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Find all my tips on my website ieltsetc.com and join the Members Academy for all the downloads, step-by-step online courses, and support to get you a Band 7+ in the #ielts test.
Copyright: © Fiona Wattam
In this podcast, you'll work through an IELTS Academic Reading Passage 1 about ageing ('The secret of staying young') in a clear, guided way.
I will take you step by step through gap fill and True False Not Given questions, so you can see how to find key information quickly. The episode helps you improve skimming, scanning, and careful reading skills. You can get the full lesson, with the video, extra practice and support on my website, IELTS with Fiona.
The Vocabulary Topic for this episode is all about ageing - the website lesson includes everything you need to discuss this topic in the Speaking Test and IELTS Writing Part 2.
🐜 Reading Summary
Ysabel Giraldo studied Pheidole dentata ants to see how aging affects them. She tested ants of different ages on tasks like caring for young, following scent trails, reacting to light, and hunting prey. She also examined their brains for dying cells and important chemicals. Surprisingly, older ants performed as well as younger ones, showing no decline. Giraldo’s research suggests these social ants stay healthy with age, which could help scientists understand aging in humans and other social animals.
Key vocabulary
aging ⏳ – getting older
an ant 🐜 – a small insect
an experiment 🧪 – a test to discover something
the brain 🧠 – the part of the body that controls thinking and movement
to care for ❤️ – to look after someone or something
healthy 💪 – strong and well
in good shape 💯 – healthy and strong physically or mentally
social 🤝 – living in groups
to stay fit 🏋️ – to remain healthy and strong
a scientist 👩🔬 – a person who studies nature or science
a worker 🐝 – an ant that does tasks in the colony
a trail 🛤️ – a path marked by scent (smell)
prey 🐞 – an animal that is hunted for food
a colony 🏘️ – a group of ants or insects living together
behavior 🐾 – the way someone or something acts
to reproduce 🍼 – to have babies or make new life
to deteriorate 💀 – to become worse with age
to decline 📉 – to become worse
How Plants Sense Temperature – IELTS Reading Made Easy
This episode breaks down a challenging IELTS Reading Passage about how plants use light and temperature to grow.
I’ll guide you through the key ideas, explain tricky vocabulary, and help you answer the questions with confidence. Perfect for Band 6–8 students who want to improve comprehension, build science-related vocabulary, and boost their IELTS Reading score.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the words you DON'T KNOW to get the right answers!
It's a difficult Academic Reading Part 3, which contains several scientific terms that might cause confusion.
But I will show you how IELTS uses these words for gapfills, and you'll learn the 6 'triggers' that indicate the answer.
Get the full video lesson in the Bronze Membership on my website, and in the full Members Academy.
https://ieltsetc.com/ielts-tips-and-tricks/
Reading Summary
Music is a powerful force that affects our emotions. When we listen to music we love, our body reacts—our heartbeat increases, and our muscles receive more blood. Scientists have found that music directly influences the brain, especially by releasing dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel pleasure.
A study in Canada used brain scans to examine why music has such a strong effect. Researchers found that dopamine is released both when we hear a beautiful part of a song and before it happens. This suggests that our brain enjoys the feeling of anticipation, or waiting for something exciting.
The way music is structured also plays a role. If a song is too predictable, it is boring. Great composers, like Beethoven, create patterns in their music and then delay repeating them to build suspense. This delay makes the final moment of resolution much more emotional.
A famous music expert,Leonard Meyer, explained that the emotions in music do not come from its connection to real-life experiences but from how it plays with our expectations. Our brain enjoys the mix of predictability and surprise, which keeps us engaged and emotionally connected to the music.
Keywords:
This month, we've been exploring the huge topic of MONEY in the Members Academy.
It comes up in ALL parts of the test, so in this lesson, we examine two very similar General Training Texts in order to learn more about the topic of government benefit systems and the allowances that you might be entitled to.
Each country's benefit system is different, so it's really worth a listen as you'll learn valuable information and keywords.
Get the video and full text with vocabulary list in the Bronze Academy on my website.
https://ieltsetc.com/ielts-tips-and-tricks/
This is a lovely reading about forced rhubarb: its history and how it is grown and harvested.
There are 3 question sets:
In this lesson you'll learn more about the general topic of FOOD and how this topic is tested in all parts of the IELTS test.
Get the full lesson in the Bronze Academy on my website.
https://ieltsetc.com/2024/12/ielts-vocabulary-of-food-cooking-and-eating/
Always check the title of a pie chart to make sure you're providing an accurate summary of the data.Pie charts show percentage and proportion, not numbers. Here's an example of a mistake that is very easy to make when you're under pressure.So practise plenty of pie charts before the test and get ready to use the language related to pie charts - listen till the end to find the 'marc' verbs that will help you.Get the full lesson on my website and in the Members Academy Study Programme.https://beacons.ai/ieltswithfiona#ielts #ieltstask1 #ieltspiechart
In this lesson, we'll analyse a Part 1 Reading text with the purpose of improving our understanding and use of prepositions.
First, we go through the True, False and Not Given questions, followed by the Gapfill questions and then we go back to the first paragraph to analyse the prepositions.
This is something that I recommend you do regularly - spend 5-10 minutes 'noticing' language from real contexts like the Reading and Listening tests.
In the lesson you'll learn how to do this yourself and build up your independent learning skills. The vocabulary from the lesson will also help you with Writing Task 1 (Describing a Natural Cycle).
Get more help with Prepositions, and find my Preposition Workbook on my website:
https://ieltsetc.com/ielts-grammar-complete-guide/prepositions/
Did you know that uou can use "a/an + adjective" before a statistic to express your reaction to the number?
This technique adds emphasis and helps the listener or reader understand your perspective on the data.
Examples:
Listen to find out how to use this structure in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 reports.
Get the full document from my daily tip (31st October 2024).
https://app.getbeamer.com/ieltswithfiona/en/halloween-grammar
In this lesson you'll learn 5 IELTS Listening Tips that (I'm guessing) nobody told you about.
Get the full lesson with bonus materials in the Bronze Academy on my website.
https://ieltsetc.com/2024/10/5-ielts-listening-tips-nobody-told-you-about/
Get the free lesson on my blog: How to use personal pronouns in IELTS Writing.
In this lesson, we look at ways of USING and AVOIDING personal pronouns in Writing Task 2 essays.
You'll learn when to use "I", "we" and "you", and you'll get examples of how to avoid personal pronouns by using plurals, the passive voice, and more general language.
https://ieltsetc.com/personal-pronouns-in-ielts-writing/
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