IELTS General Training Volume 3

Published on: 15 Dec 2017
Tests taken: 942,366

Answer Keys:

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Part 1: Question 1 - 12

1 10 Bridge Street
2 writing (class)
3 Mrs Green
4 July 15(th) / 15(th) July / 15/7
5 1 / one
6 May 31 (st) / 31 (st) May / 31/5

7 June 4(th)/ 4(th) June / 4/6
8 3 / three (days)
9 A
10 C
11 B
12 B

Part 2: Question 13 - 24

13 garbage
14 garbage
15 garbage
16 paper
17 charity
18 filters

19 A
20 B
21 D
22 B
23 D
24 C

Part 3: Question 25 - 36

25 Spanish
26 Building A
27 6 pm/6.00 pm
28 Elementary 1 / one
29 August 10(th) / 10 (th) August / 10/8
30 D

31 C
32 D
33 A
34 D
35 F
36 G

Part 4: Question 37 - 41

37 B,E,H,I,J
38 B,D,E,H,I
39 (very) / (extremely) poor

40 at different times
41 special (driving / priority) lanes

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Review & Explanations:

Part 1: Questions 1-12

Questions 1-8

Listen to the conversation between a student, Angela Tung, and Bob Wills, who is the student adviser at a language school.

Complete the form.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR NUMBERS for each answer.

REQUEST FOR SPECIAL LEAVE

Name: _____Angela Tung_________

Example Student number: ______H5712_____________

Address: 1 Tamworth, 2340

Course: 2

Teacher’s name: 3

Student visa expiry date: 4

I wish to request leave in Term: 5

Dates of leave: 6 to 7

Number of working days missed: 8

1 Answer: 10 Bridge Street

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q1 should be “address”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be numbers and names.
Bob’s question ‘What’s your address’ can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Angela’s answer is “10 Bridge Street”. Since no more than three words and/or numbers are allowed in each question, you do not need to add ‘Tamworth’.

2 Answer: writing (class)

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q2 should be “course”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be nouns.
Bob’s question suggests that the answer will soon appear.
As Angela’s answer is ‘writing class’, Bob repeated the word ‘writing’. Thus, you can fill the blank with ‘writing class’ or ‘writing’.

3 Answer: Mrs Green

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q3 is “teacher”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a name.
Bob’s question suggests that the answer will soon appear.
Angela’s answer is Mrs Green. Then, she added a signal that the teacher’s name is like a color, so you can be sure about your answer.

4 Answer: July 15(th) / 15(th) July / 15/7

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q4 should be “student visa expire”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a date.
Bob’s question “When does your student visa expire?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Angela’s answer is “July 15” and Bob also repeated the answer, so you can be sure that you fill the blank with the right answer (July 15(th) / 15(th) July / 15/7)

5 Answer: 1 / one

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q5 is “a term number”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a number.
Bob’s question “When do you want to take leave?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Angela’s answer is ‘In term one’ and Bob also repeated Angela’s answer, so you can easily fill Q5 with ‘one/1’

6 Answer: May 31 (st) / 31 (st) May / 31/5

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q6 and Q7 is “the exact dates”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be dates.
Based on Q5’s question, you must refer ‘what are the exact dates?’ to the exact dates of leave
Angela’s full answer is May 31 to June 4. Then, you have to fill in Q6 with May 31 (st) / 31 (st) May / 31/5

7 Answer: June 4(th)/ 4(th) June / 4/6

Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q6 and Q7 is “the exact dates”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be dates.
Based on Q5’s question, you must refer ‘what are the exact dates?’ to the exact dates of leave
Angela’s full answer is May 31 to June 4. Then, you have to fill in Q6 with May 31 (st) / 31 (st) May / 31/5 and Q7 with June 4(th)/ 4(th) June / 6/4

8 Answer: 3 / three (days)

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q8 is “miss four working days”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a number.
Bob’s question ‘Is that right?’ can prove that Bob need the confirmation from Angela
Angela’s answer is ‘three’, then she explained more about the number and she also repeated the answer.

Note: you may be confused with the phrase ‘miss four working days between May 31 and June 4’ and be anxious that you might let the answer passed. Nevertheless, you must be aware that the answer belongs to Angela and she would surely confirm the number.

Question 9-12

Circle the appropriate letter A-D.

Why does Angela want to take leave?

A to visit her aunt and uncle
B to see the National Gallery
C to see the Southern Highlands
D to study more writing

Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q9 are “Why” and “take leave”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must illustrate a purpose.
Bob’s question “Why do you want to take leave?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Angela’s answer is ‘I’m going to visit my aunt May’. Hence, the right answer must be ‘to visit her aunt and uncle’

Where is Angela going?

A Tamworth
B Brisbane
C Armidale
D Sydney

Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q10 are “Where” and “they live”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a place.
Bob’s question “Where do they live?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Since Angela was going to visit her aunt and uncle, the place she was going must be where they live.
Since Angela’s answer is ‘Armidale’, so you need to choose the option named ‘Armidale’

Note: do not be confused with the hint ‘about fifty kilometres from here’ because you must flip through options to listen to the needed information.

Who is going with Angela?

A her uncle
B her mother
C her aunt
D her father

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

As for this question, it is difficult that there is no signal for the appearance of the answer. However, keep calm as the answer has flipped through because there will have another hint for you to figure out the right option.

Following Angela’s answer are clauses said ‘she wants to have some time with May, and I want to spend some time with my mother, too’
From the above information, you acknowledge that Angela’s mother wanted to have some time with her aunt and Angela wanted to spend some time with her mother, too. Then, she should have been there with her mother
Therefore, the right option must be B. her mother.

When will Angela go home to her own country?

A in five years
B in twelve months
C in two months
D when her mother goes home

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q12 are “going home” and “they live”.
Angela began the answer with “expect to go home in?”, which can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Angela’s answer is ‘twelve months’. Hence, the right answer must be B. twelve months.

Part 1

Part 2: Questions 13-24

Questions 13-18

Complete the calendar while you listen to the tape. Use words from the box.

There are more words in the box than you need. Some words may be used more than once.


cleaner garbage filters stove dry cleaner charity gardener paper lift library electricity water

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
May 17	18	19 16_____	20	21	22 13_____	23
24	25 17_____	26	27	28	29 14_____	30
31 18_____	June 1	2	3	4	5 15_____	6

13 Answer: garbage

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q13, Q14 and Q15 is “Friday”.
From the Martha’s words, ‘Important stuff like when the garbage is collected’, we are aware that the answer must soon appear.
As Martha continued, she said ‘let’s start with the garbage, which is collected on Friday’, you figure out that ‘garbage’ will be the answer of Q13 or Q14 or Q15.
Additionally, she added ‘Put it out on Friday every week, that’ll be Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th’. It is implied that garbage would be collected on Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th. Thus, you can be sure that “garbage” is the answer for three questions.

Note: the answer will appear in turn, according to questions’ order, so you should pay attention to Q13, Q14 and Q15 first even though its events occurred after Q16.

14 Answer: garbage

Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q13, Q14 and Q15 is “Friday”.
From the Martha’s words, ‘Important stuff like when the garbage is collected’, we are aware that the answer must soon appear.
As Martha continued, she said ‘let’s start with the garbage, which is collected on Friday’, you figure out that ‘garbage’ will be the answer of Q13 or Q14 or Q15.
Additionally, she added ‘Put it out on Friday every week, that’ll be Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th’. It is implied that garbage would be collected on Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th. Thus, you can be sure that “garbage” is the answer for three questions.

Note: the answer will appear in turn, according to questions’ order, so you should pay attention to Q13, Q14 and Q15 first even though its events occurred after Q16.

15 Answer: garbage
Locate Report

16 Answer: paper

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

As for Q16, it is relatively difficult and confusing that there is no signal for the appearance of the answer. However, keep calm as the answer has flipped through because there will be another hint for you to figure out the right word.

Following Angela’s answer ‘The waste paper will be collected this Tuesday, that’s Tuesday 19th’, are clauses said ‘There’s a plastic box full of paper in the front room: please put it out on Tuesday … the paper people only come monthly’ from which the answer “paper” was repeated two more times.
From the above information, the blank in Q16 must be filled with “paper”.

17 Answer: charity

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q17 is “Monday the 25th”
It is relatively difficult and confusing that there is no signal for the appearance of the answer. However, as the answer has flipped through, there, then, will be another hint for you to figure out the right word.
It is when Martha explained more that ‘The charity truck will come by during the day on the last Monday of the month’. Then, you will have more chance to reflect on the box and figure out the right word for Q17’s blank “charity”

Note: you might be a bit confused as you hear the phrase ‘old clothes and some bed linen’. Then, you consider ‘cleaner’ as a viable answer. Nevertheless, as you pay attention to the adjective ‘old’, you will realize that it is more appropriate for those old clothes and bed linen to be given to the charity.

18 Answer: filters

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q18 is “Sunday the 31st”.
After the answer has appeared once unexpectedly, it will be repeated again
From the Martha’s words, specifically, ‘change the filters on the washing machine on the last day of the month, which is Sunday the 31st’, we figure out the blank in Q18 needs filling with a part of the washing machine.
As Martha continued, she said ‘the machine works much better if we change the filters regularly’, we ensure that the answer must be “filters”
Additionally, she added ‘Put it out on Friday every week, that’ll be Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th’. It is implied that garbage would be collected on Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th. Thus, you can be sure that “garbage” is the answer for three questions.

Note: you can be misled by answer “library” and “cleaner”. However, you should be aware that those stuffs should be aligned with the date to do something with them. Thus, you had better focus on keywords to find out the right word.

Questions 19-24

Circle the appropriate letter A-D.

Where has Martha gone?

A London
B Sydney
C New York
D Paris

Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q19 are “where” and “Martha go”.
From this question, we can assume that the answer must be a place.
From Martha’s words, ‘I’m going to a conference in London’, the answer must be “London”.

Why is Martha away from home?

A She’s visiting friends
B She’s at a conference
C She’s on business
D She’s setting up a business

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

From Martha’s words in Q20, we may figure out the answer is “She’s at a conference”
In addition, she then repeated ‘all the things I have to do at the conference’ and ‘there are a couple of really exciting events planned later in the conference program’, so you can conclude that B. She’s at a conference is the answer.

Note: you may be considering answer B and C, but remember that the answer B was clearly stated in Martha’s words. Hence, just choose the most relevant option.

Who will Martha meet while she’s away?

A an old school friend
B a friend of her mother’s
C an old university friend
D an old teacher

Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q21 is “meet”.
From Martha’s words, she hoped to meet up with her old teacher, so D. an old teacher is likely to be the right option.
Moreover, Martha explained that ‘She taught English Literature at my old high school … She teaches now at the University of Durham, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her again’, then you have more time and evidence to figure out the answer.
Therefore, the answer is D. an old teacher.

What has Martha left for John?

A a letter
B a meal
C a book
D a bill

Answer: B

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q22 are “left” and “hungry”.
From Martha’s prediction, “I expect you’re hungry after your trip” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance. We are also likely to figure out the answer from this hint.
The answer for this question, B. a meal, is quite easy to spot since it was directly stated through Martha’s words.

Who does Martha want John to telephone?

A the optometrist
B the telephone company
C the doctor
D the dentist

Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q23 are “an appointment” and “call”.
Martha’s words “I haven’t had time to cancel an appointment” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
The answer is obviously “the dentist”. She also repeated the answer as she requested John to telephone the dentist.

What is the code for Martha’s alarm system

A enter 2190
B 2190 enter
C 9120 enter
D enter 9120

Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q24 is “burglar alarm”.
Martha’s words “the windows and doors are shut, and set the burglar alarm” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Then, Martha said “The alarm axle number is 9-1-2-0 enter’. Hence, the answer for Q24 must be “9-1-2-0 enter”.

Previous Next

Part 2

Part 3: Questions 25-36

Questions 25-29

Complete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR NUMBERS for each answer.


LANGUAGE SCHOOL ENROLMENT FORM Name of Applicant: ________Vijay Paresh__________ Telephone number: ________909 2467___________ Language to be learned: 25 Location of class: 26 Time of class: 27 Name of class: 28 Date of commencement of class: 29

25 Answer: Spanish

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q25 should be “language”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun.
Denise’s question, ‘which language would you like to learn?‘, suggests that the answer will soon appear.
Vijay’s answer is ‘Spanish’. Thus, you must fill the blank with ‘Spanish’.

26 Answer: Building A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q26 is “building”.
From this question, we can assume that the answer must be nouns.
Vijay’s question, ‘What’s this building called?‘, suggests that the answer will soon appear.
Denise’s answer is ‘Building A’ and then Vijay confirmed Denise’s answer. Therefore, the blank in Q26 must be filled with “Building A”

27 Answer: 6 pm/6.00 pm

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q27 are “time” and “come to lessons”.
From this question, we can assume that the answer must be a certain (period of) time.
Denise also gave some specific time period, ‘10.00 am, 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm’, so we can figure out the answer is amongst them.
Vijay’s answer is “6.00 pm”. Thus, we should fill the blank with “6.00 pm”.

Note: do not be misled by Vijay’s words ‘come to the daytime lessons’ because Vijay then felt sorry that he can’t.

28 Answer: Elementary 1 / one

Listen from here Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q28 are “Your class” and “called”.
From this question and Denise’s words ‘level and number’, we can assume that the answer can be a noun and a number.
As stated in the conversation, Vijay’s class was called “Elementary One”
Therefore, the answer for Q28 must be “Elementary One”.

29 Answer: August 10(th) / 10 (th) August / 10/8

Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q29 are “When” and “classes start”.
From this question, we can assume that the answer must be a date.

Vijay’s question ‘When will classes start?’ suggests that the answer will soon appear.

Denise’s answer is “August 10”. Thus the blank in Q29 should be filled with “August 10/ 10 (th) August / 10/8.

Questions 30-32

Circle the appropriate letters A-D

Anne is

A Vijay’s friend
B Denise’s friend
C Vijay’s boss
D Denise’s boss.

Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q30 is “Anne”.
As Anne mentioned Denise in her words, it is apparent that Denise is the person who Anne acquaints. Then, we exclude option A and C.
From Anne’s question, ‘Did you file those forms for me last night?’, we are aware that Denise was working for Anne at that time. Thus, Anne must be Denise’s boss (D)

Note: you had better pay attention to the context of this conversation. That is Denise was in her office.

When Anne speaks she

A congratulates Denise
B ignores Denise
C criticises Denise
D praises Denise.

Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q31 is “Denise”.
The answer for this question must follow Q30 as it was about the short conversation between Anne and Denise.
As replying Anne’s question in Q30, Denise said ‘No. They’re still on my desk’. That means Denise did not complete her duty. Then, Anne must not have congratulated or praised Denise (exclude A and D)
From Anne words, ‘Oh, Denise, that’s simply not good enough!’, we figure out that Anne was criticizing Denise. Hence, the answer is C.

When Denise replies she

A laughs at Anne
B sympathises with Anne
C argues with Anne
D apologises to Anne.

Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q32 is “sorry”.
From the answer in Q32, it is relatively easy to figure the answer for this question. It is likely to be C or D.
From Denise’s words, ‘I’m really sorry, Anne’, we ensure that the answer must be D. apologizes to Anne.

Questions 33–36

Listen to the directions and match the places in questions 33-36 to the appropriate letter A-H on the plan.

33 Reception area, admissions

34 Fees office

35 Book and stationery supply

36 Travel agency

33 Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q33 is “the reception area”.
You may have let the phrase ‘on the other side of Smith Street’ flip through, but there will be another suggestion. That is “It’s just inside the door on the left as you enter from Smith Street”
As reflecting on the map, we figure out that the reception area must be at location A.

34 Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q34 are “fees” and “fees office”.
Vijay’s question “Do I pay my fees there?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
As Denise replied that ‘the fees office is in the same building’, it means the fees office is in the same building with the reception area. From this point, we are aware that the answer must be B or C or D.
Then, she added “Go past the escalators and you’ll see a games shop. It’s in the comer. The fees office is between the games shop and the toilets”, we figure out that the fees office locates at location D.

35 Answer: F

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q35 is “books”.
Vijay’s question “Where can I buy books?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Denise first replied “The bookshop is opposite the lifts”. It is implied that the answer must be F or G.
Then, she added “It’s right next to the entrance from Robert Street”, we figure out that the bookshop locates at location F.

Note: you may be confused with the word “right”, then you are misled that the bookshop is to the right of the entrance. However, “right” here is an adverb, not a noun.

36 Answer: G

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q36 is “overseas travel”.
Denise’s words, “we offer very competitive overseas travel rates to our students”, can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Seeing Vijay’s goodwill, Denise gave direction, “The travel agency is at the Smith Street end of the building, in the corner next to the insurance office”. From this point, we figure out that travel agency must be at location G.

Previous Next

Part 3

Part 4: Questions 37-41

Question 37

Question 38

Questions 39-41

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete these sentences.

The public transport available in Houston is 39

To reduce peak hour traffic jams, people can travel 40

Vehicles carrying more than one passenger can use 41

39 Answer: (very) / (extremely) poor

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q39 are “public transport” and “Houston”.
From this question, we can assume that the answer must be an adjective.
From introduction for the second section, ‘Notably absent from this discussion of cities with good public transport are the cities… : Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas’, we can guess that the public transport in Houston is not good.
After having talking about Dallas, Tom mentioned Houston’s public transport system as extremely poor. Thus, the blank in Q39 should be filled with “(extremely) poor”

Note: Tom mentioned that Houston has an excellent road system. This does not mean that it has a good public transport because road system and public transport system are different entities.

40 Answer: at different times

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q40 are “peak hour”, “reduce the number of vehicles” and “people are travelling”.
Tom’s statement, “Cities … can use other methods to reduce the number of vehicles travelling together at peak hour”, can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Tom then suggested flex-time method and he explained that “people are travelling to and from work at different times”.
As “flexi-time ” does not fit the blank well, the blank should be filled with “at different times”

41 Answer: special (driving / priority) lanes

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q41 is “Vehicles carrying more than one person”.

From this question, we can assume that the answer must be a noun phrase.
Tom stated clearly that “Vehicles carrying more than one person can use special priority lanes”. Therefore, the correct phrase must be “special priority lanes”.

Great thanks to volunteer Trương Tuyết Như - Như Ttn has contributed these explanations.

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Part 4

Change Audio Sources

Section 1

Telephone rings

Bob: Hello, Foreign Student Adviser’s office. This is Bob Wills speaking. Can I help you?

Angela: It’s Angela Tung here. Bob. I’d like to make a request for special leave. Can I do that over the phone?

Bob: Hello Angela. You can make that request by phone – but I’ll have to fill the form out. Let me get the special leave form. Okay. I lore it is. Tell me your student number, please.

Angela: It’s H for Harry, 5712.

Bob: H 5712. Okay. What’s your address, Angela?

Bob: Hello, Foreign Student Adviser’s office. This is Bob Wills speaking. Can I help you?

Angela: It’s Angela Tung here, Bob. I’d like to make a request for special leave. Can I do that over the phone?

Bob: Hello Angela. You can make that request by phone – but I’ll have to fill the form out. Let me get the special leave form. Okay. Here it is. Tell me your student number, please.

Angela: It’s H for Harry 5712.

Bob: H 5712. Okay. What’s your address, Angela? Angela: I live at 10 Bridge Street, Tamworth.

Bob: 10 Bridge Street, Tamworth. And your phone number?

Angela: The telephone number’s 810 6745.

Bob: Thanks. What course are you doing?

Angela: I’m in the writing class.

Bob: Writing. Who’s your teacher this term?

Angela: Mrs Green – she spells her name like the colour.

Bob: Thanks. Hmm. When does your student visa expire?

Angela: Let me look. July 15.

Bob: July 15. Okay. Which term do you want to take leave?

Angela: Do you want dates?

Bob: First, I have to write a term number. When do you want to take leave?

Angela: In term one.

Bob: Okay. Term one. Now can you tell me what are the exact dates?

Angela: I’d like to be away May 31 to June 4.

Bob: Okay. I’ve got that. You’ll miss four working days between May 31 and June 4. Is that right?

Angela: Only three. I’ll be away over a weekend. I’ll be back at my classes on June 5, so that’s three days away.

Bob: Why do you want to take leave, Angela?

Angela: I’m going to visit my aunt May. She’s my mother’s sister. She and her husband are my guardians while I’m here.

Bob: Where do they live?

Angela: About fifty kilometres from here, near Armidale.

Bob: Do you have to take so long if they live nearby?

Angela: My mother is aiming with me. She’s come for a holiday, so she wants to have some time with May, and I want to spend some time with my mother, too.

Bob: Aren’t you going home soon?

Angela: I’ve applied to extend my time here. I expect to go home in twelve months

Section 2

Martha: Hello, John. Welcome to the house. I’m really pleased that you can be here to look after my house while I’m away.

Here are some things you need to know’ about the house. Important stuff like when the garbage is collected. In fact, let’s start with the garbage, which is collected on Friday. Just write “Garbage” on the calendar on the days they take it away. Put it out on Friday every week, that’ll be Friday 22nd, Friday 29th and Friday 5th. It’s a really good service. The trucks are quiet and the service is efficient. The bin will be put back outside the house empty. It’s a good idea to put it away quickly. This street can be quite windy-1 once watched my next door neighbour chase her bin the whole length of the street. Every time she nearly caught up with it, it got away again. The waste paper will be collected this Tuesday, that’s Tuesday 19th. There’s a plastic box full of papier in the front room: please put it out on Tuesday. The truck will come during the day. If you don’t mind collecting old newspapers and other paper and putting them in the box I’ll put it out when I come home – the paper people only come monthly.

I have some things to give to charity in a box in the front room. Would you put it out on Monday the 25th please? It’s a box of old clothes and some bed linen which I’ve collected, plus a few other bits and pieces. Be careful when you pick it up, because it’s heavier than you might expect. The charity truck will come by during the day on the last Monday of the month.

If you want to use the library, you’ll find it on Darling Street. I’ve left my borrower’s card near the telephone. It has a very good local reference section if you want to find out more about this city.

I’m sorry to say we don’t have a cleaner. Oh, yes! Filters! Please would you change the filters on the washing machine on the last day of the month, which is Sunday the 31st. We find that the machine works much better if we change the filters regularly. The gas company reads the meter outside the house, so don’t worry about that. I think that’s all the information about our calendar of events.

Martha: Well, John, I’m trying to think what else 1 should be telling you. As you know. I’m going to a conference in London. I hope to have a little time to look around. It’s a great city! I do hope I manage to get to at least some of the theatres and museums.

I’m looking forward to all the things I have to do at the conference, too. I’m giving a paper on Tuesday the 26th and there are a couple of really exciting events planned later in the conference program. I hope to meet up with an old teacher of mine at the conference. She taught English Literature at my old high school and we’ve kept in touch through letters over the years. She teaches now at the University of Durham, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her again.

By the way, I expect you’re hungry after your trip.

I’ve left a meal in the refrigerator for you. I hope you like cheese and onion pie.

Would you do me a favour please? I haven’t had time to cancel an appointment. It was made a long time ago and 1 forgot about it until this morning. It’s with my dentist, for a check-up on Thursday the 28th. Could you please call the dentist on 816 2525 and cancel the appointment for me? Thanks a lot, John. One last thing. When you leave the house, make sure the windows and doors are shut, and set the burglar alarm. The alarm axle number is 9-1-2-0 enter.

Have fun! I’ll see you when I get back. This is your friend Martha, saying goodbye.

Section 3

Denise: Hello. May I help you?

Vijay: Hello. Is this the right place for me to register to study foreign languages?

Denise: Yes, it is. May I have your name please?

Vijay: Vijay. My family name is Paresh.

Denise: Vijay Paresh. Okay. Do you have a telephone number?

Vijay: Yeh. 909 2467.

Denise: Thank you. Now’, which language would you like to learn? We offer French, Italian,

Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Portugese…

Vijay: Ah. I’d like to learn Spanish, please.

Denise: Okay. Our classes arc conducted in lots of different places. We have classrooms in the city and here in this building …

Vijay: What’s this building called?

Denise: This is Building A.

Vijay: I work near here, so it’d be best to study in Building A.

Denise: What time do you want to to come to lessons? They go on for three hours, and they start at 10.00 am, 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm.

Vijay: I wish I could come to the daytime lessons, but 1 can’t, so 6.00 pm please.

Denise: That’s our most popular time, of course. Umm. Have you ever studied Spanish before?

Vijay: No, I haven’t.

Denise: We describe our classes by level and number. Your class is called “Elementary One.”

Vijay: Okay. When will classes start?

Denise: Elementary One begins – ah – just a minute – ah – it begins on August 10

Denise: Well, let’s see. First, you have to go to …

Anne: May I have a minute please Denise?

Denise: Of course, Anne. Excuse me for a minute, please, Vijay.

Anne: Did you file those forms for me last night?

Denise: Ah. No. They’re still on my desk.

Anne: Oh, Denise, that’s simply not good enough!

Denise: I’m really sorry, Anne. It won’t happen again.

Anne: All right Denise. Go back to your customer. But please be more careful in future.

Denise: I’m sorry Vijay. What were you saying?

Vijay: I wanted to know what else I had to do.

Denise: Oh, of course. Please go to the building on the other side of Smith Street. I want you to go to the reception area first. It’s just inside the door on the left as you enter from Smith Street. Give them this form.

Vijay: Okay. Do I pay my fees there?

Denise: No, but the fees office is in the same building.Go past the escalators and you’ll see a games shop. It’s in the comer. The fees office is between the games shop and the toilets.

Vijay: Thanks. Where can I buy books?

Denise: The bookshop is opposite the lifts. It’s right next to the entrance from Robert Street.

Vijay: Your offices are spread out!

Denise: Not as badly as they used to be. By the way, we offer very competitive overseas travel rates to our students.

Vijay: Oh, I’d like to look into that.

Denise: Of course. The travel agency is at the Smith Street end of the building, in the corner next to the insurance office.

Vijay: Thank you very much. Bye.

Section 4

Tom Fisher: Good afternoon. I’m Tom Fisher, and I’ll be lecturing you on traffic management this term. Before we go any further, 1 thought you should look at the sort of problems we’ve inherited – and “inherited”, or received as a legacy from those before us, is just the word for our situation. Many of our major cities were built long before the car was thought of, and the road system evolved from the goat tracks followed by the early inhabitants. These we can refer to as old-structure problems, and you can take the expression “old-structure” to refer to problems which were in place before we saw the need to build efficient road systems.

Old-structure problems are easily demonstrated in London, New York, Sydney and Paris. Let’s look at each city in turn. London has a most confusing road system, which is forgiveable because it’s a very old city. I’ll talk more about the ring roads later. New York is laid out on a grid which makes it easier to find your way around, but it’s an enormous city and the sheer pressure of numbers strangles the roads. Sydney has narrow’ streets in the centre of the city, and the new road works are not keeping up. Paris has wide streets, but it’s still the victim of old- structure problems, like Rome and Edinburgh.

Tokyo is another city with old-structure problems compounded by a huge population, like New York. Cities which do not have these old-structure problems are Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas.

The thing which saves some of these cities is an effective public transport system, usually below ground. London has an old but effective underground train system known as the tube, and a comprehensive bus and train system above ground.

Hong Kong has cheap, swift and effective public transport in the form of Mass Transit Railway, buses and ferries. Paris has the Metro underground railway which carries tens of thousands of people daily, and a large bus system. New’ York has a comprehensive underground train system, but many people feel that it’s dangerous to ride on it – there have been some nasty attacks. However, the trains themselves are efficient, so we have to call it a good system. Sydney has a good public transport system, but only part of it is underground.

Tom: Notably absent from this discussion of cities with good public transport are the cities I nominated previously as not having old-structure problems:

Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas. Let’s start with Dallas, a very wealthy city in Texas which has grown up in an era when cars were considered to be essential to move about. It has an excellent road system, as does Houston, another new’ city with wise city leaders who insisted on good roads. However, the public transport system in both Houston and Dallas is extremely poor. As a result, travel in Dallas and Houston is easy except for peak hour, when a twenty minute run can expand to more than an hour in traffic jams. Los Angeles suffers from chronic highway blockages, despite efforts to encourage people to use public transport.

Cities with good road systems and no old-structure problems can use other methods to reduce the number of vehicles travelling together at peak hour. Flexi-time is one good method: offices open and close at different times so people are travelling to and from work at different times. Vehicles carrying more than one person can use special priority lanes which means they can travel more quickly. There are even systems to make peak hour car use more expensive, with electronic chips recording the presence of a vehicle in a given high traffic area at a given time.

So, what can we do? The rest of this course will be devoted to looking at the conflicting demands of road users, and relating the use of the private car to other aspects of the economy. Over the next three weeks we’ll be discussing this in more detail

NEW

NEW

IELTS General Training Volume 3

Part 1: Question 1 - 12

Part 2: Question 13 - 24

Part 3: Question 25 - 36

Part 4: Question 37 - 41

Tips for improving your ielts score

Time management is the key to a high band score in IELTS Reading

Questions 1-8

Question 9-12

Questions 13-18

Questions 19-24

Questions 25-29

Questions 30-32

Questions 33–36

Question 37

Question 38

Questions 39-41

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Comments:

About us

Our mission

NEW

IELTS General Training Volume 3

Part 1: Question 1 - 12

Part 2: Question 13 - 24

Part 3: Question 25 - 36

Part 4: Question 37 - 41

Share your score

Tips for improving your ielts score

Time management is the key to a high band score in IELTS Reading

Questions 1-8

Question 9-12

Questions 13-18

Questions 19-24

Questions 25-29

Questions 30-32

Questions 33–36

Question 37

Question 38

Questions 39-41

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Comments:

About us

Our mission