Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 501
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 501 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 501
READING PASSAGE – 1
SOME THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT CACTI
Cacti are special in many ways. Many people think that cacti live in deserts. Nothing can live in a real desert, but ‘desert’ cacti are adapted in many ways to live in dry and sometimes hot places.
1. Are they indestructible? No, if you’ve ever killed a cactus you are not alone. The easiest way is by over watering, poor drainage and using the wrong compost. Ordinary potting compost holds water well, which is a huge bonus for most plants but not for cacti, they need very good drainage.
IELTS General Reading Test
2. Do they flower? Cacti are all flowering plants, but some have more prominent blooms and there are a few, such as Mammillaria, Gymnocalycium and Parodia, that will flower quite easily with impressive, colourful displays.
3. How do I get them to flower? Cacti flower on fresh growth, so if your plant just sits there, unchanging year after year, it’s very unlikely to flower. What you should do is to get the plant to follow its natural growth cycle. It needs to go dormant in winter and then wake up in spring. So, put it somewhere dry and cold, but not dark, over winter, and stop watering all together. In spring give it as much sunshine as possible and start to water it.
IELTS General Reading Test
4. Which are the best varieties for beginners? Moon cacti have very colourful tops, usually red or yellow. These aren’t flowers so the colour is there all year round. Bunny ears, also known as polka dot cacti, have spots of golden bristles against a green background so they look modern and geometric. Probably the most common variety is a tiny ‘pin cushion’ cactus, it’s easy to grow and has lovely little pink flowers.
5. Are all cacti prickly? What we usually think of as cacti are desert cacti, but there are also forest cacti without the bristles, however the range available as houseplants is quite small.
6. How long do they live? In the wild cacti can live for hundreds of years. Indoors they may survive for 10 years or more. The trouble with old ones is that every single knock, scratch or blemish they get stays with them, so they tend to look less appealing as they get older.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1 – 7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
1. Cactus plants live in real deserts.
2. If you water a cactus too much you are likely to kill it.
3. Most cactus plants will flower.
4. If the cactus has not flowered fora few years it is hardly likely to flower.
5. Cacti grown as houseplants are very small in size.
6. Cacti can live for two hundred years in the wild.
7. All cacti have bristles which can prick.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 8- 14.
TRY THIS FUN TEST OF SPEED AND ACCURACY, USING RIFLES, PISTOLS AND SHOTGUNS
One of the fastest growing shooting sports in the country right now is the action-packed multi-gun competition commonly known as “3-gun.”
The reason for the name is somewhat obvious; competitors use three different firearms – a modern sporting rifle (MSR) that is a rifle built on an AR-platform; a pistol; and a shotgun. Matches generally involve courses where the shooter must move through different stages and engage targets in a variety of different positions. Each stage will generally require the use of different firearms and require the shooter to transition between them.
The targets might include clay pigeons, cardboard silhouettes, steel targets of varying sizes and anything else designated as a target. Distances of the targets might vary from 1 yard to S00 yards or anything in between. The shooter who hits the most targets- and avoids certain “no shoot” ones in the least amount of time is the winner.
IELTS General Reading Test
Although local ranges might opt to alter the rules somewhat, most abide closely by those set up by the International Multi-Gun Association (IMGA) or the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), which regulates some matches. Each of these organizations has guidelines and rules, but the ability to adapt them for specific matches is what makes 3-gun competition dynamic and exciting.
Just as it is with the practical pistol matches, 3-gun simulates combat or self-defence situations. A stage provides a certain scenario for using one or more of the guns in a specific sequence. Each stage in each match will usually be different than any you’ve shot before.
IELTS General Reading Test
Rifles: Most serious competitors choose MSR in .223 calibre with fairly short barrels in the 18-to 20-inch range and 30-round magazines. But any semi-automatic rifle that will handle larger magazines is normally permitted.
Shotguns: Any reliable auto-loading or pump-action shotgun will work. For serious competition, it should have an extended magazine tube, a good set of sights and interchangeable chokes. Both shot-shells and slugs are used in most 3-Gun matches.
Pistols: Most shooters use 9mm semi-autos, but the .38 Super and .40 S&W are also popular in some divisions.
IELTS General Reading Test
Getting started in 3-gun competition is easy. Find a shooting range in your area that puts on 3- gun matches. Then spend some time to watch and to learn; also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Once you decide to take the plunge, go easy and don’t spend a lot of money on anything too fancy. It’s a learning process, and it’s about having fun.
Questions 8- 14
Use not more than ONE WORD ONLY to fill in the blanks below.
8. 3-gun is a sport where one shoots through different stages and competes in a ……………… competition.
9. Since the competition requires the use of a rifle, a pistol and a shot-gun, its name is more or less ………………
10. There are three stages and in each stage, the shooter has to use a ……………… fire-arm.
11. Each stage creates a ……………… in which the shooter has to shoot using one or two or three of his guns.
12. The 3-gun creates a situation as if you are in a ………………
13. A semi-automatic rifle with a magazine capacity of more than 30 rounds may be ………………
14. Before you start engaging in this sport, you should go to a range as a spectator to ……………… about it.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. FALSE
2. TRUE
3. FALSE
4. TRUE
5. NOT GIVEN
6. NOT GIVEN
7. FALSE
8. MULTI-GUN
9. OBVIOUS
10. DIFFERENT
11. SCENARIO
12. COMBAT
13. PERMITTED
14. LEARN
IELTS General Reading Test