IELTS Reading: Làm việc từ xa và Quy hoạch đô thị – Đề thi mẫu có đáp án chi tiết

Mở bài

Chủ đề “How Does The Rise Of Remote Work Affect Urban Planning?” đang trở thành một trong những chủ đề nóng trong IELTS Reading gần đây, xuất hiện với tần suất cao trong các đề thi thực tế. Xu hướng làm việc từ xa đã làm thay đổi hoàn toàn cách chúng ta nhìn nhận về không gian sống và làm việc, tạo ra những tác động sâu rộng đến quy hoạch đô thị toàn cầu.

Bài viết này cung cấp cho bạn một bộ đề thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh về chủ đề này, bao gồm:

• 3 passages đầy đủ với độ khó tăng dần từ Easy đến Hard, giống thi thật 100%
• 40 câu hỏi đa dạng với 7 dạng câu hỏi phổ biến nhất trong IELTS
• Đáp án chi tiết kèm giải thích vị trí và cách paraphrase
• Từ vựng học thuật được phân tích kỹ lưỡng theo từng passage
• Chiến lược làm bài cụ thể cho từng dạng câu hỏi

Đề thi này phù hợp cho học viên từ band 5.0 trở lên, giúp bạn làm quen với format thi thật và nâng cao kỹ năng đọc hiểu học thuật một cách bài bản.

1. Hướng dẫn làm bài IELTS Reading

Tổng Quan Về IELTS Reading Test

IELTS Reading Test kéo dài 60 phút cho 3 passages với tổng cộng 40 câu hỏi. Mỗi câu trả lời đúng được tính là 1 điểm, không bị trừ điểm với câu sai.

Phân bổ thời gian khuyến nghị:

• Passage 1 (Easy): 15-17 phút – Nội dung dễ hiểu, từ vựng cơ bản đến trung bình
• Passage 2 (Medium): 18-20 phút – Yêu cầu kỹ năng paraphrase và suy luận
• Passage 3 (Hard): 23-25 phút – Nội dung phức tạp, học thuật, cần phân tích sâu

Các Dạng Câu Hỏi Trong Đề Này

Đề thi này bao gồm 7 dạng câu hỏi phổ biến nhất:

1. Multiple Choice – Câu hỏi trắc nghiệm
2. True/False/Not Given – Xác định thông tin đúng/sai/không có
3. Matching Information – Nối thông tin với đoạn văn
4. Sentence Completion – Hoàn thành câu
5. Matching Headings – Nối tiêu đề với đoạn văn
6. Summary Completion – Hoàn thành đoạn tóm tắt
7. Short-answer Questions – Câu hỏi trả lời ngắn

2. IELTS Reading Practice Test

PASSAGE 1 – The Remote Work Revolution and Its Urban Impact

Độ khó: Easy (Band 5.0-6.5)

Thời gian đề xuất: 15-17 phút

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally transformed the way millions of people work around the globe. What began as a temporary emergency measure has evolved into a permanent shift in workplace culture, with remote work becoming the new normal for countless professionals. This unprecedented change is now forcing city planners and urban developers to rethink traditional approaches to designing and managing urban spaces.

Before the pandemic, most major cities were designed around a central business district (CBD) model. Workers would commute daily from residential suburbs to downtown office towers, creating predictable patterns of traffic flow and concentrated demand for services during business hours. Public transportation systems, restaurants, retail shops, and entertainment venues were all built to serve this nine-to-five workforce. The rhythm of urban life was dictated by office schedules, with rush hours marking the ebb and flow of city populations.

However, the rise of remote work has disrupted these established patterns. With fewer people commuting to offices, many CBDs have experienced a dramatic decline in foot traffic. A study conducted by the Urban Land Institute in 2022 found that office occupancy rates in major American cities remained at only 50-60% of pre-pandemic levels, even as health restrictions were lifted. This sustained reduction in office attendance has had cascading effects throughout urban ecosystems.

Commercial real estate has been among the hardest-hit sectors. Office buildings that once commanded premium rents now face rising vacancy rates. In cities like San Francisco and New York, property owners are grappling with the challenge of repurposing large office spaces. Some forward-thinking developers are converting these buildings into residential apartments, a process known as adaptive reuse. This transformation helps address housing shortages while breathing new life into underutilized buildings.

The shift toward remote work has also influenced where people choose to live. No longer tethered to a physical office location, many workers are relocating from expensive city centers to more affordable suburban or even rural areas. This trend, often called the “donut effect,” has led to population growth in the outer rings of metropolitan areas while urban cores experience relative decline. Medium-sized cities and small towns that offer quality of life amenities at lower costs are becoming increasingly attractive to remote workers.

Urban planners are now reconsidering the concept of the 15-minute city, where residents can access most daily necessities within a quarter-hour walk or bike ride from their homes. With more people working from home, there is greater demand for neighborhood-scale services and local community spaces. Coffee shops, co-working spaces, gyms, and parks in residential areas are experiencing increased use as they become de facto extensions of home offices.

Transportation planning is another area undergoing significant reassessment. With fewer daily commuters, some cities are reallocating road space from cars to bicycles and pedestrians. Peak-hour congestion has decreased in many urban areas, creating opportunities to reimagine street designs. Cities like Paris and Barcelona are implementing superblock designs that prioritize pedestrian and cyclist movement over automobile traffic.

The environmental implications of remote work present a mixed picture. On one hand, reduced commuting has led to lower carbon emissions from transportation. On the other hand, increased residential energy use for heating, cooling, and powering home offices may offset some of these gains. Urban planners must consider these trade-offs when developing sustainability strategies.

Looking ahead, most experts believe that a hybrid model – combining remote and office-based work – will become the dominant pattern. This requires cities to be more flexible and adaptable than ever before. The traditional zoning that strictly separated residential, commercial, and industrial areas may give way to more mixed-use developments that accommodate the blurred boundaries between work and home life in the remote work era.

Questions 1-13

Questions 1-5: Multiple Choice

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. According to the passage, before the pandemic, city design was primarily based on:
   A. mixed residential and commercial zones
   B. a central business district model
   C. remote work patterns
   D. suburban development

2. The study by the Urban Land Institute found that office occupancy in major American cities:
   A. returned to pre-pandemic levels
   B. decreased by more than 70%
   C. remained at 50-60% of previous levels
   D. increased due to new regulations

3. The “donut effect” refers to:
   A. declining office vacancy rates
   B. population moving from city centers to outer areas
   C. increased downtown development
   D. circular transportation systems

4. The concept of a 15-minute city means:
   A. shorter working hours for residents
   B. faster transportation systems
   C. accessing daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride
   D. reduced commuting times to offices

5. The environmental impact of remote work is described as:
   A. entirely positive
   B. completely negative
   C. mixed with both benefits and drawbacks
   D. insignificant

Questions 6-9: True/False/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?

Write:

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

6. Public transportation systems were originally designed to serve office workers during business hours.

7. All office buildings in San Francisco have been converted to residential apartments.

8. Remote workers prefer to live in rural areas rather than suburbs.

9. Cities like Paris and Barcelona are redesigning streets to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists.

Questions 10-13: Sentence Completion

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

10. Commercial property owners are facing the challenge of __ large office spaces due to rising vacancy rates.

11. Coffee shops and co-working spaces in residential neighborhoods are becoming extensions of __.

12. While reduced commuting lowers transportation emissions, increased __ for home offices may reduce the overall benefit.

13. Most experts predict that a __ combining remote and office work will become standard.

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PASSAGE 2 – Reshaping Infrastructure for the Remote Work Era

Độ khó: Medium (Band 6.0-7.5)

Thời gian đề xuất: 18-20 phút

The paradigm shift toward remote work has precipitated a comprehensive reevaluation of urban infrastructure that extends far beyond office buildings and transportation networks. City administrators and urban planners are now confronting the complex challenge of adapting decades-old infrastructure systems to serve populations with radically different spatial patterns and temporal rhythms of activity. This transformation requires not merely incremental adjustments but fundamental reconceptualization of how cities function.

Digital infrastructure has emerged as a critical determinant of urban competitiveness in the remote work era. High-speed internet connectivity, once considered a luxury amenity, has become as essential as water or electricity. Cities that had invested proactively in fiber-optic networks and 5G technology found themselves at a considerable advantage when remote work became widespread. Conversely, areas with inadequate digital infrastructure experienced an exodus of knowledge workers seeking better connectivity elsewhere. This digital divide is creating a new form of urban inequality, where bandwidth determines economic opportunity as much as physical proximity once did.

The reconfiguration of commercial spaces represents another multifaceted challenge. Traditional retail corridors designed to serve office workers during lunch breaks and after-work hours have seen precipitous declines in customer traffic. However, simultaneously, neighborhood-based retail in residential areas has experienced remarkable revitalization. This spatial redistribution of commercial activity requires targeted interventions from city planners, including rezoning to permit more mixed-use development and incentivizing small businesses to establish themselves in residential neighborhoods.

Public space utilization patterns have undergone dramatic transformation. Parks, plazas, and other communal areas that were primarily weekend destinations have become integral components of the daily routine for remote workers seeking respite from home confinement. This intensified use has necessitated increased investment in maintenance and amenities. Some progressive cities are experimenting with “third places” – spaces that are neither home nor traditional office but serve as community-oriented work environments with reliable Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, and access to refreshments.

The implications for municipal finance are profound and still unfolding. Cities have historically derived substantial revenue from commercial property taxes, parking fees, and business-related taxes. As office occupancy declines and commercial real estate values depreciate, many municipalities face budgetary shortfalls. Simultaneously, the shift of population to residential neighborhoods increases demand for local services, creating a fiscal squeeze. Some cities are exploring new revenue models, including remote work taxes on suburbanites who use city resources while working from home, though such measures have proven politically contentious.

Housing dynamics have also been fundamentally altered. The decoupling of residence from workplace location has intensified pressure on housing markets in previously overlooked smaller cities and towns that offer attractive amenities at more reasonable costs. This has created affordability challenges in these emerging destinations, while simultaneously suppressing housing demand in traditional high-cost urban centers. Urban planners must now consider how to manage growth in these new hot spots while revitalizing neighborhoods losing population.

Làm việc từ xa thay đổi quy hoạch đô thị và cơ sở hạ tầng thành phố hiện đại

Transportation infrastructure planning now requires balancing reduced peak-hour congestion with the need to maintain system viability. Public transit agencies that relied heavily on commuter fares are experiencing severe financial stress. Some are reconceptualizing their service models to better serve dispersed travel patterns throughout the day rather than concentrated rush-hour flows. This might include more flexible routing, on-demand services, and enhanced connections between residential neighborhoods rather than exclusively focusing on downtown access.

The environmental calculus of remote work is considerably more nuanced than initial assessments suggested. While reduced commuting ostensibly decreases transportation emissions, comprehensive lifecycle analyses reveal offsetting factors. Increased residential energy consumption, particularly in inefficiently heated or cooled single-family homes, may negate much of the transportation savings. Furthermore, the dispersion of population to lower-density areas typically increases overall per capita energy use and reduces the feasibility of public transit, potentially locking in car-dependent development patterns for decades.

Equity considerations must remain paramount in planning for the remote work era. Not all workers have the luxury of remote options – service workers, healthcare providers, retail employees, and many others must still physically attend workplaces. Urban planning that exclusively caters to remote knowledge workers risks creating cities that serve only a privileged minority. Inclusive planning must ensure that infrastructure investments benefit all residents, not merely those whose occupations permit location flexibility.

Questions 14-26

Questions 14-18: Yes/No/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the passage?

Write:

• YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
• NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
• NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

14. High-speed internet is now as essential to cities as traditional utilities like water and electricity.

15. All cities were equally prepared for the shift to remote work.

16. Remote work taxes on suburban workers have been successfully implemented in most cities.

17. The environmental benefits of remote work are more complex than initially thought.

18. Urban planning should prioritize the needs of remote knowledge workers.

Questions 19-23: Matching Headings

The passage has ten paragraphs. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs 2-6 from the list of headings below.

List of Headings:

• i. The transformation of public spaces
• ii. Financial challenges for city governments
• iii. The importance of digital connectivity
• iv. Changes in housing market patterns
• v. Environmental considerations
• vi. Retail sector adaptation
• vii. Transportation planning difficulties
• viii. Equity in urban development
• ix. Office building conversions
• x. International comparisons

19. Paragraph 2 __
20. Paragraph 3 __
21. Paragraph 4 __
22. Paragraph 5 __
23. Paragraph 6 __

Questions 24-26: Summary Completion

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Public transportation agencies are facing serious 24. __ because they previously depended heavily on commuter fares. They are now redesigning their service models to accommodate 25. __ travel patterns that occur throughout the day instead of just during rush hours. This transformation might include more flexible routing and better connections between 26. __ rather than only providing access to downtown areas.

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PASSAGE 3 – Theoretical Frameworks and Long-term Implications of Remote Work on Urban Morphology

Độ khó: Hard (Band 7.0-9.0)

Thời gian đề xuất: 23-25 phút

The ascendancy of remote work as a predominant employment modality represents not merely a transient disruption to established patterns of urban organization but potentially a fundamental inflection point in the trajectory of metropolitan development. To comprehend the full ramifications of this transformation, urban theorists are revisiting classical frameworks of urban economics and spatial organization while simultaneously developing new analytical paradigms that account for the unprecedented decoupling of productive activity from fixed geographic locations. This intellectual recalibration draws upon diverse theoretical traditions, from central place theory to network urbanism, each offering distinct interpretative lenses through which to understand the emergent urban landscape.

The classical monocentric city model, articulated by economists such as William Alonso in the 1960s, posited that urban form arose from a fundamental trade-off between accessibility to the central business district and land costs. Workers accepted longer commutes in exchange for more affordable housing in peripheral locations, while firms aggregated in central locations to maximize access to labor pools and facilitate face-to-face interactions. This model elegantly explained the concentric rings of urban development observable in many metropolitan areas. However, the rise of remote work fundamentally undermines the axiomatic assumptions upon which this model rests. When physical proximity to employment centers becomes discretionary rather than obligatory, the centripetal forces that historically concentrated economic activity dissipate, potentially giving way to more polycentric or even acentric urban structures.

Alternative theoretical frameworks emphasize the enduring importance of agglomeration economies – the productivity benefits that arise from geographic concentration of firms and workers. Proponents of this view, including economist Edward Glaeser, argue that cities persist not despite high costs but because of irreplaceable advantages of density: knowledge spillovers, innovation networks, specialized labor markets, and serendipitous encounters that catalyze creativity and entrepreneurship. From this perspective, remote work may redistribute certain routine activities but is unlikely to obviate the fundamental value proposition of cities. The most knowledge-intensive and innovation-driven sectors will continue to gravitate toward urban cores where tacit knowledge flows most freely through informal interactions.

Empirical evidence regarding the actual impacts of remote work on urban form remains preliminary and somewhat contradictory. Some data sources indicate a pronounced exodus from high-density urban cores, particularly among affluent knowledge workers with the financial means to relocate. Postal service data from the United States, for instance, documented substantial net outmigration from cities like San Francisco, New York, and Boston during 2020-2021, with corresponding influxes to mid-sized metropolitan areas and exurban locations. However, other indicators suggest that these trends may be moderating or even reversing as pandemic-related concerns recede. Moreover, aggregate statistics often obscure significant heterogeneity across demographic groups, with younger workers and recent graduates showing stronger attachment to urban centers despite remote work options.

The spatial reorganization catalyzed by remote work intersects with pre-existing urban challenges in complex and sometimes paradoxical ways. Many cities were already grappling with affordability crises, gentrification, and socioeconomic segregation before the pandemic. Remote work has the potential to ameliorate some of these issues by reducing demand and consequently prices in previously overheated markets. However, it simultaneously risks exacerbating inequality if the benefits of location flexibility accrue primarily to already-privileged knowledge workers while service-sector employees – disproportionately people of color and lower-income individuals – remain geographically constrained by the necessity of physical workplace attendance.

From an environmental perspective, the net impact of remote work on urban sustainability remains hotly contested among scholars. Initial analyses celebrated reduced commuting as an unalloyed environmental benefit, with some estimates suggesting that widespread remote work could reduce transportation-related carbon emissions by 10-20%. However, more sophisticated lifecycle assessments paint a more ambiguous picture. Residential energy consumption typically increases substantially when homes serve as workplaces, particularly in thermally inefficient housing stock. Furthermore, if remote work facilitates dispersal to lower-density suburban or rural areas, it may undermine long-term sustainability by entrenching car-dependent settlement patterns and making future provision of energy-efficient public transit economically infeasible.

Mô hình phát triển đô thị mới thời đại làm việc từ xa và tác động quy hoạch

The governance implications of remote work-induced urban transformation are particularly vexing. Metropolitan areas have always presented coordination challenges due to fragmented jurisdictions, but remote work amplifies these difficulties. Workers who live in suburbs while nominally employed by firms in central cities use infrastructure and services across multiple municipalities, creating mismatches between tax bases and service demands. Some jurisdictions have floated controversial proposals for “convenience taxes” on remote workers or reciprocal agreements for revenue sharing, but these face substantial political and legal obstacles. The fundamental question of how to equitably distribute the costs and benefits of regional infrastructure when residence and employment are geographically disconnected remains unresolved.

Technological trajectories will critically shape how remote work influences urban form over coming decades. Current remote work modalities rely primarily on two-dimensional video conferencing, which provides a pale approximation of in-person interaction. However, emerging technologies including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and haptic feedback systems promise increasingly immersive remote collaboration experiences. Should these technologies achieve sufficient fidelity to replicate the knowledge-sharing and relationship-building functions of physical co-presence, the rationale for urban concentration could diminish substantially. Conversely, if technological limitations prove intractable, the irreducible value of face-to-face interaction may reassert itself, restoring traditional urban advantages.

Longitudinal perspectives suggest that predictions of urban obsolescence in response to new communications technologies have historically proven unfounded. The telephone, automobile, and internet were each heralded as enabling decentralization and potentially rendering cities superfluous. Yet cities have not only endured but thrived, continually reinventing their value propositions. This historical precedent counsels caution against deterministic pronouncements about remote work’s urban impacts. Cities are extraordinarily resilient and adaptive social systems, capable of absorbing and responding to technological shocks in ways that preserve their essential functions while transforming their physical manifestations.

The ultimate trajectory of urban development in the remote work era will likely reflect not technological determinism but rather complex interactions among technology, policy choices, cultural preferences, and economic forces. Urban planners and policymakers face the challenge of navigating this uncertain terrain while making consequential decisions about infrastructure investments with multi-decade lifespans. The most prudent approach may involve enhancing urban resilience and adaptability rather than committing to specific visions of the future city – creating flexible infrastructure, enabling diverse development patterns, and maintaining capacity to recalibrate strategies as the long-term equilibrium between remote and place-based work becomes clearer.

Questions 27-40

Questions 27-31: Multiple Choice

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

27. According to the passage, the classical monocentric city model was based on:
    A. the benefits of working from home
    B. the trade-off between accessibility and housing costs
    C. environmental sustainability
    D. technological advancement

28. Edward Glaeser’s perspective emphasizes:
    A. the end of cities due to remote work
    B. the declining importance of urban density
    C. the lasting value of agglomeration economies
    D. the superiority of suburban living

29. The empirical evidence on remote work’s impact on urban form is described as:
    A. conclusive and consistent
    B. preliminary and contradictory
    C. entirely negative for cities
    D. irrelevant to urban planning

30. The environmental impact of remote work is described as:
    A. clearly positive
    B. obviously negative
    C. contested and ambiguous
    D. insignificant

31. Historical predictions about technologies causing urban decline have:
    A. always been accurate
    B. proven unfounded
    C. been partially correct
    D. never been made

Questions 32-36: Matching Features

Match the following concepts (32-36) with the correct descriptions (A-H).

Concepts:
32. Central place theory
33. Agglomeration economies
34. Lifecycle assessments
35. Fragmented jurisdictions
36. Virtual reality (VR)

Descriptions:
A. Governance challenges in metropolitan areas
B. Productivity benefits from geographic concentration
C. Framework for analyzing urban spatial organization
D. Comprehensive environmental impact analysis
E. Technology that may enable better remote collaboration
F. Reduction in transportation costs
G. Increase in property values
H. Migration patterns of workers

Questions 37-40: Short-answer Questions

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

37. What type of urban structure might replace monocentric cities when physical proximity to work becomes discretionary?

38. Which groups of workers are described as disproportionately affected by being unable to work remotely?

39. What two emerging technologies are mentioned alongside virtual reality as potentially improving remote collaboration?

40. What quality of cities does historical precedent suggest helps them survive technological changes?

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3. Answer Keys – Đáp Án

PASSAGE 1: Questions 1-13

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. C
6. TRUE
7. FALSE
8. NOT GIVEN
9. TRUE
10. repurposing
11. home offices
12. residential energy use
13. hybrid model

PASSAGE 2: Questions 14-26

14. YES
15. NO
16. NOT GIVEN
17. YES
18. NO
19. iii
20. vi
21. i
22. ii
23. iv
24. financial stress
25. dispersed
26. residential neighborhoods

PASSAGE 3: Questions 27-40

27. B
28. C
29. B
30. C
31. B
32. C
33. B
34. D
35. A
36. E
37. polycentric (or acentric)
38. service-sector employees
39. augmented reality, haptic feedback (or AR, haptic feedback systems)
40. resilience and adaptability (or extraordinarily resilient)

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4. Giải Thích Đáp Án Chi Tiết

Passage 1 – Giải Thích

Câu 1: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: before the pandemic, city design, based on
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 1-2
• Giải thích: Câu “Before the pandemic, most major cities were designed around a central business district (CBD) model” trực tiếp trả lời câu hỏi. Đây là paraphrase của “based on a central business district model.”

Câu 2: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: Urban Land Institute, office occupancy, major American cities
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: Bài viết nói rõ “office occupancy rates in major American cities remained at only 50-60% of pre-pandemic levels.” Đây là thông tin cụ thể và chính xác.

Câu 3: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: donut effect, refers to
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: Định nghĩa rõ ràng: “This trend, often called the ‘donut effect,’ has led to population growth in the outer rings of metropolitan areas while urban cores experience relative decline.”

Câu 6: TRUE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: public transportation systems, designed, office workers, business hours
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 4-6
• Giải thích: “Public transportation systems, restaurants, retail shops, and entertainment venues were all built to serve this nine-to-five workforce” khẳng định điều này là đúng.

Câu 7: FALSE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: all office buildings, San Francisco, converted, residential apartments
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: Bài chỉ nói “Some forward-thinking developers are converting these buildings” – chỉ một số, không phải tất cả. Do đó câu này SAI.

Câu 10: repurposing

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: property owners, challenge, large office spaces
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “property owners are grappling with the challenge of repurposing large office spaces” – từ “repurposing” hoàn thành câu một cách chính xác.

Câu 13: hybrid model

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: experts predict, combining remote and office work
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 1-2
• Giải thích: “most experts believe that a hybrid model – combining remote and office-based work – will become the dominant pattern.”

Passage 2 – Giải Thích

Câu 14: YES

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: high-speed internet, essential, traditional utilities
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: Tác giả khẳng định rõ ràng: “High-speed internet connectivity, once considered a luxury amenity, has become as essential as water or electricity.” Đây là quan điểm trực tiếp của tác giả.

Câu 15: NO

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: all cities, equally prepared, shift to remote work
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 4-7
• Giải thích: Tác giả cho thấy sự không bình đẳng: “Cities that had invested proactively in fiber-optic networks… found themselves at a considerable advantage” trong khi “areas with inadequate digital infrastructure experienced an exodus.” Điều này mâu thuẫn với việc tất cả đều chuẩn bị như nhau.

Câu 18: NO

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: urban planning, prioritize, remote knowledge workers
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 10, dòng 1-5
• Giải thích: Tác giả phản đối điều này: “Urban planning that exclusively caters to remote knowledge workers risks creating cities that serve only a privileged minority. Inclusive planning must ensure that infrastructure investments benefit all residents.”

Chiến lược làm bài IELTS Reading hiệu quả cho đề thi làm việc từ xa

Câu 19: iii – The importance of digital connectivity

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Headings
• Vị trí: Đoạn 2
• Giải thích: Toàn bộ đoạn văn tập trung vào “Digital infrastructure has emerged as a critical determinant” và vai trò thiết yếu của kết nối internet tốc độ cao.

Câu 20: vi – Retail sector adaptation

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Headings
• Vị trí: Đoạn 3
• Giải thích: Đoạn này bàn về “The reconfiguration of commercial spaces” và sự thay đổi của các khu thương mại, từ trung tâm thành phố sang khu dân cư.

Câu 24: financial stress

• Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
• Từ khóa: public transportation agencies, facing
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 8, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “Public transit agencies that relied heavily on commuter fares are experiencing severe financial stress.”

Passage 3 – Giải Thích

Câu 27: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: classical monocentric city model, based on
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 1-4
• Giải thích: Mô hình này được giải thích rõ ràng: “posited that urban form arose from a fundamental trade-off between accessibility to the central business district and land costs.”

Câu 29: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: empirical evidence, impact, urban form
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 1
• Giải thích: Câu mở đầu khẳng định: “Empirical evidence regarding the actual impacts of remote work on urban form remains preliminary and somewhat contradictory.”

Câu 31: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: historical predictions, technologies, urban decline
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 1-4
• Giải thích: “Longitudinal perspectives suggest that predictions of urban obsolescence in response to new communications technologies have historically proven unfounded.”

Câu 32: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Features
• Giải thích: Central place theory được đề cập trong đoạn 1 dòng 5-6 như một “analytical paradigms” – framework for analyzing urban spatial organization.

Câu 33: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Features
• Giải thích: Agglomeration economies được định nghĩa rõ ràng trong đoạn 3: “the productivity benefits that arise from geographic concentration of firms and workers.”

Câu 37: polycentric (or acentric)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer Questions
• Từ khóa: urban structure, replace monocentric, proximity discretionary
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng cuối
• Giải thích: “the centripetal forces that historically concentrated economic activity dissipate, potentially giving way to more polycentric or even acentric urban structures.”

Câu 40: resilience and adaptability

• Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer Questions
• Từ khóa: quality of cities, historical precedent, survive, technological changes
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 5-6
• Giải thích: “Cities are extraordinarily resilient and adaptive social systems, capable of absorbing and responding to technological shocks.”

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5. Từ Vựng Quan Trọng Theo Passage

Passage 1 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
fundamentally	adv	/ˌfʌndəˈmentəli/	Về căn bản, về cơ bản	fundamentally transformed the way	fundamentally change/different
unprecedented	adj	/ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/	Chưa từng có tiền lệ	unprecedented change	unprecedented scale/level
commute	v/n	/kəˈmjuːt/	Đi lại (từ nhà đến nơi làm)	commute daily from residential suburbs	daily commute, commute time
dictated by	phrase	/ˈdɪkteɪtɪd baɪ/	Được quyết định bởi	rhythm of urban life was dictated by	dictated by circumstances
disrupted	v	/dɪsˈrʌptɪd/	Làm gián đoạn, phá vỡ	disrupted these established patterns	disrupt the market
cascading effects	phrase	/kæsˈkeɪdɪŋ ɪˈfekts/	Hiệu ứng dây chuyền	cascading effects throughout urban	cascading failures
grappling with	phrase	/ˈɡræplɪŋ wɪð/	Vật lộn với, đối mặt với	grappling with the challenge	grapple with problems
adaptive reuse	phrase	/əˈdæptɪv riːˈjuːs/	Tái sử dụng thích ứng	a process known as adaptive reuse	adaptive reuse of buildings
tethered to	phrase	/ˈteðəd tuː/	Buộc chặt vào, gắn liền với	no longer tethered to a physical office	tethered to location
amenities	n	/əˈmenətiz/	Tiện nghi, cơ sở vật chất	quality of life amenities	local amenities
reallocating	v	/ˌriːˈæləkeɪtɪŋ/	Phân bổ lại	reallocating road space	reallocate resources
offset	v	/ˈɒfset/	Bù đắp, cân bằng	may offset some of these gains	offset costs/emissions

Passage 2 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
paradigm shift	phrase	/ˈpærədaɪm ʃɪft/	Thay đổi mô hình căn bản	paradigm shift toward remote work	paradigm shift in thinking
precipitated	v	/prɪˈsɪpɪteɪtɪd/	Gây ra đột ngột	precipitated a comprehensive reevaluation	precipitate a crisis
reconceptualization	n	/ˌriːkənˌseptʃuəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/	Sự tái khái niệm hóa	fundamental reconceptualization	reconceptualization of ideas
critical determinant	phrase	/ˈkrɪtɪkl dɪˈtɜːmɪnənt/	Yếu tố quyết định quan trọng	critical determinant of urban competitiveness	critical determinant of success
digital divide	phrase	/ˈdɪdʒɪtl dɪˈvaɪd/	Khoảng cách số	digital divide is creating inequality	bridge the digital divide
precipitous	adj	/prɪˈsɪpɪtəs/	Dốc đứng, đột ngột	precipitous declines in customer traffic	precipitous drop/fall
revitalization	n	/riːˌvaɪtəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/	Sự phục hồi, tái sinh	remarkable revitalization	urban revitalization
fiscal squeeze	phrase	/ˈfɪskl skwiːz/	Sức ép tài chính	creating a fiscal squeeze	fiscal squeeze on budgets
contentious	adj	/kənˈtenʃəs/	Gây tranh cãi	politically contentious	contentious issue/debate
decoupling	n	/diːˈkʌplɪŋ/	Sự tách rời	decoupling of residence from workplace	economic decoupling
viability	n	/ˌvaɪəˈbɪləti/	Tính khả thi, tính bền vững	maintain system viability	economic viability
ostensibly	adv	/ɒˈstensəbli/	Có vẻ như, bề ngoài	ostensibly decreases transportation	ostensibly true
paramount	adj	/ˈpærəmaʊnt/	Tối quan trọng	must remain paramount	paramount importance
exclusively	adv	/ɪkˈskluːsɪvli/	Độc quyền, chỉ riêng	exclusively caters to remote workers	exclusively for members
feasibility	n	/ˌfiːzəˈbɪləti/	Tính khả thi	reduces the feasibility of public transit	feasibility study

Passage 3 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
ascendancy	n	/əˈsendənsi/	Sự lên ngôi, ưu thế	ascendancy of remote work	ascendancy over rivals
inflection point	phrase	/ɪnˈflekʃn pɔɪnt/	Điểm uốn, bước ngoặt	fundamental inflection point	reach an inflection point
ramifications	n	/ˌræmɪfɪˈkeɪʃnz/	Hệ quả, phân nhánh	full ramifications of transformation	serious ramifications
monocentric	adj	/ˌmɒnəʊˈsentrɪk/	Đơn trung tâm	monocentric city model	monocentric structure
articulated	v	/ɑːˈtɪkjuleɪtɪd/	Trình bày rõ ràng	articulated by economists	clearly articulated
aggregated	v	/ˈæɡrɪɡeɪtɪd/	Tập hợp, tập trung	firms aggregated in central locations	aggregated data
axiomatic	adj	/ˌæksɪəˈmætɪk/	Hiển nhiên, đương nhiên	axiomatic assumptions	axiomatic truth
centripetal	adj	/senˈtrɪpɪtl/	Hướng tâm	centripetal forces	centripetal force
agglomeration	n	/əˌɡlɒməˈreɪʃn/	Sự tập trung, tập tụ	agglomeration economies	urban agglomeration
tacit knowledge	phrase	/ˈtæsɪt ˈnɒlɪdʒ/	Kiến thức ngầm	tacit knowledge flows	tacit knowledge transfer
heterogeneity	n	/ˌhetərəʊdʒəˈniːəti/	Sự không đồng nhất	significant heterogeneity	heterogeneity across groups
ameliorate	v	/əˈmiːliəreɪt/	Cải thiện, làm dịu bớt	potential to ameliorate some issues	ameliorate conditions
unalloyed	adj	/ˌʌnəˈlɔɪd/	Thuần khiết, không pha tạp	unalloyed environmental benefit	unalloyed pleasure
vexing	adj	/ˈveksɪŋ/	Gây bực bội, khó xử	particularly vexing	vexing problem/question
fidelity	n	/fɪˈdeləti/	Độ chính xác, trung thực	sufficient fidelity to replicate	high fidelity
intractable	adj	/ɪnˈtræktəbl/	Khó giải quyết	technological limitations prove intractable	intractable problem
determinism	n	/dɪˈtɜːmɪnɪzəm/	Thuyết định mệnh	technological determinism	economic determinism
resilient	adj	/rɪˈzɪliənt/	Kiên cường, dẻo dai	extraordinarily resilient social systems	resilient infrastructure

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Kết bài

Chủ đề “How does the rise of remote work affect urban planning?” không chỉ phản ánh xu hướng xã hội đương đại mà còn là một chủ đề thường xuyên xuất hiện trong IELTS Reading với nhiều góc độ khác nhau. Bộ đề thi mẫu này đã cung cấp cho bạn:

Ba passages hoàn chỉnh với độ khó tăng dần từ Easy (Band 5.0-6.5) qua Medium (Band 6.0-7.5) đến Hard (Band 7.0-9.0), giúp bạn làm quen với cách thức đề thi thực tế xây dựng nội dung và câu hỏi.

Bảy dạng câu hỏi đa dạng bao gồm Multiple Choice, True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given, Matching Headings, Matching Features, Sentence/Summary Completion và Short-answer Questions – đây là những dạng câu hỏi phổ biến nhất bạn sẽ gặp trong kỳ thi thật.

Đáp án chi tiết với giải thích cụ thể về vị trí thông tin, cách paraphrase và lý do tại sao đáp án đúng, giúp bạn tự đánh giá và học hỏi từ những sai lầm.

Từ vựng học thuật quan trọng được phân loại theo từng passage với phiên âm, nghĩa, ví dụ và collocation, giúp bạn không chỉ làm bài tốt hơn mà còn mở rộng vốn từ vựng Academic English.

Hãy dành thời gian luyện tập kỹ lưỡng với bộ đề này, phân tích cẩn thận cách thức các câu hỏi được xây dựng và thông tin được paraphrase. Đây chính là chìa khóa để bạn đạt band điểm mong muốn trong IELTS Reading. Chúc bạn ôn tập hiệu quả và thành công rực rỡ trong kỳ thi sắp tới!