism, for instance. Q22
CHANTAL: Yeah – I wasn’t expecting so many career options.
HUGO: Mmm. Overall, she had quite a strong message, didn’t she?
CHANTAL: She did. She kept saying things like ‘I know you all think this, but …’ and then she’d tell us how it really is.
HUGO: Perhaps she thinks students are a bit narrow-minded about the industry.
CHANTAL: It was a bit harsh, though! We know it’s a tough industry.
HUGO: Yeah – and we’re only first years, after all. We’ve got a lot to learn. Q23
CHANTAL: Exactly. Do you think our secondary-school education should have been more career-focused?
HUGO: Well, we had numerous talks on careers, which was good, but none of them were very inspiring. They could have asked more people like today’s speaker to talk to us. Q24
CHANTAL: I agree. We were told about lots of different careers – just when we needed to be, but not by the experts who really know stuff.
HUGO: So did today’s talk influence your thoughts on what career you’d like to take up in the future?
CHANTAL: Well. I promised myself that I’d go through this course and keep an open mind till the end. Q25
HUGO: But I think it’s better to pick an area of the industry now and then aim to get better and better at it.
CHANTAL: Well, I think we’ll just have to differ on that issue!
HUGO: One thing’s for certain, though. From what she said, we’ll be unpaid assistants in the industry for quite a long time.
CHANTAL: Mmm.
HUGO: I’m prepared for that, aren’t you? Q26
CHANTAL: Actually, I’m not going to accept that view.
HUGO: Really? But she knows it’s the case- and everyone else says the same.
CHANTAL: That doesn’t mean it has to be true for me.
HUGO: OK. Well – I hope you’re right!
—–
CHANTAL: I thought the speaker’s account of her first job was fascinating.
HUGO: Yeah – she admitted she was lucky to get work being a personal dresser for a musician. She didn’t even apply for the job and there she was getting paid to choose all his clothes.
CHANTAL: It must have felt amazing – though she said all she was looking for back then was experience, not financial reward.
HUGO: Mmm. And then he was so mean, telling her she was more interested in her own appearance than his! Q27/28
CHANTAL: But – she did realise he was right about that, which really made me think. I’m always considering my own clothes but now I can see you should be focusing on your client!
HUGO: She obviously regretted losing the job.
CHANTAL: Well, as she said, she should have hidden her negative feelings about him, but she didn’t. Q27/28
HUGO: It was really brave the way she picked herself up and took that job in retail. Fancy working in a shop after that!
CHANTAL: Yeah – well, she recommended we all do it at some point. I guess as a designer you’d get to find out some useful information, like how big or small the average shopper is.
HUGO: I think that’s an issue for manufacturers, not designers. However, it would be useful to know if there’s a gap in the market – you know, an item that no one’s stocking but that consumers are looking for. Q29/30
CHANTAL: Yeah, people don’t give up searching. They also take things back to the store if they aren’t right.
HUGO: Yeah. Imagine you worked in an expensive shop and you found out the garments sold there were being returned because they … fell apart in the wash! Q29/30
CHANTAL: Yeah, it would be good to know that kind of thing.
HUGO: Yeah.
PART 4For my presentation today I want to tell you about how groups of elephants have been moved and settled in new reserves. This is known as translocation and has been carried out in Malawi in Africa in recent years. The reason this is being done is because of overpopulation of elephants in some areas.
Overpopulation is a good problem to have and not one we tend to hear about very often. In Malawi’s Majete National Park the elephant population had been wiped out by poachers, who killed the elephants for their ivory. But in 2003, the park was restocked and effective law enforcement was introduced. Since then, not a single elephant has been poached. In this safe environment, the elephant population boomed. Breeding went so well that there were more elephants than the park could support.
This led to a number of problems. Firstly, there was more competition for food, which meant that some elephants were suffering from hunger. As there was a limit to the amount of food in the national park, some elephants began looking further afield. Elephants were routinely knocking down fences around the park, which then had to be repaired at a significant cost. Q31
To solve this problem, the decision was made to move dozens of elephants from Majete National Park to Nkhotakota Wildlife Park, where there were no elephants. But, obviously, attempting to move significant numbers of elephants to a new home 300 kilometres away is quite a challenge.
—–
So how did this translocation process work in practice?
Elephants were moved in groups of between eight and twenty, all belonging to one family. Q32 Because relationships are very important to elephants, they all had to be moved at the same time. A team of vets and park rangers flew over the park in helicopters and targeted a group, which were rounded up and directed to a designated open plain. Q33
The vets then used darts to immobilise the elephants – this was a tricky manoeuvre, as they not only had to select the right dose of tranquiliser for different-sized elephants but they had to dart the elephants as they were running around. This also had to be done as quickly as possible so as to minimise the stress caused. As soon as the elephants began to flop onto the ground, the team moved in to take care of them. Q34
To avoid the risk of suffocation, the team had to make sure none of the elephants were lying on their chests because their lungs could be crushed in this position. So all the elephants had to be placed on their sides. Q35 One person stayed with each elephant while they waited for the vets to do checks. It was very important to keep an eye on their breathing – if there were fewer than six breaths per minute, the elephant would need urgent medical attention. Q36 Collars were fitted to the matriarch in each group so their movements could be tracked in their new home. Measurements were taken of each elephant’s tusks – elephants with large tusks would be at greater risk from poachers – and also of their feet. The elephants were then taken to a recovery area before being loaded onto trucks and transported to their new home. Q37
The elephants translocated to Nkhotakota settled in very well and the project has generally been accepted to have been a huge success – and not just for the elephants. Employment prospects have improved enormously, contributing to rising living standards for the whole community. Q38 Poaching is no longer an issue, as former poachers are able to find more reliable sources of income. In fact, many of them volunteered to give up their weapons, as they were no longer of any use to them. Q39
More than two dozen elephants have been born at Nkhotakota since relocation. With an area of more than 1,800 square kilometres, there’s plenty of space for the elephant population to continue to grow. Their presence is also helping to rebalance Nkhotakota’s damaged ecosystem and providing a sustainable conservation model, which could be replicated in other parks. All this has been a big draw for tourism, which contributes five times more than the illegal wildlife trade to GDP, and this is mainly because of the elephants. There’s also been a dramatic rise in interest … Q40
Part 11 DW30 7YZ
2 24(th) April
3 dentist
4 parking
5 Claxby
6 late
7 evening
8 supermarket
9 pollution
10 storage
Part 2
11 C
12 A
13 A
14&15 B, E
16 B
17 G
18 D
19 A
20 F
Part 3
21 A
22 B
23 A
24 C
25 B
26 A
27&28 B, E
29&30 A, C
Part 4
31 fences
32 family
33 helicopters
34 stress
35 sides
36 breathing
37 feet
38 employment
39 weapons
40 tourism
İNGİLİZCE AKADEMİK 1000 + EŞANLAMLARIYLA TÜRKÇE KARŞILIĞIYLA KELİME KARTLARI
AKADEMİK GRAMER ŞABLONU.
IELTS SPEAKING TOPIC CARDS (PART 2)
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10Complete the form below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/025_0.mp3Customer Satisfaction SurveyCustomer details
Name: Sophie Bird
Occupation: 1…………
Reason for travel today: 2……………..
Journey information
Name of station returning to: 3……………..
Type of ticket purchased: Standard 4……………… ticket
Cost of ticket: 5 £…………….
When ticket was purchased: Yesterday
Where ticket was bought: 6………………
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/026_0.mp3Satisfaction with journey
Most satisfied with: the wifi
Least satisfied with: the 7…………….. this morning.
Satisfaction with station facilities
Most satisfied with: how much 8…………… was provided
Least satisfied with: lack of seats, particularly on the 9………………
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with: the 10……………… available
PART 2Questions 11 – 16Label the map below.
Write the correct letter, A-H, next to Questions 11-16**
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/027_0.mp311 café ……………
12 toilets ……………
13 formal gardens ……………
14 outdoor gym ……………
15 skateboard ramp ……………
16 wild flowers ……………
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/028_0.mp3Questions 17 and 18Choose TWO letters, A-E.
What does the speakers say about the adventure playground?
A Children must be supervised.
B It costs more in winter.
C Some activities are only for younger children.
D No payment is required.
E It was recently expanded.
Questions 19 and 20What does the speaker say about the glass houses?
A They are closed at weekends.
B Volunteers are needed to work there.
C They were badly damaged by fire.
D More money is needed to repair some of the glass.
E Visitors can see palm trees from tropical regions.
PART 3Questions 21 – 24Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/029_0.mp3Presentation about refrigeration21 What did Annie discover from reading about icehouses?
A why they were first created
B how the ice was kept frozen
C where they were located
22 What point does Annie make about refrigeration in ancient Rome?
A It became a commercial business.
B It used snow from nearby.
C It took a long time to become popular.
23 In connection with modern refrigerator, both Annie and Jack are worried about
A the complexity of the technology.
B the fact that some are disposed of irresponsibly.
C the large number that quickly break down.
24 What do Jack and Annie agree regarding domestic fridges?
A They are generally good value for money.
B There are plenty of useful variations.
C They are more useful than other domestic appliances.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/030_0.mp3Questions 25-30Who is going to do research into each topic?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to Questions 25-30.
People
A Annie
B Jack
C both Annie and Jack
Topics
25 the goods that are refrigerated ……………
26 the effects on health ……………
27 the impact on food producers ……………
28 the impact on cities ……………
29 refrigerated transport ……………
30 domestic fridges ……………
PART 4Questions 31 – 40Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/031_0.mp3How the Industrial Revolution affected life in Britain19th century
● For the first time, people’s possessions were used to measure Britain’s 31…………….. .
● Developments in production of goods and in 32……………… greatly changed lives.
MAIN AREAS OF CHANGE
Manufacturing
● The Industrial Revolution would not have happened without the new types of 33……………… that were used then.
● The leading industry was 34………………. (its products became widely available).
● New 35…………….. made factories necessary and so more people moved into towns.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/032_0.mp3Transport
● The railways took the place of canals.
● Because of the new transport:
– greater access to 36………………. Made people more aware of what they could buy in shops.
– when shopping, people were not limited to buying 37……………… goods.
Retailing
● The first department stores were opened.
● The displays of goods were more visible:
– inside stores because of better 38………………. .
– outside stores, because 39……………… were bigger.
● 40………………. that was persuasive became much more common.
PART 1MAN: Hello. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about your journey today? We’re doing a customer satisfaction survey.
SOPHIE: Yes. OK. I’ve got about ten minutes before my train home leaves. I’m on a day trip.
MAN: Great. Thank you. So first of all, could you tell me your name?
SOPHIE: It’s Sophie Bird.
MAN: Thank you. And would you mind telling me what you do?
SOPHIE: I’m a journalist. (Q1)
MAN: Oh really? That must be interesting.
SOPHIE: Yes. It is.
MAN: So was the reason for your visit here today work?
SOPHIE: Actually, it’s my day off. I came here to do some shopping. (Q2)
MAN: On right.
SOPHIE: But I do sometimes come here for work.
MAN: OK. Now I’d like to ask some questions about your journey today, if that’s OK.
SOPHIE: Yes. No problem.
MAN: Right, so can you tell me which station you’re travelling back to?
SOPHIE: Staunfirth (Q3), where I live.
MAN: Can I just check the spelling? S-T-A-U-N-F-I-R-T-H?
SOPHIE: That’s right.
MAN: And you travelled from there this morning?
SOPHIE: Yes.
MAN: OK, good. Next, can I ask what kind of ticket you bought? I assume it wasn’t a season ticket, as you don’t travel every day.
SOPHIE: That’s right. No, I just got a normal return (Q4) ticket. I don’t have a rail card so I didn’t get any discount. I keep meaning to get one because it’s a lot cheaper.
MAN: Yes – you’d have saved 20% on your ticket today. So you paid the full price for your ticket?
SOPHIE: I paid £23.70. (Q5)
MAN: OK. Do you think that’s good value for money?
SOPHIE: Not really. I think it’s too much for a journey that only takes 45 minutes.
MAN: Yes, that’s one of the main complaints we get. So, you didn’t buy your ticket in advance?
SOPHIE: No. I know it’s cheaper if you buy a week in advance but I didn’t know I was coming then.
MAN: I know. You can’t always plan ahead. So, did you buy it this morning?
SOPHIE: No, it was yesterday.
MAN: Right. And do you usually buy your tickets at the station?
SOPHIE: Well, I do usually but the ticket office closes early and I hate using ticket machines. I think ticket offices should be open for longer hours. There’s always a queue for the machines and they’re often out of order.
MAN: A lot of customers are saying the same thing.
SOPHIE: So to answer your question … I got an e-ticket online. (Q6)
MAN: OK. Thank you. Now I’d like to ask you about your satisfaction with your journey. So what would you say you were most satisfied with today?
SOPHIE: Well, I like the wifi on the train. It’s improved a lot. It makes it easier for me to work if I want to.
MAN: That’s the first time today anyone’s mentioned that. It’s good to get some positive feedback on that.
SOPHIE: Mmm.
MAN: And, is there anything you weren’t satisfied with?
SOPHIE: Well, normally, the trains run on time and are pretty reliable but today there was a delay (Q7); the train was about 15 minutes behind schedule.
MAN: OK. I’ll put that down. Now I’d also like to ask about the facilities at this station. You’ve probably noticed that the whole station’s been upgraded. What are you most satisfied with?
SOPHIE: I think the best thing is that they’ve improved the amount of information (Q8) about train times etc. that’s given to passengers – it’s much clearer – before there was only one board and I couldn’t always see it properly – which was frustrating.
MAN: That’s good. And is there anything you’re not satisfied with?
SOPHIE: Let’s see … I think things have generally improved a lot. The trains are much more modern and I like the new café. But one thing is that there aren’t enough places to sit down, especially on the platforms. (Q9)
MAN: OK – so I’ll put ‘seating’ down, shall I, as the thing you’re least satisfied with?
SOPHIE: Yes, OK.
MAN: Can I ask your opinion about some of the other facilities? We’d like feedback on whether people are satisfied, dissatisfied or neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
SOPHIE: OK.
MAN: What about the parking (Q10) at the station?
SOPHIE: Well to be honest, I don’t really have an opinion as I never use it.
MAN: So, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied for that then.
SOPHIE: Yes, I suppose so …
MAN: OK, and what about …?
PART 2As chair of the town council subcommittee on park facilities, I’d like to bring you up to date on some of the changes that have been made recently to the Croft Valley Park. So if you could just take a look at the map I handed out, let’s begin with a general overview. So the basic arrangement of the park hasn’t changed – it still has two gates, north and south, and a lake in the middle.
The café continues to serve an assortment of drinks and snacks and is still in the same place, looking out over the lake and next to the old museum. (Q11)
We’re hoping to change the location of the toilets, and bring them nearer to the centre of the park as they’re a bit out of the way at present, near the adventure playground, in the corner of your map. (Q12)
The formal gardens have been replanted and should be at their best in a month or two. They used to be behind the old museum, but we’re now used the space near the south gate – between the park boundary and the path that goes past the lake towards the old museum. (Q13)
We have a new outdoor gym for adults and children, which is already proving very popular. It’s by the glass houses, just to the right of the path from the south gate. You have to look for it as it’s a bit hidden in the trees. (Q14)
One very successful introduction has been our skateboard ramp. It’s in constant use during the evenings and holidays. It’s near the old museum, at the end of a little path that leads off from the main path between the lake and the museum. (Q15)
We’ve also introduced a new area for wild flowers, to attract bees and butterflies. It’s on a bend in the path that goes round the east side of the lake, just south of the adventure playground. (Q16)
Now let me tell you a bit more about some of the changes to Croft Valley Park.
One of our most exciting developments has been the adventure playground. We were aware that we had nowhere for children to let off steam, and decided to use our available funds to set up a completely new facility in a large space to the north of the park. It’s open year-round, though it close early in the winter months, and entrance is completely free (Q17/Q18). Children can choose whatever activities they want to do, irrespective of their age, but we do ask adults not to leave them on their own there (Q17/Q18). There are plenty of seats where parents can relax and keep an eye on their children at the same time.
Lastly, the glass houses. A huge amount of work has been done on them to repair the damage following the disastrous fire that recently destroyed their western side (Q19/Q20). Over £80,000 was spent on replacing the glass walls and the metal supports, as well as the plants that had been destroyed, although unfortunately the collection of tropical palm trees has proved too expensive to replace up to now. At present the glass houses are open from 10am to 3pm Mondays to Thursdays, and it’s hoped to extend this to the weekend soon (Q19/Q20). We’re grateful to all those who helped us by contributing their time and money to this achievement.
The gardens have …
PART 3
ANNIE: OK, Jack. Before we plan our presentation about refrigeration, let’s discuss what we’ve discovered so far.
JACK: Fine, Annie. Though I have to admit I haven’t done much research yet.
ANNIE: Nor me. But I found an interesting article about icehouses. I’d been some 18th- and 19th-century ones here in the UK, so I knew they were often built in a shady area or underground, close to lakes that might freeze in the winter. Then blocks of ice could be cut and stored in the icehouse. But I didn’t realise that insulating the blocks with straw or sawdust meant they didn’t melt for months (Q21). The ancient Romans had refrigeration, too.
JACK: I didn’t know that.
ANNIE: Yes, pits were dug in the ground, and snow was imported from the mountains – even though they were at quite a distance. The snow was stored in the pits. Ice formed at the bottom of it. Both the ice and the snow were then sold (Q22). The ice cost more than the snow and my guess is that only the wealthy members of society could afford it.
JACK: I wouldn’t be surprised. I also came across an article about modern domestic fridges. Several different technologies are used, but they were too complex for me to understand.
ANNIE: You have to wonder what happens when people get rid of old ones.
JACK: You mean because the gases in them are harmful for the environment?
ANNIE: Exactly. At least these are now plenty of organisations that will recycle most of the components safety, but of course some people just dump old fridges in the countryside. (Q23)
JACK: It’s hard to see how they can be stopped unfortunately (Q23). In the UK we get rid of three million a year altogether!
ANNIE: That sounds a lot, especially because fridges hardly ever break down.
JACK: That’s right. In this country we keep domestic fridges for 11 years on average, and a lot last for 20 or more. So if you divide the cost by the number of years you can use a fridge, they’re not expensive, compared with some household appliances. (Q24)
ANNIE: True. I suppose manufactures encourage people to spend more by making them different colours and designs. I’m sure when my parents bought their first fridge they had hardly any choice!
JACK: Yes, there’s been quite a change.
JACK: Right, let’s make a list of topics to cover in our presentation, and decide who’s going to do more research on them. Then later, we can get together and plan the next step.
ANNIE: OK. How about starting with how useful refrigeration is, and the range of goods that are refrigerated (Q25) nowadays? Because of course it’s not just food and drinks.
JACK: No, I suppose flowers and medicines are refrigerated, too.
ANNIE: And computers. I could do that (Q26), unless you particularly want to.
JACK: No, that’s fine by me. What about the effects of refrigeration on people’s health (Q26)? After all, some of the chemicals used in the 19th century were pretty harmful, but there have been lots of benefits too, like always have access to fresh food. Do you fancy dealing with that?
ANNIE: I’m no terribly keen, to be honest.
JACK: Nor me. My mind just goes blank when I read anything about chemicals.
ANNIE: Oh, all right then, I’ll do you a favour (Q27). But you own me, Jack.
What about the effects on food producers, like farmers in poorer countries being able to export their produce to developed countries? Something for you, maybe?
JACK: I don’t mind. It should be quite interesting.
ANNIE: I think we should also look at how refrigeration has helped whole cities (Q28) – like Las Vegas, which couldn’t exist without refrigeration because it’s in the middle of a desert.
JACK: Right. I had a quick look at an economics book in the library that’s got a chapter about this sort of thing. I could give you the title, if you want to do this section.
ANNIE: Not particularly, to be honest. I find economics books pretty heavy going, as a rule.
JACK: OK, leave it to me, then.
ANNIE: Thanks. Then there’s transport, and the difference that refrigerated trucks (Q29) have made. I wouldn’t mind having a go at that.
JACK: Don’t forget trains, too. I read something about milk and butter being transported in refrigerated railroad cars in the USA, right back in the 1840s.
ANNIE: I hadn’t thought of trains. Thanks.
JACK: Shall we have a separate section on domestic fridges (Q30)? After all, they’re something everyone’s familiar with.
ANNIE: What about splitting it into two? You could investigate 19th- and 20th-century fridges, and I’ll concentrate on what’s available these days, and how manufacturers differentiate their products from those of their competitors.
JACK: OK, that’d suit me.
PART 4Hi everyone, in this session I’ll be presenting my research about the social history of Britain during the Industrial Revolution. I particularly looked at how ordinary lives were affected by changes that happened at that time. This was a time that saw the beginning of a new phenomenon; consumerism – where buying and selling goods became a major part of ordinary people’s lives.
In fact, it was in the 19th century that the quantity and quality of people’s possessions was used as an indication of the wealth (Q31) of the country. Before this, the vast majority of people had very few possessions, but all that was changed by the Industrial Revolution. This was the era from the mid-18th to the late 19th century, when improvements in how goods were made as well as in technology (Q32) triggered massive social changes that transformed life for just about everybody in several key areas.
First let’s look at manufacturing. When it comes to manufacturing, we tend to think of the Industrial Revolution in images of steam engines and coal. And it’s true that the Industrial Revolution couldn’t have taken place at all if it weren’t for these new sources of power (Q33). They marked an important shift away from the traditional watermills and windmills that had dominated before this. The most advanced industry for much of the 19th century was textiles (Q34). This meant that fashionable fabrics, and lace and ribbons were made available to everyone.
Before the Industrial Revolution, most people made goods to sell in small workshops, often in their own homes. But enormous new machines (Q35) were now being created that could produce the goods faster and on a larger scale, and these required a lot more space. So large factories were built, replacing the workshops, and forcing workers to travel to work. In fact, large numbers of people migrated from villages into towns as a result.
As well as manufacturing, there were new technologies in transport, contributing to the growth of consumerism. The horse-drawn stagecoaches and carts of the 18th century, which carried very few people and good, and travelled slowly along poorly surfaced roads, were gradually replaced by the numerous canals that were constructed. These were particularly important for the transportation of goods. The canals gradually fell out of use, though, as railways were developed, becoming the main way of moving goods and people from one end of the country to the other. And the goods they moved weren’t just coal, iron, clothes, and so on – significantly, they included newspapers (Q36), which meant that thousands of people were not only more knowledgeable about what was going on in the country, but could also read about what was available in the shops. And that encouraged them to buy more. so faster forms of transport resulted in distribution becoming far more efficient – goods could now be sold all over the country, instead of just in the local (Q37) market.
The third main area that saw changes that contributed to consumerism was retailing. The number and quality of shops grew rapidly, and in particular, small shops suffered as customers flocked to the growing number of department stores – a form of retailing that was new in the 19th century. The entrepreneurs who opened these found new ways to stock them with goods, and to attract customers: for instance, improved lighting (Q38) inside greatly increased the visibility of the goods for sale. Another development that made goods more visible from outside resulted from the use of plate glass, which made it possible for windows (Q39) to be much larger than previously. New ways of promoting goods were introduced, too. Previously, the focus had been on informing potential customers about the availability of goods; now there was an explosion in advertising (Q40) trying to persuade people to go shopping.
Flanders claims that one of the great effects of the Industrial Revolution was that it created choice. All sorts of things that had previously been luxuries – from sugar to cutlery – became conveniences, and before long they’d turned into necessities: life without sugar or cutlery was unimaginable. Rather like mobile phones these days!
KEY
Part 11 journalist
2 shopping
3 Staunfirth
4 return
5 23.70
6 online
7 delay
8 information
9 platform(s)
10 parking
Part 211 D
12 C
13 G
14 H
15 A
16 E
17&18 A, D
19&20 A, C
Part 321 B
22 A
23 B
24 A
25 A
26 A
27 B
28 B
29 A
30 C
Part 431 wealth
32 technology
33 power
34 textile(s)
35 machines
36 newspapers
37 local
38 lighting
39 windows
40 Advertising
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/017_0.mp3Employment Agency: Possible JobsFirst Job
Administrative assistant in a company that produces 1…………….. (North London)
Responsibilities
● data entry
● go to 2……………. and take notes
● general admin
● management of 3……………..
Requirements
● good computer skills including spreadsheets
● good interpersonal skills
● attention to 4……………..
Experience
● need a minimum of 5…………… of experience of teleconferencing
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/018_0.mp3Second Job
Warehouse assistant in South London
Responsibilities
● stock management
● managing 6…………….
Requirements
● ability to work with numbers
● good computer skills
● very organised and 7……………
● good communication skills
● used to working in a 8…………….
● able to cope with items that are 9……………..
Need experience of
● driving in London
● warehouse work
● 10…………… service
PART 2Questions 11 – 16Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/019_0.mp3Street Play Scheme11 When did the Street Play Scheme first take place?
A two years ago
B three years ago
C six years ago
12 How often is Beechwood Road closed to traffic now?
A once a week
B on Saturdays and Sundays
C once a month
13 Who is responsible for closing the road?
A a council official
B the police
C local wardens
14 Residents who want to use their cars
A have to park in another street.
B must drive very slowly
C need permission from a warden.
15 Alice says that Street Play Schemes are most needed in
A wealthy areas
B quiet suburban areas.
C areas with heavy traffic.
16 What has been the reaction of residents who are not parents?
A Many of them were unhappy at first.
B They like seeing children play in the street.
C They are surprised by the lack of noise.
Questions 17 and 18Choose TWO letters, A-E.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/020_0.mp3Which TWO benefits for children does Alice think are the most important?
A increased physical activity
B increased sense of independence
C opportunity to learn new games
D opportunity to be part of a community
E opportunity to make new friends
Questions 19 and 20Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO results of the King Street experiment surprised Alice?
A more shoppers
B improved safety
C less air pollution
D more relaxed atmosphere
E less noise pollution
PART 3Questions 21 – 26Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/021_0.mp3What Hazel should analyse about items in newspapers:
● what 21……………… the item is on
● the 22……………… of the item, including the headline
● any 23…………….. accompanying the item
● the 24……………… of the item, e.g. what’s made prominent
● the writer’s main 25………………
● the 26……………… the writer may make about the reader
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/022_0.mp3Questions 27-30What does Hazel decide to do about each of the following types of articles?
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, next to Questions 27-30
A She will definitely look for a suitable article.
B She may look for a suitable article.
C She definitely won’t look for an article.
Types of articles
27 national news item ……………
28 editorial ……………
29 human interest ……………
30 arts ……………
PART 4 Questions 31 – 40Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/023_0.mp3Early history of keeping cleanPrehistoric times:
● water was used to wash off 31……………..
Ancient Babylon
● soap-like material found in 32…………… cylinders
Ancient Greece:
● people cleaned themselves with sand and other substances
● used a strigil – scraper made of 33………………
● washed clothes in streams
Ancient Germany and Gaul:
● used soap to colour their 34………………
Ancient Rome:
● animal fat, ashes and clay mixed through action of rain, used for washing clothes
● from about 312 BC, water carried to Roman 35……………… by aqueducts
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/024_0.mp3Europe in Middle Ages:
● decline in bathing contributed to occurrence of 36……………….
● 37………………. began to be added to soap
Europe from 17th century:
● 1600s: cleanliness and bathing started becoming usual
● 1791: Leblanc invented a way of making soda ash from 38………………
● early 1800s: Chevreul turned soapmaking into a 39………………
● from 1800s, there was no longer a 40……………… on soap.
PART 1SALLY: Good morning. Thanks for coming in to see us here at the agency, Joe. I’m one of the agency representatives, and my name’s Sally Baker.
JOE: Hi Sally. I think we spoke on the phone, didn’t we?
SALLY: That’s right, we did. So thank you for sending in your CV. We’ve had quite a careful look at it and I think we have two jobs that might be suitable for you.
JOE: OK.
SALLY: The first one is in a company based in North London. They’re looking for an administrative assistant.
JOE: OK. What sort of company is it?
SALLY: They’re called Home Solutions and they design and make furniture. (Q1)
JOE: Oh, I don’t know much about that, but it sounds interesting.
SALLY: Yes, well as I said, they want someone in their office, and looking at your past experience it does look as if you fit quite a few of the requirements. So on your CV it appears you’ve done some data entry?
JOE: Yes.
SALLY: So that’s one skill they want. Then they expect the person they appoint to attend meetings (Q2) and take notes there …
JOE: OK. I’ve done that before, yes.
SALLY: And you’d need to be able to cope with general admin.
JOE: Filling, and keeping records and so on? That should be OK. And in my last job I also had to manage the diary. (Q3)
SALLY: Excellent. That’s something they want here too. I’d suggest you add it to your CV – I don’t think you mentioned that, did you?
JOE: No.
SALLY: So as far as the requirements go, they want good computer skills, of course, and they particularly mention spreadsheets.
JOE: That should be fine.
SALLY: And interpersonal skills – which would be something they’d check with your references.
JOE: I think that should be OK, yes.
SALLY: Then they mention that they want someone who is careful and takes care with details (Q4) – just looking at your CV, I’d say you’re probably alright there.
JOE: I think so, yes. Do they want any special experience?
SALLY: I think they wanted some experience of teleconferencing.
JOE: I’ve got three years’ experience of that.
SALLY: let’s see, yes, good. In fact they’re only asking for at least one year (Q5), so that’s great. So is that something that might interest you?
JOE: It is, yes. The only thing is, you said they were in North London so it would be quite a long commute for me.
SALLY: OK.
SALLY: So the second position might suit you better as far as the location goes; that’s for a warehouse assistant and that’s in South London.
JOE: Yes, that would be a lot closer.
SALLY: And you’ve worked in a warehouse before, haven’t you?
JOE: Yes.
SALLY: So as far as the responsibilities for this position go, they want someone who can manage the stock, obviously, and also deliveries. (Q6)
JOE: That should be OK. You’ve got to keep track of stuff, but I’ve always been quite good with numbers.
SALLY: Good, that’s their first requirement. And they want someone who’s computer literate, which we know you are.
JOE: Sure.
SALLY: Then they mention organisational skills. They want someone who’s well organised.
JOE: Yes, I think I am.
SALLY: And tidy? (Q7)
JOE: Yes, they go together really, don’t they?
SALLY: Sure. Then the usual stuff; they want someone who can communicate well both orally and in writing.
JOE: OK. And for the last warehouse job I had, one of the things I enjoyed most was being part of a team (Q8). I found that was really essential for the job.
SALLY: Excellent. Yes, they do mention that they want someone who’s used to that, yes. Now when you were working in a warehouse last time, what sorts of items were you dealing with?
JOE: It was mostly bathroom and kitchen equipment, sinks and stoves and fridges.
SALLY: So you’re OK moving heavy (Q9) things?
JOE: Sure. I’m quite strong, and I’ve had the training.
SALLY: Good. Now as far as experience goes, they mention they want someone with a licence, and that you have experience of driving in London – so you can cope with the traffic and so on.
JOE: Yes, no problem.
SALLY: And you’ve got experience of warehouse work … and the final thing they mention is customer (Q10) service. I think looking at your CV you’ve OK there.
JOE: Right. So what about pay? Can you tell me a bit more about that, please …
PART 2
PRESENTER: My guest on the show today is Alice Riches who started the Street Play Scheme where she lives in Beechwood Road. For those of you that don’t already know – Street Play involves local residents closing off their street for a few hours so that children have a chance to play in the street safely. She started it in her own street, Beechwood Road, and the idea caught on, and there are now Street Play Schemes all over the city. So when did you actually start the scheme, Alice?
ALICE: Well, I first had the idea when my oldest child was still a toddler, so that’s about six years ago now – but it took at least two years of campaigning before we were actually able to make it happen. So the scheme’s been up and running for three years now (Q11). We’d love to be able to close our road for longer – for the whole weekend, from Saturday morning until Sunday evening, for example. At the moment it’s just once a week (Q12). But when we started it was only once a month. But we’re working on it.
PRESENTER: So what actually happens when Beechwood Road is closed?
ALICE: We have volunteer wardens, mostly parents but some elderly residents too, who block off our road at either end (Q13). The council have provided special signs but there’s always a volunteer there to explain what’s happening to any motorists. Generally, they’re fine about it – we’ve only had to get the police involved once or twice.
Now I should explain that the road isn’t completely closed to cars. But only residents’ cars are allowed. If people really need to get in or out of Beechwood Road, it’s not a problem – as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour (Q14). But most people just decide not to use their cars during this time, or they park in another street. The wardens are only there to stop through traffic.
PRESENTER: So can anyone apply to get involved in Street Play?
ALICE: Absolutely – we want to include all kids in the city – especially those who live on busy roads (Q15). It’s here that demand is greatest. Obviously, there isn’t such demand in wealthier areas where the children have access to parks or large gardens – or in the suburbs where there are usually more places for children to play outside.
I’d recommend that anyone listening who likes the idea should just give it a go. We’ve been surprised by the positive reaction of residents all over the city. And that’s not just parents. There are always a few who complain but they’re a tiny minority. On the whole everyone is very supportive and say they’re very happy to see children out on the street (Q16) – even if it does get quite noisy.
ALICE: There have been so many benefits of Street Play for the kids. Parents really like the fact that the kids are getting fresh air instead of sitting staring at a computer screen, even if they’re not doing anything particularly energetic. And of course it’s great that kids can play with their friends outside without being supervised by their parents – but for me the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents (Q17/Q18). The other really fantastic thing is that children get to know the adults in the street – it’s like having a big extended family (Q17/Q18).
PRESENTER: It certainly does have a lot of benefits. I want to move on now and ask you about a related project in King Street.
ALICE: Right. Well this was an experiment I was involved in where local residents decided to try and reduce the traffic along King Street, which is the busiest main road in our area, by persuading people not to use their cars for one day. We thought about making people pay more for parking – but we decided that would be really unpopular – so instead we just stopped people from parking on King Street but left the other car parks open.
It was surprising how much of a difference all this made. As we’d predicted, air quality was significantly better but what I hadn’t expected was how much quieter it would be (Q19/Q20) – even with the buses still running. Of course everyone said they felt safer but we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day (Q19/Q20) – we thought there’d be fewer people out shopping – not more.
PRESENTER: That’s really interesting so the fact that …
PART 3HAZEL: Tom, could I ask you for some advice, please?
TOM: Yes of course, if you think I can help. What’s it about?
HAZEL: It’s my first media studies assignment, and I’m not sure how to go about it. You must have done it last year.
TOM: Is that the one comparing the coverage of a particular story in a range of newspapers?
HAZEL: That’s right.
TOM: Oh yes, I really enjoyed writing it.
HAZEL: So what sort of things do I need to compare?
TOM: Well, there are several things. For example, there’s the question of which page (Q21) of the newspaper the item appears on.
HAZEL: You mean, because there’s a big difference between having it on the front page and the bottom of page ten, for instance?
TOM: Exactly. And that shows how important the editor thinks the story is. Then there’s the size (Q22) – how many column inches the story is given, how many columns it spreads over.
HAZEL: And I suppose that includes the headline.
TOM: It certainly does. It’s all part of attracting the reader’s attention.
HAZEL: What about graphics (Q23) – whether there’s anything visual in addition to the text?
TOM: Yes, you need to consider those, too, because they can have a big effect on the reader’s understanding of the story – sometimes a bigger effect than the text itself. Then you’ll need to look at how the item is put together: what structure (Q24) is it given? Bear in mind that not many people read beyond the first paragraph, so what has the journalist put at the beginning? And if, say, three are conflicting opinions about something, does one appear near the end, where people probably won’t read it?
HAZEL: And newspapers sometimes give wrong or misleading information, don’t they?
Either deliberately or by accident. Should I be looking at that, too?
TOM: Yes, if you can. Compare what’s in different versions, and as far as possible, try and work out what’s true and what isn’t. And that relates to a very important point: what’s the writer’s purpose (Q25), or at least the most important one, if they have several. It may seem to be to inform the public, but often it’s that they want to create fear, or controversy, or to make somebody look ridiculous.
HAZEL: Gosh, I see what you mean. And I suppose the writer may make assumptions (Q26) about the reader.
TOM: That’s right – about their knowledge of the subject, their attitudes, and their level of education, which means writing so that the readers understand without feeling patronised. All of that will make a difference to how story is presented.
HAZEL: Does it matter what type of story I write about?
TOM: No – national or international politics, the arts … Anything, as long as it’s covered in two or three newspaper. Though of course it’ll be easier and more fun if it’s something you’re interested in and know something about.
HAZEL: And on that basis a national news item would be worth analysing – I’m quite keen on politics, so I’ll try and find a suitable topic (Q27). What did you choose for your analysis, Tom?
TOM: I was interested in how newspapers express their opinions explicitly, so I wanted to compare editorials in different papers, but when I started looking. I couldn’t find two on the same topic (Q28) that I felt like analysing.
HAZEL: In that case, I won’t even bother to look (Q28).
TOM: So in the end I chose a human interest story – a terribly emotional story about a young girl who was very ill, and lots of other people – mostly strangers – raised money so she could go abroad for treatment. Actually, I was surprised – some papers just wrote about how wonderful everyone was, but others considered the broader picture, like why treatment wasn’t available here.
HAZEL: Hmm, I usually find stories like that raise quite strong feelings in me! I’ll avoid that (Q29). Perhaps I’ll choose an arts topic (Q30), like different reviews of a film, or something about funding for the arts – I’ll think about that.
TOM: Yes, that might be interesting.
HAZEL: OK, well thanks a lot for your help, Tom. It’s been really useful.
TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with the assignment, Hazel.
PART 4Nowadays, we use different products for personal cleanliness, laundry, dishwashing and household cleaning, but this is very much a 20th-century development.
The origins of cleanliness date back to prehistoric times. Since water is essential for life, the earliest people lived near water and knew something about its cleansing properties – at least that it rinsed mud off (Q31) their hands.
During the excavation of ancient Babylon, evidence was found that soapmaking was known as early as 2800 BC. Archaeologists discovered cylinders made of clay (Q32), with inscriptions on them saying that fats were boiled with askes. This is a method of making soap, though there’s no reference to the purpose of this material.
The early Greeks bathed for aesthetic reasons and apparently didn’t use soap. Instead, they cleaned their bodies with blocks of sand, pumice and ashes, then anointed themselves with oil, and scraped off the oil and dirt with a metal instrument known as a strigil (Q33). They also used oil mixed with ashes. Clothes were washed without soap in streams.
The ancient Germans and Gauls are also credited with discovering how to make a substance called ‘soap’, made of melted animal fat and ashes. They used this mixture to tint their hair red (Q34).
Soap got its name, according to an ancient Roman legend, from Mount Sapo, where animals were sacrificed, leaving deposits of animal fat. Rain washed these deposits, along with wood ashes, down into the clay soil along the River Tiber. Women found that this mixture greatly reduced the effort required to wash their clothes.
As Roman civilisation advance, so did bathing. The first of the famous Roman baths, supplied with water from their aqueducts (Q35), was built around 312 BC. The baths were luxurious, and bathing became very popular. And by the second century AD, the Greek physician Galen recommended soap for both medicinal and cleaning purposes.
After the fall of Rome in 467 AD and the resulting decline in bathing habits, much of Europe felt the impact of filth on public health. This lack of personal cleanliness and related unsanitary living conditions were major factors in the outbreaks of disease (Q36) in the Middle Ages, and especially the Black Death of the 14th century.
Nevertheless, soapmaking became an established craft in Europe, and associations of soapmakers guarded their trade secrets closely. Vegetable and animal oils were used with ashes of plants, along with perfume, apparently for the first time (Q37). Gradually more varieties of soap became available for shaving and shampooing, as well as bathing and laundering.
A major step toward large-scale commercial soapmaking occurred in 1791, when a French chemist, Nicholas Leblanc, patented a process for turning salt into soda ash (Q38), or sodium carbonate. Soda ash is the alkali obtained from ashes that combines with fat to form soap. The Leblanc process yielded quantities of good-quality, inexpensive soda ash.
Modern soapmaking was born some 20 years later, in the early 19th century, with the discovery by Michel Eugène Chevreul, another French chemist, of the chemical nature and relationship of fats, glycerine and fatty acids. His studies established the basis for both fat and soap chemistry, and soapmaking became a science (Q39). Further developments during the 19th century made it easier and cheaper to manufacture soap.
Until the 19th century, soap was regarded as a luxury item, and was heavily taxed in several countries. As it became more readily available, it became an everyday necessity, a development that was reinforced when the high tax was removed (Q40). Soap was then something ordinary people could afford, and cleanliness standards improved.
With this widespread use came the development of milder soaps for bathing and soaps for use in the washing machines that were available to consumers by the turn of the 20th century.
KEY
Part 11 furniture
2 meetings
3 diary
4 detail(s)
5 1 / one year
6 deliveries
7 tidy
8 team
9 heavy
10 customer
Part 211 B
12 A
13 C
14 B
15 C
16 B
17&18 B, D
19&20 A, E
Part 321 page
22 size
23 graphic(s)
24 structure
25 purpose
26 assumption(s)
27 A
28 C
29 C
30 B
Part 431 mud
32 clay
33 metal
34 hair
35 bath(s)
36 disease(s)
37 perfume
38 salt
39 science
40 tax
PART 1Questions 1 – 4Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/009_0.mp3Festival informationDate: 17th
Type of event: a concert
Details: performers from Canada
Date: 18th
Type of event: a ballet
Details: company called 1……………
Date: 19th-20th (afternoon)
Type of event: a play
Details: type of play: a comedy called Jemima has had a good 2………….
Date: 20th (evening)
Type of event: a 3………… show
Details: type of play: show is called 4………….
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/010_0.mp3Questions 5-10Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Workshops
● Making 5…………….. food
● (children only) Making 6……………..
● (adults only) Making toys from 7……………… using various tools
Outdoor activities
● Swimming in the 8………………
● Walking in the woods, led by an expert on 9……………….
See the festival organiser’s 10………………. for more information
PART 2Questions 11 – 14Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/011_0.mp3Minster Park11 The park was originally established
A as an amenity provided by the city council.
B as land belonging to a private house.
C as a shared area set up by the local community.
12 Why is there a statue of Diane Gosforth in the park?
A She was a resident who helped to lead a campaign.
B She was a council member responsible for giving the public access.
C She was a senior worker at the park for many years.
13 During the First World War, the park was mainly used for
A exercises by troops.
B growing vegetables.
C public meetings.
14 When did the physical transformation of the park begin?
A 2013
B 2015
C 2016
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/012_0.mp3Questions 15-20Label the map below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, next to Questions 15-20.
15 statue of Diane Gosforth…………….
16 wooden sculptures …………..
17 playground ………….
18 maze…………….
19 tennis courts …………
20 fitness area…………..
PART 3Questions 21 and 22Choose TWO letters, A-E.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/013_0.mp3Which TWO groups of people is the display primarily intended for?
A student from the English department
B residents of the local area
C the university’s teaching staff
D potential new students
E students from other departments
Questions 23 and 24Choose TWO letters, A-E.
What are Cathy and Graham’s TWO reasons for choosing the novelist Charles Dickens?
A His speeches inspired others to try to improve society.
B He used his publications to draw attention to social problems.
C His novels are well-known now.
D He was consulted on a number of social issues.
E His reputation has changed in recent times.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/014_0.mp3Questions 25-30What topic do Cathy and Graham choose to illustrate with each novel?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-H, next to Questions 25-30.
Topics
A poverty
B education
C Dickens’s travels
D entertainment
E crime and the law
F wealth
G medicine
H a woman’s life
Novels by Dickens
25 The Pickwick Papers …………..
26 Oliver Twist …………..
27 Nicholas Nickleby …………..
28 Martin Chuzzlewit …………..
29 Bleak House …………..
30 Little Dorrit …………..
PART 4Questions 31 – 40Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/015_0.mp3Agricultural programme in MozambiqueHow the programme was organised
● It focused on a dry and arid region in Chicualacuala district, near the Limpopo River.
● People depended on the forest to provide charcoal as a source of income.
● 31…………. was seen as the main priority to ensure the supply of water.
● Most of the work organised by farmers’ associations was done by 32…………….
● Fenced areas created to keep animals away from crops.
● The programme provided
– 33……………. for the fences
– 34……………. for suitable crops
– water pumps.
● The farmers provided
– labour
– 35……………. for the fences on their land.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/016_0.mp3Further developments
● The marketing of produce was sometimes difficult due to lack of 36…………….. .
● Training was therefore provided in methods of food 37……………… .
● Farmers made special places where 38………………. could be kept.
● Local people later suggested keeping 39……………… .
Evaluation and lessons learned
● Agricultural production increased, improving incomes and food security.
● Enough time must be allowed, particularly for the 40……………… phase of the programme.
PART 1TIM: Good morning. You’re through to the tourist information office, Tim speaking. How can I help you?
JEAN: Oh hello. Could you give me some information about next month’s festival, please? My family and I will be staying in the town that week.
TIM: Of course. Well it starts with a concert on the afternoon of the 17th.
JEAN: Oh I heard about that. The orchestra and singers come from the USA, don’t they?
TIM: They’re from Canada. They’re very popular over there. They’re going to perform a number of well-known pieces that will appeal to children as well as adults.
JEAN: That sounds good. My whole family are interested in music.
TIM: The next day, the 18th, there’s a performance by a ballet company called Eustatis. (Q1)
JEAN: Sorry?
TIM: The name is spelt E-U-S-T-A-T-I-S. They appeared in last year’s festival, and went down very well. Again, their programme is designed for all ages.
JEAN: Good. I expect we’ll go to that. I hope there’s going to be a play during the festival, a comedy, ideally.
TIM: You’re in luck! On the 19th and 20th a local amateur group are performing one written by a member of group. It’s called Jemima. That’ll be on in the town hall. They’ve already performed it two or three times. I haven’t seen it myself, but the review (Q2) in the local paper was very good.
JEAN: And is it suitable for children?
TIM: Yes, in fact it’s aimed more at children than at adults, so both performances are in the afternoon.
JEAN: And what about dance (Q3) ? Will there by any performances?
TIM: Yes, also on the 20th, but in the evening. A professional company is putting on a show of modern pieces, with electronic music by young composers.
JEAN: Uh-huh.
TIM: The show is about how people communicate, or fail to communicate, with each other, so it’s got the rather strange name, Chat. (Q4)
JEAN: I suppose that’s because that’s something we do both face to face and online.
TIM: That’s right.
TIM: Now there are also some workshops and other activities. They’ll all take place at least once every day, so everyone who wants to take part will have a chance.
JEAN: Good. We’re particularly interested in cookery – you don’t happen to have a cookery workshop, do you?
TIM: We certainly do. It’s going to focus on how to make food part of a healthy (Q5) lifestyle, and it’ll show that even sweet things like cakes can contain much less sugar than they usually do.
JEAN: That might be worth going to. We’re trying to encourage our children to cook.
TIM: Another workshop is just for children, and that’s on creating posters (Q6) to reflect the history of the town. The aim is to make children aware of how both the town and people’s lives have changed over the centuries. The results will be exhibited in the community centre. Then the other workshop is in toy-making, and that’s for adults only.
JEAN: Oh, why’s that?
TIM: Because it involves carpentry – participants will be making toys out of wood (Q7), so there’ll be a lot of sharp chisels and other tools around.
JEAN: It makes sense to keep children away from it.
TIM: Exactly. Now let me tell you about some of the outdoor activities. There’ll be supervised wild swimming …
JEAN: Wild swimming? What’s that?
TIM: It just means swimming in natural waters, rather than a swimming pool.
JEAN: Oh OK. In a lake (Q8), for instance.
TIM: Yes, there’s a beautiful one just outside the town, and that’ll be the venue for the swimming. There’ll be lifeguards on duty, so it’s suitable for all ages. And finally, there’ll be a walk in some nearby woods every day. The leader is an expert on insects (Q9). He’ll show some that live in the woods, and how important they are for the environment. So there are going to be all sorts of different things to do during the festival.
JEAN: There certainly are.
TIM: If you’d like to read about how the preparations for the festival are going, the festival organizer is keeping a blog (Q10). Just search online for the festival website, and you’ll find it.
JEAN: Well, thank you very much for all the information.
TIM: You’re welcome. Goodbye.
JEAN: Goodbye.
PART 2WOMAN: I’m very pleased to welcome this evening’s guest speaker, Mark Logan, who’s going to tell us about the recent transformation of Minster Park. Over to you, Mark.
MARK: Thank you. I’m sure you’re all familiar with Minster Park. It’s been a feature of the city for well over a century, and has been the responsibility of the city council for most of that time. What perhaps isn’t so well known is the origin of the park: unlike many public parks that started in private ownership, as the garden of a large house, for instance, Minster was some waste land, which people living nearby started planting with flowers in 1892 (Q11). It was unclear who actually owned the land, and this wasn’t settled until 20 years later, when the council took possession of it.
You may have noticed the statue near one of the entrances. It’s of Diane Gosforth, who played a key role in the history of the park. Once the council had become the legal owner, it planned to sell the land for housing. Many local people (Q12) wanted it to remain a place that everyone could go to, to enjoy the fresh air and natural environment – remember the park is in a densely populated residential area. Diane Gosforth was one of those people, and she organised petitions and demonstrations (Q12), which eventually made the council change its mind about the future of the land.
Soon after this the First World War broke out, in 1914, and most of the park was dug up and planted with vegetables (Q13), which were sold locally. At one stage the army considered taking in over for troop exercises and got as far as contacting the city council, then decided the park was too small to be of use. There were occasional public meetings during the war, in an area that had been retained as grass.
After the war, the park was turned back more or less to how it had been before 1914, and continued almost unchanged until recently. Plans for transforming it were drawn up at various times, most recently in 2013, though they were revised in 2015, before any work had started. The changes finally got going in 2016 (Q14), and were finished on schedule last year.
OK, let me tell you about some of the changes that have been made – and some things that have been retained. If you look at this map, you’ll see the familiar outline of the park, with the river forming the northern boundary, and a gate in each of the other three walls. The statue of Diane Gosforth has been moved: it used to be close to the south gate, but it’s now immediately to the north of the lily pond, almost in the centre of the park (Q15), which makes it much more visible.
There’s a new area of wooden sculptures, which are on the river bank, where the path from the east gate makes a sharp bend. (Q16)
There are two areas that are particularly intended for children. The playground has been enlarged and improved, and that’s between the river and the path that leads from the pond to the river. (Q17)
Then there’s a new maze, a circular series of paths, separated by low hedges. That’s near the west gate – you go north from there towards the river and then turn left to reach it. (Q18)
There have been tennis courts in the park for many years, and they’ve been doubled, from four to eight. They’re still in the south-west corner of the park, where there’s a right-angle bend in the path. (Q19)
Something else I’d like to mention is the new fitness area. This is right next to the lily pond on the same side as the west gate. (Q20)
Now, as you’re all gardeners, I’m sure you’ll like to hear about the plants that have been chosen for the park.
PART 3
CATHY: OK, Graham, so let’s check we both know what we’re supposed to be doing.
GRAHAM: OK.
CATHY: So, for the university’s open day, we have to plan a display on British life and literature in the mid-19th century.
GRAHAM: That’s right. But we’ll have some people to help us find the materials and set it up, remember – for the moment, we just need to plan it.
CATHY: Good. So have you gathered who’s expected to come and see the display? Is it for the people studying English, or students from other departments? I’m not clear about it.
GRAHAM: Nor me. That was how it used to be, but it didn’t attract many people, so this year it’s going to be part of an open day, to raise the university’s profile. It’ll be publicised in the city, to encourage people to come and find out something of what does on here (Q21/Q22). And it’s included in the information that’s sent to people who are considering applying to study here next year. (Q21/Q22)
CATHY: Presumably some current students and lecturers will come?
GRAHAM: I would imagine so, but we’ve been told to concentrate on the other categories of people.
CATHY: Right. We don’t have to cover the whole range of 19th-century literature, do we?
GRAHAM: No, it’s entirely up to us. I suggest just using Charles Dickens.
CATHY: That’s a good idea. Most people have heard of him, and have probably read some of his novels, or seen films based on them (Q23/Q24), so that’s a good lead-in to life in his time.
GRAHAM: Exactly. And his novels show the awful conditions that most people had to live in, don’t they: he wanted to shock people into doing something about it. (Q23/Q24)
CATHY: Did he do any campaigning, other than writing?
GRAHAM: Yes, he campaigned for education and other social reforms, and gave talks, but I’m inclined to ignore that and focus on the novels.
CATHY: Yes, I agree.
CATHY: OK, so now shall we think about a topic linked to each novel?
GRAHAM: Yes. I’ve printed out a list of Dicken’s novels in the order they were published, in the hope you’d agree to focus on him!
CATHY: You’re lucky I did agree! Let’s have a look. OK, the first was The Pickwick Papers, published in 1836. It was very successful when it came out, wasn’t it, and was adapted for the theatre straight away.
GRAHAM: There’s an interesting point, though, that there’s a character who keeps falling asleep, and that medical condition was named after the book – Pickwickian Syndrome. (Q25)
CATHY: Oh, so why don’t we use that as the topic, and include some quotations from the novel?
GRAHAM: Right, Next is Oliver Twist. There’s a lot in the novel about poverty. But maybe something less obvious …
CATHY: Well Oliver is taught how to steal, isn’t he? We could use that to illustrate the fact that very few children went to school, particularly not poor children, so they learnt in other ways. (Q26)
GRAHAM: Good idea. What’s next?
CATHY: Maybe Nicholas Nickleby. Actually he taught in a really cruel school, didn’t he?
GRAHAM: That’s right. But there’s also the company of touring actors that Nicholas joins. We could do something on theatres and other amusements of the time. (Q27) We don’t want only the bad things, do we?
CATHY: OK.
GRAHAM: What about Martin Chuzzlewit? He goes to the USA, doesn’t he?
CATHY: Yes, and Dickens himself had been there a year before, and drew on his experience there in the novel. (Q28)
GRAHAM: I wonder, though … The main theme is selfishness, so we could do something on social justice? No, too general, let’s keep to your idea – I think it would work well.
CATHY: He wrote Bleak House next – that’s my favourite of his novels.
GRAHAM: Yes, mine too. His satire of the legal system is pretty powerful.
CATHY: That’s true, but think about Esther, the heroine. As a child she lives with someone she doesn’t know is her aunt, who treats her very badly. Then she’s very happy living with her guardian, and he puts her in charge of the household. And at the end she gets married and her guardian gives her and her husband a house, where of course they’re very happy. (Q29)
GRAHAM: Yes, I like that.
CATHY: What shall we take next? Little Dorrit? Old Mr Dorrit has been in a debtors’ prison for years …
GRAHAM: So was Dicken’s father, wasn’t he?
CATHY: That’s right.
GRAHAM: What about focusing on the part when Mr Dorrit inherits a fortune, and he starts pretending he’s always been rich? (Q30)
CATHY: Good idea.
GRAHAM: OK, so next we need to think about what materials we want to illustrate each issue. That’s going to be quite hard.
PART 4I’m going to report on a case study of a programme which has been set up to help rural populations in Mozambique, a largely agricultural country in South-East Africa.
The programme worked with three communities in Chicualacuala district, near the Limpopo River. This is a dry and arid region, with unpredictable rainfall. Because of this, people in the area were unable to support themselves through agriculture and instead they used the forest as a means of providing themselves with an income, mainly by selling charcoal. However, this was not a sustainable way of living in the long term, as they were rapidly using up this resource.
To support agriculture in this dry region, the programme focused primarily on making use of existing water resources from the Limpopo River by setting up systems of irrigation (Q31), which would provide a dependable water supply for crops and animals. The programme worked closely with the district government in order to find the best way of implementing this. The region already had one farmers’ association, and it was decided to set up two more of these. These associations planned and carried out activities including water management, livestock breeding and agriculture, and it was notable that in general, women (Q32) formed the majority of the workforce.
It was decided that in order to keep the crops safe from animals, both wild and domestic, special areas should be fenced off where the crops could be grown. The community was responsible for creating these fences, but the programme provided the necessary wire (Q33) for making them.
Once the area had been fenced off, it could be cultivated. The land was dug, so that vegetables and cereals appropriate to the climate could be grown, and the programme provided the necessary seeds (Q34) for this. The programme also provided pumps so that water could be brought from the river in pipes to the fields. However, the labour was all provided by local people, and they also provided and put up the posts (Q35) that supported the fences around the fields.
Once the programme had been set up, its development was monitored carefully. The farmers were able to grow enough produce not just for their own needs, but also to sell. However, getting the produce to places where it could be marketed was sometimes a problem, as the farmers did not have access to transport (Q36), and this resulted in large amounts of produce, especially vegetables, being spoiled. This problem was discussed with the farmers’ associations and it was decided that in order to prevent food from being spoiled, the farmers needed to learn techniques for its preservation. (Q37)
There was also an additional initiative that had not been originally planned, but which became a central feature of the programme. This was when farmers started to dig holes for tanks in the fenced-off areas and to fill these with water and use them for breeding fish (Q38) – an important source of protein. After a time, another suggestion was made by local people which hadn’t been part of the programme’s original proposal, but which was also adopted later on. They decided to try setting up colonies of bees (Q39), which would provide honey both for their own consumption and to sell.
So what lessons can be learned from this programme? First of all, it tells us that in dry, arid regions, if there is access to a reliable source of water, there is great potential for the development of agriculture. In Chicualacuala, there was a marked improvement in agricultural production, which improved food security and benefited local people by providing them with both food and income. However, it’s important to set realistic timelines for each phase of the programme, especially for its design (Q40), as mistakes made at this stage may be hard to correct later on.
The programme demonstrates that sustainable development is possible in areas where …
KEY
Part 11 Eustatis
2 review
3 dance
4 Chat
5 healthy
6 posters
7 wood
8 lake
9 insects
10 blog
Part 211 C
12 A
13 B
14 C
15 E
16 C
17 B
18 A
19 G
20 D
Part 321&22 B, D
23&24 B, C
25 G
26 B
27 D
28 C
29 H
30 F
Part 431 Irrigation
32 women
33 wire(s)
34 seed(s)
35 posts
36 transport
37 preservation
38 fish(es)
39 bees
40 design
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/001_0.mp3Bankside Recruitment Agency● Address of agency: 497 Eastside, Docklands
● Name of agent: Becky 1……………
● Phone number: 07866 510333
● Best to call her in the 2……………
Typical jobs
● Clerical and admin roles, mainly in the finance industry
● Must have good 3……………… skills
● Jobs are usually for at least one 4………………..
● Pay is usually 5 £…………….. per hour
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/002_0.mp3Registration process
● Wear a 6………………. to the interview
● Must bring your 7……………….. to the interview
● They will ask questions about each applicant’s 8……………….
Advantages of using an agency
● The 9………………. you receive at interview will benefit you
● Will get access to vacancies which are not advertised
● Less 10……………… is involved in applying for jobs
PART 2 Questions 11 – 14Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/003_0.mp3Matthews Island Holidays11 According to the speaker, the companyA has been in business for longer than most of its competitors.
B arranges holidays to more destinations than its competitors.
C has more customers than its competitors.
12 Where can customers meet the tour manager before travelling to the Isle of Man?
A Liverpool
B Heysham
C Luton
13 How many lunches are included in the price of the holiday?
A three
B four
C five
14 Customers have to pay extra for
A guaranteeing themselves a larger room.
B booking at short notice.
C transferring to another date.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/004_0.mp3Questions 15-20Complete the table below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Timetable for Isle of Man holiday
Day 1
Activity : Arrive
Notes: Introduction by manager
Hotel dining room has view of the 15…………
Day 2
Activity : Tynwald Exhibition and Peel
Notes: Tynwald may have been founded in 16………… not 979.
Day 3
Activity : Trip to Snaefell
Notes: Travel along promenade in a tram; train to Laxey; train to the 17…………. of Snaefell
Day 4
Activity : Free day
Notes: Company provides a 18…………. for local transport and heritage sites.
Day 5
Activity : Take the 19…………. railway train from Douglas to Port Erin
Notes: Free time, then coach to Castletown – former 20………… has old castle.
Day 6
Activity : Leave
Notes: Leave the island by ferry or plane
PART 3 Questions 21 – 26What did findings of previous research claim about the personality traits a child is likely to have because of their position in the family?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-H, next to Questions 21-26**
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/005_0.mp3Personality Traits
A outgoing
B selfish
C independent
D attention-seeking
E introverted
F co-operative
G caring
H competitive
Position in family
21 the eldest child ………….
22 a middle child ………….
23 the youngest child ………….
24 a twin ………….
25 an only child ………….
26 a child with much older siblings ………….
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/006_0.mp3Questions 27 and 28Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
27 What do the speakers say about the evidence relating to birth order and academic success?
A There is conflicting evidence about whether oldest children perform best in intelligence tests.
B There is little doubt that birth order has less influence on academic achievement than socio-economic status.
C Some studies have neglected to include important factors such as family size.
28 What does Ruth think is surprising about the difference in oldest children’s academic performance?
A It is mainly thanks to their roles as teachers for their younger siblings.
B The advantages they have only lead to a slightly higher level of achievement.
C The extra parental attention they receive at a young age makes little difference.
Questions 29 and 30Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO experiences of sibling rivalry do the speakers agree has been valuable for them?
A learning to share
B learning to stand up for oneself
C learning to be a good loser
D learning to be tolerant
E learning to say sorry
PART 4 Questions 31 – 40Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/007_0.mp3The Eucalyptus Tree in Australia
Importance
● it provides 31……………. and food for a wide range of species
● its leaves provide 32…………….. which is used to make a disinfectant
Reasons for present decline in number
A) Diseases
(i) ‘Mundulla Yellows’
● Cause – lime used for making 33……………… was absorbed
– trees were unable to take in necessary iron through their roots
(ii) ‘Bell-miner Associated Die-back’
● Cause – 34………….. feed on eucalyptus leaves
– they secrete a substance containing sugar
– bell-miner birds are attracted by this and keep away other species
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/008_0.mp3B) Bushfires
William Jackson’s theory:
● high-frequency bushfires have impact on vegetation, resulting in the growth of 35…………….
● mid-frequency bushfires result in the growth of eucalyptus forests, because they:
– make more 36……………. available to the trees
– maintain the quality of the 37……………….
● low-frequency bushfires result in the growth of 38 ‘……………….. rainforest’, which is:
– a 39………………. Ecosystem
– an ideal environment for the 40……………… of the bell-miner
PART 1AMBER: Hello William. This is Amber – you said to phone if I wanted to get more information about the job agency you mentioned. Is now a good time?
WILLIAM: Oh, hi Amber. Yes. Fine. So the agency I was talking about is called Bankside – they’re based in Docklands – I can tell you the address now – 497 Eastside.
AMBER: OK, thanks. So is there anyone in particular I should speak to there?
WILLIAM: The agent I always deal with is called Becky Jamieson.
AMBER: Let me write that down – Becky …
WILLIAM: Jamieson (Q1) J-A-M-I-E-S-O-N.
AMBER: Do you have her direct line?
WILLIAM: Yes, it’s in my contacts somewhere – right, here we are: 078 double 6, 510 triple 3. I wouldn’t call her until the afternoon (Q2) if I were you – she’s always really busy in the morning trying to fill last-minute vacancies. She’s really helpful and friendly so I’m sure it would be worth getting in touch with her for an informal chat.
AMBER: It’s mainly clerical and admin jobs they deal with, isn’t it?
WILLIAM: That’s right. I know you’re hoping to find a full-time job in the media eventually – but Becky mostly recruits temporary staff for the finance sector – which will look good on your CV – and generally pays better too.
AMBER: Yeah – I’m just a bit worried because I don’t have much office experience.
WILLIAM: I wouldn’t worry. They’ll probably start you as a receptionist, or something like that. So what’s important for that kind of job isn’t so much having business skills or knowing lots of different computer systems – it’s communication (Q3) that really matters – so you’d be fine there. And you’ll pick up office skills really quickly on the job. It’s not that complicated.
AMBER: OK good. So how long do people generally need temporary staff for? It would be great if I could get something lasting at least a month.
WILLIAM: That shouldn’t be too difficult. But you’re more likely to be offered something for a week (Q4) at first, which might get extended. It’s unusual to be sent somewhere for just a day or two.
AMBER: Right, I’ve heard the pay isn’t too bad – better than working in a shop or a restaurant.
WILLIAM: Oh yes – definitely. The hourly rate is about £10 (Q5), 11 if you’re lucky.
AMBER: That’s pretty good. I was only expecting to get eight or nine pounds an hour.
WILLIAM: Do you want me to tell you anything about the registration process?
AMBER: Yes, please. I know you have to have an interview.
WILLIAM: The interview usually takes about an hour and you should arrange that about a week in advance.
AMBER: I suppose I should dress smartly if it’s for office work – I can probably borrow a suit (Q6) from Mum.
WILLIAM: Good idea. It’s better to look too smart than too casual.
AMBER: Will I need to bring copies of my exam certificates or anything like that?
WILLIAM: No – they don’t need to see those, I don’t think.
AMBER: What about my passport? (Q7)
WILLIAM: Oh yes – they will ask to see that.
AMBER: OK.
WILLIAM: I wouldn’t get stressed about the interview though. It’s just a chance for them to build a relationship with you – so they can try and match you to a job which you’ll like. So there are questions about personality (Q8) that they always ask candidates – fairly basic ones. And they probably won’t ask anything too difficult like what your plans are for the future.
AMBER: Hope not.
WILLIAM: Anyway, there are lots of benefits to using an agency – for example, the interview will be useful because they’ll give you feedback (Q9) on your performance so you can improve next time.
AMBER: And they’ll have access to jobs which aren’t advertised.
WILLIAM: Exactly – most temporary jobs aren’t advertised.
AMBER: And I expect finding a temporary job this way takes a lot less time (Q10) – it’s much easier than ringing up individual companies.
WILLIAM: Yes indeed. Well I think …
PART 2Good morning. My name’s Erica Matthews, and I’m the owner of Matthews Island Holidays, a company set up by my parents. Thank you for coming to this presentation, in which I hope to interest you in what we have to offer. We’re a small, family-run company, and we believe in the importance of the personal touch, so we don’t aim to compete with other companies on the number of customers. What we do is build on our many years’ experience – more than almost any other rail holiday company (Q11) – to ensure we provide perfect holidays in a small number of destinations, which we’ve got to know extremely well.
I’ll start with our six-day Isle of Man holiday. This is a fascinating island in the Irish Sea, with Wales to the south, England to the east, Scotland to the north and Northern Ireland to the west. Our holiday starts in Heysham, where your tour manager will meet you (Q12), then you’ll travel by ferry to the Isle of Man. Some people prefer to fly from Luton instead, and another popular option is to go by train to Liverpool and take a ferry from there.
You have five nights in the hotel, and the price covers five breakfasts and dinners, and lunch on the three days when there are organised trips (Q13): day four is free, and most people have lunch in a café or restaurant in Douglas.
The price of the holiday includes the ferry to the Isle of Man, all travel on the island, the hotel, and the meals I’ve mentioned. Incidentally, we try to make booking our holidays as simple and fair as possible, so unlike with many companies, the price is the same whether you book six months in advance or at the last minute, and there’s no supplement for single rooms in hotels. If you make a booking then need to change the start date, for example because of illness, you’re welcome to change to an alternative date or a different tour, for a small administrative fee. (Q14)
OK, so what does the holiday consist of? Well, on day one you’ll arrive in time for a short introduction by your tour manager, followed by dinner in the hotel. The dining room looks out at the river (Q15), close to where it flows into the harbour, and there’s usually plenty of activity going on.
On day two you’ll take the coach to the small town of Peel, on the way calling in at the Tynwald Exhibition. The Isle of Man isn’t part of the United Kingdom, and it has its own parliament, called Tynwald. It’s claimed that this is the world’s oldest parliament that’s still functioning, and that it dates back to 979. However, the earliest surviving reference to it is from 1422 (Q16), so perhaps it isn’t quite as old as it claims!
Day three we have a trip to the mountain Snaefell. This begins with a leisurely ride along the promenade in Douglas in a horse-drawn tram. Then you board an electric train which takes you to the fishing village of Laxey. From there it’s an eight-kilometre ride in the Snaefell Mountain Railway to the top (Q17). Lunch will be in the café, giving you spectacular views of the island.
Day four is free for you to explore, using the pass (Q18) which we’ll give you. So you won’t have to pay for travel on local transport, or for entrance to the island’s heritage sites. Or you might just want to take it easy in Douglas and perhaps do a little light shopping.
The last full day, day five, is for some people the highlight of the holiday, with a ride on the steam (Q19) railway, from Douglas to Port Erin. After some time to explore, a coach will take you to the headland that overlooks the Calf of Man, a small island just off the coast. From there you continue to Castletown, which used to be the capital (Q20) of the Isle of Man, and its mediaeval castle.
And on day six it’s back to the ferry – or the airport, if you flew to the island – and time to go home.
Now I’d like to tell you …
PART 3RUTH: Ed, how are you getting on with the reading for our presentation next week?
ED: Well, OK, Ruth – but there’s so much of it.
RUTH: I know, I hadn’t realised birth order was such a popular area of research.
ED: But the stuff on birth order and personality is mostly unreliable. From what I’ve been reading a lot of claims about how your position in the family determines certain personality traits are just stereotypes, with no robust evidence to support them.
RUTH: OK, but that’s an interesting point – we could start by outlining what previous research has shown. There are studies going back over a hundred years.
ED: Yeah – so we could just run through some of the typical traits. Like the consensus seems to be that oldest children are generally less well-adjusted because they never get over the arrival of a younger sibling.
RUTH: Right, but on a positive note, some studies claimed that they were thought to be good a nurturing – certainly in the past when people had large families they would have been expected to look after the younger ones. (Q21)
ED: There isn’t such a clear picture for middle children – but one trait that a lot of the studies mention is that they are easier to get on with than older or younger siblings.
RUTH: Generally eager to please and helpful (Q22) – although that’s certainly not accurate as far as my family goes – my middle brother was a nightmare – always causing fights and envious of whatever I had.
ED: As I said – none of this seems to relate to my own experience. I’m the youngest in my family and I don’t recognise myself in any of the studies I’ve read about. I’m supposed to have been a sociable and confident child who made friends easily (Q23) – but I was actually terribly shy.
RUTH: Really? That’s funny. There have been hundreds of studies on twins but mostly about nurture versus nature…
ED: There was one on personality, which said that a twin is likely to be quite shy in social situations (Q24) because they always have their twin around to depend on for support.
RUTH: My cousins were like that when they were small – they were only interested in each other and found it hard to engage with other kids. They’re fine now though.
ED: Only children have had a really bad press – a lot of studies have branded them as loners who think the world revolves around them (Q25) because they’ve never had to fight for their parents’ attention.
RUTH: That does seem a bit harsh. One category I hadn’t considered before was children with much older siblings – a couple of studies mentioned that these children grow up more quickly and are expected to do basic things for themselves – like getting dressed. (Q26)
ED: I can see how that might be true – although I expect they’re sometimes the exact opposite – playing the baby role and clamouring for special treatment.
RUTH: What was the problem with most of these studies, do you think?
ED: I think it was because in a lot of cases data was collected from only one sibling per family, who rated him or herself and his or her siblings at the same time.
RUTH: Mmm. Some of the old research into the relationship between birth order and academic achievement has been proved to be accurate though. Performances in intelligence tests decline slightly from the eldest child to his or her younger siblings. This has been proved in lots of recent studies.
ED: Yes. Although what many of them didn’t take into consideration was family size (Q27). The more siblings there are, the likelier the family is to have a low socioeconomic status – which can also account for differences between siblings in academic performance.
RUTH: The oldest boy might be given more opportunities than his younger sisters, for example.
ED: Exactly.
RUTH: But the main reason for the marginally higher academic performance of oldest children is quite surprising, I think. It’s not only that they benefit intellectually from extra attention at a young age – which is what I would have expected. It’s that they benefit from being teachers for their younger siblings, by verbalising processes. (Q28)
ED: Right, and this gives them status and confidence, which again contribute, in a small way, to better performance.
So would you say sibling rivalry has been a useful thing for you?
RUTH: I think so – my younger brother was incredibly annoying and we found a lot but I think this has made me a stronger person. I know how to defend myself (Q29/Q30). We had some terrible arguments and I would have died rather than apologise to him – but we had to put up with each other (Q29/Q30) and most of the time we co-existed amicably enough.
ED: Yes, my situation was pretty similar. But I don’t think having two older brothers made me any less selfish – I was never prepared to let me brothers use any of my stuff …
RUTH: That’s perfectly normal, whereas …
PART 4Today I’m going to talk about the eucalyptus tree. This is a very common tree here in Australia, where it’s also sometimes called the gum tree. First I’m going to talk about why it’s important, then I’m going to describe some problems it faces at present.
Right, well the eucalyptus tree is an important tree for lots of reasons. For example, it gives shelter (Q31) to creatures like birds and bats, and these and other species also depend on it for food, particularly the nectar from its flowers. So it supports biodiversity. It’s useful to us humans too, because we can kill germs with a disinfectant made from oil (Q32) extracted from eucalyptus leaves.
The eucalyptus grows all over Australia and the trees can live for up to four hundred years. So it’s alarming that all across the country, numbers of eucalyptus are falling because the trees are dying off prematurely. So what are the reasons for this?
One possible reason is disease. As far back as the 1970s the trees started getting a disease called Mundulla Yellows. The trees’ leaves would gradually turn yellow, then the tree would die. It wasn’t until 2004 that they found the cause of the problem was lime, or calcium hydroxide to give it its proper chemical name, which was being used in the construction of roads (Q33). The lime was being washed away into the ground and affecting the roots of the eucalyptus trees nearby. What is was doing was preventing the trees from sucking up the iron they needed for healthy growth. When this was injected back into the affected trees, they immediately recovered.
But this problem only affected a relatively small number of trees. By 2000, huge numbers of eucalyptus were dying along Australia’s East Coast, of a disease known as Bell-miner Associated Die-back. The bell-miner is a bird, and the disease seems to be common where there are high populations of bell-miners. Again it’s the leaves of the trees that are affected. What happens is that insects (Q34) settle on the leaves and eat their way round them, destroying them as they go, and at the same time they secrete a solution which has sugar in it. The bell-miner birds really like this solution, and in order to get as much as possible, they keep away other creatures that might try to get it. So these birds and insects flourish at the expense of other species, and eventually so much damage is done to the leaves that the tree dies.
But experts say that trees can start looking sick before any sign of Bell-miner Associated Die-back. So it looks as if the problem might have another explanation. One possibility is that it’s to do with the huge bushfires that we have in Australia. A theory proposed over 40 years ago be ecologist William Jackson is that the frequency of bushfires in a particular region affects the type of vegetation that grows there. If there are very frequent bushfires in a region, this encourages grass (Q35) to grow afterwards, while if the bushfires are rather less frequent, this results in the growth of eucalyptus forests.
So why is this? Why do fairly frequent bushfires actually support the growth of eucalyptus? Well, one reason is that the fire stops the growth of other species which would consume water (Q36) needed by eucalyptus trees. And there’s another reason. If these other quick-growing species of bushes and plants are allowed to proliferate, they harm the eucalyptus in another way, by affecting the composition of the soil (Q37), and removing nutrients from it. So some bushfires are actually essential for the eucalyptus to survive as long as they are not too frequent. In fact there’s evidence that Australia’s indigenous people practised regular burning of bush land for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans.
But since Europeans arrived on the continent, the number of bushfires has been strictly controlled. Now scientists believe that this reduced frequency of bushfires to low levels had led to what’s known as ‘dry (Q38) rainforest’, which seems an odd name as usually we associate tropical rainforest with wet conditions. And what’s special about this type of rainforest? Well, unlike tropical rainforest which is a rich ecosystem, this type of ecosystem is usually a simple (Q39) one. It has very thick, dense vegetation, but not much variety of species. The vegetation provides lots of shade, so one species that does find it ideal is the bell-miner bird, which builds its nests (Q40) in the undergrowth there. But again that’s not helpful for the eucalyptus tree.
KEY
Part 11 Jamieson
2 afternoon
3 communication
4 week
5 10/ten
6 suit
7 passport
8 personality
9 feedback
10 time
Part 211 A
12 B
13 A
14 C
15 river
16 1422
17 top
18 pass
19 steam
20 capital
Part 321 G
22 F
23 A
24 E
25 B
26 C
27 C
28 A
29&30 B, D
Part 431 shelter
32 oil
33 roads
34 insects
35 grass(es)
36 water
37 soil
38 dry
39 simple
40 nest(s)
TOEFL LISTENING SKILLS : UNDERSTAND THE GIST
PRACTICE 1 (Questions 7-8)
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN
DISCUSSION: METEOROLOGY
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-29.mp3QUESTIONS
7 What is the topic of thiis discussion?
A Two contrasting theories on storms
B The function of centripetal force in storms
C The history of meteorology
D Like theories by two different scientists
8 Why is this topic being discussed?
A It was introduced by the professor.
B It was on an exam the students took.
C It was assigned to the students for homework.
D It was brought up by a student.
KEY
7-A
8-D
TOEFL LISTENING SKILLS : UNDERSTAND THE GIST
PRACTICE 1 (Questions 5-6)
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN
DISCUSSION: LAKES
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-26.mp3
QUESTIONS
5 What are the students discussing?
A Various ways that major lakes formed
B The world’s largest body of water
C Where various lakes are located
D Lakes that formed in the same way
6 Why are the students discussing this material?
A They have just seen a presentation about it.
B They are preparing for an exam on it.
C They must present it to their classmates.
D They are writing a research ppaper.
KEY
5-A
6-C
TOEFL LISTENING SKILLS : UNDERSTAND THE GIST
PRACTICE 1 (Questions 3-4)
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN
CONSULTATION: THE GRADE REPORT
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-23.mp3
3 Why does the student go to the office?
A To learn about a university policy
B To find a solution for a problem
C To file a form before the deadline
D To ask when something will happen
4 What is the topic of the conversation?
A Using the computer system
B Filling a change of address form
C Learning when grades will be sent out
D Finding a missing document
KEY:
3- B
4- D
TOEFL LISTENING SKILLS : UNDERSTAND THE GIST
PRACTICE 1 (Questions 1-2)
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN
CONSULTATION: ENGINEERING COURSE
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-20.mp3
QUESTIONS
1 Why does the student go to see the professor?
A To ask the professor for a form
B To find out what will be taught
C To get a signature on a form
D To ask a question about some course material
2 What does the student want to do?
A Repeat a course
B Sign a form
C Find out his grade
D Learn about a course
key:
1- C
2- A
LISTENING SKILL 1: UNDERSTAND THE GISThttps://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Gist-questions-are-questions-that-ask-about-the-ov.mp3Gist questions are questions that ask about the overall ideas of a passage as a whole. They may ask what the subject, topic, or main idea of a passage is. They may also ask what overall purpose the passage serves. It is important to understand that the gist of a passage may be directly stated in the passage, or you may have to synthesize (bring together) information from different parts of the passage to understand the overall gist.
EXAMPLE:
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN:
Consultatiıon: A Comprehensive Exam
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-17.mp3(narrator) Listen as a student talks to his advisor.
(student) I see that a comprehensive exam is required for my major, and I’m not exactly sure what a comprehensive exam is.
(advisor) A comprehensive exam is an exam that you taske in the final quarter of your studies.It’s purpose is to determine your overall competency.
(student) How is this comprehensive exam different from a final exam?
(advisor) A final exam covers all the material taught in a specific course; a comprehensive exam, on the other hand, covers all off the materials taught in the entire program.
(student) And it’s true that the comprehensive exam is required for my major? It’s not an option?
(advisor) (laughs) No,… It’s not an option. A comprehensive exam isn’t required for all thre majors at this university, but it is required for your major. Sorry, it’s not optional.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/After-you-listen-to-the-conversation-the-questio.mp3After you listen to the conversation , the question and answer choses appear on the computer screen as the narrator staters the question. this is a gist question that asks aboout the purpose of the passage.
YOU SEE ON YOUR COMPUTER:
1 Why does the student go to see the advisor?
A To take an exam that he missed
B To discuss what his major should be
C To learn about a requirement for his major
D To change his major
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-18.mp3(narrator) Why does the student go to see the advisor?
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/gist-1_0.mp3In the conversation, the student says ‘ I see that a comprehensive exam is required for my major, and I’m not exacyly sure what a comprehensive exam is.’ From this it can be determined that the student goes to see his advisor in order to learn about a requirement for his major. The third answer is therefore the best answer to this question.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Now-look-at-an-example-of-another-type-of-gist-que.mp3Now look at an example of another type of gist question. Thist gist question asks about the overall topic of the passage.
YOU SEE ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN:
2 What is the topic of this conversation?
A Choosing majors at this university
B When Comprehensive exams are given
C Why final exams are comprehensive
D The exam requirement for a specific major
YOU HEAR:
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-19.mp3(narrator) What is the topic of this conversation?
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-the-conversation-the-student-says-I-see-that-2.mp3In the conversation, the student says ‘I see that a comprehensive exam is required for my major, and I’m not exactly sure what a comprehensive exam is, and the professor says a comprehensive exam isn’t required for all majors at this university, but it is required for your major. From this, it can be determined that the topic of the conversation is the exam requirement for a specific major. the last answer is therefore the best answer to this question.
The following chart outlines the key points that you shoulld remembeer about gist questions.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GIST OF A PASSAGE
HOW TO IDENTFY THE QUESTION:
- What is the subject of the passage?
- What is the topic of the passage?
- What is the main idea of the passage?
- What is the purpose of the passage?
- Why……….. in the passage?
WHERE TO FIND THE ANSWER
Information to help you understand the gist may be directlly stated at the beginning of the passage. It mat also be necessary for you to draw a conclusion about the gist based upon information provided throughout the passage.
HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION
1 Listen carefully to the beginning of the passage to develop an initial idea about the gist of the passage.
2 Then, as you listen to the rest of the passage, adjust your ideaa of the gist of the passage as you consider what the speakers are saying.
LISTENING COMPREHENSIONhttps://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LISTENING-INTRO-TOEFL_0.mp3Section Directions
- This section measures your ability to understand conversations and lectures in English.
- You will listen to 1 conversation and 1 lecture. You will hear each conversation and lecture one time.
- After each conversation or lecture, you will answer some questions about it. The questions typically ask about the main idea and supporting details. Some questions ask about a speaker’s purpose or attitude. Answer the Questions based on what is stated or implied by the speakers.
- You may take notes while you listen. You may use your notes to help you answer the questions. Your notes will not be scored.
- In some questions, you will see this icon:. This means that you will hear, but not see, part of the question.
- You will now begin this part of the Listening section.
Listen to a discussion between a student and an advisor.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TOEFL-LISTENING-Q-1-6_0.mp3CONSULTATION : PROBLEM CLASS ( Questions 1-6)1 Why does the advisor want to talk with the student?
A To commend him on his work habits
B To discuss a deficiency in one class
C To discuss what his history professor is teaching
D To talk about each of the student’s classes
2 What problems does the student have?
Choose 2 answers
A He is not doing well in any of his classes.
B His history teacher gives unfair assignments.
C He is not in class all the time.
D He does not undersand what is being tested.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-6.mp33 Listen again to part of the passage. Then answer the question.
What does the advisor mean when he says this:
A ‘I do not believe what you just said.’
B ‘What you just said is funny.’
C ‘Your response is not acceptable.’
D ‘Can you please repeat what you just said?’
4 How does the advisor seem to feel about the student’s responses?
A She thinks he is not telling the truth.
B She seems to believe his excuses are weak.
C She seems to accept what he says.
D She thinks what he says is amusing.
5 Does the advisor recommend each of these?
YES or No
Getting up in time for class YES / NO
Sitting in the back of the classroom YES / NO
Speaking more in class YES / NO
Finding out what is covered on the exams YES / NO
Taking careful notes YES / NO
6 What can be concluded from the conversation?
A There are good reasons that the student’s grades are low.
B History class is too hard a class for this student.
C The advisor expects too much from the student.
D The student should really consider taking a diffrent course.
LECTURE : PSYCHOLOGY – SLEEP ( Questions 7-12)https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-10.mp3Listen as an instructor leads a discussion of some material from a psychology class.
7 What does the instructor mainly want to get across in the discussion?
A The types of brain wave patterns that humans experience in sleep
B How much rest humans and other animals require
C How human sleep differs from the sleep of other animals
D The characteristics of sleep in all types of living beings
8 What happens during human sleep?
Choose 2 answers.
A Muscles become relaxed.
B The rate of breathing increases.
C The heart rate decreases.
D Brain waves stop.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Artist-Track-13.mp39 What does the instructor mean when he says this?
A ‘Let’s review the material we just covered.’
B ‘Let’s slow down because we’re going too fast.’
C ‘Let’s take a breaak aand start the claass again in a while.’
D ‘Let’s move on to the next topic.’
10 How long are the periods of dreaming for each of these groups of animals?
For each item, choose the correct answer.
Fish :
No period of dreaming
Brief periods of dreaming
Longer periods of dreaming
Mammals:
No period of dreaming
Brief periods of dreaming
Longer periods of dreaming
Birds :
No period of dreaming
Brief periods of dreaming
Longer periods of dreaming
11 How does the professor seem to feel about the students’ responses?
A Surprised
B Unsure
C Satisfied
D Overwhelmed
12 What conclusion can be drawn from the discussion?
A All animaals dream during their sleep.
B Humans are the only animals that dream in their sleep.
C Most animals do not have changes in brain waves during their sleep.
D Mammals seem to dream in their sleep, while other animals do not.
KEY
1 B
2 C, D
3 C
4 B
5 Y, N, N, Y, Y
6 A
7 D
8 A, C
9 A
10 FISH: No period of dreaming
MAMMALS: Longer periods of dreaming
BIRDS: Brief periods of dreaming
11 C
12 D
READING PASSAGE 3You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-future-of-work.-According-to-a-leading-busines.mp3The future of workAccording to a leading business consultancy, 3-14% of the global workforce will need to switch to a different occupation within the next 10-15 years, and all workers will need to adapt as their occupations evolve alongside increasingly capable machines. Automation – or ‘embodied artificial intelligence’ (AI) – is one aspect of the disruptive effects of technology on the labour market. ‘Disembodied AI’, like the algorithms running in our smartphones, is another.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Dr-Stella-Pachidi-from-Cambridge-Judge-Business-Sc.mp3Dr Stella Pachidi from Cambridge Judge Business School believes that some of the most fundamental changes are happening as a result of the ‘algorithmication’ of jobs that are dependent on data rather than on production – the so-called knowledge economy. Algorithms are capable of learning from data to undertake tasks that previously needed human judgement, such as reading legal contracts, analysing medical scans and gathering market intelligence.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-many-cases-they-can-outperform-humans-says.mp3‘In many cases, they can outperform humans,’ says Pachidi. ‘Organisations are attracted to using algorithms because they want to make choices based on what they consider is “perfect information”, as well as to reduce costs and enhance productivity.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/But-these-enhancements-are-not-without-consequenc.mp3‘But these enhancements are not without consequences,’ says Pachidi. ‘If routine cognitive tasks are taken over by AI, how do professions develop their future experts?’ she asks. ‘One way of learning about a job is “legitimate peripheral participation” – a novice stands next to experts and learns by observation. If this isn’t happening, then you need to find new ways to learn.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Another-issue-is-the-extent-to-which-the-technolog.mp3Another issue is the extent to which the technology influences or even controls the workforce. For over two years, Pachidi monitored a telecommunications company. ‘The way telecoms salespeople work is through personal and frequent contact with clients, using the benefit of experience to assess a situation and reach a decision. However, the company had started using a(n) … algorithm that defined when account managers should contact certain customers about which kinds of campaigns and what to offer them.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-algorithm-usually-build-by-external-designer.mp3The algorithm – usually build by external designers – often becomes the keeper of knowledge, she explains. In cases like this, Pachidi believes, a short-sighted view begins to creep into working practices whereby workers learn through the ‘algorithm’s eyes’ and become dependent on its instructions. Alternative explorations – where experimentation and human instinct lead to progress and new ideas – are effectively discouraged.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Pachidi-and-colleagues-even-observed-people-develo-1.mp3Pachidi and colleagues even observed people developing strategies to make the algorithm work to their own advantage. ‘We are seeing cases where workers feed the algorithm with false data to reach their targets,’ she reports.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Its-scenarios-like-these-that-many-researchers-ar.mp3It’s scenarios like these that many researchers are working to avoid. Their objective is to make AI technologies more trustworthy and transparent, so that organisations and individuals understand how AI decisions are made. In the meantime, says Pachidi, ‘We need to make sure we fully understand the dilemmas that this new world raises regarding expertise, occupational boundaries and control.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Economist-Professor-Hamish-Low-believes-that-the-f.mp3Economist Professor Hamish Low believes that the future of work will involve major transitions across the whole life course for everyone: ‘The traditional trajectory of full-time education followed by full-time work followed by a pensioned retirement is a thing of the past,’ says Low. Instead, he envisages a multistage employment life: one where retraining happens across the life course, and where multiple jobs and no job happen by choice at different stages.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/On-the-subject-of-job-losses-Low-believes-the-pre.mp3On the subject of job losses, Low believes the predictions are founded on a fallacy: ‘It assumes that the number of jobs is fixed. If in 30 years, half of 100 jobs are being carried out by robots, that doesn’t mean we are left with just 50 jobs for humans. The number of jobs will increase: we would expect there to be 150 jobs.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Dr-Ewan-McGaughey-at-Cambridges-Centre-for-Busin.mp3Dr Ewan McGaughey, at Cambridge’s Centre for Business Research and King’s College London, agrees that ‘apocalyptic’ views about the future of work are misguided. ‘It’s the laws that restrict the supply of capital to the job market, not the advent of new technologies that causes unemployment.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/His-recently-published-research-answers-the-questi.mp3His recently published research answers the question of whether automation, AI and robotics will mean a ‘jobless future’ by looking at the causes of unemployment. ‘History is clear that change can mean redundancies. But social policies can tackle this through retraining and redeployment.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/He-adds_-If-there-is-going-to-be-change-to-jobs-a.mp3He adds: ‘If there is going to be change to jobs as a result of AI and robotics then I’d like to see governments seizing the opportunity to improve policy to enforce good job security. We can “reprogramme” the law to prepare for a fairer future of work and leisure.’ McGaughey’s findings are a call to arms to leaders of organisations, governments and banks to pre-empt the coming changes with bold new policies that guarantee full employment, fair incomes and a thriving economic democracy.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-promises-of-these-new-technologies-are-astoun.mp3‘The promises of these new technologies are astounding. They deliver humankind the capacity to live in a way that nobody could have once imagined,’ he adds. ‘Just as the industrial revolution brought people past subsistence agriculture, and the corporate revolution enabled mass production, a third revolution has been pronounced. But it will not only be one of technology. The next revolution will be social.’
Questions 27-30
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
27 The first paragraph tells us about
A the kinds of jobs that will be most affected by the growth of AI.
B the extent to which AI will after the nature of the work that people do.
C the proportion of the world’s labour force who will have jobs in AI in the future.
D the difference between ways that embodied and disembodied AI with impact on workers.
28 According to the second paragraph, what is Stella Pachidi’s view of the ‘knowledge economy’?
A It is having an influence on the number of jobs available.
B It is changing people’s attitudes towards their occupations.
C It is the main reason why the production sector is declining.
D It is a key factor driving current developments in the workplace.
29 What did Pachidi observe at the telecommunications company?
A staff disagreeing with the recommendations of AI
B staff feeling resentful about the intrusion of AI in their work
C staff making sure that AI produces the results that they want
D staff allowing AI to carry out tasks they ought to do themselves
30 In his recently published research, Ewan McGaughey
A challenges the idea that redundancy is a negative thing.
B shows the profound effect of mass unemployment on society.
C highlights some differences between past and future job losses.
D illustrates how changes in the job market can be successfully handled.
Questions 31-34Complete the summary using the list of words, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 31-34 on your answer sheet.
The ‘algorithmication’ of jobsStella Pachidi of Cambridge Judge Business School has been focusing on the ‘algorithmication’ of jobs which rely not on production but on 31 …………………. .
While monitoring a telecommunications company, Pachidi observed a growing 32 …………………. on the recommendations made by AI, as workers begin to learn through the ‘algorithm’s eyes’. Meanwhile, staff are deterred from experimenting and using their own 33 …………………., and are therefore prevented from achieving innovation.
To avoid the kind of situations which Pachidi observed, researchers are trying to make AI’s decision-making process easier to comprehend, and to increase users’ 34 …………………. with regard to the technology.
A pressure B satisfaction C intuition
D promotion E reliance F confidence
G information
Questions 35-40Look at the following statements (Questions 35-40) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A, B or C.
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
35 Greater levels of automation will not result in lower employment.
36 There are several reasons why AI is appealing to businesses.
37 AI’s potential to transform people’s lives has parallels with major cultural shifts which occurred in previous eras.
38 It is important to be aware of the range of problems that AI causes.
39 People are going to follow a less conventional career path than in the past.
40 Authorities should take measures to ensure that there will be adequately paid work for everyone
List of people
A Stella Pachidi
B Hamish Low
C Ewan McGaughey
KEY
Passage 327 B
28 D
29 C
30 D
31 G
32 E
33 C
34 F
35 B
36 A
37 C
38 A
39 B
40 C
READING PASSAGE 2You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-Step-Pyramid-of-Djoser.-The-pyramids-are-the-m.mp3The Step Pyramid of DjoserA The pyramids are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt and still hold enormous interest for people in the present day. These grand, impressive tributes to the memory of the Egyptian kings have become linked with the country even though other cultures, such as the Chinese and Mayan, also built pyramids. The evolution of the pyramid form has been written and argued about for centuries. However, there is no question that, as far as Egypt is concerned, it began with one monument to one king designed by one brilliant architect: the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Djoser-was-the-first-king-of-the-Third-Dynasty-of.mp3B Djoser was the first king of the Third Dynasty of Egypt and the first to build in stone. Prior to Djoser’s reign, tombs were rectangular monuments made of dried clay brick, which covered underground passages where the deceased person was buried. For reasons which remain unclear, Djoser’s main official, whose name was Imhotep, conceived of building a taller, more impressive tomb for his king by stacking stone slabs on top of one another, progressively making them smaller, to form the shape now known as the Step Pyramid. Djoser is thought to have reigned for 19 years, but some historians and scholars attribute a much longer time for his rule, owing to the number and size of the monuments he built.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-Step-Pyramid-has-been-thoroughly-examined-and.mp3C The Step Pyramid has been thoroughly examined and investigated over the last century, and it is now known that the building process went through many different stages. Historian Marc Van de Mieroop comments on this, writing ‘Much experimentation was involved, which is especially clear in the construction of the pyramid in the center of the complex. It had several plans … before it became the first Step Pyramid in history, piling six levels on top of one another … The weight of the enormous mass was a challenge for the builders, who placed the stones at an inward incline in order to prevent the monument breaking up.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/When-finally-completed-the-Step-Pyramid-rose-62-m.mp3D When finally completed, the Step Pyramid rose 62 meters high and was the tallest structure of its time. The complex in which it was built was the size of a city in ancient Egypt and included a temple, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests. It covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters high. The wall had 13 false doors cut into it with only one true entrance cut into the south-east corner; the entire wall was then ringed by a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters wide. The false doors and the trench were incorporated into the complex to discourage unwanted visitors. If someone wished to enter, he or she would have needed to know in advance how to find the location of the true opening in the wall. Djoser was so proud of his accomplishment that he broke the tradition of having only his own name on the monument and had Imhotep’s name carved on it as well.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-burial-chamber-of-the-tomb-where-the-kings-b.mp3E The burial chamber of the tomb, where the king’s body was laid to rest, was dug beneath the base of the pyramid, surrounded by a vast maze of long tunnels that had rooms off them to discourage robbers. One of the most mysterious discoveries found inside the pyramid was a large number of stone vessels. Over 40,000 of these vessels, of various forms and shapes, were discovered in storerooms off the pyramid’s underground passages. They are inscribed with the names of rulers from the First and Second Dynasties of Egypt and made from different kinds of stone. There is no agreement among scholars and archaeologists on why the vessels were placed in the tomb of Djoser or what they were supposed to represent. The archaeologist Jean-Philippe Lauer, who excavated most of the pyramid and complex, believes they were originally stored and then give a ‘proper burial’ by Djoser in his pyramid to honor his predecessors. There are other historians, however, who claim the vessels were dumped into the shafts as yet another attempt to prevent grave robbers from getting to the king’s burial chamber.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Unfortunately-all-of-the-precautions-and-intricat.mp3F Unfortunately, all of the precautions and intricate design of the underground network did not prevent ancient robbers from finding a way in. Djoser’s grave goods, and even his body, were stolen at some point in the past and all archaeologists found were a small number of his valuables overlooked by the thieves. There was enough left throughout the pyramid and its complex, however, to astonish and amaze the archaeologists who excavated it.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Egyptologist-Miroslav-Verner-writes-Few-monument.mp3G Egyptologist Miroslav Verner writes, ‘Few monuments hold a place in human history as significant as that of the Step Pyramid in Saqqara … It can be said without exaggeration that this pyramid complex constitutes a milestone in the evolution of monumental stone architecture in Egypt and in the world as a whole.’ The Step Pyramid was a revolutionary advance in architecture and became the archetype which all the other great pyramid builders of Egypt would follow.
Questions 14-20Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i The areas and artefacts within the pyramid itself
ii A difficult task for those involved
iii A king who saved his people
iv A single certainty among other less definite facts
v An overview of the external buildings and areas
vi A pyramid design that others copied
vii An idea for changing the design of burial structures
viii An incredible experience despite the few remains
ix The answers to some unexpected questions
14 Paragraph A…..
15 Paragraph B…..
16 Paragraph C…..
17 Paragraph D…..
18 Paragraph E…..
19 Paragraph F…..
20 Paragraph G…..
Questions 21-24Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21-24 on your answer sheet.
The Step Pyramid of DjoserThe complex that includes the Step Pyramid and its surroundings is considered to be as big as an Egyptian 21 ………………….. of the past. The area outside the pyramid included accommodation that was occupied by 22 ………………….., along with many other buildings and features.
A wall ran around the outside of the complex and a number of false entrances were built into this. In addition, a long 23 ………………….. encircled the wall. As a result, any visitors who had not been invited were cleverly prevented from entering the pyramid grounds unless they knew the 24 ………………….. of the real entrance.
Questions 25-26Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following points does the writer make about King Djoser?
A Initially he had to be persuaded to build in stone rather than clay.
B There is disagreement concerning the length of his reign.
C He failed to appreciate Imhotep’s part in the design of the Step Pyramid.
D A few of his possessions were still in his tomb when archaeologists found it.
E He criticised the design and construction of other pyramids in Egypt.
KEY
Passage 214 iv
15 vii
16 ii
17 v
18 i
19 viii
20 vi
21 city
22 priests
23 trench
24 location
25&26 B, D
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1_0.mp3Holiday rental
Owner’s names: Jack Fitzgerald and Shirley Fitzgerald
Granary Cottage
● available for week beginning 1 …………….. May
● cost for the week: 2 £……………..
3 …………….. Cottage
● cost for the week: £480
● building was originally a 4 ……………..
● walk through doors from living room into a 5 ……………..
● several 6 …………….. spaces at the front
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2_0.mp3● bathroom has a shower
● central heating and stove that burns 7 ……………..
● views of old 8 …………….. from living room
● view of hilltop 9 …………….. from the bedroom
Payment
● deposit: £144
● deadline for final payment: end of 10 ……………..
PART 2 Questions 11-14
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/3_0.mp3Local council report on traffic and highways
11 A survey found people’s main concern about traffic in the area was
A cuts to public transport.
B poor maintenance of roads.
C changes in the type of traffic.
12 Which change will shortly be made to the cycle path next to the river?
A It will be widened.
B It will be extended.
C It will be resurfaced.
13 Plans for a pedestrian crossing have been postponed because
A the Post Office has moved.
B the proposed location is unsafe.
C funding is not available at present.
14 On Station Road, notices have been erected
A telling cyclists not to leave their bikes outside the station ticket office.
B asking motorists to switch off engines when waiting at the level crossing.
C warning pedestrians to leave enough time when crossing the railway line.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/4_0.mp3Questions 15-20
Label the map below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, next to Questions 15-20.
Recreation ground after proposed changes
15 New car park …….
16 New cricket pitch ………..
17 Children’s playground ……..
18 Skateboard ramp ………..
19 Pavilion ……………….
20 Notice board ………..
PART 3 Questions 21-22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/5_0.mp3Which TWO benefits of city bike-sharing schemes do the students agree are the most important?
A reducing noise pollution
B reducing traffic congestion
C improving air quality
D encouraging health and fitness
E making cycling affordable
Questions 23-24
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO things do the students think are necessary for successful bike-sharing schemes?
A Bikes should have a GPS system.
B The app should be easy to use.
C Public awareness should be raised.
D Only one scheme should be available.
E There should be a large network of cycle lanes.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/6_0.mp3Questions 25-30
What is the speakers’ opinion of the bike-sharing schemes in each of the following cities?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-G, next to Questions 25-30.
Opinion of bike-sharing scheme
A They agree it has been disappointing.
B They think it should be cheaper.
C They are surprised it has been so successful.
D They agree that more investment is required.
E They think the system has been well designed.
F They disagree about the reasons for its success.
G They think it has expanded too quickly.
Cities
25 Amsterdam …………….
26 Dublin …………….
27 London …………….
28 Buenos Aires …………….
29 New York …………….
30 Sydney …………….
PART 4 Questions 31 – 40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/7_0.mp3THE EXTINCTION OF THE DODO BIRD
The dodo was a large flightless bird which used to inhabit the island of Mauritius.
History
● 1507 – Portuguese ships transporting 31 ………………. stopped at the island to collect food and water.
● 1638 – The Dutch established a 32 ………………. on the island.
● They killed the dodo birds for their meat.
● The last one was killed in 1681.
Description
● The only record we have is written descriptions and pictures (possibly unreliable).
● A Dutch painting suggests the dodo was very 33 ………………. .
● The only remaining soft tissue is a dried 34 ………………. .
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/8_0.mp3● Recent studies of a dodo skeleton suggest the birds were capable of rapid 35 ………………. .
● It’s thought they were able to use their small wings to maintain 36 ………………. .
● Their 37 ………………. was of average size.
● Their sense of 38 ………………. enabled them to find food.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/9_0.mp3Reasons for extinction
● Hunting was probably not the main cause.
● Sailors brought dogs and monkeys.
● 39 ………………. also escaped onto the island and ate the birds’ eggs.
● The arrival of farming meant the 40 ………………. was destroyed.
PART 1
SHIRLEY: Hello?
TOM: Oh hello. I was hoping to speak to Jack Fitzgerald about renting a cottage.
SHIRLEY: I’m his wife, Shirley, and we own the cottages together, so I’m sure I can help you.
TOM: Great. My name’s Tom. Some friends of ours rented Granary Cottage from you last year, and they thought it was great. So my wife and I are hoping to come in May for a week.
SHIRLEY: What date did you have in mind?
TOM: The week beginning the 14th, if possible.
SHIRLEY: I’ll just check … I’m sorry, Tom, it’s already booked that week. It’s free the week beginning the 28th (Q1), though, for seven nights. In fact, that’s the only time you could have it in May.
TOM: Oh. Well, we could manage that, I think. We’d just need to change a couple of things. How much would it cost?
SHIRLEY: That’s the beginning of high season, so it’d be £550 for the week. (Q2)
TOM: Ah. That’s a bit more than we wanted to pay, I’m afraid. We’ve budgeted up to £500 for accommodation.
SHIRLEY: Well, we’ve just finished converting another building into a cottage, which we’re calling Chervil Cottage. (Q3)
TOM: Sorry? What was that again?
SHIRLEY: Chervil. C-H-E-R-V for Victor I-L.
TOM: Oh, that’s a herb, isn’t it?
SHIRLEY: That’s right. It grows fairly wild around here. You could have that for the week you want for £480.
TOM: OK. So could you tell me something about it, please?
SHIRLEY: Of course. The building was built as a garage (Q4). It’s a little smaller than Granary Cottage.
TOM: So that must sleep two people, as well?
SHIRLEY: That’s right. There’s a double bedroom.
TOM: Does it have a garden? (Q5)
SHIRLEY: Yes, you get to it from the living room through French doors, and we provide two deckchairs. We hope to build a patio in the near future, but I wouldn’t like to guarantee it’ll be finished by May.
TOM: OK.
SHIRLEY: The front door opens onto the old farmyard, and parking isn’t a problem – there’s plenty of room at the front for that (Q6). There are some trees and potted plants there.
TOM: What about facilities in the cottage? It has standard things like a cooker and fridge, I presume.
SHIRLEY: In the kitchen area there’s a fridge-freezer and we’ve just put in an electric cooker.
TOM: Is there a washing machine?
SHIRLEY: Yes. There’s also a TV in the living room, which plays DVDs too. The bathroom is too small for a bath, so there’s a shower instead. I think a lot of people prefer that nowadays, anyway.
TOM: It’s more environmentally friendly, isn’t it? Unless you spend half the day in it!
SHIRLEY: Exactly.
TOM: What about heating? It sometimes gets quite cool at that time of year.
SHIRLEY: There’s central heating, and if you want to light a fire, there’s a stove. We can provide all the wood you need for it (Q7). It smells so much nicer than coal, and it makes the room very cosy – we’ve got one in our own house.
TOM: That sounds very pleasant. Perhaps we should come in the winter, to make the most of it!
SHIRLEY: Yes, we find we don’t want to go out when we’ve got the fire burning. There are some attractive views from the cottage, which I haven’t mentioned. There’s a famous stone bridge – it’s one of the oldest (Q8) in the region, and you can see it from the living room. It isn’t far away. The bedroom window looks in the opposite direction, and has a lovely view of the hills and the monument at the top. (Q9)
TOM: Well, that all sounds perfect. I’d like to book it, please. Would you want a deposit?
SHIRLEY: Yes, we ask for thirty percent to secure your booking, so that’ll be, um, £144.
TOM: And when would you like the rest of the money?
SHIRLEY: You’re coming in May, so the last day of March, please. (Q10)
TOM: Fine.
SHIRLEY: Excellent. Could I just take your details …
PART 2CHAIRPERSON:
Right. Next on the agenda we have traffic and highways. Councillor Thornton.
COUNCILLOR THORNTON:
Thank you. Well, we now have the results of the survey carried out last month about traffic and road transport in the town. People were generally satisfied with the state of the roads. There were one or two complaints about potholes which will be addressed, but a significant number of people complained about the increasing number of heavy vehicles (Q11) using our local roads to avoid traffic elsewhere. We’d expected more complaints by commuters about the reduction in the train service, but it doesn’t seem to have affected people too much. The cycle path that runs alongside the river is very well used by both cyclists and pedestrians since the surface was improved last year, but overtaking can be a problem so we’re going to add a bit on the side to make it wider (Q12). At some stage, we’d like to extend the path so that it goes all the way through the town, but that won’t be happening in the immediate future.
The plans to have a pedestrian crossing next to the Post Office have unfortunately had to be put on hold for the time being. We’d budgeted for this to be done this financial year, but then there were rumours that the Post Office was going to move, which would have meant there wasn’t really a need for a crossing. Now they’ve confirmed that they’re staying where they are, but the Highways Department have told us that it would be dangerous to have a pedestrian crossing where we’d originally planned it as there’s a bend in the road there (Q13). So that’ll need some more thought.
On Station Road near the station and level crossing, drivers can face quite long waits if the level crossing’s closed, and we’ve now got signs up requesting them not to leave their engines running at that time (Q14). This means pedestrians waiting on the pavement to cross the railway line don’t have to breathe in car fumes. We’ve had some problems with cyclists leaving their bikes chained to the railings outside the ticket office, but the station has agreed to provide bike racks there.
CHAIRPERSON:
So next on the agenda is ‘Proposals for improvements to the recreation ground’. Councillor Thornton again.
COUNCILLOR THORNTON:
Well, since we managed to extend the recreation ground, we’ve spent some time talking to local people about how it could be made a more attractive and useful space. If you have a look at the map up on the screen, you can see the river up in the north, and the Community Hall near the entrance from the road. At present, cars can park between the Community Hall and that line of trees to the east, but this is quite dangerous for pedestrians so we’re suggesting a new car park on the opposite side of the Community Hall, right next to it (Q15). We also have a new location for the cricket pitch. As we’ve now purchased additional space to the east of the recreation ground, beyond the trees (Q16), we plan to move it away from its current location, which is rather near the road, into this new area beyond the line of trees. This means there’s less danger of stray balls hitting cars or pedestrians.
We’ve got plans for a children’s playground which will be accessible by a footpath from the Community Hall and will be alongside the river (Q17). We’d originally thought of having it close to the road, but we think this will be a more attractive location.
The skateboard ramp is very popular with both younger and older children – we had considered moving this up towards the river, but in the end we decided to have it in the southeast corner near the road (Q18). The pavilion is very well used at present by both football players and cricketers. It will stay where it is now – to the left of the line of trees and near to the river (Q19) – handy for both the football and cricket pitches. And finally, we’ll be getting a new notice board for local information, and that will be directly on people’s right as they go from the road into the recreation ground. (Q20)
PART 3JAKE: Now that we’ve done all the research into bike-sharing schemes in cities around the world, we need to think about how we’re going to organise our report.
AMY: Right. I think we should start by talking about the benefits. I mean it’s great that so many cities have introduced these schemes where anyone can pick up a bike from dozens of different locations and hire it for a few hours. It makes riding a bike very convenient for people.
JAKE: Yes, but the costs can add up and that puts people on low incomes off in some places.
AMY: I suppose so, but if it means more people in general are cycling rather than driving, then because they’re increasing the amount of physical activity they do, it’s good for their health
JAKE: OK. But isn’t that of less importance? I mean, doesn’t the impact of reduced emissions on air pollution have a more significant effect on people’s health? (Q21/Q22)
AMY: Certainly, in some cities bike-sharing had made a big contribution to that. And also helped to cut the number of cars on the road significantly. (Q21/Q22)
JAKE: Which is the main point.
AMY: Exactly. But I’d say it’s had less of an impact on noise pollution because there are still loads of buses and lorries around.
JAKE: Right.
AMY: Shall we quickly discuss the recommendations we’re going to make?
JAKE: In order to ensure bike-sharing schemes are successful?
AMY: Yes.
JAKE: OK. Well, while I think it’s nice to have really state-of-the art bikes with things like GPS, I wouldn’t say they’re absolutely necessary.
AMY: But some technical things are really important – like a fully functional app – so people can make payments and book bikes easily (Q23/Q24). Places which haven’t invested in that have really struggled.
JAKE: Good point … Some people say there shouldn’t be competing companies offering separate bike-sharing schemes, but in some really big cities, competition’s beneficial and anyway one company might not be able to manage the whole thing.
AMY: Right. Deciding how much to invest is a big question. Cities which have opened loads of new bike lanes at the same time as introducing bike-sharing schemes have generally been more successful – but there are examples of successful schemes where this hasn’t happened … What does matter though – is having a big publicity campaign. (Q23/Q24)
JAKE: Definitely. If people don’t know how to use the scheme or don’t understand its benefits, they won’t use it. People need a lot of persuasion to stop using their cars.
AMY: Shall we look at some examples now? And say what we think is good or bad about them.
JAKE: I suppose we should start with Amsterdam as this was one of the first cities to have a bike-sharing scheme.
AMY: Yes. There was already a strong culture of cycling here. In a way it’s strange that there was such a demand for bike-sharing because you’d have thought most people would have used their own bikes. (Q25)
JAKE: And yet it’s one of the best-used schemes … Dublin’s an interesting example of a success story.
AMY: It must be because the public transport system’s quite limited. (Q26)
JAKE: Not really – there’s no underground, but there are trams and a good bus network. I’d say price has a lot to do with it. It’s one of the cheapest schemes in Europe to join.
AMY: But the buses are really slow – anyway the weather certainly can’t be a factor!
JAKE: No – definitely not. The London scheme’s been quite successful
AMY: Yes – it’s been a really good thing for the city. The bikes are popular and the whole system is well maintained but it isn’t expanding quickly enough.
JAKE: Basically, not enough’s been spent on increasing the number of cycle lanes (Q27). Hopefully that’ll change.
AMY: Yes. Now what about outside Europe?
JAKE: Well bike-sharing schemes have taken off in places like Buenos Aires.
AMY: Mmm. They built a huge network of cycle lanes to support the introduction of the scheme there, didn’t they? It attracted huge numbers of cyclists where previously there were hardly any.
JAKE: An example of good planning. (Q28)
AMY: Absolutely. New York is a good example of how not to introduce a scheme. When they launched it, it was more than ten times the price of most other schemes.
JAKE: More than it costs to take a taxi, Crazy (Q29). I think the organisers lacked vision and ambition there.
AMY: I think so too. Sydney would be a good example to use. I would have expected it to have grown pretty quickly here. (Q30)
JAKE: Yes. I can’t quite work out why it hasn’t been an instant success like some of the others. It’s a shame really.
AMY: I know. OK so now we’ve thought about …
PART 4One of the most famous cases of extinction is that of a bird known as the dodo. In fact there’s even a saying in English, ‘as dead as the dodo’, used to refer to something which no longer exists. But for many centuries the dodo was alive and well, although it could only be found in one place, the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It was a very large bird, about one metre tall, and over the centuries it had lost the ability to fly, but it survived happily under the trees that covered the island.
Then in the year 1507 the first Portuguese ships stopped at the island. The sailors were carrying spices (Q31) back to Europe, and found the island a convenient stopping place where they could stock up with food and water for the rest of the voyage, but they didn’t settle on Mauritius. However, in 1683 the Dutch arrived and set up a colony (Q32) there. These first human inhabitants of the island found the dodo birds a convenient source of meat, although not everyone liked the taste.
It’s hard to get an accurate description of what the dodo actually looked like. We do have some written records from sailors, and a few pictures, but we don’t know how reliable these are. The best-known picture is a Dutch painting in which the bird appears to be extremely fat (Q33), but this may not be accurate – an Indian painting done at the same time shows a much thinner bird.
Although attempts were made to preserve the bodies of some of the birds, no complete specimen survives. In the early 17th century four dried parts of a bird were known to exist – of these, three have disappeared, so only one example of soft tissue from the dodo survives, a dodo head (Q34). Bones have also found, but there’s only one complete skeleton in existence.
This single dodo skeleton has recently been the subject of scientific research which suggests that many of the earlier beliefs about dodos may have been incorrect. For example, early accounts of the birds mention how slow and clumsy it was, but scientists now believe the bird’s strong knee joints would have made it capable of movement (Q35) which was not slow, but actually quite fast. In fact, one 17th century sailor wrote that he found the birds hard to catch. It’s true that the dodo’s small wings wouldn’t have allowed it to leave the ground, but the scientists suggest that these were probably employed for balance (Q36) while going over uneven ground. Another group of scientists carried out analysis of the dodo’s skull. They found that the reports of the lack of intelligence of the dodo were not borne out by their research, which suggested the bird’s brain (Q37) was not small, but average in size. In fact, in relation to its body size, it was similar to that of the pigeon, which is known to be a highly intelligent bird. The researchers also found that the structure of the bird’s skull suggested that one sense which was particularly well-developed was that of smell (Q38). So the dodo may also have been particularly good at locating ripe fruit and other food in the island’s thick vegetation.
So it looks as if the dodo was better able to survive and defend itself than was originally believed. Yet less than 200 years after Europeans first arrived on the island, they had become extinct. So what was the reason for this? For a long time, it was believed that the dodos were hunted to extinction, but scientists now believe the situation was more complicated than this. Another factor may have been the new species brought to the island by the sailors. These included dogs, which would have been a threat to the dodos, and also monkeys, which ate the fruit that was the main part of the dodos’ diet. These were brought to the island deliberately, but the ships also brought another type of creature – rats (Q39), which came to land from the ships and rapidly overran the island. These upset the ecology of the island, not just the dodos but other species too. However, they were a particular danger to the dodos because they consumed their eggs, and since each dodo only laid one at a time, this probably had a devastating effect on populations.
However, we now think that probably the main cause of the birds’ extinction was not the introduction of non-native species, but the introduction of agriculture. This meant that the forest (Q40) that has once covered all the island, and that had provided a perfect home for the dodo, was cut down so that crops such as sugar could be grown. So although the dodo had survived for thousands of years, suddenly it was gone.
KEY
Part 1
1 28th
2 550
3 Chervil
4 garage
5 garden
6 parking
7 wood
8 bridge
9 monument
10 March
Part 2
11 C
12 A
13 B
14 B
15 C
16 F
17 A
18 I
19 E
20 H
Part 3
21&22 B, C
23&24 B, C
25 C
26 F
27 D
28 E
29 B
30 A
Part 4
31 spice(s)
32 colony / settlement
33 fat
34 head
35 movement
36 balance / balancing
37 brain
38 smell
39 rats
40 forest
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-1_0.mp3JUNIOR CYCLE CAMP
The course focuses on skills and safety
● Charlie would be placed in Level 5.
● First of all, children at this level are taken to practise in a 1 …………… .
Instructors
● Instructors wear 2 …………… shirts.
● A 3 …………… is required and training is given.
Classes
● The size of the classes is limited.
● There are quiet times during the morning for a 4 …………… or a game.
● Classes are held even if there is 5 …………… .
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-2_0.mp3What to bring
● a change of clothing
● a 6 ……………
● shoes (not sandals)
● Charlie’s 7 ……………
Day 1
● Charlie should arrive at 9.20 am on the first day.
● Before the class, his 8 …………… will be checked.
● He should then go to the 9 …………… to meet his class instructor.
Cost
● The course costs 10 $…………… per week.
PART 2 Questions 11 and 12
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-3_0.mp3According to Megan, what are the TWO main advantages of working in the agriculture and horticulture sectors?
A the active lifestyle
B the above-average salaries
C the flexible working opportunities
D the opportunities for overseas travel
E the chance to be in a natural environment
Questions 13 and 14
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO of the following are likely to be disadvantages for people working outdoors?
A the increasing risk of accidents
B being in a very quiet location
C difficult weather conditions at times
D the cost of housing
E the level of physical fitness required
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-4_0.mp3Questions 15-20
What information does Megan give about each of the following job opportunities?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-H, next to Questions 15-20.
Information
A not a permanent job
B involves leading a team
C experience not essential
D intensive work but also fun
E chance to earn more through overtime
F chance for rapid promotion
G accommodation available
H local travel involved
Job opportunities
15 Fresh food commercial manager …………….
16 Agronomist …………….
17 Fresh produce buyer …………….
18 Garden centre sales manager …………….
19 Tree technician …………….
20 Farm worker …………….
PART 3
Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-5_0.mp3Which TWO points does Adam make about his experiment on artificial sweeteners?
A The results were what he had predicted.
B The experiment was simple to set up
C A large sample of people was tested.
D The subjects were unaware of what they were drinking.
E The test was repeated several times for each person.
Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO problems did Rosie have when measuring the fat content of nuts?
A She used the wrong sort of nuts.
B She used an unsuitable chemical.
C She did not grind the nuts finely enough.
D The information on the nut package was incorrect.
E The weighing scales may have been unsuitable.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-6_0.mp3Questions 25-30
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
25 Adam suggests that restaurants could reduce obesity if their menus
A offered fewer options.
B had more low-calorie foods.
C were organised in a particular way.
26 The students agree that food manufacturers deliberately
A make calorie counts hard to understand.
B fail to provide accurate calorie counts.
C use ineffective methods to reduce calories.
27 What does Rosie say about levels of exercise in England?
A The amount recommended is much too low.
B Most people overestimate how much they do.
C Women now exercise more than they used to.
28 Adam refers to the location and width of stairs in a train station to illustrate
A practical changes that can influence people’s behaviour.
B methods of helping people who have mobility problems.
C ways of preventing accidents by controlling crowd movement.
29 What do the students agree about including reference to exercise in their presentation?
A They should probably leave it out.
B They need to do more research on it.
C They should discuss this with their tutor.
30 What are the students going to do next for their presentation?
A prepare some slides for it
B find out how long they have for it
C decide on its content and organisation
PART 4 Questions 31 – 40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-7_0.mp3Hand knitting
Interest in knitting
● Knitting has a long history around the world.
● We imagine someone like a 31 ……………… knitting.
● A 32 ……………… ago, knitting was expected to disappear.
● The number of knitting classes is now increasing.
● People are buying more 33 ……………… for knitting nowadays.
Benefits of knitting
● gives support in times of 34 ……………… difficulty
● requires only 35 ……………… skills and little money to start
● reduces stress in a busy life
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/16-3-8_0.mp3Early knitting
● The origins are not known.
● Findings show early knitted items to be 36 ……………… in shape.
● The first needles were made of natural materials such as wood and 37 ……………… .
● Early yarns felt 38 ……………… to touch.
● Wool became the most popular yarn for spinning.
● Geographical areas had their own 39 ……………… of knitting.
● Everyday tasks like looking after 40 ……………… were done while knitting.
PART 1
JAKE: Hello, Junior Cycle camp, Jake speaking.
WOMAN: Hi. I’m calling for some information about the cycle camp – I’m thinking of sending my son.
JAKE: Great. Well, it’s held every weekday morning over the summer vacation and we focus on basic cycling skills and safety. We have eight levels for children from three years upwards. How old’s your son?
WOMAN: Charlie? He’s seven. He can ride a bike, but he needs a little more training before he’s safe to go on the road.
JAKE: He’d probably be best in Level 5. They start off practising on the site here, and we aim to get them riding on the road, but first they’re taken to ride in the park (Q1), away from the traffic.
WOMAN: Right. And can you tell me a bit about the instructors?
JAKE: Well, all our staff wear different coloured shirts. So, we have three supervisors, and they have red shirts. They support the instructors, and they also stand in for me if I’m not around. Then the instructors themselves are in blue shirts (Q2), and one of these is responsible for each class.
WOMAN: OK.
JAKE: In order to be accepted, all our instructors have to submit a reference (Q3) from someone who’s seen them work with children – like if they’ve worked as a babysitter, for example. Then they have to complete our training course, including how to do lesson plans, and generally care for the well-being of the kids in their class. They do a great job, I have to say.
WOMAN: Right. And tell me a bit about the classes. What size will Charlie’s class be?
JAKE: We have a limit of eight children in each class, so their instructor really gets to know them well. They’re out riding most of the time but they have quiet times too, where their instructor might tell them a story (Q4) that’s got something to do with cycling, or get them to play a game together. It’s a lot of fun.
WOMAN: It must be. Now, what happens if there’s rain? Do the classes still run? (Q5)
JAKE: Oh yes. We don’t let that put us off – we just put on our waterproofs and keep cycling.
WOMAN: And is there anything special Charlie should bring along with him?
JAKE: Well, maybe some spare clothes, especially if the weather’s not so good. And a snack (Q6) for break time.
WOMAN: How about a drink?
JAKE: No, we’ll provide that. And make sure he has shoes, not sandals.
WOMAN: Sure. And just at present Charlie has to take medication every few hours, so I’ll make sure he has that. (Q7)
JAKE: Absolutely. Just give us details of when he has to take it and we’ll make sure he does.
WOMAN: Thanks.
JAKE: Now, there are a few things you should know about Day 1 of the camp. The classes normally start at 9.30 every morning, but on Day 1 you should aim to get Charlie here by 9.20. The finishing time will be 12.30 as usual. We need the additional time because there are a few extra things to do. The most important is that we have a very careful check to make sure that every child’s helmet fits properly (Q8). If it doesn’t fit, we’ll try to adjust it, or we’ll find him another one – but he must wear it all the time he’s on the bike.
WOMAN: Of course.
JAKE: Then after that, all the instructors will be waiting to meet their classes, and they’ll meet up in the tent (Q9) – you can’t miss it. And each instructor will take their class away and get started.
WOMAN: OK. Well that all sounds good. Now can you tell me how much the camp costs a week?
JAKE: One hundred ninety-nine dollars (Q10). We’ve managed to keep the price more or less the same as last year – it was one hundred ninety then. But the places are filling up quite quickly.
WOMAN: Right. OK, well I’d like to book for …
PART 2
Hello everyone. My name’s Megan Baker and I’m a recruitment consultant at AVT Recruitment specialists.
Now, our company specialises in positions that involve working in the agriculture and horticulture sectors, so that’s fresh food production, garden and park maintenance and so on. And these sectors do provide some very special career opportunities. For a start, they often offer opportunities for those who don’t want to be stuck with a 40-hour week, but need to juggle work with other responsibilities (Q11/Q12) such as child care – and this is very important for many of our recruits. Some people like working in a rural setting, surrounded by plants and trees instead of buildings, although we can’t guarantee that. But there are certainly health benefits, especially in jobs where you’re not sitting all day looking at a screen (Q11/Q12) – a big plus for many people. Salaries can sometimes be good too, although there’s a lot of variety here. And you may have the opportunity in some types of jobs for travel overseas, although that obviously depends on the job, and not everyone is keen to do it.
Of course, working outdoors does have its challenges. It’s fine in summer, but can be extremely unpleasant when it’s cold and windy (Q13/Q14). You may need to be pretty fit for some jobs, though with modern technology that’s not as important as it once was. And standards of health and safety are much higher now than they used to be, so there are fewer work-related accidents. But if you like a lively city environment surrounded by lots of people, these jobs are probably not for you – they’re often in pretty remote areas (Q13/Q14). And some people worry about finding a suitable place to live, but in our experience, this usually turns out fine.
Now let me tell you about some of the exciting jobs that we have on our books right now.
One is for a fresh food commercial manager. Our client here is a very large fresh food producer supplying a range of top supermarkets. They operate in a very fast-paced environment (Q15) with low profit margins – the staff there work hard, but they play hard as well, so if you’ve a sociable personality this may be for you.
We have an exciting post as an agronomist advising farmers on issues such as crop nutrition, protection against pests, and the latest legislation on farming and agricultural practices. There are good opportunities for the right person to quickly make their way up the career ladder (Q16), but a deep knowledge of the agricultural sector is expected of applicants.
A leading supermarket is looking for a fresh produce buyer who is available for a 12-month maternity cover (Q17) contract. You need to have experience in administration, planning and buying in the fresh produce industry, and in return will receive a very competitive salary.
We have also received a request for a sales manager for a chain of garden centres. You will be visiting centres in the region (Q18) to ensure their high levels of customer service are maintained. This post is only suitable for someone who is prepared to live in the region.
There is also a vacancy for a tree technician to carry out tree cutting, forestry and conservation work. Candidates must have a clean driving licence and have training in safety procedures. A year’s experience would be preferred but the company might be prepared to consider someone who has just completed an appropriate training course. (Q19)
Finally, we have a position for a farm worker. This will involve a wide range of farm duties including crop sowing and harvesting, machine maintenance and animal care. Perks of the job include the possibility of renting a small cottage on the estate (Q20), and the chance to earn a competitive salary. A driving licence and tractor driving experience are essential.
PART 3
ADAM: OK Rosie, shall we try to get some ideas together for our presentation on diet and obesity?
ROSIE: Sure.
ADAM: I can talk about the experiment I did to see if people can tell the difference between real sugar and artificial sweeteners.
ROSIE: Where you have people drinks with either sugar or artificial sweeteners and they had to say which they thought it was?
ADAM: Yeah. It took me ages to decide exactly how I’d organise it, especially how I could make sure that people didn’t know which drink I was giving them (Q21/Q22). It was hard to keep track of it all, especially as I had so many people doing it (Q21/Q22) – I had to make sure I kept a proper record of what each person had had.
ROSIE: So could most people tell the difference?
ADAM: Yeah – I hadn’t thought they would be able to, but most people could.
ROSIE: Then there’s that experiment I did measuring the fat content of nuts, to see if the nutritional information given on the packet was accurate.
ADAM: The one where you ground up the nuts and mixed them with a chemical to absorb the fat?
ROSIE: Yes. My results were a bit problematic – the fat content for that type of nut seemed much lower than it said on the package. But I reckon the package information was right. I think I should probably have ground up the nuts more than I did. It’s possible that the scales for weighing the fat weren’t accurate enough (Q23/Q24), too. I’d really like to try the experiment again some time.
ADAM: So what can we say about helping people to lose weight? There’s a lot we could say about what restaurants could do to reduce obesity. I read that the items at the start of a menu and the items at the end of a menu are much more likely to be chosen than the items in the middle. So, if you put the low-calorie items at the beginning and end of the menu, people will probably go for the food with fewer calories (Q25), without even realising what they’re doing.
ROSIE: I think food manufacturers could do more to encourage healthy eating.
ADAM: How?
ROSIE: Well, when manufacturers put calorie counts of a food on the label, they’re sometimes really confusing and I suspect they do it on purpose (Q26). Because food that’s high in calories tastes better, and so they’ll sell more.
ADAM: Yeah, so if you look at the amount of calories in a pizza, they’ll give you the calories per quarter pizza and you think, oh that’s not too bad. But who’s going to eat a quarter pizza?
ROSIE: Exactly.
ADAM: I suppose another approach to this problem is to get people to exercise more.
ROSIE: Right. In England, the current guidelines are for at least 30 minutes of brisk walking, five days a week. Now when you ask them, about 40% of men and 30% of women say they do this, but when you objectively measure the amount of walking they do with motion sensors, you find that only 6% of men and 4% of women do the recommended amount of exercise. (Q27)
ADAM: Mm, so you can see why obesity is growing.
ROSIE: So how can people be encouraged to take more exercise?
ADAM: Well, for example, think of the location of stairs station. if people reach the stairs before they reach the escalator when they’re leaving the station, they’re more likely to take the stairs. And if you increase the width of the stairs, you’ll get more people using them at the same time (Q28). It’s an unconscious process and influenced by minor modifications in their environment.
ROSIE: Right. And it might not be a big change, but if it happens every day, it all adds up.
ADAM: Yes. But actually, I’m not sure if we should be talking about exercise in our presentation. (Q29)
ROSIE: Well, we’ve done quite a bit of reading about it.
ADAM: I know, but it’s going to mean we have a very wide focus, and our tutor did say that we need to focus on causes and solutions in terms of nutrition.
ROSIE: I suppose so. And we’ve got plenty of information about that. OK, well that will be simpler.
ADAM: So what shall we do now? We’ve still got half an hour before our next lecture.
ROSIE: Let’s think about what we’re going to include and what will go where (Q30). Then we can decide what slides we need.
ADAM: OK, fine.
PART 4
Good morning everyone. So today we’re going to look at an important creative activity and that’s hand knitting. Ancient knitted garments have been found in many different countries, showing that knitting is a global activity with a long history.
When someone says the word ‘knitting’ we might well picture an elderly person – a grandmother perhaps – sitting by the fire knitting (Q31) garments for themselves or other members of the family. It’s a homely image, but one that may lead you to feel that knitting is an activity of the past – and, indeed, during the previous decade, it was one of the skills that was predicted to vanish (Q32) from everyday life. For although humans have sewn and knitted their own clothing for a very long time, many of these craft-based skills went into decline when industrial machines took over – mainly because they were no longer passed down from one generation to another. However, that’s all changing and interest in knitting classes in many countries is actually rising, as more and more people are seeking formal instruction in the skill. With that trend, we’re also seeing an increase in the sales figures for knitting equipment. (Q34)
So why do people want to be taught to knit at a time when a machine can readily do the job for them? The answer is that knitting, as a handicraft, has numerous benefits for those doing it. Let’s consider what some of these might be. While many people knitted garments in the past because they couldn’t afford to buy clothes, it’s still true today that knitting can be helpful if you’re experiencing economic hardship (Q34). If you have several children who all need warm winter clothes, knitting may save you a lot of money. And the results of knitting your own clothes can be very rewarding, even though the skills you need to get going are really quite basic (Q35) and the financial outlay is minimal.
But the more significant benefits in today’s world are to do with well-being. In a world where it’s estimated that we spend up to nine hours a day online, doing something with our hands that is craft-based makes us feel good. It releases us from the stress of a technological, fast-paced life.
Now, let’s look back a bit to early knitting activities. In fact, no one really knows when knitting first began, but archaeological remains have disclosed plenty of information for us to think about.
One of the interesting things about knitting is that the earliest pieces of clothing that have been found suggest that most of the items produced were round (Q36) rather than flat. Discoveries from the 3rd and 4th centuries in Egypt show that things like socks and gloves, that were needed to keep hands and feet warm, were knitted in one piece using four or five needles. That’s very different from most knitting patterns today, which only require two. What’s more, the very first needles people used were hand carved out of wood and other natural materials, like bone (Q37), whereas today’s needles are largely made of steel or plastic and make that characteristic clicking sound when someone’s using them. Ancient people knitted using yarns made from linen, hemp, cotton and wool, and these were often very rough on the skin (Q38). The spinning wheel, which allowed people to make finer yarns and produce much greater quantities of them, led to the dominance of wool in the knitting industry – often favoured for its warmth.
Another interesting fact about knitting is that because it was practised in so many parts of the world for so many purposes, regional differences in style developed (Q39). This visual identity has allowed researchers to match bits of knitted clothing that have been unearthed over time to the region from which the wearer came or the job that he or she did.
As I’ve mentioned, knitting offered people from poor communities a way of making extra money while doing other tasks. For many centuries, it seems, men, women and children took every opportunity to knit, for example, while watching over sheep (Q40), walking to market or riding in boats. So, let’s move on to take a …
KEY
Part 1
1 park
2 blue
3 reference
4 story
5 rain
6 snack
7 medication
8 helmet
9 tent
10 199
Part 2
11&12 A, C
13&14 B, C
15 D
16 F
17 A
18 H
19 C
20 G
Part 3
21&22 C, D
23&24 C, E
25 C
26 A
27 B
28 A
29 A
30 C
Part 4
31 grandmother
32 decade
33 equipment
34 economic
35 basic
36 round
37 bone
38 rough
39 style
40 sheep
PART 1 Questions 1 – 10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0001_0.mp3Copying photos to digital format
Name of company: Picturerep
Requirements
● Maximum size of photos is 30 cm, minimum size 4 cm.
● Photos must not be in a 1 ……………… or an album.
Cost
● The cost for 360 photos is 2 £……………… (including one disk).
● Before the complete order is sent, 3 ……………… is required.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0002_0.mp3Services included in the price
● Photos can be placed in a folder, e.g. with the name 4 ……………… .
● The 5 ……………… and contrast can be improved if necessary.
● Photos which are very fragile will be scanned by 6 ……………… .
Special restore service (costs extra)
● It may be possible to remove an object from a photo, or change the 7 ……………… .
● A photo which is not correctly in 8 ……………… cannot be fixed.
Other information
● Orders are completed within 9 ……………… .
● Send the photos in a box (not 10 ………………).
PART 2 Questions 11 – 15
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0003_0.mp3Minster Park11 Dartfield House school used to be
A a tourist information centre.
B a private home.
C a local council building.
12 What is planned with regard to the lower school?
A All buildings on the main site will be improved.
B The lower school site will be used for new homes.
C Additional school buildings will be constructed on the lower school site.
13 The catering has been changed because of
A long queuing times.
B changes to the school timetable.
C dissatisfaction with the menus.
14 Parents are asked to
A help their children to decide in advance which serving point to use.
B make sure their children have enough money for food.
C advise their children on healthy food to eat.
15 What does the speaker say about the existing canteen?
A Food will still be served there.
B Only staff will have access to it.
C Pupils can take their food into it.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0004_0.mp3Questions 16-18
What comment does the speaker make about each of the following serving points in the Food Hall?
Choose THREE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-D, next to Questions 16-18.
Comments
A pupils help to plan menus
B only vegetarian food
C different food every week
D daily change in menu
Food available at serving points in Food Hall
16 World Adventures…………
17 Street Life…………….
18 Speedy Italian……………….
Questions 19 and 20
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO optional after-school lessons are new?
A swimming
B piano
C acting
D cycling
E theatre sound and lighting
PART 3 Questions 21-24
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0006_0.mp3Assignment on sleep and dreams
21 Luke read that one reason why we often forget dreams is that
A our memories cannot cope with too much information.
B we might other wise be confused about what is real.
C we do not think they are important.
22 What do Luke and Susie agree about dreams predicting the future?
A It may just be due to chance.
B It only happens with certain types of event.
C It happens more often than some people think.
23 Susie says that a study on pre-school children having a short nap in the day
A had controversial results.
B used faulty research methodology.
C failed to reach any clear conclusions.
24 In their last assignment, both students had problems with
A statistical analysis.
B making an action plan.
C self-assessment
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0007_0.mp3Questions 25-30
Complete the flow chart below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
Assignment plan
Decide on research question:
Is there a relationship between hours of sleep and number of dreams?
↓Decide on sample:
Twelve students from the 25 ……………… department
↓Decide on methodology:
Self-reporting
↓Decide on procedure:
Answers on 26 ………………
↓Check ethical guidelines for working with 27 ………………
Ensure that risk is assessed and 28 ……………… is kept to a minimum
↓Analyse the results
Calculate the correlation and make a 29 ………………
↓30 ……………… the research
PART 4 Questions 31 – 40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0008_0.mp3Health benefits of danceRecent findings:
● All forms of dance produce various hormones associated with feelings of happiness.
● Dancing with others has a more positive impact than dancing alone.
● An experiment on university students suggested that dance increases 31 ……………… .
● For those with mental illness, dance could be used as a form of 32 ……………… .
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0009_0.mp3Benefits of dance for older people:
● accessible for people with low levels of 33 ………………
● reduces the risk of heart disease
● better 34 ……………… reduces the risk of accidents
● improves 35 ……………… function by making it work faster
● improves participants’ general well-being
● gives people more 36 ……………… to take exercise
● can lessen the feeling of 37 ………………, very common in older people
Benefits of Zumba:
● A study at The University of Wisconsin showed that doing Zumba for 40 minutes uses up as many 38 ……………… as other quite intense forms of exercise.
● The American Journal of Health Behavior study showed that:
– women suffering from 39 ……………… benefited from doing Zumba.
– Zumba became a 40 ……………… for the participants.
PART 1
EMPLOYEE: Hello, Picturerep. Can I help you?
WOMAN: Oh, hi. I saw your advertisement about copying pictures to disk and I’d like a bit more information about what you do.
EMPLOYEE: Sure. What would you like to know?
WOMAN: Well, I’ve got a box full of old family photos that’s been up in the attic for years, some of them must be 50 or 60 years old, and I’d like to get them converted to digital format.
EMPLOYEE: Sure, we can do that for you.
WOMAN: Right. And what about size? The photos are all sorts of sizes – are there any restrictions?
EMPLOYEE: Well the maximum size of photo we can do with our normal services is 30 centimetres. And each picture must be a least 4 centimetres, that’s the minimum we can cope with.
WOMAN: That should be fine. And some of them are in a frame (Q1) – should I take them out before I send them?
EMPLOYEE: Yes please, we can’t copy them otherwise. And also the photos must all be separate, they mustn’t be stuck into an album.
WOMAN: OK, that’s not a problem. So can you give me an idea of how much this will cost? I’ve got about 360 photos I think.
EMPLOYEE: We charge £195 for 300 to 400 photos (Q2) for the basic service.
WOMAN: OK. And does that include the disk?
EMPLOYEE: Yes, one disk – but you can get extra ones for £5 each.
WOMAN: That’s good. So do I need to pay when I send you the photos?
EMPLOYEE: No, we won’t need anything until we’ve actually copied the pictures. Then we’ll let you know how much it is, and once we’ve received the payment (Q3), we’ll send the parcel off to you.
WOMAN: Right.
EMPLOYEE: Is there anything else you’d like to ask about our services?
WOMAN: Yes. I’ve roughly sorted out the photos into groups, according to what they’re about – so can you keep them in those groups when you copy them?
EMPLOYEE: Sure. We’ll save each group in a different folder on the disk and if you like, you can suggest a name for each folder.
WOMAN: So I could have one called ‘Grandparents’ (Q4) for instance?
EMPLOYEE: Exactly.
WOMAN: And do you do anything besides scan the photos? Like, can you make any improvements?
EMPLOYEE: Yes, in the standard service each photo is checked, and we can sometimes touch up the colour a bit (Q5), or improve the contrast – that can make a big difference.
WOMAN: OK. And some of the photos are actually quite fragile – they won’t get damaged in the process, will they?
EMPLOYEE: No, if any look particularly fragile, we’d do them by hand (Q6). We do realise how precious these old photos can be.
WOMAN: Sure.
EMPLOYEE: And another thing is we can make changes to a photo if you want – so if you want to remove an object from a photo, or maybe alter the background (Q7), we can do that.
WOMAN: Really? I might be interested in that. I’ll have a look through the photos and see. Oh, and talking of fixing photos – I’ve got a few that aren’t properly in focus (Q8). Can you do anything to make that better?
EMPLOYEE: No, I’m afraid that’s one thing we can’t do.
WOMAN: OK.
EMPLOYEE: Any other information I can give you?
WOMAN: Er … oh, how long will it all take?
EMPLOYEE: We aim to get the copying done in ten days. (Q9)
WOMAN: Fine. Right, well I’ll get the photos packed up in a box and post them off to you.
EMPLOYEE: Right. If you’ve got a strong cardboard box, that’s best. We’ve found that plastic ones sometimes break in the post. (Q10)
WOMAN: OK. Right, thanks for your help. Bye.
EMPLOYEE: Bye.
PART 2
Good morning and thank you for coming here today. I’d like to bring you up to date with changes in the school that will affect your children.
As you know, the school buildings date from various times: some from the 1970s, some from the last five years, and of course Dartfield House is over a century old. It was commissioned by a businessman. Neville Richards, and intended as his family home, but he died before it was completed. His heir chose to sell it to the local council, who turned it into offices (Q11). A later plan to convert it into a tourist information centre didn’t come about, through lack of money, and instead it formed the nucleus of this school when it opened 40 years ago.
The school has grown as the local population has increased, and I can now give you some news about the lower school site, which is separated from the main site by a road. Planning permission has been granted for development of both sites. The lower school will move to new buildings that will be constructed on the main site. Developers will construct houses on the existing lower school site (Q12). Work on the new school buildings should start within the next few months.
A more imminent change concerns the catering facilities and the canteen. The canteen is always very busy throughout the lunch period – in fact it’s often full to capacity, because a lot of our pupils like the food that’s on offer there. But there’s only one serving point, so most pupils have to wait a considerable time to be served (Q13). This is obviously unsatisfactory, as they may have hardly finished their lunch before afternoon lessons start.
So we’ve had a new Food Hall built, and this will come into use next week. It’ll have several serving areas, and I’ll give you more details about those in a minute, but one thing we ask you to do, to help in the smooth running of the Food Hall, is to discuss with your children each morning which type of food they want to eat that day (Q14), so they can go straight to the relevant serving point. There won’t be any junk food – everything on offer will be healthy – and there’s no change to the current system of paying for lunches by topping up your child’s electronic payment card online.
You may be wondering what will happen to the old canteen. We’ll still have tables and chairs in there, and pupils can eat food from the Food Hall or lunch they’ve brought from home (Q15). Eventually we may use part of the canteen for storage, but first we’ll see how many pupils go in there at lunchtime.
OK, back to the serving points in the Food Hall, which will all have side dishes, desserts and drinks on sale, as well as main courses.
One serving point we call World Adventures (Q16). This will serve a different country’s cuisine each day, maybe Chinese one day and Lebanese the next. The menus will be planned for a week at a time, so pupils will know what’s going to be available the whole of the week.
Street Life is also international, with food from three particular cultures. We’ll ask pupils to make suggestions (Q17), so perhaps sometimes there’ll be food from Thailand, Ethiopia and Mexico, and then one of them will be replaced by Jamaican food for a week or two.
The Speedy Italian serving point will cater particularly for the many pupils who don’t eat meat or fish (Q18): they can be sure that all the food served there is suitable for them. There’ll be plenty of variety, so they shouldn’t get bored with the food.
OK, that’s all on the new Food Hall. Now after-school lessons. There are very popular with pupils, particularly swimming – in fact there’s a waiting list for lessons. Cycling is another favourite, and I’m delighted that dozens of pupils make use of the chance to learn to ride in off-road conditions. It means that more and more cycle to and from school every day. As you know, we have a well-equipped performance centre, and we’re going to start drama classes (Q19/Q20) in there, too. Pupils will be able to join in just for fun or work up to taking part in a play – we hope to put on at least one a year. We already teach a number of pupils to use the sound and lighting systems in the centre. And a former pupil has given a magnificent grand piano to the school, so a few pupils will be able to learn at the school instead of going to the local college, as many of them do at the moment.
PART 3
SUSIE: So Luke, for our next psychology assignment we have to do something on sleep and dreams.
LUKE: Right. I’ve just read an article suggesting why we tend to forget most of our dreams soon after we wake up. I mean, most of my dreams aren’t that interesting anyway, but what it said was that if we remembered everything, we might get mixed up about what actually happened and what we dreamed (Q21). So it’s a sort of protection. I hadn’t heard that idea before. I’d always assumed that it was just that we didn’t have room in our memories for all that stuff.
SUSIE: Me too. What do you think about the idea that our dreams may predict the future?
LUKE: It’s a belief that you get all over the world.
SUSIE: Yeah, lots of people have a story of it happening to them, but the explanation I’ve read is that for each dream that comes true, we have thousands that don’t (Q22), but we don’t notice those, we don’t even remember them. We just remember the ones where something in the real world, like a view or an action, happens to trigger a dream memory.
LUKE: Right. So it’s just a coincidence really. Something else I read about is what they call segmented sleeping. That’s a theory that hundreds of years ago, people used to get up in the middle of the night and have a chat or something to eat, then go back to bed. So I tried it myself.
SUSIE: Why?
LUKE: Well it’s meant to make you more creative. I don’t know why. But I gave it up after a week. It just didn’t fit in with my lifestyle.
SUSIE: But most pre-school children have a short sleep in the day don’t they? There was an experiment some students did here last term to see at what age kids should stop having naps. But they didn’t really find an answer (Q23). They spent a lot of time working out the most appropriate methodology, but the results didn’t seem to show any obvious patterns.
LUKE: Right. Anyway, let’s think about our assignment. Last time I had problems with the final stage, where we had to describe and justify how successful we thought we’d been (Q24). I struggled a bit with the action plan too.
SUSIE: I was OK with the planning, but I got marked down for the self-assessment as well. And I had big problems with the statistical stuff, that’s where I really lost marks.
LUKE: Right.
SUSIE: So shall we plan what we have to do for this assignment?
LUKE: OK.
SUSIE: First, we have to decide on our research question. So how about ‘Is there a relationship between hours of sleep and number of dreams?’
LUKE: OK. Then we need to think about who we’ll do they study on. About 12 people?
SUSIE: Right. And shall we use other psychology students?
LUKE: Let’s use people from a different department. What about history? (Q25)
SUSIE: Yes, they might have interesting dreams! Or literature students?
LUKE: I don’t really know any.
SUSIE: OK, forget that idea. Then we have to think about our methodology. So we could use observation, but that doesn’t seem appropriate.
LUKE: No. it needs to be self-reporting I think. And we could ask them to answer questions online.
SUSIE: But in this case, paper might be better (Q26) as they’ll be doing it straight after they wake up … in fact while they’re still half-asleep.
LUKE: Right. And we’ll have to check the ethical guidelines (Q27) for this sort of research.
SUSIE: Mm, because our experiment involves humans, so there are special regulations.
LUKE: Yes, I had a look at those for another assignment I did. There’s a whole section on risk assessment, and another section on making sure they aren’t put under any unnecessary stress. (Q28)
SUSIE: Let’s hope they don’t have any bad dreams!
LUKE: Yeah.
SUSIE: Then when we’ve collected all our data we have to analyse it and calculate the correlation between our two variables, that’s time sleeping and number of dreams and then present our results visually in a graph. (Q29)
LUKE: Right. And the final thing is to think about our research and evaluate it (Q30). So that seems quite straightforward.
SUSIE: Yeah. So now let’s …
PART 4
Dancing is something that humans do when they want to have a good time. It’s a universal response to music, found in all cultures. But what’s only been discovered recently is that dancing not only makes us feel good, it’s also extremely good for our health.
Dancing, like other forms of exercise, releases hormones, such as dopamine, which make us feel relaxed and happy. And it also reduces feelings of stress or anxiety.
Dancing is also a sociable activity, which is another reason it makes us feel good.
One study compared people’s enjoyment of dancing at home in front of a video with dancing in a group in a studio.
The people dancing in a group reported feeling happier, whereas those dancing alone did not.
In another experiment, university researchers at York and Sheffield took a group of students and sent each of them into a lab where music was played for five minutes. Each had to choose from three options: to sit and listen quietly to the music, to cycle on an exercise bike while they listened, or to get up and dance. All were given cognitive tasks to perform before and after. The result showed that those who chose to dance showed much more creativity (Q31) when doing problem-solving tasks.
Doctor Lovatt at the University of Hertfordshire believes dance could be a very useful way to help people suffering from mental health problems. He thinks dance should be prescribed ad therapy (Q32) to help people overcome issues such as depression.
It’s well established that dance is a good way of encouraging adolescent girls to take exercise but what about older people? Studies have shown that there are enormous benefits for people in their sixties and beyond. One of the great things about dance is that there are no barriers to participation. Anyone can have a go, even those whose standard of fitness is quite low. (Q33)
Dance can be especially beneficial for older adults who can’t run or do more intense workouts, or for those who don’t want to. One 2015 study found that even a gently dance workout helps to promote a healthy heart. And there’s plenty of evidence which suggests that dancing lowers the risk of falls, which could result in a broken hip, for example, by helping people to improve their balance. (Q34)
There are some less obvious benefits of dance for older people too. One thing I hadn’t realised before researching this topic was that dance isn’t just a physical challenge. It also requires a lot of concentration because you need to remember different steps and routines. For older people, this kind of activity is especially important because it forces their brain to process things more quickly (Q35) and to retain more information.
Current research also shows that dance promotes a general sense of well-being in older participants, which can last up to a week after a class. Participants report feeling less tired and having greater motivation to be more active (Q36) and do daily activities such as gardening or walking to the shops or a park.
Ballroom or country dancing, both popular with older people, have to be done in groups. They require collaboration and often involve touching a dance partner, all of which encourages interaction on the dance floor. This helps to develop new relationships and can reduce older people’s sense of isolation (Q37), which is a huge problem in many countries.
I also looked at the benefits of Zumba. Fifteen million people in 180 countries now regularly take a Zumba class, an aerobic workout based on Latin American dance moves. John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin, analysed a group of women who were Zumba regulars and found that a class lasting 40 minutes burns about 370 calories. This is similar to moderately intense exercises (Q38) like step aerobics or kickboxing.
A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior showed that when women with obesity (Q39) did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks, they lost an average of 1.2 kilos and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%. More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much that they made it a habit (Q40) and continued to attend classes at least once a week – very unusual for an aerobic exercise programme.
Dance is never going to compete with high-intensity workouts when it comes to physical fitness gains, but its popularity is likely to keep on rising because it’s such a fun way to keep fit.
KEY
Part 1
1 frame
2 195
3 payment
4 Grandparents
5 colour / color
6 hand
7 background
8 focus
9 ten / 10 days
10 plastic
Part 2
11 C
12 B
13 A
14 A
15 C
16 D
17 A
18 B
19&20 B, C
Part 3
21 B
22 A
23 C
24 C
25 history
26 paper
27 humans / people
28 stress
29 graph
30 evaluate
Part 4
31 creativity
32 therapy
33 fitness
34 balance
35 brain
36 motivation
37 isolation
38 calories
39 obesity
40 habit
Part 1 Questions 1-10
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND / OR A NUMBER for each answer.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/161_0.mp3Children’s Engineering Workshops
Tiny Engineers (ages 4-5)
Activities
- Create a cover for an 1……………….. so they can drop it from a height without breaking it.
- Take part in aa competition to build the tallest 2……………………..
- Make a 3…………………..powered by a baalloon.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/162_0.mp3Junior Engineers (ages 6 – 8)
Activities:
- Build model cars, trucks and 4…………….. and learn how to program them so they can move.
- Take part in a competition to build the longest 5………………….. using card and wood.
- Create a short 6…………………. with special software.
- Build, 7…………………..aand program a humanoid robot.
Cost for a five-week block: £50
Held on 8……………………….from 10 am to 11 am
Location
Building 10A, 9…………………… Industrial Estate, Grasford
Plenty of 10…………………………is available.
Part 2 Questions 11 -20
Questions 11 – 14
Choose the correct letter, A, Bor C.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/163_0.mp311 Stevenson’s was founded in
A 1923
B 1924
C 1926
12 Originally, Stevenson’s manufactured goods for
A the healthcare industry
B the automotive industry
C the machine tools industry
13 What does the speaker say about the company premises?
A The company has recently moved.
B The company has no plans to move.
C The compant is going to move shortly.
14 The programme for the work experience group includes
a time to do research.
B meetings with a teacher.
C talks by staff.
Questions 15 – 20
Label the map below.
Write the correct letter, A – J, next to Questions 15 – 20.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/164_0.mp315 coffee room ……….
16 warehouse………..
17 staff canteen ……….
18 meeting room ……….
19 human resources …………
20 boardroom …………
Part 3 Questions 21 – 30
Questions 21 and 22
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/165_0.mp3Choose TWO letters, A – E.
Which TWO parts of the introductory stage to their art projects do Jess and Tom agree were useful?
A the Bird Park visit
B the workshop sessions
C the Natural History Museum visit
D the projects done in previous years
E the handouts with research sources
Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A – E.
In which TWO ways do both Jess and Tom decide to change their proposals?
A by giving a rationale for their action plans
B by being less specific about the outcome
C by adding a video diary presentation
D by providing a timeline and a mind map
E by making their notes more evaluative
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/166_0.mp3Questions 25 – 30
Which personal meaaning do the students decide to give to each of the following pictures?
Choose SIX answers from the box and write the correct letter, A – H, next to Questions 25 – 30.
Personal meanings
A a childhood memory
B hope for the future
C fast movement
D a potential threat
E the power of colour
F the continuity of life
G protection of nature
H a confused attitude to nature
Pictures
25 Falcon ( Landseer)
26 Fish hawk ( Audubon)
27 Kingfisher ( van Gogh)
28 Portrait of William Wells
29 Vairumati (Gauguin)
30 Portrait of Giovanni de Medici
Part 4 Questions 31 – 40
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/167_0.mp3Stoicism
Stoicism is still relevant today because of its 31……………. appeal.
Ancient Stoics
- Stoicism was founded over 2,000 years ago in Greece.
- The Stoics’ ideas are surprisingly well known, despite not being intended for 32……………
Stoic principles
- Happiness could be achieved by leading a virtuous life.
- Controlling emotions was essential.
- Epictetus said that external events cannot be controlled but the 33…………….. people make in response can be controlled.
- A Stoic is someone who has a different view on experiences which others would consider as 34……………
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/168_0.mp3The influence of Stoicism
- George Washington organised a 35………………… about Cato to motivate his men.
- The French artist Delacroix was a Stoic.
- Adam Smith’s ideas on 36………………….were influenced by Stoicism.
- Some of today’s political leaders are inspired by the Stoics.
- Cognitive Behaviour Theraphy (CBT)
-the treatment for 37…………… is based on ideas from Stoiicism
-people learn to base their thinking on 38……………………..
- In business, people benefit from Stoicism by identifying obstacles as 39…………..
Relevance of Stoicism
- It requires a lot of 40…………………………. but Stoicism can help people to lead a good life.
- It teaches people that having a strong character is more important than anything else.
PART 1
SARAH: Hello. Children’s Engineering Workshops.
FATHER: Oh hello. I wanted some information about the workshops in the school holidays.
SARAH: Sure.
FATHER: I have two daughters who are interested. The younger one’s Lydia, she’s four – do you take children as young as that?
SARAH: Yes, our Tiny Engineers workshop is for four to five-year-olds.
FATHER: What sorts of activities do they do?
SARAH: All sorts. For example, they work together to design a special cover that goes round an egg (Q1), so that when it’s inside they can drop it from a height and it doesn’t break. Well, sometimes it does break but that’s part of the fun!
FATHER: Right. And Lydia loves building things. Is there any opportunity for her to do that?
SARAH: Well, they have a competition to see who can make the highest tower (Q2). You’d be amazed how high they can go.
FATHER: Right.
SARAH: But they’re learning all the time as well as having fun. For example, one thing they do is to design and build a car (Q3) that’s attached to a balloon, and the force of the air in that actually powers the car and makes it move along. They go really fast too.
FATHER: OK, well, all this sounds perfect.
FATHER: Now Carly, that’s my older daughter, has just had her seventh birthday, so presumably she’d be in a different group?
SARAH: Yes, she’d be in the Junior Engineers. That’s for children from six to eight.
FATHER: And do they do the same sorts of activities?
SARAH: Some are the same, but a bit more advanced. So they work out how to build model vehicles, things like cars and trucks, but also how to construct animals (Q4) using the same sorts of material and technique, and then they learn how they can program them and make them move.
FATHER: So they learn a bit of coding?
SARAH: They do. They pick it up really quickly. We’re there to help if they need it, but they learn from one another too.
FATHER: Right. And do they have competition too?
SARAH: Yes, with the Junior Engineers, it’s to use recycled materials like card and wood to build a bridge (Q5), and the longest one gets a prize.
FATHER: That sounds fun. I wouldn’t mind doing that myself!
SARAH: Then they have something a bit different, which is to think up an idea for a five-minute movie (Q6) and then film it, using special animation software. You’d be amazed what they come up with.
FATHER: And of course, that’s something they can put on their phone and take home to show all their friends.
SARAH: Exactly. And then they also build a robot in the shape of a human, and they decorate (Q7) it and program it so that it can move its arms and legs.
FATHER: Perfect. So, is it the same price as the Tiny Engineers?
SARAH: It’s just a bit more: £50 for the five weeks.
FATHER: And are the classes on a Monday, too?
SARAH: They used to be, but we found it didn’t give our staff enough time to clear up after the first workshop, so we moved them to Wednesdays (Q8). The classes are held in the morning from ten to eleven.
FATHER: OK. That’s better for me actually. And what about the location? Where exactly are the workshops held?
SARAH: They’re in building 10A – there’s a big sign on the door, you can’t miss it, and that’s in Fradstone (Q9) Industrial Estate.
FATHER: Sorry?
SARAH: Fradstone – that’s F-R-A-D-S-T-O-N-E.
FATHER: And that’s in Grasford, isn’t it?
SARAH: Yes, up past the station.
FATHER: And will I have any parking (Q10) problems there?
SARAH: No, there’s always plenty available. So would you like to enrol Lydia and Carly now?
FATHER: OK.
SARAH: So can I have your full name …
PART 2
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Stevenson’s, one of the country’s major manufacturers of metal goods. Thank you for choosing us for your two weeks of work experience. My name is Julia Simmons, and since the beginning of this year I’ve been the managing director.
Stevenson’s is quite an old company. Like me, the founder, Ronald Stevenson, went into the steel industry when he left school – that was in 1923. He set up this company when he finished his apprenticeship, in 1926 (Q11), although he actually started making plans two years earlier, in 1924. He was a very determined young man!
Stevenson’s long-term plan was to manufacture components for the machine tools industry – although in fact that never came about – and for the automotive industry, that is, cars and lorries. However, there was a delay of five years before that happened, because shortly before the company went into production, Stevenson was given the opportunity to make goods for hospitals and other players in the healthcare industry, so that’s what we did for the first five years (Q12).
Over the years, we’ve expanded the premises considerably – we were lucky that the site is big enough, so moving to a new location has never been necessary (Q13). However, the layout is far from ideal for modern machinery and production methods, so we intend to carry out major refurbishment of this site (Q13) over the next five years.
I’d better give you some idea of what you’ll be doing during your two weeks with us, so you know what to expect. Most mornings you’ll have a presentation from one of the managers (Q14), to learn about their department, starting this morning with research and development. And you’ll all spend some time in each department, observing what’s going on and talking to people – as long as you don’t stop them from doing their work altogether! In the past, a teacher from your school has come in at the end of each week to find out how the group were getting on, but your school isn’t able to arrange that this year.
OK, now I’ll briefly help you to orientate yourselves around the site. As you can see, we’re in the reception area, which we try to make attractive and welcoming to visitors. There’s a corridor running left from here, and if you go along that, the door facing you at the end is the entrance to the coffee room. This looks out onto the main road on one side, and some trees on the other (Q15), and that’ll be where you meet each morning.
The factory is the very big room on the far side of the site. Next to it is the warehouse, which can be accessed by lorries going up the road to the turning area at the end. You can get to the warehouse by crossing to the far side of the courtyard, and then the door is on your right (Q16).
Somewhere you’ll be keen to find is the staff canteen. This is right next to reception (Q17). I can confidently say that the food’s very good, but the view isn’t. The windows on one side look onto a corridor and courtyard, which aren’t very attractive at all, and on the other onto the access road, which isn’t much better.
You’ll be using the meeting room quite often, and you’ll find it by walking along the corridor to the left of the courtyard, and continuing along it to the end. The meeting room is the last one on the right (Q18), and I’m afraid there’s no natural daylight in the room.
Then you’ll need to know where some of the offices are. The human resources department is all the front of this building, so you head to the left along the corridor from reception, and it’s the second room you come to. It looks out onto the main road (Q19).
And finally, the boardroom (Q20), where you’ll be meeting sometimes. That has quite a pleasant view, as it looks out on to the trees. Go along the corridor past the courtyard, right to the end. The boardroom is on the left, next to the factory.
OK, now are there any questions before we …
PART 3
JESS: How are you getting on with your art project, Tom?
TOM: OK. Like, they gave us the theme of birds to base our project on, and I’m not really all that interested in wildlife. But I’m starting to get into it. I’ve pretty well finished the introductory stage.
JESS: So have I. When they gave us all those handouts with details of books and websites to look at (Q21/Q22), I was really put off, but the more I read, the more interested I got.
TOM: Me too. I found I could research so many different aspects of birds in art – colour, movement, texture. So I was looking forward to the Bird Park visit.
JESS: What a letdown! It poured with rain and we hardly saw a single bird. Much less use than the trip to the Natural History Museum (Q21/Q22).
TOM: Yeah, I liked all the stuff about evolution there. The workshop sessions with Dr Fletcher were good too, especially the brainstorming sessions.
JESS: I missed those because I was ill. I wish we could’ve seen the projects last year’s students did.
TOM: Mm. I suppose they want us to do our own thing, not copy.
JESS: Have you drafted your proposal yet?
TOM: Yes, but I haven’t handed it in. I need to amend some parts. I’ve realised the notes from my research are almost all just descriptions, I haven’t actually evaluated anything. So I’ll have to fix that (Q23/Q24).
JESS: Oh, I didn’t know we had to do that. I’ll have to look at that too. Did you do a timeline for the project?
TOM: Yes, and a mind map.
JESS: Yeah, so did I. I quite enjoyed that. But it was hard having to explain the basis for my decisions in my action plan.
TOM: What?
JESS: You know, give a rationale.
TOM: I didn’t realise we had to do that. OK, I can add it now. And I’ve done the video diary presentation, and worked out what I want my outcome to be in the project.
JESS: Someone told me it’s best not to be too precise about your actual outcome (Q23/Q24) at this stage, so you have more scope to explore your ideas later on. So I’m going to do back to my proposal to make it a bit more vague.
TOM: Really? OK, I’ll change that too then.
TOM: One part of the project, I’m unsure about is where we choose some paintings of birds and say what they mean to us. Like, I chose a painting of a falcon by Landseer. I like it because the bird’s standing there with his head turned to one side, but he seems to be staring straight at you. But I can’t just say it’s a bit scary, can I?
JESS: You could talk about the possible danger suggested by the bird’s look (Q25).
TOM: Oh, OK.
JESS: There’s a picture of a fish hawk by Audubon I like. It’s swooping over the water with a fish in its talons, and with great black wings which take up most of the picture.
TOM: So you could discuss it in relation to predators and food chains?
JESS: Well actually I think I’ll concentrate on the impression of rapid motion it gives. (Q26)
TOM: Right.
JESS: Do you know that picture of a kingfisher by van Gogh – it’s perching on a reed growing near a stream.
TOM: Yes, it’s got these beautiful blue and red and black shades.
JESS: Mm hm. I’ve actually chosen it because I saw a real kingfisher once when I was litter, I was out walking with my grandfather (Q27), and I’ve never forgotten it.
TOM: So we can use a personal link?
JESS: Sure.
TOM: OK. There’s a portrait called William Wells. I can’t remember the artist but it’s a middle-aged man who’s just shot a bird. And his expression, and the way he’s holding the bird in his hand suggests he’s not sure about what he’s done. To me it’s about how ambiguous people are in the way they exploit the natural world. (Q28)
JESS: Interesting. There’s Gauguin’s picture Vairumati. He did it in Tahiti. It’s a woman with a white bird behind her that is eating a lizard, and what I’m interested in is what idea this bird refers to. Apparently, it’s a reference to the never-ending cycle of existence. (Q29)
TOM: Wow. I chose a portrait of a little boy, Giovanni de Medici. He’s holding a tiny bird in one fist (Q30). I like the way he’s holding it carefully so he doesn’t hurt it.
JESS: Ah right.
PART 4
Ancient philosophy is not just about talking or lecturing, or even reading long, dense books. In fact, it is something people have used throughout history – to solve their problems and to achieve their greatest triumphs.
Specifically, I am referring to Stoicism, which, in my opinion, is the most practical of all philosophies (Q31) and therefore the most appealing. Stoicism was founded in Ancient Greece by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was practised by the likes of Epictetus, Cato.
Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. Amazingly, we still have access to these ideas, despite the fact that the most famous Stoics never wrote anything down for publication (Q32). Cato definitely didn’t. Marcus Aurelius never intended his Meditations to be anything but personal. Seneca’s letters were, well, letters and Epictetus’ thoughts come to us by way of a note-taking student.
Stoic principles were based on the idea that its followers could have an unshakable happiness in this life and the key to achieving this was virtue. The road to virtue, in turn, lay in understanding that destructive emotions, like anger and jealousy, are under our conscious control – they don’t have to control us, because we can learn to control them. In the words of Epictetus: “external events I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them, I do control”. (Q33)
The modern day philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Stoic as someone who has a different perspective on experience which most of us would see as wholly negative (Q34); a Stoic “transforms fear into caution, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation and desire into undertaking”. Using this definition as a model, we can see that throughout the centuries Stoicism has been practised in more recent history by kings, presidents, artists, writers and entrepreneurs.
The founding fathers of the United States were inspired by the philosophy. George Washington was introduced to Stoicism by his neighbours at age seventeen, and later, put on a play based on the life of Cato to inspire his men (Q35). Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of Seneca beside his bed.
Writers and artists have also been inspired by the stoics. Eugène Delacroix, the renowned French Romantic artist (known best for his painting Liberty Leading the People) was an ardent Stoic, referring to it as his “consoling religion”.
The economist Adam Smith’s theories on capitalism were significantly influenced by the Stoicism (Q36) that he studied as a schoolboy, under a teacher who had translated Marcus Aurelius’ works.
Today’s political leaders are no different, with many finding their inspiration from the ancient texts. Former US president Bill Clinton rereads Marcus Aurelius every single year, and many have compared former President Obama’s calm leadership style to that of Cato. Wen Jiabao, the former prime minister of China, claims that Meditations is one of two books he travels with and that he has read it more than one hundred times over the course of his life.
Stoicism had a profound influence on Albert Ellis, who invented Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Q37), which is used to help people manage their problems by changing the way that they think and behave. It’s most commonly used to treat depression. The idea is that we can take control of our lives by challenging the irrational belief that create our faulty thinking, symptoms and behaviours by using logic instead. (Q38)
Stoicism has also become popular in the world of business. Stoic principles can build the resilience and state of mind required to overcome setbacks because Stoics teach turning obstacles into opportunity (Q39). A lesson every business entrepreneur needs to learn.
I would argue that study Stoicism is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago, thanks to its brilliant insights into how to lead a good life (Q40). At the very root of the thinking, there is a very simple way of living – control what you can and accept what you can’t. This is not as easy as it sounds and will require considerable practice – it can take a lifetime to master. The Stoics also believed the most important foundation for a good and happy life is not money, fame, power or pleasure, but having a disciplined and principled character – something which seems to resonate with many people today.
KEY
Part 11 egg
2 tower
3 car
4 animals
5 bridge
6 movie / film
7 decorate
8 Wednesdays
9 Fradstone
10 parking
Part 2
11 C
12 A
13 B
14 C
15 H
16 C
17 G
18 B
19 I
20 A
Part 3
21&22 C, E
23&24 B, E
25 D
26 C
27 A
28 H
29 F
30 G
Part 4
31 practical
32 publication
33 choices
34 negative
35 play
36 capitalism
37 depression
38 logic
39 opportunity
40 practice / practise
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Timur-Gareyev-blindfold-chess-champion-Next-mont.mp3Timur Gareyev – blindfold chess champion
A Next month, a chess player named Timur Gareyev will take on nearly 50 opponents at once. But that is not the hard part. While his challengers will play the games as normal, Gareyev himself will be blindfolded. Even by world record standards, it sets a high bar for human performance. The 28-year-old already stands out in the rarefied world of blindfold chess. He has a fondness for bright clothes and unusual hairstyles, and he gets his kicks from the adventure sport of BASE jumping. He has already proved himself a strong chess player, too. In a 10-hour chess marathon in 2013, Gareyev played 33 games in his head simultaneously. He won 29 and lost none. The skill has become his brand: he calls himself the Blindfold King.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/But-Gareyevs-prowess-has-drawn-interest-from-beyo.mp3B But Gareyev’s prowess has drawn interest from beyond the chess-playing community. In the hope of understanding how he and others like him can perform such mental feats, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) called him in for tests. They now have their first results. ‘The ability to play a game of chess with your eyes closed is not a far reach for most accomplished players,’ said Jesse Rissman, who runs a memory lab at UCLA. ‘But the thing that’s so remarkable about Timur and a few other individuals is the number of games they can keep active at once. To me it is simply astonishing.’
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Gareyev-learned-to-play-chess-in-his-native-Uzbeki.mp3C Gareyev learned to play chess in his native Uzbekistan when he was six years old. Tutored by his grandfather, he entered his first tournament aged eight and soon became obsessed with competitions. At 16, he was crowned Asia’s youngest ever chess grandmaster. He moved to the US soon after, and as a student helped his university win its first national chess championship. In 2013, Gareyev was ranked the third best chess player in the US.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/To-the-uninitiated-blindfold-chess-seems-to-call.mp3D To the uninitiated, blindfold chess seems to call for superhuman skill. But displays of the feat go back centuries. The first recorded game in Europe was played in 13th-century Florence. In 1947, the Argentinian grandmaster Miguel Najdorf played 45 simultaneous games in his mind, winning 39 in the 24-hour session.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Accomplished-players-can-develop-the-skill-of-play.mp3E Accomplished players can develop the skill of playing blind even without realising it. The nature of the game is to run through possible moves in the mind to see how they play out. From this, regular players develop a memory for the patterns the pieces make, the defences and attacks. ‘You recreate it in your mind,’ said Gareyev. ‘A lot of players are capable of doing what I’m doing.’ The real mental challenge comes from playing multiple games at once in the head. Not only must the positions of each piece on every board be memorised, they must be recalled faithfully when needed, updated with each player’s moves, and then reliably stored again, so the brain can move on to the next board. First moves can be tough to remember because they are fairly uninteresting. But the ends of games are taxing too, as exhaustion sets in. When Gareyev is tired, his recall can get patchy. He sometimes makes moves based on only a fragmented memory of the pieces’ positions.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-scientists-first-had-Gareyev-perform-some-stan.mp3F The scientists first had Gareyev perform some standard memory tests. These assessed his ability to hold numbers, pictures and words in mind. One classic test measures how many numbers a person can repeat, both forwards and backwards, soon after hearing them. Most people manage about seven. ‘He was not exceptional on any of these standard tests,’ said Rissman. ‘We didn’t find anything other than playing chess that he seems to be supremely gifted at.’ But next came the brain scans. With Gareyev lying down in the machine, Rissman looked at how well connected the various regions of the chess player’s brain were. Though the results are tentative and as yet unpublished, the scans found much greater than average communication between parts of Gareyev’s brain that make up what is called the frontoparietal control network. Of 63 people scanned alongside the chess player, only one or two scored more highly on the measure. ‘You use this network in
almost any complex task. It helps you to allocate attention, keep rules in mind, and work out whether you should be responding or not,’ said Rissman.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/It-was-not-the-only-hint-of-something-special-in-G.mp3G It was not the only hint of something special in Gareyev’s brain. The scans also suggest that Gareyev’s visual network is more highly connected to other brain parts than usual. Initial results suggest that the areas of his brain that process visual images – such as chess boards – may have stronger links to other brain regions, and so be more powerful than normal. While the analyses are not finalised yet, they may hold the first clues to Gareyev’s extraordinary ability.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/For-the-world-record-attempt-Gareyev-hopes-to-pla.mp3 H For the world record attempt, Gareyev hopes to play 47 blindfold games at once in about 16 hours. He will need to win 80% to claim the title. ‘I don’t worry too much about the winning percentage, that’s never been an issue for me,’ he said. ‘The most important part of blindfold chess for me is that I have found the one thing that I can fully dedicate myself to. I miss having an obsession.’
Questions 27–32
Reading Passage 3 has eight paragraphs, A–H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes 27–32 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
27 a reference to earlier examples of blindfold chess
28 an outline of what blindfold chess involves
29 a claim that Gareyev’s skill is limited to chess
30 why Gareyev’s skill is of interest to scientists
31 an outline of Gareyev’s priorities
32 a reason why the last part of a game may be difficult
Questions 33–36
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 33–36 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this
33 In the forthcoming games, all the participants will be blindfolded.
34 Gareyev has won competitions in BASE jumping.
35 UCLA is the first university to carry out research into blindfold chess players.
36 Good chess players are likely to be able to play blindfold chess.
Questions 37–40
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.
How the research was carried out
The researchers started by testing Gareyev’s 37…………….. ; for example, he was required to recall a string of 38……………………. in order and also in reverse order. Although his performance was normal, scans showed an unusual amount of 39…………………… within the areas of Gareyev’s brain that are concerned with directing attention. In addition, the scans raised the possibility of unusual strength in the parts of his brain that deal with 40 …………………input.
KEY
27 D
28 E
29 F
30 B
31 H
32 E
33 FALSE
34 NOT GIVEN
35 NOT GIVEN
36 TRUE
37 memory
38 numbers
39 communication
40 visual
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Does-education-fuel-economic-growth_-Over-the-last.mp3Does education fuel economic growth?
A Over the last decade, a huge database about the lives of southwest German villagers between 1600 and 1900 has been compiled by a team led by Professor Sheilagh Ogilvie at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Economics. It includes court records, guild ledgers, parish registers, village censuses, tax lists and – the most recent addition – 9,000 handwritten inventories listing over a million personal possessions belonging to ordinary women and men across three centuries. Ogilvie, who discovered the inventories in the archives of two German communities 30 years ago, believes they may hold the answer to a conundrum that has long puzzled economists: the lack of evidence for a causal link between education and a country’s economic growth.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/As-Ogilvie-explains-Education-helps-us-to-work-m.mp3B As Ogilvie explains, ‘Education helps us to work more productively, invent better technology, and earn more … surely it must be critical for economic growth? But, if you look back through history, there’s no evidence that having a high literacy rate made a country industrialise earlier.’ Between 1600 and 1900, England had only mediocre literacy rates by European standards, yet its economy grew fast and it was the first country to industrialise. During this period, Germany and Scandinavia had excellent literacy rates, but their economies grew slowly and they industrialised late. ‘Modern cross-country analyses have also struggled to find evidence that education causes economic growth, even though there is plenty of evidence that growth increases education,’ she adds.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-the-handwritten-inventories-that-Ogilvie-is-ana.mp3C In the handwritten inventories that Ogilvie is analysing are the belongings of women and men at marriage, remarriage and death. From badger skins to Bibles, sewing machines to scarlet bodices – the villagers’ entire worldly goods are included. Inventories of agricultural equipment and craft tools reveal economic activities; ownership of books and educationrelated objects like pens and slates suggests how people learned. In addition, the tax lists included in the database record the value of farms, workshops, assets and debts; signatures and people’s estimates of their age indicate literacy and numeracy levels; and court records reveal obstacles (such as the activities of the guilds*) that stifled industry.
Previous studies usually had just one way of linking education with economic growth – the presence of schools and printing presses, perhaps, or school enrolment, or the ability to sign names. According to Ogilvie, the database provides multiple indicators for the same individuals, making it possible to analyse links between literacy, numeracy, wealth, and industriousness, for individual women and men over the long term.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Ogilvie-and-her-team-have-been-building-the-vast-d.mp3D Ogilvie and her team have been building the vast database of material possessions on top of their full demographic reconstruction of the people who lived in these two German communities. ‘We can follow the same people – and their descendants – across 300 yearsof educational and economic change,’ she says. Individual lives have unfolded before their eyes. Stories like that of the 24-year-olds Ana Regina and Magdalena Riethmüllerin, who were chastised in 1707 for reading books in church instead of listening to the sermon. ‘This tells us they were continuing to develop their reading skills at least a decade after leaving school,’ explains Ogilvie. The database also reveals the case of Juliana Schweickherdt, a 50-year-old spinster living in the small Black Forest community of Wildberg, who was reprimanded in 1752 by the local weavers’ guild for ‘weaving cloth and combing wool, counter to the guild ordinance’. When Juliana continued taking jobs reserved for male guild members, she was summoned before the guild court and told to pay a fine equivalent to one third of a servant’s annual wage. It was a small act of defiance by today’s standards, but it reflects a time when laws in Germany and elsewhere regulated people’s access to labour markets. The dominance of guilds not only prevented people from using their skills, but also held back even the simplest industrial innovation.
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/The-data-gathering-phase-of-the-project-has-been-c.mp3E The data-gathering phase of the project has been completed and now, according to Ogilvie, it is time ‘to ask the big questions’. One way to look at whether education causes economic growth is to ‘hold wealth constant’. This involves following the lives of different people with the same level of wealth over a period of time. If wealth is constant, it is possible to discover whether education was, for example, linked to the cultivation of new crops, or to the adoption of industrial innovations like sewing machines. The team will also ask what aspect of education helped people engage more with productive and innovative activities. Was it, for instance, literacy, numeracy, book ownership, years of schooling? Was there a threshold level – a tipping point – that needed to be reached to affect economic performance?
https://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Ogilvie-hopes-to-start-finding-answers-to-these-qu.mp3F Ogilvie hopes to start finding answers to these questions over the next few years. One thing is already clear, she says: the relationship between education and economic growth is far from straightforward. ‘German-speaking central Europe is an excellent laboratory for testing theories of economic growth,’ she explains. Between 1600 and 1900, literacy rates and book ownership were high and yet the region remained poor. It was also the case that local guilds and merchant associations were extremely powerful and legislated against anything that undermined their monopolies. In villages throughout the region, guilds blocked labour migration and resisted changes that might reduce their influence. ‘Early findings suggest that the potential benefits of education for the economy can be held back by other barriers, and this has implications for today,’ says Ogilvie. ‘Huge amounts are spent improving education in developing countries, but this spending can fail to deliver economic growth if restrictions block people – especially women and the poor – from using their education in economically productive ways. If economic institutions are poorly set up,
for instance, education can’t lead to growth.’
Questions 14–18
Reading Passage 2 has six sections, A–F.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–F, in boxes 14–18 on your answer sheet.
14 an explanation of the need for research to focus on individuals with a fairly
consistent income
15 examples of the sources the database has been compiled from
16 an account of one individual’s refusal to obey an order
17 a reference to a region being particularly suited to research into the link between
education and economic growth
18 examples of the items included in a list of personal possessions
Questions 19–22
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 19–22 on your answer sheet.
Demographic reconstruction of two German communities
The database that Ogilvie and her team has compiled sheds light on the lives of a range of individuals, as well as those of their 19…………… , over a 300-year period. For example, Ana Regina and Magdalena Riethmüllerin were reprimanded for reading while they should have been paying attention to a 20……………………… .
There was also Juliana Schweickherdt, who came to the notice of the weavers’ guild in the year 1752 for breaking guild rules. As a punishment, she was later given a 21………………….. . Cases like this illustrate how the guilds could prevent 22………………………… and stop skilled people from working.
Questions 23 and 24
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 23 and 24 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make about literacy rates in Section B?
A Very little research has been done into the link between high literacy rates and improved earnings.
B Literacy rates in Germany between 1600 and 1900 were very good.
C There is strong evidence that high literacy rates in the modern world result in economic growth.
D England is a good example of how high literacy rates helped a country industrialise.
E Economic growth can help to improve literacy rates.
Questions 25 and 26
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements does the writer make in Section F about guilds in German-speaking Central Europe between 1600 and 1900?
A They helped young people to learn a skill.
B They were opposed to people moving to an area for work.
C They kept better records than guilds in other parts of the world.
D They opposed practices that threatened their control over a trade.
E They predominantly consisted of wealthy merchants.
KEY
14 E
15 A
16 D
17 F
18 C
19 descendants
20 sermon
21 fine
22 innovation
23&24 IN EITHER ORDER
B
E
25&26 IN EITHER ORDER
B
D
ielts #pte #toefl #cae #cpe #itep #audio #listening #ieltsfullpracticeexams ✔INTRODUCTION TO THE IELTS TEST AND A FULL PRACTICE EXAM ✔ABOUT THE IELTS LISTENING TEST AND 4 SAMPLE TESTS ON PART 1 ✔PART 1 WORKBOOKS (ALL INCLUDED 40 QUESTIONS PRACTICE TESTS WITH KEY) WORKBOOK 1: WORKBOOK 2: WORKBOOK 3: WORKBOOK 4: WORKBOOK 5: WORKBOOK 6: WORKBOOK […]
READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. The White Horse of Uffington The cutting of huge figures or ‘geoglyphs’ into the earth of English hillsides has taken place for more than 3,000 years. There are 56 hill figures scattered around England, with […]
READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Why we need to protect polar bears Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, but their disappearance could have far-reaching consequences. They are uniquely adapted to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle, where […]
Take one minute to prepare a talk on the following subject. Take notes if you like and remember to include reasons and examples. You should then speak for between one and two minutes Describe an ambition that you haven't achieved. You should say: what it is why you haven't achieved it what you did and […]
in this video ı recorded my screen while solving an IELTS reading passage. you can listen to the reading passage and questions as well. book16 test 1 reading 1 there are two steps in this video. step 1:READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTIONS – DECIDING KEY WORDS step 2: READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE PARAGRAPHS – DECIDING […]
FIRST BATH 💖 💖How to Give a Pug a Bath Baths are an important part of grooming a Pug. This is your chance to thoroughly clean your puppy or dog to remove body oil, dirt, and debris, slather the entire body with products that will promote healthy skin and fur, and use something to control […]
A1 A2 LISTENING PRACTICE 1 PDF : A2 LISTENING PDF - QUIZLAND A2 LISTENING VIDEO - QUIZLAND
THE NUBIAN GIRAFFE The explanatory and illuminating information on the image Biography JACQUES LAURENT AGASSE (April 24, 1767 – December 27, 1849) was an animal and landscape painter from Switzerland. Born at Geneva, Agasse studied in the public art school of that city. Before he turned twenty he went to Paris to study in veterinary […]
Linking words show the logical relationship between sentences or parts of a sentence. TIME when / whenever / as / while / now (that) / before / until / till / after / since As a freelance writer she can choose to work whenever she wants. PLACE where / whereever She makes friends wherever she […]
THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE: PART 1 : 15 MINI QUIZs with PDFs and YOUTUBE videos (B1 -B2) (YOUTUBE CHANNEL: QUIZLAND please subscribe my channel. Thank you in advance.) PART 2: CLEAR EXPLANATIONS OF THE TOPICS ( the most confused ones) PART 1 B1-B2 INTERMEDIATE - UPPER INTERMEDIATE : TEST 1 […]
THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE: PART 1 : 15 MINI QUIZs with PDFs and YOUTUBE videos (A1 -A2) (YOUTUBE CHANNEL: QUIZLAND please subscribe my channel. Thank you in advance.) PART 2: CLEAR EXPLANATIONS OF THE TOPICS ( the most confused ones) PART 1 : A1-A2 ELEMENTARY : TEST 1 PDF: quizland […]
PDF:
THE BEST IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE FOR SELF STUDY-with key-PDF 1 file(s) 11.20 MB
Download
- Will they … something really tasty? a) cook b) cooking c) cooks 402. Hey, mister! … it take us more time to get to this place? a) Do b) Does c) Will 403. … she offer more money for the job? a) Does b) Will c) Is 404. … your business partners supply all […]
- … this knowledge basic? a) Did b) Was c) Were 352. … his wife pregnant? a) Was b) Were c) Have 353. … these mistakes serious? a) Was b) Did c) Were 354. … this information very important? a) Was b) Were c) Did 355. … our advice helpful? a) Were b) Did c) […]
- It … a really good idea. a) were b) was c) have been 302. They … with us at the pawn shop. a) was b) has been c) were 303. I hate to admit it but you … absolutely right. a) was b) were c) believe 304. Hearing that, he … really surprised. a) […]
- He … a couple of sandwiches. a) eaten b) ate c) eat 252. They … the correct answer. a) chose b) chosen c) choice 253. She … too much. a) eating b) ate c) don’t eat 254. She … very expensive clothes. a) bought b) buy c) buying 255. My business partner … all […]
- She … a successful businesswoman. a) become b) became c) will became 203. He … him 300 dollars yesterday. a) give b) gave c) have given 204. They … fairly famous. a) isn’t b) becomes c) became 205. I … it online while searching for something else. a) find b) found c) have been […]
- Where ... justice in this country? a) are b) have c) is 152. How much ... this pair of blue trousers? a) are b) is c) does 153. What ... easy for them? a) is b) are c) aren’t 154. Why … these offers interesting? a) is b) are c) be 155. Where … […]
- You ... really right. a) isn’t b) aren’t c) haven’t 102. I ... happy. a) am being b) am not c) not am 103. They ... in the office. a) aren’t b) isn’t c) hasn’t 104. We ... together. a) am not b) aren’t c) am 105. She ... at work. a) isn’t b) […]
- … his parents think so?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Are
- … all people like it?
a) Does
b) Have
c) Do
- … your grandfather do business?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Is
- … those projects bring you benefit?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Are
- … your business partner work professionally?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Don’t
- … this thing really matter for you?
a) Don’t
b) Do
c) Does
- … your close friends think the same?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Are
- … these words inspire you?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Doesn’t
- … your teacher give you way too much homework during the week?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Don’t
- Who … you?
a) do help
b) helps
c) aid
- Who … you know?
a) does
b) do
c) have
- What … so interesting in your opinion?
a) do seem
b) seems
c) seeming
- What TV channels … you watch?
a) do
b) does
c) is
- Where … they live?
a) do
b) does
c) doesn’t
- When … it begin?
a) do
b) is
c) does
- How often … he go to the gym?
a) does
b) do
c) is
- How much … it cost?
a) do
b) does
c) has
- How many times a month … they go swimming?
a) do
b) does
c) are
- How … you find this idea?
a) does
b) do
c) have
- How far … his parents live?
a) does
b) are
c) do
- Could you tell me how often … this thing happen?
a) does
b) do
c) is
- Where … your cousin work?
a) does
b) do
c) are
- What … so strange?
a) do look
b) looks
c) are looking
- What time … the lesson finish?
a) does
b) do
c) is
- Who … it?
a) recommends
b) do recommend
c) does recommend
- Where … your boyfriend come from?
a) does
b) do
c) is
- What kind of advice … her work colleagues need?
a) does
b) are
c) do
- How … your teacher explain it to you?
a) does
b) do
c) don’t
- Why … their result seem so bad?
a) do
b) does
c) are
- I … so happy with you.
a) are
b) am
c) will
- This knowledge … enough.
a) is
b) are
c) aren’t
- We … at their home.
a) am
b) are
c) be
- It … fairly interesting.
a) are
b) is
c) has
- She … a student.
a) aren’t being
b) are
c) is
- You … so talented in my opinion.
a) are
b) have
c) has
- She … very beautiful tonight.
a) were
b) is
c) are
- They forever say information … power.
a) have
b) is
c) mean
- The morning news … surprising.
a) is
b) are
c) be
- He … our partner.
a) were
b) have
c) is
62.a 63.c 64.b 65.a 66.b 67.c 68.b 69.a 70.b
71.b 72.b 73.b 74.a 75.a 76.c 77.a 78.b 79.a 80.b
81.c 82.a 83.a 84.b 85.a 86.a 87.a 88.c 89.a 90.b
91.b 92.a 93.b 94.b 95.c 96.a 97.b 98.b 99.a 100.c
- This thing … interest me.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) aren’t
- Our teacher … know what to do.
a) don’t
b) not
c) doesn’t
- This situation … seem quite strange.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) not
- Most students … learn French effectively.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) haven’t
- This news … seem unusual.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) aren’t
- Their lessons … start on time.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) hadn’t
- These things … seem important.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) have
- My results … look very good.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) aren’t looking
- Her husband … spend much money.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) isn’t
- My boyfriend … remember it.
a) has
b) don’t
c) doesn’t
- … he speak English?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Has
- … you live there?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Are
- … you agree with us?
a) Is
b) Does
c) Do
- … you understand me?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Are
- … we learn Russian effectively?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Have
- … I show better results?
a) Doe
b) Have
c) Do
- … it really work?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Is
- … she support you?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Is
- … he usually buy cheap or expensive things?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Has
- … it at times happen?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Is
- … your grandparents also think so?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Are
- … his friends think the same?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Have
- … that thing matter?
a) Is
b) Do
c) Does
- … her success motivate you?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Isn’t
- … all people like this fruit?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Are
- … your mother do business?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Has
- … these words inspire you?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Are
- … your business partner work professionally?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Is
- … your teacher give you way too much homework?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Don’t
- … these projects bring you benefits?
a) Do
b) Does
c) Doesn’t
- … their success motivate you?
a) Does
b) Do
c) Isn’t
31.a 32.c 33.a 34.b 35.a 36.b 37.b 38.a 39.a 40.c
41.b 42.b 43.c 44.b 45.a 46.c 47.a 48.b 49.a 50.a
51.b 52.b 53.c 54.b 55.a 56.b 57.b 58.b 59.a 60.a
61.a
1.It really … you.
a) help
b) helps
c) do help
2.They … it very well.
a) know
b) knows
c) can knows
- I see they … this city.
a) like
b) likes
c) liking
- Unfortunately, it sometimes … .
a) happens
b) happen
c) hapens
- She … there.
a) live
b) lifes
c) lives
- We … very hard.
a) work
b) works
c) is working
- She … English fluently.
a) speaks
b) speak
c) spokes
- They … business.
a) does
b) do
c) doing
- She … English at kindergarten.
a) study
b) studys
c) studies
- I … so, too.
a) think
b) thinks
c) are thinking
- The news … quite interesting.
a) seems
b) seem
c) are
- My friend … a fairly good computer.
a) has
b) have
c) haves
- The ticket … 75 pence.
a) cost
b) costs
c) is costing
- These flats … 400,000 dollars.
a) cost
b) cost
c) costed
- Our new teacher … a lot.
a) know
b) is knowning
c) knows
- This lesson … interesting.
a) looks
b) look
c) seem
- My closest friends … this movie.
a) likes
b) like
c) enjoys
- Your girlfriend always … interesting things.
a) says
b) say
c) think
- This software … very well.
a) work
b) works
c) working
- My sister … to university.
a) goes
b) go
c) gone
- It … interest her.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) wasn’t
- She … want to do it again.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) isn’t
- I … believe her.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) am not
- We … know what to say.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) not
- She … tell them all the truth.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) aren’t
- I … know all the information.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) not
- He … have any brothers or sisters.
a) don’t
b) isn’t
c) doesn’t
- She … earn this sum of money.
a) doesn’t
b) don’t
c) haven’t
- It … help me.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) isn’t
- They … believe you.
a) don’t
b) doesn’t
c) not
1.b 2.a 3.a 4.a 5.c 6.a 7.a 8.b 9.c 10.a
11.a 12.a 13.b 14.b 15.c 16.a 17.b 18.a 19.b 20.a
21.a 22.b 23.b 24.a 25.a 26.a 27.c 28.a 29.b 30.a
You can also check
💖TOEFL – reading-listening-writing
💖TOEFL SPEAKING PRACTICE 1
💖TOEFL SPEAKING PRACTICE -2
💖TOEFL SPEAKING PRACTICE 3
💖TOEFL IBT -READING-FACT QUESTIONS -WITH SOUND
💖TOEFL IBT -READING- NEGATIVE FACT QUESTIONS -WITH SOUND
💖TOEFL IBT -READING-INFERENCE QUESTIOND (WITH SOUND & KEY)
💖beowulf-TOEFL IBT READING – KEY-VOCAB.
💖https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ducUQGXR5hE
💖IELTS TOEFL CAMPUS VOCABULARY
💖PTE FULL PRACTICE EXAM – WITH KEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNbLCDeUHbU&t=4s
💖CAE FULL PRACTICE EXAM- WITH KEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvi1xAum7nA&t=3109s
💖CPE FULL PRACTICE EXAM – WITH KEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcUwTNRgMAQ
🟢http://www.ielts-toefl-yds.com/
🟢https://www.facebook.com/ieltsvetoefl/
🟢A1-B2 level vocabulary/grammar/audio books(level 1-2-3) listening (level :pre ielts) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChL6xapFFl7yB_HPTIJvmXQ
🟢 THE GALLERY (ART) b2+ reading and listening..great artists / great pieces of art… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmokpSQeJZuCb4LMHm0VYA