Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 489
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 489 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 489
READING PASSAGE – 2
BYRON BAY BLUESFEST
A. Chill out as you listen to some of the biggest names in music, which in the past have included legends Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Crosby, Stills & Nash, alongside contemporary performers such as Kendrick Lamar, Jack Johnson and Alabama Shakes. This event has a reputation for securing top musical talent and attracts a crowd of more than 100,000 people.
Wander around the stages of the purpose-built festival site and discover new musical talent. With 100 bands performing during the festival, there’s plenty of opportunity to broaden your horizons. It’s not unusual at Bluesfest for musicians from one band to join another band on stage, creating unforgettable performances. You’ll also spot roving buskers (street performers) who were picked to perform at Bluesfest through the
Bluesfest Busking Competition, which takes part in and around Byron Bay in the lead-up to the festival.
IELTS General Reading Test
B. Pack your tent and enjoy an authentic music festival experience. More than 6,000 fans sleep at the festival’s designated campsites at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm. Veteran festival goers recommend camping on site to avoid parking and travelling times, and you’ll pitch your tent just steps away from the Bluesfest entrance.
The campground offers an on-site café (where you can pick up hot breakfast and coffee), laundry, toilets and showers. For those who don’t have a tent, the organizers offer a tent motel (with the option of two or three beds) and up market canvas teepees, which sleep three to five people. Of course, if you prefer the comfort of a bed, there is plenty of accommodation in Byron Bay and other nearby towns.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. Take part in the Boomerang Festival at Bluesfest, which celebrates Australia’s indigenous cultures through traditional and contemporary music, dance and workshops, and features some of the world’s oldest instruments and rituals. Join weaving circles, carving, drumming and traditional Maori healing with elders at the indigenous arts precinct within Bluesfest.
D. Festival goers can expect an abundance of food stalls, covering a variety of different cuisines, including Japanese, Indian, Malaysian and Mexican. The festival grounds include an undercover food court, coffee tent and licensed bars and you’re guaranteed to find something to satisfy all palates. There are also market stalls selling merchandise, clothing and accessories.
IELTS General Reading Test
E. After the festival, leave a couple of days to explore Byron Bay. Australia’s most easterly town is renowned for its fabulous beaches, healthy cafés and fashion boutiques, and celebrated for its alternative lifestyle. During April temperatures are generally warm, in the mid-20s Celsius (mid to high 70s Fahrenheit)-perfect conditions in which to unwind after a five-day music festival.
Questions 14-26
Read the text below and answer Questions 14-18. The text has five sections, A-E.
Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, I-V.
LIST OF HEADINGS
I. Hang out in Byron Bay
II. Join the Boomerang festivities
III. Set up camp
IV. See the singing stars
V. Sample delicious food
14. Section A
15. Section B
16. Section C
17. Section D
18. Section E
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 19-21
Choose the appropriate letter from A-E for the following questions.
Write the answers in the boxes 19-21 on your answer sheet.
19. Which of the following cuisines is not a part of the food stalls at Bluesfest?
A. Mexican
B. Thai
C. Indian
D. Japanese
E. Malaysian
20. Which of the following singers has not been a legendary singer having sung at Bluesfest?
A. Bob Dylan
B. Paul Simon
C. Crosby
D. Stills & Nash
E. Jack Johnson
IELTS General Reading Test
21. Which of the following is the indigenous arts precinct within Bluesfest?
A. Weaving circles
B. Carving
C. Drumming
D. Traditional maori healing
E. All of the above
Read the text below and answer Questions 22-26.
THE BICYCLE INVENTION
Vehicles for human transport that have two wheels and require balancing by the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport making use of two wheels arranged consecutively and thus the archetype of the bicycle was the German draisine dating back to 1817. The term bicycle was coined in France in the 1860s, and the descriptive title ‘penny farthing’, used to describe an ‘Ordinary Bicycle’, is a 19th-century term.
The first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Baron Karl von Drais, a civil servant to the Grand Duke of Baden in Germany. Drais invented his Laufmaschine (German for “running machine”) in 1817, that was called Draisine (English) or draisienne (French) by the press. Karl von Drais patented this design in 1818, which was the first commercially successful two- wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machine, nicknamed hobby-horse or dandy horse. It was initially manufactured in Germany and France.
IELTS General Reading Test
On his first reported ride from Mannheim on June 12, 1817, he covered 13 km (eight miles) in less than an hour. Constructed almost entirely of wood, the draisine weighed 22 kg (48 pounds), had brass bushings within the wheel bearings, iron shod wheels, a rear-wheel brake and 152 mm (6 inches) of trail of the front-wheel for a self-centering caster effect.
This design was welcomed by mechanically minded men daring to balance, and several thousand copies were built and used, primarily in Western Europe and in North America. Its popularity rapidly faded when, partly due to increasing numbers of accidents, some city authorities began to prohibit its use. However, in 1866, a Chinese visitor named Bin Chun could still observe foot-pushed velocipedes.
IELTS General Reading Test
The concept was picked up by a number of British cartwrights, the most notable was Denis Johnson of London announcing in late 1818 that he would sell an improved model. New names were introduced when Johnson patented his machine ‘pedestrian curricle’ or ‘velocipede’, but the public preferred nicknames like ‘hobby-horse’, after the children’s toy or, worse still, ‘dandyhorse’, after the foppish men who often rode them. Johnson’s machine was an improvement on Drais’s, being notably more elegant as his wooden frame had a serpentine shape instead of Drais’s straight one allowing the use of larger wheels without raising the rider’s seat.
Questions 22-26
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.
YEAR | EVENT |
1818 | Denis Johnson patented his machine ‘pedestrian curricle’ or 22………………… |
1817 | Draisine-a Laufmaschine was invented by 23………………… |
1866 | A 24………………… visitor named Bin Chun could still observe foot-pushed velocipedes. |
June 1817 | First reported 25………………… from Mannheim covering 13 km in less than an hour. |
Late 1818 | Denis Johnson of London announced of selling an 26………………… model |
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
14. IV
15. III
16. II
17. V
18. I
19. B
20. E
21. E
22. VELOCIPEDE
23. DRAIS
24. CHINESE
25. RIDE
26. IMPROVED
IELTS General Reading Test