IELTS Academic Reading Test Papers with Answers 2021: QuestionTypes & Solved Previous Paper

Ready for your IELTS preparation? The reading section is the first you need to ace to score well in the exam.

Want to assess your current potential? Try solving previous year question papers to know your current understanding and weakness.

In this article, we have explained everything about IELTS Reading. Moreover, at the end of the article, there is an IELTS reading passage with answers.

IELTS

The International English Language Test System or IELTS is a popular English Language Test. It is jointly owned by the British council, IDU Australia and Cambridge University.

Students applying for foreign Universities have to take a Compulsory English test. IELTS is one of them.

It is a Popular English Proficiency test that is accepted by 10000 Universities and organizations worldwide.

This exam is divided into two parts: IELTS Academics and the General training program.

In this article, we will focus on IELTS Academics.

IELTS Academics

IELTS Academics is a popular IELTS test for students who want to apply for higher education or professional expertise.

This exam includes 4 different sections: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

Also Read: How to Practice for the IELTS Reading Test? Here’s Some Online IELTS Reading Test Preparation Tips

Reading

The reading section of IELTS Academics is an important part. The main aim is to assess the candidate’s skills to read and interpret English words.

In an English-Speaking, country students will have to study with English books and documents. Therefore it is necessary for them to have basic skills of reading English Texts.

This section is divided into three parts. Each section consists of one long extract taken from magazines, newspapers, academic texts and other university level papers.

Types of Question

Multiple Choice Question

This type of question contains 3-4 options and candidates have to choose the correct one among them.

This can be in the form of a question-answer or choose the correct ending for a Sentence.

True False/ Not given Question

In this type of question, you will be given different Statements. You will have to answer, true, false or not given on the basis of the sentences.

# If the statement is given in the article you will answer true.

# If the Statement is opposite to the sentence given in the passage, you will have to answer false.

# If the Statement is not given at all in the passage, then you will have to answer not given.

Also Read: How to Practice for the IELTS Reading Test: Here’s How to Get a Hold of It

Yes/ No/ Not Given Question

In this type of question, you will have to understand the Writer’s views and opinion. You will be given different Statements. If the sentence matches the Writer’s views then you have to answer Yes. If it contradicts the writer’s views then no. And if it’s impossible then not given.

Matching Questions

There are several types of matching questions:

Matching Headings

In this type of question you will be given several headings and paragraphs from the passage. You will have to choose the correct heading for the Paragraphs.

Matching Information

In this type of question, you will be given a list of information. Then you will have to identify which information is taken from which paragraph of the passage.

Matching Features

In this type of question, you will be given a list of items then you will have to match these items by understanding sentences of the passage.

Matching Sentence Endings

In this type of question, you will be given the first half of the Sentence. You will have to choose the second half of the sentence.

Sentence Completion

In this type of question, you will be given the first half of the sentence, you will have to fill in the blanks with suitable one/two or three words.

Short Answer 

In this type of question, you will have to give an answer to the given question. You need to mention every detail of the passage and factual information carefully.

The other types of questions are Note, Table, Diagram and Summary Completion Question.

Also Read: IELTS Reading Passage for Practice: List of Important Reading Passage Topics 2021

IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test

Here is an IELTS reading practice test. Try to solve this.

Plant Scents – IELTS Academic Reading Passage A

Everyone is familiar with scented flowers, and many people have heard that floral odours help the plant attract pollinators. This common notion is mostly correct, but it is surprising how little scientific proof of it exists. Of course, not all flowers are pollinated by biological agents— for example, many kinds of grass are wind-pollinated—but the flowers of the grasses may still emit volatiles. In fact, plants emit organic molecules all the time, although they may not be obvious to the human nose. As for flower scents that we can detect with our noses, bouquets that attract moths and butterflies generally smell “sweet,” and those that attract certain flies seem “rotten” to us.

Passage B (One)

The release of volatiles from vegetative parts of the plant is familiar, although until recently the physiological functions of these chemicals were less clear and had received much less attention from scientists. When the trunk of a pine tree is injured- for example, when a beetle tries to burrow into it- it exudes a very smelly resin. This resin consists mostly of terpenes—hydrocarbons with a backbone of 10, 15 or 20 carbons that may also contain atoms of oxygen. The heavier C20 terpenes, called diterpenes, are glue-like and can cover and immobilize insects as they plug the hole.

(Two)

This defence mechanism is as ancient as it is effective: Many samples of fossilized resin, or amber, contain the remains of insects trapped inside. Many other plants emit volatiles when injured, and in some cases, the emitted signal helps defend the plant. For example,(Z)_3_ hexenyl acetate, which is known as a “green leaf volatile” because it is emitted by many plants upon injury, deters females of the moth Heliothis virescens from laying eggs on injured tobacco plants. Interestingly, the profile of emitted tobacco volatiles is different at night than during the day, and it is the nocturnal blend, rich in several (Z)_3_hexen_i-olesters，that is most effective in repelling the night-active H. virescens moths.

Passage C (One)

Herbivore induced volatiles often serve as indirect defences. These bulwarks exist in a variety of plant species, including corn, beans, and the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants not only emit volatiles acutely, at the site where caterpillars, mites, aphids or similar insects are eating them but also generally from non-damaged parts of the plant. These signals attract a variety of predatory insects that prey on the plant-eaters. For example, some parasitic wasps can detect the volatile signature of a damaged plant and will lay their eggs inside the offending caterpillar; eventually, the wasp eggs hatch, and the emerging larvae feed on the caterpillar from the inside out.

(Two)

The growth of infected caterpillars is retarded considerably, to the benefit of the plant. Similarly, volatiles released by plants in response to herbivore egg laying can attract parasites of the eggs, thereby preventing them from hatching and avoiding the onslaught of hungry herbivores that would have emerged. Plant volatiles can also be used as a kind of currency in some very indirect defensive schemes. In the rainforest understory tree Leonardoxa Africana, ants of the species Petalomyrmex phylax patrol young leaves and attack any herbivorous insects that they encounter. The young leaves emit high levels of the volatile compound methyl salicylate, a compound that the ants use either as a pheromone or as an antiseptic in their nests. It appears that methyl salicylate is both an attractant and a reward offered by the tree to get the ants to perform this valuable deterrent role.

Passage D

The floral scent has a strong impact on the economic success of many agricultural crops that rely on insect pollinators, including fruit trees such as the bee-pollinated cherry, apple, apricot, and peach, as well as vegetables and tropical plants such as papaya. Pollination not only affects crop yield, but also the quality and efficiency of crop production. Many crops require most, if not all, ovules to be fertilized for optimum fruit size and shape. A decrease in fragrance emission reduces the ability of flowers to attract pollinators and results in considerable losses for growers, particularly for introduced species that had a specialized pollinator in their place of origin. This problem has been exacerbated by recent disease epidemics that have killed many honeybees, the major insect pollinators in the United States.

Passage E (One)

One means by which plant breeders circumvent the pollination problem is by breeding self-compatible, or apomictic, varieties that do not require fertilization. Although this solution is adequate, its drawbacks include near genetic uniformity and consequent susceptibility to pathogens. Some growers have attempted to enhance honeybee foraging by spraying scent compounds on orchard trees, but this approach was costly, had to be repeated, had potentially toxic effects on the soil or local biota, and, in the end, proved to be inefficient. The poor effectiveness of this strategy probably reflects the inherent limitations of the artificial, topically applied compounds, which clearly fail to convey the appropriate message to the bees.

(Two)

For example, general spraying of the volatile mixture cannot tell the insects where exactly the blossoms are. Clearly, a more refined strategy is needed. The ability to enhance the existing floral scent, create scent de novo or change the characteristics of the scent, which could all be accomplished by genetic engineering, would allow us to manipulate the types of insect pollinators and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, the metabolic engineering of fragrance could increase crop protection against pathogens and pests.

Passage F (One)

Genetic manipulation of the scent will also benefit the floriculture industry. Ornamentals, including cut flowers, foliage, and potted plants, play an important aesthetic role in human life. Unfortunately, traditional breeding has often produced cultivars with improved vase life, shipping characteristics, colour, and shape while sacrificing desirable perfumes. The loss of scent among ornamentals, which have a worldwide value of more than $30 billion, makes them important targets for the genetic manipulation of flower fragrance.

(Two)

Some work has already begun in this area, as several groups have created petunia and carnation plants that express the linalool synthase gene from C. Brewery. These experiments are still preliminary: For technical reasons, the gene was expressed everywhere in the plant, and although the transgenic plants did create small amounts of linalool, the level was below the threshold of detection for the human nose. Similar experiments in tobacco used genes for other monoterpene synthases, such as the one that produces limonene, but gave similar results.

Passage G

The next generation of experiments, already in progress, includes sophisticated schemes that target the expression of scent genes specifically to flowers or other organs—such as special glands that can store antimicrobial or herbivore-repellent compounds.

Questions 1-4

The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

1. A substance released to help plants themselves.
2. The scent helps the plant’s pollination.
3. Practice the genetic experiments of fragrance.
4. Plant’s scent attracts the herbivore’s enemy for protection.

Questions 5-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading passage 1?

In boxes 5-8 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE, if the statement is true

FALSE, if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN, if the information is not given in the passage

5. We have little evidence to support the idea that scent attracts pollinators.
6. Heliothis virescens won’t eat those tobacco leaves on which they laid eggs.
7. Certain ants are attracted by volatiles to guard plants in the rainforest.
8. Pollination only affects fruit trees’ production rather than other crop trees.

Questions 9-11

Choose the correct letter, A, B，C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

9. How do wasps protect plants when they are attracted by scents according to the passage?
10. plants induce wasps to prey herbivore.
11. wasps lay eggs into caterpillars.
12. wasps laid eggs on plants to expel herbivore.
13. offending caterpillars and wasp eggs coexist well.
14. What reason caused the number of honeybees to decline in the United States.
15. pollination process
16. spread illness
17. crop trees are poisonous
18. grower’s overlook
19. Which of the following drawbacks about artificial fragrance is NOT mentioned in the passage?
20. it’s very expensive
21. it can’t tell correct information to pollinators.
22. it needs massive manual labour
23. it poisons the local environment

Questions 12-13

12. The number of $30 billion quoted in the passage is to illustrate the fact that:
13. Favourable perfumes are made from ornamental flowers.
14. traditional floriculture industry needs reform.
15. genetic operation on scent can make a vast profit.
16. Scent plays a significant role in the Ornamental industry.
17. What is the weakness of genetic experiments on fragrance?
18. Linalool level is too low to be smelt by the nose.
19. no progress made in linalool emission
20. experiment on tobacco has a better result
21. transgenic plants produce an intense scent

Answer

Reading Passage 1

1. B
2. A
3. F
4. C
5. TRUE
6. NOT GIVEN
7. TRUE
8. FALSE
9. B
10. B
11. C
12. D
13. A

IELTS Mock Test

To improve your scores, you can also take some Mock Tests. Mock Tests aim to give you pre-exam training. Moreover, it will help you to assess your strengths and weaknesses.

Conclusion

The IELTS reading section is easy to crack. All you need is proper preparation strategy and clear understanding of the syllabus.

We hope this article gives you a proper understanding of the IELTS Reading section. For more such articles Visit IELTS Ninja to boost your IELTS preparations. You can apply for a course, study from experts and find a practice test.

All the best!