IELTS Reading Note & Table Completion: Tips, Sample Questions

Note completion questions in IELTS reading can be difficult to solve but with constant IELTS Reading practice and motivation these questions can be tackled easily. Follow the IELTS Reading tips and strategies below to help you guide on these questions. They can take many different forms but there will always be a gap fill activity of some sort where you must fill in missing words. You could, for example, be asked to fill in missing words in a set of notes from a lecture or a list of instructions for a journey. These are regular kinds of questions which the candidate encounters during the exam. Notes contain:

• Key word & phrases
• The minimum vocabulary necessary for the information to make sense to the writer

• Read instructions & note them down for reference.
• Read the passage & questions clearly before you answer the question.
• Time management
• Look for relevant text that matches the question.

Here are a few important IELTS Reading Tips to be followed for boosting up your score and having a better knowledge on tackling the questions.

1. Read the instructions: Pay attention to how many words you need to write.
2. Look for a title: The title tells you about the context of the passage.
3. Guess the answers: Try to predict what the answers might be.
4. Paraphrase: The words in the passage and question won’t be same, hence try to use synonyms while finding the answer.
5. Answer order: The answer would always appear in the order of the text.
6. Difficult vocabulary: The words and phrases might be difficult to understand hence practice frequently to get a grasp of the question.
7. Be aware of the distractors: The examiners will try and catch you with distractors. A distractor is a word or a phrase that changes or corrects the original piece of information given. So, you may be given an answer and then have it taken away again. Example, No, sorry, but, however, etc.

Economic Apartheid

A new report from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University shows that wealth creation is remarkable, one might say, criminally, unequal. Follow this hierarchy at the top of the wealth pyramid: the richest 1 percent of adults alone owned 40 percent of global assets in the year 2000; the richest 2 percent owned more than half of global household wealth, and the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. That leaves very little for the remaining 90 percent of the global population. Could it be any worse? Yes, the rich are still getting richer, more millionaires are becoming billionaires.

As to the world's lower class: the bottom half of the world's adult population owned barely 1 percent of global wealth, defined as net worth: the value of physical and financial assets fewer debts. Over a billion poor people subsist on less than one dollar a day. Every day, according to UNICEF, 30,000 children die due to poverty - that's over 10 million children killed by poverty every year! Global economic apartheid is killing people.

Here are data showing some of the variations among nations. Average wealth amounted to $144,000 per person in the U.S. in 2000, not as good as the $181,000 in Japan, but better than most others: $127,000 for the U.K., $70,000 for Denmark, $37,000 for New Zealand, $1,400 in Indonesia and $1,100 in India. Averages, of course, are very deceiving.

The statistical measure of inequality is the Gini value, which measures inequality on a scale from zero (total equality) to one (complete inequality). For income, it ranges from .35 to .45 in most countries. Wealth inequality is usually much higher, typically between .65 and .75. This reflects the greater difficulty in accumulating wealth (capital) than increasing income. Two high wealth economies, Japan and the United States show very different patterns of wealth inequality, with Japan having a low wealth Gini of .55 and the U.S. having around .80. The incomes of the top fifth of the Japanese population are only three times that of the bottom fifth, compared to nine times in the U.S. Japan has little economic apartheid compared to the U.S., yet both countries have a huge number of wealthy people. Of the wealthiest 10 percent in the world, 25 percent are American, and 20 percent are Japanese. These two countries are even stronger among the richest 1 percent of individuals in the world, with 37 percent residing in the U.S. and 27 percent in Japan. The point is that despite high numbers of very wealthy people, economic apartheid is absent in Japan and abysmal in the U.S.

We can explain the difference between Japan and the U.S. People can save and accumulate wealth for future economic security or can borrow and spend like mad to accumulate possessions. According to a 2006 report, only 41 percent of American families save regularly, making wealth creation difficult. America's national savings rate - which includes corporate savings and government budget deficits - is only about 13.6% of gross domestic product, compared to 25 percent in Japan.

U.S. economic apartheid shows that a self-proclaimed great democracy with considerable personal freedom can risk deep social instability from class warfare as it approaches a two-class system. We need to see economic apartheid as lethal and repulsive as racial apartheid.

Questions 1- 7

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Global Wealth Distribution

• According to a UN report, the world’s wealth distribution is drastically 1 ________
• In 2000, the wealthiest 1% had 40% of global wealth, while 10% owned 2 _________
• In contrast, just 1% of riches was shared by the 3
• More than a billion people survive on less than a dollar daily.
• Poverty causes the death of more than 4 _______ children annually.

Table completion questions come up regularly in the IELTS Reading test. They might look difficult to solve but if you have a good strategy and a vast knowledge on IELTS Reading Tips,then it becomes easy to find the correct answers. The information in Table questions is given in the form of rows and columns and some information is left out in the blanks for you to fill in.

• Skimming the paragraph
• Scanning for particular information
• Paraphrasing the words in the passage and the question
• Looking for the synonyms of the words used in the passage

Here are a few tips to help you gain better bands in the IELTS Reading exam and score higher.

1.Reading instructions will help you to remain within the word limit given for every question.

2.Look out for the headings and categories in the table to go to the exact location of the answer in the passage.

3.Information in the table usually follows a sequence but for the challenge the answers might not be in the same order.

4.Read the information in each cell to understand the meaning.

5.Decide which type of word is required for the answer. Focus on dates, names, action words or any other keyword which will help you to locate the correct place in the passage.

6.Pick up the words that make the answer complete and correct according to the passage.

7.Do not change the word form. Take care not to write any word from the question statement present in the reworded form.

8.Visualise the answer first so that you can locate the correct answer and write it in detail.

9.Consider the clues in the table.

10.Do not leave any blank empty because there is no negative marking the in the IELTS exam as a whole hence it is best to guess the answer if you do not know any.

11.Do not try to understand each word because it is not required. You will just waste your time understanding each and every word or phrase as you might not require it for your answer.

A Brief (and Tasty) History of Chocolate

The first records that chronicle the manufacture and consumption of chocolate originate from about 200-950 A.D., during the Classic Period of Mayan culture, Glyphs and ancient vessels provide the first evidence that the Theobroma cacao a tree that grows in the tropical rainforest - was harvested for its cacao seeds. The Mayan culture was spread over a vast Mesoamerican territory, covering what is now southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and part of El Salvador. Not only were cacao trees harvested in the wild, but Mayans also grew the trees near their homes, in their own backyard gardens. After the cacao pods were picked, the seeds found inside were fermented and dried. The seeds would then be roasted over a fire, followed by grinding between two large stones. The resulting paste was mixed with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients. This final concoction made the cacao paste into a spicy, frothy, and rather bitter drink. With sugar unknown to the Mayans, if chocolate were sweetened at all, the sweetener would have been honey or flower nectar. The Mayan culture reached its zenith during the Classic period, followed by centuries of decline. By 1400, the Aztec empire dominated much of the Mesoamerican landscape. The Aztecs not only adopted the cacao seeds as a dietary staple but also as a form of currency. Cacao seeds were used to pay for items, and also given as tribute by conquered peoples. While in the Mayan culture many people could drink chocolate, at least occasionally, in Aztec culture the chocolate was reserved mostly for royalty, priests, and upper echelons of society.

The priests would also present cacao seeds as offerings to the gods, serving chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies, one reason for our calling chocolate the 'elixir of the gods. During the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards in 1521, Europe became aware of chocolate for the first time. Spaniards had observed the Aztec royalty and priesthood making and drinking the dark concoction, and quickly came to like it as well. Cacao seeds were shipped to Spain in bulk, where the paste was mixed with spices like cinnamon and sugar, thus taking the edge off their bitterness. An expensive import, only the Spanish elite could afford to purchase chocolate, and for the next 300 years, chocolate was treated as a status symbol. Spain continued to import and manufacture its chocolate in secret for at least a hundred years before the rest of Europe caught wind of the delicious brew. Once out, chocolate became one of the greatest fads to hit the continent. Production of both cacao beans and sugar was a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

To keep up with the demand for both items, many European countries set up plantations in the New World for the cultivation of these two crops. Wage laborers and slaves were used to grow the crops, then process them for export to and sale in Europe. It was not until the 1800s that mechanization speeded up the process of chocolate-making, making chocolate cheaper, more plentiful, and thus available to the public at large. With the advent of the steam engine, cacao beans could be ground automatically. Bakers and chefs seized the opportunity to work with this suddenly available medium, establishing shops for the exclusive manufacture of chocolate, especially in countries like Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and France. Lindt & Sprungli, of Switzerland, showed up in 1845, and Neuhaus Master Chocolate Makers, of Belgium, in 1857.

Question 1-7

Complete the table below

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each

1.Mayan (culture)

Explanation: Paragraph 1 - The first records that chronicle the manufacture and consumption of chocolate originate from about 200-950 A.D., during the Classic Period of Mayan culture

2. currency

Explanation: Paragraph 3 - The Aztecs not only adopted the cacao seed as a dietary staple but also as a form of currency

3. priests

Explanation: Paragraph 3 - in Aztec culture the chocolate was reserved mostly for royalty priests, and upper echelons of society

4. Europe

Explanation: Paragraph 4 - During the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards in 1521, Europe became aware of chocolate for the first time

5. status symbol

Explanation: Paragraph 4 - An expensive import, only the Spanish elite could afford to purchase chocolate, and for the next 300 years, chocolate was treated as a status symbol

6. 1800s

7. Mechanisation

Explanation: Paragraph 6 - It was not until the (Q.6) 1800s that (Q.7) mechanisation speeded up the process of chocolate-making, making chocolate cheaper, more plentiful, and thus available to the public at large

This article largely covers the details and sample questions and answers for the Note completion and Table completion questions. By following the above IELTS Redaing tips and tricks you can achieve a higher score and get an overall higher bands.