Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 503
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 503 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 503
READING PASSAGE – 1
10 CELL PHONE ETIQUETTE RULES YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING-BUT AREN’T
1. Put your phone away at the dinner table: This phone etiquette rule may seem obvious because hello, it’s rude, but being courteous in public to both your dining partner and other diners is important, says Amy Rice, Gadget Expert for Gazelle. Parenting, etiquette, and financial expert Brett Graff adds, “If it rings, and you must answer it, explain to your dining companions that your child is home by him or herself or that you’re waiting for a huge business deal to close. Otherwise, ignore it,” she says.
2. End phone conversations when paying for purchases: Just because you may not know the cashier doesn’t mean you can keep chatting away while they’re helping you. Unless it’s an emergency, it’s just rude to stay on the phone right in their face. These are the most annoying coffee shop habits, according to Starbucks baristas.
IELTS General Reading Test
3. Never shout when talking on the phone: Can you hear me now? If they can’t, maybe you should call them back later. When in public, it’s a good phone etiquette practice to try not to raise your voice while on the phone. No one else needs to be privy to your conversations-or your arguments.
4.Never text or talk and drive: This is an obvious one. Many states have laws in place regarding texting and talking on the phone while driving. Hint: It’s a big no-no. These are the warning signs that you could be a cell phone addict.
5. Avoid texting in work meetings: You don’t want your boss looking up and seeing you texting away and completely ignoring what’s going on. Plus, if you’re the boss, it’s setting a bad example for your workers.
IELTS General Reading Test
6. Turn off the phone in places such as a church, temple, or theatre: There are no exceptions to this rule. There are just certain places where cell phones should be and often are off-limits. And remember, checking your phone and having it light up in a dark theatre-even if you don’t tai text, or Tweet-is just as rude.
7. Avoid talking on the phone in a waiting room, but if you must, leave the area first: Waiting rooms can be crowded and noisy-not exactly conducive to a phone call. If you must talk on the phone, Rice suggests leaving the area so as not to disturb your fellow waiting room occupants.
8. Avoid using a phone on public transportation: On public transportation, people are often stressed, rushing, or exhausted. All they want to do is get where they’re going, not listen to your conversation about your cousin’s new boyfriend’s sister. “Be courteous when you are in public, enjoy the moment and your friends, but above all be smart about your smartphone manners,” says Rice.
IELTS General Reading Test
9. Lower your voice when using your phone in public: This phone etiquette guideline is a continuation of never shouting in public. Not only should you not shout, but you should automatically lower your voice. If you don’t want to hear other people’s phone conversations, they definitely don’t want to hear yours either.
10. Don’t take a call in the middle of a face-to-face conversation: “Cell phones can destroy all your interpersonal dealings,” says Graff. “You should not even give the screen a glance while you’re speaking to someone at a party or a dinner.” Sometimes it’s best to think of how would you feel if that happened to you? If it would bother you, then you probably shouldn’t do it to someone else.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
Write
YES – if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO – if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN – if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
IELTS General Reading Test
1. You are having dinner with your friends. The phone rings. It is okay to answer it, since friends will not mind.
2. Not only in front of a Starbucks cashier, but also at any other store, you should not use the phone while checking out.
3. If you have to text while driving, pull over and text instead of texting while driving.
4. If you do not mind listening to other people’s conversation, it is okay that others can hear yours: it works both ways.
5. When in a place of worship, you can keep your phone on silent mode.
6. You are waiting your turn to see the doctor at his clinic. You get call from your office. It is an urgent call regarding a matter important to you. It is okay to talk softly from where you are sitting so that others are not disturbed.
7. If you are having a face to face conversation with someone, place your phone with the screen facing downwards so that you will not glance at it out of habit.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 8- 14.
SOME WELL KNOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF INDIA
A. Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, is the one of the oldest boarding schools in Asia, having been founded on 28th July, 1859, by Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, son of an Army Captain. A scholar of Westminster and a graduate of Cambridge, he was appointed Assistant Master at Rugby by Doctor Thomas Arnold, one of the founders of the British Public School system. It was the young Mr. Cotton who is spoken of as the “the model young master” in Thomas Hughes famous book “Tom Brown’s School Days” which gives an insight to school life at Rugby.
B. In 1957, an ageing English lady, Miss H. S. Oliphant, fired by the desire to create an equal educational platform for young Indian women in independent India, acquired a small estate from a Nawab in Dehradun to give shape to her dream. There were no funds, no staff, no school buildings and no students but a vision and an indomitable spirit. Under Miss Linnell’s guidance ‘welham’, named after a Welsh village, progressed rapidly and soon came to symbolize the qualities of independence, high scholastic standards and a progressive attitude, rooted in Indian tradition and culture.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. Colonel Browns Cambridge School was founded in March 1926, by Col. and Mrs. Brown. It attracts students not only from all parts of India, but also from parents living abroad. An Irish man of repute, with an enviable record of distinguished service both in the sphere of education and the British Army, Col. William Brown retired from the Army but did not want to leave India, the country he had adopted, served and grown to love passionately.
D. The Lawrence School Sanawar, established in 1847, situated at a height of 1750 meters and spread over an area of 139 acres, heavily forested with pine, deodar and other conifer trees, is the fruit of the vision of Sir Henry Lawrence, and his wife Honoria. Sanawar is a co-educational boarding school, affiliated to CBSE and has students of varying backgrounds from different parts of the sub-continent.
IELTS General Reading Test
E. In November 1843, a fire broke out in a theatre at No. 10, Park Street, Kolkata. The fire that destroyed the theatre on that day rekindled another fire- the fire of education. Eventually that burnt out theatre became the home of an institution that redefined modern education. A small band of Belgium Jesuits opened their hearts and the doors of their abode at 10 Park Street on 16th January, 1860, to become what today stands as a symbol of quality education in the country, St, Xavier’s School, Kolkata.
F. The Doon School specializes in all boys’ boarding education for pupils aged 12-18. The school is probably the only ‘All India ‘school with applications from almost every state each year, as well as from Indian families overseas. Established in 1935, The Doon School is one of India’s finest schools, with a strong intellectual heart-beat. The Doon School is a full boarding school and not simply a school which welcomes boarders.
IELTS General Reading Test
G. It was more than a century ago that the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary decided to start a boarding school at Dalhousie. History tell us that the choice of Dalhousie, a small hill station endowed with exquisite scenic beauty but remote and accessible only through narrow, dangerous hill roads by tonga and doli, was a daring adventure. As the years rolled on, the school expanded physically the campus was enlarged, new buildings were erected, games fields were created and gardens laid out. The present extensive and attractive complex of the Sacred Heart School atop Potreyn hill is a living witness to its growth over the years.
Questions 8-14
Look at the following statements and the different schools below. Match each statement with the correct section, A-G. NB: You may use any letter more than once.
IELTS General Reading Test
8. All she had was a dogged passion for her dream.
9. This boarding school does not take in girls.
10. This co-ed school in the hills has a lot of trees on its campus.
11. The character in a well-known book is based upon the founder of this school.
12. The founder of this school did not want to leave his adopted country.
13. This school started out in the ruins of a theatre.
14. When first established, the route to this school was not easy.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. NO
2. YES
3. NOT GIVEN
4. NO
5. NO
6. NO
7. NOT GIVEN
8. B
9. F
10. D
11. A
12. C
13. E
14. G
IELTS General Reading Test