MATCHING HEADINGS STRATEGIES

Strategy #1: Read the question first

1. First, read each heading

Try to completely understand the meaning of each heading by reading all of them thoroughly.

Understanding the main idea of the heading can be made easier by paraphrasing.
2. Circle keywords within the headings

Underline or circle keywords in each heading such as names, places, dates, and nouns, once you

have read them fully. Connecting the correct heading to the appropriate paragraph may

become easier with this step.

3. Any similarities or differences between the headings should be noted

In this type of question, headings are often very similar or completely opposite. Similarities and

differences will become clearer among the headings, once you have picked out keywords. This

will make choosing an option clearer.

4. Read the first and last sentence of the paragraph

The first and/or last sentence of a paragraph often contains the main idea. It is good practice to

read these sentences carefully as it will save time. It is also important to skim the other

sentences quickly within the paragraph because the main idea might not be apparent until the

second or third sentence.

5. The heading that is most suitable for the paragraph should be chosen

Choose the heading that most closely matches the paragraph once you have read through them

again. Make a note if you are unsure of the difference between multiple headings, and move

on. You may be able to cross some heading options out and answers may become clearer once

you’ve read all of the paragraphs. Remember, a heading is the main idea of the paragraph, NOT

a specific detail. The same detail in the paragraph such as a matching word may be in the

heading, but it may not be the main idea. This can be confusing to test takers.
Reading Exercises. Matching headings.

Exercise 1

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Simplicity reigns at London's biggest design festival.

(A) With upwards of 300 product launches, installations and exhibitions, London's annual nine-
day design festival is a showcase of head-spinning choice. In many ways that's the beauty of the
extravaganza, everyone has a different experience and takes something unique away from it.
There were however some intriguing themes and trends in this year's edition that spoke to
larger social or cultural preoccupations.

(B) One was the launch of two consumer electronics products designed to simplify and beautify
our technology-addled lives. Both chose the new London Design Festival venue of Somerset
House to show their wares. The first was a mobile phone launched by Swiss company Punkt and
designed by Jasper Morrison that allows users to make calls and texts only (well, it has an alarm
clock and an address book too). Punkt founder Petter Neby doesn't believe it will replace your
smart phone but suggests users fit it with the same SIM card as your main phone and use it in
the evenings, weekends and on holiday.

(C) The other electronics launch came from the unlikely French sibling duo of the Bouroullec
brothers. Though tech companies like Samsung are usually prescriptive about their products
the Bouroullecs (who admitted they found most TVs sad and ugly) seem to have been given free
rein. Their new television for the mega Korean brand looks more like an item of furniture than
an ultra-large and ultra-slim piece of tech. More importantly, it comes with simplified on-screen
interaction and a 'curtain mode' that turns your screen into a shimmering pattern during ads or
half-time. Again, their focus was on dialing down digital insanity.

(D) Customizable online furniture was also very much in vogue at this year's festival. But rest
assured, weird and unreliable software or off-the-wall designs sent to a 3D printer somewhere
and arriving months later, seem to be a thing of the past. Customization may finally have come
of age. Two examples were Scandi-brand Hem that combinded good design by the likes of Luca
Nichetto, Form Us With Love and Sylvain Willenz with affordable price points. The fact that the
brand opened a pop-up store in Covent Garden during the festival is a recognition of the
importance of both physical and online spaces that work seamlessly together.
(E) Another online configurable brand to make its debut after years in development was
Warsaw-based Tylko. Like Hem, Tylko has spent time and money on very powerful and easy-to-
use software, but with only three designs - a table, a shelf and salt and pepper mills - it has a
way to go. Its augmented reality app is simple to use however and its table has been developed
with a nano-coating option that really does appear to keep pesky stains at bay. Craft and
'making' in all its forms was once again a big hit and nowhere more so than at TENT, the East
London design event that gets better every year.

(F) A definite highlight was the massive space taken over by the Design & Crafts Council of
Ireland and filled with weavers and potters doing their thing and showing their wares. Irish
Design had another delectable stand over at the Rochelle School in East London too. The
Souvenir Project was a series of nine non-cliché 'souvenirs' made in Ireland and included a
rainbow plate by Nicholas Mosse Pottery that featured rows of animals, flowers and watering
cans and commemorated the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland in May 2015.

(G) If there was one material that could be said to define the festival it might just be Jesmonite,
the wonder man-made building composite. Lighter and more sustainable than concrete, its
dramatic capabilities were brought to life by London-based design studio PINCH and their tour-
de-force limited edition Nim table and Swedish artist Hilda Hellström's giant colorful volcano
made for the restaurant in London's Ace Hotel. A show called Matter of Stuff near Covent
Garden was in on the jesmonite act too, but even more intriguingly was presenting vases made
out of Propolis, a resinous material collected by bees and used to seal gaps in hives that,
according to their designer Marlene Huissoud, behaves like glass.

(H) Finally, this was the year that Chinese Design finally displayed a well-edited and inspired
showcase of products. Despite the mouthful of a title, Icon Presents: Hi Design Shanghai stand
at 100% Design was a meaningful selection of designers exploring materials and ideas. Young
design duo Yuue's offerings were the most representative of a new conceptual approach to
design that seems to be emerging. Their lamps were functional but also thought-provoking and
humorous. What more could one want from the stuff that surrounds us?
Questions 1-8

The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write
the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

1. Examples of customization

2. Unusual keepsakes

3. A new approach

4. A simple cell phone

5. Unbelievable material

6. A strange TV

7. Number of products shown on the festival

8. Three designs of a software

Questions 1-8

The text has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information? Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

1. Examples of customization Hide hint

The correct answer is D, because in the paragraph D we can see that the author
is talking about customization: "Customizable online furniture... Customization
may finally have come of age. Two examples were..."

2. Unusual keepsakes Hide hint

Your answer should be F, because in this paragraph there is a fragment that

tells "a series of nine non-cliché 'souvenirs'" which is a synonym to unusual
keepsakes.

3. A new approach Hide hint

The correct answer is H, because you can see a line about "a new conceptual
approach to design" in the third sentence of paragraph H.

4. A simple cell phone Hide hint

The correct answer is B, because in the paragraph B we can read about new cell
phone, "that allows users to make calls and texts only". Therefore, it is simple.
5. Unbelievable material Hide hint

In the paragraph G we're told about "Jesmonite, the wonder man-made building
composite. Lighter and more sustainable than concrete...". Due to such
qualities, this material can be described as unbelivable.

6. A strange TV Hide hint

The correct answer is C. Third sentence confirms it: "...new television for the
mega Korean brand looks more like an item of furniture than an ultra-large and
ultra-slim piece of tech...".

7. Number of products shown on the festival Hide hint

The very first line of the first paragraph says: "With upwards of 300 product
launches, installations and exhibitions, London's annual nine-day design festival
is a showcase of head-spinning choice. So the right answer is A.

8. Three designs of a software Hide hint

E is the correct answer, because the second sentence of paragraph E says that
"...Tylko has spent time and money on very powerful and easy-to-use software,
but with only three designs - a table, a shelf and salt and pepper mills...".