|
|
|
|
MODEL TEST - GENERAL TRAINING IELTS
(Time: 90 minutes)
|
|
Section 1
Script:
Woman: Good morning. Globetrotters Language School. How may I help you? Man: Yes, I was wondering if you could give me some information on language classes. Woman: Certainly. What language are you interested in studying? Man: Well, that’s the thing. I’m interested in learning Japanese, but I’d also like to improve my Chinese. I don’t know which to study right now. Woman: Maybe the class schedule will help you decide. Did you want to study in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Man: I work in the evenings, so mornings or afternoons would be best. Woman: Then that decides it for you. We offer an advanced Chinese class, but it meets on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Man: I couldn’t do that. When do the Japanese classes meet? Woman: We have beginning Japanese on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, no wait, that’s intermediate Japanese. Which level do you want? Advanced? Man: No, beginning. Definitely. I know some Chinese and some French, but I’m a real beginner with Japanese. Woman: Well then, are you free Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings? That’s when the beginning Japanese classes meet. We also have intermediate French on Friday mornings. Man: I could do those mornings, but I’d prefer afternoon. Don’t you have anything in the afternoon? Woman: We have intermediate Japanese class on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Man: I really need a beginner class. So I’ll take the morning Japanese class. Could you give me an idea of the cost? What would be the tuition for the Japanese class? Complete the schedule below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. CLASS SCHEDULE Chinese Level: Advanced Days: (1).........evenings Japanese Level: (2)......... Days: Tuesday and Thursday mornings Level: (3)......... Days: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings French Level: Intermediate Days: Friday (4).........
1.
|
intermediate
mornings
beginning
Wednesday and Friday / Friday and Wednesday
|
Script:
Woman: The beginning-level classes meet three times a week, so they cost a bit more than the other levels. For a six-week course, the cost would be $575. Man: That’s a bit steep. Woman: If it’s hard for you to pay that much, you could sign up for just four weeks of class and pay $410. Or, you could pay for one week at a time, at $125 a week. Man: That comes out to be much more expensive once you add up all the weeks. Woman: That’s true. You can save money by registering for two levels together. For example, pay for your beginning and intermediate classes now and you’ll get twelve weeks of class for just $1,050. Man: That’s not a bad deal, but I can’t come up with that much money at once. I’ll just pay for the six-week course. Woman: Fine. That class begins next week, so you need to register right away. Man: Can’t I register over the phone? Woman: No, I’m sorry, we don’t take phone registrations. What you’ll need to do is visit the school office today or tomorrow. Bring a check for the tuition and a photo ID. Man: Is that all? Woman: Yes, we’ll give you a registration form to complete, or you can save time by visiting our website and downloading the form there. Complete it and bring it into the office with your check. Man: Great. I’ll stop by this afternoon. Woman: Fine. When you arrive, ask for Mr. Lindsay. He’s in charge of student registration. Man: I’m sorry, Mr. who? Woman: Mr. Lindsay, spelled L-I-N-D-S-A-Y. Man: Thank you for your help. Woman: Thank you. We’ll look forward to seeing you in class. Complete the information below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE NUMBER for each answer. Tuition Information One week $ (1)………. Four weeks $ (2)……… Six weeks $ (3)………. Twelve weeks $ (4) ………
Script:
Woman: The beginning-level classes meet three times a week, so they cost a bit more than the other levels. For a six-week course, the cost would be $175. Man: That’s a bit steep. Woman: If it’s hard for you to pay that much, you could sign up for just four weeks of class and pay $410. Or, you could pay for one week at a time, at $125 a week. Man: That comes out to be much more expensive once you add up all the weeks. Woman: That’s true. You can save money by registering for two levels together. For example, pay for your beginning and intermediate classes now and you’ll get twelve weeks of class for just $1,050. Man: That’s not a bad deal, but I can’t come up with that much money at once. I’ll just pay for the six-week course. Woman: Fine. That class begins next week, so you need to register right away. Man: Can’t I register over the phone? Woman: No, I’m sorry, we don’t take phone registrations. What you’ll need to do is visit the school office today or tomorrow. Bring a check for the tuition and a photo ID. Man: Is that all? Woman: Yes, we’ll give you a registration form to complete, or you can save time by visiting our website and downloading the form there. Complete it and bring it into the office with your check. Man: Great. I’ll stop by this afternoon. Woman: Fine. When you arrive, ask for Mr. Lindsay. He’s in charge of student registration. Man: I’m sorry, Mr. who? Woman: Mr. Lindsay, spelled L-I-N-D-S-A-Y. Man: Thank you for your help. Woman: Thank you. We’ll look forward to seeing you in class. Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
1.
|
Mr. Lindsay
the school office
|
Section 2
Script:
You will hear the Education Officer in a museum giving a talk to school students who are about to start a one-week work placement in the museum. Good morning and welcome. We’re really pleased that you’re going to be joining us next week for your work placement. Now, each of you will already have met the member of museum staff assigned to supervise you. In this short talk today I’ll be giving you more general information which will be relevant to all six of you. Your normal working day is nine to five p.m. but on Monday, because it’s your first day, we’d like you to arrive at quarter to nine. Please note, though, that you’ll finish at the usual time. A lot of you have been asking what you should wear for work. Well, you may have noticed that we’re not exactly a formal institution so you’d really be out of place if you wear smart attire like a suit. If you go out on a trip with us, then we’d like you to wear a museum cap ... it has our logo on and we feel it helps people recognise you. But, on a day-to-day basis in the museum itself we say put on your own casual clothing because you’ll be doing lots of dusty, messy work! Now, we don’t have an enormous number of rules but work placement is an excellent preparation for the real world of work and we expect you to be very punctual and reliable. If you’re not well or there’s been a hold-up then what we ask you to do is ring the museum receptionist ... he will be in the museum well ahead of opening time and he’ll inform your own personal supervisor in the museum. If you’re away for more than one day, we’ll inform your school tutor ... they’ll obviously need to make a note of your absence and follow up if necessary. But most of all we hope you really enjoy yourselves during the placement. Students say they have a lot of fun, whether it’s working with kids in our art workshops held every Monday or, the most popular, when they go out on our out-reach work to residential homes, recording elderly people’s memories of school days for our oral history project. So we hope you feel excited by the prospect of starting next week and well prepared. Your personal supervisor will be there to help you with our health and safety requirements when you start next week and your supervisors will also brief you about the background to the museum, summarising all the huge amount of information on our website. In the next couple of days it might be worthwhile if you get hold of evaluations and other notes made by students who’ve worked with us before . you can get a lot of pointers from them. Choose the correct answers about “Museum work placement”
|
1. On Monday, what will be the students′ working day?
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. While working in the museum, students are encouraged to wear
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. If students are ill or going to be late, they must inform
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. The most popular task whilst on work placement is usually
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
5. The best form of preparation before starting their work placement is to read
|
|
|
Explain:
|
Script:
Now before I finish today, I wanted to help you find your way around the museum. When you start next Monday, the first thing you’ll need to do is sign in. Come through the main entrance and you’ll see the main staircase straight ahead. To the right of this is the statue of the horse and just behind that is a door - go through that and that’s the sign-in office. Now, on the first day you’ll be working in Gallery 1. You find this as follows ... in the central courtyard area, close to the entrance, there’s a large chest where visitors put donations for the museum. The door just behind that leads to Gallery 1. The workshop you’ll be taking part in starts at eleven o’clock but if you want to go in earlier you can get the key and let yourself in. The key box is quite hard to find. Walk behind Reception and it’s between the large gallery and the bookshop. I haven’t mentioned breaks, lunch etc. Unfortunately our cafe’s closed at the moment so your best bet is to bring a packed lunch. We tend to have our sandwiches in the kitchen area ... go round the reception desk and you’ll see a small circular cabinet - the door to the kitchen area is just behind that. Now everyday, we put up notices about what’s happening in the museum. Your supervisor will brief you but if you want to check up on details, look on our staff noticeboard. This is in the corner of the play area - at the back, on the wall of Gallery 3. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to ... Label the plan below. Where in the museum are the following places?
|
1. Sign-in office
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
5. Staff noticeboard
|
|
|
Explain:
|
Section 3
Script:
JOHN BROWN: Good morning, Mrs Collins. I just wondered if you could help me with this entry form for the Young Electronic Engineer competition. MARY COLLINS: Hello, John. Oh you’ve made the jigsaw for blind children, with the bleeper. JOHN BROWN: When they put a piece in correctly, that’s right. MARY COLLINS: OK, let’s have a look at the form. JOHN BROWN: Right, thanks. I’ve never filled in one of these before, so ... MARY COLLINS: Well, let’s just do it in pencil first. So, name of designers .. . IOHN BROWN: Well, Ann helped me with some of the electronics work. MARY COLLINS: Then you must put her name in as well. Right... Ann Ray. JOHN BROWN: Sorry. It’s ANNE and her surname is spelt R-E-A. MARY COLLINS: Good start! OK ... REA. And age is easy. You’re both 16. What have you called the design? Keep it short. JOHN BROWN: What about jigsaw puzzle design for visually handicapped? MARY COLLINS: Too long. Just say blind puzzle, that’ll do. JOHN BROWN: OK. MARY COLLINS: Right now, size of equipment? JOHN BROWN: I’ve got it noted down here ... urn, yes, length, sorry, width is 20 cm. MARY COLLINS: OK. JOHN BROWN: Length is 50 cm, and then the depth is ... well, it’s very little. MARY COLLINS: What would you say? I think you can be approximate. JOHN BROWN: I’d say 2.5 cm. MARY COLLINS: And the electricity supply? Is it mains operated? JOHN BROWN: No it isn’t, it’s actually battery. MARY COLLINS: OK, write battery. JOHN BROWN: Fine, OK. It’s the next bit that I’m really not sure what to put. MARY COLLINS: Well, special features means, what is really new about this, you know, suitable for the group you made it for. JOHN BROWN: Well, it’s safe for children. MARY COLLINS: That’s fine. Put that in. JOHN BROWN: OK, and of course we think it’s educational. MARY COLLINS: There you are, you’ve done it. Anything else? JOHN BROWN: Well, I think the price is good. MARY COLLINS: That’s probably the most important factor. JOHN BROWN: OK ... cheap price. MARY COLLINS: Which brings us on to the next bit. What’s the cost? JOHN BROWN: Well, the pieces we made out of old wood ... they cost, ooh, $5. MARY COLLINS: And the electrics? JOHN BROWN: They were more expensive ... say, $9.50. Brilliant. Now what do they mean by other comments? MARY COLLINS: It’s just a chance for you to say anything about the equipment, and problems you envisage. JOHN BROWN: Well, we would really like help with making plastic instead of wooden pieces. MARY COLLINS: Well, put something like, need help to make plastic pieces. JOHN BROWN: OK. And the other thing is we’d like to develop a range of sizes. MARY COLLINS: That’s fine, then, just put that. And the last bit is, when will you send the equipment? JOHN BROWN: Well, we’ve got a lot of work on at the moment and we want to get it as good as we can. MARY COLLINS: Well, say 25 June? JOHN BROWN: Can’t we make it later? MARY COLLINS: Well, the last date is 1 July. Why not say that? JOHN BROWN: OK, that’s what I’ll put. MARY COLLINS: So that’s the lot! JOHN BROWN: That’s brilliant. Thanks very much, Mrs Collins. I’ll send it off straightaway. MARY COLLINS: Glad to be of help. Very best of luck to you both. JOHN BROWN: Thanks, bye. MARY COLLINS: Bye. Complete the form below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBER for each answer. YOUNG ELECTRONIC ENGINEER COMPETITION | Name(s) of designer(s): | John Brown (1)........... | Age: | (2)........... | Name of design: | (3)........... | Dimensions of equipment: | Width: (4)............. Length: (5)............ Depth: (6)............. | Power: | Battery | Special features: | - (7)............. - educational - inexpensive | Cost: | Parts $5 | (8)........... | $9.50 | Other comments: | need help to make (9)............ would like to develop range of sizes | Send by: | (10)............ |
1.
|
plastic pieces / in plastic
2.5 / 2.5 cm / 2 and a half / 2 and a half cm / two and a half / two and a half cm
50 / 50 cm / fifty / fifty cm
1 July / July 1 / 1 Jul / Jul 1 / 1st July / July 1st / 1st Jul / Jul 1st / the first of July/ the 1st of July
electrics
16 / 16 years old / both 16 years old
Anne Rea
Blind Puzzle / Blind Jigsaw Puzzle
20 / 20 cm / twenty / twenty cm
safe for children
|
Section 4
Script:
You will hear a historian giving a presentation about techniques to identify the origin of hand-written books from the middle ages. My presentation today is on how the science of genetics is being used to shed light on the origin of manuscripts - anything written by hand - produced in the medieval period ... that is ... the period between the fifth and fifteenth centuries AD. As many of you know, thousands of medieval handwritten books still exist today. Some of them have a clear provenance, that is, we know exactly where and when they were written, but the origin of many manuscripts has been a complete mystery, that is, until two thousand and nine when geneticists started using DNA testing to shed light on their origins. But before looking at the new research, I need to explain something about the way the manuscripts were produced - particularly what they were written on. Virtually all were written on treated animal skins and there were essentially two types. The first was parchment, which is made of sheep skin. It has the quality of being very white but also being thin. It has a naturally greasy surface which meant it was hard to erase writing from it. This made it much sought after for court documents in medieval times. The second type is vellum, which is calf skin. This was most often used for any very ‘highstatus’ documents because it provided the best writing surface so scribes could achieve lettering of high quality. So, once the animal hides had been chosen, they had to be prepared. Where the right materials were on hand, the skins were put into large barrels or vats of lime, where they were agitated or stirred frequently. But if lime wasn’t available, then the hides were buried. Both these techniques were designed to cause the hair to slough off, and the skins to become gelatinous and therefore more flexible. The next stage was to put the hides on stretcher frames and pull them very tight. While on the frame they were scraped with a moon-shaped knife in order to create a uniform thickness. For parchment, that was the end of the process, but for vellum there was an additional stage where it was bleached, in order to achieve the desired colour. So, what does all this preparation mean for the quest to identify the origins of ‘mystery’ manuscripts? Well, until recently the only way historians and other academics were able to guess at origins was either through the analysis of the handwriting style, or from the dialect in which the piece was written. But these techniques have proven unreliable, for a number of reasons. It was thus decided to try to look at the problem from a different angle ... to start from what is known, that is, the small number of manuscripts whose origins we do already know. Because these parchments and vellum are both made from animal hides, it was possible to subject them to DNA testing and to identify the genetic markers for the date and location of production. From this was created what is known as a ‘baseline’. The next stage was to test the mystery manuscripts, finding their DNA characteristics and then making comparisons between the known and the mystery scripts. Genetic similarities and differences enabled the scientists to gain more information about the origins of the many manuscripts we had known virtually nothing about up to that point. Now you might ask - what are the potential uses of this new information? Well, obviously, it can shed light on the origin of individual books and manuscripts. But that’s not all. It can also shed light on the evolution of the whole of the manuscripts production industry in medieval times. And because that was such a thriving business, involving very large-scale movements right across the globe, the new data, in turn, help historians establish which trade routes were in operation during the whole millennium. Now if anyone has any questions ... Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Researching the origin of medieval manuscripts Background • Medieval manuscripts - handwritten books produced between the fifth and fifteenth centuries • Origin of many manuscripts unknown until 2009; scientists started using DNA testing Animal hides - two types Parchment Sheep skin: white in colour and (1)………………. Greasy - writing can't be erased so often used for (2)…………………. Vellum Calf skin: most popular for prestigious work because you can get (3)…………….. lettering. Preparation of hides • Treated in barrels of lime - where this was not available, skins were (4)……………… (removed hair → more flexible) • Stretched tight on a frame • Scraped to create same (5)…………….. • Vellum was (6)……………… — for correct colour Genetic testing - finding origins Previously - analysed handwriting and (7)……………. used by the writer Now - using genetic data from ‘known manuscripts' to create a (8) “…………………” Uses of new data Gives information on individual books Shows the (9)……………… of the book industry Helps define (10)…………… in medieval period
1.
|
trade routes
high-quality
buried
thickness
thin/very thin
baseline
court documents
dialect
evolution
bleached/whitened
|
Passage 1
HAVING A LOVELY TIME? A chance to relax and leave your worries behind? For some, holidays are nothing but trouble as the results of one survey showed When you think about it, it's amazing that anyone gets away with a carefree holiday. It seems there is limitless potential for things to go wrong, from flight delays and lost luggage to poor accommodation. A recent questionnaire showed that a third of people who replied had a complaint about their holiday last year. And when these unhappy holiday-makers discussed the problem with their tour company nearly half said it involved time and effort on their part to resolve things. When asked exactly what the reasons were for their dissatisfaction top of the list was flight delays and 20 per cent of holiday-makers to Europe said they had to wait up to an hour. More worrying is the fact that almost a third of holiday-makers who had complained said it was about the apartment or hotel room they had been allocated. There is an enormous variety of holiday accommodation and we recommend that consumers look for places that have been inspected by the Tourist Boards; this way they can have the confidence that they will get the type of accommodation they are looking for. It seems that tour companies now offer more honest accurate brochures though. Eight-five per cent of holiday-makers who responded to our questionnaire said the description offered by the company matched the place they visited and the facilities provided. This is good news for the industry and for holiday-makers. A holiday is a major purchase - yet it's one we can't try before we pay. All we have to go on is the brochure and it's a credit to tour operators that they now contain more detail. OUR ADVICE DO be realistic. No one should be palmed off with a poor standard of service, food or accommodation even if you paid a rock- bottom price for a last- minute break. However, be reasonable - you won't get a room with the best view in town if you've paid a budget price. DO complain to the right person. Moaning to the waiter about a week's worth of appalling food, then writing an indignant letter when you get back home won't have the same impact as airing your grievances at the time. DO get evidence for a serious problem such as having a building site instead of the promised swimming pool below your window. Take a photo to back up your case. DON'T write and complain for the sake of it. Letters can be powerful as long as they're about something you have a good reason to complain about. DON'T lose your temper. Easier said than done, but you're more likely to get results if you state your case firmly explain why you think there's a problem then suggest a reasonable solution. Look at the article about holidays and at the statements below. Choose: TRUE if the statement is true FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
|
1. Solving problems can be hard work for the holiday-maker.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. The most common problem for holiday-makers is crowded airports.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. Overall, holiday accommodation poses few problems.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. Tour companies provide a satisfactory level of information to holiday-makers.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
5. A low-cost holiday should still offer some high-quality services.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
6. Hotel staff can advise you on who you should complain to.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
7. Photographs may help to support an argument about a holiday problem.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
8. If you are not good at writing letters, find someone to help you.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
HIRING A CAR ONLINE Online car hire promises to be cheap, quick and convenient. But is it? Neil McDougall revs up his mouse A Autos.com Just click on the reservations button, fill in your home country, destination and dates, pick a car and you're into the booking form without any fuss and with all the charges, fixed and optional, laid out. There's also a detailed rental guide explaining your contract. B Cash.com.uk One to consider if you’re going to the States, although, after I'd worked through half the booking process, it returned an error message without telling me which element of the procedure needed adjusting. I got there in the end. There is an Inspirational section with detailed directions for some of the great drives of America. C Expeed.org.uk Book a flight with Expeed and when you continue on to the car-hire section, the software already knows where you are going and when. However, you seem to be restricted to cities with airports for your car hire, and additional taxes are presented in travel- agent speak. D Cutprice.com Is currently offering an aggressive lowest rates guarantee, an extra discount for former Holtravel clients and a package of free gifts to sweeten the deal. It also commits to no insurance excess on any of their rentals anywhere. E Hot.org Straightforward to navigate, with plenty of information on rental requirements and rules of operation. There are photographs of the types of vehicles available, leaving no doubt what a 'premium' or 'compact' car is. It took me just seconds to start reserving a car but then the whole thing ground to a halt and refused all attempts to access the reservation system. F Cars.net Another site offering discounts for booking online, but also special late deals (for example £35 off a Renault Megane in Majorca last week). Prices are fully inclusive of insurance and there is a reassuringly large small-print section. G Cover.org A three-step process to rent cars in 70 countries. Very flash and slick, so much so that people with older computers may have trouble getting this information. Limited selection of online tourist attractions (but that's more than most give you). Graphically complex but impressive booking system. H Cheapandcheerful.net.uk Avoids unnecessary embellishments online but the booking procedure is as good as it gets. Enter how many miles you expect to drive and tick your insurance, driver and child-seat choices and they will all be included in the final price. You must contact the location directly if you need a car within 3 days. And to hire a car abroad, there's a dull email form to fill in and they'll get back to you. Now read the information and answer questions. Match the car-hire websites to the statements. NB Some of the websites may be chosen more than once.
|
1. It is possible to see what the cars look like.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. Assistance is provided with some holiday routes.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. You will get cheaper car hire if you have used the company before.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. Attempts made by the writer to book a car were unsuccessful.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
5. You can only hire a car in certain locations.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
6. The site is suited to people with up-to-date hardware.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
Passage 2
Common Childhood Infectious Diseases | CHICKEN POX Signs and symptoms: May start with a cold, headache or sickness. High temperature. Small red spots, first on body, then face and limbs, which turn to yellow blisters, then break. Incubation Period*: 10-20 days. Isolation Period: 7 days after last spots appear. Nursing and Treatment: Bed rest. Relieve itching with calamine lotion. Try to stop child scratching (may need cotton mittens) to prevent further infection and scars. Keep child’s nails short and clean. Special Points: One attack usually gives immunity for life. No vaccination is available. MEASLES Signs and symptoms: Loss of appetite, high temperature. Sneezing, running nose, dry cough and watery eyes. Blotchy pink spots on neck, forehead and cheeks, spreading to body later. Incubation Period*: 8-14 days Isolation Period: 5 days after rash appears. Nursing and Treatment: Bed rest until temperature falls (about 7 days). Sleep and plenty to drink. Shield eyes from strong light. Special Points: Measles can sometimes cause complications affecting ears, eyes, lungs, joints, or nervous system. Babies should be vaccinated between 1 and 2 years. Free vaccination is available. MUMPS Signs and symptoms: Swelling below ears spreading to face or neck. Pain when chewing or swallowing. Rising temperature. Incubation Period*: 14-28 days. Isolation Period: 10 days from onset of swelling. | Nursing and Treatment: Bed rest until temperature falls. Bland food and drink—avoid sharp tasting foods like orange or lemon drinks. Special Points: Avoid contact with older boys or men, who may develop infection of the testicles (can, though rarely, cause sterility). Vaccination is available. RUBELLA (German Measles) Signs and symptoms: Slight temperature, sore throat, runny nose and headache. Small red flat spots spreading into blotches. Swollen tender glands at back of neck. Incubation Period*: 14-21 days. Isolation Period: 7 days after rash appears. Nursing and Treatment: Bed rest in warm room for 2 or 3 days. Special Points: Avoid contact with pregnant women, because it can harm their unborn baby. Free vaccination is available; usually given to girls in Year 7 at school. WHOOPING COUGH Signs and symptoms: Starts as an ordinary cold. Dry repeated cough with ‘whooping’ sound as breath is taken in. Vomiting. Incubation Period*: 8-21 days. Isolation Period: 3 weeks after coughing stops. Nursing and Treatment: Continuous nursing; doctor may prescribe an antibiotic or cough medicine. Special Points: Can be very serious in young children, if they have not been immunised. Free vaccination is available. The schedules given in this booklet are for guidance only and are subject to variation according to medical advice. (*) Time from contact to appearance of symptoms. |
These five diseases are mentioned in the reading passage. Which disease is each of the following symptoms associated with?
|
1. Yellow blisters
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. Dry cough and watery eyes
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. Swelling at the back of the neck
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. Swelling below the ears
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
6. Pain when swallowing
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
7. Loss of appetite
|
|
|
Explain:
|
For which disease is each of these treatments recommended?
|
1. No sharp tasting food or drink
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. Continuous nursing
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. Eyes protected from strong light
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. Calamine lotion
|
|
|
Explain:
|
Complete the summary of the information given in the Special Points sections of the reading passage. Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS choose your answers from those sections of the reading passage.
1.
|
pregnant women
immunity for life
complications
|
Passage 3
SNAKE OIL A Back in the days of America’s Wild West, when cowboys roamed the range and people were getting themselves caught up in gunfights, a new phrase - ‘snake oil’ - entered the language. It was a dismissive term for the patent medicines, often useless, sold by travelling traders who always claimed miraculous cures for everything from baldness to snakebite. Selling ‘snake oil’ was almost as risky a business as cattle stealing; you might be run out of town if your particular medicine, as you realised it would, failed to live up to its claims. Consequently, the smarter ‘snake oil’ sellers left town before their customers had much chance to evaluate the ‘cure’ they had just bought. B The remarkable thing about many of the medicines dismissed then as ‘snake oil’ is not so much that they failed to live up to the outrageous claims made for them - those that weren’t harmless coloured water could be positively dangerous. What’s remarkable is that so many of the claims made for some of these remedies, or at least their ingredients, most of them plant based, have since been found to have at least some basis in fact. One, Echinacea, eventually turned out to be far more potent than even its original promoter claimed. Echinacea first appeared in ‘Meyer’s Blood Purifier’, promoted as a cure-all by a Dr H.C.F. Meyer - a lay doctor with no medical qualifications. ‘Meyer’s Blood Purifier’ claimed not only to cure snakebite, but also to eliminate a host of other ailments. C Native to North America, the roots of Echinacea, or purple coneflower, had been used by the Plains Indians for all kinds of ailments long before Meyer came along. They applied poultices of it to wounds and stings, used it for teeth and gum disease and made a tea from it to treat everything from colds and measles to arthritis. They even used it for snakebite. D Settlers quickly picked up on the plant’s usefulness but until Meyer sent samples of his ‘blood purifier’ to John Lloyd, a pharmacist, it remained a folk remedy. Initially dismissing Meyer’s claims as nonsense, Lloyd was eventually converted after a colleague, John King, tested the herb and successfully used it to treat bee stings and nasal congestion. In fact, he went much further in his claims than Meyer ever did and by the 1890s a bottle of tincture of Echinacea could be found in almost every American home, incidentally making a fortune for Lloyd’s company, Lloyd Brothers Pharmacy. E As modern antibiotics became available, the use of Echinacea products declined and from the 1940s to the 1970s it was pretty much forgotten in the USA. It was a different story in Europe, where both French and German herbalists and homeopaths continued to make extensive use of it. It had been introduced there by Gerhard Madaus, who travelled from Germany to America in 1937, returning with seed to establish commercial plots of Echinacea. His firm conducted extensive research on echinacin, a concentrate they made from the juice of flowering tops of the plants he had brought back. It was put into ointments, liquids for internal and external use, and into products for injections. F There is no evidence that Echinacea is effective against snakebite, but Dr Meyer - who genuinely believed in Echinacea - would probably be quite amused if he could come back and see the uses to which modern science has put ‘his’ herb. He might not be surprised that science has confirmed Echinacea’s role as a treatment for wounds, or that it has been found to be helpful in relieving arthritis, both claims Meyer made for the herb. He might though be surprised to learn how Echinacea is proving to be an effective weapon against all sorts of disease, particularly infections. German researchers had used it successfully to treat a range of infections and found it to be effective against bacteria and protozoa. There are many other intriguing medical possibilities for extracts from the herb, but its apparent ability to help with our more common ailments has seen thousands of people become enthusiastic converts. Dozens of packaged products containing extracts of Echinacea can now be found amongst the many herbal remedies and supplements on the shelves of health stores and pharmacies. Many of those might be the modern equivalents of ‘snake oil’, but Echinacea at least does seem to have some practical value. G Echinacea is a dry prairie plant, drought-resistant and pretty tolerant of most soils, although it does best in good soil with plenty of sun. Plants are usually grown from seed but they are sometimes available from nurseries. Echinacea is a distinctive perennial with erect, hairy, spotted stems up to a metre tall. Flower heads look like daisies, with purple rayed florets and a dark brown central cone. The leaves are hairy; the lower leaves are oval to lance-shaped and coarsely and irregularly toothed. H There are nine species of Echinacea in all but only three are generally grown for medicinal use. All have similar medicinal properties. Most European studies have used liquid concentrates extracted from the tops of plants, whereas extraction in the USA has usually been from the roots. Today most manufacturers blend both, sometimes adding flowers and seeds to improve the quality. For the home grower, the roots of all species seem equally effective. Dig them up in autumn after the tops have died back after the first frost. Wash and dry them carefully and store them in glass containers. You can harvest the tops throughout the summer and even eat small amounts of leaf straight from the plant. Even if you don’t make your fortune from this herb, there are few sights more attractive than a field of purple coneflowers in all their glory. And with a few Echinacea plants nearby, you’ll never go short of a cure.
The text has eight sections, A-H. Choose the correct heading for each section.
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
|
1. ‘Snake oil′ sellers believed their product was effective.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
2. Most people in the Wild West mistrusted ‘snake oil′.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
3. Some ‘snake oils′ were mostly water.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
4. All ‘snake oils′ contained Echinacea.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
5. Echinacea has been proven to kill microbes.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
6. The highest quality Echinacea is grown in America.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
|
7. More than one part of the Echinacea plant has a medicinal use.
|
|
|
Explain:
|
| No. | Date | Right Score | Total Score |
|
|
|
PARTNERS |
|
|
NEWS |
|
|
|
|
|
|