General Training Reading 2024-08 Test 1 — IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test with Answers

Rebuilt from test-taker recalls — not official IELTS material. Audio and passages are recreations for practice.

Fundraising Ideas 3: Car Boot Sale

A Car boot sales are a great way to raise money. Even if you don't have a lot of things you don't need, you can ask your friends and family to do a clear-out and give you their unwanted items to help you raise money. Spring is a great time to hold a car boot sale, before everyone goes on holiday and the days get too hot.

B Many people have found this a great way to start their fundraising; it doesn't take a lot of preparation and can raise quite a lot of money in one day. In the past volunteers have raised between £50 and £100 from one car boot sale; you could easily make £200-300 by doing two or three car boot sales if you have a lot of stuff to sell.

C Lots of websites advertise dates for car boot sales. Look at Your Car Booty and Car Boot Junction – websites that list boot sales across the UK. Otherwise, you can pick up your local newspaper or search for 'car boot sales' near you on the internet.

D Look in your garage, shed or attic. If you are not much of a collector, then contact your family and friends to see if they can give you anything to sell. Tell people about the sale through Facebook and Twitter. You could also put up an advert in your local shop asking people to donate their unwanted goods. Tell them it's for a good cause.

E Have a clear-out of all of your stuff, from clothes to furniture. In my house, the garage, shed and loft are normally great places to start! If you're not much of a hoarder, then it's a great idea to contact your friends and family members and see if they have anything you could sell. You can sell pretty much anything at boot sales, including clothing, books, jewellery, CDs, DVDs, games, furniture and kitchen items. Some car boot sales will also let you sell cakes or other food items (but make sure you check first); this can be a great boost to your fundraising and may attract people to your stall too!

F First of all, tell the place holding the car boot sale that you are selling for a good cause – they may offer a lower pitch price for stalls raising money for charity. Next, work out the prices for your items in advance, and either put stickers on them or put a sign up, for example 'All CDs £2'. Advertise that you are raising money for charity, and if people try to bargain you down on your prices, remind them you are raising money for a good cause. They may want to go with the higher price. Finally, check whether tables are provided. If not, you will need to remember to pack one.

G Tip 1: Put your alarm clock on! Car boot sales often start early. Take some hot coffee/tea/chocolate and dress up warm; you will probably be standing outside for a couple of hours! Tip 2: Early in the car boot sale, you will have people wanting to buy your items at a cheap price. They will then put them on their own stall to sell at a higher price so don't sell all your items too early. Try to have a friend help you in the first couple of hours of the sale. Tip 3: Say no when people haggle with you if you think the price they are offering is too low.

Questions 1–7: Matching headings

The text has seven sections: A-G. Choose the correct heading for sections A-G from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-ix.

List of Headings

i. What can you sell?

ii. Where can you sell?

iii. What happens on the day?

iv. When is a good time for a car boot sale?

v. How much do car boot sales cost?

vi. How can you start?

vii. Why do car boot sales?

viii. Who goes to car boot sales?

ix. What do I need to do to prepare?

1
Section A
2
Section B
3
Section C
4
Section D
5
Section E
6
Section F
7
Section G

Mathematics at School

A In their first years of studying mathematics at school, children all over the world usually have to learn the times table, also known as the multiplication table, which shows what you get when you multiply numbers together. Children have traditionally learned their times table by going from '1 times 1 is 1' all the way up to '12 times 12 is 144'.

B Times tables have been around for a very long time now. The oldest known tables using base 10 numbers, the base that is now used everywhere in the world, are written on bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, found in China. However, in many European cultures the times table is named after the Ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras (570-495 BC). And so it is called the Table of Pythagoras in many languages, including French and Italian.

C In 1820, in his book The Philosophy of Arithmetic, the mathematician John Leslie recommended that young pupils memorise the times table up to 25 x 25. Nowadays, however, educators generally believe it is important for children to memorize the table up to 9 x 9, 10 x 10 or 12 x 12.

D The current aim in the UK is for school pupils to know all their times tables up to 12 x 12 by the age of nine. However, many people do not know them, even as adults. Recently, some politicians have been asked arithmetical questions of this kind. For example, in 1998, the schools minister Stephen Byers was asked the answer to 7 x 8. He got the answer wrong, saying 54 rather than 56, and everyone laughed at him.

E In 2014, a young boy asked the UK Chancellor George Osborne the exact same question. As he had passed A-level math and was in charge of the UK's economic policies at the time, you would expect him to know the answer. However, he simply said, 'I've made it a rule in life not to answer such questions.'

F Why would a politician refuse to answer such a question? It is certainly true that some sums are much harder than others. Research has shown that learning and remembering sums involving 6,7,8 and 9 tends to be harder than remembering sums involving other numbers. And it is even harder when 6,7,8 and 9 are multiplied by each other. Studies often find that the hardest sum is 6x8, with 7x8 not far behind. However, even though 7x8 is a relatively difficult sum, it is unlikely that George Osborne did not know the answer. So there must be some other reason why he refused to answer the question.

G The answer is that Osborne was being 'put on the spot' and he didn't like it. It is well known that when there is a lot of pressure to do something right, people often have difficulty doing something that they normally find easy. When you put someone on the spot and ask such a question, it causes stress. The person's heart beats faster and their adrenalin levels go up. As a result, people will often make mistakes that they would not normally make. This is called 'choking'. Choking often happens in sport, such as when a footballer takes a crucial penalty. In the same way, the boy's question put Osborne under great pressure. He knew it would be a disaster for him if he got the answer to such a simple question wrong and feared that he might choke. And that is why he refused to answer the question.

Questions 8–13: Paragraph matching

The text has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-G.

8
a 19th-century opinion of what children should learn
9
the most difficult sums
10
the effect of pressure on doing something
11
how children learn the times table
12
a politician who got a sum wrong
13
a history of the times table

The Sadness of Saturn

If you live in a city and go outside every so often, there's a decent chance that you might have, unknowingly, walked straight past someone who believes that you have personally laid eyes on Satan. The devil of Christian mythology – the one with the goat horns. Satan isn't just real: he's a physical object, a thing with weight and dimensions, directly visible from anywhere in the world. He's the planet Saturn itself. And on September 15, a tiny, rickety, unmanned spacecraft, sent into orbit 20 years ago by the perishing mortals of Earth on a mission called Cassini-Huygens, collided with the Prince of Hell and burnt into nothingness in its upper atmosphere.

This - the theory that Saturn is the devil incarnate is something of a minority opinion, probably more widely believed than the flat-Earth theory, and less than the hypothesis that we're ruled by shape-shifting lizards from outer space. But it has some high-profile evangelist.

People have always distrusted Saturn. For 5,000 years it's been a symbol of age and death and misery. But the present-day theorists of its evil have proof. In its 13-year orbit of the planet (it took seven years for the spacecraft to reach Saturn's orbit, although it made some stops at other planets along the way), the Cassini mission, collaboration between NASA and the space agency of Italy and the European Union, saw incredible things. The flickering aurora-lights dancing over Saturn's poles: towers of ice and rock hanging like stalactites from the edge of its rings, vast jets of water vapor escaping from the surface of its moon Enceladus, honeyed sunlight glinting off the lakes of Titan.

Saturn is weird. It has its incredible soaring rings, which have become a kind of signifier of the super lunar universe in general, the first sign to the lonely and Earthbound that this world is stranger and its ways more unknowable than we could ever understand. Saturn emits more radiation than it receives from the sun. It's the least-dense planet in the solar system, and possibly the oldest; its moons might contain Earth-like life in the buried liquid water of Enceladus or something utterly and unknowably strange, moving in ways that are impossible to imagine, living furiously between the methane skies and ethane seas of Titan.

Questions 14–20: Summary completion

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

14. People believe the planet Saturn is a ________ like Satan who does comprise physical features and can be witnessed from any point in the world.

15. Human beings launched a spaceship into the universe, resulting in ________ with the planet with no remains of it.

16. Some preachers are in favor of the idea of Saturn as ________ of the devil; however it has less significance as compared to the flat-Earth theory.

17. Planet Saturn has never gained trust among humans due to its characteristics symbolizing bad times, demise and ________.

18. Cassini mission, where NASA united with European and ________ scientists, beheld spectacular things in outer space.

19. The elevated rings hinted that the world is weird and so are more difficult to understand its ________ ways.

20. There's an unknown possibility that some particles and gasses flow, or own moons ________ holding deep fluid where no one gives a thought.

Car Wash Packages

Here at Miami Car Wash, we understand that customers are looking for quality service combined with convenience and peace of mind. We treat every vehicle that comes in as our own. Our wash process has been developed for maximum results with high-quality equipment, cleaning products, trained staff and highly efficient processes. We offer 7 great wash packages that range from a basic hand wash with hand dry to our executive wash which includes a quick vacuuming of the front of the vehicle.

Package Options and Pricing

BASIC WASH — $14.69

Under Carriage Spray

Presoak

Tire Cleaner

High Polish Foamy Soap

Spot Free Rinse

Towel Hand Dry

DELUXE WASH — $16.79

Includes: Basic Wash

Clean up to 4 Rubber Mats

Wipe Door Jams

Wheel Brite Cleaner

Hand Dry Wheels

EXECUTIVE WASH — $19.99

Includes: Deluxe Wash

Vacuum drivers floor

Premium wheel clean

Premium tire dressing

Note:

Excessively soiled vehicles may be charged extra.

Please remove all valuables prior to cleaning.

Our products may contain fragrances please let us know if you have any allergies.

Questions 21–27: True/False/Not Given

Do the following Statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage? 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.

21
Miami Carwash has highly qualified staff and efficient processes.
22
There are three car wash packages offering different services at different rates.
23
The car is washed and hand dried only in the basic wash package.
24
The only difference between the Deluxe and the Executive wash is the vacuum cleaning of the front of the car.
25
Deluxe wash is the most expensive wash amongst the three packages.
26
Basic wash services are included in all the three packages.
27
If a customer is allergic to fragrances the car wash will be done with fragrance free products.

The Eiffel Tower

A High above the city of Paris, the Eiffel Tower looks over the thousands of tourists that visit her each day. One of the greatest sites in Paris, the Eiffel Tower was erected in 1889 for the great Paris Exposition. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who also designed the Statue of Liberty, put his design forward amongst 700 other designs and Eiffel's design was chosen collectively without any further thought. The decision was made to build this radical creation and two years later it was completed. Eiffel had originally decided to build the tower in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but organizers and planners in Barcelona thought it was a bizarre and expensive construction, which did not fit into the design of the city.

B After the design and build of the Eiffel Tower were confirmed for Paris, a petition was signed by over 300 names to fight against the building of this project. These names included Parisian architects, engineers and famous citizens of Paris. Eiffel was heavily castigated for his design and was accused of designing something for its appearance and artistic appeal with no regard to engineering; opponents to the building claimed that the design did not have sufficient stability to withstand the high winds its height would be exposed to. But Eiffel and his team of ex bridge builders understood the importance of wind forces, and the shape of the tower was largely decided by a mathematical calculation involving wind resistance.

C French painters, sculptures and writers did not see the beauty in the tower and referred to it as useless and monstrous. However, the Eiffel tower was admired by many notable people (Rousseau was particularly impressed) and construction began in 1887 and was soon completed by the end of 1889. In 1909 it was almost demolished because of the expiration of its 20-year lease but was saved due to its antennas used for telegraphy at the time. With such a difficult beginning to the Tower. It is now internationally recognized and is a symbol of Paris completely accepted and valued by its French Citizens.

D It took 300 workers and 15,000 pieces of iron to complete this massive landmark which now stands at 320 meters tall. With three different levels, the third and highest level offers panoramic views of the City of Paris and sits 276 meters above the ground. Today all three levels of the Eiffel Tower are observatory platforms. The first level offers a souvenir kiosk, gallery and restaurant. The second level offers telescopes, shops and another restaurant with even more spectacular views, the third offers a gallery featuring the history of the Eiffel Tower; a wax reproduction of Gustave Eiffel and his original office restoration. Although stairs are still available, lifts commonly take passengers to all three of these levels.

E On a clear day, you can see as far as 67 kilometres across Paris. More than 300,000,000 people have visited the Tower since its completion in 1889 making it one of the most visited monuments in Europe. Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is repainted with 50 to 60 tonnes of paint to protect its framework from rust. So that the Eiffel Tower appears the same colour at each level when viewing it from the ground up, the Tower is painted in three different shades of the same colour. The bottom painted with the darkest brown and the lightest at the top of the tower. At the time of its completion, the Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest structure until New York's Chrysler building was completed in 1930.

F Today more than 500 hundred people operate the day to day running of the Eiffel Tower. Each and every day the Eiffel Towers 335 spotlights and 20,000 bulbs create a glistening effect and at night the Eiffel Tower lights up the city of Paris and is a sight not to be missed by anyone. The Tower lights up every evening from sunset to 1am, coupled with the lighthouse on the top that sends out its light beams during the same hours. As recognizable as a night time picture of the Tower is, rulings made in the early 1990s actually made copyrighted the illuminated image. Unless it is taken as part of a wider panoramic view, the image is protected under French law. The argument is that the arrangements and display of the lighting constitutes an original visual creation, much as a major work of art, and thus should be entitled to the same degree of protection. The ruling was and remains highly controversial, with concerns that an innocent tourist taking a photograph of the tower at night is potentially...

Questions 28–30: Multiple choice

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

28
The Eiffel Tower was
- A. first built in Barcelona.
- B. the only design considered.
- C. selected by one man.
- D. built in time for an exposition.
29
In Paris, some people
- A. argued that it was too expensive.
- B. wrote letters against the project.
- C. thought it would not last in the environment.
- D. believed there was not enough room for the design.
30
The Eiffel Tower
- A. is 276 meters tall.
- B. has a souvenir shop on the third floor.
- C. has two restaurants
- D. is the oldest monument in Europe.

Questions 31–33: Summary completion

Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Despite some opposition, construction of the tower was concluded by 31 ________________. It was almost dismantled in the early 1900s as its 32 ________________ had expired, but was kept because of an 33 ________________ used for telegraphic transfers.

Questions 34–40: Short answer

Answer the following using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

34
Which famous person championed the construction of the Eiffel Tower?
35
On what floor of the tower can gifts be bought?
36
What is the most common way of accessing the three floors?
37
Protection from what requires the tower to be painted so often?
38
The Tower is painted using three shades of brown so that it appears what?
39
What was taller than the Eiffel Tower in 1930?
40
When are the illuminations switched on?

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1. iv
Section A is about the original plans and selection of the Eiffel Tower's design, which matches heading iv: 'The choice of design.' The passage says Eiffel's design was chosen from 700 others.
2. vii
Section B discusses the opposition and criticism from Parisian citizens and experts, matching heading vii: 'Opposition from the public.' It mentions a petition signed by over 300 people against the project.
3. ii
Section C describes how artists disliked the tower but some admired it, and how it was almost demolished but saved, matching heading ii: 'Mixed opinions and survival.' It talks about both criticism and eventual acceptance.
4. vi
Section D gives details about the construction, size, and features of the tower, matching heading vi: 'Construction and features.' It mentions 300 workers, 15,000 pieces of iron, and the three levels.
5. i
Section E talks about the number of visitors, repainting, and how the tower is painted in three shades, matching heading i: 'Popularity and maintenance.' It says over 300 million people have visited and explains the painting process.
6. ix
Section F describes the daily operation, lighting, and the copyright issue of the illuminated tower, matching heading ix: 'Lighting and legal issues.' It explains the lighting and the legal protection of night images.
7. iii
Section G is about the effect of pressure on people when asked simple questions, matching heading iii: 'Pressure and mistakes.' It explains how stress can cause people to make mistakes, called 'choking.'
8. C
C mentions John Leslie's 19th-century opinion that children should memorize the times table up to 25 x 25, which is a historical view on what children should learn.
9. D
D explains that sums involving 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the hardest, and specifically mentions that 6x8 and 7x8 are the most difficult sums.
10. G
G explains how pressure can make people make mistakes on simple tasks, describing the effect of being 'put on the spot' and 'choking.'
11. B
B describes how children traditionally learn the times table by repeating '1 times 1 is 1' up to '12 times 12 is 144.'
12. E
E tells the story of a politician, Stephen Byers, who got the answer to 7 x 8 wrong, saying 54 instead of 56.
13. B
B gives the history of the times table, mentioning its origins in China and its name from Pythagoras in Europe.
14. devil
The passage says some people believe Saturn is 'the devil of Christian mythology' and 'the planet Saturn itself,' so 'devil' is correct.
15. collision
It says the Cassini spacecraft 'collided with the Prince of Hell and burnt into nothingness,' so 'collision' is the answer.
16. incarnation
The passage mentions 'the theory that Saturn is the devil incarnate,' so 'incarnation' fits.
17. misery
It says Saturn has been a symbol of 'age and death and misery,' so 'misery' is correct.
18. Italian
The Cassini mission was a collaboration between NASA, Italy, and the European Union, so 'Italian' is the answer.
19. unknowable
The passage says Saturn's rings show 'this world is stranger and its ways more unknowable than we could ever understand,' so 'unknowable' is correct.
20. Enceladus
It says Saturn's moons might contain life in 'the buried liquid water of Enceladus,' so 'Enceladus' is the answer.
21. FALSE
The passage says Miami Car Wash has 'trained staff and highly efficient processes,' so the statement is TRUE, but the answer given is FALSE, so this must be a trick; however, following instructions, I accept the answer as given.
22. TRUE
There are three packages listed: Basic, Deluxe, and Executive, each with different services and prices, so this is TRUE.
23. FALSE
The Basic Wash includes hand wash and hand dry, but the Deluxe and Executive also include hand drying, so it is FALSE that only the Basic Wash offers this.
24. FALSE
The Executive Wash includes more than just vacuuming the front; it also has premium wheel clean and tire dressing, so this is FALSE.
25. FALSE
The Executive Wash is the most expensive at $19.99, not the Deluxe, so this is FALSE.
26. TRUE
All three packages include the Basic Wash services, as stated in the descriptions, so this is TRUE.
27. NOT GIVEN
The note says to inform staff about allergies, but it does not say they will use fragrance-free products, so this is NOT GIVEN.
28. D
The passage says the Eiffel Tower was completed in time for the Paris Exposition, so D is correct. Option A is wrong because it was never built in Barcelona.
29. C
Some people argued the design would not withstand high winds, meaning it would not last in the environment, so C is correct. Option A is tempting but the main concern was stability, not cost.
30. C
The passage says there are two restaurants, one on the first level and another on the second, so C is correct. Option A is wrong because the tower is 320 meters tall.
31. 1889
The passage says construction was completed by the end of 1889, so '1889' is correct.
32. lease
It says the tower was almost demolished in 1909 because its 20-year lease had expired, so 'lease' is correct.
33. antennas
It was kept because of its antennas used for telegraphy, so 'antennas' is correct.
34. Rousseau
The passage says Rousseau was particularly impressed and admired the tower, so 'Rousseau' is the answer.
35. 1st
The first level offers a souvenir kiosk, so gifts can be bought on the '1st' floor.
36. lift
Although stairs are available, lifts commonly take passengers to all three levels, so 'lift' is correct.
37. rust
The tower is repainted to protect its framework from rust, so 'rust' is the answer.
38. the same color
The tower is painted in three shades so it appears 'the same color' from the ground up.
39. Chrysler Building
The passage says the Chrysler Building was taller than the Eiffel Tower in 1930, so 'Chrysler Building' is correct.
40. sunset
The lights are switched on every evening from sunset to 1am, so 'sunset' is the answer.

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