IELTS Reading

A. SHORT - ANSWER QUESTION

Exercise 1: Read the passage and answer the questions.

Is Everyone Entitled To Paid Holidays?

The Working Time Regulations (WTRs) introduced a new right to paid holidays for
most workers. However, some workers were not covered when the WTRs came into
force in October 1998. Since the regulations were amended, with effect from 1 August
2003, the majority of these workers have been entitled to paid holidays. Workers who
qualify are entitled to no fewer than four weeks of paid holiday a year, and public
holidays (normally eight days in England and Wales) count towards this.

However, workers and employers can agree longer holidays. Before taking holidays,
you must give your employer notice of at least twice the length of the holiday you
want to take: for instance, to take a five-day holiday, you must give at least ten days’
notice. If your employer does not want you to take that holiday, they can give you
counter-notice equal to the holiday – for example, five days’ notice not to take a
five-day holiday. If the employer wants you to take holiday at a certain time, e.g.
when there is a shutdown at the same time every year, they must give you notice of at
least twice the
length of the holiday. There is no right for the worker to take that holiday at a different
time.

It may be that your contract gives you better rights, or your holiday rights might be
specified in a collective agreement. Your union representative can advise you on this.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the text
for each answer

1. When did they start giving holidays to more workers?

_____________________________________________________________________

2. How many days of paid holiday should workers get each year?
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_____________________________________________________________________

3. What can a boss give a worker to stop them form taking a holiday they’ve
asked for?

_____________________________________________________________________

4. Why might a worker have to take a holiday at a specific time?

_____________________________________________________________________

5. What other document, besides a contract, can tell a worker about their holiday
rights?

_____________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2: Read the passage and answer the questions.

William Henry Perkin

Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal
excretions.

Indeed, the purple colour extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at
the time only the rich could afford it. Further, natural dyes tended to be muddy in hue
and fade quickly. It was against this backdrop that Perkin’s discovery was made.

Realizing the importance of this breakthrough, he lost no time in patenting it. But
perhaps the most fascinating of all Perkin’s reactions to his finding was his nearly
instant recognition that the new dye had commercial potential Perkin originally named
his dye Tyrian Purple, but it later became commonly known as mauve (from the
French for the plant used to make the colour violet). He asked advice of Scottish dye
works owner Robert Pullar, who assured him that manufacturing the dye would be
well worth it if the colour remained fast (i.e. would not fade) and the cost was
relatively low.
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With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London.
The company received a commercial boost from the Empress Eugenie of France,
when she decided the new colour flattered her. Very soon, mauve was the necessary
shade for all the fashionable ladies in that country.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

1. Who could buy purple color before Perkin's invention?

__________________________________________________________________

2. What did Perkin think his new dye could be used for?

__________________________________________________________________

3. What was the final name of the first color Perkin made?

__________________________________________________________________

4. Who did Perkin ask for help before starting his own dye factory?

__________________________________________________________________

5. In what country did Perkin’s newly colour first become fashionable?

___________________________________________________________

B. TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN

Exercise 1:

Is there such a thing as Canadian English? If so, what is it?

The standard stereotype among Americans is that Canadians are like Americans,
except they say ‘eh’ a lot and pronounce ‘out and about’ as ‘oot and aboot’. Many
Canadians, on the other hand, will tell you that Canadian English is more like British
English, and as proof will hold aloft the spellings colour and centre and the name zed
for the letter Z.
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Canadian does exist as a separate variety of British English, with subtly distinctive
features of pronunciation and vocabulary. It has its own dictionaries; the Canadian
Press has its own style guide; the Editors’ Association of Canada has just released a
second edition of Editing Canadian English. But an emblematic feature of Editing
Canadian English is comparison tables of American versus British spellings so the
Canadian editor can come to a reasonable decision on which to use… on each
occasion. The core of Canadian English is a pervasive ambivalence.

Canadian history helps to explain this. In the beginning there were the indigenous
people, with far more linguistic and cultural variety than Europe. They’re still there,
but Canadian English, like Canadian Anglophone society in general, gives them little
more than desultory token nods. Fights between European settlers shaped Canadian
English more. The French, starting in the 1600s, colonised the St Lawrence River
region and the Atlantic coast south of it. In the mid-1700s, England got into a war
with France, concluding with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ceded ‘New France’
to England. The English allowed any French to stay who were willing to become
subjects of the English King.

At the time of the Treaty of Paris, however, there were very few English speakers
in Canada. The American Revolution changed that. The founding English-speaking
people of Canada were United Empire Loyalists – people who fled American
independence and were rewarded with land in Canada. Thus Canadian English was,
from its very beginning, both American – because its speakers had come from the
American colonies – and not American, because they rejected the newly independent
nation.

Just as the Americans sought to have a truly distinct, independent American

version of English, the loyalists sought to remain more like England… sort of. These
were people whose variety of English was already diverging from the British and vice
versa: when the residents of London and its environs began to drop their r’s and
change some of their vowels people in certain parts of the United States adopted some
of these changes, but Canadians did not.

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 1-5, chose

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

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1. Canadian English is considered more like British English by canadians.

2. According to the secod paragraph, Canadian English is pretty similar to British,
with some minor differences.
3. The St Lawrence River was colonised by Canadians in 1600.
4. Canadian English is considered neither American nor not American.
5. The fifth paragraph states that many English-speaking countries adopted
changes in pronounciation.

C. Matching headings

The reading passage has five sections, A-F. Choose the correct heading for
sections A-F from the list of numbered headings below. Write the correct number
i-x next to sections A-F.

List of headings
i the disappearance of traditional playground sports
ii the disappearance of classic playground games
iii the dangers of the playground
iv the best traditional games in Britain
v possible explanations for the bans
vi not a very British bulldog
vii no real support for the bans
viii differing opinions about the bans
ix different ways of playing
x a closer look at some traditional games

Sections
Section A: ..........
Section B: ..........
Section C: ..........
Section D: ..........
Section E: ..........
Section F: ..........
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Is this the end of traditional British playground pastimes?

Section A
A survey has suggested that traditional pastimes are increasingly being banned at
break times in primary schools. Number one on the list is chasing game British
Bulldog, followed by leapfrog and conkers.

Section B
Despite its name, British Bulldog is a game that does not involve animals, and is
played all over the world in a number of variations. In its basic form, it involves
runners trying to get to the other side of the playground without being caught by the
chaser, the ‘bulldog’. If caught, they become a bulldog too, until there is only one
person left: the winner of the game. ‘Conkers’ on the other hand, is genuinely British,
as it is a game that was invented in England. The players bring their own ‘conker’: a
horse chestnut attached to a thick piece of string that goes through the middle of the
nut and is knotted underneath. Players pair up, wrap the string around one of their
hands and try up to three times to hit the other person’s conker by swinging their hand
back and forth. They take this in turns until one of the conkers is destroyed. That
could be the end of the game, or the winner could go on to ‘fight’ others. There are
different types of scoring methods in place. The game is also played outside the school
playground, with a world championship taking place in England every year.

Section C
It will come as no surprise that people have had accidents resulting in a broken arm or
leg while playing British Bulldog, or by simply walking across the playground when a
game is taking place! It is also not difficult to imagine that many conker players
manage to hit their opponent’s hand rather than their conker. Horse chestnuts are very
hard and being hit with one hurts, as many school children will – proudly – tell you.

Section D
This whole situation is not new. In the past, we have also heard stories about the
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banning of kiss chase and of musical chairs. There is also anecdotal evidence that
some schools ban marbles, and even hopscotch, duck-duck-goose and skipping. The
main reason for forbidding these games is again fear of injury. Sometimes the
justifications are stranger and perhaps not actually true. For example, kiss chase, a
chase game where the person who has been caught receives a kiss before becoming
the chaser, may pass on germs. And conkers might also be a problem for children with
nut allergies.

Section E

Sporting activities are also becoming rarer on the playground, often because there is a
lack of staff available to supervise them. Apart from banning these, there are also
more original solutions, such as allowing students to play touch rugby only - a form of
rugby where tackles are not allowed, and playing football with a soft ball rather than
the traditional leather one. Having said that, these activities are often not popular with
the kids, and this may discourage them from playing at all.

Section F

Your comments:

This is just ridiculous! Illnesses and injuries are part of growing up! Sean, Watford

I used to play all these games, and more. I think I split my lip once when I fell over
during a circle game, but so what? It can't compete with the hours of fun I had with
my friends. Susan, Bournemouth

I don't think it's wrong to question whether we should allow violent games in schools.
After all, violence should not be tolerated in an educational environment. Perhaps this
is something that could lead to healthy group discussions involving teachers and
pupils about rules and behaviour, but in my opinion this should not result in a ban of
healthy running games such as circle, tag or chase games. Otherwise all P.E. and
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sports activities should also be banned on health and safety grounds, which would be
mad: it's just not necessary to do any of this. Kiran, Cardiff

Let's ban active playground activities. Let's keep the kids inside the classrooms during
break times and pay extra staff to stay indoors to supervise them and keep them safe.
Let's watch them become very fat and very boring adults! A. Watson, Sheffield

Allowing children to play games that involve the occasional risk, such as British
Bulldog, teaches them to make intelligent decisions about their safety. Mohammed,
Scotland

I blame lawyers and society: we always feel somebody should be to blame if anything
goes wrong, so we can sue them for a lot of money. Alison, London

D. Matching sentence endings

Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-I.

1. Students’ views are likely to be taken seriously if there are …

2. Rules related to uniform are most likely to be discussed at …
3. Year councils may get involved in …
4. In the Year 8 council that is mentioned, teachers make sure that students are …
5. Those in power are …

A bullying and fundraising.

B more likely to bully others.
C not always the best listeners.
D not left on their own.
E organizing events.
F representative from the different year groups.
G school and year councils as well as peer mentoring schemes.
H school councils.
I teachers and parents of older students.
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Participating in the school community

It is important that students' feelings, opinions and suggestions are listened to, taken
into account, and that the right action is taken. There are a number of ways that this
can be achieved, i.e. school councils, year councils and peer mentoring.

School councils
Most schools have a school council which exists to let the teachers and head teacher
know what students’ opinions are on a range of school issues. The school council
usually consists of two or three elected representatives from each year group.

A school council might meet once or twice a month to discuss issues such as the dress
code, the use of social areas, charity fundraising and bullying.

Year councils
Because school councils are sometimes dominated by older students, some schools
have introduced year councils. The aim of a year council is to give students the
opportunity to express opinions on matters of importance to that particular year group.
The following is an example of the rules relating to a school’s council for year 8
(pupils aged 12-13).

1. The council’s purpose is to act as a forum for discussion of school issues

relevant to Year 8, and to let the teachers and head teacher know what student
opinion is on these issues. The council will also take responsibility for
cooperating with year staff in the organization of one social event per term for
Year 8.
2. Membership of the council will consist of three representatives from each class,
elected on a termly basis.
3. Meetings will be held once a fortnight. The council members will elect a chair
to control the meetings and a secretary who will be responsible for circulating
the agenda for each meeting and taking and circulating minutes of meetings.
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4. The class representatives will be responsible for giving a report of the council’s
meetings to their class. Agenda and minutes of meetings will be put up in each
classroom.
5. The Year 8 council will elect two of its members to be members of the school
council, with responsibility for raising issues on behalf of Year 8 students at
school council meetings.
6. The chair, secretary and school council representatives will be responsible for
taking up matters raised at council meetings with the year head and other
teachers, and for reporting back on such matters to the Year 8 council.
7. The head of year will attend all council meetings as an observer and both they
and the other year staff will be available as required to offer support and advice
to council members and to assist in the settlement of disputes.

Peer mentoring
There are other ways in which students’ voices can be heard. One of the most popular
schemes involves peer mentoring. Those who express an interest receive training to
become mentors so that they are better equipped to help others. This starts from
primary school age, when the mentors may get involved in issues related to conflict
resolution. At secondary school and at university, mentors are likely to deal with a
larger variety of issues, such as educational and health-related matters.

The underlying belief in schemes like these is that being heard by your peers can be
more effective and helpful as fellow students may have more time and understanding
than teachers or others in authority.