https://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerunds_infinitives_1.htm   

  Examples

I’m sad you decided to quit.
Could you get here by midnight?
Should you see him, can you give him a message?
I don’t think the gold you bought was real.

  

 

 

контакт

 +375 44 547-60-29

+375 44 515-59-13 Larisa

27,02

 ANSWERS

Each question correctly answered scores 1 mark. Correct spelling is needed in all answers.

Section 3

27. True
28. False
29. Not Given
30. True
31. False
32. A
33. C
34. A
35. B
36. commercially abroad
37. subscription channels
38. icky
39. more ambitious
40. speculation

24,02,2026

 

Examples
My son is a really good boy.
I’m sorry if I was rude before.
My car had to be towed back to the garage.
You should buy him a present.  

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/upper-intermediate/prepositions-2

   

When yuo cable company __________________

 You get _____________, 

When you ___________ , you blow off steam

When you blow off steam _______________

When ________________ you get an eye patch

When you get an eye patch people __________

When they ______________ they want to see how tough

When people _______________________ in a road side ditch

 

   

   

  

  

6.02 (lmc)

 

Task 1 Sample

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart shows the amount of money that a children's charity located in the USA spent and received in one year, 2016.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Revenue Sources and Expenditures of a USA Charity in one year, 2016.

225Сохранить

Model Answer

The pie charts show the amount of revenue and expenditures in 2016 for a children’s charity in the USA. Overall, it can be seen that donated food accounted for the majority of the income, while program services accounted for the most expenditure. Total revenue sources just exceeded outgoings.

In detail, donated food provided most of the revenue for the charity, at 86%. Similarly, with regard to expenditures, one category, program services, accounted for nearly all of the outgoings, at 95.8%. 

The other categories were much smaller. Community contributions, which were the second largest revenue source, brought in 10.4% of overall income, and this was followed by program revenue, at 2.2%. Investment income, government grants, and other income were very small sources of revenue, accounting for only 0.8% combined.

There were only two other expenditure items, fundraising and management and general, accounting for 2.6% and 1.6% respectively. The total amount of income was $53,561,580, which was just enough to cover the expenditures of $53,224,896. 

(161 Words)  

 

  

Unemployment is one of the biggest problems of contemporary society.
What do you think are the main causes of unemployment?
What solutions can you suggest?  

IELTS Academic Reading Test 1. Section 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Britain needs strong TV industry

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci has called for an industry-wide defence of the BBC and British programme-makers. "The Thick of It" creator made his remarks in the annual MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

"It's more important than ever that we have more strong, popular channels... that act as beacons, drawing audiences to the best content," he said. Speaking earlier, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale rejected suggestions that he wanted to dismantle the BBC.

'Champion supporters'

Iannucci co-wrote "I'm Alan Partridge", wrote the movie "In the Loop" and created and wrote the hit "HBO" and "Sky Atlantic show Veep". He delivered the 40th annual MacTaggart Lecture, which has previously been given by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, former BBC director general Greg Dyke, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch. Iannucci said: "Faced with a global audience, British television needs its champion supporters."

He continued his praise for British programming by saying the global success of American TV shows had come about because they were emulating British television. "The best US shows are modelling themselves on what used to make British TV so world-beating," he said. "US prime-time schedules are now littered with those quirky formats from the UK - the "Who Do You Think You Are"'s and the variants on "Strictly Come Dancing" - as well as the single-camera non-audience sitcom, which we brought into the mainstream first. We have changed international viewing for the better."

With the renewal of the BBC's royal charter approaching, Iannucci also praised the corporation. He said: "If public service broadcasting - one of the best things we've ever done creatively as a country - if it was a car industry, our ministers would be out championing it overseas, trying to win contracts, boasting of the British jobs that would bring." In July, the government issued a green paper setting out issues that will be explored during negotiations over the future of the BBC, including the broadcaster's size, its funding and governance.

Primarily Mr Whittingdale wanted to appoint a panel of five people, but finally he invited two more people to advise on the channer renewal, namely former Channel 4 boss Dawn Airey and journalism professor Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN. Iannucci bemoaned the lack of "creatives" involved in the discussions.

"When the media, communications and information industries make up nearly 8% our GDP, larger than the car and oil and gas industries put together, we need to be heard, as those industries are heard. But when I see the panel of experts who've been asked by the culture secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don't see anyone who is a part of that cast and crew list. I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people - but not a single person who's made a classic and enduring television show."

'Don't be modest'

Iannucci suggested one way of easing the strain on the licence fee was "by pushing ourselves more commercially abroad".

"Use the BBC's name, one of the most recognised brands in the world," he said. "And use the reputation of British television across all networks, to capitalise financially oversees. Be more aggressive in selling our shows, through advertising, through proper international subscription channels, freeing up BBC Worldwide to be fully commercial, whatever it takes.

"Frankly, don't be icky and modest about making money, let's monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes abroad so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows, that can only add to our value."

Mr Whittingdale, who was interviewed by ITV News' Alastair Stewart at the festival, said he wanted an open debate about whether the corporation should do everything it has done in the past.  He said he had a slight sense that people who rushed to defend the BBC were "trying to have an argument that's never been started".

"Whatever my view is, I don't determine what programmes the BBC should show," he added. "That's the job of the BBC." Mr Whittingdale said any speculation that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC due to issues such as its editorial line was "absolute nonsense".

 

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?

In boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE                       if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE                      if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN             if there is no information on this

 

27. Armando Iannucci expressed a need of having more popular channels.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

28. John Whittingdale wanted to dismantle the BBC.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

29. Iannucci delivered the 30th annual MacTaggart Lecture.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

30. Ianucci believes that British television has contributed to the success of American TV-shows.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

31. There have been negotiations over the future of the BBC in July.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

Questions 32–35

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

32. Ianucci praised everything EXCEPT

      A  US shows

      B  British shows

      C  Corporation

      D  British programming

 

33. To advise on the charter renewal Mr Whittingdale appointed a panel of

      A  five people

      B  two people

      C  seven people

      D  four people

 

34. Who of these people was NOT invited to the discussion concerning BBC renewal?

      A  Armando Iannucci

      B  Dawn Airey

      C  John Whittingdale

      D  Stewart Purvis

 

35. There panel of experts lacks:

      A  media owners

      B  people who make enduring TV-shows

      C  gurus of Television industry

      D  top executives

 

 

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.

Easing the strain on the licence fees

Iannucci recommended increasing BBC's profit by pushing ourselves more 36. . He suggests being more aggressive in selling British shows, through advertising and proper international 37. . Also, he invokes producers to stop being 38.  and modest about making money and invest into even 39.  quality shows. However, Mr Whittingdale denied any 40.  that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC because of its editorial line.

Listing	Giving examples	Generalising
firstly, secondly, thirdly	for example	in general
first, furthermore, finally	for instance	generally
to begin, to conclude	as follows:	on the whole
next	that is	as a rule
Reinforcement	in this case	for the most part
also	namely	in most cases
furthermore	in other words	usually
moreover	Result/consequence	Highlighting
what is more	so	in particular
in addition	therefore	particularly
besides	as a result/consequence	especially
above all	accordingly	mainly
as well (as)	consequently	Reformulation
in the same way	because of this/that	in other words
not only ... but also	thus	rather
Similarity	hence	to put it more simply
equally	for this/that reason	Expressing an alternative
likewise	so that	alternatively
similarly	in that case	rather
correspondingly	under these circumstances	on the other hand
in the same way	Deduction	the alternative is
Transition to new point	then	another possibility would be
now,	in other words	Contrast
as far as x is concerned	in that case	instead
with regard/reference to	otherwise	conversely
as for ...	this implies that ...	on the contrary
it follows that	if so/not	in contrast
turning to	Stating the obvious	in comparison
Summary	obviously	Concession (smth unexpected)
in conclusion	clearly	even though
to conclude	naturally	however
in brief	of course	however much
to summarise	as can be expected	nevertheless
overall	surely	still
therefore	after all	yet

https://www.englishgrammar.org/spite-grammar-exercise-2/  

The schemes illustrate the rearrangements that have been made in the plan of WEST PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL from the moment it was built in 1950 to 2010. Comparing 1950, 1980 and 2010 the school territory has undergone a lot of changes. The only one object, that has remained unchanged, is a School building. However, in 1980 the Science block was built on the left next to the Main building. This new block and a small car park replaced some houses that had already stayed there at the time of construction. Moreover, a big Sports field covering a quarter of the layout was built at that period. We can see, that Playground have taken a big part of the school area from the first days of the school. Nevertheless, it also was cut in favor of the place for a Sports field in 2010. What’s more, the Car park has extended from nothing to the third part of the whole school territory. It can be concluded that the School was being modernized during all 60 years. Unfortunately, they had to cut children activities places at the last years because of technical progress and increasing of cars owners between parents and school stuff.

     

IELTS Academic Reading Test 1. Section 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Britain needs strong TV industry

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci has called for an industry-wide defence of the BBC and British programme-makers. "The Thick of It" creator made his remarks in the annual MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

"It's more important than ever that we have more strong, popular channels... that act as beacons, drawing audiences to the best content," he said. Speaking earlier, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale rejected suggestions that he wanted to dismantle the BBC.

'Champion supporters'

Iannucci co-wrote "I'm Alan Partridge", wrote the movie "In the Loop" and created and wrote the hit "HBO" and "Sky Atlantic show Veep". He delivered the 40th annual MacTaggart Lecture, which has previously been given by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, former BBC director general Greg Dyke, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch. Iannucci said: "Faced with a global audience, British television needs its champion supporters."

He continued his praise for British programming by saying the global success of American TV shows had come about because they were emulating British television. "The best US shows are modelling themselves on what used to make British TV so world-beating," he said. "US prime-time schedules are now littered with those quirky formats from the UK - the "Who Do You Think You Are"'s and the variants on "Strictly Come Dancing" - as well as the single-camera non-audience sitcom, which we brought into the mainstream first. We have changed international viewing for the better."

With the renewal of the BBC's royal charter approaching, Iannucci also praised the corporation. He said: "If public service broadcasting - one of the best things we've ever done creatively as a country - if it was a car industry, our ministers would be out championing it overseas, trying to win contracts, boasting of the British jobs that would bring." In July, the government issued a green paper setting out issues that will be explored during negotiations over the future of the BBC, including the broadcaster's size, its funding and governance.

Primarily Mr Whittingdale wanted to appoint a panel of five people, but finally he invited two more people to advise on the channer renewal, namely former Channel 4 boss Dawn Airey and journalism professor Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN. Iannucci bemoaned the lack of "creatives" involved in the discussions.

"When the media, communications and information industries make up nearly 8% our GDP, larger than the car and oil and gas industries put together, we need to be heard, as those industries are heard. But when I see the panel of experts who've been asked by the culture secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don't see anyone who is a part of that cast and crew list. I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people - but not a single person who's made a classic and enduring television show."

'Don't be modest'

Iannucci suggested one way of easing the strain on the licence fee was "by pushing ourselves more commercially abroad".

"Use the BBC's name, one of the most recognised brands in the world," he said. "And use the reputation of British television across all networks, to capitalise financially oversees. Be more aggressive in selling our shows, through advertising, through proper international subscription channels, freeing up BBC Worldwide to be fully commercial, whatever it takes.

"Frankly, don't be icky and modest about making money, let's monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes abroad so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows, that can only add to our value."

Mr Whittingdale, who was interviewed by ITV News' Alastair Stewart at the festival, said he wanted an open debate about whether the corporation should do everything it has done in the past.  He said he had a slight sense that people who rushed to defend the BBC were "trying to have an argument that's never been started".

"Whatever my view is, I don't determine what programmes the BBC should show," he added. "That's the job of the BBC." Mr Whittingdale said any speculation that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC due to issues such as its editorial line was "absolute nonsense".

 

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?

In boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE                       if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE                      if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN             if there is no information on this

 

27. Armando Iannucci expressed a need of having more popular channels.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

28. John Whittingdale wanted to dismantle the BBC.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

29. Iannucci delivered the 30th annual MacTaggart Lecture.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

30. Ianucci believes that British television has contributed to the success of American TV-shows.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

31. There have been negotiations over the future of the BBC in July.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

Questions 32–35

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

32. Ianucci praised everything EXCEPT

      A  US shows

      B  British shows

      C  Corporation

      D  British programming

 

33. To advise on the charter renewal Mr Whittingdale appointed a panel of

      A  five people

      B  two people

      C  seven people

      D  four people

 

34. Who of these people was NOT invited to the discussion concerning BBC renewal?

      A  Armando Iannucci

      B  Dawn Airey

      C  John Whittingdale

      D  Stewart Purvis

 

35. There panel of experts lacks:

      A  media owners

      B  people who make enduring TV-shows

      C  gurus of Television industry

      D  top executives

 

 

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.

Easing the strain on the licence fees

Iannucci recommended increasing BBC's profit by pushing ourselves more 36. . He suggests being more aggressive in selling British shows, through advertising and proper international 37. . Also, he invokes producers to stop being 38.  and modest about making money and invest into even 39.  quality shows. However, Mr Whittingdale denied any 40.  that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC because of its editorial line.

3.02 cancelled 04.06

   

  

Task 1 Sample

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The pie chart shows the amount of money that a children's charity located in the USA spent and received in one year, 2016.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Revenue Sources and Expenditures of a USA Charity in one year, 2016.

225Сохранить

Model Answer

The pie charts show the amount of revenue and expenditures in 2016 for a children’s charity in the USA. Overall, it can be seen that donated food accounted for the majority of the income, while program services accounted for the most expenditure. Total revenue sources just exceeded outgoings.

In detail, donated food provided most of the revenue for the charity, at 86%. Similarly, with regard to expenditures, one category, program services, accounted for nearly all of the outgoings, at 95.8%. 

The other categories were much smaller. Community contributions, which were the second largest revenue source, brought in 10.4% of overall income, and this was followed by program revenue, at 2.2%. Investment income, government grants, and other income were very small sources of revenue, accounting for only 0.8% combined.

There were only two other expenditure items, fundraising and management and general, accounting for 2.6% and 1.6% respectively. The total amount of income was $53,561,580, which was just enough to cover the expenditures of $53,224,896. 

(161 Words)  

 

  

Unemployment is one of the biggest problems of contemporary society.
What do you think are the main causes of unemployment?
What solutions can you suggest?  

IELTS Academic Reading Test 1. Section 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Britain needs strong TV industry

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci has called for an industry-wide defence of the BBC and British programme-makers. "The Thick of It" creator made his remarks in the annual MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

"It's more important than ever that we have more strong, popular channels... that act as beacons, drawing audiences to the best content," he said. Speaking earlier, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale rejected suggestions that he wanted to dismantle the BBC.

'Champion supporters'

Iannucci co-wrote "I'm Alan Partridge", wrote the movie "In the Loop" and created and wrote the hit "HBO" and "Sky Atlantic show Veep". He delivered the 40th annual MacTaggart Lecture, which has previously been given by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, former BBC director general Greg Dyke, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch. Iannucci said: "Faced with a global audience, British television needs its champion supporters."

He continued his praise for British programming by saying the global success of American TV shows had come about because they were emulating British television. "The best US shows are modelling themselves on what used to make British TV so world-beating," he said. "US prime-time schedules are now littered with those quirky formats from the UK - the "Who Do You Think You Are"'s and the variants on "Strictly Come Dancing" - as well as the single-camera non-audience sitcom, which we brought into the mainstream first. We have changed international viewing for the better."

With the renewal of the BBC's royal charter approaching, Iannucci also praised the corporation. He said: "If public service broadcasting - one of the best things we've ever done creatively as a country - if it was a car industry, our ministers would be out championing it overseas, trying to win contracts, boasting of the British jobs that would bring." In July, the government issued a green paper setting out issues that will be explored during negotiations over the future of the BBC, including the broadcaster's size, its funding and governance.

Primarily Mr Whittingdale wanted to appoint a panel of five people, but finally he invited two more people to advise on the channer renewal, namely former Channel 4 boss Dawn Airey and journalism professor Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN. Iannucci bemoaned the lack of "creatives" involved in the discussions.

"When the media, communications and information industries make up nearly 8% our GDP, larger than the car and oil and gas industries put together, we need to be heard, as those industries are heard. But when I see the panel of experts who've been asked by the culture secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don't see anyone who is a part of that cast and crew list. I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people - but not a single person who's made a classic and enduring television show."

'Don't be modest'

Iannucci suggested one way of easing the strain on the licence fee was "by pushing ourselves more commercially abroad".

"Use the BBC's name, one of the most recognised brands in the world," he said. "And use the reputation of British television across all networks, to capitalise financially oversees. Be more aggressive in selling our shows, through advertising, through proper international subscription channels, freeing up BBC Worldwide to be fully commercial, whatever it takes.

"Frankly, don't be icky and modest about making money, let's monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes abroad so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows, that can only add to our value."

Mr Whittingdale, who was interviewed by ITV News' Alastair Stewart at the festival, said he wanted an open debate about whether the corporation should do everything it has done in the past.  He said he had a slight sense that people who rushed to defend the BBC were "trying to have an argument that's never been started".

"Whatever my view is, I don't determine what programmes the BBC should show," he added. "That's the job of the BBC." Mr Whittingdale said any speculation that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC due to issues such as its editorial line was "absolute nonsense".

 

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?

In boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE                       if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE                      if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN             if there is no information on this

 

27. Armando Iannucci expressed a need of having more popular channels.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

28. John Whittingdale wanted to dismantle the BBC.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

29. Iannucci delivered the 30th annual MacTaggart Lecture.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

30. Ianucci believes that British television has contributed to the success of American TV-shows.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

31. There have been negotiations over the future of the BBC in July.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

Questions 32–35

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

32. Ianucci praised everything EXCEPT

      A  US shows

      B  British shows

      C  Corporation

      D  British programming

 

33. To advise on the charter renewal Mr Whittingdale appointed a panel of

      A  five people

      B  two people

      C  seven people

      D  four people

 

34. Who of these people was NOT invited to the discussion concerning BBC renewal?

      A  Armando Iannucci

      B  Dawn Airey

      C  John Whittingdale

      D  Stewart Purvis

 

35. There panel of experts lacks:

      A  media owners

      B  people who make enduring TV-shows

      C  gurus of Television industry

      D  top executives

 

 

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.

Easing the strain on the licence fees

Iannucci recommended increasing BBC's profit by pushing ourselves more 36. . He suggests being more aggressive in selling British shows, through advertising and proper international 37. . Also, he invokes producers to stop being 38.  and modest about making money and invest into even 39.  quality shows. However, Mr Whittingdale denied any 40.  that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC because of its editorial line.

Listing	Giving examples	Generalising
firstly, secondly, thirdly	for example	in general
first, furthermore, finally	for instance	generally
to begin, to conclude	as follows:	on the whole
next	that is	as a rule
Reinforcement	in this case	for the most part
also	namely	in most cases
furthermore	in other words	usually
moreover	Result/consequence	Highlighting
what is more	so	in particular
in addition	therefore	particularly
besides	as a result/consequence	especially
above all	accordingly	mainly
as well (as)	consequently	Reformulation
in the same way	because of this/that	in other words
not only ... but also	thus	rather
Similarity	hence	to put it more simply
equally	for this/that reason	Expressing an alternative
likewise	so that	alternatively
similarly	in that case	rather
correspondingly	under these circumstances	on the other hand
in the same way	Deduction	the alternative is
Transition to new point	then	another possibility would be
now,	in other words	Contrast
as far as x is concerned	in that case	instead
with regard/reference to	otherwise	conversely
as for ...	this implies that ...	on the contrary
it follows that	if so/not	in contrast
turning to	Stating the obvious	in comparison
Summary	obviously	Concession (smth unexpected)
in conclusion	clearly	even though
to conclude	naturally	however
in brief	of course	however much
to summarise	as can be expected	nevertheless
overall	surely	still
therefore	after all	yet

https://www.englishgrammar.org/spite-grammar-exercise-2/  

The schemes illustrate the rearrangements that have been made in the plan of WEST PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL from the moment it was built in 1950 to 2010. Comparing 1950, 1980 and 2010 the school territory has undergone a lot of changes. The only one object, that has remained unchanged, is a School building. However, in 1980 the Science block was built on the left next to the Main building. This new block and a small car park replaced some houses that had already stayed there at the time of construction. Moreover, a big Sports field covering a quarter of the layout was built at that period. We can see, that Playground have taken a big part of the school area from the first days of the school. Nevertheless, it also was cut in favor of the place for a Sports field in 2010. What’s more, the Car park has extended from nothing to the third part of the whole school territory. It can be concluded that the School was being modernized during all 60 years. Unfortunately, they had to cut children activities places at the last years because of technical progress and increasing of cars owners between parents and school stuff.

     

IELTS Academic Reading Test 1. Section 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Britain needs strong TV industry

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci has called for an industry-wide defence of the BBC and British programme-makers. "The Thick of It" creator made his remarks in the annual MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

"It's more important than ever that we have more strong, popular channels... that act as beacons, drawing audiences to the best content," he said. Speaking earlier, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale rejected suggestions that he wanted to dismantle the BBC.

'Champion supporters'

Iannucci co-wrote "I'm Alan Partridge", wrote the movie "In the Loop" and created and wrote the hit "HBO" and "Sky Atlantic show Veep". He delivered the 40th annual MacTaggart Lecture, which has previously been given by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, former BBC director general Greg Dyke, Jeremy Paxman and Rupert Murdoch. Iannucci said: "Faced with a global audience, British television needs its champion supporters."

He continued his praise for British programming by saying the global success of American TV shows had come about because they were emulating British television. "The best US shows are modelling themselves on what used to make British TV so world-beating," he said. "US prime-time schedules are now littered with those quirky formats from the UK - the "Who Do You Think You Are"'s and the variants on "Strictly Come Dancing" - as well as the single-camera non-audience sitcom, which we brought into the mainstream first. We have changed international viewing for the better."

With the renewal of the BBC's royal charter approaching, Iannucci also praised the corporation. He said: "If public service broadcasting - one of the best things we've ever done creatively as a country - if it was a car industry, our ministers would be out championing it overseas, trying to win contracts, boasting of the British jobs that would bring." In July, the government issued a green paper setting out issues that will be explored during negotiations over the future of the BBC, including the broadcaster's size, its funding and governance.

Primarily Mr Whittingdale wanted to appoint a panel of five people, but finally he invited two more people to advise on the channer renewal, namely former Channel 4 boss Dawn Airey and journalism professor Stewart Purvis, a former editor-in-chief of ITN. Iannucci bemoaned the lack of "creatives" involved in the discussions.

"When the media, communications and information industries make up nearly 8% our GDP, larger than the car and oil and gas industries put together, we need to be heard, as those industries are heard. But when I see the panel of experts who've been asked by the culture secretary to take a root and branch look at the BBC, I don't see anyone who is a part of that cast and crew list. I see executives, media owners, industry gurus, all talented people - but not a single person who's made a classic and enduring television show."

'Don't be modest'

Iannucci suggested one way of easing the strain on the licence fee was "by pushing ourselves more commercially abroad".

"Use the BBC's name, one of the most recognised brands in the world," he said. "And use the reputation of British television across all networks, to capitalise financially oversees. Be more aggressive in selling our shows, through advertising, through proper international subscription channels, freeing up BBC Worldwide to be fully commercial, whatever it takes.

"Frankly, don't be icky and modest about making money, let's monetise the bezeesus Mary and Joseph out of our programmes abroad so that money can come back, take some pressure off the licence fee at home and be invested in even more ambitious quality shows, that can only add to our value."

Mr Whittingdale, who was interviewed by ITV News' Alastair Stewart at the festival, said he wanted an open debate about whether the corporation should do everything it has done in the past.  He said he had a slight sense that people who rushed to defend the BBC were "trying to have an argument that's never been started".

"Whatever my view is, I don't determine what programmes the BBC should show," he added. "That's the job of the BBC." Mr Whittingdale said any speculation that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC due to issues such as its editorial line was "absolute nonsense".

 

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the information in the IELTS reading text?

In boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE                       if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE                      if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN             if there is no information on this

 

27. Armando Iannucci expressed a need of having more popular channels.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

28. John Whittingdale wanted to dismantle the BBC.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

29. Iannucci delivered the 30th annual MacTaggart Lecture.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

30. Ianucci believes that British television has contributed to the success of American TV-shows.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

31. There have been negotiations over the future of the BBC in July.              Choose             TRUE             FALSE             NOT GIVEN           

Questions 32–35

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 32-35 on your answer sheet.

32. Ianucci praised everything EXCEPT

      A  US shows

      B  British shows

      C  Corporation

      D  British programming

 

33. To advise on the charter renewal Mr Whittingdale appointed a panel of

      A  five people

      B  two people

      C  seven people

      D  four people

 

34. Who of these people was NOT invited to the discussion concerning BBC renewal?

      A  Armando Iannucci

      B  Dawn Airey

      C  John Whittingdale

      D  Stewart Purvis

 

35. There panel of experts lacks:

      A  media owners

      B  people who make enduring TV-shows

      C  gurus of Television industry

      D  top executives

 

 

Questions 36–40

Complete the summary below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.

Easing the strain on the licence fees

Iannucci recommended increasing BBC's profit by pushing ourselves more 36. . He suggests being more aggressive in selling British shows, through advertising and proper international 37. . Also, he invokes producers to stop being 38.  and modest about making money and invest into even 39.  quality shows. However, Mr Whittingdale denied any 40.  that the Conservative Party had always wanted to change the BBC because of its editorial line.