IELTS reading

Reading Test 43

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Section 1

Reading Passage 1

Reflecting on the Mirror

In all likelihood the first mirrors would have simply been pools of water that reflected the image of the one who looked into it. Nature’s mirror, while cheap and readily accessible, must have also been quite frustrating with the slightest disturbance on the surface of the water making it difficult to see clearly. It is not altogether clear when the first man-made mirrors were produced but mirrors made of brass are mentioned in the Bible, and after that mirrors of bronze were in common use among the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. In addition to bronze, the Greeks and Romans experimented with polished silver to produce simple mirrors. Crude forms of glass mirrors were first made in Venice in 1300. Small sheets of glass were cut from disks made by a spinning process. When this glass was backed with a covering of tin or lead, a ‘mirror’ resulted. During the early periods of their development, mirrors were rare and expensive. France had glass factories but only in Venice, Italy was the secret of mirror foiling know n. The chemical process of coating a glass surface with metallic silver was discovered by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1835, and this advance inaugurated the modern techniques of mirror making. By the end of the 17th century mirrors were made in Britain and the manufacture of mirrors developed subsequently into an important industry in many other European countries. People wore them in their hats, or set them like jewels in their rings. Society glittered and shone like the firmament. A little later on, America was gripped by the mirror craze, only…

Questions 1–5

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1 below

1.The Creeks arid Egyptians used polished silver to make mirrors.

2.The first man-made mirrors were made of bronze.

Section 2

Reading Passage 2

Effort and Science to Win

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Winning nowadays is not only a question of disciplined training: The triumph of victory today involves the collaboration of several medical specialists who combine their particular knowledge in an effort to help each athlete to reach their potential. In Mexico, the Medicine Direction and .Applied Sciences of the National Commission of Deporte analyses all aspects of sports science from the role of the auditory system in sporting achievement to die power of the mind and its role in the ability to win. Everything, it seems, is open to scrutiny. Recently, the focus has been evaluating the visual acuity of cyclists and long distance runners but they also focus on the more traditional areas of sports research, among them psychology, nutrition, anthropology, biochemistry and odontology1. From budding child athletes as young as 9 to the more mature-aged sportsperson, the facility at Deporte has attracted some of Mexico’s most famous sporting and Olympic hopefuls. “The study of elite athletes is now more scientific than ever” says doctor Francisco Javier Squares, “after each competition, athletes are exposed to vigorous medical examinations and follow-up training in order to help US arrive at a program that is tailor-made. “The modern athlete has become big business, no longer is there a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, in the past two people both 1.70 meters tall and weighing 70 kilograms would have been given the same program of athletic conditioning – now this idea is obsolete. It may be that the first individual has 35 kgs of muscle and 15 kgs of fat and the other…

Questions 14–17

The passage has eight paragraphs labelled A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

14.the natural process of oxygen production

Section 3

Reading Passage 3

Fueling the Future

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The world’s 750 million motor vehicles emit well over 900 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Traffic-related air pollution has been responsible for 6% of deaths per year and is associated with certain forms of leukaemia, inflammatory lung diseases, increased cardio-vascular disease, low birth-weight babies and male infertility. It stands to reason that tackling traffic- related air pollution should be high on any government’s list of priorities. Thus, in an attempt to minimise this situation many governments around the world have been looking at ways to implement alternative fuel sources. The most widely accepted way of doing this is to replace the crude oil that our vehicles currently run on with renewable, ‘environmentally friendly’ One serious contender put forward as a solution to the pollution problem is ethanol. Ethanol is a type of alcohol made by fermenting plant material. Water and organic matter from the plants including com, sorghum, sugar cane and wood are mixed together and fermented to make ethanol. After fermentation there are three layers remaining. The first is water and small particles of grain and alcohol. It takes on a syrup consistency. The second layer is the remaining grain, which is 17 per cent dry matter. The third layer is the actual ethanol – a colourless, volatile, flammable liquid. It is the only layer sold and accounts for exactly one-third of the total dry matter used for its production. There are three primary ways that it is used as a fuel for transportation: as a blend of 10 per cent ethanol with 90% unleaded fuel (E10); as…

Questions 27–31

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet write

27.The need to control air pollution is why ethanol came into use.

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Answers & explanations

Every answer is available. The first 3 explanations are free; PrepGo Premium unlocks the rest.

40 answers3 explanations open

1
FALSE
Information from the phrase 'polished silver to produce simply mirrors' is matched with the statement. However, in the passage, mirrors are made by 'The Greek and Romans', not 'the Creeks and Egyptians' as the question. So the answer should be FALSE
2
FALSE
The main key words of this question are 'the first man-made mirrors' and 'were made of' which mention about material of first mirrors. In the question, bronze is material to make the first mirrors, while the paragraph states that the first mirrors were made of brass. So the answer should be FALSE
3
TRUE
The question indicates about people who own the first mirrors – the wealthy. In this sentence, it is described that the first mirrors ('During the early periods of their development') were expensive. From this we can reason out: Only the wealthy can buy mirrors. So the answer should be TRUE
4
NOT GIVEN
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5
TRUE
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6
H
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7
E
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8
I
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9
F
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10
A
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11
A
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12
A
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13
C
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14
D
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15
B
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16
A
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17
C
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18
D
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19
B
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20
A
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21
FALSE
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22
NOT GIVEN
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23
TRUE
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24
TRUE
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25
NOT GIVEN
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26
TRUE
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27
NO
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28
YES
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29
YES
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30
NO
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31
NOT GIVEN
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32
B
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33
C
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34
C
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35
D
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36
A
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37
B
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38
B
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39
C
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40
B
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Understand why, not only what.

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