IELTS Secrets - QUESTIONS

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 on the following pages.

BIOLUMINESCENCE

Questions 1–5

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet.

Bioluminescence – chemical reaction

Requires:

luciferin

• made by the organism

• can come from 1 ………… inside the organism

• from the diet

2 …………

• works with luciferin to make the organism light up

Colours produced:

relate to 3 …………

Oceans

• blue-green because of sunlight

• red for 4 ………… between pairs of dragonfish

Land

• many colours

• similarities to ocean-based species, but tending towards the 5 …………

Questions 6–12

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–J, below.

Write the correct letter, A–J, in boxes 6–12 on your answer sheet.

NB You will not need to use all the letters.

6 Click beetles can use luminescence to …

7 One use of dragonfish luminescence is to …

8 Hatchet fish are able to use luminescence to …

9 Some squid can blink their luminescent light to …

10 Insect larvae can use luminescence to …

11 Lantern sharks use luminescent body parts to …

12 Mushrooms can use luminescence to …

List of Endings

A … warn predators that they are poisonous.

B … warn others of the same species about predators.

C … escape from potential predators.

D … find prey in a dark environment.

E … transfer light onto another creature.

F … attract potential mates.

G … enable the spread of reproductive cells.

H … attract food to their light.

I … blind other creatures with their light

J … hide from their enemies.

Question 13

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

Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet.

What is the main purpose of this reading passage?

A to describe research studies of how organisms make and use bioluminescence

B to give an overview of the manufacture and uses of bioluminescence in organisms

C to describe the habitat, mating and feeding patterns of some bioluminescent ocean species

D to discuss and debate research findings about bioluminescence

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–27, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on the following pages.

ANCIENT EGYPTIANS – FOUNDING FATHERS OF PHARMACOLOGY?

Questions 14–16

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 14–16 on your answer sheet.

14 What do we learn in the first paragraph of this text?

A The ancient Greeks were the first people to study drugs for medical purposes.

B The ancient Greeks made the earliest written version of a drug dictionary.

C The ancient Egyptians wrote down drug treatments earlier than the Greeks.

D The ancient Egyptians based all their medical practices on a belief in magic.

15 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as evidence of Egyptian medical skills?

A ancient bodies with healed wounds

B medical equipment for operations

C artificial digits such as toes

D jawbones with extracted teeth

16 Why is it difficult to study written Egyptian pharmaceutical records?

A There are no existing translations of the original Egyptian language.

B It is hard to translate words which appear only a few times in short documents.

C The writing on the pharmaceutical records was damaged.

D Egyptians used drugs differently from how modern medicine uses them.

Questions 17–21

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 17–21 on your answer sheet.

Ancient Egyptian Pharmacology – Research Study

Campbell’s study aimed to make clearer 17 ………… of Egyptian drug ingredients to find out how effective their knowledge had been. She used current knowledge of 18 ………… to check that the ingredients listed would have been available. She also examined key documents from the period when 19 ………… was first used. These documents listed ingredients, their preparation and administration, and the 20 ………… . She wanted to validate or disprove each recipe; a few ingredients, e.g. 21 …………, had clearly been incorrectly translated.

Questions 22–27

Complete the notes below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 22–27 on your answer sheet.

Results of the Study

Identification of ingredients

• All or most of the ingredients for the majority of remedies have now been verified

• More than half the remedies would have had some 22 …………

• Some of the ingredients are still a mystery and may remain so

Comparison with current pharmaceuticals

• Many Egyptian ingredients are still used, though some are now in 23 …………

• Extraction methods included the use of a suitable medium according to the 24 ………… of the drug

• Every treatment obeyed the current rules for use, with the exception of 25 …………

Establishing the 26 ………… of Egyptian drugs

• The Egyptians did not understand the causes of most diseases

• Yet, over half of their remedies would have worked as well as 27 …………

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 on the following pages.

HAPPINESS – IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Questions 28–32

Reading Passage 3 has five sections, A–E.

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i–viii, in boxes 28–32 on your answer sheet.

NB You will not need to use all the headings.

List of Headings

i deepening our understanding through research

ii more complex challenges in understanding happiness

iii happiness as part of the human survival mechanism

iv the effects of addiction on the happiness response

v deficiencies in neural mechanisms for happiness

vi the pros and cons of our awareness of happiness

vii relationships between cell phone usage and happiness

viii differentiating pleasure responses in the brain

28 Section A

29 Section B

30 Section C

31 Section D

32 Section E

Questions 33 and 34

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 33 and 34 on your answer sheet.

33 According to Section A, what is one reason why people set goals?

A They need to prosper, to eat and to reproduce.

B They have a highly developed consciousness.

C They are trying to avoid depression and misery.

D They are seeking pleasurable sensations.

34 What do we learn about happiness in Section B?

A Most people's state of happiness varies throughout the day.

B Computer game playing is an addictive form of happiness.

C At least one part of the brain makes us feel happy for longer.

D A strong response to pleasurable events is very important.

Questions 35–40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 35–40 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

35 There are fewer 'pleasure' sites in the brain than 'liking' ones.

36 'Liking' is usually a weaker response than 'pleasure'.

37 Some people suffer from a disconnect between the different brain responses to pleasurable stimuli.

38 People with depression can suffer from disturbances to their sense of taste.

39 Depression may be correlated with an inability to remember, or look forward to, pleasure.

40 We now understand the brain chemistry that controls complex forms of pleasure.