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December 30, 2023 IELTS Exam
With the arrival of the New Year’s holiday, the curtain has fallen on the last IELTS exam of 2023. Despite the challenging nature of this final test, it hasn’t deterred most students from eagerly raising the banner of determination to take on the IELTS again next year. The focus of this round of examination was primarily on the listening section, where the introduction of multiple-choice questions and matching questions in both Part 2 and Part 3 left test-takers scratching their heads as early as Part 2. Although Part 4 featured relatively uncomplicated vocabulary, it demanded a high level of proficiency in answering techniques.
The reading section maintained a moderate level of difficulty with topics revolving around familiar subjects such as history and psychology. However, the writing component, as usual, managed to evoke a sense of dread. The main theme for the essay was a discussion on the importance of ambition in achieving success, delving into whether ambition is a commendable human quality. The writing tasks presented an additional challenge, leaving candidates with much to ponder as they navigated through the complexities of these thought-provoking topics.
Let’s continue with the review of the December 30, 2023 IELTS exam:
Listening Section
Part 1: Choosing a Wedding Venue
Question Type: Fill in the blanks
Difficulty: Moderate
- City
- Photos
- Round
- 5995
- Cakes
- Decorations
- Menu
- Sandwiches
- Lizard
- October 15th
Commentary: Part 1 kicked off with a challenging start, causing many students to lose confidence. However, it’s worth noting that Part 1 mainly consists of fill-in-the-blank questions. Utilizing the techniques taught for this type of question can significantly improve accuracy across varying difficulties in Part 1.
Part 2: Organizing a Swimming Class
Question Type: Multiple-choice + Matching
Difficulty: Slightly Difficult
11-15 Multiple-choice questions:
- Occasionally pain in neck
- Hand’s movement
- Pay too much attention to enjoyment
- 5
- 6 weeks
17-20 Matching:
- A. adults
- C. children between 3 and 5
- A. adults
- B. baby
Commentary: Part 2 presented a bit of a challenge. The combination of multiple-choice and matching required a careful approach. The information covered included occasional pain in the neck, hand movements, and payment details, demanding a thorough understanding of the audio.
Part 3: Discussion on Assignments
Question Type: Multiple-choice + Matching
Difficulty: Challenging
21-24 Multiple-choice questions:
21-25 Choices:
- C. spend a long time in the lab
- A. grateful for his contribution
- B. not enough keeping in touch
- C. project nearly finished because somebody completed the data analysis
- B. she always finishes reading her assignment
26-30 Matching:
- Irey: C. methodology
- Kim: F. results
- Jen: E. literature review
- Bill: D. bibliography
- Linda: G. discussion
Commentary: Part 3 posed a challenge for many students. The question types, demanding both selection and matching skills, required a good grasp of the scenario. Although the context was a conventional assignment scenario, the vocabulary involved made it relatively difficult.
Part 4: Development of Transportation
Question Type: Fill in the blanks
Difficulty: Challenging
- Public
- Uncomfortable
- Freedom
- Taxes
- Government
- Relationships
- Polluted
- Lanes
- Advertisement
- Shopping malls
Commentary: Part 4 was relatively difficult, testing students on their familiarity with common synonyms. Efficiently analyzing the question sentences and clearly understanding the content being tested are key to excelling in Part 4.
Reading Section
Passage 1: The Origin of Papermaking
Question Type: True/False/Not Given + Fill in the blanks
Difficulty: Challenging
- TRUE
- NOT GIVEN
- FALSE
- TRUE
- TRUE
- NOT GIVEN
- FALSE
- Strips
- Sheep
- Stretched
- Bark
- Samarkand
- Stone
Commentary: Passage 1 discussed the origin of papermaking and presented challenging True/False/Not Given questions along with fill-in-the-blank tasks. This required a deep understanding of the content.
Passage 2: Park Reconstruction
Question Type: Matching Information, Multiple Choice, Fill in the blanks
Difficulty: Moderate
14 iv 15 ix 16 i 17 x 18 iii 19 V 20 vii 21 D 22 A 23 C 24 Density 25 Architects 26 Budget
Commentary: Passage 2 covered the reconstruction of a park, featuring paragraph information matching, multiple-choice, and fill-in-the-blank questions. Although the topic wasn’t unfamiliar, the question types were less common, testing the mastery of techniques in quick reading, locating information, and recognizing characteristics of correct and incorrect options.
Passage 3: Research on Human Fear Emotions and Monkey Pain Responses
Question Type: Single Choice + Fill in the blanks
Difficulty: Challenging
27 B 28 C 29 C 30 A 31 C 32 B 33 C 34 A 35 A 36 Age 37 Two weeks old 38 Human beings 39 Good motor control 40 Mature monkeys
Commentary: Passage 3 involved a research study on the connection between human fear emotions and monkey pain responses. The question types included single-choice and fill-in-the-blanks, posing a higher level of difficulty.
Writing Section
Task 1: Line Graph – Dynamics
Content: The line graph depicted the dynamics of air pollution in the UK from 1990 to 2005.
Task 2: Ambition’s Role in Success
Question: Ambition is a positive quality for people to have in many societies today. How important is it for people who want to succeed in life? Is it a positive or negative characteristic?
Commentary: The Task 2 essay posed a higher level of difficulty as it combined a discussion on the importance of ambition with an exploration of its positive and negative aspects. This required candidates to flexibly apply accumulated knowledge and material related to the topic.
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