Finding Synonyms: In IELTS reading, you need to develop the skill of spotting synonyms in the reading passage.

This lesson helps you develop this skill. There is no specific question like this in the IELTS reading test, but all question types require this skill. So, I have made this lesson to help you practice spotting paraphrases.

Bird Migration Synonyms Practice

Birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources. The two primary resources being sought are food and nesting locations.

While short-distance migration probably developed from a fairly simple reason such as for food, the origins of long-distant migration patterns are much more complex. They’ve evolved over thousands of years and are controlled at least partially by the genetic makeup of the birds. They also incorporate responses to weather, geography, food sources, day length, and other factors.

Migrating birds can cover thousands of miles in their annual travels, often travelling the same course year after year with little deviation. First-year birds often make their very first migration independently. Somehow they can find their winter home despite never having seen it before, and return the following spring to where they were born.

The secrets of their amazing navigational skills aren’t fully understood, partly because birds combine several different types of senses when they navigate. Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day. There’s even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons.

Notice: This article has been adapted from this page: The Basics of Bird Migration. It is always useful to read original articles.

Find the Synonyms

Find the word(s) in the reading passage above that have the same meaning as the words below. Answers will come in the order of the questions. This means you find the answer to question 1 first and the other answers will follow in order.

1. breeding sites
2. relatively
3. developed gradually
4. include
5. departing from an established course
6. on their own
7. distinct feature noticeable from a distance

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers

 

I hope you found this lesson useful 🙂

All the best

Liz

 

Reading lesson on Desertification to develop ideas and vocabulary for IELTS.  This lesson will provide you with ideas and vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2, speaking part 3 and the reading test.

Desertification: IELTS Environmental Topic

Before, you start your reading exercise. Let me explain a word to you relating to this topic. Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities. Desertification is a significant global ecological and environmental problem.

The questions below are called Matching Headings Questions which are common in IELTS reading. They require you to match the heading title to a paragraph in the passage. The titles are to summarise the main aim of the paragraph.

Matching Headings Reading Practice

The reading passage below has 8 paragraphs (A-H).

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list below.

Questions 1 – 8

Match each paragraph below to a title from the list. Not all letters will be used.

• I     Overgrazing
• II    Mass migration
• III   Overpopulation
• IV   Polluted drinking water
• V    Famine
• VI   Extinction of species
• VII   Deforestation
• VIII  Poverty
• IX   Unsustainable agriculture techniques
• X    Soil infertility

Reading Passage: Desertification Causes and Effects

Causes of Desertification

A  Trees are being cut down at much larger scale than ever before to be used as fuel, to provide products we use in our daily life, or to simply create more space for agriculture to sustain growing human population. Once the trees and other vegetation in an area are gone, there is nothing left to hold the soil in place.

B   Our planet’s ecosystems sustain life only when balanced. They can cope with incremental challenges and adapt but beyond a certain tipping point they collapse. A rapid increase in the number of people demands higher amounts of natural resources and expands more and more over the landscape, leading to increased desertification.

C   Improper irrigation methods used in arid areas, such as canal irrigation, lead to a buildup of salt in the soil and make it difficult for crops and other plants to grow, increasing desertification. Similarly harmful is cultivation of already deteriorated lands. Through inconsiderate farming methods, farmers only speed up the process of desertification in exchange for poor quality crops with low economic value.

D  In arid regions, grass and other vegetation is necessary to keep the soil in place. If such vegetation is used as feed for cattle without sustainable control, there is nothing that remains to prevent soil from blowing or washing away, and if this process occurs long enough, it can lead to desertification.

Effects of Desertification

E   As desertification occurs, the soil can be blown or washed away, and valuable soil nutrients are lost. As the soil dries out, it hardens and it becomes difficult for any rainfall that does occur to penetrate below the soil’s surface. And what remains left is a lifeless pile of dust instead of a life-giving medium.

F   Due to drought conditions and a loss of productive land, local people find themselves and their livestock experiencing starvation.

G   Desertification events have been a major driver behind the movement of large human populations throughout history. When soils are not able to support their civilisation, people set on the move to look for better locations.

H   Species that once lived in a fertile and productive climate may not survive in a newly desertified region.

• Source of passage: greentumble.com  

ANSWERS

The answers are now available for this reading lesson. Click below for Answers:

Answers

.

This reading exercise was easier than a normal Academic reading passage and is similar in level to a GT passage section 3. However, it is a great starting exercise for Academic candidates to get used to Matching Headings Questions. Now try something more difficult. See below:

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