IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test 12

SECTION 1 — Questions 1–14

Read the text below and answer Questions 1–7.

Home Cleaning Services in Ludworth

A Sparkle Home Care
We provide regular weekly or fortnightly cleaning for houses and flats of all sizes. You will always be visited by the same cleaner, so they will soon get to know your home and how you like things done. Visits last a minimum of two hours, and you can choose a morning or afternoon visit on any weekday. To keep our prices low, we ask customers to supply their own vacuum cleaner, mops and cleaning products.

B GreenLeaf Cleaning
Our cleaners bring all the equipment and materials they need. To cut down on waste, we buy our cleaning liquids in bulk and refill the same bottles between visits, so we hardly use any packaging. We offer regular cleans and one-off visits, and our prices are calculated by the hour. Our charges are a little higher than some of our competitors', but most of our customers feel that the difference is worth it.

C Ludworth Deep Clean
We specialise in one-off cleans, such as when tenants are leaving a rented property or after building work has been completed. A team of three cleaners will clean your home from top to bottom in a single day, including inside cupboards and behind appliances. If your landlord or letting agent is not happy with the result, we will come back within 48 hours and put it right at no extra charge.

D HomeHelp Plus
As well as cleaning, our staff can take care of your washing and ironing, change the beds and water your plants. If you are at work during the day, we can keep a spare key to your home in our secure key safe, so you don't need to wait in for us. All our staff have been checked by the police before they start working for us.

E Fresh Floors
We clean carpets, rugs and sofas using powerful machines that are carried in our vans. Unlike other methods, our system uses very little water, so carpets are dry and ready to walk on within two hours. We also offer a stain-protection treatment, which helps carpets stay clean for longer. Please move small items of furniture and anything fragile before we arrive.

Questions 1–7

Look at the five cleaning companies, A–E, in the text above.

For which company are the following statements true?

Write the correct letter, A–E, next to Questions 1–7.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Read the text below and answer Questions 8–14.

Thornbury Farm Vegetable Boxes

Every week, Thornbury Farm delivers boxes of fresh organic vegetables to homes in and around Ludworth. We have been growing vegetables without chemical fertilisers or pesticides for more than twenty years, and most of what goes into our boxes is grown here on the farm, but in winter, when there is less available, we also buy from two other organic growers in the area.

Choosing a box
There are three sizes of box. The small box (£14 a week) is ideal for one or two people, and the medium box (£19) contains enough for a household of three or four. For larger families, the large box costs £25. You can also add a bag of seasonal fruit to any box for £6 a week.

What's in the box?
The contents of the boxes change every week, depending on what is ready to be picked, so customers cannot choose individual items. However, when you sign up, you can give us a list of up to three vegetables that you never want to receive, and we will replace them with something else. Every box also comes with a card containing a recipe that uses some of that week's vegetables.

Delivery
We deliver on Tuesdays and Thursdays to addresses within ten miles of the farm. If you live further away, you are welcome to collect your box from the farm shop on Saturday mornings. If you are not at home when we deliver, we will leave your box in a safe place, such as a porch or shed. Please leave last week's empty box outside on your delivery day, and our driver will take it back so that it can be used again.

Holidays and cancelling
If you are going away, you can pause your deliveries through our website for as many weeks as you like, as long as you give us five days' notice. There is no minimum contract, and you can cancel at any time by giving us one week's notice.

Payment
Payment is made monthly by direct debit. Please do not give cash to the driver.

Questions 8–14

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

Write

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

SECTION 2 — Questions 15–27

Read the text below and answer Questions 15–20.

Corrigan Pharmacy: Your Annual Performance Review

Every member of staff at Corrigan Pharmacy has a performance review once a year with their line manager. Reviews usually take place in March, but your first review will not happen until you have worked for us for at least six months.

What is the review for?
The review is a chance for you and your manager to look back over the past year and to plan for the next one. You will discuss what has gone well and what could be improved, and together you will agree no more than five objectives for the coming year. You will also identify any training that would help you in your role. The review is not only about your performance: it is also an opportunity for you to raise any concerns you have about your work.

Preparing for your review
About two weeks before the meeting, your manager will send you a preparation form. Please complete it and return it to your manager at least one week before the review. The form asks you to think about your main achievements and any difficulties you have had. It is also helpful to bring some examples of your work to the meeting. If you wish, you can ask a colleague who works closely with you to give feedback on your work, which your manager will take into account.

The meeting
Reviews last about an hour and take place in a private room, away from the shop floor. Your manager will make sure that the time is protected, so that you will not be interrupted. If you work part-time and your review falls on a day when you would not normally work, you will be paid for the extra hours.

After the review
Within ten working days, your manager will write a summary of the meeting and send it to you to sign. If you do not agree with anything in the summary, you can add your own comments before signing it. If you are still unhappy, you can ask the HR department to arrange a second meeting with the area manager.

Please note that reviews are not linked to pay. Decisions about pay increases are made separately each April for all staff. In September, there will be a shorter meeting with your manager to check how you are progressing towards your objectives.

Questions 15–20

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Read the text below and answer Questions 21–27.

Corrigan Pharmacy: Fire Safety

All staff must read this guidance and know what to do if there is a fire.

Before your first shift
Your manager will show you the fire exits, the alarm call points and the assembly point before you begin work. Walk the routes from the dispensary and from the shop floor, as customers may not know the building and will look to you for directions. Tell your manager if a delivery or a display is blocking an escape route, and ask to be shown another way out in case smoke makes one exit unsafe. Temporary staff also need this introduction.

The weekly test
We test the alarm every Wednesday at 9 a.m. The test signal lasts only a few seconds. If the alarm continues, treat it as a real fire alarm, even if it started at the usual test time.

If you discover a fire
Raise the alarm at the nearest call point and leave the building. As soon as you are safe, call 999, say that there is a fire and give the address of the pharmacy. Do not assume that someone else has already made the call.

When the alarm sounds continuously

• Stop work and guide customers towards the nearest safe exit. Follow the pharmacy's arrangements for anyone who needs assistance.
• Close doors behind you as you leave, if it is safe to do so. This slows the spread of fire and smoke.
• Leave bags, coats and other belongings where they are, and never use the lift.
• Go directly to the assembly point in the library car park on the opposite side of the road.

At the assembly point
Report to the fire marshal, who wears a yellow vest, and stay with your group. The marshal uses the staff register to check which employees are present. This is why you must sign in when your shift starts and sign out when you leave. Tell the marshal immediately if a customer, visitor or colleague may still be inside, and give their last known location if you can. Leave any search to the fire service, and wait at the assembly point until you are told that it is safe to return.

Questions 21–27

Complete the flow-chart below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

What to do in a fire

If you discover a fire:
Raise the alarm at the nearest 212 words and leave the building.
↓
From a safe place, call 999 and give the pharmacy's 222 words .

When the alarm rings continuously:
Guide customers to the nearest safe 232 words .
↓
On your way out, close the 242 words behind you if it is safe.
↓
Leave your belongings behind and never use the 252 words .
↓
Go to the library 262 words across the road.
↓
The marshal checks the 272 words to find out which employees are present. Tell the marshal if anyone may still be inside.

SECTION 3 — Questions 28–40

Read the text below and answer Questions 28–40.

The red telephone box: a British icon

A
Few objects are as closely associated with Britain as the red telephone box. It appears on postcards, souvenirs and film posters, and tourists queue to take photographs of themselves standing inside one. Yet the telephone box was designed for a purely practical purpose, at a time when very few homes had a telephone, and it has survived into an age when almost everyone carries a phone in their pocket.

B
Public telephones first appeared in Britain in the 1880s, usually in shops, railway stations and post offices. In 1921, the General Post Office, which ran the telephone service at the time, introduced its first standard design for a street kiosk, known as the K1. It was made of concrete and was not particularly attractive, and some local councils, particularly in London, refused to allow it on their streets. To solve the problem, a competition for a new design was held in 1924. It was won by the architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who had already designed Liverpool Cathedral and would later design the outside of Battersea Power Station.

C
Scott's design, the K2, was made of cast iron and had a curved roof, probably influenced by the tomb that the architect Sir John Soane had designed for his wife and himself in a London churchyard. Scott suggested that the kiosk should be painted silver, with a blue-green interior, but the Post Office decided on red, which would be easy to see. On each of the four sides, a glass panel carried the word TELEPHONE, which was lit up at night, and the crown of the King was placed at the top of each side to show that the kiosk belonged to a public service. The K2 was introduced in 1926, but it was large, heavy and expensive, and so it was mainly used in London.

D
In 1935, to celebrate twenty-five years of the reign of King George V, the Post Office asked Scott to produce a smaller and cheaper version that could be used throughout the country. The result was the K6, sometimes known as the "Jubilee kiosk". It was a great success: about 60,000 K6 kiosks were installed in all, in cities, towns and the smallest villages. Some rural communities objected that the bright red would look out of place in the countryside, and in a few areas boxes were painted grey instead. The city of Hull is an exception for a different reason. Because it had its own telephone company, rather than the national one, its boxes were painted cream and have no crown on the top.

E
The K6 eventually began to look old-fashioned. In 1968, a simpler kiosk with large windows, the K8, was introduced, although it never became as popular as its predecessor. Later designs, including a version made of steel and glass in the 1980s, replaced thousands of the old red boxes. The removals led to protests from members of the public, who felt that something important was being lost, and many of the surviving K6s were given legal protection as "listed" structures, which means that they cannot be removed or altered without official permission.

F
The real threat, however, came from mobile phones. As more and more people bought them, the number of calls made from public telephones fell sharply, and many boxes were hardly used at all. Rather than simply removing them, the telephone company BT launched a scheme in 2008 called "Adopt a Kiosk", under which local councils, charities and community groups could buy a red box in their area for just £1. The box remains where it is, but the telephone equipment is taken away, and the new owner becomes responsible for looking after it. Several thousand boxes have been adopted in this way.

G
Adopted boxes have been put to a remarkable range of uses. Many villages have turned theirs into small libraries, where people can leave books they have finished and take others away for free. Hundreds now contain defibrillators. During a cardiac arrest, a defibrillator checks the heart's rhythm and gives an electric shock only if one is needed, and in a remote village where an ambulance may take twenty minutes to arrive, it can be used long before help gets there. Others have become tiny art galleries, information points for walkers or even places to buy coffee. Some have even been used as tiny museums, telling the history of the village in old photographs. Taking on a box is not without its challenges: the paint needs to be renewed regularly, broken glass must be replaced, and the heated cabinet that protects a defibrillator may need a supply of electricity. But for many communities, the effort seems worth it. A building designed almost a century ago as a place to make phone calls has found a new role at the centre of village life.

Questions 28–33

The text has seven paragraphs, A–G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B–G from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i–x, next to Questions 28–33.

List of Headings

• i Practical problems faced by new owners
• ii A design that could be used everywhere
• iii Why telephone calls became cheaper
• iv The search for a better design
• v New purposes for old boxes
• vi The origins of a famous shape and colour
• vii How tourists helped to save the boxes
• viii Public anger at the loss of a familiar sight
• ix Falling use and a low-cost solution
• x A familiar symbol of Britain

Example: Paragraph A — x

Questions 34–37

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

Write

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Questions 38–40

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.