IELTS reading

Reading Test 5

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Section 1

Reading Passage 1

Undersea Movement

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The underwater world holds many challenges. The most basic of these is movement. The density of water makes it difficult for animals to move. Forward movement is a complex interaction of underwater forces. Additionally, water itself has movement. Strong currents carry incredible power that can easily sweep creatures away. The challenges to aquatic movement result in a variety of swimming methods, used by a wide range of animals. The result is a dazzling underwater ballet. Fish rely on their skeleton, fins, and muscles to move. The primary function of the skeleton is to aid movement of other parts. Their skull acts as a fulcrum and their vertebrae act as levers. The vertebral column consists of a series of vertebrae held together by ligaments, but not so tightly as to prevent slight sideways movement between each pair of vertebrae. The whole spine is, therefore, flexible. The skull is the only truly fixed part of a fish. It does not move in and off itself but acts as a point of stability for other bones. These other bones act as levers that cause movement of the fish’s body. While the bones provide the movement, the muscles supply the power. A typical fish has hundreds of muscles running in all directions around its body. This is why a fish can turn and twist and change directions quickly. The muscles on each side of the spine contract in a series from head to tail and down each side alternately, causing a wave-like movement to pass down the body. Such a movement may be very pronounced in fish such as eels, but hardly perceptible in others, e.g. mackerel. The frequency of…

Questions 1–6

The Passage has 8 paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the appropriate letter, A-H, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

1.categorizations of fish by swimming speed

2.an example of fish capable of maintaining fast swimming for a long time

Section 2

Reading Passage 2

Knowledge in medicine

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What counts as knowledge? What do we mean when we say that we know something? What is the status of different kinds of knowledge? In order to explore these questions, we are going to focus on one particular area of knowledge – medicine. How do you know when you are ill? This may seem to be an absurd question. You know you are ill because you feel ill; your body tells you that you are ill. You may know that you feel pain or discomfort but knowing you are ill is a bit more complex. At times, people experience the symptoms of illness, but in fact, they are simply tired or over-worked or they may just have a hangover. At other times, people may be suffering from a disease and fail to be aware of the illness until it has reached a late stage in its development. So how do we know we are ill, and what counts as knowledge? Think about this example. You feel unwell. You have a bad cough and always seem to be tired. Perhaps it could be stress at work, or maybe you should give up smoking. You feel worse. You visit the doctor who listens to your chest and heart, takes your temperature and blood pressure, and then finally prescribes antibiotics for your cough. Things do not improve but you struggle on thinking you should pull yourself together, perhaps things will ease off at work soon. A return visit to your doctor shocks you. This time the doctor, drawing on years of training and experience, diagnoses pneumonia. This means that you will need bed rest and a considerable time off work. The scenario is transformed. Although you still have the same symptoms, you no longer think that…

Questions 14–19

Complete the table. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

14.Symptoms of a ___ and tiredness

Section 3

Reading Passage 3

Spider silk 2

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strong, light bio-material made by genes from spiders could transform construction and industry Scientists have succeeded in copying the silk-producing genes of the Golden Orb Weaver spider and are using them to create a synthetic material which they believe is the model for a new generation of advanced bio-materials. The new material, biosilk, which has been spun for the first time by researchers at DuPont, has an enormous range of potential uses in construction and manufacturing. The attraction of the silk spun by the spider is a combination of great strength and enormous elasticity, which man-made fibres have been unable to replicate. On an equal-weight basis, spider silk is far stronger than steel and it is estimated that if a single strand could be made about 10m in diameter, it would be strong enough to stop a jumbo jet in flight. A third important factor is that it is extremely light. Army scientists are already looking at the possibilities of using it for lightweight, bulletproof vests and parachutes. For some time, biochemists have been trying to synthesise the drag-line silk of the Golden Orb Weaver. The drag-line silk, which forms the radial arms of the web, is stronger than the other parts of the web and some biochemists believe a synthetic version could prove to be as important a material as nylon, which has been around for 50 years, since the discoveries of Wallace Carothers and his team ushered in the age of polymers. To recreate the material, scientists, including Randolph Lewis at the University of Wyoming, first examined the silk-producing gland of the…

Questions 28–32

Reading Passage 1 has nine paragraphs, A-I. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet.

28.A comparison of the ways two materials are used to replace silk-producing glands

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Answers & explanations

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40 answers3 explanations open
  1. 1

    G

    The keywords are “categorizations” and “swimming speed”, so we should search which passage includes them. The G passage gives us information about the studies of fish’s swimming speed, which helps us categorize fish into 4 groups like: sneakers are slow-speed species, stayers can swim quite fast over long periods,etc. To conclude, the answer should be G. Answer: G

  2. 2

    H

    According to the question, we should find the passage that tells us a specific name of fish which can maintain fast swimming for a long time. Therefore, H is our correct answer because it refers to species of tuna having matching features. Matching keywords: “for a long time“ - “over longer periods“ Answer: H

  3. 3

    E

    “Stability” is the keyword and it only appears in paragraphs B and E after we take a quick scan. While paragraph B only tells us about the stability of fish’s bones, E gives us more suitable information to match the question. In paragraph E, we know the function of fins, which mainly control the stability of fish. So, E should be the answer. Answer: E

  4. 4

    C

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  5. 5

    B

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  6. 6

    D

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  7. 7

    forward thrust

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  8. 8

    rolling and yawing

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  9. 9

    Pectoral and pelvic

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  10. 10

    stopping and stabilizing / stopping and stabilising

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  11. 11

    white muscle

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  12. 12

    fat and glycogen

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  13. 13

    predator

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  14. 14

    bad cough

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  15. 15

    blood pressure

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  16. 16

    families and friends

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  17. 17

    Practitioner

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  18. 18

    Diagnosis

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  19. 19

    background

    Answer only

  20. 20

    E

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  21. 21

    F

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  22. 22

    H

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  23. 23

    H

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  24. 24

    I

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  25. 25

    G

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  26. 26

    D

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  27. 27

    B

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  28. 28

    E

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  29. 29

    H

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  30. 30

    I

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  31. 31

    D

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  32. 32

    G

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  33. 33

    bacteria

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  34. 34

    yeast

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  35. 35

    protein

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  36. 36

    chemical

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  37. 37

    holes

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  38. 38

    FALSE

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  39. 39

    TRUE

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  40. 40

    NOT GIVEN

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