Tonight was the final rehearsal. Her real exam was in twelve hours.
The Last Practice
Nina’s pen moved quickly. Name: Mrs. J. Hargreaves. Date: 14th March. Preferred seat: aisle. She’d learned the tricks from the book’s strategy pages: predict the word type before you listen, don’t leave any blanks, watch for paraphrasing. By the end of Section 4—a dense lecture on urban beekeeping—she’d filled all 40 answer spaces. Barrons IELTS -Book and Audio CD-
Next, the Reading. The Barron’s book had taught her to skim, scan, and not panic at words like “photosynthesis” or “neoclassical economics.” She finished the three passages (a history of the bicycle, a psychology experiment on delayed gratification, an article on desert architecture) in 55 minutes. True, False, Not Given —she smiled. Those were no longer her enemy.
That night, Nina placed the Barron’s book next to her bed, the CD still inside the laptop. She wasn’t the same person who’d bought it three months ago—scared, unsure, scoring 5.5 in practice. Now she felt something new: readiness. Tonight was the final rehearsal
The Writing section was open-ended. She chose Task 2: “Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programs. To what extent do you agree or disagree?” She wrote a clear thesis, two body paragraphs with examples (a local food bank, a park cleanup), and a balanced conclusion. She’d memorized the Barron’s “band 9” vocabulary but used it only where natural: beneficial, mandatory, foster civic responsibility.
She answered into the silence, pretending a kind-faced examiner was across the table. “An apartment. It’s a small but cozy place in the suburbs—lots of trees, very quiet.” Name: Mrs
She checked the answer key. 36 out of 40. Her best yet.