Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Practice Test 167
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 167 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 167
READING PASSAGE – 3
The Well-being Life
A. Going back to the 1970s, few people listened to scientists’ warnings of global warming. It got worse as nobody was interested in curbing economic growth to protect the environment. Nowadays, we are more cautious. We are hearing about the conflict between living on the earth and expanding the demands of the global market.
B. However, Tim Jackson reports that people and governments claim the growth agenda to ensure our future and are still in denial of the conflict. A reason for this is the presumption that support for the green campaigners will ultimately make our lives worse.
C. All representations of a pleasant and easy life which aspire to come from advertising do not help. Also, our happiness is dependent on consuming more and more “material.” We have never listened to ways of escaping stress, noise, congestion, and the ill-health that comes from our “high” standard of living.
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
D. Actually, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that a workaholic mentality and an affluent lifestyle does not give us a pleasant life and that switching to a more sustainable community to work could make us happier. For instance, rates of depression and occupational illness have been indicated to be relative to the number of hours we are working. Once a certain income level is reached, more wealth is not linked with growing happiness.
E. The unreasonableness of our situation can be explained by the way in which our economy tries to sell us happiness. For example, leisure and tourism companies sell customers “a good quality time,” catering services offer us “home cooking,” dating agencies sell relationships; the sports centre sells health and as a result of modern car culture it can be unsafe to walk outside. With the economy steadily expanding, consumer culture is becoming more and more reliant on our desire to adopt this lifestyle.
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
F. An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that there is more to life than work and money. Troubled by the effects of a stressful life, people are starting to make their lives more simple and rethinking their values and desires. If people were to switch to a less work-intensive economy, it would decrease the rate of people, products and information delivered, reducing carbon emissions and the use of resources.
G. There are a number of advantages to making sacrifices to our lifestyles. We would be able to have more time for ourselves and our families. We would commute less and enjoy healthier ways of travelling such as walking, cycling, and riding a boat. Large supermarket chains would be replaced by local family businesses resulting in the creation of more communal town centres. Our local areas would become more tranquil and give us more chance to reflect on things. These changed ideas for a “good life” might also motivate less developed countries to reconsider their goals, enabling them to avoid some of the less attractive aspects of the current system.
H. Of course, we must sacrifice some conveniences and pleasure such as regular steaks, hot tubs, luxury cosmetics and easy foreign travel. But constant comfort can blunt as well as satisfy our desires. And human ingenuity will invent a wide range of eco-friendly excitement.
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
I. Moving into a safe-state economy is an intimidating prospect. However, Herman Daly explains it is unrealistic to continue with current rates of development in production, work and material consumption over the next decades, let alone into the next century.
J. Under the financial disorders and broad cynicism over government commitments to global warming, more honesty would win cooperation and esteem from the voter, especially if politicians emphasise the advantages of the sustainable society.
Questions 29-34
Reading Passage 3 has ten paragraphs, A-J.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 29-34 on your answer sheet.
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
List of Headings
i. A lot of proof of non-well-being
ii. Recent perceptional change of the environment
iii. Reviving time for private time
iv. Understanding of being valuable
v. The absurdity of our lives from the feature of the economy benefit
vi. Right attitude for constant comfort and human ingenuity
vii. People and governments that continue to disagree
viii. Aspiring to the material civilisation
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
29. Paragraph B
30. Paragraph C
31. Paragraph D
32. Paragraph E
33. Paragraph F
34. Paragraph G
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
Questions 35-40
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet, write
YES – if the statement reflects the opinion of the writer
NO – if the statement contradicts the opinion of the writer
NOT GIVEN – if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
35. Most people have concentrated on global warming since 1970.
36. Tim Jackson discusses a conflict of opinions between people and governments.
37. Work and material are relative to pleasant and favorable lives recently.
38. Level of income is vital for building up substantial happiness.
39. With a less work-intensive economy, it would decrease only the rate of carbon emissions.
40. Herman Daly indicates current rates of natural resources are enlarged for a sustainable society.
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
ANSWERS ARE BELOW
IELTS General Reading Practice Test
ANSWERS
29. vii
30. viii
31. i
32. v
33. iv
34. iii
35. NO
36. YES
37. NO
38. NO
39. NO
40. NOT GIVEN