IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test — March 2026 Test 258

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: Persistent Bullying Is One Of The Worst Experiences A Child Can Face

How can it be prevented? Peter Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education. Here he reports on his findings.
A. Bullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal – being taunted or called hurtful names – to the physical – being kicked or shoved – as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant.
B. Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimised pupils are more likely to experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences.
C. Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. ‘There is no bullying at this school’ has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.’
D. Three factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in summer 1992, with a second pack, Supporting Schools Against Bullying, produced the following year. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefully conducted ‘before and after’ evaluations of interventions in schools, monitored by a research team. In Norway, after an intervention campaign was introduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two-year period, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involved sixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schools succeeded in reducing bullying.
E. Evidence suggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearly what is meant by bullying, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be done if it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctions will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over a period of time – not just imposed from the head teacher’s office! Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated and implemented effectively. Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. These are useful for raising awareness, and can best be tied in to early phases of development, while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also useful in renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light of experience. But curriculum work alone may only have short-term effects; it should be an addition to policy work, not a substitute. There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Assertiveness training for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certain approaches to group bullying such as ‘no blame’, can be useful in changing the behaviour of bullying pupils without confronting them directly, although other sanctions may be needed for those who continue with persistent bullying. Work in the playground is important, too. One helpful step is to train lunchtime supervisors to distinguish bullying from playful fighting, and help them break up conflicts. Another possibility is to improve the playground environment, so that pupils are less likely to be led into bullying from boredom or frustration.
F. With these developments, schools can expect that at least the most serious kinds of bullying can largely be prevented. The more effort put in and the wider the whole school involvement, the more substantial the results are likely to be. The reduction in bullying – and the consequent improvement in pupil happiness – is surely a worthwhile objective.
  1. 1

    Section A

    • i. The role of video violence
    • ii. The failure of government policy
    • iii. Reasons for the increased rate of bullying
    • iv. Research into how common bullying is in British schools
    • v. The reaction from schools to enquiries about bullying
    • vi. The effect of bullying on the children involved
    • vii. Developments that have led to a new approach by schools
  2. 2

    Section B

  3. 3

    Section C

  4. 4

    Section D

  5. 5

    A recent survey found that in British secondary schools

    • A. there was more bullying than had previously been the case.
    • B. there was less bullying than in primary schools.
    • C. cases of persistent bullying were very common.
    • D. indirect forms of bullying were particularly difficult to deal with.
  6. 6

    Children who are bullied

    • A. Are twice as likely to commit suicide as the average person.
    • B. Find it more difficult to relate to adults.
    • C. Are less likely to be violent in later life.
    • D. May have difficulty forming relationships in later life.
  7. 7

    The writer thinks that the declaration ‘There is no bullying at this school’

    • A. Is no longer true in many schools.
    • B. Was not in fact made by many schools.
    • C. Reflected the school’s lack of concern.
    • D. Reflected a lack of knowledge and resources.
  8. 8

    What were the findings of research carried out in Norway?

    • A. Bullying declined by 50% after an anti-bullying campaign.
    • B. Twenty-one schools reduced bullying as a result of an anti-bullying campaign.
    • C. Two years is the optimum length for an anti-bullying campaign.
    • D. Bullying is a less serious problem in Norway than in the UK.
  9. 9

    The most important step is for the school authorities to produce a ______ which makes the school’s attitude towards bullying quite clear.

  10. 10

    It should include detailed ______ as to how the school and its staff will react if bullying occurs.

  11. 11

    In addition, action can be taken through the ______. This is particularly useful in the early part of the process, as a way of raising awareness and encouraging discussion.

  12. 12

    For example, potential ______ of bullying can be trained to be more self-confident.

  13. 13

    Playground supervision will be more effective if members of staff are trained to recognise the difference between bullying and mere ______.

Reading Passage 2: Corporate Social Responsibility

A
An excellent definition was developed in the 1980s by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and used by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Nowadays, governments and companies need to account for the social consequences of their actions. As a result, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a priority for business leaders around the world. When a well-run business applies its vast resources and expertise to social problems that it understands and in which it has a stake, it can have a greater impact than any other organisation. The notion of licence to operate derives from the fact that every company needs tacit or explicit permission from governments, communities, and numerous other stakeholders to justify CSR initiatives to improve a company’s image, strengthen its brand, enliven morale and even raise the value of its stock.
B
To advance CSR, we must root it in a broad understanding of the interrelationship between a corporation and society. Successful corporations need a healthy society. Education, health care, and equal opportunity are essential to a productive workforce. Safe products and working conditions not only attract customers but lower the internal costs of accidents. Efficient utilisation of land, water, energy, and other natural resources makes business more productive. Good government, the rule of law, and property rights are essential for efficiency and innovation. Strong regulatory standards protect both consumers and competitive companies from exploitation. Ultimately, a healthy society creates expanding demand for business, as more human needs are met and aspirations grow. Any business that pursues its ends at the expense of the society in which it operates will find its success to be illusory and ultimately temporary. At the same time, a healthy society needs successful companies. No social programme can rival the business sector when it comes to creating the jobs, wealth, and innovation that improve standards of living and social conditions over time.
C
A company’s impact on society also changes over time, as social standards evolve and science progresses. Asbestos, now understood as a serious health risk, was thought to be safe in the early 1900s, given the scientific knowledge then available. Evidence of its risks gradually mounted for more than 50 years before any company was held liable for the harms it can cause. Many firms that failed to anticipate the consequences of this evolving body of research have been bankrupted by the results. No longer can companies be content to monitor only the obvious social impacts of today. Without a careful process for identifying evolving social effects of tomorrow, firms may risk their very survival.
D
No business can solve all of society’s problems or bear the cost of doing so. Instead, each company must select issues that intersect with its particular business. Other social agendas are best left to those companies in other industries, NGOs, or government institutions that are better positioned to address them. The essential test that should guide CSR is not whether a cause is worthy but whether it presents an opportunity to create shared value – that is, a meaningful benefit for society that is also valuable to the business. Each company can identify the particular set of societal problems that it is best equipped to help resolve and from which it can gain the greatest competitive benefit.
E
The best corporate citizenship initiatives involve far more than writing a cheque: they specify clear, measurable goals and track results over time. A good example is General Electric’s programme to adopt underperforming public high schools near several of its major U.S. facilities. The company contributes between $250,000 and $1 million over a five-year period to each school and makes in-kind donations as well. GE managers and employees take an active role by working with school administrators to assess needs and mentor or tutor students. In an independent study of ten schools in the programme between 1989 and 1999, nearly all showed significant improvement, while the graduation rate in four of the five worst-performing schools doubled from an average of 30% to 60%. Effective corporate citizenship initiatives such as this one create goodwill and improve relations with local governments and other important constituencies. What’s more, GE’s employees feel great pride in their participation. Their effect is inherently limited, however. No matter how beneficial the programme is, it remains incidental to the company’s business, and the direct effect on GE’s recruiting and retention is modest.
F
Microsoft’s Working Connections partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is a good example of a shared-value opportunity arising from investments in context. The shortage of information-technology workers is a significant constraint on Microsoft’s growth; currently, there are more than 450,000 unfilled IT positions in the United States alone. Community colleges, with an enrolment of 11.6 million students, representing 45% of all U.S. undergraduates, could be a major solution. Microsoft recognises, however, that community colleges face special challenges: IT curricula are not standardised, technology used in classrooms is often outdated, and there are no systematic professional development programmes to keep faculty up to date. Microsoft’s $50 million five-year initiative was aimed at all three problems. In addition to contributing money and products, Microsoft sent employee volunteers to colleges to assess needs, contribute to curriculum development, and create faculty-development institutes. Microsoft has achieved results that have benefited many communities while having a direct and potentially significant impact on the company.
G
At the heart of any strategy is a unique value proposition: a set of needs a company can meet for its chosen customers that its competitors cannot. The most strategic CSR occurs when a company adds a social dimension to its value proposition, making social impact integral to the overall strategy. Consider Whole Foods Market, whose value proposition is to sell organic, natural, and healthy food products to customers who are passionate about food and the environment. The company’s sourcing emphasises purchases from local farmers through each store’s procurement process. Buyers screen out foods containing any of nearly 100 common ingredients that the company considers unhealthy or environmentally damaging. The same standards apply to products made internally. Whole Foods’ commitment to natural and environmentally friendly operating practices extends well beyond sourcing. Stores are constructed using a minimum of virgin raw materials. Recently, the company purchased renewable wind-energy credits equal to 100% of its electricity use in all of its stores and facilities, the only Fortune 500 company to offset its electricity consumption entirely. Spoiled produce and biodegradable waste are trucked to regional centres for composting. Whole Foods’ vehicles are being converted to run on biofuels. Even the cleaning products used in its stores are environmentally friendly. And through its philanthropy, the company has created the Animal Compassion Foundation to develop more natural and humane ways of raising farm animals. In short, nearly every aspect of the company’s value chain reinforces the social dimensions of its value proposition, distinguishing Whole Foods from its competitors.
  1. 14

    Paragraph A

    • i. How CSR may help one business to expand
    • ii. CSR in many aspects of a company’s business
    • iii. A CSR initiative without a financial gain
    • iv. Lack of action by the state on social issues
    • v. Drivers or pressures motivate companies to address CSR
    • vi. The past illustrates businesses are responsible for future outcomes
    • vii. Companies applying CSR should be selective
    • viii. Reasons that business and society benefit each other
  2. 15

    Paragraph B

  3. 16

    Paragraph C

  4. 17

    Paragraph D

  5. 18

    Paragraph E

  6. 19

    Paragraph F

  7. 20

    Paragraph G

  8. 21

    Promotion of CSR requires the understanding of interdependence between business and society. Corporations’ workers’ productivity generally needs health care, education, and ________. Restrictions imposed by government and companies both protect consumers from being treated unfairly. Improvement of the safety standard can reduce the ________ of accidents in the workplace. Similarly, society becomes a pool of more human needs and aspirations.

  9. 22

    Disposable waste

    • A. General Electric
    • B. Microsoft
    • C. Whole Foods Market
  10. 23

    The way the company purchases its goods

  11. 24

    Helping the under-developed

  12. 25

    Ensuring that people have the latest information

Reading Passage 3: Improving Patient Safety

Packaging
One of the most prominent design issues in pharmacy is that of drug packaging and patient information leaflets (PILs). Many letters have appeared in The Journal’s letters pages over the years from pharmacists dismayed at the designs of packaging that are “accidents waiting to happen”.
Packaging design in the pharmaceutical industry is handled by either in-house teams or design agencies. Designs for over-the-counter medicines, where characteristics such as attractiveness and distinguishability are regarded as significant, are usually commissioned from design agencies. A marketing team will prepare a brief and the designers will come up with perhaps six or seven designs. These are whittled down to two or three that might be tested on a consumer group. In contrast, most designs for prescription-only products are created in-house. In some cases, this may simply involve applying a company’s house design (i.e., logo, colour, font, etc). The chosen design is then handed over to design engineers who work out how the packaging will be produced.
Design considerations
The author of the recently published “Information design for patient safety,” Thea Swayne, tracked the journey of a medicine from manufacturing plant, through distribution warehouses, pharmacies and hospital wards, to patients’ homes. Her book highlights a multitude of design problems with current packaging, such as look-alikes and sound-alikes, small type sizes and glare on blister foils. Situations in which medicines are used include a parent giving a cough medicine to a child in the middle of the night and a busy pharmacist selecting one box from hundreds. It is argued that packaging should be designed for moments such as these. “Manufacturers are not aware of the complex situations into which products go. As designers, we are interested in not what is supposed to happen in hospital wards, but what happens in the real world,” Ms Swayne said.
Incidents where vein has been injected intrathecally instead of spine are a classic example of how poor design can contribute to harm. Investigations following these tragedies have attributed some blame to poor typescript.
Safety and compliance
Child protection is another area that gives designers opportunities to improve safety. According to the Child Accident Prevention Trust, seven out of 10 children admitted to hospital with suspected poisoning have swallowed medicines. Although child-resistant closures have reduced the number of incidents, they are not fully child-proof. The definition of such a closure is one that not more than 15 percent of children aged between 42 and 51 months can open within five minutes. There is scope for improving what is currently available, according to Richard Mawle, a freelance product designer. “Many child-resistant packs are based on strength. They do not necessarily prevent a child from access, but may prevent people with a disability,” he told The Journal. “The legal requirements are there for a good reason, but they are not good enough in terms of the users,” he said. “Older people, especially those with arthritis, may have the same level of strength as a child,” he explained, and suggested that better designs could rely on cognitive skills (e.g., making the opening of a container a three-step process) or be based on the physical size of hands.
Mr. Mawle worked with GlaxoSmithKline on a project to improve compliance through design, which involved applying his skills to packaging and PILs. Commenting on the information presented, he said: “There can be an awful lot of junk at the beginning of PILs. For example, why are company details listed towards the beginning of a leaflet when what might be more important for the patient is that the medicine should not be taken with alcohol?”
Design principles and guidelines
Look-alike boxes present a potential for picking errors and an obvious solution would be to use colours to highlight different strengths. However, according to Ms. Swayne, colour differentiation needs to be approached with care. Not only should strong colour contrasts be used, but designating a colour to a particular strength (colour coding) is not recommended because this could lead to the user not reading the text on a box.
Design features can provide the basis for lengthy debates. For example, one argument is that if all packaging is white with black lettering, people would have no choice but to read every box carefully. The problem is that trials of drug packaging design are few—common studies of legibility and comprehensibility concern road traffic signs and visual display units. Although some designers take results from such studies into account, proving that a particular feature is beneficial can be difficult. For example, EU legislation requires that packaging must now include the name of the medicine in Braille but, according to Karel van der Waarde, a design consultant to the pharmaceutical industry, “it is not known how much visually impaired patients will benefit nor how much the reading of visually able patients will be impaired”.
More evidence might, however, soon be available. EU legislation requires PILs to reflect consultations with target patient groups to ensure they are legible, clear and easy to use. This implies that industry will have to start conducting tests. Dr. van der Waarde has performed readability studies on boxes and PILs for industry. A typical study involves showing a leaflet or package to a small group and asking them questions to test understanding. Results and comments are used to modify the material, which is then tested on a larger group. A third group is used to show that any further changes made are an improvement. Dr. van der Waarde is, however, sceptical about the legal requirements and says that many regulatory authorities do not have the resources to handle packaging information properly. “They do not look at the use of packaging in a practical context—they only see one box at a time and not several together as pharmacists would do,” he said.
Innovations
The RCA innovation exhibition this year revealed designs for a number of innovative objects. “The popper”, by Hugo Glover, aims to help arthritis sufferers remove tablets from blister packs, and “pluspoint”, by James Cobb, is an adrenaline auto-injector that aims to overcome the fact that many patients do not carry their auto-injectors due to their prohibitive size. The aim of good design, according Roger Coleman, professor of inclusive design at the RCA, is to try to make things more user-friendly as well as safer. Surely, in a patient-centred health system, that can only be a good thing. “Information design for patient safety” is not intended to be mandatory. Rather, its purpose is to create a basic design standard and to stimulate innovation. The challenge for the pharmaceutical industry, as a whole, is to adopt such a standard.
  1. 26

    27 Elderly people may have the same problem with children if the lids of containers require too much strength to open.

  2. 27

    28 Adapting packaging for the blind may disadvantage the sighted people.

  3. 28

    29 Specially designed lids cannot eliminate the possibility of children swallowing pills accidentally.

  4. 29

    30 Container design should consider situations, such as drug used at home.

  5. 30

    31 Governing bodies should investigate many different container cases rather than individual ones.

  6. 31

    32 Information on the list of a leaflet hasn’t been in the right order.

  7. 32

    33 Designs for over-the-counter medicines: First, ______ make the proposal.

    • A. consumers
    • B. marketing teams
    • C. pharmaceutical industry
    • D. external designers
    • E. in-house designers
    • F. design engineers
    • G. pharmacist
  8. 33

    34 Designs for over-the-counter medicines: Then pass them to the ______.

  9. 34

    35 Designs for over-the-counter medicines: Finally, these designs will be tested by ______.

  10. 35

    36 Prescription-only: First, the design is made by ______.

  11. 36

    37 Prescription-only: Then subjected to ______.

  12. 37

    38 What may cause the accident in “design container”?

    • A. a print error
    • B. style of print
    • C. wrong label
    • D. the shape of the bottle
  13. 38

    39 What do people think about the black and white only print?

    • A. Consumers dislike these products.
    • B. People have to pay more attention to the information.
    • C. That makes all products look alike.
    • D. Sighted people may feel it is more helpful.
  14. 39

    40 Why does the writer mention “popper” and “pluspoint”?

    • A. to show that container design has made some progress
    • B. to illustrate an example of inappropriate design which can lead to accidents
    • C. to show that the industry still needs more to improve
    • D. to point out that consumers should be more informed about the information

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Answer key

  1. 1. iv

    The answer is iv because Section A talks about research into how common bullying is, mentioning surveys and statistics about bullying in British schools.

  2. 2. vi

    The answer is vi because Section B describes the effects of bullying on children, such as emotional problems and difficulties in later life.

  3. 3. v

    The answer is v because Section C discusses how schools respond when asked about bullying, often denying it or being defensive.

  4. 4. vii

    The answer is vii because Section D explains new approaches schools are taking to deal with bullying, showing changes in policy and attitude.

  5. 5. B

    The answer is B because the passage says there was less bullying in secondary schools than in primary schools. Option A is tempting but the passage does not say bullying increased.

  6. 6. D

    The answer is D because the passage says bullied children may have trouble forming relationships later in life. Option A is wrong because it does not mention suicide rates.

  7. 7. D

    The answer is D because the passage says schools claimed 'There is no bullying' due to lack of knowledge and resources, not because they did not care.

  8. 8. A

    The answer is A because the passage says bullying declined by 50% after an anti-bullying campaign in Norway. Option B is tempting but the 50% figure is the key detail.

  9. 9. policy

    The answer is 'policy' because the passage says the most important step is for schools to have a clear policy about bullying.

  10. 10. guidelines

    The answer is 'guidelines' because the passage says the policy should include detailed guidelines on how staff will react if bullying happens.

  11. 11. curriculum

    The answer is 'curriculum' because the passage says action can be taken through the curriculum to raise awareness and encourage discussion.

  12. 12. victims

    The answer is 'victims' because the passage says potential victims can be trained to be more self-confident.

  13. 13. playful fighting

    The answer is 'playful fighting' because the passage says staff should be trained to tell the difference between bullying and playful fighting.

  14. 14. v

    The answer is v because Paragraph A discusses the pressures or drivers that motivate companies to address CSR.

  15. 15. viii

    The answer is viii because Paragraph B explains reasons why business and society benefit each other.

  16. 16. vi

    The answer is vi because Paragraph C gives examples from the past showing businesses are responsible for future outcomes.

  17. 17. vii

    The answer is vii because Paragraph D says companies should be selective in how they apply CSR.

  18. 18. iii

    The answer is iii because Paragraph E describes a CSR initiative that did not bring financial gain.

  19. 19. i

    The answer is i because Paragraph F shows how CSR helped one business to expand.

  20. 20. ii

    The answer is ii because Paragraph G talks about CSR in many aspects of a company's business.

  21. 21. equal opportunity / internal costs

    The answer is 'equal opportunity / internal costs' because the passage says workers need health care, education, and equal opportunity, and improving safety standards reduces internal costs.

  22. 22. C

    The answer is C because Whole Foods Market is mentioned in the passage as dealing with disposable waste.

  23. 23. C

    The answer is C because Whole Foods Market is described as changing the way it buys goods.

  24. 24. A

    The answer is A because General Electric is noted for helping under-developed areas.

  25. 25. B

    The answer is B because Microsoft is mentioned as ensuring people have the latest information.

  26. 26. C

    The answer is C because the passage says elderly people may have the same problem as children if container lids are too hard to open.

  27. 27. D

    The answer is D because the passage says adapting packaging for the blind does not disadvantage sighted people.

  28. 28. B

    The answer is B because the passage says specially designed lids cannot fully prevent children from swallowing pills by accident.

  29. 29. A

    The answer is A because the passage says container design should consider situations like drug use at home.

  30. 30. D

    The answer is D because the passage says governing bodies should look at many container cases, not just individual ones.

  31. 31. C

    The answer is C because the passage says information on a leaflet is not always in the right order.

  32. 32. B

    The answer is B because the passage says marketing teams first make the proposal for over-the-counter medicine designs.

  33. 33. D

    The answer is D because the passage says these proposals are then passed to external designers.

  34. 34. A

    The answer is A because the passage says the designs are finally tested by consumers.

  35. 35. E

    The answer is E because the passage says prescription-only medicine designs are first made by in-house designers.

  36. 36. F

    The answer is F because the passage says these designs are then checked by design engineers.

  37. 37. B

    The answer is B because the passage says the style of print may cause accidents with container design.

  38. 38. B

    The answer is B because the passage says black and white print makes people pay more attention to the information.

  39. 39. A

    The answer is A because the writer mentions 'popper' and 'pluspoint' to show that container design has made progress.

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