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NARRATION:
One of the biggest problems in the IELTS reading test is time. You have one hour to answer 40 questions, which means that you will have to be able to get the information you need quickly. There are three different skills you will need in the test. Skimming, scanning and reading in detail. Skimming means looking quickly at the passage to get a general idea of what it is about. Scanning means looking at the passage for specific information. Reading in detail requires you to carefully read the section of the passage you are looking for the answer in. Here are some common situations in which you have probably already used these skills. You might skim a newspaper article to see if you think it is interesting enough to read. If you were looking for a telephone number in a directory, you would scan, looking for the specific information you need. If you are assembling a complicated product, you would need to read the instruction manual carefully to make sure you understand all the details of what you have to do. Skimming and scanning skills will help you find the right section of the reading passage to answer the question. Most questions will then require you to read the section you have found in detail in order to get the correct answer. You should not try to read the entire passage in detail or you will run out of time.
