Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 173
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 173 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 173
READING PASSAGE – 1
Rubik’s Cube – How the puzzle achieved success
Erno Rubik first studied sculpture and then later architecture in Budapest, where he went on to become a teacher of interior design. It was while he was working as a teacher that he began the preliminary work on an invention that he called the ‘Magic Cube’.
Rubik was inspired by geometric puzzles such as the Chinese tangram, a puzzle consisting of various triangles, a square and a parallelogram which can be combined to create different shapes and figures. However, unlike the tangram, which is two- dimensional, Rubik was more interested in investigating how three-dimensional forms, such as the cube, could be moved and combined to produce other forms.
IELTS General Reading Test
His design consisted of a cube made up of layers of individual smaller cubes, and each smaller cube could be turned in any direction except diagonally. To ensure that the cubes could move independently, without falling apart, Rubik first attempted to join them together using elastic bands.
However, this proved to be impossible, so Rubik then solved the problem by assembling them using a rounded interior. This permitted them to move smoothly and easily. He experimented with different ways of marking the smaller cubes, but ended up with the simple solution of giving a different colour to each side. The object was to twist the layers of small cubes so that each side of the large cube was an identical colour.
Rubik took out a patent for the Cube in 1977 and started manufacturing it in the same year. The Cube came to the attention of a Hungarian businessman, Tibor Laczi, who then demonstrated it at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. When British toy expert Tom Kremer saw it, he thought it was amazing and he persuaded a manufacturer, Ideal Toys, to produce 1 million of them in 1979.
Ideal Toys renamed the Cube after the toy’s inventor, and in 1980, Rubik’s Cube was shown at toy fairs all over the world. It won that year’s prize in Germany for Best Puzzle. Rubik’s Cube is believed to be the world’s best-selling puzzle; since its invention, more than 300 million Cubes have been sold worldwide.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1-7
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Rubik’s Cube
Originally named the (1)……….. , Rubik’s Cube consists of a number of smaller cubes organised in (2)………… . The smaller cubes can be twisted in almost any way, though not (3)……….. . The Cube’s (4)………… is shaped in a way that allows the smaller cubes to move smoothly. Each side of the smaller cubes has a different colour, and the aim of the puzzle is to organise the cubes so that the colours on the sides of the large cube are (5)…………. . The manufacturers of the puzzle changed the name of the Cube to the name of its (6)………… it has now sold more than any other (7)………… in the world.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 8 – 14.
AUSTON HEALTH CENTRE PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET
A. Appointments:
Please telephone 826969 (8.30am – 5.00pm: Mon – Fri). We suggest that you try to see the same doctor whenever possible because it is helpful for both you and your doctor to know each other well. We try hard to keep our appointments running to time, and ask you to be punctual to help us achieve this; if you cannot keep an appointment, please phone in and let us know as soon as possible so that it can be used for someone else. Please try to avoid evening appointments if possible. Each appointment is for one person only. Please ask for a longer appointment if you need more time.
B. Weekends and Nights:
Please telephone 823307 and a recorded message will give you the number of the doctor from the Centre on duty. Please remember this is in addition to our normal working day. Urgent calls only please. A Saturday morning emergency surgery is available between 9.30am and 10.00am. Please telephone for home visits before 10.00am at weekends.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. Centre Nurses:
Liz Stuart, Martina Scott and Helen Stranger are available daily by appointment to help you with dressings, ear syringing, children’s immunisations, removal of stitches and blood tests. They will also advise on foreign travel, and can administer various injections and blood pressure checks. For any over 75s unable to attend the clinic, Helen Stranger will make a home visit. AII three Centre Nurses are available during normal working hours to carry out health checks on patients who have been on doctors’ lists for 3 years.
D. New Patients:
Within 3 months of registering with the Centre, new patients on regular medication are invited to attend a health check with their doctor. Other patients can arrange to be seen by one of the Centre Nurses.
E. Services Not Covered:
Some services are not covered by the Centre e.g. private certificates, insurance, driving and sports medicals, passport signatures, school medicals and prescriptions for foreign travel. There are recommended fees for these set by the National Medical Association. Please ask at reception.
IELTS General Reading Test
F. Receptionists:
Our receptionists provide your primary point of contact-they are all very experienced and have a lot of basic information at their fingertips. They will be able to answer many of your initial queries and also act as a link with the rest of the team. They may request brief details of your symptoms or illness – this enables the doctors to assess the degree of urgency.
G. Change of Address:
Please remember to let us know if you decide to relocate. It is also useful for us to have a record of your telephone number.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 8-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage above?
In boxes 8-10 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the text
FALSE if the statement contradicts the text
NOT GIVEN if no information is given about it
8. You must always see the same doctor if you visit the Centre.
9. It is possible that receptionists will ask you to explain your problem.
10. You should give the Health Centre your new contact details if you move house.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 11-14
Reading Passage ‘Auston Health Centre Patient Information Leaflet‘ has seven sections, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.
11. what to do if you need help outside normal working hours
12. who to speak to first for general information
13. what happens when you register with the Centre
14. what to do if you need to cancel a doctor’s appointment
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS ARE BELOW
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. MAGIC CUBE
2. LAYERS
3. DIAGONALLY
4. INTERIOR
5. IDENTICAL
6. INVENTOR
7. PUZZLE
IELTS General Reading Test
8. FALSE
9. TRUE
10. TRUE
11. B
12. F
13. D
14. A
IELTS General Reading Test