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IELTS Recent Mock Tests Volume 1

IELTS Recent Mock Tests Volume 1

3.9
(9,620 votes)
  • Published on: 06 Dec 2017
  • Tests taken: 3,332,817

Answer Keys:

Part 1: Question 1 - 13
  • 1 v
  • 2 i
  • 3 vi
  • 4 x
  • 5 ix
  • 6 iv
  • 7 ii
  • 8 TRUE
  • 9 TRUE
  • 10 NOT GIVEN
  • 11 13 C,D,E
Part 2: Question 14 - 26
  • 14 YES
  • 15 YES
  • 16 NO
  • 17 NOT GIVEN
  • 18 YES
  • 19 NOT GIVEN
  • 20 1976, 1995
  • 21 2000 floods/flooding
  • 22 1998 and 2002/1998, 2002
  • 23 1990
  • 24 1781
  • 25 France
  • 26 D
Part 3: Question 27 - 40
  • 27 B
  • 28 C
  • 29 H
  • 30 G
  • 31 E
  • 32 D
  • 33 A
  • 34 bee-keeping
  • 35 life cycles
  • 36 drought(s)
  • 37 C
  • 38 A
  • 39 D
  • 40 D

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Tips for improving your ielts score
剑桥雅思2听力原文-TEST2

剑桥雅思2听力原文-TEST2

3.0
(2 votes)
279
18 Oct 2023

Review & Explanations:

Part 1: Questions 1-13

Questions 1-7

Questions 8-10

Questions 11-13

Choose THREE letters A-F.

Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

Which THREE of the following are parts of Gilbert’s discovery?

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • 11-13 Answer: C,D,E

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    Tips for Q11-13

    To answer this kind of question, you need to pick out a certain number of correct statements. Different people will have different strategies, but the two prevalent ones are “proving the rights” and “crossing out the wrongs” and mixed ones. However, whatever strategy, the most important thing is finding the clues which can prove whether an option is correct or not to identify the wrong and right choices.

    To find the clues, scan the paragraphs for keywords (it is assumed that you have knowledge about the ‘theme’ of each paragraph up to now so that you know where to look first instead of just starting from the beginning). When one finds it hard to to find clues for answers, cross out irrelevant sentences and focus on the potential ones.

    Q11-13:

    A. Metal can be transformed into another.

    Gilbert was first interested in chemistry but later changed his focus due to the large portion of mysticism of alchemy involved (such as the transmutation of metal).

    Note: With proper skimming, one can find the answer right at the first sentence of paragraph 4. Also note that Gilbert regarded the ideas in alchemy as ‘mysticism’ i.e. he didn’t think it was valid and abandoned it, so of course he could not have made any discovery in the field. Thus, A is NOT an answer.

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    B. Garlic can remove magnetism.

    Though the early beliefs of magnetism were also largely entangled with superstitions such as that rubbing garlic on lodestone can neutralise its magnetism

    Note: The important keyword here is ‘magnetism’, which is matched with the ‘theme’ of paragraph E - His discovery about magnetism. Therefore, the paragraph needs to be scanned first. After scanning, one can find ‘rubbing garlic’ mentioned as a ‘superstition’ and no mention of Gilbert as the man behind this superstitious idea. Therefore, B is NOT an answer.

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    C. Metals can be magnetised.

    Gilbert also found that metals can be magnetised by rubbing mater­ials such as fur, plastic or the like on them.

    Note: The important keyword here is ‘magnetised’, which points readers to paragraph E. After scanning, one may find the statement mentioned word by word in one sentence, together with the proof that Gilbert ‘found’ the phenomenon, so C is an answer.

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    D. Stars are at different distances from the earth

    However, he believed that stars are not equidistant from the earth but have their own earth-like planets orbiting around them.

    Note: The important keyword here is ‘stars’, which points readers to paragraph F about astronomy. After scanning, one can find the proof for Gilbert’s belief in the idea. Hence, D is an answer.

    *One may find the answer D controversial as what Gilbert believed is not necessarily what he discovered (through experiments, observations, etc.). One may find it proper to leave the answer D there first and address other choices before coming back for it.

    Keywords in Questions

    Similar words in Passage

    E. The earth wobbles on its axis.

    The earth itself is like a giant magnet, which is also why compasses always point north. They spin on an axis that is aligned with the earth’s polarity.

    ...

    Further, he also believed that the sun and other stars wobble just like the earth does

    Note: The key for the answer is unclear. From the later sentence, one can get the idea that ‘the earth wobbles’. However, the information about the ‘axis’ is not definitive enough to conclude that ‘The earth wobbles on its axis’. One may find it proper to leave the choice there first and address other choices before coming back to it. Nevertheless, E is an answer.

    Keywords in Questions

    F. There are two charges of electricity.

    It is a French guy named du Fay that discovered that there are actually two electrical charges, positive and negative.

    Note: Seeing ‘electricity’, it will take some skimming to find that ‘electricity’ is mentioned with magnetism in paragraph E. Furthermore, with proper skimming, one may find the clue in the last sentence of paragraph E, which mentions ‘two charges’ discovered by another person. Thus, F is NOT an answer.

    *After addressing all the choices, one will find that D and E, though controversial, must be the answers as one has strong evidence that A, B, F are not.

Part 1

READING PASSAGE 1

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

William Gilbert and Magnetism

A - Pioneers of the early science

The 16th and 17th centuries saw two great pioneers of modern science: Galileo and Gilbert. The impact of their findings is eminent. Gilbert was the first modern scientist, also the accredited father of the science of electricity and magnetism, an Englishman of learning and a physician at the court of Elizabeth. Prior to him, all that was known of electricity and magnetism was what the ancients knew, nothing more than that the lodestone possessed magnetic properties and that amber and jet, when rubbed, would attract bits of paper or other substances of small specific gravity. However, he is less well known than he deserves.

B - Early years of Gilbert

Gilbert’s birth pre-dated Galileo. Born in an eminent local family in Colchester County in the UK, on May 24, 1544, he went to grammar school, and then studied medicine at St John’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 1573. Later he travelled in the continent and eventually settled down in London.

C - Professional and social recognition

He was a very successful and eminent doctor. All this culminated in his election to the president of the Royal Science Society. He was also appointed personal physician to the Queen (Elizabeth I), and later knighted by the Queen. Lie faith­fully served her until her death. However, he didn’t outlive the Queen for long and died on November 30, 1603, only a few months after his appointment as personal physician to King James.

D - His change of focus

Gilbert was first interested in chemistry but later changed his focus due to the large portion of mysticism of alchemy involved (such as the transmutation of metal). He gradually developed his interest in physics after the great minds of the ancient, particularly about the knowledge the ancient Greeks had about lodestones, strange minerals with the power to attract iron. In the meantime, Britain became a major seafaring nation in 1588 when the Spanish Armada was defeat­ed, opening the way to British settlement of America. British ships depended on the magnetic compass, yet no one understood why it worked. Did the Pole Star attract it, as Columbus once speculated; or was there a magnetic mountain at the pole, as described in Odyssey, which ships would never approach, because the sail­ors thought its pull would yank out all their iron nails and fittings? For nearly 20 years, William Gilbert conducted ingenious experiments to understand magnet­ism. His works include On the Magnet, Magnetic Bodies, and the Great Magnet of the Earth.

E - His discovery about magnetism

Gilbert’s discovery was so important to modern physics. He investigated the nature of magnetism and electricity. He even coined the word “electric”. Though the early beliefs of magnetism were also largely entangled with superstitions such as that rubbing garlic on lodestone can neutralise its magnetism, one example being that sailors even believed the smell of garlic would even interfere with the action of compass, which is why helmsmen were forbidden to eat it near a ship’s compass. Gilbert also found that metals can be magnetised by rubbing mater­ials such as fur, plastic or the like on them. He named the ends of a magnet “north pole” and “south pole”. The magnetic poles can attract or repel, depending on polarity. In addition, however, ordinary iron is always attracted to a magnet. Though he started to study the relationship between magnetism and electricity, sadly he didn’t complete it. His research of static electricity using amber and jet only demonstrated that objects with electrical charges can work like magnets attracting small pieces of paper and stuff. It is a French guy named du Fay that discovered that there are actually two electrical charges, positive and negative.

F - Questioning traditional astronomy

He also questioned the traditional astronomical beliefs. Though a Copernican, he didn’t express in his quintessential beliefs whether the earth is at the centre of the universe or in orbit around the sun. However, he believed that stars are not equidistant from the earth but have their own earth-like planets orbiting around them. The earth itself is like a giant magnet, which is also why compasses always point north. They spin on an axis that is aligned with the earth’s polarity. He even likened the polarity of the magnet to the polarity of the earth and built an entire magnetic philosophy on this analogy. In his explanation, magnetism is the soul of the earth. Thus a perfectly spherical lodestone, when aligned with the earth’s poles, would wobble all by itself in 24 hours. Further, he also believed that the sun and other stars wobble just like the earth does around a crystal core, and speculated that the moon might also be a magnet caused to orbit by its magnetic attraction to the earth. This was perhaps the first proposal that a force might cause a heavenly orbit.

G - What was new about his scientific research method

His research method was revolutionary in that he used experiments rather than pure logic and reasoning like the ancient Greek philosophers did. It was a new attitude towards scientific investigation. Until then, scientific experiments were not in fashion. It was because of this scientific attitude, together with his contri­bution to our knowledge of magnetism, that a unit of magneto motive force, also known as magnetic potential, was named Gilbert in his honour. His approach of careful observation and experimentation rather than the authoritative opinion or deductive philosophy of others had laid the very foundation for modern science.

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