Unit 5: Exercise 1

In this unit, you will do IELTS Reading matching heading tasks and read a text
on the topic of family history (also called ancestry).

What vocabulary do you already know on the topic of ancestry? Match the
words with their definitions.

a descendant a generation a record a relative a will an ancestor

birth certificate family background great - + noun run in the family

1. a member of your extended family, for example, your aunt or uncle: _____a
relative_______________________________
2. a person who is related to you but lived and died before you were born: ____na
ancestor______
3. a person who is related to you and who will live after you in the future (e.g. your
grandchildren’s children): ___ ______________________________
4. a group of people who are all about the same age: ____a
generation_____________________________
5. the history of your family, for example, where they came from, what jobs they had:
____family background _____________________________
6. used with a word for a family member from an older generation (e.g. your mother’s
grandmother): ___________________________________
7. a piece of important information you write on paper or store on a computer: ___
8. a legal document that explains what a person has decided should be done with their
money and property after they die: ____a descendant___________________
9. a phrase that describes a feature, quality, ability or disease that people from the same
family share: ________________________________
10.  a legal document that contains information about a new baby such as its name, the
names of its parents and the time and place it was born: ______birth
certificate_______________________________

Unit 5: Exercise 2
Read the information, then read the sentences from Paragraphs A–H. Do the
exercise .

The IELTS Reading matching headings task tests your understanding of the gist of a
paragraph – this means how well you understand the main idea or topic of the paragraph.

It is often possible to quickly get a general understanding of the main ideas and topic of a text
by reading only:

 the final sentence of the introduction (i.e. the first paragraph in the text)
 the first sentence of all the paragraphs in the main body (i.e. all the paragraphs
between the introduction and the conclusion)
 the final sentence of the conclusion (i.e. the last paragraph in the text).

Final sentence of Paragraph A: ‘… It was also necessary for landowners to know their
family background – so they could prove that a large castle or manor house really belonged to
them, and not to another person further along a branch of the family tree who wanted it for
themselves.’

First sentence of Paragraph B: ‘An interest in knowing who your ancestors were and what
they did is, of course, something which is common in all cultures.’

First sentence of Paragraph C: ‘While some people are still interested in family trees as a
way of making sure they can receive money or valuable items from a great-uncle or great-
great grandparent, others have different motivations.’

First sentence of Paragraph D: ‘Part of what makes family-tree research so fascinating is

the sense of uncovering a mystery as you find more clues – just like a detective would.’

First sentence of Paragraph E: ‘Before the age of the internet, if you wanted to find out
about your family history, you would have needed to travel to different locations.’

First sentence of Paragraph F: ‘Researching your family tree has now become an ever
more popular activity, partly for the reason that it has become much easier, faster and more
convenient.’

First sentence of Paragraph G: ‘Despite the advances of modern technology, it can still be
a challenge to find your distant ancestors.’

Final sentence of Paragraph H: ‘… Rather than writing out the family tree in a book in the
traditional way, they record stories, images and voices using audio and video recordings for
their descendants to see one day.’

Match the main ideas with the sentences from Paragraphs A–H. Read the text
on page 1 again if you need to.
Paragraph A A reason why people needed to know their ancestry in the past
Paragraph B A reason why people enjoy researching their family history
Paragraph C Different reasons why people might be interested in ancestry
Paragraph D A description of how people feel about ancestry
Paragraph E A method of learning about ancestry
Paragraph F Reasons why more people are learning about ancestry now
Paragraph G Problems in learning about ancestry
Paragraph H A method of storing information about ancestry

Unit 5: Exercise 3
Read the information. Then skim read the paragraph and choose the correct
heading.

Remember! To skim read a text, focus only on the main information. To do this, focus on the
nouns, verbs and adjectives (in bold in the paragraph below).

Ancestry in the UK  

Paragraph A  

Up until relatively recently, English school children were often obliged to learn the names
of the kings and queens that ruled the country from the 8th century to the 18th, and
understand how they were related. This was no easy task. Sometimes a king would pass
his kingdom to his son, but very often it would be a much more distant relative that took
over. To become king, you would have to show you had royal blood in the family tree,
and to do this, you would need to know exactly who all your ancestors were. It was also
necessary for landowners to know their family background – so they could prove that a
large castle or manor house really belonged to them, and not to another person further
along a branch of the family tree who wanted it for themselves.

The correct heading for Paragraph A is:

o How knowing your family tree could bring power and property
o The kind of buildings that wealthy relatives used to live in
 o Which academic subjects most students would prefer not to study

Unit 5: Exercise 4
Read the information. Then skim read the next paragraphs and answer the question .

In an IELTS Reading matching headings task, there will always be at least one more heading
than the number of paragraphs. So, for example, if there are five paragraphs, you might have
to choose from seven or eight headings.

Skim reading the text to get the gist of each paragraph can help you get a general idea of
which headings might match one of the paragraphs.

Ancestry in the UK

Paragraph B

An interest in knowing who your ancestors were and what they did is, of course, something
which is common in all cultures. Not all cultures, however, have a phrase which translates as
family tree for when they want to describe earlier generations of the same family. We use this
particular phrase because it was traditional in the past in some countries to put the oldest
generations at the top of a drawing and the youngest generation at the bottom – sometimes
just the child of a recently married couple. This meant the image would be wider at the top
and narrower at the bottom – just like a tree.

Paragraph C  

While some people are still interested in family trees as a way of making sure they can
receive money or valuable items from a great-uncle or great-great grandparent, others have
different motivations. Some people choose to research their family tree because they are
simply curious about their origins. Or perhaps they have heard an unusual story about an
ancestor and wish to discover the truth. They may even have a more serious and useful
purpose, for example wanting to find out about a medical condition which runs in the family.

 Choose the correct headings for the paragraphs. Look at the text again on page
1 if you need to.

1. The correct heading for Paragraph B is:

o Practical and personal reasons for finding out about ancestors

 o The appeal of making unexpected discoveries

o The problems people face in carrying out family-tree research

o Why we use ‘family tree’ to refer to our family background

o Traditional ways of researching family trees

2. The correct heading for Paragraph C is:

o The appeal of making unexpected discoveries

o Practical and personal reasons for finding out about ancestors

o The problems people face in carrying out family-tree research

o Traditional ways of researching family trees

o Why we use ‘family tree’ to refer to our family background

Unit 5: Exercise 5
Read the information. Then read the paragraphs again, this time with their
headings. The key words in the headings have been underlined. Then do the
exercise.

In IELTS Reading matching headings tasks, it is a good idea to underline key words in the
headings and match them with synonyms and paraphrases in the text. You can do this to
check your answers.

Paragraph B

Why we say ‘family tree’ to refer to our family background

An interest in knowing who your ancestors were and what they did is, of course, something
which is common in all cultures. Not all cultures, however, have a phrase which translates as
family tree for when they want to describe earlier generations of the same family. We use this
particular phrase because it was traditional in the past in some countries to put the oldest
generations at the top of a drawing and the youngest generation at the bottom – sometimes
just the child of a recently married couple. This meant the image would be wider at the top
and narrower at the bottom – just like a tree.

Paragraph C  
 Practical and personal reasons for finding out about ancestors

While some people are still interested in family trees as a way of making sure they can
receive money or valuable items from a great-uncle or great-great grandparent, others have
different motivations. Some people choose to research their family tree because they are
simply curious about their origins. Or perhaps they have heard an unusual story about an
ancestor and wish to discover the truth. They may even have a more serious and useful
purpose, for example wanting to find out about a medical condition which runs in the family.

Match the synonyms and paraphrases from the paragraphs (the words in the
box) with the key words from the headings (1–7). Look at the text again on page
1 if you need to.

a more serious and useful purpose motivations origins to research

perhaps they have heard an unusual story about an ancestor and wish to discover the truth

we use this particular phrase who your ancestors were and what they did

1. we say ‘family tree’

___we use this particular phrase_______________________________________

2. our family background

____who your ancestors were and what they did _______

3. practical (reasons)

__to research________________________________________

4. personal (reasons)

___a more serious and useful purpose________________________________

5. reasons

_____motivation _____________________________________

6. finding out about

__ perhaps they have heard an unusual story about an ancestor and wish to discover
the truth________________________________________

7. ancestors

____origins______________________________________
Unit 5: Exercise 6
Read the information. Then read the headings that the student has chosen, the paragraphs and
the reasons for the student’s answers. The student’s answers are incorrect. Then do the
exercise.

In the IELTS Reading matching headings task, it is easy to choose the incorrect answer. The
extra headings that you don’t need, called ‘distractors’, often seem to be logical answers.

Paragraph D:
Creating family trees for future generations

Part of what makes family-tree research so fascinating is the sense of uncovering a mystery
as you find more clues – just like a detective would. This kind of process was shown in the
hugely popular programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, which featured well-known TV
personalities exploring their family origins. The show’s researchers often found surprising
information. One person, interviewer Jeremy Paxman, was disinterested at first. He believed
it was more important to be ‘forward-looking’ – and think about the future rather than the
past. Then he learnt that his great-grandmother had managed to raise nine children by herself
after her husband died, even though she was extremely poor. He soon wanted to know
more. Certainly this kind of programme has encouraged people to look for their own
ancestors.

Student’s reason:
I chose this heading for Paragraph D because the word ‘future’ is in the heading, and you
can also see it in Paragraph D, in the sentence ‘He believed it was more important to be
“forward-looking” – and think about the future rather than the past.’

Paragraph E:
The problems people face in carrying out family-tree research

Before the age of the internet, if you wanted to find out about your family history, you would
have needed to travel to different locations. People used to visit churches to look at their
records, for example of the names of people who were born and died in the area. Another
way to investigate family history would be to look through old newspapers that were stored
in the basements of libraries, or to search through birth and marriage certificates at the local
town-council building. Not all of these visits, of course, would be successful. You needed to
be very patient and have a lot of spare time to find out about your past.

Student’s reason:
I chose this heading for Paragraph E because the word ‘problems’ is in that heading – and
at the end of Paragraph E, the writer says ‘You needed to be very patient and have a lot of
spare time to find out about your past.’ That sounds like a problem to me.

Think about the mistakes that the student made on page 1. Choose the correct
answers to complete the advice. Read the student’s answers on page 1 again if
you need to.

1. After you read for gist, read the paragraph more carefully to check for the question
or main idea/ synonyms and paraphrases of key words in the heading.
2. Make sure the heading matches one sentence in the paragraph/ the main idea of the
whole paragraph .
3. The main idea of the paragraph can be found in one sentence in the paragraph/ all
the way through the paragraph.
4. Don’t choose a heading just because it uses exactly the same word(s) or phrase(s)/
the same idea(s) that you can see in the paragraph.
5. Make sure the heading paraphrases more than one word or phrase/ just one word or
phrase in the paragraph.

Unit 5: Exercise 7
Read the information. Then match the numbers with the Roman numerals.

In an IELTS Reading matching headings task, each heading has a number. These numbers are
always Roman numerals, so make sure you are familiar with them.

Only write the Roman numeral on the answer sheet. Do not write the whole heading. If you
write the Roman numeral incorrectly, your answer will be marked wrong.

Example:
Roman numeral i = 1

2 8 5 3 4 10 7 6 9

x 10
v 5
iv 4
ii 2
iii 3
 ix 9
vii 7
vi 6
viii 8

Unit 5: Exercise 8
Read the options in bold (ii, iii, v, vi and x) from the list of headings and then
read the paragraphs. Which heading should be used with each paragraph? Write
the correct option numbers (ii, iii, v, vi or x).

i The problems people face in carrying out family-tree research

ii How technology has helped people research their ancestors
iii How businesses benefit from the growing interest in family trees
iv Practical and personal reasons for finding out about ancestors
v How ancestors are remembered and celebrated in different countries
vi Traditional ways of researching family trees
vii Creating family trees for future generations
viii How knowing your family tree could lead to power and property
ix Why we say ‘family tree’ to refer to our family background
x What people enjoy about making unexpected discoveries

Paragraph D

Part of what makes family-tree research so fascinating is the sense of uncovering a mystery
as you find more clues – just like a detective would. This kind of process was shown in the
hugely popular programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, which featured well-known TV
personalities exploring their family origins. The show’s researchers often found surprising
information. One person, interviewer Jeremy Paxman, was disinterested at first. He believed
it was more important to be ‘forward-looking’ – and think about the future rather than the
past. Then he learnt that his great-grandmother had managed to raise nine children by herself
after her husband died, even though she was extremely poor. He soon wanted to know more.
Certainly this kind of programme has encouraged people to look for their own ancestors.

Paragraph E

Before the age of the internet, if you wanted to find out about your family history, you would
have needed to travel to different locations. People used to visit churches to look at their
records, for example of the names of people who were born and died in the area. Another
way to investigate family history would be to look through old newspapers that were stored
in the basements of libraries, or to search through birth and marriage certificates at the local
town-council building. Not all of these visits, of course, would be successful. You needed to
be very patient and have a lot of spare time to find out about your past..

Heading for Paragraph D __10_________

Heading for Paragraph E ____6_______

Unit 5: Exercise 9
Read the options in bold (i, ii, iii, v and vii) from the list of headings and then
read the next paragraphs. Write the option numbers that match the paragraphs.

i The problems people face in carrying out family-tree research

ii How technology has helped people research their ancestors
iii How businesses benefit from the growing interest in family trees
iv Practical and personal reasons for finding out about ancestors
v How ancestors are remembered and celebrated in different countries
vi Traditional ways of researching family trees
vii Creating family trees for future generations
viii How knowing your family tree could lead to power and property
ix Why we say ‘family tree’ to refer to our family background
x What people enjoy about making unexpected discoveries

Paragraph F

Researching your family tree has now become an ever more popular activity, partly for the
reason that it has become much easier, faster and more convenient. Councils have uploaded
many public records to their websites, including details of marriages, names of taxpayers and
property owners, and the wills of people who have died. Many museums and libraries have
also become involved, and offer guidance about the best tools and apps to use when searching
for ancestors. One online company which helps people trace their ancestors was recently
bought for over £2.4 billion – showing just how popular this method of research has become.

Paragraph G

Despite the advances of modern technology, it can still be a challenge to find your distant
ancestors. Before the 11th century, a person would only sometimes share their
parents’ surname. This was because a surname usually showed the town or region where you
came from, e.g. John of Kent, or your occupation, e.g. John (the) Baker. So, if a child was
born in a different place to a parent or had a different job, they might have had different
surnames.  This system also meant that thousands of people had exactly the same surnames
even when they were not related. For wealthy people, it would also have been possible to
have two different surnames if they owned land or property in two different locations. Of
course, many old records have also been lost or destroyed, too.

Paragraph H

Many people who are keen on producing a family tree are interested in looking forwards
rather than back. They recognise their role as an ancestor of people who haven’t even been
born yet, and who may live in many different parts of the world. They want to create records
for them – showing the different branches of the family today. Rather than writing out the
family tree in a book in the traditional way, they record stories, images and voices using
audio and video recordings for their descendants to see one day.

Heading for Paragraph F _____3______

Heading for Paragraph G _______1____

Heading for Paragraph H_____7______

Unit 5: Exercise 10
Think about what you’ve learnt in this unit.

Complete the advice. Use the words in the box.

headings than paragraphs synonyms and paraphrases for key words the key words

the main idea the first or last sentences the main nouns, verbs and adjectives

1. In an IELTS Reading matching headings task, it is important to understand the gist or

__the main idea__________________________________ of a paragraph or text.

2. You can quickly understand the general topic of a text by reading __the first or last
sentences______________________________ of each paragraph.

3. You can also skim read each paragraph by focusing on____ the main nouns, verbs
and adjectives_____________________

4. There will always be more __heading than paragraphs______________ in the text.

5. It is a good idea to underline ______the key words____________________________

in the headings.
6. Remember to check the paragraph for ____synonyms and paraphrases for key
words_________________________ in the heading.