> Exam tasks > Short-answer questions; classification; true/false/nat given » Skills » Skimming and scanning; predicting content Introduction Discuss these questions with a partner, © Have you ever studied abroad? Where did you study? Did you enjoy it? What were the main benefits of studying abroad? What were the main challenges? © If you have never studied abroad, would you like to? Where and what would you like to study? Why? Wh do you think are the main benefits of studying abroad? What do you think would be the main challenges? (2) Skimming and scanning ‘A Both skimming and scanning involve reading a text quickly, but are used for different reasons ‘Skimming is when you quickly read for just the main idea of a text, without thinking about specific detail Scanning is when you read to find specific pieces of information, such as names, dates and facts. Look at situations 1-4 below and tick the correct box for each. Reading module: Academic and General Training manuals, of the kind you would find every day in an English- ‘The IELTS Reading module takes 60 minutes and consists “Peaking country. of three sections. In the Academic module, each section features one reading text taken from books, magazines, journals and newspapers. In the General Training module, ‘each section may consist of one or more passages, taken from sources such as advertisements, leaflets and instruction In both the Academic and General Training modules, you hhave to answer 40 questions in total, based on a variety (of task types, such as matching, short-answer questions, ‘truelfalse/not given and multiple-choice questions. The task types and skils required for them (skimming, scanning, making predictions, etc) are the same for the Academic and General Training modules.skim — scan 1 You look at a newspaper to see if there's a film on TV tonight. Qo. Qa 2 You look at a train timetable to see when the next train is due. Qa a 3 You need to decide if a long article will be useful for some research you are doing. Qa a 4 You have a meeting in ten minutes, and you haven't read the report you are going to discuss. Qa a B Skim the short article below in 30 seconds. Which of the following describes the main idea of the text? 1 It is important to speak English if you want to be successful in business. 2 Most of the world's mail is written in English. 3. English is the most widely used language in the world. English is the second most commonly spoken, and by far the most widespread of the world’s ~ languages. It is estimated that there are 300 million native speakers, 300 million who use ss tip) English as a second language and a further billion using it as a foreign language. English is ee Tats Read spoken by scientists, pilots, computer experts, diplomats and tourists; it is the language of the Mee iggese cha ‘worl! Dia you know over 50% of al business deals are conducted in English? And over 70% of Henges is time; all mail is written and addressed in English? It is the official or co-official language of over 45 oe eat ‘countries and furthermore, it is spoken extensively in other countries where it has no official will help you save| statu, It is pethaps, therefore, not surprising that in recent years we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students opting to study abroad. In the future this will cement the role ‘that English plays in the cultural, political or economic life of many countries around the world from Australia to Zambia, Look at these numbers from the text. Do you remember what they refer to? Match the numbers with their reference below. Then scan the text in 30 seconds to find the answers, over 70% the amount of business done in English over 50% the amount of mail written in English Predicting content ‘A Before you read a text in the IELTS exam, it is @ good idea to predict what you are going to read. One way is to use the information in the title (or main heading), the summary paragraph and any subheadings. Look at the article on page 10. Read the main heading and the subheadings. Based on the information in the headings, which of the following do you think best describes the text? 1 Information about universities, promoting each institution as a good place to study 2 Abholiday brochure, ‘selling’ the UK as @ destination for a quick break 3. A magazine article, giving advice on living and studying abroad in different English-speaking countries B When you skim a text, don’t worry about words you don’t understand. Try to get an overall impression of the text. Make sure you read the first sentence of each paragraph. These will help you get an overview of the text. Time yourself, and take two minutes to skim the article. Then decide if your answer in 3A was conrect. UNIT 1_Studying Overseas 9READING 10 UNIT 1 Your adventure starts ‘An increasing number of students are thinking of going overseas to ‘a degree. This week we focus on five English-speaking countries, examining what each has to offer and why you might choose to study there. ‘youll find @ university system language and a core set of values. Of ‘courses to choose from, how do you one of the best reputations in the these values, liberty and freedom are decide where to study as an world, Universities in the UK have a probably the most important, Intemational student? Do you dream record of achievement in business, combined with _individual ‘of heading for the land of Uncle Sam law, the sciences, philosophy, responsibility. American students are ‘or would you feel more at home in linguistics and many other fields. therefore expected to think ‘Shakespeare's country? Perhaps the Some UK institutions offer a independently and —_ have ‘Australian outback will give you the foundation course (usually three responsibility for their own studies: space you need to work out the months or one year in length) to classes are often informal and problems of the world. Whichever prepare international students students are encouraged to express you choose, the adventure begins before they go on to do a full their opinion. With 50 States all Fight here! undergraduate degree; applying for offering a huge range of different ‘one of these courses normally types of institutions — from two-year STUDY involves taking the IELTS exam. community college courses to four- AUSTRALIA ‘year undergraduate programmes ~ Free-spirited Australia has been STUDY deciding where to study in the US ‘open to migration for many years IN NEW ZEALAND may appear confusing, so it is and is today one of the world’s top With its vast and beautiful open important to do some research first. three destinations for intemational spaces and friendly city centres, New students Australas renowned Zealand ss county where you can cultural diversity, its high level of enjoy both the great outdoors and IN CANADA Public safety and the vibrant the conveniences and dynamism of Surveys conducted by the United atmosphere of its cites all help to modem city if. Low living costs and Nations have repeatedly found make it easy for overseas visitors to a high standard of living also make Canada to be among the top three feel at home, Academically speaking, life here very appealing. New places in the world to live in. In most of the national, publidy-funded Zealand’s highly respected addition, Canada’s largest cities, universities are of similarly high educational programmes are based Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, standard. Moreover, Australian on the British system. A large part of have been recognised as world-class institutions have a particularly strong a degree programme is practical; cities in which to live and work, for reputation for research into the this gives graduates both the their cleanliness and safety and for environment and sport science. knowledge and the skills they need their cultural activities and attractive when entering the workplace. lifestyles. A Canadian degree, sSyrzstupy diploma or certificate is well EFSvteux m= stuvy regarded in business, govemment Many students are attracted to ‘IN THE USA and academic circles around the Britain by its long history of The population of the US is made up globe. Canada has two official literature, from Chaucer and of people from every continent, languages - English and French. Shakespeare to Bridget Jones and joined together by a shared Studying and living in Canada could Harry Potter. Look beyond this, and be your opportunity to learn both! Studying Overseas4| Short-answer questions | a Shortanswer questions ask you to write one, owo or three words for each question. If your answer is too long or uses different words to chose in che passage, | i will be marked as incorrect. For each question: > First, decide what kind of information you need to answer the question. Is it a where, when, what, which or who question? Then look for keywords (most important ‘words) in the question, for example, personal names, READING places and dates. > Scan the headings in the passage to help you find the relevant pare of the text. Then scan that section of the passage for possible answers (or to confirm your predicted answer). > Check that your answer fits the maximum word count. Remember to use words taken directly from the passage. Don't change the form of the words or use different words. 1. What type of university preparation course is available in the Uk? 2. On which education system are New Zealand programmes founded? 3 Which two values are extremely important to Americans? 4 Which US educational programmes are two years in length? 5 Who concluded that Canada is one of the best countries in the world to live in? (5) Classification for this task In classification tasks, you wil see list of categories and a number of statements. You need to match the statements withthe correct categories according to the passage. The statements wil be paraphrased; they ‘will have the same meaning asthe information in the ‘uxt, but they may be worded diferenty. Sometimes ‘the number of categories is the same as the number of statements, but not always. Questions 1-5 Answer the following questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. » Skim the passage to decide which section of the | passage each category (in this ease each country) refers to. » Read the fist statement and scan the sections ofthe passage you identified to find an idea that hat the same meaning, Note the leters that correspond to that country. » Repeat the process for the rest of the statements. luestions 6-10 letters next to questions 6-10. AU Australia | CA Canada tip NZ NeW Zealand The categories will UK United Kingdom be listed in a losi- US United States fal order, for exam- ‘Be, alphabetically Be careful because {the categories may pot match the order Hn which they ‘appear in the text. 10 It is not a very expensive place to live in, There is an enormous choice of colleges and universities to choose from. Some universities are famous for courses in environmental studies. It is well-known for producing many famous authors. Students should be able to think for themselves. Which countries do the following statements refer to? Choose your answers from the box and write the correct UNIT 1_Studying Overseas 11READING {6) True/False/Not Given for this task crn 12 2B 14 “True/FalselNot Given questions ask you to read statements and compare them to the information given in the passage. You need to decide if the statement is true or false according to the passage. If the statement relates to information given in the passage, but the passage doesn't actualy agree or disagree with the statement. you need to select ‘Not Given’ > Read the frst statement. Look for keywords that can help you decide which part of the passage to focus on. Questions 11-15 Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Next to questions 11-15 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 Australia is a dangerous country. Most state universities in Australia are of comparable quality. ‘A degree from a UK university is highly regarded The British education system has a large practical element. Canada has the top three universities in the world. ‘Then skim the passage to find the relevant section. » Read che information in that section of the passage carefully. the idea expressed in the passage is the same a5 the statement, answer Truc’ the passage disagrees with che statement, answer ‘False’. Ifthe passage contains information relating to the statement. but doesn't actually agree or disagree with i, answer: 'Not Given’. > Repent the process for the rest of the statements.