BEST IELTS General Reading Test 503

Table of Contents

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 503 – PASSAGE – 2

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 503

READING PASSAGE – 2

A MUSEUM OF FAILED ROMANCE

A. I recently popped in to visit the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia. It was a pilgrimage of sorts, as I’d been intrigued by rave reviews of the museum and the fact that in 2011 it won the Kenneth Hudson European Museum of the Year award for “the most unusual, daring and, perhaps, controversial achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of the museums in society.” Friends found it strange that I went with my husband, Jim, but I think he enjoyed it too. And we are still together.

B. The inspiration for the museum came from two artists who began the museum after their own relationship unravelled. They’re fascinated by the role that things, the ordinary stuff of life, play in a relationship-and when that relationship ends. Each of the objects are mute witnesses to better and happier times, silent, but loaded with meaning. Even the most banal object has a story to tell.

IELTS General Reading Test

C. The objects in the museum, sent in by ex-lovers around the world, are definitely banal, including a garden gnome, a prosthetic leg, and lots of stuffed toys, a few clocks, a hand axe, deodorant, and pink fluffy handcuffs. And yet, disparate as the articles are, what unites them is the power of a story. We should never forget that people are at the centre of all museums, from the visitors to the people who made, used, cherished, or discarded the objects we show. These things, then, are always loaded with meaning-with a narrative-and each object in the Museum of Broken Relationships tell a story of pleasure and pain through the narrative of romance.

D. I wasn’t prepared for what a cathartic place it is. The act of releasing a memento to the museum seems to be the final step in dispatching a terminated relationship. The labels, written by the donors, are sometimes long and introspective-meditations on romantic meltdowns. Others are delightfully direct: “A gift from S.K. from 1987. She loved antiquities-as long as things were old and didn’t work. That is precisely the reason why we’re not together anymore.” Another favourite: “The prosthesis endured longer than our love. It was made of sturdier material!”

IELTS General Reading Test

E. The visit made me recall the old vacuum cleaner in my closet. It is all I have left from a fiancé of more than 20 years ago and represents a moment of triumph for me since he really coveted that vacuum cleaner-but I took it with me when I left.

Questions 15-17

Match each statement with the correct paragraph, A to E. You may mention a paragraph more than once or not at all.

15. The items in the museum may be dissimilar, but conjoined by a common theme.

16. The author did not expect that the visit would give her a sense of release from her past.

17. Every object in the museum had seen their owners in more convivial times.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 18-21

Fill up the blanks below using NOT MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text.

18. This museum was very different from other museums. It questioned what we generally understood to be the purpose of museums; hence it ………………….. me.

19. Even the most ………………….. item in the museum had a story.

20. Museums may display all kinds of things, be it paintings or sculptures or anything else, but each of these exhibits has a …………………... behind them.

21. If I were to send an item to this museum, it would be an item lying in my …………………..

IELTS General Reading Test

Read the text below and answer Questions 22 – 27.

FOUR WAYS TO MANAGE A DIFFICULT BOSS

You’ve heard it time and time again. People don’t leave a company- they leave their immediate superior in the hierarchy. According to one Gallup study 50% of employees left their job “to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career”. Fifty percent! But what if you aren’t ready to leave your job just yet? There are ways to manage a difficult boss; just tread carefully.

As a career coach, I advise my clients to keep their emotions in check when dealing with their manager. Normally I’m an advocate for speaking up, but in this situation, please proceed with caution. You don’t want to burn any bridges. Not only do you need to deal with this person on a near daily basis, you may need the reference down the road.

IELTS General Reading Test

If you aren’t ready to leave your current job just yet, there are ways to make your work life more tolerable. Whatever your reason for sticking around (for now), here are four ways to manage a difficult boss.

1. Practice mindfulness. Incorporating mindfulness at work can be a game changer. It drastically lowers stress levels, which is critical when dealing with a difficult boss. Practice focusing on the present moment. This means not dwelling on what your boss said to you yesterday, or worrying about what she might say tomorrow. Another mindfulness tip is to focus on your breathing. The next time your boss says something that is about to throw you into a tailspin, sit and practice deep breathing. Inhale through your nose, hold briefly, and exhale out your mouth. Repeat until you feel calmer. Simple exercises like these will help you keep your cool and allow you to look at things with a clearer head.

IELTS General Reading Test

2. Empathy and Sympathy. While this step may feel difficult, try to be the bigger person and reflect on what your boss might be going through. Is she dealing with a difficult manager or under extreme stress, or not being shown compassion for a difficult situation at home? Perhaps there’s something going on in her personal life that is affecting how she handles things at work. Practicing empathy can help you understand her perspective and perhaps even realize that her behaviour towards you isn’t personal.

3. Take responsibility. Is your boss bringing everyone else on the team down, or is she mainly focused on you? If you notice that you’re the only person that has a negative relationship with your boss, resulting in inimical interactions all the time, take a step back and ask yourself how it got that way. Did something unfavourable happen that you can take responsibility for? If that’s the case, step up and rectify the situation right away. If it isn’t the case, go ahead and vent …. just don’t do it inside of the office.

IELTS General Reading Test

4. Vent outside of the office. It’s healthy, normal, and totally necessary to process your emotions, especially when you’re under constant stress. Otherwise, you may find yourself with pent-up anger, ready to blow at any moment. Release all the anxiousness caused by the feeling by talking it out with a friend or family member, and then let those feelings go. This will make you more pleasant to be around, and you’ll have a greater capacity to handle whatever your boss throws your way. Whatever you do, don’t unleash the drama on your colleagues; that’s how rumours start.

Dealing with a difficult boss is no joke. If you’ve practiced these techniques and still find your boss to be intolerable, brush up your resume and consider leaving ASAP. Staying in a toxic work environment, exercising restraint all the time isn’t worth it. The last thing you want to do is compromise your sanity or your health.

The next time you find yourself in a tough situation with your manager, remember that while you can’t control your boss, you can control how you react.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 22-27

Choose any of the words from the text given in the box below to fill in the blanks.

22. There are several ways in which you can ………………… difficult boss.

23. When you are interacting with your manager, you have to keep your ………………… under control.

24. At times, if you think through the situation with ………………… , you may come to the conclusion that your boss does not have anything personal against you.

25. If you have a difficult boss, try to figure out if you are the centre of his attention and are you the sole individual with whom he has ………………… vibes.

26. When you have a difficult boss, it is quite natural to get emotional with all the ………………… of the workplace.

27. There will be times when you will be in a difficult situation vis-à-vis your immediate supervisor; while you cannot forecast what he or she will do or say, you must ensure that you maintain over ………………… your reactions.

IELTS General Reading Test