Reading 2026-02 Test 31 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

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Reading Passage 1: Effect and Cause

A chance finding by a Swiss research team explains an event that happened centuries ago around Lake Geneva. In the sixth century Gregory of Tours, a chronicler of the Germanic people known as the Franks, told of an extraordinary event in what is now Switzerland, where the Rhone River spills into Lake Geneva. He wrote of a big rockfall in the year 563 AD in the vicinity of a place called Tauredunum. The debris plunged into the river, and a great mass of water 'overwhelmed with a sudden and violent flood all that was on the banks as far as the city of Geneva,' more than 64 kilometres across the lake. The Geneva bridge was demolished, and several people inside the city walls of Geneva were killed. Historians and scientists have long believed that Gregory and another chronicler, Marius of Avenches, who told a similar tale, were describing a tsunami that raced across the lake. But there has not been any direct evidence of it until now.

Researchers at the University of Geneva now say they have found that evidence, in the form of a large deposit of sediment in the middle of the lake. In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, they also propose the sequence of events that caused the deadly surge.

The researchers think that large boulders crashed down onto soft sediments which had accumulated at the river mouth because of the slowing of the river's flow when it enters the lake. These sediments formed an underwater delta that had several canyon-like channels. When the falling rocks hit the delta they destabilised the sediments and caused the canyons to collapse. It was this collapse that created the tsunami. The sediments from this collapse would have been propelled towards the lake's centre.

Guy Simpson, a lecturer in the University of Geneva's Department of Geology and Paleontology, says the thick layer of sediment, which has the same curved shape as a lens, lies more than 305 metres down in the deepest part of the lake, and was found largely by chance. Katrina Kremer, a University of Geneva doctoral student and the study's lead author, had been conducting seismic soundings, searching for thin sediment layers that might be evidence of major floods that had taken place in pre-historic times, long before the event described by Gregory of Tours. 'We didn't know straight away that it was the deposit that caused the sixth-century tsunami. But we came across this enormous deposit,' Simpson says. 'But it was a jumbled mess of sediment. It was quite obvious that it was deposited rapidly.'

The researchers then took samples of the sediments and used carbon-dating techniques on remains of leaves and other organic matter they found to determine when the deposit formed. This narrowed the range to a period between the late fourth century and the early seventh century. Other than the rockfall, there is no record of any special event during that period, Simpson says.

The researchers estimated that the deposit, which is at least 9.6 kilometres long by 4.8 kilometres wide, and averages about five metres thick, contains 'more than 248 million cubic metres of material.' They ran multiple computer simulations showing that the collapse of that much sediment at the mouth of the Rhone would have caused a tsunami with an estimated height of 7.9 metres at Geneva - where it would have arrived in about 70 minutes. The rockfall itself may have been set off by a major earthquake, as some scientists have speculated.

Lake tsunamis, although unusual, are not unknown, says Richard Schweickert, an Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Nevada in Reno, in the United States. He cites evidence that the collapse of part of the shoreline of Lake Tahoe in northern California within the past 20,000 years caused a tsunami with wave heights of about 30 metres. There are two faults under the lake that could have caused an earthquake, he says and that the collapse of the Rhone delta sediments, as calculated by the Swiss researchers, 'would certainly be capable of moving a large amount of material into the lake.' He suggests that the findings could be corroborated by careful mapping of the shoreline to look for unusual deposits or erosion left behind by the giant waves.

Simpson says the Rhone delta sediments might collapse again, perhaps from an earthquake or even their own weight. In the sixth century, Geneva was a small community, mostly behind walls on a hill, whereas today it is home to international organisations and about 200,000 people, many living in low-lying areas near the water. Testing the stability of nearby slopes, and creating more detailed models of how a tsunami could affect Geneva today, would provide a more accurate assessment of whether or not this is something the lakeside city should be concerned about.

Most tsunamis occur in oceans and are generated by earthquakes. However, the study is a reminder that even a landlocked nation like Switzerland is not immune to catastrophic waves.

1
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? According to Gregory of Tours, the landslide which caused the flood happened near Tauredunum.
2
The city of Geneva was undamaged by the tsunami that Gregory described.
3
The work of Marius of Avenches supported the idea that there was a tsunami.
4
The rocks which fell into the delta were very hard and dense.
5
Richard Schweickert has published studies on lake tsunamis that have occurred in several countries.
6
The shoreline of Lake Tahoe has remained unchanged for 20,000 years.
7
Parts of the population of Geneva now live closer to the lake than was the case in the sixth century.
8
Complete the flow-chart below. Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer. The evidence for a tsunami in Lake Geneva: Researchers were looking for evidence of major 8 ________ when they found a large deposit of sediment.
9
They analysed organic matter such as 9 ________ to date the deposit to between the fourth and early 10 ________ centuries.
10
They analysed organic matter such as leaves to date the deposit to between the fourth and early 10 ________ centuries.
11
They 11 ________ that the tsunami would have been almost 8 metres in 12 ________ when it reached Geneva.
12
They estimated that the tsunami would have been almost 8 metres in 12 ________ when it reached Geneva.
13
They think the rockfall may have been caused by a major 13 ________.

Reading Passage 2: Early Approaches to Organisational Design

Determining the ‘best’ type of organisational structure for a particular situation has long been an important task for managers in all types of organisations. All structures have advantages and disadvantages and managers face the challenge of developing the most appropriate design for changing circumstances.

The Classical Approach

Early management writers attempted to approach organisational design using a set of principles that would make an organisational structure perform efficiently in most situations, independent of external conditions and internal objectives. The sociologist Max Weber and management writers Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol were major contributors to this so-called classical approach. They believed that the most efficient organisations had a legalised formal and hierarchical structure called a ‘bureaucracy’. Members of the organisation were guided by a sense of duty to the organisation and by a set of rational rules and regulations. According to Weber, such organisations were characterised by the specialisation of tasks, appointment by merit, and an impersonal climate.

Today the word ‘bureaucracy’ sometimes has negative connotations. Early management writers, however, commended bureaucracy as an organisational design for its rationality, rules for decision-making, clear chain of command, and promotion of people based on ability and experience, rather than favouritism or whim. Weber also believed that clearly specified authority and responsibility made performance easier to evaluate and reward.

Criticism of the Classical Approach

Weber, Taylor and Fayol developed their theories when organisations that resembled this bureaucratic model were modern and efficient. It became evident, however, that some of the major advantages of the bureaucratic structure could become disadvantages if the theory were applied dogmatically. For example, the safeguards against favouritism could be rigidly imposed by adhering excessively to rules - resulting in both managers and subordinates becoming depersonalised.

The classical approach has been criticised from two major perspectives. First, the theory may not have a basis in reality. Have organisations like those described by Weber and the others ever existed? Second, it claims that organisations designed and managed according to bureaucratic principles will enjoy the predicted benefits. But critics argue that the world no longer fits the assumptions in Weber’s model (if it ever did), and so a bureaucracy might not yield beneficial results.

Early human relations researchers and behavioural scientists attempted to deal with the major inadequacy of the classical bureaucratic model: neglect of the human element. They argued that an industrial organisation has two objectives: economic effectiveness and employee satisfaction. They also wrote that the bureaucratic structure could be improved by permitting more subordinate participation in decision-making. Because these researchers tried to improve, and not reject the classical model, they are sometimes called neoclassical theorists and include Douglas McGregor, Chris Argyris and Rensis Likert.

The Neoclassical Approach

McGregor believed that the vertical division of labour that characterised bureaucratic organisations was derived from negative and false assumptions about workers which he called ‘Theory X’. Managers assume lower-level employees lack ambition and need orders to work effectively. The rigid formal hierarchy is designed to maintain managers’ power over subordinates. Decision-making takes place at upper levels of management while the decisions are carried out by people at lower levels. McGregor argued that organisations based instead on ‘Theory Y’ assumptions use their members’ potential. Theory Y assumes that most people find work satisfying, commit themselves willingly to organisational goals and seek responsibility. Members have more independence than in bureaucratic organisations and lower-level participation in decision-making is encouraged.

Argyris was concerned that managers in bureaucratic organisations had near-total responsibility for controlling their subordinates’ work. He argued that managerial domination makes subordinates passive and dependent, and decreases their sense of responsibility and self-control. Argyris argued for an alternative organisational design that acknowledged human needs and feelings, and increased workers’ satisfaction. Like McGregor, he favoured giving subordinates more independence and decision-making power to create a more informal organisational culture.

Likert shared the perspectives of McGregor and Argyris. In his research, he found that managers who encouraged their subordinates could motivate them more than traditional authoritarian managers. Likert based a model of four possible systems on these findings. In System 1 power and authority are distributed strictly according to the classical management subordinate relationship: a manager gives orders to lower-level members. In System 4 organisations, by contrast, there is extensive participation in decision-making and problem-solving groups. Some individuals in each group also belong to other work groups to ensure communication between them. System 4 represents Likert’s view of an ideal organisation.

Criticisms of the Neoclassical Approach

The neoclassical approach to organisational design compensates for limitations in the traditional classical model, but it has also been criticised. First, the neoclassicists share the classical assumption that there is one best way to design an organisation. They overlook environmental, technological, and other variables that might affect an organisation’s design, and overemphasise psychological and behavioural variables. Second, Theories X and Y oversimplify human motivation and neglect individual differences. Not everyone is motivated by the non-monetary aspects of work, nor is all work satisfying. Finally, the coordination of work groups to achieve organisational goals may be more difficult than the neoclassicists suggest, particularly when the objectives of lower-level employees are not consistent with those of upper-level managers.

14
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer which TWO of the following are characteristics of the classical approach to organizational design? A) a marked ranking order for employees B) giving importance to everyone's work C) the advancement of older workers D) a neutral working environment E) increased benefits for workers
- A. a marked ranking order for employees
- B. giving importance to everyone's work
- C. the advancement of older workers
- D. a neutral working environment
- E. increased benefits for workers
15
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer which TWO of the following are characteristics of the classical approach to organizational design?
16
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are criticisms of the classical approach to organizational design? A) too many guidelines are proposed B) certain practices become negative if they are implemented too strictly C) managers and workers are unable to co-operate with each other D) the administrative standards are unsuited to some work environments E) positive outcomes which were expected in the past would be unlikely today
- A. too many guidelines are proposed
- B. certain practices become negative if they are implemented too strictly
- C. managers and workers are unable to co-operate with each other
- D. the administrative standards are unsuited to some work environments
- E. positive outcomes which were expected in the past would be unlikely today
17
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are criticisms of the classical approach to organizational design?
18
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are aims of the neoclassical approach to organizational design? A) to ensure workers are treated as individual people B) to create a formal atmosphere in the workplace C) to change the methods of production D) to allow workers a greater say in what happens at the workplace E) to standardise the procedures for promotion of workers
- A. to ensure workers are treated as individual people
- B. to create a formal atmosphere in the workplace
- C. to change the methods of production
- D. to allow workers a greater say in what happens at the workplace
- E. to standardise the procedures for promotion of workers
19
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are aims of the neoclassical approach to organizational design?
20
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are criticisms of the neoclassical approach to organizational design? A) It suggests that workers are involved in too many decisions B) The effects of some psychological factors are given low importance C) The effects of the workplace surroundings are ignored D) It exaggerates the success of the organisations that use this approach E) It assumes that all people work for enjoyment rather than financial gain.
- A. It suggests that workers are involved in too many decisions
- B. The effects of some psychological factors are given low importance
- C. The effects of the workplace surroundings are ignored
- D. It exaggerates the success of the organisations that use this approach
- E. It assumes that all people work for enjoyment rather than financial gain.
21
Choose TWO letters A-E. According to the writer, which TWO of the following are criticisms of the neoclassical approach to organizational design?
22
Look at the following beliefs (Questions 22-26) and the list of people below. Match each belief with the correct person A-D. NB You may use any letter more than once. List of people: A Max Weber, B Douglas McGregor, C Chris Argyris, D Rensis Likert. The classical approach relied upon managers having incorrect views about workers.
- A. Max Weber
- B. Douglas McGregor
- C. Chris Argyris
- D. Rensis Likert
23
In the best organizational model, there is shared decision-making and interaction between teams at work.
24
In an efficient organisation, workers develop expertise in particular areas.
25
An organization must take into account the emotional demands of people.
26
The classical approach allowed workers' skills to be assessed in a straightforward way.

Reading Passage 3: Travel Accounts

A. There are many reasons why individuals have traveled beyond their own societies. Some travelers may have simply desired to satisfy curiosity about the larger world. Until recent times, however, trade, business dealings, diplomacy, political administration, military campaigns, exile, flight from persecution, migration, pilgrimage, missionary efforts, and the quest for economic or educational opportunities were more common inducements for foreign travel than was mere curiosity. While the travelers' accounts give much valuable information on these foreign lands and provide a window for the understanding of the local cultures and histories, they are also a mirror to the travelers themselves, for these accounts help them to have a better understanding of themselves.

B. Records of foreign travel appeared soon after the invention of writing, and fragmentary travel accounts appeared in both Mesopotamia and Egypt in ancient times. After the formation of large, imperial states in the classical world, travel accounts emerged as a prominent literary genre in many lands, and they held especially strong appeal for rulers desiring useful knowledge about their realms. The Greek historian Herodotus reported on his travels in Egypt and Anatolia in researching the history of the Persian wars. The Chinese envoy Zhang Qian described much of central Asia as far west as Bacteria (modern-day Afghanistan) on the basis of travels undertaken in the first century BC while searching for allies for the Han dynasty. Hellenistic and Roman geographers such as Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder relied on their own travels through much of the Mediterranean world as well as reports of other travelers to compile vast compendia of geographical knowledge.

C. During the postclassical era (about 500 to 1500 CE), trade and pilgrimage emerged as major incentives for travel to foreign lands. Muslim merchants sought trading opportunities throughout much of the eastern hemisphere. They described lands, peoples, and commercial products of the Indian Ocean basin from east Africa to Indonesia, and they supplied the first written accounts of societies in sub-Saharan west Africa. While merchants set out in search of trade and profit, devout Muslims traveled as pilgrims to Mecca to make their hajj and visit the holy sites of Islam. Since the prophet Muhammad's original pilgrimage to Mecca, untold millions of Muslims have followed his example, and thousands of hajj accounts have related their experiences. One of the best known Muslim travelers, Ibn Battuta, began his travels with the hajj but then went on to visit central Asia, India, China, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Mediterranean Europe before returning finally to his home in Morocco. East Asian travelers were not quite so prominent as Muslims during the postclassical era, but they too followed many of the highways and sea lanes of the eastern hemisphere. Chinese merchants frequently visited southeast Asia and India, occasionally venturing even to east Africa, and devout East Asian Buddhists undertook distant pilgrimages. Between the 5th and 9th centuries CE, hundreds and possibly even thousands of Chinese Buddhists traveled to India to study with Buddhist teachers, collect sacred texts, and visit holy sites. Written accounts recorded the experiences of many pilgrims, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing. Though not so numerous as the Chinese pilgrims, Buddhists from Japan, Korea, and other lands also ventured abroad in the interests of spiritual enlightenment.

D. Medieval Europeans did not hit the roads in such large numbers as their Muslim and east Asian counterparts during the early part of the postclassical era, although gradually increasing crowds of Christian pilgrims flowed to Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela (in northern Spain), and other sites. After the 12th century, however, merchants, pilgrims, and missionaries from medieval Europe traveled widely and left numerous travel accounts, of which Marco Polo's description of his travels and sojourn in China is the best known. As they became familiar with the larger world of the eastern hemisphere and the profitable commercial opportunities that it offered, European peoples worked to find new and more direct routes to Asian and African markets. Their efforts took them not only to all parts of the eastern hemisphere, but eventually to the Americas and Oceania as well.

E. If Muslim and Chinese peoples dominated travel and travel writing in postclassical times, European explorers, conquerors, merchants, and missionaries took center stage during the early modern era (about 1500 to 1800 CE). By no means did Muslim and Chinese travel come to a halt in early modern times. But European peoples ventured to the distant corners of the globe, and European printing presses churned out thousands of travel accounts that described foreign lands and peoples for a reading public with an apparently insatiable appetite for news about the larger world. The volume of travel literature was so great that several editors, including Giambattista Ramusio, Richard Hakluyt, Theodore de Bry, and Samuel Purchas, assembled numerous travel accounts and made them available in enormous published collections.

F. During the 19th century, European travelers made their way to the interior regions of Africa and the Americas, generating a fresh round of travel writing as they did so. Meanwhile, European colonial administrators devoted numerous writings to the societies of their colonial subjects, particularly in Asian and African colonies they established. By midcentury, attention was flowing also in the other direction. Painfully aware of the military and technological prowess of European and Euro-American societies, Asian travelers in particular visited Europe and the United States in hopes of discovering principles useful for the reorganization of their own societies. Among the most prominent of these travelers who made extensive use of their overseas observations and experiences in their own writings were the Japanese reformer Fukuzawa Yukichi and the Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen.

G. With the development of inexpensive and reliable means of mass transport, the 20th century witnessed explosions both in the frequency of long-distance travel and in the volume of travel writing. While a great deal of travel took place for reasons of business, administration, diplomacy, pilgrimage, and missionary work, as in ages past, increasingly effective modes of mass transport made it possible for new kinds of travel to flourish. The most distinctive of them was mass tourism, which emerged as a major form of consumption for individuals living in the world's wealthy societies. Tourism enabled consumers to get away from home to see the sights in Rome, take a cruise through the Caribbean, walk the Great Wall of China, visit some wineries in Bordeaux, or go on safari in Kenya. A peculiar variant of the travel account arose to meet the needs of these tourists: the guidebook, which offered advice on food, lodging, shopping, local customs, and all the sights that visitors should not miss seeing. Tourism has had a massive economic impact throughout the world, but other new forms of travel have also had considerable influence in contemporary times. Recent times have seen unprecedented waves of migration, for example, and numerous migrants have sought to record their experiences and articulate their feelings about life in foreign lands. Recent times have also seen an unprecedented development of ethnic consciousness, and many are the intellectuals and writers in diaspora who have visited the homes of their ancestors to see how much of their forebears' values and cultural traditions they themselves have inherited. Particularly notable among their accounts are the memoirs of Malcolm X and Maya Angelou describing their visits to Africa.

27
Complete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer. Classical era, Egypt and Anatolia, Herodotus: To obtain information on 28.....................
28
1st century BC, Central Asia, Zhang Qian: To seek 29.....................
29
Roman Empire, Mediterranean, Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny the Elder: To gather 30.....................
30
Post-classical era, Eastern Hemisphere, Muslims: For business and 31.....................
31
5th to 9th centuries CE, India, Asian Buddhists: To study with 32.....................and for spiritual enlightenment
32
19th century, Asia, Africa, Colonial administrator: To provide information on the 33.....................they conquer
33
By the mid-century of the 1800s, Europe and United States, Sun Yat-sen, Fukuzawa Yukichi: To learn 34.....................for the reorganization of their societies
34
20th century, Mass tourism, People from 35.....................countries: For entertainment
35
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D. Why did some people travel in the early days? A) to do research on themselves B) to write travel books C) to have a better understanding of other people and places D) to study local culture
- A. to do research on themselves
- B. to write travel books
- C. to have a better understanding of other people and places
- D. to study local culture
36
The travelers' accounts are a mirror to themselves, A) because they help them to be aware of local histories. B) because travelers are curious about the world. C) because travelers could do more research on the unknown. D) because they reflect the writers' own experience and social life.
- A. because they help them to be aware of local histories.
- B. because travelers are curious about the world.
- C. because travelers could do more research on the unknown.
- D. because they reflect the writers' own experience and social life.
37
Most of the people who went to holy sites during the early part of postclassical era are A) Europeans. B) Muslim and East Asians. C) Americans. D) Greeks.
- A. Europeans.
- B. Muslim and East Asians.
- C. Americans.
- D. Greeks.
38
During the early modern era, a large number of travel books were published A) to provide what the public wants. B) to encourage the public's feedback. C) to gain profit. D) to prompt trips to the new world.
- A. to provide what the public wants.
- B. to encourage the public's feedback.
- C. to gain profit.
- D. to prompt trips to the new world.
39
What stimulated the market for traveling in the 20th century? A) the wealthy B) travel books C) delicious food D) mass transport
- A. the wealthy
- B. travel books
- C. delicious food
- D. mass transport

Answer sheet

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Show answer key

1. TRUE
2. FALSE
3. TRUE
4. NOT GIVEN
5. NOT GIVEN
6. FALSE
7. TRUE
8. floods
9. leaves
10. seventh
11. estimated
12. height
13. earthquake
14. A / D
15. A / D
16. B / E
17. B / E
18. A / D
19. A / D
20. C / E
21. C / E
22. B
23. D
24. A
25. C
26. A
27. Persian wars
28. allies
29. geographical knowledge
30. pilgrimage
31. Buddhist teachers
32. colonies
33. principles
34. wealthy
35. C
36. D
37. B
38. A
39. D

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Reading Passage 1: Effect and Cause

Reading Passage 2: Early Approaches to Organisational Design

Reading Passage 3: Travel Accounts

Answer sheet

Answer key