MATCHING HEADING

Đọc các heading trước để bạn làm quen với chúng

Đọc nhanh tất cả các heading, và khi bạn đọc từng heading, hãy nghĩ về câu hỏi này: “Nếu đây là ý
chính của một đoạn văn, thì đoạn văn sẽ phải có những đặc điểm như thế nào”?

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Đọc đoạn văn đầu tiên và xác định ý chính của nó
Mỗi đoạn trong IELTS Reading đều có một ý chính. Sẽ rất hữu ích nếu bạn có thể tìm thấy câu chủ đề
trong các vị trí câu 1, câu 2 hoặc câu cuối, nhưng ngay cả khi đoạn văn này không có câu chủ đề, bạn
vẫn có thể đoán được ý chính của đoạn văn: đó sẽ là một chủ đề liên tục được hiện ra ở nhiều nơi trong
đoạn văn, bằng các từ khác nhau. Cũng sẽ có ích nếu bạn tự hỏi mình câu hỏi này: "Mục đích của tác
giả khi viết đoạn văn này là gì"?

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Nghĩ ra heading của riêng bạn cho mỗi đoạn văn
Hãy tự hỏi bản thân câu hỏi sau: “Nếu tôi phải viết heading của riêng mình cho đoạn văn này, nó sẽ
là gì? Trông nó có giống bất kỳ heading nào trong danh sách đã cho không?"

↓
Loại bỏ tất cả các heading chắc chắn không phù hợp
Dựa trên suy đoán của bạn về ý chính của đoạn văn và heading bạn tự đặt cho đoạn văn đó, hãy quay lại
danh sách các tiêu đề và loại bỏ tất cả các tiêu đề chắc chắn không thể đúng. Các tiêu đề còn lại sẽ là
tiêu đề đúng, dù trông chúng không thực sự khớp 100%. Nên nhớ: chúng ta không cần chọn heading
tốt nhất cho đoạn văn, chỉ cần là heading đỡ sai nhất trong danh sách đã được cho trước.

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Lặp lại các bước trên cho các đoạn văn còn lại
Làm những điều tương tự cho các đoạn B, C, D, v....v.... Nếu bạn cho rằng có nhiều heading có thể
cùng đúng cho Đoạn A, thì cũng đừng lo lắng. Khi bạn tiếp tục đọc, một số heading mà bạn tưởng là
hợp với Đoạn A có thể lại hợp hơn với các đoạn văn khác, để lại cho bạn câu trả lời đúng duy nhất. Vì
lý do đó, điều quan trọng là phải tiếp tục đọc, thay vì dừng lại quá lâu trước những câu hỏi khó.
rrr

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 Phân tích các heading theo công thức H = O + S
Heading = organizing words + specific information

1. ORGANIZING WORDS cho bạn biết loại thông tin mà bạn có thể tìm thấy trong
mỗi đoạn văn

2. SPECIFIC INFORMATION giúp bạn thu hẹp ý nghĩa của các organizing words

E.g: The future of urban planning in America

READING PASSAGE 1

CAHOKIA - ANCESTOR OF TODAY'S CAPITAL CITIES

The Reading Passage has six paragraphs. A-F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from
the list of headings below.

List of Headings

i The benefits of collaboration

ii A forerunner of the modern metropolis

iii A period of intense activity and plans completed

iv A clear contrast between then and now

v The rise and mysterious decline of Cahokia

vi An archaeological theory to explain Cahokia's development

vii The light and dark of archaeological finds

viii A city completely unlike any of its contemporaries

PARAGRAPH A ii

A thousand years ago the Mississippians, a diverse group of Native Americans who lived in the area
which is today known as the south-eastern United States, took a small village on the Mississippi River
and turned it into one of the world's first great urban centres. Cahokia, as it has been called by
archaeologists, became as large as London was in the 11th century, and some would argue that it was
just as forward-looking and prosperous as its European equivalents. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan and
ahead of its time, Cahokia was at the heart of ancient society in North America; an ancestor of today's
capital cities.
PARAGRAPH B iv VI

In one respect in particular, Cahokia was quite unusual compared to other cities around at the same
time. Archaeologists working on the site have found enough evidence over the past fifty years to
conclude that, at a certain time, around 35% of the population were not from Cahokia at all; it seems
that many of the tribes that lived all along the Mississippi River at some point began to relocate to
Cahokia. These researchers have been unable to find more than a handful of other examples of such
relocation of tribes, but they do know that something about Cahokia attracted thousands of people to
this regional centre. And that, they postulated, appears to have been thanks to a small group of planners
who one day decided to redesign the entire village.
PARAGRAPH C iii

After the redesigns of the village were put in place, the Native Americans at Cahokia worked with
tireless determination to carry them out. Over the course of a few decades, they transported huge
volumes of soil from the nearby countryside to create 120 huge mounds of earth, the biggest of which
rose to one hundred feet. On top of these, they built a vast urban environment, complete with a vibrant
town centre, municipal buildings, and a fifty-acre plaza at the foot of the biggest mound. What makes
it even more impressive to our modern imaginations is that, with no machinery then, they used their
bare hands and woven baskets to dig up and carry the soil from the surrounding regions back to their
city-in-waiting. Eventually, after these efforts, the vision of the city planners was fulfilled, but even
they could not have predicted how popular Cahokia would become.
PARAGRAPH D v
From this period on, Cahokia was alive with intense activity, and grew in size every year, partly
because of the co-operation between the residents. While the men busied themselves with manual
work, like constructing new buildings, or hunting and fishing in the forests and rivers within a day's
walk of the city, the women made sure that the fields stayed healthy and grew crops, and the homes
were kept clean. In many ways, it seems to have been the ideal place to live, and one with an exciting
and prosperous future ahead of it. And yet, having become a major population centre around AD 1050,
by 1350 it had been almost completely abandoned. Somewhere in the course of 300 years, something
happened to Cahokia to cause this, but it is an enigma that even archaeologists or historians themselves
struggle to resolve.
PARAGRAPH E viii

This rather curious state of affairs exists today because researchers have never found a single piece of
evidence that can conclusively explain why the residents left. Academics who have studied other
Native American sites have always found weapons of war buried deep underground. And yet, the
bows, arrows and swords that littered the ground at these other sites were nowhere to be seen at
Cahokia. Other factors, such as disease or colonisation from European invasion, do not seem to be
possible in this case, as common as they were elsewhere at that time. The absence of definitive theories
as to Cahokia's decline is highly unusual, but then again, Cahokia was no ordinary city and perhaps
comparisons with other urban centres of the time cannot be made.
PARAGRAPH F vii

While academics remain bemused as to why the residents fled the city, we can still marvel at the
individual artefacts that archaeologists have discovered: the jewelry worn, the pots used to cook in,
the small workshop at the base of one of the mounds. That said, there is also a more unpleasant side
to their investigations. Human sacrifice, it seems, was a common fact of life in Cahokia; even if we
cannot be sure whether this was for religious or for other reasons, we can have no doubt that it
happened frequently. The bodies of hundreds of people, mostly young women, have been found buried
in mass graves, and the way in which they died was often horrific. A sombre reminder that even
'advanced' city states had their shadowy sides.

READING PASSAGE 2

The Reading Passage has five paragraphs. A-E. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from
the list of headings below.

LIST OF HEADINGS

i A solution which is no solution

ii Changing working practices

iii Closing city centres to traffic

iv Making cars more environmentally friendly

v Not doing enough

vi Paying to get in

vii A global problem

 TRAFFIC JAMS - NO END IN SIGHT

PARAGRAPH A VI I

There are no easy answers to the problems of traffic congestion. Traffic congestion affects people
throughout the world. Traffic jams cause smog in dozens of cities across both the developed and
developing world.
In the U.S., commuters spend an average of a full work week each year sitting in traffic, according to
the Texas Transportation Institute. While alternative ways of getting around are available, most people
still choose their cars because they are looking for convenience, comfort and privacy.
PARAGRAPH B VI

The most promising technique for reducing city traffic is called congestion pricing, whereby cities
charge a toll to enter certain parts of town at certain times of day.
In theory, if the toll is high enough, some drivers will cancel their trips or go by bus or train. And in
practice it seems to work: Singapore, London and Stockholm have reduced traffic and pollution in city
centers thanks to congestion pricing.
PARAGRAPH C II

Another way to reduce rush hour traffic is for employers to implement flexitime, which lets employees
travel to and from work at off-peak traffic times to avoid the rush hour.
Those who have to travel during busy times can do their part by sharing cars. Employers can also
allow more staff to telecommute (work from home) so as to keep more cars off the road altogether.
PARAGRAPH D I

Some urban planners still believe that the best way to ease traffic congestion is to build more roads,
especially roads that can take drivers around or over crowded city streets. But such techniques do not
really keep cars off the road; they only accommodate more of them.
PARAGRAPH E V
Other, more forward-thinking, planners know that more and more drivers and cars are taking to the
roads every day, and they are unwilling to encourage more private automobiles when public transport
is so much better both for people and the environment.
For this reason, the American government has decided to spend some $7 billion on helping to increase
capacity on public transport systems and upgrade them with more efficient technologies. But
environmentalists complain that such funding is tiny compared with the $50 billion being spent on
roads and bridges.

READING PASSAGE 3

The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs. A-H. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph
from the list of headings below.

LIST OF HEADINGS

i Summarising personality types

ii Combined styles for workplace

iii Physical explanation

iv A lively person who encourages

v Demanding and unsympathetic personality

vi Lazy and careless personality

 vii The benefits of understanding communication styles

viii Cautious and caring

ix Factual and analytical personality

x Self-assessment determines one’s temperament

COMMUNICATING STYLES AND CONFLICT

Knowing your communication style and having a mix of styles on your team can
provide a positive force for resolving conflict.

PARAGRAPH A III

As far back as Hippocrates’ time (460-370B.C.), people have tried to understand other people
by characterizing them according to personality type or temperament. Hippocrates believed there were
four different body fluids that influenced four basic types of temperament. His work was further
developed 500 years later by Galen. These days there are any number of self-assessment tools that
relate to the basic descriptions developed by Galen, although we no longer believe the source to be the
types of body fluid that dominate our systems.
PARAGRAPH B VII

The values in self-assessments that helps determine personality style, learning styles,
communication styles, conflict-handling styles, or other aspects of individuals is that they help
depersonalize conflict in interpersonal relationships. The depersonalization occurs when you realize
that others aren’t trying to be difficult, but they need different or more information than you do.
They’re not intending to be rude: they are so focused on the task they forget about greeting people.
They would like to work faster but not at the risk of damaging the relationships needed to get the job
done. They understand there is a job to do. But it can only be done right with the appropriate
information, which takes time to collect. When used appropriately, understanding communication
styles can help resolve conflict on teams. Very rarely are conflicts true personality issues. Usually they
are issues of style, information needs, or focus.
PARAGRAPH C I

Hippocrates, and later Galen, determined that there were four basic temperaments: sanguine,
phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric. These descriptions were developed centuries ago and are still
somewhat apt, although you could update the wording. In today’s world, they translate into the four
fairly common communication styles described below:
PARAGRAPH D IV

The sanguine person would be the expressive or spirited style of communication. These people speak
in pictures. They invest a lot of emotion and energy in their communication and often speak quickly,
putting their whole body into it. They are easily sidetracked onto a story that may or may not illustrate
the point they are trying to make. Because of their enthusiasm, they are great team motivators. They
are concerned about people and relationships. Their high levels of energy can come on strong at times
and their focus is usually on the bigger picture, which means they sometimes miss the details or the
proper order of things. These people find conflict or differences of opinion invigorating and love to
engage in a spirited discussion. They love change and are constantly looking for new and exciting
adventures.
PARAGRAPH E IX
The phlegmatic person - cool and persevering - translates into the technical or systematic
communication style. This style of communication is focused on facts and technical details.
Phlegmatic people have an orderly methodical way of approaching tasks, and their focus is very much
on the task, not on the people, emotions, or concerns that the task may evoke. The focus is also more
on the details necessary to accomplish a task. Sometimes the details overwhelm the big picture and
focus needs to be brought back to the context of the task. People with this style think the facts should
speak for themselves, and they are not as comfortable with conflict. They need time to adapt to change
and need to understand both the logic of it and the steps involved.
PARAGRAPH F VIII
The melancholic person who is soft hearted and oriented toward doing things for others, translates into
the considerate or sympathetic communication style. A person with this communication style is
focused on people and relationships. They are good listeners and do things for other people-sometimes
to the detriment of getting things done for themselves. They want to solicit everyone’s opinion and
make sure everyone is comfortable with whatever is required to get the job done. At times this focus
on others can distract from the task at hand. Because they are so concerned with the needs of others
and smoothing over issues, they do not like conflict. They believe that change threatens the status quo
and tends to make people feel uneasy, so people with this communication style need time to consider
the changes in order to adapt to them.
PARAGRAPH G V

The choleric temperament translates into the bold or direct style of communication. People with this
style are brief in their communication - the fewer words the better. They are big picture thinkers and
love to be involved in many things at once. They are focused on tasks and outcomes and often forget
that the people involved in carrying out the tasks have needs. They don’t do detail work easily and as
a result can often underestimate how much time it takes to achieve the task. Because they are so direct,
they often seem forceful and can be very intimidating to others. They usually would welcome someone
challenging them. But most other styles are afraid to do so. They also thrive on change, the more the
better.
PARAGRAPH H II

A well-functioning team should have all of these communication styles for true effectiveness. All
teams need to focus on the task, and they need to take care of relationships in order to achieve those
tasks. They need the big picture perspective or the context of their work, and they need the details to
be identified and taken care of for success. We all have aspects of each style within us. Some of us
can easily move from one style to another and adapt our style to the needs of the situation at hand -
whether the focus is on tasks or relationships. For others, a dominant style is very evident, and it is
more challenging to see the situation from the perspective of another style. The work environment can
influence communication styles either by the type of work that is required or by the predominance of
one style reflected in that environment. Some people use one style at work and another at home.
The good news about communication styles is that we have the ability to develop flexibility in our
styles. The greater the flexibility we have, the more skilled we usually are at handling possible and
actual conflicts. Usually it has to be relevant to us to do so, either because we think it is important or
because there are incentives in our environment to encourage it. The key is that we have to want to
become flexible with our communication style. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or
you can’t, you’re right!”