IELTS Reading Practice Test 5 Printable

Answer Keys and Scores

Section 1

1. Paragraph B. Third sentence in that paragraph gives a clear example of transferring knowledge from one sports to another.
2. Paragraph C. Sentences five and six talk about a 3D model — an image, as stated by the task. Note that Paragraph D is wrong answer — even though it is about analysing and investigation, they talk about “sheets of data” — numbers mostly, without any visuals.
3. Paragraph B. Remember that you can use any paragraph more than once, as mentioned in the task. Last sentence, quoting Mr. Fricker. He states the reason for narrowing the scope of their studies: they aim to improve athletes’ performance above everything else. They aim to win.
4. Paragraph F. Sentences two and three talk about coolant-lined sportswear that proved to be extremely effective. This technology was then borrowed by other competitors — reproduced by them, as the task words it.
5. Paragraph D. Sentences three, four and five examine a swimmer’s performance in detail and discover the problematic points (obstacles) that could be improved on.
6. Paragraph A. Last but one sentence talks about financing, or funding, of the program.
7. Paragraph E. Starting with the second sentence the author points out how goals are set in advance. Paragraph D is a wrong answer — even though they analyse data there, it happens after the event.

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8. A. Paragraph C, the part below middle that talks about SWAN system. Those cameras are currently used in Australian competitions, other countries are not mentioned.
9. B. Paragraph C, sentences six and seven talk about a 3D analysis prototype. No word “sensor” is used, however it is implied that for such analysis you would need them. “When fully developed …” lets us know that it will be used in the future, it is not finished right now.
10. A. Second part of paragraph D. They are talking about protein traces in people’s saliva and mention that all of AIS athletes have since then stayed healthy. AIS is an Australian company and therefore according to the text used exclusively in Australia.
11. C. Paragraph F, sentences four and five. Coolant-lined jackets are now used by everyone and the same happened to altitude tents.

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12. (a) competition model. Paragraph E, second sentence. According to the following sentences it help an athlete to reach their goals.
13. (by) 2 percent. Paragraph F, sentence three. Number 1996 is an easy keyword to find, just like any other digit in the text.

Section 2

14. Paragraph F. Sentence number three suggest “transporting” software by means of telephone line, effectively bringing the total costs to zero.
15. Paragraph E. Sentence four compares shipping costs from abroad and producing similar goods within the country.
16. Paragraph D. Sentence two clearly states relation between cost of goods and transportation growing weaker. Most of the paragraph emphasises the progress made in making the transportation more affordable by implementing new materials into production of goods.
17. Paragraph A. Sentences one and two give factual growth figures.

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18. True. Paragraph A, second sentence. It is stated there that the trade is growing at a double rate of economy.
19. False. Paragraph B, last sentence. The opposite is stated — cheap labour means nothing without other factors such as appropriate delivery time.
20. Not given. Even though Paragraph C tells us about steel and meat imports, there is no direct comparison between countries. No such information is present in the text.
21. True. Paragraph two, sentence one and two. First sentence mentions disproportion in trade between “close” and “far” neighbouring countries. It becomes more clear that most of the trading is between neighbours after you read sentence two. Sentence two implies that because of the size and weight of goods it is more profitable to reduce shipping distance.
22. Not given. Paragraph E talks about disk-drives manufacturing that is mostly found in Asia. You are tempted to answer “False”, but this answer is wrong. The question states “small computer components” in general, not disk-drives. Therefore we should ask “not given”, as the text has no information regarding computer components in general.

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23. Trade. As a general idea of the text, this fits the introductory paragraph the best.
24. Components. As mentioned in paragraph E — a disk-drive is a common example of a computer component.
25. Container ships. Paragraph G talks about sea transportation that made shipments safe and cost-efficient. Even though there is no mentioning of “container ships”, this is the right answer.
26. Tariffs. This should not be confused with fares. Tariffs are custom duties while fares are payments for shipping. Since government is mentioned then it means that the word is tariffs — only government can regulate them.

Section 3

27. I. The paragraph is about how seriously the locals have taken the news. They are full of resolve to handle the situation themselves rather than leaving it to be taken care of by “outside experts”.
28. VI. The paragraph describes the features of territory inhabited by the Inuit and the hardships they have to endure living there.
29. III. The paragraph focuses on difficulty in obtaining the essentials that the nature can’t provide. Note that title VI doesn’t fit — even though there is some description of stern conditions they live in, it is not the main idea of the paragraph.
30. VII. This paragraph names the many difficulties the indigenous population have faced because of the changes in climate. Namely hunting becoming less popular as a result of rising temperatures.
31. IV. Sentences four to six of paragraph F talk about how the locals’ opinion gradually became more valued by the scientists.
32. II. In the last paragraph the author acknowledges that there are “gaps” in our understanding of the Arctic.
33. Farming. Paragraph C, third sentence states that “farming is out of the question”. Means of supporting themselves is another way of saying “to make one’s living”.
34. Sea mammals. This and the next questions are answered in the next, fourth sentence of paragraph C.
35. Fish. See previous question. It is important to give answers in this order — the order of the original text.
36. Thule. Paragraph C, sentence number five. By “latter” the author means “successful”. Spelled with capital T, will be counted as a mistake otherwise.
37. Islands. Paragraph D, second sentence. “Few” in the task is synonymized as “a handful” in the text. Note that the answer has to be in plural because of the adjective “few” before the gap.
38. Nomadic. Paragraph D, sentence four. “Lifestyle” is a synonym of “way”.
39. Nature. Paragraph D, sentence four. “Depends” in the task is a synonym for “rely” in the text.
40. Imported. “Produce” here means food, or meat specifically if we are talking about the text. “Imported meat” can be found in paragraph D, sentence beginning with “It would cost …”.

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

v. demolish — to destroy, to tear down (a building)
v. underpin — to support or to fund
n. coaching — giving counsel and guidance, esp. in sports
n. nutrition — a scientific term for food
v. collaborate — to work together, have a joint project
adj. ethereal — (in given context) having little relation to reality
v. wring — to twist a piece of cloth to extract liquid from it (after washing)
v. swivel — to turn, to rotate
n. velocity — speed
adj. obtrusive — sticking out, irritating, being in the way
n. saliva — water-like liquid from the mouth
adj. remarkable — unusually good, outstanding
n. altitude — vertical height

Section 2

adj. startling — surprising or causing fear, unexpected
adj. annual — happening every year
adj. beyond — on the other side of something
n. shipping — delivering or transporting freight
adj. bulky — taking a lot of space
adj. significant — important, great or considerable
n. output — the act or the volume of production
adj. swift — quick, fast
v. capsize — to tip or turn a ship/a boat over
v. haul — to transport, to move from one place to another
conj. albeit — even though
v. deter — to prevent or to discourage
n. tariff — a tax, such as an import tax
n. fare — sum of money paid for a service

Section 3

n. mud — wet dirt
v. thaw — to melt
v. insulate — to isolate, to protect from electricity
n. permafrost — ground that is frozen permanently, found deep underground
n. precipitation — natural phenomena such as rain, snow, hail etc.
adj. precarious — likely to fail, unreliable, perilous
v. venture — to expose to danger, to undertake a trip to a dangerous place
n. hardship — difficult conditions, challenges
n. gap — a break or an opening
adj. meagre — low in amount or strength
n. harsh — tough, challenging, inhospitable (e.g. harsh climate)
adj. nomadic — tending to move from one place to another (see nomad)
v. starve — to suffer or die from lack of food or water
v. curtail — to shorten
n. obesity — the state of being excessively fat
n. incidence — degree, extent, frequency with which something occurs
adj. vital — extremely important
n. wisdom — knowledge and experience
v. impinge — to collide with; to trespass.

IELTS Reading Score Reference Table

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