IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test 6

SECTION 1 — Questions 1–14

Read the text below and answer Questions 1–7.

Kelby Island Ferry: Summer Services

Timetable
From 1 May to 30 September, the ferry runs six times a day in each direction between Port Allan on the mainland and Kelby Harbour. The first ferry leaves Port Allan at 7.15 a.m., and the last ferry returns from Kelby at 7.30 p.m. The crossing takes about 40 minutes, although it may take longer in rough weather. On Sundays, there are only four sailings in each direction, and the first ferry does not leave until 9.30 a.m.

Tickets
Foot passengers do not need to book, and tickets can be bought on board. A return ticket costs £9 for adults and £4.50 for children aged 5–15. Children under 5 travel free. Space for vehicles is limited, so cars and vans must be booked in advance, either online or by phone. A car with a driver costs £38 return, and each additional adult passenger pays the normal foot passenger fare. Bicycles are carried free of charge.

Changes and cancellations
Vehicle bookings can be changed free of charge up to 24 hours before departure. After that, a fee of £10 is charged for each change. If you cancel a vehicle booking more than seven days before departure, you will receive a full refund. Cancellations made later than this will be refunded at 50%. If a sailing is cancelled because of bad weather, you will be offered a place on the next available ferry or a full refund.

On board
The ferry has a covered passenger lounge and an open upper deck. A small café serves hot drinks and snacks, but please note that it only accepts card payments. Dogs are welcome on the upper deck and in the vehicle area, but not in the lounge, except for assistance dogs. Passengers are not allowed to remain in their vehicles during the crossing.

Questions 1–7

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

Read the text below and answer Questions 8–14.

Outdoor Swimming in Fernley

A Fernley Lido
This heated open-air pool in Victoria Park was built in the 1930s and reopened last year after a two-year restoration. The water is kept at 25°C all year round, so it is popular even in winter. Sessions must be booked online. There is a separate shallow pool for young children, and a café overlooking the water.

B Hollow Lake
A small lake on the edge of Fernley Common, now run by the local swimming club. Swimming is only allowed between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. at weekends, when trained lifeguards are on duty. All swimmers must wear a brightly coloured swimming hat, which can be bought at the entrance. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. The water is unheated, so wetsuits are recommended outside the summer months.

C Sandgate Bay
A sheltered beach about four miles from the town centre, with lifeguards on duty from June to August. Swimming is free, and there is a car park at the top of the cliff, although it is a steep walk down to the beach. Swimmers should check the tide times before visiting, as the beach disappears completely at high tide.

D Abbey Mill Pool
A small pool in the river below the old mill, which local people have used for swimming for centuries. There are no lifeguards, and swimming is at your own risk. The water is deep and cold, and jumping from the mill wall is strictly forbidden. The pool can be reached only by a footpath, and there are no toilets or other facilities.

E Westcliff Tidal Pool
A large seawater pool built into the rocks at the end of the promenade. It fills with fresh seawater twice a day as the tide comes in, so the water is always clean. Entry is free, and the pool is cleaned by a group of volunteers, who welcome new members. The pool is accessible for wheelchair users by a ramp from the promenade.

Questions 8–14

Look at the five swimming places, A–E, above.

For which swimming place are the following statements true?

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

SECTION 2 — Questions 15–27

Read the text below and answer Questions 15–20.

Brightwater Supermarkets: Your Staff Discount Card

As a member of the Brightwater team, you are entitled to a staff discount card, which gives you 10% off most of your shopping in any Brightwater store. Your card will be ready to collect from the customer service desk at the end of your first full week of employment. You will need to show your staff ID badge when you collect it.

What is included
The discount applies to food, drink and household goods, and to clothing from our Brightwater Home range. It cannot be used to buy fuel at our petrol stations, gift cards, lottery tickets or tobacco products. It also cannot be combined with other offers, so if an item is already reduced, you will pay the lower of the two prices.

Double discount days
Four times a year, we hold double discount days, when staff receive 20% off. The dates are announced on the staff noticeboard at least a week in advance.

Family members
You may nominate one other adult who lives at the same address to receive a second card. Please complete the nomination form available from the HR office. The second card can be used only when the person it belongs to is present.

Using your card
The card must be shown at the checkout before your shopping is scanned. Staff are not permitted to use their own card when they are working on the checkout. Instead, they should go to another checkout, or ask a supervisor to serve them. The discount can be used for online orders as well, by entering the number on the back of your card at the payment stage.

Lost cards
If your card is lost or stolen, report it to your manager immediately so that it can be cancelled. The first replacement card is free; a charge of £5 is made for any further replacements.

Misuse
The discount is a privilege, not a right. Using the card to buy goods for resale, or lending it to anyone else, is treated as a serious disciplinary matter and may lead to dismissal.

Questions 15–20

Complete the sentences below.

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

Read the text below and answer Questions 21–27.

Brightwater Supermarkets: Changing Your Shifts

Your shift pattern is published on the staff rota four weeks in advance. We understand that you may sometimes need to change a shift, for example because of a family event or a medical appointment. This guide explains how to do so.

Swapping a shift with a colleague
The simplest way to change a shift is to swap it with a colleague. You can only swap with someone who works in the same department and has been trained to do the same job. For example, a member of the bakery team cannot swap with someone who works on the checkouts. First, find a colleague who is willing to swap, and agree the details with them. Then, both of you must sign a shift swap form, which is available on the staff app. The form should be sent to your department manager, who needs to approve the swap at least 48 hours before the first of the two shifts. Once it has been approved, the rota will be updated, and you will both receive a notification. Until you have received this notification, you are still responsible for your original shift.

If you cannot find someone to swap with
If no one is able to swap with you, you can ask your manager to offer the shift to other staff as overtime. Please note that this is not guaranteed, particularly at busy times such as Christmas.

Rules on hours
Shift swaps must not result in anyone working more than six days in a row, or having less than eleven hours' rest between shifts. Staff under 18 cannot be given shifts that finish after 10 p.m.

Emergencies
If you are unable to work a shift at short notice because of illness or an emergency, you must phone the store at least one hour before your shift starts and speak to the duty manager. Sending a text message or an email is not acceptable.

Questions 21–27

Complete the flow chart below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

How to swap a shift

Find a colleague from the same 211 word who can do the same job

↓

Agree the 221 word of the swap with the colleague

↓

Both staff sign a form, which can be found on the staff 231 word

↓

Send the form to the department 241 word for approval, at least two days before the first shift

↓

Wait for a 251 word to confirm the change to the rota

If you cannot find a colleague to swap with: ask for the shift to be offered as 261 word

Note: In an emergency, staff must 271 word the store at least one hour before the shift.

SECTION 3 — Questions 28–40

Read the text below and answer Questions 28–40.

The last lighthouse keepers

A For more than two hundred years, the lights that guided ships around the coasts of Britain were looked after by people. Lighthouse keepers, as they were known, lived in or beside the towers, often in some of the most remote and exposed places in the country, and their job was to make sure that the light never went out. In the late 1990s, the last keepers left their posts in Ireland and Scotland, and in November 1998 the final team of keepers left the North Foreland lighthouse in Kent. With their departure, the age of the lighthouse keeper in the British Isles came to an end. Today, every lighthouse is automatic, monitored from a control centre many miles away.

B The work of a keeper was demanding and repetitive. Before electricity, the light came from oil lamps or candles, which had to be lit every evening at sunset and kept burning all night. Wicks had to be trimmed, fuel had to be carried up the narrow stairs, and the great glass lenses that concentrated the light had to be polished every day, since even a thin layer of salt or smoke could reduce the strength of the beam. Many lights were also designed to turn, so that ships could identify each lighthouse by its own pattern of flashes, and the mechanism that turned them had to be wound by hand every few hours. In fog, keepers had to sound a horn or bell, sometimes continuously for days. Each night, one keeper stayed awake on watch while the others slept, and every event, from the weather to passing ships, was recorded in a log book. Inspectors visited regularly to check that the station was clean and that the rules were being followed, and a keeper who allowed the light to fail could expect to lose his job. Even after electricity arrived, there was plenty to do: generators had to be maintained, the paintwork on the tower had to be renewed, and the keepers were often expected to report the weather to the authorities several times a day.

C Life on the most isolated stations could be extremely hard. On towers built on rocks out at sea, such as the Eddystone lighthouse off the coast of Devon, three keepers lived together in a space little bigger than a few small rooms stacked on top of one another. They worked for several weeks at a time before being relieved by another team, and bad weather often delayed the boats that brought replacements and supplies. Families were not allowed to live on these rock stations, so keepers might not see their wives and children for two months or more. On mainland and island stations, by contrast, keepers usually lived with their families in cottages next to the tower, and children sometimes grew up knowing no other home. Even there, however, life could be lonely, since many stations were miles from the nearest village, and children often had to board at schools on the mainland during the week.

D Keepers were selected carefully, and the authorities were particularly concerned about how well they would get on with one another. Spending weeks in a confined space with the same two people, with no means of escape, could cause tension, and stories of keepers who refused to speak to each other for days are common. Most keepers, however, seem to have found ways of passing the time. Many became skilled at crafts such as model-making, painting or knitting, and some kept detailed records of the birds they saw, which have proved valuable to scientists studying bird migration. Fishing from the rocks was a popular activity, and it also provided a welcome addition to the keepers' food supplies.

E The end of the lighthouse keeper came gradually. Electric lights were introduced from the late nineteenth century onwards, and by the middle of the twentieth century, reliable automatic equipment had become available. In the 1980s and 1990s, the organisations responsible for lighthouses carried out a programme of automation, station by station. The main reason was cost: a single control centre could monitor dozens of lighthouses, and the money saved on wages, supplies and relief boats was considerable. Some keepers welcomed the change, but many were sad to leave a way of life that they had loved, and some argued that a human presence was still useful, since keepers had often been the first to spot ships or people in difficulty.

F Today, many former keepers' cottages have been converted into holiday homes, and some lighthouses are open to visitors, who can climb the towers and learn about the keepers' lives. A number of former keepers have written memoirs or recorded interviews describing their experiences, and these have become an important source for historians. Some have also returned to work as guides at the lighthouses where they once lived, sharing stories of storms, shipwrecks and long winter nights with visitors. Satellite navigation means that ships rely on lighthouses far less than they once did, and some lights have been switched off altogether. Yet most are still in use, because electronic systems can fail, and a light on a dark coast remains one of the simplest and most reliable warnings of danger. The keepers may have gone, but the lights they tended continue to shine.

Questions 28–33

The text has six paragraphs, A–F.

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

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

List of Headings

• i Why people were replaced by machines
• ii The end of an era
• iii Keeping the light working
• iv Famous shipwrecks around the coast
• v Getting along and keeping busy
• vi Separation from home
• vii A role that continues in a modern world
• viii How lighthouses were built on rocks

Questions 34–37

Complete the sentences below.

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

Questions 38–40

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

• A lived with their families in cottages.
• B usually worked alone.
• C were sometimes unable to leave on time because of the weather.
• D had more space than keepers on the mainland.

• A the poor health of many keepers.
• B the need to reduce costs.
• C a shortage of people willing to do the job.
• D a series of accidents caused by keepers.

• A Ships are not allowed to use satellite navigation near the coast.
• B Visitors enjoy seeing the lights at night.
• C Electronic navigation systems are not always reliable.
• D It would be too expensive to switch them off.