IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test 5

SECTION 1 — Questions 1–14

Read the text below and answer Questions 1–7.

Weekend Markets in Kingsford

A Riverside Farmers' Market
Every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the riverside path. Fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and bread, all grown or made within 30 miles of Kingsford. Most stallholders accept cards as well as cash. Free parking is available in the Riverside car park until 2 p.m. on market days.

B Old Town Antiques Fair
First Sunday of every month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Corn Exchange, so it goes ahead whatever the weather. Around sixty dealers selling furniture, jewellery, books and pictures. Admission £2 (under-16s free). Light refreshments are served in the upstairs café.

C Castle Street Food Market
Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., from May to September. An open-air market with food from around the world, including plenty of vegetarian options. Live music on Saturdays. There is a large covered seating area if it rains. Please note that dogs are not allowed in the seating area.

D Kingsford Craft Market
Second and fourth Saturdays of the month, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Market Square. Handmade pottery, jewellery, clothing and toys from makers all over the country. Many stallholders are happy to take orders for items made to your own design. Free craft workshops for children aged 5–12 run throughout the day, but places are limited, so please reserve one in advance on our website.

E Station Car Park Sale
Every Sunday morning in the station car park. Anyone can book a space to sell their own second-hand items, from clothes to bicycles. A space costs £10 and must be booked by Friday. Sellers may arrive from 6 a.m.; buyers from 7 a.m. Sellers must take home anything they do not sell, as a charge of £20 will be made for clearing items left behind.

Questions 1–7

Look at the five markets, A–E, above.

For which market are the following statements true?

Write the correct letter, A–E. You may use any letter more than once.

Read the text below and answer Questions 8–14.

Kingsford Council: New Residents' Parking Scheme

When and where
From 1 April, a residents' parking scheme will operate in the streets around the town centre, which will be known as Zone K. Between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, only vehicles displaying a valid permit may park in these streets. There will be no restrictions on Sundays or public holidays.

Residents' permits
Each household in Zone K may apply for up to two permits. The first permit costs £40 a year, and a second permit costs £80 a year. Permits for fully electric vehicles are half price. You can apply online, or using a paper form, which is available from Kingsford Library. You will need to provide proof of your address and the registration document for each vehicle.

Moving house
If you move to a new address within Zone K, you must ask for your permit to be transferred to your new address. There is no charge for this. If you move out of the zone, you may request a refund for any full months remaining.

Pay-and-display bays
The pay-and-display bays on Castle Road and Mill Lane will remain, but the maximum stay will be reduced from four hours to two.

Visitors
Residents can buy books of ten one-day visitor permits for £15 a book. Each household may buy a maximum of five books a year.

Blue Badge holders
Drivers with a Blue Badge for disabled people may park in Zone K free of charge.

Penalties
Vehicles parked without a permit during the hours of operation will receive a penalty notice of £70. This will be reduced to £35 if it is paid within 14 days.

Why are we doing this?
The scheme was introduced after a public consultation last year, in which 64% of residents in the area supported it. Many residents had complained that they could not find a space near their homes because of commuters parking all day.

Questions 8–14

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

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.

Hollin Bay Hotel: Uniforms and Personal Appearance

Uniforms
All staff receive three sets of uniform. Please collect yours from the housekeeping office, on the lower ground floor, at least one day before your first shift, so that any alterations can be made in time. Uniforms remain the property of the hotel and must be returned when you leave. They are cleaned free of charge by the hotel laundry. Leave items in the laundry bag at the staff entrance by 10 a.m., and they will be returned to your locker within 48 hours. Please do not wash uniforms at home, as the fabric can shrink.

Personal belongings
Mobile phones must not be carried while you are working in public areas of the hotel. They should be kept in your locker, together with any other valuables. The hotel cannot accept responsibility for items that are not locked away.

Shoes
Staff must provide their own shoes. These must be black, with low heels and non-slip soles. Trainers are not allowed, even if they are black. Kitchen staff are given safety boots, which must be worn at all times in the kitchen.

Name badges
Your name badge must be worn on the left side of your jacket or top. If you lose it, a replacement will be ordered, and the cost of £5 will be taken from your wages.

Jewellery and perfume
A wedding ring, a watch and small earrings are acceptable. Large rings and bracelets must not be worn, as they can easily damage guests' luggage and the hotel's furniture. Please avoid strong perfume or aftershave, as some guests are sensitive to it.

Tattoos
Visible tattoos are acceptable, provided that they are not likely to cause offence. Staff with tattoos that could cause offence will be asked to cover them with long sleeves or a plaster.

Questions 15–20

Complete the notes below.

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

Uniform and appearance: key points

• Dirty uniforms should be left in the 152 words at the staff entrance.
• Clean uniforms are returned to the staff member's 162 words .
• Shoes must be black, with low heels and 172 words .
• Kitchen staff must wear 182 words whenever they are in the kitchen.
• The cost of replacing a lost 192 words is taken from wages.
• Staff must not wear large rings or 202 words .

Read the text below and answer Questions 21–27.

Hollin Bay Hotel: The Staff Development Fund

A The Staff Development Fund is open to all permanent members of staff who have worked at the hotel for at least three months. Part-time staff can apply on the same basis as full-time staff. Unfortunately, staff on temporary or seasonal contracts are not able to apply. If you are still in your probation period, please wait until it has ended before applying.

B The fund will pay for courses that are relevant either to your current job or to a future role at the hotel. Examples include language courses, food hygiene certificates and management qualifications. Courses taken purely for personal interest, such as photography or yoga, cannot be funded. Online courses are acceptable, provided that they lead to a recognised qualification. If you are not sure whether a course is suitable, please speak to HR before you apply.

C The fund will pay up to £600 per person in each twelve-month period. Where a course costs more than this, the hotel may agree to pay some or all of the difference, but only if your head of department confirms that the course is essential for your role. The fund covers course fees, examination fees and essential books. It does not cover travel to and from the place of study.

D Application forms are available from the HR office. Your line manager must sign the form to confirm that they support your application. Completed forms should reach HR at least six weeks before the course begins, as applications received after this cannot be considered. HR will tell you whether your application has been successful within two weeks. Please do not book or pay for a course until you have received confirmation.

E In addition to the cost of the course, you may take up to five days of paid study leave per year to attend classes or sit examinations. Any further time off will need to be taken as part of your annual holiday. Please tell your manager the dates of any classes or exams as early as possible, so that your shifts can be covered.

F If you leave the hotel within twelve months of completing a funded course, you will be asked to pay back part of the cost. You will repay the full amount if you leave within six months, and half of it if you leave between six and twelve months after the course. In exceptional circumstances, for example if you have to leave because of serious illness, this requirement may be waived.

G When you have completed your course, please give a copy of your certificate to HR. We also ask that you give a short presentation to your team, so that your colleagues can benefit from what you have learned.

Questions 21–27

The text has seven sections, A–G.

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i–x, next to Questions 21–27.

List of Headings

• i Who qualifies for support
• ii Taking leave to study
• iii Sharing the benefits with colleagues
• iv The kinds of courses that are covered
• v Repayment in certain circumstances
• vi How much the hotel will contribute
• vii Getting approval in good time
• viii Courses run by the hotel itself
• ix Help with travel costs
• x Promotion after successful training

SECTION 3 — Questions 28–40

Read the text below and answer Questions 28–40.

Britain's allotments

A On the edge of almost every town in Britain, there is a patch of land divided into long, narrow plots, each with its own rows of vegetables, its own small shed and, very often, its own carefully guarded water butt. These are allotments: small areas of land that individuals rent, usually from the local council, in order to grow their own food. A full-sized plot is traditionally measured as "ten rods", an old unit equal to about 250 square metres, which was once considered enough to feed a family of four for a year. Rents are generally low, often less than the cost of a family meal out. Some sites are run directly by the council, while others are managed by an association of the plot holders themselves, which collects the rents and often runs a small shop on the site, selling seeds and fertiliser at low prices.

B The origins of allotments lie in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when much of the open land in the English countryside, on which poor families had once grown food and kept animals, was enclosed and taken into private ownership. Some landowners and churches began to offer small plots to labourers, partly out of concern for their welfare and partly to reduce the cost of supporting the poor. Many supporters also believed that allotments had a moral value: it was hoped that working on a plot in the evenings would keep labourers out of the pub. As people moved from the countryside into rapidly growing industrial towns, the demand for plots followed them. In 1908, a law was passed requiring local councils to provide allotments where there was a demand for them, a duty which still exists today.

C The great age of allotments came during the two world wars, when imports of food were threatened and the government urged people to grow their own. During the Second World War, the "Dig for Victory" campaign encouraged people to turn parks, sports fields and even the moats of castles into vegetable plots. By the end of the war, there were around 1.4 million allotments in Britain, and they were producing a significant proportion of the nation's fruit and vegetables. For many families, the vegetables they grew were a welcome addition to the limited amount of food that was available in the shops, which was strictly rationed.

D After the war, however, allotments went into a long decline. Food became cheaper and more plentiful, more households had gardens of their own, and growing vegetables came to be seen as old-fashioned, an activity for retired men in flat caps. Many sites were sold to developers for housing. A government report in 1969 suggested that allotments needed a new image and recommended that they be renamed "leisure gardens", with space for flowers and lawns as well as vegetables. The name never caught on, and by the 1990s, the number of plots had fallen to well under a third of its wartime peak.

E Since the early 2000s, however, allotments have experienced a remarkable revival. Growing interest in healthy eating, concern about the use of chemicals in farming and a desire to know where food comes from have all played a part, as have popular television programmes about gardening. Organic methods, which avoid artificial chemicals altogether, are now common on most sites, and many plot holders share photographs of their harvests on social media. The typical allotment holder has also changed. Today, many plots are rented by young couples, families with children and women, and the waiting lists for a plot have grown dramatically. In some parts of London, people may wait more than ten years for a plot to become available.

F Researchers have found that allotments offer benefits that go well beyond fresh vegetables. A study comparing allotment holders with people who did not garden found that those with allotments had lower levels of stress and a more positive mood, and that even a single session of gardening led to measurable improvements. Allotments also bring together people of different ages and backgrounds who might otherwise never meet. Experienced gardeners pass on advice to newcomers, and surplus produce is often shared with neighbours on the site. In some areas, doctors have even begun to recommend gardening to patients with mild depression, and a number of sites set aside plots for local schools.

G Not all allotment holders, however, live up to these ideals. Many new tenants underestimate the amount of work involved and give up within the first year, leaving their plots to be taken over by weeds. To make better use of the land, some councils have started to offer half-plots or even quarter-plots, which are easier for beginners to manage. Others have introduced regular inspections, and tenants whose plots are not properly cultivated may be asked to leave, so that the plot can be offered to someone on the waiting list. Disagreements between neighbours, over issues such as bonfires, untidy sheds or the use of shared water supplies, are another source of complaints, and most sites now have detailed rules to deal with them.

Questions 28–33

The text has seven paragraphs, A–G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 28–33.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Questions 34–37

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

The rise and fall of allotments

Allotments first appeared after land that poor families had used was taken into private ownership. Some landowners and 341 word provided plots for labourers. During the Second World War, people were encouraged to grow food because 351 word were at risk. After the war, the number of allotments fell, partly because many sites were sold for 361 word . In recent years, however, they have become popular again, and in parts of London, people may have to 371 word more than ten years for a plot.

Questions 38–40

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

• A Councils increased the rents for plots.
• B Gardening was no longer seen as modern.
• C Vegetables grown on allotments were found to be unhealthy.
• D People had less free time.

• A They are more likely to be retired.
• B They tend to grow flowers rather than vegetables.
• C They come from a wider range of groups.
• D They are more experienced than in the past.

• A Some tenants do not look after their plots.
• B Inspections have caused disagreements between tenants.
• C There are not enough people on the waiting lists.
• D Half-plots are too small to be useful.