IELTS
Reading Sentence Completion
Sample 1
Although there are many millions
of olfactory cells in the nose, the taste is a more intense experience than
smell; food technologists believe this is because of the strong pleasure
relationship between the brain and food. And it is universally acknowledged
that sweetness is the ultimate pleasurable taste sensation. For example, the
French writer Marcel Proust is famous for using this idea in his work: eating a
particular cake by chance one day brings back highly vivid memories of
childhood for the narrator of his epic In Search of Past Time. The words
‘sugar’, ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’ are used by lovers as terms of endearment. Pregnant
women can often ward off morning sickness by eating something sweet. In Tudor
times*, to have teeth blackened by decay from overeating sugar was seen as a
desirable characteristic open only to the wealthy and aristocratic upper class.
Even recently, with the harm sugar can do much more widely known, advertisers
have managed to create demand for sweet-tasting cakes with the catch-phrase
‘naughty but nice.’ Despite the attraction of all things sugary, however, no
one is sure what exactly makes a substance sweet.
Choose No More Than Two Words from the
passage to complete the sentences.
1.The taste is a more extreme
experience than the smell, and this is because of the strong pleasure
relationship between ______and ______.
2. It is universally acknowledged that
___________ is the ultimate pleasurable sensation.
3. The famous french
writer______________ is widely known for using this idea in his
work.
4. The words sugar, honey, sweetie,
are used by lovers as terms of ___________.
5. In spite of gaining attraction for
its sugary taste, no one is sure what exactly makes a ________________
sweet.
Sample
2
MEXICO CITY – Although it’s hard
to imagine in this age of urban sprawl and automobiles, North America once
belonged to mammoths, camels, ground sloths as large as cows, bear-sized
beavers, and other formidable beasts. Some 11,000 years ago, however, these
large-bodied mammals and others – about 70 species in all – disappeared. Their
demise coincided roughly with humans’ arrival in the New World and dramatic
climatic change – factors that have inspired several theories about the
die-off. Yet despite decades of scientific investigation, the exact cause
remains a mystery. Now new findings offer support to one of these controversial
hypotheses: that human hunting drove this megafaunal menagerie to extinction.
The overkill model emerged in the 1960s when it was put forth by Paul S. Martin
of the University of Arizona. Since then, critics have charged that no evidence
exists to support the idea that the first Americans hunted to the extent
necessary to cause these extinctions. But at the annual meeting of the Society
of Vertebrate Paleontology in Mexico City last October, paleoecologist John
Alroy of the University of California at Santa Barbara argued that, in fact,
hunting-driven extinction is not only plausible, but it was also unavoidable.
Using a computer simulation, he has determined that even a very modest amount
of hunting would have wiped these animals out.
Choose No More Than Two Words from the
passage to complete the sentences.
1. North America was once a home to
____________,camels, ground sloths, bear-sized beavers, and beasts.
2. About 11,000 years ago,
large-bodied mammals and around _________
disappeared.
3. Even after decades of
_____________, the cause for the demise of these species still remains
unknown.
4. The overkill model emerged in the
1960s and was put forth by_______ of the University of Arizona.
5. Paleoecologist John Alroy
determined using a _________ that hunting could have destroyed these
animals.
Sample
3
Despite the earlier success,
however, negative repercussions of human activity have caused the return of
water hyacinth to East African waters. Uganda’s Lake Kyoga has recently once
again experienced problems with the infestation. Sewage and agricultural waste
making their way into the waterways and thereby creating an excess of nutrients
in the water has been the main contributing factors to the re-emergence of
water hyacinth. In addition, high levels of nitrogen in rainfall, which enter
the water cycle from the smoke created by wood-burning, cooking fires used in
the region, also serve as nutrition to the increasing plant population.
Restriction of human activity on lakes such as this, caused by the infestation
of water hyacinth, has enormous implications; villages such as Kayago, which is
close to the lake, are often almost entirely dependent on fishing activity for
their economy and food source.
Choose No More Than Two Words from the
passage to complete the sentences.
1.The negative repercussions of human
activities have led to the restoration of water hyacinth to the waters in
____________.
2. Recently, Uganda’s Kyoga lake
experienced problems with ____________.
3. _______and_______ are creating an
excess of nutrients in the water as contributing factors.
4. Wood burning and cooking fires
serve as nutrition to the rising ______________.
5. Kayago completely depends on
_________ for their economy and food source.
Sample
4
Some people believe that
traditional usages of language are always more superior and refined than modern
variations even when the reasons behind the rule were dubious in the first
place. For example, it was once seriously frowned upon to split an infinitive
in a sentence, and even today it is considered grammatically incorrect to do
so. To demonstrate, let’s consider the following sentence: ‘The examiner asked
me to quietly leave the room’; this was considered incorrect as the word
‘quietly’ splits the infinitive of the verb ‘to leave.’ The origins of this
rule hail back to the 17th century when scholars believed that the English
language should be adapted to follow Latin rules; then considered the perfect
language. Since splitting infinitives in Latin is impossible, it was decided
that splitting infinitives in English, even though possible, was not
acceptable, Given those initial motivations behind the rule were questionable.
The clarity of the meaning of the sentence is not compromised in the ‘incorrect’
form, it could be argued that this grammar rule is a prime example of an
unnecessary sanction that is likely to be abandoned in the future.
Choose No More Than Two Words from the
passage to complete the sentences.
1.Traditional use of languages are
said to be more ________ and _________.
2. Scholars affirmed that the English
language should be adapted to follow the rules of ___________.
3. Even though splitting infinitives
in English was possible, it was not ____________.
4. Rules like splitting infinitives
are considered as _____________.
5. Split infinitives are likely to be
____________ in future.
Sample
5
How atoms were discovered
Hundreds of years ago in 1785 Dutch scientist Jan Ingenhousz was
studying a strange phenomenon that he couldn’t quite make sense of. Minute
particles of coal dust were darting about on the surface of some alcohol in his
lab.
About 50 years later, in 1827, the Scottish botanist Robert Brown
described something curiously similar. He had his microscope trained on some
pollen grains. Brown noticed that some of the grains released tiny particles –
which would then move away from the pollen grain in a random jittery dance.
At first, Brown wondered if the particles were really some sort of unknown
organism. He repeated the experiment with other substances like rock dust,
which he knew wasn’t alive, and saw the same strange motion again.
It would take almost another century for science to offer an
explanation. Einstein came along and developed a mathematical formula that
would predict this very particular type of movement – by then called Brownian
motion, after Robert Brown.
Einstein’s theory was that that the particles from the pollen
grains were being moved around because they were constantly crashing into
millions of tinier molecules of water – molecules that were made of atoms.
By 1908, observations backed with calculations had confirmed that
atoms were real. Within about a decade, physicists would be able to go further.
By pulling apart individual atoms they began to get a sense of their internal
structure.
It
might come as a surprise that atoms can be broken down – particularly since the
very name atom derives from a Greek term “atomos”, which means “indivisible”.
But physicists now know that atoms are not solid little balls. It’s better to
think of them as tiny electrical, “planetary” systems. They’re typically made
up of three main parts: protons, neutrons and electrons. Think of the protons
and neutrons as together forming a “sun”, or nucleus, at the centre of the
system. The electrons orbit this nucleus, like planets.
Sentence
completion questions:
1.
The type of random jittery movement of tiny particles is
called.......................... .
2.
Einstein
explained the phenomenon of particles' strange motion by the fact that they
were collapsing with.......................... .
3.
Nowadays,
scientists consider atoms' structures similar to tiny..........................
.
4.
..........................
are parts that are circling around the nucleus.
Sample
6
3D
heart printed using multiple imaging techniques
Congenital heart experts
from Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital have successfully
integrated two common imaging techniques to produce a three-dimensional
anatomic model of a patient's heart.
The 3D model printing of
patients' hearts has become more common in recent years as part of an emerging,
experimental field devoted to enhanced visualization of individual cardiac
structures and characteristics. But this is the first time the integration of
computed tomography (CT) and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography
(3DTEE) has successfully been used for printing a hybrid 3D model of a
patient's heart. A proof-of-concept study authored by the Spectrum Health
experts also opens the way for these techniques to be used in combination with
a third tool - magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
"Hybrid 3D printing
integrates the best aspects of two or more imaging modalities, which can
potentially enhance diagnosis, as well as interventional and surgical
planning," said Jordan Gosnell, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital cardiac
sonographer, and lead author of the study. "Previous methods of 3D
printing utilize only one imaging modality, which may not be as accurate as
merging two or more datasets."
The team used specialized
software to register images from the two imaging modalities to selectively
integrate datasets to produce an accurate anatomic model of the heart. The
result creates more detailed and anatomically accurate 3D renderings and printed
models, which may enable physicians to better diagnose and treat heart disease.
Complete the
sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1 A three-dimensional ....................... of a patient's heart was created by integrating two imaging techniques.
2 Spectrum Health scientists have found a way to combine and use three techniques: computed tomography, three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography and ....................................
3 The new method of 3D printing is more efficient than previous methods because it merges two and more ...............................
4 With more accurate 3D renderings and ........................., physicians will be able to better diagnose and treat heart disease.
Sample
7
A giant panda at a zoo in the United States has given
birth to twin cubs.
Keepers at the Smithsonian National
Zoo in Washington DC only discovered Mei Xiang was pregnant during an
ultrasound scan last week. The zoo said both cubs appeared healthy. Giant
pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world and are notoriously
hard to breed in captivity.
The National Zoo is one of
only four zoos in the US to have pandas, which are on loan from China. Mei
Xiang, who has two other offspring, is one of the zoo's star attractions and a
Panda Cam on her enclosure crashed within seconds of the birth of the first cub
being announced because of the volume of interest.
Female pandas are able to
conceive for only two or three days a year, leading to a very low reproduction
rate. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from the zoo's resident
male Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China. It will not be
known for a while which is the father, or what sex the cubs are.
It has previously taken
months before Mei Xiang's cubs have been introduced to the public. AP news
agency reports that her first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to
China in 2010; her second cub, Bao Bao, is two years old on Sunday and still
lives at the zoo. The panda population is threatened by habitat loss as land is
increasingly inhabited by humans, with about 1,800 pandas left in the wild in
China. However, the number living in the wild in China has gone up over the
last 10 years.
Complete the
sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1 Mei Xiang pregnancy was discovered with an ............................ last week.
2.Pandas from the USA National Zoo are .............................. from China.
3 Due to the short conceiving period, pandas have a low ................................... .
4Pandas are in danger because their lands are increasingly ....................................
Sample 8
European Settlement of Australia
European settlement
of Australia began in 1788 when a British penal colony was established on the
east coast. From this starting point Australia grew rapidly and continually,
expanding across the entire continent.
A number of
reasons contributed to Britain's decision to colonise Australia. The most
important factor was Britain's need to relieve its overcrowded prisons. Several
violent incidents at overcrowded prisons convinced the British government of
the need to separate unruly elements from the rest of the prison populace.
Additionally, Australia was of strategic importance to Britain, and it provided a base for the Royal Navy in the eastern sea. Also, Australia could be used as an entry point to the economic opportunities of the surrounding region. All these points figured in the decision by Lord Sydney, secretary of state of home affairs, to authorise the colonisation.
To this affect, on May 13, 1787, Captain Arthur Phillip, commanding eleven ships full of convicts, left Britain for Australia. He successfully landed a full fleet at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788. However, they left the bay eight days later because of its openness and poor soil, and settled instead at Port Jackson, a few kilometres north. The ships landed 1,373 people, including 732 convicts, and the settlement became Sydney. Australia Day is now celebrated on 26 January each year, to commemorate this first fleet landing.
Questions
1-5
Complete
the following statements using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
(put your
choice into the gaps - use small letters and don't put any spaces after your
last word)
1.
Australia was originally founded as a...................................
2.
The major consideration in colonizing Australia was Britain’s ..............................
3.
It was thought that ..................... could
be gained in that part of the world due to the access provided via Australia.
4.
Lord Sydney took every factor into account when he gave official permission for
the ....................... of
Australia.
5.
Botany Bay was abandoned by the settlers due to the lack of cover and ...........................
Sample 9
Worms
About a
quarter of the world's population could have worms living in their guts. For
many years experts have recommended treating large groups at risk of infection
- but is this mass approach worthwhile?
Evidence showing the benefits of large-scale deworming projects has come under
scrutiny in recent weeks - the debate has even been dubbed "worm
wars". Parasites, such as roundworm, hookworm and whipworm could be living
inside more than 1.5 billion people according to the World Health Organization
(WHO).
"People
are usually infected through contaminated food but hookworm larvae can also
burrow into feet, get into blood vessels and make their way to the heart and
lungs. From there they can climb up to the oesophagus* and be swallowed, ending
up in the gut where they grow.
Worms
are not usually fatal but in serious cases they can cause abdominal pain,
diarrhoea, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and anaemia. In children,
they can also contribute to malnutrition, stunted growth, and absences from
school. A nurse gives deworming treatment to a boy in India
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1 Now scientists doubt whether it is ………………………………...to treat large groups of possibly infected people.
2 The experts called the debate………………………………………
3 Hookworm larvae might make his way to the………………………………… and then be swallowed.
4 Although dangerous, worms are rarely ……………………………………………….
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