This is a lovely reading about forced rhubarb: its history and how it is grown and harvested.

There are 3 question sets:

• Matching Headings
• Multiple Choice
• Gapfill

In this lesson you'll learn more about the general topic of FOOD and how this topic is tested in all parts of the IELTS test.

Get the full lesson in the Bronze Academy on my website.

https://ieltsetc.com/2024/12/ielts-vocabulary-of-food-cooking-and-eating/

If you really want to make a difference to your test score, stop practising grammar with useless examples that you'll never use in the IELTS test!

In this grammar review we look at how to use few, a few, little and a little SPECIFICALLY FOR the IELTS test.

You'll learn useful expressions that you can use in the Writing and Speaking Tests, and you'll find out how to avoid common mistakes with these quantifiers in the Reading and Listening Tests.

Get the full lesson in the Bronze Academy, starting at just $4 per month.

The full lesson includes:

• a set of IELTS-related phrases for each quantifier
• a set of practice questions for each quantifier
• an interactive review of all quantifiers
• 3 Listening video extracts with real test audio, tapescripts, answers and explanations
• 3 Reading extracts
• The most common mistake with 'few'
• Formal and Informal alternatives
• 10 examples for GT letters

https://ieltsetc.com/2024/09/quantifiers-few-a-few-little-a-little/

In this lesson we look at direct and indirect ways of asking for help.

You will learn fixed expressions that you can use in any letter of request letter, and you'll also learn how to demonstrate flexibility with a variety of tenses when you 'give details of your musical activities'.

Find the full lesson with models and interactive practice on my website (Bronze Academy).

⁠https://ieltsetc.com/2024/09/ielts-general-training-letter-of-request/⁠

You recently went to a concert and thought one of the singers was very good. You want to tell him/her how you feel.

Write a letter to the singer. In your letter:

• say how you feel about his/her performance
• give details of your music-related/musical activities
• explain how you would like him/her to help you with your music-related/musical activities

This Part 4 Listening is all about moving elephants.

In the lesson you'll learn about:

• using word prompts to keep your place
• using intonation and sentence stress to identify answers
• using spelling patterns and plurals to get the right answers

The full transcript is available in the Bronze Membership on my website.

https://ieltsetc.com/2023/10/ielts-listening-part-4-keeping-up-with-the-speaker/

How Plants Sense Temperature – IELTS Reading Made Easy
This episode breaks down a challenging IELTS Reading Passage about how plants use light and temperature to grow.

I’ll guide you through the key ideas, explain tricky vocabulary, and help you answer the questions with confidence. Perfect for Band 6–8 students who want to improve comprehension, build science-related vocabulary, and boost their IELTS Reading score.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the words you DON'T KNOW to get the right answers!

It's a difficult Academic Reading Part 3, which contains several scientific terms that might cause confusion.

But I will show you how IELTS uses these words for gapfills, and you'll learn the 6 'triggers' that indicate the answer.

Get the full video lesson in the Bronze Membership on my website, and in the full Members Academy.

https://ieltsetc.com/ielts-tips-and-tricks/

Reading Summary

Music is a powerful force that affects our emotions. When we listen to music we love, our body reacts—our heartbeat increases, and our muscles receive more blood. Scientists have found that music directly influences the brain, especially by releasing dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel pleasure.

A study in Canada used brain scans to examine why music has such a strong effect. Researchers found that dopamine is released both when we hear a beautiful part of a song and before it happens. This suggests that our brain enjoys the feeling of anticipation, or waiting for something exciting.

The way music is structured also plays a role. If a song is too predictable, it is boring. Great composers, like Beethoven, create patterns in their music and then delay repeating them to build suspense. This delay makes the final moment of resolution much more emotional.

A famous music expert,Leonard Meyer, explained that the emotions in music do not come from its connection to real-life experiences but from how it plays with our expectations. Our brain enjoys the mix of predictability and surprise, which keeps us engaged and emotionally connected to the music.

Keywords:

• affects – Changes or influences something.

• reacts – Responds to something by changing in some way.

• anticipation – The feeling of excitement when waiting for something to happen.
• predictable – Easy to guess or expect.

• delay – To make something happen later than expected.
• suspense – A feeling of excitement or nervousness while waiting for something to happen.

• expectations – Beliefs about what will happen in the future.
• engaged – Focused and interested in something.

This month, we've been exploring the huge topic of MONEY in the Members Academy.

It comes up in ALL parts of the test, so in this lesson, we examine two very similar General Training Texts in order to learn more about the topic of government benefit systems and the allowances that you might be entitled to.

Each country's benefit system is different, so it's really worth a listen as you'll learn valuable information and keywords.

Get the video and full text with vocabulary list in the Bronze Academy on my website.

https://ieltsetc.com/ielts-tips-and-tricks/