Matching sentence endings is a type of lesson you need to pay attention to in IELTS Reading. Let’s learn and practice this type of lesson.

1. What are matching sentence endings?

This is a relatively easy type of test in the Reading test, you will have a list of “unfinished” sentences, and a list of “finished” sentences. Your task is to find the “tails” for the above unfinished sentence list.

Usually you will try to find suitable grammar points to eliminate easily. For example “The idea of ​​zero net soil degradation” you will find “endings” that start with a verb with “s” or “no s” to match “The idea”, but IELTS is not that easy , usually the grammar will be very clever, match all the sentences, or use modal verbs as in the case of a series of “may” at the beginning of the sentence but the picture below.

So the best way to do this is to read comprehension, find the right place in the text and match! Later below, I will talk more deeply, take a quick look to recognize the post type:

Illustration of Matching Sentence Endings

2. How to do the test

Step 1: Skim and predict the answer

Usually I will read through 1 turn to see which sentences have REALLY DIFFERENT content, which cannot be matched into 1 sentence. The front and the back are separate, not related at all, look at one to know, like that. Then I exclude.

But the reality is not so easy to rule out at first reading. Usually this is used to exclude when we are wondering about 2-3 answers during the test.

For example:

All the fairy tales analyzed by Tehrani

A. were originally spoken rather than written.

B. are the reason for their survival.

If I am confused between these two sentences, I can exclude B because if I choose A, it will be “Fairy tales analyzed by Tehrani were originally told in words, not in writing.”

Choice B would be “Fairy tales analyzed by Tehrani as reasons for their/their survival”

Step 2: Underline important keywords

Underline keywords that highlight the sentence or keywords that make it easier to find in the text. For example

27. Tehrani rejects the idea that the useful lessons for life in fairy tales

-> Note “reject” (reject but not support)

Attention: Useful lessons

28. Insights to the development of fairy tales

-> Attention: insight, development

Endings:

A. were originally spoken rather than written.

-> Pay attention to spoken, rather than (comparison), written

B. have been developed without factual basis.

-> Note: without (without), factual basis

Step 3: Check the answer

After the match is complete, you should read it again. This is the type of article that will be arranged in the order of the readings so it will be easier to check.
Reading once feels that the information is reasonable with the reading, then we can be assured of our answer. If you think it’s a bit wrong, you should review it because you may have mistakenly connected the endings of another sentence, now maybe you have to check 2 sentences, not 1 sentence :v wrong line 

3. Practice

Jurassic crocodile discovery sheds light on reptiles’ family tree

A. A newly identified species of 150 million-year-old marine crocodile has given insights into how a group of ancient animals evolved.

The ancestor of today’s crocodiles belongs to a group of animals that developed a tail fin and paddle-like limbs for life in the sea, resembling dolphins more than crocodiles. These slender animals, which fed on fast-moving prey such as squid and small fish, lived during the Jurassic era in shallow seas and lagoons in what is now Germany. Related species have previously been found in Mexico and Argentina.

B. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Germany and the University of Edinburgh, identified the new species from a significantly well-preserved skeleton. The fossil was discovered in 2014 in a quarry near the town of Bamberg in Bavaria, Germany by a team from the Naturkunde-Museum Bamberg, where it is now housed. The species, Cricosaurus bambergensis, takes its name from the town.

C. Researchers compared the fossil with those from other museum collections, and confirmed that it was a previously unseen species. The skeleton has several distinguishing features in its jaws, the roof of its mouth and tail, some of which have not been seen in any other species.

Experts created digital images of the fossil in high resolution, to enable further research. They expect the fossil will aid greater understanding of a wider family of ancient animals, known as metriorhynchid, to which this species belongs.

D. Dr Mark Young, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences, who took part in the study, said: “The rock formations of southern Germany continue to give us fresh insights into the age of dinosaurs. These rock layers were demonstrated at a time when Europe was covered by a shallow sea, with countries such as Germany and the UK being a collection of islands.”

E. Sven Sachs, from the Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, who led the project, said: “The study reveals peculiar features at the palate that have not been described in any fossil crocodile so far. There are two depressions which are separated by a pronounced bar. It is not clear what these depressions were good for.”

===========

Questions 1–4

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–G, below.

Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 1–4 on your answer sheet.

1. The ancient species of crocodile ate marine creatures that

2. The skeleton is kept in

3. Bones of the early type of crocodile

4. The geology of southern Germany

A. is believed to have lived 150 million years ago.

B. show some unique features.

C. resembled dolphins.

D. was laid down when the area was under water.

E. a museum in the town near where it was found.

F. swam fast through the water.

G. the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences.

=======

Answers

1. F

2. E

3. REMOVE

4. EASY

Link to download PDF version:

See more lessons with the same route:

Sharpen your IELTS Reading Skill – TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN

Sharpen your IELTS Reading Skill – MATCHING HEADINGS