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MODEL TEST - GENERAL TRAINING IELTS
(Time: 90 minutes)
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Section 1
Script:
You will hear a male student talking to the Union representative about placing an advertisement to sale the laptop. Union Rep: Hi. I'm Debbie. How can I help? David: Hi. My name's David. I'm just looking to place an advertisement on the main Union notice- board to sell a laptop and a few accessories, if that's possible. Union Rep: Sure. That's not a problem. I take it you are a member of the Students' Union? David: Yes, I am. Union Rep: Right then. I'll just get a form up and as there is no one around and it looks as if it's going to be quiet for a while, I'll just type the details straight into the computer for you. David: Thanks very much. Union Rep: No problem. Shall we just title it Laptop for Sale? David: Yeah OK. Union Rep: Can you describe it generally? David: Well, it's in very good condition; in fact it's hardly been used. Union Rep: Why are you selling it, if I may ask? David: Well, I've got another one which is much lighter and I don't really need two. Union Rep: I see. What weight is the one you are selling? David: It's 3.5 kilogrammes. Union Rep: That is heavy these days. Can you give more details about the one you want to sell? David: Right. Mmm. Well, It's an Allegro and it's got all the latest programmes. Union Rep: Okay. What about the memory? David: The memory is only 0.5 Giga-bytes. Union Rep: And what about the screen size and the other features? David: Well, mmm ... the screen is ... let's see, it's ... mmm ... 37.5cm with a standard size keyboard and a touch pad, but I've got a cordless mouse that I can put in with it if necessary. Some people don't like using a touch pad. Union Rep: What about ports or holes for attaching things to the laptop? David: It's got two ports. Union Rep: Mmm. More modern laptops have more than two ports for all the extra ttachments. David: They do. Let's see what else is important? Oh yeah. The battery lasts for 2 hours, which is okay but not enough for long train journeys. But one thing is that it's not wireless. Union Rep: Right. Okay. Not wireless. Union Rep: Anything else I can put on the advertisement? David: There's a web cam built at the top of the screen and I can throw in a printer, a scanner and headphones, which I got with it in a special deal. It also comes with its own case for carrying it around. Actually the case is quite smart. I'm hoping these things will help it sell. Union Rep: They should do. Right. I think I've got all that. How much do you want for it? David: That I'm not sure about. It's worth about £900-£1000 new. Union Rep: Yeah, but you won't get that much if it's used and even if it's in good condition. David: What about £500? Union Rep: I doubt if you'd get as much as that. More like £200 or £300. If you look at the notice board there is one on there which is comparable to yours and it's not more than about £250,1 think. David: As little as that? Union Rep: I'm afraid so. Shall we say £300? David: Okay put that. Union Rep: Can I take some contact details for the advert? David: The name's David Bristow. Union Rep: B-R-I-S-T-O-W. David: Yes that's it, and a mobile or email? Union Rep: Both if you want. David: It's DIB_7791@hotmail.com Union Rep: Okay and the mobile? David: That's 09875 42 33 87. Union Rep: That's it. If you send the picture, I'll add it and print it out and stick it up for you. David: Okay, I can get that to you today. Union rep: Right. I'll type in here: Advert placed: the 22nd October. Fine, and good luck with the sale! David: Thanks. Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. | Laptop for Sale | | Condition | Almost new | | Weight | (1)…………… | | Make | Allegro | | Memory | (2)…………… | | Screen | (3)…………… | | Touch pad but with no cordless mouse | | | Number of ports | Two | | Battery lasts | 2 1/2 | | Latest programmes | Not (4)…………… | | Extras | | Web cam | | | Printer with | (5)……………… | | Smart case | | | Price | (6)……………… | | Contact details | | Name | David (7)……………… | | E-mail address | DIB_7791@hotmail.com | | Mobile number | (8)……………… | | Advert placed | (9)……………… |
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Bristow
wireless
22nd October
scanner and headphones
09875423387
3.5kg/3.5 kilogrammes/3.5 kilograms
0.5 GB/only 0.5 GB/0.5 gigabytes/only 0.5 gigabytes/nought point five GB/only nought point five GB/nought point five gigabytes/only nought point five gigabytes
37.5 cm
£300/Three hundred pounds
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Section 2
Script:
Thank you all for coming to see the new renovations to the Hartford Health Club. I know you’ll be as pleased as I am to see the wonderful results of our months of hard work to improve the club and bring you the best facilities ever. We’ll begin in here with the swimming pool. You’ll notice the new color of the adult pool, a lovely, cool green. Now walk over here and look at the children’s pool. It’s the same green but, as you see, with brightly colored sea creatures painted everywhere. Both of the pools needed painting, not only for maintenance, but I think the new color greatly improves the atmosphere of this part of the club. Next, let’s take a look at the locker rooms. Don’t worry, there’s no one using them just now. Doesn’t it feel roomy in here? We’ve expanded both the men’s and women’s locker rooms, so now they’ll be much more comfortable to use. There are bigger lockers, a good deal more room in the dressing area, and more places to store extra towels and equipment. Be careful as you walk through here. The floor has just been polished and may be a bit slippery. Let’s go up to the exercise room next. Here you’ll notice the new floor. Walk on it. Doesn’t that feel comfortable? It’s a special material, softer than the old floor, an ideal surface for jogging and exercising. They had to move all the exercise equipment out while they were working on the floor, but don’t worry, it will be brought back in before the end of today. Let’s step outside now and look at the tennis courts. We haven’t done a great deal here except to the equipment. We replaced all the nets and the ball-throwing machine. Otherwise, everything is the same as it was before. Let’s walk down this hallway, and here we are at the club store in its new location. We thought here by the entrance was a better place for it than where it used to be by the swimming pool. But it still has all the same items for sale: sports equipment and clothes in the club colors. What change has been made to each part of the Hartford health club?
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1. swimming pools
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Explain:
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3. exercise room
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Script:
Guide: We’re excited about the upcoming activities and events to take place in our newly renovated club. Now that the pools are ready for use again, swimming lessons will begin tomorrow, for both adults and children. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can stop by the office before you leave today and put your name on the list. If you’re a tennis player, you’ll be interested to hear about the tennis competition coming up on Wednesday. Players from different clubs all over the region will be participating. If you’d like to watch the event, tickets are available in the office. Also, I want to be sure you all know you’re invited to our club party, coming up next weekend. We’re celebrating the completion of the renovation work, and we have a lot to celebrate. The entire renovation project was finished in just nine months. That’s three months less than the twelve months we had originally planned on. We’re proud of that and proud that we came in under budget, too. Because we’ve had such good results with this project, we’re already planning the next one. We already have two indoor pools, and next year we plan to install an outdoor pool right next to the tennis courts. Details of these plans will be made available to all club members soon. All right, I think we’ve covered just about everything. Are there any questions? Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
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party/club party
tennis competition
swimming lessons
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Section 3
Script:
TUTOR: Right, Sandra. You wanted to see me to get some feedback on your group’s proposal. The one you’re submitting for the Geography Society field trip competition. I’ve had a look through your proposal and I think it’s a really good choice. In fact, I only have a few things to say about it, but even in an outline document like this you really have to be careful to avoid typos and problems with layout in the proposal, and even in the contents page. So read it through carefully before submitting it, okay? SANDRA: Will do. TUTOR: And I’ve made a few notes on the proposal about things which could have been better sequenced. SANDRA: Okay. TUTOR: As for the writing itself, I’ve annotated the proposal as and where I thought it could be improved. Generally speaking, I feel you’ve often used complex structures and long sentences for the sake of it and as a consequence ... although your paragraphing and inclusion of sub-headings help ... it’s quite hard to follow your train of thought at times. So cut them down a bit, can you? SANDRA: Really? TUTOR: Yes. And don’t forget simple formatting like numbering. SANDRA: Didn’t I use page numbers? TUTOR: I didn’t mean that. Look, you’ve remembered to include headers and footers, which is good, but listing ideas clearly is important. Number them or use bullet points, which is even clearer. Then you’ll focus the reader on your main points. I thought your suggestion to go to the Navajo Tribal Park was a very good idea. SANDRA: I’ve always wanted to go there. My father was a great fan of cowboy films and the Wild West so I was subjected to seeing all the epics, many of which were shot there. As a consequence, it feels very familiar to me and it’s awesome both geographically and visually, so it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. The subsequent research I did and the online photographs made me even keener. Choose the correct answer about “Field Trip Proposal”
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1. The tutor thinks that Sandra′s proposal ................
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Explain:
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2. The proposal would be easier to follow if Sandra ................
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Explain:
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3. What was the problem with the formatting on Sandra′s proposal? ................
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Explain:
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4. Sandra became interested in visiting the Navajo National Park through ................
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Explain:
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Script:
TUTOR: Interesting. Right, let’s look at the content of your proposal now. SANDRA: Did you find it comprehensive enough? TUTOR: Well, yes and no. You’ve listed several different topics on your contents page, but I’m not sure they’re all relevant. SANDRA: No? Well, I thought that from the perspective of a field trip, one thing I needed to focus on was the sandstone plateaux and cliffs themselves. The way they tower up from the flat landscape is just amazing. The fact that the surrounding softer rocks were eroded by wind and rain, leaving these huge outcrops high above the plain. It’s hardly surprising that tourists flock to see the area. TUTOR: Well, yes, I’d agree with including those points ... SANDRA: And then the fact that it’s been home to native American Navajos and all the social history that goes with that. The hardships they endured trying to save their territory from the invading settlers. Their culture is so rich - all those wonderful stories. TUTOR: Well, I agree it’s interesting, but it’s not immediately relevant to your proposal, Sandra, so at this stage, I suggest you focus on other considerations. I think an indication of what the students on the trip could actually do when they get there should be far more central, so that certainly needs to be included and to be expanded upon. And I’d like to see something about the local wildlife, and vegetation too, not that I imagine there’s much to see. Presumably the tourist invasion hasn’t helped. SANDRA: Okay, I’ll do some work on those two areas as well. But you’re right, there’s not much apart from some very shallow-rooted species. Although it’s cold and snowy there in the winter, the earth is baked so hard in the summer sun that rainwater can’t penetrate. So it’s a case of flood or drought, really. TUTOR: So, I understand. Now, before we look at everything in more detail, I’ve got a few factual questions for you. It would be a good idea to include the answers in your finished proposal, because they’re missing from your draft. SANDRA: Fine. TUTOR: So, you mentioned the monoliths and the spires, which was good, but what area does the tribal park cover? Do you know? SANDRA: 12,000 hectares, and the plain is at about 5,850 metres above sea level. Larger than I expected. Okay. Where’s the nearest accommodation? That’s a practical detail that you haven’t included. Have you done any research on that? SANDRA: Yes. There’s nowhere to stay in the park itself, but there’s an old trading post called Goulding quite near. All kinds of tours start from Goulding, too. TUTOR: What kind of tours? SANDRA: Well, the most popular are in four-wheel drive jeeps - but I wouldn’t recommend hiring those. I think the best way to appreciate the area would be to hire horses instead and trek around on those. Biking is not allowed and it’s impossible to drive around the area in private vehicles. The tracks are too rough. TUTOR: Okay, lastly, what else is worth visiting there? SANDRA: There are several caves, but I haven’t looked into any details. I’ll find out about them. TUTOR: Okay, good. Now what I’d like to know is ... Choose the correct answer.
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1. Which THREE topics does Sandra agree to include in the proposal?
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Explain:
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Script:
TUTOR: Interesting. Right, let’s look at the content of your proposal now. SANDRA: Did you find it comprehensive enough? TUTOR: Well, yes and no. You’ve listed several different topics on your contents page, but I’m not sure they’re all relevant. SANDRA: No? Well, I thought that from the perspective of a field trip, one thing I needed to focus on was the sandstone plateaux and cliffs themselves. The way they tower up from the flat landscape is just amazing. The fact that the surrounding softer rocks were eroded by wind and rain, leaving these huge outcrops high above the plain. It’s hardly surprising that tourists flock to see the area. TUTOR: Well, yes, I’d agree with including those points ... SANDRA: And then the fact that it’s been home to native American Navajos and all the social history that goes with that. The hardships they endured trying to save their territory from the invading settlers. Their culture is so rich - all those wonderful stories. TUTOR: Well, I agree it’s interesting, but it’s not immediately relevant to your proposal, Sandra, so at this stage, I suggest you focus on other considerations. I think an indication of what the students on the trip could actually do when they get there should be far more central, so that certainly needs to be included and to be expanded upon. And I’d like to see something about the local wildlife, and vegetation too, not that I imagine there’s much to see. Presumably the tourist invasion hasn’t helped. SANDRA: Okay, I’ll do some work on those two areas as well. But you’re right, there’s not much apart from some very shallow-rooted species. Although it’s cold and snowy there in the winter, the earth is baked so hard in the summer sun that rainwater can’t penetrate. So it’s a case of flood or drought, really. TUTOR: So, I understand. Now, before we look at everything in more detail, I’ve got a few factual questions for you. It would be a good idea to include the answers in your finished proposal, because they’re missing from your draft. SANDRA: Fine. TUTOR: So, you mentioned the monoliths and the spires, which was good, but what area does the tribal park cover? Do you know? SANDRA: 12,000 hectares, and the plain is at about 5,850 metres above sea level. Larger than I expected. Okay. Where’s the nearest accommodation? That’s a practical detail that you haven’t included. Have you done any research on that? SANDRA: Yes. There’s nowhere to stay in the park itself, but there’s an old trading post called Goulding quite near. All kinds of tours start from Goulding, too. TUTOR: What kind of tours? SANDRA: Well, the most popular are in four-wheel drive jeeps - but I wouldn’t recommend hiring those. I think the best way to appreciate the area would be to hire horses instead and trek around on those. Biking is not allowed and it’s impossible to drive around the area in private vehicles. The tracks are too rough. TUTOR: Okay, lastly, what else is worth visiting there? SANDRA: There are several caves, but I haven’t looked into any details. I’ll find out about them. TUTOR: Okay, good. Now what I’d like to know is ... Complete the sentences below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Section 4
Script:
You will hear a psychology undergraduate describing the research she is currently doing on expertise in creative writing. For my short presentation today, I’m going to summarise the work I’ve done so far on my research project: to explore expertise in creative writing. Essentially, I’ll share with you the process I underwent to gather my interim findings. First of all, I should give a little relevant background information about myself - before I started my current degree course in cognitive psychology, I studied English literature and, as you can imagine, this meant I spent a great deal of time thinking about the notion of creativity and what makes people develop into successful writers. However, the idea for this research project came from a very specific source - I became fascinated with the idea of what makes an expert creative writer when I read a well-known twentieth century writer’s autobiography. I won’t say which one, at this stage, because I think that might prejudice your interpretation! Anyway, this got me thinking about the different routes to expertise. Specifically I wondered why some people become experts at things whilst others fail to do so, in spite of the fact that they may be equally gifted and work equally hard. I started to read about how other researchers had explored similar questions in other fields. I began to see a pattern - that those studies which involved research in a lab were too controlled for my purposes and I decided to avoid reading them. I was quite surprised to find that the clearest guidance for my topic came from investigations into what I call ‘practical skills’ such as hairdressing or waiting tables. Most of these studies tended to use a similar set of procedures, which I eventually adopted for my own project. I’ll now explain what these procedures were. I decided to compare what inexperienced writers do with what experienced writers do. In order to investigate this, I looked for four people whom I regarded as real novices in this field - which proved easy ... perhaps unsurprisingly. It proved much harder to locate people with suitably extensive experience who were willing to take part in my study. I asked the first four to do a set writing task and as they wrote, to talk into a tape-recorder . a technique known as ‘think aloud’ . this was in order to get experimental data. Whilst they were doing this, a research assistant recorded them using video - I thought it might be helpful for me in my transcriptions later on. I then asked four experienced writers to do exactly the same task. After this, I made a comparison between the two sets of data and this helped me to produce a framework for analysis. In particular, I identified five major stages which all creative writers seem to go through when generating this genre of text. I think it was fairly effective but still needs some work ... so I intend to tighten this up later for use with subsequent data sets. I then wanted to see whether experienced writers were actually producing the better pieces of writing. So I asked an editor, an expert in reviewing creative writing, to decide which were the best pieces of writing. This person put the eight pieces of work in order of quality - in rank order - and, using his evaluations, I was then able to work out which sequence of the five stages seemed to lead to the best quality writing. Now my findings are by no means conclusive as this point ... I still have a long way to go but if any of you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them and ... Complete the flow chart below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. EXPERTISE IN CREATIVE WRITING
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lab/laboratory
novices/beginners
framework
English literature
video
practical skills
experimental
autobiography
sequence/order
editor
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Passage 1
AREA HOTELS A Rosewood Hotel. Spend your vacation with us. We offer luxury suites, an Olympic sized pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center,1 and a beauty spa. Leave business cares behind while you relax in luxury at the Rosewood. You’ll never want to leave! Call 800-555-0942 for reservations. B The Woodside Motel is the place to stay while visiting our city. After a day of sightseeing, relax in the comfort of your luxury room. All our rooms have king-sized beds, free movies, and mini-bars. Our outdoor playground and indoor recreation room mean the little ones will never be bored. Babysitting service available. Enjoy your next family vacation at the Woodside Motel. C The Columbus Hotel is conveniently located in the heart of the city’s theater2 district and close to the city’s finest restaurants and clubs. Enjoy the spectacular view of the city skyline from the Columbus Rooftop Restaurant. Host your next conference or banquet with us. We have a selection of reception rooms and banquet rooms suitable for conferences and parties. Call 245-555-0982 to speak to our banquet coordinator, 245-555-0987 for dinner reservations at the Rooftop Restaurant, and 245-555-0862 to reserve a room. D Next time you’re in town, stay at the City View Suites. Whether you’re here to shop, play, or work, City View’s location can’t be beat. We’re close to all major bus lines and right next to the city’s business district. All rooms include kitchenettes. Call 492 555-5932 for reservations. Don’t forget to ask about our special weekly and monthly rates. E Sunflower Motel offers reasonable rates, a convenient location, and cable TV in every room. Pets are welcome (extra charge applies). Special weekend rates. Call 488-555-0821 for reservations. (1) British: centre (2) British: theatre Look at the five hotel advertisements, A-E. Which hotel is appropriate for each of the following people? You may use any option more than once.
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1. plans to stay for over a month?
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2. is traveling with children?
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3. always travels with a dog?
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4. plans to go out for entertainment in the evenings?
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5. is on a business trip?
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Explain:
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6. likes to exercise every day?
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Explain:
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7. is looking for a place to hold a wedding reception?
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8. prefers cooking to eating in restaurants?
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Welcome to the Riverdale City Pool The following information is provided for your convenience. A The Riverdale City Pool is for everybody’s enjoyment. To make sure that all pool users have a pleasant experience, please observe the following: • All children under twelve must be accompanied by an adult. • Running and shouting in the pool area are not allowed. • Diving is permitted only in the designated area at the deep end of the adult pool. • Please shower before entering the pool. Thank you for your cooperation. B The pool is open for the summer season from May 15 through September 15. Hours are Monday—Thursday, noon until 7:30 P.M.; Friday, noon until 9:30 P.M.; Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 A.M. until 9:30 P.M. During the week, the pool will be open for classes only from 8:30 until 11:30 A.M. Three trained lifeguards will be on duty at all times that the pool is open. C The pool garage will be closed from June 1 to August 31 for renovations. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Pool users can leave their cars in the area behind the pool office during this time. A bicycle rack is also located there. There is no fee for using this area. D For Riverdale residents, charges for using the pool are $5 per individual per visit, $250 for an individual season pass, and $500 for a family season pass. For nonresidents, the charge is $7 per individual per visit. Season passes are not available to pool users who are not residents of Riverdale. E This summer we are offering swimming lessons for children, teens, and adults, as well as diving lessons and water aerobics. Morning lessons are from 9:30 to 10:30 and afternoon lessons are from 2:00 to 4:00. Fees start at $75 a week. The Riverdale swim team will continue this season as well. Please visit the pool office for a complete schedule of this summer’s lessons and swimming meets. F The new snack bar is now open. The hours are 11:30—5:00 daily. It serves a variety of inexpensive drinks and snacks, including cold and hot sandwiches, ice cream treats, and homemade cookies. All items purchased at the snack bar as well as snacks, drinks, and lunches brought from home must be consumed in the picnic area. The following reading passage has six sections, A—F. Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Passage 2
BINGHAM REGIONAL COLLEGE International Students’ Orientation Programme What is it? It is a course which will introduce you to the College and to Bingham. It takes place in the week before term starts, from 24th - 28th September inclusive, but you should plan to arrive in Bingham on the 22nd or 23rd September. Why do we think it is important? We want you to have the best possible start to your studies and you need to find out about all the opportunities that college life offers. This programme aims to help you do just that. It will enable you to get to know the College, its facilities and services. You will also have the chance to meet staff and students. How much will it cost? International student (non-European Union students) For those students who do not come from European Union (EU) countries, and who are not used to European culture and customs, the programme is very important and you are strongly advised to attend. Because of this, the cost of the programme, exclusive of accommodation, is built into your tuition fees. EU students EU students are welcome to take part in this programme for a fee of £195, exclusive of accommodation. Fees are not refundable. Accommodation costs (international and EU students) If you have booked accommodation for the year ahead (41 weeks) through the College in one of the College residences (Cambourne House. Hanley House, the Student Village or a College shared house), you do not have to pay extra for accommodation during the Orientation programme. If you have not booked accommodation in the College residences, you can ask us to pre-book accommodation for you for one week only (Orientation Programme week) in a hotel with other international students. The cost of accommodation for one week is approximately £165. Alternatively, you can arrange your own accommodation for that week in a flat, with friends or a local family. What is included during the programme? Meals: lunch and an evening meal are provided as part of the programme, beginning with supper on Sunday 23rd September and finishing with lunch at midday on Friday 28th September. Please note that breakfast is not available. Information sessions: including such topics as accommodation, health, religious matters, welfare, immigration, study skills, careers and other ‘essential information'. Social activities: including a welcome buffet and a half-day excursion round Bingham. Transport: between your accommodation and the main College campus, where activities will take place. Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
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1. Participants are advised to arrive one or two days early.
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2. The cost of the programme for European Union students, excluding accommodation, is £195.
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3. The number of places available is strictly limited.
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4. Some students are not charged extra for accommodation during the programme.
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5. The College will arrange accommodation with local families.
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6. You can obtain breakfast at the College for an extra charge.
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STUDENT ACCOMMODATION The College offers five basic accommodation options. Here is some information to help you make your choice. (A) CAMBOURNE HOUSE - self-catering, student residence, located in the town centre about 2 miles from the main College campus. Up to 499 students live in 6, 7 and 8 bedroom flats, all with en-suite shower rooms. Rent is £64 per week, including bills (not telephone). Broadband Internet connections and telephones, with communal kitchen/dining and lounge areas. Parking space is available, with permits costing £60 per term. (B) STUDENT VILLAGE - features 3, 4, 5 and 7 bedroom, self-catering shared houses for 250 students close to the main College campus. Rent is £60 per week inclusive of bills (except telephone). Parking is available with permits costing £90 for the academic year. (C) HANLEY HOUSE - a second, modern, self-catering residence in the town centre for 152 students. Eighteen rooms per floor with communal kitchens, lounges, bathrooms and toilets. Rent is £53 per week including bills (not telephone). There is no space for parking nearby. (D) GLENCARRICK HOUSE - a privately-owned and managed student residence in the town centre above a multi-storey car park, close to a major nightclub and housing 120 students. Rooms are allocated by the College Accommodation Service. Rents range from £58.50 to £68.50 for a single en-suite room or larger en-suite room respectively. A small extra charge is made for electricity. (E) HOUSE SHARES - this recent initiative is a range of shared houses for 140 students, conforming to standards set by us to meet all legal safety requirements. A room in a shared house costs between £45 and £55 per week, exclusive of bills, and will be within a 4-mile radius of both campuses. As with halls of residence, the rent is payable termly. Look at the accommodation options A-E. For which options are the following statements true?
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1. This is possibly inconvenient for car owners.
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2. This is best if you like surfing the Web.
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3. Of the College residences, this has the fewest students.
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4. This is a new option offered by the College.
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Explain:
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5. You have to organise parking a year at a time.
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6. This accommodation does not belong to the College.
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7. Here you definitely do not have your own bathroom.
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Passage 3
A STONE AGE APPROACH TO EXERCISE Forget those long arduous sessions in the gym. If you want to stay fighting fit, try a modern Stone Age workout instead Art De Vany is 62, but physical fitness tests three years ago showed he had the body of a 32-year-old. Although De Vany is sceptical of such assessments, he knows he's in good shape. His former career as a professional baseball player may have something to do with it, but he attributes his physical prowess to an, exercise regime inspired by the lifestyles of our Palaeolithic ancestors. De Vany's advice to the modern exercise freak is to cut duration and frequency, and increase intensity. 'Our muscle fibre composition reveals that we are adapted to extreme intensity of effort,' says De Vany, a professor of economics at the Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. His approach to fitness combines Darwinian thinking with his interest in chaos theory and complex systems. This new science, which De Vany calls evolutionary fitness, is part of growing efforts to understand how the human body has been shaped by evolution, and to use this knowledge to improve our health and fitness. Proponents believe the key lies in the lifestyle of our hunter-gatherer ancestors because, they say, the vast majority of the human genome is still adapted to an ancient rhythm of life which swung between intense periods of activity and long stretches of inertia. Across the Palaeolithic age - which covers the period between 2.6 million and 10,000 years ago - prey animals were large, fast on their feet, or both. For men, this would have meant lots of walking or jogging to find herds, dramatic sprints, jumps and turns, perhaps violent struggles, and long walks home carrying the kill. Women may not have had such intense exercise, but they would have spent many hours walking to sources of water or food, digging up tubers, and carrying children. If modern hunter-gatherers are anything to go by, men may have hunted for up to four days a week and travelled 15 kilometres or more on each trip. Women may have gathered food every two or three days. There would also have been plenty of other regular physical activities for both sexes such as skinning animals and tool making, and probably dancing. Our ancestors must have evolved cardiovascular, metabolic and thermoregulatory systems capable of sustaining high-level aerobic exertion under the hot African sun, according to Loren Cordain of the Human Performance Laboratory at Colorado State University. And given that the Palaeolithic era ended only an evolutionary blink of an eye ago, we ignore its legacy at our peril. Cordain and his colleagues point out that in today's developed societies, inactivity is associated with disease. Contemporary hunter- gatherer societies rarely experience these modern killers, they say. This is where De Vany's exercise ideas come in. 'The primary objectives for any exercise and diet programme must be to counter hyper-insulinaemia (chronically elevated insulin) and hypoexertion (wasting of the body's lean mass through inactivity),' he writes in his forthcoming book about evolutionary exercise. Exercise and diet are linked. For example, says De Vany, our appetite control mechanisms work best when our activity mimics that of our ancestors. But he feels that most modern exercise regimes are not hitting the mark. De Vany views the body as non-linear and dynamic and says exercise should mix order and chaos. 'Chronic aerobic exercise overstrains the heart, reducing the chaotic variation in the heart rate which is essential to health,' he says. Likewise, most weight training is governed too much by routine and is too time- consuming. He gives his own workout a chaotic character with ascending weights and descending repetitions. To these brief but intense gym workouts he adds a wide variety of other activities that vary randomly in intensity and duration. These include roller blading, bicycling, walking, sprinting, tennis, basketball, power walking, hitting softballs and trekking with a grandson on his shoulders. He also argues that most people do not train the right muscles for that ultimately attractive - and adaptive - quality of symmetry. 'Symmetry is a reliable evolutionary clue to health,' he says. 'Tumours and pathologies produce gross asymmetries, and our love of symmetry reflects the reproductive success of our ancestors, who were sensitive to these clues.' He strives for the X-look - a symmetrical balance of mass in the shoulder girdle, upper chest and back, the calves and lower quads, two of the four large muscles at the front of the thighs. This also makes men look taller, he adds, 'another reliable evolutionary clue that women use to find good genes'. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle indicates that women should exercise only a little less intensely than men, says De Vany. 'Women are opportunistic hunters who go after small game when they come across it. They also climb trees to capture honey and snare birds. And have you ever seen how much work it is to dig out a deep tuber?' Women benefit enormously from strength work, he says. It increases their bone density and they get and stay leaner by building muscle mass. 'Today's women are so weak [compared with their female ancestors].' Of course, people vary. De Vany acknowledges that our ancestors were adapted to a variety of terrains and climates. Cordain points out that genetic differences between populations lead to different physical strengths. East Africans, for example, seem to be better endurance runners, West Africans better sprinters. But human genetic similarity greatly outweighs the variations. And because our genes have changed so very little since Palaeolithic times, if you want to be a lean, mean, survival machine why not try exercising like a caveman?
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1. What do you learn about Art De Vany in the first paragraph?
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2. In the second paragraph, De Vany recommends that people should ................
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3. Which THREE of the following does the writer highlight when discussing the lifestyle of our Palaeolithic ancestors?
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4. Cordain compares modem hunter-gatherer societies to Paleolithic societies in terms of their ................
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Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? TRUE if the statement is true FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
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1. Our Palaeolithic ancestors were constantly active.
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2. Female exercise programmes should vary according to the shape of the individual.
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3. Geographical features have played a role in human physical development.
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4. The importance of genetic differences in deciding on an exercise programme is minimal.
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Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, answer the following questions.
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weight training
chronic aeorobic exercise/ aeorobic exercise
evolutionary fitness
order and chaos/ chaos and order / order, chaos/ chaos, order
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