Home / Collection / IELTS Mock Test 2020 December / Reading Practice Test 2
IELTS Mock Test 2020 December

IELTS Mock Test 2020 December

3.4
(568 votes)
  • Published on: 22 Dec 2020
  • Tests taken: 202,894

Answer Keys:

Report Mistake
Part 1: Question 1 - 13
  • 1 E
  • 2 D
  • 3 B
  • 4 C
  • 5 A
  • 6 Quitting
  • 7 vague
  • 8 motivation
  • 9 brands
  • 10 success rate
  • 11 relapse
  • 12 failure
  • 13 realistic
Part 2: Question 14 - 26
  • 14 i
  • 15 iv
  • 16 vii
  • 17 iii
  • 18 ii
  • 19 D
  • 20 A
  • 21 D
  • 22 B
  • 23 B
  • 24 physical and mechanical
  • 25 car manufacturers self-regulate
  • 26 the (German) government
Part 3: Question 27 - 40
  • 27 D
  • 28 B
  • 29 B
  • 30 A
  • 31 C
  • 32 C
  • 33 C
  • 34 B
  • 35 A
  • 36 A
  • 37 B
  • 38 YES
  • 39 NOT GIVEN
  • 40 NO

Leaderboard:

# User Score Time
Phạm Huy 9.0 17:19
Kiệt Trần 9.0 18:10
Nguyen Tat Khai Duong 9.0 18:19
4 Dera Auliya 9.0 18:53
5 Huy Đứm Qi 9.0 27:37
6 Nguyen Hong Phuc 9.0 30:54
7 hua khanhxuan 9.0 32:42
8 SANTOSH M KRISHNA 9.0 34:38
9 Thái Tiểu Bảo 9.0 35:15
10 Yash Gambhir 9.0 36:51
Tips for improving your ielts score
剑桥雅思13听力原文-TEST3

剑桥雅思13听力原文-TEST3

3.8
(4 votes)
500
25 Oct 2023

Review & Explanations:

Part 1: Questions 1-13

Questions 1-5

Look at the following smoker modes (Questions 1-5) and the list of statements below.

Match each mode with the correct statement, A-G.

Write the correct letter, A-G.

A You are statistically most likely to be successful in your efforts to quit smoking in the position you find yourself in now due to previous experiences.
B You are contemplating whether or not you should switch to a weaker-strength cigarette and are actively trying to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day for the first time.
C You have, after much deliberation over a period of time, finally succumbed to the part of you that wanted to have a cigarette.
D You are not particularly content to be labelled a smoker, but you doubt whether you would be capable of removing cigarettes from your life, despite giving those around you assurances that the end of your days as a smoker is in sight.
E You are aware of the negative perception of smoking that exists among the wider public, but it does not affect you in the slightest, and you are content to be labelled a smoker.
F You often contemplate returning to smoking but you realise the folly of such an action.
G Significant life events, such as bereavement, may impede quitting smoking.

1 Pre-contemplation Mode

2 Contemplation Mode

3 Action Mode

4 Relapse Mode

5 Renewed-Action Mode

  • 1 Answer: E
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    From Q1 to Q13, we can use a technique called skimming (quickly read the whole passage to understand its meaning, structure and the main content of each paragraph) to get the main idea of a paragraph. We start to read and answer the questions after skimming.

    When skimming, you should pay attention to these details:

    • topic sentences

    • concluding sentences

    • how the ideas are organized

    In case the question has some personal, place names or the name of a brand, a conference etc (which are capitalized), we had better use another technique called scanning to search for the information.

    Q1: Pre-contemplation Mode

    (Answer:

    E. You are aware of the negative perception of smoking that exists among the wider public, but it does not affect you in the slightest, and you are content to be labelled a smoker.)

    The first, pre-contemplation, is typically the most difficult point from which to start quitting. This person has never really thought about quitting before, nor sensed any necessity or urgency to quit. He or she is likely going to be poorly motivated and willpower is a major hurdle that may prove too much to overcome with such low motivation levels. These smokers tend only to say that they will try to quit when pressured to do so by a loved one, but really they have no desire whatsoever to give up.

    Such individuals are unlikely to be affected by public health warnings and rarely listen to the negative publicity smoking receives in the media or place any importance on the wider society’s view of them and their habit. They are relatively content and the prospect of success in their quitting, in the long term, is low, unless they have some direct personal experience of the ill effects of smoking, like, for example, a close-family bereavement or a smoking-related health scare they (or someone close to them) have had, as only this sort of fright will give them the motivation to genuinely want to change their attitude and quit.

    Note:

    The keyword here is “Pre-contemplation Mode”. After skimming, we can find that information of Q1 should be found in paragraph 2 and 3, as the two paragraphs contain that keyword and describe its symptoms and behaviors.

    After skimming the statements and scanning the 2 paragraphs, we can see the similarity between statement E and the information in the passage:

    • Aware of the negative perception of smoking that exists among the wider public: Paragraph 2 states that smokers do aware of the public health warnings negative publicity smoking.

    • It does not affect you in the slightest: We can see that in the paragraph, smokers are not affected by the warnings among the public and have not thought about giving up smoking before.

    • You are content to be labelled a smoker: In the paragraph, it states that smokers are relatively content with their current condition.

    Considering every detail, we can conclude that the answer is E.

    (New words:

    • Hurdle: A problem

    • Bereavement: the death of a close relation or friend)
  • 2 Answer: D
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q2: Contemplation Mode

    (Answer:

    D. You are not particularly content to be labelled a smoker, but you doubt whether you would be capable of removing cigarettes from your life, despite giving those around you assurances that the end of your days as a smoker is in sight.)

    Someone who genuinely wants to quit is in what we term “contemplation" mode. These people, the contemplators, are of a mind to quit but still lack the motivation to try. They are constantly saying that they will quit, and often set vague far-off dates for when the act of quitting is likely to occur. A husband might say to his wife, for example: 'when we have our first child, I will stop smoking'. Part of him means it, and, to even acknowledge the need to stop and the implication that smoking would have adverse effects on his children’s health is a step in the right direction. However, in reality, while the smoker knows he should quit, his motivation to do so is still not high and he seriously doubts his own willpower which is why he draws attention to a time when, as he perceives it, his willpower will have increased - such as after the birth of his firstborn.

    Note:

    The keyword here is “Contemplation Mode”. After skimming, we can find see the keyword in paragraph 4. The paragraph describes the conditions of Contemplation Mode. While running through the statements, we find out that statement D contains the same information in the paragraph include:

    • You doubt whether you would be capable of removing cigarettes from your life: The paragraph mentions that people who want to quit smoking still doubt their willpower and lack motivation to do so.

    • Giving those around you assurances that the end of your days as a smoker is in sight: The paragraph proves the statement by giving an example of a family. A husband assures his wife that he will quit smoking when they have their first kid.

    All things considered, we can conclude that the answer is D.
  • 3 Answer: B
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q3: Action Mode

    (Answer:

    B. You are contemplating whether or not you should switch to a weaker-strength cigarette and are actively trying to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day for the first time.)

    People have different approaches to action mode; some change brands initially, some cut down on the amount they smoke, others wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes, and a few try to go cold turkey, a practice that does not actually have a very high success rate. The key thing that everyone in the action mode has in common is the will to try. Likely though it may be that this will be broken at some point or another, the smoker that is resolute in his determination to keep trying to quit will, statistically, succeed. For example, more than 70 percent of ex-smokers (that is, former smokers who have been off cigarettes for in excess of one year) tried and failed to give up once before they were successful. Almost one fifth of all ex-smokers fall into the tried-and-failed-between-two-and-four-times category. There is one clear message then to be got from this: keep trying!

    Note

    The keyword here is “Action Mode”. After skimming, we can see the keyword in paragraph 6. We can see the similarity between statement B and paragraph 6, include:

    • Switch to a weaker-strength cigarette: The passage states that in order to quit smoking, people wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes, which are weaker-strength cigarette. They help reduce the craving for cigarettes when smokers try to give up smoking.

    • Trying to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day for the first time: In the passage, they give an example of people who try to quit smoking and give up once before they were successful, which means that they start to reduce the amount of cigarette for their first time.

    All thing considered, we can conclude that the answer for Q3 is B.

    (New word:

    • Cold turkey: when you quit using drugs or smoking abruptly)
  • 4 Answer: C
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q4: Relapse Mode

    (Answer:

    C. You have, after much deliberation over a period of time, finally succumbed to the part of you that wanted to have a cigarette.)

    When you get to the maintenance phase, the phase in which you have stopped smoking completely, but are still within that first year of having quit, there is a tendency to assume that you are out of the woods. Sadly, this is where many people are let down by their over-confidence. Phrases such as ‘I’ll just have one - sure I don’t need them anymore’ are not uncommon at this point, and all the hard work it took to quit is undone in a moment or two of madness where one cigarette quickly becomes two, two become three and before you know it, you are a fully-fledged addict again. It is important, therefore, to be conscious of the possibility of reverting to type during the first year, and to be on your guard. That said, failure is not the end, so despair not; you have simply entered another phase - relapse.

    Relapse is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking. Almost three quarters of smokers will find themselves here the first time they try to quit.

    Note

    The keyword here is “Relapse Mode”. After skimming, we can spot the keyword in both paragraph 7 and 8. Paragraph 7 mainly discusses about reasons that lead to Relapse Mode, while paragraph 8 explains further details of Relapse Mode. After scanning the statements and the paragraph, we can see that statement C has the same idea about Relapse Mode:

    • After much deliberation over a period of time, finally succumbed to the part of you that wanted to have a cigarette: Paragraph 8 explains the definition of Relapse Mode, which says that it is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking. Deliberation means to consider things carefully before doing something. So basically, in this state, smokers consider very carefully about taking another cigarette. However, in the end, they surrender and say to themselves ‘I’ll just have one - sure I don’t need them anymore’.

    All thing considered, we can conclude that the answer for Q4 is C.
  • 5 Answer: A
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q5: Renewed-Action Mode

    (Answer:

    A. You are statistically most likely to be successful in your efforts to quit smoking in the position you find yourself in now due to previous experiences.)

    Pluck up the courage to try again and you will find yourself in a very familiar place to smokers: renewed-action mode. In this mode, you are as determined as ever to quit, but you have an edge - you can learn from your past mistakes and keep your expectations realistic.

    Note:

    The keyword for this question is “Renewed-Action Mode”. It is easy to find the similarity between the paragraph and statement A, as it ascertains the possibility of success in quitting smoking. It also states that by learning from their mistakes in the past, people can strongly determine to quit.

    For that reason, the answer is A.

Questions 6-13

Complete the notes below.

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

MAKING THE EFFORT TO QUIT

Remember:

- 6 only likely to be a goal if the smoker is in what is termed contemplation mode (or any of the subsequent modes which result from this initial state of mind).

Smokers in contemplation mode have good intentions,

but their targets are often 7 distant.

Their 8 is still lacking somewhat.

- Action mode is the state of mind in which the smoker decides that he will make a real effort to quit.

It doesn’t have to involve grand gestures.

Simply switching 9 to a weaker-type of cigarette

is a move in the right direction.

Surprisingly though, giving up smoking completely straight away

has a low 10

- Most People who try to quit will have a 11 and start smoking regularly again at some point.

This is not a reason to stop trying though; most ex-smokers will have faced

12 in their efforts to quit at least

once before managing to kick the habit.

- The push to try to quit again is known as renewed-action mode.

People in this mode set 13

targets for themselves, having learned from their past mistakes.

It is the mode which is most conducive to success.
  • 6 Answer: Quitting
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q6: Remember:

    - _____only likely to be a goal if the smoker is in what is termed contemplation mode (or any of the subsequent modes which result from this initial state of mind).

    That said, quitting is possible so long as the smoker is at least in contemplation mode. There are six different modes smokers can find themselves in. The first, pre-contemplation, is typically the most difficult point from which to start quitting. This person has never really thought about quitting before, nor sensed any necessity or urgency to quit. He or she is likely going to be poorly motivated and willpower is a major hurdle that may prove too much to overcome with such low motivation levels. These smokers tend only to say that they will try to quit when pressured to do so by a loved one, but really they have no desire whatsoever to give up.

    Note

    The words to fill in the blank should be a noun. This noun is somehow related to a goal for smokers.

    To answer this question, we will look for paragraphs with the keyword “contemplation mode”. We can see they discuss about this keyword a lot in paragraph 2. In the paragraph, we easily notice that it only talks about how people can quit smoking by setting it as a goal. Therefore, we can conclude that the answer is "Quitting".
  • 7 Answer: vague
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q7 and Q8: Smokers in contemplation mode have good intentions, but their targets are often 7. _____distant. Their 8. _____ is still lacking somewhat.

    Someone who genuinely wants to quit is in what we term “contemplation" mode. These people, the contemplators, are of a mind to quit but still lack the motivation to try. They are constantly saying that they will quit, and often set vague far-off dates for when the act of quitting is likely to occur. A husband might say to his wife, for example: 'when we have our first child, I will stop smoking'. Part of him means it, and, to even acknowledge the need to stop and the implication that smoking would have adverse effects on his children’s health is a step in the right direction. However, in reality, while the smoker knows he should quit, his motivation to do so is still not high and he seriously doubts his own willpower which is why he draws attention to a time when, as he perceives it, his willpower will have increased - such as after the birth of his firstborn.

    Note:

    The answers for Q7 should be an adjective and Q8 should be a noun.

    The keyword here is “contemplation mode”. Although we can see that it discusses about “Contemplation Mode” a lot in paragraph 2, paragraph 4 seems to resemble to the parts that contains the gaps of Q7 and Q8.

    • In Q7, the word we should be looking for is in the middle of a phrase “their targets are often ____ distant”. We can see the similar phrase in the passage: “set vague far-off dates”. So, it is noticeable that the answer for Q7 is "vague”.

    • For Q8, we should notice the part “is still lacking somewhat” in the question. We can spot the part where they are talking about it in the end of paragraph 4. “His motivation to do so is still not high” indicates that he still lacks some motivation to quit smoking. Therefore, we can conclude that the answer for Q8 is "motivation”.
  • 8 Answer: motivation
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q7 and Q8: Smokers in contemplation mode have good intentions, but their targets are often 7. _____distant. Their 8. _____ is still lacking somewhat.

    Someone who genuinely wants to quit is in what we term “contemplation" mode. These people, the contemplators, are of a mind to quit but still lack the motivation to try. They are constantly saying that they will quit, and often set vague far-off dates for when the act of quitting is likely to occur. A husband might say to his wife, for example: 'when we have our first child, I will stop smoking'. Part of him means it, and, to even acknowledge the need to stop and the implication that smoking would have adverse effects on his children’s health is a step in the right direction. However, in reality, while the smoker knows he should quit, his motivation to do so is still not high and he seriously doubts his own willpower which is why he draws attention to a time when, as he perceives it, his willpower will have increased - such as after the birth of his firstborn.

    Note:

    The answers for Q7 should be an adjective and Q8 should be a noun.

    The keyword here is “contemplation mode”. Although we can see that it discusses about “Contemplation Mode” a lot in paragraph 2, paragraph 4 seems to resemble to the parts that contains the gaps of Q7 and Q8.

    • In Q7, the word we should be looking for is in the middle of a phrase “their targets are often ____ distant”. We can see the similar phrase in the passage: “set vague far-off dates”. So, it is noticeable that the answer for Q7 is "vague”.

    • For Q8, we should notice the part “is still lacking somewhat” in the question. We can spot the part where they are talking about it in the end of paragraph 4. “His motivation to do so is still not high” indicates that he still lacks some motivation to quit smoking. Therefore, we can conclude that the answer for Q8 is "motivation”.
  • 9 Answer: brands
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q9: - Action mode is the state of mind in which the smoker decides that he will make a real effort to quit.

    It doesn’t have to involve grand gestures.

    Simply switching _____to a weaker-type of cigarette is a move in the right direction.

    People have different approaches to action mode; some change brands initially, some cut down on the amount they smoke, others wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes, and a few try to go cold turkey, a practice that does not actually have a very high success rate. The key thing that everyone in the action mode has in common is the will to try. Likely though it may be that this will be broken at some point or another, the smoker that is resolute in his determination to keep trying to quit will, statistically, succeed. For example, more than 70 percent of ex-smokers (that is, former smokers who have been off cigarettes for in excess of one year) tried and failed to give up once before they were successful. Almost one fifth of all ex-smokers fall into the tried-and-failed-between-two-and-four-times category. There is one clear message then to be got from this: keep trying!

    Note

    This blank should be filled with a noun, and describe a type of movement to quit smoking.

    The keyword in the question is "Action mode". It is in paragraph 6 that mentions this keyword. We can see some similarities between the question and the paragraph:

    • The smoker decides that he will make a real effort to quit: at this stage, people will do everything to quit smoking, and with high chance that they can succeed. The paragraph specifically describes it and even gives an example statistically.

    • switching _____to a weaker-type of cigarette: In the beginning of the paragraph, it already mentions about how people react in action mode. They will change brands initially, some cut down on the amount they smoke, others wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes. These are weaker-type of cigarette. Since “switch” and “change” are synonyms, the answer for this question is "brands".
  • 10 Answer: success rate
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q10: Surprisingly though, giving up smoking completely straight away has a low________.

    People have different approaches to action mode; some change brands initially, some cut down on the amount they smoke, others wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes, and a few try to go cold turkey, a practice that does not actually have a very high success rate. The key thing that everyone in the action mode has in common is the will to try. Likely though it may be that this will will be broken at some point or another, the smoker that is resolute in his determination to keep trying to quit will, statistically, succeed.

    Note

    To answer this question, we should search for synonym of “giving up smoking completely”. We can see that in paragraph 6, they mention the word “cold turkey”. It’s a method of giving up smoking straight away. It also states that this method does not have a high success rate, which means that it has a low success rate. We can easily conclude that the answer is “success rate”.
  • 11 Answer: relapse
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q11: - Most people who try to quit will have a ________ and start smoking regularly again at some point.

    Relapse is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking. Almost three quarters of smokers will find themselves here the first time they try to quit.

    Note

    The tip to answer this question is to scan for the part that mentions about people start smoking again at some point. We can easily see in the beginning of the last paragraph, they explain the definition of relapse mode. It is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking Therefore, it is easy to find out that the answer is “relapse”.
  • 12 Answer: failure
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q12: This is not a reason to stop trying though; most ex-smokers will have faced ______ in their efforts to quit at least once before managing to kick the habit.

    When you get to the maintenance phase, the phase in which you have stopped smoking completely, but are still within that first year of having quit, there is a tendency to assume that you are out of the woods. Sadly, this is where many people are let down by their over-confidence. Phrases such as ‘I’ll just have one - sure I don’t need them anymore’ are not uncommon at this point, and all the hard work it took to quit is undone in a moment or two of madness where one cigarette quickly becomes two, two become three and before you know it, you are a fully-fledged addict again. It is important, therefore, to be conscious of the possibility of reverting to type during the first year, and to be on your guard. That said, failure is not the end, so despair not; you have simply entered another phase - relapse.

    Note

    To answer this question, we should look at the last 2 paragraphs, where they describe relapse mode. Take a look closer at paragraph 7, we can find the similarity between the question and the paragraph. They all mention about how people succumb and turn back to smoking habit. People will face failure but it doesn’t mean that they should stop trying, because it’s not the end. It is simply a phase that they have to overcome.

    For that reason, it is obvious that the answer is “failure”.
  • 13 Answer: realistic
    Explain Report

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Q13: - The push to try to quit again is known as renewed-action mode.

    People in this mode set ________ targets for themselves, having learned from their past mistakes. It is the mode which is most conducive to success.

    Relapse is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking. Almost three quarters of smokers will find themselves here the first time they try to quit. There is, however, a danger of giving up on trying to give up at this stage, which is the wrong attitude to take. Failing in the quitting smoking stakes actually makes you less likely to fail the next time you try -practice really makes perfect in this game. Pluck up the courage to try again and you will find yourself in a very familiar place to smokers: renewed-action mode. In this mode, you are as determined as ever to quit, but you have an edge - you can learn from your past mistakes and keep your expectations realistic.

    Note:

    For this question, we should scan for keyword “renewed-action mode”. We can find the information in the last paragraph easily. After facing failure in quitting smoking, people learn from their mistakes, and try to keep their expectation more realistic. For that reason, we can conclude that the answer is realistic.
Part 1

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

If at first you don’t succeed...

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of smokers - smokers who smoke for pleasure and smokers who draw when stressed. The former use cigarettes when they feel good -for stimulation and relaxation. The latter use cigarettes as a coping mechanism to deal with stress, anger, tiredness, anxiety and so on. Pleasure smokers typically smoke fewer cigarettes a day and may go for extended periods without smoking at all, only having a puff when they are in a place (the bar, for example) they associate with the habit. Smokers who use their habit as a coping mechanism tend to be far more reliant on cigarettes though, smoking regularly throughout the day, and larger quantities overall than pleasure smokers. Their overdependence on cigarettes makes the task of quitting much harder because, whereas pleasure smokers can simply look for a substitute stimulant, smokers who use their habit as a coping mechanism must solve the underlying problems that compel them to want to smoke as much as they must kick the habit itself.

That said, quitting is possible so long as the smoker is at least in contemplation mode. There are six different modes smokers can find themselves in. The first, pre-contemplation, is typically the most difficult point from which to start quitting. This person has never really thought about quitting before, nor sensed any necessity or urgency to quit. He or she is likely going to be poorly motivated and willpower is a major hurdle that may prove too much to overcome with such low motivation levels. These smokers tend only to say that they will try to quit when pressured to do so by a loved one, but really they have no desire whatsoever to give up.

Such individuals are unlikely to be affected by public health warnings and rarely listen to the negative publicity smoking receives in the media or place any importance on the wider society’s view of them and their habit. They are relatively content and the prospect of success in their quitting, in the long term, is low, unless they have some direct personal experience of the ill effects of smoking, like, for example, a close-family bereavement or a smoking-related health scare they (or someone close to them) have had, as only this sort of fright will give them the motivation to genuinely want to change their attitude and quit.

Someone who genuinely wants to quit is in what we term “contemplation" mode. These people, the contemplators, are of a mind to quit but still lack the motivation to try. They are constantly saying that they will quit, and often set vague far-off dates for when the act of quitting is likely to occur. A husband might say to his wife, for example: 'when we have our first child, I will stop smoking'. Part of him means it, and, to even acknowledge the need to stop and the implication that smoking would have adverse effects on his children’s health is a step in the right direction. However, in reality, while the smoker knows he should quit, his motivation to do so is still not high and he seriously doubts his own willpower which is why he draws attention to a time when, as he perceives it, his willpower will have increased - such as after the birth of his firstborn.

Really, the only way to ever successfully give up smoking is to just get on with it. Don’t put it off until tomorrow; the task starts now. Each time we allow ourselves another excuse to have even just one more cigarette, our willpower has folded and we have succumbed to our nicotine cravings. The action mode, then, is the one all current smokers must try to place themselves in. Here, they really are trying to quit and not just talking about it.

People have different approaches to action mode; some change brands initially, some cut down on the amount they smoke, others wear patches or take other nicotine substitutes, and a few try to go cold turkey, a practice that does not actually have a very high success rate. The key thing that everyone in the action mode has in common is the will to try. Likely though it may be that this will will be broken at some point or another, the smoker that is resolute in his determination to keep trying to quit will, statistically, succeed. For example, more than 70 percent of ex-smokers (that is, former smokers who have been off cigarettes for in excess of one year) tried and failed to give up once before they were successful. Almost one fifth of all ex-smokers fall into the tried-and-failed-between-two-and-four-times category. There is one clear message then to be got from this: keep trying!

When you get to the maintenance phase, the phase in which you have stopped smoking completely, but are still within that first year of having quit, there is a tendency to assume that you are out of the woods. Sadly, this is where many people are let down by their over-confidence. Phrases such as ‘I’ll just have one - sure I don’t need them anymore’ are not uncommon at this point, and all the hard work it took to quit is undone in a moment or two of madness where one cigarette quickly becomes two, two become three and before you know it, you are a fully fledged addict again. It is important, therefore, to be conscious of the possibility of reverting to type during the first year, and to be on your guard. That said, failure is not the end, so despair not; you have simply entered another phase - relapse.

Relapse is a return to daily smoking after a period of non-smoking. Almost three quarters of smokers will find themselves here the first time they try to quit. There is, however, a danger of giving up on trying to give up at this stage, which is the wrong attitude to take. Failing in the quitting smoking stakes actually makes you less likely to fail the next time you try -practice really makes perfect in this game. Pluck up the courage to try again and you will find yourself in a very familiar place to smokers: renewed-action mode. In this mode, you are as determined as ever to quit, but you have an edge - you can learn from your past mistakes and keep your expectations realistic.

Comments:

Notifications
Messages