LESSON 2: IELTS READING

TOPIC: ANIMALS

A GRAMMAR: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

I. Grammatical rules

1. Modifiers do not affect the number of the verb.

E.g.: The teacher, along with his students, wants to play soccer.
(The phrase “along with his students” is a modifier.)

2. Expressions of time, distance, price, and weight need a singular verb.

E.g.: Ten dollars is too much for a lunch.

3. In case of fractions or their equivalents, the noun in the “of-phrase”

determines the number of the verb.
E.g.: Two-thirds of the land has been sold.

4. The number of the verb is determined by what is next to it in sentences

with “either A or B”, or “neither A nor B”.
E.g.: Either he or his pupils are going to help us.

5. When the subject begins with “not only A but (also) B” or “B as well as A”,
the number of the verb is determined by B.
E.g.: Not only my colleagues but also I am really fond of Korean food.
My husband as well as my children hates washing dishes.

II. Practice

1. Choose the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. Physics _____ one of my favorite subjects.

A. be B. to be C. is D. are
2. There are some books on the table, which _____ about fish.
A. does B. do C. is D. are
3. A third of the students _____ passed the test.
A. are B. have C. has D. is
4. The bus comes here _____ 30 minutes.
A. each B. another C. every D. all

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 2. Fill the blank with the appropriate word.

1. His wedding has been _____ in the newspapers.

A. said B. told C. pronounced D. announced
2. I was _____ for speeding.
A. fined B. find C. found D. founded
3. I asked them to _____ the cost of repairing my car.
A. estimate B. cost C. evaluate D. predict
4. I wonder if you could _____ a room for me at the hotel.
A. make B. do C. preserve D. reserve

B READING

I. Strategies
In IELTS Reading, Scanning and Skimming are the 2 important strategies that we
should apply almost all the time for all task types.

1. Scanning
When you scan a text, you move your eyes over it very quickly in order to
find something specific and easily recognizable. When scanning you are looking for
particular information (e.g. names, places, dates, specific phrases).

2. Skimming
Skimming a passage means reading it quickly (concentrating on content words,
like nouns and verbs) to find the main points. It is not reading for detail.
Skimming a text will also give you a general idea of how the information is
organized, which can help you locate information more easily later on. In your own
language, you can probably skim read 100 words in 20 seconds. In the exam, you
should aim to skim read 100 words in 30 seconds.

II. Task type

Note completion
Example: Complete the note below.
Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage.

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 Blombos Cave discovery

Background
• location: South Africa
• the date digging began: 1 ______
• Previous ancient objects found in this area
2 ______
3 ______
4 ______

Recent findings
• a mixture containing a substance called 5 ______
• equipment
• a range of additional 6 ______
Conclusion
• in prehistoric times, humans knew basic 7 ______

Step 1: Task recognition

With the Note completion task, you will be given a table of information (notes) with
gaps in it. You are required to fill in the gaps with appropriate words from the Reading
text (passage).
The instructions will tell you how many words you are allowed to use to fill each gap
(word limit). Read them very carefully. They will most likely tell you to use ONE WORD
ONLY or NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS or NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
AND/OR A NUMBER. If you use the wrong number of words, your answer will be
marked incorrect even if the information you give is correct.

Step 2: Identify topic/theme

Skim the notes and the passage to gain a general understanding of what they are
saying. Pay attention to the title/heading, subheading, illustration (images, pictures,
etc.,), caption of pictures, footnote, etc., These will help you find the relevant part of
the passage.

Step 3: Identify keywords in the notes

Underline keywords in the notes that express the topic/theme. Keywords are the
important words that help you understand the focus of the question. Keywords include
names, places and figures, as well as nouns, verbs and adjectives.

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 Step 4: Identify keywords in the passage
Once you have identified the keywords in the notes, you can scan for them in the
passage. It is important to keep in mind that synonyms/paraphrases – words and
phrases with the same or a similar meaning – are often used in the passage rather than
the actual keywords from the question.

Step 5: Fill in the gaps

Fill in the gaps with words from the given text.
Pay attention to the word limit and word type.

III. Practice
OCHRE FIND REVEALS ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE OF CHEMISTRY
The oldest ochre-processing toolkits and workshop ever found have been unearthed,
indicating that as far back as 100,000 years ago, humans had an understanding of
chemistry.
South Africa’s Blombos Cave lies within a limestone cliff on the southern Cape coast,
300 km east of Cape Town. It’s known for its 75,000-year-old rich deposits of artefacts
such as beads, bone tools and ochre engravings. Some engravings date as far back as
100,000 years.
Archaeologist Christopher S. Henshilwood from the University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg and University of Bergen, Norway has been excavating at the site
since 1992, and has reported the discovery of a mixture, rich in ochre, stored in two
abalone shells. It dates back to the Middle Stone Age - 100,000 years ago. Ochre
is a term used to describe a piece of earth or rock containing red or yellow oxides or
hydroxides of iron. It can be used to make pigments, or paints, ranging from golden-
yellow and light yellow-brown to a rich red. Its use spans the history of humans - from
those living more than 200,000 years ago, to modern indigenous communities.
Made from an array of materials, this mixture, which could have functioned as wall,
object and skin decoration or skin protection (acting in a similar way to modern-day
sunscreen), indicates the early developments that occurred in the people who originally
used the site.
“[Judging from] the complexity of the material that has been collected from different
parts of the landscape and brought to the site, they [the people] must have had an
elementary knowledge of chemistry to be able to combine these materials to produce
this form. It’s not a straightforward process,” said Henshilwood.
The Blombos Cave discovery is the earliest-known example of a pigment - or paint-
producing workshop. All of the materials were discovered at the same site, and they
included an array of raw materials including samples of bone and charcoal, as well
as pigment-producing equipment such as grindstones and hammerstones. Judging by
the equipment, which shows signs of wear, Henshilwood and his team were able to
deduce the process used to produce the ochre mixture.

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First, the pieces of ochre were rubbed on quartzite slabs and crushed to produce a red
powder. This was combined with ground-up mammal bone, the traces of which show
signs that it was heated before being ground. The ochre powder and the bone pieces
were mixed with charcoal, stone chips, quartz grains and a liquid (perhaps water)
and was then transferred to abalone shells to be gently stirred before being ready for
application.

Task 1: Spend one minute skimming the following passage to get a sense of
the overall meaning. What is the main topic?
A. new discoveries in chemistry
B. the discovery of ancient objects
C. how international scientific teams work

Task 2: Match words/phrases with their paraphrases.

i. dig a. indicate (that)

ii. ancient objects b. 100,000 years ago
iii. findings c. know (basic)
iv. a range of d. artefacts
v. conclusion e. an array of
vi. (in) prehistoric times f. excavate
vii. have an elementary knowledge of g. discovery

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 Task 3: Complete the Note provided in the Example of II. Task type.
Note completion
Example: Complete the note below.
Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage.

Blombos Cave discovery

Background
• location: South Africa
• the date digging began: 1 ______
• Previous ancient objects found in this area
2 ______
3 ______
4 ______
Recent findings
• a mixture containing a substance called 5 ______
• equipment
• a range of additional 6 ______
Conclusion
• in prehistoric times, humans knew basic 7 ______

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