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May 2009

IELTS exam in Pune, India – May 2009 (General Training)

Big “thank you” goes to J from India for informing us about her IELTS exam in Pune. Good job!

Listening test

Section 1: about a club facilities, mostly fill in the blanks.
Section 2: a trip to some caves
Section 3: about airports
Section 4: 2 students discussing with their tutor the project they had to complete.

Reading test

Passage 1: Translation and interpretation
Passage 2: Gold found in Australia
Passage 3: Company car pools
Passage 4: An art and painting workshop

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (letter)
The public library in your locality will give way to the supermarket. You are against it. Write a letter to the city council.
– Say who you are and how you came to know about it.
– Write about the disadvantages of having a supermarket and the advantages of the library.
– What you would like them to do.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
Nowadays more and more people are using ready to eat foods. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
Express your view on both, give examples.

Speaking test

Interview
– Do you work or study?
– What is your job?
– Why did you choose that profession?
– Do you like to work independently or to interact with the team at work?

Then I was asked about cooking. My interest in cooking and a few more things related to the same topic, such as whether young people should learn to cook.

Cue card
Describe a radio or television program you like and often discuss with family and friends. You should say:
– What do you like about the program?
– What do you dislike about the program?

Discussion
– Can radio and television be used as educational medium?
– What is better, television or radio?
– What is your opinion about internet being used as an educational medium?
– What programs on television do you think the public likes to watch?

IELTS exam in Sydney, Australia – May 2009 (General Training)

Our friend R reports from Sydney about his General Training exam. Luckily he remembers quite a bit:

Listening test

The recording was faster than usual, I think they are making it bit hard to clear all four modules.

Section 1 was regarding Caller record card. This was an easy to do section.
Section 2 was regarding improvements to red hills. There was a map in this section, which was very confusing…I think I didn’t do well in this part.
Section 3 was regarding self access center for students. This was bit tricky, but not too bad.
Section 4 was really bad. Here I missed everything, it was the toughest one I would say. The recording was a bit fast, and additionally the vocabulary was very hard.

Reading test

Passage 1 was regarding houses in Northern Ireland. It was very easy. This section also included something about water, I guess it was another easy one.
Passage 2 – please note that syllabus has changed. Now we got something on recycling waste at work.. It was a really easy one too. But after that, it became really tough.
Passages 3 and 4 were about interview questions and Organoleptics. It was a hard one, very confusing.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (letter)
You are a member of a club located in an old building. The manager asked you to suggest some improvements to the building. Write a letter to your manager and say
– Why the club is important to you
– What improvements should be made in the building and
– How these changes would benefits the members

Writing task 2 (essay)
In what ways the customs and traditions relating to food are changing in your society? Why these changes are happening? Are they good?

Speaking test

Interview
My examiner asked about cooking. My interest in cooking and a few more things related to the same topic.

Cue card
In the cue card, I had to describe a situation when I was caught in traffic. I had to tell, when and where it has happened? What I did during this time? And how do I feel getting into traffic?