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978-1-316-64015-9 — Mindset for IELTS Level 2 Student's Book and Online Modules with Testbank
Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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UNIT / 01: THE MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENT

READING
IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL
LEARN HOW TO
• skim a text quickly to understand the general idea
• scan a text for specific information to answer
short-answer questions
• use skimming and scanning to locate the
answer quickly
• understand and produce paraphrasing
• use the present continuous and
present simple correctly.

LEAD-IN

01 A common topic in the exam is ‘home’. Put these words under the correct heading
in the table.

apartment beach bungalow castle ceiling cellar remote island

city centre countryside dining room floor garage stone glamorous
leather mountains mansion marble modern simple skyscraper
spacious staircase traditional wood window gym

Location Building type Style Rooms Parts of a room Materials

apartment

02 In pairs, use the vocabulary from exercise 1 to help you describe your dream home.
My dream house would be on the beach near the sea. It would be a simple bungalow with wooden
floors. It would have a large dining room …

SKIMMING AND SCANNING

Skimming and scanning are important reading techniques which are very useful in IELTS. As time
is limited in the exam, skimming and scanning help you to find the answers you need quickly.
You skim a text quickly to understand the general idea.
You scan a text quickly in order to find specific information.

08 UNIT 01 / READING

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03 For each activity, decide whether you would use skimming or scanning. TIP 03
1 looking up a word in the dictionary scanning Try to practise these or similar
2 browsing the internet for the latest news stories activities as much as possible.
The more you practise, the
3 choosing a book from a library or bookshop
better you will become at
4 finding a particular news story in a newspaper each technique.
5 finding the price of a product in a catalogue
6 looking through a magazine for an interesting article

04 The home in the photo cost about one billion dollars TIP 05
to build. What do you like or dislike about the design?
You are only reading for the main ideas at
this stage, so remember to ignore
05 Skim the text to understand the main ideas. unknown words.

A D The Ambani residence is clearly designed to

Mukesh Ambani is one of the richest men
in the world, and the first man to own a entertain guests. It has a theatre which seats
private residence costing more than one 50, several guest bedrooms and a grand
billion dollars to build. The home is on ballroom filled with chandeliers.
Altamout Road in Mumbai, one of the
most expensive addresses in the world. E The living quarters are on the top floors,
Named after the mythical island Antilia, because the family wanted as much
the propert y has 27 floors. sunlight as possible. The
400,000 ft 2 residence requires
B The interior of the home is very 600 staff, but all three Ambani
glamorous and each floor is made from children are required to clean
different materials to give an individual their own rooms when they
look. Marble floors, rare wood and fine are at home.
rugs are just some of the design features
used to create this extravagant home. F Several experts have criticised
The lotus flower and the sun are common the architecture of this very
symbols used throughout. Many of the expensive home, comparing it
rooms have floor-to-ceiling glass to an ‘unstable pile of
windows, offering spectacular views of books’. Mrs Ambani,
Mumbai and the Arabian Sea. however, describes
her home as ‘an
C The skyscraper has a multi-storey garage elevated house on
with space for 168 cars. Alternatively, top of a garden’ and
there are also three helipads on the roof ‘a modern home with
of the building. The lobby has numerous an Indian heart’.
reception areas and nine lift s. There are
also several floors for dining, vast *helipad - a place where
libraries and a health spa, including a a single helicopter can take
gym, several swimming pools and yoga off and land
facilities. There is even an ‘ice-room’
which creates man-made snow, a Hindu
prayer room and several floors of
gardens.

UNIT 01 / READING 09

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Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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06 Answer these questions.

1 When you were skim reading the text, which of these types of word did you focus
on: prepositions, articles, names, verbs, adjectives, numbers?
2 Discuss with a partner what you remember about the text.
3 What overall title would you give the text?
4 Put the information in the order in which it appears in the passage.
a where the family live
b opinions on the house
c the materials used for the interior
d the cost and address of the house
e the facilities in the house
f the owner of the house
g information about the theatre and ballroom

Now scan the text for the information to answer these questions.
07 TIP 07
1 Who owns the property? In many of the IELTS
2 How many floors does it have? reading tasks, the
3 What are the floors made out of? answers appear in the
same order as the text.
4 What are the common symbols used throughout the house?
5 How many cars does the garage have space for?
6 How many people are required to work in the home?

PARAPHRASING ‘Paraphrasing’ is another

important technique to
08 These statements paraphrase each of the paragraphs in the text. understand and use in the
Match each statement, 1–6, with the correct paragraph, A–F. exam. Paraphrasing is
when you repeat something
1 The house has many desirable facilities and outside spaces. Guests can using different words, often
either drive or fly to the home. in a simpler and shorter
2 The family live on the top floor because they want exposure to sunlight. form that makes the
original meaning clearer.
3 Mrs Ambani and the architecture experts have different opinions about
the house.
4 Antilia is situated in Mumbai and owned by Mukesh Ambani.
5 The appearance inside the house is very extravagant and expensive
materials have been used. The house also has magnificent views of the city.
6 The home is fully equipped to make visitors feel welcome.

09 The key to paraphrasing is understanding synonyms and words or phrases with

a similar meaning. Match these words and expressions.
1 desirable facilities a guests
2 outside spaces b Mumbai
3 inside c expensive
4 extravagant d rare wood and fine rugs
5 city e health spa and libraries
6 visitors f gardens
7 equipped to make visitors feel welcome g interior
8 expensive materials h designed to entertain guests

10 UNIT 01 / READING

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Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS

Questions which require an answer of just a few words, like TIP 10 11

those in exercise 7, are a common feature of the exam. These The answers for short-
are known as short-answer questions and they ask about answer questions come in
factual details. the same order as they
appear in the text.

10 Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER

from the passage for each answer.
1 How many lift s does the home have? TIP 10 11
2 What can you find in the ice-room? Remember to check that
3 What do the Ambani children have to do when at home? your sentences are
grammatically correct
when you have chosen an
answer.

COMPLETING SENTENCES

11 Complete the sentences. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A similar type of task, which also
A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. requires an answer of only a few
words, is the ‘sentence
1 The name Antilia comes from a .
completion task’. The sentences
2 There are many facilities to accommodate a large paraphrase words and ideas from
number of . the text.
3 Opinions on the of the house vary.

GRAMMAR FOCUS: PRESENT SIMPLE/PRESENT CONTINUOUS

12 A ‘mindmap’ is a type of diagram with lines and circles for organising information so
that it is easier to remember. Put these words and phrases with the appropriate tense
in the mindmap.

temporary repeated actions general facts opinions

an action which is not complete happening at the time of speaking

Present continuous Present simple

temporary

13 Using the rules in the mindmap, correct these sentences where necessary.
1 Mukesh Ambani is living in Mumbai.
2 Mrs Ambani is believing that her home has an Indian heart.
3 The family live on the top floor because they want as much exposure to sunlight
as possible.
4 When the children are at home, they are cleaning their own rooms.
5 Mrs Ambani entertains her guests in the ballroom at the moment.

UNIT 01 / READING 11

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Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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14 Complete the sentences using the word in brackets and the correct form of the
present continuous or the present simple.
1 Currently, my mum (work) in the study.
2 I (rent) in the city centre for now.
3 I (think) that buying a new house now would be a very
good idea.
4 What is that going to be? They (build) a new accommodation
block for students.
5 Every day his mum (clean) the house.

EXAM SKILLS
Using the approach below, read the text and answer the questions
15
which follow. TIP 15
Time yourself: try to do this
Locating the answer: one approach task as quickly as possible to
• Read the questions first, so they are in your mind when you read the text. practise locating information
• Make sure you have understood the question correctly – underlining key words quickly for the exam.
could help.
• Skim read the text for the main ideas. This will help you to have a rough idea of
where to locate your answers on a second read-through.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for
each answer.
1 What job did William Hearst do?
2 Who helped Hearst design the Castle?
3 How much did Hearst spend on art during his lifetime?
4 How many times was the Neptune pool rebuilt before Hearst was happy with it?
5 What were visitors to the Castle required to do every evening?
6 Who owns the mansion now?
Complete the sentences. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from
the passage for each answer.
7 As a child, Hearst enjoyed his holidays to .
8 Hearst inherited the land from his .
9 Builders spent creating the magnificent Neptune Pool.
10 Hearst took animals from for his private zoo.
11 Although the zoo is now closed, still walk about the hillside.
12 The family donated the property because of .

12 UNIT 01 / READING

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Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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HEARST CASTLE HOME ABOUT PHOTOS BOOKING

B Hearst loved travelling to Europe when he was a child and we

can see this in the overall design of the house. He even included
cathedral ceilings and Roman columns in his home. Hearst was
also a keen art collector and, during his lifetime, spent
$3.5 million on his collection, which is displayed in the rooms
at Hearst Castle. Today, his collection is worth much more, with
one piece alone valued at $10 million.

C One of the highlights of the estate is the Neptune Pool. It took

15 years to build and includes the front of an ancient Roman
temple. It is on top of a hill and has wonderful views of the
mountains, ocean and main house. The pool was rebuilt three
times until he was satisfied.

D Although the inside of the house is very European, the outside

is very Californian, with palm trees and water. Hearst loved
trees and 70,000 were planted on the property during his
lifetime. The castle was also home to the world’s largest private
zoo, holding animals from every continent. Although the zoo is
now closed, zebras can still be seen on the hillside.

E As well as the Casa Grande (the main house), there are also
three guest houses on the property: Casa Del Monte, Casa Del
Sol and Casa Del Mar. Hearst entertained a great number of
Hollywood stars and political leaders at the castle and many
used his private airfield. Guests had to attend formal dinners
every evening, but were free to do what they liked during the
day. They were invited to stay as long as they wanted, but the
A William Randolph Hearst was a successful American longer they stayed, the further away they sat from Hearst at the
newspaper publisher who received over 1,000 km2 dinner table.
of land when his mother died in 1919. Initially, he
had planned to build just a small bungalow, so he F When Hearst died in 1951, his family learnt how expensive
hired Julia Morgan, the first female architect in maintenance would be, and the mansion was donated to the
California. Together, however, they designed a State of California. Since then, it has been open for public tours
magnificent castle which cost 10 million dollars and and the site attracts millions of tourists every year. However, the
took 28 years to build. The property, named Hearst family is still allowed to use it when they wish. The castle
La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Mountain), was never completed
has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms and remains
and about 52,000 m2 of garden. unfinished.

UNIT 01 / READING 13

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Peter Crosthwaite , Natasha De Souza , Marc Loewenthal
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UNIT / 01: THE MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENT

WRITING
IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL
LEARN HOW TO
• select key features of different types of graph, chart
and table in order to describe them accurately
• use suitable verbs, adjectives and adverbs
to describe trends in different ways
• compare different graphs or
information in the same graph
and write a summary of
the main features.

LEAD-IN In Writing Part 1, you could be

given graphs/charts or tables to
01 Look at these examples of the types of diagram you might encounter in write about, so it is important to
the IELTS exam. Then label the diagrams with words from the box. be very familiar with this kind of
vocabulary.

row line graph bar chart column horizontal axis key title
bar pie chart segment table vertical axis line
4
30,000 27,500 500
25,000 6
25,000 400
20,000
20,000 17,500 300
Sales
Sales (USD)

15,000
15,000 200
2
10,000 100

5,000 0
Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry
0 Ice-cream sellers
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Harpo Chico Groucho
Years 3
1 line graph 5 7

8 Favourite type of movie Keyword Visits Avg. Time % New Bounce

on Site Visits Rate

sci-fi: 4 (20%) comedy: 4 (20%) 1 idealist 33,103 00:10:05 19.84% 12.73%

10 2 idealist.org 27,105 00:11:07 21.26% 12.26%
3 volunteer 12,908 00:03:35 84.76% 53.31%
drama: 1 (5%) 4 volunteer work 6,721 00:02:42 90.55% 59.75%
5 volunteering.org 5,363 00:03:20 86.41% 61.78%
6 non profit jobs 5,203 00:09:04 47.01% 18.68%
action: 5 (25%) 7 www.idealist.org 4,733 00:10:45 15.63% 12.57%
romance: 6 (30%) 8 volunteering 3,645 00:03:15 87.46% 56.24%
13
9 idealist.com 3,341 00:10:39 31.94% 14.43%
9 10 nonprofit jobs 2,865 00:08:35 37.38% 15.78%

11 12
14 UNIT 01 / WRITING

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SELECTING KEY FEATURES

02 Study these graphs and make notes about their main features –
use questions 1–12 to help you. World’s most expensive cities (2015)
How much can you buy for one million dollars?
50
1 What does the title say the graph is about?

Buying price US$ per m2

2 What does the vertical axis describe? 40
3 What does the horizontal axis describe? 30
4 What do the columns/bars represent?
20
5 Which is the tallest and shortest bar?
6 How do the bars compare to one another? 10

0
Monaco Hong Kong London New York Singapore
Home ownership rates in selected European countries Cities
120

100
7 What does the title say the graph is about?
Percentage

80
8 What does the vertical axis describe?
60 9 What does the horizontal axis describe?
10 What do the highest/lowest points of the line show?
40
11 What is the general trend of the line?
20 12 Are there any sharp decreases or increases?
0
Romania Italy UK France Germany Switzerland
Countries

Average house size in selected countries

Canada
95 m2
45 m2 181 m2 USA
13 What does the title say the graph is about? Australia
14 What do the segments represent?
Hong Kong
15 Which is the largest/smallest segment?
16 Are some segments similar in size? 214 m2 Japan
201 m2

Average house size in selected European countries

Country Size
United Kingdom 76 m2
17 What does the title say about the table?
France 112 m2 18 How many columns are there? What do they represent?
Denmark 137 m2 19 Which country has the biggest average house size?
Germany 109 m2 20 Which country has the smallest average house size?
21 Which countries have a similar average house size?
Italy 61 m2
Spain 97 m2
Greece 126 m2

UNIT 01 / WRITING 15

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USING ACCURATE DATA It is very important that the

information you provide in your
03 The sample answer describes the pie chart and table in exercise 2. answer accurately reflects the
information given in the text.
Rewrite the sample answer, correcting any errors in data.

SAMPLE ANSWER
rmation about the average house
The pie char t and table provide info
char t, the Australians have the
size worldwide. According to the pie
size being 214 m . This is perhaps
2
1
most space with the average house
The second largest houses are in
because it is such a large country.
201 m2. The country with the
Canada with the average size being
2 residences being an average
smallest houses is Hong Kong, with
2
of just 45 m .
3 4
the average house size in all
In comparison, the table illustrates
dom and Italy have the smallest
European countries. The United King
the largest. The average house
houses and Denmark and Greece have
2
size in Denmark is 137 m .
two graphs, it is easily apparent that
In conclusion, when comparing the
than in non-European countries.
houses in Europe are much smaller 6
5 ses and Italy has the smallest.
Overall, Australia has the biggest hou
of each country.
This is most probably due to the size

04 Did the writer make any other errors, not related to data? If so, what were they?

DESCRIBING TRENDS

05 Complete the words with the missing letters. Can you think of any more words for
each category?

1 Rise 7 Fall 14 Maintain

2 In 8 Decr 15 Remain
3 Cl 9 De 16 Stay
4 Go 10 Go d
5 Ro 11 Plu
6 So 12 Plun
13 Dr

06 Answer these questions.

1 Which of the verbs in the boxes are used to describe a sudden increase?
2 Which of the verbs in the boxes are used to describe a sudden decrease?

16 UNIT 01 / WRITING

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07 When using these verbs, it is important that you also consider the tense used.
Look at this example.
The number of young people buying property plummet last year. ✗
The number of young people buying property plummeted last year. ✔
Complete the sentences using the verb in brackets in the correct tense. There may be
more than one correct form of the verb.
1 Last year house prices (rise) by 5%.
2 Monaco’s property market (remain) stable.
3 The line graph illustrates that since 2010 home ownership
(decrease).
4 House prices (go up) next year.
5 In Ireland, property prices (rocket) substantially this year.

USEFUL ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES

Once you know the common verbs used to

describe charts and graphs, it is important to
add adverbs and adjectives to your sentences in
order to demonstrate your range of vocabulary.

USEFUL ADJECTIVES

Adjectives can be used to demonstrate your range of vocabulary. Adjectives describe nouns and
usually come before the noun.
Note: these verbs are also commonly used as nouns.

to rise / a rise to fall / a fall to decrease / a decrease

to increase / an increase to drop / a drop to dip / a dip
to decline / a decline to peak / a peak

08 Complete the table with the adjectives from the box. TIP 08
Make sure you know how to spell
slight modest significant dramatic these adjectives correctly as it is
stable steady* substantial unchanged* common for students to make
errors with these.
*These adjectives usually go after the noun.

Big change Small change Gradual or no change

UNIT 01 / WRITING 17

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