Mindset for IELTS, Book 3, Unit 5, Reading, p.

94
History

mindset a set of attitudes or fixed ideas that somebody has and that are often difficult
to change
SYNONYM MENTALITY
a conservative mindset
the mindset of the computer generation
Grammar focus: second, third and mixed conditionals
hypothetical adj based on situations or ideas which are possible and imagined rather
than real and true
a hypothetical question/situation/example
Let us take the hypothetical case of Sheila, a mother of two…
deal with sth to be about something
Her poems often deal with the subject of death.
Teacher’s note
- 2nd, 3rd and mixed conditionals are grammatical structures that occur relatively
frequently in more complex, argumentative texts.
It is therefore useful for students to be familiar with these structures in
preparation for the IELTS reading exam.
Have students close their books and then write the following sentences on the
board.
If I were king, I would reduce taxes.
If I had been king, I would have reduced taxes.
- Ask students whether these are real or imaginary (hypothetical) situations.
Ask them to discuss the difference between the two examples, and then open
their books and compare their ideas with the advice box.
relatively adv to a fairly large degree, especially in comparison to something else
I found the test relatively easy.
We had relatively few applications for the job.
argumentative adj consisting of or characterized by argument
argumentative discourse
aired their opinions in an argumentative way
hypothetical adj based on situations or ideas which are possible and imagined rather
than real and true
a hypothetical question/situation/example
Let us take the hypothetical case of Sheila, a mother of two…
14
Teacher’s note
- Ask the students to complete the table with the correct structures.
Extension
- Give students some further conditional stems and ask them to complete them
using their own ideas and the correct conditional structures, e.g. If I were King
/ Queen. If Fyodor hadn’t been mad, etc.
 stem (grammar) the main part of a word that stays the same when endings are added
to it
‘Writ’ is the stem of the forms ‘writes’, ‘writing’ and ‘written’.
Answers
1 D If + past perfect/past perfect continuous
2 A would + verb
3 C If + past simple /past continuous
4 B would have + past participle
hypothetical adj based on situations or ideas which are possible and imagined rather
than real and true
a hypothetical question/situation/example
Let us take the hypothetical case of Sheila, a mother of two…
Tip 15
variation (in/of something) U C a change, especially in the amount or level of
something
The dial records very slight variations in pressure.
Currency exchange rates are always subject to variation.
regional/seasonal variation (= depending on the region or time of year)
modal (also modal verb, modal auxiliary, modal auxiliary verb)(grammar) a verb
such as can, may or will that is used with another verb (not a modal) to express
possibility, permission, intention, etc.
15
Teacher’s note
- Tell students to practise identifying different types of conditional.
Draw their attention to the first example in the exercise.
Elicit which type of contional it is and how they know (i.e. from the tenses used in
each clause).
Then ask them to complete the rest of the exercise.
Encourage students to read the tip box for examples of further variations to
conditional structures.
Answers
1 Second
supposed adj [only before noun] used to show that you think that a claim, statement
or way of describing somebody/something is not true or correct, although it is
generally believed to be
This is the opinion of the supposed experts.
When did this supposed accident happen?
emperor the ruler of an empire
the Roman emperors the Emperor Napoleon
quite a few (British English also a good few) a fairly large number
I've been there quite a few times.
eccentric adj considered by other people to be strange or unusual
eccentric behaviour/clothes an eccentric aunt
2 Third
treatment (for something) U C something that is done to cure an illness or injury, or
to make somebody look and feel good
He is receiving treatment for shock.
She is responding well to treatment.
to require hospital/medical treatment
unstable adj if people are unstable, their behaviour and emotions change often and
suddenly because their minds are upse
3 Third
heir (to something) | heir (of somebody) a person who has the legal right to receive
somebody’s property, money or title when that person dies
to be heir to a large fortune
the heir to the throne (= the person who will be the next king or queen)
direction [countable, uncountable] the general way in which a person or thing
develops
The exhibition provides evidence of several new directions in her work.
I am very unhappy with the direction the club is taking.
It's only a small improvement, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
4 Mixed
Exam skills
16
Teacher’s note
- Tell students that they are now going to a reading exam practice task which will
include the two main task types that they have looked at in this unit (Selecting
information from a list and Yes, No, Not Given questions).
Before students do this exercise, ask them to read the Bullet boxes and Tip boxes
that appear in this lesson.
Advice
- Remind students of the following information:
+ For Selecting information questions, remember to locate the information in the
text that matches with the statement before attempting to answer the questions.
+ For Yes, No, Not Given questions, locate the information from the question in
the text and confirm whether the text confirms, contradicts or does not mention
the information in the statement.
+ It is a good practice to set a time limit for exam practice tasks.
Set 20 minutes for this task, then go through the answers as a class.
locate somebody/something to find the exact position of somebody/something
The mechanic located the fault immediately.
Rescue planes are trying to locate the missing sailors.
confirm to state or show that something is definitely true or correct, especially by
providing evidence
confirm something Rumours of job losses were later confirmed
confirm (that)… Has everyone confirmed (that) they’re coming?
confirm what/when, etc… Can you confirm what happened?
 it is confirmed that… It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place
next week.
contradict something | contradict each other (of statements or pieces of
evidence) to be so different from each other that one of them must be wrong
The two stories contradict each other.
This version of events was contradicted by eye-witness reports.
Questions 1-6
Answers
1 Yes (the pharaoh’s chief responsibility was to maintain Ma’at or Universal Harmony,
and warfare was an essential part of this)
conflict (between A and B) | conflict (over something) U C a violent situation or
period of fighting between two countries
armed/military conflict
A conflict between the two countries could easily spread across the whole
region.
compatible (with something) (of ideas, methods or things) able to exist or be used
together without causing problems
Are measures to protect the environment compatible with economic growth?
compatible blood groups
maintain something to make something continue at the same level, standard, etc.
SYNONYM PRESERVE
to maintain law and order/standards/a balance
The two countries have always maintained close relations.
pharaoh a ruler of ancient Egypt
chief adj [only before noun] most important
the chief cause/problem/reason
one of the President’s chief rivals
Maat the goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order, daughter of the sun god Ra. She
is depicted as a young and beautiful woman, standing or seated, with a feather on her
head.
universal adj done by or involving all the people in the world or in a particular
group / vạn vật; phổ thông; phổ quát; phổ biến; chung
Such problems are a universal feature of old age.
Agreement on this issue is almost universal.
harmony [uncountable] a state of peaceful existence and agreement
the need to be in harmony with our environment
to live together in perfect harmony social/racial harmony
warfare U the activity of fighting a war, especially using particular weapons or
methods
air/naval/guerrilla, etc. warfare countries engaged in warfare
2 Yes (many women held considerable power as the ‘great wife’, the first wife of the
reigning pharaoh)
exert something to use power or influence to affect somebody/something
He exerted all his authority to make them accept the plan.
 The moon exerts a force on the earth that causes the tides.
considerable adj (rather formal) great in amount, size, importance, etc.
SYNONYM SIGNIFICANT
The project wasted a considerable amount of time and money.
Damage to the building was considerable.
reign [intransitive] to rule as king, queen, emperor, etc.
the reigning monarch
reign over somebody/something Herod reigned over Palestine at that time.
3 Yes (Hatshepsut , the first female pharaoh ... made her mark in history ... history
remembers her as a great leader)
Hatshephut (d.1482 BC), Egyptian queen of the 18th dynasty, reigned c.1503–1482
BC. On the death of her husband Tuthmosis II she became regent for her nephew
Tuthmosis III. She then named herself Pharaoh and was often portrayed as male.
pharaoh a ruler of ancient Egypt
influential adj having a lot of influence on somebody/something
a highly influential book
influential in something She is one of the most influential figures in local
politics.
influential in doing something The committee was influential in formulating
government policy on employment.
make your/a mark (on something) to become famous and successful in a particular
area
He has already made his mark on the music industry.
She quickly made her mark as a film director.
4 No (In ancient Egypt kingship usually passed from father to son ... Some, like
Hatshepsut, seized power illegally)
kingship U the state of being a king; the official position of a king
seize something (from somebody) to take control of a place or situation, often
suddenly and violently
They seized the airport in a surprise attack.
The army has seized control of the country.
He seized power in a military coup.
5 Not Given
priest (feminine priestess) a person who performs religious ceremonies in some
religions that are not Christian
scribe a person who made copies of written documents before printing was invented /
người sao chép bản thảo
Before paper was common, medieval scribes used parchment or vellum.
enthronement U C a ceremony to mark the beginning of the rule of new king, queen
or important member of the Church, during which they sit on a throne
throne [countable] a special chair used by a king or queen to sit on at ceremonies
the throne [singular] the position of being a king or queen
Queen Elizabeth came/succeeded to the throne in 1952.
when Henry VIII was on the throne (= was king)
 Prince Charles is next in line to the British throne.
6 No (the team from Pennsylvania managed to piece together most of King Senebkay’s
skeleton)
grave a place in the ground where a dead person is buried
We visited Grandma's grave.
There were flowers on the grave.
Pennsylvania a state in the north-eastern US, also called the Keystone State for its
central position among the 13 original states
piece sth together to put all the separate parts of something together to make a
complete whole
SYNONYM ASSEMBLE
to piece together a jigsaw
She tried to piece together the cheque which he had just torn up.
Questions 7-10
Answers
7B
excavate to dig in the ground to look for old buildings or objects that have been
buried for a long time; to find something by digging in this way
excavate something The site has been excavated by archaeologists.The area
has not yet been fully excavated.
excavate something from something pottery and weapons excavated from
the burial site
tomb a large grave, especially one built of stone above or below the ground
the tombs of the Pharaohs
modest adj not very large, expensive, important, etc.
modest improvements/reforms
He charged a relatively modest fee. a modest little house
significance U C the importance of something, especially when this has an effect on
what happens in the future
a decision of major political significance
The new drug has great significance for the treatment of the disease.
They discussed the statistical significance of the results.
8D
acknowledge to accept that something is true
acknowledge something She refuses to acknowledge the need for reform.
acknowledge that… I did not acknowledge that he had done anything wrong.
acknowledge something to be, have, etc. something It is generally
acknowledged to be true.
prospect [uncountable, singular] the possibility that something will happen
prospect (of something/of doing something) There is no immediate prospect
of peace.
A place in the semi-finals is in prospect (= likely to happen).
prospect (that…) There's a reasonable prospect that his debts will be paid.
grave a place in the ground where a dead person is buried
 We visited Grandma's grave.
There were flowers on the grave.
intact adj [not usually before noun] complete and not damaged
SYNONYM UNDAMAGED
Most of the house remains intact even after two hundred years.
He emerged from the trial with his reputation intact.
tomb a large grave, especially one built of stone above or below the ground
the tombs of the Pharaohs
somehow adv (also North American English, informal someway, someways) in a
way that is not known or certain
We must stop him from seeing her somehow.
Somehow or other I must get a new job.
looter a person who steals things from shops/stores or buildings after a riot (1), fire,
etc.
realistically adv used to say what you think can actually be achieved in a particular
situation
Realistically, there is little prospect of a ceasefire.
fragment a small part of something that has broken off or comes from something
larger
Police found fragments of glass near the scene.
The shattered vase lay in fragments on the floor.
9C
pharaoh a ruler of ancient Egypt
Abydos an ancient town in central Egypt: site of many temples and tombs
10 A
pharaonic adj relating to or characteristic of a pharaoh or the time of the pharaohs.
‘Luxor's pharaonic temples’
‘ancient pharaonic Egypt’
dynasty a period of years during which members of a particular family rule a country
a Ming dynasty vase