IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
Section 1
Question 1-14
You are advised to spend 20 minutes on Questions 1-14.
MAIL ORDER BROCHURE
Want some great clothing ideas for your family?
Our key for clothing specials in July: M for men W for women C for children
For under $10
Cotton socks C – made of pure cotton for long wearing
Woollen socks C – to keep young feet warm in winter
Sports socks M – to go with jeans and other casual clothes
Patterned belts W – to go with jeans and other casual clothes
For under $25
Cotton shirts W – for day and evening wear
Silk shirts M – five sizes, in designer colours, for that special social occasion
T-shirts C – hard-wearing, white with a variety of animal motifs
Colour T-shirts M W – cotton and polyester blend, plain colours, no ironing
For under $50
Blue jeans M W – non-shrink, colourfast, small sizes only
Silk shirts M W – plain and patterned, all sizes
Hooded jacket C – protects from the wind, 4 sizes, large strong pockets
jacket W – waterproof with zipper front, all sizes
Or you can buy a gift voucher so that someone else can choose. These come in $10, $20 and $50 amounts.
Additional monthly specials for July to September
July – $10 voucher with any purchase over $60
August – Travel alarm clock worth $19.95 free with purchases of $80 or more!
September – Children’s backpacks. Free with any credit card purchase over $75!
Note: Postage and packing charges
These are applied to each order as follows:
Within Australia:
$7.95 per address, regular post
$17.95 for Express Delivery Service (overnight)
Overseas:
Surface Mail (allow a minimum of two months for delivery)
Airmail (allow around two weeks delivery to most destinations)
Questions 1-7
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
In boxes 1-7 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
1. Women’s cotton socks cost less than men’s.
2. Men’s silk shirts are available in more than five colours.
3. Children’s T-shirts come in a variety of colours.
4. The child’s jacket has four pockets.
5. If you buy clothes worth $80 in August, you will receive a free alarm clock.
6. The charge for special next-day delivery in Australia is $7.95.
7. All clothing is guaranteed to arrive within two months for international delivery.
Question 8-14
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
New Book Releases
A.
This book describes the creativity of Aboriginal people living in the driest parts of Australia. Stunning reproductions of paintings, beautiful photography and informative text.
B.
Pocket-sized maps and illustrations with detailed information on the nesting sites and migration patterns of Australia. This is a classic booklet suitable for both beginner and expert.
C. Packed full of information for the avid hiker, this book is a must. Photographs, maps and practical advice will guide your journeys on foot through the forests of the southern continent.
D.
More than an atlas – this book contains maps, photographs and an abundance of information on the land and climate of countries from around the globe.
E.
Australia’s premier mountain biking guidebook – taking you through a host of national parks and state forests.
F.
Here’s the A-Z of Australian native animals – take an in-depth look at their lives and characteristics, through fantastic photographs and informative text.
G.
Graphic artists have worked with researchers and scientists to illustrate how these prehistoric animals lived and died on the Australian continent.
H.
A definitive handbook on outdoor safety – with a specific focus on equipment, nutrition, first aid, special clothing and bush skills.
I.
Detailed guides to 15 scenic car tours that will take you onto fascinating wilderness tracks and along routes that you could otherwise have missed.
Questions 8-14
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
The list of New Book Releases on the following page has nine book descriptions A-I.
Choose the correct title for each book from the list of book titles below.
Write the correct number i-xi in boxes 8-14 on your answer sheet.
List of Book Titles
i. Field Guide to Native Birds of Australia
ii. The Bush on Two Wheels: 100 Top Rides
iii. Bush Foods of Australian Aborigines
iv. A Pictorial History of the Dinosaur in Australia
v. Bush walking in Australia
vi. WorldGeographica
vii. Driving Adventures for 4-wheel-drive Vehicles
viii. Survival Techniques in the Wild
ix. Encyclopaedia of Australian Wildlife
x. Guide to the Art of the Australian Desert
xi. Field Guide to Animals of the World
8. Book A
9. Book B
10. Book C
Example Book D Answer vi
11. Book E
12. Book F
13. Book G
14. Book H
Example Book I Answer vii
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-20 on your answer sheet.
How can a mentor help somebody setting up a business?
A mentor 15……………………….. to help a new business person.
Mentors have a different role from 16 ……………………….. .
A mentor can:
- help you turn your idea into a successful business
- assist when you need to make 17……………………….. .
- suggest how your business can increase its 18 ……………………….. .
- introduce you to a business network
- help you to develop your skills, abilities and provide you with more 19 ……………………….. .
To be agreed:
• how much 20 ……………………….. the mentor should have
• how much structure the mentoring process should have.
Read the text below and answer Questions 21-27.
A Planning Process for Middle-Sized Projects
Any business project – such as reducing energy costs, or improving efficiency – needs to be planned, and time spent planning will save far more time later on.
The typical stages in this planning process are explained below.
- Your first task is to spot what needs to be done. Examine your firm’s current position, perhaps making a formal analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. Then think about how you might improve that position: what opportunities are there for achieving this?
- The next step is to decide precisely what the aim of your plan is. This is best expressed in a simple single sentence, to ensure that it is clear and sharp in your mind. Doing this helps you to avoid wasting effort on irrelevant side issues.
- Next you should work out how to do it. It is tempting just to grasp the first idea that comes to mind, but it is better to consider a wide range of options: this way, you may come up with less obvious but better solutions.
.
- Once you have explored the options available to you, the selection of which option to use is the next step. If you have the time and resources, you might decide to evaluate all options, carrying out some planning, such as costing, for each. Normally you will not have this luxury.
- You already have a broad idea of what your project will consist of. Now is the time to work out the full details, identifying the most efficient and effective method of carrying it out, including answering the questions of ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘when’.
- The next stage is to review your plan and decide whether it will work satisfactorily. This evaluation enables you to change to another option that might be more successful, or to accept that no plan is needed.
- Once you have finished your plan and decided that it will work satisfactorily, it is time for implementation. Your plan will cover how this is to be done.
- Once you have achieved a plan, you can close the project. At this point, it is often worth assessing the project to see whether there are any lessons that you can learn.
Questions 21-27
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21-27 on your answer sheet.
Suggested stages in a planning process
Section 3
Question 28-40
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
You are advised to spend 20 minutes on Questions 28-40.
The Lack Of Sleep
Section A
It is estimated that the average man or woman needs between seven-and-a-half and eight hours’ sleep a night. Some can manage on a lot less. Baroness Thatcher, for example, was reported to be able to get by on four hours’ sleep a night when she was Prime Minister of Britain. Dr Jill Wilkinson, senior lecturer in psychology at Surrey University and co-author of ‘Psychology in Counselling and Therapeutic Practice’, states that healthy individuals sleeping less than five hours or even as little as two hours in every 24 hours are rare, but represent a sizeable minority.
Section B
The latest beliefs are that the main purposes of sleep are to enable the body to rest and replenish, allowing time for repairs to take place and for tissue to be regenerated. One supporting piece of evidence for this rest-and¬repair theory is that production of the growth hormone somatotropin, which helps tissue to regenerate, peaks while we are asleep. Lack of sleep, however, can compromise the immune system, muddle thinking, cause depression, promote anxiety and encourage irritability.
Section C
Researchers in San Diego deprived a group of men of sleep between Sam and lam on just one night, and found that levels of their bodies’ natural defences against viral infections had fallen significantly when measured the following morning. ‘Sleep is essential for our physical and emotional well-being and there are few aspects of daily living that are not disrupted by the lack of it’, says Professor William Regelson of Virginia University, a specialist in insomnia. ‘Because it can seriously undermine the functioning of the immune system, sufferers are vulnerable to infection.’
Section D
For many people, lack of sleep is rarely a matter of choice. Some have problems getting to sleep, others with staying asleep until the morning. Despite popular belief that sleep is one long event, research shows that, in an average night, there are five stages of sleep and four cycles, during which the sequence of stages is repeated.
In the first light phase, the heart rate and blood pressure go down and the muscles relax. Next in the next two stages, sleep gets progressively deeper. In stage four, usually reached after an hour, the slumber is so deep that, if awoken, the sleeper would be confused and disorientated. It is in this phase that sleep-walking can occur, with an average episode lasting no more than 15 minutes.
In the fifth stage, the rapid eye movement (REM) stage, the heartbeat quickly gets back to normal levels, brain activity accelerates to daytime heights and above and the eyes move constantly beneath closed lids as if the sleeper is looking at something. During this stage, the body is almost paralysed. This REM phase is also the time when we dream.
Section E
Sleeping patterns change with age, which is why many people over 60 develop insomnia. In America, that age group consumes almost half the sleep medication on the market. One theory for the age-related change is that it is due to hormonal changes. The temperature rise occurs at daybreak in the young, but at three or four in the morning in the elderly. Age aside, it is estimated that roughly one in three people suffer some kind of sleep disturbance. Causes can be anything from pregnancy and stress to alcohol and heart disease. Smoking is a known handicap to sleep, with one survey showing that ex-smokers got to sleep in 18 minutes rather than their earlier average of 52 minutes.
Section F
Apart from self-help therapy such as regular exercise, there are psychological treatments, including relaxation training and therapy aimed at getting rid of pre-sleep worries and anxieties. There is also sleep reduction therapy, where the aim is to improve sleep quality by strictly regulating the time people go to bed and when they get up. Medication is regarded by many as a last resort and often takes the form of sleeping pills, normally benzodiazepines, which are minor tranquillizers.
Section G
Professor Regelson advocates the use of melatonin for treating sleep disorders. Melatonin is a naturally secreted hormone, located in the pineal gland deep inside the brain. The main function of the hormone is to control the body’s biological clock, so we know when to sleep and when to wake. The gland detects light reaching it through the eye; when there is no light, it secretes the melatonin into the bloodstream, lowering the body temperature and helping to induce sleep.
Melatonin pills contain a synthetic version of the hormone and are commonly used for jet lag as well as for sleep disturbance. John Nicholls, sales manager of one of America’s largest health food shops, claims that sales of the pill have increased dramatically. He explains that it is sold in capsules, tablets, lozenges and mixed with herbs. It is not. effective for all insomniacs, but many users have weaned themselves off sleeping tablets as a result of its application.
Questions 28-37
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
The passage has seven sections labelled A-G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 28-35 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
28. the different amounts of sleep that people require
29. an investigation into the results of sleep deprivation
30. some reasons why people may suffer from sleep disorders
31. lifestyle changes which can help overcome sleep-related problems
32. a process by which sleep helps us to remain mentally and physically healthy
33. claims about a commercialised man-made product for sleeplessness
34. the role of physical changes in sleeping habits
35. the processes involved during sleep
Questions 36-40
IELTS General Reading Practice Test 14 with Answers
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
In boxes 36-40 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
36. Sleep can cure some illnesses.
37. The various stages of sleep occur more than once a night.
38. Dreaming and sleep-walking occur at similar stages of sleep.
39. Sleepers move around a lot during the REM stage of sleep.
40. The body temperature rises relatively early in elderly people.