DAY 20 29 days sharpen your IELTS listening reading skills IELTS fighter

29 DAYS SHARPEN YOUR LISTENING & READING SKILLS
Group: IELTS Fighter – Hỗ trợ học tập

READING 4:

PRACTICE 1

29 DAYS SHARPEN YOUR IELTS LISTENING – READING SKILLS

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***
I. MATCHING INFORMATION
Sensory Overload
A

Are you suffering from a feeling of annoyance? Does life seem to get more

and more irritating all the time? Do you struggle day to day just to stay calm and
clear-headed in the face of more and more frustrating experiences? If your answer
to these questions is “YES,” you are not alone. In fact, you are part of a growing

trend that demonstrates the significance of the small events which annoy us on a day
to day basis.
B

According to psychologist Maurice Penman, inhabitants of today’s modern

cities face a far more aggressive range of sensory experiences than ever before. “It
is not simply that the pace of life is faster in today’s world, or that people are under
more pressure at work. Of course, both those things are true. But today people are
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exposed to a greater number of both visual and auditory stimuli. Basically, this
means we are being asked to both look at and listen to far more than we ever have
been before."

C

However, Penman is quick to point out that many of the things which are

contributing to these problems are also the same things many of us value. A greater
sense of irritation is the price we pay for the convenience of the Internet and mobile
phones. “Mobile phones are a very significant example to consider. There is no
doubt that they are useful in a multitude of ways, and most people do not want to go
back to the days before them. But at the same time, mobile phones have almost
completely destroyed a sense of quiet public space. There was a time when you
could rely on public transport being relatively quiet, a place to think about the events
of the day on the way home. Now a bus or a train carriage can feel like being locked

in a busy office.”
D

The increase in sensory demands is not just due to the use of mobile phones.

Advertisers are reaching out to potential consumers more aggressively than ever.
News services are now broadcast on buses and at train platforms. Family meals are
frequently interrupted by telephone canvassers and email users are often forced to
deal with an avalanche of unsolicited promotional messages, or “SPAM”. One could
easily imagine that our children and their children may have to guard their homes
from an overwhelming amount of annoyance
E

While it is difficult to deny the growth in these increasingly annoying events

in our day, is there actually any real significance to these facts? Penman argues:
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“There is no doubt that on the surface, this increase of stimuli in our day simply
appears to be a matter of minor annoyance. But when we look closely, we can see
that this has the potential to significantly affect our psychological health.” He goes
on to explain that if exposure to these irritations is frequent and prolonged, very
subtly our stress levels begin to rise. As they do, we find there is a compound effect.
Stress from the minor episodes in the day starts to increase our feeling of pressure
when faced with major challenges at work. We are increasingly carrying a greater
and greater stress load, with opportunities to relax and unwind more and more
restricted. Penman points out that even though we all sometimes crave stimulation,

we have become so obsessed with it in the twenty-first century that it has now
become almost impossible to avoid. Shops increasingly feel the need to play loud,
thumping rock or techno music. Advertising becomes more and more energetically
aggressive all the time. This, Penman maintains, prevents us from dealing with our
daily stress and eliminating it from our systems. He adds: “You really do need to
get right out of the city and into a quiet space now, though most of us are too busy
to do that very often.”
F

It might be easy for critics to dismiss the annoying experience of too many

mobile phones on the bus, or any of the other stimuli Maurice Penman cites.
However, it is the failure to eliminate stress which leads to potentially fatal
consequences. If these daily distractions are contributing seriously to our stress
levels, then Penman has identified a significant danger. We now know that stress
truly is a killer, and has been implicated in the rise of depression, heart disease and
even weight problems, as it increases hormones in the body which stimulate the
appetite for fattening carbohydrate-rich foods.
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G

There is no denying that Maurice Penn's main arguments are compelling. It

seems that stress has become so prevalent that people are getting stressed about their
levels of stress. But what are we supposed to do? He suggests we do everything we
can to go within ourselves and try to maintain a sense of personal peace and space.

He recommends the use of meditation and relaxation tapes, exercise at the end of the
day whenever possible and greater emphasis on fun. Unfortunately, Maurice
Penman had no suggestions for those of us who find meditation frustrating, or who
get annoyed at relaxation tapes. He had no recommendations for days when you
can’t find any equipment you need in the gym, or find yourself irritated at those
around you who keep saying you need to have more fun.

Questions 14-20
The reading passage has eight paragraphs A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 14-20 on your Answer Sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.

14 an example of how a place has changed due to modern conveniences
15 physical effects of stress
16 a recommendation of how to deal with modern-day pressures and overstimulation
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17 an explanation of sensory overload and today’s irritations that cause stress
18 an assertion about people’s level of stress
19 a reason why small amounts of stress can feel greater
20 a prediction about growing irritations and interruptions to our personal space

***
II. MATCHING INFORMATION
Video Games and children
A

Research has shown that playing video games can be beneficial for a number

of cognitive functions and may also contain social benefits. They educate, provide
space for creativity and offer healthy social interaction. One important aspect in a
game is that following directions can be crucial to success. In order to progress in
games, one must first learn to follow the guidelines, restrictions and components of
them. As the player confronts new challenges, they must use problem-solving to find
solutions. This is true for educational games, mind games, and Role Playing Games
alike. The player cannot get through with what they already have or know and must
find new combinations and incorporate old skills with new skills to overcome
obstacles such as the level or quest (Gee, 2003). In relation to this, the player can
also learn strategy and anticipation, management of resources (simulation games),
mapping, pattern recognition, how to judge the situation and practice reading (with
directions, dialogue, etc.) and quantitative calculations (through educational games,
managing finances, buying and selling for profit, etc. (Tumbokon, 2014).
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B

But at the same time, the best examples are very addictive and gamers are

tempted to play for increasing lengths of time. Excessive behaviour in any area of
life rightly signals alarm bells for parents. However, for an emerging technology like
games, it can be hard to differentiate between excess and enthusiasm. It's difficult
for parents to judge what is a healthy time commitment if they are not game-players
themselves. One approach is to look at the available statistics. A 2012 consumer

study demonstrated that a surprisingly wide range of ages play games: 40% of the
UK population in fact, of which 24% play at least weekly. This picture is brought
into greater focus by last year’s government briefing. It states that in England, video
games were played for two hours or more a day by 55% of boys and 20% of girls in
2010.
C

On the more extreme end of the spectrum, the clinical physiologist Dr Jane

Hucksteth (2010) reported that 7% of teens in the UK play more than 30 hours of
computer games a week. However the impact on their school work and social life
needed further study. “It is agreed that excessive screen time – over four hours with
no break – can be a bad thing." said Dr Hucksteth, "There is a lot of research on this.
However, we should also consider time of day, weekends versus school days and the
age of the child before we can assess the overall impact on their welfare. ”Gaming
is far from a diagnosable addiction but some of the language of addiction can help
parents identify when things are getting excessive”.
D

Indications include playing every day, devoting long periods of time,

sacrificing other activities, neglecting homework and moodiness. The last two may
describe many of our children, but Hucksteth suggests that where four or more of
these factors exist there may be cause for concern and a need for parents to step in.
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"Games should be played as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle," agrees Dr Jo

Twynum of UKIE, the UK games industry trade body. “Players should take regular
breaks – a good guide is five minutes rest every 45 – 60 minutes of game play.” In
light of this, appropriate gaming time is more about its impact on the child’s wider
life than a hard and fast time limit. As children get older, they will naturally integrate
gaming among other activities (outside interests, friendship groups and even
homework) so the dividing line will become more blurred.
E

Distinguishing gaming habits from time spent on other forms of screen time

is also important. While TV and video games appear similar on the surface, the
interactive nature of the latter results in an experience more like a physical toy. Dr
Twynum highlights this misunderstanding. “I’m not sure games provide any
different parameters to other immersive activities. Would we ask ‘How long should
children play Lego for’?”. Video games offer distinct advantages over television,
particularly the recent trend in cross-over titles like "Skylanders" and "Disney
Infinity"; these come with plastic action figures which allow children to play away
from the screen – although, of course, parents may object to the costs involved in
buying multiple characters on top of the games themselves.
F

If parents are concerned that their child is spending excess time on gaming,

keeping game technology in shared spaces rather than bedrooms is by far the most
effective and informal solution. This does require compromise on both the part of
the child (losing their private pursuit) and the parent (having to share the living
room) but has the advantage of not only keeping games under surveillance but
encouraging families to play together – something that children are often more
enthusiastic about than parents anticipate. Using Parental Controls to restrict access
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to particular games is a good driver for conversation and agreement over appropriate
gaming habits in a family. There are also specific hardware features, for example a
timer that pauses the action after a pre-determined amount of daily screen time. A
combination of these reference points, regular breaks, along with moving technology
back into family spaces, ensures parents and children maintain a healthy relationship
to video games and involvement in the family unit.

Questions 16 - 21
Reading passage 2 has six paragraphs labelled A – F
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph, from the possible options i - ix.
Write the correct number, i - ix in boxes 16 - 21 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i.

Comparing games with other electronic media

ii.

Types of intervention for game addicts

iii.

Video games as a learning tool

iv.

The financial costs of gaming

v.

Tell-tale signs of addiction

vi.

Playing time: not the only consideration

vii.

How schools should manage video-gamers

viii. Evaluating video game usage patterns
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ix.

How gaming develops technological skills

16 Paragraph A
17 Paragraph B
18 Paragraph C
19 Paragraph D
20 Paragraph E
21 Paragraph F

Questions 26-27
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage
2? 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

26 Seven percent of the UK population spend over 30 hours a week on video
gaming.
27 Built-in controls which limit gaming time are very popular with parents.

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***
III. YES/NO/GIVEN
Ecotherapy
Ecotherapy, the concept that exposure to nature will improve wellbeing and healthy
living, encompasses a wide variety of activities, whether they be prolonged periods

in wilderness, gardening or individual therapy. But what is the theory behind it? Why
should immersion in greenery (even if only a municipal park) or huge landscapes
(mountains, the sea, deserted regions) reduce depression, delinquency, addiction and
other problems? Many ecotherapeutic interventions entail group activities like
camping trips, group bush walks or even walks on the beach. Wilderness
programmes (often misrepresented as boot camps) have been created, particularly
although not exclusively for adolescents, such as the delinquent, the drug-addicted
and the depressed. They can consist of as much as eight weeks of living in small
groups in remote regions, a huge challenge for many. A significant part of their effect
is achieved by forcing the client to concentrate on survival and the need to cooperate
with others in order to do so. The sense of isolation and the absence of now common
modern methods for self-stimulation, such as the internet and substance abuse, are
also believed to help the client to detoxify from established bad patterns.

But nature is also shown to be independently important. The egocentricity of clients
is often reduced by awareness of something much bigger than them, whether it be
mountains, wide open plains or huge skies. The feeling that the client is the centre
of the universe is called into question by the sheer scale and complexity of nature.
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For many clients, hell has been other people in their normal lives. The solitude and
lack of pressure to satisfy the demands of peers and family lead to significant
improvements in such self-attributes as esteem, efficacy and control. There are also
many accounts of clients of all ages having spiritual experiences as a result of
exposure to wilderness. They report a deep sense of connection to all things. A
heightened awareness of plants, animals and landscape leads them to ponder
existence beyond themselves. The power of nature encourages a sense of

transcendence and of connection both to self and to others.

Why would nature have this benign effect? A valuable theory was offered by a
leading figure in this field, John Wasnier. He maintains that nature offers a different
civilisation from that of human culture. He contends that Earth offers a wisdom, joy
and beauty that excludes pollution, war and insanity. Nature is willing to share its
knowledge and secrets with anyone, anywhere, at any time. He writes that, "the
natural world produces no garbage. On a macro level, everything is valued, nothing
is discarded or unwanted, everything has a role."

Wasnier contrasts modern techno-logic with "bio-logic". Bio-logic, he argues, uses
our multi-sensory ways of knowing and being for harmonious survival. Technologic employs words and stories that exclude our senses. Our intellects, it seems,
dislocate us from natural senses and feelings, like nurturing, place, curiosity, hunger,
motion, trust, empathy, sound, compassion and reason. To experience them truly we
have to realise these traits are solely of, by and from the natural world (one might
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argue that conventional education is an exercise in such dislocation).There are a
number of activities that anyone can employ to stimulate what he calls our "oldbrain", the unpasteurized natural experience of nature. They overlap neatly with the
current vogue for mindfulness which increases awareness of your bodily states
through meditation; our bodies are part of nature, our minds can disconnect us from
our bodies and from nature.

It is important however to recognise the limits of what exposure to nature can
achieve. Telling someone who is depressed to go and smell flowers or immerse
themselves in beautiful landscapes is unlikely to work on its own. If that person is a
single mother with a six-month-old baby and a landlord chasing her rent, her

depression might just turn into aggression at such a suggestion, so other therapies,
including medication, might be needed. Some fundamental causes of emotional
distress reside in brain chemistry as well as psychosocial causes. However, it is also
true that we are twice as likely to be emotionally distressed if we are urban rather
than rural (and four times more likely to suffer schizophrenia). Part of the reason for
this is estrangement caused by lack of exposure to natural sights, sounds and smells,
and dislocation from the natural rhythms of the seasons, of night from day.
Ecotherapies are said to work because they reconnect us with nature: not only its
external reality, but most fundamentally, our inner natures.

Questions 13 – 18
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer? Write:
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YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

13

Staying in remote areas in groups can help people undo negative habits.

14

The client’s problems are put into perspective by the need to survive.

15

Techno-logic connects us with our natural feelings.

16

A typical education helps us to understand and connect with the natural

world.
17

Single mothers are more likely to suffer from depression.

18

Ecotherapies have been shown to be effective against schizophrenia.

***
Key Answer:

I. Matching Information
14C
15F
16E
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17B
18G

19E
20D

II. Matching Headings + T/F/NG
16 iii
17 viii
18 vi
19 v
20 i
21 ii
26 FALSE
27 NOT GIVEN

III. Yes/ No/ Not given
13 YES
14 YES

29 DAYS SHARPEN YOUR IELTS LISTENING – READING SKILLS

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15 NO
16 NO
17 NOT GIVEN
18 NOT GIVEN

Lộ trình Khóa học được dẫn dắt bởi Ms.Jenny với lịch học xuyên suốt tháng 6+7
như sau:
Day 1 - Listening: Form Completion

Day 2 - Listening: Maps/Plan Labelling
Day 3 - Listening: Multiple Choice
Day 4 - Luyện tập 1
Day 5 - Trả lời Q&A Listening
Day 6 - Listening: Note Completion
Day 7 - Listening: Sentence Summary Completion
Day 8 - Listening: Matching/Classifying
Day 9 - Luyện tập 2
Day 10 - Video chữa đề 1
Day 11 - Listening: Short answer
Day 12 - Listening: Diagram/ Flow Chart Completion
Day 13 - Video chữa đề 2
29 DAYS SHARPEN YOUR IELTS LISTENING – READING SKILLS

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Day 14 - Share Tổng hợp tài liệu học Listening
Day 15 - Review những kênh Youtube học Listening
Day 16 – Kết thúc khóa Listening
Day 17 - Reading: T/F/NG
Day 18 - Reading: Matching Headings Q&A về Reading
Day 19 - Reading: Matching Information
Day 20 - Luyện tập 1
Day 21 - Reading: Matching Sentence Endings
Day 22 - Chữa đề 1
Day 23 - Reading: Short answer
Day 24 - Live Q&A Reading
Day 25 - Reading: Sentence Completion
Day 26 - Chữa đề 2 Luyện tập 2

Day 27 - Reading: Labelling Diagram
Day 28 - Reading: Multiple Choice
Day 29 - Tổng hợp tài liệu Reading

Vậy là chúng ta đã học xong rồi, các bạn cùng luyện và chờ đón bài học tiếp theo
vào ngày mai nhé!
Bài đăng trên group IELTS Fighter – Hỗ trợ học tập, gắn tag #29days bởi Ms.Jenny
nha, nếu không thấy thông báo phần tiếp theo thì tìm theo hastag này nha!

29 DAYS SHARPEN YOUR IELTS LISTENING – READING SKILLS

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