General Training Reading 2024-09 Test 2 — IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test with Answers

Rebuilt from test-taker recalls — not official IELTS material. Audio and passages are recreations for practice.

Section 1 — Food for Children

A. Eggs: They increase the concentration of children and help their brains grow and develop faster. They can be served best in two ways. First, lightly fry them with garlic and add the spinach leaves. Second, whisk them with coconut milk and turmeric and add them to the pan until the scrambled eggs are at the desired consistency.

B. Greek Yogurt: To keep the brain in an excellent state of health, this must be included in the diet as this keeps brain cells in a good form for sending and receiving information. This can be interestingly served in lunch with some cereals. Chocolate chips can also be added. This increases blood flow to the brain.

C. Fish: Vitamin D and omega-3s are supplied by fish. Consuming it saves the brain from memory loss & declining mental skills. Salmon, tuna and sardines are all rich in omega-3s. It helps kids focus better on whatever they do. It can be offered in grilled form with sandwiches.

D. Nuts & Seeds: Nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts. Peanuts are technically a legume but are commonly referred to as nuts as they have a similar nutritional composition. They are essential to keep the nervous system in check.

Questions 1–7: Food Groups — Matching

Look at the six food groups, A-D. For which food groups are the following statements true? Write the correct letter, A-D. NB. You may use any letter more than once.

1
A really healthy spice can be added to increase its nutritive value.
2
It is actually a legume but people consider it a nut.
3
Your retention will improve if you consume it.
4
Organs which are responsible for the control of the body and communication among its parts get strengthened by them.
5
Two different things have the same nutritive value.
6
Supply of blood gets increased to the brain by adding it to your meals.
7
Greens can be utilized in making it more nutritious.

Section 2 — African Nomadic Tribes

The Berbers: The Sahara was once grassy woodland until human activity and a changing climate turned it into the immense desert we know today. The Berbers were the only people who decided to call it home. The earliest evidence we have of the Berbers shows that they descended from Stone Age tribes that lived around the coast of North Africa sometime around 5,000 BCE. As these tribes of people united by similar languages mingled together, they established a common identity that became the basis for the Berber culture.

The Tuareg: They live mainly in true desert country, whereas the southerners live primarily in steppe and savanna. The southerners breed zebu cattle and camels, some of which are sold to the northern Tuareg. The raiding of caravans and travellers was important in pre-European times, as was caravan trading, which declined with the introduction of motor vehicles. Droughts across southern Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad in the 1970s and '80s both reduced the numbers of the southern Tuareg and eroded their traditional pastoral way of life.

Timbuktu: It is about 15km north of the River Niger. The city of Timbuktu is a city in Mali, West Africa. It is home to the prestigious Qur'anic Sankore University and other madrasas and was an intellectual and spiritual capital and centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu's golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification. It is also at the intersection of an east-west and a north-south Trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara to Araouane. It was important historically as an entrepot (warehouse or depot) for rock salt from Taoudenni. Its geographical setting made it a natural meeting point for nearby African populations and nomadic Berber and Arab peoples from the north. Its long history as a trading outpost that linked West Africa with Berber, Arab, and Jewish traders throughout North Africa, and thereby indirectly with traders from Europe, has given it a fabled status, and in the West, it was for long a metaphor for exotic, distant lands: "from here to Timbuktu." Timbuktu's long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization is scholarship. By the fourteenth century, important books were written and copied in Timbuktu, establishing the city as the centre of a significant written tradition in Africa.

Questions 8–14: African Nomadic Tribes — Short Answer

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

8
... is Timbuktu's long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization.
9
The name of the tribe which inhabited the ....... desert is the Berbers.
10
Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and centre for the ......
11
The Berbers descended from Stone Age tribes that lived around the coast Of ..........
12
Historically, Timbuktu is known as an ........ of rock salt from Taoudenni.
13
.... eroded the traditional pastoral way of life of the Tuareg
14
Timbuktu is at the ........ of east-west and a north-south Trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara to Araouane

Section 3 — Electric Cars

An electric car is a car that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, have no exhaust emissions, and lower releases overall. In the United States, as of 2020, the total value of ownership of recent EVS is cheaper than that of equivalent ICE cars, due to lower fuelling and maintenance costs. Charging an electric car can be done at a variety of charging stations; these charging stations can be installed in both houses and public areas. Several countries have established government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles, tax credits, subsidies, and other non-monetary incentives. Several countries have established a phase out of fossil fuel vehicles, and California, which is one of the largest vehicle markets, has an executive order to ban sales of new gasoline powered vehicles no later than 2035.

The Tesla Model 3, which has a maximum range of 570 km (353 miles) according to the EPA, has been the world's best-selling electric vehicle (EV) on an annual basis since 2018, and became the world's all-time best-selling electric car in early 2020. Earlier models with widespread adoption include the Japanese Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Nissan Leaf. As of December 2019, the global stock of pure electric passenger cars totalled 4.8 million units, representing two-thirds of all plug-in passenger cars in use. In 2019, over half (54%) of the world's all-electric car fleet was in China Despite rapid growth, the global stock of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars represented about 1 out of every 200 vehicles (0.48%) on the world's roads by the end of 2019, of which pure electrics comprised 0.32%. By the end of 2020 there were more than 10 million electric cars sold, an increase of 41% from prior year, according to an International Energy Agency report.

As of 2020 in the United States, the total cost of ownership of electric cars is less than comparable ICE cars, due to the lower cost of fuelling and maintenance, more than making up for the higher initial cost. The greater the distance driven per year, the more likely the total cost of ownership for an electric car will be less than for an equivalent ICE car. The break-even distance varies by country depending on the taxes, subsidies, and different costs of energy. In some countries the comparison may vary by city, as a type of car may have different charges to enter different cities; for example, the UK city of London charges ICE cars more than the UK city of Birmingham does.

When designing an electric vehicle, manufacturers may find that for low production, converting existing platforms may be cheaper, as development cost is lower, however, for higher production, a dedicated platform may be preferred to optimize design, and cost. As of 2020, the electric vehicle battery is more than a quarter of the total cost of the car. Purchase prices are expected to drop below those of new ICE cars when battery costs fall below US$100 per kWh which is forecast to be in the mid-2020s. Leasing or subscriptions are popular in some countries, depending somewhat on national taxes and subsidies, and end of lease cars are expanding the second-hand market.

Questions 15–21: Electric Cars — Note Completion

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS and/or numbers for each answer.

15. 15. An electric car has relatively _________ discharges in general.

16. 16. The overall cost of possession of electric cars is _________ as compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.

17. 17. A US state to prohibit sales of certain types of vehicles by _________

18. The complete price of tenure for owning an EV is reduced for the reason that the expenses for 18 _________ and 18 _________ are inferior.

19. 19. The one downside of EVs is that they have a _________ preliminary price.

20. 20. The EV can be breakeven with an ICE car in terms of cost, but it will differ on the basis of levies, subventions and dissimilar _________

21. 21. The price of EVs could reduce if there is drop in the price of _________

Section 4 — History of Earth

The past of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its creation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geological change and biological evolution. The geological time scale (GTS), as defined by international convention, depicts the large spans of time from the beginning of the Earth to the present, and its divisions chronicle some definitive events of Earth history. Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago, approximately one-third the age of the universe, by accretion from the solar nebula. Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the early atmosphere contained almost no oxygen.

Much of the Earth was molten because of frequent collisions with other bodies which led to extreme volcanism. While the Earth was in its earliest stage, a giant impact collision with a planet-sized body named Theia is thought to have created the Moon. Over time, the Earth cooled, causing the formation of a solid crust, and allowing liquid water on the surface. The Hadean eon represents the time before a reliable (fossil) record of life; it began with the formation of the planet and ended 4.0 billion years ago. The following Archean and Proterozoic eons produced the beginnings of life on Earth and its earliest evolution. The succeeding eon is the Phanerozoic, divided into three eras: the Palaeozoic, an era of arthropods, fishes, and the first life on land; the Mesozoic, which spanned the rise, reign, and climactic extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs; and the Cenozoic, which saw the rise of mammals. Recognizable humans emerged at most 2 million years ago, a vanishingly small period on the geological scale. The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates at least from 3.5 billion years ago, during the Eoarchean Era, after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean Eon.

There are microbial mat fossils such as stromatolites found in 3.48-billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7-billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in southwestern Greenland as well as "remains of biotic life" found in 4.1-billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth, then it could be common in the universe." Photosynthetic organisms appeared between 3.2 and 2.4 billion years ago and began enriching the atmosphere with oxygen. Life remained mostly small and microscopic until about 580 million years ago, when complex multicellular life arose, developed over time, and culminated in the Cambrian Explosion about 541 million years ago. This sudden diversification of life forms produced most of the major phyla known today and divided the Proterozoic Eon from the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era.

It is estimated that 99 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth, over five billion, have gone extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million are documented, but over 86 percent have not been described. However, it was recently maintained that one trillion species currently live on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described. The Earth's crust has constantly changed since its formation, as has life since its first appearance. Species continue to evolve, taking on new forms, splitting into daughter species, or going extinct in the face of ever-changing physical environments. The process of plate tectonics continues to shape the Earth's continents and oceans and the life they harbour.

Questions 22–27: History of Earth — Note Completion

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS and/ or numbers for each answer.

22. 22. The GTS portrays the enormous _________ period from the commencement to the contemporary of Earth.

23. 23. It is assumed that volcanic eruptions perhaps shaped the _________ after forming the atmosphere.

24. 24. A crash of Earth with _________ is the alleged reason behind the formation of the moon.

25. 25. Cenozoic age perceived the intensification of _________

26. 26. _________ were responsible for elevating the levels of oxygen in the air about three billion years ago.

27. 27. It was lately claimed that _________ species presently prevail on Earth.

Section 5 — Petronas Twin Towers

A. The Petronas Towers, also recognized as the Petronas Twin Towers, are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)'s official definition and ranking, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, until they were surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin towers in the world. The buildings are a landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower.

B. A Petronas Towers' physical system is a tube in tube design, developed by Fazlur Rahman Khan. Smearing a tube-structure for thrilling tall buildings is a common phenomenon. The 88-floor towers are erected primarily of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass facade intended to look like motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia's Muslim religion. Another Islamic inspiration on the design is that the cross section of the towers is created on a Rub el Hizb, albeit with round sectors added to meet office space requirements. The circular sectors are similar to the bottom part of the Qutub Minar.

C. The towers were planned by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli. A characteristic postmodern style was selected to produce a 21st-century icon for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Planning of the Petronas Towers started on 1 January 1992 and comprised rigorous tests and simulations of wind and structural loads on the design. Seven years of construction trailed at the previous site of the original Selangor Turf Club, beginning on 1 March 1993 with excavation, which intricated moving 500 truckloads of Earth every night to dig down 30 metres underneath the surface.

D. The construction of the giant structure was embarked on 1 April 1994 and all its interior construction along with the furniture was finalised on 1 January 1996. However, the spires of Tower 1 and Tower 2 were completed on 1 March 1996, 3 years after its construction was started, and the first batch of Petronas personnel moved into the building on 1 January 1997. The building was officially inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad on 1 August 1999. The twin towers were built on the site of Kuala Lumpur's racetrack. Test boreholes found that the original construction site successfully sat on the edge of a cliff. One half of the site was decomposed limestone while the other half was soft rock. The whole site was displaced 61 metres to let the buildings to sit entirely on the soft rock. Because of the depth of the bedrock,, the buildings were constructed on the world's deepest foundations. 104 concrete piles, reaching from 60 to 114 metres deep, were bored into the ground. The concrete raft foundation, encompassing 13,200 cubic metres of concrete was incessantly poured through a period of 54 hours for each tower. The raft is 4.6 metres thick, weighs 32,500 tonnes and apprehended the world record for the largest concrete pour till 2007. The foundations were accomplished within 12 months by Bachy Soletanche and required enormous amounts of concrete.

E. As a result of the Malaysian government stipulating that the buildings be accomplished in six years, two construction consortia were appointed to meet the deadline, one for each tower. Tower 1, the west tower was constructed by a Japanese consortium controlled by the Hazama Corporation (JA Jones Construction Co., MMC Engineering Services SdnBhd, Ho Hup Construction Co. Bhd and Mitsubishi Corp) while Tower 2, the east tower was constructed by a South Korean consortium led by the Samsung C&T Corporation (Kukdong Engineering & Construction and Syarikat JasateraSdn Bhd).

F. Early into construction a batch of concrete did not pass a routine strength test leading construction to come to a complete standstill. All the finalized floors were verified but it was found that only one had used a bad batch and it was wrecked. As a result of the concrete failure, each new batch was verified before being poured. The halt in construction had cost US$700,000 per day and led to three separate concrete plants being set up on the site to confirm that if one produced a bad batch, the other two could stay to supply concrete. The sky bridge contract was accomplished by Kukdong Engineering & Construction. Tower 2 (Samsung C&T) became the first to reach the world's tallest building at the time.

G. Due to the enormous expense of importing steel, the towers were constructed on a cheaper radical design of super high-strength reinforced concrete. High-strength concrete is a material accustomed to Asian contractors and twice as effective as steel in reducing sway; however, it makes the building twice as heavy on its foundation as a comparable steel building. Supported by 23-by-23 meter concrete cores and an outer ring of widely spaced super columns and an outer ring of approximately spaced super columns, the towers use a cultured structural system that lodges its - glender profile and offers 560,000 square meters of column-free office space. Beneath the twin towers is Suria KLCC, a shopping mall and Petronas Philharmonic Hall. the home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Questions 28–34: Petronas Twin Towers — Paragraph Matching

Which paragraph contains the following information? Write correct letter A-G NB you may use any letter more than once.

28
Failure of a concrete consignment leading to the momentary cessation of construction.
29
The site of the towers had to be moved because there were two different surfaces underneath.
30
Characteristics of the twin towers.
31
Reinforced material used in the construction of the towers to condense the cost.
32
Being the highest twin towers in the world.
33
Scheduling of the towers
34
Construction of towers by different establishments.

Questions 35–40: Petronas Twin Towers — True/False/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given. Write TRUE - If the statement agrees with the information. FALSE - If the statement contradicts the information. NOT GIVEN - If there is no information on this

35
The Petronas towers are the tallest towers in the world right now.
36
The main core and structure of twin towers are mostly constructed by steel.
37
The scheduling of towers began on 1 March 1993.
38
The entire site was relocated to let the buildings to assemble completely on the soft rock.
39
The termination in construction had cost US$700,000 per day.
40
Surya KLCC mall is located on the footsteps of Petronas Towers

Answer sheet

Fill in as you go — checking is instant and local, and every miss lands in your mistake log with the lesson that fixes it.

Saved on this device — no account needed. Sign in on your progress page if you want it synced elsewhere.

Show answer key

1. A
The passage says eggs can be whisked with coconut milk and turmeric, which is a healthy spice, to increase their nutritive value.
2. D
It says peanuts are technically a legume but are commonly referred to as nuts due to similar nutrition.
3. C
Fish helps kids focus better and saves the brain from memory loss and declining mental skills, so your retention will improve if you consume it.
4. D
Nuts and seeds are essential to keep the nervous system in check, which controls and communicates among body parts.
5. D
Peanuts are a legume but have a similar nutritional composition to nuts, so two different things (peanuts and nuts) have the same nutritive value.
6. B
Adding chocolate chips to Greek yogurt increases blood flow to the brain, as stated in the passage.
7. A
Eggs can be lightly fried with garlic and spinach leaves (greens) to make them more nutritious.
8. scholarship
The passage says Timbuktu's long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization is scholarship.
9. Sahara
The Berbers were the only people who decided to call the Sahara desert home.
10. propagation of Islam
Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa.
11. North Africa
The Berbers descended from Stone Age tribes that lived around the coast of North Africa.
12. entrepot
Timbuktu was important historically as an entrepot (warehouse or depot) for rock salt from Taoudenni.
13. Droughts
Droughts in the 1970s and '80s reduced the numbers of the southern Tuareg and eroded their traditional pastoral way of life.
14. intersection
Timbuktu is at the intersection of an east-west and a north-south Trans-Saharan trade.
15. lower
Electric cars have no exhaust emissions and lower releases overall, so they have relatively lower discharges.
16. cheaper
The total value of ownership of electric vehicles is cheaper than that of equivalent internal combustion engine cars.
17. 2035
California has an executive order to ban sales of new gasoline powered vehicles no later than 2035.
18. fuelling / maintenance
The overall cost of owning an electric car is lower because fuelling and maintenance costs are less.
19. higher
Electric cars have a higher initial (preliminary) price, even though they are cheaper to own over time.
20. costs of energy
The break-even distance for electric cars varies by country depending on taxes, subsidies, and different costs of energy.
21. battery
Purchase prices are expected to drop below those of new ICE cars when battery costs fall.
22. spans
The geological time scale (GTS) depicts the large spans of time from the beginning of the Earth to the present.
23. ocean
Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean.
24. Theia
A giant impact collision with a planet-sized body named Theia is thought to have created the Moon.
25. mammals
The Cenozoic era saw the rise of mammals.
26. photosynthetic organisms
Photosynthetic organisms appeared between 3.2 and 2.4 billion years ago and began enriching the atmosphere with oxygen.
27. one trillion
It was recently maintained that one trillion species currently live on Earth.
28. F
Section F explains that a batch of concrete did not pass a strength test, causing construction to stop temporarily.
29. D
Section D says the site was moved 61 metres because one half was decomposed limestone and the other half was soft rock.
30. B
Section B describes the physical characteristics of the towers, like the tube in tube design and Islamic art motifs.
31. G
Section G says the towers were built with super high-strength reinforced concrete to reduce costs.
32. A
Section A states the Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin towers in the world.
33. C
Section C discusses the planning and scheduling of the towers, including the start date and tests.
34. E
Section E explains that two different consortia were appointed to construct each tower.
35. FALSE
The passage says the towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, but not now.
36. FALSE
The main structure is made of reinforced concrete, not mostly steel.
37. FALSE
Planning started on 1 January 1992, not 1 March 1993.
38. TRUE
The whole site was moved 61 metres so the buildings could sit entirely on soft rock.
39. TRUE
The halt in construction due to the concrete issue cost US$700,000 per day.
40. TRUE
Suria KLCC, a shopping mall, is located beneath the twin towers.

Want the full timed experience? Try the free full mock exam — real recalled questions, in the real exam interface.

Start mock exam →