BEST IELTS General Reading Test 507

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IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 507 – PASSAGE – 2

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 507

READING PASSAGE – 2

THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II

World War l was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.

By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had become determined to invade and occupy Poland. Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military support should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler intended to invade Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western neighbour. Secret negotiations led on August 23 to the signing of the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact in Moscow. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed that Poland should be divided between them, with the western third of the country going to Germany and the eastern two-thirds being taken over by the U.S.S.R.

IELTS General Reading Test

Having achieved this cynical agreement, the other provisions of which stupefied Europe even without divulgence of the secret protocol, Hitler thought that Germany could attack Poland with no danger of Soviet or British intervention and gave orders for the invasion to start on August 26. News of the signing, on August 25, of a formal treaty of mutual assistance between Great Britain and Poland (to supersede a previous though temporary agreement) caused him to postpone the start of hostilities for a few days. He was still determined, however, to ignore the diplomatic efforts of the western powers to restrain him.

Finally, at 12:40 PM on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. The invasion began as ordered. In response, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, at 11:00 AM and at 5:00 PM, respectively. World War II had begun.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 14 20

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS OR A WORD AND NUMBER.

• The Second World War lasted for (14)……………… years.

• Poland had an assurance of assistance from (15)……………… and (16)………………

• Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on a treaty not to attack each other on (17)………………

• As per their secret agreement, the Soviet Union and Germany would occupy Poland; the former would retain (18)……………… of Polish territory.

• Although Hitler wanted to invade Poland on August 26, 1939, he delayed it because of an event that took place on (19)………………

• Hitler started the war against Poland on (20)………………

IELTS General Reading Test

Read the text below and answer Questions 21 -27.

CLEOPATRA

More than 2,000 years after her death in 30 BCE, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra still looms large in the popular imagination. Despite what is known of her brilliance and charm, in mass media depictions what often comes to the forefront is Cleopatra as a ravishingly seductive femme-fatale. What did she really look like?

Today many historians subscribe to the theory that Cleopatra’s looks were ancillary to her considerable intelligence, learning, foresight, and strategic skills. The image of her as a sultry seductress likely stems from a narrative originally pushed by Octavian to rationalize his rivalry and conflict with fellow Roman Marc Antony, who was portrayed as having been manipulated by a foreign temptress. What’s more, casting Cleopatra as an evil beauty conveniently downplayed her competence and significance as a ruler.

IELTS General Reading Test

While Roman historian Dio Cassius described Cleopatra as “a woman of surpassing beauty,” a number of modern historians have characterized her as less than exceptionally attractive. Nevertheless, they have noted that her beauty was heralded and that her appearance was seductive. Greek biographer Plutarch, writing about a century after Cleopatra’s death, presented a less flattering picture: “For her beauty, as we are told, was in itself neither altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her.”

All that aside, there are artefacts that attest to Cleopatra’s appearance. One of the most prominent, a marble bust dating to the third quarter of the 1st century BCE, is housed in the Old Museum in Germany. This so-called Berlin Cleopatra depicts her wearing a royal diadem. Her face 1S framed by ringlets of curly hair, and the rest of her hair is gathered into a bun behind her head. Her eyes are almond-shaped.

IELTS General Reading Test

Although her nose is prominent, her features are softly modulated and have been described as reflecting her intelligence and charm. Cleopatra’s hair is styled similarly on another marble bust, this one found in a villa on the Appian Way in 1784 and now displayed at the Vatican’s Gregoriano Profano Museum. On this bust too, her features are generally soft and her lips full.

An aquiline nose is the most prominent feature of the profiles of Cleopatra on contemporary coins (issued by Cleopatra or in her name) that are widely held to give the best representation of her appearance. On some of the coins, her nose is less hooked, her cheeks are full, and her chin is small, as on the marble busts.

IELTS General Reading Test

In Hollywood, Cleopatra has been played by an array of stunning actresses. Elizabeth Taylor who was put under the “gaze” as the “Queen of the Nile” in the best-known film version of the ruler’s story, Cleopatra (1963), is a mainstay on short lists of moviedom’s most attractive leading ladies. One of cinema’s first sex symbols, Theda Bara, invested her Cleopatra with dark sensuality in the lost silent classic Cleopatra (1917).

A scantily clad Claudette Colbert caused a sensation in Cecil B. DeMille’s epic Cleopatra (1934), and Vivian Leigh was the beguiling queen in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). But how did this image of Cleopatra come to be?

As William Shakespeare wrote in his play, Antony and Cleopatra, Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale/ Her infinite variety. Other women cloy / The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry/ Where most she satisfies.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 21-27

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Although she has been dead or more than 2000 year, Cleopatra is still remembered by a large number of people. She is generally portrayed as a 21……………… woman, and her other qualities are pushed to the background. However, chroniclers endorse the view that she had considerable mental abilities, and her countenance was only an 22……………… factor in her overall demeanour. The image of Cleopatra as a seductress was possibly promoted by the Roman rivals for her attention, Octavian and Marc Antony.

Historians differ in their assessment of what she looked like; while some say she was very beautiful, some have said that her looks were not 23……………… Cleopatra’s busts in different museums give us an idea of what she looked like, In one, she is wearing a small jewelled crown and has 24……………… eyes. On coins issued by her, the most prominent feature is her 25……………… Many movies on Cleopatra have been made, and in the most well-known movie of her life, her role has been essayed by 26……………… She has also been the subject of a play written by 27………………, where he extols her beauty.

IELTS General Reading Test

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