Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 501
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 501 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 501
READING PASSAGE – 2
WHY DO PEOPLE CHANGE JOBS
People change jobs every day. In fact, somebody probably just made a decision to change their job right now, while you were reading this sentence. But why do people make that decision? What’s behind their decision?
Is it money? Benefits? Better health insurance? More compensation overall? Do people really chase more money in the quest for greater career satisfaction? According to Linkedin’s recent “Why & How People Change Jobs” reports, the answer to all of these questions would appear to be “No.”
IELTS General Reading Test
LinkedIn released two reports, one globally and one for North America. Since we’re in North America, we’ll primarily concern ourselves with the results of that report. Of particular interest are the top reasons that people gave for accepting a company’s offer of employment and starting work for them. Those reasons are as follows:
– Stronger career path/more opportunity-63%
– Better compensation/benefits-60%
– Better fit for my skills and interests-50%
– More ability to make an impact-46%
– The work sounded more challenging-45%
– I believed in the company’s overall direction-45%
However, those are the top reasons why a person accepted an offer from another company. When it came to reasons why they decided to actually leave their current organization and seek another employment opportunity, compensation and benefits fell even further down the list. When asked what contributed to their decision to leave, 489% of respondents in North America chose “1 was concerned about the lack of opportunities for advancement” as their answer. Compensation slipped down to #3.
IELTS General Reading Test
So-what can we deduce from the data contained in this report?
Without a doubt, greater opportunity is the #1 reason why people change their job. However, it goes beyond that. A perceived lack of opportunity is what prompts a person to consider leaving their current job in the first place. Then, an attractive opportunity is the main reason that the person accepts an offer from another organization.
Clearly, people believe that greater opportunity leads to greater satisfaction in their career. Yes, money plays a role, but when it comes to spurring people to action, opportunity is king. Not only that, but things like challenging work, the company’s direction, and company culture are also major parts of the decision-making process.
IELTS General Reading Test
When was the last time you conducted at an “audit” of your career? Which opportunities exist as your current employer? What kind of opportunities do you want to pursue? How would you answer the questions posed in the LinkedIn report?
Figure out where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. Create a plan and then execute it. These are the steps that lead you to career growth and satisfaction.
Questions 15 – 21
Complete the sentences below using not more than 3 words from the text.
15. This article looks into what lies …………….. when people make up their minds to change their employer.
16. In looking for greater contentment from their jobs, do people really …………….. a higher level of pecuniary benefits?
17. One of the top reasons why people took up work in a new organization was that the new job was more in sync with their…
18. While more money is the second most important reason why people take up a new job, …………….. does not retain its rank among the reasons people gave for deciding to leave their current job.
IELTS General Reading Test
19. When people feel that there is a …………….. in their current jobs, it triggers the desire to start looking for another job.
20. While there are many reasons why people change their jobs, including higher compensation, among all the reasons, ……………..
21. When changing one’s job, apart from opportunity and compensation, consideration of the other factors mentioned here is part of the ……………..
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 22- 27.
THE DODO BIRD: EXTINCT
The dodo bird inhabited the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where it lived undisturbed for so long that it lost its need and ability to fly. It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. There were no mammals on the island and a high diversity of bird species lived in the dense forests.
In 1505, the Portuguese became the first humans to set foot on Mauritius. The island quickly became a stopover for ships on the high seas engaged in the spice trade. Weighing up to 50 pounds, the dodos were a welcome source of fresh meat for the sailors. Large numbers of dodo birds were killed for food. Later, when the Dutch used the island as a penal colony, pigs and monkeys were brought to the island along with the convicts.
IELTS General Reading Test
Many of the ships that came to Mauritius also had uninvited rats aboard, some of which escaped onto the island. Before humans and other mammals appeared on the scene, the dodo bird had little to fear from predators. The rats, pigs and monkeys made short work of vulnerable dodo bird eggs in the ground nests. The combination of human exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations. Within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo bird was a rare bird.
Although the tale of the dodo bird’s demise is well documented, no complete specimens of the bird were preserved; there are only fragments and sketches. The dodo bird is just one of the bird species driven to extinction on Mauritius. Many others were lost in the 19th century when the dense Mauritian forests were converted into tea and sugar plantations.
IELTS General Reading Test
Although the dodo bird became extinct in 1681, its story is not over. We are just beginning to understand the effects of its extinction on the ecosystem. Recently a scientist noticed that a certain species of tree was becoming quite rare on Mauritius. In fact, he noticed that all 13 of the remaining trees of this species were about 300 years old. No new trees had germinated since the late 1600s.
Since the average life span of this tree was about 300 years, the last members of the species were extremely old. They would soon die, and the species would be extinct. Was it just a coincidence that the tree had stopped reproducing 300 years ago and that the dodo bird had become extinct 300 years ago? No. It turns out that the dodo bird ate the fruit of this tree, and it was only by passing through the dodo’s digestive system that the seeds became active and could grow. Now more than 300 years after one species became extinct, another was to follow as a direct Consequence. Will more follow?
Luckily, some creative people discovered that domestic turkey gullets sufficiently mimic the action of the dodo bird’s digestive system. They have used turkeys to begin a new generation of the tree, which is now called the dodo tree. If these seedlings survive to produce their own seeds, the species will be saved.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 22 – 27
Use the words/phrases given in the box below to complete the following sentences.
22. Since the dodo bird could get its food requirements from fruits that had fallen from trees, it did not have the ………………… to fly.
23. The dodos faced an unwelcome intrusion into their lives from sailors plying the ………………… .
24. Since the Dutch used Mauritius as a penal colony, they brought ………………… to the island.
25. The species of ………………… birds became extinct when tea and sugar plantations came up in Mauritius.
26. It was observed that a certain kind of tree was becoming quite ………………… in Mauritius.
27. The digestive system of the ………………… is similar to that of the dodo.
IELTS General Reading Test
| Need | Fresh Meat | Many | Gullet |
| Turkey | Dodo | Ability | High Seas |
| Monkeys | Rare | Extinct | Convicts |
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. BEHIND THEIR DECISION
16. CHASE
17. SKILLS AND INTERESTS
18. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
19. LACK OF OPPORTUNITY
20. OPPORTUNITY IS KING
21. DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
22. NEED
23. HIGH SEAS
24. CONVICTS
25. MANY
26. RARE
27. TURKEY
IELTS General Reading Test