IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test — March 2026 Test 255

Exam month: 2026-03

In this test

About this set: compiled and lightly cleaned up from real test material that test-takers recalled. IELTS draws from a global question pool, so this material circulates worldwide. To give you a complete, sittable test, material reported around the same period is assembled together — so a set may combine content from several exam dates, not one single sitting. Any audio is a recreation for practice. Organized for study convenience. Based on test-taker recalls — not official IELTS material.

Reading Passage 1: The history of colours and the meanings people have given them

The use of colours has a long history in human development. Prehistoric paintings in caves were found to contain yellow and red earth, white chalk, and a black made from the soot of burned animal fat. Over time, new colours were invented, using a wide range of materials and processes; for example, Chinese yellow was made from the resin of the gamboge tree, and saffron yellow in India from a flower, the Crocus sativus. Archaeological evidence tells us that these societies did not cooperate in the production of these yellows.
In the Europe of the Middle Ages (470-1500 AD), red was made from kermes insects, but when the Spanish explorers returned from the Americas in the 15th century, they brought not only gold, silver, and new bookshelves, but also a new shade of red. What was different about this new shade was that it was the result of a process involving a species of beetle. Such colours were expensive. In ancient times, more than 10,000 murex shellfish had to be crushed to make a single gram of purple. As a result, purple became the colour of kings and emperors in ancient Persia and Rome, and was also worn by priests on ceremonial occasions. In Europe, during the Renaissance (1300-1600 AD), patrons would state in contracts that painters were required to use expensive pigments to add value to the works they commissioned. For instance, they might ask that the artist use gold paint or ultramarine, which was made from the semi-precious gem called lapis lazuli. This had to be imported from "beyond the sea," which is what 'ultramarine' means in Latin.
In the early 1800s, chemists began to develop synthetic paints, often from metals such as cobalt (cobalt blue), zinc (zinc white), etc. Without these new colours, Impressionism and other aspects of modern art development would not have been possible. By the mid-1800s, another development was the use of portable tubes to contain the paint and keep it fresh. Today, still more pigments are being invented, many of synthetic organic origin, adding new colours, greater transparency for mixing or glazing, greater lightfastness, and so on.
Colour printing techniques, colour film, and video also continue to improve, and modern software is, of course, the newest colour resource. Photo editing software makes the colour manipulation of photographic images widely available. Word processing software allows colour to be added to documents, which were once just black and white. The number of colours companies can produce has risen from 16 shades of grey to millions of colours—more than anyone could possibly need.
There are many different meanings that people have given to colours. This is a process that has gone on for much of human history and has not yet come to an end. Green being associated with environmental protection is a good example of this. In Europe, the colour black has been used to express a variety of meanings, for example, formality and elegance, among many others. However, black is not the only colour that represents death. In China and some other Asian countries, the colour of sickness and death is white, whereas it is red which is traditionally used for weddings. The same colour represents danger in many European countries. There is always a reason why a given colour becomes associated with certain feelings or ideas, but that does not mean the association is universal.
Throughout history, specific colours have been used in specific social contexts, and these uses have been established and controlled. A clear example of this can be seen in the products developed and marketed for children. Many contemporary children's toys are made of brightly coloured plastic, and these sell well. Books for very young children also tend to feature bright primary colours (red, yellow, and blue) because young children find these appealing. The reason for this attraction was explained by colour psychologists. Jonas Cohn, for instance, writing in the 1890s, said that preference for strong, pure colours is a basic human instinct, and therefore this preference is strongly present in children.
Educators, designers, and manufacturers adopted Cohn's idea as part of developing a new culture of childhood with its own dress code, its own literature— and its own colour schemes. Lately, ideas have altered, and children are introduced to adult culture much earlier. Consequently, bright reds, yellows, and blues have to some degree been replaced by mixed colours such as pinks, mauves, and oranges.
  1. 1

    The shade of red brought back by 15th-century explorers was more popular with the public than the red made from kermes insects.

  2. 2

    During the Renaissance, some European artists were obliged to use low cost materials.

  3. 3

    The colours invented by chemists in the 1800s led to major new art movements.

  4. 4

    People today continue to give new meanings to colours.

  5. 5

    In Europe, there are an equal number of positive meanings of black as there are negative ones.

  6. 6

    Jonas Cohn believed children naturally like dark colours.

  7. 7

    The earliest paints discovered in _______ were made from animal products, chalk or different soils.

  8. 8

    In the Middle Ages, red was made from either kermes insects or a kind of _______.

  9. 9

    Purple was used mostly by rulers and _______.

  10. 10

    In the Renaissance, ultramarine was made out of a type of _______.

  11. 11

    In the 1800s, chemists started to make colours by using different _______.

  12. 12

    In the mid 1800s, colours were put into _______ which made them easy to transport.

  13. 13

    Red is worn at _______ in some countries but is also used to warn people of danger.

Reading Passage 2: Should space be explored by robots or by humans?

A
The advisability of humans participating directly in space travel continues to cause many debates. There is no doubt that the presence of people on board a space vehicle makes its design much more complex and challenging, and produces a large increase in costs, since safety requirements are greatly increased, and the performance of the technology providing necessities for human passengers such as oxygen, food and water must be guaranteed. Moreover, the systems required are bulky and costly, and their complexity increases for long-duration missions. Meanwhile, advances in electronics and computer science allow increasingly complex tasks to be entrusted to robots, and unmanned space probes are becoming lighter, smaller and more convenient.
B
However, experience has shown that the idea of humans in space is popular with the public. Humans can also be useful; there are many cases when only direct intervention by an astronaut or cosmonaut can correct the malfunction of an automatic device. Astronauts and cosmonauts have proved that they can adapt to conditions of weightlessness and work in space without encountering too many problems, as was seen in the operations to repair and to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. One human characteristic which is particularly precious in space missions, and which so far is lacking in robots, is the ability to perform a great variety of tasks. In addition, robots are not good at reacting to situations they have not been specifically prepared for. This is especially important in the case of deep space missions. While in the case of the Moon it is possible for someone on Earth to ‘tele-operate’ a robotic device such as a probe, as the two-way link time is only a couple of seconds, on Mars the two-way link time is several minutes, so sending instructions from Earth is more difficult.
C
Many of the promises of artificial intelligence are still far from being fulfilled. The construction of machines simulating human logical reasoning moves towards ever more distant dates. The more the performance of computers improves, the more we realise how difficult it is to build machines which display logical abilities. In the past it was confidently predicted that we would soon have fully automated factories in which all operations were performed without any human intervention, and forecasts of the complete substitution of workers by robots in many production areas were made. Today, these perspectives are being revised. It seems that all machines, even the smartest ones, must cooperate with humans. Rather than replacing humans, the present need appears to be for an intelligent machine capable of helping a human operator without replacing him or her. The word ‘cobot’, from ‘collaborative robot’, has been invented to designate this type of robot.
D
A similar trend is also apparent in the field of space exploration. Tasks which were in the past entrusted only to machines are now performed by human beings, sometimes with the aim of using simpler and less costly devices, sometimes to obtain better performance. In many cases, to involve a person in the control loop is a welcome simplification which may lower the cost of a mission without compromising safety. Many operations originally designed to be performed under completely automatic control can be performed more efficiently by astronauts, perhaps helped by their ‘cobots’. The human-machine relationship must evolve towards a closer collaboration.
E
One way this could happen is by adopting the Mars Outposts approach, proposed by the Planetary Society. This would involve sending a number of robotic research stations to Mars, equipped with permanent communications and navigational systems. They would perform research, and establish the infrastructure needed to prepare future landing sites for the exploration of Mars by humans. It has also been suggested that in the most difficult environments, as on Venus or Jupiter, robots could be controlled by human beings located in spaceships which remain in orbit around the planet. In this case, the link time for communication between humans and robots would be far less than it would be from Earth.
F
But if space is to be more than a place to build automatic laboratories or set up industrial enterprises in the vicinity of our planet, the presence of humans is essential. They must learn how to voyage through space towards destinations which will be not only scientific bases but also places to live. If space is a frontier, that frontier must see the presence of people. So the aim for humankind in the future will be not just the exploration of space, but its colonisation. The result of exploring and living in space may be a deep change in the views which humankind has of itself. And this process is already under way. The images of Earth taken from the Moon in the Apollo programme have given humankind a new consciousness of its fragility, its smallness, and its unity. These impressions have triggered a realisation of the need to protect and preserve it, for it is the place in the solar system most suitable for us and above all it is the only place we have, at least for now.
  1. 14

    Paragraph A

    • i. Robots on Earth – a re-evaluation
    • ii. The barriers to cooperation in space exploration
    • iii. Some limitations of robots in space
    • iv. Reduced expectations for space exploration
    • v. A general reconsideration of human/robot responsibilities in space
    • vi. Problems in using humans for space exploration
    • vii. The danger to humans of intelligent machines
    • viii. Space settlement and the development of greater self-awareness
    • ix. Possible examples of cooperation in space
  2. 15

    Paragraph B

  3. 16

    Paragraph C

  4. 17

    Paragraph D

  5. 18

    Paragraph E

  6. 19

    Paragraph F

  7. 20

    According to the writer, which TWO predictions about artificial intelligence have not yet been fulfilled?

    • A. Robots will work independently of humans.
    • B. Robots will begin to oppose human interests.
    • C. Robots will be used to help humans perform tasks more efficiently.
    • D. Robots will think in the same way as humans.
    • E. Robots will become too costly to use on space missions.
  8. 21

    Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. One way of exploring space would be through collaboration between humans and robots. For example, when exploring the planet Mars, robots could be used to set up 22 ________ and do initial research before humans arrive. In other cases, humans could stay in orbiting 23 ________ and give orders to robots working on the surface of the planet. This would increase the speed of 24 ________ with the robots. In such ways, robots might be used to work in space in commercial enterprises or 25 ________. However, the final aim of humankind may be the 26 ________ of space, and this could in turn change people’s attitudes towards Earth.

Reading Passage 3: The Art of Deception

Forty years ago, the research psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman was addressing a group of young psychiatrists in training when he was asked a question, the answer to which has kept him busy ever since. Suppose the group wanted to know: a particular patient swears they are telling the truth. They look and sound sincere. So here is the question: is there any way you can be sure they are telling the truth? Ekman did not know the answer then but wanted to find out.
As part of his research, he had already filmed a series of 12-minute interviews with psychiatric patients. In a subsequent conversation, one of the patients said that he had lied to him. So, Ekman sat and looked at the film but saw nothing noteworthy. Then he slowed it down and looked again. Then he slowed it even further. And suddenly, there, across just two frames of the film, he saw it: an intense expression of extreme anguish. It lasted less than a 15th of a second, but once he had spotted the first expression, he soon found three more examples in that same interview. He termed his discovery "micro-expression": very rapid intense demonstrations of emotion that the subject intended to be concealed.
Over the course of the next four decades, Ekman successfully demonstrated a proposition first suggested by Charles Darwin: that the ways in which we express disgust, contempt, fear, surprise, happiness, and sadness are universal. The facial muscles triggered by those seven basic emotions are, he has shown, essentially standard, regardless of language and culture, from the US to Japan and Brazil to Papua New Guinea. What is more, expressions of emotion are impossible to suppress and, particularly when we are lying, micro-expressions of powerfully felt emotions will inevitably flit across our face before we get the chance to stop them.
Fortunately for liars, most people will fail to spot these fleeting signals of inner torment. Of the 15,000 Ekman has tested, only 50 people, whom he calls "naturals," have been able to do it. But given a little more training, Ekman says, almost anyone can develop the skill. He should know, since these tests were completed in the mid-1980s and the first publication of his research, he has been called in by the FBI and CIA (among countless more law enforcement and other agencies around the world), not just to solve cases, but to teach them how to use his techniques for themselves. He has held workshops for defense and prosecution lawyers, health professionals, even jealous spouses, all of them wanting to know exactly when someone is not being 100 per cent candid.
Most recently, Ekman’s research has featured in a new television series about the exploits of the fictional Dr. Cal Lightman, a scientist who studies involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why you might have been motivated to do so. According to the publicity blurb, Lightman is a human lie detector, even more accurate than a polygraph test. Ekman concedes he was skeptical when the producer first approached him with the idea of turning his life’s work into a TV series, and initially would have stopped the project if he could. In particular, he was fearful that the show would exaggerate the effectiveness of his techniques and create the quite inaccurate impression among audiences that criminals could no longer hope to get away with lying. In the worst-case scenario, he was concerned about unfair convictions, that one day someone not properly trained in his techniques might be sitting on a jury and wrongly find someone guilty of a crime simply on the basis of a television programme.
In the end, though, he was won over because the series is unusual in several respects. It is the first time, as far as Ekman is aware, that a commercial TV drama has been based on the work of just one scientist. That scientist is also deeply involved in the project, talking through plot ideas and checking five successive drafts of each script to ensure details are correct. He was also impressed with the producer’s manifestly serious and well-intentioned reasons for making the programme. Now that the first series has been completed, he believes probably 80-90 per cent of the show is based on fact and that’s good enough for what it is. After all, a drama, not a documentary.
Ekman, incidentally, professes to have been a terrible liar ever since he was a small boy and observes that the ability to detect a lie and the ability to lie successfully are completely unrelated. He has been asked by people running for high office if he could teach them to become more credible with the public but has always refused to use his skills in that way on ethical grounds. He also insists that there are various kinds of lies. A "true" lie can be identified by having two essential characteristics: there must be a deliberate intent to mislead and there must be no notification that this is what is occurring. This means that an actor or a poker player isn’t a true liar. They are supposed to deceive you, it’s part of the game, and the same is true of flattery. He prefers to focus on the kinds of lies where the liar would be on grave trouble if they were found out and where the target would feel properly aggrieved if they knew.
  1. 22

    27 According to the writer, Ekman became interested in lying after a question from

    • A. peers
    • B. patients
    • C. students
    • D. teachers
  2. 23

    28 The writer refers to the 12-minute interviews in order to...

    • A. illustrate how frequently patients lie
    • B. describe the origins of Ekman’s theories
    • C. compare Ekman’s research to previous studies
    • D. show how patients’ behaviour is affected by filming
  3. 24

    29 What is the writer’s point in the third paragraph?

    • A. micro-expressions are common to all people
    • B. recent research has refuted an old idea
    • C. with practice we can learn to control our micro-expressions
    • D. human society is too complex to allow for generalisations
  4. 25

    30 What are we told about Ekman’s conclusions from his tests?

    • A. It’s natural for people to lie
    • B. Few untrained people can detect lies
    • C. most liars suffer from periods of depression
    • D. all of his subjects were trained to identify micro-expressions
  5. 26

    31 At what point does the writer make about Ekman’s techniques in the fourth paragraph?

    • A. They take decades to teach
    • B. they have been in great demand
    • C. They have aroused the suspicions of some agencies
    • D. they can be used by a limited range of occupations
  6. 27

    32-36. The television series based on Ekman’s work: Complete the summary using the list of words, A–H, below. Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes 32–36 on your answer sheet. A new TV series based on Ekman’s work features a hero named Lightman, who detects lies. Initially, Ekman was unenthusiastic about the TV project because he feared the possibility of encouraging viewers 32................................... . For example, he was worried that one day the programme could result in 33................................... not being carried out. Ultimately though, he has given the show his blessing because he is not aware of any other comparable programme based on a single person’s 34.................................... The 35................................... of the show’s producer have been another pleasant surprise and, considering the genre of the programme, Ekman is happy with the show’s overall 36.................................... A consequences B crimes C False beliefs D motives E justice F accuracy G acting H research I ratings

  7. 28

    37 Ekman regrets the lies he told as a child.

    • YES. YES
    • NO. NO
    • NOT GIVEN. NOT GIVEN
  8. 29

    38 People who are good at lying tend to be good at detecting lies.

  9. 30

    39 Ekman has worked with poker players to help them lie more convincingly.

  10. 31

    40 Ekman is more interested in the types of lies with serious consequences.

Answer sheet

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Answer key

  1. 1. NOT GIVEN

    NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say if the shade of red brought back by 15th-century explorers was more popular than the red from kermes insects.

  2. 2. FALSE

    FALSE is correct because the passage says artists in the Renaissance 'were able to use the best materials,' so they were not obliged to use low cost materials.

  3. 3. TRUE

    TRUE is correct because the passage says new colours invented by chemists in the 1800s 'helped to create new movements in art.'

  4. 4. TRUE

    TRUE is correct because the passage says 'People today continue to give new meanings to colours,' showing this is still happening.

  5. 5. NOT GIVEN

    NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say if there are an equal number of positive and negative meanings of black in Europe.

  6. 6. FALSE

    FALSE is correct because Jonas Cohn said children 'naturally like bright colours,' not dark colours.

  7. 7. caves

    'Caves' is correct because the passage says the earliest paints were discovered in caves and were made from animal products, chalk, or soils.

  8. 8. beetle

    'Beetle' is correct because the passage says in the Middle Ages, red was made from kermes insects or a kind of beetle.

  9. 9. priests

    'Priests' is correct because the passage says purple was used mostly by rulers and priests.

  10. 10. gem

    'Gem' is correct because the passage says ultramarine was made out of a type of gem in the Renaissance.

  11. 11. metals

    'Metals' is correct because the passage says chemists started to make colours by using different metals in the 1800s.

  12. 12. tubes

    'Tubes' is correct because the passage says colours were put into tubes, making them easy to transport.

  13. 13. weddings

    'Weddings' is correct because the passage says red is worn at weddings in some countries and is also used to warn people of danger.

  14. 14. vi

    vi is correct because Paragraph A discusses the problems and dangers for humans in space exploration, matching 'Problems in using humans for space exploration.'

  15. 15. iii

    iii is correct because Paragraph B talks about the limitations of robots in space, such as their lack of flexibility, matching 'Some limitations of robots in space.'

  16. 16. i

    i is correct because Paragraph C compares robots on Earth and in space, showing a re-evaluation of their roles.

  17. 17. v

    v is correct because Paragraph D discusses reconsidering the responsibilities of humans and robots in space, matching 'A general reconsideration of human/robot responsibilities in space.'

  18. 18. ix

    ix is correct because Paragraph E gives examples of possible cooperation between humans and robots in space.

  19. 19. viii

    viii is correct because Paragraph F talks about space settlement and how it could lead to greater self-awareness, matching 'Space settlement and the development of greater self-awareness.'

  20. 20. A / D

    A and D are correct because the passage says robots do not yet work independently of humans (A) and do not think in the same way as humans (D). Option B is tempting, but the passage does not say robots have begun to oppose human interests.

  21. 21. infrastructure / spaceships / communication / laboratories / colonisation

    'Infrastructure' is correct because robots could set up infrastructure; 'spaceships' is correct because humans could stay in orbiting spaceships; 'communication' is correct because this would increase the speed of communication; 'laboratories' is correct because robots might work in laboratories; 'colonisation' is correct because the final aim may be the colonisation of space.

  22. 22. C

    C is correct because the writer says Ekman became interested in lying after a question from his students.

  23. 23. B

    B is correct because the 12-minute interviews are mentioned to describe the origins of Ekman’s theories.

  24. 24. A

    A is correct because the third paragraph explains that micro-expressions are common to all people.

  25. 25. B

    B is correct because the passage says few untrained people can detect lies, which is Ekman’s conclusion from his tests.

  26. 26. B

    B is correct because the passage says Ekman’s techniques have been in great demand, not limited to a few jobs or taking decades to teach.

  27. 27. C / E / H / D / F

    C is correct because Ekman was worried about encouraging false beliefs; E is correct because he feared justice might not be carried out; H is correct because the show is based on his research; D is correct because he was surprised by the motives of the producer; F is correct because he is happy with the show’s overall accuracy.

  28. 28. NOT GIVEN

    NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say if Ekman regrets the lies he told as a child.

  29. 29. NO

    NO is correct because the passage says people who are good at lying are not necessarily good at detecting lies.

  30. 30. NOT GIVEN

    NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say if Ekman has worked with poker players to help them lie more convincingly.

  31. 31. YES

    YES is correct because the passage says Ekman is more interested in lies with serious consequences.

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Reading 2026-03 Test 13 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers | Ieltsa