Spoken Corpus Comes to Life - IELTS Reading Sample With Explanation

The IELTS reading section examines a candidate’s comprehending skills within the stipulated amount of time. The IELTS reading section comprises passages followed with different kinds of questions to holistically judge a student’s grasping abilities while reading.

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This particular IELTS reading practice test has a passage on- Spoken Corpus Comes To Life, which consists of the following types of questions:

• Matching Heading
• Label the diagram
• Multiple choice questions

The reading tests contain a variety of sample passages with different kinds of questions which will equip a student with all the possible dimensions of this section. These practice tests should be taken with utmost seriousness to perform brilliantly on the D-Day.

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Spoken corpus comes to life IELTS Reading Sample

1. The compiling of dictionaries has been historically the provenance of studious professorial types - usually bespectacled - who love to pore over weighty tomes and make pronouncements on the finer nuances of meaning. They were probably good at crosswords and definitely knew a lot of words, but the image was always rather dry and dusty. The latest technology, and simple technology at that, is revolutionising the content of dictionaries and the way they are put together.
2. For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data. It gives lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) access to a more vibrant, up-to-date vernacular language which has never really been studied before. In one project, 150 volunteers each agreed to discreetly tie a Walkman recorder to their waist and leave it running for anything up to two weeks. Every conversation they had was recorded. When the data was collected, the length of tapes was 35 times the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Teams of audio typists transcribed the tapes to produce a computerised database of ten million words.
3. This has been the basis - along with an existing written corpus - for the Language Activator dictionary, described by lexicographer Professor Randolph Quirk as “the book the world has been waiting for”. It shows advanced foreign learners of English how the language is really used. In the dictionary, keywords such as “eat” are followed by related phrases such as “wolf down” or “be a picky eater”, allowing the student to choose the appropriate phrase.
4. “This kind of research would be impossible without computers,” said Delia Summers, a director of dictionaries. “It has transformed the way lexicographers work. If you look at the word “like”, you may intuitively think that the first and most frequent meaning is the verb, as in “I like swimming”. It is not. It is the preposition, as in: “she walked like a duck”. Just because a word or phrase is used doesn’t mean it ends up in a dictionary. The sifting out process is as vital as ever. But the database does allow lexicographers to search for a word and find out how frequently it is used - something that could only be guessed at intuitively before.
5. Researchers have found that written English works in a very different way to spoken English. The phrase “say what you like” literally means “feel free to say anything you want”, but in reality it is used, evidence shows, by someone to prevent the other person voicing disagreement. The phrase “it”s a question of crops up on the database over and over again. It has nothing to do with enquiry, but it’s one of the most frequent English phrases which has never been in a language learner’s dictionary before: it is now. CAM 1 TEST 3
6. The Spoken Corpus computer shows how inventive and humorous people are when they are using language by twisting familiar phrases for effect. It also reveals the power of the pauses and noises we use to play for time, convey emotion, doubt and irony.
7. For the moment, those benefiting most from the Spoken Corpus are foreign learners. “Computers allow lexicographers to search quickly through more examples of real English,” said Professor Geoffrey Leech of Lancaster University. “They allow dictionaries to be more accurate and give a feel for how language is being used.” The Spoken Corpus is part of the larger British National Corpus, an initiative carried out by several groups involved in the production of language learning materials: publishers, universities and the British Library

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Section 2

Solution With Explanation 

Questions 1-6:

Reading Passage has seven paragraphs (A-G). Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-xi) in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. Paragraph C has been done for you as an example.

List of Headings:

1. Grammar is corrected
2. New method of research
3. Technology learns from dictionaries
4. Non-verbal content
5. The first study of spoken language
6. Traditional lexicographical methods
7. Written English tells the truth
8. New phrases enter dictionary
9. A cooperative research project
10. Accurate word frequency counts
11. Alternative expressions provided

Question 1. Paragraph A

Answer: vi) Traditional lexicographical methods

Supporting sentence: The compiling of dictionaries has been historically the provenance of studious professorial types - usually bespectacled - who love to pore over weighty tomes and make pronouncements on the finer nuances of meaning.

Keywords: historically, lexicography, traditional

Keyword Location: paragraph A, 1st line

Explanation: This is the correct answer because the 1st paragraph talks about the methods which were used historically to compile dictionaries.

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Question 2. Paragraph B

Answer: ii) New method of research

Supporting sentence: For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data.

Keywords: first time, new method, research

Keyword Location: 2nd Paragraph, 1st line

Explanation: This is the correct heading as paragraph B talks about a new method which is implemented in compiling dictionaries.

Question 3. Paragraph D

Answer: x) Accurate word frequency counts

Supporting sentence: The sifting out process is as vital as ever. But the database does allow lexicographers to search for a word and find out how frequently it is used - something that could only be guessed at intuitively before.

Keywords: word frequency, computerized

Keyword Location: 4th paragraph, last line

Explanation: This is the correct heading because paragraph D talks about how computer have helped lexicographer to figure out how frequently various words are used

Question 4. Paragraph E

Answer: viii) New phrases enter dictionary

Supporting sentence: It has nothing to do with enquiry, but it’s one of the most frequent English phrases which has never been in a language learner’s dictionary before: it is now.

Keywords: new phrases, spoken english

Keyword Location: paragraph E, last line

Explanation: This is the correct heading because this paragraph discusses how many english words which are spoken regularly were previously not added to the dictionary but in the new method such words are added.

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Question 5. Paragraph F

Answer: iv) Non-verbal content

Supporting sentence: It also reveals the power of the pauses and noises we use to play for time, convey emotion, doubt and irony.

Keywords: power, pauses, emotions, doubt noises.

Keyword Location: Paragraph F

Explanation: This is the correct heading because this paragraph predominantly focuses on how computers understand and reveal the meaning of gestures and sounds which are not really a word or phrase which can be found in the dictionary but have meaning and are powerful.

Question 6. Paragraph G

Answer: ix) A cooperative research project

Supporting sentence: The Spoken Corpus is part of the larger British National Corpus, an initiative carried out by several groups involved in the production of language learning materials: publishers, universities and the British Library.

Keywords: initiative, research, learning material

Keyword Location: last paragraph, last line

Explanation: This is the correct heading as there is mention about the research project in details as to who undertook it and what all was involved and produced.

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Questions 7-11:

The diagram below illustrates the information provided in paragraphs B-F of Reading Passage.
Complete the labels on the diagram with an appropriate word or words.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each space.
Write your answers in boxes 7-11 on your answer sheet.

Question 7.

Answer: existing

Supporting sentence: This has been the basis - along with an existing written corpus - for the Language Activator dictionary, described by lexicographer Professor Randolph Quirk as “the book the world has been waiting for”. It shows advanced foreign learners of English how the language is really used.

Keywords: language activator, written corpus

Keyword Location: paragraph C, 1st line

Explanation: The language activator dictionary took into account a lot of things,and one of the first things were the already written existing data, as mentioned in paragraph C.

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Question 8.

Answer: related phrases

Supporting sentence: In the dictionary, key words such as “eat” are followed by related phrases such as “wolf down” or “be a picky eater”, allowing the student to choose the appropriate phrase.

Keywords: keywords, appropriate phrase, spoken corpus

Keyword Location: paragraph C, last line

Explanation: This is the correct answer because the language activator also includes keywords and related phrases to it so much the contextual meaning is clear.

Question 9.

Answer: meanings/forms

Supporting sentence: If you look at the word “like”, you may intuitively think that the first and most frequent meaning is the verb, as in “I like swimming”. It is not. It is the preposition, as in: “she walked like a duck”.

Keywords: frequently used, words, spoken corpus, language activator

Keyword Location: paragraph D, 2nd line

Explanation: This is the correct phrase for this blank as the dictionary determines how frequently a particular meaning or form of the word is used.

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Question 10.

Answer: spoken/oral

Supporting sentence: Researchers have found that written English works in a very different way to spoken English.

Keywords: difference, written, spoken corpus, research

Keyword Location: paragraph E, 1st line

Explanation: This is the correct answer because the dictionary also includes spoken words which aren’t usually present in the learner dictionary as the written english is different from the spoken english

Question 11.

Answer: noises and pauses

Supporting sentence: It also reveals the power of the pauses and noises we use to play for time, convey emotion, doubt and irony.

Keywords: portrayal, spoken corpus, feelings

Keyword Location: paragraph F

Explanation: This is the correct answer because the spoken corpus computer can also show us the power of non-verbal content like noises and pauses which convey a particular feeling. There can be different kinds of feelings for example- doubt, irony and others.

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Question 12:

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 12 on your answer sheet.

Question 12. Why was this article written?

A- To give an example of a current dictionary.
B- To announce a new approach to dictionary writing.
C- To show how dictionaries have progressed over the years.
D- To compare the content of different dictionaries.

Answer: B

Supporting sentence: For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data.

Keywords: article, written

Keyword Location: paragraph B, 1st line

Explanation: This is the correct option because the writer clearly announces the new approach to the dictionary and demonstrates it in detail, as indicated in the opening line of paragraph B.