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BEST IELTS Reading General Test 178
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 178 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 178
READING PASSAGE – 2
Read the text below and answer Questions 14-21.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The history of musical instruments dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman times. Hindus, Chinese, Arabs, Japanese and almost all nationalities have their own music they enjoyed for hundreds of years in the past. Music soon started getting popular in festivals, rituals and even in armies. Let us take a look at the some musical instruments of the 18th century.
A. Pochette is a small kit violin and often referred as the dancing master’s kit. This musical instrument is also a small version of violin which could fit in the pocket. Named in French (pochette = small pocket), this string musical instrument was used by dance masters and street musicians in the 18th century. It was also one of the leading musical instruments of the Renaissance period and was popular around several parts of Britain, France and Germany.
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B. Listed under the chordophone category, Harp is a musical instrument having its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. Harp is said to have flourished during the 18th century from Paris and was said to be very fashionable. As it was the favorite instrument of Marie- Antoinette, almost all the ladies in Paris were mad to play harps. Harps are mostly used in orchestral music and are recently used in fusion with jazz music as well.
C. The Mandolin descends from the mandore belonging to the lute family and has four courses of strings tuned in the perfect fifths that is plucked with a plectrum. Mandolin became popular among tourists in different European and American nations as they were fit for souvenirs. The ‘Neapolitan’ mandolin became increasingly farhous after its invention in around 1744 to over more than 60 years and saw fall to its popularity after the Napoleonic War of 1815. Mandolin is said to have brought great progress in the celtic, jazz, bluegrass and classical styles of music that flourished over in the 20th century.
D. Galoubet is a three hole pipe which was very famous in the middle ages and the Renaissance. The 18th century saw wide progress of this musical instrument in compendium with the tabor. The Galoubet (pipe) and the Tambourin (drum) were played together in several regions of the Western Europe. Weddings, dances and festivities were widely entertained with Galoubet. These were mostly adopted by high class fashionable pastorals in France. Several dance music of polkas, waltzes and the arpegiatted styles included Galoubet as the main musical instrument.
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E. Kettle drums which are also known as the Timpani are musical instruments of the percussion family that consist of a skin stretched over a large bowl made of copper. Played by striking the head with timpani stick, they are said to evolve from the military drums to be used in several classical orchestra in the 18th century. Ludwig van Beethoven is said to have revolutionized the timpani music in the later stages of the 18th century by writing different notes and giving prominence to the instrument. Kettle Drums is said to have inspired several rock and roll music adopted by the Queen, Led Zepplin and the Beatles.
Questions 14 – 21
The text has five musical instruments. Which sections contain the following information?
Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 14 – 21 on your answer sheet.
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14 This instruments saw rise and fall in its usage over the period.
15. This instrument was a favorite of the elite.
16. This instrument was very common among a specific gender group.
17. This instrument was considered a gift from the holiday.
18. This instrument is very portable in nature. 19. This instrument was endorsed by an artist.
20. This instrument was famous for large functions and events.
21. This instrument lately became a part of new music form.
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Read the text below and answer Questions 22-26.
CROP PROTECTION
Crop protection chemicals provide farmers with a cost-effective way of improving the yield and the quality of their crops. They also make harvesting more straightforward and maintain consistent yields from year to year.
The main classes of crop protection chemicals are herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Selective herbicides, for example, control the growth of weeds which would otherwise grow among a crop, competing with it for water, nutrients and sunlight. Without crop protection chemicals agriculture would be less efficient.
Research done over the past 20 years, mainly by Dr Erich-Christian Oerke and his colleagues at the University of Bonn in Germany, has shown that overall crop yields would be around half their current levels without the use of crop protection products. In certain crops, for example cotton, which can be spoilt by a host of different insects and competing weeds, the losses can be as high as 80 per cent.
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Research has also been done by other groups to compare yields obtained from crops grown organically, where the use of crop protection products is minimized. (Generally no synthetic crop protection chemicals are used, though minerals, such as copper salts, and natural chemicals, such as the insecticide rotenone found in the roots of several plants, may be.) The findings suggest that organic yields are usually well below those achieved when crop protection chemicals are used, typically 30 per cent lower for wheat and barley, and 40 per cent lower for potatoes.
Moreover entire crops have been lost without the use of crop protection chemicals. Potatoes and vines are examples of particularly high-risk crops, growing in parts of the world where weather conditions can at times be conducive to fungal epidemics. The devastation of entire crops is of major concern, both to farmers, who lose income, and to consumers, who face rising supermarket prices.
IELTS Reading General Test
Questions 22 – 26
Complete the summary below in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
Crop protection is a way to improvise the (22)………. and qualitative nature of the food product. There are (23)………. main classes of compound that are used for productivity. Looking at the growing demand a research concluded that without the use of chemicals yields can be halved. But a new direction of research to produce crop (24)………. can help to deter the detrimental effects of chemicals. However use of (25)………. products has greatly minimized still some crops are prone to (26)………. which can lead to losses.
ANSWERS ARE BELOW
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IELTS Reading General Test
ANSWERS
14. C
15. D
16. B
17. C
18. A
19. E
20. D
21. B
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22. YIELD
23. 3
24. ORGANICALLY
25. SYNTHETIC
26. FUNGAL EPIDEMICS
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