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　　This is the VOA Special English Education Report．A few weeks ago, we talked about the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL．A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and universities also accept the IELTS exam．IELTS is the International English Language Testing System．It was developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL examiners．

　　Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration or employment．The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills．It uses a mixture of accents and spellings, including British English and American English．

　　The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred and twenty countries．And, yes, that includes the United States．The many American schools that accepted the IELTS can be found on the Web at felts.org．

　　Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS, but the graduate school at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IEITS．

　　The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS, but people have a choice of reading and writing tests－either academic or general training．

　　The listening test takes thirty minutes．There are forty questions based on a recording．The reading test takes sixty minutes．Students answer forty questions based on three written passages．

　　The writing test also takes sixty minutes．Students have to write two essays．One essay has to be at least one hundred and fifty words long and the other at least two hundred and fifty words．The shorter one is description of something; the longer one has to support and argument．

　　The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes．The score is based on a recorded talk between the student and a test examiner．

　　And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach．If you have a general question for our series, write to special@voanews.com．I'm Barbara Klein．

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　　Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column．She had been a school teacher before she retired(退休), but she needed to keep 　　1　　．She was even willing to work without pay．She then offered her 　　2　　 with a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people．Every day she 　　3　　 other old folks like her．By talking with them, she 　　4　　 two things．Old people had abilities that were not 　　5　　．But old people also had some 　　6　　．She found a new purpose for herself then．

　　Through the years, she 　　7　　 to write stories about people for national magazines．There was now a new 　　8　　; old people tike herself．She began to write a newspaper column called“Sixty plus”, which was about 　　9　　 old．She writes about the problems of old people, especially their problems with being 　　10　　．

　　Anna Douglas uses her 　　11　　 ability to see the truth behind a problem．She understands 　　12　　 problems begin．For example, one of her 　　13　　 said that his grandchildren 　　14　　 the houses as soon as he came to visit．Mrs．Douglas 　　15　　 some ways for him to understand his grandchildren．

　　“It’s important to know 　　16　　 about your grandchildren’s world,”says Mrs．Douglas．“That means questioning and listening, and 　　17　　 is not what old people do best．Say good things to them and about them,”she continues．“Never try to 　　18　　 your grandchildren or other young people．Never 　　19　　 your opinion．Don’t tell them what they should do．　　20　　, they have been taught they should have respect for old people．The old should respect them as well．”

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