Reading 2026-07 Test 25 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

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Reading Passage 1: Reef Fish Study

Tom Holmes examines the relationship between size and survival in fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

It is a widely held belief among those who study animals that larger size conveys some form of advantage throughout life. The idea that certain body characteristics may influence a prey's ability to survive when being attacked by a predator has received considerable attention in the past, and has been applied to a wide range of both animals and habitats. Body size, weight, growth rate, overall condition, sensory development and escape speed have all been linked to survival. Of these, body size has received the most attention from researchers, which has subsequently led to the development of a number of theories on how this characteristic may influence the predator-prey relationship. One of the most popular of these is known as the 'bigger is better' hypothesis. This theory predicts that larger body size should increase an individual's ability to escape from a predator due to the characteristics associated with this, such as overall strength and visual development. Bigger is thought to be better, but is this always the case?

Compared with other habitats and ecosystems, not a great deal is known about predator-prey relationships within tropical reef communities. What we do know is largely limited to predator identity and, to some extent, to what these predators eat. But what drives these interactions and how does body size influence the outcome? How would fish populations respond to the removal of certain predators from a reef fish community? It is precisely these questions that have led our research team to Lizard Island, in the northern sector of the Great Barrier Reef. We want to examine the predator-prey relationship during the 'early juvenile' or larval phase of tropical fish, and determine whether a predator's choice of prey is influenced by factors such as the prey's size, weight and swimming speed, as these characteristics vary from individual to individual at the beginning of the juvenile stage.

Most coral reef fish have a life cycle consisting of an open ocean larval phase followed by a juvenile to adult phase near the reef. The transition between the two stages is marked by rapid and dramatic changes in the body of the fish, and a sudden move from the open ocean to coral reef habitats. This point is commonly known as 'settlement'. Not surprisingly, it is also characterised by increased levels of mortality in the first 48 hours following settlement, as individuals are forced to adapt to life not only on the reef but also with a previously unknown set of predators.

However, studying the interactions between predators and prey during this phase is no easy task. On the northern Great Barrier Reef, coral reef fish settlement usually occurs within 2-3 days of a new moon during the warmer summer months. These short windows of opportunity, combined with the difficulties associated with working underwater, transporting fish and adapting them to the laboratory, often make research a daunting task. These obstacles are overcome using a combination of innovative techniques, long working hours and a measure of sheer persistence. We collect the larval fish immediately prior to settlement using purpose-built traps that use artificial light to attract and contain fish of this life stage only. These fish are subsequently transported to an aquarium, along with predatory fish, before being used in a series of aquarium and field-based trials.

According to the 'bigger is better' hypothesis, being larger at the time of settlement should result in an increased chance of surviving an attack by a predator during the period immediately following settlement. However, our initial research shows that this is not always true. There may be several reasons for this.

Communities of reef-based predators can differ considerably over quite small distances. Species that are abundant in one location may be particularly rare in a similar habitat just 100 metres away. In the same way that different predators prefer different types of prey, so too do they prefer different sizes of prey. This relationship is driven by physical characteristics of predators, such as mouth size, and behavioural differences between different predator species. As a result, the predator community into which a reef fish settles may very well determine which individuals survive.

So why don't larger individuals survive more often than smaller fish over this period? The answer may well lie in an alternative hypothesis known as 'optimal foraging theory'. According to this theory, being either very large or very small in size should assist prey to escape during a predatory encounter. The theory predicts that a predator should prefer those individuals that provide the greatest energy return. This is generally a trade-off between the potential energy intake from eating a fish and the amount of energy required to catch it. Larger prey provide a higher energy return but smaller prey generally require less energy to catch. This usually results in a preference for medium-sized prey.

At the time of settlement, juvenile reef fish vary in the characteristics that can help them survive a predatory attack. However, these characteristics are not strongly associated with body size. For example, larger individuals are not necessarily faster. This means that they may be easier to catch than smaller prey. If this is the case then, according to the optimal foraging theory, predators should prefer larger prey because of their greater energy return. Consequently, larger prey individuals may be targeted by some predators at the time of settlement. Our research hopes to show that larger size may, in fact, be a distinct disadvantage during certain life stages.

1
Research to date has concentrated on the importance of escape speed in surviving an attack by a predator.
2
According to the 'bigger is better' hypothesis, larger animals have better eyesight.
3
Early-juvenile reef fish share similar characteristics.
4
Fully developed reef fish have a slower swimming speed than juveniles.
5
Life cycle of fish in the Lizard Island study: Phase 1: Larval stage takes place in the ________.
6
Life cycle of fish in the Lizard Island study: Phase 2: Juvenile stage takes place close to the ________.
7
Life cycle of fish in the Lizard Island study: Phase 2: ________ rates are high in the early part of this stage.
8
Lizard Island study: time - change of habitat takes place in summer and is linked to the ________.
9
Lizard Island study: adaptation - difficult to move and settle fish into the ________.
10
Lizard Island study: larval fish are drawn into a special trap with the aid of ________.
11
Lizard Island study: ________ are also collected.
12
Lizard Island study: physical features (e.g. ________) affect which prey a predator can eat.
13
Lizard Island study: optimal foraging theory suggests that the most common choice of prey should be ________ in size.

Reading Passage 2: Surviving city life

Although the colonisation of Australia profoundly affected the continent’s natural environment, many plants and animals have actually flourished since European settlement. Some even thrive in the concrete jungle of Australia’s biggest city, Sydney.

Ecologists often prefer to study plants and animals in exotic locations, but a growing number have turned their attention to the complex interactions of the wildlife that inhabits concrete jungles. Inner-city Sydney is the laboratory of choice for a number of ecologists, and their research is timely. More than half the world’s human population resides in cities, and urban development continues to increase all over the world. By 2030, the United Nations projects five billion people will live in cities. Associate Professor Dieter Hochuli, a biologist at the University of Sydney, believes that ‘we need to understand how cities are changing the ecology of the systems they are built on, and how plants and animals are adapting to them’.

If any species has learnt to thrive in an urban environment, it’s the native white ibis. A strange long-legged bird with a bow-shaped beak, it is known as the ‘garbage turkey’. The bird’s reputation for digging through inner-city bins and scavenging street garbage has not endeared it to the public. The white ibis began its move to the city in the 1970s, when large parts of its natural habitat of inland wetlands became degraded due to years of low rainfall. ‘The species is a wetland forager,’ wildlife officer John Martin from Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens says. ‘Now it happily forages in city parks and landfill.’ During the peak of its spring breeding season, there are more than 9,000 of these birds in Sydney.

Specimens at Sydney’s Australian Museum show that the city’s overall bird life has changed dramatically over the two centuries since colonisation. Prior to urban development, Sydney’s native bushland was populated by large numbers of small insect-eating birds, such as the superb fairy-wren and the eastern yellow robin. Today, homeowners prefer to landscape their backyards with tall trees and manicured lawns—an environment that provides little protection for small birds. But one bird’s trash is another’s treasure. Gardens filled with flowering plants and fruit trees favour omnivorous birds such as currawongs, bowerbirds and the city’s most despised resident – the noisy miner. ‘They’re a real winner in cities,’ Australian Museum ornithologist Richard Major says. ‘The predominant driver in the decline of small birds is that we’ve made a suitable environment for native noisy miners.’

Many invertebrates, such as the golden orb-weaver spider and the blue triangle butterfly, also relish living in the city. The golden orb spiders in Sydney are fatter and fitter than species found elsewhere, and Professor Hochuli and his team are trying to understand why. ‘We’re trying to determine whether it’s more food or the urban heat – as it’s up to four degrees warmer in the city.’ Hochuli has also found some varieties of ant more at home in the city. ‘The green ant, known for its painful bite, will build a nest where there is space and food, regardless of whether it’s a backyard or a sports oval.’ ‘It’s remarkable how many things persist in city environments,’ he says. The decline in birds that eat small invertebrates means these populations grow unchecked, allowing them to chew their way through the foliage of the city’s trees.

While some species can survive in relatively small areas, mammals have been confined to patches of bushland scattered around Sydney and its nearby national parks. However, the rabbit-sized, long-nosed bandicoot has discovered the advantages of venturing out to grassy suburban backyards and gardens. ‘They forage for invertebrates in the grass and like the surrounding habitat to nest and escape from predators,’ Catherine Price, a research associate at the University of Sydney, says. Dr Price is trying to understand what encourages the little mammal into urban environments. ‘We don’t know if it’s an overflow from the park, or if they’ve got particular survival traits that allow them to evade dogs and cats, and use the urban habitat that benefits them,’ she says.

It’s not just native wildlife that has sought comfort in city living. Non-native species such as black rodents, cockroaches and foxes have developed survival strategies too. But weeds are the pest that has gained the most advantage. ‘In residential Sydney there would not be a single area of remnant bushland not infested by introduced plant life,’ Michelle Leishman, a Macquarie University plant biologist, says. Over 20 years, Leishman and her colleagues have shown how Sydney’s huge stretches of impermeable concrete, together with the storm-water system, have helped weeds infiltrate the few remaining pockets of bushland. As rain washes over backyards and roadways, it collects chemicals which enter the storm-water system, where they are piped to the edges of bushland. The nutrient-rich water seeps into the earth, favouring the many exotic species that ‘live fast and die young,’ Leishman says. Indigenous plants prefer low-fertility soil and struggle to cope with one that is more fertile.

14
Paragraph A
- i. The behaviour of a small animal expanding its territory
- ii. The urban environment encouraging the spread of imported flora and fauna
- iii. Insects that thrive in urban areas
- iv. A creature which likes rubbish
- v. Creatures which change their shape and colour
- vi. Why natural scientists are interested in studying urban areas
- vii. Changes in the urban built environments encourage particular species
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18
Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
20
It is not clear why one small animal is moving from its natural environment.
- A. Dieter Hochuli
- B. John Martin
- C. Richard Major
- D. Catherine Price
21
Hot weather might positively affect the health of a species.
22
Sydney’s residential gardens suit some species better than others.
23
Research into the natural world’s responses to urban settings is vital.
24
Examples of successful ‘city dwellers’ include small, non-native rats and non-native insects such as ________.
25
Sydney’s large areas of ________ and its drainage network favour the growth of weeds.
26
Water gathers ________ as it passes from gardens and streets into the city drainage network.

Reading Passage 3: Seeing the colour of sounds, hearing the colour of numbers

A What is the colour of five? What is the sound of blue? To most of us such questions are either meaningless or suitable only for poetry. But for some people these are questions to which very precise answers can be given. Five, for example, for some people is green, while others say the sound of a guitar is like someone blowing on their ankles. People who 'see' colour in numbers or letters of the alphabet and 'feel' sensation in sound have synesthesia – meaning literally 'joined sensation' – an extraordinary condition that causes certain senses to 'leak' into one another.

B People whose senses behave in this way are called 'synesthetes'. Some synesthetes take pleasure in it. To me it's like other people see the world in black and white, says one, who sees every letter, number, sound and pain in colour. Others learn to keep it a secret for fear of people laughing at them. But to neurologists investigating the brain it is of great interest. 'When scientists study normal perception,' says Daniel Smilek of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, there are lots of things we don't question because most of us perceive in the same way. Synesthesia, because it's abnormal, can give us new insights into normal perception.

C Seventeenth-century English philosopher John Locke was the first westerner to describe synesthesia. He wrote about a man who experienced bright red as the sound of the trumpet. Later, the condition excited the imagination of nineteenth-century European painters, such as the non-synesthete Wassily Kandinsky, who believed synesthetes were like good, much-played violins, which vibrate in all their parts and fibres. But it proved impossible to research and people lost interest. Recently, however, advances in brain imaging have sparked renewed interest.

D Early claims that the multi-sensory experiences of synesthesia were linked with the hallucinations of mental illness have long been disproved. Until 1993, many researchers dismissed it as another name for a vivid imagination, but then an experiment by Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University in the UK showed that synesthetes who, when tested, had linked particular colours or shapes to letters, gave the same answers in 92 per cent of instances when tested again a week later. Non-synesthetes, given similar examples to imagine, returned the same answers in only 37 per cent of instances.

E Although there is some overlap between synesthetes as to what colour is linked to what – 56 per cent see the letter 'o' as white – most of the responses are individual. There are 30 possible sensory combinations, but links between sounds and colours are the most common. Women are between two and eight times more likely than men to have the condition.

F As yet there is no explanation for any of this, but small pieces of the jigsaw are emerging. A brain scanning experiment by Baron-Cohen in 1995 found that when synesthetes were listening to words, areas of the brain lit up that are normally only active in response to vision and colour. From this comes the notion that we may all have synesthesia at birth, when many parts of the brain are linked, but, as we develop, connections are pruned, so our senses become separated and the synesthetic mechanism is no longer intact. Somehow, synesthetes have kept their synaptic connections intact. It's an idea that has been challenged, however, on the grounds that if you give people certain drugs they will have synesthetic experiences, which suggests the mechanism is intact in adults but repressed.

G There are many more unanswered questions about synesthesia. For example, is the synesthete's colour response to a number five triggered by actually seeing the number five written on a page, or does the synesthete 'see' the colour just by thinking of the number five? The neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran came up with a test for synesthesia which seemed to suggest it was the sight of the number that was important. He asked people to look at a page made up of specially drawn twos and fives that were a mirror image of each other. The fives were placed at random on the page but the twos were placed to form shapes such as circles or triangles. To most people the numbers just looked like a jumble without order, but to synesthetes the patterns made by the twos were very obvious as a different colour from the fives. 'This shows they were really sensing colour in the numbers they saw,' says Ramachandran. 'Ideas don't form these kinds of patterns.'

H However, Smilek subsequently came up with evidence that what really matters is the idea of a number rather than the sight of it on a page. He asked a synesthete to do some simple mental arithmetic while looking at different coloured papers. The subject did not write her answers, but only thought of them and said them aloud. Smilek found that when the colour of the paper clashed with the colour of the answer, the subject's response was slower than when the colours were the same. An actual colour (the colour of the paper) could interfere with the colour of a number that existed only in her head (the answer to the mental arithmetic question). 'My research suggests that colour experiences coincide with the processing of meaning,' says Smilek. 'It's the concept of a number that's coloured.'

I So which is it? At present, we don't know, but in the future neurologists may be able to explain what's going on in the brains of people like the novelist Nabokov, who perceived the English 'a' as dark brown and the French 'e' as black.

27
For synesthetes, hearing the names of things affects the brain in the same way that looking at things does.
- A. Daniel Smilek
- B. John Locke
- C. Simon Baron-Cohen
- D. Vilayanur Ramachandran
28
Synesthetes are consistent in their association of a certain colour with a certain written symbol.
29
One synesthete heard a particular musical instrument when he saw a certain colour.
30
Because synesthetes experience things differently to other people, studying synesthesia can give fresh perspectives on how the senses usually work.
31
an investigation into synesthesia using modern medical technology
32
a mention of a writer who was a synesthete
33
a definition of synesthesia
34
two different explanations of why synesthesia is uncommon in adults
35
a reason why some synesthetes do not tell people about their experiences
36
The painter Kandinsky admired synesthetes.
37
It is no longer believed that synesthesia is associated with mental illness.
38
Equal numbers of men and women have synesthesia.
39
Synesthetes have greater powers of logic than people with normal perception.
40
It is possible that we are all born with synesthesia.

Phiếu trả lời

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Hiện đáp án

1. FALSE
The passage says research has focused on 'other factors' besides escape speed, so it is FALSE that escape speed has been the main focus.
2. TRUE
The passage explains the 'bigger is better' hypothesis, saying larger animals have better eyesight, so this is TRUE.
3. FALSE
The passage states early-juvenile reef fish are 'highly variable,' so it is FALSE they share similar characteristics.
4. NOT GIVEN
There is no information in the passage about the swimming speed of fully developed reef fish compared to juveniles, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
5. open ocean
The passage says the larval stage happens in the 'open ocean,' so this is the correct answer.
6. reef
The passage describes the juvenile stage as taking place 'close to the reef,' so 'reef' is correct.
7. Mortality
The passage mentions 'mortality rates are high' in the early part of the juvenile stage, so 'mortality' is the answer.
8. new moon
The passage links the habitat change to the 'new moon' in summer, so 'new moon' is correct.
9. laboratory
The passage says it is difficult to move and settle fish into the 'laboratory,' so this is the answer.
10. artificial light
The passage says larval fish are attracted into a trap using 'artificial light,' so this is correct.
11. Predatory fish
The passage mentions that 'predatory fish' are also collected, so this is the answer.
12. mouth size
The passage says physical features like 'mouth size' affect which prey a predator can eat, so 'mouth size' is correct.
13. medium-sized
The passage states optimal foraging theory suggests predators choose prey that are 'medium-sized,' so this is the answer.
14. vi
Paragraph A discusses why natural scientists are interested in urban areas, matching option vi.
15. iv
Paragraph B talks about a creature that likes rubbish, matching option iv.
16. vii
Paragraph C explains how changes in urban environments encourage certain species, matching option vii.
17. iii
Paragraph D describes insects that thrive in urban areas, matching option iii.
18. i
Paragraph E discusses the behaviour of a small animal expanding its territory, matching option i.
19. ii
Paragraph F talks about the spread of imported flora and fauna in urban environments, matching option ii.
20. D
Catherine Price is mentioned as not being clear about why the animal is moving, so D is correct. The tempting wrong option A (Dieter Hochuli) is not linked to this uncertainty.
21. A
Dieter Hochuli is mentioned in relation to hot weather possibly benefiting a species, so A is correct. Option B (John Martin) does not discuss this.
22. C
Richard Major says some species do better in Sydney’s gardens than others, so C is correct. Option D (Catherine Price) does not discuss this.
23. A
Dieter Hochuli says research into urban nature is vital, so A is correct. Option C (Richard Major) does not mention the importance of this research.
24. cockroaches
The passage lists cockroaches as an example of successful non-native city insects, so 'cockroaches' is correct.
25. concrete
The passage says Sydney’s 'concrete' areas and drainage help weeds grow, so 'concrete' is the answer.
26. chemicals
The passage says water gathers 'chemicals' as it moves through the city, so 'chemicals' is correct.
27. C
Simon Baron-Cohen is linked to research showing hearing names affects the brain like seeing things, so C is correct. Option D (Ramachandran) does not discuss this.
28. C
Simon Baron-Cohen found synesthetes are consistent in their color-symbol links, so C is correct. Option A (Smilek) does not mention this.
29. B
John Locke wrote about a synesthete who heard a musical instrument when seeing a color, so B is correct. Option C (Baron-Cohen) does not mention this example.
30. A
Daniel Smilek says studying synesthesia gives new ideas about how senses work, so A is correct. Option D (Ramachandran) does not mention this benefit.
31. F
Paragraph F describes an investigation using modern medical technology, so F is correct.
32. I
Paragraph I mentions a writer who was a synesthete, so I is correct.
33. A
Paragraph A gives a definition of synesthesia, so A is correct.
34. F
Paragraph F gives two explanations for why synesthesia is rare in adults, so F is correct.
35. B
Paragraph B gives a reason why some synesthetes do not tell others about their experiences, so B is correct.
36. TRUE
The passage says Kandinsky admired synesthetes, so this is TRUE.
37. TRUE
The passage states that synesthesia is no longer thought to be linked to mental illness, so this is TRUE.
38. FALSE
The passage says more women than men have synesthesia, so it is FALSE that equal numbers have it.
39. NOT GIVEN
The passage does not mention if synesthetes have greater logic skills, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
40. TRUE
The passage says it is possible we are all born with synesthesia, so this is TRUE.

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Reading Passage 1: Reef Fish Study

Reading Passage 2: Surviving city life

Reading Passage 3: Seeing the colour of sounds, hearing the colour of numbers

Phiếu trả lời

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