Mindset for IELTS 3 Test Unit 1

Unit 1: Exercise 3 Listen and choose the correct telephone numbers.

1. a) 0147 678125 b) 0147 687125

2. a) 059 8442328 b) 059 8842328
3. a) 412 005999 b)412 055599
4. a) 8937721 b) 893 7771
5. a) 658 8892140 b) 658 8892104
6. a) 0985 667766 b)0985 776677
Unit 1: Exercise 4 Listen and write the telephone numbers that you hear.

1. 4.
2. 5.
3. 6.

Unit 1: Exercise 6

1. 7.
2. 8.
3. 9.
4. 10.
5. 1. Subject:________________
6. 2. Job: ________________
3. Subject: ________________
Unit 1: Exercise 8 4. Job: ________________
Unit 1: Exercise 9 5. Subject:________________
1.
6. Job: ________________
2.
7. Subject:________________
3.
8. Job: ________________
4.
9. Subject: ________________
5.
10. Job: ________________
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Unit 1: Exercise 10
Listen to a telephone conversation between a volunteer and an agent at a
volunteering organisation. Complete the notes. Write NO MORE THAN TWO
WORDS AND / OR A NUMBER for each answer.

World Care Volunteering

Location: Africa
Name: Hannah 1 ___________________
DoB: 9th 2__________________ 1977
Address: Garden Flat, 15 Hotwell Road, Bristol, 3 _____________________
Tel: 4 ___________________________
When available: 5 ___________________________
Package interested in: 6 ________________________
Current job: 7 __________________________
Experience: 8 _______________________ years
Prices:
1 week from £300, 2 weeks from 9 £ ______________________
 Mindset for IELTS 3 Test Unit 1
1 month: 10 £ ____________________

Unit 1: Exercise 6
The article has five paragraphs, A–E. Read the article and match the
paragraphs with the headings. There are two extra headings.

Paragraph A
One of the key challenges facing the world is going to be coping with the hundreds of
millions who will flock to the growing number of overpopulated megacities,
especially in developing countries. This has received a great deal of media attention;
books have been written, conferences organised and committees established to debate
the causes of urbanisation, and more importantly, what can be done to improve the
fate of those making the move into these continually growing conurbations. But the
same is not true of a second, and closely related trend, which raises a serious
dilemma: what to do about the cities that are losing people.

Paragraph B
A drop in a city’s population usually leads to a few empty or boarded-up and
unoccupied homes, hardly enough to make the headlines or raise eyebrows. But
they’re hardly unusual. One in ten US cities is actually shrinking. In Japan, larger
cities are thriving – and growing – while many of the smaller ones are in decline, both
demographically and economically. In Latvia, many young adults have turned
remarkably anti-provincial and have headed for the capital, Riga, in large numbers,
leaving a number of ghost towns. Almost silently, this trend is being repeated right
across the globe, almost without anyone noticing. Several South Korean cities are also
becoming smaller, and this trend will continue unless birth rates there increase.

Paragraph C
That's just the thing: once a place starts getting smaller, the decline tends to continue.
There are several explanations for this. When young adults leave the town of their
birth and don’t return, the town loses not just those adults, but also the children that
they would have had later had they stayed. As populations drop, the average age of
the inhabitants increases until most people are post-childbearing age. This is what has
happened to towns like Christchurch in the UK. It’s a vicious cycle; it means, of
course, fewer youngsters to bring down the average age, and consequently, the trend
gathers momentum and accelerates. Additionally, of course, higher average age is
closely linked with increased mortality, with each death further reducing the
population.

Paragraph D
Many cities that are now declining relied heavily on a specific industry for the
employment of a large portion of the workforce. A classic example is Detroit, once
the centre of America’s thriving car industry, but now a sparsely populated urban
wasteland. Flint, another ex-industrial powerhouse, can no longer provide the jobs its
residents need and so many have left, driven away by unemployment and the prospect
of better opportunities elsewhere. For others, a rural life has a greater appeal and this
tempts them to leave the city; living in the countryside typically affords lower
property prices, healthier living and lower rates of crime.

Paragraph E
It’s this desire to enjoy many of the aspects of an imagined utopia that is prompting
 Mindset for IELTS 3 Test Unit 1
many urban dwellers to pack up and move out to the country. Once there, they can
grow their own potatoes, have time to talk to their neighbours and not worry about
what their kids are up to. Technological changes mean that for many professionals,
there’s not so much difference between being in the city and living miles from
anywhere, as long as they have a car and a decent internet connection. Many city-to-
country migrants, such as Helen Dobson, who recently moved out of Manchester, find
that they have to put up with substandard wi-fi anyway – but that’s a different story.

The reasons why populations fall More common than you might think
The perks of rural life The impact of migration on rural infrastructure
Divided generations The effects of economic downturn
A widely publicised phenomenon
1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
3. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E

Unit 1: Exercise 9 Read the information. Then read the article again. Do the
statements agree with the information in the article? Choose True, False or Not
Given.

1. Too many people are moving to large cities.

2. The birth rate in Christchurch is dropping.
3. Fewer people now work in factories in Flint.

Unit 1: Exercise 7 Read the sentences from the article. Choose the correct
definitions of the words and phrases in bold.

1. This has received a great deal of media attention; books have been written,
conferences organised and committees established to debate the causes of
urbanisation …
a. a good arrangement for b. a large amount of
2. Several South Korean cities are also becoming smaller, and this trend will
continue unless the birth rate increases.
a. number of babies being born b. quality of healthcare
3. It means, of course, fewer youngsters to bring down the average age,
and consequently, the trend gathers momentum and accelerates.
a. becomes more widely understood b. gets faster
4. A classic example is Detroit, once the centre of America’s thriving car
industry, but now a sparsely populated urban wasteland.
a. busy and financially successful b. declining
5. Many cities that are now declining relied heavily on a specific industry for the
employment of a large portion of the workforce.
a. Payment b. percentage
6. Flint, another ex-industrial powerhouse, can no longer provide the jobs its
residents need, and so many have left …
a. place that produces electricity b.place with lots of energy,
activity and skill
7. … and so many have left, driven away by unemployment and the prospect of
better opportunities …
a. forced to leave b. travelling by car
 Mindset for IELTS 3 Test Unit 1

Unit 1: Exercise 8 Read the information. Then read the blog post and
statements 1–4. Choose False or Not Given.

Meet lifestyle blogger Helen Dobson, who swapped city life for a move out to the
country.

A year ago, my husband and I made the move out of Manchester, where we’d spent
virtually our entire lives, and relocated to a tiny village in the hills, miles away from
anywhere. It was a move prompted by lots of different things: the birth of our
baby son, changes to our jobs and the desire to have more space.

Having lived in a nice part of Manchester for ages, I realised that for years I’d been
taking the ready availability of everything for granted. When the population is
greatly reduced, inevitably so is choice, from schools to types of cheese. There
isn’t a decent Indian restaurant for miles, and we have to drive 30 minutes to get
decent handmade organic bread. But, of course, these are outrageously first-
world problems.
1. Helen was born in Manchester. False/Not Given
2. Helen’s baby was born after she moved out to the countryside. False/Not
Given
3. The schools near Helen’s new home aren’t very good. False/Not Given
4.
5. Helen considers the limited shopping facilities a major problem. False/Not
Given

True/ false
1. The movement of people from villages to cities in Country B is forecast to
peak in 2020, and will probably decline in the foreseeable future.
2. Country A’s population movement fluctuated before 2015 and is predicted to
rise in the next few years.
3. From a low figure of below 10 million people in 2000, the number of people
expected to move from the countryside to cities in Country C will probably
exceed 100 million in the years after 2025.
 Mindset for IELTS 3 Test Unit 1
4. Country C had fewer people moving to cities than Country B and Country A
in 2005, and in 2025 there will also be fewer people moving to cities in
Country C than in these countries.
5. Country C experienced a steep rise in the number of people leaving the
countryside for the city between 2005 and 2015; the number increased from
about 10 million to about 50 million, and this trend is likely to continue well
into the next decade.