PRACTICE IELTS READING TEST 3 WITH ANSWERS
READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12 , which
are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
FLIGHT OF THE HONEY
·
Honeybees are characterised by their ability to produce liquefied sugar (honey) and a propensity to construct colonial nests using wax, two tasks that necessitate a significant level of social integration among members. As a result, they maintain strict divisions of labour, based on sex, with all males functioning as drones to fertilize and care for the eggs, and all females, with the exception of the single fertile queen, responsible for fetching nectar for the colony’s progeny. In addition, honeybees have devised a sophisticated system of communication to relay important information from member to member.
Honeybees are characterised by their ability to produce liquefied sugar (honey) and a propensity to construct colonial nests using wax, two tasks that necessitate a significant level of social integration among members. As a result, they maintain strict divisions of labour, based on sex, with all males functioning as drones to fertilize and care for the eggs, and all females, with the exception of the single fertile queen, responsible for fetching nectar for the colony’s progeny. In addition, honeybees have devised a sophisticated system of communication to relay important information from member to member.
·
Perhaps the most intriguing feature of honeybee
communication is a series of flight moves only performed by a female
worker bee that has returned to the nest with nectar and needs to tell the rest
of her colony that she has discovered food supplies and where they can be found.
This so-called honeybee dance was first interpreted by German zoologist Karl
von Frisch in the early 1970s. To facilitate observation, von Frisch
and his students built several glass walled hives and marked a collection of
worker bees, or foragers, with paint. He then trained those foragers to find
nectar at designated sources at various distances from the hives, and when the
bees returned he carefully recorded their movements, the angle and direction of
their flight, and any additional visual cues offered to the colony.
What von Frisch discovered was that each aspect of the dance
indicated certain details about the location of the nectar reserves and
recruited others to return to the site.
·
The first piece of information conveyed by dancing bees is the
distance of the field to the hive, and they do this in one of three ways. If it
is less than 50 meters from the colony’s nest the bee will fly around in narrow
circles, and then suddenly fly in the opposite direction. She will repeat this
pattern, which von Frisch’s team called the round dance, until she has
recruited several other workers to return with her to the field. When the
distance is greater than 50 meters, but less than 150 meters, she will perform
a sickle dance, a crescent shaped flight course. If the field is farther than
150 meters, the forager will act out a waggle dance in which she will run
straight ahead briefly before returning to her original position in a
semi-circular movement. Then, she will run forward again and return from the
opposite side. The length of the forward run coincides with the distance of the
food supplies; for example, a 2.5 second run indicates that the nectar was
found about 2500 meters way.
·
Recruits also need to know the direction in which they should
fly to arrive at the appropriate foraging location, and this
information is communicated via the bee’s angular orientation to
the hive. It, however, is not a direct connection to the position of the food
supplies from the hive, but its location relative to the sun. Therefore if
the food is situated directly opposite from the sun, the bee will fly a
straight run verticallydownward; if it is in the same direction as
the sun, it will fly directly upward from the colony nest. A position 60
degrees to the right of the sun will prompt the bee to fly downwards at a 60
degrees angle toward the right of the nest. Moreover, because the sun is
in constant motion throughout the day, the bee’s orientation will shift depending
on the time at which the dance is performed. Sceptics of von Frisch’s findings,
however, claim that visual cues are not enough to provide all the
clues necessary to convey the location of a food resource. Several
scientists, among them Adrian Wenner, believe that the dance is only one component of
honeybee communications; odour is the second key element. Using
robotic bees to perform the same dances, Wenner was unable to attract new
recruits to the foraging activities; however, when he added a bit of nectar to
the robot, workers quickly followed. He also discovered that the odors must be
representative of the actual flowers containing the food source; otherwise
the bees will arrive at the site, but not know which ones will be profitable.
Questions 1 – 3
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 1 – 3 on your
answer sheet.
1. Honeybees
A . have a rudimentary ability to convey information.
B . have clearly segregated roles.
C . are found in equal numbers of male and female.
D . often relocate to areas with certain types of flower.
A . have a rudimentary ability to convey information.
B . have clearly segregated roles.
C . are found in equal numbers of male and female.
D . often relocate to areas with certain types of flower.
2. Research conducted in the 1970s
A . was undertaken using traditional hives.
B . determined that forager bees had special markings.
C . closely studied the phenomenon of the honeybee body language.
D . concluded that there was no discernible pattern to the movement of the bees.
3. To identify that the source of nectar is close, forager bees
A . will repeatedly fly the same direction.
B . will begin to move only when other bees are watching.
C . will run straight forward.
D . will repeat a pattern of flying in one direction then abruptly reversing direction.
Questions 4 – 8
Complete the sentences below USING NO MORE THAN TWO
AND/OR A NUMBER.
Write your answers in boxes 4- 8 on your answer sheet.
Von Frisch focussed on a number of 4 clues
to deduce how bees communicated.
The bee will move forward for 5 for
every 1000 metres away the food source is.
To locate the direction of the nectar, the forager will base its
movements on the position of 6 .
For food sources over 150 metres away, the forager will indicate
distance with a 7 dance.
It has been argued that 8 as
well as movement may help to locate food sources.
Questions 9 – 12
Do the following statements agree with the information given in
the reading passage?
In boxes 9 -12 on your answer sheet 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
.
Drone bees communicate using a complicated set of movements.
. The honeybee dance is performed until a number of other bees join in the collection of the nectar.
. The honeybee dance is only performed when the sun is visible.
. Wenner concluded that a matching smell will help bees find the rough area of the nectar but not the specific source.
. The honeybee dance is performed until a number of other bees join in the collection of the nectar.
. The honeybee dance is only performed when the sun is visible.
. Wenner concluded that a matching smell will help bees find the rough area of the nectar but not the specific source.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-25 , which are based on Reading Passage 2
below.
A. Recent research in Hong
Kong indicates that staying in bed after a long week at school is just what
children need to avoid becoming obese, The research, which focused on children aged five to
fifteen, discovered that those who slept late on Saturdays and Sundays
decreased the probability of having weight problems as they grew up. Published
in the journalPaediatrics, the findings add
to previous research that
indicated a connection between regular sleep deprivation and obesity.
B. The scientists involved believe the weekend lie-in
is vital for school-age children to catch up
on the sleep they lose during a busy week at school. This catch up sleep helps
the children to regulate calorie consumption by cutting down on eating snacks during
waking hours, Scientists and others in the medical fields
have long known that a lack of sleep and irregular sleep patterns causes obesity as this combination affects the body’s
natural metabolism and tends to also
encourage snacking to reduce the feeling of tiredness. However, this is thought
to be the first time researchers have found sleeping in at weekends to be a
key factor in helping ‘reset’ children’s
sleeping patterns.
C. Since the 1980s, obesity rates
among children in the UK and in the United States have been on the rise
and medical and childcare experts fear a
diabetes and heart disease epidemic is
developing. Although estimates for obesity rates
have recently been lowered, current expectations are that close to one in three
boys aged from two to eleven are likely to be
overweight or obese by the year 2020. The
prediction for girls is slightly over one in
four, a much lower prediction than ten years ago when forecasts were that
almost half would be overweight.
D. The relationship between sleep deficiency and obesity has been drawing much attention in the past
several years with studies showing that sleeping just a few hours a night can
seriously disturb the body’s natural metabolism, leading
to an increase in overall calorie
intake and a much greater danger of weight-related illnesses. Yun Kwok Wing of
Hong Kong University and other experts investigated the possibility that
catching up on sleep at the weekends would help youngsters to overcome such
disruption of the bodies metabolism. They
questioned the parents of over 5,000 schoolchildren and accumulated data on
diet, lifestyle, weight and sleeping habits. During school time, the average
amount of sleep was a little over nine hours on average. However, a surprising
number of kids slept well under eight hours a night.
E. What the researchers found most interesting was that those
children who managed to catch up on missed sleep on the weekend actually
remained relatively slim while those who did
not had a higher probability of putting on weight (as measured by body
mass index, or BMI). A report the researches
published revealed: “Overweight and obese children tended to wake up earlier and had shorter
sleep durations throughout weekdays, weekends and holidays than their normal-weight peers. Our study suggests sleeping longer
on weekends or holidays could lower the risk of being overweight or obese.”
F. The study authors mentioned that reduced sleep duration has become a hallmark of modern society, with
people generally sleeping one to two hours less than a few decades ago and
children were no exception to this. However, the researchers were not quite
sure why obese and overweight children were
less likely to sleep late on weekends, but
indicated that they tended to spend more time doing their homework and watching
television than their normal- weight peers.
Still, the researchers urged caution in the interpretation of
their findings, acknowledging that “an irregular sleep-wake schedule and insufficient sleep among school-aged
children and adolescents has been documented with a variety of
serious repercussions, including increased daytime sleepiness, academic
difficulties, and mood and behavioral problems.”
G. The precise nature of
the link between short sleep duration and obesity remains unclear, said Mary A. Jackson, Professor
of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in Providence, and Director of
Chronobiology at Bradley Hospital in East Providence. “Evidence has shown that
there are changes in satiety and in levels of the hunger hormones leptin and
ghrelin,” Jackson said. “But there’s also evidence that
kids who are not getting enough sleep get less physical activity,
perhaps simply because they’re too tired. It’s just not cut-and-dried.” The
findings could be of help in slowing down the ongoingincrease in
childhood obesity, but for the time being,
parents should be observant of their children’s wake-sleep cycles, and take
steps to ensure they are getting enough
sleep, the researchers advised. Perhaps this is a reminder to us all that despite school, homework, extracurricular activities,
and family time, sleep still needs to be a priority in
a child’s life.
Questions 13 – 15
Choose THREE letters A-G.
Write your answers in boxes 13-15 on your answer sheet.
NB Your answers may be given in any order.
Which THREE of the following statements are
true of the research in Hong Kong?
A . Researchers
discovered that overweight children tend to sleep more.
B . The
researchers believe the weekend lie-in is very important for busy children.
C . The findings
show that overweight children tend to wake up earlier and sleep less.
D . Obesity in
children may be triggered by a fluctuation in sleep patterns.
E . The
researchers do not know the reasons why obese children are less likely to sleep
late on weekends.
F . The
researchers interviewed the children’s teachers to gain information.
G . All children
investigated slept more than eight hours a day.
Questions 16 – 21
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 16-21.
16 .
Predictions on rates of obesity in children.
17 . An outline of the most notable research finding.
18 . Ideas on why overweight children don’t sleep in on weekends.
19 . How sleeping in on weekends can help a child keep slim.
20 . A study looking into sleep deprivation and the affect on body metabolism.
21 . Advice for parents concerned about their children becoming overweight.
17 . An outline of the most notable research finding.
18 . Ideas on why overweight children don’t sleep in on weekends.
19 . How sleeping in on weekends can help a child keep slim.
20 . A study looking into sleep deprivation and the affect on body metabolism.
21 . Advice for parents concerned about their children becoming overweight.
Questions 22 – 25
Complete the summary with the list of words A-L below.
Write the correct letter A-L in boxes 22-25 on
your answer sheet.
A. recent
B. past
C. lost
D. gain
E.
put
F.
difficulty
G. inconclusive
H. reveal
I. remain J.
future K.
immediate L. poor
|
The main findings of the research showed that children who were
able to catch up on 22 sleep
stayed fairly slim whereas children who did not were much more likely to 23 weight.
The researchers mentioned that in 24 times
a reduction in sleep time has become common with most people sleeping an hour
or two less than in the past. However, the reasons why overweight children
tended to sleep less on weekends than their slimmer peers 25 a
mystery.
READING PASSAGE 3
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 26-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
TEAM BUILDING
·
Particularly in times of economic downturn, efficiency is of
supreme importance across all industry bases; whilst companies may be looking
to cut their costs, many still investin staff motivation, training and
development programmes, having developed an understanding of just how crucial strong internal relationships
can be for success.
·
Louise Edwards of HR Success says that one of the barriers she
comes across time and time again is that corporate heads often seem
to understand that ‘team building’ is important but are not quite sure what it
is or how to achieve it. In the terms of a sports club, she says, the
team (i.e. what it is and how it is defined) is obvious and easy
to identify. In contrast, she says, within a company –
particularly a multi-layered, larger organisation, definitions may become more
confused. Many define a business ‘team’ as the group of people who
report to the same boss – a department, for example. However, according to
Edwards, it is more productive to define a team as a group of people
working towards a common goal. In training terms, therefore, this
group could be members of a department with the same roles and
responsibilities, such as a sales team with the common goal of selling or even
the organisation as a whole, whose ‘goal’ in this case is the continued success
of the organisation, their many different skills and roles all contributing to
this in a number of ways.
·
Brenda Durham of Corporate Trouble-Shooters believes
it inevitable that to some extent conflict will exist in a
successful workplace since the necessary diversity of skills and
personalities required for success will also unavoidably lead to
misunderstandings and disharmony from time to time. A cohesive unit that
minimises friction, she believes, can however be developed in any
organisation committed to investment in its people. Whilst the taking on
of external expertise for staff training and team building
programmes can be costly, a number of companies, particularly those with
a robust human resources department, are undertaking the training
themselves. Liaison Wizards, established in 2001 and headed by Jeff Blackshaw,
offers free training and development advice to companies wishing to offer motivation
seminars designed in house, in the belief that contextualised training is
always more effective. The company’s own business model is based upon
generating revenue from advertising on their popular website – a
great success, so far, having surpassed financial projections for each year it
has been in operation to date.
·
Blackshaw likens the key to successful corporate team
building to the tactics employed in a less formal sporting environment. He
says that bonds, connections and empathy developed between members of a rugby
team, for example, can also be developed within a department in the business
world or even at company level. He says that good team work is fostered by
respect, encouragement, shared enthusiasm and a caring and supportive
workplace. Trying to exploit or dictate to personnel is sure to lead
to failure, Blackshaw says.
·
Brian Osbourne, Human Resources Director of Opmax Inc, believes
that programmes developed in house are inherently more likely to be
of greater success than externalofferings for two main reasons. Most
importantly, he says, people are much easier to motivate if they themselves can
be involved in designing and deciding activities – this level of consultation
at the planning stage being much easier to achieve for an internaldepartment
than an external consultant. Of only slightly less
importance, says Osbourne, training activities must be perceived by
participants as providing outcomes geared towards developing the
individuals’ potential, Once again, programmes developed by people
with an insight into the personalities and culture at hand
can be more easily tailored to suit the distinctive needs of that
particular audience.
·
According to Osbourne, one of the biggest barriers to successful
staff training is the perception that activities are too game-focussed, with no
real objectives; many professionals, believing that such games are trite or
patronising, are unable to appreciate the hidden benefits of building
understanding and camaraderie within the group. If presented correctly, within
the correct context and in conjunction with other, more staid
approaches, Louise Edwards holds that games can be an enormous asset
in staff training. In simple terms, Edwards defines the objectives of team
building activities as a process, starting with the first stage – the
clarification of the collective goals. This leads to the identification of the
inhibitors preventing achievement of those goals and the introduction of
enablers which will assist in goal achievement. This is followed by
stage four – the final stage, where outcomes are measured and from
that point on are monitored to ensure that goals are achieved and
continue to be achieved. In stages 2 and 3 (identifying barriers and
introducing positive alternatives) Edwards believes that the use of
humour goes a long way towards relationship building on a personal
level through development of empathy and removal of antipathy, ultimately
fostering cooperation and support on a more formal level.
·
Alan Kidman, HR Manager of Tellam Industries agrees that the use
of humour and games within a training context can go a long way towards helping
an organisation achieve its goals. He has recently designed a two
month long in house team building programme for senior management and will soon
be delivering the first of a series of 8 workshops and activities.
The goal of the project, he says, was to strengthen communication and
support within the extremely diverse departments of the
organisation. Heads of six departments, collectively responsible for
over 200 staff members, are to be involved in the series of seminars.
The programme, Kidman says, is experimental and if it proves to be a
success is also intended for use in the organisation’s branches overseas. Previously
the organisation has taken a more formalised approach to staff
development training relying on methods such as psychometric testing
discussions, motivational conferences and formal appraisals. The new, and as
yet untried, approach will challenge participants in, by
comparison, rather radical ways. One initiative, for example,
requiring the writing, organisation and delivery of a theatrical performance to
which all staff members will be invited to view.
·
Team building and motivational approaches include a wide variety of
methodologies, techniques, theories and tools. Experts generally agree that
different options may succeed or fail depending upon the culture of
the organisation in which they are implemented. A fit with the personalities
involved in crucial to success. Not only is delivery of appropriate training
sessions themselves important but professional and measurable follow
up is also a must.
Questions 26 – 30
Do the following statements agree with the information given in
the reading passage?
In boxes 26 -30 on your answer sheet 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
26 .
Typical stresses of working with different people are removed with the correct
training.
27 . Liaison Wizards claims that training has increased their income every year since the company started.
28 . Many companies are unsuccessful because they are dogmatic and take advantage of staff.
29 . In house training is more successful primarily because employees feel more involved in the planning.
30 . The value of games as a training tool can be misunderstood.
27 . Liaison Wizards claims that training has increased their income every year since the company started.
28 . Many companies are unsuccessful because they are dogmatic and take advantage of staff.
29 . In house training is more successful primarily because employees feel more involved in the planning.
30 . The value of games as a training tool can be misunderstood.
Questions 31 – 35
Look at the following list of statements based on Reading
Passage 3.
Match the statement with the correct person A-E. You
can use each letter more than once.
A. Louise Edwards
B. Brenda Durham
C. Jeff Blackshaw
D. Brian Osborne
E. Alan Kidman
31 .
Many companies will experience friction between staff.
32 . Training specifically tailored to a company is more efficient than generic training.
33 . Modern methods of training, although still only being piloted, can bring people from different perspectives together.
34 . Successful team relationships are formed in a positive work environment.
35 . A lack of clarity as to what the term ‘team building’ means.
32 . Training specifically tailored to a company is more efficient than generic training.
33 . Modern methods of training, although still only being piloted, can bring people from different perspectives together.
34 . Successful team relationships are formed in a positive work environment.
35 . A lack of clarity as to what the term ‘team building’ means.
Questions 36 – 40
Complete the summary USING NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from
Reading Passage 3 for each answer.
Team building can be considered to have 36 clear
stages. Initially, it is essential to be clear as to the 37 of
the entire team or company.
Those barriers which are preventing the team from achieving
these aims are identified as 38 , and
are addressed by introducing enablers. Here the use of 39 can
be used to help build a cooperative relationship. Finally, success can be
quantified and continually 40 .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ANSWERS
1. B
|
21. G
|
2. C
|
22. C
|
3. D
|
23. D
|
4. Visual
|
24. A
|
5. 1
second
|
25. I
|
6. The sun
|
26. FALSE
|
7. Waggle
|
27. FALSE
|
8. Odour
|
28. NOT
GIVEN
|
9. FALSE
|
29. TRUE
|
10. TRUE
|
30. TRUE
|
11. NOT
GIVEN
|
31. B
|
12. FALSE
|
32. C
|
13. B C E
(IN ANY ORDER)
|
33. E
|
14. B C E
(IN ANY ORDER)
|
34. C
|
15. B C E
(IN ANY ORDER)
|
35. A
|
16. C
|
36. 4
|
17. E
|
37. Collective
goals
|
18. F
|
38. Inhibitors
|
19. B
|
39. Humour
|
20. D
|
40. monitored
|
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