پیداکردن کلیدواژه ها در آزمون آیلتس

Candidates often find the IELTS Reading module the most challenging in the IELTS Exam.

Why so?

Here are a few reasons!

One of which, is that the IELTS Reading module requires immense concentration. As, in just 60 minutes, you need to read three long passages and answer 40 questions. Thus, reading the questions, understanding them and answering them correctly with the ticking clock is a challenging task.

In this post, you will come across a few tips to improve your IELTS Reading score.

For now, stay put!

Another reason is the difficulty level of the passages. For IELTS Academic Reading, the passages might be narrative, descriptive or argumentative. Sometimes, it may also include diagrams or graphs. Thus, the passages are lengthy! For IELTS General Reading, passages are taken from advertisements, notices, magazines, books and more. Therefore, comprehending passages with different levels of difficulty and answering them correctly becomes a difficult task.

Why is the IELTS Reading test tough?

You run short of time

You are under pressure to answer each question correctly within the time

You get confused with different words with similar meaning used by the examiner

Unable to attempt a few of the question types because you have no time.

All these together make the IELTS Reading module one of the hardest modules for most of the candidates.

So, what is the solution?

Well, when it comes to getting a high band score in the IELTS Reading module, every candidate assumes that time management and vocabulary are of utmost importance.

However, do you know how useful it is to know to identify the keywords?

What are Keywords in IELTS Reading?

Keywords are the words that carry specific information. Thus, the importance of Keywords in IELTS Reading will always exist in this module. These words will help a reader/candidate identify the context of the passage. In return, it helps find the correct answer.

Example: Check the following Passage

Brick by brick, six-year-old Alice is building a magical kingdom. Imagining fairy-tale turrets and fire-breathing dragons, wicked witches and gallant heroes, she’s creating an enchanting world. Although she isn’t aware of it, this fantasy is helping her take her first steps towards her capacity for creativity and so it will have important repercussions in her adult life.

Now, highlight the keywords as done above. Then get to the question:

Uses of children’s play

Building a ‘magical kingdom’ may help develop ....................

Now, try remembering the highlighted Keywords. "help develop’ and "help take first steps” mean the same thing. Thus, the answer is "creativity” – Magical kingdom may help develop "creativity”.

Which words can be your keywords?

Here is the list!

Nouns and Verbs

Names (places, scientists, people and more included in the passage)

Locations (towns, cities, states, countries)

Dates and Years

Numbers or Figures

Capitalized or Italicized words/phrases

It is essential to develop some strategies if you want to perform well in the IELTS Reading test.

In this post, we will share one sure shot technique that you can develop to ace your reading questions - match the information given in the question to the answer in the passage. This technique only works if you know the keyword synonyms.

What are Keyword Synonyms?

Keyword Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly a similar meaning as the keyword. They are often called parallel expressions.

For example,

Children ~ Kids

Speak ~ Talk

House ~ Home

Present ~ Gift

The above-listed words are not exactly the same in meaning, but they have similar meanings.

Let's have a look at an example of Sentence Completion.

Jenny thinks employers should encourage workers who are _______.

A. Potential leaders

B. Open to new ideas

C. Good at teamwork

Now, what you are supposed to do is, underline the keywords in the question.

Jenny thinks employers should encourage workers who are _______.

The next step is to quickly brainstorm and list some parallel expressions (i.e. synonyms) of the underlined keywords.

Jenny – It is the name of a person. Thus, it will remain the same.

Employers ~ boss, manager

Encourage ~ promote, motivate

Workers ~ staff, workforce, employees

Now, you can look for similar information in the given passage.

Jenny says, "Well, currently teamwork is in fashion at the workplace and in my opinion, the importance of the individual is generally neglected. What managers should be targeting is those employees who can take the lead in a situation and are not afraid to accept the idea of responsibility.”

Here, the underlined words are the keyword synonyms. From the above passage, we can complete the sentence as below:

Jenny thinks employees should encourage workers who are potential leaders.

**Source: https://www.ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2013/09/ielts-listening-multiple-choice.html

It is crucial that you develop the 'Keyword technique' to ace your IELTS Reading module with a high band score. For that, you can start your practice with free IELTS Reading practice tests.

Follow these simple steps while practising:

Read the question

Underline the keywords

Brainstorm and take a mental note of keyword synonyms (as you will not have time to note down the synonyms for each keyword)

Locate the keywords or keyword synonyms

Skim and Scan the passage (If you have missed the Keywords or their synonyms).

Write the answer

Being able to do this means you can save time. And, that exactly is the key to success in IELTS Reading.

Quick Tips to follow

You will not find identical words easily in the question and the passage. So, do not waste time finding the same words. Instead, look for synonyms.

As you underline the keywords in the question, think of the synonyms for those keywords.

Undoubtedly, having a good vocabulary is crucial to achieving a good score in IELTS Reading, but at the same time, you must know the synonyms of the words you learn. So, when you learn new words, pay attention to their synonyms too.

How to Find the Right Keywords in Reading Comprehension?

Reading is often perceived as a challenge in IELTS by many students. But if proper reading strategies of skimming and scanning are adopted, this challenge can be overcome. One of the important activities during skimming is finding out keywords in the passage and underlining them.

During scanning as well, you can mark keywords in the question as your tendency to match them with similar words in the passage. Since the passages are long and complex, finding out keywords will help you read more efficiently.

1. Find keywords in reading passage

An important part of skimming the passage is underlining keywords. While you are reading the passage, you can identify important keywords in the paragraphs that will also help you to better understand the given information.

At this time, you should underline keywords to understand the paragraph by abstracting important information from it.

You can definitely underline some keywords such as names, locations, facts, figures etc.

For example:

Names (Names of scientists, people etc. involved in the story)

Locations (Town, city, country etc.)

Years or dates (1978, 12th Oct 1982 etc.)

Figures (1.2 million, 20000 etc.)

You may mark any word or phrase which is capitalized e.g. titles of books, event names etc.

The reason behind highlighting these keywords is finding easy reference from the passage. If you have a question referring to the year 1978, it would be easy for you to locate it in the passage if you had already underlined it while reading the passage. Otherwise, you would need to read the whole passage to find where 1978 is mentioned and hence, it would consume your time.

2. Find keywords in reading questions

In the process of scanning i.e. locating answer of the question, you will first need to read the question carefully to find important keywords you can mark and at the same time, to understand meaning of the question.

Keywords you underline are usually nouns, group of nouns, verbs etc. except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (for, in, at etc.) and others.

An extremely important strategy of underlining keyword is to identify the focus of the question, especially in MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions). Focus or stem of the question is a word in the question that will help you to choose the right option. For example, focus or stem is highlighted in the following question:

Which of the following is most at fault for the Titanic disaster?

A. The ship

B. Captain and crew

C. Titanic’s owners and builders

D. Standard operating procedure

Sometimes, your keywords are synonyms or similar words, not the exact keyword as given in the passage and hence, you can try to understand its meaning to relate it well with the right paragraph. However, the nearby words and paraphrasing skill will help you understand the meaning of the question.

Let’s take an example on how to find keywords in question and similar keywords in passage.

Question:

Recommendations about __________________ are given to the wife-to-be.

Passage statement:

Her guests often tease the bride about her husband and give her advice about married life.

Keywords in Question Similar Keywords in Paragraph

Recommendations Advice

About About

Are Given Give

Wife-to-be Bride

ANSWER: MARRIED LIFE

Explanation is as follows:

If you read the question, you can identify keywords as “wife-to-be”, “recommendations” and the word nearby the blank, “about”.

Thus, it may so happen that keywords of question do not match with that in the passage. In this case, you may need to paraphrase them or find out their meanings. Here, in the passage statement, “bride” is the word used in place of “wife-to-be” and “advice” in place of “recommendations”.

Also, it is to be noted that “is given” in question is paraphrased grammatically for “give” in the passage statement.

Another important thing to be noticed is that “about” is exactly the same word nearby the blank in the question as you can find in the passage statement.

Thus, you can find the answer as “married life”.

*Note: Always remember that matching keywords would help you to locate the paragraph and its statements for reference but at the end, it’s all about understanding of the question without which answers go wrong. Hence, you should instead try matching the information or the meaning.

Practice Questions

Question 1:

Read the following short passages and questions to find out keywords. Fill the keywords in the table given below:

A super-hard metal has been made in the laboratory by melting together titanium and gold. The alloy is the hardest known metallic substance compatible with living tissues, say US physicists. The material is four times harder than pure titanium and has applications in making longer-lasting medical implants, they say.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36855705

The hardest substance discovered in the laboratory is formed by combining titanium and gold after they are ……………

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Question 2:

Quakes are the ever-present danger for those who live along the Apennine mountain range in Italy. Through the centuries thousands have died as a result of tremors equal to, or not much bigger than, the event that struck in the early hours of Wednesday.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37176502

Which part of Italy is always under the threat of being affected by quakes?

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Question 3:

But look closer at the specifics of any quake and the details are much more complicated. The Tyrrhenian Basin, or Sea, which lies to the west of Italy, between the mainland and Sardinia/Corsica, is slowly opening up. Scientists say this is contributing to extension, or “pull-apart”, along the Apennines which works at a rate of 3mm per year. Add in movement in the Adriatic where the crust is rotating in an anti-clockwise direction, and you have a fiendishly complex picture. Italy is literally being pushed and pulled every which way.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37176502

When the particulars of an earthquake are studied deeply, it is found that it is very _________

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Question 4:

We all recall the L’Aquila (Magnitude 6.3) event of 2009 in which 295 died. But go much further back to Avezzano (Magnitude 6.9-7.0) in 1915, which claimed 30,000 lives; and to 1703 when a trio of Magnitude 6 quakes killed at least 10,000 people.Thankfully, we tend not to see deaths on those scales anymore, and that is because of more robust building, better preparation and more co-ordinated emergency responses after the fact.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37176502

Which one of the following is NOT the reason why deaths are rare with quakes of magnitude between 6 and 7?

Good planning and preparation

Quakes are not seen anymore

Effective construction of buildings

Handling emergency situation well

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Question 5:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37176502

A major effect can be observed at the western region of Italy where a (i)_________is located. It is found to be gradually broadening up leading to the situation of (ii)_________ at the rate of (iii)_____per year.

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

ANSWERS:

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Hardest substance Super-hard metal

Discovered in the laboratory Made in the laboratory

Combination Together

ANSWER: MELTED

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Of Italy Of Italy

Always Ever present

Threat Danger

ANSWER: APENNINE MOUNTAIN RANGE

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

Particulars of an earthquake Specifics of any quake

Studied deeply Look closer

Much more Very

ANSWER: COMPLICATED

Keywords in question Similar keywords in paragraph

The reason why That is because of

Deaths are rare Not to see deaths anymore

Good planning and preparation Better preparation

Effective construction of building More robust building

Handling emergency situation well More co-ordinated emergency responses

ANSWER: B

Keywords in question Similar keywords in passage

Is located Lies

Western region of Italy West of Italy

Gradually broadening up Slowly opening up

Leading to Contributing to

At the rate of At a rate of

ANSWERS:

i. Tyrrhenian Basin/Sea

ii. Extension/pull-apart

iii. 3 mm

How to skim and scan for keywords in your IELTS test

Learning how to skim and scan can help you identify key information to answer questions in the Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking parts of your IELTS test. Today, our IELTS Experts will walk you through some tips on how to skim and scan for keywords.

How are skimming and scanning different?

Skimming is reading quickly to find the general overview of the passage.

Scanning is reading quickly to find specific details within the passage.

What are some skimming techniques?

Always think about the title, headings, and topic sentences of reading passages, as they are the main ideas. Always read the major parts such as the titles and headings carefully when you are skimming a reading passage. The main idea of entire readings, sections, or paragraphs of reading passages should become clear when doing this.

Reading either the first sentence, or the first and last sentence of a paragraph is another great skimming technique. The first and/or last sentence of a paragraph will provide enough information about the general overview of a paragraph for the most part. Heading match and title match questions are easier to answer when using this technique.

For example, get the main idea of the paragraphs by reading the first and last sentence:

There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world - and the number is rising by more than 40 million each year.

This dependence on motor vehicles has given rise to major problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil resources, traffic congestion and safety.

While emissions from new cars are far less harmful than they used to be, city streets and motorways are becoming more crowded than ever, often with older trucks, buses and taxis which emit excessive levels of smoke and fumes.

In Mexico City, vehicle pollution is a major health hazard.

Until a hundred years ago, most journeys were in the 20km range, the distance conveniently accessible by horse.

Can it avoid being locked into congested and polluting ways of transporting people and goods?

In Europe most cities are still designed for the old modes of transport.

Other social effects have been blamed on the car such as alienation and aggressive human behaviour.

A 1993 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment found that car transport is seven times as costly as rail travel in terms of the external social costs it entails - congestion, accidents, pollution, loss of cropland and natural habitats, depletion of oil resources, and so on.

It is unrealistic to expect people to give up private cars in favour of mass transit.

Technical solutions can reduce the pollution problem and increase the fuelled efficiency of engines.

Besides, global car use is increasing at a faster rate than the improvement in emissions and fuel efficiency which technology is now making possible.

Some argue that the only long-term solution is to design cities and neighbourhoods so that car journeys are not necessary - all essential services being located within walking distance or easily accessible by public transport.

But few democratic communities are blessed with the vision – and the capital – to make such profound changes in modern lifestyles.

In most developing countries, old cars and old technologies continue to predominate.

Reading the introduction and conclusion of a reading passage is one skimming technique when doing questions like a title match. This will allow you to get the main idea of the reading passage.

In order to get the general overview of the reading passage, read the first and last paragraph.

There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world - and the number is rising by more than 40 million each year. The average distance driven by car users is growing too - from 8 km a day per person in western Europe in 1965 to 25 km a day in 1995. This dependence on motor vehicles has given rise to major problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil resources, traffic congestion and safety.

A more likely scenario seems to be a combination of mass transit systems for travel into and around cities, with small ‘low emission’ cars for urban use and larger hybrid or lean burn cars for use elsewhere. Electronically tolled highways might be used to ensure that drivers pay charges geared to actual road use. Better integration of transport systems is also highly desirable - and made more feasible by modern computers. But these are solutions for countries which can afford them. In most developing countries, old cars and old technologies continue to predominate.

For the full article, click here. Read the paragraphs and/or the article as a whole and compare your thoughts on the main idea.

What are some scanning techniques?

Key words are most important when scanning. When scanning a text, vocabulary such are proper nouns, dates, numbers, and times is what you are looking for. Specific details can also be found when using scanning techniques.

When scanning a reading passage, it is most important that you know the key words in the question so that you can find the key words in the reading passage.

When looking for specific details, there are different ways to scan a reading passage. Here are some examples:

You can follow your finger or a pen/pencil in order to create better scanning techniques. Circling or underlining the key words within the reading passage is another good option to consider.

Highlight all of the key words in the paragraph:

Here are the suggestions:

You can find sample questions relating to this passage here. To help you complete the questions, use skimming and scanning techniques.

In order to help you decrease the amount of time it takes to complete the reading section of the IELTS test, you need to practice using skimming and scanning techniques.

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