IELTS STEP UP READING 1

LESSON 5
IELTS READING SKILL 2 – READING FOR TOPICS/ MAIN IDEAS (CONTENT WORDS)
IELTS WRITING: DIVERSIFY YOUR WRITING STYLES (SENTENCE TYPES + PUNCTUATIONS)

PART A - READING: READING FOR TOPICS/ MAIN IDEAS (CONTENT WORDS)

Spotting the topics/ main ideas not only help you to deal with IELTS Reading tasks such as matching
headings, but also assist you to easily track the details for other types of questions.

Specifying the key content words is necessary to find out the topic/ main idea.

Topic vs. Main idea

Topic: What is the reading about
Main idea: What is said about the topic

Example:
Today, more than half of all Americans are very overweight. They are more than twenty pounds (9.1kg.)
overweight. This problem is caused by the way Americans eat. They like to eat fast foods like hamburgers, French
fries, and pizza. These foods have lots of fat, salt, and sugar in them. People also put on extra pounds because of
the amount of food they eat. Americans eat much more than they need at meals. Many Americans also eat chips
and sweets between meals. Doctors say that being overweight is partly caused by too little exercise. Many
Americans like driving everywhere instead of walking. In their homes, they often lie on the couch and watch TV.
They don’t get any regular exercise.
sedentary lifestyle
Topic Overweight among Americans
Main idea Overweight among Americans are caused by eating habits and too little exercises.

WHAT ARE KEY CONTENT WORDS

1. The main nouns/ verbs in subjects/ verbs/ objects
a. By 1908, observations backed with calculations had confirmed the reality of artificial intelligence.
b. Minute particles of coal dust were darting about on the surface of some alcohol in his lab.

2. Exclude lead-in parts: it is said that, we believe that, the study shows that, it seemed to be, likely to,
there is/are, that is/means …
a. There was one president before George Washington. That man was John Hanson.
b. The study showed that T-rex did not hunt alone.

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c. You should know that nobody is perfect.

d. It seem to me that he is likely to win.

3. Exclude supporting parts

- between commas, semi colons, parentheses, dashes…...
- relative clauses
- prepositional phrases
- adverbs, adverbial phrases, adverbial clauses

a. Luckily, supervolcanoes don't erupt very often - only once about every 600,000 years.
b. The Chinese discovered how to make bronze, by mixing other metals together. The Chinese made all kinds of
things from bronze - pots for cooking, cups for drinking, jewellery and weapons.
c. Volcanoes can be dormant which means they may erupt again, or they can be extinct that is they will not
erupt.
d. Hurricanes are huge storms that can be hundreds of kilometres wide. They have winds with the travelling
speed of up to 120 kilometres per hour.

4. Compound, complex, compound-complex sentences

- with coordinating conjunctions: AND, OR… equal attention should be given to both clauses
- with coordinating conjunction BUT: attention should be given to the clause after BUT
- with subordinating conjunctions IF, BECAUSE, WHEN, ONCE, ALTHOUGH/ THOUGH... :
attention should be given to the independent clause only

a. I like pizza and he likes pasta.

b. The farmer could choose to travel by boat or they could wait to go by trail.
c. Education brings you knowledge but it also brings you friends.
d. A supervolcano eruption would change our climate drastically. Even though the eruption might only last a few
weeks, these changes would last for many years.
e. The most important development during the time of the Shang was writing. Once a civilization can write,
people can pass on information about themselves, their lives and what they believe.

5. Pay attention to the following supporting parts:

- organizing words: first, second, next, then, before, in the past, today...
- the main nouns/ verbs of supporting parts: in case of unclear key content words

a. There is a fact that students are lazy reading.

b. I need somebody that can help me with technical problems.

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PRACTICE – underline the key content words

1. Much of American history is about the conflict between state and federal authority – that is, the state

government (of Texas, Virginia, and the other states) versus the nation’s federal government based in

Washington, D.C. The federal government is lawful over the states. When there is a conflict between

federal law and state law, federal law takes priority. In the 19th century, this conflict between state and

federal authority in the U.S. led to the War between the States, which lasted from 1861 to 1865.

2. Perhaps the biggest controversy about Columbus, however, is about what his arrival meant to Native

Americans – the people who were already living in America when Columbus landed. Columbus’ critics

point out that the arrival of the first Europeans led to the slaughter of Native Americans and the

destruction of their culture. According to this viewpoint, Columbus was not a great explorer finding a new

land. Rather, he was an invader who started the conquest of America – and its native peoples – by brutal

newcomers from European. People who have this opinion of Columbus think he was a criminal, not a

hero.

HOW TO USE KEY CONTENT WORDS

1. Look for repetition: Check if certain words are repeated or their synonyms are used throughout
the passage. That is the topic/ main ideas of the passage.

2. Look for the connection among key content words: If the repetition is not clear, it is necessary
to find the common theme of the key content words.

PRACTICE
A. Choose the topic word in each group
a. hotel farm villa house cave living place
b. freezer dryer refrigerator stove appliance (thiết bị)

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c. necklace jewelry earring bracelet ring

d. rose daffodil lily daisy tulip jasmine flowers
e. vegetables corn bean pea potato broccoli tomato
f. mittens earmuffs scarf boots gloves winter clothes
g. high school headmaster education mentor major overseas study
h. sociology psychology science geology sociobiology technology
i. coral reefs seaweeds tide fauna ocean water level
j. enemy country tactic war uniform triumph

B. Write the topic word

traffic
a. Topic:______________
jam rush hours subway speed charge police accidents
b. Topic: _____________
computer
hard drive menu keyboard monitor software hardware screen
c. Topic:_____________
bank
teller auditor loan officer officer manager president accountant
d. Topic:_____________
tide
moon gravitation water level attraction high low sea
culture
e. Topic:_____________
custom belief behavior tradition used to familiar strange
f. Topic:_____________
hospital
patient ambulance surgery nurse look after injury unconscious
g. Topic:_____________
trade
goods price investment selling buying contract advertising
holiday
h. Topic:_____________ / travelling
backpack suitcase clothes tickets accommodation booking services
cooking / kitchen
i. Topic:_____________
dishes spices taste ingredients knife microwave raw

3. Exclude the minority: Some words are repeated or their synonyms are mentioned; however,
they are not really in the same theme as the majority of other key words. In this case, it is
important that we pick up the majority’s theme.

PRACTICE
1. Write the topic word. Cross out the minority
a. Topic: ________________
fashion
model designer style trend collection interview stage news
smartphone
b. Topic: ________________
relax play game software version function texting facetime call
c. Topic: ________________
election
government voter citizen candidate politician power campaign media
history
d. Topic: ________________
story historic past years ago textbook B.C Indian event
e. Topic:_____________
disease
virus bacteria treatment spread infection prevention childcare center

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2. The key content words are in bold. Write the topic word. You need to exclude the minority
Making tea
f. Topic: ________________
First boil some water. Next put some hot water in the tea pot to warm it. Pour the water out of the pot and put
in some tea leaves. You will need one teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup of tea you want. Then pour the boiling
water into the tea pot. Cover the pot and wait for a few minutes. Now the tea is ready to drink.

History of coffee
g. Topic: ________________
The first people grow coffee beans lived in the Middle East. The Persians, Arabs, and Turks were drinking coffee
many hundreds of years ago. Then in the 1600, Europeans learned about coffee. They quickly learned to like it.
Soon there were coffeehouses in many European cities. Europeans took coffee with them when they travelled to
new countries. That is how people in other parts of the world learned about coffee. Now coffee is very popular in
North and South America, in Africa, and in parts of Asia.

h. Topic: ________________
Building a building
‘You actually feel a real sense of achievement once a house is finished. You know, you’ve seen it grow from just a
hole in the ground to somewhere for someone to live in. And you’ve made it happen. You’ve dug the foundations,
laid the brickwork, put the roof on, put in the windows and the doors. It’s actually very creative. Of course, it’s
hard work too, with all the carrying and lifting you have to do. You have to be prepared to get dirty, and work
outside the weathers, but that’s a small price to pay, if you ask me.’

TOPIC SENTENCE
The topic sentence:
- Has its key content words (or their synonyms, references) repeated in supporting sentences
- Has its key content words illustrated, explained by the key content words of supporting sentences
(in general, to verify if a sentence is the topic sentence, key content words are counted; Available topic
sentences help to save our time call out the topics & main ideas)

Which is the topic sentence of each group

Group 1: Television news can be very misleading.
Only bad news and sad stories are shown.
The news reporters do not tell all of the details.
Many important stories are not reported on the television news.

Group 2: Every day the television news reports on fires and accidents.
Many of the news stories are about illness and dying.
Usually only bad news and sad stories are shown in TV news reports.
Some of the news stories are about bad government.

TOPIC SENTENCE = TOPIC + MAIN IDEA (topic + what is said about the topic)
Supporting sentences = topic + fact (illustrating/ explaining the main idea)

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PRACTICE – Specify the topics and main ideas

1. Studies reveal that people's first names can have an influence on them. Some names reflect on people in a
positive way. For example, one survey showed that American men consider the name Susan to be very sexy. And
participants in a British study thought Tony to be the name of someone very friendly. However, other names can
have a negative impact. In one study, for instance, teachers gave lower grades to essay supposedly written by
boys named Hubert and Elmer than to the very same essay when they credited to boys with more popular
names. Another study found girls with unpopular names did worse on IQ and achievement tests than girls with
more appealing names.
TOPIC: _________________________ MAIN IDEA: ___________________________________

2. Animals sleeping habits differ in a number of ways. They differ according to what time of day they sleep. Some
animals sleep during daylight hours while others sleep during darkness. They also differ in the length of time they
sleep. Other animals sleep for weeks or months at a time when they hibernate.
TOPIC: _________________________ MAIN IDEA: ___________________________________

3. There are gender differences in adolescents' satisfaction with their bodies. Compared with boys, girls are
usually less happy with their bodies and have more negative body images. Also, as puberty proceeds, girls often
become even more dissatisfied with their bodies. This is probably because their body fat increases. In contrast,
boys become more satisfied as they move through puberty, probably because their muscle mass increases.
TOPIC: _________________________ MAIN IDEA: ___________________________________

4.
TOPIC:
_______________________

MAIN IDEA:
______________________

SUMMARY OF HOW TO SPOT TOPICS/ MAIN IDEAS

- Repeated key content words (themselves, synonyms, references)
- Common theme of key content words (exclude the minority)
- Topic sentence (verified by key content words)
- Consideration of organizing words (first, next, today, in the past….)
- Consideration of supporting parts when needed

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READING HOMEWORK
A. Choose the correct topic for each paragraph
DIVING – YOU MUST TRY!
1 - _________ Scuba divers enter a silent and mysterious world every time they dive. They swim among hundreds
of brightly-coloured fish, and larger fish move effortlessly past them. Dolphins sometimes approach them out of
curiosity, sharks out of anger, perhaps, although they rarely attack divers. The strange underwater plants and the
incredible colours of coral gardens are all part of the experience of scuba diving.
A-The incredible world of diving B- Special fish
C-The strange plants undersea D- The feelings of divers

2 - _________ The sport is not cheap, however. Divers must wear a proper suit which keeps them warm in cold
water, while in tropical seas its purpose is to protect them against brushing against coral which can cut like
hundreds of tiny knives, and jellyfish whose sting can be very painful or even cause the diver’s death. A good quality
face mask is essential, as is the regulator which supplies air to the diver’s mouthpiece from the tanks he or she
carries. There are also the fins worn on the feet and the weight belt used to help the diver descend.
A-The dangers of the sport B-The diver’s equipment
C-The undersea world D-The importance of the diving suit

3 - __________ In the past, the objective of many divers was to shoot specimen fish with spear guns. Now, though,
instead of shooting fish, many divers would rather photograph them alive in their natural environment, and
underwater photography had become a major feature of the sport. Feeding fish is something that many divers do
as well. Indeed, in many places, the fish have learnt to associate divers with food and will come to feed as tamely
from a diver as domestic pets take food from their owners. Wreck diving is another aspect of the sport that has
always been very popular. Swimming through the cabins of a sunken ship is one of the strangest and most haunting
experiences that scuba diving has to offer.
A-Changes in scuba diving B-How to dive
C-Diving activities D-Different kinds of divers

B. STATE THE TOPIC & MAIN IDEA

1. Taking vitamins may be beneficial to your health for several reasons. For one thing, vitamins provide essential
nutrients that may be lacking in your diet. Also, some vitamins may reduce your risk of cancer and other diseases.
Finally, vitamins may increase your energy and improve your well-being.
vitamins
TOPIC: _________________________ MAIN IDEA: ______________________________________
benefits of taking vitamins

2. The first difference between dinosaurs and reptiles is size. Most modern reptiles are small. Dinosaurs were
much, much larger than any reptile that we have on Earth today. Second, the legs of most reptiles today are on
the sides of their body. However, dinosaurs’ legs were on the bottom of their body. In this way, dinosaurs could
stand up on their back legs. Third, today’s reptiles use the environment to control their body temperature. In
contrast, dinosaurs controlled their own body temperature. They did not depend on their surroundings. While
reptiles and dinosaurs may seem very similar, they are actually quite different.
TOPIC: _______________________ the differences are size, legs, temperature control.
difference between dinosaurs and reptilesMAIN IDEA: _________________________________

3. There are some evidence that colors affect you physiologically. For example, when subjects are exposed to red
light, respiratory movements increase; exposure to blue decreases respiratory movements. Similarly, eye blinks
increase in frequency when eyes are exposed to red light and decrease when exposed to blue. This seems
consistent with the intuitive feelings about blue being more soothing and red being more arousing. After changing
a school's walls from orange and white to blue, the blood pressure of the students decreased while their academic
performance improved.
TOPIC: _________________________
effect of colors MAIN IDEA: ______________________________________
colors affect physiologically

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C. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-7) of the text.
A-After your adventure D-Make your dream come true G-The right clothing
B-Our flights E-Safety first H-What can you do on board?
C-Perfect for special occasions F-Other services I-Where do we go?

Champagne balloon flights (Leaflet)

0-__________________
D Bristol balloons invite you to fulfill the ambition of a life time. Experience a bird’s-
eye view of the countryside, while slowly drifting across the landscape, enjoying the magnificent sport of hot-air
ballooning.
C
1- __________________ - For a unique birthday present, an anniversary gift or a celebration, a flight in a
balloon provides the perfect answer. You can even use our gift vouchers as an unusual and exciting present.
Entertaining your clients of staff in a balloon provides something completely different.

2- __________________
B - Our aim is to give everyone a pleasant and enjoyable flight. Flights are available
throughout the year and last for the whole adventure. We lift off before sunset or soon after dawn because the
winds are usually light at these times. We do not fly if it is raining or very windy.

I
3- __________________ - Ballooning is the art of making pleasant and unexpected discoveries. We are
dependent on the wind, so no two flights are ever exactly the same. The average distance we travel is ten miles,
affording you views of the city and the surrounding scenery.

H
4- __________________ - Many of our passengers are happy just to relax and enjoy the view and the
incredible sense of peace that being aloft in a balloon provides. A balloon is a brilliant platform for photography.
You might like to bring a camera or a camcorder and plenty of film!

G
5- __________________ - For your safety and comfort we suggest you wear long trousers and long sleeves,
and preferably natural fibres, like wool and cotton, which will keep you warmer than artificial ones. The weather
can change very quickly, so even on a warm, sunny day bring a waterproof jacket. Something like a sailing jacket
or a skiing jacket is ideal. Wear warm, waterproof footwear, and bring a hat if your hair in a bit thin on top. It will
protect you from the heat from the burners.

6- __________________
F - Chilled champagne or orange juice is served with our compliments. Each
passenger receives a commemorative flight certificate after his flight. Our ground crew who are in radio contact
with the balloon meet us on landing and will return you to the departure point if required.

7- __________________
A - We have experience in operating advertising balloons in over fourteen different
countries. If you have enjoyed your flight so much that you want to take up the sport yourself, we can sell you the
latest equipment and we can even train you to fly your own balloon.

D. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-H for each part (1-7) of the text.

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A, It is currently extremely dangerous to attempt (=try) to clone a human.

B, the controversy (tranh cãi) is certain to continue.
C, It looked like human cloning was becoming a reality.
D, There could be numerous drawbacks (bất lợi) to human cloning.
E, Most people do not understand what cloning really means.
F, Cloning is almost certain to continue because it can’t be stopped.
G, According to scientists, the cloning of humans could have medical benefits.
H, The DNA of a cloned cell is identical (giống hệt) to the DNA of another cell.

To clone or not to clone?

(0)___H__. What exactly is cloning? According to the Human Genetics Advisory Commission, cloning is as
‘producing a cell or organism with the same nuclear genome as another cell or organism’. Basically, that means
that a clone is a living being with exactly the same DNA as another living being. At the time of writing, some
mammals have successfully been cloned, but human have not.
C
(1) ______. Although frogs were first successfully cloned in 1950s, it was not until the mid-1990s that
cloning became a major political issue. This was when Dolly the sheep became the first successfully cloned adult
mammal. Suddenly, it seemed that the cloning of humans had gone out of the realm of science fiction and was
close to becoming scientific fact. Some people were extremely excited by this prospect. Others were extremely
worried.
(2) _______.
G So, why are some scientists so keen to clone human cell? First of all, it’s important to
understand that cloning human cells does not necessarily mean that you make a new human being. Scientists
believe that in the future we will be able to clone human organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys which we’ll
be able to use in transplant operations. They also think that cloning will help us get rid of genetic diseases and will
allow infertile couples to have children.
(3) ____.
A However, most scientists are against human cloning at present because they argue it is not safe.
If took 272 attempts before the cloning of Dolly, and even she has not enjoyed good health since her birth. At
present, we do not have the technology to safely clone humans. But what if we are able to solve the safety issue?
Will human cloning be acceptable then? Many politicians and religious leaders say no.
D
(4) _______. There are both political and ethical arguments against human cloning. Some religious groups
say that cloning would allow us to ‘play God’: to determine the sex, the eye colour, even the height of our children.
They say this is morally wrong. Others argue that clones will suffer severe psychological problems when they learn
they have been cloned, and may suffer prejudice and intolerance from non-cloned humans. Cloning could also
produce a black market for embryos.
B
(5) _______. So what can we expect to happen in the future? Most Western governments are in the process
of legislating against human cloning. However, unless all the countries of the world make human cloning illegal
(which is highly unlikely), we are likely to see more and more attempts at human cloning in the near future, it is
too early to say how successful they will be.
(6) ______.
F Whatever happens, one thing is true. This issue is not going to go away. Scientists such as
Severino Antinori and Panagiotis Zavos are not going to give up trying to develop safe human cloning techniques.
And religious organisations such as the Roman Catholic Church will continue to argue that the cloning of humans
is morally indefensible.

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E. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-H for each part (1-7) of the text.

A, Coming up with a forecast (cho ra đời) E, Useful information for the amateur
B, You can still have a go (thử) F, Hi-tech assistance
C, Do they always get it right? G, an art not a science
D, Small but powerful H, Difficulties with long-term forecasting (dài ngày)
What’s it going to be like tomorrow? - the science of modern nghien
weather forecasting.
cuu ve khi quyen
(1) ___________________
D - What he is saying is that, in meteorology, one has to remember that a tiny
difference in the initial conditions of the atmosphere can have an enormous effect on what the weather will be
like several days later. For example, whether or not a butterfly flaps its wings in South America could be the
difference between whether there’s a storm in Europe or not.
(2) ___________________
H - Some of these differences, like the proverbial butterfly above, are too small to
nha nghien cuu ...
detect. That’s why meteorologists will probably never be able to provide us with accurate day-to-day weather
forecasts several weeks in advance. Today, the longest period of time they can forecast with some accuracy is five
days. And even this is frequently not accurate enough for us to totally rely on.
(3) ______________
A - So how do they forecast the weather? The first step is observation. Meteorologists
all over the world are constantly taking readings, measurements and recordings of what the weather is like now.
This information is collected, and fed into computers which use mathematical models to come up with predictions.
There are different models, and each model will come up with a (slightly or enormously) different prediction.
(4) ______________
C - The key question, of course, is ‘How accurate are these predictions?’ The answer is
that it depends. Remember the butterfly we talked about above? Sometimes small differences in the initial
conditions have a large effect on weather systems, but sometimes they don’t. In other words, sometimes the
weather is more predictable than at other times. Because if this, forecasters run their computer models several
time, and each time they change the initial conditions slightly. If the resulting predictions are all similar to each
other, the forecast is more likely to be right.
(5) ___________________
F - Of course, the more advanced modern technology becomes, the better we are
at forecasting the weather. These days, it’s not just a question of looking at the barometer and measuring wind
speed to decide what the weather’s going to be like tomorrow. Weather forecasting is extremely complex, making
use of radar and satellites and global communication systems. Also, the more powerful the computers that
produce the models are, the more accurate the forecasts will be.
E
(6) ___________________ - Does that mean that there’s no place for amateur weather forecasting
anymore? Well, yes and no. Meteorologists say that relying on old weather proverbs such as ‘red sky at night,
shepherds’ delight’ and ‘fair weather cometh out of the north’ are really not reliable. The problem is they were
usually created a long time ago, often in different parts of the world. What may have been generally true then and
there is not universally true today. However, watching the rise and fall of your barometer and checking the
direction of the wind can prove the reliable indicator of the weather to come.
(7) ___________________
B
Wind direction Barometer reading Weather forecast
SW to NW 30.10 – 30.20 (steady) Fair, with slight temperature changes for 1-2 days
SW to NW 30.10 – 30.20 (rising rapidly) Fair, followed by rain within 2 days
S to SE 30.10 – 30.20 Rain within 24hrs (falling slowly)
Going to W 29.80 or below (rising rapidly) Clearing and getting colder

accurate (adj): chính xác - accuracy (n)
assistance (n): sự trợ giúp
constant (adj): liên tục
detect (v): phát hiện
fair (adj): đẹp (trời)
indicator (n): dấu hiệu
initial (adj): ban đầu
long-term (adj): dài ngày
observation (n): sự quan sát
prove (v): chứng minh, cho thấy là
proverb (n) câu tục ngữ
reliable (adj): đáng tin
slight (adj): ít, nhỏ
steady (adj): ổn định

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IELTS READING EXAM PRACTICE

PRACTICE 1

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vii
x
ii
iii
viii
ix

T
T
NG
F

NG

other people
offer

lower salaries

PRACTICE 2
Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

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D
H
E
F
G
C

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9
7

10
8

unlimited choices

delivered

concept of shopping
Broadband

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