Unit 8: Exercise 1

Read the information. Then choose the 11 task types that are used in the IELTS
Reading test.

 Completing a flow-chart
 Completing summary notes
 Identifying which information is in which paragraph
 Inserting missing sentences into a text
 Labelling a diagram
 Labelling a map
 Matching features (e.g. people in a text) to statements
 Matching headings to paragraphs
 Matching sentence endings
 Multiple-choice questions
 Putting paragraphs of a text in the right order
 True / False
 True / False / Not Given (for facts stated in the text)
 Writing short answers to questions
 Yes / No / Not Given (for opinions expressed in the text)

Unit 8: Exercise 2
Read the information. Then complete the table with the task types in the box.

multiple-choice questions matching paragraph headings Yes / No / Not Given

True / False / Not Given matching sentence endings writing short answers

all gap-fill tasks (note, table and flow-chart completion)

‘Which paragraph contains the information?’ tasks

matching features (e.g. names) and information

questions NOT in the same order as the text questions in the same order as the text
Unit 8: Exercise 4
Read the information. Then read the sentences. Can the words in bold be
removed? Choose the correct answers. The first one has been done for you.

Writers sometimes leave out words in relative clauses. For example, the book I read really
means the book that I read.

1. The Empire State Building, which occupies a central position in Manhattan, was
completed in 1931.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

2. The conclusion that the scientists reached was that further studies were needed.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

3. I’m reading a book which was very well reviewed in the press.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

4. The US president who was assassinated in 1963, John F. Kennedy, is generally

looked at favourably by historians.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

5. The populations of many birds of prey have fluctuated over the years. Now, one of the
species that conservationists were most concerned about, the red kite, is thriving in
many parts of the UK.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

6. One of the most popular tourist destinations in the English county of Wiltshire is
Lacock, where photography was invented in 1835.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

7. The Ataturk Dam in Turkey is one of the largest dams that has ever been built.

o The word in bold can be removed.

 o The word in bold can’t be removed.

8. Much attention has been paid to the changing number of people in the UK speaking
Welsh, a language now believed to be spoken by around half a million people.

o The word in bold can be removed.

o The word in bold can’t be removed.

Unit 8: Exercise 6
Read the information. An international group of students who are preparing for
the IELTS test recently sat an IELTS Academic Reading practice test under test
conditions. Read what they said afterwards about their experiences. Match the
problems the students faced with the students. There is one extra problem.

being overconfident about one of the passages

making a mistake when transferring answers onto the answer sheet

not allocating the right amount of time to the different passages in the test

not being familiar with an IELTS Reading task type

not following instructions, writing too many words for an answer

not following the instructions, not writing ‘a word from the passage’ in the answer

running out of time

1. Xinjie, 24, from China

Overall, I think I did the test reasonably well. The main problem I had was that I spent
about 30 minutes on the first passage, so because you get an hour for the whole test, I
had to hurry through the other two. I got to the end of the test and answered all the
questions. But I guess my marks for the second and third passages will probably be
lower than for the first.

Xinjie’s problem: _____________________________________________________

2. Bunny, 30, from the Philippines

When I saw that the second of the reading passages was about a wildlife conservation
project, I thought, ‘Oh great, that’ll be really easy for me’. I’ve got a Master’s in
zoology, you see, so I figured that I’d already know some of the answers. But then
 when I started reading the passage, I realised that there weren’t any questions about
the kind of details that zoologists are expected to already know. They were all about
the specific content of the passage. So, for me, already having knowledge about the
subject didn’t really help me at all. I was a bit disappointed, but I suppose that makes
the test fairer for everyone, because it wouldn’t have mattered if people knew about
zoology or not.

Bunny’s problem: _____________________________________________________

3. Juanita, 25, from Venezuela

When I was doing a gap-fill task, I knew the answer was ‘professor’, so I wrote
‘academic’, because that’s a synonym of ‘professor’ and we’re supposed to use
synonyms in the IELTS test. But after the test, my friend told me that in gap-fill tasks
in the IELTS Reading test, we have to write exactly the same word as in the passage.
So, I wish I’d just written ‘professor’.

Juanita’s problem: _____________________________________________________

4. Sanjay, 24, from India

I normally do pretty well in IELTS Reading practice tests. The thing is, this time I
went too slowly and didn’t get around to answering Questions 35–40 on the third
passage. I don’t know why it happened. I’ve done lots of practice tests and always
managed my time pretty well. I usually finish with about five minutes to spare, so I
just quickly check through all my answers.

Sanjay’s problem: _____________________________________________________

5. Anna, 37, from Russia

I’ve been learning English for years and years. But in this practice test, there were
questions where we had to say if information in the passage we’d just read was true,
false or not given. I’ve done true or false questions before this course loads of times
and found them easy, so I just answered ‘true’ or ‘false’, because I wasn’t sure what
‘not given’ is supposed to mean.

Anna’s problem: _____________________________________________________

6. Arafa, 27, from Egypt

Overall, I’m getting better marks now in practice tests than when I started doing them
about a year ago. With the test I’ve just done, it went OK, I guess, but I think I made
one silly mistake. There was a question about food science, and the answer was
‘cabbage’. But it was also clear from the passage that the cabbage in question was
cooked, and the writer considered it a healthy food, so I wrote ‘healthy cooked
cabbage’, because I wanted to show that I had understood the passage fully. The
instruction did say ‘Write NO MORE THAN TWO words from the passage for each
answer’. I wrote three, but I hope it isn’t going to be marked wrong.
 Arafa’s problem: _____________________________________________________

Unit 8: Exercise 7
Read the advice. Choose the correct advice, A–G, for the students. There is one
extra piece of advice.

Advice

A Remember that IELTS tests your language skills, not your knowledge of specialist subjects
like zoology. The tasks are all carefully designed so that they are of the same level of
difficulty for everyone. So, don’t worry if you see a passage about a subject that you know
nothing about. The task will always test you on your understanding of the passage, not on
facts that some people might already know.

B Always keep your eye on the time, as 60 minutes will pass very quickly. Never leave
answers blank, as you definitely won’t get any marks for these unanswered questions. But if
you take a guess at an answer, you have a reasonable chance of being lucky and picking up
extra marks. Remember, with a multiple-choice question (A, B, C or D), you have a 25%
chance of guessing the answer correctly!

C Aim to spend a maximum of 20 minutes on each section. And remember that you need to
work quickly in order to read approximately a thousand words of text and answer 13 or 14
questions, so never spend too much time on any one section or on any one question.

D As a general rule, just write one word if you can in a gap-fill answer. You may need to
write more than this if the answer is a compound, such as bus station. But if you write more
words in a gap than the limit, your answer will be marked wrong.

E There are many different kinds of questions in the IELTS Reading test, and it is essential
that you get used to answering them all. Do lots of practice tests in the months before your
real IELTS test. Many IELTS candidates find the ‘Not Given’ questions challenging, so
remember that ‘Not Given’ means that we can’t tell if a statement is correct or not, because
there isn’t enough information. ‘Not Given’ is different from ‘False’; with a false statement,
we know that it isn’t true.

F Always make sure that you read the instruction carefully and do exactly what the task asks.
Although you’re expected to find the language in the reading passage paraphrased in the
questions, you aren’t expected to think of additional paraphrases when you write a word as an
answer in a text completion or summary completion task. It is always safer to write the exact
word from the passage, as the paraphrase may have a slightly different meaning. For
example, an academic doesn’t necessarily have the same professional qualifications as a
professor, so while these words are similar, they are not exact synonyms.

G Read the passage and questions in the order that they are presented. Most of the time, the
passage is presented before the questions. Also, it is a good idea to quickly skim read the
whole passage first, to get a general idea of what it is about.
1. Xinjie, 24, from China

Overall, I think I did the test reasonably well. The main problem I had was that I spent
about 30 minutes on the first passage, so because you get an hour for the whole test, I
had to hurry through the other two. I got to the end of the test and answered all the
questions. But I guess my marks for the second and third passages will probably be
lower than for the first.

Xinjie’s problem: not allocating the right amount of time to the different passages in
the test

Advice for Xinjie:A/B/C/D/E/F/G

2. Bunny, 30, from the Philippines

When I saw that the second of the reading passages was about a wildlife conservation
project, I thought, ‘Oh great, that’ll be really easy for me’. I’ve got a Master’s in
zoology, you see, so I figured that I’d already know some of the answers. But then
when I started reading the passage, I realised that there weren’t any questions about
the kind of details that zoologists are expected to already know. They were all about
the specific content of the passage. So, for me, already having knowledge about the
subject didn’t really help me at all. I was a bit disappointed, but I suppose that makes
the test fairer for everyone, because it wouldn’t have mattered if people knew about
zoology or not.

Bunny’s problem: being overconfident about one of the passages

Advice for Bunny: A/B/C/D/E/F/G

3. Juanita, 25, from Venezuela

When I was doing a gap-fill task, I knew the answer was ‘professor’, so I wrote
‘academic’, because that’s a synonym of ‘professor’ and we’re supposed to use
synonyms in the IELTS test. But after the test, my friend told me that in gap-fill tasks
in the IELTS Reading test, we have to write exactly the same word as in the passage.
So, I wish I’d just written ‘professor’.

Juanita’s problem: not following the instructions, not writing ‘a word from the
passage’ in the answer

Advice for Juanita: A/B/C/D/E/F/G

4. Sanjay, 24, from India

I normally do pretty well in IELTS Reading practice tests. The thing is, this time I
went too slowly and didn’t get around to answering questions 35–40 on the third
passage. I don’t know why it happened. I’ve done lots of practice tests and always
 managed my time pretty well. I usually finish with about five minutes to spare, so I
just quickly check through all my answers.

Sanjay’s problem: running out of time

Advice for Sanjay: A/B/C/D/E/F/G

5. Anna, 37, from Russia

I’ve been learning English for years and years. But in this practice test, there were
questions where we had to say if information in the passage we’d just read was true,
false or not given. I’ve done true or false questions before this course loads of times
and found them easy, so I just answered ‘true’ or ‘false’, because I wasn’t sure what
‘not given’ is supposed to mean.

Anna’s problem: not being familiar with an IELTS Reading task type

Advice for Anna: A/B/C/D/E/F/G

6. Arafa, 27, from Egypt

Overall, I’m getting better marks now in practice tests than when I started doing them
about a year ago. With the test I’ve just done, it went OK, I guess, but I think I made
one silly mistake. There was a question about food science, and the answer was
‘cabbage’. But it was also clear from the passage that the cabbage in question was
cooked, and the writer considered it a healthy food, so I wrote ‘healthy cooked
cabbage’, because I wanted to show that I had understood the passage fully. The
instruction did say ‘Write NO MORE THAN TWO words from the passage for each
answer’. I wrote three, but I hope it isn’t going to be marked wrong.

Arafa’s problem: not following instructions, writing too many words for an answer

Advice for Arafa: A/B/C/D/E/F/G

Unit 8: Exercise 8
Read the information. The reading passage has ten paragraphs, A–J. Which
paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–J, for
each answer.

The state of the Welsh language

A Just over 3 million of the UK’s 63 million inhabitants live in Wales, the landmass that juts
off the west coast of Britain into the Irish Sea. And while, as in the whole of the British Isles,
English is unsurprisingly seen everywhere there, Welsh is in evidence throughout the
country, from bilingual road markings warning ‘SLOW / ARAF’ to the name of Wales’s
national political party, ‘Plaid Cymru’ (literally, ‘the Party of Wales’). Welsh is one of
Europe’s strongest minority languages, and the fact that it has endured throughout the
centuries alongside one of the world’s most dominant languages, English, is clear proof of the
determination and commitment of its speakers to keep it alive. Nevertheless, the status of
Welsh remains fragile.

B The results of the census of the UK’s population conducted in 2001 revealed that there
were 582,400 people in Wales, or 20.8% of the population, who were able to converse in
Welsh. This was up from the figure published in the 1991 census, both as a percentage and as
a total. But these figures need to be treated with caution. A large portion of these were pupils
learning Welsh as a second language. As such, their proficiency is likely to be limited, at
least compared to pupils receiving Welsh-medium education across the curriculum.

C According to the 2012 government report One Language for All, Welsh language tuition
should be given a higher status in schools and ranked alongside other core subjects such as
maths and English. Yet, this recommendation proved controversial, with many commentators
saying that forcing people to accept Welsh is ‘forcing the language down people’s throats’
and describing it as ‘social engineering’.

D Since being set up under the Welsh Language Act of 1993, the Welsh Language Board has
held both the role of regulator, overseeing public organisations’ schemes for using the Welsh
language, and, at the same time, language champion, promoting the broader use of Welsh.
This role is seen as being particularly vital given the fall in the number of Welsh speakers
identified in the 2011 census.

E One cause for concern is the sustainability of the language in the Welsh-speaking
heartlands. Rural areas of northern and western Wales have a much higher proportion of
Welsh speakers than the more heavily industrialised and densely populated southern region,
including the capital, Cardiff, and the major cities of Swansea and Newport. Areas such as
Anglesey, Caernarvon, Conwy and Gwynedd have particularly high percentages of Welsh
speakers in their populations. Nevertheless, the number of communities where over 70% of
the population was able to speak Welsh dropped from 92 in 1991 to 54 in 2001. It has for
many years been argued by the Welsh government and others that such a density of speakers
will be an essential condition for Welsh to thrive and succeed in the coming decades. The
Welsh government believes that between 1,200 and 2,200 Welsh speakers are being lost each
year, which accounts for the overall downward trend. This results predominantly from the
difference between the number of fluent Welsh speakers who migrate out of Wales, as
compared with the numbers returning.

F Of course, fluency and frequency of use of the language are intrinsically linked. Research
commissioned by the Welsh Language Board found that 58% of those who said they could
speak Welsh considered themselves to be fluent. And the greater part of those (87%)
described themselves as daily speakers of the language.

G Polls consistently suggest a strong degree of support for the promotion of the Welsh
language, among both speakers and non-speakers of Welsh. For example, in a poll
commissioned by the Welsh Language Board in 2008, over 80% of those questioned said that
they considered Welsh as ‘something to be proud of’. Around three-quarters felt it was
‘something belonging to everyone in Wales’.
H The last 50 years have seen a wide range of measures to promote the Welsh language, such
as the establishment of the Welsh Books Council in 1961, the Welsh language radio station
BBC Radio Cymru in 1977 and the UK’s first Welsh language TV station, S4C, in 1984.
Other measures include substantial budgeting for the translation of public documents into
Welsh. Within Wales itself, there has been support from across the political parties for many
initiatives, including 550 Welsh language schemes at community level.

I Clearly, the long-term survival of Welsh will depend on the actions of those young enough
to be going through the education system at the moment. Professor Sioned Davies of Cardiff
University, in her introduction to the report One Language for All, says of the compulsory
Welsh classes in schools that there are ‘some individual examples of exemplary teaching’,
but that children’s ‘attainment levels are lower than in any other subject’. She concludes that
a change of direction in educational policy is needed urgently before it is too late.

J The report cites one interviewee who reported that having a working proficiency in Welsh
‘opens doors’. ‘No door is shut to you if you can speak Welsh,’ they said. Some people
choose to pursue the formal route of Welsh language qualifications, others just hope to pick it
up informally or learn it as one would a foreign language whose culture appeals. At any rate,
the challenge is to find a common path to ensure that the language remains viable and robust.

1. a warning about interpreting statistics

Paragraph ______
2. who is responsible for the future of Welsh
Paragraph ______
3. children being taught other subjects in Welsh
Paragraph ______
4. criticism of a measure to promote the study of Welsh
Paragraph ______
5. research findings about attitudes towards the value of Welsh
Paragraph ______
6. information about the spread of Welsh speakers throughout the country
Paragraph ______

Unit 8: Exercise 9
Read the first part of the passage again. Then read the statements. Choose True,
False or Not Given.

The state of the Welsh language

A Just over 3 million of the UK’s 63 million inhabitants live in Wales, the landmass that juts
off the west coast of Britain into the Irish Sea. And while, as in the whole of the British Isles,
English is unsurprisingly seen everywhere there, Welsh is in evidence throughout the
country, from bilingual road markings warning ‘SLOW / ARAF’ to the name of Wales’s
national political party, ‘Plaid Cymru’ (literally, ‘the Party of Wales’). Welsh is one of
Europe’s strongest minority languages, and the fact that it has endured throughout the
centuries alongside one of the world’s most dominant languages, English, is clear proof of the
determination and commitment of its speakers to keep it alive. Nevertheless, the status of
Welsh remains fragile.

B The results of the census of the UK’s population conducted in 2001 revealed that there
were 582,400 people in Wales, or 20.8% of the population, who were able to converse in
Welsh. This was up from the figure published in the 1991 census, both as a percentage and as
a total. But these figures need to be treated with caution. A large portion of these were pupils
learning Welsh as a second language. As such, their proficiency is likely to be limited, at
least compared to pupils receiving Welsh-medium education across the curriculum.

C According to the 2012 government report One Language for All, Welsh language tuition
should be given a higher status in schools and ranked alongside other core subjects such as
maths and English. Yet, this recommendation proved controversial, with many commentators
saying that forcing people to accept Welsh is ‘forcing the language down people’s throats’
and describing it as ‘social engineering’.

D Since being set up under the Welsh Language Act of 1993, the Welsh Language Board has
held both the role of regulator, overseeing public organisations’ schemes for using the Welsh
language, and, at the same time, language champion, promoting the broader use of Welsh.
This role is seen as being particularly vital given the fall in the number of Welsh speakers
identified in the 2011 census.

E One cause for concern is the sustainability of the language in the Welsh-speaking
heartlands. Rural areas of northern and western Wales have a much higher proportion of
Welsh speakers than the more heavily industrialised and densely populated southern region,
including the capital, Cardiff, and the major cities of Swansea and Newport. Areas such as
Anglesey, Caernarvon, Conwy and Gwynedd have particularly high percentages of Welsh
speakers in their populations. Nevertheless, the number of communities where over 70% of
the population was able to speak Welsh dropped from 92 in 1991 to 54 in 2001. It has for
many years been argued by the Welsh government and others that such a density of speakers
will be an essential condition for Welsh to thrive and succeed in the coming decades. The
Welsh government believes that between 1,200 and 2,200 Welsh speakers are being lost each
year, which accounts for the overall downward trend. This results predominantly from the
difference between the number of fluent Welsh speakers who migrate out of Wales, as
compared with the numbers returning.

F Of course, fluency and frequency of use of the language are intrinsically linked. Research
commissioned by the Welsh Language Board found that 58% of those who said they could
speak Welsh considered themselves to be fluent. And the greater part of those (87%)
described themselves as daily speakers of the language.

G Polls consistently suggest a strong degree of support for the promotion of the Welsh
language, among both speakers and non-speakers of Welsh. For example, in a poll
commissioned by the Welsh Language Board in 2008, over 80% of those questioned said that
they considered Welsh as ‘something to be proud of’. Around three-quarters felt it was
‘something belonging to everyone in Wales’.
 1. The writer is surprised that the Welsh language has survived for so long.

o True
o False
o Not Given

2. Research in 2001 reported a decrease in the total number of Welsh speakers.

o True
o False
o Not Given

3. The Welsh Language Board has two main functions.

o True
o False
o Not Given

4. The declining number of Welsh speakers can be explained by the deaths of 1,200 to
2,200 of them each year.

o True
o False
o Not Given

5. The majority of people who speak Welsh fluently actually use it every day.

o True
o False
o Not Given

6. In Wales, most non-speakers of Welsh want to learn the language.

o True
o False
o Not Given

Unit 8: Exercise 10
Read the final part of the passage again. Choose the correct answers to the
questions.
H The last 50 years have seen a wide range of measures to promote the Welsh language, such
as the establishment of the Welsh Books Council in 1961, the Welsh language radio station
BBC Radio Cymru in 1977 and the UK’s first Welsh language TV station, S4C, in 1984.
Other measures include substantial budgeting for the translation of public documents into
Welsh. Within Wales itself, there has been support from across the political parties for many
initiatives, including 550 Welsh language schemes at community level.

I Clearly, the long-term survival of Welsh will depend on the actions of those young enough
to be going through the education system at the moment. Professor Sioned Davies of Cardiff
University, in her introduction to the report One Language for All, says of the compulsory
Welsh classes in schools that there are ‘some individual examples of exemplary teaching’,
but that children’s ‘attainment levels are lower than in any other subject’. She concludes that
a change of direction in educational policy is needed urgently before it is too late.

J The report cites one interviewee who reported that having a working proficiency in Welsh
‘opens doors’. ‘No door is shut to you if you can speak Welsh,’ they said. Some people
choose to pursue the formal route of Welsh language qualifications, others just hope to pick it
up informally or learn it as one would a foreign language whose culture appeals. At any rate,
the challenge is to find a common path to ensure that the language remains viable and robust.

1. Which of the following does the article state has received generous funding?
o A community schemes
o B Welsh-language documentation
o C Welsh-language radio
o D Welsh-language television
2. Which of the following groups does the continual success of Welsh depend most
upon?
o A politicians
o B teachers
o C the media
o D young people
3. What point does Sioned Davies make about Welsh teaching in schools?
o A Few children are choosing to study Welsh.
o B It is too late to introduce policies that will preserve Welsh effectively.
o C Pupils are not achieving high standards.
o D The quality of Welsh language teaching is unacceptably low.
4. What advantage of speaking Welsh is mentioned in the final paragraph?
o A better understanding of Welsh culture
o B greater ease of learning other languages
o C increased opportunities
o D more qualifications
5. What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this article?
o A to argue that more needs to be done to support the use of Welsh
o B to criticise government policy with regard to the Welsh language
o C to publicise a research report into the use of Welsh
o D to report on the sustainability of the Welsh language