IELTS Reading Practice Test 3 Printable

Answer Keys

Section 1 – Rainforests

1. False. In the third sentence of Paragraph One the opposite is said – the media gives ‘frequent and often vivid’ coverage of deforestation.
2. False. Third sentence of Paragraph one mentions children probably having formed their own opinion on the problem of deforestation ‘independent of any formal tuition’, i. e. the information that influenced their opinions didn’t come from their classrooms, so the opposite is true.
3. True. First sentence of the second paragraph uses a rather difficult phrasing that contains the answer: children ‘harbour misconceptions’ about the pure science taught at school. To harbour misconceptions about something is to have wrong ideas about it.
4. True. Sentence two of Paragraph Two phrases the idea in a complicated way. The ideas about ‘pure’ science are not isolated, but are a part of some bigger system of knowledge. This facts makes it easier to change these ideas, they are ‘accessible to modification’.
5. False. Paragraph Four, second sentence mentions ‘open-form questions’, which is the direct opposite of yes/no questions. Therefore, False should be used for the answer. Remember that when the opposite statement is true, then the answer should be ‘False’.
6. Not given. Paragraph Six focuses on the differences in responses between boys and girls. However, it does not make a comparison of how likely boys or girls are to have mistaken views.
7. True. Paragraph Six, second sentence confirms that this study follows the series of studies focused on the importance of rainforests and how school pupils understand it.
8. Not given. No such or similar information can be found in the text.
9. M. Last sentence of Paragraph Four mentions Africa as the most prevalent answer.
10. E. Paragraph Four, the second sentence points out the popular opinion of children about rainforests providing habitats for animals.
11. G. Paragraph Seven, sentence two says that number one reason of rainforests destruction according to pupils is human activity.
12. P. Paragraph Nine focuses on the popular misconception about potential volume of oxygen which wouldn’t be produced were the rainforests completely destroyed. Hence the idea of why it is so important to protect the rainforests. First sentence of Paragraph Ten can also be used to answer the question.
13. J. Second sentence of Paragraph Ten has the author of the text surprised by how few of the pupils are aware of the possible threat of global warming associated with deforestation.
14. B. The first part of the title is self-explanatory and fits the passage perfectly – most of it reviews and analyzes children’s opinions on rainforests and their importance. However, the second part of the title is a bit more difficult. What it means is that the last paragraph is devoted to processing the data received in the previous studies and using it to improve the course.
    Title A is too general and doesn’t fully reflect the content of the passage. Titles C and D are too specific and do not cover the major ideas expressed. Title E is a popular second choice, however it shouldn’t be chosen as there is no mention of school children, who play a crucial role in the passage.

    Section 2 – Whales and Dolphins

15. Taste buds. Last sentence of Paragraph One: ‘some cetaceans have taste buds, the nerves serving these have degenerated or are rudimentary’ (underdeveloped).
16. (The) baleen (whales). Paragraph Three, last sentence points out that baleens have their vision restricted by the position of their eyes.
17. Forward and downward. Paragraph Four, sentence one. Note that both gaps have to be filled correctly to get a point. There are no half-points in IELTS Reading.
18. (The) freshwater dolphin(s). Second sentence of Paragraph Four. The keywords here remain unchanged in the text.
19. (The) water. Thirds sentence of Paragraph Four. Exceptional is paraphrased as ‘extremely keen’ in the text.
20. (The) lower frequencies. Last paragraph, sentence three. ‘Limited repertoire’ keyword here is unchanged and helps to find the answer in the text.
21. Bowhead, humpback. Third sentence in the last paragraph. Make sure to fill both gaps to get the point for this answer.
22. Touch / sense of touch. Paragraph Two, thirds sentence mentions touching being a part of ‘courtship ritual’, or simply put, wooing their mating partners.
23. (The) freshwater dolphin(s). Paragraph Four, second sentence has the answer to this one. Another example when key words remain unchanged, which makes answering easier.
24. Airborne flying fish. Paragraph Four, sentence four talks about bottlenose dolphins’ keen vision both in and out of water as well as the evolutionary purpose of such feat, namely to be able to track and catch flying fish.
25. Clear (open) water(s). Paragraph Five, second sentence. Note that you can (but you’re not necessarily required to) use up to three words.
26. (The) acoustic sense. First sentence of Paragraph Six mentions cetacean’s weak sense of taste, which are well compensated by their great acoustic sense.
    

    Section 3 – Blind People

27. C. The point is introduced in the very first sentence of the paragraph: ‘it has become clear that blind people can appreciate the use of outlines and perspectives to describe the arrangement of objects and other surfaces in space’
28. C. Sentences four and five of Paragraph One. The author was surprised, or ‘taken aback’ by the lines that represent motion, a fairly recent development intended to show movement in a still picture.
29. A. First sentence of Paragraph three illustrates the consistency of answers among the group of blind people who shows their understanding of movement symbolically displayed in a picture.
30. E. Paragraph Three, sentence two: lines extending beyond circle’s perimeter signify braking.
31. C. Last sentence of paragraph two: dashed spokes signify rapid movement of the wheel.
32. A. Paragraph Three, second sentence: curved spokes are an indicator of steadily spinning wheel.
33. Pairs. Second Paragraph of Part 2 contains mentions twenty pairs of words used in the experiment.
34. Shapes. Last sentence of the First Paragraph mentions abstract shapes as the main object of the experiment.
35. Sighted. ‘Sighted individuals’ are mentioned in the Second Paragraph.
36. Sighted. The percentages are written in numbers which makes it very easy to find them as they stand out in the text.
37. Deep. Paragraph Three of Part 2 contains all the comparison pairs and it’s pretty easy to find them.
38. Blind. Part 2, Paragraph Three, sentence four. Blind people showed preference for same choices made by the sighted people.
39. Similar. See previous answer.
40. B. Last sentence of the text gives raw data showcasing similarities between sighted and blind people’s perception of shapes. Note the very last sentence where the authors give a brief summary of their conclusion.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary below is meant to help you with the more difficult words. If the word isn’t on the list then you are either supposed to know it or it is too specific to be worth learning and you don’t have to know it to answer the question. Symbols in brackets mean part of speech (see bottom of the list). Sentences in italics give examples of usage for some more complex words and phrases.

And remember — you are not given a vocabulary list (or a dictionary) at your real exam.

Section 1

Confront (v) — to face or deal with difficulties. There is no way around it – eventually you will have to confront that bully at school.
Graphic (adj) — (about a description of something) powerful and effective. She felt it necessary to give us the most graphic rendition of the story.
Harbour (v) — (here) to have in mind, to think about something for a long time. Gill has harboured the thought of quitting her job for over a month now.
Peers (n) — people of the same age or social position. I recall back in the school days peers’ opinion was the most important thing for me.
Displace (v) — to force something out of its usual place. This species was eventually displaced by a more numerous one.
Indigenous (adj) — being natural to any particular place as opposed to have arrived there from someplace else. The indigenous population of the tundra.
Consistent with (phr) — behaving or acting according to an established view. The data you provided me with is consistent with our previous observations.
Logging (v) — the act of chopping trees down for wood or clearing the area. This area has seen heavy logging activity and now it has almost no wildlife left.
Complexity (n) — state of being difficult to understand, containing multiple parts. I couldn’t understand most of Joyce’s writing because of its sheer complexity.

Section 2

Terrestrial (adj) — relating to Earth. This particular species of fish doesn’t look like any other terrestrial organism.
Cetacean (n) — any mammal living in the sea (such as whales or dolphins). Cetaceans were the focus of her marine biology dissertation.
Neural (adj) — relating to brain and its activity. Neural impulses are what keeps us alive.
Sacrifice (v) — to give up something valuable for a cause. Many ancient religions have practices of sacrificing animals to please their gods. Some still do it nowadays.
Taste buds (n) — small areas of tongue responsible for recognizing taste. Taste buds can be distinctly seen on some species’ tongues.
Rudimentary (adj) — basic and undeveloped. The methods our company chose to use would be considered rudimentary by professionals.
Captive (adj) — if a living thing is captive, it is held in a limited space with no freedom of movement, e.g. in a cage or in prison. A number of captive animals has been shipped to London Zoo.
Courtship (n) — the period of romantic relationship that precedes marriage (for humans) or mating (for everyone else). Courtship rituals vary greatly between species.
Object (v) — to be against something vocally. I had to object to those new developments suggested by the office as I believed them too risky and brash.
Turbid (adj) — (about a liquid) not transparent or see-through. Our small river was more a dirty, turbid creek really.
Forage (v) — to go in search of things to eat. This forest is favored by many animals, they often come here to forage.
Speculation (n) — the act of speculating – guessing and making assumptions without any information to back it up. Girls at the office would often engage in shameless speculation about other people’s private lives.

Section 3

Appreciate (v) — to recognize how good or valuable something is. Mark never appreciated the good things in life he had.
Trace (v) — (here) to copy something, such as a drawing, by drawing over its lines and copying it. Tracing pictures is what some people do to learn how to draw.
To be taken aback (phr) — to be shocked or surprised. We got taken aback by her unexpected hostility towards her guests.
Rendition (n) — a way of performing a song, a poem and so on. Mike gave his rendition of Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane at one of our karaoke nights.
Depict (v) — to represent or show something in a story or a picture. You can see this picture depicting the rough realities of Victorian-era life in England.
Distinctive (adj) — easily recognized because of how different it is from other things. The distinctive style of the Beatles songs.
Consensus (n) — a collective agreement. After a prolonged debate session the sides have finally reached a consensus.
Deem (v) — to believe or consider. I had always deemed YouTube to be a source of mindless entertainment, but I was proved very wrong.

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