Helpful Hints for IELTS Academic Module_7

Practice Test Four Questions 5 - 9 You are advised to spend about 8 minutes on Questions 5-9. Choose the most suitable heading from the list of headings below for the seven sections of Reading Passage 1 "The Beam-Operated Traffic System". Write your answers in boxes 5 - 9 on your Answer Sheet. 6 8 40`45"4€ A. B. C. D. E. F. Example: G. H. I. List of Headings Returning the city to the people Speed to offset loss of car ownership Automation to replace existing roads A safe and cheap alternative The monorail system Inter-city freeways Doing the sums 9 The complete answer to the traffic problem Cleaner and more efficient Q5. Section (ii) Q8. Section (v) Q6. Section (hi) Q9. Section (vi) 42 / 45 Q7. Section (iv) Example: Section (vii)....(?.. 9 Check 11-13-15 Questions 10-12 You are advised to spend about 7 minutes on Questions 10 -12. Refer to Reading Passage 1, and look at the statements below. Write S if the statement is Supported by what is written in the passage, and write NS if the statement is Not Supported. Write your answers in boxes 10 -12 on your Answer Sheet. e s 34-36 43 Example: The combustion engine was designed over 100 years ago. NS 9 Q10. The increased speed of traffic in a Beam-Operated Traffic S NS 52 System is due to electric motors being 90% efficient. Q11. Beamed traffic will travel through tunnels costing less to build than subway tunnels. Q12. A possible solution to wilful damage to the System is to install camera equipment. NS 43 NS 44 Check 11-13-15 141 101 Helpful Hints for IELTS Reading Passage 2 Questions 13 - 26 6 You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-26. 38-44 54-56-57 Microcredit - Helping to Alleviate Third World Poverty The application of prevailing theories of economics has so far failed to lift developing countries out of the cycle of poverty that entraps the majority of inhabitants. Worldwide there are still an estimated 1.3 billion people earning a dollar or less a day and living in excruciating poverty. Decades of huge loans by banks from affluent nations - at interest rates that cripple developing economies - do not appear to be providing a solution to entrenched poverty. Professor Muhammad Yunus` Grameen Bank, however, is taking a different approach to the problem. In 1976, the Bangladeshi economics professor embarked upon a microcredit programme with a loan of just 62 cents (U.S.) each to a group of 42 workers. Instead of loaning large amounts of money to well-off debtors, the bank he started made extremely small loans to poor Bangladeshis who were considered a bad risk by the traditional banking system. He astounded his critics by proving that the poor were more likely to repay their debts than the wealthy. Virtually none of the thousands of women who have been financially assisted by the bank for over 20 years have defaulted on their payments. Yet all are expected to pay interest and abide by the rules of contract. These borrowings have enabled Bangladeshi women to set up numerous small-scale projects which directly benefit their families and the communities in which they live. The success of the experiment has brought about a revolution in the way anti-poverty programmes are now organised. By the end of the century, almost 95% of borrowers in Bangladesh were women, but the bank did not set out to lend mainly to women. At first, women were reluctant to use the bank`s services for fear of stepping out of line in a strongly male-dominated society. It took six years to reach a 50-50 ratio of male and female borrowers. Over time, it became apparent that improving the income of women has positive effects that are lacking when men are the beneficiaries. While men are likely to take risks with the money they have borrowed, women prove more capable of planning for the future and improving the family situation. The Grameen Bank has loaned over $2 billion in Bangladesh to date. Over 3.5 million women from low income households have benefited from its schemes, receiving amounts that have increased to around $160 per loan. The bank claims a remarkable repayment rate of 98%. It works in 36,000 villages throughout Bangladesh, employs a staff of over 12,000, and has provided the blueprint for similar microcredit programmes working in over 56 countries, including the United States of America, where poverty remains an intractable problem in many large cities. Offering credit to poverty-stricken women to start small enterprises is not the only way in which the bankhas improved their financial status. The bank is the largest internet service provider in the country, and, in partnership with a Norwegian telecommunications company, lends cellular phones to borrowers, mostly women, who generate income by selling telephone services to the rural population. A telephone lady can earn $2 a day which amounts to $700 a year - more than triple the average Bangladeshi annual per capita income. The success of the Grameen programme continues to confound the experts. Their reaction to Professor Yunus` bold plans to bring solar and wind energy to isolated communities, and to make the World Wide Web available to the poor is much the same 142 Practice Test Four as the reaction of the orthodox banks to his initial concept - condemnation and disbelief. It is sobering to reflect that despite the obvious success of the model, microcredit still receives only 2% of the world`s $60 billion development budget. It is true that the new goals of the Grameen programme are beyond mere banking and will require the involvement and funding of multinational companies and traditional aid agencies. It is equally true that engaging the poor to help with the removal of the poverty in which they find themselves is now a technique with a proven track record. This not only addresses the problem at grassroots level, but also preserves the dignity of those who participate by avoiding the need for charity. Provided the latest extensions remain fundamentally `bottom up` solutions, it seems sensible to believe they have more than a small chance of success. Number of ... (as at August 1998) Branches 1118 Centres 66,352 Villages 38,766 Borrowers 124,248 (5.3%) (mate) Borrowers 2,232,905 (94 7%) (female) Houses built 448,031 (cumulative) (with Grameen housing loans) Figure 1. Grameen Bank Performance Questions 13 -15 You are advised to spend about 5 minutes on Questions 13 -15. s Complete the information for the pie charts below by referring to Reading Passage 1 "Microcredit 8 - Helping to Alleviate World Poverty". Write your answers in boxes 13 -15 on your Answer 52 Sheet. The first one has been done for you as an example. Gender of borrowers: 1976 Q13 54 Q14 54 (Ex:) 9 94.7% Q15. 58 Check 11-15 143 101 Helpful Hints for IELTS Questions 16-21 e s 44-46-49 You are advised to spend about 7 minutes on Questions 16 - 21. Refer to Reading Passage 1, and link the phrases in Questions 16-21 with either: TB Traditional Banks GB the Grameen Bank MB Male Borrowers FB Female Borrowers A All of the above or N None of the above Write your answers in boxes 16 - 21 on your Answer Sheet. Q16. thought that poor Bangladeshis would default on their loans Q17. providing a model for other poverty relief programmes to follow Q18. initially unwilling to borrow funds Q19. often careless with the money they have been loaned Q20. not likely to be unable or unwilling to repay debts Q21. either paying or charging interest on their loans Questions 22 - 26 6 You are advised to spend about 8 minutes on Questions 22 - 26. 8 Complete the following statements with words or phrases from Reading Passage 1 "Microcredit 12-65 - Helping to Alleviate World Poverty". Write your answers in boxes 22 - 26 on your Answer 46-53 Sheet. Note that each answer requires a MAXIMUM OF FOUR WORDS. Q22. The interest rates that banks from wealthy nations charge 65 Q23. After six years, the Grameen Bank was lending money to an equal number of Q24. Even in wealthy countries, poverty still exists in Q25. Women with cellular phones can earn three times the average wage by to villagers. 53 Q26. Professor Yunus hopes to interest existing aid organisations and Check. in his latest plans. 11-15 144 Practice Test Four Reading Passage 3 Questions 27 - 40 You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27 - 40. A.D.D. - Missing Out on Learning 38-44 40-51-54 Study requires a student`s undivided attention. It is impossible to acquire a complex skill or absorb information about a subject in class unless one learns to concentrate without undue stress for long periods of time. Students with Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) are particularly deficient in this respect for reasons which are now known to be neurobiological and not behavioural, as was once believed. Of course, being unable to concentrate, and incapable of pleasing the teacher and oneself in the process, quickly leads to despondence and low self-esteem. This will naturally induce behavioural problems. It is estimated that 3 - 5 % of all children suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder. There are three main types of Attention Deficit Disorder: A.D.D. without Hyperactivity, A.D.D. with Hyperactivity (A.D.H.D.), and Undifferentiated A.D.D. The characteristics of a person with A.D.D. are as follows: • has difficulty paying attention • does not appear to listen • is unable to carry out given instructions • avoids or dislikes tasks which require sustained mental effort • has difficulty with organisation • is easily distracted • often loses things • is forgetful in daily activities Children with A.D.H.D. also exhibit excessive and inappropriate physical activity, such as constant fidgeting and running about the room. This boisterousness often interferes with the educational development of others. Undifferentiated A.D.D. sufferers exhibit some, but not all, of the symptoms of each category. It is important to base remedial action on an accurate diagnosis. Since A.D.D. is a physiological disorder caused by some structural or chemically-based neurotransmitter problem in the nervous system, it responds especially well to certain psychostimulant drugs, such as Ritalin. In use since 1953, the drug enhances the ability to structure and complete a thought without being overwhelmed by non-related and distracting thought processes. Psychostimulants are the most widely used medications for persons with A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. Recent findings have validated the use of stimulant medications, which work in about 70 - 80% 145 ... - tailieumienphi.vn