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October 2009

IELTS in the UK and Pakistan – October 2009 (Academic)

IELTS tests in the UK, Pakistan and Nepal were described by two people and the questions look very similar. Thanks to S.G. and S.H we have the following topics and questions:

Listening test

Section 1: A woman was asking for information at a travel agency, regarding her trip and accommodation that costs £110. The trip should be in April and that her special requirement was a non smoking room, because she suffers from asthma. She was not interested in visiting museums or the camel farm, but she would love to go on a rough safari ride.

Section 2: A piece about a theater built in 17th century, that has limited seating capacity and has themed restaurants. On the 15th of this month the theme is Italian and students get a 20% discount.

Section 3: A business report about strategies used in the placement of products in a supermarket, which items goes in the entrance and in the aisles and which items are placed at the eye level.

Section 4: A conversation between friends who are going to college about which course to take and tips about the professors.

Reading test

Passage 1: A researchers’ argument about the first human being, the Mungo Woman and the Mungo Man in Australia, the mass destruction of the lake and how different researchers used different ways and tools to determine their age and origins.

Passage 2: About a memory competition and the contestants. The researches intended to find out about the reasons for their brilliant memory and some history of it during the time of Aristotle.

Passage 3: About synthetic and non-synthetic materials and the development of the microfiber and it uses.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)
We had a bar graph of workers’ starting salary (policemen, nurses, firefighters and an underground train driver) during 3 years, which came with another table showing their working hours per week.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Some people think that it is the responsibility of the supermarkets to reduce the packaging of their products, but others think that it is consumers’ responsibility. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give examples where possible.

Speaking test

Interview
– Name?
– Profession (student or working)?
– Duties at work?
– Are you happy with them? Why?
– Will you continue doing your job? Why?
– In the future what kind of job would you prefer?

Cue card
Talk about a historic place that you visited, you should say:
– What kind of place was it?
– Where was it?
– How did you feel about it?

Discussion
– When did you first used a computer? How did it affect you?
– How do you feel about computers? Do you think computers are a good or a bad thing?
– Do you think people should pay to visit museums or historic places?
– Can you comment on how to find out about history nowadays?

IELTS Speaking questions from Moscow, Russia – October 2009

This is the version of Speaking questions O. from Moscow was asked in her IELTS exam:

Speaking test

Interview
– What’s your name?
– What do you do? Do you study or work?
– Did you have any training done for your job?
– Do you watch a lot of television?
– What kind of shows do you usually watch on TV?
– Do you watch the shows from other countries?
– Were you taught drawing when you were a child?
– Do you think it’s necessary to teach children drawing?
– Why do you think people buy paintings?
– Would you consider buying a painting yourself?

Cue card
Talk about an electronic device that you would like to buy in the future, you should say
– What it would be,
– How you know about it,
– How much it would cost.

Discussion
– A conversation about modern technology:
– Do we still need teachers in the classroom now that we have computers?
– How are the computers used on modern education?
– Why more and more young people choose to study computer technologies at universities and colleges?
– How did the technologies change the society in the past few decades?
O. says: The last question I didn’t get at first, but the assessor helped me a little bit. He rephrased the question so that I understood that he wanted me to speak about the new developments in communications – cell phones, instant messaging, etc.