Ielts reading test Part 2

Before you look at the short text below, guess what the missing word(s) in Question 1 might be. Think about the type of word(s) that is needed.

Species	Start of active period
African	early spring
Indian	1 ............

Now read the text and find the answer to Question 1:
In the cooler regions the smaller Asian is slower to recover from the winter cold and does not produce any offspring until summer. The African, which warms faster, reproduces in early spring.

Answer

The answer is 'summer'. 
You may not have guessed the correct word but thinking about possibilities helps candidates locate the answers in the text as they will have a better idea of the kind of word they are looking for.

General Training Reading test overview

The types of texts used in the Academic and General Training Reading tests are different. In the Academic Reading test, each section contains one long text, but Section 1 of the General Training Reading test contains two or three short factual texts and Section 2 contains two short factual texts.
In Section 1 of the General Training Reading test, you might find a text like the advertisement for the riding school. In this section, texts are relevant to basic social survival – the type of texts you would
encounter in everyday life. There are two or three texts, which are not usually connected, but one of these could consist of a number of short texts with a common theme, e.g. a set of advertisements related to the same theme. Other examples of text types you might find in this section include extracts from leaflets, brochures, manuals, travel guides and websites. The questions mainly involve finding general factual information.

General Training Reading test: Sections 2 and 3

In Section 2 of the General Training Reading test, there are two texts that are not related. These are the kind of texts you would encounter in a work-related situation. They might contain, for instance, information on applying for jobs, company policies, pay and conditions, workplace facilities or staff development.
The type of texts you might find in this section include contracts, job advertisements, terms and conditions, and health and safety leaflets. Again, the questions involve finding factual information.
In Section 3 of the General Training Reading test, there is one long text on a topic of general interest, such as nature, history or lifestyles. Texts can come, for instance, from a newspaper or magazine and are generally descriptive. As we saw in Unit 1, different text types have different structures and features of style, so it is important that you give learners practice in reading lots of different types of texts, as well as giving them practice in reading about different topics.