IELTS Secrets - QUESTIONS

SECTION 1

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

THE LIFE OF SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Questions 1–6

The text has seven paragraphs labelled A–G.

Reading passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct headings for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i. Continued breakthroughs in research

ii. Competing claims of originality

iii. The early years of Sir Isaac Newton

iv. The legacy of an exceptional mind

v. Routine life at a 17th century university

vi. Heated academic disputes

vii. A new venture

viii. His crowning achievement

ix. A controversial theory about planets

Answer Example

iii. Paragraph A

1. Paragraph B

2. Paragraph C

3. Paragraph D

4. Paragraph E

5. Paragraph F

6. Paragraph G

Questions 7-8

Answer the questions below.

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

Write your answers in boxes 7-8 on your answer sheet.

7. With which scientific organization was Newton associated for much of his career?

8. With whom did Newton live as he got older?

Questions 9-13

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.

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

Sir Isaac Newton’s achievements

Created first reflecting 9. ______________, subsequently made a professor at Cambridge at the age of 25.

Helped develop the scientific method with his experiments in 10. _________, the study of light; showed that it is 11. _________, not waves, that constitute light.

Worked out the laws of the movement of bodies in space (planets etc.), published Principia Mathematica with laws of gravity and 12. __________.

Joint founder (with Leibniz) of 13. ____________, a new branch of mathematics.

SECTION 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on the following pages.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF ANTARCTICA

Questions 14–17

Answer the questions below.

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

Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

Antarctica’s location far from other continents means that it is very 14. _________.

Antarctica is alone among the continents in having no 15. ______________.

The Antarctic ice sheet holds the record as the largest 16. _________ ice sheet on Earth.

17. ______________are blocks of ice connected to the Antarctic ice sheet.

Questions 18-21

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage on the previous page?

In boxes 18–21 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

18. Some of Antarctica’s mountains are popular with climbers.

19. The temperature in Antarctica never rises above 0°C.

20. Antarctica constitutes around one-fifth of the southern half of the world.

21. Rain in Antarctica is rare but falls occasionally.

Questions 22-26

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-G, below.

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet.

Antarctica and the Changing Climate

Antarctica plays an important role in regulating the Earth’s climate through the process of 22. _______________. 23. ____________is diverted away from the Earth by the huge Antarctic ice sheet. As the size and 24. ___________of the ice sheet have decreased, 25. ____________has caused melting in some parts of the continent. However, other areas of Antarctica have experienced falling temperatures in recent years, due to 26. ___________, climate patterns leading to reduced temperatures.

A reflectivity

B ice melt

C solar radiation

D polar vortex winds

E heat balance

F water surfaces

G global warming

SECTION 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

THINKING, FAST AND SLOW

Questions 27-31

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27. The dual process model of the brain is

A. The common practice of thinking about two things at the same time.

B. The conflicting impulses pushing the brain to make both more and less effort,

C. The feeling of liking and not liking something simultaneously.

D. The natural tendency to make sense of the world in two different ways.

28. System 2 takes charge of decision-making when

A When the brain needs a rest.

B When more mental effort is required.

C When a person feels excessively confident.

D When a dangerous situation is developing.

29. ‘Confirmation bias’ is an example of

A System 1 rushing to judgment.

B System 1 making a careful judgment.

C System 1 making a brave judgment

D System 1 judging a situation based on facts.

30. The main conclusion of the phone booth experiment was that

A People are more likely to help someone that they are attracted to.

B People are more responsive to their environment than they realize.

C People are more likely to be helpful if they think they will be rewarded.

D People are generally selfish and will always do what is best for themselves.

31. The ‘anchoring effect’ is the process by which

A Decisions are made using a numerical system.

B A subconscious factor may strongly influence our decision-making

C Decisions about prison sentences are made by rolling a dice.

D We may emphasize certain factor too much in our decision-making.

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

32. In general, humans have become less rational over the last 100 years.

33. Most people lack a clear sense of their own personal identity.

34. A person can train themselves to use System 2 most of the time.

35. People who make important decisions should be made aware of the dual-process model.

36. In most everyday situations, people are capable of making calm and rational decisions.

Questions 37-39

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-E, below.

Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 37-39 on your answer sheet.

37. In the course of evolutionary history System 1 has served humans well because

38. Low blood sugar or tiredness may be factors in decision making because

39. The ‘peak-end rule’ shows us that

A. feeling a certain way at the conclusion of an experience decides how we remember it.

B. decision-making and judgments are made too quickly.

C. having less energy means we are more likely to succumb to an irrational bias.

D. being sensitive to ones’ surroundings is a useful survival skill.

E. wanting more food or drink may distract us from the decision we are making.

Question 40

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

Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.

40. What is the writer’s primary purpose in writing this article?

A to introduce their own research to the general reader

B to summarize and review a recently published book

C to argue against a commonly-held theory

D to encourage readers to question their own decision-making processes.