IELTS reading

Reading Test 34

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Section 1

Reading Passage 1

Hot Air Ballooning

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The birth of the hot air balloon is largely contributed to the efforts of two French brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, who employed the fact that hot air was lighter than cool air and using this, managed to lift a small silk balloon 32 metres into the air. The brothers went on to elevate a balloon into the air ten thousand metres before it started to descend and then exploded. Arguably limited success, but their work came to the eye of the French Science Academy as the discovery of the properties of hot air balloons helped scientists to study weather patterns and the atmosphere.It was not until some considerable time later that a balloon was launched that was capable of carrying passengers. Initial flights were trialled by animals, but after the success of these voyages, two passengers, Jean Francois Pilatre and Francois Laurent d’Arlendes, were sent up in a balloon which travelled across Paris for 29 minutes. The men fuelled the fire in the centre of their wicker basket to keep the balloon elevated and the trip across Paris was a great success.The discovery of hydrogen-fuelled flights led to the death in 1785 of Pilatre, a tragedy which caused a downfall in the popularity of hot air ballooning but an increase in the popularity of hydrogen. Hot air ballooning lost further ground when alternate modes of air travel were introduced» but in the 1950s, ballooning experienced something of a revival as a leisure activity and sport. Today there are balloons of all shapes and sizes, with many unique designs.In 1987, British entrepreneur Richard Branson crossed the Atlantic…

Questions 1–4

Do the following statements agree with the given in the reading passage?

1.The Montgolfier brothers were the first people to fly in a hot air balloon.

2.Hot air ballooning became less popular in the late eighteenth century.

Section 2

Reading Passage 2

Illegal Downloads

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Downloading music from the internet has become a simple, fast and easy thing to do. The correct or legal way of going about it seems to be ignored by those who find it too costly. Illegal music downloads have reached an all time high, and a recent survey of high school students revealed an estimated 3.6 billion songs being downloaded per month. There are now endless possibilities available to the public where music can be downloaded for free and people are choosing to take this route even though it is illegal. iTunes is one of the most well known sites where music can be bought legally for just over 51 per track. So when it is this cheap why are people still going to alternative unauthorized sites? Or is the legal route still considered a costly way to go about it? If you think that copying music results in simply a slap on the wrist, think twice. Under government law, record companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to increase that to as much as $150,000 per song if it finds the infringements were deliberate. The music industry has threatened about 35,000 people with charges of copyright Infringement over the past decade. In recent months there have been more cases of music piracy heading to the courts. The industry estimates that more than a hundred of these cases remain unsettled in court, with fewer than 10 offenders actively arguing the case against them. The penalties for breaching the copyright act differ slightly depending upon whether the infringing is for commercial or private financial gain, with the latter…

Questions 12–16

The reading passage has eight paragraphs, A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information?

12.The disparity between fines and costs

Section 3

Reading Passage 3

The Natural World

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The natural world is dominated by cycles that are constant and repeated – the moon’s rotation around the earth, the changing of the seasons, the changes between night and day. It is these cycles or rhythms that in part control changes in our metabolism, mood and behaviour, and even the patterns of our sleep. The circadian rhythm is the cycle that indicates when to be awake and when to be asleep. This is a daily cycle that is controlled by changes in amplitude (highs and lows) of light and temperature. As day turns to night, the sun sets and it becomes cooler. The triggers of less light and lower temperatures signal to the body that it is time to slow and begin the pattern of sleep. Of course, there may be many hours between sunset and the time people actually go to bed, but it is from this time that we generally become increasingly less alert and reaction times can be noticeably slower. There are a number of factors that can affect our circadian rhythm. Working night shifts, which requires people to act in contradiction to the body’s natural rhythm, is perhaps the most damaging. Despite getting a good 8 hours sleep during the day, night shift workers still tend to feel drowsy for at least some of the night. This is the main factor for the increase in workplace accidents on this shift when compared to the day shift. The seasons can also affect our natural rhythm, with people having less energy during winter months when there is less sunlight and warmth to stimulate the brain. International travel, notably when travelling in excess of 4 hours, can also have a significant…

Questions 24–30

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

24.Our reactions are at their slowest at sunset.

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Answers & explanations

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40 answers3 explanations open
  1. 1

    FALSE

    From the text, "initial flights were trialled by animals" in a balloon, which contradicts with "Montgolfier brother were the first people" in the question statement. So the answer is FALSE.

  2. 2

    TRUE

    All keywords appear in the text such as "hot air ballooning", "less popular & a downfall in the popularity", "in the late eighteenth century & in 1785". So the answer for this question is TRUE.

  3. 3

    FALSE

    From the text, the largest hot air balloon had a capacity of 65 thousand cubic metres which contradicts with "over 75000 cubic metres" in the question statement. So answer for Q3 is FALSE.

  4. 4

    NOT GIVEN

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  5. 5

    Per Lindstrand

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  6. 6

    (the) ground crew

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  7. 7

    Balloon simulator

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  8. 8

    Parachute valve

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  9. 9

    Envelope

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  10. 10

    Panels

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  11. 11

    Gores

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  12. 12

    C

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  13. 13

    B

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  14. 14

    A

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  15. 15

    H

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  16. 16

    C

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  17. 17

    30,000/30000/30,000 dollars/30000 dollars

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  18. 18

    Commercial

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  19. 19

    internet service provider

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  20. 20

    Fair use

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  21. 21

    FALSE

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  22. 22

    TRUE

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  23. 23

    NOT GIVEN

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  24. 24

    FALSE

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  25. 25

    FALSE

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  26. 26

    TRUE

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  27. 27

    FALSE

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  28. 28

    FALSE

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  29. 29

    FALSE

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  30. 30

    NOT GIVEN

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  31. 31

    Wavelength / colour

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  32. 32

    late afternoon

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  33. 33

    an eye mask

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  34. 34

    a humming bird

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  35. 35

    Lose weight

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  36. 36

    Alcohol and cigarettes

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  37. 37

    Rhythm

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  38. 38

    White

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  39. 39

    Metabolism

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  40. 40

    Nap / sleep

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Understand why, not only what.

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