[IELTS 6.] - Mindset 1: Unit 3.1 - Reading & Writing

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Complete the conversation. Use the present perfect of the verbs in brackets.

A: Can you help me? This girl 1.1 (fall) off her bike. She 1.2 (hurt) her leg.

B: My leg's OK, I think. But this arm really hurts. 1.3 (I / break) it?

C: I don't know, but don't worry. 1.4 (you / hurt) your head?

A: No, I 1.5.

B: Good. I'll call an ambulance. Can we call somebody for you? A relative? 

C: I'm staying with a friend. Her number's in my address book but I 1.6 (not / bring) that with me. Is my bike all right? 

A: I don't know. I 1.7 (not / look) at it. Don't worry about your bike. Just relax.

Choose the correct part of speech of the underlined words. (N = noun, V = verb)

1. Interest rates are expected to rise from 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent in the next six months. 2.1NV

2. We have seen a sharp decline in educational standards over recent years. 2.2NV

3. Recent years have seen a huge growth of interest in alternative medicine. 2.3NV

4. Progressively increase the intensity of the exercise over three weeks. 2.4NV

5. This triggered the recent dramatic falls on the Tokyo stock exchange. 2.5NV

6. He thinks we should sell the business before prices drop even further. 2.6VN

7. People should decrease the amount of fat they eat. 2.7VN

The graph shows the average number of local and international visitors to a museum, per year, from 2001 to 2011. 

Complete the sentences about this graph, using:

1. Between 2001 and 2004, the number of international visitors grew slowly.

2. The number of local visitors 3.1 3.2 from 2001 to 2004.

3. Between 2004 and 2008, the number of local visitors 3.3 3.4.

4. The number of international visitors 3.5 3.6 between 2004 and 2008.

5. From 2008 to the end of the period, the number of local visitors 3.7 3.8.

6. The number of international visitors 3.9 3.10 from 2008 to 2011.

Complete the sentences about the graph below.

International trade ($US million)

1. There was a steep drop in imports between 2008 and 2010.

2. Between 2002 and 2006, exports experienced a 4.1 4.2.

3. There was a 4.3 4.4 exports from 2008 to 2010.

4. From 2005 to 2008, imports showed a 4.5 4.6. 

5. The period 2006 to 2008 saw a 4.7 4.8 exports.

6. Between 2008 and 2010, imports showed a 4.9 4.10.

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer for each question.

Charles Dickens, a famed British novelist known for his stories depicting the sufferings of the poor in Victorian England, grew up in a family that struggled with poverty throughout his childhood. Dickens, the son of a navy payroll clerk, was born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. Despite his father's steady employment, the family struggled financially. Mrs. Dickens, at one point, hoped to alleviate the family's financial difficulties by setting up a small school, but she was unsuccessful in this endeavor. When Dickens was just twelve years old, his father was imprisoned for debt. As a result, the young Dickens had to leave school and go to work to help support the family. He got a job at a factory that produced blacking, a type of shoe polish.

Fortunately, Dickens' father was soon able to pay off his debts, and Dickens returned to school. However, the family's financial difficulties continued, and he had to leave school again in order to work. This time he got a job as a helper at a newspaper office. Dickens was able to turn this situation to his advantage,  and after a short while, began working as a reporter at the London law courts. Eventually, Dickens moved from working as a reporter to publishing a magazine, in which he serialized his first novel, Oliver Twist. This story of an orphan boy drew on Dickens' own childhood struggles to survive the challenges of poverty. The novel was popular in both England and the United States. 

When Dickens was a boy, he _____.

As a young man, Dickens _____.

The story of Oliver Twist was inspired by _____.

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer for each question.

How to Win the Blame Game
People are often more concerned about avoiding blame than achieving results. But blame can actually be a positive force in the workplace. The trick, says one former Major League baseball pitcher, is knowing how to use it.

When a new product flops in the marketplace or a new recruit turns out to be a poor worker, blaming somebody for the mistake seems a bit rude. So people talk politely around the blunder, saying things like 'sales targets were missed' or 'mistakes occurred', as if the error happened all by itself. Indeed, at many companies, blame is never even mentioned. At other organisations, people are all too quick to point fingers, leaving employees more concerned about avoiding blame than about achieving results. Such organisations have given blame a bad name.

The truth is, blame can also be a powerful constructive force. For starters, it can be an effective teaching tool, helping people to avoid repeating their mistakes. When used judiciously - and sparingly - blame can also prod people to put forth their best efforts, while maintaining both their confidence and their focus on goals. Indeed, blame can have a very helpful effect when it's used for the right reasons. The key, then, is the way in which blame is managed, which can influence how people make decisions and perform their jobs, and ultimately affect the culture and character of an organisation.

Baseball managers spend most of their time and energy managing things that go wrong. Thus, baseball provides an excellent microcosm in which to study blame because mistakes and failures are a routine part of every game. In a typical game, managers, coaches and players can easily make more than 100 bad decisions and still end up winning. Even very successful pitchers average more than two bad pitches per batter and if a batter bats well 40% of the time but badly the other 60% he is having a miraculous season. Thus, if managers and coaches got upset about every mistake, they would go mad by the end of the season.

In the first paragraph, one of the writer's main points is that companies tend to _____.

In the second paragraph, the writer claims that one of the positive features of blame is that _____.

Why does the writer choose to refer to baseball?

The graph shows data about the annual earnings of three bakeries in London, 2000 - 2010.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.