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Recent IELTS exams

Real students tell about their recent IELTS exams: IELTS questions, topics, tasks, answers.

IELTS test in Iran – December 2009 (General Training)

IELTS test in Iran was described by A. (thanks a lot!) who used IELTS-Blog to prepare for his exam and felt like giving back. Here is what A. remembered:

Listening test

The topics in Listening were the same as in IELTS exam in the UK from yesterday.

Reading test

Passage 1: An advertisement about recycling, that specified the following details.

Garden waste is collected once a week, people can bring clothes, cans, etc., to a certain center and another kind of waste to a different place. Then they gave us two addresses and phone numbers for getting information and for filing complaints.

Passage 2: About different times of validity of international driving licenses in Britain.

Questions: The questions were similar to the following.
If a German driver stays for more than 3 years in England, does it mean that he has to change his license into an English license or should he sit a new test?

Passage 3: A text about an Ice hotel that is being rebuilt every year.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (a letter)
You have recently left something in a train, write a letter to the manager of the Lost and Found department and specify:
– when you lost it,
– describe the object you have left,
– tell the manager what you want them to do with it.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Some people believe that what is taught in schools is not as useful as what you can learn outside the school. Do you agree or disagree?

Speaking test

Interview
The examiner asked me
– about my house,
– how long I have been living there

Cue card
Describe a toy you had in your childhood, you should say:
– who gave it to you,
– what you used to do with this toy,
– why it was important to you.

Discussion
– What toys girls prefer as opposed to the toys boys prefer?
– Do you think that modern computer games should replace old-fashioned toys?

IELTS in the UK – December 2009 (Academic Module)

IELTS test in the UK was described by N. – thanks a lot for your good memory and kind heart. Here goes:

Listening test

Section 1: A conversation between a father and a daughter about the facilities of restaurants for a wedding.

Section 2: A talk about a polar bear in a zoo, a supervisor was giving instructions and information to short term
workers.

Section 3: A dialogue about wind energy in Australia.

Section 4: A lecture, can’t remember the topic.

Questions: Filling in the gaps, multiple choice, information matching (facilities to restaurants, etc.)

Reading test

Passage 1: About roller coasters.

Passage 2: About what we can learn from sports champions (mentally).

Passage 3: About some French architects and historians that built a castle using only the same resources that were available in the 13th century.

Questions: True/False/Not Given, match headings to paragraphs, match information to a paragraph, match statements to persons, multiple choice questions, filling in the gaps.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)
We had to describe a flow chart on cocoa beans processing.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
International exchange programmes for teenage school students have more advantages than disadvantages. To what extent do you agree? Give examples from your own experience.

Speaking test

Interview
– Where do you come from?
– Do you work or study?
– What is your work?
– What are your duties at work?
– What do you write at work?
– Do you like handwriting or on the computer?
– Do you think handwriting is still important?
– Do you like working with people or working alone?
– Who cooks in your home?

Cue card
Talk about a course you want to attend in the future. You should say:
– what kind of course it is,
– why you would like to do it,
– whether it will be difficult for you,
– what you would like about it.

Discussion
– When are you going to attend this course?
– Teaching: what makes a good teacher?
– Do you think school lessons and teachers are necessary for successful learning?
– Do you think we learn differently in different ages? How?