IELTS General Training Reading Mock Test 9

 

PART 1 — Questions 1–14

The Oakwood Community Garden

A — About the Garden

The Oakwood Community Garden was established in 2014 on a piece of unused land previously owned by the local council. Today, it contains more than 80 individual plots, each allocated to a local resident or community group. The garden is managed by a committee of volunteers, although the council continues to provide limited financial support for maintenance and water.

The garden is open to plot holders from 7:00 a.m. until sunset. Visitors who do not have a plot are welcome at weekends, provided they remain on the marked public paths. Children may enter the garden only when accompanied by an adult.

B — Renting a Plot

Residents who wish to rent a plot must complete an application form and provide proof that they live within the Oakwood district. Because demand is high, there is normally a waiting list. Applicants are contacted when a suitable plot becomes available.

Each plot measures approximately 20 square metres. The annual rental fee is £45, which includes access to the communal water supply. Gardeners are expected to keep their plots reasonably tidy and to avoid using chemical pesticides that might damage neighbouring crops.

C — Shared Facilities

The garden has several facilities that all members can use. These include a tool shed, a greenhouse, a composting area and a small meeting room. Members may borrow basic gardening tools free of charge, but they must return them after use.

The greenhouse is particularly popular during the colder months. Members wishing to use it for more than two consecutive days must reserve a space in advance. The meeting room can be booked for gardening-related activities such as workshops and committee meetings.

D — Composting

Oakwood encourages members to recycle garden waste rather than throw it away. Leaves, grass cuttings, vegetable plants and untreated wood can be placed in the communal composting area. Cooked food, meat and dairy products are not accepted because they can attract unwanted animals.

Finished compost is distributed among members twice a year. Gardeners who contribute large quantities of suitable material are not given priority, as the committee aims to distribute the compost fairly.

E — Educational Activities

The garden is increasingly being used as an educational resource. On the first Saturday of each month, volunteers organise a free gardening workshop. Topics include seed planting, soil improvement, natural pest control and water conservation.

Schools may also arrange visits. However, school groups must contact the committee at least two weeks in advance. Visits are normally limited to weekday mornings because the garden is busiest at weekends.

Questions 1–5

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

Write:

TRUE — if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE — if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN — if there is no information

1. The Oakwood Community Garden was created on land that had previously been unused.
2. The local council pays all the garden’s operating costs.
3. Children are allowed to visit the garden without adults on weekends.
4. Every person who applies for a plot receives one immediately.
5. The annual plot fee includes the cost of water.

Questions 6–9

Complete the sentences below.

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

6. The garden contains more than ______ individual plots.
7. Each plot is about ______ square metres.
8. The annual rental fee for a plot is £______.
9. The greenhouse must be reserved if members want to use it for more than ______ consecutive days.

Questions 10–14

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

10. Which of the following may be placed in the communal composting area?

A. Cooked vegetables
B. Dairy products
C. Untreated wood

11. Why are some food materials excluded from the composting area?

A. They take too long to decompose.
B. They may attract animals.
C. They contain too much water.

12. How often is finished compost distributed?

A. Every month
B. Twice a year
C. Once a year

13. When is the free gardening workshop held?

A. Every Saturday
B. The first Saturday of each month
C. The last Saturday of each month

14. How far in advance must schools normally arrange visits?

A. One week
B. Two weeks
C. One month

PART 2 — Questions 15–27

Improving Customer Service in the Workplace

Many organisations invest considerable time and money in improving customer service. However, excellent service does not depend only on employees being friendly. It involves communication, accurate information, efficient systems and the ability to respond appropriately when problems occur.

Paragraph A

One of the simplest ways to improve customer service is to ensure that employees understand what customers are likely to need. New staff members should therefore receive clear information about products, services, prices and common customer questions. Training should not be limited to technical knowledge. Employees should also learn how to explain information clearly to people who may have little knowledge of the subject.

Paragraph B

Listening is another essential part of good customer service. Employees sometimes concentrate so heavily on preparing their response that they fail to understand what the customer is actually saying. Effective listening involves allowing the customer to finish speaking, asking relevant questions and confirming important details before taking action.

Paragraph C

Technology can make customer service faster, but it can also create difficulties. Automated systems are useful for routine requests, such as checking an order or changing an appointment. However, customers with complicated problems may become frustrated if they cannot reach a real person. Companies should therefore consider carefully which tasks can be automated and which require human judgement.

Paragraph D

Complaints should not automatically be viewed as evidence that employees are performing badly. A complaint can reveal a weakness in a company’s product, procedure or communication system. Managers should examine repeated complaints for patterns. If many customers report the same problem, changing the underlying process may be more effective than simply apologising to individual customers.

Paragraph E

Employees also need authority to solve certain problems themselves. If every small decision has to be approved by a manager, customers may have to wait unnecessarily. Giving trained employees reasonable authority can speed up solutions and demonstrate that the organisation trusts its staff. However, clear limits should be established so that employees understand which decisions they can make independently.

Paragraph F

Finally, organisations should measure customer service regularly. Customer surveys can provide useful information, but they should not be the only source of evidence. Managers can also examine waiting times, repeat complaints, response rates and other operational information. Using several measures provides a more balanced picture of performance.

Questions 15–20

Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A–F.

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

List of Headings

i. Giving workers greater responsibility
ii. Using several methods to evaluate performance
iii. The importance of understanding customers
iv. Problems caused by excessive automation
v. Learning from negative feedback
vi. Developing knowledge and communication skills
vii. The importance of listening carefully
viii. Reducing the cost of customer service

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

Questions 21–24

Complete the summary below.

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

Good customer service requires more than simply being friendly. Employees need knowledge about products and services, but they must also be able to explain information clearly. They should practise effective 21. ______ by allowing customers to finish speaking and checking important details. Although technology can handle 22. ______ requests efficiently, complicated situations may require human judgement. Companies should also examine repeated complaints because they may reveal weaknesses in an organisation’s 23. ______ or procedures. In addition, trained staff can often solve problems more quickly when they have sufficient 24. ______ to make decisions.

Questions 25–27

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

25. According to Paragraph D, repeated complaints can:

A. show that employees need higher salaries
B. identify weaknesses in company procedures
C. demonstrate that customers are unreasonable

26. Why should employees have some decision-making authority?

A. To reduce the number of managers
B. To make customers wait longer
C. To help resolve problems more quickly

27. Why should managers use several methods to measure customer service?

A. Because surveys may not provide a complete picture
B. Because employees dislike customer surveys
C. Because operational data is always inaccurate

PART 3 — Questions 28–40

The Changing Role of Public Transport

For much of the twentieth century, public transport was regarded primarily as a practical means of moving people from one place to another. Buses, trains and trams were designed largely around predictable commuting patterns, with large numbers of people travelling into city centres during the morning and returning home in the evening. In recent decades, however, the role of public transport has begun to change. Growing cities, environmental concerns, technological developments and changing lifestyles have all influenced the way transport systems are planned.

One important change has been the recognition that public transport is not simply a service for people who do not own cars. In many cities, professionals, students and families who could afford private vehicles are choosing buses and trains for particular journeys. Rising parking costs, traffic congestion and environmental concerns have contributed to this change. Transport authorities are therefore increasingly interested in making public transport attractive to a wider section of society rather than treating it as a basic service for a limited group.

Another major development is the growth of flexible working. Traditional transport networks were designed around the idea that most employees travelled at similar times every weekday. Working from home several days a week has reduced some peak-hour journeys, while creating demand for transport at different times. Some transport authorities have responded by adjusting timetables and experimenting with more flexible services. The challenge is to provide sufficient frequency without operating large numbers of nearly empty vehicles.

Technology has also changed passengers’ expectations. Mobile applications can provide information about delays, platform changes and estimated arrival times. Digital payment systems allow passengers to use bank cards or mobile devices instead of purchasing traditional tickets. Such developments can make journeys easier, but they also create a risk of excluding people who are less comfortable with digital technology. Good transport planning therefore needs to provide alternatives for passengers who cannot or do not wish to rely entirely on smartphones.

Environmental considerations are another powerful influence. Public transport generally uses less energy per passenger than individual car travel when vehicles are well used. However, simply replacing cars with buses or trains does not automatically guarantee environmental benefits. Empty or poorly utilised services can consume considerable resources. For this reason, planners increasingly consider passenger numbers, vehicle size, energy sources and journey patterns when assessing environmental performance.

There is also growing interest in integrating different forms of transport. A passenger may walk from home to a bus stop, take a bus to a railway station and then use a train for the main part of the journey. If these services are planned separately, connections can be inconvenient and passengers may face long waiting times. Integrated networks aim to make transfers easier through coordinated timetables, common payment systems and better-designed interchange points.

Some cities are experimenting with demand-responsive transport. Instead of following a fixed route at all times, smaller vehicles can adjust their routes according to passenger requests. This can be useful in areas where traditional buses would carry very few passengers. However, such systems are not necessarily cheaper or more effective in every situation. Their success depends on local geography, demand patterns, technology and the ability of operators to manage bookings efficiently.

Despite these developments, experts caution against assuming that technology alone will solve transport problems. A sophisticated mobile application cannot compensate for an unreliable service, and electric vehicles cannot eliminate congestion if too many people continue to travel separately. The most successful transport strategies are likely to combine technology with good planning, reliable services and an understanding of how people actually move around their communities.

The future of public transport may therefore be less about choosing between cars, buses, trains or bicycles and more about creating systems in which different forms of transport complement one another. The objective is not necessarily to eliminate private vehicles completely but to make sustainable alternatives convenient enough that people can choose them for a greater proportion of their journeys.

Questions 28–32

Complete the sentences below.

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

28. Traditional transport systems were largely designed around predictable ______ patterns.
29. Rising parking costs and traffic ______ have encouraged some people to use public transport.
30. Flexible working has reduced some ______-hour journeys.
31. Mobile applications can provide information about transport ______.
32. Integrated networks aim to make ______ between different forms of transport easier.

Questions 33–36

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

Write:

TRUE — if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE — if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN — if there is no information

33. Public transport is increasingly being promoted only for people who cannot afford cars.
34. Flexible working has changed the pattern of demand for public transport.
35. Digital transport systems are suitable for every passenger.
36. The environmental advantages of public transport depend partly on how heavily vehicles are used.

Questions 37–40

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

37. What problem can occur when different transport services are planned separately?

A. Vehicles become too large.
B. Passengers may experience inconvenient connections.
C. Ticket prices always increase.
D. Services become completely automated.

38. Demand-responsive transport may be particularly useful:

A. in areas with very low passenger demand
B. only in large city centres
C. where all passengers travel at the same time
D. for international journeys

39. What does the writer suggest about technology?

A. It will eventually replace transport planners.
B. It can solve congestion by itself.
C. It is useful but cannot solve every transport problem.
D. It should be avoided by public transport authorities.

40. What is the main idea of the final paragraph?

A. Private cars should be completely banned from cities.
B. Public transport should replace bicycles.
C. Different forms of transport should work together.
D. Future transport systems should rely entirely on technology.

ANSWER KEY

Part 1

Question	Answer
1	TRUE
2	FALSE
3	FALSE
4	FALSE
5	TRUE
6	80
7	20
8	45
9	two
10	C
11	B
12	B
13	B
14	B

Part 2

Question	Answer
15	vi
16	vii
17	iv
18	v
19	i
20	ii
21	listening
22	routine
23	product
24	authority
25	B
26	C
27	A

Part 3

Question	Answer
28	commuting
29	congestion
30	peak
31	delays
32	transfers
33	FALSE
34	TRUE
35	FALSE
36	TRUE
37	B
38	A
39	C
40	C

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