IELTS Academic Reading - Questions Types by James O'Hearn

IELTS Academic Reading Question Types

Table of Contents TASK TYPE 1 – MULTIPLE CHOICE.......................................................................................................................4 EXAMPLES OF TASK TYPE 1 ..........................................................................................................................................................5 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 1 ‐ READING................................................................................................................................................7 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 1 ‐ QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................................8 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 1 – ANSWERS ..............................................................................................................................................9 TASK TYPE 2 – SHORTANSWER QUESTIONS................................................................................................ 10 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 2 ‐ READING............................................................................................................................................. 12 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 2 ‐ QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 13 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 2 – ANSWERS........................................................................................................................................... 14 TASK TYPE 3 – SENTENCE COMPLETION ........................................................................................................ 15 EXAMPLES OF TASK TYPE 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 3 ‐ READING............................................................................................................................................. 17 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 3 ‐ QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 18 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 2 – ANSWERS........................................................................................................................................... 19 TASK TYPE 4 – SUMMARY COMPLETION ........................................................................................................ 20 EXAMPLES OF TASK TYPE 4 ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 4 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 22 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 4 – QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 23 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 4 – ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................................... 24 TASK TYPE 5 – LABELING A DIAGRAM ............................................................................................................ 25 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 5 ......................................................................................................................................................... 26 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 5 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 27 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 5 ‐ QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 28 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 5 – ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................................... 29 TASK TYPE 6 – CHOOSING HEADINGS.............................................................................................................. 30 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 6 ......................................................................................................................................................... 31 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 6 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 32 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 6 ‐ QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 34 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 6 ‐ ANSWERS............................................................................................................................................ 35 TASK TYPE 7 – LOCATING INFORMATION...................................................................................................... 36 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 7 ......................................................................................................................................................... 37 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 7 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 38 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 7 ‐ QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 40 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 7 – ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................................... 41 TASK TYPE 8 – IDENTIFICATION OF A WRITER’S VIEWS/CLAIMS OR OF INFORMATION IN A TEXT ........................................................................................................................................................................... 42 EXAMPLES OF TASK TYPE 8 ....................................................................................................................................................... 43 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 8 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 44 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 8 – QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 46 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 8 – ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................................... 47 TASK TYPE 9 – CLASSIFICATION ....................................................................................................................... 48 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 9 ......................................................................................................................................................... 49 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 9 ‐ READING ............................................................................................................................................. 50 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 9 ‐ QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 52 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 9 ‐ ANSWERS............................................................................................................................................ 53

TASK TYPE 10 – MATCHING................................................................................................................................ 54 EXAMPLE OF TASK TYPE 10....................................................................................................................................................... 55 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 10 – READING .......................................................................................................................................... 56 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 10 – QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 57 SAMPLE TASK TYPE 10 – ANSWERS......................................................................................................................................... 58

*Note – All materials in this document originate from the IELTS.org website. The information was made freely available to teachers and students.

Task Type 1 – Multiple Choice Task Description What are candidates required to do? Candidates are asked to choose the best answer from four alternatives A, B, C or D, and to write the letter of the answer they have chosen on the Answer Sheet. What form do the questions take? They may involve sentence completion – the stem gives the first part of a sentence and candidates choose the best way to complete it from the options. The stem could also be worded as a complete question, with the candidates choosing the option which best answers it. Are there any variations of this task type? Sometimes there may be more than four alternative answers, and candidates may have to pick more than one correct answer. There may also be a global multiple choice question at the end of the set of questions, for example asking candidates to choose the most suitable title for the reading passage. Are the questions in text order? The questions are in the same order as the information in the passage: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be found before the answer to the second question, etc. What text type is this task type used with? It may be used with any text type. What skills are being assessed? Multiple choice items are used to test a wide range of reading skills. They may require the candidate to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the text. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) Did you read the instructions carefully? 2) Did you read the whole passage before you read the questions? 3) Did you read the first question and then read the passage carefully from the beginning? 4) Did the items occur in order in the passage? 5) Did the alternative answers form a coherent set? 6) Did identical words in the question and the passage help you to find the correct answer?

Examples of Task Type 1 Example 1 – where there is one possible correct answer Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write your answer in box 1 on your answer sheet. 1 Human irritability may be influenced by A how nervous and aggressive people are. B reaction to certain weather phenomena. C the number of ions being generated by machines. D the attitude of people to thunderstorms.

Example 2 – where there are multiple answers for one mark Choose TWO letters, A-E. Write your answers in box 1 on your answer sheet. In which TWO of the following years were laws passed allowing British women to vote? A 1906 B 1909 C 1914 D 1918 C 1928

Example 3 – where there are multiple answers and one mark for each Choose TWO letters, A-E. Write your answers in boxes 1 and 2 on your answer sheet. The list below gives some of the possible reasons why new life forms developed in the Cambrian period. Which TWO of these reasons are mentioned by the writer of the text? A underwater volcanic eruptions B the development of new atmospheric gases C prolonged lack of contact between existing life forms D the disappearance of glaciers C weather conditions that ranged from intense cold to intense heat

Example 4 – global multiple choice Choose the correct letter, A-E. Write your answer in box 1 on your answer sheet. Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading Passage 1? A Environmental management B Increasing the world’s food supply C Soil erosion D Fertilisers and pesticides – the way forward C Farm subsidies

Sample Task Type 1 - Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of government subsidies to farmers. The text preceding this extract explained how subsidies can lead to activities which cause uneconomical and irreversible changes to the environment.] All these activities may have damaging environmental impacts. For example, land clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the abandonment of f allow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of monoculture and use of highyielding varieties of crops have been accompanied by the disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful measurements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soil's productivity. The country subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its cropped land to meadow or forest. Topsoil in India and China is vanishing much faster than in America. Government policies have frequently compounded the environmental damage that farming can cause. In the rich countries, subsidies for growing crops and price supports for farm output drive up the price of land. The annual value of these subsidies is immense: about $250 billion, or more than all World Bank lending in the 1980s. To increase the output of crops per acre, a farmer's easiest option is to use more of the most readily available inputs: fertilisers and pesticides. Fertiliser use doubled in Denmark in the period 1960-1985 and increased in The Netherlands by 150 per cent. The quantity of pesticides applied has risen too: by 69 per cent in 1975-1984 in Denmark, f or example, with a rise of 115 per cent in the frequency of application in the three years from 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s some efforts were made to reduce farm subsidies. The most dramatic example was that of New Zealand, which scrapped most farm support in 1984. A study of the environmental effects, conducted in 1993, found that the end of fertiliser subsidies had been followed by a fall in fertiliser use (a fall compounded by the decline in world commodity prices, which cut f arm incomes). The removal of subsidies also stopped land-clearing and over-stocking, which in the past had been the principal causes of erosion. Farms began to diversif y. The one kind of subsidy whose removal appeared to have been bad for the environment was the subsidy to manage soil erosion, fertilizers and pestcides. In less enlightened countries, and in the European Union, the trend has been to reduce rather than eliminate subsidies, and to introduce new payments to encourage farmers to treat their land in environmentally friendlier ways, or to leave it fallow. It may sound strange but such payments need to be higher than the existing incentives for farmers to grow food crops. Farmers, however, dislike being paid to do nothing. In several countries they have become interested in the possibility of using fuel produced from crop residues either as a replacement for petrol (as ethanol) or as fuel for power stations (as biomass). Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. They are therefore less likely to contribute to the greenhouse effect. But they are rarely competitive with fossil fuels unless subsidised - and growing them does no less environmental harm than other crops.

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Sample Task Type 1 - Questions Questions 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 Choose the appropriate letters A, B, C or D. Write your answers in boxes 10-12 on your answer sheet. 10 Research completed in 1982 found that in the United States soil erosion A reduced the productivity of farmland by 20 per cent. B was almost as severe as in India and China. C was causing signif icant damage to 20 per cent of farmland. D could be reduced by converting cultivated land to meadow or f orest. 11 By the mid-1980s, farmers in Denmark A used 50 per cent less f ertiliser than Dutch farmers. B used twice as much fertiliser as they had in 1960. C applied fertiliser much more f requently than in 1960. D more than doubled the amount of pesticide they used in just 3 years. 12 Which one of the following increased in New Zealand after 1984? A farm incomes B use of fertiliser C over-stocking D farm diversification

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Sample Task Type 1 – Answers 10 C 11 B 12 D

Task Type 2 – Short-answer Questions Task Description What are candidates required to do? This task type requires candidates to answer questions about details in the passage. Questions usually relate to factual information. Candidates must write their answers in words or numbers on the Answer Sheet. How many words are candidates asked to write? Often the instructions will state ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, but sometimes ‘ONE word’, or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. Numbers can be written using figures or words. Are candidates penalised for writing more than the stated number of words? Yes. If candidates write more than the number of words asked for, they will lose the mark even if their answer includes the correct word(s). What about contractions or hyphenated words? Contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated words count as single words. What skills are tested in this task type? This task type tests candidates’ ability to locate and understand precise information in the passage. Are the questions in text order? The questions are usually arranged so that the answers appear in order in the passage. What text type is this task type used with? It is most likely to be used with a passage that contains a lot of factual information and detail. Things to consider 1) How would you approach this task type? 2) What kind of information do the instructions give you? 3) What skills are being tested in this task type? 4) How could you help your students to develop these skills?

Example of Task Type 2 Example 1 Questions 1 and 2 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1 and 2 on your answer sheet. 1 Apart from underground cables, what other development first made longer-distance telephone calls possible? 2 What kind of media that can be integrated using ISDN does the writer mention?

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Sample Task Type 2 - Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of government subsidies to farmers. The text preceding this extract explained how subsidies can lead to activities which cause uneconomical and irreversible changes to the environment.] All these activities may have damaging environmental impacts. For example, land clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the abandonment of f allow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of monoculture and use of highyielding varieties of crops have been accompanied by the disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful measurements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soil's productivity. The country subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its cropped land to meadow or forest. Topsoil in India and China is vanishing much faster than in America. Government policies have frequently compounded the environmental damage that farming can cause. In the rich countries, subsidies for growing crops and price supports for farm output drive up the price of land. The annual value of these subsidies is immense: about $250 billion, or more than all World Bank lending in the 1980s. To increase the output of crops per acre, a farmer's easiest option is to use more of the most readily available inputs: fertilisers and pesticides. Fertiliser use doubled in Denmark in the period 1960-1985 and increased in The Netherlands by 150 per cent. The quantity of pesticides applied has risen too: by 69 per cent in 1975-1984 in Denmark, f or example, with a rise of 115 per cent in the frequency of application in the three years from 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s some efforts were made to reduce farm subsidies. The most dramatic example was that of New Zealand, which scrapped most farm support in 1984. A study of the environmental effects, conducted in 1993, found that the end of fertiliser subsidies had been followed by a fall in fertiliser use (a fall compounded by the decline in world commodity prices, which cut f arm incomes). The removal of subsidies also stopped land-clearing and over-stocking, which in the past had been the principal causes of erosion. Farms began to diversif y. The one kind of subsidy whose removal appeared to have been bad for the environment was the subsidy to manage soil erosion, fertilizers and pestcides. In less enlightened countries, and in the European Union, the trend has been to reduce rather than eliminate subsidies, and to introduce new payments to encourage farmers to treat their land in environmentally friendlier ways, or to leave it fallow. It may sound strange but such payments need to be higher than the existing incentives for farmers to grow food crops. Farmers, however, dislike being paid to do nothing. In several countries they have become interested in the possibility of using fuel produced from crop residues either as a replacement for petrol (as ethanol) or as fuel for power stations (as biomass). Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. They are therefore less likely to contribute to the greenhouse effect. But they are rarely competitive with fossil fuels unless subsidised - and growing them does no less environmental harm than other crops.

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Sample Task Type 2 - Questions Questions 1 to 3 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 In rich and poor countries, soil erosion threatens what? 2 What happened to fertilizer use in Denmark between 1960 and 1985? 3 Some countries are hoping to replace petrol with fuel from what?

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Sample Task Type 2 – Answers 1 productivity of land 2 doubled 3 crop residues

Task Type 3 – Sentence Completion Task Description What are candidates required to do? There are two variations of this task type. • •

Type A: candidates are asked to complete the sentence in a given number of words taken from the passage. Type B: candidates are given the first half of a sentence based on the text and asked to complete it from a list of possible options.

In Type A candidates will be told in the instructions the maximum number of words that they can use to complete the sentence. The instructions for this type usually state ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’, but sometimes candidates may be asked to write ‘ONE WORD’, or NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS. Numbers can be written as figures or words. In Type B candidates will have to choose the best option from a list. Candidates will have more options to choose from than there are questions. What text type is used with this task type? It may be used with any text type. How are candidates asked to write their answers? Where candidates are required to supply the words to complete the sentence, the words should be taken directly from the passage and written in the space on their answer sheet as they work through the questions. When choosing an answer from a list of possible answers, candidates should write the letter of their chosen answer on the answer sheet. Are candidates penalised for writing more than the required number of words? Yes. If candidates write more than the number of words asked for, they will lose the mark even if their answer includes the correct words. What about contractions, or hyphenated words? The rules relating to Short-answer Questions also apply here. Contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated words count as single words. Things to consider 1) How would you go about locating the answers? 2) When you begin the second question, would you scan from the beginning of the passage? 3) Is the structure of the sentence halves useful in joining them together? 4) What skills are being tested in this task type?

Examples of Task Type 3 Example 1 - without a choice of possible answers (Type A) Questions 1 – 3 Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 Eating less helped rats in the experiments extend their __________ and__________. 2 Although they do not stop individuals growing old, __________ help them stay healthy. 3 Current research shows that monkeys react to caloric restriction in almost the same way as __________.

Example 2 - using a box of possible answers (Type B) Question 1 – 4 Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-G from the box below. Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet. A is influenced by having dual-nationality parents. B is frequently inadequate and often defective. C derives from the verbal behaviour of other people. D has no clear start or finish. E is linked to the development of the brain. F is contingent for its activation on external stimulation. G can be linked to socio-economic grouping. 1 It is unreasonable to assume that a child’s language 2 The predetermined biological programme governing the development of visual perception 3 The child’s exposure to normal language use 4 Penfield suggested that seemingly quick and effortless first language acquisition

Sample Task Type 3 - Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of government subsidies to farmers. The text preceding this extract explained how subsidies can lead to activities which cause uneconomical and irreversible changes to the environment.] All these activities may have damaging environmental impacts. For example, land clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the abandonment of f allow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of monoculture and use of highyielding varieties of crops have been accompanied by the disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful measurements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soil's productivity. The country subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its cropped land to meadow or forest. Topsoil in India and China is vanishing much faster than in America. Government policies have frequently compounded the environmental damage that farming can cause. In the rich countries, subsidies for growing crops and price supports for farm output drive up the price of land. The annual value of these subsidies is immense: about $250 billion, or more than all World Bank lending in the 1980s. To increase the output of crops per acre, a farmer's easiest option is to use more of the most readily available inputs: fertilisers and pesticides. Fertiliser use doubled in Denmark in the period 1960-1985 and increased in The Netherlands by 150 per cent. The quantity of pesticides applied has risen too: by 69 per cent in 1975-1984 in Denmark, f or example, with a rise of 115 per cent in the frequency of application in the three years from 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s some efforts were made to reduce farm subsidies. The most dramatic example was that of New Zealand, which scrapped most farm support in 1984. A study of the environmental effects, conducted in 1993, found that the end of fertiliser subsidies had been followed by a fall in fertiliser use (a fall compounded by the decline in world commodity prices, which cut f arm incomes). The removal of subsidies also stopped land-clearing and over-stocking, which in the past had been the principal causes of erosion. Farms began to diversif y. The one kind of subsidy whose removal appeared to have been bad for the environment was the subsidy to manage soil erosion, fertilizers and pestcides. In less enlightened countries, and in the European Union, the trend has been to reduce rather than eliminate subsidies, and to introduce new payments to encourage farmers to treat their land in environmentally friendlier ways, or to leave it fallow. It may sound strange but such payments need to be higher than the existing incentives for farmers to grow food crops. Farmers, however, dislike being paid to do nothing. In several countries they have become interested in the possibility of using fuel produced from crop residues either as a replacement for petrol (as ethanol) or as fuel for power stations (as biomass). Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. They are therefore less likely to contribute to the greenhouse effect. But they are rarely competitive with fossil fuels unless subsidised - and growing them does no less environmental harm than other crops.

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Sample Task Type 3 - Questions Questions 1 to 3 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 The country __________ embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its __________ land to meadow or forest. 2 The annual value of these subsidies is __________: about $250 billion 3 Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than __________ .

Question 4 – 6 Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-G from the box below. Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 4-6 on your answer sheet. A they eliminate subsidies. B in the richest countries. C than most other countries. D they just pay less in subsidies. E than all the World Bank loans in the eighties. F in the whole world. G in developed and developing nations. 4 The productive use of land is harmed by soil erosion 5 Subsidies of a quarter of a trillion dollars amounted to more 6 In less progressive nations

Sample Task Type 2 – Answers 1 productivity of land 2 doubled 3 crop residues

Task Type 4 – Summary Completion Task Description What are candidates required to do? With this task type, candidates are given some type of summary of a section of the passage, and are required to complete it with information drawn from the passage. Note that the summary will usually be of only one part of the passage rather than the whole. In what form is the summary presented? The given information may be in the form of • several connected sentences of text (referred to as a summary); • a table with some of its cells empty (referred to as a table); • several unconnected notes (referred to as notes) or • a series of boxes or steps linked by arrows to show a sequence of events, with some of the boxes or steps empty (referred to as a flow-chart) Do the answers occur in order in the passage? Not necessarily. However, the answers will usually come from one section rather than the entire passage. Are there any variations of this task type? Yes, there are two variations. Candidates may be asked either • to select words from the passage • to select from a list of answers Where words have to be selected from the passage, the instructions will clearly state how many words are required; the number of words will never be more than three. Candidates may also be required to write numbers from the passage. Where a list of answers is provided, they most frequently consist of a single word. What text type is most often used with this task type? This task type often relates to precise factual information, and so is often used with descriptive texts. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) Did you read the whole passage before you read the questions? 2) Did you scan the passage for words needed to allow you to complete the flow-chart? 3) Did you read through the flow-chart once you had completed it? 4) What skills are being tested in this task type?

Examples of Task Type 4 Example 1 – with a choice of answers from a box (Type A) Questions 1 – 4 Complete the summary with words (A-K) from the box below. Write the correct letter A-K in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet. Respondents to the survey mentioned several factors they think reduce 1 __________ in engineering design and thus innovation. Among them were the development costs associated with high-tech products, globalisation and 2 __________ justified on safety grounds, all of which inhibit the freedom of designers to design. The trend towards inter-company 3 __________ on the subject of, for example, patents gives further cause for concern. On the other hand some respondents deny that there is any great problem, welcoming an improved system of 4 __________ . For this reason, there is, these respondents argue, the possibility that innovation is on the increase. Certainly, they would not be surprised if that was so. A excellence D diversity G disputes J selection

B standards E communication H specifications K rivalries

C production F regulations I agreements

Example 2 – without a coice of answers (Type B) Questions 1 and 2 Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1 and 2 on your answer sheet. Modems allow the data produced by computers to be sent along telephone wires. They do this by changing computer digital data into the 1 __________ of telephones. The internet was developed in the United States to allow military computers to exchange information easily. One advantage was that it would protect against the loss of data in a nuclear attack. Another was that it would 2 __________.

Sample Task Type 4 - Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of dung beetles. The text preceding this extract gave some background facts about dung beetles, and went on to describe a decision to introduce non-native varieties to Australia.]

Introducing dung beetles into a pasture is a simple process: approximately 1,500 beetles are released, a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats 2 in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunnelling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, self-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious. Dung beetles work from the inside of the pat so they are sheltered from predators such as birds and foxes. Most species burrow into the soil and bury dung in tunnels directly underneath the pats, which are hollowed out from within. Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depthof approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels. The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants. For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long), is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually. The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year. Glossary 1. dung: the droppings or excreta of animals 2. cow pats: droppings of cows

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Sample Task Type 4 – Questions Question 1 – 5 Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

Species

Size

Preferred Climate

Complementary Species

French

2.5 cm

cool

Spanish

1.25 cm

1 _______

South African ball roller

3 _______

Start of Active Period late spring

Number of Generations Per Year 1–2

2 _______

3 _______

4 _______

Sample Task Type 4 – Answers 1 2 3 4 5

temperate early spring two to five sub-tropical South African tunneling/tunneling

Words in brackets are optional - they are correct, but not necessary. Alternative answers are separated by a single slash (/).

Task Type 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Labeling a Diagram Task Description What are candidates required to do? In this task type, candidates are required to label numbered parts of a diagram which relates to a description contained in the passage, and to write the correct labels in the spaces on their answer sheet. What form do these labels take? The label may consist of up to three words, which will be taken directly from the passage. It might also consist of a combination of words and numbers; if this is the case, it is clearly indicated in the instructions. Do the answers occur in order in the passage? Not necessarily. However, the answers will usually come from one section rather than the entire passage. What sort of diagrams are used in this task type? The diagram may be of some type of machine, or of parts of a building or of any other element that can be represented pictorially. The diagram may be partly labelled, in which case candidates are asked to complete the labelling. What text type is used with this task type? This task type is often used with texts describing processes or with descriptive texts. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) How did you find the section where the information was located? 2) How did you begin the task? 3) What sort of words are likely to be tested? 4) What skills are being tested in this task type? 5) How can you help your students to develop these skills?

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Example of Task Type 5 Example 1 Questions 18 – 22 Label the diagram below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 18–22 on your answer sheet.

Sample Task Type 5 - Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the subject of dung beetles. The text preceding this extract gave some background facts about dung beetles, and went on to describe a decision to introduce non-native varieties to Australia.] Introducing Dung Putting beetles into a pasture is a simple process: approximately 1,500 beetles are released, a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats 2 in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunnelling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, self-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious. Dung beetles work from the inside of the pat so they are sheltered from predators such as birds and foxes. Most species burrow into the soil and bury dung in tunnels directly underneath the pats, which are hollowed out from within. Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depthof approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels. The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants. For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long), is matched with smaller (half this size), temperateclimate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually. The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year. Glossary 1. dung: the droppings or excreta of animals 2. cow pats: droppings of cows

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Sample Task Type 5 - Questions Questions 6 – 8 Label the tunnels on the diagram below using words from the box. Write your answers in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet. Dung Beetle Types

!"#$%&'(")*'(+$&',!

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Sample Task Type 5 – Answers 6 South African 7 French 8 Spanish

Task Type 6 – Choosing Headings Task Description What are candidates required to do? In this task type, candidates are given a list of headings, usually identified with lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii etc). A heading will refer to the main idea of the paragraph or section and candidates must match the heading against paragraphs or sections of the text which are marked alphabetically. They are asked to write the appropriate Roman numerals in the boxes on their answer sheets. Are there the same number of headings as there are paragraphs or sections to be matched with them? There will always be more headings than there are paragraphs or sections, so that some headings will not be used. It is also possible that some paragraphs or sections may not be included in the task. One or more paragraphs or sections may already be matched with a heading as an example for candidates. What text type is used in this task? It is used with passages that contain paragraphs or sections with clearly defined themes. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) Did you read the whole passage carefully before beginning? 2) How should you attempt the task? 3) Did you scan the passage for words contained in each heading? 4) Did you find any part of a paragraph especially useful in answering? 5) What skills are being tested in this task type?

Example of Task Type 6 Example 1 Questions 1 – 4 Reading Passage 1 has four sections, A-D. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i-viii in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i ii iii iv v vi vii viii

Different types of modernization Measuring modernization: what is a modern society? Modernization around the world Modernization in six developing countries Modernization: a poorly defined concept Rational thinking and modernization The history of modernization The industrial basis of modernization

1 Section A 2 Section B 3 Section C 4 Section D

Sample Task Type 6 - Reading Section A The role of governments in environmental management is difficult but inescapable. Sometimes, the state tries to manage the resources it owns, and does so badly. Often, however, governments act in an even more harmful way. They actually subsdise the exploitation and consumption of natural resources. A whole range of policies, from farm-price support to protection for coal--mining, do environmental damage and (often) make no economic sense. Scrapping them offers a two-fold bonus : a cleaner environment and a more efficient economy. Growth and environmentalism c an actually go hand in hand, if politicians have the courage to confront the vested interest that subsidies create. Section B No activity affects more of the earth's surface than farming. It shapes a third of the planet's land area, not counting Antarctica, and the proportion is rising. World food output per head has risen by 4 per c ent between the 1970s and 1980s mainly as a result of increases in yields from land already in cultivation, but also because more land has been brought under the plough. Higher yields have been achieved by increased irrigation, better crop breeding, and a doubling in the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers in the 1970s and 1980s. Section C All these activities may have damaging environmental impacts. For example, land clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the abandonment of f allow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of monoculture and use of highyielding varieties of crops have been accompanied by the disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful measurements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soil's productivity. The country subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its cropped land to meadow or forest. Topsoil in India and China is vanishing much faster than in America. Section D Government policies have frequently compounded the environmental damage that farming can cause. In the rich countries, subsidies for growing crops and price supports for farm output drive up the price of land. The annual value of these subsidies is immense: about $250 billion, or more than all World Bank lending in the 1980s. To increase the output of crops per acre, a farmer's easiest option is to use more of the most readily available inputs: fertilisers and pesticides. Fertiliser use doubled in Denmark in the period 1960-1985 and increased in The Netherlands by 150 per cent. The quantity of pesticides applied has risen too: by 69 per cent in 1975-1984 in Denmark, f or example, with a rise of 115 per cent in the frequency of application in the three years from 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s some efforts were made to reduce farm subsidies. The most dramatic example was that of New Zealand, which scrapped most farm support in 1984. A study of the environmental effects, conducted in 1993, found that the end of fertiliser subsidies had been followed by a fall in fertiliser use (a fall compounded by the decline in world commodity prices, which cut f arm incomes). The removal of subsidies also stopped land-clearing and over-stocking, which in the past had been the principal causes of erosion. Farms began to diversify. The one kind of subsidy whose removal appeared to have been bad for the environment was the subsidy to manage soil erosion, fertilizers and pestcides.

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In less enlightened countries, and in the European Union, the trend has been to reduce rather than eliminate subsidies, and to introduce new payments to encourage farmers to treat their land in environmentally friendlier ways, or to leave it fallow. It may sound strange but such payments need to be higher than the existing incentives for farmers to grow food crops. Farmers, however, dislike being paid to do nothing. In several countries they have become interested in the possibility of using fuel produced from crop residues either as a replacement for petrol (as ethanol) or as fuel for power stations (as biomass). Such fuels produce far less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. They are therefore less likely to contribute to the greenhouse effect. But they are rarely competitive with fossil fuels unless subsidised -and growing them does no less environmental harm than other crops. Section E In poor countries, governments aggravate other sorts of damage. Subsidies for pesticides and artificial fertilisers encourage farmers to use greater quantities than are needed to get the highest economic crop yield. A study by the International Rice Research Institute of pesticide us e by farmers in South East Asia found that, with pest- resistant varieties of rice, even moderate applications of pesticide frequently cos t farmers more than they saved. Such waste puts farmers on a chemical treadmill: bugs and weeds become resistant to poisons, so next year's poisons must be more lethal. One cost is to human health. Every year some 10,000 people die from pesticide poisoning, almost all of them in the developing countries, and another 400,000 become seriously ill. As for artificial fertilisers, their use world-wide increased by 40 per cent per unit of farmed land between the mid 1970s and late 1980s , mostly in the developing countries. Overuse of fertilisers may cause farmers to s top rotating crops or leaving their land fallow. That, in turn, may make soil erosion worse. Section F A result of the Uruguay Round of world trade negotiations is likely to be a reduction of 36 per cent in the average lev els of farm subsidies paid by the rich countries in 1986-1990. Some of the world's food production will move from Western Europe to regions where subsidies are lower or non--existent, such as the former communist countries and parts of the developing world. Some environmentalists worry about this outcome. It will undoubtedly mean more pressure to convert natural habitat into farmland. But it will also have many desirable environmental effects. The intensity of farming in the rich world should dec line, and the use of chemical inputs will diminish. Crops are more likely to be grown in the environments to which they are naturally suited. And more farmers in poor countries will hav e the money and the incentive to manage their land in ways that are sustainable in the long run. That is important. To feed an increasingly hungry world, farmers need every incentive to use their soil and water effectively and efficiently.

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Sample Task Type 6 - Questions Questions 1 – 5 Sample Passage 6 has six sections A-F. Choose the correct heading for sections A-D and F from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i-ix in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix

The probable effects of the new international trade agreement The environmental impact of modern farming Farming and soil erosion The effects of government policy in rich countries Governments and management of the environment The effects of government policy in poor countries Farming and food output The effects of government policy on food output The new prospects for world trade

Example Section E

1 Section A 2 Section B 3 Section C 4 Section D 5 Section F

Sample Task Type 6 - Answers 1 2 3 4 5

v vii ii iv i

Task Type 7 – Locating Information Task Description What are candidates required to do? In this task type, candidates are asked to locate specific information in the numbered paragraphs of the passage, and to write the letters corresponding to the correct paragraph in the boxes on their answer sheet. What kind of information might candidates be asked to find? Candidates may be asked to find • specific details • an example of some kind • the reason for an event, change etc • a description • a comparison • a summary • an explanation Will candidates need to find information in every paragraph of the text? Not necessarily. Is it possible to identify a section or paragraph more than once? There may be more than one piece of information that candidates need to locate in a given paragraph. When this is the case, candidates will be told that they can use a letter more than once. What type of text is most frequently used with this task type? This task type can be used with any text as it may test a wide range of reading skills, from locating detail to recognising a summary or definition etc. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) Did you read the passage carefully before beginning the task? 2) How did you begin the task? 3) Did you look for key words in the item and then scan the passage for them? 4) What skills are being tested in this task type? 5) How can you help your students to develop these skills?

Example of Task Type 7 Example 1 Questions 1 – 6 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1 details of the exploratory voyages of Polynesians 2 a description of the Polynesian monarchical system 3 an account of the Polynesian colonisation of New Zealand 4 challenges to the theories of Polynesian migration 5 how Western civilisation has influenced Polynesian societies 6 the justification of recent research into Polynesian culture

Sample Task Type 7 - Reading The Motor Car A There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world -and the number is rising by more than 40 million each year. The average distance driven by car users is growing too - from 8km a day per person in western Europe in 1965 to 25 km a day i n 1995. This dependence on motor vehicles has given rise to major problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil resources, traffic congestion and safety. B While emissions from new cars are far less harmful than they used to be, city streets and motor ways are becoming more crowded than ever, often with older trucks, buses and taxis which emit excessive levels of smoke and fumes. This concentration of vehicles makes air quality in urban areas unpleasant and sometimes dangerous to breathe. Even Moscow has joined the list of capitals afflicted by congestion and traffic fumes. In Mexico City, vehicle pollution is a major health hazard. C Until a hundred years ago, most journeys were in the 20km range, the distance conveniently accessible by horse. Heavy freight could only be carried by water or rail. Invention of the motor vehicle brought personal mobility to the masses and made rapid freight delivery possible over a much wider area. In the United Kingdom, about 90 per cent of inland freight is carried by road. The world cannot revert to the horse- drawn wagon. Can it avoid being locked into congested and polluting ways of transporting people and goods? D In Europe most cities are still designed for the old modes of transport. Adaptation to the motor car has involved adding ring roads, one -way systems and parking lots. In the United States, more land is assigned to car use than to housing. Urban sprawl means that life without a car is next to impossible. Mass use of motor vehicles has also killed or injured millions of people. Other social effects have been blamed on the car such as alienation and aggressive human behaviour. E A 1993 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment found that car transport is seven times as costly as rail travel in terms of the external social costs - it entails -congestion, accidents, pollution, loss of cropland and natural habitats, depletion of oil resources, and so on. Yet cars easily surpass trains or buses as a flexible and convenient mode of personal transport. It is unrealistic to expect people to give up private cars in favour of mass transit. F Technical solutions can reduce the pollution problem and increase the fuel led efficiency of engines. But fuel consumption and exhaust emissions depend on which cars are preferred by customers and how they are driven. Many people buy larger cars than they need for daily purposes or waste fuel by driving aggressively. Besides, global car use is increasing at a faster rate than the improvement in emissions and fuel efficiency technology is now making possible. G Some argue that the only long -term solution is to design cities and neighbourhoods so that car journeys are not necessary - all essential services being located within walking distance or easily accessible by public transport. Not only would this save energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions, it would also enhance the quality of community life, putting the emphasis on people instead of cars. Good local government is al ready bringing this about in some places. But few democratic communities are blessed with the vision – and the capital – to make such profound changes in modern lifestyles.

H A more likely scenario seems to be a combination of mass transit systems for travel into and around cities, with small ‘low emission’ cars for urban use and larger hybrid or lean burn cars for use elsewhere. Electronically tolled highways might be used to ensure that drivers pay charges geared to actual road use. Better integration of transport systems is also highly desirable - and made more feasible by modern computers. But these are solutions for countries which can afford them. In most developing countries, old cars and old technologies continue to predominate

Sample Task Type 7 - Questions Questions 1 – 6 Sample Passage 7 has eight paragraphs labelled A-H. Which paragraphs contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1 a comparison of past and present transportation methods 2 how driving habits contribute to road problems 3 the relative merits of cars and public transport 4 the writer’s prediction on future solutions 5 the increasing use of motor vehicles 6 the impact of the car on city development

Sample Task Type 7 – Answers 1 2 3 4 5 6

C F E H A D

Task Type 8 – Identification of a Writer’s Views/Claims or of Information in a Text Task Description What are candidates required to do? This task type has two variations. The candidate will be given a number of statements and asked • ‘Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer?’ or • ‘Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?’ How are the candidates required to answer? In the first variation, candidates are asked to write ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘not given’ in the boxes on their answer sheet. In the second variation, candidates are asked to write ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not given’. What skills are tested in this task type? The first variation of this task type aims to test the candidate’s ability to recognise opinions or ideas, and is thus often used with discursive or argumentative texts. The second variation tests the candidate’s ability to recognise particular points of information conveyed in the passage. It can thus be used with more factual texts. Understanding the Task It is important to explain the difference between ‘no’ and ‘not given’ (or ‘false’ and ‘not given’). In the first variation of the task, ‘no’ means that the opinions or claims of the writer explicitly disagree with the statement – i.e., the writer somewhere expresses a view or makes a claim which is opposite to the one given in the question; ‘not given’ means that the view or claim or statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted. (Students need to understand that any knowledge they may bring with them from outside the passage should not play a part when deciding on their answers.) Similarly, in the second variation, ‘no’ means that the passage states the opposite of the statement in the question; ‘not given’ means that the statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted by the information in the passage. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) How did you begin this task? 2) Did you note key words in the statements that you could check? 3) Did the key words appear in any part of the passage enabling you to answer the question? 4) Did the areas containing the answers appear in order in the passage? 5) What skills did you use to complete this task? 6) How can you help your students to develop these skills?

Examples of Task Type 8 Example 1 – Where the task is to assess a writer’s opinion or views. Questions 1 – 4 Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet write YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 1 It is surprising that concrete was the first building material considered by the bridge designers. 2 The problems encountered during the construction of the bridge should have been foreseen. 3 The delayed start to the tunnelling was the principal cause of the increase in the final cost of the bridge. 4 The current number of bridge users is smaller than was expected.

Example 2 – Where the task is to assess statements of information about the text. Questions 1 – 4 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this 1 There are more people working in the computer industry than any other. 2 Most people spend at least four hours a day working on a computer. 3 The incidence of eye strain brought on by computer use is increasing. 4 Companies are taking measures to restrict computer use for long periods.

Sample Task Type 8 - Reading The Risks of Cigarette Smoke Discovered in the early 1800s and named ënicotianineí, the oily essence now called nicotine is the main active ingredient of tobacco. Nicotine, however, is only a small component of cigarette smoke, which contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds, including 43 cancercausing substances. In recent times, scientific research has been providing evidence that years of cigarette smoking vastly increases the risk of developing fatal medical conditions. In addition to being responsible for more than 85 per cent of lung cancers, smoking is associated with cancers of, amongst others, the mouth, stomach and kidneys, and is thought to cause about 14 per cent of leukemia and cervical cancers. In 1990, smoking caused more than 84,000 deaths, mainly resulting from such problems as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 per cent of all deaths from cancer and clearly represents the most important preventable cause of cancer in countries like the United States today. Passive smoking, the breathing in of the side-stream smoke from the burning of tobacco between puffs or of the smoke exhaled by a smoker, also causes a serious health risk. A report published in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emphasized the health dangers, especially from side-stream smoke. This type of smoke contains more smaller particles and is therefore more likely to be deposited deep in the lungs. On the basis of this report, the EPA has classified environmental tobacco smoke in the highest risk category for causing cancer. As an illustration of the health risks, in the case of a married couple where one partner is a smoker and one a non-smoker, the latter is believed to have a 30 percent higher risk of death from heart disease because of passive smoking. The risk of lung cancer also increases over the years of exposure and the figure jumps to 80 per cent if the spouse has been smoking four packs a day for 20 years. It has been calculated that 17 per cent of cases of lung cancer can be attributed to high levels of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke during childhood and adolescence. A more recent study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) has shown that second-hand cigarette smoke does more harm to non-smokers than to smokers. Leaving aside the philosophical question of whether anyone should have to breathe someone else’s cigarette smoke, the report suggests that the smoke experienced by many people in their daily lives is enough to produce substantial adverse effects on a person’s heart and lungs. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA), was based on the researchers’ own earlier research but also includes a review of studies over the past few years. The American Medical Association represents about half of all US doctors and is a strong opponent of smoking. The study suggests that people who smoke cigarettes are continually damaging their cardiovascular system, which adapts in order to compensate for the effects of smoking. It further states that people who do not smoke do not have the benefit of their system adapting to the smoke inhalation. Consequently, the effects of passive smoking are far greater on non-smokers than on smokers. This report emphasizes that cancer is not caused by a single element in cigarette smoke; harmful effects to health are caused by many components. Carbon monoxide, for example, competes with oxygen in red blood cells and interferes with the blood’s ability to deliver lifegiving oxygen to the heart. Nicotine and other toxins in cigarette smoke activate small blood cells called platelets, which increases the likelihood of blood clots, thereby affecting blood circulation throughout the body. The researchers criticize the practice of some scientific consultants who work with the tobacco

industry for assuming that cigarette smoke has the same impact on smokers as it does on non-smokers. They argue that those scientists are underestimating the damage done by passive smoking and, in support of their recent findings, cite some previous research which points to passive smoking as the cause for between 30,000 and 60,000 deaths from heart attacks each year in the United States. This means that passive smoking is the third most preventable cause of death after active smoking and alcohol-related diseases The study argues that the type of action needed against passive smoking should be similar to that being taken against illegal drugs and AIDS (SIDA). The UCSF researchers maintain that the simplest and most cost-effective action is to establish smoke-free work places, schools and public places.

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Sample Task Type 8 – Questions Questions 1 – 4 Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Sample Passage 8? In boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet write YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 1 Thirty per cent of deaths in the United States are caused by smoking-related diseases. 2 If one partner in a marriage smokes, the other is likely to take up smoking. 3 Teenagers whose parents smoke are at risk of getting lung cancer at some time during their lives. 4 Opponents of smoking financed the UCSF study.

Sample Task Type 8 – Answers 1 2 3 4

NO NOT GIVEN YES NOT GIVEN

Task Type 9 – Classification Task Description What are candidates required to do? This task type requires candidates to classify events, characteristics or other pieces of information in the passage into given categories; for example, events could be classified into historical periods, or characteristics into age groups mentioned in the passage. In a passage dealing with the history of the aeroplane, candidates might, for example, be asked to classify developments according to the twenty-year period in which they occurred; in a text dealing with current developments in the genetic modification of wheat they might be asked to classify experiments according to the laboratory where they were undertaken. Note that the items to be classified will form a coherent set. How are candidates required to answer? Categories are identified by letters, and candidates are asked to write the correct letter in the relevant box on their answer sheet. There will normally be a larger number of events, characteristics, etc than there are groups into which to classify them, so a number of questions may be answered with the same letter. What skills are tested in this task type? This task type is designed to test candidates’ ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the passage, and is most often used with texts dealing with factual information; for example descriptive texts. Candidates need to be able to skim and scan the passage in order to locate the required information and to read for detail. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) How did you approach this task? 2) Did you then continue to work through the passage item by item? 3) Were the items found in order in the passage? 4) What skills did you use to complete this task? 5) How can you help your students to develop these skills?

Example of Task Type 9 Example 1 Questions 1 – 3 According to the information in Reading Passage 1, classify the following events as occurring A before 1940 B between 1940 and 1942 C after 1942 Write the correct letter, A, B or C in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 The cost of bread was first subsidised by the government. 2 Women were conscripted into the army. 3 A curfew was imposed.

Sample Task Type 9 - Reading The Risks of Cigarette Smoke Discovered in the early 1800s and named ënicotianineí, the oily essence now called nicotine is the main active ingredient of tobacco. Nicotine, however, is only a small component of cigarette smoke, which contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds, including 43 cancercausing substances. In recent times, scientific research has been providing evidence that years of cigarette smoking vastly increases the risk of developing fatal medical conditions. In addition to being responsible for more than 85 per cent of lung cancers, smoking is associated with cancers of, amongst others, the mouth, stomach and kidneys, and is thought to cause about 14 per cent of leukemia and cervical cancers. In 1990, smoking caused more than 84,000 deaths, mainly resulting from such problems as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 per cent of all deaths from cancer and clearly represents the most important preventable cause of cancer in countries like the United States today. Passive smoking, the breathing in of the side-stream smoke from the burning of tobacco between puffs or of the smoke exhaled by a smoker, also causes a serious health risk. A report published in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emphasized the health dangers, especially from side-stream smoke. This type of smoke contains more smaller particles and is therefore more likely to be deposited deep in the lungs. On the basis of this report, the EPA has classified environmental tobacco smoke in the highest risk category for causing cancer. As an illustration of the health risks, in the case of a married couple where one partner is a smoker and one a non-smoker, the latter is believed to have a 30 percent higher risk of death from heart disease because of passive smoking. The risk of lung cancer also increases over the years of exposure and the figure jumps to 80 per cent if the spouse has been smoking four packs a day for 20 years. It has been calculated that 17 per cent of cases of lung cancer can be attributed to high levels of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke during childhood and adolescence. A more recent study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) has shown that second-hand cigarette smoke does more harm to non-smokers than to smokers. Leaving aside the philosophical question of whether anyone should have to breathe someone else’s cigarette smoke, the report suggests that the smoke experienced by many people in their daily lives is enough to produce substantial adverse effects on a person’s heart and lungs. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA), was based on the researchers’ own earlier research but also includes a review of studies over the past few years. The American Medical Association represents about half of all US doctors and is a strong opponent of smoking. The study suggests that people who smoke cigarettes are continually damaging their cardiovascular system, which adapts in order to compensate for the effects of smoking. It further states that people who do not smoke do not have the benefit of their system adapting to the smoke inhalation. Consequently, the effects of passive smoking are far greater on non-smokers than on smokers. This report emphasizes that cancer is not caused by a single element in cigarette smoke; harmful effects to health are caused by many components. Carbon monoxide, for example, competes with oxygen in red blood cells and interferes with the blood’s ability to deliver lifegiving oxygen to the heart. Nicotine and other toxins in cigarette smoke activate small blood cells called platelets, which increases the likelihood of blood clots, thereby affecting blood circulation throughout the body. The researchers criticize the practice of some scientific consultants who work with the tobacco

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Sample Task Type 9 - Questions Questions 11 –13 Classify the following statements as being A a finding of the UCSF study B an opinion of the UCSF study C a finding of the EPA report D an assumption of consultants to the tobacco industry Write the correct letter A, B, C or D in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet. 11 Smokers’ cardiovascular systems adapt to the intake of environmental smoke. 12 Smoke-free public places offer the best solution. 13 The intake of side-stream smoke is more harmful than smoke exhaled by a smoker.

Sample Task Type 9 - Answers 11 A 12 B 13 C

Task Type 10 – Matching Task Description What are candidates required to do? In this task type, candidates are given a number of options, for example, names of people, and are required to match them with, for example, a theory, discovery or statement credited to them, and to write the letters of the correct options in the boxes on their Answer Sheets. It is possible that some options may go unused, and that others may be used more than once. The instructions will inform candidates if an option may be used more than once. What variations are there of this task type? Many variations of this task type are possible as far as the type of options to be matched are concerned – for example, events or discoveries could be matched against periods; artists against the techniques they used; earthquake scientists against their theories on earthquake prediction or plants against their genetic characteristics. What skills are tested in this task type? This task type is designed to test the candidates’ ability to recognise opinions or theories. What sort of texts are used with this task type? It is often used with discussion texts, or those where current opinions on a controversial topic are reported. However, it may sometimes be used with other text types as well. Understanding the Task To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer. Things to consider Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers. 1) Did you read the whole passage carefully before beginning? 2) How did you begin the task? 3) What skills did you use to complete this task? 4) How can you help your students to develop these skills?

Example of Task Type 10 Example 1 Questions 1 – 3 Look at the following list of statements (Questions 1-3) based on researchinto aspects of memory. Match each statement with the correct person A-C. Write the correct letters A-C in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 The body may have a biological mechanism for erasing bad memories. 2 Persistent memories are controlled by emotions. 3 Embarrassing memories automatically become less painful over time. List of Researchers A Antonio Damasio B Bessel van der Kolk C Nader and Scafe

Sample Task Type 10 – Reading [Note: This is an extract from an Academic Reading passage on the development of rockets. The text preceding this extract explored the slow development of the rocket and explained the principle of propulsion.] The invention of rockets is linked inextricably with the invention of 'black powder'. Most historians of technology credit the Chinese with its discovery. They base their belief on studies of Chinese writings or on the notebooks of early Europeans who settled in or made long visits to China to study its history and civilisation. It is probable that, some time in the tenth century, black powder was first compounded from its basic ingredients of saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur. But this does not mean that it was immediately used to propel rockets. By the thirteenth century, powder- propelled fire arrows had become rather common. The Chinese relied on this type of technological development to produce incendiary projectiles of many sorts, explosive grenades and possibly cannons to repel their enemies. One such weapon was the 'basket of fire' or, as directly translated from Chinese, the 'arrows like flying leopards'. The 0.7 metre-long arrows, each with a long tube of gunpowder attached near the point of each arrow, could be fired from a long, octagonal-shaped basket at the same time and had a range of 400 paces. Another weapon was the 'arrow as a flying sabre', which could be fired from crossbows. The rocket, placed in a similar position to other rocket-propelled arrows, was designed to increase the range. A small iron weight was attached to the 1.5m bamboo shaft, just below the feathers, to increase the arrow's stability by moving the centre of gravity to a position below the rocket. At a similar time, the Arabs had developed the 'egg which moves and burns'. This 'egg' was apparently full of gunpowder and stabilised by a 1.5m tail. It was fired using two rockets attached to either side of this tail. It was not until the eighteenth century that Europe became seriously interested in the possibilities of using the rocket itself as a weapon of war and not just to propel other weapons. Prior to this, rockets were used only in pyrotechnic displays. The incentive for the more aggressive use of rockets came not from within the European continent but from far-away India, whose leaders had built up a corps of rocketeers and used rockets successfully against the British in the late eighteenth century. The Indian rockets used against the British were described by a British Captain serving in India as ‘an iron envelope about 200 millimetres long and 40 millimetres in diameter with sharp points at the top and a 3m-long bamboo guiding stick’. In the early nineteenth century the British began to experiment with incendiary barrage rockets. The British rocket differed from the Indian version in that it was completely encased in a stout, iron cylinder, terminating in a conical head, measuring one metre in diameter and having a stick almost five metres long and constructed in such a way that it could be firmly attached to the body of the rocket. The Americans developed a rocket, complete with its own launcher, to use against the Mexicans in the mid-nineteenth century. A long cylindrical tube was propped up by two sticks and fastened to the top of the launcher, thereby allowing the rockets to be inserted and lit from the other end. However, the results were sometimes not that impressive as the behaviour of the rockets in flight was less than predictable.

Sample Task Type 10 – Questions Questions 1 – 4 Look at the following items (Questions 7-10) and the list of groups below. Match each item with the group which first invented or used them. Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. 1 2 3 4

black powder rocket-propelled arrows for fighting rockets as war weapons the rocket launcher First invented or used by A the Chinese B the Indians C the British D the Arabs E the Americans

Sample Task Type 10 – Answers 1 2 3 4

A A B E