Reading 2026-05 Test 48 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

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 Importance of Business Cards

The exchange of business cards is as close to a universal ritual as you can find in the business world.

The ritual may be universal, but the details of business cards and how they are swapped vary across countries. Americans throw their cards casually across a table; the Japanese make the exchange of cards a formal ceremony. While there are cards that are discreet and understated, others are crammed full of details and titles. Some businesspeople hand out 24-carat gold cards, and there are kindergarten children who have cards with not only their own contact details, but also with the job descriptions of their parents and even grandparents. This practice has become so common in parts of New York, for example, that the use of such cards is now prohibited by some of these institutions.

Cards have been around a long time in one form or another. The Chinese invented calling cards in the 15th century to give people notice that they intended to pay them a visit, but these were for social purposes only. Then, in the 17th century, European businesspeople invented a new type of card to act as miniature advertisements, signalling the advent of the business card. In today’s world, business cards can cause people to have strong emotional reactions. According to one experienced company director, very few things can provoke more heated discussion at a board meeting than the composition of the company’s business cards.

Lots of companies try to promote themselves by altering the form of the card. Employees at one famous toy company give out little plastic figures with their contact details stamped on them. One fast-food company has business cards which are shaped like a portion of French fries. A Canadian divorce lawyer once gave out cards that could be torn in two – one half for each of the spouses. For many business commentators, such gimmicky business cards prove that the use of a physical business card is nearly at an end. After all, why bother exchanging bits of thick paper at all when you can simply swap electronic versions by smartphone?

However, one can just as well argue the opposite: that business cards are here to stay, and, in a business world full of meetings and correspondence, it is more important than ever that your card is unique. Attempts to reinvent business cards for the digital age have not been successful. Even at the latest technology conferences, people still greet each other by handing out little rectangles made from paper rather than using a digital alternative.

To understand business cards, it is necessary to understand how business works. That business cards are thriving in a digital age is a forceful reminder that there is much about business that is timeless. According to Kate Jones, a business lecturer, there is one eternal and inescapable issue. Her 2006 study of more than 200 business executives in North America found that trust was the key element for running a successful business. It is vital to be able to look someone in the eye and decide what sort of person they are. In this way, you can transform acquaintanceships into relationships. A good proportion of business life will always be about building social connections – having dinner or playing sport with clients and colleagues – and while computers can deal with administrative tasks, it is still human beings that have to focus on the emotional.

The rapid advance of globalisation means that this relationship-building process is becoming ever more demanding. Managers have to put more effort in when dealing with international counterparts, especially when there is not a common language, which is so often the case these days. A recent UK survey showed that chief executives of global organisations now routinely spend three out of every four weeks on international travel. It is in these situations that business cards are doubly useful, as they are a quick way of establishing connections. Cards can also remind you that you have actually met someone in a face-to-face meeting rather than just searched for them on the Internet. Looking through piles of different cards can enhance your memory in ways that simply looking through uniform electronic lists would never do.

Janet McIntyre is a leading expert on business cards in today’s world. She maintains that as companies become more complex, cards are essential in determining the exact status of every contact you meet in multinational corporations. Janet also explains how exchanging business cards can be an effective way of initiating a conversation, because it gives people a ritual to follow when they first meet a new business contact.

The business world is obsessed with the idea of creating and inventing new things that will change the way we do everything, and this does lead to progress. But there are lots of things that do not need to be changed and, in Janet McIntyre’s view, tradition also has an equally valuable role to play. Therefore the practice of exchanging business cards is likely to continue in the business world.

1
Children’s business cards have been banned in some kindergartens.
2
It was the Chinese who first began the practice of using business cards.
3
Designing business cards can be a controversial process for some companies.
4
A famous toy company has boosted its sales by using one type of unusual business card.
5
Some business commentators predict a decline in the use of paper business cards.
6
The most important aspect of business is having ________ in others.
7
________ do not have the ability to establish the good relationships essential to business.
8
Managers must work harder when they don’t share the same ________ with their contacts.
9
A UK survey indicates that ________ takes up the largest part of business leaders’ time.
10
A business person’s ________ of a meeting can be improved by looking at business cards.
11
Business cards clearly show the ________ of each person in a large company.
12
The ritual of swapping business cards is a good way of starting a ________ at the beginning of a business relationship.
13
Janet feels that in the business world, ________ is just as important as innovation.

Reading Passage 2: The Secret Language of Plants

For a long time, scientists regarded plants as silent and passive organisms, limited to responding mechanically to sunlight, gravity, and water. Yet, growing evidence now challenges this perception. Researchers have discovered that many plants can "communicate" with one another through the release of airborne chemical signals. When attacked by herbivorous insects, trees such as willows, poplars, and maples emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that alert nearby plants to danger. These neighboring plants, upon receiving the signal, begin producing chemicals that make their leaves less appetizing or even toxic to insects. In effect, they seem to "warn" one another of incoming threats.

This idea, once dismissed as science fiction, was first proposed in 1983 when two independent studies demonstrated that uninjured trees growing near damaged ones were capable of activating their own defense mechanisms. Although early critics labeled the findings as flawed or exaggerated, further research has since revived the concept. Modern experiments, conducted both in laboratories and in natural ecosystems, have repeatedly confirmed that plant signaling is a genuine biological process. Ecologist Richard Karban from the University of California, Davis, estimates that roughly forty out of forty-eight studies have found positive evidence for interplant communication.

Richard Karban's journey into this mysterious world began not with plants, but with insects. As a young ecologist, he studied how trees cope with infestations of cicadas and caterpillars. During that time, most biologists assumed that plants survived mainly through endurance, tolerating harsh conditions without active responses. However, in the early 1980s, zoologist David Rhoades discovered that plants could defend themselves more dynamically. By altering the chemical composition of their leaves, plants made them less nutritious to herbivores. What surprised Rhoades even more was that uninjured willows located near infested ones also produced these defensive compounds. The conclusion was startling: plants were somehow sensing signals from their neighbors. The excitement grew when similar results were found in poplars and sugar maples by scientists Ian Baldwin and Jack Schultz. Popular media soon proclaimed the discovery of "talking trees," though such headlines made many researchers skeptical, fearing that the field was becoming pseudoscientific.

Nevertheless, further evidence accumulated. In the sagebrush-covered slopes of northern California, Karban simulated insect attacks by clipping plant leaves. He observed that nearby wild tobacco plants, unrelated to sagebrush, began producing protective enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase. These plants later showed significantly less leaf damage from grasshoppers and caterpillars. The experiment provided strong proof that interplant signaling could occur naturally, not just under laboratory conditions.

By the 1990s, the idea of chemical communication among plants gained new support from scientists like Ted Farmer at the University of Lausanne. Working initially with sagebrush and tomato plants, Farmer demonstrated that when damaged sagebrush leaves were sealed in jars with undamaged tomato plants, the tomatoes began releasing proteinase inhibitors—substances that disrupt insect digestion. This indicated that plants could indeed send and receive airborne messages.

Subsequent research revealed that almost every green plant produces a unique cocktail of volatile compounds. The scent of freshly cut grass, for example, is actually a complex mixture of alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones—alarm signals that warn neighboring plants of damage. Lima beans respond to chemicals emitted by other lima beans being eaten, corn seedlings prepare themselves against caterpillars, and even chili peppers react to the emissions of cucumber plants. Insects, too, are part of this invisible communication network: maize attacked by beet armyworms releases volatiles that attract parasitic wasps, which lay their eggs in the caterpillars' bodies. Thus, plants not only "talk" to one another but also recruit animal allies in their defense.

Farmer later discovered that plants can transmit internal messages using electrical pulses, similar to the way animals send nerve signals. Though plants lack brains or neurons, this voltage-based signaling suggests an unexpected level of biological sophistication. As Farmer remarked, "The more we study plants, the more we realize how intelligent their systems truly are."

Despite mounting evidence, not all scientists agree that plants are truly communicating. Some argue that what appears to be communication might simply be a form of eavesdropping. A plant might release chemicals into the air as part of its own defense, and nearby plants, detecting these volatiles, may respond independently. According to ecologist Martin Heil, most of these chemical signals travel no more than a meter, suggesting that plants may primarily be signaling to themselves rather than intentionally warning others. In this view, "plant communication" might be better understood as self-signaling with unintended recipients.

Still, the evolutionary implications are significant. If plants can share biochemical information, they may coordinate defenses across entire populations. This could have profound ecological and agricultural applications. For instance, certain modern corn hybrids have lost their ancestral ability to produce volatiles that attract beneficial wasps. Reintroducing these traits could make crops more resistant to pests, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Other possibilities include planting "sentinel" species—plants with highly sensitive signaling systems—among crops, allowing them to act as early warning systems.

Whether we call it communication, signaling, or eavesdropping, the phenomenon challenges long-held distinctions between plants and animals. Plants respond, adapt, and interact with one another in ways that suggest a hidden intelligence within ecosystems. As scientists continue decoding these silent messages, they are beginning to view the natural world as a living web of signals and responses—a world far more dynamic and connected than we ever imagined.

14
When insects attack, plants release .................... that can alert their neighbours.
15
According to Karban, sagebrush and wild tobacco respond to these signals by producing .................... to defend themselves.
16
Early studies on talking trees were dismissed because they were thought to be .................... or unrealistic.
17
The smell of .................... is actually a distress signal for plants rather than just a pleasant scent.
18
Some scientists believe that plants communicating with others may just be .................... on their own signals.
19
What was David Rhoades' main finding in 1983?
- A. Insects prefer feeding on trees far from infested ones.
- B. Damaged willows send messages to nearby undamaged ones.
- C. Tent caterpillars ignore biochemical changes in leaves.
- D. Infested trees grow faster to survive attack.
20
What was the major reason early scientists were skeptical about plant communication?
- A. The concept seemed too extraordinary to be real.
- B. The plants studied were already genetically modified.
- C. The results contradicted established chemical theories.
- D. Researchers found no evidence in laboratory experiments.
21
According to the text, what did Ted Farmer discover about plant communication?
- A. Plants use sound waves to transmit information.
- B. Plants can send electrical pulses similar to animal nerve signals.
- C. Certain trees communicate through underground roots.
- D. Plants communicate only under laboratory conditions.
22
What practical use could the study of plant communication have?
- A. Developing fertilizers that make plants grow faster.
- B. Reducing insects that destroy wild forests.
- C. Helping crops defend themselves naturally against pests.
- D. Increasing the number of species in agricultural lands.
23
He conducted experiments in the wild that supported the idea of chemical communication among plants.
- A. Richard Karban
- B. Ted Farmer
- C. Ian Baldwin
- D. David Rhoades
- E. Martin Heil
24
He discovered that plants use an electrical system similar to the animal nervous system.
25
He argued that plants may simply be responding to their own chemical emissions.
26
He first suggested that plants could communicate through airborne signals.

Reading Passage 3: The hazards of multitasking

Doing more than one thing at once – is it always a good idea?

You arrive at the office, review your to-do list and start to feel a headache coming on. You resolve to tackle the items as quickly as possible. While you return calls, you sort e-mail and other letters. You begin keying in slides for tomorrow’s presentation. Then your manager comes in wanting an immediate update on sales figures. You have just opened the spreadsheet when a very important customer calls. With the receiver held between your shoulder and your ear, you continue adding up the sales totals until, 15 minutes later, you finally manage, politely, to get rid of the client. You’ve been multitasking again.

You may believe that anyone who wants to get ahead today should master the art of multitasking. However, a recent study by the Families and Work Institute in New York City has found that 45 per cent of US workers believe that they are asked or expected to work on too many tasks at once. Managers may be surprised to learn that they are actually wasting their workers’ time. As it turns out, the human brain cannot really master the computer’s art of crunching data in the background while moving between process windows. Instead, a growing number of studies show that trying to juggle jobs rather than completing them sequentially can take longer and leave workers with a reduced ability to perform each task. In addition, the stress associated with multitasking may contribute to short-term memory difficulties. The combination results in inefficiency, careless thinking and mistakes – not to mention the possible dangers of divided attention for drivers, air-traffic controllers and others who handle machinery.

How can a time-management strategy that has become part of the common wisdom actually be so wrong? Exploring that question requires a closer look at an area of consciousness research that examines how the brain focuses attention. One of the modern foundations of current knowledge of multitasking was laid in 1935, when the American psychologist John Ridley Stroop reported that processing information from one task could cause interference with another. Stroop noticed that when study participants were asked to name the colour of a word – such as ‘green’ – printed in a different colour – red, for example – they experienced difficulty saying the name of the colour. This phenomenon is thought to occur when two tasks get tangled: the brain must suppress one that has been learned so well that it has become automatic (reading) to attend to a second task that requires concentration (naming the colour).

During the past couple of decades, psychologists have probed more deeply into the nature and limitations of multitasking. Psychologist and brain-researcher Ernst Pöppel, of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, believes that it is impossible to carry out two or three different tasks simultaneously with the same degree of concentration. He says that seemingly simultaneous awareness and processing of information actually take place in ‘three-second windows’.

In these three-second segments, the brain takes in, as a block, all the data about the environment streaming in from the sensory systems; subsequent events are processed in the next window. So a person can concentrate on a conversation for three seconds, then for three seconds on a crying child, and three seconds on a computer screen. While one subject at a time occupies the foreground of consciousness, the others stay in the background until they, in turn, are given access to the central processor.

Another experiment by psychologist David E. Meyer, of the University of Michigan, quantified just how much time we can lose when we shuttle between tasks. The researchers asked test participants to write a report and check their e-mail at the same time. Those individuals who constantly jumped back and forth between the two tasks took about one and a half times as long to finish as those who completed one job before turning to the other. Each switchover from one task to another meant re-thinking and thus involved additional neural resources. In effect, the brain needs time to shut off the rules for one task and to turn on the rules for another. ‘Multitasking saves time only when it is a matter of relaxed, routine tasks,’ Meyer says. It also takes the brain longer to adapt when switching rapidly back to an interrupted task rather than waiting longer before switching back.

By its nature multitasking is stressful, and the area in the brain most involved with multitasking is also most affected by the resulting stress. Located behind the forehead, the prefrontal cortex – which neuroscientists call the ‘executive’ part of the brain – helps us to assess tasks, prioritise them and assign mental resources. It also ‘marks’ the spot at which a task has been interrupted, so that we can return to it later. This stress can also affect brain cells in another region, the hippocampus, which is important for forming new memories; damage in that area also makes it difficult for a person to acquire new skills. Psychiatrists Edward Hallowell and John Ratey, of Harvard University, say that multitasking can bring about a brain condition that causes sufferers to constantly seek new information while having difficulties concentrating on its content. All in all, it may be wise to let the e-mail wait while you work on your presentation. You will save time and perform each task better.

27
Less attention will be paid to each task when more than one task is attempted at the same time.
- A. John Ridley Stroop
- B. Ernst Pöppel
- C. David E. Meyer
- D. Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
28
Repeated changes of task mean that the brain will take a while to adjust.
29
Using the skills required for one task may make performing another one more difficult.
30
When multitasking, the brain can only focus on single tasks for very short periods.
31
Multitasking can lead to a medical problem.
32
What is suggested about the worker in the opening paragraph?
- A. Anxiety deprived him of sleep the previous night.
- B. He feels overwhelmed by his workload.
- C. His manager has expressed disapproval.
- D. He finds his work dull and uninteresting.
33
Drivers and air-traffic controllers are mentioned in the passage because they
- A. need to perform several tasks at once.
- B. are unable to maintain concentration.
- C. use their time efficiently.
- D. cannot afford to make mistakes.
34
In John Ridley Stroop’s experiment, participants found it difficult to
- A. tell one colour from another.
- B. match up pairs of similar colours.
- C. read out the name of one colour printed in another colour.
- D. decide what colour looks appropriate for a particular word.
35
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. The stressful nature of multitasking has been shown to affect parts of the brain. The area most affected is the prefrontal cortex, which is found to the rear of the ________. It is the part of the brain which judges tasks, then puts them in order of importance and allocates ________; it also enables a worker to resume a task which has been put to one side. A second area, the hippocampus, may also be affected by the stress of multitasking. If any ________ in the hippocampus are affected, people may have problems with storing ________, as well as learning ________.
36
40 The main aim of this passage is to
- A. describe areas where multitasking is useful.
- B. challenge widely held opinions on multitasking.
- C. show the physical damage that multitasking can cause.
- D. call for better psychological experiments on multitasking.

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1. TRUE
The passage says that some kindergartens have banned children’s business cards, so the answer is TRUE.
2. FALSE
The passage explains that business cards were first used in Europe, not China, so the answer is FALSE.
3. TRUE
It is stated that designing business cards can cause disagreements in some companies, making the process controversial, so the answer is TRUE.
4. NOT GIVEN
There is no information in the passage about a famous toy company increasing sales with unusual business cards, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
5. TRUE
The passage mentions that some business commentators think paper business cards will be used less in the future, so the answer is TRUE.
6. trust
The passage says the most important aspect of business is having trust in others.
7. computers
It is stated that computers do not have the ability to build the good relationships needed in business.
8. language
Managers must work harder when they don’t share the same language with their contacts, according to the passage.
9. travel
A UK survey found that travel takes up the largest part of business leaders’ time.
10. memory
Looking at business cards can help a business person’s memory of a meeting.
11. status
Business cards clearly show the status of each person in a large company.
12. conversation
The ritual of swapping business cards is described as a good way to start a conversation at the beginning of a business relationship.
13. tradition
Janet feels that tradition is just as important as innovation in the business world.
14. chemical signals
When insects attack, plants release chemical signals that can alert their neighbours.
15. protective enzymes
Karban found that sagebrush and wild tobacco respond by producing protective enzymes to defend themselves.
16. flawed
Early studies on talking trees were dismissed as flawed or unrealistic.
17. cut grass
The smell of cut grass is actually a distress signal for plants, not just a pleasant scent.
18. eavesdropping
Some scientists believe plants communicating may just be eavesdropping on their own signals.
19. B
Option B is correct because Rhoades found that damaged willows send messages to nearby undamaged ones. Option A is tempting but the main finding was about communication, not insect preference.
20. A
Option A is correct because the idea of plant communication seemed too extraordinary to be real. Other options are not mentioned as the main reason for skepticism.
21. B
Option B is correct because Ted Farmer discovered that plants can send electrical pulses similar to animal nerve signals. The other options are not what he found.
22. C
Option C is correct because the passage says studying plant communication could help crops defend themselves naturally against pests. The other options are not mentioned as practical uses.
23. A
Richard Karban conducted experiments in the wild that supported chemical communication among plants.
24. B
Ted Farmer discovered that plants use an electrical system similar to the animal nervous system.
25. E
Martin Heil argued that plants may simply be responding to their own chemical emissions.
26. D
David Rhoades first suggested that plants could communicate through airborne signals.
27. B
Ernst Pöppel said that less attention will be paid to each task when more than one task is attempted at the same time.
28. C
David E. Meyer explained that repeated changes of task mean the brain takes time to adjust.
29. A
John Ridley Stroop showed that using the skills for one task can make another task more difficult.
30. B
Ernst Pöppel stated that when multitasking, the brain can only focus on single tasks for very short periods.
31. D
Edward Hallowell & John Ratey said that multitasking can lead to a medical problem.
32. B
The passage suggests the worker feels overwhelmed by his workload, as he is described as stressed and unable to keep up.
33. D
Drivers and air-traffic controllers are mentioned because they cannot afford to make mistakes, not just because they multitask.
34. C
In Stroop’s experiment, participants found it difficult to read out the name of one colour printed in another colour (Option C).
35. forehead / mental resources / cells / new memories / new skills
The prefrontal cortex is found to the rear of the forehead and allocates mental resources. If any cells in the hippocampus are affected, people may have problems with storing new memories and learning new skills.
36. B
The main aim is to challenge widely held opinions on multitasking, as the passage questions if multitasking is really effective.

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Reading Passage 1: The Importance of Business Cards

Reading Passage 2: The Secret Language of Plants

Reading Passage 3: The hazards of multitasking

Answer sheet

Answer key