GT READING TEST 4

SECTION 1
Questions 1- 14
Read the text below and answer
Questions 1-7
SOME OFF-BEAT DESTINATIONS NEAR DELHI
A. Pangot
Acharming little hilltown near Nainital, Pangot is a paradise for nature lovers and bird watchers.
encounter afew fluttering
vvitn around 580 bird species recorded in this area, you are bound to
COlourful feathers. The resorts here are gorgeous and will make your holiday worthwhile.

B. Fagu
can have aglimpse of the
Fagu is an enchanting little hill town in the Kufri region of Shimla. You
and lush green
majestic Himalayan summits from here. Dotted by little stone walled houses
getaways near Delhi.
plantations, it's definitely one of the most charming offbeat weekend

C. Darang
to Palampur. Walk
Another Himachali beauty, Darang is located near Mcleodganj on the road
birds. From
through lush tea gardens and get mesmerized by the sounds of toads and chirping of
hamlets.
here youcan view the majestic Dhauladhars standing tall over delightful

D. Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh district is located in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The beauty of this place is
beyond explanation. Surrounded by towering snowclad peaks, alpine forests, green valley and
perennial rivers; it is one of the most gorgeous offbeat places near Delhi that is still un-spoilt by
commercialism.

E. Kausani
Another undiscovered Kumaoni beauty, Kausani is the best place to view the majestic massifs of
Nanda Devi, Trishul and Panchachuli. There are a few 12th century temples in Baijnath that you
can visit and the view points from where you can witness the mountains. It is one of the offbeat
weekend getaways near Delhi that has managed to retain its natural form.

F. Naukuchiatal
Naukuchiatal, flanked by Bhimtal and Nainital on either side, is a picturesque hill town best
known for its placid and beautiful lake, the deepest in the region, which is said to be fed by an
underground river. Another amazing feature of this placeis its must-visit temples.

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 IS General
Training Readings For Exam
Questions 1- 7 Practice
Look at the 6
For which descriptionsare of off-beat destinations near Delhi.
destinations
Write the correct letter A-F
the following
statements true?
in your
answer sheet.
1. This
destination has rivers which flow allthrough the
2. You can see small villages
here.
year.
3. You can visit
very old temples at this off-beat destination.
4. Those into ornithology would love to
visit this place.
5.Though an off-beat destination, the
places to stay here are really very
6. In this off-beat
destination you can stillfind an old-world charm. good.
7. The lake.here is very
deep.

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 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam Practice
Read the text below and
answer questions 8-14.
NAPKIN ETIQUETTE

Napkin Etiquette is essential in practicing proper table etiquette and having good manners.
eiegantly set table willdisplay table linens and fine china. Delicate details such as the choice
OT napkins never go unnoticed, Guests love the feel and look of abeautifully set table. Aformal
dinner is not only afeast for the palate but a feast for the eye.

We should make an effort touse cloth napkins with most of our meals. Paper napkins should not
be used for home dinners, except for very casual meals or outdoors BBQ picnic or fast food
restaurants.

Napkins vary in colors, patterns, fabrics and sizes. The formal dinner napkin will always match
the table cloth color and fabric and is bigger in size than her lunch and breakfast counterparts.
White and cream are the colors youwill find for very formal functions. Colors and patterns are
to be expected in theme or less formal events.

In a formal setting youshould find your napkin to the left of the fork. In a less formal
setting you
can find the napkin in a water or wine glass, under the fork, or on the table near the plate.
Within
a few minutes of sitting you can unfold your napkin gently and
place it on your lap. A dinner
napkin does not need to be opened completely you can place it on your lap
folded in half. For
lunch, brunch, breakfast or tea party, the napkin is usually
smaller in size and can be placed on
yourlap completely open. Your napkin should not leave your
lap throughout dinner, if you really
must get up, place the napkin left of your plate or fork
gently unfolded.
Do not use your napkin to clean
utensils, or to dip in water to clean a stain, or to
or to wipe your face. blow you nose,

Never tuck your napkin in your shirt collar, like a

bib.
Never spit food into your napkin.
When dinner is over, place your used
napkin unfolded on the left of you
plate. plate, never on your

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 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam Practice

Questions 8- 14
Do the foliowing statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

8. Whenever we are having a meal, we must use cloth napkins.

9. Napkins should not be tucked into your trousers.
10. Paper napkins can be used for informal meals.
11. Youshould have your napkin as long as you are sitting on the dining table.
12. The color of the tablecloth and the napkin should be the same.

13. The size of the dinner napkin is larger than the napkins usedfor other meals.
14. Fold your napkin neatly once dinner is over.
 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam Practice

SECTION2
Read the text below and answer Questions 15-27
Questions 15 - 21

PUNCTUALITY AT WORKPLACE 1
IMPORTANCE OF DISCIPLINE AND 1
professional to be 1
and punctuality are the two most essential traits required in a
DISCipline workplace and also
Discipline ensures individuals behave in an acceptable way at the
Successful. Individuals whoare disciplined are not
regulations of the organization.
adhere tothe rules and Disciplined employees are liked and
but also in their personal lives.
only successful professionally
also other fellow workers.
appreciated by not onlytheir superiors but
culture eventually leading to zero or very
Misbehaving at the workplace spoils the entire work home and
productivity. Youneed to understand that there is a difference between office and
less
as you behave at home.
youjust can't behave in the same way at work

next to you is constantlv

Would you be able to concentrate on your work if the colleague sitting
Discipline
over the phone and chatting with his girlfriend? Obviously, NO. In fact no one can.
ensures individuals maintain silence at their workplace and work as asingle unit with their team
members to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Discipline is in fact the lifeline of an
organization.

Punctuality ensures employees attend office daily and also complete their working hours.
Managers need to ensure that their team members reach office on time and do not unnecessarily
sit till late. It is always better to leave on time and come back fresh and completely recharged the
next day. Believe me, individuals who are not punctual are often not reliable.

How would you feel if you want to meet someone on an

urgent basis and if the other person
never comes on time and alwayS Comes up with a new
excuse? Would you ever believe or want
to meet this person again? Being late to
meetings is indeed a crime in today's business Scenario
where your client has access to unlimited
alternatives just at the click of a button.
Discipline and punctuality make you a confident
their work rather than interfering in their professional. Employees who concentrate on
to sit beyond the working hours. colleague's, finish their work on time and do not have
Trust me, being disciplined and
work andthe office never becomes a punctual allowyou to enjoy your
names dragged into controversies or nasty
boring place. Disciplined emplovees seldom find their
politics. Trust me, no one would respect
are not disciplined and punctual. you if you

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 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam Practice

Questions 15- 21

Choose NO MORE THAN TNO WORDS from the text above for each
answer.

15. There are ...very important requirements for a working person to be successful.
16. An employee must not conduct himself the way he does at when he comes to the work.
17. If somebody in your workplace is engaging in casual conversation, you cannot on
your work.
18. The of an organization is discipline.
19. You would not someone who always has a reason to be late.
20. If you have the qualities of being a disciplined worker and are punctual, it will make you a
professional.
21. Employees who are focused on their work, and do not meddle in other people's assignments, do
not have to stay at the office post hours.

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 Read the text below and answer the Questions 22 - 21

now TO MAKE ADAY TRIP TOTHE TAJMAHAL FROM DELn

bv
into your itinerary and gothere
The first option I'm going to talk about is to just add Agra next place from Agra. The problem
to the
public transportation from Delhi and then move onmeans coming back to Delhias it's abig hub
Sometimes option
with this is that going onward from Agra passing through Agra isn't always a great
Because ofthis,
cOCdtcn long trains and buses.
but you should see if it works for you.

buses that go from Delhi toAgra throughOut

and there are many morning. Women
Public transportation is easy sunrise you need to leave by 3.30 in the
there for recommend not taking a local bus
the day. If you want to get that case, I
with that, so in
traveling solo might not be okay information about booking buses in India. Keep in
mind
Here's some
but instead a"tourist bus". much fog to drive on the highway that early in the
there is too
during some timesof the year,
morning and tours will not run.

"tourist bus" this would mean booking it either online at

If you're more interested in taking a
redbus. in if you can get your international card to work. You can also just
makemytrip.com or
tourist agency (you'llsee them everywhere) or ask your hotel to book thisfor you.
pop into any rupees.
tourist bus might cost you 400
Prices for a local bus could be as cheapas 50 rupees while a
ride there. These can be arranged
Moving on to more options, you might prefer a private A/C car
commissions on this
through your hotel or an agency once you reach there. They will charge you
which could be quite high. If you would rather book this ahead of time with a reputable company
then I recommend either of these twooptions:

1. Get Your Guide $80. This tour started at $17 and has gone up in price as it's become so popular,
which is a little sad but at least you know it's good. 321 people have g0ven this "tour" a 4.8/5-star
rating. They will pick you up from your hotel in Delhi and get you to the Taj Mahal by sunrise,
then take you back to Delhi. The tour pass allows you to skip the lineat the Taj Mahal and you
also get taken to Agra Fort and Mumtaz Mahal. The price does not include entrance tickets but
there isa guide who will go with you through the attractions. This translates to about 1000 rupees
which is literally abetter deal than you can find anywhere else. This price wil|
fluctuate as the
peak tourist season rises and falls.

2. Viator $80. Thisis actually a better deal. 96 people

have given it a 5-star review. With this option,
the entrances to the Agra Fort and Taj Mahal are both
included as well as breakfast, Ithink the
entrance to both would cost around $20 so it saves you that money, Lunch
isn't included and
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 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam Practice

they take youtoa 5-star hotel buffet -so that's a little bit up to you if you
want to pay for a lunch
like that or if it's just you and your friends on the tour you
can say no thank you to stopping at
the hotel. Prices also go up if you are just one
person.

3. Viator Shopping Tour $25. This is a kind of weird one but might work for some people.
You go to
Agra from Delhi and see the Taj Mahal from the outside for sunrise, don't go in, and then do
a
unique shopping tour. Like the others, it's a return trip back to Delhi but you could just stay in
Agra andthen the next day go to the Taj Mahal and go inside. The price is so cheap that it's kind
of like paying for a ride there and getting a free shopping tour before you explore Agra on your
own. Someone will go to the Taj with you so they can take your picture in front of it and help
keep people from swarming you for selfies. t's soaffordable and booking it ahead would just
take off all your stress.

Questions 22-27

Complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each
answer.

22. Based upon the time of the year, the buses may not be plying to Agra because of too much of

23. If you want to book a bus on-line, your has to work.

24. One of the options to bookatour to Agra is to ask a ., which are available in plenty.
25. The price of Get Your Guide tour has increased manifold because it is extremely
26. If youwant to have your breakfast as part of the tour, you should book the tour.

27. The tour that costs $25 is the only one where you also get togo on a in Agra.

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SECTION 3
answer Questions 28 - 40.
Read the text below. And
Questions 28 -35
each paragraph from
Cho0se the correct heading for
text has 8SECTIONS, marked A to H.
Ine
the list of headings below.

i. The need for a contingency plan

games
ii. Symbol of the spirit of the
The German connection
iii.
The Greek connection
iv.
the flame
V. The engineering behind
vi. Harnessing the laws of physics
vii. Not just one torch
vii. Mistakes do happen

28. Paragraph A
29. Paragraph B
30. Paragraph C
31. Paragraph D
32. Paragraph E
33. Paragraph F
34. Paragraph G ........
35. Paragraph H

THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC TORCH

A. Oddly, it allbegan with Hitler. For the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Adolf Hitler wanted to draw
on the ancient Greeks to bring a certain authoritative, classical air to modern Germany. The head
of the Reich sports office had just the plan to do it: hold an elaborate relay to bring a symbolic
Olympic flame from Greece to the games.

The original design by the German engineering giant, Krupp Company, was simple, with one
primary function: to keep the flame burning. That'sstill the goal today. Since 1936, the torch has
taken on a different form for every Olympic relay and undergone various
transformative
redesigns to make it more resilient and less likely to burn out. It's a strangely singular goalfor an
engineering project, but it allows for almost limitless creativity: The torch design can vary in
almost every aspect, it just can't go out.
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 IELTS General Training
Readings For Exam Practice
B. Engineers all over the
world
extinction, to varying degrees have, through the
of success. But years, set about designing a flame that resists
plans in an effort Olympic
arrange complex organizers know better; each year they
from that originalcontingency
fire lit in Greece. The to ensure that the final torch did,
carrying aflame for thousands of reason for these elaborate backup planssornehow,
is a
Come
miles and across varying
incredibly difficult feat. There are so many good one:
with the initial lighting. landscapes
steps along the way that can is,
unsurprisingly, an
wreak havoc -that starts
C. The original Olympics looked almost
ancient origins and so we still hold a nothing like the modern ones, but we like to draw on the
igniting antswith amagnifying glass, ceremony at their birthplace:
Olympia, Greece. Like children
initial Olympic torch with a mirror. the actresses playing the part of Greek priestesses light
looks a bit like a small Specifically, they use a parabolic mirror, which is curved the
satellite dish. The curvature focuses light in and
meet at a single, intense spot. The one spot, where the beams all
one used in the ceremony at the
has a focal point just above the Temple of Hera in Olympi a
mirror's
spot and wait for the light to heat the surface. A "priestess" simply has to
hold the torch in that
fuel enough for it to ignite.
D. The ceremonial lighting is always held in Greece, and the flame is then symbolically
from person to person in an
elaborate relay to whichever city is hosting the games. transferred
fairly sunny place, so lack of available Greece is a
focalizing light is rarely a problem. But just in case, Olympic
organizers hold a dress rehearsal on abright day leading up to
flame, thus creating a backup source should the the real ceremony and light a
mirror fail towork during the ceremony.
E. And thus begins a little-known
Olympic tradition: keeping a backup flame. Yes, that flame that's
never supposed toextinguish sometimes probably does - we
just never hear about it. To ensure
that no one has to lie and say that the flame used to
light the torch at the opening ceremony of
the games isn't actually derived from that initial light, they light multiple
miners lamps from the
original flame and keep those backups lit, just in case.

As the relay moves along its course, each torch-bearer only carries a lit flame for a
short while
about 20 minutes according to one report. That's because the fuel in atorch of that size simply
can't last very long.The fuel should, in theory, last for longer than that to ensure that if something
goes wrong on a leg of the relay, the team has some wiggle room. Stll, rain and wind have put
out the torch before, and organizers have had to relight the flame from the backup lanterns every
time.

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 IELTS General Training Readings For Exam
Practice
F. The 1972 Munich games
were the first to use liauid fuel, which
today is usually some
OT butane, propane, and
propylene. Mixing each in varying amounts helps to combination
control the
brightness and color of the flame. Each chemical gives off a
and burns at aslightly different certain characteristic color of light
temperatures; a higher temperature results in a brighter color.
MOst importantly, having a pressurized tank of fuel
of the torch. This little flame can
allows for a pilot light hidden inside the top
reignite the whole thing if the main flame goes out, which is
crucial given that torch-bearers have to sometimes run in the
rain and up mountains where the
air gets thin. In an interview, Sam Shelton, who
created the torch for the 1996 Atlanta games.
said that he tested the torch's endurance by having
members of his team carry it to the top of
Pikes Peak in Colorado, a 15,000 foot summit.

G. At the opening ceremony, engineers need to ensure everyone there is able to see the
flame. Sometimes they design the fuel to smoke a bit, famed
making the light more visible. Other times
they just need to make the flame brighter by
igniting more gas at once or choosing a fuel that
burns at a higher temperature.

This went disastrously wrong in 1956, when the

Olympics where held in Melbourne. The
engineers had put a combination of magnesium and aluminum
inside the torch so the flame
would sparkle and burn brightly, which it did. But it also
spewed bits of hot metal and sparks that
burned the arm of the poor torch-bearer. Now,
designers mostly use liquid fuels that have a more
brilliant or larger flame to increase the visibility.
H. No matter what, though, the flame you see igniting the cauldron at the
somehow come from a fire lit in Olympia. It just takes an opening ceremony did
contingency plans to do it. And even if all of those plans failed,intricate system of backups and
rest assured that you will never
know the difference. The next time you see the
your country,you can feel smug in the
Olympic flame being carried in a relay through
the flame has been re-lit, or even if
knowledge of the bearer may never know how many times
this is the torch the runner was
back-up one! But the audience most likely does not supposed to be carrying, or a
know or even
signifying the essential spirit of the games, and that is all that really care; the torch is a symbol,
matters.

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 Questions 36 - 40

Choose ONE WORD ORANUMBER from the text to complete the following:
36.There were no Olympic torches before
37. The Greek priestesses who light the flame are actually
38.The flame burns brighter if the fuel used burns at a temperature.
39. The accident at the Melbourne Olympics was a result of an effort to make the torch burn

40. Organizers have to have elaborate plans to ensure that the flame stays lit
through its journey from Greece to the venue of the Olympics.

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