IELTS READING SAMPLES FOR GENERAL TRAINING

IELTS READING SAMPLES FOR GENERAL TRAINING

 ROBOTS AT WORK

A The newspaper production process has come a long way from the old days when the paper was written, edited, typeset and ultimately printed in one building with the journalists working on the upper floors and the printing presses going on the ground floor. These days the editor, subeditors and journalists who put the paper together are likely to find themselves in a totally different building or maybe even in a different city. This is the situation which now prevails in Sydney. The daily paper is compiled at the editorial headquarters, known as the prepress centre, in the heart of the city, but printed far away in the suburbs at the printing centre. Here human beings are in the minority as much of the work is done by automated machines controlled by computers. B Once the finished newspaper has been created for the next morning’s edition, all the pages are transmitted electronically from the prepress centre to the printing centre. The system of transmission is an update on the sophisticated page facsimile system already in use on many other newspapers. An imagesetter at the printing centre delivers the pages as film. Each page takes less than a minute to produce, although for colour pages four versions, once each for black, cyan, magenta and yellow are sent. The pages are then processed into photographic negatives and the film is used to produce aluminium printing plates ready for the presses. C A procession of automated vehicles is busy at the new printing centre where the Sydney Morning Herald is printed each day. With lights flashing and warning horns honking, the robots (to give them their correct name, the LGVs or laser guided vehicles) look for all the world like enthusiastic machines from a science fiction movie, as they follow their own random paths around the plant busily getting on with their jobs. Automation of this kind is now standard in all modern newspaper plants. The robots can detect unauthorised personnel and alert security staff immediately if they find an “intruder”; not surprisingly, tall tales are already being told about the machines starting to take on personalities of their own. D The robots’ principal job, however, is to shift the newsprint (the printing paper) that arrives at the plant in huge reels and emerges at the other end some time later as newspapers. Once the size of the

day’s paper and the publishing order are determined at head office, the information is punched into the computer and the LGVs are programmed to go about their work. The LGVs collect the appropriate size paper reels and take them where they have to go. When the press needs another reel its computer alerts the LGV system. The Sydney LGVs move busily around the press room fulfilling their two key functions to collect reels of newsprint either from the reel stripping stations, or from the racked supplies in the newsprint storage area. At the stripping station the tough wrapping that helps to protect a reel of paper from rough handling is removed. Any damaged paper is peeled off and the reel is then weighed. E Then one of the four paster robots moves in. Specifically designed for the job, it trims the paper neatly and prepares the reel for the press. If required the reel can be loaded directly onto the press; if not needed immediately, an LGV takes it to the storage area. When the press computer calls for a reel, an LGV takes it to the reel loading area of the presses. It lifts the reel into the loading position and places it in the correct spot with complete accuracy. As each reel is used up, the press drops the heavy cardboard core into a waste bin. When the bin is full, another LGV collects it and deposits the cores into a shredder for recycling. F The LGVs move at walking speed. Should anyone step in front of one or get too close, sensors stop the vehicle until the path is clear. The company has chosen a laserguide function system for the vehicles because, as the project development manager says “The beauty of it is that if you want to change the routes, you can work out a new route on your computer and lay it down for them to follow”. When an LGV’s batteries run low, it will take itself off line and go to the nearest battery maintenance point for replacement batteries. And all this is achieved with absolute minimum human input and a much reduced risk of injury to people working in the printing centres. G The question newspaper workers must now ask, however is, “how long will it be before the robots are writing the newspapers as well as running the printing centre, churning out the latest edition every morning?”

General Training Reading sample task – Identifying information

 Read the text below and answer Questions 1-8.

London to Brighton Bike Ride

The start

The bike ride starts at Clapham Common tube station.

• Your Start Time is indicated by the colour of your body number in this pack. It is also printed on the address label of the envelope. Please arrive no earlier than 30 minutes before that time.

• We allocate an equal number of cyclists for each Start Time to ensure a steady flow. Please keep to the time you've been given so we can keep to our schedule and avoid delaying other riders and prevent 'bunching' further down the route.

• An Information Point, toilets and refreshment stands will be open from very early in the day.

Ride carefully

We put together as many facilities as possible to help ensure you have a troublefree day. But we also rely on you to ride safely and with due consideration for other cyclists and road users. Although many roads are closed to oncoming traffic, this is not always the case and you should be aware of the possibility that there could be vehicles coming in the opposite direction. Please do not attempt reckless overtaking whilst riding – remember it is NOT a race.

Follow all instructions

Every effort is made to ensure that the route is well signed and marshaled. Please obey all directions from police and marshals on the route. If you hear a motorcycle marshal blow his/her whistle three times, move left.

Wear a helmet

Every year we are delighted to see more riders wearing protective helmets, but we would like to see every cyclist on the ride wearing one. More than half of reported injuries in cycling accidents are to the head, and a helmet gives the best protection when the head hits the ground.

Attracting assistance

If you have an accident, ask a marshal for help; they are in contact with the

support/emergency services. To call for help from our motorcycle marshals, give a 'thumbs down' signal. The marshal will do all he/she can to help, providing he/she is not already going to a more serious accident. If a motorcycle marshal slows down to help you, but you have just stopped for a rest and don't need help, please give a 'thumbs up' signal and he/she will carry on. Remember – thumbs down means 'I need help'. General Training Reading sample task – Identifying information

In case of breakdown

Refer to your route map and make your way to a Mechanics Point. Mechanical

assistance is free when you show your Rider Identity Card; you just pay for the parts.

Refreshment stops

Look out for these along the route. Most are organised by voluntary clubs and their prices give you real value for money. They are also raising money for their local communities and the British Heart Foundation, so please give them your support.

Rain or shine – be prepared

In the event of very bad weather, watch out for signs to wet weather stations en route. Good waterproofs, like a cycle cape, are essential. Our first aid staff can only supply bin liners and by the time you get one you may be very wet. However, the English summer is unpredictable – it may also be hot, so don't forget the sun protection cream as well!

If you have to drop out

We will try to pick up your bike for you on the day. Call Bike Events (01225 310859) no more than two weeks after the ride to arrange collection. Sorry, we cannot guarantee this service nor can we accept liability for any loss or damage to your bike. Bike Events will hold your bike for three months, after which it may be disposed of. You will be charged for all costs incurred in returning your cycle. General Training Reading sample task – Identifying information

Questions 1 – 8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1 You should not arrive more than half an hour before your allocated starting time.

2 Your Rider Identity Card will be sent to you before the event.

3 Some roads may have normal traffic flow on them.

4 Helmets are compulsory for all participants.

5 Refreshments are free to all participants during the ride.

6 If you need a rest you must get off the road.

7 First aid staff can provide cycle capes.

8 Bike Events will charge you for the return of your bike.General Training Reading sample task – Identifying information

Answers

1 TRUE

2 NOT GIVEN

3 TRUE

4 FALSE

5 FALSE

6 NOT GIVEN

7 FALSE

8 TRUE General Training Reading sample task – Matching features

 [Note: This is an extract from a General Training Reading text on the subject

of the history of cinema. The text preceding this extract gave a general overview.]

Although French, German, American and British pioneers have all been credited with the invention of cinema, the British and the Germans played a relatively small role in its worldwide exploitation. It was above all the French, followed closely by the Americans, who were the most passionate exporters of the new invention, helping to start cinema in China, Japan, Latin America and Russia. In terms of artistic development it was again the French and the Americans who took the lead, though in the years before the First World War, Italy, Denmark and Russia also played a part. In the end it was the United States that was to become, and remain, the largest single market for films. By protecting their own market and pursuing a vigorous export policy, the Americans achieved a dominant position on the world market by the start of the First World War. The center of film making had moved westwards, to Hollywood, and it was films from these new Hollywood studios that flooded onto the world’s film markets in the

years after the First World War, and have done so ever since. Faced with total Hollywood domination, few film industries proved competitive. The Italian industry, which had pioneered the feature film with spectacular films like “Quo Vadis?” (1913) and “Cabiria” (1914), almost collapsed. In Scandinavia, the Swedish cinema had a brief period of glory, notably with powerful epic films and comedies. Even the French cinema found itself in a difficult position. In Europe, only Germany proved industrially capable, while in the new Soviet Union and in Japan, the development of the cinema took place in conditions of commercial isolation. Hollywood took the lead artistically as well as industrially.
Hollywood films appealed because they had better constructed narratives, their special effects were more impressive, and the star system added a new dimension to screen acting. If Hollywood did not have enough of its own resources, it had a great deal of money to buy up artists and technical innovations from Europe to ensure its continued dominance over present or future competition. From early cinema, it was only American slapstick comedy that successfully developed in both short and feature format. However, during this ‘Silent Film’ era, animation, comedy, serials and dramatic features continued to thrive, along with factual films or documentaries, which acquired an increasing distinctiveness as the period progressed.
It was also at this time that the avant-garde film first achieved commercial success, this time thanks almost exclusively to the French and the occasional German film. Of the countries which developed and maintained distinctive national cinemas in the silent period, the most important were France, Germany and the Soviet Union. Of these, the French displayed the most continuity, in spite of the war and post-war economic uncertainties. The German cinema, relatively insignificant in the pre-war years, exploded on to the world scene after 1919. Yet even they were both overshadowed by the Soviets after the 1917 Revolution. They turned their back on the past, leaving the style of the pre-war Russian cinema to the émigrés who fled westwards to escape the Revolution. General Training Reading sample task – Matching features

The other countries whose cinemas changed dramatically are: Britain, which had an interesting but undistinguished history in the silent period; Italy, which had a brief moment of international fame just before the war; the Scandinavian countries, particularly Denmark, which played a role in the development of silent cinema quite out of proportion to their small population; and Japan, where a cinema developed based primarily on traditional theatrical and, to a lesser extent, other art forms and only gradually adapted to western influence. General Training Reading sample task – Matching features

Questions 34 – 40

Look at the following statements (Questions 34-40) and the list of countries below.

Match each statement with the correct country, A-J.

Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

34 It helped other countries develop their own film industry.

35 It was the biggest producer of films.

36 It was first to develop the 'feature' film.

37 It was responsible for creating stars.

38 It made the most money from 'avantgarde' films.

39 It made movies based more on its own culture than outside influences
40 It had a great influence on silent movies, despite its size. List of Countries

A	France
B	Germany
C	USA
D	Denmark
E	Sweden
F	Japan
G	Russia
H	Italy
I	Britain
J	China

General Training Reading sample task – Matching headings

 Questions 27 – 32

The text has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A, B and D-G from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-ix,in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet. List of Headings
i	Robots working together
ii	Preparing LGVs for takeover
iii	Looking ahead
iv	The LGVs’ main functions
v	Split location for newspaper production
vi	Newspapers superseded by technology
vii	Getting the newspaper to the printing centre
viii	Controlling the robots
ix	Beware of robots!

General Training Reading sample task – Multiple choice

 [Note: This is an extract from a General Training Reading text on the subject of coal. The text preceding this extract catalogued the general belief that extracting and using coal is bad for the environment.]

Greenhouse gases arise from a wide range of sources and their increasing concentration is largely related to the compound effects of increased population, improved living standards and changes in lifestyle. From a current base of 5 billion, the United Nations predicts that the global population may stabilise in the twenty-first century between 8 and 14 billion, with more than 90 per cent of the projected increase taking place in the world’s developing nations. The associated activities to support that growth, particularly to produce the required energy and food, will cause further increases in greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge, therefore, is to attain a sustainable balance between population, economic growth and the environment.

The major greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the only major contributor to the greenhouse effect that does not occur naturally, coming from such sources as refrigeration, plastics and manufacture. Coal’s total contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is thought to be about 18 per cent, with about half of this coming from electricity generation.

The worldwide coal industry allocates extensive resources to researching and developing new technologies and ways of capturing greenhouse gases. Efficiencies are likely to be improved dramatically, and hence CO2 emissions reduced, through combustion and gasification techniques which are now at pilot and demonstration stages.

Clean coal is another avenue for improving fuel conversion efficiency. Investigations are under way into super-clean coal (35 per cent ash) and ultraclean coal (less than 1 per cent ash). Super-clean coal has the potential to enhance the combustion efficiency of conventional pulverised fuel power plants. Ultraclean coal will enable coal to be used in advanced power systems such as coal-fired gas turbines which, when operated in combined cycle, have the potential to achieve much greater efficiencies.

Defendants of mining point out that, environmentally, coal mining has two important factors in its favour. It makes only temporary use of the land and produces no toxic chemical wastes. By carefully preplanning projects, implementing pollution control measures, monitoring the effects of mining and rehabilitating mined areas, the coal industry minimises the impact on the neighbouring community, the immediate environment and long-term land capability. General Training Reading sample task – Multiple choice

Dust levels are controlled by spraying roads and stockpiles, and water pollution is controlled by carefully separating clean water runoff from runoff which contains sediments or salt from mine workings. The latter is treated and reused for dust suppression. Noise is controlled by modifying equipment and by using insulation and sound enclosures around machinery.

Since mining activities represent only a temporary use of the land, extensive

rehabilitation measures are adopted to ensure that land capability after mining meets agreed and appropriate standards which, in some cases, are superior to the land’s pre-mining condition. Where the mining is underground, the surface area can be simultaneously used for forests, cattle grazing and crop raising, or even reservoirs and urban development, with little or no disruption to the existing land use. In all cases, mining is subject to stringent controls and approvals processes. General Training Reading sample task – Multiple choice

Questions 1 – 5

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

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

1 The global increase in greenhouse gases has been attributed to

A industrial pollution in developing countries.

B coal mining and electricity generation.

C reduced rainfall in many parts of the world.

D trends in population and lifestyle.

2 The proportion of all greenhouse gases created by coal is approximately

A 14 per cent.

B 18 per cent.

C 27 per cent.

D 90 per cent.

3 Current research aims to increase the energy-producing efficiency of coal by

A burning it at a lower temperature.

B developing new gasification techniques.

C extracting CO2 from it.

D recycling greenhouse gases.

4 Compared with ordinary coal, new, ‘clean’ coals may generate power

A more cleanly and more efficiently.

B more cleanly but less efficiently.

C more cleanly but at higher cost.

D more cleanly but much more slowly.

5 To control dust at mine sites, mining companies often use

A chemicals which may be toxic.

B topsoil taken from the site before mining.

C fresh water from nearby dams.

D runoff water containing sediments. General Training Reading sample task – Multiple choice

Question 6

Choose the most suitable title for the text from the list below.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in box 6 on your answer sheet.

A Pollution control in coal mining

B The greenhouse effect

C The coal industry and the environment

D Sustainable population growth General Training Reading sample task – Multiple choice

Answers

1 D

2 B

3 B

4 A

5 D

6 C General Training Reading sample task – Sentence completion

 [Note: This is an extract from a General Training Reading text on the subject of understanding bee behaviour. The text preceding this extract described Karl von Frisch's experiments and his conclusions about two bee dances.]

At first, von Frisch thought the bees were responding only to the scent of the food. But what did the third dance mean? And if bees were responding only to the scent, how could they also ‘sniff down’ food hundreds of metres away from the hive*, food which was sometimes downwind? On a hunch, he started gradually moving the feeding dish further and further away and noticed as he did so that the dances of the returning scout bees also started changing. If he placed the feeding dish over nine metres away, the second type of dance, the sickle version, came into play.

But once he moved it past 36 metres, the scouts would then start dancing the third, quite different, waggle dance.

The measurement of the actual distance too, he concluded, was precise. For example, a feeding dish 300 metres away was indicated by 15 complete runs through the pattern in 30 seconds. When the dish was moved to 60 metres away, the number dropped to eleven.

Von Frisch noted something further. When the scout bees came home to tell their sisters about the food source, sometimes they would dance outside on the horizontal entrance platform of the hive, and sometimes on the vertical wall inside. And, depending on where they danced, the straight portion of the waggle dance would point in different directions. The outside dance was fairly easy to decode: the straight portion of the dance pointed directly to the food source, so the bees would merely have to decode the distance message and fly off in that direction to find their food.

But by studying the dance on the inner wall of the hive, von Frisch discovered a remarkable method which the dancer used to tell her sisters the direction of the food in relation to the sun. When inside the hive, the dancer cannot use the sun, so she uses gravity instead. The direction of the sun is represented by the top of the hive wall. If she runs straight up, this means that the feeding place is in the same direction as the sun. However, if, for example, the feeding place is 40º to the left of the sun, then the dancer would run 40º to the left of the vertical line. This was to be the first of von Frisch’s remarkable discoveries. Soon he would also discover a number of other remarkable facts about how bees communicate and, in doing so, revolutionist the study of animal behavior generally.

* Hive – a ‘house’ for bees; the place where they build a nest and live General Training Reading sample task – Sentence completion

Questions 38 – 40

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet.

38 Von Frisch discovered the difference between dance types by changing the position

of the .................. .

39 The dance outside the hive points in the direction of the ............... .

40 The angle of the dance from the vertical shows the angle of the food from the ............... .General Training Reading sample task – Sentence completion

Answers

38 feeding dish

39 food (source)

40 sun

Words in brack General Training Reading sample task – Short-answer questions

 Questions 4 – 8

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 4-8 on your answer sheet.

4 What has been found in some Fancy Foods products?

5 Where can you find the batch number on the jars?

6 How much will you receive for an opened jar of contaminated Chicken Curry?

7 If you have eaten Chicken Curry from a jar with one of the batch numbers listed, whom should you contact?

8 What is the maximum reward Fancy Foods is offering for information about who contaminated their product?

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PRODUCT RETURN

Fancy Foods wishes to inform the public that pieces of metal have been found in some jars of Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Spicy). The batches of the jars involved have numbers from J6617 to J6624. The batch number is printed on the bottom of each jar.

If you have any jars with these batch numbers, please return them (preferably unopened) to the supermarket where you purchased them. You can also return them to the factory (Fancy Foods Retailers, Blacktown). Fancy Foods will pay $10 for each jar returned unopened and $5 for each jar already opened.

No payment will be made for empty jars, which do not need to be returned. However, the Retailing Manager will be interested to hear from people who have consumed chicken curry from any of the above batch numbers. In particular, it will be helpful if they can give information about the place of purchase of the product.

Jars of Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Coconut) and Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Mango) have not been affected and do not need to be returned.

REWARD

Fancy Foods will pay a reward of $10,000 to $50,000 for information which leads to the conviction of any person found guilty of placing metal pieces in its products. If you have such information, please contact the Customer Relations Manager, Fancy Foods Retailers, Black town. General Training Reading sample task – Short-answer questions

Answers

4 pieces of metal

5 (on) the bottom

6 $5

7 (the) Retailing Manager

8 $50,000

Words in brackets are optional - they are correct, but not necessary. ets are optional - they are correct, but not necessary.