Reading 2026-03 Test 3 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

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Reading Passage 1 - Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House is an example of late modern architecture; it is admired internationally and treasured by the people of Australia.

In 1966 the Premier of New South Wales, Australia, announced an international competition for the design of an opera house for Sydney. It attracted more than 200 entries from around the world and was won by Jørn Utzon, a relatively little-known architect from Denmark. The story goes that during the judging of the competition, one judge, American architect Eero Saarinen, arrived in Sydney after the other three judges had started assessing the entries. He looked through their rejected entries and stopped at the Utzon design, declaring it to be outstanding.

It was Utzon's life and travels that had shaped his design for the Sydney Opera House. Though he had never visited the site, he used his maritime background to study naval charts of Sydney Harbour. His early exposure to shipbuilding provided the inspiration for the design of the roof, which is a series of curved 'shells' that look like the sails of a sailing ship billowing in the wind. From his travels to Mexico, he had the idea of placing his building on a wide horizontal platform.

Construction of the platform began in 1959, and throughout the early 1960s Utzon amended his original designs in order to develop a way to build the large 'shells' that cover the two main halls. The construction of the roof brought together some of the world's best engineers and craftsmen, devising innovative techniques to create a major visual impact in accordance with Utzon's vision. The design was one of the first examples of the use of computer-aided design for complex shapes.

Although Utzon had spectacular plans for the interior, he was unable to realise them. Cost overruns contributed to criticism of the project and, after a change of government, the Minister of Works began questioning Utzon's schedules and cost estimates. Payments to Utzon were stopped and he was forced to withdraw as chief architect in 1966. Following his resignation, there were protests through the streets led by prominent architect Harry Seidler and others, demanding that Utzon be reinstated as architect. However, Utzon was not reinstated and left Australia in 1966. He never returned, and new architects were appointed to complete the building in his absence. The original cost estimate for the Opera House was $7 million, with the completion date set for 26 January 1963. However, the Opera House was not formally completed until 1973, having cost $102 million.

Since its opening in 1973, Sydney Opera House has earned a reputation as a world-class performing arts centre and become a symbol of both Sydney and Australia. Situated at Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, it consists of a series of large precast 'shells' made of concrete, each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental platform. The building is 183 metres long and 120 metres wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers, which are sunk approximately 25 metres below sea level.

Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as 'shells', they are precast concrete panels supported by concrete ribs. The 'shells' are covered with 1,056,006 white and cream-coloured tiles manufactured in a factory in Sweden that generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry. The design solution and construction of the shell structure took eight years to complete, and the development of the special ceramic tiles took over three years. Apart from the tiles covering the 'shells', the building's exterior is mostly clad with granite quarried in Australia.

Contrary to its name, Sydney Opera House includes multiple performance venues. It is among the busiest performing-arts centres in the world, holding over 1,500 performances each year. It hosts a large number of performing-arts companies, including the four resident companies: Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

With its grand setting and cathedral-like atmosphere, the Concert Hall is Sydney Opera House's most prestigious performance space. The largest of all interior venues, it delivers outstanding acoustics thanks to its high ceiling and wood panelling. There is a sizeable outdoor forecourt from which people ascend to the main entrance. The steps, which lead up from the forecourt to the main performance venues, are nearly 100 metres wide.

In 1999 Utzon was re-engaged to develop a set of design principles to act as a guide for future changes to the building. All of this design work he did from his base in Europe. These principles help to ensure that the building's architectural integrity is maintained. The first alteration to the exterior was the addition of a new colonnade, which shades nine large glass openings in the previously solid exterior wall. This Utzon-led project, completed in 2006, enabled theatre patrons to see the harbour for the first time from the theatre foyers. The design also incorporates the first public lift and interior escalators to assist less-mobile patrons.

Since 2007, the cultural, heritage and architectural importance of Sydney Opera House has been protected by its inclusion on the World Heritage List.

Questions 1-7: True/False/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, 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

1
Utzon was famous for his work before he designed the Opera House.
2
Utzon's design was favoured by the four judges of the competition from the beginning.
3
Utzon's knowledge of boats gave him the idea for parts of the Opera House.
4
Utzon was impressed by the opera houses he had seen in Mexico.
5
Utzon changed his designs in the 1960s after construction began.
6
Seidler defended Utzon's role as architect.
7
Utzon went back to Australia in 1973 for the opening of the Opera House.

Questions 8-13: Note Completion

Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Sydney Opera House

8. Final cost: _________

Construction:

A large platform acting as a base for the building

Concrete panels used to make 'shells', which are covered in tiles

9. Over a million tiles from _________

10. _________ from Australia covering the outside walls

Use:

More than 1,500 performances annually

11. _________ performing arts companies have their home base at the Opera House

Outside:

12. A large _________ at the foot of a wide staircase

Alterations:

A colonnade was added in 2006

13. Openings made the _________ visible from foyers

Reading Passage 2 - Intelligent Behaviour in Birds

Many people are aware of the intelligence of chimpanzees and other mammals. However, birds also demonstrate intelligent behaviour.

A For centuries, many scholars maintained that humans were the only intelligent organism on Earth. Many traits were considered to be exclusively human examples of acumen - for example, language, tool use, deception, awareness of self and others. However, exciting new research on a number of animals, particularly birds, has called into question the uniqueness of these traits, forcing us to reconsider this opinion. In 1964, people were amazed when naturalist Jane Goodall first discovered chimpanzees making and using tools. But ornithologists, people who study birds, were not overly surprised. Almost 20 years earlier, a renowned ornithologist had shown that tool use was commonplace in populations of woodpecker finches residing on the Galápagos Islands. These tiny birds routinely used twigs to extract grubs from under bark.

B Since then, the catalogue of tool-using animals has grown. At least three Australian bird species make tools similar to those of the woodpecker finch, and when white-winged choughs come across shellfish they have been known to use rocks as hammers to crack open the recalcitrant shells. Other birds show a more sophisticated level of insight. For example, black kites have been reported dropping bait into lakes to bring fish to the surface of the water, thereby making them easier to catch. A kite may also pick up a smouldering stick from an area recently burned by a bushfire and drop the stick on a patch of unburned grass. The bird then feasts on the small animals that flee from the subsequent fire.

C Most tool-using behaviours are a means of extracting food, which may provide a clue as to how the mental abilities needed for tool use evolved. The predominant explanation is based on the proverb that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. Essentially, brain tissue is energetically expensive, so animals should have evolved only the necessary intellectual capabilities required to overcome the challenges they face in their environment. Consider a hypothetical duck grazing on a seemingly endless supply of grass. Being particularly intelligent will not help the duck eat more grass. In contrast, other species, such as birds of prey, live in a more challenging environment, where food may be distributed erratically, hidden from view or highly mobile. The food itself may be quite intelligent. So, if there are not enough resources to feed all individuals, then only the smartest in each generation will live and reproduce.

D New Caledonian crows boast many different tools in their tool kit. They use a hooked tool made by removing all but one of the side branches from a twig. They fashion serrated rakes (using their beaks as scissors) from stiff, leathery pandanus leaves. They also make probes by modifying their own moulted feathers. Each tool is used in slightly different ways to pull grubs from deep within tree trunks. The crows carry their favourite tool from one foraging site to the next. They also store their tools for later re-use in a secure place on their perch. Problem-solving abilities have traditionally been thought to be beyond the reach of animals. Nevertheless, birds are coming up with innovative solutions all the time. Recently, New Caledonian crows were observed moulding a piece of wire, something they had never seen before, into a hook and then using it to retrieve food.

E Literally hundreds of such reports have accumulated in back copies of scientific journals. Recently, a team of biologists from McGill University in Canada collated them and compared the frequency and size of innovations with the size of the birds' forebrain (the brain area responsible for higher-order information processing) relative to the hindbrain. The team uncovered a clear relationship: birds with relatively large forebrains are able to invent fresh solutions to ecological challenges, and to exploit the discoveries and inventions of others, more often than birds with relatively small forebrains.

Intelligence in birds may also arise as a result of selection to overcome the dynamic challenges of communal living. Since this involves competition between group members, to be successful, a social animal may need to be able to reflect on its own intentions, as well as those of others. The consequence of being part of a community may be the evolution of a distinctly 'political' brain.

G What better way to exercise a political brain than to be deceitful! Perhaps the best example of deception among birds comes from the white-winged choughs. Choughs are cooperative breeders - that is, they form a communal group consisting of one breeding pair and up to 15 non-breeding 'helpers'. However, because young choughs have so little enthusiasm for foraging, or gathering food, they are often too hungry to help. And because it is socially unacceptable to be part of a group and provide little help, young choughs often act deceptively. For example, when an adult is watching, a young chough will place some food in the mouth of a hungry chick - but it does not release the food. Instead, it waits until the adult departs and then eats it. A chough can also help the group by preening the chicks. Interestingly, it is more likely to preen the chicks if another bird can see it do so. A chough that has been sitting totally still on the nest while the rest of the group is foraging out of sight will comically spring up and frantically start to preen the chicks as soon as some of its group members come into view. It is likely that these young choughs are only motivated to help when others are watching because they are concerned about their social status. Choughs need other choughs to like them, as they cannot breed without them.

Questions 14-20: Matching headings

Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph and move it into the gap.

i. the theory linking capacity for tool use in birds and survival

ii. the influence of humans on tool use

iii. the theory linking cognitive ability and living in a society

iv. reviewing long-held beliefs

v. intelligence helps birds to remember

vi. how some birds trick each other

vii. physiological evidence of birds' intelligence

viii. several examples of birds who use tools

ix. one species' multiple tool-using techniques

14
Paragraph A
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18
Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
20
Paragraph G

Questions 21-26: Matching

Choose the correct bird, (A-C), for each characteristic. You may choose any correct bird more than once. List of Birds A. white-winged choughs B. black kites C. new caledonian crows

21
keeping tools that they like to use
22
drawing out their prey by frightening it
23
the use of tools to remove the outer covering from food
24
using food to attract their prey
25
the use of unfamiliar materials to make tools
26
engaging in certain activities for the benefit of observers

Reading Passage 3 - Good Parenting

Raising a baby may, at first, appear to be a highly personal, intimate affair between child and caregiver. In fact, there are often very public battles over every facet of child care, however: Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding? Breastfeeding in public? Toilet training - when and how? Nothing escapes judgment or scrutiny. Restlessness and crying at bedtime are no different, and three different schools of thought have emerged around how parents should respond to this problem. These have been called extinction, attachment parenting, and graduated extinction.

Attachment parenting, a term coined by pediatrician William Sears, suggests that children form powerful emotional bonds with caregivers during early childhood that have implications for their development through life. The basis for this theory was generated within the field of developmental psychology during the 1950s when researcher John Bowlby proposed that maternal deprivation during infancy could decrease a person's ability to form healthy adult relationships years later. Attachment parenting seeks to avoid this tendency by placing great importance on childhood bonding through the caregiver's holding and cuddling of her baby when he is upset. Attachment parenting also suggests that babies' ability to communicate their requirements is limited to crying and that parents need to learn to understand different types of crying signals. No crying is considered superfluous - even if the baby merely wants to be comforted rather than fall asleep - caregivers are encouraged to affirm these desires.

The extinction method proposes that, so long as a baby has had adequate calorie intake during the day, he or she can reasonably be expected to maintain nocturnal somnolence. The core postulates of this approach were laid down by Emmett Holt but they have been extrapolated upon by authors such as Warwick Reilly and further adapted recently by Melinda Collins to form the extinction method of today. Caregivers are encouraged to develop a gentle evening routine that involves feeding 45 minutes before bed, bathing, dressing and laying the baby in his sleeping sack, walking out and closing the door, and remaining out of the child's presence until dawn even if he cries for extended periods of time. It is expected that sooner or later children will realize that crying is ineffective and that they must learn to comfort themselves into slumber.

Graduated extinction is a modulated version of the extinction method. It postulates that a process of learning needs to be undertaken in order for children to sleep through the night. Richard Ferber, the doctor who popularized this method in the 1980s, emphasized the progressive withdrawal of the caregiver's company with the child in bed as a way to solve infant sleep problems. At first, for example, the caregiver is encouraged to hold and caress the baby until he or she is asleep. Once this routine is established, the caregiver should lie down next to the baby but touch it less and less until the baby can sleep without contact. Eventually, the caregiver can sit on a chair nearby, and finally, it is hoped that he or she can retreat from the room altogether. The key to this approach is that the caregiver must never capitulate to a child's demands for comfort if he starts to become restless or vocal as the method unfolds over time.

Doing so is said to let the baby know that he does not need to learn to sleep through the night without comfort or interaction, and also to lessen the chances that the caregiver will complete the program, knowing that a 'quick fix' is available. Ferber has since altered his stance to acknowledge the acceptability of co-sleeping and suggests that there is no single method or golden rule for overcoming sleep difficulties.

Questions 27-30: Sentence Completion

Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage. Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

27
The phrase 'attachment parenting' was invented by a ….............
28
The principles of attachment parenting are derived from the discipline of ….............
29
The key points of the 'extinction' school of thought originated from the work of ….............
30
Dr. Ferber initially thought the parent should not spend the night with the child but now thinks …............. is all right.

Questions 31-35: Matching

Look at the following statements (Questions 31-35) and the methods in the box below. Match each statement with the correct parenting method A-C. NB You may use any letter more than once List of Parenting Methods A attachment parenting B extinction C graduated extinction

31
After a strict bedtime schedule, the child is unattended till morning.
32
All crying is a vocalization of important needs.
33
Caregiver presence as the child drifts to sleep should decrease over time.
34
The emphasis is on the physical closeness between baby and caregiver at any time.
35
Well-fed babies should sleep through the night.

Questions 36-40: Note Completion

Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Attachment Parenting

very stressful as parents have to give in to 36 _________ of the baby but not yet any 37 _________ to show that it works

Extinction Method

a good night's sleep is attained by family members because the baby is 38 _________ and but can lead to 39 _________ such as despair & unhappiness later in life

Graduated Extinction

40. a central position so _________ have been avoided

Phiếu trả lời

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Hiện đáp án

1. FALSE
This is FALSE because the passage says Utzon was 'a relatively little-known architect from Denmark' before winning the competition.
2. FALSE
This is FALSE because only one judge, Eero Saarinen, picked Utzon's design from the rejected entries, not all four judges from the start.
3. TRUE
This is TRUE as Utzon's 'early exposure to shipbuilding provided the inspiration for the design of the roof' which looks like sails.
4. FALSE
This is FALSE because Utzon got the idea for the platform from his travels to Mexico, not from seeing opera houses there.
5. TRUE
This is TRUE because Utzon 'amended his original designs' during the early 1960s after construction began.
6. TRUE
This is TRUE as there were 'protests through the streets led by prominent architect Harry Seidler and others, demanding that Utzon be reinstated as architect.'
7. FALSE
This is FALSE because Utzon 'never returned' to Australia after leaving in 1966.
8. 102 million
The final cost was 'having cost $102 million.'
9. Sweden
The tiles were 'manufactured in a factory in Sweden.'
10. granite
The building's exterior is 'mostly clad with granite quarried in Australia.'
11. four
There are 'four resident companies' at the Opera House.
12. forecourt
There is 'a sizeable outdoor forecourt from which people ascend to the main entrance.'
13. harbour
The new colonnade 'enabled theatre patrons to see the harbour for the first time from the theatre foyers.'
14. iv
Paragraph A is about 'The uniqueness of human intelligence is questioned.'
15. viii
Paragraph B is about 'Examples of birds using tools in creative ways.'
16. i
Paragraph C is about 'How the need for food may have led to intelligence.'
17. ix
Paragraph D is about 'New Caledonian crows and their advanced tool use.'
18. vii
Paragraph E is about 'The link between brain size and innovation in birds.'
19. iii
Paragraph F is about 'How social life may have led to intelligence in birds.'
20. vi
Paragraph G is about 'Deceptive behaviour in birds, especially choughs.'
21. C
New Caledonian crows 'carry their favourite tool from one foraging site to the next' and 'store their tools for later re-use,' which matches keeping tools they like to use.
22. B
Black kites 'pick up a smouldering stick...and drop the stick on a patch of unburned grass. The bird then feasts on the small animals that flee from the subsequent fire,' which is drawing out prey by frightening it.
23. A
Woodpecker finches 'routinely used twigs to extract grubs from under bark,' which is using tools to remove the outer covering from food.
24. B
Black kites have been reported 'dropping bait into lakes to bring fish to the surface,' which is using food to attract their prey.
25. C
New Caledonian crows were observed 'moulding a piece of wire, something they had never seen before, into a hook,' which is using unfamiliar materials to make tools.
26. A
A chough 'is more likely to preen the chicks if another bird can see it do so,' which is engaging in activities for the benefit of observers.
27. paediatrician / pediatrician
'Attachment parenting, a term coined by pediatrician William Sears,' so the answer is paediatrician.
28. developmental psychology
The basis for attachment parenting 'was generated within the field of developmental psychology,' so the answer is developmental psychology.
29. (emmett) holt / emmett holt
The extinction method's 'core postulates...were laid down by Emmett Holt,' so the answer is (emmett) holt / emmett holt.
30. co-sleeping
Ferber 'has since altered his stance to acknowledge the acceptability of co-sleeping,' so the answer is co-sleeping.
31. B
The extinction method says the caregiver should 'remain out of the child's presence until dawn even if he cries,' so the child is unattended till morning.
32. A
Attachment parenting says 'No crying is considered superfluous...caregivers are encouraged to affirm these desires,' so all crying is a vocalization of important needs.
33. C
Graduated extinction involves 'the progressive withdrawal of the caregiver's company...until the baby can sleep without contact,' so caregiver presence should decrease over time.
34. A
Attachment parenting 'places great importance on childhood bonding through the caregiver's holding and cuddling of her baby,' so the emphasis is on physical closeness.
35. B
The extinction method proposes that 'so long as a baby has had adequate calorie intake...he or she can reasonably be expected to maintain nocturnal somnolence,' so well-fed babies should sleep through the night.
36. every demand
Attachment parenting is described as 'very stressful as parents have to give in to every demand of the baby.'
37. conclusive research
The passage mentions 'but not yet any conclusive research to show that it works.'
38. detached(and) apathetic / detached and apathetic
The extinction method can lead to the baby being 'detached and apathetic.'
39. emotional problems
The passage says this method 'can lead to emotional problems such as despair & unhappiness later in life.'
40. vociferous attacks
Ferber's new stance is described as 'a central position so vociferous attacks have been avoided.'

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