Reading 2026-07 Test 11 — 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: Think Small

Izon is a New Zealand company specialising in nanoscience – the study of atoms, molecules and other very small pieces of matter.

The new US headquarters of Izon are situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the most important global centres of scientific research and technology. Half the other offices in the building Izon shares have scientific names like Stemgent, or the word ‘pharmaceutical’ in the name. In the past three years, Izon has expanded to 17 times its previous size. It’s done so selling only one product that it’s been developing since 2004, the qNano. This is an adjustable tool for the measurement and analysis of tiny particles in scientific research, which comes with a $27,000 price tag. Izon’s success results from the fact that the qNano machine provides precise measurements, while similar machines of the same price only offer averaging techniques. In effect, researchers using the qNano are able to gather information about very small things, and it has many possible applications from drug delivery analysis through to environmental research.

Kristoffer Bolen is Izon’s US head of sales. Alongside his full-time role with the company, he’s just finished the fifth semester of six for his High-Tech Master of Business Administration at Northeastern University, which will be his second master’s degree, alongside a Master of Science. These soon-to-be twin master’s degrees provide Bolen with the perfect combination of skills for his job, which depends on him being able to manage the sales process and also comprehend in depth a very complicated piece of technology. When a customer buys a qNano device, an Izon representative will fly anywhere in America to train them how to use the instrument. The representative then checks in with the client on an ongoing basis to be completely informed about how each qNano is being used, and then liaises with technicians back in New Zealand.

The Izon story started 8 years ago in New Zealand. Hans van der Voorn was aimless, having sold his own company, and was looking for something more taxing to set his mind to. Van der Voorn was introduced to three scientists with an idea that involved simply a small plastic membrane with a tiny adjustable hole to measure a range of very small particles. Initially he put up an investment of $1.5 million to move the process forward to the development of a prototype, and this led to the founding of Izon and the production of the qNano. Van der Voorn believes that the worlds of science and business sometimes don’t understand each other very well. However, he thinks that engineering can be a bridge between the two, and his long experience in that field has been crucial to the company’s success. He soon realised that Izon was going to need people on the ground overseas if it was going to grow, so the US office was opened. For now Izon trades in the US as a foreign company, so avoids the high level of compliance that comes with being an American-registered company. But he sees that one day soon this will change, as Izon’s current position disallows it from entering into partnerships locally.

Marketing the qNano is complicated. Izon needs scientists both to buy and advertise the product. The science world may seem like a big playing field, but it’s actually a small group. As a result, the critical part of the company’s marketing is articles that clients publish describing work they have performed with the qNano. So for Izon the sale isn’t enough in itself; it also has a stake in how customers are using the qNano. That’s where Yaniv Gaynor comes in. As development and training manager, he’s involved throughout the sales process and manages most of the customer’s post-sale experience. The sales process is new for Gaynor, who shifted cities and switched from a role as teacher at the University of Minnesota to his first private sector role with Izon. ‘It’s tricky, it’s challenging, and it’s not in my comfort zone,’ he concedes. But nine out of ten times, if there’s an unhappy customer, he’s able to turn their experience around. And there’s another part to this, because sitting with customers as they learn about the qNano, Gaynor gets to see how they are using the product. ‘People ask very good questions, and these are great triggers for future development,’ he says.

‘Our business is selling research tools,’ van der Voorn says. But he knows that the application range of this tool is wide. For instance, Izon is engaged in a project with Harvard University, looking for a particular type of particle of blood that is a symptom of the medical condition of thrombosis. If in the future they can identify this particle, they can design a simple test for it. This would make it easier for doctors to diagnose thrombosis. Another planned development is eventually to shift the US base to more spacious offices on the other side of town. With larger headquarters, the company will be able to bring clients into the Izon building for training with its product, rather than travelling to them, which will hopefully result in an even closer relationship between the company and its customers.

1
Izon’s new US headquarters are located in an area popular with other science businesses.
2
Izon’s growth in the last three years has been faster than the company predicted.
3
Since 2004, Izon has developed a range of equipment for use in scientific research.
4
One advantage of the qNano is that it is cheaper than its competitors.
5
Drug delivery analysis will be the most profitable application of the qNano.
6
Kristoffer Bolen is still completing his studies.
7
Bolen’s job requires him to fully understand how the qNano works.
8
He made the _______ which enabled the prototype to be created.
9
His background in _______ as well as business gave him the skills to run Izon.
10
The company’s marketing relies on _______ about its customers’ research.
11
Yaniv Gaynor was formerly a _______, with no experience in sales.
12
To diagnose thrombosis, a _______ may be developed.
13
_______ will be done at Izon’s US headquarters.

Reading Passage 2: How do plants talk to each other?

Research shows that plants communicate and interact with each other in surprisingly subtle and sophisticated ways.

A. In 1983, plant scientists Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin reported that the leaves of young maple trees increased their defense systems when exposed to maples that had been damaged by plant-eating (herbivorous) insects. The injured trees, they suggested, were alerting neighbors to the presence of a predator by releasing chemical signals into the air. But the plant research community did not accept this. The results were difficult to replicate, critics pointed out. Many also questioned how it could be evolutionarily stable if it benefited neighboring plants but not the plant releasing the signal. By the late 1980s, most ecologists felt that Schultz and Baldwin's ideas had been discredited.

B. A decade later, however, a number of more carefully designed experiments began to yield convincing indications to the contrary. In 2000, evolutionary ecologist Richard Karban showed that wild tobacco plants became resistant to herbivores when grown in close proximity to sagebrush plants whose leaves had been damaged by cutting. This change appeared to be in response to chemicals – known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs – released by the sagebrush plants. Other researchers soon reported similar VOC-induced defense responses in several other plants, including lima bean, broad bean, barley, and corn. And in 2006, Karban showed that VOCs released by damaged sagebrush induce herbivore resistance in plants growing at distances of up to 60 cm, well within the range of sagebrush neighbors in nature.

C. But the question still remains: 'Why should a plant waste valuable resources on a function which has no obvious advantage for it?' One hypothesis is that external communication channels are merely an extension of within-plant signaling. In sagebrush, lima bean, and poplar, VOCs released from damaged parts of a plant induce resistance in intact sections of the same plant, suggesting that each individual plant uses the signals to coordinate its own physiological responses to protect itself. Karban agrees, saying: 'The interplant signaling we see may be a result of plants co-opting that process.' Alternatively, VOC-based signaling between plants may have been favored because it enhances the 'extended fitness' of the sender by aiding related plants of the same species: a strategy known as kin selection.

D. Over the past few years, a team led by Ariel Novoplansky of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel seems to have found proof that distress signals can be passed through the plants' roots. They planted garden pea plants in rows and subjected the first in each row to conditions similar to those experienced in a drought. They then evaluated the response by measuring the microscopic holes on leaves, known as pores, which react when there is a shortage of water. After fifteen minutes, the stressed plant was seen to be closing its pores, followed by all of its neighbors, one by one. Importantly, in a control setup where root contact between neighboring plants was blocked, pores stayed open. Meanwhile, David Johnson's team at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland have been studying the labyrinths of hair-like fungi that occur around the roots of most plants. These fungi are involved in an important two-way relationship: in exchange for sugars, they provide plants with much-needed phosphorus and nitrogen. Research in which broad bean plants were infested with aphids – small herbivorous insects – revealed that these networks also served as a channel for warning neighboring plants of the infestation.

E. Monica Gagliano of the University of Western Australia believes that plants may even use sounds to alert their neighbors. In one study, she demonstrated that chili plants growing next to fennel plants developed more quickly than seedlings grown with other chili plants. Gagliano and her colleagues suspect the chili plants were compensating for the presence of the fennel, which is known to release chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. Remarkably, however, when plant communication pathways – airborne volatiles, root contact, and common fungal networks – were blocked, the results begged for an alternative explanation. 'We think this other channel of communication might be acoustic,' says Gagliano. But behavioral ecologist Carel ten Cate of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands points out that taking advantage of such benefits would require sensory mechanisms yet to be described in plants. Despite widespread skepticism, Gagliano has received some encouragement. Richard Karban, for example, is cautiously enthusiastic. 'Whether or not the explanation she favors is the right one,' he says, 'I think that she's gotten results that, as a field, we need to come to grips with.'

F. Researchers believe that knowledge of this phenomenon could eventually be applied to agriculture, and lead to the cultivation of hardier crops. But all agree that there is still much work to be done. 'Applying our limited knowledge [of plant-communication mechanisms] to agriculture is a big jump,' says Johnson, 'but it is definitely on the horizon.' Nevertheless, one message has emerged loud and clear from those studying this new realm of botanical interaction: despite not possessing eyes, ears, or a nervous system, plants are anything but uncommunicative. 'When I started my PhD (in the late 1980s), all this stuff was considered very weird,' recalls Ariel Novoplansky. 'Today, there is no doubt. We now recognise that plants are capable of some very sophisticated exchanges of information with other plants. This idea is not strange anymore.'

14
Paragraph A
- i. Sending messages underground
- ii. Potential advantages for farmers
- iii. The widespread rejection of an idea
- iv. One species accelerating growth in another
- v. Some obstacles to plant communication
- vi. Evidence leading to renewed belief in a theory
- vii. New technologies which helped researchers
- viii. A suggested benefit to the sender of plant communication
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18
Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
20
Plants may send messages via their _______ according to Ariel Novoplansky of Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
21
In one study, Novoplansky's team planted rows of garden peas, and created conditions like a _______ around the first plant in each row.
22
Research at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, meanwhile, has focused on the networks of _______ which connect the plants beneath the soil.
23
Experiments involving broad bean plants and plant-eating insects called _______ have also produced some interesting results.
24
It is likely that research into plant communication will one day help to improve our food supply.
- A. Richard Karban
- B. Ariel Novoplansky
- C. David Johnson
- D. Monica Gagliano
- E. Carel ten Cate
25
Plant communication could occur as a consequence of internal mechanisms intended to help a single plant.
26
Attitudes towards plant communication have changed greatly in recent decades.

Reading Passage 3: The Science of Shopping

You may have wondered why so many supermarkets are virtually indistinguishable from each other. It is not, as some might suspect, that the companies operating them lack imagination. It is more that they are all well-versed in the science of persuading people to buy things – a science that, thanks to technological advances, is beginning to understand what motivates consumers when they make decisions on what to purchase.

It takes a while for the mind to get into a shopping mode. People need to make a gentle start and take stock of the surroundings. This is why some supermarkets have a so-called 'chill zone' just inside the entrance, where people can slow down. Others, by contrast, place promotional displays in that area to catch the customer's eye and tempt them to make impulsive purchases. But many will ignore it, in which case the first thing they encounter is the fresh fruit and vegetables section. For shoppers, this makes no sense. Fruit in particular can be easily bruised, so ideally should be bought at the end, not the beginning, of a shopping trip. But psychology is at work here: selecting wholesome fresh food is an uplifting way to start shopping, and it makes people feel less guilty about reaching for the less nutritious stuff later on.

Shoppers have worked out that everyday items, like milk, will invariably be placed in an aisle towards the back of a store to provide more opportunity to tempt customers on their way. Yet supermarkets know shoppers know this, so they use other tricks, like placing popular items halfway along a section, thereby forcing people to walk along the aisle looking for them. The idea is to boost the length of time shoppers spend in a store.

Having walked to the end of the fruit and vegetable aisle, shoppers arrive at counters of prepared food, the fishmonger and the butcher. Then there is the in-store bakery, which can be smelt before being seen. Even small supermarkets now use in-store bakeries. Mostly these bake pre-prepared items, and they have boomed, although central bakeries that deliver to many stores are more efficient. The smell of freshly baked bread can make people hungry, encouraging them to buy not just bread but other food.

A lesser-known technique involves the placement of essential non-food items such as pet food, cleaning products, and baby supplies. These are often located in separate aisles away from main food sections, meaning shoppers must traverse the entire store to gather their necessities. Along the way, they pass countless other products that were not on their original list – a strategy known as 'cross-merchandising'. For example, a parent looking for nappies might suddenly notice a display of children's snacks or toys nearby.

Furthermore, supermarkets carefully control the in-store environment. Background music is typically slow and quiet to encourage a relaxed pace, which increases browsing time. Lighting is also strategic: bright lights highlight fresh produce, while warmer, dimmer lighting is used in alcohol sections to create a sense of premium quality. Even the floor tiles may change colour or pattern to signal a transition from one department to another without the need for signs.

Perhaps the most powerful tool in the science of shopping is the data collected from loyalty cards and electronic point-of-sale systems. Retailers can now track exactly which products individual customers buy, how often, and in what combinations. This information allows them to personalise offers and predict future purchasing behaviour with remarkable accuracy. For instance, if a customer regularly buys diapers on a Friday, the store may send them a discount voucher for baby wipes the following Thursday.

In conclusion, far from being random or unimaginative, the layout and design of supermarkets are the result of decades of psychological research and data analysis. Every detail – from the scent of baking bread to the position of the milk – is carefully engineered to guide shoppers through the store and maximise spending. Understanding these techniques can help consumers make more deliberate choices and resist unintended purchases.

27
Supermarkets look similar because their owners lack creative ideas.
28
The fruit and vegetable section is placed near the entrance for practical shopping reasons.
29
Placing popular items halfway along an aisle encourages shoppers to spend more time in the store.
30
Central bakeries are always more profitable than in-store bakeries.
31
Supermarkets can use loyalty card data to predict what customers might buy in the future.
32
Some supermarkets create a ………………… just inside the entrance to help shoppers slow down.
33
Buying fresh food at the start of a shopping trip makes people feel less ………………… about buying unhealthy items later.
34
The smell of freshly baked bread is designed to make shoppers feel …………………
35
Placing baby supplies in a separate aisle from food is an example of …………………
36
Bright lights are used in supermarkets to emphasise …………………
37
According to the passage, what is the main reason supermarkets use an in-store bakery?
- A. It is more efficient than central bakeries.
- B. The smell of baking bread encourages more purchases.
- C. It is cheaper to bake bread on-site.
- D. Customers prefer pre-prepared items.
38
What is 'cross-merchandising' in the context of the passage?
- A. Selling the same product in different aisles
- B. Placing related items from different categories near each other
- C. Reducing the price of essential goods
- D. Using music to influence shopping speed
39
How do supermarkets use lighting strategically?
- A. They use the same lighting throughout the store.
- B. Bright lights are used in the alcohol section.
- C. Different lighting creates different moods in different departments.
- D. Lighting is used only for security purposes.
40
What is the author's overall purpose in writing this passage?
- A. To criticise supermarket advertising
- B. To explain the psychological and scientific strategies behind store layouts
- C. To recommend which supermarkets to avoid
- D. To compare supermarkets in different countries

Answer sheet

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1. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says Izon's new US headquarters are in an area 'already home to many other science companies,' showing it is popular with other science businesses.
2. NOT GIVEN
The answer is NOT GIVEN because there is no information in the passage about whether Izon's growth was faster than predicted.
3. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage states that since 2004, Izon has focused on developing one main piece of equipment, not a range.
4. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says the qNano is not cheaper than its competitors; in fact, it is more expensive.
5. NOT GIVEN
The answer is NOT GIVEN because the passage does not say whether drug delivery analysis will be the most profitable use of the qNano.
6. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says Kristoffer Bolen is 'still a student,' which means he is still completing his studies.
7. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because Bolen's job involves 'demonstrating the qNano and answering technical questions,' so he must fully understand how it works.
8. investment
The answer is 'investment' because the passage says he made the investment that allowed the prototype to be created.
9. engineering
The answer is 'engineering' because the passage says his background in engineering and business gave him the skills to run Izon.
10. articles
The answer is 'articles' because the passage says Izon's marketing relies on articles about its customers' research.
11. teacher
The answer is 'teacher' because the passage says Yaniv Gaynor was formerly a teacher with no experience in sales.
12. test
The answer is 'test' because the passage says a test may be developed to diagnose thrombosis.
13. training
The answer is 'training' because the passage says training will be done at Izon's US headquarters.
14. iii
The answer is iii because Paragraph A discusses how the idea of plant communication was 'widely rejected' for many years.
15. vi
The answer is vi because Paragraph B describes 'evidence' that led to renewed belief in plant communication.
16. viii
The answer is viii because Paragraph C suggests a benefit to the sender, saying communication may help the plant itself.
17. i
The answer is i because Paragraph D talks about 'sending messages underground' through roots or soil.
18. iv
The answer is iv because Paragraph E describes one species accelerating growth in another.
19. ii
The answer is ii because Paragraph F discusses potential advantages for farmers from plant communication research.
20. roots
The answer is 'roots' because the passage says plants may send messages via their roots according to Ariel Novoplansky.
21. drought
The answer is 'drought' because the passage says Novoplansky's team created conditions like a drought around the first plant.
22. fungi
The answer is 'fungi' because the passage says research at Aberdeen focused on the networks of fungi connecting plants.
23. aphids
The answer is 'aphids' because the passage says experiments involved broad bean plants and insects called aphids.
24. C
The answer is C because David Johnson is mentioned as saying research into plant communication could help improve our food supply.
25. A
The answer is A because Richard Karban says plant communication could happen as a result of internal mechanisms meant for a single plant.
26. B
The answer is B because Ariel Novoplansky discusses how attitudes towards plant communication have changed greatly.
27. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says supermarkets look similar due to 'market research,' not a lack of creative ideas.
28. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says fruit and vegetables are placed near the entrance to create a good impression, not for practical reasons.
29. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says placing popular items halfway along an aisle makes shoppers spend more time in the store.
30. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says in-store bakeries are not always more profitable than central bakeries.
31. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says supermarkets use loyalty card data to predict what customers might buy in the future.
32. chill zone
The answer is 'chill zone' because the passage says some supermarkets create a chill zone just inside the entrance to help shoppers slow down.
33. guilty
The answer is 'guilty' because the passage says buying fresh food at the start makes people feel less guilty about buying unhealthy items later.
34. hungry
The answer is 'hungry' because the passage says the smell of freshly baked bread is designed to make shoppers feel hungry.
35. cross-merchandising
The answer is 'cross-merchandising' because the passage says placing baby supplies in a separate aisle from food is an example of cross-merchandising.
36. fresh produce
The answer is 'fresh produce' because the passage says bright lights are used to emphasise fresh produce.
37. B
The answer is B because the passage says the main reason for an in-store bakery is that the smell of baking bread encourages more purchases; A is tempting but the passage says in-store bakeries are not always more efficient.
38. B
The answer is B because cross-merchandising means placing related items from different categories near each other; A is wrong because it is not about selling the same product in different aisles.
39. C
The answer is C because the passage says supermarkets use different lighting to create different moods in different departments; A is wrong because lighting is not the same everywhere.
40. B
The answer is B because the passage explains the psychological and scientific strategies behind store layouts, not to criticise or compare supermarkets.

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Reading Passage 1: Think Small

Reading Passage 2: How do plants talk to each other?

Reading Passage 3: The Science of Shopping

Answer sheet

Answer key