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IELTS Reading Practice Test 27 with Answers
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IELTS Reading Practice Test 27 with Answers

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 08:06 AM PST

Section 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1

The Dollar-a-Year Man

How John Lomax set out to record American folk music

A In the early 1930s, folklorist, platform lecturer, college professor and former banker John Avery Lomax was trying to recapture a sense of direction for his life. For two decades he had enjoyed a national reputation for his pioneering work in collecting and studying American folk songs; no less a figure than President Theodore Roosevelt had admired his work, and had written a letter of support for him as he sought grants for his research. He had always dreamed of finding a way of making a living by doing the thing he loved best, collecting folk songs, but he was now beginning to wonder if he would ever realise that dream.

B Lomax wanted to embark on a nationwide collecting project, resulting in as many as four volumes, and 'complete the rehabilitation of the American folk-song'. Eventually this was modified to where he envisioned a single book tentatively called American Ballads and Folk Songs, designed to survey the whole field. It called for firsthand field collecting, and would especially focus on the neglected area of black folk music.

C In 1932, Lomax travelled to New York, and stopped in to see a man named H.S. Latham of the Macmillan Company. He informally outlined his plan to Latham, and read him the text of an earthy African American blues ballad called 'Ida Red'. Latham was impressed, and two days later Lomax had a contract, a small check to bind it, and an agreement to deliver the manuscript about one year later. The spring of 1932 began to look more green, lush and full of promise.

D Lomax immediately set to work. He travelled to libraries at Harvard, the Library of Congress, Browm University and elsewhere in order to explore unpublished song collections and to canvas the folk song books published over the past ten years. During his stay in Washington, D.C., Lomax became friendly with Carl Engel, Music Division chief of the Library of Congress. Engel felt that Lomax had the necessary background and energy to someday direct the Archive of Folk Song. Through funds provided by the Council of Learned Societies and the Library of Congress, Lomax ordered a state-of-the-art portable recording machine. More importantly, the Library of Congress agreed to furnish blank records and to lend their name to his collecting; Lomax simply had to agree to deposit the completed records at the Library of Congress. He did so without hesitation. On July 15, 1933, Lomax was appointed an 'honorary consultant' for a dollar a year.

E Together with his eighteen-year-old son Alan, he began a great adventure to collect songs for American Ballads and Folk- Songs, a task that was to last for many months. Lomax's library research had reinforced his belief that a dearth of black folk song material existed in printed collections. This fact, along with his early appreciation of African American folk culture, led Lomax to decide that black folk music from rural areas should be the primary focus. This bold determination resulted in the first major trip in the United States to capture black folk music in the field. In order to fulfill their quest, the two men concentrated on sections of the South with a high percentage of blacks. They also pinpointed laboring camps, particularly lumber camps, which employed blacks almost exclusively. But as they went along, prisons and penitentiaries also emerged as a focal point for research.

F The recordings made by the Lomaxes had historical significance. The whole idea of using a phonograph to preserve authentic folk music was still fairly new. Most of John Lomax's peers were involved in collecting- songs the classic way: taking both words and melody down by hand, asking the singer to perform the song over and over until the collector had 'caught' it on paper. John Lomax sensed at once the limitations of this kind of method, especially when getting songs from African-American singers, whose quarter tones, blue notes and complex timing often frustrated white musicians trying to transcribe them with European notation systems.

G The whole concept of field recordings was, in 1933 and still is today, radically different from the popular notion of recording. Field recordings are not intended as commercial products, but as attempts at cultural preservation. There is no profit motive, nor any desire to make the singer a 'star'. As have hundreds of folk song collectors after him, John Lomax had to persuade his singers to perform, to explain to them why their songs were important, and to convince the various authorities – the wardens, the trusties, the bureaucrats – that this was serious, worthwhile work. He faced the moral problem of how to safeguard the records and the rights of the singers – a problem he solved in this instance by donating the discs to the Library of Congress. He bad to overcome the technical problems involved in recording outside a studio; one always hoped for quiet, with no doors slamming or alarms going off, but it was always a risk. His new state-of-the-art recording machine sported a new microphone designed by NBC, but there were no wind baffles to help reduce the noise when recording outside. Lomax learned how to balance sound, where to place microphones, how to work echoes and walls, and soon was a skilled recordist.

Questions 1-5

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on >our answer sheet.

JOHN LOMAX'S PROJECT

Lomax began the research for this project by looking at 1 ………………………………………………… that were not available in book form, as well as at certain books. While he was doing this research, he met someone who ran a department at the 2…………………………. in Washington. As a result of this contact, he was provided with the very latest kind of 3 ………………………………. . for his project. Lomax believed that the places he should concentrate on were 4………………………………. in the South of the US. While he and his son were on their trip, they added 5…. ……………………………… as places where they could find what they were looking for.

Questions 6-10

Reading Passage 1 has seven sections labelled A-Q.

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-Q in boxes 6—10 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

6. a reference to the speed with which Lomax responded to a demand

7. a reason why Lomax doubted the effectiveness of a certain approach

8. reasons why Lomax was considered suitable for a particular official post

9. a reference to a change of plan on Lomax's part

10. a reference to one of Lomax's theories being confirmed

Questions 11-13

Choose THREE letters A-F.

Write your answers in boxes 11 -/3 on your answer sheet.

Which THREE of the following difficulties for Lomax are mentioned by the writer of the text?

A finding a publisher for his research

B deciding exactly what kind of music to collect

C the scepticism of others concerning his methods

D the reluctance of people to participate in his project

E making sure that participants in his project were nor exploited

F factors resulting from his choice of locations for recording

SECTION 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 on the following pages.

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs A—Q.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct numbers i-x m boxes 14-20 on you answer sheet.

List of Headings

i Optimistic beliefs held by the writers of children's literature

ii The attitudes of certain adults towards children’s literature

iii The attraction of children's literature

iv A contrast that categorises a hook as children's literature

v A false assumption made about children's literature

vi The conventional view of children's Literature

vii Some good and bad features of children's literature

viii Classifying a book as children's literature

ix The treatment of various themes in children's literature

x Another way of looking at children's literature


Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph E Paragraph G

Children's literature

A I am sometimes asked why anyone who is not a teacher or a librarian or the parent of little kids should concern herself with children’s books and folklore. I know the standard answers: that many famous writers have written for children, and that the great children’s books are also great literature; that these books and tales are an important source of archetype and symbol, and that they can help us to understand the structure and functions of the novel.

B All this is true. But I think we should also take children’s literature seriously because it is sometimes subversive: because its values are not always those of the conventional adult world. Of course, in a sense much great literature is subversive, since its very existence implies that what matters is art, imagination and truth. In what we call the real world, what usually counts is money, power and public success.

C The great subversive works of children’s literature suggest that there are other views of human life besides those of the shopping mall and the corporation. They mock current assumptions and express the imaginative, unconventional, noncommercial view of the world in its simplest and purest form. They appeal to the imaginative, questioning, rebellious child within all of us, renew our instinctive energy, and act as a force for change. This is why such literature is worthy of our attention and will endure long after more conventional tales have been forgotten.

D An interesting question is what – besides intention – makes a particular story a ‘children’s book’? With the exception of picture books for toddlers, these works are not necessarily shorter or simpler than so-called adult fiction, and they are surely not less well written. The heroes and heroines of these tales, it is true, are often children: but then so are the protagonists of Henry James’s What Maisie Knew and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Yet the barrier between children’s books and adult fiction remains; editors, critics and readers seem to have little trouble in assigning a given work to one category or the other.

E In classic children’s fiction a pastoral convention is maintained. It is assumed that the world of childhood is simpler and more natural than that of adults, and that children, though they may have faults, are essentially good or at least capable of becoming so. The transformation of selfish, whiny, disagreeable Mary and hysterical, demanding Colin in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is a paradigm. Of course, there are often unpleasant minor juvenile characters who give the protagonist a lot of trouble and are defeated or evaded rather than reeducated. But on occasion even the angry bully and the lying sneak can be reformed and forgiven. Richard Hughes’s A High Wind in Jamaica, though most of its characters are children, never appears on lists of recommended juvenile fiction; not so much because of the elaborations of its diction (which is no more complex than that of, say, Treasure Island), but because in it children are irretrievably damaged and corrupted.

F Adults in most children’s books, on the other hand, are usually stuck with their characters and incapable of alteration or growth. If they are really unpleasant, the only thing that can rescue them is the natural goodness of a child. Here again, Mrs. Burnett provides the classic example, in Little Lord Fauntleroy. (Scrooge’s somewhat similar change of heart in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, however, is due mainly to regret for his past and terror of the future. This is one of the things that makes the book a family rather than a juvenile romance; another is the helpless passivity of the principal child character, Tiny Tim.).

G Of the three principal preoccupations of adult fiction – sex, money and death – the first is absent from classic children’s literature and the other two either absent or much muted. Money is a motive in children’s literature, in the sense that many stories deal with a search for treasure of some sort. These quests, unlike real-life ones, are almost always successful, though occasionally what is found in the end is some form of family happiness, which is declared by the author and the characters to be a ‘real treasure’. Simple economic survival, however, is almost never the problem; what is sought, rather, is a magical (sometimes literally magical) surplus of wealth. Death, which was a common theme in nineteenth-century fiction for children, was almost banished during the first half of the twentieth century. Since then it has begun to reappear; the breakthrough book was E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. Today not only animals but people die, notably in the sort of books that get awards and are recommended by librarians and psychologists for children who have lost a relative. But even today the characters who die tend to be of another generation; the protagonist and his or her friends survive. Though there are some interesting exceptions, even the most subversive of contemporary children’s books usually follow these conventions. They portray an ideal world of perfectible beings, free of the necessity for survival.

Questions 21-26

Do the following statement's agree with the news of the writer in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet write

YES if the statement agrees with the news of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

21. Adults often fail to recognise the subversive elements in books their children read.

22. In publishing, the definition of certain genres has become inconsistent.

23. Characters in The Secret Garden are a good example of the norm in children's literature.

24. Despite the language used in A High Wind in Jamaica, it should he considered a children's hook.

25. The character of Tiny Tim contrasts with that of the child in Little Lord Faumlerny.

26. A more realistic view of money should be given in children’s hooks.

SECTION 3

The birth of our modern minds
When did we begin to use symbols to communicate? Roger Highfield reports on a challenge to prevailing ideas

Anyone who doubts the importance of art need do no more than refer to the current account of human evolution, where the emergence of modern people is not so much marked by Stone Age technology as a creative explosion that rocked Europe 40,000 years ago. Our ancestors began to adorn their bodies with beads and pendants, even tattoos; they painted representations of animals, people and magical hybrids on cave walls in Lascaux, France and Altamira in Spain. They sculpted voluptuous stone figures, such as the Venus of Willendorf. This cultural Big Bang, which coincided with the period when modern humans reached Europe after they set out, via the Near East, from Africa, marked a decisive point in our story, when man took a critical step beyond the limitations of his hairy ancestors and began to use symbols. The modern mind was born.

Or was it? Britain's leading archaeologist questions the dogma that the modern human mind originated in Europe and, instead, argues that its birth was much more recent, around 10,000 years ago, and took place in the Middle East. Lord Renfrew, professor of archaeology at Cambridge University, is troubled by what he calls the 'sapient behaviour paradox': genetic findings, based on the diversity of modern humans, suggest that our big brains emerged 130,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens evolved from Homo erectus, and were fully developed about 60,000 years ago. But this hardware, though necessary, was not sufficient for modern behaviour, software (culture) is also required to run a mind and for this to be honed took tens of millennia.There is something unsatisfactory about the genetic argument that rests on the 'potential' for change emerging, he argues. Ultimately, little happened — or at least not for another 30,000 years.

Although there is no doubt that genes shaped the hardware of the modern brain, genetics does not tell the whole story. 'It is doubtful whether molecular sequences will give us any clear insights,' said Lord Renfrew, adding that the current account of our origins has also become sidetracked by placing too much emphasis on one cultural event. Either side of the boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, 40,000 years ago, people lived much the same way. To the casual observer, the archaeological record for Homo sapiens does not look much different from Homo erectus's, or even our beetle browed European cousins, the Neanderthals. 'There are detailed changes in tools and so on but the only one that really strikes you is cave art.'

And this artistic revolution was patchy: the best examples are in Spain and France, in Britain, the oldest known cave art consists of 12.000-year-old engravings in Creswell Crags. Indeed, was there an artistic revolution 40,000 years ago at all? Two pieces of ochre engraved with geometrical patterns 70,000 years ago were recently found at Blombos Cave, 180 miles east of Cape Town, South Africa. This means people were able to think abstractly and behave as modern humans much earlier than previously thought. Lord Renfrew argues that art, like genetics, does not tell the whole story of our origins. For him, the real revolution occurred 10,000 years ago with the first permanent • liages. That is when the effects of new software kicked in, allowing our ancestors to work together in a more settled way. That is when plants and animals were domesticated and agriculture born.

First there were nests of skulls and unusual burial practices, cult centres and shrines. Then you have the first villages, the first towns, like Jericho in Jordan around 8000 BC) and Catalhoyuk in Turkey (est 6500 BC), then the spread of farming to Europe. Before long, you are accelerating towards the first cities in Mesopotamia, and then other civilisations in Mexico, China and beyond.'

Living in timber and mud brick houses led to a very different engagement between our ancestors and the material world.’1 don't think it was until settled village communities developed that you had the concept of property, or that "I own these things that have been handed down to me”.' This in turn could have introduced the need for mathematics, to keep a tally of possessions, and written language to describe them. In the Near East, primitive counters date back to the early farming period and this could have marked the first stages of writing, said Lord Renfrew. 'We have not solved anything about the origins of modern humans until we understand what happened 10,000 years ago,' he said. He is excited by excavations now under way in Anatolia, a potential birthplace of the modern mind, in Catalhôyük. one of the earliest places where close- knit communities were born, and Gobekli Tepe, a shrine that predates village life. These spiritual sites may have seeded the first human settled communities by encouraging the domestication of plants and animals.

Questions 27-32

Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

27 According to the current view, what does NOT indicate the first appearance of the modem human

28 What type of evidence does Lord Renfrew question in general?

29 What, apart from art, were the developments in the creation of 40,000 years ago?

30 What kind of cave art in Britain is referred to?

31 What TWO things does Lord Renfrew believe to have been established 10,000 years ago?

32 What TWO things did the notion of personal possessions lead to?

Questions 33—40

Classify the following statements as referring to the period

A 10,000 years ago

B 40,000 years ago

C 60,000 years ago

D 70,000 years ago

Write the correct letter A—D in boxes 33—40 on your answer sheet.

33 The brain was completely formed physically but was not capable of all the functions of the modem mind.

34 There was a major change in the attitude of humans to each other.

35 A huge amount of art in different forms began to appear.

36 Development of the human mind occurred at the same time as a migration.

37 Art from the period casts doubt on the conventional view of the development of the human mind.

38 Tire modern mind developed in a different location from the one normally assumed.

39 The only significant change in the development of man is shown in the art produced.

40 Further research into the period is essential for accurate conclusions to be drawn on human development.

ANSWER KEY FOR IELTS READING PRACTICE TEST

READING Passage 1

Test Questions 1-5

Answer: song collections

Note Section D: ‘he travelled to libraries …’. The song collections were ‘unpublished’; the 'folk song books’ mentioned here were published.

Answer: Library of Congress

Note Section D: ‘During his stay … ‘. Engel worked at the Library of Congress. He thought Lomax might run another organisation, the Archive of Folk Song, one day.

Answer: portable recording machine

Note Section D: ‘Through funds … ‘. The recording equipment is said to be ‘state-of-the-art’ (the latest kind); this is not said about the ‘blank records’ he was also given.

Answer; rural areas

Note Section E: This fact… high percentage of blacks’. He decided that ‘black folk music’ in these areas would be his ‘primary focus’ (what he would mainly concentrate on). These areas were in ‘sections of the South’.

Answer: prisons and penitentiaries

Note Section E: ‘But as they went along …’. They decided before they started the trip to go to ‘laboring camps, particularly lumber camps’. But ‘as they went along’ (while they were on the trip), prisons and penitentiaries also ’emerged’ (appeared or became known to them) as a ‘focal point for research’ (something they should also concentrate on). Therefore, they added these places to the places in which they did their research.

Questions 6-10

Answer: D

Note ‘Lomax simply had to … without hesitation.’ He had to sign a contract in section C; he had to deal with various people and problems in section G; section D contains the only reference to him responding quickly.

Answer: F

Note From ‘Most of John Lomax’s peers’ to the end of the section. Every section contains a reference to Lomax collecting songs or doing research before his trip; section F deals with the normal methods at the time and Lomax’s belief that these were not appropriate for the kind of music he was collecting.

Answer: D

Note ‘Engel felt that Lomax … to direct the Archive of National Song.’ The reasons why Engel thought that Lomax was suitable for it were his ‘background’ and his ‘energy’. Jobs Lomax had already had are mentioned in section A. Jobs held by ‘various authorities’ are mentioned in section G; section D contains the only official job mentioned in connection with Lomax in the future.

Answer: B

Note ‘Lomax wanted to embark … survey the whole field.’ He originally planned to produce ‘four volumes’ (books) but then ‘modified’ (changed) his plan and decided to produce ‘a single book’ (one book). Lomax’s plans and intentions concerning collecting songs are mentioned in every section; the only reference to him changing a plan is in section B.

Answer: E

Note ‘Lomax’s library research … ‘. His theory was that there was ‘a dearth of’ (a serious lack of) black folk music in printed collections. This theory was ‘reinforced’ (confirmed, made stronger) when he did his library research. Lomax’s theories on collecting methods are the topic of section F; section G refers to his belief that the songs were ‘important’; section E contains the only reference to him proving that one of his theories was correct.

► Question. 11-13

11-13 Answer: D/E/F (in any order)

Note Option D, section G: ‘As have hundreds …’. Lomax had to ‘persuade his singers to perform’ and ‘explain to them why their songs were important’. This indicates that at first they were reluctant to (they didn’t want to) take part in his project.

Option E, section G: ‘He faced the moral problem of…’. He felt that he had to ‘safeguard’ (protect) the records and the rights of the singers’ to make sure that they weren’t exploited (that other people didn’t take unfair advantage of them to make money).

Option F, section G: ‘He had to overcome the technical problems … when recording outside’. The factors were the noise from various things, but his equipment was not able to reduce the noise while recording because it had no ‘wind baffles’. He therefore had to ‘overcome’ these technical problems.

Option A is not the correct answer because in section C we are told that the only publisher we know that he spoke to was impressed and offered him a contract ‘two days later’. Option B is not the correct answer because we are told in sections B and E that his aim was always to collect black folk music, and there is no reference to him changing his aim. Option C is not the correct answer because we are told in sections F and G that his method of field recording was unusual and that he had to protect those who took part, but there is no reference to other researchers doubting his methods in section E or to singers thinking his methods were wrong in section G.

READING Passage 2

► Questions 14-20

Answer: vi

Note The paragraph is mainly about ‘the standard answers’ people give when asked why children’s literature is important.

Answer: x

Note The paragraph is mainly about a further reason why children’s literature is important, in addition to the reasons given in paragraph A – that It is ‘subversive’ (opposed to the normal rules of society).

Answer: iii

Note The paragraph is mainly about why children’s literature appeals to people. It presents an alternative view of life, it makes fun of conventional views of life, it appeals to the imaginative aspects of people, etc.

Answer: viii

Note The main topic of the paragraph is the definition of a children’s book and deciding whether a book belongs to that category or not; the writer says that children’s books have many things in common with adult fiction, but that people find it easy to decide whether a book can be described as children’s literature or not.

Answer: i

Note The main point of the paragraph is that writers of children’s literature base their books on the idea that children are good people or that they can become good people. The paragraph then contains examples of this and of a book that cannot be considered a children’s book because the children in it do not follow this pattern.

Answer: iv

Note The paragraph is mainly about the difference between the adults and the children in children’s books. The writer says that this difference is something that means a book can be classified as children’s literature, and then gives an example of a book that does not have this characteristic and therefore cannot be called children’s literature.

Answer: ix

Note The paragraph is mainly about how the subjects of sex, money and death are presented in children’s books.

► Questions 21-26

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Note In sections B and C the writer says that children’s books are subversive and that they make fun of the adult world, but she does not say whether or not adults realise that their children are reading books that contain these features.

Answer: NO

Note In section D the writer says that ‘editors’ and 'critics’, as well as readers, ‘seem to have little trouble’ in classifying books. This means that they continue to classify them in the way they have done previously, and that the distinctions between categories remain clear.

Answer: YES

Note In section E the writer says that Mary and Colin have a ‘transformation’ (major change) in the book, meaning that they become good. They are therefore like the children she talks about in the previous sentence, who she says are typical examples of the children in children’s books.

Answer: NO

Note In section E the writer says that A High Wind in Jamaica isn’t a children’s book because the children in it do not have the characteristics that children in what she considers to be children’s books have. They are ‘irretrievably damaged and corrupted’ (they are permanently bad and do not change). The characters of the children are the reason why it isn’t a children’s book, not the language use, which is not more complex than the language in Treasure Island, which the writer implies is a children’s book.

Answer: YES

Note In section F the writer says that one reason why A Christmas Carol isn’t a children’s (‘juvenile’) book is ‘the helpless passivity’ of Tiny Tim. This means that Tiny Tim cannot and does not try to change anything, whereas the child in Little Lord Fauntteroy is a good example of a child in what the writer considers to be a children’s book because he takes action and manages to ‘rescue’ a bad adult character.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Note In section G the writer says that money in children’s books is not presented in ‘real-life’ situations but has a ‘magical’ quality that has nothing to do with the ‘simple economic survival’ that matters in real life. She is therefore saying that the view of money in children’s books is unrealistic. However, she does not say that this is a bad thing; she only says that it is a fact.

READING Passage 3

► Question 27-32

Answer: Stone Age technology

Note In the first sentence of the text, the writer says that according to ‘the current account’ of human evolution, the development of modern man is indicated by a ‘creative explosion’ 40,000 years ago, not by Stone Age technology.

Answer: genetic(s)

Note In the second paragraph, we are told that Lord Renfrew has doubts about ‘genetic findings’, and that he thinks the ‘genetic argument’ is ‘unsatisfactory’ because people had not developed ‘culture’ at the time when genetic evidence suggests that the modern human mind was fully formed. At the beginning of the third paragraph, we are also told that he thinks that ‘genetics does not tell the whole story’.

Answer: tools

Note At the end of the third paragraph, we are told that cave art was a much bigger development than the ‘detailed changes in tools’.

Answer: engravings

Note In the second sentence of the fourth paragraph, there is a reference to the art found in Creswell Crags in Britain. Engravings are an art form involving designs being cut into a hard surface.

Answer: permanent villages; agriculture

Note At the end of the fourth paragraph, we are told that Lord Renfrew thinks that major developments in the modern mind ‘kicked in’ (began to have a real effect) when permanent villages were set up and plants and animals began to be used in agriculture. Agriculture is said to have been ‘born’ (started, established) then. Plants and animals would not be a correct answer here because they were not ‘established’ then.

Answer: mathematics; written language

Note In the last paragraph, we are told that the ‘concept of property’ (the idea of owning possessions) began in villages. This, ‘in turn’ (as a result), produced a need for mathematics so that a ‘tally of’ (a record of the number of) possessions could be kept, and for written language so that these possessions could be described.

► Question 33—40

Answer: C

Note 2^nd paragraph: Genetic evidence suggests that the brain was ‘fully developed’ 60,000 years ago, but Lord Renfrew says humans lacked ‘culture’ then.

Answer: A

Note 4^th paragraph: Lord Renfrew thinks that the ‘real revolution’ happened 10,000 years ago, when people began to ‘work together in a more settled way’.

Answer: B

Note 1^st paragraph: When the ‘creative explosion’ happened 40,000 years ago, various different art forms began to appear. In this context, an ‘explosion’ is an enormous increase, and the art forms included art for the body (beads, pendants, tattoos), paintings (of various subjects) and sculptures (stone figures).

Answer: B

Note 1^st paragraph: the ‘cultural Big Bang’ is the ‘creative explosion’ mentioned earlier in the paragraph, which happened 40,000 years ago. This ‘coincided with’ (happened at the same time as) the time when people ‘reached Europe’ after a journey that began in Africa. The migration was therefore to Europe.

Answer: D

Note 4^th paragraph: The art created 70,000 years ago and found in South Africa indicates that people were capable of abstract thought and modern behaviour at a time earlier than had generally been thought to be the case. This art therefore suggests that what is commonly believed is not true – it casts doubts on the conventional view.

Answer: A

Note 2^nd paragraph: there is a ‘dogma’ (a firm belief, a fixed idea) that the modern mind developed in Europe 40,000 years ago (as explained in the first paragraph), but Lord Renfrew thinks it developed 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. His view about the location therefore differs from what is generally thought.

Answer: B

Note 3^rd paragraph: we are told that not much physical change happened 40,000 years ago (there is little difference between Homo sapiens and Homo erectus), and that the only change then that ‘really strikes you’ (is really noticeable) is in the art produced.

Answer: A

Note Last paragraph: Lord Renfrew says that firm ideas concerning how the modern human developed cannot be gained (‘We have not solved anything … ‘) until people have discovered exactly what happened 10,000 years ago. Research to discover this is taking place in three places that are mentioned.

Ludicrous – Word Of The Day For IELTS

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 05:02 AM PST

Ludicrous – Word Of The Day For IELTS Speaking And Writing

Ludicrous: (Adjective) /ˈluːdɪkrəs/

Definition:

completely unreasonable, stupid, or wrong

Synonyms:

Ridiculous, Crazy, Absurd

Example:

For IELTS Speaking:.
“And as he talked, I thought how ludicrous life sometimes was.”
“It is difficult to know whether this is more ludicrous or tragic.”
“Since I mentioned this ludicrous example of time-wasting to Julia MacKenzie, she has phoned roughly twice a day.”

For IELTS Writing:
“Yet it is equally ludicrous for a city to ask its taxpayers to subsidize a private good such as golf.”

Exercise:

Match the word below to complete these sentences.

fabricated, perfection, ludicrous, glossy, gluttony, settlement

The court granted him the …………………. sum of £100 in damages
As a repentant ………………, I pledge to swear off this hallucinogen
Only three of the 20 homes in his street had escaped the burglars and the ……………..
Most were reluctant, defensive, or simply ……………….. to blow their own trumpet.
She flicked him a ……………… smile, then strode briskly on.
As long as any advert does not bring the profession into …………….. nor is in bad taste then it is permissible.

Answer keys:

ludicrous
sinner
wrecker
hesitant
haughty
disrepute

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

IELTS Reading Actual Test 3 in 2016 with Answer Key

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 01:21 AM PST

Section 1

Bamboo, A Wonder Plant

The wonder plant with an uncertain future: more than a billion people rely on bamboo for either their shelter or income, while many endangered species depend on it for their survival. Despite its apparent abundance, a new report says that species of bamboo may be under serious threat.

Section A
Every year, during the rainy season, the mountain gorillas of Central Africa migrates to the foothills and lower slopes of the Virunga Mountains to graze on bamboo. For the 650 or so that remain in the wild, it’s a vital food source. Although they at almost 150 types of plant, as well as various insects and other invertebrates, at this time of year bamboo accounts for up to 90 per cent of their diet. Without it, says Ian Redmond, chairman of the Ape Alliance, their chances of survival would be reduced significantly. Gorillas aren’t the only locals keen on bamboo. For the people who live close to the Virungas, it’s a valuable and versatile raw material used for building houses and making household items such as mats and baskets. But in the past 100 years or so, resources have come under increasing pressure as populations have exploded and large areas of bamboo forest have been cleared to make way for farms and commercial plantations.

Section B
Sadly, this isn’t an isolated story. All over the world, the ranges of many bamboo species appear to be shrinking, endangering the people and animals (that depend upon them. But despite bamboo’s importance, we know surprisingly little about it. A recent report published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Inter-national Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) has revealed just how profound is our ignorance of global bamboo resources, particularly in relation to conservation. There are almost 1,600 recognised species of bamboo, but the report concentrated on the 1,200 or so woody varieties distinguished by the strong stems, or culms, that most people associate with this versatile plant. Of these, only 38 ‘priority species’ identified for their commercial value have been the subject of any real scientific research, and this has focused mostly on matters relating to their viability as a commodity. This problem isn’t confined to bamboo. Compared to the work carried out on animals, the science of assessing the conservation status of plants is still in its infancy. “People have only started looking hard at this during the past 10-15 years, and only now are they getting a handle on how to go about it systematically,” says Dr. Valerie Kapos, one of the report’s authors and a senior advisler in forest ecology and conservation to the UNEP

Section C
Bamboo is a type of grass. It comes in a wide variety of forms, ranging in height from 30 centimetres to more than 40 metres. It is also the world’s fastest-growing woody plant; some species can grow more than a metre in a day. Bamboo’s ecological rote extends beyond providing food and habitat for animals. Bamboo tends to grow in stands made up of groups of individual plants that grow from root systems known as rhizomes. Its extensive rhizome systems, which tie in predicting the top layers of the soil, are crucial in preventing soil erosion. And there is growing evidence that bamboo plays an important part in determining forest structure and dynamics. “Bamboo’s pattern of mass flowering and mass death leaves behind large areas of dry biomass that attract wildfire,” says Kapos. “When these bum, they create patches of open ground within the forest far bigger than would be left by a fallen tree.” Patchiness helps to preserve diversity because certain plant species do better during the early stages of regeneration when there are gaps in the canopy.

Section D
However, bamboo’s most immediate significance lies in its economic value. Modem processing techniques mean that it can be used in a variety of ways, for example, as flooring and laminates. One of the fastest growing bamboo products is paper -25 per cent of paper produced in India is made from bamboo fiber and in Brazil, 100,000 hectares of bamboo are grown for its production. Of course, bamboo’s main function has always been in domestic applications, and as a locally traded commodity it’s worth about US$4.5billion annually. Because of its versatility, flexibility and strength (its tensile strength compares to that of some steel), it has traditionally been used in construction. Today, more than one billion people worldwide live in bamboo houses. Bamboo is often the only readily available raw material for people in many developing countries, says Chris Staple-ton, a research associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens. “Bamboo can be harvested from forest areas or grown quickly elsewhere, and then converted simply without expensive machinery or facilities,” he says. “In this way, it contributes substantially to poverty alleviation and wealth creation.”

Section E
Given bamboo’s value in economic and ecological terms, the picture painted by the UNEP report is all the more worrying. But keen horticulturists will spot an apparent contradiction here. Those who’ve followed the recent vogue for cultivating exotic species in their gardens will point out that if it isn’t kept in check, bamboo can cause real problems. “In a lot of places, the people who live with bamboo don’t perceive it as being endangered in any way,” says Kapos. “In fact, a lot of bamboo species are actually very invasive if they’ve been introduced.” So why are so many species endangered? There are two separate issues here, says Ray Townsend, vice president of the British Bamboo Society and arboretum manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens. “Some plants are threatened because they can’t survive in the habitat – they aren’t strong enough or there aren’t enough of them, perhaps. But bamboo can take care of itself – it is strong enough to survive if left alone. What is under threat is its habitat.” It is the physical disturbance that is the threat to bamboo, says Kapos. “When forest goes, it is converted into something else: there isn’t any-where for forest plants such as bamboo to grow if you create a cattle pasture.”

Section F
Around the world, bamboo species are routinely protected as part of forest eco-systems in national parks and reserves, but there is next to nothing that protects bamboo in the wild for its own sake. However, some small steps are being taken to address this situation. The UNEP-INBAR report will help conservationists to establish effective measures aimed at protecting valuable wild bamboo species. Towns end, too, sees the UNEP report as an important step forward in promoting the cause of bamboo conservation. “Until now, bamboo has been perceived as a second-class plant.
When you talk about places such as the Amazon, everyone always thinks about the hardwoods. Of course these are significant, but there is a tendency to overlook the plants they are associated with, which are often bamboo species. In many ways, it is the most important plant known to man. I can’t think of another plant that is used so much and is so commercially important in so many countries.” He believes that the most important first step is to get scientists into the field. “We need to go out there, look at these plants and see how they survive and then use that information to conserve them for the future.

Questions 1-7
Reading Passage 1 has six sections A-F.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet
NB You may use any letter more than once

Limited extent of existing research

2. Comparison of bamboo with other plant species

3. Commercial application of bamboo

4. Example of an animal which rely on bamboos for survival

5. Human activity that damaged large areas of bamboo

6. The approaches used to study bamboo

7. Bamboo helps the survival of a range of plants

Questions 8-11

Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-D) with opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A-d in boxes 8-11 on your answer sheet.

NB you may use any letter more than once

A Ian Redmond

B Valerie Kapos

C Ray Townsend

D Chris Stapleton

8. Destroying bamboo jeopardizes to wildlife.

9. People have very confined knowledge of bamboo.

10. Some people do not think that bamboo is endangered.

11. Bamboo has loads of commercial potentials.

Questions 12-13

Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 12-13 on your answer sheet

12. What problem does the bamboo’s root system prevent?

13. Which bamboo product is experiencing market expansion

SECTION 2

Biodiversity

A
It seems biodiversity has become a buzzword beloved of politicians, conservationists, protesters and scientists alike. But what exactly is it? The Convention on Biological Diversity, an international agreement to conserve and share the planet’s biological riches, provides a good working definition: biodiversity comprises every form of life, from the smallest microbe to the largest animal or plant, the genes that give them their specific characteristics and the ecosystems of which they are a part.
B
In October, the World Conservation Union (also known as the IUCN) published its updated Red List of Threatened Species, a roll call of 11,167 creatures facing extinction – 121 more than when the list was last published in 2000. But the new figures almost certainly underestimate the crisis. Some 1.2 million species of animal and 270,000 species of plant have been classified, but the well-being of only a fraction has been assessed. The resources are simply not available. The RJCN reports that 5714 plants are threatened, for example, but admits that only 4 per cent of known plants have been assessed. And, of course, there are thousands of species that we have yet to discover. Many of these could also be facing extinction.
C
It is important to develop a picture of the diversity of life on Earth now, so that comparisons can be made in the future and trends identified. But it isn’t necessary to observe every single type of organism in an area to get a snapshot of the health of the ecosystem. In many habitats there are species that are particularly susceptible to shifting conditions, and these can be used as indicator species
D
In the media, it is usually large, charismatic animals such as pandas, elephants, tigers and whales that get all the attention when loss of biodiversity is discussed. However, animals or plants far lower down the food chain are often the ones vital for preserving habitats – in the process saving the skins of those more glamorous species. These are known as keystone species.
E
By studying the complex feeding relationships within habitats, species can be identified that have a particularly important impact on the environment. For example, the members of the fig family are the staple food for hundreds of different species in many different countries, so important that scientists sometimes call figs “jungle burgers”. A whole range of animals, from tiny insects to birds and large mammals, feed on everything from the tree’s bark and leaves to its flowers and fruits. Many fig species have very specific pollinators. There are several dozen species of fig tree in Costa Rica, and a different type of wasp has evolved to pollinate each one. Chris Lyle of the Natural History Museum in London – who is also involved in the Global Taxonomy Initiative of the Convention on Biological Diversity – points out that if fig trees are affected by global warming, pollution, disease or any other catastrophe, the loss of biodiversity will be enormous.
F
Similarly, sea otters play a major role in the survival of giant kelp forests along the coasts of California and Alaska. These “marine rainforests” provide a home for a wide range of other species. The kelp itself is the main food of purple and red sea urchins and in turn the urchins are eaten by predators, particularly sea otters. They detach an urchin from the seabed then float to the surface and lie on their backs with the urchin shell on their tummy, smashing it open with a stone before eating the contents. Urchins that are not eaten tend to spend their time in rock crevices to avoid the predators. This allows the kelp to grow – and it can grow many centimetres in a day. As the forests form, bits of kelp break off and fall to the bottom to provide food for the urchins in their crevices. The sea otters thrive hunting for sea urchins in the kelp, and many other fish and invertebrates live among the fronds. The problems start when the sea otter population declines. As large predators they are vulnerable – their numbers are relatively small so disease or human hunters can wipe them out. The result is that the sea urchin population grows unchecked and they roam the sea floor eating young kelp fronds. This tends to keep the kelp very short and stops forests developing, which has a huge impact on biodiversity.
G
Conversely, keystone species can also make dangerous alien species: they can wreak havoc if they end up in the wrong ecosystem. The cactus moth, whose caterpillar is a voracious eater of prickly pear was introduced to Australia to control the rampant cacti. It was so successful that someone thought it would be a good idea to introduce it to Caribbean islands that had the same problem. It solved the cactus menace, but unfortunately some of the moths have now reached the US mainland – borne on winds and in tourists’ luggage – where they are devastating the native cactus populations of Florida.
H
Organisations like the Convention on Biological Diversity work with groups such as the UN and with governments and scientists to raise awareness and fund research. A number of major international meetings – including the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg this year – have set targets for governments around the world to slow the loss of biodiversity. And the CITES meeting in Santiago last month added several more names to its list of endangered species for which trade is controlled. Of course, these agreements will prove of limited value if some countries refuse to implement them.
I
There is cause for optimism, however. There seems to be a growing understanding of the need for sustainable agriculture and sustainable tourism to conserve biodiversity. Problems such as illegal logging are being tackled through sustainable forestry programmes, with the emphasis on minimising the use of rainforest hardwoods in the developed world and on rigorous replanting of whatever trees are harvested. CITES is playing its part by controlling trade in wood from endangered tree species. In the same way, sustainable farming techniques that minimise environmental damage and avoid monoculture
J
Action at a national level often means investing in public education and awareness. Getting people like you and me involved can be very effective. Australia and many European countries are becoming increasingly efficient at recycling much of their domestic waste, for example, preserving natural resources and reducing the use of fossil fuels. This in turn has a direct effect on biodiversity by minimising pollution, and an indirect effect by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from incinerators and landfill sites. Preserving ecosystems intact for future generations to enjoy is obviously important, but biodiversity is not some kind of optional extra. Variety may be “the spice of life”, but biological variety is also our life-support system.

Questions 14-20
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2 In boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
14 The term “biodiversity” consists of living creatures and environment that they live in.
15 There are species that have not been researched because it’s unnecessary to study all creatures.
16 It is not necessary to investigate all creatures in a certain place.
17 The press more often than not focuses on animals well-known.
18 There is a successful case that cactus moth plays a positive role in the US.
19 Usage of hardwoods is forbidden in some European countries.
20 Agriculture experts advise farmers to plant single crops in the field in terms of sustainable farming

Questions 21-26
Summary
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet.
Because of the ignorance brought by media, people tend to neglect significant creatures called 21 ………………. .Every creature has diet connections with others, such as 22 ………………. which provide a majority of foods for other species. In some states of America, decline in number of sea otters leads to the boom of 23 ………………. An impressing case is that imported 24 successfully tackles the plant cacti in 25 ………………. However, the operation is needed for the government to increase their financial support in 26 ………………. .

SECTION 3

Sunset for the Oil Business

The world is about to run out of oil. Or perhaps not. It depends whom you believe…
A
Members of the Department Analysis Centre (ODAC) recently met in London and presented technical data that support their grim forecast that the world is perilously close to running out of oil. Leading lights of this moment, including the geologists Colin Campbell, rejected rival views presented by American geological survey and the international energy agency that contradicted their findings. Dr. Campbell even decried the amazing display of ignorance, denial and obfuscation by government, industry and academics on this topic.

B
So is the oil really running out? The answer is easy: Yes. Nobody seriously disputes the notion that oil is, for all practical purposes, a non-renewable resource that will run out some day, be that years or decades away. The harder question is determining when precisely oil will begin to get scarce. And answering that question involves scaling Hubbert’s peak.
C
M. King Hubbert, a Shell geologist of legendary status among depletion experts, forecast in 1956 that oil production in the United States would peak in the early 1970s and then slowly decline, in something resembling a bell-shaped curve. At the time, his forecast was controversial, and many rubbished it. After 1970, however, empirical evidence proved him correct: oil production in America did indeed peak and has been in decline ever since.
D
Dr Hubbert’s analysis drew on the observation that oil production in a new area typically rises quickly at first, as the easiest and cheapest reserves are tapped. Over time, reservoirs age and go into decline, and so lifting oil becomes more expensive. Oil from that area then becomes less competitive in relation to other fuels, or to oil from other areas. As a result, production slows down and usually tapers off and declines. That, he argued, made for a bell-shaped curve.
E
His successful prediction has emboldened a new generation of geologists to apply his methodology on a global scale. Chief among them are the experts at ODAC, who worry that the global peak in production will come in the next decade. Dr Campbell used to argue that the peak should have come already; he now thinks it is just round the comer. A heavyweight has now joined this gloomy chorus. Kenneth Deffeyes of Princeton University argues in a lively new book ("The View from Hubbert’s Peak") that global oil production could peak as soon as 2004.
F
That sharply contradicts mainstream thinking. America’s Geological Survey prepared an exhaustive study of oil depletion last year (in part to rebut Dr Campbell’s arguments) that put the peak of production some decades off. The IEA has just weighed in with its new "World Energy Outlook", which foresees enough oil to comfortably meet demand to 2020 from remaining reserves. Rene Dahan, one of ExxonMobil’s top managers, goes further: with an assurance characteristic of the world’s largest energy company, he insists that the world will be awash in oil for another 70 years.
G
Who is right? In making sense of these wildly opposing views, it is useful to look back at the pitiful history of oil forecasting. Doomsters have been predicting dry wells since the 1970s, but so far the oil is still gushing. Nearly all the predictions for 2000 made after the 1970s oil shocks were far too pessimistic. America’s Department of Energy thought that oil would reach $150 a barrel (at 2000 prices); even Exxon predicted a price of $ 100.
H
Michael Lynch of DRI-WEFA, an economic consultancy, is one of the few oil forecasters who has got things generally right. In a new paper, Dr Lynch analyses those historical forecasts. He finds evidence of both bias and recurring errors, which suggests that methodological mistakes (rather than just poor data) were the problem. In particular, he faults forecasters who used Hubbert-style analysis for relying on fixed estimates of how much "ultimately recoverable" oil there really is below ground, in the industry’s jargon: that figure, he insists, is actually a dynamic one, as improvements in infrastructure, knowledge and technology raise the amount of oil which is recoverable.
I
That points to what will probably determine whether the pessimists or the optimists are right: technological innovation. The first camp tends to be dismissive of claims of forthcoming technological revolutions in such areas as deep-water drilling and enhanced recovery. Dr Deffeyes captures this end-of-technology mindset well. He argues that because the industry has already spent billions on technology development, it makes it difficult to ask today for new technology, as most of the wheels have already been invented.
J
Yet techno-optimists argue that the technological revolution in oil has only just begun. Average recovery rates (how much of the known oil in a reservoir can actually be brought to the surface) are still only around 30-35%. Industry optimists believe that new techniques on the drawing board today could lift that figure to 50-60% within a decade.
K
Given the industry’s astonishing track record of innovation, it may be foolish to bet against it. That is the result of adversity: the nationalisations of the 1970s forced Big Oil to develop reserves in expensive, inaccessible places such as the North Sea and Alaska, undermining Dr Hubbert’s assumption that cheap reserves are developed first. The resulting upstream investments have driven down the cost of finding and developing wells over the last two decades from over $20 a barrel to around $6 a barrel. The cost of producing oil has fallen by half, to under $4 a barrel.
L
Such miracles will not come cheap, however, since much of the world’s oil is now produced in ageing fields that are rapidly declining. The IEA concludes that global oil production need not peak in the next two decades if the necessary investments are made. So how much is necessary? If oil companies are to replace the output lost at those ageing fields and meet the world’s ever-rising demand for oil, the agency reckons they must invest $ 1 trillion in non-OPEC countries over the next decade alone. That’s quite a figure.

Questions 27-31
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3 In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
27 Hubbert has a high-profile reputation amongst ODAC members.
28 Oil is likely to last longer than some other energy sources.
29 The majority of geologists believe that oil will start to run out some time this decade.
30 Over 50 percent of the oil we know about is currently being recovered.
31 History has shown that some of Hubbet’s principles were mistaken.

Question 32-35
Complete the notes below
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.
Many people believed Hubbert’s theory was 32…………….. when it was originall presented.
The recovery of the oil gets more 34 ………………..as the reservoir gets older
When an aild field is 33……….. , it is easy to………………… .

The oil field can't be as 35…………………… as other area

Questions 36-40
Look at the following statements (questions 36-40) and the list ofpeople below. Match each statement with correct person, A-E.
Write the correct letter, A-E in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.
36 has found fault in geological research procedure
37 has provided the longest-range forecast regarding oil supply
38 has convinced others that oil production will follow a particular model
39 has accused fellow scientists of refusing to see the truth
40 has expressed doubt over whether improved methods of extracting oil are possible.

List of People
A Colin Campbell
B M. King Hubbert
C Kenneth Deffeyes
D Rene Dahan
E Michael Lynch

IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test 3 – Answer Key

Section 1

1	B	2	E	3	D
4	D	5	A	6	B
7	C	8	A	9	B
10	B	11	D	12	Soil erosion
13	Paper

Section 2

14	TRUE	15	FALSE	16	TRUE
17	TRUE	18	FALSE	19	NOT GIVEN
20	NOT GIVEN	21	Keystone	22	Fig family/ figs
23	Sea urchins( urchins)	24	Cactus moth	25	Australia
26	Public education

Section 3

27	YES	28	NOT GIVEN	29	NO
30	NO	31	YES	32	controversial
33	Tapped/( new)	34	Expensive	35	Competitive
36	E	37	D	38	B
39	A	40	C

Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth – Idiom Of The Day For IELTS

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 12:08 AM PST

Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth – Idiom Of The Day For IELTS Speaking.

Definition:

To complain if a gift is not up to your expectation

Example:

“When Aunt Lara bought Cynthia a beautiful dress, she looks a gift horse in the mouth.“

“I know the car’s not in great condition, but you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“I advise you not to look a gift horse in the mouth.“

Exercise:

Choose the suitable idiom to complete the sentence below.
” Okay, it’s not the job of your dreams but it pays good money. I’d be inclined not to _________________ if I were you.“
A. a bull in china shop
B. look a gift horse in the mouth
C. a leopard cannot change its spots
D. crocodile tears
Describe the gift that someone bought for you. Try to use this idiom in your speech. You should say:
– When it happened
– Who gave you this present
– What the gift was
And explain why you like or dislike this gift

subtitle indonesia

Monday, December 26, 2016