306 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1

LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3

rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING

reading
You have one hour for this test.

READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1
on the following pages.

THE STRESS OF RELOCATION

For some people, there is little in life more stressful than moving house; for others, there is a
definite excitement in relocation since the belief that the grass is greener on the other side holds
sway.
However, for Dr Jill Molveldt, a psychotherapist in Durban, South Africa, Relocation Stress
Syndrome, or RSS, which she has been researching for a decade, is a matter of professional
concern. Dr Molveldt began her career as a medical doctor in 1999, but turned to therapy
when she doubted the efficacy of some medication. Time and again, patients presented at her
surgery who – to all intents and purposes – had little physically wrong, but were not function-
ing optimally. Usually, such people with anxiety-related disorders are prescribed drugs, but
Dr Molveldt observed that many seemed to improve just as readily through talking to her.
Therefore, from 2006-2008, she underwent extensive training in the United States in a number
of techniques used in therapy.
On return to South Africa, Dr Molveldt moved her family and her burgeoning practice – now
devoted entirely to therapy – from Pietermaritzburg, a small city, to Durban, a larger, more
cosmopolitan one. Immediately following this move, Dr Molveldt herself fell ill. Medical
testing for vague symptoms like headaches, skin rashes, and insomnia brought neither relief
nor diagnosis. At the time, she could not possibly have imagined that she, herself, had any
psychological problems. Her only recent difficulty had been relocating to Durban due to her
children’s maladjustment to their third school in three years, and to the irritation caused by a
protracted renovation. All the same, she far preferred the beachside lifestyle of Durban to that
of conservative inland Pietermaritzburg.
Quite by chance, in the summer of 2010, Dr Molveldt ran into a neighbour from her old city
who had also moved to Durban. This woman seemed uncharacteristically depressed, and had
experienced mood swings and weight gain since her arrival. As the neighbour recounted her
complicated tale of moving, Dr Molveldt suddenly realised that her acquaintance – like herself
– was suffering from RSS.
Upon this discovery, Dr Molveldt began sifting through medical and psychological literature to
learn more about her syndrome, only to find precious little written about it. Conferences she
attended in Greece and Argentina in which stress featured as a topic for keynote speakers did
little to enlighten her. Therefore, Dr Molveldt felt she had no option but to collect her own
patient data from medical practice and Emergency Room records in Durban and Cape Town in
order to ascertain the extent of the problem. Over four years, she surveyed people with non-
specific health problems as well as those who had had minor accidents.
In Durban and Cape Town, it might be expected in the general population that 1% of people
have moved within a month, and 5% within six months. Yet nearly 3% of patients seen by GPs
in Dr Molveldt’s study had moved within one month, and 9% within six. Minor accident
patients had also moved recently, and some of them had had more than two residential
addresses in one year.
 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1 307
LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
Dr Molveldt then examined records of more serious accidents from a nationwide database, and,
with the aid of a research grant, conducted interviews with 600 people. Admittedly, alcohol
played a part in serious accident rates, but many interviewees said they had been drinking in
response to circumstances – one of which was moving house. People who had had serious
accidents, however, had not moved more frequently than those with non-specific ailments.
So just how stressful is moving? After all, stress is part of life – think about exams, a new job,
marriage, having a child, divorce, illness, or the death of a loved one. Where does RSS fit in
relation to these? Dr Molveldt puts it above exams (including for medical school), and some-
where between being newly married and bearing a child. (Newlyweds and young mothers also
visit doctors’ surgeries and Emergency Rooms more than they should statistically.)
Interestingly, subjects in several of Dr Molveldt’s tests rated moving less highly than she did,
putting it about equal to sitting a tough exam.
As a side issue, Dr Molveldt found that the number of relationships that broke down around
the time of moving was elevated. She considers the link between breakdown and RSS to be
tenuous, suggesting instead that couples who are already struggling move house in the hope
of resuscitating their relationship. Invariably, this does not happen. Moreover, it is the children
in these cases who suffer most: not only has upheaval meant the loss of their old school and
friends, but it also signals adjustment to occupation of their new home while one absent parent
resides in another.
If Dr Molveldt’s research is anything to go by, next time you yearn to live elsewhere, think
twice. Moving may be more stressful than you imagine, and the only papers you get to say
you’ve done it are a fee from your doctor and a heap of mail from the previous inhabitants
of your dwelling.

Questions 1-6
Choose the correct letter: A, B, C, or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 1- 6 on your answer sheet.

1 RSS stands for

A Relationship Stress Syndrome
B Relocation Sickness Syndrome
C Relocation Stress Symptoms
D Relocation Stress Syndrome
2 When Dr Molveldt fell ill in 2009,
A she was worried she had psychological problems.
B no one could work out what was wrong with her.
C she thought she missed Pietermaritzburg.
D she realised she had RSS.
3 As part of her RSS, Dr Molveldt’s old neighbour
A had backache.
B had headaches.
C had skin problems.
D was happy one day but sad the next.
308 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1
LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
4 Initially, Dr Molveldt’s data came from
A patients of medical practices and hospital emergency departments.
B hospital emergency department patients only.
C patients of medical practices only.
D other research.
5 In Dr Molveldt’s study, the relationship between the number of people who move house in
the general population and those who also visit a doctor within one month of relocation is
A twice as many.
B three times as many.
C half as many.
D two-thirds as many.
6 Some of Dr Molveldt’s data on serious accidents came from
A a Pietermaritzburg database.
B Durban and Cape Town databases.
C a database for all South Africa.
D international databases.

Questions 7-13
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-J, below.
Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.
7 Some people who had had accidents due to alcohol B
8 Serious accident rates and relocation rates H
9 Dr Molveldt thinks moving house is more stressful G
10 Test subjects and Dr Molveldt F
11 According to Dr Molveldt, relationship breakdown A
12 Children suffer most when moving if E
13 Both the writer and Dr Molveldt suggest J

A was one result of relocation.

B had also recently moved house.
C was unlikely to be caused by moving.
D than having a baby.
E their family is also split up at the same time.
F disagreed about the stress caused by moving.
G than getting married.
H were no higher than other categories.
I they go to new schools.
J people should consider moving very carefully.
 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1 309
LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27, which are based on Reading Passage 2
on the following pages.

TERRIFIC TUPPERWARE
A Throw open anyone’s kitchen cupboards from
Andorra to Zimbabwe, and you’ll find colourful
plastic products for the preparation, serving, and
storage of food. Chances are, some of these are
Tupperware.
B For many people in developed countries, Tupper-
ware is redolent of the 1950s when grandma and
her friends bought and sold it at ‘Tupperware
parties’. Some would even say Tupperware became
a cultural icon in that decade. However, these days, while parties are still popular, online sales
are challenging the model. Indeed, since 2000, more Tupperware franchises have opened in
China than anywhere else.
C Take the Hundred Benefits shop in Hangzhou, one of China’s fastest-growing cities. Located
in a chic part of town, it’s full of twenty-somethings who haven’t yet had a child but are
building a nest. They’ve got plenty of expendable income, and they’re picking out items to
reflect their new-found optimism. China is undergoing a home-decorating revolution after
years of dull, unreliable products. Furthermore, the average size of living space for urban
Chinese has almost doubled recently, so there’s room for lots of stuff. But why choose Tupper-
ware? It’s functional as well as fun. It’s sealable, stackable, durable, microwave-and-freezable,
dishwasher-friendly, and culturally sensitive: four-layer traditional Chinese lunch-boxes,
revamped in bright sexy colours, grace the shelves of the Hundred Benefits shop.
D What is the Tupperware story? The special plastic used in it was invented in 1938 by an
American called Earl Tupper. The famous seals, which keep the air out and freshness in, came
later. Tupper’s company was established in 1946, and for more than 40 years boasted every
success, but, recently, Tupperware Brands Corporation has been sold several times, and its
parent company, Illinois Tool Works, has announced that declining American prospects may
mean resale.
E Until the 1990s, Tupperware relied totally on a pyramid sales model. In this, a person buys
products from a person above him or her, rather than from a wholesale company or retail shop,
and after sale of the new product to a third party, gives a small percentage of the money to the
person from whom he or she originally bought. In turn, when the person on the lowest level
recruits more vendors, those people return percentages to the person above. Initially, Tupper-
ware operated like this because it was not available in shops. A more direct line between the
manufacturer and the buyer results in cheaper products, and, as Tupperware is largely sold in
the home, women suddenly have an independent income. A disadvantage might be that since
people typically buy from and sell to friends, there are pressures at ordinary social gatherings to
do deals, which some people may consider unethical. This raises the question: am I going for a
pleasant dinner at Alison’s; or am I expected to buy a set of measuring cups from her as I
leave? This pyramid model is prohibited in China, and has lost favour in many countries like
Britain, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, where once it was all-pervasive. At present,
most US sales are still on the party plan, but online and franchise sales are catching up.
F Tupperware became fashionable after World War II. During the war, large numbers of women
were in paid employment outside the home while their men were away fighting. When the men
310 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1
LIStENING PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 22 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
returned, the women mostly resumed their household duties. There are widely divergent views
about Tupperware’s role at this time. Some feminists propose that the company promulgated an
image of women confined to the kitchen, making the female pursuit of a career less likely.
Others say that the pyramid sales model allowed women to earn, promoting autonomy and
prosperity. In particular, those who were pregnant and at home could enjoy some extra cash.
G Effective rebranding of Tupperware has taken place in the East, but what about in America?
Well, the Tupperware website there has developed a ‘Chain of Confidence’ programme to
improve sales. In this, women reinforce the notion of female solidarity by purchasing Tupper-
ware and swapping true stories. Over a million dollars from this programme has also been
donated to a girls’ charity.
H What the future holds for the pretty plastic product is uncertain. Will Tupperware become a
relic of the past like cane baskets and wooden tea chests, or will online social programmes and
avid Chinese consumers save the company?

Questions 14-17
The text has eight paragraphs: A-H.
Which paragraph, A-H, has the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14 The benefits of Tupperware in the kitchen. C
15 Opposing views on Tupperware and the position of women. F
16 A sales model which might spoil friendship. E
17 Worldwide availability of Tupperware. A

Questions 18-22
Look at questions 18-22 and the list of countries below.
Match each statement with a country.
Write the letters, A-D, in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet.
18 Consumers here are now less keen on the pyramid sales model C
List of countries
19 Tupperware buyers in this country give money to help others D
(A) Andorra
20 Young women here lead the way in the purchase of Tupperware B (B) China
21 The writer uses this to represent many countries A (C) Germany
(D) US
22 Just after World War II, Tupperware was established here D

Questions 23-27
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 23-27 on your answer sheet, write:
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1 311
LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
23 Keeping food fresh is something Tupperware does well. Y
24 Tupperware was responsible for a negative image of women in the 1950s. Y

25 Rebranding in China has been unsuccessful. N

26 Tupperware containers are good for the environment. NG
27 The future of Tupperware Brands Corporation is assured. N

READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3
on the following pages.

MARVELLOUS MONTICELLO
Thomas Jefferson is renowned for many accomplishments, among which he was the principal
author of the American Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United
States, during which time America grew significantly in size and stature.
Jefferson also designed his own three-storeyed, 33-roomed mansion, called Monticello, familiar
to every American from the nickel, or 5-cent coin, on which can be seen a simple domed build-
ing with a four-columned portico.
Influenced by classical European design, and emulated across the land, Monticello took more
than 40 years to build. Numerous labour-saving devices inside, invented by Jefferson himself,
and gardens the envy of agronomists represent the scientific spirit of a new age.
Modelled on Andrea Palladio’s 16th-century Italian villas, Monticello is a tribute to the man
and style that Jefferson idolised. As Palladio considered the position of a building to be
of the utmost importance, Jefferson had Monticello built on a mountain with splendid views.
According to Palladio, a building should be symmetrical since mathematical order bestows
harmony upon its inhabitants. Thus Monticello boasts a colonnaded entrance and a central
room with a dome.
But who was the man who created Monticello? Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell,
Virginia, on the east coast of America in 1743. On his father’s death, he inherited a large prop-
erty where Monticello was subsequently constructed. Jefferson, both a lawyer and politician,
was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1768, and in 1775 to the Continental Congress, where
he revised the laws of Virginia. Two of his famous pieces of legislation include: the Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom; and the Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge.
Throughout Jefferson’s early adulthood, America had been fighting Britain in the War of
Independence. In 1776, Jefferson, who was never a combatant, wrote the Declaration of
Independence, and although the conflict did not end until 1783, Americans consider the birth
of their nation came with that declaration. As well as proclaiming America’s freedom, the
declaration outlines universal human rights, stating that all men are equal regardless of birth,
wealth, or status, and, furthermore, that government is the servant, not the master, of the people.
Although Jefferson’s work was based on the ideas of John Locke, an Englishman, and on a
body of French philosophy, it remains a uniquely American document.
After the war, Jefferson took up the post of Governor of Virginia, before returning to Congress.
He then served five years in France as a US trade representative and minister. He was American
Vice-President between 1797-1801 and President for the following eight years. As president, he
312 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1
LIStENING PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 11 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 33
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
organised the purchase of a vast tract of land from the French, who were embattled in Europe
and strapped for cash. This land, called the Louisiana Territory, doubled the size of America.
Jefferson was also responsible for financing Lewis and Clark – two explorers who undertook
a momentous journey along the Ohio River to survey nature and appraise land for settlement.
In retirement, Jefferson remained active. His huge library, donated to the nation, and known as
the Library of Congress, is still one of the world’s most reputable. He founded the University
of Virginia, designed most of its early buildings, defined its curriculum, and became its first
rector or chancellor. When he died, on the fourth of July 1826, America had lost a truly great
man.
Monticello, his home for most of his life, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List partly
because Jefferson lived there, but mainly because it brought classicism – the style of Palladio –
to the New World. It was Jefferson’s belief that if America were to assume the mantle of a
powerful nation, it needed to draw on the best of the European past as well as creating its own
style.
Monticello is not a very large building: it is 1022 square metres (11,000 square feet) – these
days, a football player or film star has a house as big.
Monticello was not all built at once since Jefferson’s finances were seldom secure. Further-
more, his ideas about building changed during his sojourn in France. In 1768, the mountaintop
where Monticello would sit was leveled. Bricks were manufactured over a two-year period by
Jefferson’s slaves – he owned about 200. Wood was sourced from trees on Jefferson’s land;
stone and limestone were quarried on his property; and – in keeping with his concept of
elegance – the window glass and furniture were imported from Europe. Jefferson moved into
the South Pavilion in 1770. Around 1772, the Dining Room in the north wing was built. The
first house was mostly complete in 1782, the year Jefferson’s wife died. On return from France
in 1796, Jefferson had the upper storey demolished, and the whole structure remodelled, which
took eleven years. In 1800, the dome was fitted. A North Pavilion was added from 1806-8.
Extensive gardens – both ornamental and productive – were created since Jefferson believed in
pursuing agriculture in a scientific manner.
As mentioned previously, Jefferson was an inventor. Since Virginian summers can be hot, he
designed special fans and blinds. Blocks of ice were stored in the cellar all year round – a rarity
at the time. For the cold winters, Monticello has numerous fireplaces and stoves. In the late
1790s, Jefferson altered the fireplaces to apply some modern fuel-saving principles. He intro-
duced skylights – another unusual feature – and he designed tables that could be turned easily
and doors that opened automatically. He even had a shaft-and-pulley system between floors for
hoisting food. However, not until 1822, was the roof covered with durable material. Just four
years later, Jefferson died.
Jefferson is remembered as a statesman, philosopher, educationalist, and architect. Fiercely
American, he drew on a European heritage. He was optimistic, far-sighted, and creative, and
Monticello remains a monument to the man as much as his age.
 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1 313
LIStENING PaSSaGE 1 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE 3
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
Questions 28-32
Do the following statements agree with the information in the text on the following page?
In boxes 28-32 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
28 Monticello was inspired by Italian architecture. F
29 Jefferson fought in the War of Independence. F
30 During Jefferson’s presidency, the French bought some American land, greatly reducing
the size of the country. NG
31 Jefferson taught at the University of Virginia. F
32 By today’s standards, Monticello appears quite a small house for a famous person.
NG

Questions 33-39
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A DATE for each answer.

Time or period Important event(s)

1768 The mountaintop 33 ..............................

was leveled to prepare for the building
of Monticello.

1768-1770 34 ..............................
Bricks were made by Jefferson’s slaves. Wood and
stone also came from Jefferson’s land.

1770 Jefferson began to live in the 35 ..............................

South Pavilion .

36 1796
............. -1807 Monticello was remodelled.
Some of Jefferson’s own inventions include: fans, blinds, special
fireplaces, skylights, automatic 37 ..............................
doors , and delivery
systems.

1822 The 38 ..............................

roof was covered with long-lasting material.

39 .............
1826 The death of Jefferson.
314 PART III IELtS academic Practice test 1
LIStENING PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 11 PaSSaGE 2 PaSSaGE
PaSSaGE 33
rEaDING
WrItING
SPEaKING
Question 40
Which plan shows the stages in which Monticello was built?

A B C

Dining Room Dining Room

N N N

To be demolished To be demolished

N N N