IELTS Basic - Reading - Lesson 4
1. D
Para: 1
Keywords: Willis Carrier, invented, aim
Willis Carries design the first air-conditioning unit … At a Brooklyn printing plant, fluctuations in heat and moisture were causing the size of the printing paper to keep changing slightly, making it hard to align different colors. Carrier’s invention made it possible to … align the color
2. A
Para: 2
Keywords: home AC, not popular, at first, because
In 1914, the first AC device was installed in a private house. However, its size, … took up too much space … cost too much for most people.
3. C
Para: 3
Keywords: employers, refused, AC, workplaces, at first, because
To start with, money-conscious employers … considered that if they were paying people to work, they should not be paying for them to be comfortable as well
4. C
Para: 3
Keywords: purpose, research, 1940s, ‘50s
So in the 1940s and ‘50s, … according to their research, installing AC increased productivity amongst employees. … AC as the single most important contributor to efficiency in offices
5. D
Para: 4
Keywords: Jed Brown, AC
Jed Brown … complains that AC is a factor in global warming … However, … it provides a healthier environment for many people in the heat of summer
1. B
Para: C & D
Keywords: Math textbooks, Japanese schools
These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed
….the logical nature of the textbooks and their comprehensive coverage of different types of examples, combined with the relative homogeneity of the class, renders work sheets unnecessary.
2. C
Para: D
Keywords: new maths topic, introduced
…. the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration. Examples are demonstrated on the board; questions from the textbook are worked through first with the class….
3. A
Para: E
Keywords: students, experience difficulties
Parents are kept closely informed of their children‟s progress and will play a part in helping their children to keep up with class, sending them to ‘Juku’ (private evening tuition) if extra help is needed and encouraging them to work harder.
4. C
Para: F
Keywords: Japanese students, success, maths
maths is recognised as an important compulsory subject throughout schooling; and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy
1. B
Para: 1
Keywords: Gimbels, buy, ballpoint pen, because
One morning in 1945, a crowd of 5,000 people jammed the entrance of Gimbels Department Store in New York. The day before, Gimbels had placed a full-page advertisement in the New York Times for a wonderful new invention, the ballpoint pen.
2. D
Para: 2
Keywords: why, early ballpoint pens, not produced commercially
In fact, this 'new' pen was not new at all. In 1888, John Loud, a leather manufacturer, had invented a pen with a reservoir of ink and a rolling ball. However, his pen was never produced, and efforts by other people to produce a commercially successful one failed too.
The main problem was with the ink. If it was too thin, the ink leaked out of the pen. If it was too thick, it didn't come out of the pen at all.
3. C
Para: 3
Keywords: why, Ladislas Biro’s pen, better, earlier models
Almost fifty years later, in 1935, a newspaper editor in Hungary thought he spent too much time filling his pens with ink. He decided to invent a better kind of pen. With the help of his brother, who was a chemist, he produced a ballpoint pen that didn't leak when the pen wasn't being used. The editor was called Ladislas Biro, and it was his name that people would associate more than any other with the ballpoint pen.
4. B
Para: 4
Keywords: Biro’s first commercially-produced pen
In 1943, the first Biro’s pens were produced. Unfortunately, they were not popular, since the pen needed to be held in a vertical position for the ink to come out.
5. A
Keywords: Pattrick Frawley’s pen
Patrick Frawley, improved the design and in 1950 began producing a pen he called the Papermate. It was an immediate success, and within a few years, Papermates were selling in their millions around the world.
1. C
Para: 1
Keywords: high costs, running, AHI’s hotels, related to
Within Australia, AHI operates nine hotels and employs over 2000 permanent full-time staff, 300 permanent part-time employees and 100 casual staff…Similar to many international hotel chains, however, AHI has experienced difficulties in Austarlia in providing long-term profits for hotel owners, as a result of the country’s high labor-cost structure.
2. A
Para: 1 & 2
Keywords: SAH, new organisational structure, requires
In order to develop an economically viable hotel organisation model, AHI decided to implement some new policies and practices at SAH.
The first of the initiatives was an organisational structure with only three levels of management - compared to the traditional seven. Partly as a result of this change, there are 25 per cent fewer management positions, enabling a significant saving.
3. C
Para: 3
Keywords: SAH's approach, organisational stricture, changing practices,
The hotel also recognised that it would need a different approach to selecting employees who would fit in with its new policies
4. B
Para: 3
Keywords: total number, jobs advertised, SAH,
... Over 7000 applicants filled in application forms for the 120 jobs initially offered at SAH...
5. B
Para: 4
Keywords: Categories A, B, and C, used to select,
A series of tests and interviews were conducted with potential employees, which eventually left 280 applicants competing for the 120 advertised positions. After the final interview, potential recruits were divided into three categories. Category A was for applicants exhibiting strong leadership qualities, Category C was for applicants perceived to be followers, and Category B was for applicants with both leader and follower qualities. Department heads and shift leaders then composed prospective teams using a combination of people from all three categories. Once suitable teams were formed, offers of employment were made to team members.