IELTS ORIENTATION

Day 3
READING
PASSAGE 1

IELTS Reading: choose the title

Read the passage and choose the best title from the list below it.
Finland’s education system is considered one of the best in the world. In international ratings,
it’s always in the top ten. However, the authorities there aren’t ready to rest on their laurels, and
they’ve decided to carry through a real revolution in their school system. Finnish officials want
to remove school subjects from the curriculum. There will no longer be any classes in physics,
math, literature, history, or geography.
Instead of individual subjects, students will study events and phenomena in an interdisciplinary
format. For example, the Second World War will be examined from the perspective of history,
geography, and math. And by taking the course ”Working in a Cafe," students will absorb
a whole body of knowledge about the English language, economics, and communication skills.
The Finnish education system encourages collective work, which is why the changes will also
affect teachers. The school reform will require a great deal of cooperation between teachers
of different subjects. Around 70% of teachers in Helsinki have already undertaken preparatory
work in line with the new system for presenting information, and, as a result, they’ll get a pay
increase. The changes are expected to be complete by 2020.
A) The world's best education system.
B) Finland plans to scrap school subjects.
C) Teachers in Finland welcome education reform.
ANSWER: B
plans to scrap school subjects = want to remove school subjects
"scrap" means get rid of, discard, cancel or abolish

PASSAGE 2

IELTS Reading: choose the title

Read the following passage, and choose the best title from the list below.
Dennis Tito, an American engineer and multimillionaire, was the first space tourist to fund his
own trip into space. In 2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a
visiting mission to the International Space Station, after being accepted by the Russian Federal
Space Agency as a candidate for a commercial spaceflight. Tito met criticism from NASA before
the launch, primarily from Daniel Goldin, at that time the Administrator of NASA, who
considered it inappropriate for a tourist to take a ride into space.
In the decade since Dennis Tito journeyed to the International Space Station, eight private
citizens have paid the $20 million fee to travel to space, but it is believed that this number could
increase fifteen-fold by 2020. A web-based survey suggested that over 70% of those surveyed
were interested in travelling to space, 88% wanted to spacewalk, and 21% liked the idea of
staying in a space hotel.
A) A giant leap for tourism in the 21st century.
B) The first space tourist.
C) The pros and cons of space tourism.
CORRECT ANSWER :
A
A 'giant leap' means 'great progress'. It is also a reference to the famous phrase by astronaut Neil
Armstrong: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
Answer B woud be perfect for the first paragraph of the passage, but it doesn't really cover the
second paragraph.

PASSAGE 3

IELTS Reading: choose the best summary

Read the following description of a book called 'What are Universities for?'.
Across the world, universities are more numerous than they have ever been, yet at the same time
there is unprecedented confusion about their purpose and scepticism about their value. What Are
Universities For? offers a spirited and compelling argument for completely rethinking the way
we see our universities, and why we need them.
Stefan Collini challenges the common claim that universities need to show that they help to
make money in order to justify getting more money. Instead, he argues that we must reflect on
the different types of institution and the distinctive roles they play. In particular we must
recognise that attempting to extend human understanding, which is at the heart of disciplined
intellectual enquiry, can never be wholly harnessed to immediate social purposes - particularly in
the case of the humanities, which both attract and puzzle many people and are therefore the most
difficult subjects to justify.
At a time when the future of higher education lies in the balance, What Are Universities For?
offers all of us a better, deeper and more enlightened understanding of why universities matter,
to everyone.
Which statement best summarises the book's message?
A) We do not necessarily need universities nowadays
B) Universities should be harnessed for social purposes
C) Universities must justify the money they are given
D) We need to change our understanding of the role of universities
 CORRECT ANSWER :
D

PASSAGE 4

IELTS Reading: which paragraph contains...?

Early modern policing
A) The first centrally organised police force was created by the government of King Louis XIV
in 1667 to police the city of Paris, then the largest city in Europe. The task of the police was
defined as "ensuring the peace and quiet of the public and of private individuals, purging the city
of what may cause disturbances, procuring abundance, and having each and everyone live
according to their station and their duties”. The word "police" was borrowed from French into
the English language in the 18th century.
B) In 1797, Patrick Colquhoun, a Scottish merchant, was able to persuade the West Indies
merchants who operated at the Pool of London on the River Thames, to establish a police force
at the docks to prevent rampant theft that was causing annual estimated losses of £500,000 worth
of cargo. The idea of a police, as it then existed in France, was considered as a potentially
undesirable foreign import. However, Colquhoun used economic indicators to show that a police
dedicated to crime prevention was "perfectly congenial to the principle of the British
constitution”.
C) With an initial investment of £4,200, the new trial force of the Thames River Police began
with about 50 men charged with policing 33,000 workers in the river trades. The force was a
success after its first year, and Colquhoun’s men had "established their worth by saving
£122,000 worth of cargo and by the rescuing of several lives”. Word of this success spread
quickly, and the government passed the Marine Police Bill on 28 July 1800, transforming it from
a private to public police agency; now the oldest police force in the world.
(Adapted from wikipedia.com)
Which paragraph contains the following information?
1. positive news that led to a new government policy
2. the origin of an English word
3. people’s reluctance to accept a foreign idea
4. a specific problem that needed to be solved
CORRECT ANSWERS :
1. C
positive news = word of this success
new government policy = the government passed the Marine Police Bill
2. A
the origin of an English word = The word "police" was borrowed from French into the English
language
3. B
reluctance to accept a foreign idea = The idea of a police, as it then existed in France, was
considered as a potentially undesirable foreign import
4. B

PASSAGE 5

A.There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world - and the number is rising by more
than 40 million each year. The average distance driven by car users is growing too - from 8km a
day per person in western Europe in 1965 to 25 km a day in 1995. This dependence on motor
vehicles has given rise to major problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil
resources, traffic congestion and safety.

B.While emissions from new cars are far less harmful than they used to be, city streets and
motorways are becoming more crowded than ever, often with older trucks, buses and taxis which
emit excessive levels of smoke and fumes. This concentration of vehicles makes air quality in
urban areas unpleasant and sometimes dangerous to breathe. Even Moscow has joined the list of
capitals afflicted by congestion and traffic fumes. In Mexico City, vehicle pollution is a major
health hazard.

C.Until a hundred years ago, most journeys were in the 20km range, the distance conveniently
accessible by horse. Heavy freight could only be carried by water or rail. Invention of the motor
vehicle brought personal mobility to the masses and made rapid freight delivery possible over a
much wider area. In the United Kingdom, about 90 per cent of inland freight is carried by road.
The world cannot revert to the horse-drawn wagon. Can it avoid being locked into congested and
polluting ways of transporting people and goods?

D.In Europe most cities are still designed for the old modes of transport. Adaptation to the motor
car has involved adding ring roads, one-way systems and parking lots. In the United States, more
land is assigned to car use than to housing. Urban sprawl means that life without a car is next to
impossible. Mass use of motor vehicles has also killed or injured millions of people. Other social
effects have been blamed on the car such as alienation and aggressive human behaviour.

E. A 1993 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment found that car
transport is seven times as costly as rail travel in terms of the external social costs it entails -
congestion, accidents, pollution, loss of cropland and natural habitats, depletion of oil resources,
and so on. Yet cars easily surpass trains or buses as a flexible and convenient mode of personal
transport. It is unrealistic to expect people to give up private cars in favour of mass transit.

F. Technical solutions can reduce the pollution problem and increase the fuelled efficiency of
engines. But fuel consumption and exhaust emissions depend on which cars are preferred by
customers and how they are driven. Many people buy larger cars than they need for daily
purposes or waste fuel by driving aggressively. Besides, global car use is increasing at a faster
rate than the improvement in emissions and fuel efficiency which technology is now making
possible.

G. Some argue that the only long-term solution is to design cities and neighbourhoods so that car
journeys are not necessary - all essential services being located within walking distance or easily
accessible by public transport. Not only would this save energy and cut carbon dioxide
emissions, it would also enhance the quality of community life, putting the emphasis on people
instead of cars. Good local government is already bringing this about in some places. But few
democratic communities are blessed with the vision – and the capital – to make such profound
changes in modern lifestyles.

H. A more likely scenario seems to be a combination of mass transit systems for travel into and
around cities, with small ‘low emission’ cars for urban use and larger hybrid or lean burn cars for
use elsewhere. Electronically tolled highways might be used to ensure that drivers pay charges
geared to actual road use. Better integration of transport systems is also highly desirable - and
made more feasible by modern computers. But these are solutions for countries which can afford
them. In most developing countries, old cars and old technologies continue to predominate.

Sample Passage 7 has eight paragraphs labeled A-H.

Which paragraphs contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any
letter more than once.

14. A comparison of past and present transportation methods

15. How driving habits contribute to road problems
16. The relative merits of cars and public transport
17. The writer’s prediction on future solutions
18. The increasing use of motor vehicles
19. The impact of the car on city development

Answers:

14 C
15 F
16 E
17 H
18 A
19 D
LISTENING
Questions 1-5
Circle the appropriate letter.

1. What does her briefcase look like?

2. Which picture shows the distinguishing features?

3. What did she have inside her briefcase?

A wallet, pens and novel C pens and novel

B papers and wallet D papers, pens and novel
4. Where was she standing when she lost her briefcase?
5. What time was it when she lost her briefcase?

Questions 6-10
Complete the form Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
SECTION 2
Section Two - Questions 11-21
Questions 11-13
Tick the THREE other items which are mentioned in the news headlines.
Questions 14-21
Complete the notes below by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in the spaces
provided.

The Government plans to give (14) $ ................................................ to assist the farmers. This money was
to be spent on improving Sydney’s (15) ........................................................................ but has now been re-
allocated.

Australia has experienced its worst drought in over fifty years. Farmers say that the money will not help
them because it is (16) ............................................................. An aeroplane which was carrying a group
of (17) ..................................................was forced to land just (18) ................................................. minutes
after take-off. The passengers were rescued by (19) ............................................................ . The operation
was helped because of the good weather. The passengers thanked
the (20) ............................................................... for saving their lives but unfortunately they lost
their (21) ...................................................................
SECTION 3
Section Three - Questions 22-31

Questions 22-25
Circle the appropriate letter.

22. The orientation meeting

A took place recently.
B took place last term.
C will take place tomorrow.
D will take place next week.

23. Attendance at lectures is

A optional after 4 pm.
B closely monitored.
C difficult to enforce.
D sometimes unnecessary.

24. Tutorials take place

A every morning.
B twice a week.
C three mornings a week.
D three afternoons a week.

25. The lecturer’s name is

A Roberts.
B Rawson.
C Rogers.
D Robertson.

Questions 26-31
Complete the notes below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
SECTION 4
Section Four - Questions 32-41

Questions 32-33
Circle the appropriate letter.
32. The speaker works within the Faculty of
A Science and Technology.
B Arts and Social Sciences.
C Architecture.
D Law.
33. The Faculty consists firstly of
A subjects.
B degrees.
C divisions.
D departments.
Questions 34-36
Complete the notes m NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

Questions 37-41
Circle the appropriate letter.

37. The speaker says students can visit her

A every morning.
B some mornings.
C mornings only.
D Friday morning.

38. According to the speaker, a tutorial

A is a type of lecture.
B is less important than a lecture.
C provides a chance to share views.
 D provides an alternative to groupwork.

39. When writing essays, the speaker advises the students to

A research their work well.
B name the books they have read.
C share work with their friends.
D avoid using other writers’ ideas.

40. The speaker thinks that plagiarism is

A a common problem.
B an acceptable risk.
C a minor concern.
D a serious offence.

41. The speaker’s aims are to

A introduce students to university expectations.
B introduce students to the members of staff.
C warn students about the difficulties of studying.
D guide students round the university.

ANSWERS

Section 1
1 A
2 C
3 D
4 D
5 C
6 Prescott (must be correct spelling with capital “P”)
7 41
8 Fountain (must have capital “F”)
9 752239
10 £65
Section 2
11 E 12 F 13 H (in any order)
14 $250 million
15 roads//road system
16 too late
17 school children//boys
18 3
19 boats//pleasure crafty/boats and pleasure craft
20 pilot
21 (musical) instruments
Section 3
22 A
23 B
24 C
25 A
26 talk/ give a talk
27 write up work
28 can choose
29 open book
30 closed reserve
31 vocational (subjects) / (preparing for) work/ employment
Section 4
32 B
33 C
34 history and economics
35 (meeting) deadlines (for essays)
36 attendance
37 B
38 C
39 B
40 D
41 A
TASK 1

The line graph shows estimated sales of gold in Dubai for 12 months in 2002 in
millions of Dirham’s

The line graph gives information about gold trade in Dubai from January to December of the
year 2002.

Overall, it is clear in the graph that the gold sales reached its highest level of selling in March
and it fell to its lowest level between July and September.

In the beginning of the year the gold price stood at 200 millions of dirhams and it increased
slightly in the following month before the figures showed a sharp rise in March, with the selling
of about 350 million of dirhams.

In contrast, after the trend reached a peak in March with its highest gold trading, the figures
decreased gradually for the next 4 months from April, May, June and July with 250, 200, 150,
and 120 million of dirhams, respectively. Surprisingly, there was a strong recovery for the Dubai
gold sales in August with the selling of about 200 million of dirhams and it fluctuated before it
was leveling off until the end of the year and the trading closed at nearly 200 million of dirhams
in December.
HOMEWORK

The given line graph shows the cases of diseases in some land from 1983 to 1992

SPEAKING

COMPLETE INTERVIEW

Part 1
Time: 4-5 minutes

Now, in this first part of the test I'm going to ask you some questions about yourself.

First I'd like to ask some questions about your family.

1. Do you have a large or small family?

2. How much time do you spend with members of your family?
3. What sort of things do you like to do together?
Now let's move on to talk about food.

1. What kind of food do you like?

2. What are some of the typical foods in your country?
 3. In your country, do men or women have the main responsibility for cooking?
Let’s talk about where you live.

1. Tell me about the house or apartment you live in.

2. What are some of the bad things about living there?
3. What kind of place would you like to have in the future?

Part 2
Time: 3-4 minutes

Now, I'm going to give you a topic and I'd like you to talk about it for 1-2 minutes.

Before you talk you'll have one minute to think about what you are going to say and you can
make notes if you wish. Do you understand?

Ok, here's some paper and a pencil to make notes, and here is your topic. I'd like you to describe
something you own which is very important to you

Describe a present you have given someone.

You should say:

 Who you gave it to

 What kind of present it was
 How it compared to other presents you have given
Explain why you decided to give this particular gift.

Model Answer

I’m going to talk about a present that I gave to someone.

The person that I gave it to was a very good friend of mine at the time. His name was shahid
and he came from India. I knew him because we studied together at a language school in
Cambridge. Although we were from different backgrounds and cultures, we got on really well
and we had the same sense of humour so we became very good friends.

The present was a picture that had been painted of the River Cam in Cambridge. It was not so
big - maybe around 10 inches by 14 inches, but it was very beautiful. It came in a gold plated
frame and the picture had been drawn by a particularly well-known Cambridge artist. It had been
signed by this person as well.

It’s the first time I have given this person a present, and I guess it’s quite different from
presents that I have given to other people before – I don’t recall ever giving someone a
picture actually. If I’m buying for family then I’ll usually buy clothes or maybe some jewelry if
it is a special occasion. Normally when I’ve bought something for friends it’s something more
jokey so we can have a laugh about it, nothing that serious.

The reason why I decided to give this particular gift is because we had spent a lot of time
together in Cambridge and we had had some really fun times punting on the River Cam – that’s
obviously why I thought this was an appropriate present. We used to go punting at least once a
week, sometimes a couple of times. On one occasion there was a group of about ten of us that
went down there, and we spent the whole day sitting by the river in the sun and as usual we went
on a boat trip together. We all have a lot of photos to remind us of this great day.

So my friend, shahid, is the person that I gave a present to and this was because I felt it would
always remind him of the fun times that we had and also of Cambridge.

Part 3
Time: 8-9 minutes

Follow-up Questions

Now, in this third part of the test I'm going to ask you some questions about the cue card.

1. what is the value of presents?

2. Why do people give presents?
3. What kinds of presents are popular in your country?
4. Do boys and girls give same kinds of gifts?
5. What kind of present should be given children?