••••••

•• •• ••
• Question Types

1. Multiple Choice
Multiple-choice questions are designed to test a wide range of reading skills. The questions
may require you to skim in order to have an overall understanding of the main idea of a pas-
sage, or they may ask you to have a detailed understanding of particular points about which
you will need to scan for specific details.

There are two types of multiple-choice questions. The first type is standard multiple choice,
which is the most typical form with one question and four possible answers. Specifically speak-
ing, you have to choose one correct answer from the four alternatives given in the question.
Another form is known as modified multiple choice, which requires you to choose more than
one out of several options given for a question.

Sample instructions
.. ~ ,

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

~

.
I > Ci

"' ( ~ ~ . ~. ~" "' ' ' "" ",

. .
,~ Choose THREE letters, A-F.
~ ' ) 'c,

; ,~ ~hi<?..~ _T,f-!R_EE '.of the following reasc>ns .for - are mentioned by the writer?
~ .~,- .c -t, .,..ai,r_' rt , ' ,.>},;); •\l - ,. r
1
, I ) ~

34 - The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

Guided practice

Blogging the World

Just ten years after the coining of the term 'blog', or web log, there are now over
one hundred million of them. At current growth rates, the number of new biogs
created is doubling about every five months. They are not simply personal diaries or
journals. Biogs are meant for a larger audience. Whether that audience consists of
just a small circle of friends or millions of people dedicated to a political cause, biogs
offer a way to connect with each other and share ideas.

The first biogs required some technical expertise to maintain and publish the site.
As the Internet has grown, blogging sites have developed to the point where people
need no specialized knowledge. Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet
can upload their text entries, which are the core of what a blog is. People write on
every sort of subject: daily activities, celebrity gossip, political news, or their travel-
ling experiences. The blogger can also include embedded hypertext links to other
relevant websites. Others who see these entries can then post comments on them.
On the most popular blog sites, comment threads can run many times longer than
the original entry.

Usually, along the side of the blog, there are links to other biogs. This blogroll
can consist merely of the writer's friends, or can be other thematically similar biogs.
These links not only help to define what kind of blogging is done on the site, but also
help to increase visibility and to produce better search results.

There are many variations on the blog, but one distinguishing feature between all
of them and other types of traditional publishing is their individual character. There
is a certain intimacy in reading a blog that has not been edited by a third party. The
immediacy of blogging has also forced the mainstream media and other institutions
to rethink their approach to news and branding.

(317 words)

www.nhantriviet.com PART 2 - 35
 Questions 1-5
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1 In recent times, biogs have

A grown at a very fast pace.
B transformed completely several times.
C become unfashionable and unpopular.
D not broken into the mainstream.

2 Over the years, biogs have become

A quite irrelevant in people's daily life.
B increasingly complicated to use.
C unusually wordy and ungrammatical.
D less difficult to create and to update.

3 Blog posts can

A only discuss a narrow range of subjects.
B include long discussions through readers ' comments.
C inhibit the flow of ideas .
D replace all mainstream media.

4 People do not link their biogs to other sites to

A decrease traffic on competing biogs.
B shape what their blog is about.
C attract readers who have similar interests.
D appear more prominently on search engines.

5 One unique characteristic of biogs is their

A text-based format.
B ability to attract people who use the Internet.
C ability to let individuals talk to each other directly.
D numerous and large sources of money for reporting news.

36 - The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

Approach

Q1
STEP 1 Find two key words in the question.

STEP 2 Find a word associated with one of the key words in the second sentence of para-
graph 1.

STEP 3 Read the second sentence in paragraph 1 again to find relevant information.

STEP 4 Choose the correct option.

Q2
STEP 1 Find a key phrase in the question.

STEP 2 Find ideas associated with the key phrase in the second sentence of paragraph 2.

STEP 3 Read the second sentence in paragraph 2 again to find relevant information.

STEP 4 Choose the correct option.

Q3
STEP 1 Find a key phrase in the question.

STEP 2 Find two phrases associated with the key phrase in the last sentence of paragraph 2.

STEP 3 Read the last sentence of paragraph 2 again to find relevant information .

STEP 4 Choose the correct option.

Q4
STEP 1 Find one key word and one key phrase in the question.

STEP 2 Find associated ideas in paragraph 3.

STEP 3 Read all important information in paragraph 3.

STEP 4 Choose the correct option.

www.nhantriviet.com PART 2 - 37
Q5

STEP 1 Find one key phrase in the question.

STEP 2 In the first sentence of paragraph 4, find a phrase that is similar in meaning to the
key phrase in the question.

STEP 3 Read the second sentence of paragraph 4 to find relevant information.

STEP 4 Choose the correct option.

38 - The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

••••••
•••
• • • Practice
•
Reading time: 5 minutes

Western Chess

The game of chess is thousands of years old. Chess has

been played for so long now that its place of origin is un-
clear. Regardless of where the game was first played, it
eventually reached ancient Persia. In the 8th century CE,
conquering armies swept out from the Arabian Peninsula
creating an empire that stretched from India to Spain.
From Persia, the game of chess traveled throughout the
empire to Spain, and from there , to the rest of Europe.

Chess pieces and their functions are a small reflection of medieval

European life . The pawns are the most numerous type on the board and are often
sacrificed to protect other pieces. They represent serfs in the feudal system who
were tied to the land they worked on and had no say in the destiny of their own
lives.

The two rooks are set on each side of the back row and are like the castles that
protected the nobles and the clergymen . The knights are the only pieces that move
in an 'L' shape, much like how the mounted and armored warriors had the ability to
out flank opponents. The Church in medieval times was much more relevant in daily
life and politics than even now and was represented by the bishops, which sat on
both sides of the king and queen .

The queen is the most powerful chess piece on the whole board, though not the
most important. It is an interesting commentary on the precarious positions of
such people in medieval court life. The mobility of the king in chess is very li mited ,
considering that it is the most important piece in the game. Only the pawn has
fewer options when moving. The loss of one's king loses the game and thus speaks
to t heir importance in the Middle Ages as a physical embodiment of the state .

(307 words)

www.nhantriviet.com PART 2 39
 Questions 1-4 l
Choose FOUR letters, A-J.
Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

NB Your answers may be given in any order.

Which FOUR of the following statements are true of European chess?

A In chess, the king cannot be moved.

B Capturing the opponent's king wins the game.

C Rooks, representing stone castles, are the strongest piece in the game.

D Historians have pinpointed the exact time and place where chess was created.

E The pawn is the least mobile of all the pieces.

F Chess has a short history since people started playing it only recently.

G The game of chess embodies European life in the Middle Ages.

H European chess started in a different area of the world.

There is a piece in European chess that represents cannons and artillery.

J If all of a player's pawns are taken, he or she loses the game.

40 The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

 2. Completion
Completion questions test your ability to find details in order to complete gapped sum-
maries, notes, sentences, diagrams, tables, or flow charts. For this question type, you are
generally required to use three words or fewer to fill in the missing information. Sometimes,
you are also asked to match the two halves of sentences with two lists of these halves
provided. You have to read the instructions carefully to make sure that you can do the right job
• - choose the words from the box given or from the reading passage.

In doing this task type, you need to skim for general information, scan for details, and under-
stand paraphrases.

Sample instructions

~c+;j;:: t -r~; - ~ w 4, "' , ~ '7 t;;; n~:. "'.'." \'.1';1;';'<;

r~ complete the sentences below with words taken from the reading passage. Us~ NO '
ylx,
; : MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. ,
~'- '°:+ A ,_,- :'

f:tjg"~";;:ss;i£;"'4WN"'vf»frP;;,~ -"' ""'ii&!:f·~"',~,jtif\""' - ~~~; " ',l "a,, - h ~;" +\"" ',fki 0'.'"""'"""''>i+=4x;i~'Y /'$-'~e

~~~o&~lete t.he summa.ry pel~w using. word.s from the box. ' : · ~· ·· · ·"".
<!'.0 ::.~,} ' " %/ ' ~

Ifft~~~;~~·· ;h·e notes bel~~. Choose NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the ~assage
r:.tor e:ich answer.
~ ~'

"'f
.

Ml<? w" J

www .nhantriviet.com PART 2 - 41

Guided practice

Amphibians in the World

Some very familiar animals, like the toad, frog and salamander, are all amphibians. The
word ·amphibian' comes from Greek and means ' double life'. This is a simple reminder
of the fact that almost all of them spend at least a part of their lives in water. Some
species of amphibians spend only a larval stage in water and go on to develop lungs to
breathe air. Others spend their whole lives underwater.

Thi s change from a water habitat to a land habitat changes their bodies in very
marked ways. Most species grow legs to move about on land. The skin develops special
glands to prevent dehydration. The eyes and eyelids also adapt in order to function in
the air. Finally, in toads and frogs, the tail they have as tadpoles disappears.

Amphibians are some of the most interesting species in the world because of the
range of habitats they inhabit, from tropical rainforests to dry deserts. They highlight
the evolutionary process that brought the first animals from the ocean onto the land.
Unfortunately, a great number of species are facing the threat of extinction. Nearly 2,000
species, one-third of all those known, are at risk of dying off, even ones in pristine wil-
derness areas. No one knows the exact reason why, but it does not bode well for the
rest of the environment. Amphibians are like the ' canary in the coal mine ' for the world
environment. Their bodies and skin are thought to be quite sensitive to changes in the
climate and to chemical pollution. In an increasingly degraded environment, it seems that
amphibians are the first victims.

(268 words)

42 The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet com

 Questions 1-5
Complete the sentences below with the correct endings, A-1, from the box.
Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
- - ------ -- - - __ ___;

1 The word 'amphibian' refers to how such animals A

2 All amphibians start their life with D

3 Living on land requires changes that include I

4 Amphibians are found in a wide range of habitats C

5 The disappearance of amphibian species is alarming because they show G

www.nhantriviet.com PART L. 43
Approach

Q1
STEP 1 Read the first half.

STEP 2 Find a key word and a key phrase in the first half.

STEP 3 Find associated words in the second sentence of paragraph 1.

STEP 4 Read the second sentence of paragraph 1 to find relevant information to the second
half.

STEP 5 Choose the correct option.

Q2
STEP 1 Read the first half.

STEP 2 Find one key word in the first half.

STEP 3 Find an associated phrase in the third sentence of paragraph 1.

STEP 4 Read the third sentence of paragraph 1 to find relevant information to the second half.

STEP 5 Choose the correct option.

Q3
STEP 1 Read the first half.

STEP 2 Find one key word in the first half.

STEP 3 Find that key word in the first sentence of paragraph 2.

STEP 4 Read the first three sentences of paragraph 2 to find relevant information to the
second half.

STEP 5 Choose the correct option.

44 The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

Q4

STEP 1 Read the first half.

STEP 2 Find a key phrase in the first half.

STEP 3 Find that key phrase in the first sentence of paragraph 3.

STEP 4 Read the first sentence of paragraph 3 to find relevant information to the second
half.

STEP 5 Choose the correct option.

Q5

STEP 1 Read the first half.

STEP 2 Find one key word in the first half.

STEP 3 Find its synonym in the third sentence of paragraph 3.

STEP 4 Read the last sentence of paragraph 3 to find relevant information to the second half.

STEP 5 Choose the correct option.

www.nhantriviet com PART 2 - 45

••••••
•••
• •• • Practice
Reading time: 5 minutes

Weird States of Matter

There are three states of matter that people commonly encounter in their every-
day lives. The air we breathe is a gas, where the particles are spaced relatively far
apart. In liquids like water, particles are much more tightly packed, but are still able
to move and flow past one another. Thus, liquids assume the shape of their con-
tainer. Wood, metal and brick are all solids where the atoms are very close together
such that they retain their own shape and volume.

As nature reveals more of itself to people, more states of matter are observed.
Many of these states exist in such extreme conditions that they can be seen only
in the laboratory or from vast cosmic distances. Plasma is a readily visible state of
matter. In the first three states of matter, electrons, or negatively charged particles,
are bound up with the positively charged nucleus. In plasmas, these electrons are
stripped away and mingle about freely with other particles. All visible stars are made
of plasma, which is continuously excreted out into space. One can also see plasmas
in lit neon signs and fluorescent light bulbs.

Another example of an extreme state of matter is a superfluid. One such super-

flu id is helium, which is normally a gas. At temperatures close to absolute zero,
the lowest temperature possible, helium turns into a superfluid and exhibits very
unusual properties. In such a state, it has zero viscosity [no fluid friction). which
means that up to a certain point, the superfluid will remain absolutely still within a
rotating container. Superfluids also exhibit infinite thermal conductivity, meaning that
any change in temperature in one part of the superfluid will instantly spread out to
the whole volume.

(283 words)

46 - The best preparation for IELTS Reading www.nhantriviet.com

 Questions 1-6 l
Complete the summary below. Choose your answers from the box at the bottom of the
page and write them in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

NB There are more words than spaces, so you will not use them all.
You may use any of the words more than once.

EXTREME MATTER

• ,111 j ·~· ' j l'f'f' 'I I '

" We encounter illE!!!JI!_l.!!l states of matter every day. Answer: differellt

" '

Those states of matter we (1) with include: oxygen molecules, which are part
of the air we breathe; (2) that we drink in liquid form; and solids like the food we
eat and like other objects we use in life. Other extreme forms of matter also (3)
Plasmas are a kind of gaseous soup where the (4) and nuclei move about individu-
ally. (5) are a very strange kind of liquid. Their (6) are still being studied .

Word List
carbon dioxide water 2 orbit
interact 1 absolute zero container
unusual dust properties 6
superfluids 5 visuals stars
infinite exist 3 electrons 4
different

www.nhantrviet.com PART 2 - 47