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BEST IELTS General Reading Test 566
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 566 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 566
READING PASSAGE – 1
Yoruba Town
A. The Yoruba people of Nigeria classify their towns in two ways. Permanent towns with their own governments are called “ilu”, whereas temporary settlements, set up to support work in the country are “aba”. Although ilu tend to be larger than aba, the distinction is not one of size, some aba are large, while declining ilu can be small, but of purpose. There is no “typical” Yoruba town, but some features are common to most towns.
B. In the 19th century most towns were heavily fortified and the foundations of these walls are sometimes visible. Collecting tolls to enter and exit through the walls was a major source of revenue for the old town rulers, as were market fees. The markets were generally located centrally and in small towns, while in large towns there were permanent stands made of corrugated iron or concrete. The market was usually next to the local ruler’s palace.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. The palaces were often very large. In the 1930’s, the area of Oyo’s palace covered 17 acres, and consisted of a series of courtyards surrounded by private and public rooms. After colonisation, many of the palaces were completely or partially demolished. Often the rulers built two storey houses for themselves using some of the palace grounds for government buildings.
D. The town is divided into different sections. In some towns these are regular, extending out from the center of the town like spokes on a wheel, while in others, where space is limited, they are more random. The different areas are further divided into compounds called “ile”. These vary in size considerably from single dwellings to up to thirty houses. They tend to be larger in the North. Large areas are devoted to government administrative buildings. Newer developments such as industrial or commercial areas or apartment housing for civil servants tends to be build on the edge of the town.
IELTS General Reading Test
E. Houses are rectangular and either have a courtyard in the center or the rooms come off a central corridor. Most social life occurs in the courtyard. They are usually built of hardened mud and have roofs of corrugated iron or, in the countryside, thatch. Buildings of this material are easy to alter, either by knocking down rooms or adding new ones.
And can be improved by coating the walls with cement. Richer people often build their houses of concrete blocks and, if they can afford to, build two storey houses. Within compounds there can be quite a mixture of building types. Younger well-educated people may have well furnished houses while their older relatives live in mud walled buildings and sleep on mats on the floor.
IELTS General Reading Test
F. The builder or the most senior man gets a room either near the entrance or, in a two storied house, next to the balcony. He usually has more than one room. Junior men get a room each and there are separate rooms for teenage boys and girls to sleep in. Younger children sleep with their mothers. Any empty room are used as storage, let out or, if they face the street, used as shops.
G. Amenities vary. In some towns most of the population uses communal water taps and only the rich have piped water, in others piped water is more normal. Some areas have toilets, but bucket toilets are common with waste being collected by a “night soil man”. Access to water and electricity are key political issues.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1-6
Choose the most suitable heading for each section from the list of headings below. There are more headings than paragraphs so you won’t use them all.
i. Town facilities
ii. Colonisation
iii. Urban divisions
iv. Architectural home styles
v. Historical foundations
vi. Domestic arrangements
vii. City defences
viii. The residences of the rulers
ix. Government buildings
IELTS General Reading Test
1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E
5. Paragraph F
6. Paragraph G
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer questions 7-14.
Chilies
Chilies originate in South America and have been eaten for at least 9,500 years. Organised cultivation began around 5,400 BC. Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter chilies, when he landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492. He thought it was a type of pepper and called it the “red pepper”, a name still used today. After their introduction to Europe they were an immediate sensation and were quickly incorporated into the diet. From there they spread to Africa, India and East Asia.
The reason for the chili’s “hotness” lies in a chemical called Capsaisin. Capsaisin causes temporary irritation to the trigeminal cells, which are the pain receptors in the mouth, nose and throat. After the pain messages are transmitted to the brain, endorphins, natural pain killers, are released and these not only kill the pain but give the chili eater a short lived natural high. Other side effects include: an increased heart rate, a running nose and increased salivation and sweating, which can have a cooling effect in hot climates.
IELTS General Reading Test
The reason for the presence of Capsaisin is thought to be to deter animals from eating the fruit. Only mammals feel the burning effects; birds feel nothing. As birds are a better method of distributing the seeds, which pass intact through their guts, Capsaisin would seem to be a result of natural selection.
The smaller chilies tend to be the hottest. This may reflect the fact that they tend to grow closer to the ground and are therefore more vulnerable to animals. The heat of a chili is measured on the Scoville scale. The hottest types such as the Habenero and the Scotch Bonnet rate between 100,000 and 300,000, the world famous Tabasco sauceÒ rates at 15,000 to 30,000, about the same as the Thai prik khee nu, while the popular Jalapeno is between 5,000 and 15,000. Powdered chili is 500 to 1,000 and the mild capsicins and paprikas can range between 100 and 0.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 7-11
Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? Choose
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
7. Chilies became popular as soon as they were brought into Europe.
8. Capsaisin causes significant damage to the mouth.
9. Chilies can be part of a birds diet.
10. All large chilies grow high off the ground.
11. People breed chilies for their heat.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 12-14
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
12. Columbus came across chilies for the first time on the island of __________.
13. The chemical called __________ helps prevent animals from eating chilies.
14. Seeds pass through the digestive system of __________ without being damaged.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. V
2. VIII
3. III
4. IV
5. VI
6. I
7. TRUE
8. FALSE
9. TRUE
10. NOT GIVEN
11. NOT GIVEN
12. HISPANIOLA
13. CAPSAISIN
14. BIRDS
IELTS General Reading Test