Mở bài
Chủ đề làm việc từ xa (telecommuting) đã trở thành một hiện tượng toàn cầu, đặc biệt sau đại dịch COVID-19, và đây là một trong những chủ đề xuất hiện ngày càng thường xuyên trong IELTS Reading. Các bài đọc về telecommuting thường xuất hiện dưới dạng các nghiên cứu xã hội học, phân tích kinh tế hoặc báo cáo công nghệ – những thể loại quen thuộc trong kỳ thi IELTS Academic.
Bài viết này cung cấp một đề thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh gồm 3 passages với độ khó tăng dần từ Easy đến Hard, giúp bạn làm quen với cách thức kỳ thi thực tế diễn ra. Bạn sẽ nhận được:
- Đề thi đầy đủ 40 câu hỏi được thiết kế theo đúng format Cambridge IELTS, bao gồm 7 dạng câu hỏi khác nhau
- Passages chất lượng cao với tổng độ dài hơn 2,500 từ, giống như bài thi thật
- Đáp án chi tiết với giải thích cụ thể về vị trí thông tin và kỹ thuật paraphrase
- Bảng từ vựng học thuật với phiên âm, nghĩa và cách sử dụng trong ngữ cảnh
- Chiến lược làm bài cho từng dạng câu hỏi
Đề thi này phù hợp cho học viên từ band 5.0 trở lên đang muốn nâng cao kỹ năng Reading và làm quen với các chủ đề hiện đại trong IELTS.
1. Hướng dẫn làm bài IELTS Reading
Tổng Quan Về IELTS Reading Test
IELTS Reading Test kéo dài 60 phút và bao gồm 3 passages với tổng cộng 40 câu hỏi. Điểm đặc biệt là bạn phải tự quản lý thời gian – không có thời gian riêng để chuyển đáp án sang phiếu trả lời.
Phân bổ thời gian khuyến nghị:
- Passage 1: 15-17 phút (câu hỏi dễ hơn, cần làm nhanh)
- Passage 2: 18-20 phút (độ khó trung bình, cần cân bằng tốc độ và độ chính xác)
- Passage 3: 23-25 phút (khó nhất, cần thời gian suy luận và phân tích)
Hãy dành 2-3 phút cuối để kiểm tra lại đáp án, đặc biệt chú ý chính tả và số lượng từ cho các câu điền từ.
Các Dạng Câu Hỏi Trong Đề Này
Đề thi mẫu này bao gồm 7 dạng câu hỏi phổ biến nhất trong IELTS Reading:
- Multiple Choice – Câu hỏi trắc nghiệm nhiều lựa chọn
- True/False/Not Given – Xác định thông tin đúng/sai/không đề cập
- Matching Information – Nối thông tin với đoạn văn
- Sentence Completion – Hoàn thành câu
- Summary Completion – Hoàn thành đoạn tóm tắt
- Matching Headings – Nối tiêu đề với đoạn văn
- Short-answer Questions – Câu hỏi trả lời ngắn
Mỗi dạng câu hỏi yêu cầu kỹ năng đọc khác nhau: scanning (quét thông tin), skimming (đọc lướt), detailed reading (đọc chi tiết), và inference (suy luận).
2. IELTS Reading Practice Test
PASSAGE 1 – The Remote Work Revolution
Độ khó: Easy (Band 5.0-6.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 15-17 phút
The concept of telecommuting, or working from home, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two decades. What was once considered a rare privilege reserved for a select few employees has now become a mainstream work arrangement embraced by organizations worldwide. This shift has been accelerated exponentially by advances in digital technology and, more recently, by the global pandemic that forced businesses to adapt rapidly to new working conditions.
Telecommuting refers to a work arrangement where employees perform their job duties from a location other than the traditional office, typically their home, using technology to stay connected with colleagues and complete tasks. The practice first emerged in the 1970s when rising fuel costs and concerns about traffic congestion prompted some forward-thinking companies to experiment with alternative work arrangements. However, it wasn’t until the widespread adoption of the internet in the late 1990s that telecommuting became a viable option for a broader range of professions.
Today’s remote workers have access to an impressive array of technological tools that make distance collaboration not only possible but often more efficient than traditional office work. Video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams enable face-to-face communication regardless of physical location. Cloud-based storage systems such as Google Drive and Dropbox allow teams to access and share documents instantly. Project management software including Asana and Trello helps coordinate complex tasks across distributed teams. These technologies have effectively eliminated geographical barriers that once made remote work challenging.
Nhân viên làm việc từ xa sử dụng công nghệ hiện đại cho năng suất cao trong IELTS Reading
The benefits of telecommuting extend to both employers and employees. For workers, the most obvious advantage is the elimination of commuting time. The average American worker spends nearly one hour per day traveling to and from work, which translates to approximately 200 hours per year – equivalent to five full working weeks. This saved time can be redirected toward productive work or personal activities, contributing to better work-life balance. Additionally, remote workers report lower stress levels associated with avoiding rush-hour traffic and having more control over their daily schedules.
From an employer’s perspective, telecommuting offers several compelling advantages. Companies can reduce overhead costs significantly by downsizing office space or eliminating it entirely. A study by Global Workplace Analytics found that businesses can save an average of $11,000 per year for each employee who works remotely half the time. Furthermore, allowing telecommuting expands the talent pool geographically – organizations are no longer limited to hiring candidates who live within commuting distance of their offices. This geographic flexibility enables companies to recruit the best talent regardless of location.
However, telecommuting is not without its challenges. One of the most frequently cited concerns is the potential for social isolation. Humans are inherently social creatures, and the office environment provides opportunities for informal interactions that build relationships and foster collaboration. Remote workers may miss the spontaneous conversations by the coffee machine or the quick problem-solving discussions that happen naturally in shared workspaces. These casual exchanges often lead to creative solutions and strengthen team bonds in ways that are difficult to replicate virtually.
Another significant challenge involves maintaining productivity and accountability. Some managers worry that employees working from home may be distracted by household responsibilities or lack the discipline to stay focused without direct supervision. While research has produced mixed results on this issue, it’s clear that successful telecommuting requires both self-motivation from employees and trust from employers. Organizations that micromanage remote workers often create an atmosphere of suspicion that undermines morale and can actually decrease productivity.
The question of whether telecommuting truly enhances or diminishes work productivity remains a topic of ongoing debate among researchers and business leaders. Some studies suggest that remote workers are actually more productive than their office-based counterparts, citing fewer workplace distractions and interruptions. Other research indicates that the lack of face-to-face supervision can lead to reduced output in certain contexts. The reality is likely that productivity outcomes depend on multiple factors, including the nature of the work, the individual employee’s work style, and the organization’s ability to adapt management practices to a remote environment.
As we move further into the twenty-first century, it’s clear that telecommuting will continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the global workforce. The challenge for organizations is not whether to allow remote work, but how to implement it effectively to maximize both employee satisfaction and business performance. This requires thoughtful policies, appropriate technology investments, and a fundamental shift in how we think about work itself – moving from a focus on time spent in the office to outcomes achieved regardless of location.
Questions 1-13
Questions 1-5: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
1. According to the passage, telecommuting became more widespread in the late 1990s primarily because of:
A. government regulations requiring flexible work
B. the availability of internet technology
C. increasing fuel costs
D. employee demands for better conditions
2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a technological tool for remote work?
A. Video conferencing platforms
B. Cloud storage systems
C. Artificial intelligence assistants
D. Project management software
3. The passage states that the average American worker who eliminates commuting saves time equivalent to:
A. one hour per week
B. 200 hours per month
C. five working weeks annually
D. one full month per year
4. According to Global Workplace Analytics, companies can save approximately how much per year for half-time remote employees?
A. $5,000
B. $11,000
C. $20,000
D. The passage doesn’t specify
5. The author’s attitude toward telecommuting’s effect on productivity is best described as:
A. strongly positive
B. entirely negative
C. neutral and uncertain
D. critical but hopeful
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. Telecommuting was first introduced as a concept in the 1970s.
7. All employees prefer working from home to working in an office environment.
8. Companies that allow telecommuting can hire talented people from different geographical locations.
9. Remote workers always produce higher quality work than office-based employees.
Questions 10-13: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
10. One disadvantage of remote work is that employees may experience __ due to lack of social contact.
11. Informal office interactions, such as __ by the coffee machine, can lead to creative problem-solving.
12. Some managers are concerned that remote employees might lack __ to stay focused without supervision.
13. The passage suggests that successful telecommuting requires employers to demonstrate __ in their workers.
PASSAGE 2 – Measuring Productivity in the Telecommuting Era
Độ khó: Medium (Band 6.0-7.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 18-20 phút
The transition to widespread telecommuting has forced organizations to fundamentally reconsider how they measure and evaluate employee productivity. Traditional metrics based on physical presence and observable activity in the office have become largely irrelevant in a distributed work environment. This paradigm shift has prompted researchers and business leaders to explore more sophisticated approaches to productivity assessment that focus on outcomes rather than inputs, results rather than hours logged.
Presenteeism – the practice of being physically present at work regardless of actual productivity – has long been a pervasive issue in traditional workplace culture. Many organizations have operated under the implicit assumption that employees sitting at their desks during standard business hours are engaged in productive work. However, this assumption is fundamentally flawed. Studies have consistently shown that physical presence correlates poorly with actual productivity. In fact, research by Stanford University found that in-person employees spend considerable time on non-work activities, including extended lunch breaks, personal conversations, and what researchers call “presenteeism theater” – appearing busy without accomplishing meaningful work.
Telecommuting has exposed these outdated measurement practices and necessitated the development of more accurate productivity indicators. Progressive organizations are now implementing results-oriented work environments (ROWE), where employees are evaluated exclusively on their output rather than when, where, or how many hours they work. This approach requires clearly defined objectives, measurable deliverables, and transparent communication about expectations. Under a ROWE framework, an employee who completes a project ahead of schedule while working 30 hours per week is valued equally to – or more than – someone who takes the full 40 hours to achieve the same result.
Technology plays a crucial role in enabling effective productivity measurement for remote teams. Time-tracking software such as Toggl and Harvest allows both employees and managers to understand how working hours are allocated across different tasks and projects. Communication analytics tools can measure response times, collaboration patterns, and information flow within distributed teams. Project management platforms provide visibility into task completion rates, deadline adherence, and individual contributions to team goals. However, the use of such technologies must be balanced carefully against privacy concerns and the risk of creating an atmosphere of excessive surveillance that damages trust and morale.
Đo lường năng suất làm việc từ xa trong bài thi IELTS Reading với công cụ hiện đại
The research evidence on telecommuting’s impact on productivity presents a complex and nuanced picture. A comprehensive meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology examined 46 studies involving over 12,000 workers and found that telecommuting was associated with a small but significant increase in productivity. However, this overall finding masked considerable variation across different types of work and individual circumstances. For tasks requiring deep concentration and minimal interruption – such as writing, data analysis, or programming – remote work often yielded substantial productivity gains. Conversely, for roles heavily dependent on real-time collaboration and spontaneous idea exchange, such as creative brainstorming or complex problem-solving, productivity sometimes declined.
Individual differences also play a critical role in determining telecommuting success. Personality traits, particularly self-discipline and intrinsic motivation, strongly predict remote work productivity. Research by the Harvard Business School found that employees with high conscientiousness scores on personality assessments thrived in telecommuting arrangements, while those with low self-regulation struggled without the external structure provided by office environments. Similarly, work-life boundary management emerged as a key predictor of sustainable productivity. Workers who established clear physical and temporal boundaries between work and personal life maintained high performance over time, while those who allowed these boundaries to blur often experienced burnout and declining productivity.
The quality of managerial practices represents another critical factor influencing remote work productivity. Traditional management approaches emphasizing direct supervision and in-person oversight translate poorly to distributed teams. Effective remote team leadership requires what researchers call “outcome accountability” combined with “process autonomy” – meaning managers should focus on what needs to be accomplished while giving employees considerable freedom in determining how to achieve those goals. Regular check-ins focused on progress, obstacles, and support needs prove more effective than micromanagement or activity monitoring. Organizations whose managers successfully adapted to this facilitative leadership style reported significant productivity improvements, while those maintaining traditional supervisory approaches often saw performance decline.
The physical home workspace itself exerts considerable influence on remote work productivity. Research conducted by Cornell University’s Department of Design and Environmental Analysis found that ergonomic setup, adequate lighting, noise control, and dedicated workspace all significantly impacted both productivity and job satisfaction among telecommuters. Employees working from properly equipped home offices demonstrated productivity levels comparable to or exceeding their office-based performance, while those working from improvised spaces such as kitchen tables or couches experienced reduced efficiency and increased physical discomfort. This finding has prompted some forward-thinking employers to provide stipends or equipment to help employees create optimal home work environments.
Communication patterns also underwent substantial transformation in the shift to remote work. While technology enables constant connectivity, research suggests that asynchronous communication – where team members exchange information without requiring simultaneous participation – can actually enhance productivity for certain tasks. This approach allows individuals to respond to messages during their peak productivity periods rather than being constantly interrupted. However, the loss of synchronous communication channels creates challenges for relationship building and complex collaborative tasks that benefit from real-time interaction. Successful remote teams typically develop hybrid communication strategies that balance asynchronous efficiency with periodic synchronous touchpoints for relationship maintenance and collaborative work.
Looking forward, the long-term implications of widespread telecommuting for organizational productivity remain uncertain. While short-term studies generally show neutral to positive effects, some researchers worry about potential negative consequences that may only emerge over extended periods. Concerns include the gradual erosion of organizational culture, reduced innovation due to fewer serendipitous encounters, and knowledge transfer challenges between experienced and new employees. Conversely, optimists argue that organizations are developing new practices and norms that will ultimately make distributed work more productive than traditional arrangements. The reality will likely depend on each organization’s ability to intentionally design remote work systems that address both immediate productivity and long-term sustainability.
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. Traditional methods of measuring productivity based on physical presence are appropriate for telecommuting environments.
15. The Stanford University research revealed that office workers spend some time on non-productive activities.
16. All types of work tasks show equal productivity improvements under telecommuting arrangements.
17. Personality characteristics influence how successfully employees adapt to remote work.
18. Companies should provide financial support to help employees set up home offices.
Questions 19-22: Matching Information
Match the following statements with the correct research source or organization (A-F).
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 19-22.
A. Stanford University
B. Journal of Applied Psychology
C. Harvard Business School
D. Cornell University
E. Global Workplace Analytics
F. Microsoft Research
19. Found that ergonomic factors and workspace quality affect remote worker productivity
20. Discovered that conscientious personality types perform better when telecommuting
21. Conducted a meta-analysis showing a small overall increase in productivity from remote work
22. Revealed that office workers engage in “presenteeism theater”
Questions 23-26: Summary Completion
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Results-oriented work environments (ROWE) evaluate employees based on their 23 __ rather than the number of hours they work. This approach requires organizations to establish 24 __ that clearly specify what needs to be accomplished. Technology tools help measure productivity but must be used carefully to avoid creating 25 __ that damages employee trust. Effective remote management requires what researchers call 26 __ combined with giving workers freedom in how they complete their work.
PASSAGE 3 – The Socioeconomic and Psychological Dimensions of Remote Work Productivity
Độ khó: Hard (Band 7.0-9.0)
Thời gian đề xuất: 23-25 phút
The unprecedented acceleration of telecommuting adoption during the early 2020s has catalyzed a fundamental reexamination of the relationship between work arrangements and productivity, revealing multifaceted dimensions that extend far beyond simplistic binary assessments. Contemporary scholarship increasingly recognizes that productivity in telecommuting contexts cannot be understood as a monolithic construct but rather must be analyzed through intersecting lenses encompassing technological infrastructure, socioeconomic stratification, psychological well-being, organizational culture, and broader macroeconomic forces. This more nuanced analytical framework acknowledges that the impacts of remote work are profoundly mediated by preexisting inequalities and structural factors that create vastly divergent experiences across different demographic groups and occupational categories.
The digital divide represents perhaps the most consequential structural barrier to equitable telecommuting productivity. While discourse around remote work often assumes universal access to high-speed internet, appropriate hardware, and dedicated workspace, empirical evidence paints a markedly different picture. Research conducted by the Pew Research Center demonstrates that approximately 25% of American adults with household incomes below $30,000 annually lack reliable broadband connectivity, compared to merely 4% of those earning above $75,000. This technological stratification creates a bifurcated remote work landscape where affluent knowledge workers experience telecommuting as a productivity-enhancing flexibility, while economically marginalized populations encounter it as a source of additional stress and performance impediments. Furthermore, spatial inequality compounds these disparities – residents of rural areas and lower-income urban neighborhoods consistently report inferior internet infrastructure, creating geographically determined productivity constraints that exist entirely independent of individual capability or effort.
Beyond mere access to technology, the physical conditions of home work environments exhibit pronounced socioeconomic gradients that fundamentally shape productivity outcomes. Employees residing in spacious suburban homes with dedicated office spaces, ergonomic furniture, and environmental controls for lighting and temperature occupy a categorically different productivity landscape than those attempting to work from cramped apartments with inadequate climate control, high ambient noise levels, and the competing spatial demands of other household members. A longitudinal study published in Work and Occupations tracked 2,400 telecommuters over eighteen months and found that housing quality explained nearly 35% of the variance in self-reported productivity, even after controlling for job type, education level, and personality factors. This finding suggests that policies promoting telecommuting without addressing underlying housing inequality may inadvertently exacerbate workplace disparities rather than democratizing employment flexibility.
Bất bình đẳng xã hội trong làm việc từ xa cho đề IELTS Reading về năng suất lao động
The psychological dimensions of telecommuting productivity demonstrate equally complex patterns characterized by paradoxical outcomes that defy straightforward interpretation. On one hand, autonomy – the degree of control individuals exercise over when, where, and how they work – consistently emerges as a robust predictor of both subjective well-being and objective performance metrics across diverse occupational contexts. Self-Determination Theory, a prominent framework in motivational psychology, posits that autonomy fulfillment represents a fundamental human need whose satisfaction enhances intrinsic motivation and sustained engagement. Telecommuting, by affording workers greater temporal and spatial flexibility, theoretically creates conditions conducive to autonomy satisfaction. Indeed, meta-analytic evidence supports this theoretical prediction, with remote workers reporting significantly higher perceived autonomy scores compared to office-based counterparts.
However, this apparent psychological benefit is substantially complicated by concurrent findings regarding social isolation and boundary permeability – the degree to which work infiltrates personal time and space. Prolonged telecommuting appears to create what organizational psychologists term “autonomy paradox”: while workers gain greater control over their immediate work environment, they simultaneously experience diminished social embeddedness and eroded work-life boundaries that ultimately undermine the initial autonomy benefits. Research employing experience sampling methodology – which captures real-time data about individuals’ activities, contexts, and psychological states throughout their days – reveals that telecommuters experience greater moment-to-moment autonomy but also increased cognitive intrusion of work into non-work time, with these countervailing forces producing heterogeneous net effects that vary substantially across individuals and time periods.
The concept of “productivity paranoia” has emerged as a particularly salient phenomenon in the telecommuting landscape, describing a reciprocal anxiety wherein employees worry that managers doubt their productivity while simultaneously managers harbor concerns about whether remote workers are truly performing. This bidirectional suspicion creates what sociologists characterize as a “trust deficit” that manifests in counterproductive behaviors on both sides. Workers may engage in performative availability – maintaining constant online presence, responding immediately to messages regardless of actual necessity, and working extended hours to demonstrate commitment – behaviors that create an illusion of productivity while actually diminishing substantive output through cognitive fragmentation and burnout acceleration. Concurrently, managers may implement intrusive monitoring practices that degrade trust, reduce autonomy satisfaction, and undermine intrinsic motivation, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where surveillance-prompted resentment actually reduces the productivity that monitoring ostensibly aims to enhance.
From an organizational behavior perspective, telecommuting’s impact on collective productivity – as distinct from individual performance – introduces additional layers of complexity centered on knowledge flows, social capital formation, and innovation dynamics. The knowledge-based view of organizations emphasizes that competitive advantage derives substantially from tacit knowledge – contextual, experience-based understanding that resists codification and explicit articulation. Such knowledge typically transfers through observation, imitation, and informal interaction rather than formal documentation. The shift to remote work potentially impedes tacit knowledge transmission, particularly from experienced to novice employees, with implications that may only manifest over extended time horizons as organizational capabilities gradually atrophy.
Moreover, innovation theory highlights the importance of knowledge recombination – the synthesis of previously disparate ideas into novel configurations – which often emerges from serendipitous encounters and cross-functional interactions that occur more naturally in shared physical spaces. While digital collaboration tools certainly enable planned interactions, they struggle to replicate the unstructured social spaces where people from different departments or specializations spontaneously share perspectives. Some researchers worry that telecommuting may create “silos of efficiency” where individual and small-team productivity increases while organization-wide innovation capacity declines due to reduced knowledge circulation and narrowed relational networks. Testing this hypothesis rigorously requires longitudinal designs that track innovation outcomes over multiple years, as the full consequences of reduced serendipitous interaction will likely emerge gradually rather than immediately.
The macroeconomic implications of large-scale telecommuting adoption extend beyond organizational boundaries to reshape labor markets, urban geography, and regional economic development. The spatial decoupling of employment from physical location potentially enables what economists call “geographic wage arbitrage” – the practice of hiring workers in lower-cost regions while maintaining salary scales below those of traditional headquarters locations but above local market rates. While this practice could theoretically redistribute economic opportunities to peripheral regions, early evidence suggests more ambiguous outcomes. A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that companies implementing location-flexible hiring increased geographic diversity of their workforces but simultaneously adjusted compensation scales downward, with marginal real income gains for workers in lower-cost areas and substantial real income losses for those in high-cost metropolitan centers previously benefiting from proximity premiums.
Furthermore, the potential hollowing out of major urban centers as both workers and employers reassess the value of expensive downtown locations carries profound fiscal implications for municipal governments dependent on commercial property taxes and spending from commuter populations. Simultaneously, the influx of telecommuting professionals into smaller cities and rural areas – the so-called “Zoom town” phenomenon – drives rapid housing cost appreciation that displaces existing lower-income residents, essentially relocating inequality rather than resolving it. These spatial economic restructurings interact with productivity in complex ways: while individual workers may experience productivity gains from relocating to preferred environments, the aggregate social costs of urban decline and rural gentrification represent negative externalities not captured in firm-level productivity metrics but nonetheless constituting real economic consequences of the telecommuting transition.
Questions 27-40
Questions 27-31: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
27. According to the passage, contemporary research views productivity in telecommuting as:
A. consistently higher than office-based work
B. a complex issue influenced by multiple intersecting factors
C. primarily determined by technological infrastructure
D. uniformly positive across all demographic groups
28. The Pew Research Center study revealed that lack of broadband connectivity is:
A. equally distributed across income levels
B. not a significant factor in remote work
C. much more common among lower-income households
D. primarily a problem in urban areas
29. The longitudinal study mentioned in the passage found that housing quality accounted for what percentage of productivity variance?
A. 25%
B. 35%
C. 45%
D. The passage doesn’t specify the exact percentage
30. The “autonomy paradox” refers to the phenomenon where remote workers:
A. gain control over their environment but lose work-life boundaries
B. prefer office work despite having autonomy at home
C. have too much freedom and become unproductive
D. reject autonomy in favor of structure
31. “Productivity paranoia” is characterized by:
A. employees’ fear of technology
B. managers’ excessive confidence in workers
C. mutual suspicion between employees and managers about productivity
D. workers’ concerns about job security
Questions 32-36: Matching Features
Match each concept (Questions 32-36) with the correct description (A-H).
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 32-36.
Concepts:
32. Tacit knowledge
33. Knowledge recombination
34. Geographic wage arbitrage
35. Zoom town phenomenon
36. Performative availability
Descriptions:
A. Maintaining constant online presence to demonstrate commitment
B. The synthesis of disparate ideas into novel configurations
C. Paying workers based on their location’s cost of living
D. Workers relocating to smaller cities for remote work
E. Experience-based understanding that resists formal documentation
F. Monitoring employee computer activity continuously
G. Reducing office space to cut costs
H. Training programs for remote 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 research methodology captures real-time data about people’s activities and psychological states throughout their day?
38. According to innovation theory, what type of encounters are important for knowledge recombination but harder to achieve remotely?
39. What theory suggests that autonomy fulfillment is a fundamental human need?
40. What are the two types of revenue sources that municipal governments may lose due to urban center decline?
3. Answer Keys – Đáp Án
PASSAGE 1: Questions 1-13
- B
- C
- C
- B
- C
- TRUE
- NOT GIVEN
- TRUE
- NOT GIVEN
- social isolation
- spontaneous conversations
- self-motivation / discipline
- trust
PASSAGE 2: Questions 14-26
- NO
- YES
- NO
- YES
- NOT GIVEN
- D
- C
- B
- A
- output / results
- clearly defined objectives / measurable deliverables
- excessive surveillance
- outcome accountability
PASSAGE 3: Questions 27-40
- B
- C
- B
- A
- C
- E
- B
- C
- D
- A
- experience sampling methodology
- serendipitous encounters
- Self-Determination Theory
- commercial property taxes (và) commuter populations (cả hai từ cần thiết)
4. Giải Thích Đáp Án Chi Tiết
Passage 1 – Giải Thích
Câu 1: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: telecommuting, widespread, late 1990s, primarily because
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 4-6
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ “it wasn’t until the widespread adoption of the internet in the late 1990s that telecommuting became a viable option for a broader range of professions” – điều này cho thấy internet là yếu tố chính làm cho làm việc từ xa trở nên phổ biến. Paraphrase: “widespread adoption of the internet” = “availability of internet technology”
Câu 2: C
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice (NOT mentioned)
- Từ khóa: technological tool, NOT mentioned
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3
- Giải thích: Đoạn 3 liệt kê các công cụ: video conferencing platforms (Zoom, Teams), cloud-based storage (Google Drive, Dropbox), và project management software (Asana, Trello). Artificial intelligence assistants không được đề cập.
Câu 6: TRUE
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: telecommuting, first introduced, 1970s
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 2-3
- Giải thích: Câu trong bài: “The practice first emerged in the 1970s when rising fuel costs…” – khớp chính xác với thông tin trong câu hỏi.
Câu 7: NOT GIVEN
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: all employees, prefer, working from home
- Vị trí trong bài: Không có thông tin
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói về lợi ích và thách thức của làm việc từ xa nhưng không đưa ra tuyên bố nào về việc TẤT CẢ nhân viên thích hay không thích. Từ “all” làm cho câu này không thể xác minh.
Câu 10: social isolation
- Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
- Từ khóa: disadvantage, remote work, due to lack of social contact
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 7, dòng 1-2
- Giải thích: “One of the most frequently cited concerns is the potential for social isolation” – đây chính xác là từ cần điền, mô tả bất lợi của làm việc từ xa liên quan đến thiếu tiếp xúc xã hội.
Câu 13: trust
- Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
- Từ khóa: successful telecommuting, employers, demonstrate
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 8, dòng 3-4
- Giải thích: “successful telecommuting requires both self-motivation from employees and trust from employers” – từ “trust” là điều mà nhà tuyển dụng cần thể hiện.
Passage 2 – Giải Thích
Câu 14: NO
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: traditional methods, measuring productivity, physical presence, appropriate, telecommuting
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 1-3
- Giải thích: Bài viết nói rõ “Traditional metrics based on physical presence… have become largely irrelevant in a distributed work environment” – điều này trái ngược với câu khẳng định trong câu hỏi.
Câu 15: YES
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: Stanford University, office workers, non-productive activities
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 5-7
- Giải thích: “research by Stanford University found that in-person employees spend considerable time on non-work activities, including extended lunch breaks, personal conversations…” – khớp với quan điểm của tác giả.
Câu 16: NO
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: all types of work, equal productivity improvements
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 6, dòng 3-7
- Giải thích: Bài viết nói rõ có sự khác biệt: “For tasks requiring deep concentration… remote work often yielded substantial productivity gains. Conversely, for roles heavily dependent on real-time collaboration… productivity sometimes declined.” Điều này mâu thuẫn với “equal” trong câu hỏi.
Câu 19: D (Cornell University)
- Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
- Từ khóa: ergonomic factors, workspace quality, affect productivity
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 1-3
- Giải thích: “Research conducted by Cornell University’s Department of Design and Environmental Analysis found that ergonomic setup, adequate lighting, noise control, and dedicated workspace all significantly impacted both productivity…”
Câu 23: output / results
- Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
- Từ khóa: ROWE, evaluate employees
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 3-4
- Giải thích: “employees are evaluated exclusively on their output rather than when, where, or how many hours they work” – cả “output” và “results” đều được nhắc đến như từ đồng nghĩa trong đoạn văn.
Passage 3 – Giải Thích
Câu 27: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: contemporary research, productivity in telecommuting
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 2-5
- Giải thích: “Contemporary scholarship increasingly recognizes that productivity in telecommuting contexts cannot be understood as a monolithic construct but rather must be analyzed through intersecting lenses encompassing technological infrastructure, socioeconomic stratification, psychological well-being…” – điều này cho thấy năng suất là vấn đề phức tạp bị ảnh hưởng bởi nhiều yếu tố.
Câu 28: C
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: Pew Research Center, broadband connectivity
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 4-6
- Giải thích: “approximately 25% of American adults with household incomes below $30,000 annually lack reliable broadband connectivity, compared to merely 4% of those earning above $75,000” – sự chênh lệch rõ ràng này cho thấy vấn đề phổ biến hơn nhiều ở các hộ gia đình có thu nhập thấp.
Câu 30: A
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: autonomy paradox
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 5-9
- Giải thích: “while workers gain greater control over their immediate work environment, they simultaneously experience diminished social embeddedness and eroded work-life boundaries that ultimately undermine the initial autonomy benefits” – mô tả chính xác nghịch lý.
Câu 32: E (Tacit knowledge)
- Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Features
- Từ khóa: tacit knowledge
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 8, dòng 3-4
- Giải thích: “tacit knowledge – contextual, experience-based understanding that resists codification and explicit articulation” khớp với description E.
Câu 37: experience sampling methodology
- Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS)
- Từ khóa: research methodology, real-time data, activities, psychological states
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 10-11
- Giải thích: “Research employing experience sampling methodology – which captures real-time data about individuals’ activities, contexts, and psychological states throughout their days…”
Câu 40: commercial property taxes (và) commuter populations
- Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer
- Từ khóa: municipal governments, revenue sources, lose, urban center decline
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 10, dòng 2-4
- Giải thích: “profound fiscal implications for municipal governments dependent on commercial property taxes and spending from commuter populations” – cả hai nguồn thu này đều được liệt kê.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| telecommuting | n | /ˈtelɪkəmjuːtɪŋ/ | làm việc từ xa | Telecommuting has undergone a dramatic transformation | telecommuting arrangement, telecommuting policy |
| mainstream | adj | /ˈmeɪnstriːm/ | chủ đạo, phổ biến | a mainstream work arrangement | become mainstream, mainstream adoption |
| viable | adj | /ˈvaɪəbl/ | khả thi | a viable option for professions | viable alternative, commercially viable |
| eliminate | v | /ɪˈlɪmɪneɪt/ | loại bỏ | eliminate commuting time | effectively eliminate, eliminate barriers |
| overhead costs | n phrase | /ˈəʊvəhed kɒsts/ | chi phí hoạt động | reduce overhead costs | reduce overhead, minimize overhead costs |
| compelling | adj | /kəmˈpelɪŋ/ | thuyết phục, hấp dẫn | compelling advantages | compelling evidence, compelling reason |
| talent pool | n phrase | /ˈtælənt puːl/ | nguồn nhân tài | expands the talent pool | broader talent pool, diverse talent pool |
| social isolation | n phrase | /ˈsəʊʃl ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃn/ | cô lập xã hội | potential for social isolation | experience social isolation, reduce social isolation |
| spontaneous | adj | /spɒnˈteɪniəs/ | tự phát, tự nhiên | spontaneous conversations | spontaneous interaction, spontaneous collaboration |
| accountability | n | /əˌkaʊntəˈbɪləti/ | trách nhiệm giải trình | maintaining accountability | ensure accountability, lack accountability |
| micromanage | v | /ˈmaɪkrəʊmænɪdʒ/ | quản lý vi mô | organizations that micromanage | tendency to micromanage, avoid micromanaging |
| fundamental shift | n phrase | /ˌfʌndəˈmentl ʃɪft/ | thay đổi căn bản | a fundamental shift in thinking | represent a fundamental shift, require a fundamental shift |
Passage 2 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| paradigm shift | n phrase | /ˈpærədaɪm ʃɪft/ | thay đổi mô hình tư duy | This paradigm shift has prompted | undergo a paradigm shift, represent a paradigm shift |
| presenteeism | n | /ˌprezənˈtiːɪzəm/ | có mặt nhưng không hiệu quả | Presenteeism has long been a pervasive issue | culture of presenteeism, combat presenteeism |
| implicit assumption | n phrase | /ɪmˈplɪsɪt əˈsʌmpʃn/ | giả định ngầm | operated under the implicit assumption | challenge implicit assumptions, based on implicit assumptions |
| fundamentally flawed | adj phrase | /ˌfʌndəˈmentəli flɔːd/ | sai lầm cơ bản | this assumption is fundamentally flawed | fundamentally flawed approach, fundamentally flawed logic |
| measurable deliverables | n phrase | /ˈmeʒərəbl dɪˈlɪvərəblz/ | sản phẩm có thể đo lường | clearly defined objectives, measurable deliverables | define measurable deliverables, focus on measurable deliverables |
| excessive surveillance | n phrase | /ɪkˈsesɪv səˈveɪləns/ | giám sát quá mức | atmosphere of excessive surveillance | avoid excessive surveillance, concerns about excessive surveillance |
| nuanced picture | n phrase | /ˈnjuːɑːnst ˈpɪktʃə/ | bức tranh chi tiết, phức tạp | presents a complex and nuanced picture | paint a nuanced picture, provide a nuanced picture |
| meta-analysis | n | /ˌmetə əˈnæləsɪs/ | phân tích tổng hợp | A comprehensive meta-analysis published | conduct a meta-analysis, meta-analysis revealed |
| deep concentration | n phrase | /diːp ˌkɒnsənˈtreɪʃn/ | tập trung sâu | tasks requiring deep concentration | require deep concentration, maintain deep concentration |
| intrinsic motivation | n phrase | /ɪnˈtrɪnsɪk ˌməʊtɪˈveɪʃn/ | động lực nội tại | self-discipline and intrinsic motivation | enhance intrinsic motivation, driven by intrinsic motivation |
| outcome accountability | n phrase | /ˈaʊtkʌm əˌkaʊntəˈbɪləti/ | trách nhiệm kết quả | outcome accountability combined with process autonomy | focus on outcome accountability, emphasize outcome accountability |
| facilitative leadership | n phrase | /fəˈsɪlɪtətɪv ˈliːdəʃɪp/ | lãnh đạo hỗ trợ | this facilitative leadership style | adopt facilitative leadership, facilitative leadership approach |
| ergonomic setup | n phrase | /ˌɜːɡəˈnɒmɪk ˈsetʌp/ | bố trí công thái học | ergonomic setup, adequate lighting | proper ergonomic setup, invest in ergonomic setup |
| asynchronous communication | n phrase | /eɪˈsɪŋkrənəs kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃn/ | giao tiếp không đồng bộ | asynchronous communication can enhance productivity | rely on asynchronous communication, balance asynchronous communication |
| hybrid communication strategies | n phrase | /ˈhaɪbrɪd kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃn ˈstrætədʒiz/ | chiến lược giao tiếp kết hợp | develop hybrid communication strategies | implement hybrid communication strategies, effective hybrid communication strategies |
Passage 3 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unprecedented | adj | /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ | chưa từng có | unprecedented acceleration | unprecedented scale, unprecedented challenge |
| multifaceted | adj | /ˌmʌltɪˈfæsɪtɪd/ | nhiều khía cạnh | revealing multifaceted dimensions | multifaceted problem, multifaceted approach |
| monolithic construct | n phrase | /ˌmɒnəˈlɪθɪk kənˈstrʌkt/ | khái niệm đơn nhất | cannot be understood as a monolithic construct | treat as a monolithic construct, reject monolithic constructs |
| intersecting lenses | n phrase | /ˌɪntəˈsektɪŋ ˈlenzɪz/ | các góc nhìn giao thoa | analyzed through intersecting lenses | view through intersecting lenses, apply intersecting lenses |
| macroeconomic forces | n phrase | /ˌmækrəʊˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˈfɔːsɪz/ | các lực vĩ mô kinh tế | broader macroeconomic forces | influenced by macroeconomic forces, macroeconomic forces shape |
| digital divide | n phrase | /ˈdɪdʒɪtl dɪˈvaɪd/ | khoảng cách công nghệ số | The digital divide represents | bridge the digital divide, widen the digital divide |
| broadband connectivity | n phrase | /ˈbrɔːdbænd ˌkɒnekˈtɪvəti/ | kết nối băng thông rộng | lack reliable broadband connectivity | access to broadband connectivity, improve broadband connectivity |
| socioeconomic stratification | n phrase | /ˌsəʊsiəʊˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˌstrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ | phân tầng kinh tế xã hội | socioeconomic stratification creates | patterns of socioeconomic stratification, exacerbate socioeconomic stratification |
| bifurcated landscape | n phrase | /ˈbaɪfəkeɪtɪd ˈlændskeɪp/ | bối cảnh phân đôi | creates a bifurcated remote work landscape | increasingly bifurcated landscape, bifurcated landscape emerges |
| spatial inequality | n phrase | /ˈspeɪʃl ˌɪnɪˈkwɒləti/ | bất bình đẳng không gian | spatial inequality compounds these disparities | address spatial inequality, patterns of spatial inequality |
| autonomy paradox | n phrase | /ɔːˈtɒnəmi ˈpærədɒks/ | nghịch lý tự chủ | creates what psychologists term autonomy paradox | experience the autonomy paradox, autonomy paradox demonstrates |
| productivity paranoia | n phrase | /ˌprɒdʌkˈtɪvəti ˌpærəˈnɔɪə/ | lo lắng về năng suất | The concept of productivity paranoia | suffer from productivity paranoia, productivity paranoia creates |
| performative availability | n phrase | /pəˈfɔːmətɪv əˌveɪləˈbɪləti/ | sự có mặt mang tính biểu diễn | engage in performative availability | culture of performative availability, performative availability behaviors |
| tacit knowledge | n phrase | /ˈtæsɪt ˈnɒlɪdʒ/ | kiến thức ngầm | competitive advantage derives from tacit knowledge | transfer tacit knowledge, tacit knowledge transmission |
| serendipitous encounters | n phrase | /ˌserənˈdɪpɪtəs ɪnˈkaʊntəz/ | những cuộc gặp gỡ tình cờ | emerges from serendipitous encounters | facilitate serendipitous encounters, loss of serendipitous encounters |
| knowledge recombination | n phrase | /ˈnɒlɪdʒ ˌriːkɒmbɪˈneɪʃn/ | tái tổ hợp kiến thức | highlights the importance of knowledge recombination | enable knowledge recombination, knowledge recombination processes |
| geographic wage arbitrage | n phrase | /ˌdʒiːəˈɡræfɪk weɪdʒ ˈɑːbɪtrɑːʒ/ | chênh lệch lương theo địa lý | enables geographic wage arbitrage | practice geographic wage arbitrage, geographic wage arbitrage strategy |
| spatial decoupling | n phrase | /ˈspeɪʃl diːˈkʌplɪŋ/ | tách rời không gian | The spatial decoupling of employment | spatial decoupling enables, process of spatial decoupling |
Kết bài
Chủ đề Impact Of Telecommuting On Work Productivity không chỉ phản ánh xu hướng làm việc hiện đại mà còn là một trong những chủ đề được yêu thích trong IELTS Reading vì tính thời sự và khả năng khai thác đa chiều. Qua bộ đề thi mẫu này, bạn đã được trải nghiệm đầy đủ các cấp độ khó từ Easy đến Hard, giống như cấu trúc của một bài thi IELTS thật sự.
Ba passages trong đề thi này đã cung cấp:
- Cái nhìn tổng quan về hiện tượng làm việc từ xa và lợi ích cơ bản (Passage 1)
- Phân tích sâu về cách đo lường năng suất và các yếu tố ảnh hưởng (Passage 2)
- Góc nhìn học thuật về các chiều kích xã hội, tâm lý và kinh tế vĩ mô (Passage 3)
Đáp án chi tiết kèm theo giải thích vị trí và kỹ thuật paraphrase sẽ giúp bạn hiểu rõ logic của người ra đề, từ đó rút ra được phương pháp làm bài hiệu quả. Đặc biệt, phần từ vựng học thuật được phân loại theo từng passage sẽ giúp bạn xây dựng vốn từ vựng IELTS một cách bài bản.
Hãy nhớ rằng, thành công trong IELTS Reading không chỉ đến từ việc làm nhiều bài tập mà còn từ việc phân tích kỹ lưỡng các câu trả lời sai, học từ vựng trong ngữ cảnh, và rèn luyện kỹ năng quản lý thời gian. Với sự luyện tập đều đặn và có phương pháp, bạn hoàn toàn có thể đạt được band điểm mục tiêu trong phần thi Reading.
Chúc bạn ôn tập hiệu quả và đạt kết quả cao trong kỳ thi IELTS sắp tới!
