IELTS READING MODULE 79

Completing Notes and Summaries

DIRECTIONS Example 1
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
Example 2
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

STRATEGY Look for what is missing in the notes and summary. First, look for the words that
ARE given. Then scan the passage to look for these words. The missing words will
be near these words.
TIP Write only the number of words suggested in the directions.

PRACTICE (answers on page 229)

Paragraph 1
Read the paragraph, then complete the summary using words from the list.
The English word paper comes from papyrus-the name of a marsh grass used by the ancient Egyptians to
make sheets to write on. Strictly speaking, this ancient writing material was not actually paper even though it
had the same function. Rather, it was a type of mat formed by strips cut from the plant's stem that were lay­
ered and pounded together into a thin sheet. True paper first came from China. It was there that the process
was developed of macerating plant fibers in water and drying them in a thin sheet. During the third century
AD, knowledge of the papermaking process began to spread through Asia. It didn't reach Europe until the
1100s. Prior to that, Europeans had been writing on parchment, a material made from animal skins.

Summary

A during C stems E leaves G strips I pounded

B layered D before F soaked H mats

The ancient Egyptians wrote on 1 ......................... , which they made from the 2 ......................... of a type
of grass. Paper was first developed in China. It was made with plant fibers that had been 3 .........................
and then formed into sheets. Knowledge of the papermaking process arrived in Europe in the twelfth century.
4 ......................... that time, Europeans wrote on parchment.
80 IELTS STRATEGIES AND TIPS

Paragraph 2
Read the paragraph, then complete the summary.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage tor each answer:

In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl set out to prove that it would have been possible for ancient
South Americans to cross the Pacific Ocean and settle in the Polynesian islands. In order to do this, Heyerdahl
built a raft using only material and technology that would have been available to South Americans in pre­
Colombian times. He constructed the body of the raft out of balsa logs and pine boards lashed together with
rope made from hemp. To this he added a small cabin made of bamboo with a roof of thatched banana leaves.
Sails were hoisted on a mangrove wood mast. He gave the completed raft the name Kon Tiki, which comes
from an old name for an lncan god. A group of just six men, with Heyerdahl as their leader, set sail across
the Pacific on Kon Tiki.

Summary
Heyerdahl wanted to show that pre-Colombian South Americans could have 5 ................ . So he construct-
ed an ocean-going raft with the same 6 ................. that the ancient South Americans could have used. He
named the completed raft for 7 ................. Heyerdahl set out on his journey with a crew of 8 ................ .

Paragraph 3
Read the paragraph, then complete the notes using words from the list.

The first Europeans to witness the game of lacrosse were French missionaries working in the St. Lawrence
valley. It was they who dubbed the game "lacrosse." The game was played in various forms by Native
American tribes in the eastern part of North America as well as in the Great Lakes region. Lacrosse games
were important events that were played over a period of several days and took place in an area of anywhere
from 500 yards to several miles in size. The number of players ranged from the hundreds to the thousands.
The game was played by throwing and catching the ball with a stick that had a sort of net at the end, and the
only important rule was that a player's hand could not touch the ball. To start a game the ball was thrown up
into the air, and the players tried to catch it.

Notes
A over a large area
B French missionaries
C throw the ball
D Native Americans
E touch the ball
F next to a lake

• Lacrosse was originally played by 9 ............... .

• Lacrosse games took place 10 ............... .
• Lacrosse players were not allowed to 11 ............... .