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Stress of Workplace Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

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Updated on Jul 02, 2024, 11:57

In the IELTS Reading part, which plays a significant role in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), you'll find a variety of texts waiting for you to explore. 

 

They want to see how well you understand what you're reading, whether it's picking out the main points, catching all the little details, or figuring out what's not said directly. 

 

As you progress, the passages will get tougher, testing your reading skills more and more. It's your chance to demonstrate your ability to understand all sorts of things, from serious academic content to everyday situations. So, get ready to dive in and showcase your skills!
 

Key highlights of the Reading section:

 

  • Assesses comprehension skills across a range of texts.
  • Tasks include identifying main ideas, understanding details, and deducing implicit meanings.
  • Texts vary in complexity and cover diverse topics, preparing you for academic and real-world contexts.
  • Requires efficient time management to answer questions within the allotted time.
  • Offers a variety of question types, including multiple choice, matching headings, completing sentences, and True/False/Not Given questions, to assess different reading skills.

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1. Stress of Workplace Reading Passage

You should spend approximately 20 minutes answering Questions 1 - 14 based on the Reading Passage below. This approach can help manage time effectively during a reading comprehension activity or exam. 

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2. Stress of Workplace Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Stress of Workplace

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1.

Stress of Workplace Reading Passage

General Information

  • Read Instructions: Understand each question before answering.
  • Manage Time: Spend about 20 minutes per passage.
  • Skim and Scan: Quickly get the main idea and find specific information.
  • Highlight Key Info: Underline essential words or phrases.
  • Answer All Questions: Attempt every question; no penalty for wrong answers.
  • Stay Focused: Avoid distractions and keep your attention on the task.
  • Check Spelling: Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
  • Transfer Answers Clearly: Write answers neatly on the answer sheet.
  • Don’t Dwell: Move on if stuck and return later.
  • Review: If time allows, review your answers.

 

 

 

 

 Stress of Workplace Reading Passage


 

 

Paragraph A: Whenever someone claims they're too busy, what exactly are they doing? Those with tight schedules may have to forego the occasional three-course meal, while others may opt out of lunch altogether. A monthly "sickie" might be tough for some individuals to take. One other group of folks works every night and on the weekends as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Most CEOs and CTOs have workloads that range from extremely busy to completely overwhelming. At Kearney, where he serves as vice president and head of telecommunications for the Asia-Pacific region, Neil Plumridge reports working anywhere from 45 to 80 hours a week, with the average being 60.
 

Paragraph B: When he does not get enough sleep, misses appointments, and experiences personal stress, Plumridge is overworked. Plumridge has a daughter who is 3 years old, and a son is expected in October. When he gets fewer than six hours of sleep for three consecutive nights and has continually rescheduled appointments, "and the third one is on the family side," he realises he has too much on his plate. If I forget a significant day, such as my birthday or wedding anniversary, chaos ensues. Being "too busy" is a subjective concept. After a while, though, anybody might begin to feel too busy since stress makes it difficult to sleep and harms your mental and physical health. 
 

Paragraph C: All fifty state workers' compensation systems report that stress is the leading cause of missed workdays and workplace injury. When anxious, individuals take 16.6 additional days off than the typical worker. There are several expenses associated with stress. According to Comcare, the federal government's insurance provider, in 2003–2004, 7% of claims were for psychological injury, but they cost nearly 27% of all claims. Some stress-relieving activities, such as a game of golf or a massage, may appear enticing, but according to experts, the actual cure is to reconsider your workload. Neil Plumridge states that determining what must be altered is one of his most essential responsibilities. This might involve adding additional personnel, more time, or altering the objectives. It may take a few days to make a decision. He claims that he and his mates function as a "coaching team" to assist one another through challenging business situations. He argues that a new perspective might be quite beneficial.
 

Paragraph D: Executive stress is not limited to major corporations. Vanessa Stoykov has established and runs her own advertising and public relations firm specialising in financial and professional services firms for the past seven years. One year after Stoykov gave birth to her first child, Evolution Media debuted on the BRW Fast 100 list of the quickest-growing small enterprises. Managing her own business provides Stoykov with the mental stimulation she requires to develop. She acknowledges that, like everyone else, she occasionally experiences days where she feels as though her brain is going to explode. Stoykov must focus on short-term stress reduction, such as weekends spent hiking or the occasional "mental wellness" day, rather than allocating additional work due to the company's growth phase. There is an increase in work, not a decrease since although we are hiring more people, they must be trained and educated on the company's culture and clients, so there is really more work.
 

Paragraph E: Find the root of the problem: A Melbourne-based psychologist who focuses on executive coaching named Jan Elsner claims that successful corporate leaders and high-potential employees thrive in challenging environments. According to her, some people do better under sustained stress while others do better with intermittent bursts of high adrenaline followed by times of quiet. "We may tell if a person is physically stressed or not using measures of hormones in their urine and blood," she says. "However, this tells us nothing about the quality of their stress or the emotional and cognitive ramifications of that stress." It is pertinent to note that Eisner's practice is significantly influenced by positive psychology, which holds that "positive" experiences, such as being engaged, challenged, and feeling like one is contributing to something worthwhile, do not counterbalance negative ones, such as stress, but rather help people become more resilient over time. Thus, good stress—being tested and rewarded—accumulates like negative stress. Elsner teaches senior business leaders who increasingly use yoga and meditation to reduce stress. She cites research showing that meditation may change brain chemistry and help people "retrain" their stress response. You can control your brain by learning meditation and yoga.
 

Paragraph F: AT Kearney's vice-president for Australia, Neil Plumridge, believes that stress is usually caused by our excessive expectations of ourselves. When I'm confident it won't happen, I'll tell one customer I'll do something tomorrow and then tell another. I could have asked the clients, "Why don't I offer it to you in 48 hours?" instead of stressing myself out. The customer is unconcerned. Many people struggle with overcommitting on their own. We describe it as Parkinson's law of procrastination, in which the quantity of labour expands to fill the available time. Recent research suggests that it may be in people's genetic composition to do so.
 

Paragraph G: A Journal of Experimental Psychology study released in February found that people consistently anticipate a gradual reduction in their workload. Professors John Lynch of Duke University and Gal Zauberman of the University of North Carolina, who wrote the paper, said that this is a common misunderstanding. In most cases, a person's schedule will be exactly as full in two weeks or a month as it is right now. But it doesn't seem like that in practice," they said. As soon as something doesn't have to be done immediately, people often give in to pressure and agree to things they would never agree to otherwise. What this means is that they severely discount the value of future time commitments. When compared to the present, why do we think there will be more "surplus" time in the future? The study found that people tend to underestimate how long it would take to do tasks that will take some time and have problems foreseeing future competition for their time.

2.

Stress of Workplace Reading Question & Answers

Discover exciting and informative IELTS reading answers about Stress of Workplace

Questions and Answers 1-5
  • Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-D) with the opinions below.
  • Write the appropriate letters A-D in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
Note: You may use any letter more than once.

 

 

  1. Jan Elsner
  2. Vanessa Stoykov
  3. Gal Zauberman
  4. Neil Plumridge

 

 

1. The highest levels of a firm are typically where work stress occurs.

2. It would be advantageous to engage more people's thoughts to reduce stress.

3. There are situations when a temporary holiday does not result in less work.

4. When it comes to providing satisfactory service to consumers, stress is a step that would not work.

5. It is untrue that stress will be reduced more in the future than it is now.

 

 

Stress of Workplace Reading Answers with Explanations (1-5)


 

Type of Question: Reading Locating
 

To answer Reading Locating questions in the IELTS Reading section, scan the passage for specific keywords or phrases mentioned in the question and locate the corresponding information within the text.
 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Read the instructions and the incomplete sentence carefully to understand what information you need to find.
  • Scan the passage for keywords or phrases related to the missing information in the sentence.
  • Pay close attention to synonyms or paraphrases of the missing words or phrases in the passage.
  • Once you locate the relevant section, check the surrounding context to ensure the completion fits logically.
  • Confirm your answer choice by checking for grammatical accuracy and coherence with the rest of the passage.

 

 

1. A

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph E, "Jan Elsner claims that successful corporate leaders and high-potential employees thrive in challenging environments." 

 

Explanation: Jan Elsner discusses how certain individuals thrive in challenging environments, suggesting that high levels of stress can be beneficial for some corporate leaders and high-potential employees.


 

2. D

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "Neil Plumridge states that determining what must be altered is one of his most essential responsibilities." 

 

Explanation: Neil Plumridge emphasises the importance of reassessing workload and responsibilities to address stress, indicating that engaging more people's thoughts could be advantageous in reducing stress levels.


 

3. B

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph D, "Stoykov must focus on short-term stress reduction, such as weekends spent hiking or the occasional 'mental wellness' day." 

 

Explanation: Vanessa Stoykov focuses on short-term stress reduction strategies rather than adding more work to her plate. She suggests that temporary holidays may not necessarily result in less work due to the company's growth phase.


 

4. D

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph F, "AT Kearney's vice-president for Australia, Neil Plumridge, believes that stress is usually caused by our excessive expectations of ourselves." 

 

Explanation: Neil Plumridge suggests that stress often arises from excessive self-expectations, indicating that maintaining satisfactory service to consumers while under stress may not work effectively.


 

5. C

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph G, "A Journal of Experimental Psychology study released in February found that people consistently anticipate a gradual reduction in their workload." 

 

Explanation: The study mentioned in Paragraph G highlights the misconception that stress will be reduced more in the future. It suggests that there are situations where a temporary reduction in workload does not necessarily lead to less stress.

Questions and Answers 6-11
  • Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
  • Write your answers in boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet.

 

 

According to data from the National Workers' Compensation, stress is the primary factor in 6) ______ that results in lost time. Employees spend roughly 7) ______ out from work due to stress. Our biggest worry is not just time but also the significant expenditures that are caused by this. In contrast to the almost 27% expenses in all claims, according to an official insurer, mental health difficulties accounted for only 8) ______ of all claims. Stress-relieving activities like 9) ______ and 10) ______ are possible; nevertheless, experts advised another realistic solution: reevaluate 11) ______.

 

 

Stress of Workplace Answer With Explanation (6-11)
 

 

Type of Question: Summary Completion
 

Carefully read the summary and identify keywords, then scan the passage to locate the relevant information, ensuring the words you choose to complete the summary accurately reflect the content and context of the passage.
 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Carefully read the incomplete sentence and identify the key information required to complete it.
  • Scan the passage for relevant keywords or phrases that match the missing information in the sentence.
  • Pay attention to synonyms or paraphrases of the missing words or phrases in the passage.
  • Ensure that the completed sentence fits logically with the context of the paragraph and maintains coherence with the surrounding information.
  • Verify your answer choice by checking for grammatical accuracy and consistency with the overall theme or argument presented in the passage.


 

6. Workplace injury

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "All fifty state workers' compensation systems report that stress is the leading cause of missed workdays and workplace injury." 

 

Explanation: The data from the National Workers' Compensation systems, as mentioned in Paragraph C, highlights stress as the primary factor contributing to workplace injury.


 

7. 16.6 weeks

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "When anxious, individuals take 16.6 additional days off than the typical worker." 

 

Explanation: Paragraph C indicates that individuals take approximately 16.6 additional days off from work due to stress, as revealed by data from the National Workers' Compensation systems.


 

8. 7%

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "According to Comcare, the federal government's insurance provider, in 2003–2004, 7% of claims were for psychological injury, but they cost nearly 27% of all claims." 

 

Explanation: The paragraph discusses the statistics provided by Comcare, highlighting that although psychological injury claims accounted for only 7% of all claims, they incurred almost 27% of the total expenses, emphasising the significant impact of mental health issues.


 

9. Golf

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "Some stress-relieving activities, such as a game of golf or a massage, may appear enticing, but according to experts, the actual cure is to reconsider your workload." 

 

Explanation: The paragraph suggests that activities like golf are mentioned as potential stress-relieving options, but experts advise reevaluating workload as a more realistic solution to address stress.


 

10. Massage

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "Some stress-relieving activities, such as a game of golf or a massage, may appear enticing, but according to experts, the actual cure is to reconsider your workload." 

 

Explanation: Similar to the previous answer, the paragraph mentions massages as potential stress-relieving activities but emphasises that reconsidering workload is a more effective solution, according to experts.


 

11. Workload

 

Reference:

 

From Paragraph C, "Some stress-relieving activities, such as a game of golf or a massage, may appear enticing, but according to experts, the actual cure is to reconsider your workload." 

 

Explanation: Paragraph C concludes by suggesting that reevaluating workload is advocated as a more effective solution to address stress, aligning with the theme of the paragraph focused on stress management strategies.

Questions and Answers 12-14
  • Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
  • Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.

 

 

12. Which of the following workplace stress is NOT mentioned according to Plumridge in the following options

 

  1. Inadequate time of sleep
  2. Alteration of appointment
  3. Not enough time spend on family
  4. Unable to concentrate on work


13. Which of the following solution is NOT mentioned in helping reduce the work pressure according to Plumridge

 

  1. Increase more time
  2. Do sports and massage
  3. Lower expectations
  4. Allocate more personnel

 

14. What is the point of view of Jan Elsner towards work stress

 

  1. The medical test only provides part of the stress-management data.
  2. In stressful situations, samples will be anomalous.
  3. Physical attachment is inferior to that of the mind and emotions.
  4. One well-designed solution can release all stress


 

Stress of Workplace Answer With Explanation (12-14)

 

Type of Question: Multiple Choice Questions
 

These types of questions in IELTS reading involve identifying whether the right choice from the given options using the given paragraph. 
 

How to best answer: 
 

  • Read the question and all answer options carefully to understand what is being asked.
  • Look for keywords or phrases in the passage that correspond to the information mentioned in the question.
  • Eliminate answer options that are clearly incorrect or irrelevant to the question.
  • Choose the answer option that best aligns with the information provided in the passage.
  • Be cautious of answer options that may seem correct but are not directly supported by the passage.


 

12. D

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C, "This might involve adding additional personnel, more time, or altering the objectives. It may take a few days to make a decision." 

 

Explanation: The answer is taken from Paragraph C, where Neil Plumridge discusses potential solutions to addressing stress in the workplace, which includes considering changes like adding personnel or adjusting objectives.


 

13. B

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph C, "This might involve adding additional personnel, more time, or altering the objectives. It may take a few days to make a decision." 

 

Explanation: The same line from Paragraph C is referenced, emphasising the various options, including adding more time or personnel, as potential solutions to addressing workplace stress.


 

14. A

 

Reference:

 

Paragraph E, "According to her, some people do better under sustained stress while others do better with intermittent bursts of high adrenaline followed by times of quiet. "We may tell if a person is physically stressed or not using measures of hormones in their urine and blood," she says." 

 

Explanation: Paragraph E discusses Jan Elsner's perspective on stress management, highlighting the varying responses individuals have to stress and the methods used to assess physical stress levels, aligning with the statement provided in answer choice A.

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FAQs

Q. How can I pass IELTS reading test?

Ans. Passing the IELTS reading test requires consistent practice with authentic materials. Dedicate regular time to reading passages and answering questions. Focus on improving reading speed and comprehension by gradually increasing the difficulty of the texts you read. Familiarise yourself with different question types, such as multiple choice, matching, and true/false/not given, and develop effective strategies for each. Lastly, test conditions should be simulated during practice sessions to build confidence and improve performance.

Q. What is the IELTS reading test like?

Ans. The IELTS reading test consists of three passages of increasing difficulty. Each passage is followed by a series of questions designed to assess your reading comprehension skills. Question types include multiple choice, matching headings, and true/false/not-given statements. The test evaluates your ability to understand main ideas, identify supporting details, and infer information from the text. It is crucial to manage your time effectively to complete all questions within the allotted time.

Q. What are some good resources for improving my reading skills in general?

Ans. Improving reading skills can be achieved through various resources and methods. Consider enrolling in online courses dedicated to reading comprehension and vocabulary enhancement. Additionally, reading a wide range of materials, including articles, novels, and academic texts, exposes you to different writing styles and subject matters. Practice with reading comprehension books tailored to your proficiency level and focus on strategies for tackling different question types. Finally, join reading groups or discussion forums to engage with others and exchange reading tips and recommendations.