This document provides guidance on how to approach different types of tasks that involve extracting information from written passages or audio recordings. It discusses how to complete tables by scanning a text to find the correct words to fill in gaps. It also discusses how to approach form completion tasks for listening exercises by predicting the required information, writing only what is heard, and not providing extra details. Sample exercises are included to demonstrate these task types.

1. GREAT PLACES
TO BE
Unit 1

2. Warm –up
A place A type of
food
An
activity
Reason(s)
I like
I dislike
1. Work individually to complete the table with your own ideas
2. Work in small groups and take turns to say what you like and dislike.

3. Starting off
Ne
New York
Rio de Janeiro
Dubai
Amsterdam
Sydney
Shanghai

4. Reading – Necessary Information

6. Reading 1 – Table Completion
Task description
You will be provided with an incomplete table which summarises or
paraphrases information given in the reading text. The information in table
form may be organised differently from the way in which it appears in the
text, for example chronologically instead of in order of importance. The task
is to complete the gaps in three words or fewer.

7. Question 9 – 13
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for
each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
Sample Test

8. How to approach table completion tasks
 Step 1:
Read the instructions carefully. Note that in the sample
task you may use your own words if you wish, based on
the information in the reading text. In other cases you will
be instructed to use the words from the reading text only.
Note also that here you may write only THREE WORDS or
fewer.

9.  Step 2:
Look at the table and especially any headings. Decide
which is the most useful way to read the table (vertically
or horizontally). Glance at the other information given in
the table to get an idea of what information you will be
searching for when you read.

10.  Step 3:
Guess part of speech in each gap (e.g noun, verbs, adjectives, ect.)
and decide kinds of information, for example, noun of job or
activities and so on. Look for words and phrases in the passage
which mean the same as words and phrases in the table (e.g well-
known = famous; plenty of = a lot of).

11. How to approach table completion tasks
 Step 4:
Skim the text for the appropriate
paragraph or section.
Read that section more carefully and decide on the best word or
words to fill the gap. Remember that you will need to use the
appropriate form of any verbs.
 Step 5:

12. G
B
B
B
G

13. This is a scanning exercise.
What is scanning?
Scanning is moving your eyes quickly over the passage to locate a
particular word or phrase that you may then need to read around more
carefully. Answer
1. Rio de Janeiro, Lilongwe, Amsterdam, New York
2. Rio de Janeiro

14. This is also a scanning exercise.
 friendly inhabitants, a high crime rate, a relaxed lifestyle, people in a hurry
inhabitants - populations
lifestyle - way of life
don’t have so much – have
less
reputation for – known for
have little – be short of
don’t pay attention to - ignore

15. relaxed
money
crime
time
strangers

16. Listening – Form completion
X

X

X

X

18.  Form-completion tasks test students’ ability to listen for specific details.
Form Completion – necessary information
 It’s important to know what details you should listen for beforehand.
How to approach this exercise?
1. Check word count.
2. Before listening, guess what part of speech and kind of information in
each gap.
3. Write words or numbers you hear.
 Do not write more words than the instructions tell you to.

19. Leo Blucher
Blumengasse
4312 11057
1st
9 days
200
kitchen
(the) beach
quiet
parking space