Academic/General Training Module by Adam Smith First Published in 2015

 
 

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 IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
98 
Match each paragraph with one of the headings below. 
1. A pessimistic prediction. 
2. The probability of life existing on other planets.
3. Astronomers send messages through space.
4. How to avoid contact with aliens.
5. The search for alien life-forms.
6. Life-forms exist on other planets.
Exercise 37: Multiple choice 
Read the following text, and chose the best answer to the questions below. 
The Placebo Effect 
A placebo is a sham or simulated medical intervention. Sometimes patients 
given a placebo treatment will have a perceived or actual improvement in a 
medical condition, a phenomenon commonly called the placebo effect. 
A study of Danish general practitioners found that 48% had prescribed a placebo 
at least 10 times in the past year. The most frequently prescribed placebos were 
antibiotics for viral infections, and vitamins for fatigue. Specialists and hospital-
based physicians reported much lower rates of placebo use. 
1. The placebo effect refers to 
A) a simulated medical treatment 
B) an improvement in a patient’s health as a result of a simulated medical 
treatment 
C) a common medical phenomenon 
2. According to a study, placebos were prescribed in Denmark 
A) mainly by doctors working in hospitals 
B) instead of antibiotics 
C) for fatigued patients or those suffering with viruses 
 
 

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 IELTS
 JOURNAL 
 
99 
Exercise 38: True, False, Not Given 
Read the following text about 'collocation':
Collocation is defined as a sequence of words or terms which co-occur more 
often than would be expected by chance. Collocation comprises the restrictions 
on how words can be used together, for example which prepositions are used 
with particular verbs, or which verbs and nouns are used together. An example 
of this (from Michael Halliday) is the collocation strong tea. While the same 
meaning could be conveyed through the roughly equivalent powerful tea, the 
fact is that English prefers to speak of tea in terms of being strong rather than in 
terms of being powerful. A similar observation holds for powerful computers 
which is preferred over strong computers. 
If the expression is heard often, the words become 'glued' together in our 
minds. 'Crystal clear', 'middle management', 'nuclear family', and 'cosmetic 
surgery' are examples of collocated pairs of words. Some words are often found 
together because they make up a compound noun, for example 'text message' 
or 'motor cyclist'.