Reading Practice: About Ants

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The following is a lesson for IELTS reading practice based on the topic of ants. This reading exercise is to practise diagram completion and also TFNG questions for IELTS reading.

There are 8 questions below. Questions 1-5 are diagram completion and questions 6 – 8 are true, false, not given. The answer link is provided below the questions.

Reading Practice Lesson for IELTS: 

Passage: About Ants There are more than 10,000 known species of ants living throughout the world. Ants can be identified by the constriction that looks like a waist between the abdomen, at the end of the body, and the part of the body called the thorax , which is located before the head. Their bodies are covered with a hard armour called the exoskeleton. While the exoskeleton is their defensive weapon, their rear abdominal stinger is their offensive one. Like other insects, they have six legs; each with three joints. Ants have large heads with compound eyes, elbowed antennae, which act as sensors, and powerful pincers, known as mandibles. These pincers are an ant’s most useful tool which are used for grabbing things, cutting and are a kind of trap-jaw.

There are three types of adult ants living in the colony: the queen, female ants, and male ants. Queen ants are the largest ants in the colony. They have wings and their purpose is to lay eggs. The queens can live up to 30 years. Depending on the ant species and the nest community size, there may be one or more queens in the colony. The ant life cycle has four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The queen lays the eggs, which will hatch into larvae in a couple of days. The helpless larva are fed and groomed by the worker ants until they pass through the pupal stage. In a little more than a week, an adult ant will emerge and the metamorphosis is complete.

You can DOWNLOAD the reading passage here but the 8 questions must be viewed online: Reading Passage Ants. The answers are linked below.

Questions 1 – 5

Complete the diagram below using no more than two words from the passage for each question.


Questions 6 – 8
Are the following statements True, False or Not Given according to the information given in the passage above?

  • 6. The antennae of an ant cannot bend.
  • 7. Only queen ants have wings.
  • 8. Larva undergo metamorphosis in the pupal stage.

Answers 

The answers are now available for this reading lesson.

Click here: Answers Ant Reading Lesson 

Notice & Disclaimer: This reading passage has been adapted from the following article: all about ants  The diagram was adapted from this article: External Ant Anatomy.  All lessons have been produced to provide free practice for IELTS students. They are not IELTS tests. Wishing you all the best, from IELTS Liz.

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Filed Under: IELTS Reading

Speaking Part 1: the best answer

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Learn which is the best answer for IELTS speaking part 1 “Do you like vegetables?”. Below you will find the right answer, tips and also more possible answers. Furthermore, you can find useful vocabulary for vegetables on this page: Test your Veg Vocab

I asked you which answer is best for this question: “Do you like vegetables?”

There were two options:

  1. Yes, I do. I consider vegetables an important part of any healthy diet due to amount of vitamins and minerals that some vegetables can supply. Without vegetables in a person’s diet, health problems might occur later in life.
  2. Yes, I do. I am particularly partial to leafy greens, such as spinach, although I do eat pretty much any kind of veg. In fact, on the whole, most of my main meals contain at least 5 different types of veg.

Answer

Number 2 is appropriate and number 1 is not.

IELTS speaking part 1 is mostly about you and your life. If the question asks about YOU, you must answer about YOU – not about people in general.

The questions are often very simple and basic in part 1, such as “Do you like …”.  This means you should be straight forward and give a natural answer. You should NOT change the question into an academic discussion about the importance of vitamins and minerals. In part 1, imagine you are talking to a friend. Answer naturally and be chatty.

Answer number 2 provides:

  • a) fluency – it is an extended answer with a good length for a simple questions in part 1
  • b) grammar – a complex structure and variation.
  • c) vocabulary: I’m partial to .. / leafy greens / spinach / pretty much / veg

Other Possible Answers

The answers below were posted by students:

  1. Yes, i definitely do. I’m really keen on organic crops such as potatoes, squash, green leafy veggies, and even bitter gourd despite of it’s unpleasant taste. i basically grew up eating these type of food, because my mom likes to cook vegetarian dishes.
    1. A great answer. It demonstrates excellent vocabulary in a very natural way which is perfect for part 1. The examiner might interrupt the examiner to move on to another question before the end, but don’t worry about that. The examiner will decide when to move on. Your task is to keep talking until that happens.
  2. Yes, i do. I eat green leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce. I enjoy to eat salad made of vegetables. It’s pretty delicious and healthy as well.
    1. The technique is fine and the vocabulary great. However, the sentence structures are basic  and simple.
  3. Yes I like vegetables. I am very keen about having veggies in many of my meals as this provides the balance I want to get from every diet in the meal I take, though i have better preference for uncooked vegetables.
    1. The tone is great -it’s personal. The fluency is fine and the sentences complex. However, the grammar is not strong as it contains a number of errors.

I hope this lesson was useful 🙂

Liz

 

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Filed Under: IELTS Speaking

Choose the best answer: IELTS speaking practice

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Hi guys,

Below is a speaking question from part 1:

Do you like vegetables?

Which answer do you think is the best to answer this question?

  1. Yes, I do. I consider vegetables an important part of any healthy diet due to amount of vitamins and minerals that some vegetables can supply. Without vegetables in a person’s diet, health problems might occur later in life.
  2. Yes, I do. I am particularly partial to leafy greens, such as spinach, but I do eat pretty much any kind of veg. In fact, on the whole, most of my main meals contain at least 5 different types of veg.

Answer

The answer to this lesson is now available:

Click here to see the answer: The best answer

 

Filed Under: IELTS Speaking

IELTS Problem Solution Essay Model Answer

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Below is an IELTS model answer for the IELTS problem solution essay in writing task 2. There are five types of essays in IELTS writing task 2 and the “solution” type essay is a common one. However, make sure you follow the instructions. You need to know the difference between “what are the causes?” and “what problems does this cause?”.  The first requires causes and the second requires problems.

Problem Solution Essay Instructions

The instructions for problem solution questions are often paraphrased in different ways. Below you can see a few examples:

  1. What are the problems to this and how can it be solved?
  2. What problems are caused by this? What solutions would you recommend?
  3. What problems arise from this situation? What measures can be taken to deal with it?
  4. What problems does this cause? What can be done to deal with this situation?

You can find some essay questions for solution essays and problem solution essays on this page: Solution Essay Questions and you can find over 100 essay questions to practice: 100 Essay Questions for IELTS

IELTS Problem Solution Essay Question

An increasing number of professionals, such as doctors and teachers, are leaving their own poorer countries to work in developed countries. What problems does this cause? What can be done to deal with this situation?

Model IELTS Essay: Problems and Solutions

More and more professionals from developing or underdeveloped countries are choosing to live and work in richer countries. As a result, poorer countries will struggle to develop but this can be tackled by offering more incentives to stay and better living conditions.

The main problem faced by poorer countries due to the brain-drain, in fields such as medicine and education, is that they will struggle to develop and find it difficult to improve their economy as well as living conditions. One of the main ways that a developing country can better themselves is through the skills and dedication of their professionals which is negated when they choose to take their skills to benefit another country. Consequently, less developed countries will not be able to offer their citizens high levels of education or health care, and this in turn will hinder their ability to compete on a global scale, to entice investors and ultimately to stop the poverty cycle.

One effective solution to deal with professionals leaving their country is for their government to encourage them to stay by offering better work conditions. This can be done by increasing wages and investing in state-of-the-art equipment and training to tempt doctors and teachers to continue working there. Another possible answer is for  poorer countries to offer better standards of living, more tolerance and a positive future as a way to entice their professionals back to their own country after they have completed their training abroad. However, these solutions are financially demanding which means poorer governments may have to look to developed countries for aid in order to implement these changes.

In conclusion, poorer countries are unable to develop due to the brain-drain which can only be tackled by enticing professionals to remain in their country of origin through better conditions.

 

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2

What type of IELTS essay is this?

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Look at the IELTS essay question below:

An increasing number of professionals, such as doctors and teachers, are leaving their own poorer countries to work in developed countries. What problems does this cause? What can be done to deal with this situation?

What do you think?

  1. What type of essay is it?
  2. How many paragraph will you have?
  3. What content will you put in the essay?

Answers

THE ANSWER IS AVAILABLE NOW.

TO SEE THE ANSWER, CLICK HERE: PROBLEM SOLUTION ESSAY

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS Essay Instructions Agree Disagree To what extent

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Below are the answers to your concerns about IELTS essay instructions.

In writing task 2, it is essential that you understand the instructions given to you. It will affect your score for Task Response, which is 25% of your marks.

Are the following instructions different?

  1. Do you agree or disagree?
  2. Do you agree?
  3. To what extent do you agree?
  4. What is your opinion?

Are they the same or are they different?

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers.

Answers

All instructions above are the same.  There is no difference between them. You will write the same essay.

IELTS like to paraphrase instructions. All the above instructions are asking for your opinion. For all the above instructions, you can choose a one sided approach or a partial agreement (known as a balanced view or specific view).

 

 

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS Essay Topic: Maternity Leave

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In the last few months, the topic of maternity leave was given in IELTS writing task 2. Maternity leave means paid leave given to women who are going to have a baby. They are paid during the months they do not work by the company they work for and can return to their position at the end of their paid leave.

Below are some ideas that you can use for this topic.

Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments box below.

Question: What are the advantages and disadvantages to maternity leave?

Advantages of Maternity Leave

  • Women no longer need to choose between a career and having a family.
  • Women will be able to enjoy time with their newborn baby without financial concerns.
  • Parents will be better able to afford the necessary medical care for both mother and baby.
  • Companies will be able to keep a good member of staff.

Disadvantages of Maternity Leave

  • Small companies are not able to afford to pay women for maternity leave.
  • Companies will need to find a temporary replacement for the work which might not be easy.
  • When mothers return to work they will not be up-to-date with recent developments in the company.
  • Maternity leave encourages women to continue working rather than staying at home to raise a child.

Can you think of more advantages and disadvantages?

Post your comments below.

 

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2

Important things are free: Essay Thesis statements

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Below you can find various introductions for this essay:

Some people think that the most important things in life are free and cannot be bought. To what extent do you agree?

Sample Introductions

Not everyone agrees whether the best things in life are available for free and that money cannot buy them. I believe that most basic human necessities in life require money to obtain them and only a few things are completely free.

While some people believe that the best things in life do not require money to be obtained, others disagree. In my opinion, happiness, family and health, which are the most important aspects of life, are completely free for all people.

Although there are people who consider that most good things in life are free for both rich and poor, other people believe this is not the case. I think that the things central to a good life need to be bought and only happiness can be attained without money.

People have different views about whether the best things in life can be obtained without money. In my opinion, the things that are crucial to human survival must be paid for, except happiness and health.

Comments

You can see the various options for background statements and different ways of expressing your views in the thesis statement.

Filed Under: IELTS Writing Task 2
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