Thursday, September 29, 2016

IELTS Materials and Resources, Get IELTS Tips, Tricks & Practice Test

IELTS Materials and Resources, Get IELTS Tips, Tricks & Practice Test


Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 (Line Graph) & Band 9 Model Essay

Posted: 29 Sep 2016 09:00 AM PDT

IELTS Writing Task 1 question:

The graph below shows relative price changes for fresh fruits and vegetables, sugars and sweets, and carbonated drinks between 1978 and 2009.

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

Write at least 150 words

1

Task 1 plan:

  • paraphrase task heading
  • summary paragraph – 2 major features
    • prices for 3 food groups and CPI increased
    • only prices for fresh fruits and vegetables were higher than overall increase in CPI over the period.
  • compare sugar/ sweets and carbonated drinks trend with CPI
  • report on fresh fruits and vegetables trend

Model sample:

The line graph provides information about changes in price in the USA of three different food product groups from 1979 to 2009, and the overall trend in the consumer price index over this 30-year period.

Overall, it is clear that prices increased for the three food product groups, despite fluctuations. Only the increase in the prices for fresh fruits and vegetables was significantly higher than the rise in the general consumer price index.

All the lines on the graph have the same starting figure in 1979. Over the period, the consumer price index rose steadily from around 60 in 1979 to over 200 in 2009. Prices for sugar and sweets and carbonated drinks showed similar trends. Although their prices also rose, they were consistently below the consumer price index average after 1987. After many minor fluctuations, the number for sugar and sweets was 200 on the graph in 2009, higher than the final figure for carbonated drinks at 150.

Prices rose sharply for fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly after 1989. From the same figure of about 60 at the start of the period, the prices finished at roughly 330 on the index in 2009.

(195 words)

 

IELTS Listening Practice Test 55

Posted: 29 Sep 2016 05:35 AM PDT

SECTION 1

Questions 1 – 5

Complete the Travel agent's notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER for each answer.

SUN TOURS TRAVEL AGENTS

Example                                                                                                                    Answer
Number of people                                                                                              4

Customer's Name                                                                                                    Mr. George Collins

Other travellers                                                                                                       Mrs. Jane Collins
(+ ages of children)                                                                                                (1)……………………..                   7 years old
Jennifer                                     (2)………………

Require:              4 star quality hotel + breakfast; safe, warm, quietish, beach; pref. pool; lots of restaurants near hotel:                               no (3)……………………. needed

Dates of Holiday                                                                                                     Friday July 8th TO (4)…………….. Sunday

Pref. Flight Time                                                                                                     Less than (5)………………………………

Questions 6 – 10

Complete George’s notes below

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer

Possible Holiday Ideas

Top End Prices                                          Italy and France

Bottom End Prices                                    (6)………………………………., Greece and Turkey (Turkey + Cyprus too far)

Crete                                                           Hotel Tropicana

  • 1 mile safe walk on (7)………………………to beach.
  • Nice pool; only a few beach bars and restaurants.
  • Really quiet; not near other tourist destinations.

                                                                      Palm Hotel

  • 2 miles from beach but has (8)……………………………….service.
  • Hotel in quite a busy tourist town: lots of bars, restaurants and discos.

Rhodes                                                     Ocean Hotel

  • Right on beach; less than (9)……………………………..from the rooms.
  • 4 star hotel quite far from main town; eat in hotel; good meals.

                                                                    Hotel Spiros

  • (10)…………………………….hotel quite dose to beach (5/10 mins walk) in small village with small swimming pool.
  • A few restaurants in small, quiet village; not much to do.

SECTION 2

Questions 11 – 15

Complete the food options information sheet below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Solaris Hotel and Holiday Village – Food Options

Meal Times

Breakfast:                                             6.30am and 9.30am every day (Only in Harvest restaurant; English, American an                                                                 (11)…………………………….breakfasts on offer

Lunch                                                   12.00 noon to 2.30pm

Dinner                                                  7.00pm to 10.30pm

Menus same for lunch + dinner: see (12)…………………………………. for specials

Food Styles

The Harvest Restaurant                 Traditional English + popular UK foreign dishes (eg: curry and spaghetti)

The Dene Restaurant                       (13)………………………………………

The Mekong Restaurant                 Far Eastern Cuisine

Payment

* All restaurants free; (14)………………………………..needed for some specials

* All soft drinks free; pay for alcoholic drinks

* Pay any bill at end of meals or put on main bill – pay at end of holiday

Extras

  • Bar menu available in (15)…………………………..for pub food
  • Fast Food available until 2.30am at take away

Questions 16 – 20

Complete the activities information sheet below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Solaris Hotel and Holiday Village – Activities

Beaches:                                                                    main beach

                                                                                    adult beach (17s or over)

(16)…………………………………………..on duty from 9.00am to 6.00pm on main beach (none on adult beach)

* Decked area with sun loungers in front of Harvest Restaurant with our 25 metre swimming pool

* Steps from pool area to beach – wash feet in foot pool to remove sand

* (17)………………………………………on beach + in pool area.

Sports

8 tennis courts + 3 squash courts

Fully equipped gym (No under 18s)

6 full sized snooker tables + 5 pool tables in games room adjoining the bar.

(only charge for hiring any equipment)

Water Sports

water skiing + jet skis available (extra charge)

snorkelling, infiatables and pedallos (free)

(details from (18)……………………………………….)

Library & Cinemas

Library contains books, magazines + newspapers. See (19)……………………………………..for terms + conditions

2 cinemas show 3 different films each every day.

                             Shows at 2.00pm, 5.30pm + 8.30pm (First 2 shows always have a film for kids)

                             (20)………………………………….not allowed to attend 8.30 shows

SECTION 3

Questions 21 – 26

Complete the three tables below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

World’s Most Spoken Languages
By Number of Individual Speakers

Rank                                                                    Language                                                          No. of Speakers
1                                                                     Mandarin Chinese                                                    836 million

  2                                                                     (21)…………………                                                       333 million

  3                                                                         Spanish                                                                   332 million

  4                                                                         English                                                                     (22)……………………

World's Most Spoken Languages
By Number of User Countries

Rank                                                                    Language                                                         No. of Countries
1                                                                              English                                                                       115

  2                                                                              French                                                                        35

  3                                                                           (23)……………….                                                           24

  4                                                                             Spanish                                                                      (24)……………………

World's Most Influential Languages – 6 weighing factors

1 Number of primary speakers

2 Number of (25)……………………………..

3 Number and population of countries where languages are used

4 Number of major fields using the language internationally

5 (26)…………………………………of countries using the language

6 Socio-literary prestige of the language

Questions 27 – 30

Complete the notes below of the second half of Jamie and Rebecca's presentation.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Jamie and Rebecca’s Presentation

Large countries currently shifting wortd economic balance of power:

China
Russia
India
(27)…………………………….

Reasons for shift                         size of the populations
cheap labour
prices of (28)…………………………..

  • Big growing demand for people knowing languages of above countries + for teachers and English language training
  • China could be less important than possibly India or (29)………………………………due to their population increase. English will probably remain important though
  • Number of spoken languages between approx. (30)………………………… .Hardly any of these studied by non native speakers.
  • English taught in most countries with structured education program. This trend is getting stronger.

SECTION 4

Questions 31 – 35

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

31.  Mad cow disease attacks the ………………………… of the affected cows’ brains.

32. BSE is thought to be caused by infectious forms of ………………………………… known as prions.

33. Abnormal prions in BSE infected cattle are found in the small intestines, …………………….. and the central nervous tissues.

34. Humans can take in the abnormal prions when they eat infected beef as the prions are resistant to the usual………………………………….. such as heat.

35. The one American case of CJD was a woman who caught it in……………………………before going to the US.

Questions 36 – 40

Complete the summary below of the second half of the humanities lecture on BSE.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

SUMMARY

CJD causes gradual loss of mental function and movement due to brain damage from abnormal prions or it can be possibly (36)…………………………….. CJD usually affects younger people (between ages 20 to 70) usually showing symptoms In patients’ (37)………………………………… Symptoms include personality changes and problems with (38)…………………………… Once symptoms appear, the disorderprogresses quickly to disability and death.

The exact causes of 8SE are unknown but the first UK cases have indicated that it could come from a prion disease in (39)………………………………. called scrapie that was fed to cattle. Dead cattle with scrapie were then fed to (40)………………………………… making them cannibals. So, we are in turn infected by the disease that we created when we eat infected beef.

Answer keys:

  1. Mike
  2. four/ 4
  3. creche facilities
  4. 24th July
  5. 4 hours
  6. Spain
  7. path (through fields)
  8. minibus (NOT “bus”)
  9. 5 minutes
  10. family run
  11. continental (style)
  12. blackboards
  13. fish + seafood
  14. extra supplement
  15. main bar
  16. (2) lifeguards
  17. freshwater showers
  18. water spors office
  19. notice board
  20. children/ under 16s
  21. Hindi
  22. 322 million
  23. Arabic
  24. 20
  25. secondary speakers
  26. economic power
  27. Brazil
  28. Raw materials
  29. Bangladesh
  30. 2500 and 7000
  31. nervous functions
  32. protein
  33. tonsils
  34. (food) disinfection treatments
  35. the UK
  36. genetically inherited
  37. late 50s
  38. coordination
  39. sheep
  40. calves/ young cattle

BONUS EXERCISE: GAP-FILLING 

The texts below are transcript for your IELTS Listening Practice Test. To make the most out of this transcript, we removed some words from the texts and replaced with spaces. You has to fill each space with the missing word by listening to the audio for this IELTS listening practice test. 

Section 1. You will hear a conversation between a travel agent and a customer discussing a holiday.

Travel Agent (TA):  Good morning sir. Can I help you?

Customer:      Yes. I'm thinking of going away on [………………………………]but I'm not sure where to go.

TA: Well sir. We have a range of [………………………………]that we offer. Are you going alone sir or with a friend?

Cust: With my family actually.

TA: So, how many people is that sir?

Cust: My wife and I and my young son and [………………………………]. So, four.

TA: Fine. Now with a young family can I [………………………………]that you'd like to go somewhere warm?

Cust:   Oh yes. A beach holiday. That's what we are looking for.

TA:     Right, I'll just take some personal [………………………………]sir. First of all, what's your name?

Cust:   George [………………………………].

TA:     Collins? Is that C-O-L-L-I-N-S?

Cust:   Yes, that's right.

TA:     Thank you. And what about your wife and children?

Cust:   My wife's name is Jane, my boy's name is Mike and my little girl is [………………………………].

TA:     How old are the children?

Cust:   Mike's 7 and Jennifer's 4.

TA:     Ah, they're quite small then.

Cust:   Oh yes, We just need a safe, little place. A warm climate, a [………………………………], safe beach, a pool [………………………………]and lots of small restaurants and bars near the hotel.

TA: Would you want any crèche facilities in the hotel so you and your wife can get away when you want?

Cust: No. I work quite hard and I don't see the kids as often as I want at home so I'm looking forward to spending all my time with them.

TA: And what eating [………………………………]do you want?

Cust: Just half board please. We'll have breakfast at the hotel but we'll eat lunch and dinner at a beach café. We'd want about [………………………………]quality for the hotel by the way.

TA: Right. And what time in the summer are you thinking of taking the holiday?

Cust: I finish work on Friday night on [………………………………]and I'm off for two weeks. So, I'll need to be back at work on the [………………………………]. I'll need to finish the holiday then on the 24th.

TA: And how long would you want to spend travelling?

Cust: Oh, as little as possible of course with the little ones. Not more than a couple of hours in the car to get to an [………………………………]and then not more that 4 hours on a plane.

TA: That's fine. You can get to all of the nice resorts on the [………………………………]easily in less than 4 hours. Right then. Let's show you some [………………………………].

TA: As I said sir, most Mediterranean [………………………………]are easily within your preferred flight time.

You can choose really between Spain, France, Italy, the old Yugoslavia, [………………………………]or Turkey as well as the Mediterranean [………………………………].

Cust: Wow, what a great choice. What are the different costs involved?

TA: With you wanting a 4 star hotel and pool some countries will be [………………………………]cheaper than others. Price wise, Italy and France will be at the top end, Spain, Greece and Turkey will be at the lower end.

Cust: Greece and Turkey sound great actually. I've always wanted to go there and I've seen some beautiful photos.

TA: I think that Greece would suit you better as the flight to Turkey is actually quite long. You're getting towards [………………………………]there.

Cust: OK, well Greece is fine.

TA: Of course with Greece you have the choice between the islands and the [………………………………]. It's the islands that are famous of course but you'll have to get there by boat or take a short connecting [………………………………]. Some of the bigger [………………………………]are served directly though from UK airports.

Cust: Well, one of the larger islands sounds best then. What about Cyprus? I've heard that a lot of British people go there.

TA: Yes, it's very popular. The trouble for you with Cyprus though is that it's down in the [………………………………]Mediterranean near Turkey and the flight is quite long to get there. I was thinking more of Rhodes and Crete.

Cust: Let's have a look at those 2 then.

TA: Here are some brochures. This is the Hotel [………………………………]and this is the Palm Hotel. Both of them are in Crete. In Rhodes we have the Ocean Hotel and Hotel [………………………………].

Cust: Can you tell me a bit about them?

TA: Of course. The Hotel Tropicana is about 1 mile from the beach and it's a safe walk along a path [………………………………]some fields to get there. They have a nice pool which you can see in the photo. There are only a few beach bars and [………………………………]though. It's really quiet, away from all the bustle of other tourist [………………………………]. The Palm Hotel is further from the beach, about [………………………………], but it has a minibus service that goes to and from the beach all day. The hotel itself is in quite a busy tourist town that has lots of bars, [………………………………]and discos. It's great for going out.

Cust: I don't know if either of those suits us. We don't want noisy and we don't want a long way to the beach.

TA: Let's have a look at the Rhodes [………………………………]then. The Ocean Hotel is right on the beach. It's less than [………………………………]usually to get to the beach area from the rooms. The hotel is quite a long way from the main town and people usually take all their [………………………………]in the hotel. The hotel is 4 star though and we know the food is quite good as we've been told so by previous [………………………………].

Hotel Spiros is a family run hotel also quite close to the beach – about [………………………………]walk. It's in a small village and has a small [………………………………]as well. There are a few restaurants [………………………………]around the village but again, it's not a big tourist village so there's not much to do.

Cust: To be honest, both of those sound fine. We don't want a night life as we won't be able to leave the kids. Something close to the beach, somewhere to eat and sit in the evening is all we need. I've made some notes. Let me take the [………………………………]with the details of these two hotels and I'll take them back and show my wife and see what she thinks. They both [………………………………]just what we want though.

TA: OK sir. Come in again when you've [………………………………]or if you want to see some other places.

Cust: I will. Thanks very much then. Goodbye.

TA: Goodbye.

Section 2. You will hear a man giving an orientation talk to new holidaymakers at the Solaris Hotel and Holiday Village.

Good morning everyone and welcome to your first morning here at the [………………………………]Hotel and Holiday Village. This little [………………………………]talk this morning will just give you an idea of what to find and [………………………………]around the grounds.

Let's begin by looking at meals. We have three different restaurants and you are at [………………………………]to eat at any of them. They are the Harvest Restaurant, the Dene Restaurant and the Mekong Restaurant. Let's begin with [………………………………]. Breakfast is only served in the Harvest Restaurant. The other two restaurants are only open for lunch and [………………………………]. Breakfast is served between [………………………………]and 9.30am 7 days a week. There are English, American and [………………………………]style breakfasts on offer.

For lunch and dinner all the restaurants have the same opening hours to make things easier for you. Lunch is served from [………………………………]noon to 2.30pm and dinner is [………………………………]from 7.00pm to 10.30pm. The menus are the same for lunch and dinner though look at the [………………………………]displayed in the restaurants for any [………………………………]that they are serving for any particular meal. The style of food is different in each of the restaurants. The Harvest serves [………………………………]English food though with plenty of the foreign [………………………………]which are popular in the UK such as curry and [………………………………]. The Dene specialises in fish and [………………………………]and the Mekong offers you a selection of dishes from the Far East; not just from Vietnam as the name [………………………………]but Chinese, Thai, Malay and others.

You don't have to pay in any of the restaurants unless an extra [………………………………]is needed for some of the [………………………………]. All soft drinks are also free though we charge for [………………………………]drinks. You can choose to pay any bill that you may [………………………………]at the end of the meal itself or you can put it on your main bill which you can pay when you leave at the end of your holiday.

There is also a bar menu in the main bar which serves pretty good pub food and if you have any late night [………………………………], there is a take away open until 2.30am which sells fast food. Good for those of you who are [………………………………]in the early hours from a disco or club!

Now let's look at some of things that you can do here during your stay with us. Of course we have our main [………………………………]which is popular with everyone. There is also an [………………………………]beach which is [………………………………]to anyone less than [………………………………]of age. This allows those of you without children to get some peace and quiet on the beach. The main beach has two [………………………………]on duty from 9.00am to 6.00pm. The adult beach has no [………………………………]. If you don't like sand and salt we have a [………………………………]area in front of the Harvest Restaurant with our [………………………………]swimming pool. You can lie here on a sun [………………………………]and swim in the pool with no sand to bother you. There are steps from the pool area to the beach so you can go between the two but, if you're coming up from the beach, please walk though the foot pool so that the sand gets [………………………………]off and doesn't lie around the pool area. There are also [………………………………]showers available on the beach and in the pool area.

As for sports we have 8 tennis courts and 3 [………………………………]courts which can be booked at any time.

There is a fully [………………………………]gym with staff on duty to help you. No-one under 18 years of age may use the gym though. We also have 6 full sized [………………………………]tables and 5 pool tables in the games room [………………………………]the bar. There is no charge for use of any of these [………………………………]though there is a small charge if you need to hire any sports gear. Again you can pay [………………………………]or put the charges on your main bill. There are also water skiing and jet skis available but there are charges for these.

Go to the water sports office for details. All the water sports such as [………………………………], [………………………………]and pedallos are free. Ask for all details again at the water sports office.

There is a library in the hotel which supplies books, magazines and newspapers. It has certain terms and conditions of use which you will be able to find on the notice board in the library.

We also have 2 [………………………………]which show 3 different films every day. The showings are in the afternoons at 2.00pm, the early evening at 5.30pm and at night at 8.30pm. The afternoon and early evening showings always have a film for [………………………………]. Children under the age of 16 are not [………………………………]to attend the 8.30 presentations.

Well, that's all for now. Are there any questions?

Section 3. You will hear 2 students giving a presentation to a seminar group at their university.

Dr. Reece Good morning all. Glad to see you're all on time today. This morning we're going to hear Jamie and Rebecca give their presentation on some aspect of [………………………………]. They've talked to me about it a bit before while [………………………………]it but I don't want to give the game away so I'll hand straight over to them

Jamie Hi everyone. As Dr. Reece said Rebecca and I are going to give our demographics [………………………………]. Both Rebecca and I also study languages so we decided to look at the world's different languages and the ones that are the most [………………………………], both now and in the future. Rebecca's going to start off.

Rebecca OK everyone. Who knows what the world's most spoken language is?

Phil     I thought it was English. Isn't it?

Rebecca Well, it's an [………………………………]question. If you just look at how many individual speakers there are around the world then the answer is Mandarin Chinese with [………………………………]speakers.

English was second until a few years ago but it has since been [………………………………]by Hindi with 333 million speakers and Spanish with [………………………………]speakers. Now English is after Spanish with 322 million speakers.

Phil     Oh yes, South America. I didn't think of that.

Jamie Yes, it's easy to forget. You can look at Rebecca's question though in a different way if you look at the number of countries that use English. English is a [………………………………]115, ahead of French, Arabic and Spanish with [………………………………]and 20 countries [………………………………].

Rebecca English has different statuses around the world. Core countries are where English has a full official [………………………………]like England, the US and Australia. In outer core countries English has some official status as in India and then there are [………………………………]countries such as Japan and the UAE where it's used a lot in business and [………………………………].

Jamie A more important list is the world's most [………………………………]languages. This was compiled by weighing [………………………………]which were the number of primary speakers, the number of secondary speakers, the number and population of the [………………………………]where the languages are used, the number of major fields using the language [………………………………], the economic power of countries using the

languages and [………………………………]prestige.

Rebecca And the list shows the following in order of most influential: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, [………………………………]and Hindi.

Dr. Reece How up to date are these figures?

Jamie Fairly. They came out just last year. But the picture is changing very rapidly in terms of [………………………………]languages. There are certain large countries which are about to [………………………………]on the world stage and their economies are starting to influence the world balance of power.

Rebecca The largest countries that for various reasons are beginning to shift world economic power are China, Russia, India and Brazil. The sizes of the populations along with the cheap labour and raw [………………………………]prices which are available in these countries are causing this shift. As a result, every year the demand for people knowing the languages of these countries is growing [………………………………].

Jamie  In addition the demand for teachers and English language training is also [………………………………]increasing. Western teachers are going to the countries and their nationals are coming over here. As well as business, the education sector is getting a [………………………………]from the opening up of these [………………………………].

Dr. Reece So, will China be the major [………………………………]as everyone says?

Rebecca Definitely but maybe not the biggest. Many experts predict that India's population will soon surpass China's. Bangladesh's population could too. It all points to world [………………………………]power being held in Asia though.

Jamie English will probably remain important though. Chinese is difficult to learn and English also has some official status in India. English is easy to learn and has the [………………………………], for better or worse, of being the language that everyone wants to learn. That won't change in a [………………………………].

Dr. Reece How many people learn English then?

Rebecca The number of spoken languages nowadays is [………………………………]between 2500 and 7000. Out of all these languages, the numbers of those actually studied by non native speakers is tiny. There are no official records of numbers studying English [………………………………]but today you can safely say that there are not many countries with a [………………………………]program of education where English is not taught. It will take a long time for this habit to be broken. At the moment it's getting [………………………………].

Section 4. You will hear part of a humanities lecture on Mad Cow Disease.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this [………………………………]lecture. Today we are going to continue our look at the modern [………………………………]that afflict society. Today we are looking at quite a famous but rare disease. The popular name for this disease is [………………………………]cow disease. It has been so named because it is most often found in the [………………………………]of cattle. It attacks the [………………………………]functions of the brain and leads to [………………………………]behaviour by the cattle. Thus we familiarly say that the cow is therefore mad and [………………………………], mad cow disease. Mad cow disease is the [………………………………]used name but its medical title is Bovine [………………………………]Encephalopathy or BSE. It is a slowly progressive, [………………………………], fatal disease affecting the nervous system of [………………………………]. The exact form of BSE is not known but it is generally accepted by the scientific community that the likely cause is an [………………………………]form of a type of protein known as a prion. This protein develops [………………………………]and apparently seems to encourage other proteins to become similarly [………………………………], affecting their ability to function. In cattle with BSE, these [………………………………]prions initially occur in the small intestines, tonsils, and central nervous [………………………………].

There is a similar disease to BSE called Creutzfeld Jacob Disease or CJD that is found in people.

A [………………………………]form of CJD is believed to be caused by eating [………………………………]beef products from BSE affected cattle. The abnormal prions in infected cattle products are consumed by humans as they are [………………………………]to common food [………………………………]treatments such as heat. The disorder is rare occurring in about 1 out of [………………………………]people. To date there have been 155 confirmed and probable cases of CJD worldwide among the hundreds and thousands of people that may have consumed BSE [………………………………]beef products. Most of the cases have occurred in the UK. The one US case was in a young woman who contracted the disease while residing in the UK and developed [………………………………]after moving to the US.

CJD is a disorder involving rapid decrease of mental function and [………………………………]. As with BSE in cattle, these abnormalities are believed to be caused by damage done to the brain by [………………………………], though it is has been proved that in rare cases it can be genetically [………………………………]. CJD tends to affect younger people, beginning between the ages of 20 and 70, with [………………………………]age at onset of symptoms in the late 50s. Early symptoms include personality changes and difficulty with [………………………………]. Once symptoms appear, the disorder progresses rapidly and may be [………………………………]with other types of dementia such as Alzheimer's Disease. CJD though is [………………………………]by extremely rapid progression from onset to symptoms to disability and death.

So, how did BSE and CJD come about? We've not read about them in the history books. These appear to be new diseases. BSE was first reported in the United Kingdom. The exact origins of BSE remain [………………………………], but it is thought that cattle [………………………………]may have become infected when given feed [………………………………]with scrapie infected sheep meat and [………………………………]meal. Scrapie is a sheep prion disease similar to BSE in cattle. The scientific evidence [………………………………]that the UK BSE outbreak in cattle was then spread by feeding BSE contaminated cattle protein to calves. Thus, we have created the disease ourselves. Cattle naturally are [………………………………], feeding on grass. We have given cattle feed [………………………………]from sheep, an unnatural food for cattle. We have [………………………………]our mistake by also feeding young cattle with feed [………………………………]from older cattle making them [………………………………]. There is a kind of horror associated with it when we look at it like this. There is also a kind of poetic [………………………………]that the disease is passed down to us as we [………………………………]the animals that we have infected.

Moving on now, are there any questions with what I have said so far?

Practice every day to improve your IELTS listening skills. Don’t forget to visit IELTS Material website on a daily basis to find more practice tests for every skill in the IELTS Test.

Be No Spring Chicken – Idiom Of The Day For IELTS

Posted: 29 Sep 2016 02:07 AM PDT

Be No Spring Chicken – Idiom Of The Day For IELTS Speaking.

Definition: 

is not young anymore

Example:

” Henry’s grandmother really loves dancing although she is no spring chicken.

” My father try to become a rapper although he is no spring chicken.”

 

Exercise: 

  1. Choose the suitable idiom to complete the sentence below.
    “She loves windsurfing and paragliding, even though she’s ______________.”
    A. no spring chicken.
    B. upset the applecart.
    C. raise our game.
    D. tough it out.
  2. Describe the old person that you are very close to. Try to use this idiom in your speech. You should say:
    – Who the person is
    – What he or she looks like
    – What you usually do with him or her
    And explain why you are very close to him or her.

IELTS Cue Card Sample 50 – Topic: A Meal You Had With Your Friends

Posted: 29 Sep 2016 12:06 AM PDT

IELTS Cue Card for IELTS Speaking Part 2:

Describe a meal you had your friends (in someone’s home or in a restaurant).
You should say:
who organized this meal
where you had it
what you talked about during the meal
what you ate and drank and explain why you had this meal with your friends.
BAND 9.0 SAMPLE ANSWER:

Last month, I had a get-together with some of my high school friends whom I had not met since we graduated. Then, we decided to have lunch at a well-known pizza restaurant in the city centre.
Arriving at the restaurant, we were quickly given the menu. What surprised me the most was that there were various types of pizza and drinks; hence, it took me quite a long time to choose the food. After that, we talked with each other while waiting for the dishes. Some of my friends were studying at the same university, some had decided to get a job. And I was especially impressed by the decision of one friend to take a gap year. She said that as she had a strong passion for traveling, she would spend one year visiting lots of places.
Then, the dishes were served. The pizza was out-of-this-world and the drinks were tasty although they were a bit pricey. We kept talking and enjoyed the meal and drinks for about two hours. Actually, meeting them reminded me of the time when we studied at high school and I realized that now we were all grown-up, we had our own plans to pursue. But we all promised to meet up regularly.

VOCABULARY:
get-together: [noun] an informal meeting or gathering of friends. Example: We usually have a family get-together during the New Year celebrations.
gap year: [noun] the year that a young person spends working and/or travelling after leaving school and starting university. Example: I‟m planning to take a gap year before I start my university course, and I have decided to go to see India and China.
have a passion for: [expression] have a hobby or activity that you like very much. Example: He has a passion for traditional music, and he is learning to play some traditional musical instruments.
out-of-this-world: [adjective] used to emphasize how good or beautiful something is. Example: The variety of Vietnamese food available during the Tet holiday is out-ofthis-world.
 tasty: [adjective] having a very delicious flavour. Example: When I want something tasty to eat, I often buy some chocolates or ice-cream.
a bit pricey: [adjective] a little expensive. Example: Although my favourite restaurant serves food that is out-of-this-world, it is unfortunately a bit pricey, so I can‟t afford to eat there often.
grown-up: [adjective] mentally and physically an adult. Example: She has a grown-up daughter who works in our local hospital.
meet up: [phrasal verb] to meet someone, usually by arranging a time and place with them first. Example: After work, we all met up at the cinema to watch the new James Bond movie.

Archaeology – Word Of The Day For IELTS

Posted: 29 Sep 2016 12:05 AM PDT

Archaeology – Word Of The Day For IELTS Speaking And Writing

Archaeology: (Noun) /ˌɑːkɪˈɒlədʒi/

Definition:

the study of ancient societies by examining what remains of their buildings, graves, tools etc.

Synonyms: 

Excavation, Paleontology

Collocations: 

With adjective: industrial/ modern/ underwater archaeology

Example:

For IELTS Speaking:.
“This method of reclaiming the dead, we may note is passing, survives in modern archaeology.”
“In recent years, the number of visitors to Foxton has increased considerably, as has interest in industrial archaeology.”

For IELTS Writing:
“Conservation measures of this kind help to explain the enormous cost of both wetland and underwater archaeology.”

Exercise:

Complete the sentences with suitable words below

linguist, journalism, economic, geography, archaeology, architectural.

  1. Discovering the Early Civilizations By the 1880s, then, many of the ideas underlying modern …………………. had been developed.
  2. Have you seen a copy of the …………………………..plan for the new building?
  3. My daughter is a …………………………..; she speaks six different languages.
  4. The government has a good ………………………….. policy. I'm sure the recession will be over soon.
  5. I'm studying ………………………….. I've always wanted to be a political writer.
  6. I'm not very familiar with the …………………………..of that part of the world.

Answer key

  1. archaeology
  2. architectural
  3. linguist
  4. economic
  5. journalism
  6. geography

Check out Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking & Writing on IELTS Material website to improve your vocabulary for IELTS and get a high score in IELTS.

Grammar For IELTS: Used To Versus Would

Posted: 28 Sep 2016 11:20 PM PDT

1. FORM AND MEANING:

Used to is followed by an infinitive. Notice the spelling in questions and negatives:

  • It used to take me over an hour to get to work.
  • Supermarkets didn’t use to be open on Sundays in Britain.
  • Did you use to get free lunch at school?

*  Don’t confuse used to + infinitive with be/get used to (+ verb -ing) which means “be/become accustomed to”:

  • I used to exercise every morning. (= I exercised every mỏning at a time in the past.)
  • He wasn’t used to living on his own. (= He wasn't accustomed to it.)
  • We are getting used to the new technology. (= We are becoming accustomed to it.)

2. PAST HABITS

Both forms describe actions which happened regularly in the past but no longer happen (or vice versa) or now happen with more or less frequency:

  • Jack used to wake up early every Monday. (Now he doesn’t .)
  • We would get up early every Sunday to go to church. (We don't now.)

To avoid confusion with other uses of would, we usually mention the past time or situation:

  • would talk him about the scholarship in the days before he passed his test.

3. PAST STATES

We use “used to” to describe past states which have changed:

  • Lithuania used to be part of the Soviet Union. (It isn't now.)
  • There didn’t use to be any crime around here in the old days. (There is now.)

* We cannot use would for past states:

  • France would be a monarchy, but now it’s a republic.  (Wrong)
  • France used to be a monarchy, but now it’s a republic. (Correct)

Hope this post could help you increase your writing also speaking skills in the IELTS Test. Don’t forget to check out our website (ieltsmaterial.com) to find more tips about the IELTS Test.

IELTS To Success ( Ebook & Audio)

Posted: 28 Sep 2016 09:43 PM PDT

IELTS To Success is designed to help you prepare for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination by providing strategies and material to practice in all areas of the test.

IELTS To Success is aimed specifically at people taking the IELTS Academic Module rather than the General Training Module. The Introduction provides an overview of IELTS for readers not familiar with the test. It contains a breakdown of each section of the examination, including content and procedure.

The Skills and Strategies section discusses skills that are especially important in setting IELTS. We suggest you look through this section to help you identify any skill areas in which you may need to improve. This section will also help you become familiar with the kinds of instructions and tasks found in IELTS tests. The listening tasks in this section can he heard on Audio Cassette One, Side A of the audio cassettes that have been developed to accompany this hook. (These cassettes are available as separate sale items. They can also be obtained by purchasing the book and cassette package, which is also available.)

Of particular importance in the Skills and Strategies section are the pages focusing on the Speaking Module. Because the actual subtest is done as a one-to-one live intent view, it is beyond the capabilities of a book to provide opportunities for genuine practice. Nonetheless, this book takes a comprehensive look at what is expected of you in the interview and offer various language strategies and tips we have found to be useful.

The next sections are made up of practice papers for the IELTS Listening, Reading and Writing Modules. There are three complete Practice Listening Papers, to be done while listening to the above-mentioned audio cassettes that accompany this book. They are followed by six Practice Reading Papers and six Practice Writing Papers.

Finally, we provide answers for the Practice Listening and Heading Papers and sample answers tor the Practice Writing Papers, followed by tapescripts for the Listening Papers.

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE:

Download Ebook

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