READING SKILLS EXAM PRACTICE
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atie Im it1a am 2)
Class mg 1nformat1on
Labelling a map
1 Complete each paragraph with the name of the correct civilization and answer
the questions below.
Inca Norse
1 .................... mythology provides a typical 2 The .................... mythology personified
example of how natural processes are a number of natural forces, the most
dramatized in early cultures. People important of which was Inti, the sun god.
believed that Thor, son of the god Odin, The .................... emperors were believed
rode across the sky in a chariot. When he to be descended from him.
swung his hammer, it made thunder and
lightning, and of course also rain which
was necessary for growing crops.
a People today often prefer to find scientific rather than divine explanations
for natural processes. What have we gained or lost by this?
b What lessons could modern society learn from our ancestors in order to
improve our relationship with the environment?
I intihuatana I steps
J... North
2 Study the map of Machu Picchu.
Answer the questions about the
map.
EJ
a Where is the main reference
12 . . . . . . . .1
point for the map?
Main b What lies north of the Quarry?
c What types of words are
missing in each blank space?
11 ...............1
7 ...............
d What type of place do you think
7 is?
e How would you describe the
Quarry 15 ..............., location of each place 1-6 in
You are here relation to 7?
��'3 ...............J
4 .............. .
Nature
3 Skim the extract below from an article on the nature reserve around Machu Picchu and label the
map in exercise 2. ■
Nature, gods and man in harmony
Discovered in 1914 by Hiram Bingham with partial backing from T he US Geographic Society,
■
Machu Picchu is situated in a natural reserve famed as much for its spectacular flora and fauna
as the majesty of its buildings in perfect harmony with its natural surroundings.
The complex stands more than two thousand metres above sea level, 120 kilometres from
5 Cuzco, in Peru. On the terraces above and to the west of the Main Lawn stand three temples.
On the left, just north of the Quarry, stands the Temple of the Three Windows. This three-walled
structure commands a spectacular view down across the Main Lawn to the mountain peaks in the
east. Just north-west of this building is situated the Principal Temple with lntihuatana (the Sun's
hitching stone) at the top of a flight of steps beyond the Temple. The purpose of this stone was
10 principally astronomical. East of the Lawn and on the same level are the ruins of the Common
District where the workers who looked after the complex for the Emperor lived. Other notable
locations at Machu Picchu are the Royal Sector, which is situated on the same level as the Main
Lawn to the south and just east of the Quarry. Just south of this sector stands the Temple of
the Sun, Machu Picchu's only circular building. Inside there is an altar and a trapezoidal window
15 known as the Serpent Window. At the south-east corner of the Main Lawn, just south of the
Common District, is the Temple of the Condor, with a prison complex directly behind it.
4 Which of the following techniques do you think are useful to help you label the map?
a Reading the whole passage first and underlining all the names and directions and then
looking at the map.
b Numbering the names in the text according to the map.
c Underlining the directions: north, etc.
d Putting boxes around the names.
e Trying to complete several items in the map at the same time.
Unit 8
■ Completing short answer questions Technique
1 Answer the short answer questions about the reading passage on page 63. Use the same technique
for completing sentences
Use no more than THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
■ 1 What kind of purpose did Intihuatana serve? _______
to complete short answer
questions. Think of the
words or synonyms you
have to scan for. Think of
2 Which area is found on the east side of the Main Lawn? the grammatical form of the
words that is required in the
answer. Underline or circle
the word limit in the rubric.
3 What shape is the Temple of the Sun? ______
4 How many walls does the Temple of the Three Wmdows have?
5 What lies behind the Temple of the Condor? ______
6 What is the name of the window in the Temple of the Sun?
2 Complete questions 1-5 about the reading passage on page 63 using no more
than TWO WORDS. Then find the correct answers in the passage.
1 ______ shape is the window in the Temple of the Sun?
2 ______ did the complex of Machu Picchu belong to?
3 ______ is the scene across the lawn described?
4 ______ helped fund Hiram Bingham?
5 ______ is Machu Picchu from Cuzco?
Technique
Labelling a diagram (2) Use the same techniques
for labelling maps to
1 Study the diagram and predict the answers. Use the information in the label diagrams.
diagram and your general knowledge.
deep 2 .....................
temperature: up to 5 .....................
2 Scan paragraph one in the reading passage on page 65 and using no more than TWO words or a
nwnber from the passage, label the diagram.
■
Nature
Geothermal energy ■
Since heat naturally moves from hotter regions co cooler ones, the heat from the Earth's centre ( over
7000 ° Fahrenheit) flows outwards cowards the surface. In this way, it transfers to the next layer of
rock or mantle. If the temperature is high enough, some of this mantle rock melts and forms magma.
The magma ascends in its turn towards the Earth's crust. At times it forces itself up to the actual
■
5 surface where it builds volcanoes. More often it remains well below the Earth's crust, creating vast
subterranean areas of hot rock. In such regions, there are deep cracks, which allow rainwater to percolate
underground. This water is heated by the hot rock to a high temperature. Some of this water travels back
up co the Earth's surface where it will appear as a hot spring or a geyser. However, if this ascending hot
water reaches a layer of impermeable rock, it remains trapped, forming a geothermal reservoir. Much
10 hotter than surface hot springs, such reservoirs can reach temperatures of700 ° Fahrenheit and are a
rich source of energy. If geothermal reservoirs are close enough to the surface, they can be reached by
drilling wells. Hot water and steam shoot up the wells naturally, and can be used to produce electricity in
geothermal power plants. Unlike fossil fuels, geothermal energy produces relatively little greenhouse gas.
A few geothermal power plants depend on dry-steam reservoirs which produce steam but little or no water. In
15 these cases, the steam is piped up directly co provide the power to spin a turbine generator. The first geothermal
power plant, constructed at Lardarello in Italy, was of this type, and is still producing electricity today.
Most currently operating geothermal power plants are either 'flash' steam plants or binary plants. Flash
plants produce mainly hot water ranging in temperature from 300 ° to700 ° Fahrenheit. This water is
passed through one or two separators where, released from the pressure of the underground reservoir,
20 it 'flashes' or explosively boils into steam. Again, the force of this steam provides the energy to spin the
turbine and produce electricity. The geothermal water and steam are then re-injected directly back down
into the Earth to maintain the volume and pressure of the reservoir. Gradually they will be reheated and
can then be used again.
A reservoir with temperatures below 300 ° Fahrenheit is not hot enough to flash steam but it can still be used to
25 generate electricity in a binary plant. In these plants, the heat of the geothermal water is transferred to a second
or binary fluid, such as isopentane, which boils at a lower temperature than water. The steam from this is used
to power the turbines. As in the flash steam plant, the geothermal water is recycled back into the reservoir.
Classifying information
1 Using the reading passage above, classify the features in sentences 1-5
according to which type of geothermal plant they characterize.
3 A dry steam plants 1 There are examples which are in use today. Technique
2 B flash steam plants 2 They use geothermal reservoirs with Locate the different
temperatures over 300° F. categories or classes in
the reading pass age and
4,5 C binary plants 3 They use steam from the Earth and not water. put a box around them.
1 D all of them 4 The vapour which spins the turbines is not Read the sentences to
produced from water. be classified. Scan the
text around the boxed
6 They are relatively easy on the environment.
categories to locate
the information in the
sentences. Note in the
2 Answer the following questions about the techniques you used in exercise 1. IELTS exam the information
a Is it better to scan the passage for the pl�nts or for the features? to be classified may also
b Is it better to put a box around the plant names and label them A, B, etc. be in phrases, i.e. noun
or to underline the words? phrases or clauses.
c Is it better to try to answer 1-5 simultaneously or one at a time?
Unit 8
■ Improve your IELTS word skills
■
1 Which words in the box mean the same as feature?
Technique
article • characteristic ■ trait ■ attribute ■ character ■ quality Build a bank of words
and phrases that relate
to classification. It is a
2 What synonyms do you know for group?
common text feature in
IELTS reading passages
3 Match each phrase a-h with a suitable noun 1-8. and questions.
a a make of 1 car
b a species of 2 writing
C a genre of 3 horse
d a class of 4 medicine
e a field of 5 study
a branch of 6 virus
g a breed of 7 mammal
h a strain of 8 animal
4 Which of these words can be used as synonyms of the nouns in exercise 3?
j brand ■ variety ■ sort ■ type I
5 Complete the following table with the correct form of the word.
Noun Verb Adjective
character characterize
distinction distinguish
example
feature
illustration illustrate illustrative
indication indicate
type
6 Complete the sentences below using one of the verbs in the box.
classified ■ differentiated ■ satisfied ■ defined ■ catalogued ■ related
a The library books are _______ meticulously and given a barcode reference.
b Chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans are all closely _______ species.
c Several specific criteria must be _______ before any member is included in
the group.
d A marsupial can be _______ as any mammal which gives birth to
underdeveloped young and rears them in a pouch.
e Fungi may be _______ into three broad groups: yeasts, moulds and others.
f Sometimes members of a subspecies of mammal can only be _______ by
experts with specialist knowledge.
