Reading 2026-07 Test 10 — 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 Rufous Hare-Wallaby

The Rufous Hare-Wallaby is a species of Australian kangaroo, usually known by its Aboriginal name, ‘mala’. At one time, there may have been as many as ten million of these little animals across the arid and semi-arid landscape of Australia, but their populations, like those of so many other small endemic species, were devastated when cats and foxes were introduced - indeed, during the 1950s it was thought that the mala was extinct. But in 1964, a small colony was found 450 miles northwest of Alice Springs in the Tanami Desert. And 12 years later, a second small colony was found nearby. Very extensive surveys were made throughout historical mala range - but no other traces were found.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, scientists from the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory monitored these two populations. At first it seemed that they were holding their own. Then in late 1987, every one of the individuals of the second and smaller of the wild colonies was killed. From examination of the tracks in the sand, it seemed that just one single fox had been responsible. And then, in October 1991, a wild-fire destroyed the entire area occupied by the remaining colony. Thus the mala was finally pronounced extinct in the wild.

Fortunately, ten years earlier, seven individuals had been captured, and had become the founders of a captive breeding programme at the Arid Zone Research Institute in Alice Springs; and that group had thrived. Part of this success is due to the fact that the female can breed when she is just five months old and can produce up to three young a year. Like other kangaroo species, the mother carries her young - known as a joey - in her pouch for about 15 weeks, and she can have more than one joey at the same time.

In the early 1980s, there were enough mala in the captive population to make it feasible to start a reintroduction programme. But first it was necessary to discuss this with the leaders of the Yapa people. Traditionally, the mala had been an important animal in their culture, with strong medicinal powers for old people. It had also been an important food source, and there were concerns that any mala returned to the wild would be killed for the pot. And so, in 1980, a group of key Yapa men was invited to visit the proposed reintroduction area. The skills and knowledge of the Yapa would play a significant and enduring role in this and all other mala projects.

With the help of the local Yapa, an electric fence was erected around 250 acres of suitable habitat, about 300 miles northwest of Alice Springs so that the mala could adapt while protected from predators. By 1992, there were about 150 mala in their enclosure, which became known as the Mala Paddock. However, all attempts to reintroduce mala from the paddocks into the unfenced wild were unsuccessful, so in the end the reintroduction programme was abandoned. The team now faced a situation where mala could be bred, but no released into the wild again.

Thus, in 1993, a Mala Recovery Team was established to boost mala numbers, and goals for a new programme were set: the team concentrated on finding suitable predator-free or predator-controlled conservation sites within the mala’s known range. Finally, in March 1999, twelve adult females, eight adult males, and eight joeys were transferred from the Mala Paddock to Dryandra Woodland in Western Australia. Then, a few months later, a second group was transferred to Trimouille, an island off the coast of western Australia. First, it had been necessary to rid the island of rats and cats - a task that had taken two years of hard work.

Six weeks after their release into this conservation site, a team returned to the island to find out how things were going. Each of the malas had been fitted with a radio collar that transmits for about 14 months, after which it falls off. The team was able to locate 29 out of the 30 transmitters - only one came from the collar of a mala that had died of unknown causes. So far the recovery programme had gone even better than expected.

Today, there are many signs suggesting that the mala population on the island is continuing to do well.

1
Distant past: total population of up to 1............. in desert and semi-desert regions.
2
Populations of malas were destroyed by 2...........
3
Scientists 3.......... the colonies.
4
1991: the other colony was destroyed by 4..........
5
The wild mala was declared 5..........
6
At what age can female malas start breeding?
7
For about how long do young malas stay inside their mother’s pouch?
8
Apart from being a food source, what value did malas have for the Yapa people?
9
What was the Yapa’s lasting contribution to the mala reintroduction programme?
10
Natural defences were sufficient to protect the area called Mala Paddock.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
11
Scientists eventually gave up their efforts to release captive mala into the unprotected wild.
12
The mala population which was transferred to Dryandra Woodland quickly increased in size.
13
Scientists were satisfied with the initial results of the recovery programme.

Reading Passage 2: Stress of Workplace

How busy is too busy? For some it means sometimes having to have a short lunch; for others it may mean missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a day off once a month. Then there is a group of people for whom working every evening and weekend is normal, and feeling stressed is taken for granted. For most senior executives, workloads swing between extremely busy and frenzied. Neil Plumridge, vice-president of a management consultancy company, says that his weeks vary from a ‘manageable’ 45 hours to 80 hours, but average 60 hours.

Three signs warn Plumridge about his workload: sleep, scheduling and family. He knows he is doing too much when he gets less than six hours’ sleep for three consecutive nights, when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments, and when he misses a family birthday or anniversary. ‘Then,’ he says, ‘I know things are out of control.’ Plumridge states that stress is often caused by his having unrealistic expectations of himself. ‘I’ll promise a client that I’ll do something tomorrow, and then I’ll promise another client that I’ll do the same thing, when I know it’s not going to happen. I could have said: “Why don’t I give that to you in 48 hours?” The client wouldn’t care.’

Over-committing is something people experience as an individual problem. However, new research indicates that people may be designed to over-commit. A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that people always believe that they will be less busy in the future. This is a misapprehension according to the authors of the report, Gal Zauberman of the University of North Carolina and John Lynch of Duke University. ‘On average, an individual will be just as busy two weeks or a month from now as he or she is today. But that is not how it appears in everyday life,’ they say. ‘People make commitments long in advance that they would never make if the same commitments required immediate action. They discount future time investments relatively steeply.’

Being ‘too busy’ is highly subjective, but for any individual there are some concrete signs of stress: disturbed sleep and declining mental and physical health are the most common examples. Figures for National Workers’ Compensation (insurance against injury caused by work) show that stress causes the most loss of time of any workplace injury: employees suffering stress are absent from work for an average of 16.6 weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. The Australian Government insurer reports that, in 2003–2004, claims for stress-related psychological injury accounted for 7% of insurance claims, but almost 27% of the amount paid out in claim payments.

Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief — a game of golf or a massage — but to reassess workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change: that might mean allocating extra staff to a job, allowing more time, or changing expectations. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying that his peers coach each other on business problems: ‘Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help,’ he states.

Executive stress is not confined to big organisations. Vanessa Stoykov has been running her own advertising agency and public relations business for seven years. Her company has grown so fast that it appeared on the Business Review Weekly ‘Fast 100’ list of fastest-growing small enterprises in 2004, just after Stoykov had her first child. In 2005, revenue was projected to double to $2.4 million. She had just had her second child. With a fast-growing business and two small children, Stoykov says she has mastered the art of caring for children, typing, and talking on the phone at the same time. But, unlike many others, she appears to thrive on the mental stimulation of running her own business, despite the stress.

Jan Elsner, a psychologist who specialises in executive coaching, says that doing well on a demanding workload is typical of senior executives. Some people work best with high-adrenaline periods followed by quieter times, while others thrive under sustained pressure. Elsner’s practice is based on a movement known as positive psychology, a school of thought that argues that positive experiences — feeling engaged and challenged, for example — do not balance out negative experiences such as stress; instead they help people increase their resilience over time. Elsner says that many of the senior business people she coaches are increasingly relying more on regulating stress through methods such as meditation. She points to research showing that meditation can alter the biochemistry of the brain and the way that brains and bodies react to stress.

Some experts believe there is too much emphasis on treating job stress as an individual problem. Tony LaMontagne, of the University of Melbourne, says that while personality traits do have some effect on stress, it is systemic stressors — qualities of job roles and organisations themselves — that have a far greater effect. His recent research shows that the major predictor of stress is the level of job control a person has. The best type of job combines challenging work with high autonomy. The worst jobs combine challenging work and low control. People with demanding jobs but little autonomy have up to four times the probability of depression and more than double the risk of heart attack.

14
High-level workers tend to react positively to stress
- A. Neil Plumridge
- B. Gal Zauberman and John Lynch
- C. Jan Elsner
- D. Tony LaMontagne
15
Stress levels are increased by trying to please customers
16
Support from other workers may relieve stress
17
Lack of independence at work is often responsible for stress
18
Workers commonly expect their workloads to lessen over time
19
Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Neil Plumridge as an indication that his workload is too heavy?
- A. an inability to keep to his schedule
- B. inattention to family celebrations
- C. a lack of concentration on a task
- D. a period of insufficient sleep
20
Which method of lessening work stress is NOT suggested by Neil Plumridge?
- A. rethinking ideas of what can be achieved
- B. extending the deadline for completing the task
- C. using more workers on a project
- D. taking more time off for sport or other recreation
21
According to Jan Elsner, meditation offers a method of
- A. taking a worker’s mind off his troubles.
- B. changing the physical response to stress.
- C. resting more effectively.
- D. encouraging executives to take breaks.
22
Statistics on workers’ compensation show that people take more time off work due to stress than for any other ________ at work.
23
On average, workers who take time off because of stress stay away for ________.
24
This absence comes at a high price — while the number of insurance claims due to stress amount to only ________ of the total, they account for a much higher proportion of the cost of claim payments.
25
Experts believe that seeking to relieve stress through physical therapies such as sport or ________ may be less effective than simply reviewing your ________.

Reading Passage 3: Internal Market: Selling the Inside

When you think of marketing, you more than likely think of marketing to your customers: How can you persuade more people to buy what you sell? But another "market" is just as important: your employees, the very people who can make the brand come alive for your customers. Yet in our work helping executives develop and carry out branding campaigns, my colleagues and I have found that companies very often ignore this critical constituency.

A Why is internal marketing so important? First, because it's the best way to help employees make a powerful emotional connection to the products and services you sell. Without that connection, employees are likely to undermine the expectations set by your advertising. In some cases, this is because they simply don't understand what you have promised the public, so they end up working at cross-purposes. In other cases, it may be they don't actually believe in the brand and feel disengaged or, worse, hostile toward the company. We've found that when people care about and believe in the brand, they're motivated to work harder and their loyalty to the company increases. Employees are united and inspired by a common sense of purpose and identity.

B Unfortunately, in most companies, internal marketing is done poorly, if at all. While executives recognise the need to keep people informed about the company's strategy and direction, few understand the need to convince employees of the brand's power— they take it as a given. Employees need to hear the same messages that you send out to the marketplace. At most companies, however, internal and external communications are often mismatched. This can be very confusing, and it threatens employees' perceptions of the company's integrity: They are told one thing by management but observe that a different message is being sent to the public. One health insurance company, for instance, advertised that the welfare of patients was the company's number one priority, while employees were told that their main goal was to increase the value of their stock options through cost reductions. And one major financial services institution told customers that it was making a major shift in focus from being a financial retailer to a financial adviser, but, a year later, research showed that the customer experience with the company had not changed. It turned out that company leaders had not made an effort to sell the change internally, so employees were still churning out transactions and hadn't changed their behavior to match their new adviser role.

C Enabling employees to deliver on customer expectations is important, of course, but it's not the only reason a company needs to match internal and external messages. Another reason is to help push the company to achieve goals that might otherwise be out of reach. In 1997, when IBM launched its e-business campaign (which is widely credited for turning around the company's image), it chose to ignore research that suggested consumers were unprepared to embrace IBM as a leader in e-business. Although to the outside world this looked like an external marketing effort, IBM was also using the campaign to align employees around the idea of the Internet as the future of technology. The internal campaign changed the way employees thought about everything they did, from how they named products to how they organised staff to how they approached selling. The campaign was successful largely because it gave employees a sense of direction and purpose, which in turn restored their confidence in IBM's ability to predict the future and lead the technology industry. Today, research shows that people are four times more likely to associate the term "e-business" with IBM than with its nearest competitor.

D Perhaps even more important, by taking employees into account, a company can avoid creating a message that doesn't resonate with staff or, worse, one that builds resentment. In 1996, United Airlines shelved its "Come Fly the Friendly Skies" slogan when presented with a survey that revealed the depth of customer resentment toward the airline industry. In an effort to own up to the industry's shortcomings, United launched a new campaign, "Rising," in which it sought to differentiate itself by acknowledging poor service and promising incremental improvements such as better meals. While this was a logical premise for the campaign given the tenor of the times, a campaign focusing on customers' distaste for flying was deeply discouraging to the staff. Employee resentment, ultimately made it impossible for United to deliver the improvements it was promising, which in turn undermined the "Rising" pledge. Three years later, United decided employee opposition was undermining its success and pulled the campaign. It has since moved to a more inclusive brand message with the line "United," which both audiences can embrace. Here, a fundamental principle of advertising—find and address a customer concern—failed United because it did not consider the internal market.

E When it comes to execution, the most common and effective way to link internal and external marketing campaigns is to create external advertising that targets both audiences. IBM used this tactic very effectively when it launched its e-business campaign. It took out an eight-page ad in the Wall Street Journal declaring its new vision, a message directed at both customers and internal stakeholders. This is an expensive way to capture attention, but if used sparingly, it is the most powerful form of communication; in fact, you need do it only once for everyone in the company to read it. There's a symbolic advantage as well. Such a tactic signals that the company is taking its pledge very seriously; it also signals transparency—the same message going out to both audiences.

F Advertising isn’t the only way to link internal and external marketing. At Nike, a number of senior executives now hold the additional title of "Corporate Storyteller." They deliberately avoid stories of financial successes and concentrate on parables of "just doing it," reflecting and reinforcing the company's ad campaigns. One tale, for example, recalls how legendary coach and Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman, in an effort to build a better shoe for his team, poured rubber into the family waffle iron, giving birth to the prototype of Nike's famous Waffle Sole. By talking about such inventive moves, the company hopes to keep the spirit of innovation that characterises its ad campaigns alive and well within the company.

G But while their messages must be aligned, companies must also keep external promises a little ahead of internal realities. Such promises provide incentives for employees and give them something to live up to. In the 1980s, Ford turned "Quality Is Job 1" from an internal rallying cry into a consumer slogan in response to the threat from cheaper, more reliable Japanese cars. It did so before the claim was fully justified, but by placing it in the public arena, it gave employees an incentive to match the Japanese. If the promise is pushed too far ahead, however, it loses credibility. When a beleaguered British Rail launched a campaign announcing service improvements under the banner "We're Getting There," it did so prematurely. By drawing attention to the gap between the promise and the reality, it prompted destructive press coverage. This, in turn, demoralised staff, who had been legitimately proud of the service advances they had made.

26
27 A health company
- A. alienated its employees by its apologetic branding campaign.
- B. attracted negative publicity through its advertising campaign.
- C. produced conflicting image between its employees and the general public.
- D. successfully used an advertising campaign to inspire employees
- E. draws on the legends of the company spirit.
27
28 A financial institution
28
29 A computer company
29
30 An airline
30
31 A sport shoe company
31
32 A railway company
32
33 A strong conviction in the brand can contribute to higher job performance.
33
34 It is common for companies to overlook the necessity for internal communication.
34
35 Consumers were ready to view IBM as a leader in e-business before the advertising campaign.
35
36 United Airlines’ failure in its branding campaign was due to the bad advice of an advertisement agency.
36
37 United Airlines eventually abolished its campaign to boost image as the result of a market research.
37
38 It is an expensive mistake for IBM to launch its new e-business campaign.
38
39 Nike employees claimed that they were inspired by their company tales.
39
40 A slight difference between internal and external promises can create a sense of purpose.

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1. ten million
The answer is 'ten million' because the passage says the total population in the distant past was up to ten million in desert and semi-desert regions.
2. cats and foxes
'Cats and foxes' is correct because the passage explains that malas were destroyed by these animals.
3. monitored
'Monitored' is correct as the passage states that scientists monitored the colonies.
4. fire
'Fire' is the answer because the passage says the other colony was destroyed by fire in 1991.
5. extinct
'Extinct' is correct since the passage says the wild mala was declared extinct.
6. five months
'Five months' is correct because the passage says female malas can start breeding at five months old.
7. 15 weeks
'15 weeks' is the answer as the passage says young malas stay in their mother’s pouch for about 15 weeks.
8. medicinal powers
'Medicinal powers' is correct because the passage says the Yapa people valued malas for their medicinal powers, not just as food.
9. skills and knowledge
'Skills and knowledge' is correct as the passage says the Yapa’s lasting contribution was their skills and knowledge.
10. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says natural defences were not enough to protect Mala Paddock, so extra measures were needed.
11. TRUE
TRUE is correct because the passage says scientists eventually stopped trying to release captive mala into the unprotected wild.
12. NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say if the mala population in Dryandra Woodland quickly increased.
13. TRUE
TRUE is correct as the passage says scientists were satisfied with the initial results of the recovery programme.
14. C
C (Jan Elsner) is correct because the passage says high-level workers tend to react positively to stress, which is mentioned by Jan Elsner. The tempting wrong option A (Neil Plumridge) talks about stress but not about positive reactions.
15. A
A (Neil Plumridge) is correct because he mentions that trying to please customers increases stress. Other options do not mention this point.
16. A
A (Neil Plumridge) is correct because he says support from other workers can help relieve stress. Other options do not mention support from colleagues.
17. D
D (Tony LaMontagne) is correct because he says lack of independence at work often causes stress. The other options do not focus on independence.
18. B
B (Gal Zauberman and John Lynch) is correct because they say workers expect workloads to lessen over time. The other options do not mention this expectation.
19. C
C is correct because Neil Plumridge does not mention a lack of concentration as a sign of too much work. He talks about missing family events and not keeping to his schedule, but not about concentration.
20. D
D is correct because Neil Plumridge does not suggest taking more time off for sport or recreation as a way to lessen stress. He suggests rethinking what can be achieved, extending deadlines, and using more workers.
21. B
B is correct because Jan Elsner says meditation can change the physical response to stress. The other options do not match what he says about meditation.
22. injury
'Injury' is correct because the passage says people take more time off work due to stress than for any other injury at work.
23. 16.6 weeks
'16.6 weeks' is correct as the passage says workers who take time off because of stress stay away for an average of 16.6 weeks.
24. 7%
'7%' is correct because the passage says stress claims are only 7% of the total but cost much more.
25. massage / workloads
'Massage / workloads' is correct because the passage says physical therapies like sport or massage may be less effective than reviewing your workloads.
26. C
C is correct because the passage says a health company had a conflicting image between its employees and the public.
27. C
C is correct because the passage says a financial institution also had a conflicting image between its employees and the public.
28. D
D is correct because the passage says a computer company used an advertising campaign to inspire employees.
29. A
A is correct because the passage says an airline alienated its employees by its apologetic branding campaign.
30. E
E is correct because the passage says a sport shoe company draws on the legends of the company spirit.
31. B
B is correct because the passage says a railway company attracted negative publicity through its advertising campaign.
32. YES
YES is correct because the passage says strong belief in the brand can help workers perform better.
33. YES
YES is correct because the passage says companies often forget the need for internal communication.
34. NO
NO is correct because the passage says consumers were not ready to see IBM as a leader in e-business before the campaign.
35. NO
NO is correct because the passage says United Airlines’ failure was not due to bad advice from an ad agency.
36. NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say United Airlines ended its campaign because of market research.
37. NO
NO is correct because the passage says IBM’s new campaign was not an expensive mistake.
38. NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN is correct because the passage does not say Nike employees claimed to be inspired by company tales.
39. YES
YES is correct because the passage says even a small difference between what is promised inside and outside the company can create a sense of purpose.

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Reading Passage 1: The Rufous Hare-Wallaby

Reading Passage 2: Stress of Workplace

Reading Passage 3: Internal Market: Selling the Inside

Answer sheet

Answer key