【リーディング問題の違い】IELTSジェネラルvsアカデミック

こんにちは、SOLO IELTS TOEFLのルークです。

今日はIELTSのアカデミックとジェネラルのリーディング問題の違いを解説します。

ジェネラル vs アカデミック

IELTSは4つのセクションから成り立っています。

ライティング
リーディング
リスニング
スピーキング

IELTSの2つの試験、アカデミックかジェネラルを選ぶかによってライティングとリーディングの試験内容が変わるのです。

今日はリーディングの違いフォーカスするのでライティングの違いは以下を参照にしてね。

【ライティングタスク1の違い】IELTSジェネラルとアカデミック

リーディングの違い

まずはアカデミックとジェネラルのリーディングの違いを下の図で確認してみましょう。

アカデミックは文字通りアカデミックなテーマにおいて記事、ジャーナル、論文から引っ張ってきます。

ジェネラルはより生活や仕事に密接したテーマから出ます。

難易度の違い

アカデミックとジェネラルの難易度を3つのパッセージで比べると以下のようになります。

パッセージ1: アカデミック>>>ジェネラル
パッセージ2: アカデミック>>>ジェネラル
パッセージ3: アカデミック≧ジェネラル

パッセージ1と2に関しては、圧倒的にアカデミックの方が難易度が高いです。3はジェネラルも長文となり、誤差になります。

テーマがアカデミックだとトピックに馴染みがなかったり、知らない単語がふえるね

ジェネラルリーディング

それでは実際の問題をみていきましょう。まずはパッセージが短めのジェネラルです。パッセージ2の仕事関連の問題を取り上げてみましょう。

SELKIRK MARITIME SERVICES RIGHTS AND

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYEES
The purpose of this document is to advise Selkirk Maritime Services’ [SMS) employees of their rights and responsibilities in terms of their Employment Contract, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Discrimination and Harassment. Rights refer to what employees are entitled to and the way they can expect to be treated, while responsibilities refer to their expected work output and behaviour towards fellow employees.

Contract of Employment
The employment contract is an agreement between you, the employee, and SMS, the employer, about your conditions of employment. It covers the rights, obligations and entitlements of both parties.

This written agreement spells out your rate of pay, the number of hours you are expected to work, any penalty rates you would be entitled to should you work public holidays or in excess of the forty hours in a working week and also includes contributions to a superannuation fund. Other entitlements such as personal and annual leave are also set out.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
SMS is obliged to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its employees. Under the law, it provides training courses for working safety as well as any personal protective clothing or equipment at no cost to you. As an employee you are required to cooperate with SMS to ensure safety.

By law you must wear and use the safety equipment and clothing supplied by SMS as well as follow safety standards when operating machinery and equipment. It is your responsibility to perform your work activities in a safe manner and not endanger the welfare of your fellow employees.

Discrimination and Harassment (DH)
It is every employee’s right to work in an environment free from discrimination and harassment (DH). SMS does not tolerate any form of DH in the workplace, and any instances are taken seriously and dealt with promptly and confidentially.

Discrimination and harassment are to be understood as any form of unwanted behaviour which humiliates, offends, insults or intimidates an employee. It may be verbal, non-verbal or physical in nature and include circulating racist or sexually explicit material, making offensive comments, telling insulting jokes or isolating a fellow employee because of his/her sexuality, religion, national or ethnic origin.

Questions 23-27
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 23-27 on your answer sheet.

Rights and Responsibilities of Employees
• Advises on Employment Contract, Occupational Health and Safety, Discrimination and Harassment.

Contract of Employment
• Sets out 23＿＿＿＿
• Includes rights, obligations and entitlements.
• Details wage-related information including superannuation 24 ＿＿＿＿

Occupational Health and Safety
• Promotes healthy and safe practices.
• Trains employees on 25＿＿＿＿
• Issues protective clothing and safely equipment.
• Requires that the 26＿＿＿＿ of a co-worker is not placed in danger.

Discrimination and Harassment (DH)
• Does not tolerate DH in the work environment.
• Investigates any allegations of DH in confidence.
• Provides instances of unwelcome 27＿＿＿＿ including segregating a co- worker because of his/her race.

働いたことがある人なら馴染みがあるトピックだったのではないでしょうか

アカデミックリーディング

続いてアカデミックリーディングの問題をみてみましょう。

Mammoth kill

A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, proboscideans commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. They lived from the Pliocene epoch (from around 5 million years ago) into the Holocene at about 4,500 years ago, and were members of the family Elephantidae, which contains, along with mammoths, the two genera of modern elephants and their ancestors.

A
Like their modern relatives, mammoths were quite large. The largest known species reached heights in the region of 4 m at the shoulder and weights of up to 8 tonnes, while exceptionally large males may have exceeded 12 tonnes. However, most species of mammoth were only about as large as a modern Asian elephant. Both sexes bore tusks. A first, small set appeared at about the age of six months, and these were replaced at about 18 months by the permanent set. Growth of the permanent set was at a rate of about 2.5 to 15.2 cm per year. Based on studies of their close relatives, the modern elephants, mammoths probably had a gestation period of 22 months, resulting in a single calf being born. Their social structure was probably the same as that of African and Asian elephants, with females living in herds headed by a matriarch, whilst bulls lived solitary lives or formed loose groups after sexual maturity.

B
MEXICO CITY – Although it’s hard to imagine in this age of urban sprawl and automobiles, North America once belonged to mammoths, camels, ground sloths as large as cows, bear-size beavers and other formidable beasts. Some 11,000 years ago, however, these large-bodied mammals and others – about 70 species in all – disappeared. Their demise coincided roughly with the arrival of humans in the New World and dramatic climatic change – factors that have inspired several theories about the die-off. Yet despite decades of scientific investigation, the exact cause remains a mystery. Now new findings offer support to one of these controversial hypotheses: that human hunting drove this megafaunal menagerie to extinction. The overkill model emerged in the 1960s, when it was put forth by Paul S. Martin of the University of Arizona. Since then, critics have charged that no evidence exists to support the idea that the first Americans hunted to the extent necessary to cause these extinctions. But at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Mexico City last October, paleoecologist John Alroy of the University of California at Santa Barbara argued that, in fact, hunting-driven extinction is not only plausible, it was unavoidable. He has determined, using a computer simulation, that even a very modest amount of hunting would have wiped these animals out.
…
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Mammothはさすがに普段読まないコンテンツだよね

こういった形で700-900字まで長文が続いたあとに各問に答えていきます。アカデミックに関してはパッセージが長いので実際にときたい人は以下記事を参照にしてください。

リーディングパッセージ1のサンプル教材