IELTS Reading Practice: Marie Curie

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IELTS reading practice for matching sentence endings questions. This topic is a biography of Marie Curie, a famous scientist. Skim read the passage before attempting the questions. Please note this is not a practice test but just IELTS reading practice to develop skills and understanding of this type of question.

Download the PDF file for the passage and questions: IELTS Reading Practice Marie Curie

Marie Curie

During the 19th century scientists knew little about what went on inside an atom. However, by the end of the century there were startling new ideas about the structure of the atom resulting from the discoveries of X-rays, radioactivity and the electron.

Marie Sklodowska was born in Warsaw in 1867. She was a brilliant student and dreamed of studying at the Sorbonne in Paris but it took eight years of scrimping and saving before she could afford to go. Despite very poor living conditions and a lack of French she graduated in physics in 1893 and mathematics in 1894.

While looking for a laboratory in Paris to continue with her experiments she was introduced to Pierre Curie, a highly regarded professor at the School of Physics. At 35 years old, Pierre was already an internationally recognised physicist. With his brother Paul-Jacques, he discovered piezo-electricity: the fact that crystals under pressure produce electric currents. He also studied crystal symmetries and the magnetic properties of bodies at different temperatures. His papers had been well received by distinguished colleagues but he was still an outsider in the French academic community. Like Marie he did not care for outward distinctions or a career. They married in July 1895.

During her studies Marie had heard about Henri Becquerel’s discovery of some sort of radiation emitting from uranium salts and decided to investigate these mysterious ‘uranium rays’ for her doctoral thesis. She soon discovered that the intensity of the rays was in direct proportion to the amount of uranium in her sample. Nothing she did to the uranium affected the rays. This, she said, ‘shows that radioactivity is an atomic property’. She also found that two minerals, pitchblende and chalcite, were much more radioactive than uranium itself, and realised that they must contain a new radioactive element.

After the exciting results of Marie’s early experiments, Pierre abandoned his study of crystals to join her in her search for new substances. The couple laboured over their work, Marie carrying out the chemical separations and Pierre taking the measurements. They continued with the painstaking refining and by December 1898 the couple announced the discovery of an even more radioactive substance in pitchblende which they called radium. This discovery had far-reaching effects; opening up the fields of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine.

Matching Sentence Endings

Complete the sentences by selecting the correct ending, A-L (not all letters will be used).

  1. In the early 20th century, scientists….
  2. It took Marie 8 years…
  3. Marie tolerated sub-standard accommodation but still…
  4. The research of Pierre Curie was received well …
  5. Both Marie and Pierre shared the same belief that…
  6. The research by Henri Becquerel …
  7. On discovering that there must be a hitherto unknown substance …
  8. The revelation of radium had a momentous  impact on …

Endings

  • A) by the college where he worked.
  • B) lacked French.
  • C) had already made novel discoveries about the atom.
  • D) by notable fellows in his field.
  • E) recognition or vocation was not the main goal.
  • F) graduated in two subjects.
  • G) had rediscovered the x-ray.
  • H) nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.
  • I) prompted her to investigate his discovery further.
  • J) pitchblende.
  • K) her husband relinquished his work for hers.
  • L) of economising prior to  realise her goal of studying in Paris.
Answers
  1. C
    • novel = new / by the end of the 19 century means that this was already happening at the start of the 20th century
  2. L
    • Second paragraph. economising = being careful with money and not overspending = saving
  3. F
    • The answer can be found here: “Despite very poor living conditions and a lack of French she graduated in physics in 1893 and mathematics in 1894.”
  4. D
    • notable = distinguished / colleagues = fellows in his field. Please note that colleague and college do not have the same meaning.
  5. E
    • The answer can be found at the end of the third paragraph: “Like Marie he did not care for outward distinctions or a career.” Please note that “he” refers to her husband, Pierre. outward distinctions = recognition / career = vocation
  6. I
    • The answer can be found in the fourth paragraph: “During her studies Marie had heard about Henri Becquerel’s discovery ………and decided to investigate these mysterious ‘uranium rays’ for her doctoral thesis.”. Prompted means that she was persuaded or it caused her to.
  7. K
    1. The answer can be found in the last paragraph: “Pierre abandoned his study of crystals to join her in her search for new substances.”.  “he reliquished his work” means that he abandoned (gave up) his work.
  8. H
    1. The answer is in the last sentence of the passage: “This discovery had far-reaching effects; opening up the fields of radiotherapy and nuclear medicine. “. The word far-reaching is paraphrased as momentous.

Article from sciencemuseum.org.uk

More Practice with Matching Sentence Endings:

IELTS Reading Passage: Crime & Punishment 

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IELTS Tips: How words are counted

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Learn how your words are counted in IELTS. This page explains about counting words, numbers and symbols. You need to know how words are counted for IELTS listening, reading and writing. If you make mistakes with the number of words, you can lose points which can affect your band score.

How words are counted in IELTS

1. Numbers, dates and time are counted as words in writing. For example 30,000 = one word  /  55  = one word  /  9.30am = one word / 12.06.2016 = one word. “Six million” is counted as two words in IELTS writing. In listening, 30,000 is counted as one number and 9.30AM is also counted as one number.

2. Dates written as both words and numbers are counted in this way: 12th July = one number and one word in IELTS listening and as two words in IELTS writing.

3. Symbols with numbers are not counted. For example, 55% = one number (the symbol “%” is not counted as a word). However, if you write “55 percent” it is counted as one word and one number.

4. Small words such as “a” or “an” are counted. All prepositions, such as “in” or “at” are also counted. All words are counted.

5. Hyphenated words like “up-to-date” are counted as one word.

6. Compound nouns which are written as one word are also counted as one word. For example, blackboard = one word.

7. Compound nouns which are written as two separate words, are counted as two words. For example, university bookshop = two words.

8. All words are counted, including words in brackets. For example in IELTS writing, “The majority of energy was generated by electricity (55%).”. This sentence is counted as 9 words. The number in brackets is counted. Brackets can be used in IELTS Writing Task 1, but not in IELTS Listening or IELTS Reading.

9. Some people have asked me if words such as “the” are counted only once regardless of how many times they are used. It is best to illustrate: “The man walked into the shop for the newspaper” = 9 words.

10. Contractions are counted as: it’s = one word / it is = two words.

Tips

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IELTS Reading: Using Online Translations for Medical Purposes

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This exercise is based on matching paragraph information for IELTS reading. This reading exercise is not difficult and could be classed as medium in level. It’s a useful practice lesson.

Skim read the article and then look through the statements below. Take time to think about the information in the statements and consider possible paraphrases for vocabulary before you attempt to locate information.

Using Web Based Translations in Medical Communication

A)  A complex medical and treatment discussion with patients whose knowledge of the local language is inadequate remains challenging. After treating a child whose parents did not speak English, we resorted to the use of a web based translation tool. We were unsure as to whether Google Translate was accurately translating our complex medical phrases. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Google Translate in translating common English medical statements.

B)  Ten commonly used medical statements were chosen by author consensus. These were translated via Google Translate to 26 languages. Translations only were sent to native speakers of each language and translated back into English by them. The returning English phrases were compared with the originals and assessed for meaning. Minor grammatical errors were accepted but not if the meaning was altered.

C)  The results showed that of the ten medical phrases translated by Google translate and then translated back into English, 57.7% were correct and 42.3% were wrong. Out of the 26 languages used, Africa languages scored the lowest, followed by Asian languages. Western European languages were the most accurate. However, there were some serious errors discovered. For instance, “Your child is fitting” translated in Swahili to “Your child is dead”. In Polish “your husband has the opportunity to donate his organs” translated to “your husband can donate his tools”. In Mathi “your husband has had a cardiac arrest” translated to “your husband had an imprisoned heart”.

D)  The conclusion drawn is that in today’s world “just google it” is considered to be the answer to everything, but for health related questions this should be treated with caution. Google Translate should not be used for taking consent for surgery, procedures, or research from patients or relatives unless all other avenues to find human translators have been exhausted and the procedure is clinically urgent.

Questions 1-7

In which paragraph (A-D) is the following information found. Letters may be used more than once.

  1. When calculating the results, slight mistakes in language, possibly related to syntax or structure of language, were admitted.
  2. It is believed that most information and help can be found on google.
  3. The aim was to test whether Google Translate could be used reliably for medical communication.
  4. Significant mistakes were found in the translations which were web based.
  5. The research was conducted after a situation in which a patient’s relatives did not speak English.
  6. The translate function is not admissible to get people’s permission for operations.

Answers

Click below for answers.

Answers
  1. B
    1. “The returning English phrases were compared with the originals and assessed for meaning.” This is about analysing results.
    2. “Minor grammatical errors were accepted but not if the meaning was altered.”. This means that errors, such as syntax and structure of language would be fine because they weren’t related to meaning.
    3. Remember, you aren’t aiming to find the sentence word for word in the passage. Your aim is to understand the content of the sentence and locate similar information with the same intent in a paragraph. The difficulty with this question is the word “syntax”, which is similar to word order.
  2. D
    1. “The conclusion drawn is that in today’s world “just google it” is considered to be the answer to everything”
  3. A
    1. “We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Google Translate in translating common English medical statements.”
  4. C
  5. A
  6. D

Adapted and edited from BMJ article by Patil and Davies, December 2014 publication

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test for free.   

Liz

Vocab Builder
  • inadequate = lacking / deficient / not enough
  • resort to = turn to  / make use of
  • evaluate = assess / appraise
  • consensus = agreement
  • minor = small / insignificant
  • donate = give
  • cardiac arrest = when the heart stops / ceases to function
  • the conclusion drawn = the conclusion derived
  • other avenues = other possibilities
  • exhausted = finished 

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IELTS Reading Tips: How can I improve my score

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Below are some IELTS reading tips about how you can improve your score. The tips include developing both IELTS reading exam skills and also improving your English level. Even if your English language is at a native speaker level, you still need to get used to the test and be familiar with it in order to succeed.

IELTS Reading Tips: How to Increase your Score

Below are many ways you can boost your IELTS reading score. Take a look at the list and see which things you need to focus on for your IELTS reading preparation.

Develop skills for each type of question in IELTS reading

There are around 14 different types of IELTS reading questions and you need to find a strategy to tackle each one. Some question types have answers that come in order and others do not. This type of information will help you not only save time but also locate the right answers. Follow the link to learn about the IELTS reading question types. Most students struggle with True False Not Given questions, see this IELTS TFNG video to learn how to approach this type of question. You can find free practice reading lessons for different types of questions on this page: IELTS Reading Practice Lessons & Tips

Skimming and Scanning Reading Skills

You should be able to skim and scan passages to do well in IELTS. Skimming is reading a passage to get a general idea of the content. This is recommended to do before you tackle the questions. All types of questions, except one, are given after the passage because it is recommended to skim read the passage before the questions. This does not mean you try to understand the passage. It’s just a chance to get a sense of the topic and layout. You should skim read the full passage in 2 to 3 minutes – not longer. At the same time, you should underline any key words you see. The only types of questions which comes before the passage is matching headings, for those, you don’t need to read the passage first. Scanning is your ability to locate information quickly and has no relation to comprehension of the passage.

Develop your speed reading skills.

IELTS has a strict time limit which will really challenge your ability to complete the questions in time. You must develop speed reading skills to be able to find your answers quickly. This means you must be able to scan the passage quickly to locate information. Always keep your eye on the clock in the test. For the paper test, there’s be a clock on the wall, for the computer test it is given at the top of the screen.

Don’t try to understand the full passage

Your task is to locate answers only. Most questions test your ability to locate specific information given to you and then to comprehend the sentence or sentences which contain that information. There are only two types of questions which will require a more detailed understand of the whole passage – matching headings and choosing a title. All other questions are based on locating information. For more tips about reading techniques for IELTS, follow the link.

Developing vocabulary

This is one of the key reasons why students don’t get the score they need. Learning vocabulary is not just about learning the meaning of a word, it is about learning when you can and can’t use a word. It is also about what collocations can be used with words, for example verbs and match nouns.  You should write words lists that include common paraphrases and also any problems you had finding the answer. You can do this by learning vocabulary from practice reading passages. There is not set vocabulary list to learn for IELTS reading, unlike IELTS writing and speaking. For IELTS Reading, it is about broadening your vocabulary by reading on many different topics and learning to navigate through different language.

Keywords

Each IELTS reading question will have keywords to help you locate the information in the passage and to spot the right answer. You should learn to spot keywords and use them correctly. You should also check whether the keywords can be paraphrased. You will soon learn to use keywords correctly when you review your answers in practice reading lessons. Some keywords are obvious, for instance names, dates, numbers, places etc. Other keywords are more subtle.

Grammar

Question types such as summary completion and sentence completion require that the sentence is grammatically correct when you have put the answer in. This means that grammar can help you to spot the right answer. Many students post question on this blog asking me why one answer is correct and the other is not – the reason is often grammar related. You will see this when you do practice reading lessons.

More Tips to Improve your IELTS Reading

  1. Practice makes perfect. Unless you practice regularly, you won’t improve. Here’s a link to all my reading lessons for IELTS. The lesson are useful for students taking both the GT test and academic test because they are aimed at building skills, understanding of question types and also vocabulary.
  2. Getting used to difficult passages. If you have time before your test, you should be widening your reading skills and familiarity of complicated passages on a range of topics.  read the bbc news, the new scientist, the economist etc. Here’s a link to a page with useful websites for IELTS which includes links to websites useful for reading.
  3. IELTS Practice Reading Tests. You can find practice tests online for free (see my useful website page for links)or you can buy the IELTS Cambridge Test books (number 10 is the most recent). You should use IELTS practice reading tests for two purposes:
    1. To develop your skills, practice different types of questions and enhance your vocabulary
    2. To test yourself under exam conditions to check your score and check if you have developed or no
  4. GT Test. The first two passages in the GT test are different to the academic test but the third passage is similar. To practice the first two types of reading passages, you can practice reading materials such as instruction manuals, schedules and employment terms. You can find practice tests in the IELTS Cambridge books. The same skills and question types apply to both the GT test and academic test so all lessons on this blog will be useful to Gt students.
  5. Know your weaknesses. Unless you know your weaknesses, you won’t know how to improve. You must check the reasons why you are getting your answers wrong or right. If you are getting answers wrong due to your understanding of the passage, then you know you must improve your English language. If you are getting your answers wrong because your couldn’t find the information or you didn’t understand the question or you ran out of time, then the problem is your technique and strategies. Spend time reviewing your performance.
  6. Be realistic. If your level of English is not strong, don’t expect to get band score 7.
  7. Plan your training for IELTS reading. You should spend time
    1. developing vocabulary and paraphrasing awareness through broad reading practice
    2. practicing particular question types
    3. developing speed in locating information
    4. doing practice test not under exam conditions so you can work on skills
    5. doing practice tests under exam conditions to test your score and improvement
  8. You must prepare. Like all tests, you need to prepare. Even native speakers need to prepare by learning about the different types of questions and developing the right skills.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU FOR IELTS READING

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Crime and Punishment: IELTS Reading Exercise

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This IELTS reading exercise is based on the question type of matching sentence endings and covers the topic of crime and punishment. This article is adapted from a UK newspaper discussing the aims of prisons and contains very useful  vocabulary for a common IELTS topic.

Matching Sentence Endings Questions Reading Practice

The aim of these question types is to complete the sentence given by choosing one of the endings in the list. This is called Matching Sentence Endings. You can find tips for this question type in the recommended links at the bottom of this page:

The Old Debate: Punish or Rehabilitate

Debates over how to treat prisoners have gone on since imprisonment began: should the prison system leave inmates to fester in cold cells, with punishment and deterrence as the goal of incarceration? Or should it let them wander from classroom to games room, preaching rehabilitation into society as its main aim?

With over 83,000 prisoners currently locked away, England and Wales have a staggering imprisonment rate of 150 per 100,000 of the population. Our prisons have been officially overcrowded since 1994; nearly 14,000 current inmates are serving indeterminate sentences. If lowering the number of criminals is the reason behind imprisonment, recent figures point to a failing system: almost three quarters of under-18s are reconvicted within a year of release. As James Bell, an American lawyer and prison reform activist, said: “As it stands now, justice systems are extremely expensive, do not rehabilitate, but in fact make the people that experience them worse.”

In response to worldwide alarm over the ineffectiveness of how we manage criminals, a growing number of prisons are embracing a new style of incarceration. By giving inmates more responsibility, comfort, and freedom within the prison walls, governors say they are offering prisoners the chance to change. As the Prison Radio Association spokespeople said: “Reducing re-offending is of benefit to everybody. Equipping prisoners with skills and confidence is crucial in bringing down re-offending rates.”

Questions 1-4: Complete the sentence by choosing the correct ending.

  1. Since prisons were established, it has been considered whether or not …
  2. Putting criminals behind bars to reduce the crime rate is clearly not working…
  3. The new approach to dealing with punishment is  ………
  4. One of the most effective ways to reduce crime figures is to …

Choose the letter (a-g)

  • a) because many under 18’s are criminals.
  • b) the aim of imprisonment should be to put people off committing crime or to rehabilitate them.
  • c) in answer to the lack of success with the way criminals are currently dealt with.
  • d) provide equipment to prisoners.
  • e) the goal should be to provide warmer cells.
  • f) help offenders develop useful skills.
  • g) according to the current crime numbers.

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers

  1. b
  2. g
  3. c
  4. f

Adapted from Telegraph

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test for free.   

Liz

Vocab Builder

  • inmates = prisoners
  • deterrent = discouragement / preemption
  • deter = to put people off doing something / dissuade
  • incarceration = imprisonment
  • staggering = overwhelming
  • indeterminate = unknown / unstated
  • convict (noun) = criminal / convict (verb) = to sentence or to condemn
  • re-offending = commit a crime again 

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Categorisation Practice & Tips for IELTS Reading

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You can get categorisation questions in IELTS reading and below is a useful categorisation practice exercise to help you develop your skills. These questions are also known as “IELTS Reading Classification” questions and also as “IELTS Reading Matching Features” questions.

IELTS Reading Categorisation / Classification TIPS

How to tackle a question that asks you to classify / categorise a statement into options given?

  1. You will be given a list of statements as questions.
  2. You will also be given a list of categories. There are usually two or three categories which are labelled A, B & C.
  3. You need to decide which category the question statement belongs to.
  4. Your answer will be a letter, not a word or words. If you write a word or words, your answer will be marked wrong.
  5. There will often be two statements that belong to the same category so you might have a number of answers with the same letter.
  6. You decide which category a statement belongs to because the passage will tell you.
  7. Skim read the passage first before you tackle the questions.
  8. Check which categories you have been given. Often, not always, those categories represent an area in the passage. But this is not always the case.
  9. Read through the statements in each question.
  10. Spend time spotting keywords in the statements and thinking about possible paraphrasing.
  11. After preparing the statements, try to locate the information in the passage by scanning the text.
  12. Decide your category – which means decide how you will classify that statement.

The key to this type of question is being good at paraphrasing and scanning for specific information.

IELTS Reading Categorisation Questions

Practice the reading lesson below to get used to these kinds of IELTS reading questions.

Reading Passage: Beds in the Ancient World

IELTS categorisation reading classification

Bed styles in ancient Egypt remained very much the same for over 2000 years. They are among the most intriguing of furniture items because of their structure. Many were slanted down at an incline from the headboard. A foot board ensured that the sleeper would not slip off in the middle of the night. Furniture makers also constructed side rails on many beds. Writes Sibal, “almost all beds featured legs in the form of animal legs, ranging from heavy bulls legs to gazelle-like forms with hooves, and the feline type with paw and claw, frequently identified as lions legs.” The mattress was usually made of wooden slats, plaited string, or reeds, which then held woollen cushions or some other soft material. Sheets were made of linen.

Roman bed-frames were pretty much the same. It would have had a mattress on top of it, stuffed with feathers or straw, and wool blankets. But most Etruscan and Roman beds would have been made of wood and strung with wool or linen string. In the bedrooms, the ceilings were vaulted and lower above the bed, often making the room appear a cramped and stuffy place. Simple beds. to which shortly after the Homeric age a pillow for the head was added, continued to be used by the poorer classes among the Greeks at all times. Thus the bed of the orator Lycurgus is said to have consisted of one sheep-skin and a pillow.

In Ancient Greece, the beds of persons of high rank was covered with skins upon which the pillows were placed, and over these linen sheets or carpets were spread. Lastly, there was thick woollen cover or blanket for the sleeper. Poor persons slept on skins or beds of dry herbs spread upon the ground. These simple beds,  had a cover or ticking of a mattress which was made of linen or woollen cloth and the usual material with which it was filled with was either wool or dried weeds. At the head part of the bed lay a round pillow to support the head; and in some ancient pictures two other square pillows are seen, which were intended to support the back. The covers of such pillows are striped in several pictures on ancient vases and were therefore probably of various colours. They were undoubtedly filled with the same materials as the beds and mattresses.

Questions 1-4

Classify the information below as belonging to one of the following categories. Please note that for this particular practice, answers will not come in order in the passage. Choose  the correct letter (A-C) for your answer. Letters may be used more than once.

  • A = Ancient Egyptian
  • B = Ancient Roman
  • C = Ancient Greek
  1. Bedrooms did not seem spacious.
  2. The beds were not flat and horizontal but rather angled downwards.
  3. Pillows could be decorative.
  4. Mattresses were stuffed with wool.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal the answers.

VOCABULARY

  • intriguing = fascinating, interesting
  • slanted = inclined, leaning, sloped
  • featured = included, presented
  • gazelle = a type of deer
  • hooves = the feet of a deer or horse
  • paw = foot of a lion, cat or dog
  • claw = the nail on the foot of a lion, cat, dog or bird
  • vaulted = curved, domed
  • cramped = over crowded, small, confined
  • stuffy = airless, unventilated
  • orator = speaker
  ANSWERS
  1. B
    • (making the room appear a cramped)
  2. A
    • (Many were slanted down at an incline from the headboard)
  3. C
    • (pillows are striped in several pictures on ancient vases)
  4. C
    • (it was filled with was either wool …)

The passage is inspired by information from various sources, including touregypt and mlahanas

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IELTS Matching Headings

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How to do IELTS matching paragraph questions in reading. Learn useful tips and practise matching information to paragraphs for IELTS reading. This is quite an easy practice exercise for matching  and is easier that.

Quick Tips for Matching Headings

  • read through the headings options
  • spot keywords
  • think of paraphrases for keywords
  • spot headings which use similar words and identify the difference
  • heading through the passage and match main ideas to heading
  • try to distinguish between main ideas and extra information
  • the answers do not come in order
  • your answer should be a letter not words

IELTS Matching Headings Practice

Below is a reading passage to practice matching headings questions for IELTS reading.

Passage: Pangolins

baby-pangolin

A) Pangolins, often called “scaly anteaters,” are covered in tough, overlapping scales. These burrowing mammals eat ants and termites using an extraordinarily long, sticky tongue, and are able to quickly roll themselves up into a tight ball when threatened. Eight different pangolin species can be found across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Poaching for illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss have made these incredible creatures one of the most endangered groups of mammals in the world.

B) Pangolin species vary in size from about 1.6kg (~3.5 lbs) to a maximum of about 33kg (~73 lbs). They vary in color from light to yellowish brown through olive to dark brown. Protective, overlapping scales cover most of their bodies. These scales are made from keratin — the same protein that forms human hair and finger nails. Overlapping like artichoke leaves, the scales grow throughout the life of a pangolin just like hair; scale edges are constantly filed down as pangolins dig burrows and tunnel through the soil in search of termites and ants. Pangolin undersides do not have scales, and are covered with sparse fur. Unlike African pangolins, Asian pangolins also have thick bristles that emerge from between their scales. With small conical heads and jaws lacking teeth, pangolins have amazingly long, muscular, and sticky tongues that are perfect for reaching and lapping up ants and termites in deep cavities. Pangolins have poor vision, so they locate termite and ant nests with their strong sense of smell.

C) There are eight pangolin species. All pangolins belong to the genus Manis in the family Manidae, which is the only family within the order Pholidota. Pangolins’ closest living relatives are the Xenarthrans – anteaters, armadillos, and sloths.

D) Pangolins are found in a variety of habitats including tropical and flooded forests, thick brush, cleared and cultivated areas, and savannah grassland; in general they occur where large numbers of ants and termites are found. Asian pangolins in particular are threatened by loss of habitat due to expanding agriculture and other human uses. Pangolins dig deep burrows for sleeping and nesting that contain circular chambers. Large chambers have been discovered in terrestrial pangolin burrows that were big enough for a human to crawl inside and stand up. Some pangolin species such as the Malayan pangolin also sleep in the hollows and forks of trees and logs.

E) These solitary mammals are nocturnal and highly secretive, thus it is difficult for scientists to study them in the wild, and many mysteries remain about their habits. Some pangolin species such as the Chinese pangolin sleep in underground burrows during the day, and others including African tree pangolins and Malayan pangolins are known to sleep in trees. They emerge in the evening to forage for insects. Pangolins are well adapted for digging: they dig burrows with their strong front legs and claws, using their tails and rear legs for support and balance. Tunneling underground, they excavate the sides and roofs of passages by pushing up and from side to side with their tough scaled bodies. They use their front and hind feet to back accumulated soil toward the burrow entrance, and vigorously kick dirt out of the entrance up to a meter or more. Pangolin scales provide good defense against predators. When threatened, pangolins can quickly curl into a ball, protecting their defenseless undersides. They also deter predators by hissing and puffing, and lashing their sharp edged tails.

F) Pangolins live predominantly on a diet of ants and termites, which they may supplement with various other invertebrates including bee larvae, flies, worms, earthworms, and crickets. This specialist diet makes them extremely difficult to maintain in captivity—they often reject unfamiliar insect species or become ill when fed foreign food. Wild pangolins locate insect nests using a well developed sense of smell. Voraciously digging ants and termites from mounds, stumps, and fallen logs with their claws, they use their extremely long sticky tongues to capture and eat them.

G) Pangolins are hunted for food, for use in traditional medicine and as fashion accessories, and for a rampant illegal international trade in scales, skins, and meat. There is high demand for nearly all of their body parts, principally from China. The large-scale illegal trade in Asian pangolins is drastically driving down their numbers throughout Southeast Asia. Rapid loss and deterioration of available habitat places added pressure on the dwindling numbers of remaining pangolins.

Matching Headings

Choose the correct heading from the list below (i – xi) for each of the above paragraphs (A-G).

  • i) The Asian pangolin
  • ii) Distribution and habitat
  • iii) Pangolin behaviour
  • iv) Taxonomy
  • v) Pangolin burrows
  • vi) The pangolin trade
  • vii) Comparison of pangolin species
  • viii) What is a pangolin?
  • ix) Description of a pangolin
  • x) Why pangolins are endangered
  • xi) The pangolin diet

Questions 1-7

  1. Paragraph A =
  2. Paragraph B =
  3. Paragraph C =
  4. Paragraph D =
  5. Paragraph E =
  6. Paragraph F =
  7. Paragraph G =

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers

  • Paragraph A = viii
  • Paragraph B = ix
  • Paragraph C = iv
  • Paragraph D = ii
  • Paragraph E = iii
  • Paragraph F = xi
  • Paragraph G = x

Information about pangolins from savepangolins.org

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IELTS Reading Practice: Ebola

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Develop your skills for matching paragraph information for IELTS reading with this reading exercise. Skim read the passage to get the gist of the article. Then spend time reading the questions before you try and locate the answers. The more time you spend analysing the meaning and vocabulary in the questions, the easier it will be. This is a similar level to the academic reading paper.

Reading Passage: Ebola

The questions are listed at the end of the passage. However, because this is a long passage, I have also put the questions at various points in the passage as well ( Q’s).

About Ebola

A) The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. Ebola virus disease (EVD) first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

B) The current outbreak in west Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. It has also spread between countries starting in Guinea then spreading across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, by air (1 traveller only) to Nigeria, and by land (1 traveller) to Senegal. The most severely affected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have very weak health systems, lacking human and infrastructural resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability. On August 8, the WHO Director-General declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

C) It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids. Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practised.

D) Supportive care-rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids- and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. There is as yet no proven treatment available for EVD. However, a range of potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are currently being evaluated. No licensed vaccines are available yet, but 2 potential vaccines are undergoing human safety testing.

E) Health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the patient’s blood and body fluids and contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothing and bedding. When in close contact (within 1 metre) of patients with EBV, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).

Questions 1-6

Which paragraphs contain the following information?

  1. Information about possible medicine.
  2. What happens when precautions fail.
  3. How it came to be called Ebola.
  4. Information about precautionary procedures.
  5. The way Ebola crossed the species barrier.
  6. A description of Ebola.

ANSWERS

Click below to reveal answers and vocabulary.

Answers

  1. D
  2. C
  3. A
  4. E
  5. C
  6. A

Passage taken from WHO

 Vocabulary

  • acute = critical, serious
  • outbreaks = bursts, epidemics
  • emerged from periods of conflict = come out of a time war or instability
  • fruit bat
  • secretion = discharge, emission
  • contaminated = polluted
  • rehydration = the process of restoring lost water
  • proven = confirmed, sure, certain
  • sterile = germ-free, hygienic, sanitary

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