Collins | English for Exams READING FOR IELTS Els Van Geyte & Rhona Snelling G@ POWERED BY COBUILDContents Unit title Introduction u 10 " 12 Family matters Health care Getting an education Water Non-verbal clues Scientists at work The job market Life's journey Community spirit On the move Culture Practice exam ‘Answer key Sample answer sheet Text credits Topic Family and relationships Health and fitness Education Nature and the environment Language and communication Science and technology Employment and finances Youth and life stages People and places Holidays and travel Culture and modern society Page 16 24 34 42 50 60 68 73 86 94 102 112 143, 144Introduction Who is this book for? Reacing for IELTS will prepare you for the IELTS Reading test whether you are taking the test for the first time, or recsitting the test. It has been written for learners with band score 5-5.5 who are trying to achieve band score 6. or higher. ‘The structured approach and comprehensive answer key have been designed so that you can use the materials to study on your own, However, the book can also be used as a supplementary reading skills course for IELTS preparation classes. The book provides enough material for approximately 50 hours of classroom time, Content Reading for IELTS is divided into 12 units. Each unit focuses on a topic area that you are likely to encounter in the IELTS Reading test. This helps you to build up a bank of vocabulary and ideas related to a variety of the topics. As in the IELTS test, the texts are taken from authentic sources. These may contain narratives, logical arguments, descriptions or discussions. Some of the texts contain visual. Units 1-11 cover the task types that you will $e in the IELTS Reading test. Every exercise i relevant to the exam. The aims listed at the start of each unit specify the key skils, techniques and language covered in the unit. You work towards Unit 12, which provides a final practice IELTS Reading test ‘Additionally, the book provides examination strategies telling you what to expect and how best to succeed in the test. Exam information is presented in clear, easy-to-read boxes. Exam tips in each unit highlight essential exam techniques and can be rapidly reviewed at a glance. There are also Watch Out! boxes that will help you avoid common errors made in the exam. Finally, the Exam tutor at the end of each unit gives you the opportunity to revise and consolidate the exam skils you have studied. Unit structure Each of the first 11 units is divided into three parts Part 1 Language development introduces vocabulary related to the topic, often in the context of short reading texts, A range of exercises gives you the opportunity to learn and use the vocabulary in a variety ot contexts. The focus is on strategies and activities that will help improve your reading skills, for example, working out the meaning of ‘unknown words through word components, or by examining word forms. The vocabulary is presented using Collins CCOBLILD dictionary definitions. Part 2 Exam skills provides step-by-step exercises and guidance on specific task types that appear in the exam. Each unit covers typical text types found in the the exam and focuses on different task types and skills. Exam information {and Exam tips show you how to approach each task type and will help you develop successful test-taking strategies. Part 3 Exam practice provides exam practice for the same tasks that you did in Part 2, using the same question and text types. The format follows the actual exam. Each unit also includes an Exam tutor checklist after the exam practice that will help you assess your readiness for the actual exam.Answer key ‘A comprehensive answer key is provided for all sections of the book, induding notes on why certain answers are correct or incorrect, Using the book for self-study If you are new to IELTS, we recommend that you work systematically through the 12 units in order to benefit from its progressive structure. if you are a more experienced learner, you can use the aims listed at the start of each unit to select the most useful exercises. Each unit contains between three to four hours of self-study material. Having access to someone wiho can provide intormed feedback on the reading practice exercises 1s an advantage. However, you can stil learn a lot working alone or with a study partner wiling to give and receive peer feedback Part 1: Language development Ideally, you should begin each unit by working through the Part 7: Language development exercises. Try to answer the questions withaut looking at a dictionary in order to develop the cll of inferring the meaning af untareiliar words from context. This i important because dictionaries cannot be used in the actual exam. Part 2: Exam skills Work through the Part 2: Exam skills from beginning to end. itis important to study the Exam information and Exam tips about each of the Reading task types, so that you become familiar with how to approach the different tasks in the test. Doing this will also helo you develop more general skill for reading The strategies covered should be thoroughly mastered so that during the actual exam you are fully prepared for each section and can focus on reading and answering the questions. In the IELTS test itself, there is a time limit and you usually have to work fast, but while studying Part 2 of each unit in this book, take your time and learn as much as you can about the different task types. Part 3: Exam practice This section contains Exam practice questions and the Exam tutor. After you have done the practice questions, it is a {00d idea to spend some time reviewing why certain answers are the correct ones and then work through the Exam tutor. For this reason, we suggest you approach this part in the following way: First do the exam. Here, you should focus on answering the questions correctly. You should try and complete the Exam practice questions within the time limit set, as this gives you the opportunity to practise under exam conditions. After you have finished the Exem practice questions, make sure the format and spelling of your answers ate correct. Then, check your answers using the Answer key at the back of the book. Unit 12 Practice exam This is a complete Reading practice test. This unit should be done under exam conditions. Remember that the total allocated time is 60 minutes; there is no extra time to transfer answers. Please keep this in mind when doing Unit 12. Using the book in the classroom If you ate a teacher, you can use Reading for IELTS either as your main IELTS coursebook or as a supplementary course. Detailed teacher's notes for each unit are available at: www collinselt.com/ieachieltsThe International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education, Australia. There are ‘two versions of the tes: © Academic * General Training ‘Academic s for students wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels in an English-medium environment. General Training is for people who wish to migrate to an English-speaking country. This book is primarily for students taking the Academic version. The test There are four modules: Listening 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes for transferring answers to the answer sheet. ‘NB: the audio is heard oniy once. ‘Approx. 10 questions per section Section 1: two speakers discuss a social situation Section 2: one speaker talks about a non-academic topic Section 3: up to four speakers discuss an educational project Section 4: one speaker gives a talk of general academic interest Reading 60 minutes 3 texts, taken from authentic sources, on general, academic topics. They may contain diagrams, charts, ete 0 questions: may incluce multiple choice, sentence completion, completing a diagram, graph or chart, choosing headings, yesino, true/false questions, classification and matching exercises. Writing Task 1: 20 minutes: description of a table, chart, graph or diagram (150 words minimum) Task 2: 40 minutes: an essay in response to an argument or problem (250 words minimum) Speaking 11-14 minutes A three-part face-to-face oral interview with an examiner. The interview is recorded. Part 1: introductions and general questions (4-5 mins) Part 2: individual long turn (3-4 mins) ~ the candidate is given a task, has one minute to prepare, ‘then talks for 1-2 minutes, with some questions from the examiner. Part 3: two-way discussion (4-5 mins): the examiner asks further questions on the topic from Part 2, and aives the candidate the opportunity to discuss more abstract issues or ideas. Timetabling Listening, Reading and Writing must be taken on the same day, and in the order listed above. ‘Speaking can be taken up to 7 days before or after the other modules. Scoring Each section is given a band score. The average of the four scores produces the Overall Band Score. You do not pass or fail IELTS; you receive a score. IELTS and the Common European Framework of Reference ‘The CEFR shows the level of the learner and is used for many English as a Foreign Language examinations. The table below shows the approximate CEFR level and the equivalent IELTS Overall Band Score: Proficient user a 8 (Advanced) a 78 Independent user 82 565 (intermediate ~ Upper intermediate) BI asThis table contains the general descrintors fr the hand scares 1-9: \etTS Band ‘Scores 9 Expert user Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with ‘complete understanding, 8 Very good user Has full operational command of tte language, wit only occasional unsysteriaic inaccuracies and inappropiacies. Msunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar stators. Handles complex detailed argumentation wel, 7 Good user Has operational commend ofthe anquace, though vith occasional inaccuracies, inappropriaces and misunderstandings in some situations, General hancles complex language wel ancl understands detailed reasoning. 6 Competent user Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuraces, ineppropriacies and misundetstandings, Cen use and understand feily complex language, particulary in familar situations. 5 Modest user Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meening in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own fel. 4 umited user asic competence i limited to familar situations. Has trequent problems in understanding and expression. ls not able to use complex language. 3 Extremely imited_Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familar situations, Frequent user breakdowns in communication occur 2 Intermittent user No reel communication is possible except forthe most basic information using isolated words cf short formulae in Farrar tuations and to meat immediate needs Has great dficulty understanding spoken and written Enalish. 1 Non user Essentially hes no abilty to use the language beyond possibly a few solated words. © —_Didnat attempt No assessable information provided the test Marking The Listening and Reading papers have 40 items, each worth one mark if correctly answered. Here are some examples cof how marks are translated into band scores: Listening: 16 out of 40 correct answers: band score 5 23 out of 40 correct answers: band score 30 out of 40 correct answers: band score 7 Reading: 15 out of 40 correct answers: band score 5 23 out of 40 correct answers: band score 6 +30 out of 40 correct answers: band score 7 Writing and Speaking are marked according to performance descriptors. Writing: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting: ‘+ Task achievement (Task 1) Task response (Task 2) ‘+ Coherence and cohesion ‘+ Lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy Speaking: examiners award a band score for each of four areas with equal weighting: * Fluency and coherence © Lexical resource © Grammatical range * Accuracy and pronunciation For full details of how the examination is scored and marked, go to: wrvwielts ora1 Family matters Part 1: Language development Nouns for people 1 Look at the words in the box. Which words can you use to describe the relationships of the people in the photos? acquaintance boss business partner _colleague flatmate friend great-unde half-brother. mate ‘Ws ae cha In aang relative sisterin-law —step-sister_—_ stranger I carbs coreg andl s iaperand 2 Which words in Exercise 1 refer to people .. Bi Kear the lees meshing 1 in your family? 2 you work with? 3 you know well? 4 you do not know well? 3. Read statements 1-5 and write T (True) or F (False). Then correct the false statements. Use a dictionary to help you. Guys and mates are words that are used to describe both men and women in informal language, —__ Your great-uncle 1s the father of your uncle. Triplets are three chidren born at the same time. ‘The words half-brother and step-brother describe the same farrily relationship, —__ Your sisterin-lavr can be your husband's sister or your brother's wife. ween Reading for IELTSUseful collocations oO Exam tip Developing your knowledge of collocations will help you to understand the ‘content of texts and increase your reading speed in the exam. 4 Complete sentences 1-4 with the words in the box. Note how they collocate with the words in italics. troubled extended non-identical adoptive close-knit close 1 Did you know Lizzie has a ‘twin? They don’t look like each other at all! However, they do have a very bond. 2. Many people see their family regularly, but others only meet up at family events, such as, weddings. 3. I consider myself fortunate to have such a family - we're in contact all the time and get on really well 4 Itwas sad to learn about his upbringing. It sounds like it was a childhood. Though things improved dramatically when his parents gave him a home. 5 Read the passage. What is the best title for the passage? 1. The modern family unit is very confusing. 2 Itis important for people to make a will. 3. Families undergo many distressing changes. ‘The modern family unit is becoming ever more complicated, especially when the family is often ‘made up of children from second marriages. A wills the only way to ensure that those you love or are obliged to care for are adequately provided for. After the spouse has received his or her legal share, the rest of the estate is shared by children or grandchildren, If there are none, surviving parents will get a share. If there are none of these, any brothers and sisters who shared the same two parents as the deceased will receive a share. Ifyour family circumstances have changed, it is important that you make or update a will to censure that your money and possessions are distributed according to your wishes. For example, if you are married or enter into a registered civil partnership, this will invalidate any previous vill you have made. 6 Read the passage in Exercise 5 again. Match the words 1-6 with the meanings a-f 1. will (noun) husband or wife, considered in relation to their partner (formal) 2 spouse (noun) b a person who has recently died 3. estate (noun) a legal document in which a person includes instructions about what should be done with their money and property after they die 4 inheritance (noun) d_tomake somethina no longer acceptable legally 5 deceased (noun) e all the money and property owned by somebody when they die 6 invalidate (verb) money and possessions that are received from somebody who has died Family matters 9Part 2: Exam skills © Exam information: Matching headings This tas tests your ability to recognise the main idea or theme of a specific paragraph within a passage, and to dlistinguish the main idea from the other supporting ideas ‘You will be given a numbered list of headings and a passage. You will have to locate the relevant information in the passage and match it withthe corect heading, Identifying the main idea 1 Quickly read the text below. What is the main idea? Choose the best description. The text is about 1. how young children cope with problems in the farrily and the effect 3° Exam tip it has on their grown-up lives end relationships Skim reading a paszage ie a 2. family celebrations and gives advice about how parents and their good way to save time in the grown-up children should behave when they are together. exam. Skim-read the passage to 3. some of the difficulties that arise when the extended family take identify the topic sentence and part in celebrations during a visit to a family’s home. the writer's main idea. If you're in your thirties or forties and still going back to the family home for every big family celebration, any problems that have developed with your parents over the years are likely to be mentioned. You can easily end up remembering childhood problems and start behaving like an angry child, hut you should try to resist this. Meanwhile, parents should remember that they are 1no longer in charge of their children’ lives. Parents need to enjoy their children for who they are now, as adults, rather than behaving like they did when they had more control over them. Identifying paragraph structure 2. The content of a paragraph is linked to its structure. Answer questions 1-9 to help you understand the content and structure of paragraphs A-C. Paragraph A Almost half of all grandparents lose all contact with their grandchildren after a mar according to a new report. It found that 42 percent never see their grandchildren again after the break-up. Even more - 67 percent ~ are prevented from providing any sort of childcare or taking their grandchildren on outings, even when they had done so regularly in the past. 1 The ‘topic’ sentence is the sentence that summarises the main idea\s) in a paragraph. Which sentence in Paragraph A is the topic sentence? 2. Does Paragraph A become more specific (e.9. giving more detailed information) or more general? 3. The second sentence mentions the break-up. What does this refer to, and why is the used, and not a? 10 Reading for IELTSParagraph B The value of grandparents to children should not be underestimated. The report shows the need for the government to address the importance of grandparents in future policy and legislation, Italso demonstrates the need to amend the Children Act 1989 to remove the obstacle that requites the biological family to ask permission prior to making an application to the court for contact. Especially when a family is going through difficulties, itis important that the children ‘can tur to someone who is not directly involved and is calm and relaxed, and that person is. offen a grandparent. FS Which sentence is the topic sentence? Which sentence expresses a similar idea to the first sentence, but with more detail? The paragraph says The value of grandparents to children should not be underestimated. is this the same 25 saying that the value of grandparents to children is very important? Paragraph C au To have a society that s family-friendly, anti-discrimination laws will need to be introduced. Parenting would become a school subject, staircases would be rebuilt so that buggies and prams could access any building and advertising for sweets and non-educational toys would be forbidden. Companies would be forced to only employ people who can travel to work in less than 40 minutes and there would also be a 35-hour working week and more holidays. In a world like this, there would be less divorce and crime, but we would be earning and producing less. {identify the introduction, the main part and the conclusion of this paragraph. Which of the three parts expresses the writer's main point of view? 9 The first sentence mentions a family-friendly society. You may know words like environmentally-friendly, child-friendly and eco-friendly. What does friendly mean In this context? ° Exam tip Identifying the structure of a paragraph will not only help you to understand the text, but will also help you to locate information, ow 3 Which paragraph A-C in Exercise 2... 1 states cause and effect? 2. develops an argument? 3. gives information /a description? Family matters 11Expressing the main idea 4 Read passages 1 and 2. Write one sentence to express the main idea of each passage. 1 Nicholson defines the traditional family as ‘the unit of parents with children who live together’, The bond between husband and wife is seen as particularly important, and the family fees itself to be separate from other kin. This family group is often referred to as the nuclear family. Traditional families also have disadvantages: Because both partners now tend to work, they have tremendous time pressures, making it difficult to carry out satisfactory and rewarding childcare. Traditional families place a heaw burden of expectation on the partners, and, with work and childcare commitments, it may be difficult for them to spend time together. However, traditional families do have some advantages Their small size tends to encourage intimacy between family members, and, when the Ielativilips wutk, they cali be rewarding and long-lasting. Traditional families can be economically successful because they are not usually expected to share their resources with others. Understanding matching headings tasks 5 12 Look at the exam task below and the reading passage on page 13. Then answer questions 1-3, 3° Exam tip Each correct heading will 1 How many paragraphs are in the passage? Gian WORN ee 2. How many headings are in the list? Seas 3 How many headings will not be matched to a paragraph? Now do the exam task. The reading passage is on page 13. Choose the correct heading for sections A-E from the list of numbered headings i-ix below. Write the correct number in boxes A-E. List of headings i New families: beneficial or harmful? The government reaction The typical western family Political families, v_ The disappearance of the traditional model Families: then and now The first criticisms of ‘family’ The ‘happy tamily’ model The function of families Reading for IELTSSection A The family has often been regarded as the ccomerstone of society, In premodern and modern societies alike, it has been seen as the most basic unit of social vi yanisation and one whitt caries out vital tasks, such as socializing children. Section B Until the 1960s few sociologists questioned the importance ar the henefits af family life. Mast sociologists assumed that family life was evolving as modernity progressed, and that the changes involved made the family better suited to meeting the needs of society and of family members. A particular type of family, the nuclear family (based around a two-generation household of parents and their children), was seen as well adapted to the demands of modern societies. Section ¢ From the 1960s, an increasing number of critical thinkers began to question the assumption that the family was necessarily a beneficial institution. Feminists, Marxists and critical psychologists began to highlight what they saw as came of the negative effects and the ‘dark side’ of family life. In the following decades the family was not just under attack from academic writers, Social changes. ako seemed to be undermining traditional families, ‘85 more marriages were ending and mary people were choosing not to marry. Other trends all Section A oO SectionB [] sectionc 1] suggested that individuels were basing their lives less ‘nd less around conventionel families Section D Same have seen these changes as a symptom of greater individualism within modern societies. ‘They have welcomed what appears to be an increasing range of choice for individuals. People rio longer have to base their lives around what may be outmoded and, for many, unsuitable conventional family structures. Others, however, have complained about the changes and worried about their effect on society. Such changes are seen as both a symptom and a cause of instability and Insecurity In people’ tives and In society as a Whole. This view has been held by traditionalists who want a return to the ideal of the nuclear family. For them, many of society's problems are a result of increased family instability. Section E Alongside these developments in society and sociology, femily life has become a topic Of political debate. Politicians have become somewhat more willing to comment on families ‘Sometimes they have devised polices to try to deal with perceived problems surrounding the family In short, the family has come to be seen as mote problematic than it was in the past. The controversies that have come to surrourid farniilies and households are the subject of this chapter. SectionD [] sectione 1] Family matters 13Part : Exam practice Matching headings © Exam information There are three sections in the Academic Reading exam, with a variety of questions using different task types. Each part has a long reading passage and a set of questions. There ae a total of 40 questions and you will have 60 minutes to complete the exam, including transfering your answers to an answer sheet, READING PASSAGE This reading passage has 5 sections, A-E. Choose the correct heading for sections A-E from the list of numbered headings below. Write the correct number i-vii next to Sections A-E. | @ Exam tip Uist of headings || Underine key words inthe i The science of marriage heads “Then you can scan , the paceage forthe corect The importance of honest communication cee The power of thought iv The likelihood of marrying again ¥ Technological advances The benefits of avoiding arguments a) Exam tip - ‘Check your answers. Check vii The real predictor for a lasting marriage that the extra headings do not vili_ The consequences of early dissatisfaction, match any information in the paragraphs, Section A | Section B Section ¢ | Section D. | Section E Section A Marriage is a much-researched topic, and the way married couples communicate in particular has been the subject of many studies. These days, research into matriage often involves hours of recordings, followed by a thorough analysis of data with the help of madern software applications. 14 Reading for IELTSSection B One such study analysed five years’ worth of data, obtained from 750 participating couples. At the start of the study, participants who felt they were in a harmonious relationship reported having happy marriages. In ather words, Inw levels af canflict entraspanded tn a perceived higher degrae cf happiness. At the end of the five year period, however, many of these couples were no longer happy. The outcome of this study suggests that keeping the peace rather than talking about problems and working through them can have harmful effects on a relationship. Section C In amore recent, larger scale study, people were observed over a 15-year period. The researchers recorded the timings of marriages and remarriages, and discovered patterns that helped them. estimate how likely the end of a marriage was. If participants admitted the possibility of their marriage ending to themselves during the first year of the study, the probability of it actually happening was ten times greater than for those couples who had not thought about it at all. Clearly, once the idea of a marriage ending is in somebody's mind, they are more likely to act on it. Section D Yet another piece of research confirms that the way men and women feel at the beginning of their marriage makes a difference to its eventual outcome. Those who feel disappointed, perhaps because marriage itself is different from their expectations, or because their lifestyle is not what they had envisaged, are more likely to feel disappointed. Section £ Having said that, relationships are complex and their development isthe result of many different influences. The success or otherwise of a marriage is unlikely to be brought about by one particular factor, and is more probably the result of a combination of small incidents that add up over time. tis also worth bearing in mind that in most countries itis the minority of marriages that fail. No one can truthfully claim that their marriage is happy or perfect all the time, but the fact remains that most married people stay together for lfe. The secret of a happy marriage, it seers, lies where most people have always thought it does: in the effort made on a daily basis by both partners to treat each other with consideration and courtesy, and to cheerfully accent each others faults as well as their good qualities. oye Family matters 15Part 1: Language development Words related to health care 16 Match the words a- to the photos 1-6. a bandage ib first aid kit prescription i surgery @ thermometer f vitamins 2 Complete sentences 1-6 with the correct word from Exercise 1. The answers are singular or plural forms. 1 Many people take supplements or _____ in order to maintain good physical health 2. Every home or workplace should have a______ located in an accessible place and stocked with basic equipment. 3. Digital ___ should be placed in the person's mouth or to read their temperature 4 Doctors write ______ for their patients which details the amount of medicine to be taken. 5. Many patients experience anxiety before having if tis a major operation 6 4_____ should be apolied to a wound or to support an injury to 2 muscle Reading for IELTS3° Read the text about accidents. Then match verbs 1-3 in the text with definitions a-f in the box. Many parents would not know what to do if their child fell and banged their head or (1) scalded themselves on a hot iron, research shows. The British Red Cross organisation, which (2) commissioned the survey, is so alarmed by the findings Uiat it has Created a cheap and easy computer-based training programme for parents called ‘learn first ai fast’. The charity's first aid specialist said that learning basic rescue and recovery techniques could be the most important thing any parent did. About one million children under fifteen are (3) admitted to accident and ‘emergency departments every year after accidents in the home. 4 Read the text about accidental injuries. For each of the words or phrases in italics 1-3, find a synonym or antonym in the same sentence. falls are the most common accident in children aged more than twelve months, accounting for forty-three per cent of accidental injuries. Burns are common, too, with ten children under five getting burnt or (1) scalded every day. “Some people like the reassurance of owning a first-aid (2) kit, but if they are going to help someone then they must have first aid knowledge and skills as well as equipment,” a first aid specialist said. The results of a Red Cross survey revealed alarming levels of (3) ignorance, with many parents relying more on stories than on knowledge or common sense when faced with an emergency. Useful verbs and nouns 5 Complete the table with the correct form of the words from Exercises 3 and 4, Use a dictionary tohelp you. hE BEES A acommisson Improv your vocabulary by aring [SiS 2 th fent asa new ward ES Ge asl sissy ors at ‘mean the same) and antonyms Caen ae Free let dein S__rensaronce one GE 7 enone Healthcare 17,Part 2: Exam skills 0 Exam information: Table completion and Diagram completion ‘These tasks test your ability to find and understand specific information in the passage, and relate it to information presented in a different format (i.e. as 4 Uiayyamn or table). You will be given a diagram or table with missing information, as well as a reading passage. You will have to read the passage and use the information to complete the table or diagram. Scanning for specific information QB exam tip 41 Scan the passage below to find specific information about the Scanning a passage helps you find 18 topics 1-7 in the table. There are clues to help you find the specific information and the correct information. The first one has been done for you. answer. Move your finger quickly eo down the fines and anly look fr the specific information you need. What is another name for Look for capital letters — firnd the words 1 Report on Social the Beveridge Report? Beveridge Report and scan the sentences Insurance around Beveridge Report. ‘What was the date of the Scan the passage for a year— look for 2 report? a four-digit number. ‘What was the subject of Look at the name of the report and proposal. i the report? How many obstacles to ‘Scan the passage for a numiber expressedin progress did the report. numbers or in words. mention? ‘What were the obstacles Look for a bulleted list. 5 to progress? What is squalor? Scan the passage for squalor and read the 6 ‘words in brackets (they expiain the meaning). Why was the report Scan the passace for forms of the words 7 commissioned? ‘commission, or for relevant words such as reason of why. ‘The 1940s saw the development of legislation in the UK that reflected an agreement across the main political parties that the state should take an increased responsibility for the funding and provision of welfare services. The specific measures taken were based on the proposals of Sir William Beveridge (1879-1963) and published in his Report on Social Insurance (1942), more commonly known as the Beveridge Report. Beveridge baced hie recommendations on his concern to defeat five ‘giant evils’ that, despite earlier measures, were still hindering social and economic progress in Britain, Reading for IELTSUnit 2 ‘These were: + Want (poverty) ‘+ Squalor (poor housing and homelessness) + Disease (ill health and high mortality rates) + Idleness (unemployment) ‘+ Ignorance (inadequate education) ‘The existence of poverty in Britain was the underlying reason for commissioning the report, but legislation was passed and services introduced that addressed each of the ‘five giants. 2 Quickly read the passage below. Does the text move from general information to specific or from specific information to general? 1 Inall societies there are groups of people who are potentially vulnerable. These include children, older people, people with disabilities, and the poor, for example. Whether they are supported and how they are supported, however, varies from society to society and at different times in history. 2 In some societies, the care of the vulnerable is seen as the responsibilty ofthe family. For example, the care of children is seen as the prime responsibility ofthe parents or, in some cases, the responsibilty of the extended family. In other societies, itis principally the responsibility of the state to care for children through some form of community provision, rather than the concern ofthe birth parents alone, 3 Attitudes to the vuluerable vay wildly, especially wo the poor. Those on benefits may be seen as ‘lazy; or their situation may be seen as the result of inadequate parenting or the inevitable consequence of economic changes. The response to their need will vary according to the dominant attitudes in the society, the views and priorities of government, the wealth of the nation, and how that ‘wealth is distributed and managed. 4 In England, the state has had some involvement in providing for the poor since Elizabethan times. The 1601 Poor Law allowed officials to collect money from each houschold in the parish and to distribute itto the needy. However, it ws thought that the poor only had themselves to blame for their difficulties. In fact, the political approach at the time was informed by a view that the government should not interfere in the workings of the economy or in the provision of welfare services. The states approach was to ‘leave well alone’ and so it was voluntary groups that provided charitable support to the needy. Not until the opening yeas of the twentieth century did the state begin to take a proactive role in the care and welfare of its citizens. Summarising paragraphs 3. Read the passage from Exercise 2 again. Write a sentence summarising the function of the four paragraphs. The first one has been done for you. Paragraph 1: This introduces the topic of vulnerable people (and the support they receive) by giving @ definition. Paragraph 2: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 4: 4 Scan the passage in Exercise 2 again and find which paragraph has the information below. Underline the relevant parts of the passage. 1. ways the youngest generation are cared for: Paragraph 2 when the state in one country began to provide care: Paragraph 3. the groups of people who are vulnerable: Paragraph 4 anegative attitude to the poor: Paragraph Healthcare 19Completing diagrams 5 scan the passage below and complete the diagram with the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS in each box. So far in this chapter, we have questioned commonly held ideas held about sickness and health, and have raised some challenging questions about these ideas. However, we can go further and {question a closely-related concept upon which notions of illness are ultimately based: the concept of ‘the body’ ‘All of us exist in ‘bodies’ that are objectively different sliapes, heights, colours and physical abilities; they are also subjectively valued as attractive or ugly, young or old, short or tall, weak. or strong. Let us look first at the objective differences. The two most common explanations for objective differences between bodies are, first, that people’ bodies vary according to genetic differences (height, weight, etc.) and, second, that bodies change as people age. However, sociologists point ‘out that the shapes of people's bodies are often actually linked to diets, type of employment and general quality of life. A huge range of research indicates that poorer people are more likely to: + eat ‘unhealthy’ foods «be employed in repetitive, physically demanding work or the other extreme of boring, sedentary employment «have worse housing conditions «+ live in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods All of these factors impact up: jon of a personis body and health. We can sce then that the physical shapes of bodies are strongly influenced by social factors, @ Exam tip The diagram may not include all the information in the passage. the cor Influences on objective characteristics of bodies social factors 20 Reading for IELTSUnit 2 Completing tables am tip 6 Scan the passage below and complete the table with the missing Scan the passage to match the information 1-8. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each —_aragrephs/ points to the relevant answer. The first one has been done for you. parts ofthe completion task. Then. read the relevant paragraph again to find the missing information. Legislation (laws) Type of payment For whom? 1 Family Allowances financial payment Children under but not Act 1945 2 The National Insurance ‘unemployment benefit All workers who pay weekly Act 1946 23 4 into a national * retirement pension insurance scheme maternity benefit * widows pension 5 The National 6 people who did not pay into the national insurance scheme and did not receive those benefits Zz tree health services at the point 8 of delivery, based on need In the UK, the Family Allowances Act 1945 introduced a financial payment for children under 15. “This did not apply for the first child but applied for all subsequent children. ‘The National Insurance Act 1946 allowed for the payment of unemployment benefit, sickness benefit and retirement pension, maternity benefit and widow's pension for all who, when in work, paid weekly from their wages into the national insurance scheme. ‘The National Assistance Act 1948 provided a ‘safety net’ ~ a minimum income for people who did not pay into the national insurance scheme and were, therefore, not eligible for those benefits. “The National Health Service Act 1946: before the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS), if people needed to see a doctor or have hospital treatment they normally had to pay. A national service was central to the post-war welfare reforms and was based on three principles: 1 That health services should be free to all at the point of delivery (when they are actually used). 2 That the service would be truly national, covering the whole population in all parts of the country. 3 That access to services would be based on clinical need (not on the ability to pay), Health care 21Part 3: Exam practice Table completion Complete the tables on the next page. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. The rising problem of obesity has helped to make diabetes treatments the biggest drug bill in primary care, with almost £600 million of medicines prescribed by doctors last year, according to the NHS Information Centre in the UK. ‘Analysts said that young people contracting the condition, which is often associated with obesity, were helping to push up costs as doctors tried to improve their long-term contral of the cisease and prevent, complications. A total of 32.9 milion diabetes drugs, costing £599.3 million, were prescribed in the past financial year. In 2014-15 there were 24.8 million, costing £458 million. More than 90 percent of the 2.4 million diabetics in England have type 2 diabetes, with the remainder suffering from type 1, the insulin-dependent form of the disease. There are thought to be 500,000 undiagnosed casas of diabetes. While rates of type 1 heve shown slight increases in recent yeats, ype 2 hes vse (at ure tepily — 2 trend linked to the increasing number of people who are overweight or obese. Almost one in four adults in England is obese, with predictions that nine in ten will be overweight or obese by 2050. Obesity costs the NHS £4.2 billion annually. This year the Government started a £375 milion campaign aimed at preventing people from becoming overweight by encouraging them to eat better and exercise more. ‘An NHS Information Centre spokeswoman who worked on the report, which was published yesterday, said that diabetes was dominating the primary care drug bill as better monitoring identified more sufferers and widely used medications for other conditions such as statins became cheaper. She said that the data suggested a growing use of injectable insulin in type 2 diabetes care, which was helping to push up costs, Doctors agreed that more expensive long-acting insulin, which can cost about £30 per item, was being used more often, as well as more exoensive pills and other agents. The report, an update of the Centre's June publication Prescribing for Diabetes in England, shows that the number of insulin items prescribed last year rose by 300,000 to 5.5 million, at a total cost of £288.3 milion. It marked an & percent rise on the £267 million spent in the previous year. However, while the number of anti-diabetic drugs, which are mostly in tablet form, also rose, the cost dropped slightly to £168.1 million. "Type 2 is increasing. We are seeing it in younger people, and because it is a progressive disease, people are needing an increasing number of interventions as time goes by,” the spokeswoman said, adding that long-acting insulins such 2s glargine were now common. “For people who are struggling to control their type 2 diabetes it makes sense, but itis quite a big clinical change from five or ten years ago.” Other anti-diabetic items, such as use of the subcutaneous injection exenatide, have also increased and Ost £14.3 milion, Laurence Buckinan, chitin of the British Medical Assuciation’s yereral practive committee, said that he had observed a trend with drugs such as exenatide, which costs £80 per item. 22 Reading for IELTSHe said that younger patients could start on cheaper tablets such as metformin, which costs £3.70 per box, but were needing increasingly sophisticated treatments to keep their condition in check. “You are talking about an ever larger number of people getting a large range of drugs to reduce long ‘term complications, Type 2 is a common chronic liness that is getting commoner. Its in everyone's interest to treat people early and with the most effective drugs, and these are the more expensive tablets and long-acting insulins,” he said. tossay Primary care: heath care proved in the community, when people o Fs take ist epooiiment with 2 doctor Exam tip ie Some passages have a glossary insulin: a hormene paced nthe pancreas (an gan inthe bo wich : f 7 words that IELTS cancldates are not regulates the amount of glucose (a type of sugar in the blood, Lack of insulin ‘causes a form of diabetes. expected to know. ‘obese: very overweight ‘subcutaneous: applied under the skin insulin 1 exenatide 2 metformin 3 arc lR Cs diabetes last year diabetes 2014-15 458° insulin last year 5 insulin two years ago__[6 Healthcare 238 Getting an education Language development | Words related to studying; Words related to education; Useful verbs, Nouns and adjectives Exam skills | Matching summaries; Analysing strategies; Identifying key words in questions; finding specific information; Writing short answers Exam practice | Short-answer questions Part 1: Language development Words related to studying 24 Complete sentences 1-6 with the correct words from the box. Change the form, if necessary. Then answer the questions. cram expel graduate = qualify reception suspend truant 1 Ifyou for an examination, you learn as much as possible in a very short time and Just before you take the examination. How do you normally prepare for an exarn? 2 When you _ from university, you have successfully completed a degree course. Do you know anyone who has recently graduated? 3 When people asa doctor, they have passed the necessary examinations to work in that profession. Lo you know anyone who has recently qualified as a doctor, lawyer or similar profession? 4 ifapupilis from school, they have to leave the school permanently because they have behaved badly. Ifa pupil is they are asked to leave for a period of time because they have behaved badly, but they can return. Can you give examples of bad behaviour that would lead to this? 5 Inthe UK, a class is a class that children go into when they first start school at the age of tour or tive. How old are children when they start school in your country? 6 A pupil who plays is a pupil who stays away from school without permission. How were these pupils punished at your school? Reading for IELTSUnit 3 Words related to education 2 Read the text and find the correct term in italics for the definitions 1-5. IF you send your child to a boarding schoo! you might be paying fees of almost £8,000 per term, Eton will charge £7,896 a term from September, a rise of 5.8% on last year’s tees. Winchester’s fees have gone up 5% from £7,457 to £7,833 a term. Day schools are cheaper, but even these are charging an average of £2,796 a term, or £8,388 a year. Ifyou plan to send your child to a private schoo! for secondary education, it will cost you about £150,000, according to an independent adviser. Of course, there is no need to pay for your child's education, as a state schoo! will cost you nothing, Plus, the school will probably be closer to where you live. 1. A school where the students go home every evening and do not lve at the school. 2 Asschoul which is not funded by the government, and which parents have to pay for therr children to go to, 3. Aschool which some or all of the pupils live in during the school term. 4 A school that is funded and controlled by the government, and which parents do not pay for. 5. Any type of school for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18, ° Exam tip 3 Read the text below and work out the meaning of the words 41-6 by using the context. The options are on page 26. Use the words and sentences surrounding a new word to help ‘you work out the meaning. ‘A grandmother has set up her own school for her autistic grandson. Joshua, seven, was unable to cope at the local school and his parents were struggling to have his needs met. “used to take Joshua to his mainstream school,” says his mother. “He would (1) how! all the way there in the car. He clearly didn’t want to go. I used to feel like a monster.” She took joshua out of the school on the advice of his teachers, but (2) hit a brick wall with the local education authority. They wanted to place him in a school for 90 children with a huge range of learning difficulties. This is contrary to the opinion of experts (3) autism, which recommends specialist care in small units, Now, Joshua is (4) flourishing in a small school for autistic youngsters. “It is costing us £15,000 a year but its worth it to see Joshua making progress. He is a different child.” The special needs school recently passed is first inspection from the Office for Standards in Education with a (5) glowing report. Despite this, the education authority has refused to pay for Joshua’s cducation there. Receiving a diagnosis of a learning disability can be a blow to families, and the realisation that you face years of fighting to obtain the education that will help your child is (6) devastating, Many parents cannot face the struggle and many children are denied the chance to improve their quality of life, Getting an education 25.1 how! a cry loudly to express pain or unhappiness a. flowering b sing loudly b- developing rapidly and successfully © run quickly «studying 2. hita brick wall 5 glowing a have an accident a satisfactory b agree about most things b expressing approval ¢ be unable to make progress with an intense colour and shine 3. autism 6 devastating a a type of mental condition, present from a. difficult in the beginning early childhood b not pleasant b a type of cold or flu © causing shock or distress ¢ a mental iliness characterised by a refusal to eat Useful verbs, nouns and adjectives 4 Complete the table with nouns from the texts in Exercises 2 and 3. QOwatnout Verb Noun Adjective _ - When you find a new word, tonse 1 si remember that you may know = 2 oan another form of the word. For = ‘example, progressive: progress 3 young means “to move forward or do to progress 4 progressive _ etter”, so maybe progressive to inspect > es _ describes something that is to diagnose 6 diagnostic ‘nesw oradvanced torealise 7 26 Reading for IELTSPart 2: Exam skills 0 Exam information: Short-answer questions This task tests our ability to find and understand specific information in a passage that contains a lot of factual information and detail, You will be given a passage and a set of questions. You will have to read the passage and use the detailed information {0 answer each question with a short answer (not a sentence). Matching summaries 11 Skim-read the passage and match the summaries to the paragraphs. There are two extra summaries you do not need. 1 Plans \v allow universities in the UK to charge unlimited tuition fees were today greeted with dismay from students and lecturers but welcomed by vice-chancellors at top-flight institutions, Fees of up to £6,000 a year would go directly to universities, but above that figure they would pay a levy that would increase for each additional £1,000, restricting the extra income, under proposals set out by a review ofhigher education funding. Graduates would also repay their loans later and over a longer period. 2, Lord Browne of Madingley proposed a new system under which one graduate in five in lower- paid jobs would repay less than today but higher-earning graduates would pay more. His proposals, following a review of higher education finance lasting almost a year, will form the basis of a new system for funding universities in the future. “Under these plans nniversities can start to vary what they charge’ he said, ‘but it will be up to students whether they choose the university. The money will follow the student, who will follow the quality. The student is no longer taken for granted, the student is in charge” 3 Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students said: “Ifadopted, Lord Browne’ review would hand universities a blank cheque and force the next generation to pick up the tab for devastating cuts to higher education. The only thing students and their families would stand to gain from higher fees would be higher debts. A market in course prices between universities would increasingly put pressure on students to make decisions based on cost rather than academic ability or ambition?” 4 The review recommends: + Graduates would not start to repay student loans until they earn £21,000 a year. This threshold would rise in line with earnings to protect graduates with lower incomes. The current threshold is £15,000. + Repayments would stay at 9 percent of income bul yeadustes wil: higher earnings would pay a higher interest rate of 2.2 percent above inflation, equal to the Government's cost of borrowing. Lower-paid graduates would continue to pay no real interest rate on loans + Student loans would be paid over a maximum of 30 years, after which they would be written off. The current maximum is 25 years, + Student support should be simplified, with a flat living loan of £3,750 for all undergraduates and maintenance grants of up to £3,250. Full grants would go to students whose family income ‘was £25,000 or less and partial grants to those with household income up to £60,000. Getting an education 2728 5 Professor Steve Smith, president of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said: “We are extremely pleased that Lord Browne’ proposals build on the fair and progressive clements of the current system. No parent or student would have to pay tuition fees upfront, ‘only a graduate would pay when they are earning £21,000 per year. This will be crucial in “supporting thoce from disadvantaged backgrounds through university” 6 But union leaders and representatives of newer universities warned of the ‘devastating’ impact on families if the recommendations are implemented. Professor Les Ebdon, chair of million+, ‘which represents new universities, said: “There is areal risk that some students who would have gone to university will decide not to go and that opportunity and social mobility will be fatally undermined” 7 Lord Browne, the former group chief executive of BP, said that despite higher fees, the number of people going to university should expand. His plans allow for a 10 percent increase in the number of student places over the next four years. Part-time students would also have access to student loans to cover the cost of their tuition fees, giving more people a second chance to study for a degree later in lif, he said. His plans would create a market in higher education, with ‘many research universities likely to charge £6,000 or £7,000 a year, a handful of top universities charging higher fees, but many newer universities that focus on teaching charging less. Paragraph ___: Advice for graduates seeking employment Paragraph ___: Defence of the plans Paragraph __ : Detailed information about the review recommendations Paragraph: Introduction of the plans Paragraph More background and some details Paragraph: The reaction of students Paragraph ____: The reaction of the NUS Paragraph The reaction of unions and newer universities Paragraph ___: The reaction of universities Reading for IELTSAnalysing strategies 2 Look at the exam question in the box about the passage in Exercise 1 on pages 27-28. Which of the strategies 1~4 do you think would be useful to find the answer? In what order would you do the useful strategies? 1. underlining the words you know in the text 2 underlining the key words in the questions 3. skim-teading the text to get a general understanding 4 scanning the text to find the relevant information From the point of view of students, what would be the negative consequences of higher tuition fees? Identifying key words in questions 3 Underline the key words or phrases in questions 1-10. oo Exam tip 1. Who is against the proposed changes to student tuition fees? Opener vene ean 2 How could a future loan repayment schedule be described in ‘nouns and question words) in ‘comparison to today's? the questions to help you find 3. According to the official statement from the National Union of answers Foe example: What is Students, who will suffer financially? ‘your favourite memory of your 4 From the point of view of students, what would be the negative time in school? consequences of higher tuition fees? In the future, what may become the deciding factor for students choosing a university? ‘What will happen to the maximum period of repayment? ‘What will students whose parents earn a total of £55,000 receive? ‘According to Universities UK, who would especially benefit from the new system? According to newer universities, what might happen to the number of people who are able to move up in society? 10 Who may ask for fees of over £7,000? warvau Finding specific information 4 Scan the passage in Exercise 1 on pages 27-28 and answer questions 1-10 in Exercise 3. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in your answers. 1 students and lecturers 6 ? 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 Getting an education 29Writing short answers 5 Read questions 1-10 and the student's answers in the table. Then rewrite the answers using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. e Exam tip To reduce the number of words in your answer, change the Questions 1 How much do they need to pay? 2. How will students finance their education? 3 How did the university react to the news? 4 What are the disadvantages of cramming? 5 Give one reason why students inight went to choose ‘accommodation on campus? 6 What do students need to do before they can qualify as a lawyer? 7 What do parents consider whon they choose a school? 8 What are the advantages of home schooling? 9 Why sit a good ides to send children to nursery school? 10 Give a reason why some students have been punished. form of the words (e.g. a trip for two days = a two day trip) or use commas in alist (e.g, bus, bike, car. Student's answers Short answers They need to pay £6,000 per year. £6,000 per year With a combination of loans and salaries from part-time jobs. They immediately released a statement to the press. “There is a possibility that students will become too tired, It is closer to their place of study. They need to complete a course that lasts for four years. They lool at a number of different factors: location, cost and school results The lessons are planned with individual students in mind and the teachers know the students very well. The children develop their ability to be social. They had a mobile phone on them. 30 Reading for IELTSG Rewrite answers 1-6 In NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. Do not use any verbs in your answers. Question: What sort of technical difficulties has the school been having? Answer: There have been problems with the systems that we used for the computers. computer system problems 1 Q: What action do they need to take tirst? ‘A: They need to correct the information in the timetables. 2 Q: What idea has the Head Teacher come up with? ‘A: Her idea is to change the way the college communicates, 3. Q: Name one of the aims that are mentioned on the final list. ‘A: The school library wants to increase the number of books it lends out. 4 Q Whatis the main priority in terms of afterschool activities? A: They would like to put on plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, during term time only. 5 Q Whatelse would they like to increase? A They also aim to do mare sports activities after school 6 Q: What aspect of the schools performance still needs to be determined? A: They need to assess how satisfied the students are. 7 Answer questions 1-6. Try to use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in your answers. How did you use to travel to school? by bus @ Exam tip The instructions will say how many words to use in your answers (eg. use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS), Do you remember the name of your first school teacher? What were your three favourite subjects in secondary school? ‘What is your favourite memory of your time at school? ‘What did you usually eat at school? ‘What would you like to study at college or university? aunwns Getting an education 31Part 3: Exam practice @ exam tip The: a tions are in the same Short-answer questions order as the information in the Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, answer the following questions. P***8" 1. Why do private providers feel they need to pay as much as children’s centres? 2 What is the most a senior nursery worker could earn? 3 Out of all children, hows many take up places in private nurseries? 4 What types of nurseries do fathers and mothers prefer? Parents in the UK will soon face a sharp increase in nursery fees when the new government- subsidised children’s centres drive up staff costs for private daycare. Children’s centres are offering up to £7,000 a year more for managers and nursery nurses to staff their premises, forcing private providers to match the pay offer or risk losing their best employees. Fees are private nurseries’ only source of income so they have no option but to pass on the 12-15 per cent salary Increases to parents. Salarles account for 20 percent of running costs and fees are an average of £140 a week. The annual pay survey for Nursery World magazine found that the salary of a nursery manager in the private sector had risen by an average of 12.3 percent this year, to £21,547, as owners attempted to hang on to their staff. Despite the increase, children’s centres are offering about £27,000 for a manager. Senior nursery nurses have had an average 17 percent increase this year, with salaries of ‘about £14,000, but could still earn up to £17,000 If they switched to a children’s centre. “Children’s centres are heavily subsidised and are offering much bigger salaries than anywhere else in the sector,” said Claire Schofield, head of membership at the National Day Nurseries Association. “Shouldn't the subsidy be available across the board?” Private providers currently account for 78 percent of all nursery places. The Government plans to open 3,500 children's centres by 2010 — five in each parliamentary constituency. Each centre will offer daycare and other services for children and parents. The Department for Education arid Skill estinates Wiel the Cust of eaul place will be about £250 a week, well above private sector fees. But a generous subsidy administered by local authorities brings the fees down to about £137 a week. Liz Koberts, editor of Nursery World, predicted that many nurseries would face financial citticulties as a result. “Nurseries will put up their fees a bit, but there is a limit to what parents can afford ‘0 it is becoming terribly difficult. Some nursery owners barely pay themselves as it is, so may just. decide to close,” she said. 32 Reading for ICLTS‘A Department for Education and Skill study found that only 25 percent of private nurseries made a profit, with 31 percent breaking even. While children’s centres will offer parents value for money at first, there is no guarantee that the Government will continue to pay the subsidy. if the funding is reduced, parents will have no choice but to pay more for their nursery places, especially if local private nurseries have been driven out of business. Parents have also made clear during public consultations that they like private and voluntary sector nurseries, which are often smaller and more intimate than local authority providers, and the Government has said that itis committed to diversity of supply Getting an education 334 Water Language development | Movernents of water, Formal and informal words related to water Exam skills | Predicting grammatical patterns; Identifying type of words; Identifying keywords; Understanding paraphrases; Matching ideas Exam practice | Matching sentence endings Part 1: Language development Movements of water 1 Underline the correct word in sentences 1-6. 1 The river meanders / pours in great loops across the plain. 2 Unfortunately, the water seeped / gushed out of the burst pipe. 3. | poured / flowed two fresh smoothies into glasses for us. 4 Iwas a very hol day and sweat wes seeping / Uickiing slowly down my face. 5 They noticed the coffee had started to seep / pour slowly out of the paper cup. 6 The Colorado River flows / leaks through the Grand Canyon, 2. Match sentences 1-6 in Exercise 1 with the photos a-f. 34 Reading for IELTS 8 Watch out Use a dictionary to check the precise meanings of similar words. The more accurately you understand words, the easier itis to understand detailed information in passages.Formal and informal words related to water 3 Match the words 1-10 with the definitions a-j. 1 dam a _anarea of calm sea water that is separated from the ocean by 2 line of rock or sand 2 drought b_ allake that is used for storing water before itis supplied to people's homes 3 flood € a long line of rocks or sand, the top of which is just below the surface of the sea 4 lagoon d_ the ground under the sea 5 liquid a bank of sand below the surface of the sea or a river 6 reef f a substance which is not solid, but which flows and can be poured, for example water 7 reservoir 9 fine sand, soil, or mud which is carried along by a river 8 sandbank ha wall that is built across a river in order to stop the water flowing and to make a lake 9 seabed ia large amount of water that covers an area which is usually dry anid is not usually Covered in water 10 sit ja long period of time during which no rain falls 4 Look at the words in Exercise 3 again and answer questions 1-4. 1. Which word is a general term for all water, cil, juice, etc? 2. Which two words are man-made structures? 3. Which two words describe a condition caused by the weather? 4 Which five words describe natural features? 5 Match the nouns 1-6 to the nouns a-f with a similar meaning. Which set (1-6 or a-f) is used in more formal contexts? ‘Think about when and how a word 1 sweat vapour : . se i: cena is used ~ not just the meaning of a Set ‘st ‘word. The formality of a word varies om 6 § coin according tothe situation and the intr iaaten eed en) 5. cleaning e. beverage peopl 6 drink f precipitation Water = 35,Part 2: Exam skills 0 Exam information: Matching sentence endings This ask tests your to.understand the main ideas of specific sentences in a passage. You will be given 2 et of sentence beginning: a set of sentence endings and a passage. The sentence beginnings based on information in the passage. You will have to read the passage and use the information to match the sentence beginnings to the most suitable sentence endings. Predicting grammatical patterns 1 Look at the sentence beginnings 1-5. Choose the type of word in the box that would grammatically follow the bold words. There is one extra type of word you do not need. 4 2 3 4 5 linking word / phrase © noun phrase preposition noun (or pronoun) @ exam tip ‘When matching sentences, use the final words in the sentence beginnings to predict the next grammatical word, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for Between 70 and 75 percent of SMEs are unaware of Unfortunately a lot of small compsnies don’t think about the environment In 1994 just 20 percent of businesses in the UK accepted the link itis estimated that UK businesses could save a further £3 billion 2 Match the sentence beginnings 1-7 below with the endings a-h. Use the words in bold to help you. 1 ‘Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for Between 70 and 75 percent of SMEs are unaware of Unfortunately, a fot of small companies don't think about the environment In 1994 just 20 percent of businesses. in the UK accepted the link Itis estimated that UK businesses could save a further £3 billion Small enterprises often complain that they Many SMEs also believe that environmental compliance would be too costly I only businesses realised how much energy could be saved by doing something simple Identifying type of words 3 Look at the sentences you matched in Exercise 2. What kind of words are the bold words in a-h? 36 Reading for IELTS a and the benetits limited. until something goes wrong and they are in breach of legislation. their obligations to the environment. up to 80 percent of environmental crimes between environmental performance and profitability. have neither the time nor the personnel to ‘menage their environmental responsibilities. such as switching off machines that are rot in use. through improved environmental performance.4. Underline the key words in the sentence beginnings 1 and 2. Then scan the texts to find the relevant information and choose the correct sentence ending a-d. 1 Looking for items under the sea requires Exam tip 2 hard work on some occasions. Identifying keywords F Identify keywords (eg. nouns, b_analien environment. verbs) to help you find similar ideas a great deal of groundwork. in the sentence endings, but don't d_ good diving skills. Just match ideas. Searching for artefacts under the sea is some of the most difficult work that archaeologists encounter. The sea, like space, is an alien environment to the human frame. Complex survival equipment must often be donned before archaeologists can make even the first scrape in the seabed. The alternative to diving suits and air tanks is the submersible, but their use is expensive. Bob Ballard used one to tind the Jitanic in 1985, although he admitted last month that the expedition was 2 cover story for a mission to find and inspect two sunken nuclear submarines. (One of the most important things that an archaeologist will need in searching the seabed is solid research. Academics and treasure hunters can spend years studying old documents for clues of where hest tn hegin. 2. The process of finding artefacts a has been made easier with new sonar technology. b_ was very successful in the sixties, ¢_ Is notas difficult as keeping them in a good conuition. d_ was one of William Kidd's activities. Once the most likely locations have been identified, the business of peering beneath the waves can start. Sonar is a trled-and-tested technology and among its biggest successes was the discovery of the wreck of the Mary Rose in the late sixties. The ship was part of Henry Vill’ fleet and sank in the Solent during an engagement with the French in 1545. Archaeologists devoted years to inspecting the wreck, raising a host of artefacts and eventually lifting part of the timber hull to the surface. Even more problematic than recovering artefacts is preserving them, and archaeologists often need to keep their finds in eantrolled candltinns ta prevent disintegration. In clearer waters divers can search for wrecks just by scouring the seabed. Among such discoveries ‘was that of the Quedagh Merchant, Captain William Kidd's ship, in waters only 10 ft (3 m) deep off Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic. Water 37Understanding paraphrases 5 Read the two sentences below and answer questions 1 1. Does sentence 2 have the same meaning as sentence 1? 2. Do the sentences use exactly the same words? ‘As cruising becomes ever more international, and as the cultures and holiday traditions of Brits are increasingly confronted with those of Australians, Japanese and Americans, the issue of tipping has, become an increasingly controversial mincficld Different cultures tip in their own ways, so it is difficult to agree on what to do when people from different nationalities meet on cruise ships. Read sentences 1-2 and choose the best paraphrase (a or b). 1 A recent newspaper story reported that Britain's cruise ship travellers are becoming increasingly hostile to the practice of tipping. 4 According to a report in the paper, tipping is getting less popular with cruise passengers. b The newspapers have suggested that a large number of passengers hate tipping The rise of more dining venues and styles has represented a major change in the cruise tradition of tipping. a The practice of tipping on cruises is changing becouse of the larger variety of eating arrangements. b The increase of larger dining venues and methods has meant a big adaptation of cruise tipping traditions. Matching ideas 7 Look at the sentence beginnings a-d. Scan the passage on page 39 and find which paragraphs include this information. a Rising sea levels Paragraphs: __ b Tsunamis Paragraphs: © Giant waves .. Paragrap! Water sports Paragraphs: 38 Reading for IELTSGiant waves: exhilaration and devastation 1 Laird Hamilton, Brett Lickle and a small group oftheir surfer friends are among the first people ever to ride waves higher than 40 feet. They created the sport of tow surfing — dragging people onto big waves with jet skis or even helicopters — in the early 1990s. “No one had ridden waves this size,” Hai says. “It was the unknown, like outer space. We didn’t know it we were going to come back.” 2. Of the two men, the better known is Hamilton, 46, who has worked as a model, actor, stunt double in films and television presenter. Hamilton and his friends have inspired many. Some of the younger surfers know what they'te doing; others — perhaps tempted by a $500,000 prize for anybody wha rides a 100-foot wave — are not ready. The fact that ocean waves are getting bigger must be exhilarating for all of them. 3 For the rest of us, however, big waves are very bad news indeed. History is full of examples of devastation being wreaked by waves like these. The biggest wave ever recorded was the one that hit Alaska in 1958, after a huge landslide created a tsunami that peaked at 500 metres above sea level. Sclentists know how high it was because the towering wave scraped trees and soil off nearby mountains up to that height. 4 The Alaskan wave is believed to have been a tsunami, caused by a landslide. italy has been hit by as ‘many as 67 tsunamis in the past 2,000 years, though none with the devastating force of that which Killed 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004. 5 It’s useful to distinguish between tsunamis, which are caused by geological events (cuch as landslides ‘or earthquakes), and giant waves generated by weather, such as those Hamilton and Lickle ride, or the water deposited on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. But itis anticipated that both types will become a lot more common as a result of worldwide global warming. According to the inerguvernmental Patel ui Cliniate Ch per cent of the heat added to the climate system. As the waters heat up, wind velocity increases, storm tracks become more volatile, polar ice and glaciers melt, and sea levels rise. 7 Everything in the oceans seems to be rising: wave heights, sea levels, surface temperatures, wind speeds, storm intensities, coastal surges, tsunami risks. “Now is the time to prepare for great floods,” a July 2009 editorial in New Scientist advised. “The future of the UK's coastal cities is in jeopardy due to rising sea levels,” reported Lloyd's. Similarly, nine out of the world’s ten largest cities are located on low-lying coastal land. 8 But this is not new. For centuries, sallors told of the existence of monstrous waves up to 100 feet high that could appear without warning in mid-ocean, againet the prevailing current and wave direction, and often in perfectly clear and calm weather. Such waves were said to consist of an almost vertical wall of water preceded by a trough so deep that it was referred to as a ‘hole in the sea’. Scientists were sceptical, until the existence of freak waves was confirmed in 1995 in Norway, where an 84-foot wave occurred amid seas where the average of the tallest 33 percent of waves was 39 feet. ger ne ULeatts How absorb more than 60 Match the sentence beginnings a-d in Exercise 7 with the sentence endings 1-8. Find evidence in the passage for your answer. There is one extra sentence ending that you do not need. 1... threaten many cities. _ 2... can involve helicopters. _ 3... have occurred in Norway. —_ 4... can be caused by earthquakes. _ .. are popular with TV presenters.__ ‘are caused by increasing temperatures. __ .. are both dangerous and fun. _ can be caused by landslides. —_ Water 39Part : Exam practice Matching sentence endings 40 Complete each sentence with the correct endings A-F from the box below: Note that there may be ‘more than one correct ending for each beginning, but that you cannot use all of the endings. 1 Geothermal Engineering 2. The geothermal industry . A is focussing on Cornwall because of its tin and copper resources. B builds power stations underground. ° r C plans to drill a number of well. Exam tip D. can rely on previous reseaid Romomber you can only match one E has aways been a global business sentence ending to one sentence F has not proven what it can do yet. beginning. There are more sentence endings than you need. In the coming months, a 170-foot-high drilling rig will transform waste ground near Redruth into anew landmark. The drill belongs to a group that is planning to develop Britain’ first commercial- scale geothermal plant on the site. Geothermal Engineering has chosen this part of Cornwall ‘once renowned for its tin and copper ~ because of its geology. It sits on a bed of granite whose temperature can reach 200° C. Water will be pumped deep underground and will return to the surface as steam, which will power turbines to generate electricity. “Cornwallis a real hotspot. It is like someone hes put a power station below ground and you are simply tapping into it,” said Ryan Law, founder and managing director of Geothermal Engineering. Law, 2 former consultant to the geothermal industry, plans to have three wells at the plant, which together he estimates will produce 10 M W of electricity, enough to power 20,000 homes, and 55 MW of thermal energy, capable of heating ten hospitals 24 hours a day. The challenge is that the rock 15 4.5 kilometres below the Earth’s surface, meaning that months of precise drilling will be required before any energy is produced. The company has a head start. In 1976, the government- funded Hot Dry Rock Research Project began deep drilling to study the area's geology. Law plans to use the detailed maps the team produced over fifteen years to direct his efforts. Geothermal energy is not new. The worlds first conventional geothermal power station, in southern Tuscany, has been producing electricity for almost 100 years. In Iceland, a quarter of the countrys electricity comes from geothermal power. Investment in geothermal projects in Australia is expected to reach $2 billion (£1.3 billion) by 2014. The industry is also well established in America and Germany. In Britain, schemes are under way in Southampton and Newcastle Reading for IELTSConventional geothermal power relies on naturally occurring steam pockets near the Earth's surface so it tends to be confined to volcanically active regions or areas close to fault lines. Law dlaims the process his company uses removes this limitation, making the industry viable almost anywhere in the world. However, despite billions of pounds in public and private investment and a raft of big projects, the industry has So far failed to demonstrate it can fulfil its promise. Critics argue it is costly, reliant ‘on high-risk, time-consuming drilling and struggles to produce large amounts of energy capable of making a real contribution to the world’s needs. Law refuses to let such doubts dampen his ambitions. “What other renewable energy gives you 24-hour supply? The potential is enormous and we are planning another 25 plants." Glossary: ‘geothermal relating tothe internal heat of the earth Water 415 Non-verbal clues Part 1: Language development Body language 1 Match the words a-g in the box with the photos 1-6. There is one extra word. a clap b frown ¢ point d shrug e smile f wave g wink 2 Complete sentences 1-10 with the correct form of the verbs in Exercise 1, or the verbs nod, shake, and wave. | could tell she was feeling happy, because she was He his head again and explained that there were no more tickets. There were some people in the distance. One of them was shouting and atus. My little sister always me with her elbow when she has something funny to say. liked the proposal and was his head throughout the meeting. The audience were __very loudly when the musicians came on stage. Tom didn't know the answer to the question, so he just his shoulders. | knew he was joking and the story wasn’t true, because he at me first. Don't at people with your finger ~ itis very impolite and aggressive. | knew I wasn’t going to get a good mark. My teacher was, she was reading my essay. Soavanawns 42 Reading for !ELTSPrefixes 3 Put the verbs from Exercises 1 and 2 into the correct category. Leaming prefixes is a useful ‘nay to work out the meaning of specific details. Think about the meaning ofthe base word and then apply the meaning ofthe prefix: ilegal entry = an entry that s the opposite of legal, so the entry is not legal. 4 Read the passage and iook at the words in bold. IMatch the prefix of the word with their meanings. 1 not: 3 not or the opposite: 2 leave or remove: 4 not correct: —_ ‘Hospitals are obliged to include a written infection history when discharging ‘patients, But the survey revealed 17 percent of care homes said they did not receive information from hospitals, while another 28 percent complained of incomplete and illegible data, Miscommunication was relatively common therefore, “Ambulance crews were also often left uninformed. Where there was communication about patients, it was verbal and not written down. A spokesperson said: “If we are going to tackle infections, we need to check that all providers oF care are communicating effectively” Collocations with sign Exam ip Learning word patterns, like which prepositions follow a verb, Is another simple way to Increase your lexical Knowledge. it will help you understand the meaning of sentences and details in the exam. 5 Match the sentence beginnings 1-5 with the sentence endings a-e. In which sentence is sign a noun? In agreeing to the contract, they signed I have to stay at home because I need to sign Regrettably, there is no sign | really need faster internet, so I'm going to sign All delegates must sign Cf progress with Uie repait work in before they can enter the conference hall for an important delivery. away their rights to compensation. up for the broadband offer. wawn wpance Non-verbal clues 4BPart 2: Exam skills 0 Exam information: Multiple-choice questions task tests a wide range of reading sills, from an overall understanding of the passage to a detailed understanding ‘of specific points. You will be given a passage and a set of multiple-choice questions. The questions have multiple ‘options and the instructions will ell you how many are correct (one, two or three). Summarising texts 1 Read the passage and choose lie best summary. ‘@ Communication skills are not oniy important to the success of the business, but also to employees within ‘the business. A good manager will respond to customers’ questions and needs, and help them choose the most suitable product. 1 The key to good communication isto pay attention to what other people have to say. Good communicators are definitely not those who like the sound of their own voice. Forget the gift of the gab; communication is all about establishing a rapport with your customers, work colleagues or boss. 2 he ability to sel isthe ultimate test of communication skills. But in the modern world salesman. do not sell, customers choose to buy, says Jon Naylor, the customer service director of PC World. “You have to empathise with the customer and build e relationship. Listening to the information given and asking the right questions is very important” 3. Not listening costs money in the world of sales - returned gaods. refunds and the lass of repeat custom, But the ability to listen is as important on the top floor as itis on the shop floor and can have just as profound an effect on the bottom line of a business’ finances. “Ifyou ask what makes a good manager, people almost always say ‘they listen to what we have to say and consider our needs’ says Dr Paul Dobson, a senior lecturer at Cass Business School. 4 Dr Dobson gives MBA students lessons in ‘active listening which fs listening and asking appropriate questions, then clarifying and responding to the answers. “Ihe fundamental thing is to listen to what people say, which means that you have to be motivated to want to know the answers” Dr Dobson says. Matching information 2 Read the passage again and match the ideas to the paragraphs. There is one extra idea. active listening communication skills in sales good management increase profits ‘what ‘good communication’ means Identifying key words 23> Underline the key wards or phrases in questions 1-4. Why has it been difficult to establish a link between the calls of monkeys and people's musical preferences? what do monkeys prefer: music or silence? Ist true that monkeys appeared calmer when listening to the rock band Metallica? Who suggested this new kind of study to Professor Snowdon? awn G4 Reading for IELTSSummarising information 4 Read extracts 1-3 and write short notes to summarise each extract. oO Exam tip ‘Write very short notes about the ideas of each paragraph. It «will help you locate the relevant information for each question. Summary: Human musical appreciation comes from primate calls? Hard to test — don’t react to music. 1. The findings suggest that the historical roots of human appreciation of music may stretch deep into our evolutionary past, to the common ancestors we share with monkeys. 2 When monkeys have been played music, trom classical to rock, they generally preter sence. ine sole exception has come from one experiment in which monkeys appeared to be calmed down by listening to the rock band Metallica. 3. Professor Snowdon took his new experimental approach to the subject at the suggestion of David Teie, who also works at the University of Maryland. Match your short notes on extracts 1-3 (and the example) in Exercise 4 with questions 1-4 in Exercise 3. Locating and understanding information 6 Underline the key words in questions 1-3. Then scan the passage below and on page 46 and answer the questions. 1. What made the sounds on the recorded song for the monkeys in the experiment? 2 What behaviour did the monkeys display when they were played the ‘threat’ song? 3 What happened when the monkeys were played a calming song? When Mr Tete listened to the calls made by the cotton-top tamarin colony kept at the Wisconsin- ‘Madicon peychology department, he immediately recogniced emotinnal states He said. “This ig call from an animal that is not relaxed, this is from an animal that is more relaxed’, Professor Snowdon said. ‘Mr Teie then used these insights to compose music using features he had noticed in the monkeys’ calls, such as rising and falling pitch and the typical ength of particular sounds, His aim was to produce ‘3U-second ‘songs’ that were tuned to the tamarins musical sense, rather than to the hurrian ear, “The first piece Mr Tele wrote contained rhythmic, staccato beats, based on the type of calls tamarins use to indicate a threat or stress, The second piece featured long, melodic tones, with a descending pitch, that was more like the calming, ‘affective’ calls the monkeys use during bonding behaviour, All were recorded using the cello and the human voice, Non-verbal clues aWhen the monkeys were played the ‘threat’ song, they moved around more and showed more anxious and social behaviour, all of which are signs of heightened alertness. The monkeys were also ‘more likely to face towards the hidden speaker from which the music was played, The ‘affective’ song, by contrast, led to less movement and social behaviour, calmer reactions, and increased feeding ~ all ‘of which suggest the animals were less stressed and on their guard, Human music that wes designed to be calming or threatening produced few reactions among the monkeys. ‘Monkeys interpret changes in pitch and tone in different ways to humans, but the new research suggests they also use musicality to communicate. Professor Snowdon said that monkeys did more than simply convey information. “I am not calling just to let you know how I am feeling, but my call can also stimulate a similar state in you?’ he said. 7 Underline the key words in questions 1~4. Then scan the passage on page 47 and answer the questions, 1 What is innovative about the predictive texting system that has been developed by Sanjay Patel? 2 What types of hardware and software could work differently in the Exam tip future hecause of this invention? Try predicting the answers before looking atthe choices. 3. What characteristics of the new systems make them fascinating for the general public? ‘You may already have guessed the correct answer. 4 Why is this invention important to Scotland? 8 Read the passage on page 47 and choose ONE correct answer for the questions 1-4, Use your answers from Exercise 7 to help you. 1 What is innovative about the predictive texting 2 What types of hardware and software could system that has been developed by Sanjay work differently in the future because of this Patel? invention? 2 It can help his disabled brother. 2 mobile phones, PCs, e-mail, text b Ituses guesswork. messaging, word-processing It processes language very fast. b AdapTex intelligence systems d_ It works in 2 way that is unique to each mobile phones and computers writer, telecoms and finance 3 What characteristics of the new systems 4. The invention is also significant to Scotland make them fascinating for the general because public? a. the country made his family fee! welcome. a It completely changes the way people b_ ithas given Patel a home do things. © there are business network links with b_ tt works with what people already do the USA. and makes it better. the country helped him become successful ¢_ Itcan help disabled people. di It reduces physical activity. 46 Reading for IELTS“It was so good that my brother, Hash, can type faster than most people using both hands” said the ‘managing director and founder of KeyPoint Technologies, based in the Innovation Centre, Hillington, Glasgow. "It helped him use his let hand effectively ~ and it gave him the confidence to paint again with that hand” Hash’s accident, which left him disabled, was also the genesis of the software application, written and devised by Sanjay Patel, now 38, that is set to change the way we punch information into our mobile phones and computer keyboards, Patel and his associates, John Locker, a former games developer, and Dr Mark Dunlop of Strathclyde University and a leading authority on user interface systems, have creaved AdapTex, a language processing system that cuts down keystroking by around 80%. The software analyses the user’s writing patterns and predicts words, cutting down on the number of keystrokes required. It has seen some of the technology industry's biggest players knocking at Patel’s door. “Originally it was an ergonomic idea targeting people with disabilities, but the more research I did, I thought this applies to more than disabled people. The driving force was to reduce the actual physical activity. So in 1997 I started working on creating a piece of software for the mass market that would learn your language traits. It made me realise how inefficient we were when it comes to writing information with e-mail, text ‘messaging, and word-processing on a keyboard. Everybody wants to go faster, so they build the technologies to move faster: what hasntt changed is the human ability to use that technology more effectively” he said. “We don't want to change people's practices, we have to complement or improve them. But you can't expect people to change unless you make things better, simpler to use and non-intrusive. I think that’s why ‘Adap'Tex intelligence systems are creating such interest.” Over the past 15 years, Patel has worked within systems architecture in telecoms and finance. He worked for ‘Nucleus Consulting and project-managed the setting-up of a system for the Merchants’ Exchange of St Louis, under the guidance of the Chicago Board of Trade. He completed the two-year contract in a litle over @ year ‘Today Sanjay Patel lives in Partick in Glasgow. Previously from Croydon, he was encouraged to move to Scotland by the prospect of support from Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International and by the availability of epectalist facilities at the Innovation Centre, Patel’ software takes the predictive text used on mobile phones to the next level: “A mobile phone is predictive, which uses guesswork, it ist natural. What we have created is pre-emptive because itis relevant and uses the context. It earns and reshapes itself dynamically. It is about recognition of the patterns you use and is therefore unique to the user. It remodels itself from any document to reflect the author's natural vocabulary, language traits and topics” he said. Patel’s family arrived in the UK in the 1970s after leaving Uganda. He was brought up in London and, even before his brother’ accident, he was fascinated with the science of language patterns, “The great selling point is that this pre-empts text in any language because it recognises the patterns? he said. Patel is novr in discussions with several large international companice intcrcated in incorporating AdapTex into their next-generation computers. “Some are more cautious than others, but we are on the verge of signing with one of the big PC makers, and hopefully this will mean that they all follow suit said Patel. He is delighted with the support he has been given in Scotland. “I came because people understood what Tvs talking about. The business network here, through Global Scot, has given me introductions to the highest levels in the USA. This has been imperative” Patel's advisers include John Falconer, a former director of Xerox, who said: “The market is worth millions and Sanjay could become a very rich man. It could become a significant success story for Scotland” Non-verbatclues 47Part 3: Exam practice Multiple-choice questions 48 Choose ONE answer from the letters A-D. 1. Complex information A can only be communicated by human beings. B. is described as having awareness and being based on context. Cis communication across species. D is too difficult for Campbells monkeys to understand propery. 2. Chimpanzees A. are not as intelligent as birds. B_ canbe taught language. C can play the keyboard. D have the language skills of a four-year old child. 3. Birds have shown evidence of being able to | A. teach themselves to solve problems B use multiple tools better than humans do. | © read numbers as well as people do. D sleep better after taking tests. A scientist based in Scotland claims to have found the first evidence of a common language shared by different animal species. The calls, which are understood by monkeys and birds, were discovered by Klaus Zuberbahler, a psychologist at St Andrews University. According to Zuberbihler, animals and birds can communicate complex ideas not just to their peers but across species. ‘The findings have been heralded as a significant breakthrough in the quest to discover the origins of human language and proof that the ability to construct a complex form of communication is not unique to man. Zuberbahler made the discovery after spending months observing the calls of Diana monkeys in the Tai Forest in Ivory Coast, in West Africa. He and his colleagues recorded thousands ‘of monkey calls and spent hundreds of hours listening to the animals’ noises. They noticed that the monkeys adepted their calls to change the meaning to warn one another about different threats or ‘opportunities. For example, the sight of a leopard prompted a ‘krack’ alarm call. The researchers found that the calls could be understood by other species of monkey as well as by some birds. “What our discovery showed is that the alarm calls were far more complex than we had thought,” said Zuberbihler. "They were conveying information that was contextual, self-aware and intelligent. We then tried playing these calls back to other monkeys and they responded in ‘ways that showed they knew the meaning. What's more, the same calls would be recognised by ‘other species, like Campbell's monkeys.” Reading for IELTS‘Among scientists, the idea that animals and birds might be sentient has been around a long time. | Researchers at Georgia State University’s language research centre in Atlanta taught chimps to use voice synthesisers and a keyboard to hold conversations with humans. One chimp developed a 3,000-word vocabulary and tests suggested she had the language and cognitive skills of a four- year-old child } Perhaps the most surprising signs of intelligence have been found in birds, with many species showing powerful memories and reasoning power. A few years ago, Irene Pepperberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology taught a parrot to recognise and count up to six objects and describe their shapes. Last year that was topped by Alex Kacelnik, a professor of behavioural ecology at Oxford, who discovered that crows are capable of using multiple tools in complex sequences, the first time such behaviour had been observed in non-humans. In an experiment seven crows successfully reeled in @ piece of food placed out of reach using three different lengths of stick. Crucially, they were able to complete the task without any special training, suggesting the birds were capable of a level of abstract reasoning and creativity normally associated only with humans. Last week it emerged that researchers from Padua University in italy had found that birds were able to read numbers from left to right, as humans do, and count to four even when the line of ‘numbers was moved from vertical to horizontal, They also showed that birds performed better in ‘ests after a good night's sleep Glossary: species a cass of plants or animals whose members have the samme main characteristics and ar abe to breed with each other ‘peer: (here) members of the same species) Dertfert,capaute of exerting Wings uitough ts senses Non-verbalclues 49