Reading 1 — everyday notices
Section 1 of the General Training paper, in its real register: four short notices from one town — a community centre, a change to a bus route, the library's borrowing rules and the swimming pool's session times — with twelve questions and the vocabulary of official notices on flashcards.
This is the section people assume is the easy one, and the assumption is where the marks go. These texts are not written to be read; they are written to be consulted. Every one of them carries a sentence that quietly limits everything above it — charges do not apply to readers under 16 or over 65, we cannot take them over the telephone, no children under 14, subject to availability. Miss one of those and you answer confidently and wrongly.
Three questions here turn on exactly that. One asks what the notices never say, and the statement in question is true of a different organisation two notices away — the fact is on the page, attached to the wrong place. One asks what is contradicted, and the contradiction is in the last sentence of a paragraph. One asks what is actually stated, with three options that each alter a single word of something plainly written.
The rest are what Section 1 really tests: finding the figure that answers the question and not the figure next to it — the daily rate against the ceiling, the total against the sub-limit inside it, the hourly charge against the deposit, the old stop against the new one and against the destination.
Everything in these notices is invented: the town, the organisations, the prices and the timetables. That is deliberate — there is no real institution here whose terms could be out of date by the time you read it.
Written by Zestly. No IELTS material is reproduced.
- Read a practical notice for its exceptions rather than its headline
- Tell a daily rate from a ceiling, and a total from the sub-limit inside it
- Spot a fact that is true of a different organisation in a neighbouring text
- Match information to the one notice that contains it
- Build the fixed vocabulary of notices and conditions — refundable, subject to availability, unaffected
Items returned late are charged at 20p a day per item, up to a maximum of £6 per item. Charges do not apply to readers under 16 or over 65.
Sample question
Reading Section 1 — four notices from the town of Hartwell A HARTWELL COMMUNITY CENTRE Open Monday to Friday 9am–9pm and Saturday 9am–5pm. Closed on Sundays and on public holidays. Membership costs £24 a year, or £12 for anyone in full-time education. Membership is not required to attend a one-off event, but members pay less for classes. The main hall may be hired for private functions at £30 an hour, with a refundable deposit of £50 paid at the time of booking. Hall bookings must be made in person at reception; we cannot take them over the telephone. B ROUTE 46 — CHANGES FROM 3 MARCH From Monday 3 March the 46 will no longer serve Bridge Street. Passengers for the hospital should use the new stop on Weir Road, two minutes' walk from the main entrance. The first bus of the day will leave Hartwell Square at 5.55am, ten minutes earlier than at present. The last bus is unchanged at 11.20pm. Saturday and Sunday services are unaffected. Timetables showing the new stops are available from the driver. C HARTWELL LIBRARY — BORROWING You may borrow up to twelve items at a time, of which no more than four may be DVDs. Books are lent for three weeks and DVDs for one week. Loans may be renewed twice, online or by telephone, unless another reader has reserved the item. There is no charge for renewing. Items returned late are charged at 20p a day per item, up to a maximum of £6 per item. Charges do not apply to readers under 16 or over 65. D MOORSIDE LEISURE CENTRE — SWIMMING POOL Early Lanes: weekdays 6.30–8.00am. Serious swimmers only; no lessons and no children under 14. Family Splash: Saturday and Sunday 10.00am–12.00pm. Under-8s must be accompanied in the water by an adult. Quiet Swim: Wednesday 7.00–8.30pm. Lights lowered, no music, limited to 20 swimmers and booked in advance. All sessions are subject to availability and may be cancelled for galas or maintenance; notice is given on the centre's website. — Which of these can only be arranged in person?
- Hiring the main hall at the community centre
- Booking a place at the Quiet Swim
- Renewing a library loan
- Getting a copy of the new Route 46 timetable
See the answer
Hiring the main hall at the community centre
Notice A ends "Hall bookings must be made in person at reception; we cannot take them over the telephone." Notice C offers renewals "online or by telephone", and Notice B says timetables are "available from the driver" — the Quiet Swim must be "booked in advance", but no method is given.