IELTS Recent Mock Tests Volume 2

Published on: 05 Dec 2017
Tests taken: 926,751

Answer Keys:

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Part 1: Question 1 - 10

1 50/fifty
2 26th August
3 15
4 ice cream/ice-cream
5 wine

6 10%/percent
7 cold meals
8 vegetarian
9 Thursday
10 28653479

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

11 recommend
12 legal aid
13 form of identification
14 advice/advise

15 (offensive) weapons
16 supply (hard)
17 20 B,C,F,G

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

21 show up
22 apologise/apologize
23 Particular
24 draw attention
25 audience

26 D
27 C
28 A
29 C
30 A

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

31 iron
32 1876
33 1858
34 4/four(stages)
35 copper and tin

36 hilltop
37 luxury trade
38 expansion and migration
39 spread rapidly
40 graves

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IELTS Academic Reading Practice #2: The hidden lives of solitary bees

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Part 1: Questions 1-10

Questions 1-4

Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

How many people are Cindy and Bob planning the picnic for?

On which date will the picnic be held?

What is the total budget for food and drink per person?

£ 3

Which food does Bob specifically say is unsuitable?

1 Answer: 50/fifty

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Note:

the words which lead you to the answer are underlined.
the word/number you must write for the answer is marked.
words which you might wrongly think could be the answer are in italics.

Q1: How many people are Cindy and Bob planning the picnic for?
The keyword concerned in Q1 is “how many people”.
From the question, we can assume that the answer must be a number.
Cindy’s question “How many people have said that they’re coming on the company picnic?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Bob mentioned: 35 definite and another 10 probable. But it is the number of whom said that they’re coming on the company picnic, it is not the number of people which Cindy and Bob planning.
After that, Cindy said “50”
So, we can conclude that 50/fifty.

2 Answer: 26th August

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Q2: On which date will the picnic be held?
The keywords concerned in Q2 should be “date” and “the picnic be held” so the answer must be a day of month.
Bob’s question “we’re fixed the date for...?” can be seen as a suggestion for the answer’s appearance.
Cindy answered: 26th. The last Sunday in August
So the answer is 26th August.

3 Answer: 15

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Q3: What is the total budget for food and drink per person?
The keywords concerned in Q3 are “total budget” and “for food and drink”.
Bob mentioned “what’s our budget?” suggests that the answer will soon appear.
Cindy answered for Bob’s question: £10 a head for food and £5 a head for drinks . And the Q3 is the total budget so we must sum the budget for food and for drink: 10 + 5 = 15.
For these reasons, the answer is £15.

4 Answer: ice cream/ice-cream

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Q4: Which food does Bob specifically say is unsuitable?
The keywords concerned in Q4 should be “food”, “Bob” and “unsuitable”. So the answer must be a food mentioned by Bob.
Bob said food that could deteriorate in the sun, the word “deteriorate” is synonym for “unsuitable”.
For these reasons, the answer is ice cream.

Questions 5-8

Complete the following notes about the three catering companies Bob and Cindy discuss.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER.

Paris Kitchen

lack of variety of food
poor quality 5

Company Caterers

expensive
6 discount for groups of 30 or more

Celebrations

new company
only 7 for picnics
8 dishes
offers free samples

5 Answer: wine

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q5 are “Paris Kitchen”, “lack of variety of food” and “poor quality”. So the answer must be a kind of food
Bob mentioned Paris Kitchen and Cindy said her friend told her that food was good, but not quite the variety they’d expected, some wine was not very good.
For these reasons, the answer is wine.

6 Answer: 10%/percent

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q6 are “Company Caterers”, “expensive” and “discount for group of 30 or more”. So the answer must be percentage.
Bob mentioned Company Caterers and said the price is £12 a head for food. That’s more than our budget. It means the price is expensive.
Cindy mentioned the offer: a discount for groups of more than 30 is 10%
So, the answer is 10%/ ten percent.

7 Answer: cold meals

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q7 and Q8 are “Celebrations”, “only for picnics” and “dishes offers free samples”. So the answer can be a kind of food.
Cindy mentioned Celebrations and she said they “just provide cold meals for picnics”, it means they only have cold meals for picnics.
Therefore, the answer for Q7 is cold meals.

8 Answer: vegetarian

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

She also mentioned vegetarian dishes to take into consideration, it has the same meaning with Q8.
Therefore, the answer for Q8 is vegetarian.

Questions 9-10

Answer the questions using ONE WORD OR A TELEPHONE NUMBER.

When will Bob and Cindy go to Celebrations?

What is Celebrations“ telephone number?

9 Answer: Thursday

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Q9: When will Bob and Cindy go to Celebrations?
The keywords concerned in Q9 are “when” and “go to Celebrations”. The question require the answer using one word so it must be a day of week.
Cindy and Bob want to be sure for the quality of food so they decide to go to Celebrations to try some of the dishes. Bob recommended tomorrow but they’ve got that meeting tomorrow so the day after tomorrow - thursday at 11 is the most sensible way.
The answer is only one word so the answer is Thursday.

10 Answer: 28653479

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

Q10: What is Celebrations’ telephone number?
The keyword concerned in Q10 is “telephone number”.
Bob read the phone number.
Thus, the answer for Q10 should be 28 65 34 79.

Part 1

Part 2: Questions 11-20

Questions 11-12

Complete the notes on the Citizens Advice Bureau using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each gap.

11 a solicitor
suggest where you can find free legal advice
inform you whether you can get 12 to cover legal costs.

11 Answer: recommend

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q11 are “a solicitor” and “ suggest where you can find free legal advice”.
The answer must be a verb.
She mentioned two options to ask for help if international students run into any serious legal problems. “A solicitor” is mentioned in the second possibility and full of information of Q11 are mentioned here.
So, the answer is recommend.

12 Answer: legal aid

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q12 are “whether you can get” and “ to cover legal costs”.
The answer must be a noun or a noun phrase (no more than two words).
In the second possibility, she mentioned what student can claim to help pay for any court and legal fees, it means cover legal costs.
So, the answer is legal aid.

Questions 13-14

Complete the notes on the police using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.

don't be aggressive
do not try to bribe police officers
ask plain-clothes police officers for 13
give your true name and address if asked
do not sign anything without a solicitor's 14
you can make one telephone call

13 Answer: form of identification

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q13 is “ask plain-clothes police officers for”. The answer must be a noun or a noun phrase (no more than three words)
They are talking about a few important things student must remember. “Don't be aggressive” and “do not try to bribe police officers” are the first and second so the answer of Q13 is mentioned in the third.
So, the answer is form of identification.

14 Answer: advice/advise

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q14 is “do not sign anything without a solicitor's”. The answer must be a noun or a noun phrase (no more than three words)
“Give your true name and address if asked” is the fourth. And “you can make one telephone call” in the sixth. So the answer of Q14 will be in the fifth. Thus, the answer is advice.

Questions 15-16

Complete the following notes on. illegal actions using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.

The following three things are illegal:

the possession of 15
possess or 16 drugs
disorderly conduct

15 Answer: (offensive) weapons

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q15 is “the possession of”. The answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.
They are talking about “The following three things are illegal”
We heard that It is against the law to possess offensive weapons, however, they also mentioned knives, guns, chemical sprays, it just the examples of weapons.

16 Answer: supply (hard)

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q16 are “possession or” and “drugs”. The answer must be a noun or a noun phrase.
They mentioned “possess or supply hard or soft drugs” . So, the answer is supply.

Questions 17-20

Decide which FOUR of the following statements are true, according to the speaker.
Write the appropriate letters in any order on your answer sheet.

A It is socially acceptable to drink a lot of alcohol.
B People often arrange to meet in bars.
C Drinking non-alcoholic drinks in bars is socially acceptable.
D You can drink a little and still drive a car.
E You can drink in public.
F Doctors can give patients otherwise illegal drugs.
G You must be over 18 to buy alcohol.
H Many people use illegal drugs.

17-20 Answer: B,C,F,G

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

They didn’t mention option A.
They mentioned “people arrange to meet in a bar” so the answer is B.
They mentioned that you are not obliged to drink alcohol if you don’t want in a pub or at a party, you can ask for a non-alcoholic drink. It means Drinking non-alcoholic drinks in pub or bar is acceptable. So the answer is C.
They also mentioned that if you chose to drink, remember that you should never drive a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol, the police can impose serious penalties on you. It means driving vehicle after drinking alcohol is not acceptable. So option D is false.
The presenter also said being drunk in public is not acceptable either, option E is false.
“it is illegal to use drugs, except under medical supervision” means doctors can do that. So F is correct.
She said that Anyone over 18 years old can legally buy and consume alcoholic drinks. It mentioned the ages which is acceptable to buy alcohol. So the answer is G.
They didn’t mention option H.
In conclusion, the answer of Q17 - Q20: B,C,F,G

Previous Next

Part 2

Part 3: Questions 21-30

Questions 21-25

Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each gap

Melissa’s first tip is not to 21 late

Simona says that a presenter should not 22

David explains that the second "P" in PGP means 23

David says PGP will 24 and promote retention.

Carlos offers a general piece of advice for public speaking, which is know your 25

21 Answer: show up

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q21 are “Melissa’s first tip” and “not to….late”. The answer must be a verb.
Melissa said her first tip is show up early, it means not to show up late.
So, the answer is show up.

22 Answer: apologise/apologize

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q22 is “a presenter should not”. The answer must be a verb.
Simona mentioned that the first idea for structuring the opening in presentation is never apologize.
So, the answer is apologize/apologise.

23 Answer: Particular

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q23 is “the second “P” in PGP means”. The answer must be a noun.
David mentioned the Particular to the General and back to the Particular.
So, the answer is Particular.

24 Answer: draw attention

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q24 are “PGP” and “promote retention”.
The answer must be a verb.
It is clearly stated, the answer is draw attention

25 Answer: audience

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q25 are “a general piece of advice for public speaking” and “know your”.
The answer should be a noun.
The keyword “a general piece of advice for public speaking” is mentioned after the answer appeared. She had mentioned the next tip is know your audience before she mentioned a general piece of advice for public speaking. And then she explained her idea.
For this reason, the answer is audience.

Questions 26-30

Identify which speaker is being referred to in each statement.
Write the corresponding letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet.

A	Carlos
B	David
C	Melissa
D	Simona

26 He/She thinks an overhead projector is usually needed.
27 He/She mentions that jokes can be useful in context.
28 He/She mentions that the question and answer part is very important.
29 He/She says that finishing early might be a good idea.
30 He/She says that you should drink enough.

26 Answer: D

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q26 is “an overhead projector is usually needed”.
Simona said her next point was whether the overhead projector is really necessary. And David agreed with this point.
For this reason, this idea belongs to Simona so the answer is D.

27 Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q27 is “jokes can be useful in context”
Melissa said that she thought humour is generally good and she analysed how it’s good.
“Joke” is synonym for “humour”.
So, the answer is C.

28 Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q28 is “the question and answer part is very important”.
Carlos mentioned the end of the presentation is Q&A part. He said that the quality of your talk was not only judge in 20 mins of your presentation, but also in 30 seconds when you in Q&A part, it depends on the quality of your answer.
For this reason, the answer is A.

29 Answer: C

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q29 is “finishing early might be a good idea”
Melissa mentioned that Finish early, and something good is almost bound to happen
So, the answer is C.

30 Answer: A

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keyword concerned in Q30 is “you should drink enough”
Carlos said that the way to stay sharp is to drink lots of water, take care of your body, especially your voice. If possible, avoid alcohol too.
So, the answer is A.

Previous Next

Part 3

Part 4: Questions 31-40

Questions 31-33

Answer the following questions using NO MORE THAN ONE WORD OR A DATE for each answer.

Which metal were the Celts using at the beginning of the first millennium B.C.?

When did excavation at Hallstatt begin?

When were Celtic remains near La Tene uncovered?

31 Answer: iron

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q31 are “metal” and “the Celts using at the beginning of the first millennium B.C.”
The answer should be a noun which is kind of metal.
They mentioned that they arose in central Europe at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and were an iron using and horse rearing peoples.
For this reason, the answer is iron.

32 Answer: 1876

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q32 are “When” and “excavation at Hallstatt begin”
The answer must be a number.
They mentioned “Hallstatt was excavated from 1876 onwards by the Viennese Academy of Sciences and provided the first classification of the prehistoric Celts”
For this reason, the answer is 1876.

33 Answer: 1858

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q33 are “When” and “Celtic remains near La Tene uncovered”
The answer must be a number.
They mentioned that the waters of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland sunk to a low level, the nearby town of La Tene gave its name to the second phase of Celtic cultural development in 1858.
So, the answer is 1858.

Questions 34-37

Answer the following questions about Hallstatt culture using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR AN NUMBER for each answer.

How many periods of Hallstatt culture were there?

Which two items were traded over long distances at the beginning of the Hallstatt period?

Where were settlements built during the Hallstatt C period?

What led to a stratified society?

34 Answer: 4/four(stages)

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q34 are “How many” and “periods of Hallstatt culture”
The answer should be a number.
It is clearly stated that Hallstatt culture is characterized in 4 stages.
So, the answer is 4/ four (stages).

35 Answer: copper and tin

Listen from here Locate Report

36 Answer: hilltop

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q36 are “Where” and “settlements built during the Hallstatt C period”
The answer should be a name of a place.
They mentioned the North of the Alps but it has more than three words. And its meaning is not suitable for Q36.
They also mentioned hilltop where settlements were built during the Hallstatt C period.
For this reason, the answer is hilltop.

37 Answer: luxury trade

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q37 are “What” and “led to a stratified society”
The answer should be a noun.
They mentioned that the expansion of luxury trade brought greater opportunities for profit and helped to create an increasingly stratified society. It means the expansion of luxury trade led to a stratified society
So, the answer is luxury trade.

Questions 38-40

Complete the following sentences about La Téne culture using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap.

Celtic 38 took place during the La Téne period.
After 400 B.C., the La Téne culture 39
Weapons and everyday items can be found in La Tene 40 across Europe.

38 Answer: expansion and migration

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q38 are “Celtic” and “took place during the La Téne period”
The answer should be a noun/noun phrase.
This question is quite easy to answer. It is clearly stated that The La Tene era was the time of Celtic expansion and migration and the time of formation of the myths.
So, the answer is expansion and migration.

39 Answer: spread rapidly

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q39 are “After 400 B.C.” and “the La Téne culture”
The answer should be a verb.
This question is quite easy to answer. It is clearly stated that the La Tene culture spread rapidly from about 400 BC.
So, the answer is spread rapidly.

40 Answer: graves

Listen from here Locate Explain Report

The keywords concerned in Q40 are “Weapons and everyday items can be found in La Tene” and “across Europe.”
They mentioned that The La Tene graves across Europe hold iron weapons
For this reason, the question is quite easy to answer: graves.

Part 4

Change Audio Sources

SECTION 1

Cindy: So, Bob, how many people have said that they’re coming on the company picnic ?
Bob: Well, Cindy, we’ve got 35 definite and another 10 probable.
Cindy: Shall we say 50?
Bob: I think so. And we’ve fixed the date for…?
Cindy: 26th. The last Sunday in August.
Bob: Great! I hope the weather is good.
Cindy: Should be. Now, we have to decide where to order the food from and what kind of things we want.
Bob: Right. What’s our budget?
Cindy: We decided to go for £10 a head for food and £5 a head for drinks.
Bob: OK. I got some pamphlets from caterers. What do you think?
Cindy: The most important thing is to make sure there’s a variety of food. We don’t want people complaining that they don’t like anything.
Bob: We also don’t want food that could deteriorate in the sun-ice cream, that kind of thing.
Cindy: You’ve seen these pamphlets. What do you think?
Bob: Well, I thought Paris Kitchen looked good. The price almost exactly meets our budget and they seem to have a good variety.
Cindy: I don’t know. A friend of mine used them for her company and wasn’t impressed.
Bob: Really? What exactly didn’t she like?
Cindy: Well, the food… she said the food was good, but not quite the variety they’d expected. The drinks included some wine, which was apparently not very good.
Bob: Oh. Well, perhaps we need to consider this one… er … Company Caterers.
Cindy: Looks a bit pricey. Mind you, I’ve heard that they are very good.
Bob: Let me check the price. … Yes … £12 a head for food. That’s more than our budget. Do you think we could get a discount?
Cindy: Let’s see if it says anything in the pamphlet. … Yes, they do offer a discount for groups of more than 30. … 10% … does that help us?
Bob: 10% off £12 … It’s still more than we budgeted for.
Cindy: Hey, look at this one. Celebrations.
Bob: It’s a new company. I asked a few people about them, but no-one has any ideas.
Cindy: Well, let’s see. 9 poundsa head for food and five pounds a head for drinks. That’s fine. What kind of food do they have? It says here that they just provide cold meals for picnics. Well, that’s OK. … And they include vegetarian dishes…. We do have some vegetarian to take into consideration .
Bob: Well, it looks good to me. The only problem is their lack of experience. I mean, it’s a bit of a risk, isn’t it?
Cindy: Yes. If the food is no good, we’ll look incompetent.
Bob: Ah, look here. It says that we can visit their premises and try some of the dishes they offer.
Cindy: You mean we might get a free lunch? Shall we call them and arrange to go and see them?
Bob: OK. Which day? How about tomorrow?
Cindy: No. We’ve got that meeting. The day after tomorrow. Thursday.
Bob: Good. Time?
Cindy: 11?
Bob: Good. Right, what’s their phone number? 28 65 34 79. We also need to ask them whether they can deliver straight to the picnic site, don’t we?
Cindy: Yes. I don’t think that’ll be a problem, though. I mean, it’s on the outskirts of the city, but it’s not too far away. Does the price include delivery?
Bob: It doesn’t say, but the other companies include it, so they should. If they don’t., our budget still allows us to pay a small fee.

SECTION 2

Presenter: Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Sally Miller and I'm here to offer you some advice on legal matters whilst you are studying at this university. Happily, most international students complete their courses without running into any serious legal problems, but if you do find yourself involved in a legal dispute of any kind, ask for help. There are two options. First, contact the students' union or welfare officer. Even if they cannot help you directly, they should be able to advise you where to go for help. The second possibility is to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau in your area. You can find them in the local telephone directory. They will be able to recommend a solicitor if you need one, and tell you if there is a local law centre providing free legal advice. They will also be able to tell you whether you can claim legal aid to help pay for any court and legal fees. Let me give you some basic information about the police. The police have the power to stop and search anyone who appears to be behaving in a suspicious manner. If you are arrested for any reason, even if you know it to be a wrong reason, remember a few very important things. One, don't be aggressive. Two, do not try to bribe the police officer. Three, if you are arrested by plain-clothes police officers, ask to see some form of identification. Four, give your true name and address if the officer asks you to. Lying to the police is a criminal offence. Five, do not sign any statement until you have received advice from a solicitor. There is always a solicitor on duty at every police station. Six, you will be entitled to make one telephone call. If you use this call to telephone a friend, urge your friend to contact someone from your university or from the students' union and get advice about what you should do next. If you find yourself in trouble with the police, it is very important to get professional advice. Contact any of the following: your university welfare officer, the students' union at your university, your local Citizens Advice Bureau, a local law centre. If you are found guilty of an offence, it could seriously damage your position as an international student, so be sure to ask for help as early in the process as possible. Remember: obey the local laws! The laws here may not be quite the same as in your own country. Here are a few examples of actions that are illegal here. It is against the law to: possess offensive weapons, e.g. knives, guns, chemical sprays used for personal defence—even women are not allowed to carry sprays or other deterrents to protect themselves against possible assault—except for rape alarms, possess or supply hard or soft drugs, disturb the peace — this is called "disorderly conduct". This means that you can be arrested for being too noisy or rowdy. A few words about drinking. In this country, it is perfectly acceptable for adults to drink alcohol in moderate amounts. For many people, drinking is an established part of their social life—"going out for a drink" is how they relax or spend time with friends. If you go to a party or visit people at home in the evening, your host will probably offer you a drink. Often a lot of university social life can revolve around drinking, especially for undergraduates. Do not be surprised if people arrange to meet in a bar or if events are held in a pub. But you are not obliged to drink alcohol if you do not want to even if you are in a pub or at a party where everyone else is drinking. You can always ask for a non-alcoholic drink instead. And if you feel uncomfortable going to places that serve alcohol, explain this to your friends—there are lots of other places where you can meet. If you do choose to drink, remember that you should never drive a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol—it is dangerous and the police can impose serious penalties on you. Also remember that being drunk in public is not acceptable either, and the police can arrest you for it. Drugs and alcohol can cause serious problems. Let me repeat that in this country, it is illegal to use drugs, except under medical supervision. But, if you do use illegal drugs and you develop a problem, there are organisations you can contact. Contact your students' union or your student counsellor. Anyone over 18 years old can legally buy and consume alcoholic drinks in this country, but if you think you might be drinking too much, get help and advice from your student counsellor or your doctor. Again, there are special organisations that can help you with drug and alcohol problems. Contact them.

SECTION 3

Carlos: OK, everyone. Let’s look at what presentation tips we have come up with for our next seminar. Melissa?

Melissa: OK, here’s my first tip. Show up early. Some experience presenters say that something good is bound to happen! I’m not sure about that, but…
David: Well,… you may have a chance to head off some technical problem. Also, at the beginning, before you actually begin your presentation, people filter in slowly. It’s a great time to introduce yourself.
Melissa: Can’t argue with that! Simona had some ideas about opening.
Simona: Have a strong opening. I picked up a few ideas for structuring your opening. First, never apologize. If you’re worried the presentation won’t go well, keep it to yourself and give it your best shot. Besides, people are usually too preoccupied with their own problems to notice yours.
Carlos: I like that!
Simona: Open by addressing the following three questions: What’s the problem? Who cares? What’s your solution?
Carlos: Excellent suggestion! David? You’ve gone quiet!
David: Well, my next suggestion is PGP. That means that with every subtopic, you should move from the Particular to the General and back to the Particular. Even though the purpose of a subtopic is to convey the general information, bracing it with particulars is a good way to draw attention and promote retention.
Melissa: I’ve got another one. This might not be a tip so much as a law.
Give everyone at least one piece of paper. A piece of paper is a record from your presentation. People can use that to help recall the details of the presentation, or better yet to tell others about it.
Carlos: The next tip that I have is know your audience. This is, of course, a general piece of advice for public speaking. See if you can find out what styles of information presentation they are most familiar and comfortable with. Adapting your presentation to those styles will leave fewer barriers to the direct communication of your material.
Simona: I like that idea. We mentioned possible technical problems before.
My next point is that maybe speakers should rethink the overhead projector. Is one really necessary?
David: I think that often it is. but I agree with your basic point, Simona.
Don’t use one just because it’s there. Maybe a good tip is to consider carefully what you are putting on your slides.
Simona: Yes, David, that’s a very good point to make. Slide content is …
well, you don’t want too much … too little. Carlos?
Carlos: Good points, both of you. Another point I have is to respect the audience. Don’t condescend by “dumbing down” your lecture. Show them respect by saying what you believe and what you know to be the whole story.
Melissa: I also have a point about humor. I think that humour is generally good, but be careful with it. Humour in a presentation works best when it actually drives the presentation forward. If you find you’re using canned jokes that don’t depend on the context, of the presentation, eliminate them David?
David: Maybe, Melissa, but always be very careful about jokes that. put.
down a class of people. If you’re going to alienate your audience, do it on the merits of your content.
Simona: Also, avoid masculine-or even feminine pronouns as universal. It can be a nuisance to half the audience. As universal, use the plural “they”. The Oxford English Dictionary has allowed “they” as a gender neutral singular pronoun for years.
Carlos: Thanks, Simona. Thinking towards the end. Take care with questions. Many people judge the quality of your talk not by the twenty minutes of presentation, but on the thirty seconds you spend answering their question. Be sure to allow long pauses for questions. Ten seconds may seem like a long pause when you’re at the front of the room, but. it flows naturally from the audience’s point of view.
Simona: Let people know you believe your material. Speak with conviction.
Believing your subject, matter is one of the best ways to speak more effectively!
Melissa: Finish early, and something good is almost bound to happen. If nothing else, people will be able to leave early, and suddenly they’ll have an extra couple of minutes to do things they didn’t think they’d get to. People will really like you if you do that.
David: I think we have missed a key point. Practice! Practice over and over and over. If you can, record your presentation. Play it back and watch yourself. You’ll discover a thousand horrible things you never knew about yourself. Now watch it again without the sound. Why are your hands flying around like that? Now listen to it without the picture. Get rid of those urns! Now watch it at twice the normal speed. This emphasizes low frequency cycles in your gestures.
Carlos: David, those were excellent points! I have one more. Something quite simple, but often overlooked. I read that the two most dehydrating things you can do in modern civilization are live presentations and air travel. I don’t know if it’s really true, but the message is that, the way to stay sharp is to drink lots of water. Take care of your body, especially your voice. If possible, avoid alcohol too.
Melissa: So, we’ve got to organise these points now…

SECTION 4

Welcome to this introductory lecture on the Celts. Who were the Celts? The Celts were an Indo-European group, that is, related linguistically to the Greeks, the Germanic peoples, certain Italic groups and peoples of the Indian subcontinent. They arose in central Europe at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. and were an iron using and horse rearing peoples. By the end of the first millennium B.C. their cultural group had spread up and down the Danube and Rhine, taking in Gaul, Ireland and Britain, across central Europe, into northern Italy and northern Spain. Their roaming across Europe led some of the Celtic tribes to sack Rome in 390 B.C. creating a fear of the northern barbarians that was to haunt Romans for hundreds of years to come.

The Celts are defined archaeologically by the type-sites of Hallstatt and La Tene, the former being taken to relate to an earlier phase of cultural development. Hallstatt, an ancient salt mining area, was excavated from 1876 onwards by the Viennese Academy of Sciences and provided the first classification of the prehistoric Celts. In 1858, the waters of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland sunk to a low level, revealing a large prehistoric settlement with a huge number of surviving artifacts. The nearby town of La Tene gave its name to the second phase of Celtic cultural development. However, please note that these phases overlap through time, and are defined according to geographical area. Let’s look at each of these, taking the Hallstatt first.
Hallstatt culture is characterized in 4 stages. A & B were during the late Bronze Age, from about 1200 to 700 BC ; C was in the Early Iron Age, from about 700-600 BC; D was from about 600 to 475 BC. The Hallstatt culture spanned central Europe, with its centre in the area around Hallstatt in Central Austria. There were two distinct cultural zones – the eastern and the western. At the start of the period, long distance trade was already well established in copper and tin – the basic requirements for manufacture of bronze. From about 700 BC, trade in iron also became established. The Hallstatt area also already controlled the trade in salt, crucial when there were few other means to preserve food. Control of these two crucial trade goods—iron and salt—provided the basis for the accumulation of wealth and influence. From 800 BC, some burials of rich people can be identified, in central Europe, with grave goods such as wheeled wagons and iron swords.
Hallstatt C saw the construction of fortified hilltop settlements to the North of the Alps. These had burial mounds holding very high quality goods, such as vehicles and expensive imported treasures. By the time of the Hallstatt D period, these increasingly extravagant burial mounds were clustered around a few major hill forts to the southwest of the region. This suggests a development and a concentration of wealth and social power, possibly based on the development of Massilia (present-day Marseilles) as a Greek trading port. The expansion of luxury trade brought greater opportunities for profit and helped to create an increasingly stratified society, with the development of a wealthy nobility. Over the period from 1846 to 1863, a thousand graves were found at Hallstatt, with an astonishing range of artefacts, including clothing and salt mining equipment as well as weapons, jewellery, pottery and imported bronze vessels in the “chieftains’” graves.

The La Tene era was the time of Celtic expansion and migration and the time of formation of the myths, The La Tene culture is named after the site in Switzerland where it was first discovered. The La Tene people were those known to the Romans as Gaids. Originally found in an area from Eastern France to Bohemia, the La Tene culture spread rapidly from about 400 BC. The La Tene Celts settled in Spain in 450 BC, in Northern Italy in 400 BC, invaded Rome in 390 BC, invaded Greece in 279 BC, invaded Galatia (in modern Turkey) in 270 BC. By 200 BC, they occupied the lands that are now Britain, the Netherlands, Brittany, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

There is much debate over how much of the expansion into Britain was achieved through invasion and settlement and how much was the expression of cultural transfer that accompanied trade and reflected the commonality of kinship and language of many tribes. There is little evidence for actual migration of La Tene people into Britain. Nevertheless, it does appear that the La Tene culture was more militarily than the Hallstatt one. The La Tene graves across Europe hold iron weapons – swords and spearheads – and wooden shields, as well as everyday items such as razors, yokes, cauldrons and jewelry.

IELTS Recent Mock Tests Volume 2

Part 1: Question 1 - 10

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

Tips for improving your ielts score

IELTS Academic Reading Practice #2: The hidden lives of solitary bees

Questions 1-4

Questions 5-8

Questions 9-10

Questions 11-12

Questions 13-14

Questions 15-16

Questions 17-20

Questions 21-25

Questions 26-30

Questions 31-33

Questions 34-37

Questions 38-40

SECTION 1

SECTION 2

SECTION 3

SECTION 4

Comments:

About us

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IELTS Recent Mock Tests Volume 2

Part 1: Question 1 - 10

Part 2: Question 11 - 20

Part 3: Question 21 - 30

Part 4: Question 31 - 40

Share your score

Tips for improving your ielts score

IELTS Academic Reading Practice #2: The hidden lives of solitary bees

Questions 1-4

Questions 5-8

Questions 9-10

Questions 11-12

Questions 13-14

Questions 15-16

Questions 17-20

Questions 21-25

Questions 26-30

Questions 31-33

Questions 34-37

Questions 38-40

SECTION 1

SECTION 2

SECTION 3

SECTION 4

Comments:

About us

Our mission