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IELTS Tips - Reading tips – Issue 5 - Reading for gist

Before you start answering detailed questions, you have to orient yourself to the text. Spend about one minute looking at the heading and glancing through the article. Do not try to understand every word. Think about who it was written for and what the main subject is.

Which of these sentences best summarises what the whole article is about?

  1. The popularity of professional eating as a sport.
  2. Reasons why professional eaters are true athletes.
  3. The controversy surrounding eating contests.
  4. The clear link between professional eating and obesity.
Answers

  1. WRONG - it mentions opposing views on the sport
  2. WRONG - this is only one view
  3. CORRECT - it mentions several examples of eating contests that are being cancelled or modified, and some pro-eating contest views
  4. WRONG - it mentions a link, but does not go into detail

Matching opinions

You often have to match people to opinions given in the text.

First, scan through the article and highlight the different peoples’ names.

Next, read what each person says. Does it match any of the opinions given?

REMEMBER the text will use parallel expressions i.e. words that mean the same thing e.g. gobbling = eating.

Try and match the expressions in the text with the parallel expressions in the answer.

People

Opinions

1. Tim Janus ___

2. Philip Jones ___

3. George Shea ___

4. Dr. Lee Kaplin ___

5. Brian Wansick ___

A. Eating contests are nothing new

B. Competitive eating doesn't reflect day-to-day over-eating

C. Occasional over-eating does you no harm

D. Discontinuing eating contests gives people a clear message

E. Eating in competition is similar to other art forms

Answers

  1. C - Doing it once in a while isn't bad for you, when you do it responsibly
  2. D - It was a symbolic gesture to get people to address changes in our lifestyle
  3. A - This … has its roots in fairs and festivals
  4. B - These competitions are somewhat caricatures of eating behavior ... and don't have much relevance to the obesity problem
  5. E - Seeing these guys go at a 20 pound turkey is like poetry … It's like a dance

Sentence completion

This task requires you to pick out key words from the article to complete the sentences which summarise some of the information and opinions.

First, carefully read the sentence. Think about what kind of word (a noun, an infinitive verb, an adjective) would fit grammatically.

Next, find the relevant section of the article and search for appropriate vocabulary.

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the passage.

  1. Although popular, professional eating contests cause some viewers to ________.
  2. The corn eating contents was cancelled because it was seen as an ________ by university authorities.
  3. ______ demanded changes to be made to the pie eating contest.
  4. Competitive eaters have to develop their _______ and ________.
  5. Eating contests attract the same sort of people who would enter ________.
Answers

  1. shudder
  2. act of gluttony
  3. health advocates
  4. jaw strength; stomach capacity
  5. a marathon

True/False/ Not Given

Most people are familiar with true/false questions. In IELTS, there is also a Not Given option. Only choose True or False if you can exactly match the statement with information in the text. If you cannot do this, choose not given.

  1. Competitive eating started to gain popularity in the US in the 1970s.
  2. The pie eating contest has featured non-meat pies for several years
  3. There is an element of comedy to competitive eating.
  4. Contestants are generally overweight.
  5. Competitive eating can have long-term side-effects.
Answer

  1. NG – This could be true, but it doesn't mention this.
  2. F – A vegetarian category was introduced in 2006.
  3. T - It's a comedic thing _ a combination of Coney Island hucksterism and sports commentary.
  4. F - Most of us are pretty thin and in pretty good shape.
  5. NG – No mention is made of this
Key Vocab.

Obesity: Obesity is becoming a major problem around the world because of people's inactive lifestyles.

Glutton: Tyson's knocked him down twice, but he's back on his feet. What a glutton for punishment.

Converge:  Rugby fans will be converging on Paris this week for the big game.

Vegetarian: Most restaurants now offer some sort of vegetarian option.

Compulsion: Olympic athletes have an amazing compulsion to win.

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