A student called Shakhzod asked about the following question from test 2, passage 1 in Cambridge IELTS 11. The passage is about a ship called the 'Mary Rose' that sank in the 16th century and has recently been recovered.

Question 3 (true, false or not given):
Most of one side of the Mary Rose lay undamaged under the sea.

Relevant part of the passage:
Because of the way the ship sank, nearly all of the starboard half survived intact.

Task:
Do you think the answer is true, false or not given? Which keywords gave you the answer?

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Monday, August 15, 2016

The General Training reading test is a bit different to the Academic test. However, the techniques you need to use to find the answers are the same:

- Underline key words in the question.
- Look for those words, or words with the same meaning, in the passage.

General Training questions are easier than those in the Academic test, so I often give my students a section from a GT test as an introduction to the reading exam.

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Monday, August 08, 2016

Read the following passage about 'habits'.

"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits," William James wrote in 1892. Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they're not. They're habits. And though each habit means relatively little on its own, over time, the meals we order, what we say to our kids each night, whether we save or spend, how often we exercise, and the way we organize our thoughts and work routines have enormous impacts on our health, productivity, financial security, and happiness. One paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that 40 percent or more of the actions people performed each day weren't actual decisions, but habits.

Do the statements below agree with the ideas expressed by the author? Write YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.

The majority of choices we make on a daily basis are conscious decisions.Saving money is the key to financial security.Habits account for at least 40 percent of the things we do each day.

Note:
The passage above comes from a book called . If you're looking for a book to read, I definitely recommend it.

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Monday, August 01, 2016

Try following these steps when doing multiple choice questions:

Read the question and underline the "keywords" - these are the words that you will try to find in the passage (the main words that give the meaning of the question).Read the choices and underline one or two keywords for each one. Focus on words that make the difference between each choice.Go to the passage and look for the keywords from the question.When you have found the right part of the passage, look for keywords from the choices.Read the relevant part of the passage carefully, comparing it to each choice.To be sure you have the right answer, you should be able to show that the other answer choices are wrong.

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Monday, July 25, 2016

Here are 9 different ways to use practice reading tests.

Do a full one-hour test to see what score you get.Do a full test with no time limit (or a longer time limit, like 2 hours).Do just one reading passage in 20 minutes.Do one reading passage with no time limit (or longer than 20 minutes).Work on a particular type of question only e.g. true, false, not given.Do tests with the help of a dictionary, and see if that helps you score.Simply read a full passage and see what you understand. Don't do the questions.Get the answers from the back of the book, and try to prove why they are correct.Make vocabulary lists and 'keyword' tables.

Instead of just testing yourself, try to use practice tests in a variety of ways. This will make your study time less boring, and you'll probably learn more. Maybe you can think of other creative ways to use practice tests.

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Monday, July 18, 2016

To demonstrate the difference between answering true, false or not given, I usually show my students some easy examples from a General Reading exam.

The following examples come from Cambridge IELTS 7, pages 119-120.

Question statements:
1. The entrance to the campsite is locked after 10 p.m.
2. No dogs are allowed on the campsite.
3. You are not allowed to cook food on open fires.

Passage:
Don't make any noise after 10 o'clock at night or before 7.30 in the morning. Dogs must be kept on a lead. Owners of dogs that disturb other campers by barking through the night will be asked to leave. The lighting of fires is strictly prohibited.

Task:
Decide whether the question statements are true, false or not given. Then try to explain what we can learn from this exercise about the differences between true, false and not given.

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Monday, July 11, 2016

I've noticed that many students get the wrong answer because they think too much! They worry about small differences in meaning. For example, look at the following part of a reading passage:

The two week planned study into the psychological impact of prison life...

Now decide whether the following statement is true, false or not given:

The study aimed to investigate the mental and behavioural effects of life in prison.

The statement is true, but many students put not given because they "over-think" the meaning of 'psychological'. They think that the definition of psychological must be more complex than 'mental and behavioural'.

Don't think too hard about small differences in meanings. 'Mental and behavioural' might not be a perfect definition of 'psychological', but the overall meaning is the same (a simple definition of psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour).

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Monday, July 04, 2016

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.

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Monday, June 27, 2016

Here's my keyword table for test 3, passage 2 in Cambridge IELTS book 11.

Note: gulls and terns are types of bird

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Monday, June 20, 2016

Read the following passage about "mass media".

In the late 20th century, mass media could be classified into eight mass media industries: books, the Internet, magazines, movies, newspapers, radio, recordings, and television. The explosion of digital communication technology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries gave rise to the question: what forms of media should be classified as "mass media"? For example, it is controversial whether to include cell phones and video games in the definition.

Each mass medium has its own content types, creative artists, technicians, and business models. For example, the Internet includes blogs, podcasts, web sites, and various other technologies built atop the general distribution network. Internet and mobile phones are often referred to collectively as digital media, and radio and TV as broadcast media. Some argue that video games have developed into a distinct mass form of media, in the sense that they provide a common experience to millions of people across the globe and convey the same messages and ideologies to all their users.

Are the statements below true, false or not given?

In the 21st century, it is widely accepted that there are now more than eight mass media industries.Digital media can be subdivided into various content types.Video games are the newest mass media platform.

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Monday, June 13, 2016

If you are preparing for the academic IELTS test, you might never have tried a general reading paper. I recommend that you do. The techniques that you'll need to use are the same for both papers, and because the general test is easier, it serves as good practice.

Here's my keyword table for the general test questions on page 122 of Cambridge book 4:

Notice how the people who write the IELTS reading test use paraphrasing to make the questions. When you see 'keywords' like cultivation = growing,elderly = aged, or beach = coastal, you know you have the answer.

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Monday, June 06, 2016

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

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Monday, May 30, 2016

Here's another question that caused some debate among the students in one of my lessons. What answer would you choose, and why?

Question statement (true, false or not given?):
Bus drivers do not give change so you must have the correct money for a ticket.

What the passage says:
Buy your bus ticket from the bus driver, with the correct money if possible.

(From Cambridge IELTS 11 (General), test 3, question 10)

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Monday, May 23, 2016

Last week I used Cambridge IELTS book 11 for the first time. Here's my first keyword table for this book; it's for test 1, passage 2.

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Monday, May 16, 2016

Read the following excerpt from a passage about ethnography.

Ethnography, from the Greek ethnos (folk, people, nation) and grapho (I write), is the systematic study of people and cultures. It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where the researcher observes society from the point of view of the subject of the study.

According to the leading social scientist, John Brewer, ethnographic data collection methods are meant to capture the "social meanings and ordinary activities" of people (known as "informants") in "naturally occurring settings" that are commonly referred to as "the field". The goal is to collect data in such a way that the researcher imposes a minimal amount of personal bias. Methods of data collection can include participant observation, field notes, interviews, and surveys.

According to the passage, which TWO of the statements below are true?

A) Ethnography is a field of study that began in Greece.
B) Ethnographic research is concerned with ancient cultures and societies.
C) The subjects of ethnographic research are referred to as "informants".
D) Ethnographers try to make their research as objective as possible.
E) Observation is the most effective form of data collection.

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Monday, May 09, 2016

"Which paragraph contains the following information?" This type of question isnot the same as "match the headings to the paragraphs".

Here are some tips for "which paragraph contains?" questions:

Instead of looking for the main idea of each paragraph, you need to find one piece of information.Some paragraphs might not contain any answers.The same paragraph might contain more than one answer.It's not usually difficult to understand the question or answer, but it is difficult to find the answer.Do these questions last. By doing other questions first, you will become familiar with the passage, and you might remember where some of the answers are.Look for the easiest information first: questions that contain names, numbers or big/unusual words might be easier to find.

to try an example "which paragraph contains?" question from the official IELTS website.

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Monday, May 02, 2016

The people who write the questions for IELTS reading do something like this:

They take a reading passage.They read through the passage and stop when they find something interesting.They make a question about that part of the passage, usually by paraphrasing it. For example, if the phrase "staff salaries" is used in the passage, the question writer might create a question with the words "employees' wages".

In other words, they use the "keyword technique" to write the questions, which is why you should use it to find the answers.

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Monday, April 25, 2016

Here's a keyword table for test 1, passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 10. If you have book 10, try this test and underline the phrases below.

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Here are 3 study tips to help you improve your reading:

The best way to get better at the reading test is by doing more reading. Do as many practice tests as you can, and read other things e.g. books, newspapers and online articles.Try doing a reading test without a time limit, and with a dictionary. If you still can't get the score you need, you'll need to look carefully at what you are doing wrong.Spend time analysing your mistakes and the correct answers. If you don't understand why an answer was right or wrong, ask a teacher to help you. You'll improve more quickly if you learn from your mistakes.

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Monday, April 11, 2016

The following question demonstrates the 'keyword technique'.

Question (true, false or not given?)
New trainees who want work experience should check out vacancies before they depart.

Passage
What's more important to you - travel or work experience? You can be flexible with travel plans but you must research job opportunities in advance.

Task
The correct answer is 'true', but can you complete the keyword table below to show how we found this answer?

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Monday, April 04, 2016

Whenever you practise doing an IELTS reading test, you should treat it as an opportunity to improve your vocabulary knowledge. Look carefully at the phrases used, and the way ideas are expressed.

For example, did you notice this vocabulary in last week's ?

change (verb) over timemake use ofgather knowledge aboutapply a methodmake inferences abouttrace something back tois derived from

Try making your own sentences to practise using some of these phrases.

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Monday, March 28, 2016

Read the following excerpt from a passage about etymology.

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. For a language with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question.

Etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information to be available. By analysing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way, word roots have been found that can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, the Indo-European language family.

The word etymology is derived from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία, etymologia, itself from ἔτυμον, etymon, meaning "true sense", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of".

Which TWO of the following statements agree with the information above?

A) Etymology involves the study of historical texts.
B) Some languages are too old for linguists to understand.
C) The ancient Greeks were the first to study the origins of words.
D) Most words have their origins in Indo-European languages.
E) The word 'etymology' derives from a word meaning 'the study of true sense'.

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Monday, March 21, 2016

Here's a keyword table for a 'true, false, not given' section in Cambridge IELTS book 10 (page 121). I've left some gaps to encourage you to study the keywords carefully.

Use the following words:
restaurant, vacancies, purpose, soon, leavers, catering, dream

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Monday, March 14, 2016

Read the following article, and choose the best title from the list below.

The setting is decidedly modest: a utility room in a red-brick house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Wales. But if the hype turns out to be right, this may be the starting point for an energy revolution in the UK. Householder Mark Kerr has become the first British owner of a Tesla Powerwall, a cutting-edge bit of kit that the makers say will provide a "missing link" in solar energy.

Like many owners of solar panels, Kerr and his family have a basic problem. They tend to be out at work and school when the sun is shining and the 16 solar panels on the roof of their home in Cardiff are producing power. The excess they miss out on is fed into the grid and they make a return on it but it does not seem right that they do not get to use the power from their panels. However, from now, energy produced but not used during the day will charge the Powerwall and can then be used to provide them with the energy they need when they're at home and their lights, music centres, computers, televisions and myriad other devices need feeding.

Choose title A, B, C or D. Can you explain why the others are wrong?

A) The UK energy revolution.
B) Wales at the forefront of technology.
C) New device could herald energy revolution.
D) The problem with solar panels.

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Monday, March 07, 2016

If you want to do some realistic IELTS reading practice, the only books that I recommend are Cambridge IELTS books 4 to 10 and the two 'Official Practice Materials' books.

Here are some problems that I've seen in other 'unofficial' books:

Tests can be too easy or too difficult.Topics may be covered that would never appear in a real test. For example, a passage about the politics of a particular country would not be used in a real test.The answers in the passage might not be in order. In real tests, answers to most question types are almost always in order.Questions are badly written and confusing.

You can still use unofficial books for reading practice. Just don't expect the tests in them to be realistic.

Note: Cambridge books 1 to 3 are quite old, and some of the questions don't seem as well written as those in the later books.

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Monday, February 29, 2016

Over the weekend I ran an IELTS preparation course here in Manchester. We did some good work on 'paragraph headings' questions, and one of the exercises that we used was test 3, passage 2 in Cambridge IELTS book 5.

Here are the keywords from the 'paragraph headings' section in that test:

Note: I always recommend doing paragraph matching questions last. They are much easier if you are already familiar with the passage, having done other question sections first.

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Monday, February 22, 2016

Read the following passage and answer the questions below it.

Learning a second language can boost thinking skills, improve mental agility and delay the ageing of the brain, according to scientists who believe that speaking minority languages should be positively encouraged in schools and universities. Studies have found that children and adults who learn or speak another language benefit from the extra effort it takes to handle two sets of vocabularies and rules of grammar.

"Fewer parents speak minority languages to their children because of the perceived lack of usefulness. Many people still think that a minority language makes children confused and puts them at a disadvantage at school," said Antonella Sorace of the University of Edinburgh. "These feelings clash with much research on bilingualism, which shows instead that when there are differences between monolingual and bilingual children, these are almost invariably in favour of bilinguals," Dr Sorace said.

"Bilingual children tend to have enhanced language abilities, a better understanding of others' points of view, and more mental flexibility in dealing with complex situations," she told the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.

(Source: )

Are the following statements TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN?

Some scientists believe that the teaching of minority languages should be promoted.Research into bilingualism supports the idea that learning two languages can be detrimental to children.Bilingual children tend to get high scores in intelligence tests.

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Here are two tricky questions that people have asked me about. For each question, decide whether the answer is false or not given, and try to explain why.

Question 1 (Cambridge 7, test 3)
Problems in Nordic countries were excluded because they are outside the European Economic Community.

Relevant part of the passage:
Their initial task was to decide which of the many forest problems of concern to Europe involved the largest number of countries and might be subject to joint action. Those confined to particular geographical areas, such as countries bordering the Mediterranean or the Nordic countries therefore had to be discarded.

Question 2 (Cambridge 10, test 3)
Tourism contributes over six per cent of the Australian gross national product.

Relevant part of the passage:
This industry (tourism) is the world's leading industrial contributor, producing over 6 per cent of the world's gross national product.

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Monday, February 08, 2016

Over the weekend I ran an IELTS preparation course here in Manchester. One of the reading exercises that we did came from Cambridge 5 (test 1, passage 2). The topic of the passage was a .

My students found the 'which paragraph contains?' exercise particularly tricky. Here's a keyword table for that exercise:

Note:
Psychology is quite a common topic in the reading test. If you're interested in this topic, try reading about the and John Bowlby's.

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Monday, February 01, 2016

Read the following passage and choose the best heading.

The environmental challenges posed by agriculture are huge, and they'll only become more pressing as we try to meet the growing need for food worldwide. We'll likely have two billion more mouths to feed by mid-century - more than nine billion people. But sheer population growth isn't the only reason we'll need more food. The spread of prosperity across the world, especially in India and China, is driving an increased demand for meat, eggs and dairy, boosting pressure to grow more corn and soybeans to feed more cattle, pigs and chickens. If these trends continue, the double whammy of population growth and richer diets will require us to roughly double the amount of crops we grow by 2050.

(Source: National Geographic)

A) Two key trends driving the demand for food worldwide.
B) The impact of agriculture on the natural world.
C) Growing populations and their need for food.

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Monday, January 25, 2016

I've just published the final video lesson in my series about IELTS reading. It contains a summary of the tips and techniques in the previous 9 lessons.

to go to the video.

I'll publish my first video lesson for IELTS speaking this Friday.

Later today I'll publish a video lesson that summarises my advice for IELTS reading. Before you see it, think about the following questions:

Do you know how many types of question there are?What is the main technique that I recommend for IELTS reading?Do any of the question types require a different technique?

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Monday, January 18, 2016

Over the weekend I taught an IELTS course here in Manchester, and my students found the following question tricky. (Cambridge IELTS book 10, page 67)

Here's the question. Is this statement true, false or not given?:
Tourism has a social impact because it promotes recreation.

Here's the relevant sentence from the passage:
Tourism has a profound impact both on the world economy, and because of the educative effect of travel and the effects on employment, on society itself.

What's the answer?
My students were sure that the answer would be "false". According to the passage, the social impact of tourism is related to education and employment. However, the correct answer is "not given".

Why?
There is no mention of "recreation" in the passage. For the answer to be "false", the passage would need to tell us that recreation is not part of the social impact of tourism.

Remember:
The answer is "false" when the information in the passage contradicts the question statement. If any of the information is missing, we have to answer "not given".

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Monday, January 11, 2016

Finding the answers in the IELTS reading test is a bit like doing a "treasure hunt". The answers are all hidden in the passage, and the questions are the "clues" that you follow to find the "treasure".

The next time you do a practice reading test, imagine that it's a game of treasure hunt. The IELTS test writers are your opponents, but if you know , you can learn to beat them!

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Monday, January 04, 2016

Here are 3 tips to help you prepare for IELTS reading:

Materials
First, for test practice I only recommend the official Cambridge IELTS books. These contain real exam papers from previous years, so you can trust that the difficulty level will be accurate. Second, for advice, techniques and quick exercises, use the lessons here on the blog. Finally, read as much English as you can (in newspapers, books, on the Internet etc.) and write new or useful vocabulary in a notebook.

Method
There are just two things that you need to do in the reading test: find and understand. First, you need to find where the answer is in the passage. Then you need to read and understand that part of the passage in order to get the right answer. Look through my lessons here on the blog to find more advice about the "keyword technique". I've also explained the keyword technique in and in all of the reading lessons on my video course .

Improving your score
To improve your score, you need to work on two things: exam technique and your overall knowledge of the English language. With practice, you'll get better at using the "keyword technique" to find answers. However, if you don't understand the passage, you'll find it very hard to get the right answers. To improve your overall language knowledge, read as much English as you can, and write new or useful vocabulary in a notebook.

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Monday, December 28, 2015

Read the following text, then answer the questions below it.

John Dewey (1859 to 1952) was an American philosopher and psychologist who is perhaps best known for his ideas in the field of education. He saw education and learning as social and interactive processes, and the school itself as a social institution through which social reform can and should take place. In addition, he believed that students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum, and that all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning.

While many people at the time believed that education's purpose was to train students for work by providing them with a limited set of skills and information to do a particular job, Dewey argued that the school and the classroom teacher have a wider responsibility to produce psychological and social goods that will lead to both present and future social progress. As Dewey noted, "The business of the teacher is to produce a higher standard of intelligence in the community. Skill, ability to act wisely and effectively in a great variety of occupations and situations, is a sign of the degree of civilization that a society has reached."

Are these statements TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN?

Dewey's ideas about education have been highly influential in American society.He disagreed with the narrow view of education of many of his contemporaries.Dewey believed that teachers needed to be more intelligent.

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Monday, December 21, 2015

Choose the best heading for the following paragraph from the list below.

"Big data" is a term being used more and more by politicians. It refers to the concept that any problem – from underperforming pupils to failing hospitals – can be solved by collecting some tightly focused data, crunching it and making tweaks, such as moving pupils or changing nurses' shifts, rather than dealing with bigger issues, such as poverty or spending cuts. This is an approach that focuses narrowly on "what works" without ever troubling to ask: "works for whom?" Its watchword is "smart", which can easily be appreciated, rather than "right", which can't. Putting trust in highly educated technocrats, it is naturally less interested in public debate.

A) How data can be used to improve society.
B) Big data: a smart approach to politics that works for everyone.
C) A sceptical perspective on "big data".
D) Why the public trusts technocrats more than politicians.

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Monday, December 14, 2015

Hopefully you do this already, but it's worth pointing out why underlining is so important when you're doing an IELTS reading test. I tell my students to underline the main words in the question, then underline any similar words that they find as they read the passage.

There are 3 reasons why underlining is useful:

It encourages you to use the to find the answers.You don't lose your place in the passage when you're turning pages to check between the question and the text.The same information may be relevant for a later question (e.g. when you do a 'paragraph headings' section last).

I can always tell when students have worked hard on a reading paper by the amount of underlining or highlighting they have done. If you don't usually underline things, start now!

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Monday, December 07, 2015

Read the following passage, then choose the best title from the list below it.

According to a new review of studies related to running and health, jogging for as few as five or six miles per week could substantially improve someone's health. "It seems like the maximum benefits of running occur at quite low doses," said Dr. Carl J. Lavie, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. As little as "one to two runs per week, or three to six miles per week, and well less than an hour per week" can be quite beneficial, he said.

However, there may be an upper limit to the desirable mileage if your primary goal is improved health. Some evidence, he said, suggested that running strenuously for more than about an hour every day could slightly increase someone's risks for heart problems, as well as for running-related injuries and disabilities.

Choose title A, B, C or D.

A) The health benefits of jogging
B) How much running is best?
C) Surprising findings about running
D) The benefits and drawbacks of regular jogging

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Monday, November 30, 2015

My students found the following multiple choice question quite difficult. Choose the best answer and explain which 'keywords' helped you to get that answer.

Question:
According to the writer, there are difficulties explaining how the Lapita* accomplished their journeys because

A) the canoes that have been discovered offer relatively few clues.
B) archaeologists have shown limited interest in this area of research.
C) little information relating to this period can be relied upon for accuracy.
D) technological advances have altered the way such achievements are viewed.

Part of the passage:
There is one stubborn question for which archaeology has yet to provide any answers: how did the Lapita accomplish the ancient equivalent of a moon landing, many times over? No-one has found one of their canoes or any rigging, which could reveal how the canoes were sailed. Nor do the oral histories and traditions of later Polynesians offer any insights, for they turn into myths long before they reach as far back in time as the Lapita.

Source: Cambridge IELTS 10, page 75.
*The Lapita were an ancient tribe / people

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Monday, November 23, 2015

Here are some of the key words and phrases that helped my students to get the answers to reading test 4.1 in Cambridge IELTS book 7:

uncannily: means strangely or extraordinarily

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Monday, November 16, 2015

I've just published a video lesson about "matching sentence endings" questions in the IELTS reading test. You can watch the lesson .

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Monday, November 09, 2015

Read the following passage about the performer Houdini.

Harry Houdini (1874 to 1926) was a Hungarian-American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted attention as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to hold his breath inside a sealed milk can.

In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror newspaper. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake magicians and spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who pirated his stunts.

Are the following statements true, false, or not given in the text?

Houdini was more successful in Europe than in America.Many people were skeptical about Houdini's escape acts.He took legal action against those who tried to copy him.

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Monday, November 02, 2015

How can you improve your reading? Here are 6 tips:

If you want to improve your reading, the first thing to do is read a lot. There are no shortcuts or secret techniques; you will only improve with time and practice.Anything you read in English is good practice, so read about subjects that interest you. Try to enjoy reading in English.English is the most used language on the Internet. Whenever you search for information on the net, try searching in English first.Remember that "understanding is not the same as using". Keep a notebook with useful words and phrases that you find when you're reading, and try using them in your own sentences.Apart from reading things that interest you, you also need to read lots of IELTS passages. If you've done all of the tests in the Cambridge books, read the passages again without doing the questions. Use a dictionary, take notes, and try to fully understand each passage.Another way to use the Cambridge tests is to look at the correct answers to each question first. Then, your task is to find out why those answers are correct by analysing the passage carefully and finding the 'keywords'.

I'm sure you can think of other suggestions. Be creative with your reading practice, try to enjoy the learning process, and trust that you will improve if you persist.

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Monday, October 26, 2015

For the following question types, the answers are usually (almost always) in order in the passage:

All types of gap-fill (sentences, summaries, diagrams etc.)True, false, not givenYes, no, not givenMultiple choiceMatching sentence endings'Short answer' questions

However, answers to the following question types are never in order:

Matching paragraph headingsWhich paragraph contains the information?Matching names with statements or information

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Monday, October 19, 2015

Over the weekend I ran an IELTS preparation course. After a full morning of IELTS reading work, one of my students said this: "I'm starting to see the pattern."

So, what pattern was he talking about? The 'keyword' pattern.

Here's an example from one of the tests that we worked through:

The more practice you do, the better you'll get at finding the answers by recognising the similar 'keywords' in the questions and in the passages. The IELTS reading test really does get easier as you get used to seeing this pattern.

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Monday, October 12, 2015

Read the following passage about cities and the environment.

It's easy to see why economists would embrace cities, warts and all, as engines of prosperity. It has taken a bit longer for environmentalists. By increasing income, cities increase consumption and pollution too. If what you value most is nature, cities look like concentrated piles of damage - until you consider the alternative, which is spreading the damage. From an ecological standpoint, says Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, a back-to-the-land ethic would be disastrous. Cities allow half of humanity to live on around 4 percent of the arable land, leaving more space for open country.

Per capita, city dwellers tread more lightly in other ways as well, as David Owen explains in Green Metropolis. Their roads, sewers, and power lines are shorter and so use fewer resources. Their apartments take less energy to heat, cool, and light than do houses. Most important, people in dense cities drive less. Their destinations are close enough to walk to, and enough people are going to the same places to make public transit practical. In cities like New York, per capita energy use and carbon emissions are much lower than the national average.

Are the following statements true, false, or not given?

1) Both economists and environmentalists may now see the benefits of cities.
2) A return to rural living would be a bad idea ecologically speaking.
3) City dwellers are more environmentally aware than the average person.

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Monday, October 05, 2015

Read the following text and choose the best answer for each question.

The term "IQ" comes from German "Intelligenz-Quotient", coined by the German psychologist William Stern in 1912, who proposed a method of scoring children's intelligence tests. Since the early 20th century, scores on IQ tests have increased in most parts of the world. The phenomenon of rising score performance means that if test-takers are scored by a constant standard scoring rule, IQ test scores have been rising at an average rate of around three IQ points per decade. This phenomenon was named the Flynn effect in the book The Bell Curve after James R. Flynn, the author who did the most to bring this phenomenon to the attention of psychologists.

1. "IQ" refers to

A) a type of intelligence test for children
B) a means of rating intelligence tests
C) an area of psychology

2. Flynn noticed that

A) IQ scores were constant around the world
B) IQ was a global phenomenon
C) intelligence scores had gradually risen over several decades

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Monday, September 28, 2015

In case you haven't seen them before, here are my six main tips for IELTS reading. Notice that 'skimming and scanning' are not on the list - it's usually best to read at normal speed.

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Monday, September 21, 2015

For today's quick exercise, you'll need to and look at an article on the National Geographic website.

Answer each question using a maximum of THREE words from the article.

What name has been given to the field of research that is concerned with bringing extinct animals back to life?What, according to Maura O'Connor, is affecting habitats and environments?What phrase is used to decribe the difficulty of defining a species?

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Monday, September 14, 2015

Over the weekend I ran an IELTS preparation here in Manchester. We did some good work on 'paragraph headings' questions, and one of the exercises that we used was test 2, passage 1 in Cambridge IELTS book 10.

Here are the keywords from the 'paragraph headings' section in that test:

Note: I always recommend doing paragraph matching questions last. They are much easier if you are already familiar with the passage, having done other question sections first.

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Monday, September 07, 2015

The Paper Clip

According to the Early Office Museum, the first patent for a bent wire paper clip was awarded in the United States to Samuel B. Fay, in 1867. This clip was originally intended primarily for attaching tickets to fabric, although the patent recognized that it could be used to attach papers together. Although functional and practical, Fay's design along with the 50 other designs patented prior to 1899 are not considered reminiscent of the modern paper clip design known today.

The most common type of wire paper clip still in use, the Gem paper clip, was never patented, but it was most likely in production in Britain in the early 1870s by "The Gem Manufacturing Company", according to the American expert on technological innovations, Professor Henry J. Petroski.

Are the following statements true, false, or not given in the text?

Samuel B. Fay's paper clip was only patented for one specific use.Fay's paper clip was not as practical as those we use today.Nobody has a patent on the paper clip that most people use today.

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Monday, August 31, 2015

Reading is probably the best way to expand your knowledge of English vocabulary. And if you want to make faster progress, I recommend keeping a notebook for useful words and phrases that you find.

For example, I came across the other day. Have a look at the article, and note down any useful words or phrases that you find. Feel free to share your notes in the 'comments' area below.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

I've just published a video lesson about 'short answer' questions in the IELTS reading test. It's a free lesson and you can watch it .

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Monday, August 24, 2015

Here's a keyword table for test 2 in Cambridge IELTS book 9:

Even if you don't have a copy of the book, I think you can still learn something from this table. Look at the use of synonyms and similar words (e.g. worldwide / international, regulations / standards, current / modern).

Also, did you know the meanings of words like vulnerable, auditory and impairment? Look these words up in a dictionary, and see if you can use them in your own sentences.

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Monday, August 17, 2015

This week I'm making a video lesson about 'short answer' questions. These questions are quite rare and I think they are fairly easy, but it's still a good idea to be ready for them.

Read the following passage about humour.

Many theories exist about what humour is and what social function it serves. The prevailing types of theories attempting to account for the existence of humour include psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humour-induced behaviour to be very healthy; spiritual theories, which may, for instance, consider humour to be a "gift from God"; and theories which consider humour to be an unexplainable mystery, very much like a mystical experience.

Answer the question below using ONE word only.

Which group of theories about humour describe it as being good for us?

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Monday, August 10, 2015

I've published this lesson before, but I think it's worth repeating it for people who have been asking me for reading tips. Here's my list of advice and techniques for IELTS reading:

Don't read the whole text; you haven't got enough time. Just go straight to the questions.'Paragraph' questions are much easier if you do them last. Do other sections first.The answers to most questions should be in the correct order in the text, so you don't need to go back to the beginning to start looking for the next answer.Read all instructions carefully.Look for 'keywords'. There are usually words in the questions that are similar to words you need to find in the text. For example, if the text contains the word "global", the question might use the word "international". If you find the similar words, you have probably found the answer.You must get to the end and answer every question. If you don't finish, you might miss some easy points.Some questions are difficult because their aim is to separate band 8 and band 9. Don't waste time on difficult questions. Miss them, finish the exam, and return to them at the end.

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Monday, August 03, 2015

Look at the following question (from Cambridge IELTS 5) and the section of text that contains the answer. I've underlined the key words.

Question:

The writer suggests that newspapers print items that are intended to

A) educate readers
B) meet their readers' expectations
C) encourage feedback from readers
D) mislead readers

Passage:

A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media. People are clearly more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. That, however, can lead to significant distortions of perception.

Task:

Which keywords in the passage match the keywords in the question? What is the correct answer? Why?

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Monday, July 27, 2015

Choose the best title for the following passage from the list below it.

How we deal with the most challenging children remains rooted in B.F. Skinner's mid-20th-century philosophy that human behaviour is determined by consequences, and that bad behaviour must be punished. During the 2011-12 school year, the US Department of Education counted 130,000 expulsions and roughly 7 million suspensions among 49 million primary and secondary students - one for every seven children. Furthermore, it is estimated that there are a quarter of a million instances of corporal punishment in US schools every year.

But contemporary psychological studies suggest that, far from resolving children's behaviour problems, these standard disciplinary methods often exacerbate them. They sacrifice long-term goals (student behaviour improving definitively) for the short-term gain of momentary peace in the classroom.

Choose one title from the following list:

A) Behaviour management in US schools may do more harm than good.
B) How to improve behaviour in schools.
C) The US education system in crisis.
D) The long-term goals of discipline in schools.

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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

I've now published my latest video lesson for IELTS reading. It's the last lesson at the bottom of my webpage.

I've also made a 'single payment' option for all of the reading videos. Next week I'll publish a free video lesson to finish the reading part of the course.

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Monday, July 20, 2015

The table below shows 'keywords' from the exercise in . Notice, in particular, the different ways to describe years.

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Monday, July 13, 2015

Read the following passage, and choose the best title from the list.

Using a laser scan of Bourges cathedral in France, a team led by John Ochsendorf of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have 3D-printed thousands of bricks and are building an exact 1:50 replica. The researchers hope to use the mock-up to devise a way to gauge the stability, and thus safety, of historical buildings built of brick and stone.

Building the replica is painstaking work, but Ochsendorf thinks the process itself may be as valuable as the mechanics uncovered. For students of architecture and structural engineering, hands-on experience has largely given way to computer modelling. Techniques like 3D printing could be a way of reconnecting them with the craft behind the science, he says.

(New Scientist, 14.2 14.)

A) 3D printing a historical structure.
B) The benefits of 3D printing.
C) Computer modelling or hands-on experience?
D) A damaged cathedral is rebuilt.

Try this 'paragraph headings' question from Cambridge IELTS 7, page 48-50.

Choose the correct heading for the paragraph below.

Co-operation of district officials.Government authorities' instructions.

It would have been easy to criticise the MIRTP for using in the early phases a 'top-down' approach, in which decisions were made by experts and officials before being handed down to communities, but it was necessary to start the process from the level of the governmental authorities of the district. It would have been difficult to respond to the requests of villagers and other rural inhabitants without the support and understanding of district authorities.

Note:
Is it true that the answer is always in the first sentence of the paragraph?

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Monday, June 29, 2015

You can't get a high score in the IELTS reading test without learning a lot of vocabulary.

For example, here are some words and phrases that my students needed to know for a reading test that we did:

remained = stayedtook a long time = slowof varying (size, price etc) = of different (size, price)virtually any = almost anynon-stop = continuousunblemished = perfect, without a mark or scratchmolten (glass or metal) = in liquid form due to heatinstant commercial success = made a profit straight awayflaws = faults, mistakes, weaknessesdetecting = locating, finding, discovering

Write the new words and phrases that you read or hear in a notebook - that's the best way to improve your vocabulary knowledge.

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Sunday, June 28, 2015

I've just published a video lesson about multiple choice questions in the reading test. You can find the lesson at the bottom of .

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Read the following text about universities.

Religion was central to the curriculum of early European universities. However, its role became less significant during the 19th century, and by the end of the 1800s, the German university model, based on more liberal values, had spread around the world. Universities concentrated on science in the 19th and 20th centuries, and became increasingly accessible to the masses. In Britain, the move from industrial revolution to modernity saw the arrival of new civic universities with an emphasis on science and engineering.

The funding and organisation of universities vary widely between different countries around the world. In some countries, universities are predominantly funded by the state, while in others, funding may come from donors or from fees which students attending the university must pay.

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.

1. The German university model, which became popular in the 19th century, promoted ______.

2. Over the last 200 years, a university education has become ______ the general public.

3. Depending on the country, universities may be funded by the state, by donors, or by fee-paying ______.

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Monday, June 15, 2015

Here's a keyword table for the two most recent exercises that I put here on the blog. Click to see one of them, and to check the other.

Note: Don't just have a quick look at this table. Look carefully at the vocabulary, and make a note of anything useful.

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Monday, June 08, 2015

This week I'm making a video lesson about multiple choice questions in the reading test. To give you an idea of how confusing these questions can be, let's look at an example from the Official IELTS Practice Materials book.

I've underlined keywords in the question, choices and passage. Notice that words from all four choices are mentioned in the passage. But which choice is correct?

Question:

The Library of Congress offers and opportunity to

A) borrow from their collection of Dutch maps
B) learn how to restore ancient and fragile maps
C) enjoy the atmosphere of the reading room
D) create individual computer maps to order

Excerpt from passage:

The world's largest collection of maps resides in the basement of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The collection, consisting of up to 4.6 million map sheets and 63,000 atlases, includes magnificent bound collections of elaboratemaps - the pride of the golden age of Dutch cartography. In the reading roomscholars, wearing thin cotton gloves to protect the fragile sheets, examineancient maps with magnifying glasses. Across the room people sit at theircomputer screens, studying the latest maps. With their prodigious memories, computers are able to store data about people, places and environments - the stuff of maps - and almost instantly information is displayed on the screen in the desired geographic context, and at the click of a button, a print-out of the map appears.

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Monday, June 01, 2015

IELTS reading is really a test of 2 things:

Can you find the part of the text that contains the answer?Do you understand that part of the text?

Finding
You need to be able to find the right part of the text quickly. I practise this a lot with my students: we decide which words in the question we need to search for, then we try to locate those words (or words with the same meaning) in the text.

Understanding
When you have found where the answer is, you need to read that part of the text carefully. Read the sentences before and after the keywords that you found. Then it becomes a test of your vocabulary knowledge: if you don't understand the words that you are reading, it will be difficult to get the right answer.

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Saturday, May 30, 2015

I've just published a video lesson on . The lesson contains techniques for 'which paragraph contains?' questions in the reading test, as well as an example test to demonstrate how the techniques work.

I've now done video lessons for both types of 'paragraph matching' question ('paragraph headings' was the other type). Most people find these questions difficult, but a few simple techniques can make them a lot easier.

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Monday, May 25, 2015

When practising with the Cambridge IELTS books, try this study technique:

1. Choose a reading passage.
2. Go to the back of the book and get the correct answers.
3. Study the passage with the aim of proving why those answers are correct.
4. Make a keyword table.

When you know what the answers are, you can focus on exam technique: searching for keywords, then reading the relevant part of the passage carefully. You might find this helps you more than simply testing yourself would.

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Monday, May 18, 2015

Match the correct headings with the paragraphs below.

1. The causes of stress among employers and employees
2. The increase in work-related stress
3. The increase in visits to physicians
4. Stress has wide-ranging effects on the body and on behaviour

A) The number of stress-related disability claims by American employees has doubled according to the Employee Assistance Professionals Association in Arlington, Virginia. Seventy-five to ninety percent of physician visits are related to stress and, according to the American Institute of Stress, the cost to industry has been estimated at $200 billion-$300 billion a year.

B) It is clear that problems caused by stress have become a major concern to both employers and employees. Symptoms of stress are manifested both physiologically and psychologically. Persistent stress can result in cardiovascular disease, a weaker immune system and frequent headaches, stiff muscles, or backache. It can also result in poor coping skills, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating. Stress may also perpetuate or lead to binge eating, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

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Monday, May 11, 2015

Here's a keyword table from the general reading test on pages 41-42 of Official IELTS Practice Materials book 2.

I tell all of my students to practise both academic and general reading tests. The techniques that we use are the same, and the vocabulary is always useful.

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Monday, May 04, 2015

I've said before that IELTS Reading is a vocabulary test. If you don't understand the words that you read in the questions or passage, you probably won't get the right answer. Here's an example from my latest video lesson:

Is the following statement true, false or not given?
Some sewage networks built by the Romans in the UK were made out of wood.

Relevant part of the passage:
Roman towns and garrisons in the United Kingdom between 46 BC and 400 AD had complex sewer networks sometimes constructed out of hollowed-out elm logs.

Tasks:
- What answer would you give (T, F or NG)?
- Which 'keywords' would you underline in the question and passage?
- Which words do you need to understand in order to get the answer?

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Sunday, May 03, 2015

I've just published my latest video lesson at the bottom of . The lesson is about "true, false, not given" and "yes, no, not given" questions in the IELTS reading test.

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Monday, April 27, 2015

Is there a difference between "true, false, not given" questions and "yes, no, not given" questions?

Yes, there is a small difference. When the questions are about facts in the passage, you'll be asked to decide whether the information is "true, false or not given". When the passage is about opinions rather than facts, you will be asked whether each statement agrees with the views given by the writer, and you'll have to answer "yes, no or not given".

Note: In terms of exam technique, this small difference doesn't really matter.
I approach both question types in the same way. I look for keywords, and decide whether the information in the question is correct, incorrect or not given.

I'll publish a video lesson about these two question types later this week.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

I've just published my first video lesson for IELTS reading. You can find it at the bottom of .

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Monday, April 20, 2015

I've nearly finished my first video lesson for IELTS Reading. I'll start by looking at 'gap-fill' questions, and the lesson will cover various types of gap-fill task:

Fill the gaps in a summary with words from the passage.Fill the gaps in a summary using words from a given list.Fill the gaps to complete a table of information.Fill the gaps to label a diagram.

If you haven't practised these four types of gap-fill question, don't worry. The task is basically the same, and the method that I suggest for finding the answers is also the same for each type. If you've followed my reading lessons here on the blog, you can probably guess which method I'll be using!

The video lesson should be ready later today or early tomorrow.

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Monday, April 13, 2015

The table below shows keywords for the paragraph headings exercise on page 14 of the book called . If you can find a copy of this passage (about 'Seaweeds of New Zealand'), it's a good one to try.

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Thursday, April 09, 2015

I've just published two quick videos as part of my course of video lessons.

The first is a summary of my lessons for writing task 1, with some final advice about 'map' questions and an attached document showing three different 'map' answers. You can watch this lesson and download the sample map reports .

The second video is a useful introduction to IELTS Reading. Watch it .

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Monday, April 06, 2015

Read the passage and complete the summary using words from the box below it.
NB You will not need to use all of the words.

Bilinguals and Personality

Many people believe that bilinguals have two different personalities, one for each of the languages they speak, and that switching between languages makes bilinguals act differently. Although this may seem unbelievable to some, research actually supports this idea.

According to various studies, bilinguals who are also bicultural and are actively involved in both of their cultures, interpret situations differently depending on which language they speak in. Although everyone, monolinguals and bilinguals alike, is able to change the way they feel and interpret events (a phenomenon known as frame-shifting), biculturals do this without realising when switching between languages.

The changes are not only linguistic. As an English-Spanish bicultural myself I do find I act differently depending on which culture I'm immersed in at the time. I'm often aware of the fact that when I speak to other Spanish speakers my voice is slightly louder and I gesticulate more than when I talk to English speakers. Could we then say that bilinguals have two different personalities?
(Source: )

Summary

There is some _____ to show that people who are bilingual exhibit a different _____ depending on which language they are speaking. Some bilinguals also have two _____ cultural identities, meaning that they are able to _____ their behaviour effortlessly according to their cultural _____. This may involve changes in _____ of speech or in the use of _____ language.

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Monday, March 30, 2015

When practising IELTS reading at home, it's always a good idea to write down the 'keywords' that helped you to find the correct answers.

I recommend doing this even if the keywords seem easy. Personally, I've done so much reading practice (in my lessons) that I notice keywords very quickly - they jump out of the page! With time, I believe that you can develop the same ability.

Here are the easy keywords from last week's exercise:

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Monday, March 23, 2015

Today I'm attaching a reading exercise that requires you to match names with statements. For this type of question, I'm going to recommend 3 things that contradict my normal advice:

First, scan the whole passage and underline the names. I don't normally recommend scanning, because students often miss the answers when they scan too quickly. However, scanning for names of people should be easy.Second, underline keywords in all of the questions. I usually recommend doing just one question at a time, but I break this 'rule' for any type of question that involves matching.Finally, instead of reading from the beginning of the passage (my usual approach), I recommend starting with the name that is accompanied by the smallest amount of information. In today's exercise, for example, I would start by reading the part about Karl Marx - only one sentence! Read that sentence and compare it with the question statements, looking for similar keywords as usual.

Try following these 3 steps to do the exercise attached below.

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Monday, March 16, 2015

Read the following passage about the 'Beaufort scale'.

The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale, although it is a measure of wind speed and not of force in the scientific sense.

The scale was devised in 1805 by Francis Beaufort, an Irish Royal Navy officer. In the early 19th century, naval officers made regular weather observations, but there was no standard scale and so they could be very subjective. The initial scale of thirteen classes (zero to twelve) did not reference wind speed numbers but related qualitative wind conditions to effects on the sails of a frigate, then the main ship of the Royal Navy.

In 1916, to accommodate the growth of steam power, the descriptions were changed to how the sea, not the sails, behaved. The Beaufort scale was extended in 1946, when forces 13 to 17 were added. Today, hurricane force winds are sometimes described as Beaufort scale 12 to 16.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

The Beaufort scale is a scientific measure of wind force.In the early 1800s, naval officers demanded a more accurate way to measure weather conditions.The original scale measured the effect of wind on a ship's sails.Today, the Beaufort scale is still the predominant scale for wind description.

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Monday, March 09, 2015

Read the following text about 'collocation':

Collocation is defined as a sequence of words or terms which co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. Collocation comprises the restrictions on how words can be used together, for example which prepositions are used with particular verbs, or which verbs and nouns are used together. An example of this (from Michael Halliday) is the collocation strong tea. While the same meaning could be conveyed through the roughly equivalent powerful tea, the fact is that English prefers to speak of tea in terms of being strong rather than in terms of being powerful. A similar observation holds for powerful computerswhich is preferred over strong computers.

If the expression is heard often, the words become 'glued' together in our minds. 'Crystal clear', 'middle management', 'nuclear family', and 'cosmetic surgery' are examples of collocated pairs of words. Some words are often found together because they make up a compound noun, for example 'text message' or 'motor cyclist'.

Are the statements below true, false or not given in the text?

It is possible, but not normal, to say 'powerful tea'.It is equally acceptable in English to say 'powerful computers' or 'strong computers'.Our brains remember some pairs of words better than others.

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Monday, March 02, 2015

Students are often confused by the difference between 'false' and 'not given'.

You should choose false if the information in the passage directly contradicts the question statement; in other words, you need to be able to show that a different answer would be true. Choose not given only when there is no information, or not enough information.

to see two example questions. The answer to the first one is 'false', and the answer to the second is 'not given'. Hopefully my explanations will help you to see the difference.

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Monday, February 23, 2015

It's frustrating to see students who rely on textbooks to teach them everything about the English language. Why read an article in an 'upper intermediate' textbook (that was probably written 10 years ago) when you could be reading 'real' articles in newspapers or on the Internet?

Read articles because you find them interesting, not because they have been written to demonstrate a particular grammar point.

A suggestion: if you've read anything interesting recently, put a link to it (and maybe a quick summary if you have time) in the comments area below this lesson.

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Monday, February 16, 2015

Some IELTS reading questions cause problems because of difficult vocabulary.

Read the following sentences from Cambridge IELTS 4, page 46.

We've had a tradition of doctors being fairly powerful and I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.A better educated and less accepting public has become disillusioned with the experts in general, and increasingly sceptical about science.Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief.

Find the words in the sentences above which have the following meanings:

long-term or persistenthaving doubts or reservationsreluctant or unwillingconventional or normaldisappointed when something is not as good as you thought it was

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Monday, February 09, 2015

Read the following passage about 'uni-tasking' and 'multi-tasking'.

The human brain evolved to focus on one thing at a time. This enabled our ancestors to hunt animals, to create tools, and to protect their clan from predators or invading neighbours. In parallel, an attentional filter evolved to help us to stay on task, letting through only information that was important enough to deserve disrupting our train of thought.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the twenty-first century: The plethora of information and the technologies that serve our brain changed the way we use it. Increasingly, we demand that our attentional system try to focus on several things at once. Uni-tasking is getting harder and harder to do. The information age now buries us in data coming at us from every which way. We are bombarded with more information than at any time in history - the equivalent of 175 newspapers a day, five times as much information as we took in thirty years ago.

If we want to be more productive and creative, and to have more energy, the science suggests that we should tame the multi-tasking and immerse ourselves in a single task for sustained periods, say 30 to 50 minutes.

According to the author, are the following statements correct?
Answer YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.

1) The human brain is set up to perform many tasks at once.
2) The information age is characterised by our exposure to an abundance of data.
3) Multi-tasking may reduce human performance.

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Monday, February 02, 2015

Did you make a keyword table for last week's task?
Here's mine:

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Monday, January 26, 2015

Read the following passage about the tutorial method of teaching, which is used in some universities.

A) The tutorial method of teaching, where students are taught individually or in very small groups of two or three, developed as the collegiate system in Oxford and Cambridge Universities established itself. Teaching has existed in Oxford since the 11th century, and the role of tutors was documented in the 15th century, when Oxford tutors were described as 'having responsibility for the conduct and instruction of their younger colleagues' (Moore, 1968). Thus, the early role of the tutor was both pastoral as well as academic.

B) One of the foundations of Oxford's academic excellence is the dialectic of the individual, discussion-based tutorial which is reputed to have reached its unique status in the middle of the 19th century. Professor Benjamin Jowett, classicist and Master of Balliol College, Oxford, is traditionally credited with having been the guiding influence behind the establishment of the tutorial system based on the Socratic method. His students said of Jowett, 'his great skill consisted, like Socrates, in helping us to learn and think for ourselves' (Markham, 1967). When Jowett took up the mantle of Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University in 1882, his teaching method of Socratic dialogue became established as a 'pattern for the whole university' (Markham, 1967).

C) In the last decade, multiple studies have been conducted exploring the unique learning benefits of the tutorial method. 130 years after it was formally established as the cornerstone of Oxford education, the tutorial method retains its prestige and effectiveness. As the present university website states, it is through the tutorial system that 'students develop powers of independent and critical thought, analytical and problem-solving abilities, and skills in both written and oral communication and argument'.

(Source: http://www.greenes.org.uk/our-history/the-history-of-the-tutorial/)

Which paragraph contains the information in the statements below?

1. The tutorial is still a key part of the Oxford education system.
2. The tutorial method encourages students to learn independently.
3. The tutorial method features in Oxford University marketing.
4. Traditionally, Oxford tutors had more than just an academic role.

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Monday, January 19, 2015

Read the following passage and answer the questions below.

'Biometrics' refers to the identification of humans by their characteristics or traits. Biometric identifiers are often categorised as physiological versus behavioural characteristics. Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body. Examples include fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, Palm print, hand geometry and iris recognition. Behavioural characteristics are related to the behaviour of a person, including typing rhythm, gait, and voice.

More traditional means of identification include token-based systems, such as a driver's license or passport, and knowledge-based systems, such as a password or personal identification number. Since biometric identifiers are unique to individuals, they are more reliable in verifying identity than token and knowledge-based methods; however, the collection of biometric identifiers raises privacy concerns about the ultimate use of this information.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

1. There are two main types of biometric identifier.
2. Fingerprinting is the best known biometric identification system.
3. The use of a password is another example of biometric identification.
4. Some people may worry about how biometric data is used.

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Monday, January 12, 2015

'Not having enough time' is the biggest problem for most people taking the reading test. Here are some tips for dealing with this problem:

Go straight to the first question. Don't waste time reading the full passage or the first sentence of each paragraph, and don't read any of the other questions.Do 'paragraph' questions last. Questions that ask you to match headings or statements with paragraphs are much easier if you are already familiar with the passage.Don't get stuck on one question. As soon as you realise that you are having difficulties with a question, leave it and move to the next one. Return to difficult questions later if you have time.Remember that the answers to most question sections are in order in the passage. You don't need to go back to the beginning of the passage to search for each answer.Only skim or scan for numbers and names. Otherwise, read at normal speed.Work with an alarm. You can't do this in an exam, but at home you could set the alarm (on your phone) for 2 minutes and try to do each question within this time.

Note:
When preparing for the reading test at home, try not to worry about time at first. Your first concern should be to get the score you need, even if it takes you 3 hours instead of 1 hour to do a full test.

Choose the best title for the passage below.

A) The story of a visionary cycling coach.
B) Cycling's 'marginal gains' theory and its application in schools.
C) The man behind Britain's Olympic cycling success.
D) How cyclists implement the 'marginal gains' concept.
E) Schools have improved since the Olympic Games.

One simple, but highly effective, lesson from the Olympics comes from the visionary British cycling coach, Dave Brailsford. Brailsford believes that by breaking down and identifying every tiny aspect of an athlete's performance and then making just a 1% improvement in each area, the athlete's overall performance can be significantly enhanced. His concept of 'the aggregation of marginal gains' has been making transformative ripples in classrooms and schools ever since the cycling team came to prominence a few years ago.

What is so brilliant about Brailsford's marginal gains concept is that it is so flexible. It provides an accessible, precise and useful language for achieving success in a school context in various ways: from students improving their learning, to teachers looking to enhance their pedagogy, and, more broadly, school leaders looking to make small, but highly significant improvements.

(Adapted from )

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Monday, December 29, 2014

Here's another keyword table with some of the vocabulary from recent lessons here on the blog. It's always useful to make keyword tables, no matter how easy the vocabulary might seem.

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Monday, December 22, 2014

Read the following passage about the daily life of a philosopher.

For 27 years the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer followed an identical routine. He rose every morning at seven and had a bath but no breakfast; he drank a cup of strong coffee before sitting down at his desk and writing until noon. At noon he ceased work for the day and spent half an hour practicing the flute, on which he became quite a skilled performer. Then he went out for lunch at his favourite restaurant. After lunch he returned home and read until four, when he left for his daily walk; he walked for two hours no matter what the weather. At six o'clock he visited the reading room of the library and read The Times. In the evening he attended the theatre or a concert, after which he had dinner at a hotel or restaurant. He got back home between nine and ten and went early to bed. He was willing to deviate from this routine in order to receive visitors.

Are the following statements true, false or not given in the passage?

1. Schopenhauer got up at the same time every day.
2. He dedicated the whole day to his work.
3. He ate the same meal every evening.
4. Schopenhauer allowed nothing to interrupt his daily routine.

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Monday, December 15, 2014

The following question demonstrates the 'keyword technique' perfectly.

Question (true, false or not given?)
If you return unwanted shoes straightaway, with a receipt, the shop will probably give you a refund.

Passage
Go back to the shop with proof of purchase. If you return faulty shoes at once, you have a right to insist on a refund. It is also likely that you will get one if you change your mind about the shoes and take them back immediately.

Task
The correct answer is 'true', but can you complete the keyword table below to show how we found this answer?

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Monday, December 08, 2014

The space agency NASA proposes six "lunar exploration themes" to answer the question, "Why should we return to the Moon?"
.....

Match each heading from the following list with one of the themes described below.

A) Economic Expansion
B) Scientific Knowledge
C) Global Partnerships
D) Human Civilisation
E) Public Engagement
F) Exploration Preparation
.....

1. Extend human presence to the Moon to enable eventual settlement.

2. Pursue scientific activities that address fundamental questions about the history of Earth, the solar system and the universe; and therefore, about our place in them.

3. Test technologies, systems, flight operations and exploration techniques to reduce the risks and increase the productivity of future missions to Mars and beyond.

4. Provide a challenging, shared and peaceful activity that unites nations in pursuit of common objectives.

5. Expand Earth's economic sphere, and conduct lunar activities with benefits to life on the home planet.

6. Use a lively space exploration program to engage the public, encourage students and help develop the high-technology workforce that will be required to address the challenges of tomorrow.

(Source: )

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Monday, December 01, 2014

The document attached below contains a multiple choice exercise from the official IELTS website, . Here's some advice before you try the exercise:

First, underline the 'keywords' in the question. In the first question, for example, I would underline research, 1982, United States and soil erosion.Second, underline the keywords in each of the four choices e.g.reduced productivity by 20% in choice A, and India and China in choice B.Next, search for the keywords from the question. I'd look for 1982 first, then find the other keywords.Finally, read the relevant section of the text carefully, and compare what it says with the information in the four choices. In question 1, you'll need to think carefully about answers A and C.

To download the exercise .

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Monday, November 24, 2014

Here's another keyword table with vocabulary from Cambridge IELTS 5, test 4, passage 1. Look carefully at the paraphrasing used.

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Monday, November 17, 2014

The phrases below come from Cambridge IELTS 5 (test 3, passage 1). Match the similar phrases from the two lists, and look up any new vocabulary in a dictionary.

1) a cross-section of socio-economic status
2) positive outcomes
3) supplied support and training
4) insufficient funding
5) scored highly in listening and speaking
6) bore little or no relationship to

A) too little money was invested
B) had nothing to do with
C) a variety of poor and wealthy families
D) the results were phenomenal
E) guidance was provided
F) were more advanced in language development

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Monday, November 10, 2014

Read the following passage about 'mindsets' and success.

According to Carol Dweck, individuals can be placed on a continuum according to their implicit views of where ability comes from. Some believe their success is based on innate ability; these are said to have a "fixed" theory of intelligence (fixed mindset). Others, who believe their success is based on having opposite mindset, which involves hard work, learning, training and doggedness are said to have a "growth" or an "incremental" theory of intelligence (growth mindset).

Individuals may not necessarily be aware of their own mindset, but their mindset can still be discerned based on their behaviour. It is especially evident in their reaction to failure. Fixed-mindset individuals dread failure because it is a negative statement on their basic abilities, while growth mindset individuals do not mind or fear failure as much because they realise their performance can be improved and learning comes from failure. These two mindsets play an important role in all aspects of a person's life. Dweck argues that the growth mindset will allow a person to live a less stressful and more successful life.

Which TWO of the following statements agree with the ideas of the writer?

A) Dweck believes that success depends on inherited intelligence.
B) Dweck classifies people according to their beliefs about ability and success.
C) We do not always realise which mindset we have.
D) Fixed-mindset individuals fail more often than those who have a growth mindset.

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Monday, November 03, 2014

Read the following passage about the extinction of species.

There are a variety of factors that can contribute directly or indirectly to the extinction of a species. Extinction may come suddenly when an otherwise healthy species is wiped out completely, such as when toxic pollution renders its entire habitat unlivable, or it may occur gradually over thousands or millions of years, such as when a species gradually loses out in competition for food to better adapted competitors. Extinction may occur a long time after the events that set it in motion, a phenomenon known as extinction debt.

Currently, environmental groups and some governments are concerned with the extinction of species caused by humanity, and they try to prevent further extinctions through a variety of conservation programmes. Humans can cause extinction of a species through over-harvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species (such as new predators and food competitors), and over-hunting.

Are the following statements true, false, or not given?

In most cases of extinction, the species slowly dies out over a period of many years.'Extinction debt' refers to cases of species dying out long after the initial event that triggered the extinction took place.Human activity is the principal cause of the extinction of species.

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Monday, October 27, 2014

Students often ask how many correct answers they need (out of 40) to get a band score of 7 in the reading and listening tests.

According to official IELTS guidelines:

Band 6 is about 23 out of 40Band 7 is about 30Band 8 is about 35

Note:
The score needed for each band can change depending on the difficulty of each test. If you have a really difficult test, the score needed for band 7 might be 28 or 29. If the test is easier, you might need to score 31 or 32 to get a 7. to see the banding guide on the official IELTS website.

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Monday, October 20, 2014

Here's my keyword table for a general reading test section in Cambridge IELTS book 5 (page 121-122).

IELTS reading is really a vocabulary test.

For example, if you know that 'communal bathrooms' means 'shared bathrooms', you'll be able to match that with 'do not have your own bathroom'. If you don't know the meaning of 'communal', it will be difficult to get the right answer.

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Monday, October 13, 2014

People often ask about extra reading practice: Is it a good idea to read newspapers or magazines, and which ones are the best for IELTS practice?

Two good places to find articles are and . Try to spend a few minutes every day reading something from one of these sites. Make a note of some new words or phrases, and gradually your reading will improve.

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Monday, October 06, 2014

Here are some keywords from a General Reading test in Cambridge IELTS book 9. You don't need to do this test; just look at the vocabulary and make sure it's part of your .

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Monday, September 29, 2014

Have you tried doing the test samples on the official IELTS website (ielts.org)? Click to go to the academic reading download page, then for the general reading samples.

Note: I recommend doing the exercises for both academic and general. Although there are differences between these two tests, the techniques that you'll use to find the answers are the same (especially the ).

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Monday, September 22, 2014

Read the passage and choose the best answers to the questions below.

Ecotourism is a form of tourism where tourists visit fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas. Its purpose may be to educate the traveller, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights.

However, ecotourism operations occasionally fail to live up to conservation ideals. Even a modest increase in population puts extra pressure on the local environment and necessitates the development of additional infrastructure. The construction of water treatment plants, sanitation facilities, and lodges come with the exploitation of non-renewable energy sources and the utilisation of already limited local resources. The environment may suffer because local communities are unable to meet these infrastructure demands.

1. One aim of ecotourism is to

A) allow people to visit areas that were previously restricted.
B) educate local communities in fragile areas.
C) raise money for environmental projects in natural areas.

2. However, ecotourism can cause problems when

A) the local population does not welcome visitors.
B) extra facilities and amenities are required to cope with a population increase.
C) communities do not have the funds to improve local facilities.

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Monday, September 08, 2014

A student asked me about the following passage and questions from Cambridge IELTS 8. The answer to both questions is "true", but the student asked me to explain why. Can you help?

Part of the passage:

The nineteenth century saw considerable interest in the nature of genius, and produced not a few studies of famous prodigies... However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that they are not what we would today call norm-referenced. In other words, when, for instance, information is collated about early illnesses, methods of upbringing, schooling, etc., we must also take into account information from other historical sources about how common or exceptional these were at the time. For instance, infant mortality was high and life expectancy much shorter than today, home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy, bullying and corporal punishment were common at the best independent schools and, for the most part, the cases studied were members of the privileged classes. It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology in the twentieth century that studies could be carried out on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis.

Questions (true, false or not given):

Nineteenth-century studies of the nature of genius failed to take into account the uniqueness of the person's upbringing.Nineteenth-century studies of genius lacked both objectivity and a proper scientific approach.

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Monday, September 01, 2014

It's always a good idea to note the 'keywords' whenever you do an IELTS reading exercise, even a short or easy one. Here are the keywords from the last two reading exercises that I put here on the site:

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Monday, August 25, 2014

Read the following passage and choose the best title from the list below.

The attitude of the scientific community towards the unconscious mind has shifted dramatically in recent years. While once viewed as a lazy reservoir of memories and non-task oriented behaviour, the unconscious is now regarded as an active and essential component in the processes of decision making.

Historically, the unconscious mind was considered to be the source of dreams and implicit memory (which allows people to walk or ride a bicycle without consciously thinking about the activity), as well as the storing place for memories of past experiences. But recent research reveals that the unconscious brain might also be an active player in decision making, problem solving, creativity and critical thinking. One familiar example of the operation of the unconscious in problem solving is the well-known phenomenon of the "eureka moment", when a solution to a problem presents itself without the involvement of active thinking.

A) Scientists present new findings about the unconscious mind
B) Our growing understanding of the role of the unconscious
C) How humans solve problems
D) What is a "eureka moment"?

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Here are my top 4 tips for how to answer 'paragraph headings' questions:

1. Do these questions last
'Paragraph headings' questions are difficult, especially because the answers will not be in order in the text. For most other types of question, the answers will be in order in the text. So, do the other questions first, then you will be familiar with the text when you return to the 'paragraph headings' questions. You might even find that you are able to match some of the paragraphs really quickly because you remember what they were about.

2. Start with the shortest paragraphs
Instead of starting with the first paragraph, why not start with the shortest paragraph? If there is a really short paragraph, it should be easier to match it to a heading. Then you will have fewer headings to choose from for the longer paragraphs.

3. Look for similar words
As with most types of IELTS reading question, you should be able to find words in the paragraph that are similar to words in the heading.

4. Move on if you are spending too much time
'Paragraph headings' questions often take a long time. Don't allow yourself to use more than 20 minutes for each reading passage. If you haven't finished after 20 minutes, move on to the next passage.

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Monday, August 11, 2014

In all IELTS reading tests you'll find good vocabulary. When you read a good word or phrase, do you notice it, write it down, and try to use it?

Here's some good vocabulary from reading exercise:

the easeour modern workdaycome at the expense oflongevitylong stretches of timeincreases the odds ofan untimely deathengage in leisurely pursuitsshortening their lifespansedentarymoderate to vigorous exercisemortalityinactivefared the worstpremature deathlesser amounts ofprolonged

This is the kind of "less common vocabulary" that could help you to get a band 7 or higher in the writing and speaking tests. Can you use these words and phrases in your own sentences?

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Monday, August 04, 2014

Read the following passage about a study into 'sitting'.

The ease of our modern workday could come at the expense of our longevity. A new study of older women in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that sitting for long stretches of time increases the odds of an untimely death. The more hours women in the study spent sitting at work, driving, lying on the couch watching TV, or engaged in other leisurely pursuits, the greater their odds of dying early from all causes, including heart disease and cancer.

Even women who exercised regularly risked shortening their lifespan if most of their daily hours were sedentary ones. "Even if you are doing the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous exercise, you will still have a higher risk of mortality if you're spending too many hours sitting," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, one of the study's authors.

How much sitting can you safely do in a day? In the study, women who were inactive for 11 or more hours a day fared the worst, facing a 12% increase in premature death, but even lesser amounts of inactive time can cause problems. "Once you're sitting for more than 6 to 8 hours a day, that's not likely to be good for you," Dr. Manson says. You want to avoid prolonged sitting and increase the amount of moderate or vigorous exercise you do each day, she adds.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

1. The study looked at the effects of sitting on elderly women only.
2. A link was found between hours spent sitting and serious health problems.
3. The warnings about sitting do not apply to people who exercise regularly.
4. Less than 6 hours a day is a safe amount of sitting.

(Source: )

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Monday, July 28, 2014

Did you make a keyword table for last week's ? Here's mine:

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Monday, July 21, 2014

Read the following passage about the meaning of 'genius'.

A genius is a person who displays exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of an unprecedented leap of insight. Various philosophers have proposed definitions of what genius is.

In the philosophy of David Hume, a genius is seen by others as a person disconnected from society, who works remotely, away from the rest of the world. For Immanuel Kant, genius is the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person. Arthur Schopenhauer defined a genius as someone in whom intellect predominates over "will". According to Bertrand Russell, a genius possesses unique qualities and talents that make him or her especially valuable to society.

Match each of the following statements to one of the philosophers below.

1. A genius is someone who does not require instruction.
2. We tend to regard geniuses as solitary figures.
3. A genius has the ability to make an exceptional contribution to society.

A) Hume
B) Kant
C) Schopenhauer
D) Russell

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Monday, July 07, 2014

If you want to improve your IELTS reading score, the most important thing to work on is your knowledge of vocabulary. Exam techniques are of little use if you don't understand the words that you are reading.

I tell my students to keep a vocabulary notebook, and to use a dictionary to find meanings and examples of usage. Here are some words and phrases that we noted in an IELTS reading lesson that I taught last week:

exclusive ofto dabto mimica static imagemasterycognitivea pitfallground rulesthe likelihoodto pick up a signal

To help my students, I tried to explain the meanings and to give some example sentences. Can you write your own sentences to show that you can use the vocabulary above?

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Monday, June 30, 2014

Read the following paragraph about 'minority languages'.

Minority languages are occasionally marginalised within nations for a number of reasons. These include the small number of speakers, the decline in the number of speakers, and their occasional consideration as uncultured, primitive, or simple dialects when compared to the dominant language. Support for minority languages is sometimes viewed as supporting separatism. Immigrant minority languages are often also seen as a threat and as indicative of the non-integration of these communities. Both of these perceived threats are based on the notion of the exclusion of the majority language speakers. Often this is added to by political systems which do not provide support (such as education and policing) in these languages.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

Minority languages sometimes disappear.Minority languages are simpler to learn than majority languages.Minority languages are sometimes considered to be harmful.

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Monday, June 23, 2014

Here's the key vocabulary that helped my students to get the answers to reading test 2, passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 9.

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Monday, June 16, 2014

Read the following text about bad behaviour in schools.

The misbehaviour of children is common in all schools, although most schools manage to maintain tolerable standards of discipline. Low levels of indiscipline can result in a detrimental working environment for children, while poor disciplinary management within a school can cause a more general breakdown in order.

Problems with school discipline have also led to a reduction in the number of people willing to become teachers, especially in schools regarded as difficult. Student misbehaviour and rudeness is the leading cause of teacher resignations. In some areas and countries, this has led to a severe teacher shortage, with classes either not taught, or taught by an unqualified person. In some schools, a class may have up to a dozen different teachers in a single year, as the replacements decide to leave rather than deal with student behaviour. Many countries are now trying to offer incentives to new teachers to remain in such schools, but with very limited success.

Find words or phrases in the text that are similar to those in the list below.

1. sufficient levels
2. negative
3. resulted in
4. main reason for
5. serious
6. as many as twelve

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Monday, June 09, 2014

Whenever you practise doing an IELTS reading test, you should treat it as an opportunity to improve your vocabulary knowledge. Look carefully at the phrases used, and the way ideas are expressed.

For example, did you notice this vocabulary in last week's ?

pose a challengea pressing challengemeet the growing need formore mouths to feedsheer population growththe spread of prosperitydriving demandboosting pressurethe double whammy of... and...

Try making your own sentences to practise using some of these phrases.

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Here's an interesting way to use reading tests from the Cambridge IELTS books:

Choose a passage from one of the reading tests.Get the correct answers from the back of the book.Now read the first question, underline keywords, and search for the answer in the passage - you already know the correct answer, so your only aim is to find where it is in the passage.Underline words in the passage that have the same meaning as the keywords in the question.When you have done this for each question, make a keyword table.

This technique forces you to stop testing yourself. Instead, it makes you focus on finding key vocabulary and understanding the reason for each answer. You might be surprised at the improvements you make if you regularly practise in this way.

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Monday, May 19, 2014

The following exercise comes from a 'match the headings' question in Cambridge IELTS book 5. I have given you the correct heading for each description, but can you find the 'keywords' that prove why the two answers are correct?

Description 1:
This book describes the creativity of Aboriginal people living in the driest parts of Australia. Stunning reproductions of paintings, beautiful photography and informative text.

Answer:
Guide to the Art of the Australian Desert

Description 2:
Graphic artists have worked with researchers and scientists to illustrate how these prehistoric animals lived and died on the Australian continent.

Answer:
A Pictorial History of the Dinosaur in Australia

The table below contains keywords from two recent exercises here on the blog. The first three rows of the table refer to about the effects of television, and the last three rows refer to about the performer Houdini.

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Monday, April 28, 2014

From my experience practising IELTS reading with students, skimming and scanning are techniques that don't usually help. When students try to skim or scan, they often miss the answers completely.

For example, if you are scanning for the word "buy" but the passage contains the synonym "purchase", you probably won't find the answer.

So what is the solution? Instead of skimming or scanning, I tell my students toread at normal speed. Only scan quickly if you are searching for a name or a number.

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Monday, April 14, 2014

Here's a keyword table for test 3, passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 5.

Notice the expressions "to coin a term" (to invent a new term) and "to move the goal-posts" (to change the aim). My students didn't know these phrases.

Note: the "opposite of" phrases were from 'false' answers.

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Monday, April 07, 2014

The exercise below serves as both IELTS reading practice and topic research for this week's writing lesson (about 'telework').

Fill the gaps in the passage with the following words:
commute, mobility, instant, efficient, remote, smartphones, locations

Telecommuting, ______ work, or telework is a work arrangement in which employees do not ______ to a central place of work. A person who telecommutes is known as a "telecommuter", "teleworker", and sometimes as a "home-sourced," or "work-at-home" employee. Many telecommuters work from home, while others, sometimes called "nomad workers", use mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other ______.

Telework is facilitated by tools such as groupware, virtual private networks, conference calling and videoconferencing. It can be ______ and useful for companies since it allows workers to communicate over long distances, saving travel time and cost. Furthermore, with their improving technology and increasing popularity, ______ are becoming widely used in telework. They substantially increase the ______ of the worker and the degree of coordination with their organization. The technology of mobile phones allows ______ communication through text messages, camera photos, and video clips from anywhere and at any time.

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Monday, March 31, 2014

Read the following article about the effects of television on young children.

Watching television makes toddlers fatter and stupider at primary school, according to new research. Scientists who tracked the progress of pre-school children found that the more television they watched the worse they were at mathematics, the more junk food they ate, and the more they were bullied by other pupils.

The findings, which support earlier evidence indicating television harms cognitive development, prompted calls for the Government to set limits on how much children should watch. American paediatricians advise that under-twos should not watch any television and that older children should view one to two hours a day at most. France has banned shows aimed at under-threes, and Australia recommends that three to five year-olds watch no more than an hour a day. Britain has no official advice.

Researchers said that pre-school is a critical time for brain development and that TV watching displaced time that could be spent engaging in "developmentally enriching tasks". Even incremental exposure to TV delayed development, said the lead author Dr Linda Pagani, of Montreal University.
(The Independent)

According to the article, are these statements TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN?

Scientists believe that there is a link between the amount of television young children watch and their mental ability.Shows aimed at under-twos are banned in the USA.Children's television programming is more strictly controlled in France than in Britain.

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Here's a table of key vocabulary from Cambridge IELTS 8 (test 1, passage 1).

Remember that there are always words in the passage that are similar to words in the questions. If you find the similar words, you've found the answers.

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Monday, March 17, 2014

The articles used in the IELTS reading test often come from magazines like The Economist or The New Scientist. Why not practise for the exam by reading articles from these magazines?

Here are a few paragraphs from an article about the use of wireless communications to improve health care. I've made it into a gap-fill exercise.

Fill the gaps with one of the following words: cutting, advances, track, coming, empower, chief, developing

Pundits have long predicted that ______ in genetics will usher in a golden age of individually tailored therapies. But in fact it is much lower-tech wireless devices and internet-based health software that are precipitating the mass customisation of health care, and creating entirely new business models in the process.

The hope is that nimble new technologies, from smart-phones to health-monitoring devices, will ______ patients and doctors, and thus improve outcomes while ______ costs. The near ubiquity of mobile phones is the ______ reason to think this optimistic scenario may come true. Patients with smart-phones can certainly benefit from interactive "wellness" applications that track diet, exercise and vital signs.

Many companies are ______ up with "home health" devices embedded with wireless technology. Some are overtly clinical in nature: Medtronic, a devices giant, is ______ a bedside monitor that wirelessly tracks the blood sugar levels in diabetic children sleeping nearby. GE has come up with "body sensor networks", tiny wireless devices that ______ the vital signs of those who wear them.

Full article:

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Read the following text and answer true, false or not given.

Coffee consumption has been shown to have minimal or no impact, positive or negative, on cancer development. However, researchers involved in an ongoing 22-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health state that "the overall balance of risks and benefits [of coffee consumption] are on the side of benefits."

Other studies suggest coffee consumption reduces the risk of being affected by Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver, and gout. A longitudinal study in 2009 showed that those who consumed a moderate amount of coffee or tea (3–5 cups per day) at midlife were less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease in late-life compared with those who drank little coffee or avoided it altogether.

Scientists have linked coffee consumption to accelerated cancer development.Some scientists believe that the benefits of drinking coffee outweigh the drawbacks.Recent research links coffee consumption with a reduced risk of some illnesses.

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Monday, March 03, 2014

My students and I did a quick exercise from the general reading test on page 109 of Cambridge IELTS book 9. It's a good example of the importance of searching for 'keywords'.

Here's our keyword table:

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Monday, February 24, 2014

The people who write the questions for IELTS reading do something like this:

They take a reading passage.They read through the passage and stop when they find something interesting.They make a question about that part of the passage, usually by paraphrasing it. For example, if the passage contains the phrase "elderly people", the question writer might create a question with the words "senior citizens".

Have you ever tried writing your own IELTS reading question? It's a good exercise to get you thinking like the question writer, and hopefully you'll see why the is so useful.

Tip: If you try this, start by writing your own 'true, false, not given' questions.

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Read the following excerpt from a :

What constitutes the good life? What is the true value of money? Why do we work such long hours merely to acquire greater wealth? These are some of the questions that many asked themselves when the financial system crashed in 2008. This book tackles such questions head-on. The authors begin with the great economist John Maynard Keynes. In 1930, Keynes predicted that within a century people's basic needs would be met, and no one would have to work more than fifteen hours a week.

Clearly, he was wrong: though income has increased as he envisioned, our wants have seemingly gone unsatisfied, and we continue to work long hours. The authors explain why Keynes was mistaken. Then, arguing from the premise that economics is a moral science, they trace the concept of the good life from Aristotle to the present and show how our lives over the last half century have strayed from that ideal. Finally, they issue a call to think anew about what really matters in our lives and how to attain it.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

Before 2008, people were less concerned about economics.Keynes' prediction about working hours was wide of the mark.The book asks us to consider what is important in life.

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Monday, January 20, 2014

The table below shows the keywords that my students found in reading test 3, passage 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 4.

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Monday, January 13, 2014

Read the paragraph below and choose the best heading from the list.

Reading underwent serious changes in the 18th century. Until 1750, reading was done "intensively": people tended to own a small number of books and read them repeatedly, often to a small audience. After 1750, people began to read "extensively", finding as many books as they could, and increasingly reading them alone. Libraries that lent out their material for a small price started to appear, and occasionally bookstores would offer a small lending library to their patrons. Coffee houses commonly offered books, journals and sometimes even popular novels to their customers.

1. The appearance of the first public libraries.
2. Intensive and extensive reading habits.
3. The reading revolution.

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Monday, January 06, 2014

Here's the short video lesson that I promised for today:

If you don't have access to YouTube, try watching on Vimeo by clicking .

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Monday, December 23, 2013

Today I'm attaching part of a real IELTS reading test. You'll see that the first section asks "Which paragraph contains the following information?" Try doing these "paragraph" questions last; hopefully you'll find them easier when you've done the other questions and become familiar with the passage.

Feel free to share your answers in the "comments" area.

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Monday, December 09, 2013

Read the following passage.

The cinematograph is a motion picture film camera which also serves as a film projector and developer. It was invented in the 1890s, but there is much dispute as to the identity of its inventor.

Some argue that the device was first invented and patented as "Cinématographe Léon Bouly" by French inventor Léon Bouly on February 12, 1892. Bouly coined the term "cinematograph", which translates in Greek to "writing in movement". It is said that Bouly was not able to pay the rent for his patent the following year, and that the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière bought the licence.

A more popular version of events is that Louis Lumière was the first to conceptualise the idea. The Lumière brothers shared the patent, and they made their first film, Sortie de l'usine Lumière de Lyon, in 1894.

Choose the best title for the whole passage from the list below.

A) How the cinematograph was invented
B) The first film projector
C) Who invented the cinematograph?
D) What is a cinematograph?

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Monday, December 02, 2013

Read the following passage about cognitive behavioural therapy:

A) Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach: a talking therapy. CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviours and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure in the present.

B) The particular therapeutic techniques vary, but commonly may include keeping a diary of significant events and associated feelings, thoughts and behaviours; questioning and testing cognitions, assumptions, evaluations and beliefs that might be unhelpful and unrealistic; gradually facing activities which may have been avoided; and trying out new ways of behaving and reacting. Relaxation, mindfulness and distraction techniques are also commonly included.

C) Going through cognitive behavioural therapy is not an overnight process for clients; a typical course consists of 12-16 hour-long sessions. Even after clients have learned to recognise when and where their mental processes go awry, it can in some cases take considerable time or effort to replace a dysfunctional process or habit with a more reasonable and adaptive one. CBT is problem-focused and structured towards the client. It requires honesty and openness between the client and therapist, as a therapist develops strategies for managing problems and guiding the client to a better life.

Choose the best headings for paragraphs A, B and C from this list:

A slow processA new type of therapeutic approachThe benefits and drawbacks of CBTA goal-oriented therapeutic approachCBT therapists are always honest with their clientsThe range of CBT interventions

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Monday, November 18, 2013

The answers to last week's were B, C and F. We get those answers by doing two things:

First, we search for keywords in the passage (see the table below).Then we read the relevant part of the passage carefully, checking and comparing with the question until we are sure of the answer.

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Read the following passage about a tunnel in London.

The Thames Tunnel is an underwater tunnel that was built beneath the River Thames in London between 1825 and 1843. It is 396 metres long, and runs at a depth of 23 metres below the river surface. It was the first tunnel known to have been constructed successfully underneath a navigable river.

Although it was a triumph of civil engineering, the Thames Tunnel was not a financial success, with building costs far exceeding initial estimates. Proposals to extend the entrance to accommodate wheeled vehicles failed, and it was used only by pedestrians. However, the tunnel did become a major tourist destination, attracting about two million people a year, each of whom paid a penny to pass under the river.

The construction of the Thames Tunnel showed that it was indeed possible to build underwater tunnels, despite the previous scepticism of many engineers. Its historic importance was recognised on 24th March 1995, when the structure was listed Grade II* in recognition of its architectural importance.

Which THREE of the following statements are correct?

A) The Thames Tunnel was the world's first ever tunnel.
B) Construction of the tunnel was more expensive than predicted.
C) There were plans to allow vehicles to use the tunnel.
D) Tourism eventually made the tunnel profitable.
E) Many engineers had already tried to build underwater tunnels.
F) The Thames Tunnel is now considered to be a significant work of architecture.

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Monday, November 04, 2013

My students and I worked through passage 2 of test 3 in Cambridge IELTS book 9 (page 67). Here's a table of the keywords that gave us the answers:

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Monday, October 28, 2013

Read the following text about volcanoes in Iceland.

Iceland has a high concentration of active volcanoes due to unique geological conditions. The island has about 130 volcanic mountains, of which 18 have erupted since the settlement of Iceland, circa 900 CE. Over the past 500 years, Iceland's volcanoes have erupted a third of the total global lava output.

Geologists explain this high concentration of volcanic activity as being due to a combination of the island's position on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and a volcanic hotspot underneath the island. The island sits astride the boundary between the Eurasian and North American Plates, and most volcanic activity is concentrated along the plate boundary, which runs across the island from the south-west to the north-east of the island. Some volcanic activity occurs offshore, especially off the southern coast. This includes wholly submerged submarine volcanoes and even newly formed volcanic islands such as Surtsey and Jólnir.

The most recent volcanic eruption in Iceland was that of Eyjafjallajökull, which started on April 14, 2010. The Eyjafjallajökull eruption closely followed an eruption in Fimmvörðuháls, which had erupted on March 20.

Are the statements below true, false or not given?

People first settled in Iceland around the beginning of the 10th century.The island is situated at the point where two of the earth's plates meet.Volcanic activity also takes place in the ocean near Iceland.

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Monday, October 21, 2013

Find the reading test on page 74-77 in Cambridge IELTS book 4.

Use the key vocabulary in the table below to help you with the test. Don't worry about the time; just try to get all of the answers right.

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Monday, September 30, 2013

Fill the gaps in the text using the 10 words below.

A _____ report says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the "dominant _____" of global warming since the 1950s. The report by the UN's climate panel details the physical _____ behind climate change. On the ground, in the air, in the oceans, global warming is "_____", it explained. The panel warns that continued _____ of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all aspects of the climate system. To contain these changes will require "substantial and sustained _____ of greenhouse gas emissions".

After a week of intense negotiations in the Swedish capital, the summary for policymakers on the physical science of global warming has finally been released. For the future, the report states that warming is _____ to continue under all _____. Prof Sir Brian Hoskins, from Imperial College London, told BBC News: "We are performing a very dangerous _____ with our planet, and I don't want my grandchildren to suffer the _____."

emissions, experiment, cause, unequivocal, landmark, consequences, reductions, scenarios, projected, evidence

Text adapted from BBC website, 27.9.13

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Monday, September 09, 2013

Here's my keyword table for test 1, passage 2 in Cambridge IELTS 7:

Do you make keyword tables like this when you do IELTS reading tests at home? The more practice you do, the better you'll get at noticing the keywords and finding the answers.

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Monday, September 02, 2013

Read the following paragraph and choose the best heading.

Melbourne has topped the list of the best cities in the world to live in, according to a new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit. Vienna in Austria and Vancouver in Canada came in second and third place respectively on the Global Livability Ranking. Cities across the world are awarded scores depending on lifestyle challenges faced by the people living there. Each city is scored on its stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. This is the third time that the Australian city has topped the list. Unfortunately, UK cities fared worse on the list with London coming 55 out of 140 cities while Manchester was ranked 51. The report also shows that livability across the world has fallen by 0.6 per cent.

A) Livability survey produces some surprising results.
B) How cities are ranked.
C) Results of the latest "Most Livable Cities Index".
D) Melbourne is top city for tourists.

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Monday, August 26, 2013

What do I mean by the 'keyword' technique?

By 'keywords' I mean: words in the text that have a similar meaning to words in the questions.

The table below shows the keywords that helped my students to find the answers to the test on page 122 of Cambridge IELTS 6.

Note: this comes from a General Training test, but the technique is the same for both general and academic tests.

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Monday, August 12, 2013

Have you done the free practice tests from the official IELTS website (ielts.org)?

If you haven't, click the link below. There are 7 sample tasks that you can download and print. The answers are at the bottom of each page.

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Monday, August 05, 2013

Read the following passage and answer the questions below.

A Stradivarius is one of the violins, cellos, and other stringed instruments built by members of the Stradivari (Stradivarius) family, particularly Antonio Stradivari, during the 17th and 18th centuries. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed. The name "Stradivarius" has become a superlative often associated with excellence, and the fame of Stradivarius instruments is widespread, appearing in numerous works of fiction.

Depending on condition, instruments made during Stradivari's "golden period" from 1700 to about 1725 can be worth millions of dollars. In 2011, his "Lady Blunt" violin from 1721, which is in pristine condition, was sold at Tarisio auctions for £9.8 million.

These instruments are famous for the quality of sound they produce. However, the many blind tests from 1817 to the present have never found any difference in sound between Stradivari's violins and high-quality violins in comparable style of other makers and periods, nor has acoustic analysis. In a particularly famous test on a BBC Radio programme in 1977, the violinists Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman and the violin expert and dealer Charles Beare tried to distinguish between the "Chaconne" Stradivarius and three other violins, including one made in 1976, played behind a screen by a professional soloist. None of the listeners identified more than two of the four instruments. Two of the listeners identified the 20th-century violin as the Stradivarius.

Are the following statements true, false or not given?

The superior reputation of Stradivarius instruments has never been questioned.The "Lady Blunt" Stradivarius is the most expensive violin every sold.Tests have shown that experts are able to distinguish the famous Stradivarius sound.

PS. Thanks to those of you who wished me a nice holiday!

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Monday, July 15, 2013

Read the following text about sharks, then answer the questions below.

Contrary to the common wisdom that sharks are instinct-driven "eating machines", recent studies have indicated that many species possess powerful problem-solving skills, social skills and curiosity. The brain- to body-mass ratios of sharks are similar to those of mammals and birds, and migration patterns in sharks may be even more complex than in birds, with many sharks covering entire ocean basins. However, shark behaviour has only begun to be formally studied, so there is much more to learn.

A popular myth is that sharks are immune to disease and cancer; however, this remains to be proven. The evidence that sharks are at least resistant to cancer and disease is mostly anecdotal and there have been few, if any, scientific or statistical studies that show sharks to have heightened immunity to disease.

According to the text, are the following statements true, false or not given?

Research shows that sharks are more intelligent than most people think.Relative to their body size, sharks have bigger brains than birds.There is no real evidence proving that sharks are resistant to diseases.

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Monday, July 08, 2013

Every time you do a practice IELTS reading test, remember to keep a record of the 'keywords' that helped you to find the correct answers.

Did you make a keyword table for the exercise in ?

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Today I've attached a matching exercise. The answers are given on the last page, but try not to look at them until you've done the exercise.