Category: IELTS preparation

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The Social Media Effect # Practice Reading

Over the past 15 years, the world as we know it has been taken by storm through the onset (a beginning or start) of social media (websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts). According to Com score (2011) about 90 percent of U.S. Internet users visit a social media site each month. Because we live in such a largely global-society (used to refer to a society that is being built in modern times in which all the people of the world have a good deal in common with one another), creating and maintaining an online presence has become most relevant (bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand) in promoting (to help or encourage to exist or flourish) your brand and expanding (to increase in extent, size, volume, scope, etc) your social network (a network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts).

As we know, perception (the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding)is everything; especially in the world of social media. In terms of perception, we all have an ideal self. We all wish to maximize our careers, our profession, and aspire (to long, aim, or seek ambitiously) to be like those who we find most successful (achieving or having achieved success). As the use of social media continues to evolve; the concept of presenting our ideal selves versus our real selves has become more and more prevalent (widespread; of wide extent or occurrence; in general use or acceptance.) on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and even LinkedIn.

As research (to search or search for again) suggests (to mention or introduce (an idea, proposition, plan, etc.) for consideration or possible action), your “real self” is what you are – your attributes (to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something indicated (usually followed by to), your characteristics (a distinguishing feature or quality), and your personality (the visible aspect of one’s character as it impresses others). Your “ideal self” is what you feel you should be; much of it due to societal and environmental influences. From a societal (noting or pertaining to large social groups, or to their activities,customs, etc.) standpoint (the point or place at which a person stands to view something), many of us are driven by competition (the act of competing; rivalry for supremacy, a prize, etc), achievement (something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort,great courage, etc.; a great or heroic deed), and status; hence, the creation (the act of producing or causing to exist; the act of creating;engendering.) and portrayal (a portrait)of our ideal selves.

Source : The Huffing ton Post

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Wedding # Speaking Section

Wedding are the most common thing in a country. There shall be rarely any country where no one marries. Keeping this in mind, often questions in IELTS are asked about wedding. These questions are asked in the first part of the IELTS speaking section.

1. Have you ever been to wedding?

Yes, I have been to wedding many a times.

2. Whose wedding was it?

I have been to wedding of my relatives and friends. I have also gone to wedding of friends of friends.

3. What clothes do people wear in weddings?

Mostly people wear traditional clothes. Women usually wear saree, suit or lehanga. Men wear, sherwani or other formals. However, it all also depends on the relationship one shares with the person getting married. People who are just acquaintances often come in casual clothes.

4. How is wedding celebrated in your culture.

Everyone has their own way of celebrating weddings. In our culture, the guests arrive before the bride and the groom. Next comes the groom,  sitting on a horse and all his relatives come along with him. After some times, comes the bride with her sisters beside her, like a queen and the groom makes her sit on the stage. Then the “jaimal” i.e the bride and groom share garlands with each other. Next on, the other ceremonies take place. It is after seven circumambulations that they are considered married couple.

5. What sort of gifts do people give to the bride and groom?

People mostly give gifts that will be helpful for the married couple in their married life. Some give crockery or dresses for the bride and groom or electronic items. There are even people who give money. But the most important thing is they all give blessings  and I think that is the most important gift anyone could give.

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History Of Natural Gas # Reading Section

History Of Natural Gas

[A]Natural gas is nothing new. In fact, most of the natural gas that is brought out from under the ground is millions and millions of years old. However, it was not until recently that methods for obtaining this gas, bringing it to the surface, and putting it to use were developed.

[B]Before there was an understanding of what natural gas was, it posed a mystery to man. Sometimes, lightning strikes would ignite natural gas that was escaping from under the earth’s crust. This would create a fire coming from the earth, burning the natural gas as it seeped out from underground. These fires puzzled most early civilizations, and were the root of myth and superstition. One of the most famous of these flames was found in ancient Greece, on Mount Parnassus around 1000 B.C. A goat herdsman came across what looked like a ‘burning spring’, a flame rising from a fissure in the rock. The Greeks, believing it to be of divine origin, built a temple on the flame. This temple housed a priestess who was known as the Oracle of Delphi, giving out prophecies she claimed were inspired by the flame.

[C]These types of springs became prominent in the religions of India, Greece, and Persia. Unable to explain where these fires came from, they were often regarded as divine, or supernatural. It wasn’t until about 500 B.C. that the Chinese discovered the potential to use these fires to their advantage. Finding places where gas was seeping to the surface, the Chinese formed crude pipelines out of bamboo shoots to transport the gas, where it was used to boil sea water, separating the salt and making it palatable.

[D]Britain was the first country to commercialize the use of natural gas. Around 1785, natural gas produced from coal was used to light houses, as well as streetlights.

[E]Manufactured natural gas of this type (as opposed to naturally occurring gas) was first brought to the United States in 1816, when it was used to light the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. However, this manufactured gas was much less efficient, and less environmentally friendly, than modern natural gas that comes from underground.

[F]Naturally occurring natural gas was discovered and identified in America as early as 1626, when French explorers discovered Native Americans igniting gases that were seeping into and around Lake Erie. The American natural gas industry got its beginnings in this area. In 1859, Colonel Edwin Drake (a former railroad conductor who adopted the title ‘Colonel’ to impress the townspeople) dug the first well. Drake hit oil and natural gas at 69 feet below the surface of the earth.

[G]Most historians characterize this well as the beginning of the natural gas industry in America. A two-inch diameter pipeline was built, running 5 and ½ miles from the well to the village of Titusville, Pennsylvania. The construction of this pipeline proved that natural gas could be brought safely and relatively easily from its underground source to be used for practical purposes.

[H]In 1821, the first well specifically intended to obtain natural gas was dug in Fredonia, New York by William Hart. After noticing gas bubbles rising to the surface of a creek, Hart dug a 27-foot well to try and obtain a larger flow of gas to the surface. Hart is regarded by many as the ‘father of natural gas’ in America. Expanding on Hart’s work, the Fredonia Gas Light Company was eventually formed, becoming being the first American natural gas company.

[I]During most of the 19th century, natural gas was used almost exclusively as a source of light. Without a pipeline infrastructure, it was difficult to transport the gas very far, or into homes to be used for heating or cooking. Most of the natural gas produced in this era was manufactured from coal, rather than coming from a well. Near the end of the 19th century, with the advent of electricity, natural gas lights were converted to electric lights. This led producers of natural gas to look for new uses for their product.

[J]In 1885, Robert Bunsen invented what is now known as the Bunsen burner. He managed to create a device that mixed natural gas with air in the right proportions, creating a flame that could be safely used for cooking and heating. The invention of the Bunsen burner opened up new opportunities for the use of natural gas in America, and throughout the world. The invention of temperature-regulating thermostatic devices allowed for better use of the heating potential of natural gas, allowing the temperature of the flame to be adjusted and monitored.

Without any way to transport it effectively, natural gas discovered pre-WWII was usually just allowed to vent into the atmosphere, or burnt, when found alongside coal and oil, or simply left in the ground when found alone.

[K]One of the first major pipelines was constructed in 1891. This pipeline was 120 miles long, and carried natural gas from wells in central Indiana to the city of Chicago. However, this early pipeline was not very efficient at transporting natural gas. It wasn’t until the 1920s that significant effort was put into building a pipeline infrastructure. After World War II, new welding techniques, along with advances in pipe rolling and metallurgy, further improved pipeline reliability. This post-war pipeline construction boom lasted well into the ‘60s, and allowed for the construction of thousands of miles of pipeline in America.

[L]Once the transportation of natural gas was possible, new uses for natural gas were discovered. These included using natural gas to heat homes and operate appliances such as water heaters, ovens, and cooktops. Industry began to use natural gas in manufacturing and processing plants. Also, natural gas was used to heat boilers used to generate electricity. The expanded transportation infrastructure had made natural gas easy to obtain, and it was becoming an increasingly popular energy choice.

QUESTIONS 1-5

Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage 1?

In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE             if the statement agrees with the information.

FALSE           if the statement contradicts with the information.

NOT GIVEN  if there is no information on this.

  1. Natural gas is an invention of human beings.
  2. The divine energies in early periods produced flames, marking their presence.
  3. China was the first country to use the possibilities of fire as an asset.
  4. The only country to make a business out of natural gas was Britain.
  5. United States first used the natural gas in 1817.
  6. Native Americans kindled natural gas occurring around the Lake Erie during the 15th century.

questions 7-13

Reading passage 1 has ten paragraphs.

Given below are some facts that you can either comprehend/ are directly given in the paragraphs.

Match the paragraph number with the correct facts.

Write your answers in the answer sheet in boxes 7-13.

7. pipeline gets built between titusville and Pennsylvania.

8. Different ways to use natural gas get invented.

9.Bunsen Burner gets invented.

10. Electricity invention shifts the use of natural gas.

11. William Hart is declared the father of natural gas.

12.Natural Gas is wasted without the presence of pipeline.

13. Electricity generation with natural gas.

ANSWERS

1. false

2. false

3. true

4. false

5. false

6. true

7. G

8. L

9. J

10. I

11. H

12.K

13.L

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Games # Speaking Section

Games are something that depend on an individual. It is always an individual choice, whether to play a game or not or whether to like a particular game. Let us have a look at some of the questions that could be asked in IELTS Speaking Section Part I related to games.

  1. Do you enjoy playing any games?

I think games play a very important part in our lives and everyone either loves watching or playing a particular game. I love to play cricket. I also like to play those indoor games, with my family, like chess or ludo.

2. Do you think adults should play games?

I believe every individual should play games. Games help in the mental and physical exercise without letting us know about the work we are doing. Adults require them the most. They usually lead a very stressful life. Games could prove to be a recreation activity for them wherein they could get to connect with their family and friends and also help them to stay fit.

3. What do children learn from games?

I think learning is the most underrated part of games. A child who plays a particular game learns a lot from it. He/she learns the importance of time management, team spirit. He/she learns how to respect every opinion and still be distinguished. For example-: a child playing football knows that it is not about who scored how much, it is about whether the team won or not. Even more they learn how to accept failures. So, I think a games help in an all-round development of a child and every child must play.

4. What kind of games did you play when you were a child?

As a child I played a lot of games. We used to play cricket, football, badminton, kho-kho, hide and seek. I also enjoyed playing monopoly, ludo, chess and even carom. Playing these games with my friends or brothers and sisters, used to be real fun.

5. What games are popular in your country today?

Our country cherishes every kind of sport. However, cricket is the one sport that unites the entire country. People of my country are crazy about cricket and you will find cricket teams in every colony of our country. However, with time and some attempts by government, people are now even paying attention to games such as kabaddi, tennis and football.

6. Do you think mental games like chess are good for you?

I personally think yes. Chess or any other mental game, inculcates the habit of taking decisions and even more taking right decisions in the stressful times. Other games like sudoko improves the analyzing power of an individual.

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