IELTS Updates

Pacifist -   Someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes Palliative -   Moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear Palpable -   Able to be felt by tactile examination Panacea -  Hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases Pandemic -  An outbreak of disease that is geographically widespread Pandemonium -   A state of extreme confusion and disorder Paradigm -  A standard or typical example Paradox -   A statement that contradicts itself Paragon -   Model of excellence or perfection of a kind Parody -   A composition that imitates or misrepresents a style

Task- 1 You live in a rented accommodation which was recently damaged due to the bad weather. Write a letter to the landlord. In your letter: explain what caused the damage why do you need them to fix the problem right away? what needs to be done to fix it? Sample Answer ▼ Dear Mr Singh, I am Pooja Arora, a tenant at your Park view Residence, writing to let you know that last night's storm broke a couple of windows at my apartment and those need to be fixed immediately. I reside at the flat 4 B2 on the eighth floor with my family for the last one and a half years. The relentless storm and a heavy downpour last night damaged many dwellings in our area and it is unfortunate that a couple of windows in my apartment has been shattered. The electricity line is disrupting since then and the continuous chill wind is freely flowing in my apartment. This has become unbearable, especially for my mother-in-law and six years old daughter. I want you to send ...

Tacit -   Implied by or inferred from actions or statements Taciturn -   Habitually reserved and uncommunicative Tactful -   Having a sense of what is considerate in dealing with others Tactile -   Of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch Taint -   Contaminate with a disease or microorganism Talisman -   A trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil Tangential -   Of superficial relevance if any Tangible -   Perceptible by the senses, especially the sense of touch Tantalizing -   Arousing desire or expectation for something unattainable Tantamount -  Being essentially equal to something

Right and left-handedness in humans Why do humans, virtually alone among all animal species, display a distinct left or right-handedness? Not even our closest relatives among the apes possess such decided lateral asymmetry, as psychologists call it. Yet about 90 percent of every human population that has ever lived appears to have been right-handed. Professor Bryan Turner at Deakin University has studied the research literature on left-handedness and found that handedness goes with sidedness. So nine out of ten people are right-handed and eight are right-footed. He noted that this distinctive asymmetry in the human population is itself systematic. “Humans think in categories: black and white, up and down, left and right. It”s a system of signs that enable us to categorise phenomena that are essentially ambiguous.’ Research has shown that there is a genetic or inherited element to handedness. But while left-handedness tends to run in families, neither left nor right-handers wil...

Task- 1 You are not happy with the course you are doing at college and would like to change to a different course. Write a letter to the college director requesting to change your course. You should include details about: what course are you doing now why you are not satisfied with that course what course would you like to change to Sample Answer ▼ Dear Mr. Singh, I am currently enrolled in an Italian cooking class at St. James and am writing regarding some difficulties I have had doing this subject for the past two weeks. I would like to know if it is possible to change my course. I believe that the last day allowed for students to make any changes was Wednesday 5th November but, in my situation, the circumstance is uncompromising. The fact is that, during the enrollment session, no one mentioned that I needed to be literate in Italian, which I’m not. Therefore, you will comprehend that for me, getting an understanding of what the teacher is saying is beyond ...

Raconteur -   A person skilled in telling anecdotes Radical -  A person who has revolutionary ideas or opinions Rambunctious -  Noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline Ramification -  A consequence, especially one that causes complications Rampant -  Occurring or increasing in an unrestrained way Rancor -   A feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will Rapport -  A relationship of mutual understanding between people Rarefied -   Of high moral or intellectual value Rationalization -   A defense mechanism explaining actions in non-threateningly Ravage -  Cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

Task 2 Global warming is one of the most serious issues that the world is facing today. What are the causes of global warming and what measures can governments and individuals take to tackle the issue? You should write at least 250 words. - Show / Hide Sample Answer - Probably the most worrying threat to our planet at the present time is global warming. This essay will examine the reasons why global warming is occurring and discuss some possible solutions. The predominant factors resulting in the warming of the earth are the emissions of CO2 and deforestation. CO2, which damages the ozone layer, comes from several sources, but the most problematic are those coming from the burning of fossil fuels from power plants. This releases thousands of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Another cause of these emissions is the burning of gasoline for transportation, which continues to grow because of our demand for cars and also our increasing worldwide consumption, r...

HARD DISK DRIVE TECHNOLOGY A few years ago, a query about the health of a person's hard disk drive would have been met with a blank stare. Nowadays, almost everyone is aware of this remarkable electronic storage medium that is part of every modern computer, even though most users remain ignorant of the complexity of hard drive technology. In the early days of computing, an information record of a computer' s memory content was kept on punched cards similar to the way in which an automated piano stores the keynote sequences on a piano roll. Later, magnetic tape was used to store electronic signals and is still the favoured means of economically backing up the contents of hard drives. However, accessing information sequentially stored on tape is slow since the electronic data must be input through a fixed head in a single pass. Hard disk drives solve this problem by incorporating a spinning platter on which magnetic data can be made accessible via a moving head that re...

Task- 1 You have a friend who lives in a city abroad. You have decided that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in this city.  Write to your friend explaining what you would like to do.  Tell him/her what type of work or studies you have been doing for the past few years and ask for assistance in contacting an appropriate institution. Sample Answer ▼ Dear Jyoti, Sorry I haven’t written for ages. I’ve been so busy over the last year and I never seem to have a minute to myself I’d like to study Computer Science at university in US next year and I hope you can give me some advice. I think I would prefer NYC because I know a few people from my visit last year. This year I’m doing maths and physics at school and I hope to do well in my exams. However, I really don’t know which university to apply to, so could you send me some information about different colleges? Also can you find out what qualifications I need? For ins...

Clumsy              Awkward in movement or action or ungraceful Propitious           Favorable Foretold               Predicted Ominous            Suggesting that something bad is going to happen Ambidextrous     Able to use either hand quality well Conformity         Comply with rules, standards or laws Infantile              Lack of maturity, childish Perversity             Deliberately choosing to behave in an unacceptable way or being contrary to what                                is accepted Ambiguous        Having more than one meaning Elites                   Group regarded as the best in a particula...

Task 1 The graphs show changes in the spending habits of people in the UK between 1971 and 2001. Write a report to a university lecturer describing the data. - Show / Hide Sample Answer - The provided pie charts give information on the spending habits of UK citizens in 1971 and 2001. As is observed from the charts, the expenditure on petrol & furniture reduced significantly while the amount spent on computers increased in the UK. In 1971, the British spent 36% on petrol which was the highest percentage among the given expense categories. Their expense on Furniture was the second largest (32%) while they spent one quarter on restaurant meals. The least portion was spent by them for purchasing computers, which was only 7% in this year. After 30 years, the expense to buy petrol and furniture reduced to 8% each, significantly lower than the percentages spent in 1971. But the expense made on computers increased by 5% in 2001. People spent 1% on books in...

Task 2 Some people believe that teenagers should be required to do unpaid community work in their free time. This can benefit teenagers and the community as well. To what extent do you agree or disagree. You should write at least 250 words. - Show / Hide Sample Answer - Children are the backbone of every country. So, there are people who tend to believe that youngsters should be encouraged to initiate social work as it will results in flourished society and individualistic growth of youngsters themselves. I, too believe that this motivation has more benefits than its drawbacks. To begin with, social work by children can be easily associated with personality development because during this drive, they tend to communicate with variety of people, leads to polished verbal skills. For example, if they start convincing rural people to send their children in school they have to be such a convincing attitude along with developed verbal skills to deal with diverse kind of...

Grimm’s Fairy Tales The Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, named their story collection Children’s and Household Tales and published the first of its seven editions in Germany in 1812. The table of contents reads like an A-list of fairy-tale celebrities: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, the Frog King. Drawn mostly from oral narratives, the 210 stories in die Grimm’s’ collection represent an anthology of fairy tales, animal fables, rustic farces, and religious allegories that remain unrivalled to this day. Such lasting fame would have shocked the humble Grimms. During their lifetimes the collection sold modestly in Germany, at first only a few hundred copies a year. The early editions were not even aimed at children. The brothers initially refused to consider illustrations, and scholarly footnotes took up almost as much space as the talcs themselves. Jacob and Wilhelm viewed themselves as patriotic fo...

Task- 1 You were hurt in a minor accident inside a supermarket and you wish to complain to the supermarket authority about that.  Write a letter to the manager of the supermarket. In your letter say who are you give details about the accident suggest how the supermarket could prevent similar accidents Sample Answer ▼ Dear Sir or Madam, I am a regular customer of your renowned supermarket 'Meena Bazar'. Today I am writing to you regarding a minor accident that I faced while visiting your supermarket on 22th November. I am hoping that you would take the necessary measures so that it does not happen to any other shopper. I am Pooja Arora, a resident of the B.R.S Nagar and a loyal customer to your shop for more than 3 years. I am a lecturer at a private university and often do my shopping at your mart. It is a matter of regret that during my last visit to your B.R.S Nagar branch, I found the frozen food area completely wet and slippery. I guess it...

Considerable:          Great in amount or importance Gut:                           The intestine/Stomach Encrustation:          Cover with hard crust Pendent:                  Hanging down Drape:                       Arrange loosely on round something Splashing:                Fall in scattered drops/more around in water Curling:                  Curved / spiral / Coil shape Diverging:              Getting separate & going in a different direction Swirl:                      Move in a twisting pattern Entwined:                Wind or...

Task 1 The graph below shows the changes in the maximum number of Asian elephants between 1994 and 2007. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. - Show / Hide Sample Answer - The bar graph provides information on the number of elephants in different countries between 1997 and 2004. Generally speaking, in India and Myanmar, the maximum number of elephants inhabited and the total number of elephants decreased over time. As is presented in the bar graph, approximately 10 thousand elephants lived in India in 1997 which was the highest among the given countries. Myanmar is the second largest country for elephants’ dwelling. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China had about 1000 elephants in 1997 while Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand had roughly 3000 elephants. The least number of elephants were in China in 1997. After 7 years, in 2004, the number of elephants in all countries decreased except in Laos. Th...

Task 2 In many countries senior positions have higher salaries compared to those of young workers of the same company. Some people think this isn’t justified. Do you agree or disagree? You should write at least 250 words. - Show / Hide Sample Answer - While some believe that rewarding those in managerial positions with higher pay packets is appropriate, not everyone agrees with this view. Personally, I am leaning towards the latter position due to negative impacts caused by significant difference in salaries within a company. For one, executive officers should know that higher than sufficient salaries are not necessary. Indeed, the higher the remuneration they receive, the more likely the company to suffer from devoid of financial capability. Furthermore, they often gain powers that money can’t buy. For instance, they often make important decisions over how to make their company thrive. They are also entitled to allocate company’s budget and designate tasks to oth...

Twist in the Tale Fears that television and computers would kill children’s desire to read couldn’t have been more wrong. With sales roaring, a new generation of authors are publishing’s newest and unlikeliest literary stars A)   Less than three years ago, doom merchants were predicting that the growth in video games and the rise of the Internet would sound the death knell for children’s literature. But contrary to popular myth, children are reading more books than ever. A recent survey by Books Marketing found that children up to the age of 11 read on average for four hours a week, particularly girls. B)   Moreover, the children’s book market, which traditionally was seen as a poor cousin to the more lucrative and successful adult market, has come into its own. Publishing houses are now making considerable profits on the back of new children’s books and children’s authors can now command significant advances. ‘Children’s books are going through an incredibly fe...