BEST Daily IELTS Reading Test, 1st July

Table of Contents

Test – 30

Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13.

Questions 1-7

Read the passage “Small Steps, Big Achievements” on the following page and answer the questions 1-7 below, using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each question.

1. To what extent did Mr MS Oberoi study hotel functioning in Europe and America?

2. What is the prerequisite to have for being able to develop a workable system?

3. To undergo what should one be prepared to achieve success?

4. Besides direction, what else did the Indian youth lack?

5. From where has a person to start if he has to go ten miles?

6. What should you experience while climbing towards the peak?

7. Towards what should each step be directed?

Small Steps, Big Achievements

We can learn a lot if we take a leaf put of the life of each successful man and woman. Take, for instance, the life of MS Oberoi who from a mere employee became a big hotelier of our times. An observer reflecting on his life says that as an employee, Oberoi formed the habit of working hard and sincerely, thus winning the confidence of both his colleagues and boss. He further says: Oberoi always kept his learning process alive. He took pains to learn from his own and other person’s work and experience. At the age of 50, he spent three months in Europe and America to minutely study hotel functioning. It is very important to act at the appropriate time. Oberoi decided to buy hotels when they were cheap and he was able to make favourable deals. In fact, he bought the first hotel in Simla at a throwaway price.

Among the several qualities of head and heart of Mr Oberoi was the quality of effective organization and management. But effective organization and management are possible only if a system is developed which can work under any circumstances. Such a system can be developed by an imaginative mind over a long period. The system must have the support of superiors, colleagues, clients and the public. It was the secret behind the Oberoi spirit.

According to President APJ Abdul Kalam, ‘suffering is the essence of success.” In an interface with a columnist, he said: “The biggest problem Indian youth face, I felt was a lack of clarity of vision, a lack direction. It was then that I decided to write about the circumstances and people who made me what I am today; idea was not merely to pay tribute to some individuals or highlight certain aspects of my life. What I wanted to say was that no one, however poor, underprivileged or small need feel disheartened about life. Problems are a part of life. Suffering is the essence of success.

Most often, success can be achieved only by stages, by taking small steps. A Chinese proverb says, “Even if you have to go ten miles, you have to start from the first step” (which is quite short if we measure it). So, to quote Prof. Abdul Kalam again: “To live only for some unknown future is superficial. It is the climbing a mountain to reach the peak without experiencing its sides. The sides of the mountain sustain life, not the peak. This is where things grow, experience is gained, and technologies are mastered. The importance of the peak lies only in the fact that it defines the sides. So I went on towards the top, but always experiencing the sides. I had a long way to go but I was in no hurry. I went in little steps – just one step after another – but each step towards the top.

Questions 8-13

Look at the “CFL Information-cum-Guidance Leaflet” on the following page and fill in the blanks in the statements below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage to fill in each blank (8-13).

CFLs consume up to……………(8)……….less energy than ordinary lamps.

Their usage can give the go by to frequent………….(9)……………

After 31^st March some specified consumers can face…………….(10)…………without any prior notice.

In case of breakage, the pieces of CFLs should not be thrown……………(11)………………

CFLs give brighter light with………………….(12)……………….

CFLs are…………………(13)……………..because they generate less heat than ordinary bulbs.

CFL Information-cum-Guidance Leaflet

The Bureau have decided that from the start of the next financial year, only Candascent Florescent Lamps (CFLs) will be used in all government offices, factories and establishments.

The reason is that the CFLs consume up to 80 per cent less energy than the ordinary lamps. They also give bright light with natural colours. Since these lamps have six times more life than other lamps, their usage minimizes the hassles of frequent replacement and fusing. Moreover, they generate less heat than the normal bulbs and are thus comparatively eco-friendly. Another important feature of these lamps is that they have a much lower fire risk compared to ordinary bulbs. CFLs serve a national cause for the country’s prosperity by saving energy.

Note: (1) The Bureau requests all the commercial, industrial and domestic consumers to switch over to the use of CFLs from the ordinary bulbs in the interest of country’s prosperity.

(2) After 31^st March, any consumer found using a general bulb in any factory or establishment

(i) which is run with government loan at low rate of interest or

(ii) which gets raw material at subsidized rates from the government, will face immediate electricity disconnection without any notice or prior intimation.

Special Note

Since CFLs like all fluorescent tubes etc. contain mercury, the pieces of such lamps in case of breakage should not be thrown in the open, but these should be deposited in the municipal dustbins or dustbins kept in the Bureau sub-offices.

National Bureau of Energy Efficiency

43 Willington Road, London

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