IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test 8

SECTION 1 — Questions 1–14

Read the text below and answer Questions 1–7.

Penwick Repair Café

What is a repair café?
The Penwick Repair Café is a free monthly event where local people bring broken household items and fix them with the help of volunteers. Our aim is to keep useful things out of landfill, and to help people learn repair skills of their own. The café is run entirely by volunteers and is funded by donations.

When and where
We meet on the last Saturday of every month, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the hall behind St Luke's Church on Mill Road. There is no meeting in December.

What can I bring?
Our volunteers can help with small electrical items such as lamps, toasters and radios, clothes and other textiles, bicycles, toys, jewellery, and small pieces of wooden furniture. We are unable to repair microwave ovens, because of the safety risks involved, or anything powered by petrol. Please limit yourself to two items per visit, so that everyone has a fair chance to be seen.

How does it work?
When you arrive, register at the front desk, where you will be given a number. When your number is called, you will sit with a volunteer, who will help you to find the fault. We expect you to stay with your item and take part in the repair. This is not a drop-off service. Most repairs take between twenty minutes and an hour.

Spare parts
Volunteers bring basic materials such as thread, glue and fuses. If a repair needs a particular spare part, the volunteer will help you identify it. We do not sell spare parts at the café, so you will need to buy the part yourself and bring it back to the following month's café.

Is it really free?
There is no charge for repairs, but we welcome donations to cover the cost of hiring the hall. Tea, coffee and homemade cakes are available while you wait.

Will my item be fixed?
About two thirds of the items brought to the café are repaired successfully. However, we cannot guarantee a repair, and we cannot accept responsibility for any further damage.

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.

Coach Day Trips from Penwick: Summer Programme

A Castle and Gardens at Elverton
Spend a day exploring one of the finest medieval castles in the region, followed by an afternoon in its famous rose gardens. The entry fee to the castle and a picnic lunch in the grounds are included in the price of your ticket. The castle has many steep steps, so this trip may not be suitable for people with walking difficulties. Departs 8.30 a.m., returns 6 p.m.

B Harbour Town of Saltmouth
Enjoy a day by the sea in this charming fishing town. Take a boat trip around the bay (not included in the ticket price), visit the fish market, or simply relax on the beach. Our driver will give a short talk about the town's history on the journey. Departs 9 a.m., returns 7 p.m.

C Brayford Shopping Village
A full day at the region's largest shopping centre, with more than 200 shops and restaurants. Passengers on this trip receive a voucher for 10% off at many of the shops. There is plenty of seating throughout the centre, and it is fully accessible to wheelchair users. Departs 9.30 a.m., returns 5.30 p.m.

D The Fellside Steam Railway
Travel by coach to Carrow Bridge and then enjoy a trip on a historic steam train along the shore of Lake Carrow. Drinks and snacks can be bought from the buffet car on board. This trip is very popular, so please book at least four weeks in advance. Departs 7.30 a.m., returns 7.30 p.m.

E Kelmore Theatre Matinee
An afternoon performance of a popular musical at the Kelmore Theatre, with good seats in the stalls. There is time to explore the town's old streets before the show. This is our shortest trip, and it is ideal for anyone who does not enjoy long days out. Departs 11 a.m., returns 6.30 p.m.

All coaches leave from the bus station on Carter Street. Seats are allocated in the order in which bookings are received.

Questions 8–14

Look at the five coach trips, A–E, above.

For which trip 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.

Talbot Print: Working Overtime

From time to time, a large or urgent order means that we need staff to work beyond their normal hours. This guide explains how overtime is arranged and paid.

Who can work overtime?
Overtime is available to all production and warehouse staff who have completed their probationary period. Office staff are generally not offered overtime, but may be asked to help in exceptional circumstances.

How is overtime offered?
When overtime is needed, it will be advertised on the noticeboard in the staff room, normally at least three days in advance. Staff who are interested should add their names to the list on the notice. If more people volunteer than are needed, overtime will be shared out fairly, and priority will be given to staff who have worked the fewest extra hours in the past three months.

Is overtime compulsory?
No. Overtime is voluntary, and nobody will be treated less favourably for choosing not to work it. However, once you have agreed to work an overtime shift, you are expected to attend. If you cannot attend, you must inform your supervisor at least 24 hours before the shift starts.

Limits
For health and safety reasons, no employee may work more than ten hours of overtime in any one week, and everyone must have a break of at least eleven hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next.

Pay
Overtime on weekdays and Saturdays is paid at one and a half times your normal hourly rate. Overtime on Sundays and public holidays is paid at double your normal rate. Part-time employees are paid at their normal rate until they have worked the standard full-time hours for that week. Overtime pay is included in your salary at the end of the following month. Instead of being paid, you may choose to take time off in lieu: one hour of overtime earns one hour and a half of paid leave, which must be taken within three months.

Recording your hours
Please make sure that you use your swipe card to clock in and out for every overtime shift. Hours that are not recorded on the system cannot be paid.

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.

Talbot Print: The Staff Ideas Scheme

The people who do a job every day are often the best placed to see how it could be done better. The Staff Ideas Scheme gives every employee the chance to suggest improvements, and to be rewarded when those suggestions are put into practice.

What kind of ideas are we looking for?
We welcome any idea that could save money, reduce waste, improve safety, or make life better for customers or colleagues. Ideas can be large or small. Some of our most successful suggestions have been very simple, such as moving a printer to reduce the distance staff need to walk. However, the scheme is not the right place to raise a complaint about an individual. Complaints of this kind should be discussed with your manager or with the human resources department.

How do I submit an idea?
Ideas can be submitted using the form on the staff website, or on a paper form, which can be posted in the box outside the canteen. Please describe the problem, explain your idea, and say what you think the benefits would be. Ideas can be submitted by individuals or by teams.

What happens next?
Every idea is read by the Ideas Panel, a group of six employees from different departments, which meets on the first Monday of every month. You will receive a reply within six weeks. If the panel needs more information, a panel member may contact you to discuss your idea.

Rewards
If your idea is accepted, you will receive a shopping voucher worth £25. If the idea saves the company money, you will also receive 10% of the savings made in the first year, up to a maximum of £2,000. Where an idea is submitted by a team, the reward will be divided equally among its members.

Ideas that are not accepted
Not every idea can be put into practice, but every suggestion is valued. If your idea is turned down, the panel will always explain why, and you are welcome to submit a revised version.

Idea of the Year
At the end of each year, all employees vote for the best idea of the year, and the winner receives an extra day of annual leave.

Questions 21–27

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Staff Ideas Scheme: key points

• Ideas should not be used to make a 211 word about a colleague.
• Paper forms should be put in the box near the 221 word .
• Forms should include the expected 231 word of the idea.
• The panel will reply within six weeks, and may ask for extra 241 word .
• Accepted ideas earn a 251 word , plus a share of any savings.
• Rewards for ideas from a team are shared 261 word .
• The best idea each year is chosen by a 271 word of all employees.

SECTION 3 — Questions 28–40

Read the text below and answer Questions 28–40.

Free water for all: the story of London's drinking fountains

A In the mid-nineteenth century, finding a safe drink of water in London was surprisingly difficult. The city's population had grown rapidly, but most homes had no water supply of their own. Water from the private water companies was often available for only a few hours a day, and much of it was taken from the River Thames, into which the city's waste flowed. In the hot summer of 1858, the smell from the river became so bad that it was remembered as the Great Stink, and Parliament finally approved the funding for a new system of sewers. Many people depended on public pumps, some of which were badly polluted. In 1854, during an outbreak of cholera in Soho, the doctor John Snow showed that many of the victims had drawn water from a single pump in Broad Street. Snow's conclusion, that cholera was spread by dirty water rather than by bad air, was not widely accepted at first, but it helped to change the way people thought about water and health.

B It was against this background that, in 1859, a Member of Parliament named Samuel Gurney and a lawyer, Edward Wakefield, founded the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association. Their aim was to provide clean drinking water, free of charge, in the streets of London. The Association's first fountain was opened in April 1859 in the wall of St Sepulchre's Church, near the busy meat market at Smithfield. Drinkers used two brass cups attached to it by chains. It was an immediate success. According to reports at the time, up to 7,000 people a day used it, and within a few years dozens more fountains had been built across the city.

C The fountains were not only intended to protect people's health. Many of their supporters were members of the temperance movement, which campaigned against the drinking of alcohol. At the time, beer was often safer to drink than water, and many working people drank it throughout the day. Supporters of the fountains hoped that a free supply of clean water would persuade people to spend less time and money in public houses. For this reason, some fountains were deliberately built close to pubs, and many carried messages encouraging people to choose water instead. Not everyone welcomed this. Some publicans complained that the fountains were bad for business, and a few fountains were deliberately damaged. However, the movement had wealthy supporters, many of whom paid for fountains themselves, which is why so many old fountains carry the name of the person who gave them.

D People were not the only ones who needed water. London's streets were full of horses pulling carts, cabs and buses, and cattle and sheep were still driven through the city to market. By the end of the century, hundreds of thousands of horses were working on the capital's streets, and they needed to drink regularly. In 1867, the Association changed its name to the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, and it began to build large stone troughs for animals. Many troughs also had a small basin at ground level, so that dogs could drink. Some of these troughs can still be seen today, although most are now used as flower beds.

E In the twentieth century, the fountains gradually fell out of use. As more homes were connected to a reliable water supply, there was less need for them, and motor vehicles replaced horses on the streets. Worries about hygiene played a part as well. Many Victorian fountains had a metal cup on a chain, which was shared by everyone who used it, and by the twentieth century this was seen as an obvious way of spreading disease. Many fountains were damaged or stopped working, and some were removed altogether when roads were widened. By the second half of the century, the public had come to regard them with some suspicion, and few people would have considered drinking from one.

F In recent years, however, the drinking fountain has made an unexpected return. Concern about the enormous number of plastic bottles thrown away every year has led many cities to install new fountains, where people can refill their own bottles. Modern fountains look quite different from their Victorian ancestors: most have a tap for filling bottles as well as a jet for drinking, and they are cleaned regularly. In London, a scheme launched in 2018 has added more than a hundred new fountains in parks, stations and shopping streets. At the same time, many cafés and shops now display a sign inviting the public to refill their bottles with tap water free of charge, even if they buy nothing. Some of the old Victorian fountains have also been repaired and connected to the water supply again, so that they can be used for the first time in decades. The organisation founded by Gurney and Wakefield still exists as a charity, and it continues to help install and restore fountains, more than a century and a half after its first fountain opened.

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 A gradual decline
• ii Meeting the needs of animals
• iii Arguments about who should pay
• iv A popular first step
• v A new reason for an old idea
• vi A city with a dangerous water supply
• vii The design of the first fountains
• viii An alternative to alcohol

Questions 34–37

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

The first fountains

John Snow showed that the people who died of cholera in Soho had often used the same 341 word . In 1859, the first fountain of the new Association was opened close to a meat 351 word . Many people who supported the fountains wanted people to drink less alcohol, and some fountains were built near 361 word for this reason. Later, the Association built troughs for animals, and many of these also had a low basin for 371 word .

Questions 38–40

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

• A was too expensive for most people.
• B could only be obtained for part of the day.
• C was always taken from public pumps.
• D was cleaner than water from the River Thames.

• A They were moved to museums.
• B They were turned into flower beds.
• C They were taken away to make roads wider.
• D They were connected to the new water supply.

• A They were paid for by the original charity.
• B They are mainly found in parks.
• C They are a response to concerns about plastic waste.
• D They have replaced the need for cafés to offer free water.