Table of Contents
BEST Reading IELTS General Test 177
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 177 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 177
READING PASSAGE – 2
Read the text below and answer 14 – 20.
Reading IELTS General Test
DYSFUNCTIONAL TO USEFUL
Some old buildings must have lost their appeal, yet these one are roaring business along with their significant cultural heritage.
A. Foundation Hotel in Detroit Built in 1929, this steel-frame, five-story neoclassical building served as the long-time home of Michigan’s oldest fire department. After the fire department moved out in 2013, Aparium Hotel Group redeveloped the structure into a boutique, 100-room hotel. The transformation maintained much of the fire department aesthetic while adding salvaged wood and lighting from Detroit businesses.
B. Seaholm District in Austin, Texas This multi-use complex boasts residential, office, retail, restaurants, a library, and a hotel, all anchored by Austin’s former electrical power plant. The redevelopment began in 2013 after the Art Deco-styled power plant was dormant for decades, and it’s been a key element in revitalizing a dead spot in Austin’s downtown. Transforming the former brownfield site has been a work in progress, but just recently the city’s former Green Water Treatment Plant opened as a much-anticipated Central Library designed by by Lake/Flato and Shepley Bulfinch. Curbed Austin calls it a “a well-executed reinvention and a careful exercise in sustainability.”
Reading IELTS General Test
C. The Steel Yard in Providence, Rhode Island For 100 years, the Providence Iron and Steel Company operated on this section of the Woonasquatucket River in Providence’s “Industrial Valley.” But when the plant closed in 2001, redevelopers transformed the 3.5-acre site’s cranes, rough brick, and metal buildings into an ad hoc community and gathering space for the arts. The result is an “urban wild” building that hosts art classes and is used as a fabrication space for area artists. The Steel Yard also works with local artists to design and produce custom-made street furniture thick bike racks, fences, and trashcans for downtown Providence.
D. Concrete Plant Park in New York City This seven-acre South Bronx spot is located on the Bronx River, “one of the most blighted, abused waterways in the country,” according to the Times. From the late 1940s through 1987, the Transit-Mix Corporation operated a concrete plant on the site, but it wasn’t until 2009 that the abandoned plant and all its debris and pollution were rehabilitated into a public park. As at Seattle’s Gas Works Park, visitors can see the former concrete equipment alongside a waterfront promenade, chess tables, and bike paths.
Reading IELTS General Test
E. Wonder Bread Factory in Washington, D.C. From the early 1900s until the 1980s, this building in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood served as a factory for the iconic Wonder Bread brand. Then the structure sat vacant for almost 20 years before Douglas Development converted the historic building into a four-story, loft-style office development in 2013.Much of the building’s style was preserved, including the white crosses seen throughout the building’s facade. The crosses look similar to the American Red Cross logo, and were added to the building to help relieve fears that factory-produced bread might be unsafe after Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle sparked worry that factory food was unsanitary.
Questions 14 – 20
The text has five sections A-E.
Which sections contains the following information? Write the correct letter A- E in boxes 14 – 20 in the answer sheet.
Reading IELTS General Test
NB: You may use one letter more than once.
14. This was a derelict site before.
15. This building was a former food manufacturing firm.
16. This place has embraced Innovation and creativity.
17. This building’s latter use has become a pride for the owner.
18. This building saw an instant change of service.
19. Before its variety of usage this building sat vacant for a long time.
20. This site was functional for a very long time in the past.
Reading IELTS General Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 21 – 25.
LABOUR DISPUTES IN CANADA
A Labour dispute which develops into a strike or a lockout can cause financial disruptions to an employer’s business. In a unionized environment, employees are legally entitled to strike and management is entitled to lock out its employees. However, not all strikes and lockouts are legal. One of the most effective ways to shut down a strike or lockout is to prove its illegality. It is for this reason that we have highlighted the key steps which employers and unions must follow to ensure that a labour dispute remains within the scope of the Canada Labour Code or the Ontario Labour Relations Act as well as examples of unlawful strikes and lockouts.
Is the lockout or strike legal?
Many steps are required, both in the provincial and the federal sectors, to be in a position to engage in a lawful strike or lockout. The process to engage in a lawful strike or lockout is set out in the Canada Labour Code and Labour Relations Act. We have included below the various steps which must generally be completed before being able to engage in a lawful strike or lockout. This process may vary based on a variety of factors, including ministerial discretion and parties’ consensus.
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Preconditions
1) Bargaining: First, the employer and the union representatives are required to engage in collective bargaining negotiations in order to negotiate a first or a new collective agreement setting out the terms and conditions. The legislation sets out a process to provide notice to bargain which occurs within the last few months of a collective agreement’s operation (or as otherwise provided by a collective agreement) or, in the case of a first collective agreement, a few days after the union secured a certificate of representation. Both Acts stipulate that the parties must bargain in “good faith.”
Reading IELTS General Test
2) Conciliation Process: No strike or lockout is lawful until after the parties have met with a conciliator appointed by the Ministry of Labour. The conciliator’s role is to attempt to narrow the issues in dispute and, ideally, to bring the parties to full agreement.
In Ontario, a conciliation officer is appointed for a period of 14 days before he or she has to report to the Minister on the result of the conciliation. This period may be extended with the agreement of the parties or by the Minister. If bargaining is still unsuccessful between the parties, one party will usually ask for a “No-board” report to be issued.
Reading IELTS General Test
3) Strike Vote: Before exercising their right to strike, members of the union must vote in support of the strike. The strike vote is secret and must be conducted by the union. More than 50 per cent of those voting must vote in favor of the strike. Once all these steps are accomplished, parties may engage in a lockout or a strike until they come to an agreement to end the labour dispute or, as sometimes occurs, are ordered to do so under back-to-work legislation.
Conclusion
As we can see, strikes and lockouts can only be used under specific circumstances. Otherwise, they may be found unlawful. As such, employers and unions must be careful prior to engaging in such activities. If their actions are found to be illegal, employers, a person who acts on behalf of an employer, trade unions, or a person who acts as an officer or representative of a trade union may notably be convicted of an offence, face financial penalties or fines, or be ordered to pay damages depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances. Therefore, if a labour dispute occurs, it is critical that the parties comply with the Labour Relations Act and the Canada Labour Code.
Reading IELTS General Test
Questions 21- 25
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Procedure of lock out
21. First the strike should be in …………….. nature.
22. A collective agreement operation is set on the obligation of bargaining in …………….. .
23. To ensure the legal boundaries professional help of …………….. is mandatory.
24. If attempts of agreement are unsuccessful, unions are supposed to follow …………….. .
25. Failure of the lockout steps may include …………….. of the union officer.
Reading IELTS General Test
ANSWERS ARE BELOW
Reading IELTS General Test
ANSWERS
14. D
15. E
16. C
17. B
18. A
19. B
20. C
Reading IELTS General Test
21. LAWFUL / LEGAL
22. GOOD FAITH
23. CONCILIATOR
24. BACK-TO-WORK LEGISLATION
25. CONVICTION
Reading IELTS General Test