an introduction to the IELTS reading test Practice 2

IELTS Course Lesson 7 – IELTS reading test

IELTS Reading test exercises #2

Exam #2

PART 1: The Medicine, Important Notice: Product Return & Fabulous Furniture

(You are advised to spend 20 minutes on questions)

The Medicine

• This medicine must be taken as directed.

• Before using, shake the bottle.

• Dose: 50ml to be taken twice daily after the midday and evening meals.

Instructions:

• Do not take this medicine on an empty stomach or immediately before lying down.

• If any of the following occur, discontinue taking the medicine and contact your doctor: dizziness, vomiting, blurred vision.

• This medicine is not available without a prescription and is not suitable for children under 5 years.

• Once you have begun to take this medicine you must continue to take it until the bottle is empty, unless advised otherwise by your doctor.

• Only one course of this medicine should be taken in a period of six months.

• Expiry date: 16 February 2004.

1. You should lie down after you have taken the medicine.

2. You must stop taking the medicine if your eyesight is affected.

3. You must stop taking the medicine when you feel better.

4. This medicine is suitable for a person of any age.

Comprehension questions for the ielts reading test (Exercise 1)

Read the information below and answer questions

Fancy Foods wishes to inform the public that pieces of metal have been found in some jars of Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Spicy).

The batches of the Jars involved have numbers from J6617 to J6624.The batch number is printed on the bottom of each jar.

If you have any jars with these batch numbers, please return them (preferably unopened) to the supermarket where you purchased them. You can also return them to the factory (Fancy Foods Retailers, Blacktown). Fancy Foods will pay $10 for each jar returned unopened and $5 for each jar already opened.

No payment will be made for empty jars, which do not need to be returned. However, the company’s Retailing Manager will be interested to hear from people who have consumed chicken curry from any of the above batch numbers. In particular, it will be helpful if they can give information about the place of purchase of the product.

Jars of Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Coconut) and Fancy Foods Chicken Curry (Mango) have not been affected and do not need to be returned.

REWARD

Fancy Foods will pay a reward of $ 10,000 to $50,000 for information which leads to the conviction of any person found guilty of placing metal pieces in its products.

If you have such information, please contact the Customer Relations Manager, Fancy Foods Retailers, Blacktown.

Fancy Foods desea informar al público que se han encontrado piezas de metal en algunos frascos de Fancy Foods Pollo al curry (picante).

Comprehension questions (Exercise 2)

Read the information below and answer questions

Fabulous Furniture

Section A

Have you ever wanted to buy a small bedside table? Or a dinner table for 20 people? If you want it, we’ve got it! Fabulous Furniture has Australia’s widest choice of furniture.

Section B

If you visit a Fabulous Furniture store, you can have your furniture – right now – using our Fabulous Furniture Credit Card. When you see something you really want, you can have it straight away, and pay later.

Section C

Unlike most cards, the Fabulous Furniture Credit Card offers a full 60-day interest-free period on every Fabulous purchase – no matter when you make your purchase. This leaves you with more money to spend on other things.

Section D

• You may choose to pay the full amount within 60 days. In this case, you pay no interest.

• You may spread your payments over a longer period. In this case, interest will be charged after the initial 60-day interest-free period.

Section E

Application is absolutely free! Nor are there any annual fees or administration fees. Just fill in the application form and bring it to your nearest Fabulous Furniture store. Your application will be processed promptly and you can begin making purchases immediately after your application is approved.

Section F

We have stores in every major city, so you’re never far away from a Fabulous Furniture store. For our addresses, just check in your local telephone directory.

Comprehension questions (Exercise 3)

PART 2: Student Clubs and Societies & Student Loans

STUDENT CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

Desperate to find friends with common interests

Urgently in need of student contacts around college?

Looking for different cultural and religious experiences?

Wanting some good discussion?

Don’t look any further!

JOIN A CLUB OR SOCIETY AND HAVE FUN

A……………………………………………………………………….
This club was first started by a group of friends who enjoyed going to the cinema. When our trips became more frequent we realised that there must be others who also shared our love of movies. This club is for those people. Membership gives wide access to other activities like basketball and football as well as barbeques and other social functions. We don’t just enjoy movies.

B………………………………………………………………………
The association has many opportunities to debate and we are a non-political unbiased international organisation which aims to promote international awareness on campus. We establish links and access to the organisation’s agencies and other internationalist organisations and their resources. Our plans this year include discussion groups, guest speakers and to build a model of the UN General Assembly.

C……………………………………………………………………..
Whether for fun or debating experience, we discuss everything from personal experience, future society or feminism. This year we plan an internal competition, weekly debates and beginners’ lessons as well as chances to compete nationally. Whether it be to improve your verbal or social skills the society provides both!

D…………………………………………………………………………
Want to be a movie star? Then go somewhere else! On the other hand, want to work really hard for great rewards? Then come and join the club where the interesting theatre is created. We usually put on three productions each year. So if you like to write, paint, act, direct or do anything in the theatre, come and put your name down with us.

If you are interested in joining any of these clubs, you can leave a message for the President at the CAS Office in the Student Union Building.
And don’t forget the CAS Ball is an annual event!
This year it’s being held on 22 December!

Comprehension questions (Exercise 4)

Student Loans

The Government has been funding a loans scheme for students in Higher Education since September 1990.

These loans are available as a ‘top up’ to the standard grant. Although the loan is intended to supplement the grant for living costs, eligibility for a student loan is not restricted to those who receive a maintenance grant. The decision whether or not to take the loan is yours.

Eligibility

You are eligible for a student loan if you are a UK resident and are attending a full-time Higher Education course, below postgraduate level, or a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course, provided you start your course before your 50th birthday. Full-time courses last at least one academic year and include sandwich courses which combine time at college with time spent in a workplace.

Eligible courses are offered by colleges, universities, the Scottish grant-aided colleges and other publicly funded institutions providing Higher Education courses. In general, eligible courses include first-degree courses or their equivalents and any other courses for which your Local Authority will pay your tuition fees.

Your financial circumstances

Students who want loans are not ‘means tested’ or ‘credit vetted’ – all those eligible will obtain a loan. This means that:

• The amount of your maintenance grant or tuition fees does not matter.

• Other income, if any, is not taken into account.

• Any previous student loans are not taken into account.

• The income of your parents, spouse, partner or other relatives is not taken into account.

• Your previous financial record is not a consideration.

When to apply for a loan

If you would like more information on how to apply for a student loan in readiness for your entry to Higher Education in Autumn 2003, then you should contact The Student Loans Company from June 2003 onwards. Once in Higher Education, you can apply for a loan at any time in the academic year.

Comprehension questions (Exercise 5)

PART 3: First impressions count

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

A. Traditionally uniforms were – and for some industries still are – manufactured to protect the worker.

When they were first designed, it is also likely that all uniforms made symbolic sense – those for the military, for example, were originally intended to impress and even terrify the enemy; other uniforms denoted a hierarchy – chefs wore white because they worked with flour, but the main chef wore a black hat to show he supervised.

B. The last 30 years, however, have seen an increasing emphasis on their role in projecting the image of an organisation and in uniting the workforce into a homogeneous unit — particularly in ‘customer facing” industries , and especially in financial services and retailing.

From uniforms and workwear has emerged ‘corporate clothing’. “The people you employ are your ambassadors,” says Peter Griffin, managing director of a major retailer in the UK. “What they say, how they look, and how they behave is terribly important.” The result is a new way of looking at corporate workwear. From being a simple means of identifying who is a member of staff, the uniform is emerging as a new channel of marketing communication.

C. Truly effective marketing through visual cues such as uniforms is a subtle art, however.

Wittingly or unwittingly, how we look sends all sorts of powerful subliminal messages to other people. Dark colours give an aura of authority while lighter pastel shades suggest approachability. Certain dress style creates a sense of conservatism, others a sense of openness to new ideas. Neatness can suggest efficiency but, if it is overdone, it can spill over and indicate an obsession with power. “If the company is selling quality, then it must have quality uniforms. If it is selling style, its uniforms must be stylish. If it wants to appear innovative, everybody can’t look exactly the same. Subliminally we see all these things,” says Lynn Elvy, a director of image consultants House of Colour.

D. But translating corporate philosophies into the right mix of colour, style, degree of branding and uniformity can be a fraught process.

And it is not always successful. According to Company Clothing magazine , there are 1000 companies supplying the workwear and corporate clothing market. Of these, 22 account for 85% of total sales – £380 million in 1994.

E. A successful uniform needs to balance two key sets of needs.

On the one hand, no uniform will work if staff feel uncomfortable or ugly. Giving the wearers a choice has become a key element in the way corporate clothing is introduced and managed. On the other, it is pointless if the look doesn’t express the business’s marketing strategy. The greatest challenge in this respect is time. When it comes to human perceptions, first impressions count. Customers will size up the way staff look in just a few seconds, and that few seconds will colour their attitudes from then on. Those few seconds can be so important that big companies are prepared to invest years, and millions of pounds, getting them right.

F. In addition, some uniform companies also offer rental services.

“There will be an increasing specialisation in the marketplace,” predicts Mr Blyth, Customer Services Manager of a large UK bank. The past two or three years have seen consolidation. Increasingly, the big suppliers are becoming ‘managing agents’, which means they offer a total service to put together the whole complex operation of a company’s corporate clothing package – which includes reliable sourcing, managing the inventory, budget control and distribution to either central locations or to each staff member individually. Huge investments have been made in new systems, information technology and amassing quality assurance accreditations.

G. Corporate clothing does have potentials for further growth.

Some banks have yet to introduce a full corporate look; police forces are researching a complete new look for the 21st century. And many employees now welcome a company wardrobe. A recent survey of staff found that 90 per cent welcomed having clothing which reflected the corporate identity.