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| IELTS Reading Practice Test-8 With Answers |
READING
PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which
are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Otter
A
Otters
have long, thin bodies and short legs – ideal for pushing through dense
undergrowth or hunting in tunnels. An adult male may be up to 4 feet long and
30lbs. Females are smaller typically. The Eurasian otter’s nose is about the
smallest among the otter species and has a characteristic shape described as a
shallow ‘W’. An otter’s tail (or rudder, or stern) is stout at the base and
tapers towards the tip where it flattens. This forms part of the propulsion
unit when swimming fast underwater. Otter fur consists of two types of hair:
stout guard hairs which form a waterproof outer covering, and under-fur which
is dense and fine, equivalent to an otter’s thermal underwear. The fur must be
kept in good condition by grooming. Seawater reduces the waterproofing and
insulating qualities of otter fur when saltwater in the fur. This is why
freshwater pools are important to otters living on the coast. After swimming,
they wash the salts off in pools and the squirm on the ground to rub dry
against vegetation.
B
The scent
is used for hunting on land, for communication and for detecting danger. Otterine sense
of smell is likely to be similar in sensitivity to dogs. Otters have small eyes
and are probably short-sighted on land. But they do have the ability to modify
the shape of the lens in the eye to make it more spherical, and hence overcome
the refraction of water. In clear water and good light, otters can hunt fish by
sight. The otter’s eyes and nostrils are placed high on its head so that it can
see and breathe even when the rest of the body is submerged. Underwater, the
cotter holds its legs against the body, except for steering, and the hind end
of the body is flexed in a series of vertical undulations. River otters have
webbing which extends for much of the length of each digit, though not to the
very end. Giant otters and sea otters have even more prominent webs, while the
Asian short-clawed otter has no webbing – they hunt for shrimps in ditches and
paddy fields so they don’t need the swimming speed. Otter’s ears are tiny for
streamlining, but they still have very sensitive hearing and are protected by
valves which close them against water pressure.
C
A
number of constraints and preferences limit suitable habitats of otters. Water
is a must and the rivers must be large enough to support a healthy population
of fish. Being such shy and wary creatures, they will prefer territories where
man’s activities do not impinge greatly. Of course, there must also be no other
otter already in residence – this has only become significant again recently as
populations start to recover. Coastal otters have a much more abundant food
supply and range for males and females may be just a few kilometres of
coastline. Because male range overlaps with two or three females – not bad! Otters
will eat anything that they can get hold of – there are records of sparrows and
snakes and slugs being gobbled. Apart from fish, the most common prey are
crayfish, crabs and water birds. Small mammals are occasionally taken, most
commonly rabbits but sometimes even moles.
D
Eurasian
otters will breed any time where food is readily available. In places where the
condition is more severe, Sweden for example where the lakes are frozen for
much of winter, cubs are born in spring. This ensures that they are well grown
before severe weather returns. In the Shetlands, cubs are born in summer when
fish is more abundant. Though otters can breed every year, some do not. Again,
this depends on food availability. Other factors such as food range and quality
of the female may have an effect. Gestation for Eurasian otter is 63 days, with
the exception of Lutra canadensis whose embryos may undergo
delayed implantation. Otters normally give birth in more secure dens to avoid
disturbances. Nests are lined with bedding to keep the cub’s warm mummy is away
feeding.
E
Otters
normally give birth in more secure dens to avoid disturbances. Nests are lined
with bedding (reeds, waterside plants, grass) to keep the cub’s warm while is
away feeding. Litter Size varies between 1 and 5. For some unknown reason,
coastal otters tend to produce smaller litters. At five weeks they open their
eyes – a tiny cub of 700g. At seven weeks they’re weaned onto solid food. At
ten weeks they leave the nest, blinking into daylight for the first time. After
three months they finally meet the water and learn to swim. After eight months
they are hunting, though the mother still provides a lot of food herself.
Finally, after nine months she can chase them all away with a clear conscience,
and relax – until the next fella shows up.
F
The
plight of the British otter was recognised in the early 60s, but it wasn’t
until the late 70s that the chief cause was discovered. Pesticides, such
as dieldrin and aldrin, were first used in1955 in agriculture and other industries
– these chemicals are very persistent and had already been recognised as the
cause of huge declines in the population of peregrine falcons, sparrow hawks
and other predators. The pesticides entered the river systems and the food
chain – micro-organisms, fish and finally otters, with every step increasing
the concentration of the chemicals. From 1962 the chemicals were phased out,
but while some species recovered quickly, otter numbers did not – and continued
to fall into the 80s. This was probably due mainly to habitat destruction and
road deaths. Acting on populations fragmented by the sudden decimation in the
50s and 60s, the loss of just a handful of otters in one area can make an
entire population unviable and spell the end.
G
Otter
numbers are recovering all around Britain – populations are growing again in
the few areas where they had remained and have expanded from those areas into
the rest of the country. This is almost entirely due to legislation,
conservation efforts, slowing down and reversing the destruction of suitable
otter habitat and reintroductions from captive breeding programs. Releasing
captive-bred otters is seen by many as a last resort. The argument runs that
where there is no suitable habitat for them they will not survive after release
and where there is suitable habitat, natural populations should be able to
expand into the area. However, reintroducing animals into a fragmented and
fragile population may add just enough impetus for it to stabilise and expand,
rather than die out. This is what the Otter Trust accomplished in Norfolk,
where the otter population may have been as low as twenty animals at the
beginning of the 1980s. The Otter Trust has now finished its captive breeding
program entirely, great news because it means it is no longer needed.
Questions
1-9
The
reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-9 on
your answer sheet.
NB You
may use any letter more than once.
1 A description
of how otters regulate vision underwater
2 The
fit-for-purpose characteristics of otter’s body shape
3 A reference
to an underdeveloped sense
4 An
explanation of why agriculture failed in otter conservation efforts
5 A description
of some of the otter’s social characteristics
6 A description
of how baby otters grow
7 The
conflicting opinions on how to preserve
8 A reference
to the legislative act
9 An
explanation of how otters compensate for heat loss
Questions
10-13
Answer
the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the
passage for each answer
10 What affects
the outer fur of otters?
11 What skill is
not necessary for Asian short-clawed otters?
12 Which type of
otters has the shortest range?
13 Which type of
animals do otters hunt occasionally?
READING
PASSAGE 2
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are
based on Reading Passage 2 below.
BIRD MIGRATION 2
A
Birds
have many unique design features that enable them to perform such amazing feats
of endurance. They are equipped with lightweight, hollow bones, intricately
designed feathers providing both lift and thrust for rapid flight, navigation
systems superior to any that man has developed, and an ingenious heat
conserving design that, among other things, concentrates all blood circulation
beneath layers of warm, waterproof plumage, leaving them fit to face life in
the harshest of climates. Their respiratory systems have to perform efficiently
during sustained flights at altitude, so they have a system of extracting
oxygen from their lungs that far exceeds that of any other animal. During the
later stages of the summer breeding season, when food is plentiful, their
bodies are able to accumulate considerable layers of fat, in order to provide
sufficient energy for their long migratory flights.
B
The
fundamental reason that birds migrate is to find adequate food during the
winter months when it is in short supply. This particularly applies to birds
that breed in the temperate and Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere,
where food is abundant during the short growing season. Many species can
tolerate cold temperatures if food is plentiful, but when food is not available
they must migrate. However, intriguing questions remain.
C
One
puzzling fact is that many birds journey much further than would be necessary
just to find food and good weather. Nobody knows, for instance, why British
swallows, which could presumably survive equally well if they spent the winter
in equatorial Africa, instead of several thousands of miles further to their
preferred winter home in South Africa Cape Province. Another mystery involves
the huge migrations performed by arctic terns and mudflat-feeding shorebirds
that breed close to Polar Regions. In general, the further north a migrant
species breeds, the further south it spends the winter. For arctic terns, this
necessitates an annual round trip of 25,000 miles. Yet, en route to their final
destination in far-flung southern latitudes, all these individuals overfly
other areas of seemingly suitable habitat spanning two hemispheres. While we
may not fully understand birds’ reasons for going to particular places, we can
marvel at their feats.
D
One
of the greatest mysteries is how young birds know how to find the traditional
wintering areas without parental guidance. Very few adults migrate with
juveniles in tow, and youngsters may even have little or no inkling of their
parents’ appearance. A familiar example is that of the cuckoo, which lays its
eggs in another species’ nest and never encounters its young again. It is
mind-boggling to consider that, once raised by its host species, the young
cuckoo makes its own way to ancestral wintering grounds in the tropics before
returning single-handedly to northern Europe the next season to seek out a mate
among its own kind. The obvious implication is that it inherits from its
parents an inbuilt route map and direction-finding capability, as well as a
mental image of what another cuckoo looks like. Yet nobody has the slightest
idea as to how this is possible.
E
Mounting
evidence has confirmed that birds use the positions of the sun and stars to
obtain compass directions. They seem also to be able to detect the earth’s
magnetic field, probably due to having minute crystals of magnetite in the
region of their brains. However, true navigation also requires an awareness of
position and time, especially when lost. Experiments have shown that after
being taken thousands of miles over an unfamiliar landmass, birds are still
capable of returning rapidly to nest sites. Such phenomenal powers are the
product of computing several sophisticated cues, including an inborn map of the
night sky and the pull of the earth’s magnetic field. How the birds use their
‘instruments’ remains unknown, but one thing is clear: they see the world with
a superior sensory perception to ours. Most small birds migrate at night and
take their direction from the position of the setting sun. however, as well as
seeing the sun go down, they also seem to see the plane of polarized light
caused by it, which calibrates their compass. Traveling at night provides other
benefits. Daytime predators are avoided and the danger of dehydration due to
flying for long periods in warm, sunlit skies is reduced. Furthermore, at night
the air is generally cool and less turbulent and so conducive to sustained,
stable flight.
F
Nevertheless,
all journeys involve considerable risk, and part of the skill in arriving
safely is setting off at the right time. This means accurate weather
forecasting, and utilizing favorable winds. Birds are adept at both, and, in
laboratory tests, some have been shown to detect the minute difference in
barometric pressure between the floor and ceiling of a room. Often birds react
to weather changes before there is any visible sign of them. Lapwings, which
feed on grassland, flee west from the Netherlands to the British Isles, France
and Spain at the onset of a cold snap. When the ground surface freezes the
birds could starve. Yet they return to Holland ahead of a thaw, their arrival
linked to a pressure change presaging an improvement in the weather.
G
In
one instance a Welsh Manx shearwater carried to America and released was back
in its burrow on Skokholm Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast, one day before a
letter announcing its release! Conversely, each autumn a small number of North
American birds are blown across the Atlantic by fast-moving westerly tail
winds. Not only do they arrive safely in Europe, but, based on ringing
evidence, some make it back to North America the following spring, after
probably spending the winter European migrants in sunny African climes.
Questions
14-20
Reading
passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings
below.
Write
the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your
answer sheet.
List of headings
i
The best moment to migrate
ii The unexplained
rejection of closer feeding ground
iii The influence of
weather on the migration route
iv Physical
characteristics that allow birds to migrate
v The main reason
why birds migrate
vi The best wintering
grounds for birds
vii Research findings on how
birds migrate
viii Successful migration despite
the trouble of wind
ix Contrast between
long-distance migration and short-distance migration
x Mysterious
migration despite lack of teaching
14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F
20 Paragraph G
Questions
21-22
Choose TWO letters, A-E
Write the correct letters in boxes 21 and 22 on
your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements are true of bird migration?
A
Birds often fly further than they need to.
B
Birds traveling in family groups are safe.
C
Birds flying at night need less water.
D
Birds have much sharper eyesight than humans.
E
Only shorebirds are resistant to strong winds.
Questions
23-26
Complete
the sentences below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
23 It is a great
mystery that young birds like cuckoos can find their wintering grounds without
……………………..
24 Evidence
shows birds can tell directions like a ……………….. by observing the sun and the
stars.
25 One advantage
for birds flying at night is that they can avoid contact with ………………..
26 Laboratory
tests show that birds can detect weather without ………………. signs.
READING
PASSAGE 3
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are
based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Communicating
Conflict!
Section A
As
far back as Hippocrates’s time (460-370 B.C.), people have tried to understand
other people by characterizing them according to personality type or
temperament. Hippocrates believed there were four different body fluids that
influenced four basic types of temperament. His work was further developed 500
years later by Galen. These days there is any number of self-assessment tools
that relate to the basic descriptions developed by Galen, although we no longer
believe the source to be the types of body fluid that dominate our systems.
Section
B
The
values in self-assessments that help determine personality style. Learning
styles, communication styles, conflict-handling styles, or other aspects of
individuals is that they help depersonalize conflict in interpersonal
relationships. The depersonalization occurs when you realize that others aren’t
trying to be difficult, but they need different or more information than you
do. They’re not intending to be rude: they are so focused on the task they
forget about greeting people. They would like to work faster but not at the
risk of damaging the relationships needed to get the job done. They understand
there is a job to do. But it can only be done right with the appropriate
information, which takes time to collect. When used appropriately,
understanding communication styles can help resolve conflict on teams. Very
rarely are conflicts true personality issues. Usually, they are issues of
style, information needs, or focus.
Section
C
Hippocrates
and later Galen determined there were four basic temperaments: sanguine,
phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric. These descriptions were developed
centuries ago and are still somewhat apt, although you could update the
wording. In today’s world, they translate into the four fairly common
communication styles described below:
Section
D
The
sanguine person would be the expressive or spirited style of communication.
These people speak in pictures. They invest a lot of emotion and energy in
their communication and often speak quickly. Putting their whole body into it.
They are easily sidetracked onto a story that may or may not illustrate the
point they are trying to make. Because of their enthusiasm, they are great team
motivators. They are concerned about people and relationships. Their high
levels of energy can come on strong at times and their focus is usually on the
bigger picture, which means they sometimes miss the details or the proper order
of things. These people find conflict or differences of opinion invigorating
and love to engage in a spirited discussion. They love change and are
constantly looking for new and exciting adventures.
Section
E
Tile
phlegmatic person – cool and persevering – translates into the technical or
systematic communication style. This style of communication is focused on facts
and technical details. Phlegmatic people have an orderly methodical way of
approaching tasks, and their focus is very much on the task, not on the people,
emotions, or concerns that the task may evoke. The focus is also more on the
details necessary to accomplish a task.
Sometimes
the details overwhelm the big picture and focus needs to be brought back to the
context of the task. People with this style think the facts should speak for
themselves, and they are not as comfortable with conflict. They need time to
adapt to change and need to understand both the logic of it and the steps
involved.
Section F
Tile
melancholic person who is softhearted and oriented toward doing things for
others translates into the considerate or sympathetic communication style. A
person with this communication style is focused on people and relationships.
They are good listeners and do things for other people – sometimes to the
detriment of getting things done for themselves. They want to solicit
everyone’s opinion and make sure everyone is comfortable with whatever is
required to get the job done. At times this focus on others can distract from
the task at hand. Because they are so concerned with the needs of others and smoothing
over issues, they do not like conflict. They believe that change threatens the
status quo and tends to make people feel uneasy, so people with this
communication style, like phlegmatic people, need time to consider the changes
in order to adapt to them.
Section
G
The
choleric temperament translates into the bold or direct style of communication.
People with this style are brief in their communication – the fewer words the
better. They are big-picture thinkers and love to be involved in many things at
once. They are focused on tasks and outcomes and often forget that the people
involved in carrying out the tasks have needs. They don’t do detail work easily
and as a result, can often underestimate how much time it takes to achieve the
task. Because they are so direct, they often seem forceful and can be very
intimidating to others. They usually would welcome someone challenging them.
But most other styles are afraid to do so. They also thrive on change, the more
the better.
Section
H
A
well-functioning team should have all of these communications styles for true
effectiveness. All teams need to focus on the task, and they need to take care
of relationships in order to achieve those tasks. They need the big picture
perspective or the context of their work, and they need the details to be
identified and taken care of for success. We all have aspects of each style
within us. Some of us can easily move from one style to another and adapt our
style to the needs of the situation at hand-whether the focus is on tasks or
relationships. For others, a dominant style is very evident, and it is more
challenging to see the situation from the perspective of another style.
The
work environment can influence communication styles either by the type of work
that is required or by the predominance of one style reflected in that
environment. Some people use one style at work and another at home. The good
news about communication styles is that we have the ability to develop
flexibility in our styles. The greater the flexibility we have, the more
skilled we usually are at handling possible and actual conflicts. Usually, it
has to be relevant to us to do so, either because we think it is important or
because there are incentives in our environment to encourage it. The key is that
we have to want to become flexible with our communication style. As Henry Ford
said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!”
Questions
27-34
Reading
Passage 3 has eight sections A-H
Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings
below.
Write the correct number i-x in boxes 27-34 on
your answer sheet.
List
of Headings
i
Different personality types mentioned
ii recommendation
of combined styles for group
iii Historical
explanation of understanding personality
iv A lively and positive
attitude person depicted
v A personality
likes a challenge and direct communication
vi different characters
illustrated
vii Functions of understanding
communication styles
viii Cautious and considerable
person cited
ix Calm and Factual
personality illustrated
x Self-assessment
determines one’s temperament
27 Section A
28 Section B
29 Section C
30 Section D
31 Section E
32 Section F
33 Section G
34 Section H
Questions
35-39
Do
the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3
In boxes 35-39 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
35 it is
believed that sanguine people do not like variety
36 Melancholic
and phlegmatic people have similar characteristics
37 It is the
sanguine personality that needed most in the workplace.
38 It is
possible for someone to change a type of personality.
39 work
surrounding can affect which communication style is the most effective.
Question
40
Choose
the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in box 40 on your answer sheet.
40 The author
thinks self-assessment tools can be able to
A assist
to develop one’s personality in a certain scenario.
B help
to understand colleagues and resolve problems
C
improve the relationship with the boss of the company
D change
others behaviour and personality
ANSWERS
1. B
2. A
3. B
4. F
5. C
6. E
7. G
8. G
9. A
10. Sea water/Salt
water/Salt
11. swimming speed
12. Coastal otters
13. Small mammals
14.
iv
15. v
16. ii
17. x
18. vii
19. i
20. viii
21. A
22. C
23. parental guidance
24. compass
25. predators
26. visible
27.
iii
28. vii
29. i
30. iv
31. ix
32. viii
33. v
34. ii
35. FALSE
36. TRUE
37. NOT GIVEN
38. TRUE
39. TRUE
40. B
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