The real IELTS Reading Test contains three separate reading passages. The reading section is different for the Academic Reading Test takers and the General Reading Test takers.
IELTS Academic Reading Test passage texts are taken from magazines, journals, research papers, books, and newspapers.
IELTS General Reading Test texts are taken from notices, advertisements, official documents, booklets, newspapers, instruction manuals, leaflets, timetables, books and magazines.
The Nature of Genius There has always been an interest in geniuses and prodigies. The word ‘genius’, from the Latin gens (= family) and the term ‘genius’, meaning ‘begetter’, comes from the early Roman cult of a divinity as the head of the family. In its earliest form, genius was concerned with the ability of … more →
Striking Back at Lightning with Lasers Seldom is the weather more dramatic than when thunderstorms strike. Their electrical fury inflicts death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone. As the clouds roll in, a leisurely round of golf can become a terrifying dice with death – out in … more →
Endangered Chocolate A The cacao tree, once native to the equatorial American forest, has some exotic traits for a plant. Slender and shrubby, the cacao has adapted to life close to the leaf littered forest floor. Its large leaves droop down. away from the sun. Cacao doesn’t flower, as most plants do at the tips … more →
The History of The Biro A One chilly autumn morning in 1945, five thousand shoppers crowded the pavements outside Gimbels Department Store in New York City. The day before, Gimbels had taken out a full-page newspaper advertisement in the New York Times, announcing the sale of the first ballpoint pens in the United States. The … more →
Dressed to Dazzle As high-tech materials invade high-street fashion, prepare for clothes that are cooler than silk and warmer than wool, keep insects at arm’s length, and emit many pinpricks of colored light. The convergence of fashion and high technology is leading to new kinds of fibers, fabrics and coatings that are imbuing clothing with … more →
Questions 27-32 The passage has six paragraphs, A—F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i—viii, in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i The difficulties of talking about smells ii The role of smell in personal relationships iii Future studies into … more →
Questions 14-17 Reading passage has six paragraphs, A—F. Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B and D—F from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i—ix, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet. List of Headings i Predicting climatic changes ii The relevance of the Little Ice Age today iii How cities contribute … more →
Telepathy Can human beings communicate by thought alone? For more than a century the issue of telepathy has divided the scientific community, and even today it still sparks bitter controversy among top academics Since the 1970s, parapsychologists at leading universities and research institutes around the world have risked the derision of sceptical colleagues by putting … more →
Unmasking Skin A If you took off your skin and laid it flat, it would cover an area of about twenty-one square feet, making it by far the body’s largest organ. Draped in place over our bodies, skin forms the barrier between what’s inside us and what’s outside. It protects us from a multitude of … more →
Questions 1-5 The following reading passage has five sections A-E . Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings. Write the correct number i-viii in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet. NB. There are more headings than sections, so you will not use them all. 1. Section A 2. Section B … more →