Unit 6- Reading Practice

Unit 6 Reading Practice (3)

Reading Passage One

r----------------------------------------------------- -- - - ------------------------,
'

What Is Stress?
Most people would say they know what stress is. But for scientists who study stress, it has
been surprisingly hard to define. This is because there are so many ways of looking at stress.

Some researchers have studied how our bodies react to stress. You know how your heart
beats faster, you perspire more heavily, and your words do not come out right when you are
placed in a stressful situation. But knowing how we feel when we experience stress does not
explain it; nor does it tell us what causes it.
Other scientists have looked at stressors: events or situations that produce stress. A dead-
line, a poor test performance, or bothersome noises all may be thought of as stressors. Even
~ pleasant events can be stressors. Planning a party or starting a new job can be just as stressful '
as being called to the principal's office.

Stress, then, can be caused by both negative and positive events, or stressors. Of course,
whether an event is thought of as positive or negative is, in some ways, a matter of personal choice.
In sum, it is the way people interpret an event that makes it stressful or not stressful.
: This process of interpretation is called appraisal. Depending on how people appraise, or judge,
circumstances, they may or may not consider them stressful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Basic IELTS Reading

What, specifically, causes people to appraise a situation as stressful? The answer depends
on how much of a threat or challenge it appears to be. Circumstances that bring a threat
or challenge to a person's sense of well-being produce stress. Those that do not threaten or
challenge us are not stressful.

Looking at stress this way gives us a general definition of the concept of stress: Stress is a
response to circumstances that seem threatening or challenging.

The circumstances that cause stress vary from one person to another. It all depends on
how we appraise circumstances. In addition, the things that cause us stress today may not
cause us stress at another time. And the opposite is true: things that once caused no stress
may now be stressful.
' .. - - - -- - - -- - - - - • - - - - - -- - - - -- - --- - - - - - -- - - - - ~- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - I,

Decide which of the following choices is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the
sentence and write down the corresponding letter.

1. Planning a party or starting a new job can be just as stressful as being called to the
principal's office.
A. teacher B. headmaster C. assistant

2. A deadline, a poor test performance, or bothersome noises all may be thought of as stressors.
A. annoying B. surprising C. continuous

3. Depending on how people appraise, or judge, circumstances, they may or may not consider
them stressful.
A. feel about B. judge C. adapt to

4. The circumstances that cause stress ~ from one person to another.

A. differ B. move C. start

Complete the summary below by choosing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage
Mat Is Stress? for each answer.
It is hard for the scientists to define the word 5. because there are many
ways of looking at it. Your body reacts to stress with a fast-beating heart, heavy perspiration and
so on when you are in 6. . 7. refer to events or situations
that produce stress and they may even include 8. such as 9.
and starting a new job. In general, stress can be caused by both negative and positive events.

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 Unit 6- Reading Practice

Exercise 3

Read the passage Ulhat Is Stress? and look at the following statements. Write

TRUE if the statement is true;

FALSE if the statement is false;
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage.
' .
10. Knowing our feelings about stress can explain what causes the stress.
11. Bothersome noises are more likely to cause stress than a poor test performance.
12. Negative events cause more stress than positive ones do.
13. Sometimes whether an event is negative or not is based on a personal decision.
14. Whether an event is considered stressful may be determined by the way people interpret it.
15. Sometimes those circumstances that are not threatening to us are also stressful.
16. An event or situation may not always be a stressor.

Vocab ulary
appraise la'preizl v. negative /'negativI adj.
bothersome /'booasaml adj. perspire lpa'spaial v.
challenge /'tJrelind3l v., n. positive /'pozativl adj.
circumstance /'s3:kamstansl n. principal /'prins<:Jpl/ n.
concept /'konseptl n. react lri'rektl v.
deadline /' dedlainl n. stress I stresl n.
define ldi'fainl v. stressor /'stresal n.
interpretation lin,t3:pri'teiJanl n. vary /'veari/ v.

Reading Passage Two

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Basic IELTS Reading

3. Look at the different types of questions after the passage to get a general idea about the
range of questions and about the kinds of information you need to look for in the passage.

4. In which paragraphs of the passage will you probably find infonn'!tion about
A. temperatures?
B. strategiS~,,~o tt~e?
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Hot Days, Hot Nights

Paragraph A
Here is what global warming could do in a few years: in Dallas, a doubled level of carbon
dioxide would increase the number of days a year with temperatures above 100 degrees from
nineteen to seventy-eight. On sixty-eight days, as opposed to the current four, the temperature
wouldn't fall below 80 degrees at night. One hundred and sixty-two days a year, the temperature
would top 90 degrees.

ParagraphB
Although most scientists agree that increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other.greenhouse
gases will inevitably lead to global warming, no one is certain how fast and how much tempera-
tures will rise and what the effects will be in any geographical areas. This gives policymakers an
excuse for delaying action. Some experts predict that within two centuries glaciers in the North
and South Poles will melt, ocean levels will rise, and much of what is now the coast of the United
States will be under water. They also predict great droughts and hurricanes, as a result of climate
changes.

Paragraph C
Other scientists think the changes will be much more gradual, even beneficial. After all,
Canada would not complain if the productive corn-growing lands - now located in the U.S.
Midwest - were shifted north across the border.

ParagraphD
While many nations could end up with milder climates, the change - perhaps 100 times
faster than at any time in human history- could be so drastic that many of the benefits would be
lost. There could be crowds of environmental refugees, as well, making the tragedy of the Dust
Bowl era seem mild in comparison.

ParagraphE
What can we do? Humanity's contribution to the greenhouse effect comes from so many
basic activities that we can't hope to eliminate it completely. Some steps have already been taken.
Since the 1970s, the use of CFCs as aerosol-can propellants has been banned in the United
States.

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 Unit 6- Reading Practice

Paragraph F
Another strategy is to burn as much methane as possible. This adds C0 2 to the air, but since
methane traps twenty times as much heat as C0 2, the net result is worthwhile. The gas in many
garbage landfills is already being used in a number of places around the United States. It is being
used to heat thousands of homes.

aerosol n. methane n.
carbon dioxide n. propellant n.

Exercise 1 Word Use

Please match the following words with the defmitions.

1. delay A. gentle; soft
2. shift B. move from one place to another
3. mild C. strong, sudden and often violent
4. drastic D. put off
5. ban E. forbid
6. eliminate F. get rid of

Exercise 2 Matching the Headings

The reading passage Hot Days, Hot Nights has 6 paragraphs A-F. Choose the most suitable
heading for each paragraph A-F from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
numbers (I-VIII). Please note that there are more headings than you can use.

7. Paragraph A 10. Paragraph D

8. Paragraph B 11. Paragraph E
9. Paragraph C 12. Paragraph F

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Basic IELTS Reading

Read the passage Hot Days, Hot Nights and look at the following statements. Write

YES if the statement agrees with the writer;

NO if the statement does not agree with the writer;
NOT GIVEN , " if there is no information about this in the passage.
, u>,LL 'll:.~:v:..k~ t,,.(""'N~~~.s- '"-~ 1 t"~' *""'""~~ ~ a.. "' ~~-k:'!o~.

13. The number of days in Dallas with temperatures above 100 degrees would increase.
14. Currently in Dallas, there are only four days when the temperature falls below 80 degrees
at night.
15. Some scientists are sure how fast the temperature will rise due to global warming.
16. Policymakers are not at all interested in taking any action to solve the environmental
problem.
17. Some scientists think that the climate changes may even bring benefits.
18. Humans contribute to the greenhouse effect through many basic activities.
19. Burning too much methane worsens the problem of greenhouse effect.
20. In the United States, people prefer to bum methane gas for heating the homes.

ban /bren/ u. greenhouse effect /'gri:nhaus i,fekt/

beneficial /,beni'fifal/ adj. humanity /hju:'mreniti/ n.
benefit /'benifit/ n. hurricane /'hArikan/ n.
border /'bJ:da/ n. inevitably /in'evatabli/ adu.
carbon dioxide /'ka:ban dai'oksaid/ n. landfill /'lrendfil/ n.
comparison /kam'prerisn/ n. methane /'me8ein/ n.
complain /kam'plein/ v. mild /maild/ adj.
delay I di'lei/ u. net result /'net ri,zAlt/
drastic /'drrestik/ adj. policymaker /'polisi,meika/ n.
drought / draut/ n. refugee /,refju'd3i:/ n.
eliminate /i'limineit/ u. shift /Sift/ u.
era /'iCJrCJ/ n. top /top/ u.
geographical /,d3i:<J'grrefibl/ adj. tragedy /'trred3idi/ n.
glacier /'glresia/ n. trap /trrep/ u.
greenhouse /'gri:nhaus/ n. worthwhile /,w3:8'wail/ adj.
• • • • • • • • • • ._..._... -._•• •~• • • • • • e :e .eoe • • .-e e o. • .._.._ • • -• • • • • • ....._. • • • .._._. • • • • • • .,...,• ._ -=• • • ._. • • • • • ....,.,.~~ • ._. • • • • • •• ._. • e ..-::.:.,..._.... • • •• • .-.. ._. • • • - .._. • • • • • • • • ....,.. • :

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 Unit 7- Reading Practice

Unit 7 Reading Practice (4)

Reading Passage One

Read the following passage from a health education booklet.

Cuts
Bleeding can usually be stopped by applying pressure to the cut for 2 or 3 minutes. The cut
can then be carefully inspected. If it has bled freely, any germs will normally have been washed
away by the blood.

Apply a plaster dressing firmly, bringing the edges of the cut together so that it knits quickly.
Keep dry for 1 to 3 days.

If the cut is deep and the edges cannot be pulled together with a dressing, consult the doctor
or practice nurse. A tetanus injection may be needed.

Grazes
Dirt will often enter a graze caused by falling on a hard or rough surface. It must be cleaned
out carefully.

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Basic IELTS Reading

After cleaning, leave the graze uncovered. Exposure to the air will cause a scab to form. This
will gradually dry and fall off. It is not a good idea to apply a dressing. This may stick to the graze
or make it infected.

Bruises
Bruises are very common in children. They normally get better in 7 to 10 days. Parents some-
times worry that a bone may be broken. Children's bones are rubbery and rarely break, but if in
doubt consult the doctor.

If a child gets up at once after a fall and moves about normally, it is unlikely that a bone has
been broken. But the child may be stiff the next day because of the bruising which has occurred. ·

Severe bruising can be treated by rest for 24 to 48 hours. In the case of a badly bruised leg,
the limb should be raised. Lying in bed is the easiest way to do this.

A cold compress may ease a bad bruise if applied at once. This is made by soaking some material
in water and applying it to the bruise.

Bruises on the head may cause anxiety. If the patient was not "knocked out" and can remember
the accident, it is unlikely that serious injury has resulted.

But if the patient was knocked unconscious and cannot remember what happened, he or she
should be taken to a hospital Casualty Department.

Insect Bites
These are common in the summer. They look like spots about 5mm across. They are very
itchy and usually appear on exposed parts, e.g. arms and legs.

The itching can be relieved by calamine lotion.

Burns and Scalds

Minor burns and scalds cause redness of the skin. Immediate treatment by pouring cold water
over a burn is often helpful. If burns cause severe blistering or break the skin, the doctor should
be consulted.

Sunburn should, if possible, be prevented by avoiding long exposure and covering exposed
areas adequately. It may be treated by calamine lotion and soluble aspirin to relieve the pain.

tetanus n.
calamine lotion n.

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 Unit 7- Reading Practice

Exercise 1 ord Use

Decide which of the following choices is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the
sentence and write down the corresponding letter.
1. Dirt will often enter a graze caused by falling on a hard or rough surface.
A. soft B. uneven C. high

2. But the child may be stiff the next day because of the bruising which has occurred.
A. difficult to bend B. difficult to move C. difficult to jump

3. But if the patient was knocked unconscious and cannot remember what happened, he or
she should be taken to a hospital Casualty Department.
A. a place for people who have died
B. a place for people who have had an accident
C. a place for people who need an operation

4. It may be treated by calamine lotion and soluble aspirin to relieve the pain.
A. lessen B. cure C. change

Look at the following list of injury-treating instructions or symptoms and use the informa-
tion in the passage to answer the questions. Write
A. if it is for treating cuts;
B. if it is for treating grazes;
C. if it is for treating bruises;
D. if it is for treating insect bites;
E. if it is for treating bums and scalds.
5. The injury needs to be left open and exposed to the air.
6. You may use some special lotion to ease the itching.
7. Some pressure on the injury can usually stop the bleeding.
8, Materials soaked in cold water may help if applied immediately.
9. Ask the doctor for advice if a dressing does not work.
10. The skin may appear red because of the injury.
11. It is unlikely to be a serious problem if the person can remember what happened.
12. You will have to stop the bleeding before you check the injury.
13. You'd better rest for one day or two when the injury is serious.

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Basic IELTS Reading

Short-Answer Questions

Refer to the passage and answer the following questions with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
taken from the passage.

14. What can you do to the cut to stop the bleeding quickly?

15. When the cut bleeds freely, what may be brought out by the blood?

16. What may cause a graze to become infected?

17. What types of people are likely to get bruises?

18. When may a child feel uncomfortable because of a bruise he or she gets after a fall?

19. What is the easy way suggested to treat a badly bruised leg?

20. Where could the injury be if anxiety is a symptom?

adequately /'redikwitli/ qdv. limb /lim/ n.

apply /a'plai/ v. lotion /'laufan/ n.
aspirin /'resparin/ r!. normally /'m:mali/ adu.
bruise /bru:z/ v., n. occur /a'b:/ v.
Casualty Department /'kre3ualti di,pa:tmant/ patient /'peiJant/ n.
compress /'kompres/ n. plaster /'pla:sta/ n.
consult /kan'sAlt/ v. pour /po:/ v.
dressing /'dresi!]/ n. relieve /ri'li:v/ v.
ease /i:z/ v. rough /rAf/ adj.
edge / ed3/ n. rubbery /'rAbari/ adj.
germ / d33:m/ n. scab /skreb/ n.
graze / greiz/ n. scald /sb:ld/ n.
injection /in'd3ekfan/ n. severe /si'via/ adj.
itchy /'itfi/ adj. stiff /stif/ adj.
knit / nit/ v. unconscious / An'konfas/ adj.

Reading Passage Two

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 Unit 7- Reading Practice

A. What are global warming, greenhouse etTect and climate change?

B. How much do you know about carbon dioxide?
C. In what way is carbon dioxide harmful to the environment?

3. Look at the different types of questions after the passage to get a general idea about the
range of questions and about the kinds of infom1ation you need to look for in the passage.

4. In which paragraphs of the passage will you probably find infonnation about
A. what has been happening in the past 100 years?
B. whatfossilfuds are bbrned?._,. .,.. I

C. whethe~- ~arbbi; dioxide is bad?

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Global Warming
It seems as if every time you turn on the television news, you hear one or the other of the
following catchphrases of the 1990s: global warming, greenhouse effect, climate change. As
it often is with catchphrases, hardly anyone knows what these terms really mean or how
they relate to each other.

In the past 100 years, in our effort to make the Earth a more civilised place, industrial pro-
duction has increased by fifty times. Four fifths of that growth has come since 1950. This
production - most of it based on the burning of wood, and of fossil fuels like coal, oil,
and natural gas - has greatly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
When fossil fuels are burned, they release carbon into the air in the form of carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide allows heat that would normally escape from the Earth's atmosphere to
remain trapped, as it would in a greenhouse - thus the greenhouse effect.

When do you burn fossil fuels? When you turn on a light, or run an air conditioner, or
take a hot shower, or make toast, you contribute to the greenhouse effect. It is a by-product
of the use of energy- electricity, gasoline, or oil.

But how can carbon dioxide be bad when human beings exhale it every time they
breathe? Plants need carbon dioxide; they use it to grow. Oceans absorb it. And forests drink
it in. Without carbon dioxide, the average surface temperature on Earth would be 0 degrees
Fahrenheit, instead of 59 degrees Fahrenheit. In nature, carbon dioxide is necessary and
harmless. Here is the problem: in our effort to make the world a more comfortable place,
people have produced far too much of it.

By drilling holes into glaciers and testing the air bubbles trapped in ancient ice, by look-
ing at the fossilised plant tissues, even by looking at the air sealed in old telescopes, scientists
have calculated that the atmosphere before the Industrial Revolution contained about 280

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Basic IELTS Reading

parts per million of carbon dioxide - the highest level recorded in the past 160,000 years.
The current reading is near 360 parts per million. In the next 140 years, the carbon dioxide
level should reach at least 560 parts per million.

We have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by 25 percent in the past
century. Carbon dioxide is not exclusively responsible for the greenhouse problem, however.
Other greenhouse gases include chlorofluorocarbons, nitrogen oxides and methane.

Decide which of the following choices is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the
sentence and write down the corresponding letter.
1. When fossil fuels are burned, they release carbon into the air in the form of carbon dioxide.
A. absorb B. change C. emit

2. Carbon dioxide allows heat that would normally escape from the Earth's atmosphere to
remain trapped, as it would in a greenhouse - thus the greenhouse effect.
A. escaped B. caught C. heated

3. When you tum on a light, or run an air conditioner, or take a hot shower, or make toast,
you contribute to the greenhouse effect.
A. help in bringing about
B. lead indirectly to
C. are mainly responsible for

4. But how can carbon dioxide be bad when human beings exhale it every time they breathe?
A. breathe out B. take into C. breathe in

5. Carbon dioxide is not exclusively responsible for the greenhouse problem, however.
A. greatly B. usually C. only

Read the passage Global Warming and choose, according to the passage, one phrase (A-F)
from the list of phrases to complete each key point below. There are more phrases than
key points, so you will not use them all.
6. Industrial production
7. The burning of fossil fuels
8. Carbon dioxide influences
9. According to the scientists,

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 Unit 7- Reading Practice

Yes/No/Not Given Questions

Read the passage Global Warming and look at the following statements. Write

YES if the statement agrees with the writer;

NO if the statement does not agree with the writer:
NOT GIVEN if the infonnation is not given in the passage.

10. People usually do not understand what catchphrases really mean.

11. Most of the growth in industrial production in the past 100 years came before 1950.
12. Carbon dioxide allows heat to be trapped in the Earth's atmosphere.
13. People burn more fossil fuels when they take a hot shower than when they make toast.
14. People who use electricity help to produce the greenhouse effect.
15. The carbon dioxide level in the next 140 years will increase at least by two times what it
was before the Industrial Revolution.
16. Carbon dioxide causes more problems than the other greenhouse gases do.

absorb /ab'so:b/ v. exhale /eks'heil/ v.

bubble /'bAbl/ n. Fahrenheit /'freranhait/ adj.
by-product /'bai,prodAkt/ n. fossil /'fosl/ n.
calculate /'krelkjuleit/ v. fossilise /'fosilaiz/ v.
catchphrase /'kretffreiz/ n. fuel /'fju:al/ n.
civilise /'sivilaiz/ v. Industrial Revolution /in,dAstrial reva'lu:Jan/
contain /kan'tein/ v. release /ri'li:s/ v.
contribute /kan'tribju:t/ v. telescope /'teliskaup/ n.
current /'kArant/ adj. term /t3:m/ n.
drill / dril/ v. toast /taust/ n.
exclusively /ik'sklu:sivli/ adv.

\AI\A \AI n A tri\/itlt rnm n7