IELTS Practice Tests Plus Volume 3
- Published on: 14 Dec 2017
- Tests taken: 401,083
Answer Keys:
Part 1: Question 1 - 13
- 1 labels
- 2 bargain
- 3 plastic
- 4 traditional
- 5 masculine
- 6 showy
- 7 ethnic
- 8 TRUE
- 9 NOT GIVEN
- 10 TRUE
- 11 FALSE
- 12 FALSE
- 13 TRUE
Part 2: Question 14 - 26
- 14 H
- 15 D
- 16 G
- 17 C
- 18 I
- 19 E
- 20 C
- 21 E
- 22 A
- 23 D
- 24 low cost
- 25 infrastructure
- 26 strategic master plan
Part 3: Question 27 - 40
- 27 YES
- 28 NO
- 29 YES
- 30 NOT GIVEN
- 31 NO
- 32 YES
- 33 A
- 34 C
- 35 C
- 36 B
- 37 D
- 38 B
- 39 A
- 40 D
Leaderboard:
| # | User | Score | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiệt Trần |
|
9.0 | 17:49 | |
| Minh Nguyễn |
|
9.0 | 18:38 | |
| Ekaterina Soboleva |
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9.0 | 19:34 | |
| 4 | Phone Tshan Kyaw |
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9.0 | 20:00 |
| 5 | Keshwala Pragati |
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9.0 | 24:07 |
| 6 | Anindi K |
|
9.0 | 24:18 |
| 7 | Shiela Rose |
|
9.0 | 27:22 |
| 8 | San Nguyen |
|
9.0 | 28:25 |
| 9 | Manisha Subramanian |
|
9.0 | 29:49 |
| 10 | Khánh HƯng |
|
9.0 | 30:01 |
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Review & Explanations:
Questions 1-7
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Indian fashion: 1950-2000
1950s
- No well-known designers, models or 1
- Elegant clothing cost little
- Women were pleased to get clothes for a 2 price
1960s
- New materials, e.g. 3 and polyester
- Fitted clothing and tall hairstyles
1970s
- Overseas sales of 4 fabrics rose
- Influence of international fashion
1980s
- Opening of fashion store in Mumbai
- Popularity of American designers
- Clothing had a 5 shape
- Designers tried to attract attention by presenting 6 clothes and mixing with stars
1990s
- Fall in demand for expensive fashion wear
- Return to 7 clothing
- 1 Answer: labels
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q1. 1950s
No well-known designers, models or …
During the 1950s, the Indian fashion scene was exciting, stylish and very graceful. There were no celebrity designers or models, nor were there any labels that were widely recognised.
+ Thanks to “During the 1950s”, “There were no celebrity designers or models” and the phrase “widely recognised”, we can infer that the above paragraph has the main clue for the answer
+ It is easy to get information in the paragraph that besides designers and models, Indian labels still has no reputation.
+ So, the missing word is labels
- 2 Answer: bargain
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q2. 1950s
Women were pleased to get clothes for a … price
It was regarded as perfectly acceptable, even for high-society women, … They were proud of getting a bargain, and of giving their own name to the end result.
+ Above paragraph contains answer of this question.
+ First, we can easily know that the writer is mentioning about high-society women who absolutely accept to approach an unknown tailor to get the most suitable outfit. Moreover, the sentence “They were proud of getting a bargain…” gives us information that they felt pleased to get clothes for a bargain price
+ So, the right answer is bargain
- 3 Answer: plastic
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q3. 1960s
New materials, e.g. …and polyester
The 1960s was an era full of mischievousness […] an acceptance of innovative types of material such as plastic and coated polyester.
+ The main keywords of this questions are 1960s and new materials
+ Paragraph 2 is mentioning about period during 1960s so we should focus on this one
+ In above sentence, the word “innovative types of material” is other expression of new materials so we can infer that new materials are plastic and polyester. As polyester is already listed, we can conclude that missing word is plastic.
+ The answer for Q3 is plastic
- 4 Answer: traditional
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q4. 1970s
Overseas sales of … fabrics rose
The following decade witnessed an increase in the export of traditional materials, and the arrival in India of international fashion.
+ The 3rd paragraph mentions about “The following decade” so we can infer that it is mention about 1970s and we can find the clues for Q4 here.
+ In this paragraph, we can find many key words that are compatible with the question such as: “overseas sales” = “export”, “fabrics” = “materials” and “rose” = “an increase”, so we can conclude that this sentence has the same meaning as our question. Therefore the missing word of Q4 is traditional.
- 5 Answer: masculine
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q5. 1980s
Clothing had a … shape
In India too, contours became more masculine, and even the salwar kameez was designed with shoulder pads.
+ In this part of fourth paragraph, we can find out information about India’s fashion during the 1980s decade.
+ The main keyword of this Q5 is “clothing’s shape”, which has the same meaning with the word “contours” in the paragraph. As the text it is said that “contours became more masculine” so we can figure out that in 1980s, clothing had a masculine shape and missing word of this question should be masculine.
- 6 Answer: showy
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q6. 1980s
Designers tried to attract attention by presenting … clothes and mixing with stars
Meanwhile, designers decided to get themselves noticed by making showy outfits and associating with the right celebrities.
+ Also in the 4th paragraph about 1980s period, this Q6 requires us to point out missing word of how India designers changed the style to attract attention
+ It is described in the reading that Designers tried to make showy outfits and associate with the celebrities. The phrase “associating with the right celebrities” paraphrase the phrase “mixing with stars” in the question, so we can reason out that “making showy outfits” is missing information and showy is missing word of Q6
- 7 Answer: ethnic
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q7. 1990s
Return to … clothing
In the last decade of the millennium, the market shrank and ethnic wear made a comeback.
+ This question is about the period during 1990s, so based on phrase “the last decade of the millennium” of paragraph 6, we can focus on finding the answer from this paragraph
+ At the very beginning of this paragraph, we can see that the writer mentions about India’s fashion situation at that time as well as the comeback of ethnic wear. We can understand this sentence as Indian citizen returned to wear ethnic clothing.
+ So the missing word is ethnic.
Questions 8-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1
Write
| TRUE | if the statement agrees with the information |
| FALSE | if the statement contradicts the information |
| NOT GIVEN | If there is no information on this |
8 At the start of the 21st century, key elements in the Indian fashion industry changed.
9 India now exports more than half of the cotton it produces.
10 Conditions in India are generally well suited to the manufacture of clothing.
11 Indian clothing exports have suffered from changes in the value of its currency.
12 Modern machinery accounts for the high quality of Chapa’s silk.
13 Some types of Indian craftwork which are internationally popular had humble origins.
- 8 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q8. At the start of the 21st century, key elements in the Indian fashion industry changed.
At the beginning of the 21st century, with new designers and models, and more sensible designs, the fashion industry accelerated once again.
+ The main keywords of this question are “At the start of the 21st century” and “key elements”. And above sentence provides us the clues.
+ As we can see, it is said that in early of the 21st century, there were many new development th such as new designers and models, more sensible designs, … which we can regarded as key elements for India fashion industry development.
+ In addition, the phrase “…accelerated once again” in the paragraph also reflect the change of the Indian fashion industry.
+ In conclusion, we can conclude that statement of Q21 match with the text so the correct answer of Q8 should be TRUE.
- 9 Answer: NOT GIVEN
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q9. India now exports more than half of the cotton it produces.
India is the third largest producer of cotton
+ The main idea of this question is about the quantity that India exports
+ Although above sentence mentions that India is the third largest producer of cotton, there is no information indicates us about the quantity of cotton that India.
+ Therefore we can deduce that NOT GIVEN is correct answer of this question.
- 10 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q10. Conditions in India are generally well suited to the manufacture of clothing.
The Indian garment and fabric industries have many fundamental advantages, in terms of a cheaper, skilled work force, … , and embroidery
+ For Q10, we can get clues from the beginning of paragraph 8.
+ In this part, they have listed a lot of conditions in India such as cheap, skilled workforce, cost-effective production, raw materials, flexibility, and a wide range of designs with sequins, beadwork, and embroidery,… which all seem to be very ideal and well suited for this country to develop its clothing industries.
+ So, we can conclude that the information from Q10 is TRUE.
- 11 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q11. Indian clothing exports have suffered from changes in the value of its currency.
India has always been regarded as … but changes in the rate of exchange between the rupee and the dollar has further depressed prices, thereby attracting more buyers
+ We can get the clue for this question in the last sentences of 8th paragraph.
+ Based on information that they provided, changes in the rate of value exchange between rupee – India official currency and dollar – foreign currency that has an big impact on prices so that people buy more and India exports go up and this is a good impact for Indian clothing exports, not bad impact as the question
+ So we can conclude that this statement is FALSE
- 12 Answer: FALSE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q12. Modern machinery accounts for the high quality of Chapa’s silk.
Here fabric-making is a family industry; the range and quality of raw silks churned out here belie the crude production methods and equipment.
+ In the middle of paragraph 9, we can to find out the clues for the answer from above sentence because this paragraph is mentioning about Chapa and its fabric-making industry.
+ This sentence provides us information that the process of silk producing absolutely is under the crude production methods and equipment, which is contrary to the statement of Q12 – modern machinery.
+ So we can reach the conclusion that Q12 is FALSE
- 13 Answer: TRUE
Keywords in Questions
Similar words in Passage
Q13. Some types of Indian craftwork which are internationally popular had humble origins.
Beads are used to prepare accessory items like belts and bags, and beadwork is now available for haute couture evening wear too.
+ We can get clues for Q13 from the very last sentence of last passage.
+ According to the text, some kinds of India accessory items, and even haute couture evening wear, are made by beads, which is very ordinary and easy to find. “Beads” is the particular example of the phrase “humble origins” in the question, so it is very important to know the meaning of this keyword.
+ So, we can deduce that the information in this question is TRUE
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Trends in the Indian fashion and textile industries
During the 1950s, the Indian fashion scene was exciting, stylish and very graceful. There were no celebrity designers or models, nor were there any labels that were widely recognised. The value of a garment was judged by its style and fabric rather than by who made it. It was regarded as perfectly acceptable, even for high-society women, to approach an unknown tailor who could make a garment for a few rupees, providing the perfect fit, finish and style. They were proud of getting a bargain, and of giving their own name to the end result.
The 1960s was an era full of mischievousness and celebration in the arts, music and cinema. The period was characterised by freedom from restrictions and, in the fashion world, an acceptance of innovative types of material such as plastic and coated polyester. Tight-fitting kurtas[1] and churidars[2] and high coiffures were a trend among women.
The following decade witnessed an increase in the export of traditional materials, and the arrival in India of international fashion. Synthetics became trendy, and the disco culture affected the fashion scene.
It was in the early 80s when the first fashion store ‘Ravissant’ opened in Mumbai. At that time garments were retailed for a four-figure price tag. American designers like Calvin Klein became popular. In India too, contours became more masculine, and even the salwar kameez[3] was designed with shoulder pads.
With the evolution of designer stores came the culture of designer fashion, along with its hefty price tags. Whatever a garment was like, consumers were convinced that a higher price tag signified elegant designer fashion, so garments were sold at unbelievable prices. Meanwhile, designers decided to get themselves noticed by making showy outfits and associating with the right celebrities. Soon, fashion shows became competitive, each designer attempting to out-do the other in theme, guest list and media coverage.
In the last decade of the millennium, the market shrank and ethnic wear made a comeback. During the recession, there was a push to sell at any cost. With fierce competition the inevitable occurred: the once hefty price tags began their downward journey, and the fashion-show industry followed suit. However, the liveliness of the Indian fashion scene had not ended - it had merely reached a stable level.
At the beginning of the 21st century, with new designers and models, and more sensible designs, the fashion industry accelerated once again. As far as the global fashion industry is concerned, Indian ethnic designs and materials are currently in demand from fashion houses and garment manufacturers. India is the third largest producer of cotton, the second largest producer of silk, and the fifth largest producer of man-made fibres in the world.
The Indian garment and fabric industries have many fundamental advantages, in terms of a cheaper, skilled work force, cost-effective production, raw materials, flexibility, and a wide range of designs with sequins, beadwork, and embroidery. In addition, that India provides garments to international fashion houses at competitive prices, with a shorter lead time, and an effective monopoly on certain designs, is accepted the whole world over. India has always been regarded as the default source in the embroidered garments segment, but changes in the rate of exchange between the rupee and the dollar has further depressed prices, thereby attracting more buyers. So the international fashion houses walk away with customised goods, and craftwork is sold at very low rates.
As far as the fabric market is concerned, the range available in India can attract as well as confuse the buyer. Much of the production takes place in the small town of Chapa in the eastern state of Bihar, a name one might never have heard of. Here fabric-making is a family industry; the range and quality of raw silks churned out here belie the crude production methods and equipment. Surat in Gujarat, is the supplier of an amazing set of jacquards, moss crepes and georgette sheers - all fabrics in high demand. Another Indian fabric design that has been adopted by the fashion industry is the ‘Madras check’, originally utilised for the universal lungi, a simple lower-body wrap worn in southern India. This design has now found its way on to bandannas, blouses, home furnishings and almost anything one can think of.
Ethnic Indian designs with batik and hand-embroidered motifs have also become popular across the world. Decorative bead work is another product in demand in the international market. Beads are used to prepare accessory items like belts and bags, and beadwork is now available for haute couture evening wear too.
[1] knee-length tunics
[2] trousers
[3] trouser suit
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