Reading 2026-09 Test 3 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

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Reading Passage 1: Dolls Through the Ages

What is today a simple children's toy has a surprisingly rich history. Dolls have been a part of humankind for thousands of years. Often depicting religious figures, or used as playthings, early dolls were probably made from primitive materials such as clay, fur, or wood. Dolls constructed of flat pieces of wood, painted with various designs, and with 'hair' made of clay, have often been found in Egyptian graves dating back to 2000 BC. Egyptian tombs of wealthy families have included pottery dolls. Dolls being placed in these graves leads some to believe that they were cherished possessions. Girls from ancient Greece and Rome offered their wooden dolls to goddesses after they were too 'grown-up' to play with dolls. Most ancient dolls that were found in tombs were very simple creations, often made from such materials as clay, rags, wood, or bone. Some of the more unique dolls were made with ivory or wax. The main goal was to make the doll as lifelike as possible. That idea led to the creation of dolls with movable limbs and removable garments, dating back to 600 BC.

Following the era of the ancient dolls, Europe became a major hub for doll production. These dolls were primarily made of wood. Fewer than 30 examples of primitive wooden stump dolls from England survive today. The Grodnertal area of Germany produced many peg wooden dolls, a type of doll that has very simple peg joints and resembles a clothespin (a device for hanging washing on a clothesline). An alternative to wood was developed in the 1800s. 'Composition' is a collective term for mixtures of pulped wood or paper that were used to make doll heads and bodies. These mixtures were moulded under pressure, creating a durable doll that could be mass-produced. Manufacturers closely guarded the recipes for their mixtures, sometimes using strange ingredients like ash or eggshells. Papier-mâché, a type of composition, was one of the most popular mixtures.

In addition to wooden dolls, wax dolls grew in popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Munich in Germany was a major manufacturing centre for wax dolls. Wax dollmakers would model a doll's head in wax or clay, and then cover it with plaster to create a mould. Then they would pour melted wax into the cast. The wax for the head would be very thin, no more than 3mm. Some of the most distinctive wax dolls were created in England between 1850 and 1930. One of the first dolls that portrayed a baby was made in England from wax at the beginning of the 19th century.

Around the same time, porcelain became popular. It is made by firing special clays in a kiln at more than 2372 degrees Fahrenheit (1300°C), and only a few clays can withstand firing at such high temperatures. Porcelain is used generically to refer to both china and bisque dolls; china is glazed, whereas bisque is unglazed. Germany, France, and Denmark started creating china heads for dolls in the 1840s. These china heads were replaced in the 1860s by ones made of bisque. Bisque, which is porcelain fired twice with colour added to it after the first firing, looked more like skin than china did. In France, the bébé was popular in the 1880s, and it has become a highly sought-after doll today. The bébé, first made in the 1850s, was different from its predecessors because it depicted a younger girl. Until then, most French dolls were representations of adults. Although the French dolls were unrivalled in their artistry, German bisque dolls became quite popular because they were not as expensive. Kammer & Reinhardt introduced a bisque character doll in the 1900s, starting a trend of creating realistic dolls.

For many centuries, rag dolls were made by mothers for their children. The term 'rag doll' refers generically to dolls made of any fabric. 'Cloth doll' refers to a subset of rag dolls made of linen or cotton. Commercially produced rag dolls were first introduced in the 1850s by English and American manufacturers. Although not as sophisticated as dolls made from other materials, rag dolls were well loved, often as a child's first toy.

Dollmaking did not become an industry in the United States until after the Civil War in the 1860s. Doll production was concentrated in the New England region of the United States, with dolls made from a variety of materials such as leather, rubber, papier-mâché, and cloth. Celluloid was developed in the state of New Jersey in the late 1860s and was used to manufacture dolls until the mid-1950s. German, French, American, and Japanese factories churned out cheaply produced celluloid dolls in mass quantities. However, celluloid fell out of favour because of its extreme flammability and propensity to fade in bright light.

After World War I, dollmakers experimented with plastics. Hard plastic dolls were manufactured in the 1940s. They resembled composition dolls, but they were much more durable. Other materials used in doll manufacturing included rubber, foam rubber, and vinyl in the 1950s and 1960s. Vinyl changed dollmaking, allowing dollmakers to root hair into the head, rather than using wigs or painting the hair. Although most dolls are now mass manufactured using these modern materials, many modern dollmakers are still using the traditional materials of the past to make collectible dolls.

1
Egypt, 2000 BC – bodies were made of wood. ______ was used for the hair.
2
Ancient Greece and Rome – dolls were given to ______ by older girls.
3
600 BC – realistic dolls had separate clothes and ______ that could be put in different positions.
4
17th and 18th centuries – dolls made of ______ became more common.
5
17th and 18th centuries – moulds made of ______.
6
1800s – new group of mixtures known as ______.
7
Bisque dolls appear less realistic than dolls made of china.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
8
French dolls tended to cost more than German bisque dolls.
9
The first rag dolls were made in the 1850s.
10
Only dolls made of cotton or linen are classified as cloth dolls.
11
Dolls made of celluloid tended to lose their colour.
12
Composition dolls lasted longer than the plastic dolls that were made in the 1940s.
13
Doll collectors prefer a doll to be dressed in its original clothing.

Reading Passage 2: Bird Migration

A Birds are highly mobile and among the swiftest of living creatures. Flight gives them the power to move in any direction for as long as they have the energy to keep going. They are equipped with lightweight, hollow bones, a finely-tuned navigation system and an ingenious heat-conserving design that allows them to face life in the harshest of climates. Their respiratory systems have to perform efficiently during sustained flights at altitude, so they have evolved a system of extracting air from their lungs that far exceeds that of any other animal. These features enable birds to come and go with the seasons. On the way, they face constant danger and a daily requirement to find food, water and a safe place to rest. So why do millions of birds migrate rather than stay in one place?

B Most of the explanation revolves around food. In temperate and arctic regions of the northern hemisphere, food is abundant during a short growing season. Migration evolved as a way for birds to exploit resources that are seasonally abundant and, equally important, to go elsewhere when the resources become scarce or harsh weather arrives. Many species can tolerate cold temperatures if food is plentiful but when food is not available they must migrate.

C While this simple explanation for why birds migrate is essentially true, intriguing questions remain. One puzzling fact is that many birds journey much further than would be necessary to find food and good weather. Another apparent conundrum involves the huge migrations performed by arctic birds and mudflat-probing shore birds that breed close to polar regions. In general, the further north a migrant species breeds, the further south it spends the winter. Yet, en route to a final destination in southern latitudes, all these individuals overfly areas of seemingly suitable habitat spanning two hemispheres. Such compulsive journeys probably evolved over time and in response to fluctuations in weather but we do not really know.

D But just how do birds reach their destination and, more to the point, how do young birds migrate over vast distances without parental assistance? Very few adults migrate accompanied by their offspring and youngsters may have little or no inkling of their parents' appearance. Cuckoos are famous for depositing their eggs in the nests of other birds that unwittingly serve as foster-parents. Astonishing as this piece of evolutionary behaviour is, it is even more remarkable to consider that, once grown, the young cuckoo makes its own way to ancestral wintering grounds in the tropics before returning single-handedly to northern Europe to seek out a mate among its own kind.

E As we continue to study bird migration, its mystery is better understood but also compounded. Mounting evidence has confirmed that birds use the sun and stars to obtain compass directions but true navigation requires an awareness of position and time, especially when lost. Experiments have shown that, after being taken thousands of miles over an unfamiliar landmass, birds are still capable of returning rapidly to nest sites. Such phenomenal powers are the product of computing a number of sophisticated cues including an innate map of the night sky and the pull of the Earth's magnetic field. How the birds use their 'instruments' remains unknown, but one thing is clear – they see the world with a sensory perception superior to ours. Most small birds migrate at night and take their direction from the position of the setting sun. However, as well as seeing the sun go down, they also seem to see the plane of polarised light it causes. This calibrates their compass. Travelling at night provides other benefits: the danger of meeting predators as well as the risk of dehydration due to flying for long periods in warm sunlit skies is reduced. Furthermore, at night the air structure is cool and smooth and conducive to sustained, stable flight.

F Nevertheless, all journeys involve considerable risk and part of the skill in arriving safely is setting off at the right time. This means accurate weather forecasting and utilising favourable winds. Birds are adept at both and, in tests, some can detect the minute difference in barometric pressure between the floor and ceiling of a room. Often birds react to weather changes before there is any visible sign of them. Certain species that feed on grassland flee at the onset of a cold snap because when the ground surface freezes the birds could starve. Yet they return ahead of a thaw, their arrival linked to a pressure change presaging an improvement in the weather.

G Unfortunately, some never complete their journey. Not so long ago the assumption was that a bird in the air on a dark windy night with no visible reference points to judge position was, like a pilot without radar, hopelessly lost. We now know this is not the case. Losses do occur, but mainly because birds get swept off course by strong air masses against which battle is futile, and this results in a watery grave. Indeed, it is not unusual for ocean fish to be caught with bird remains in their stomachs. But sometimes there's a silver lining. Each autumn a small number of North American birds are blown across the Atlantic by fast-moving westerly tail winds. Not only do they arrive safely in Europe but, based on tracking evidence, some make it back to North America in the following spring – probably after spending the winter with European migrants in sunny African climes.

14
Paragraph A
- i. The importance of timing the journey
- ii. Physical adaptations for migration
- iii. The role of predators
- iv. The search for food
- v. Scientific studies of navigation
- vi. Migration without teaching
- vii. The effect of climate
- viii. The role of the sun
- ix. Problems and success with wind
- x. Rejection of closer feeding grounds
15
Paragraph B
16
Paragraph C
17
Paragraph D
18
Paragraph E
19
Paragraph F
20
Paragraph G
21
According to the passage, which TWO of the following statements are true of migrating birds?
- A. Many birds migrate longer distances than they need to.
- B. Family groups migrate most successfully.
- C. Birds need less water if they migrate at night.
- D. Only shore birds are unaffected by wind.
- E. Birds are unable to survive if separated from other members of their own species.
22
The cuckoo is able to migrate despite a lack of ____ guidance.
23
Night travel benefits birds because they can avoid contact with ____.
24
Some birds can anticipate weather changes without ____ clues.
25
In the past, birds were thought to be ____ when flying in the dark.

Reading Passage 3: Living dunes

Things don’t come much stranger than heaps of sand that can move and sing of their own accord. Sally Palmer investigates.

A Armies of giant sand dunes are advancing across the world’s deserts, engulfing anything that crosses their path. They are tens of metres tall and hundreds of metres long. Fortunately, they aren’t going very fast. Even the smallest, speediest dunes only travel about 100 metres over the course of a year, while the bigger ones, which weigh something in the order of 10,000 tonnes, barely move one metre in that time. However, their insidious creep can have serious consequences if there is an oil installation or a railway line in their path.

B About 47% of the world’s land mass, including Antarctica, most of Australia and large areas of Africa, is classified as arid or semi-arid desert. Only around 20% of that is sand-covered, however, and over half of that is classified as ‘linear’ sand dunes. These form in a long curving wave, as a result of wind blowing strongly from several quarters, flipping them from side to side. Although linear dunes are static, sand blowing off them can cause problems for desert villages, burying crops and buildings.

C Moving dunes make up just a small percentage of the rest, but they are of the most interest to scientists. They are known as ‘barchans’: heavy, crescent-shaped sand piles with a ridged crest and two elongated arms, one curving away to either side. ‘Barchan dunes only tend to form where you have one-directional winds on the edge of sandy deserts near coastal areas,’ says Giles Wiggs, a geomorphologist at Oxford University, who has been studying the formation and movement of sand dunes for more than a decade.

D But even with strong winds, how can entire barchans move while retaining their form? That question was first answered in the mid-20th century by British explorer Ralph Alger Bagnold, and his answer hinges on the fact that dunes aren’t solid, but granular. Bagnold figured out how barchan dunes are able to move grain by grain. Imagine a single grain of sand being blown up the back of a dune by the wind and deposited on the top. More grains follow the same pattern, until the accumulated weight of piled-up sand finally pushes the top down the dune face. The grain tumbles, then stops on the face until subsequent mini-avalanches bury it. Eventually, it reappears at the back of the dune, ready to repeat the process. As this happens to every grain of sand in the dune, the whole thing creeps in the direction of the prevailing wind.

E The relationship between the wind and barchan dunes is complex. As a dune grows, it modifies the speed and course of the wind, which in turn alters how that dune and its neighbours evolve. ‘Interestingly, the dune can regulate its own shape, and maintain it as it moves,’ says Dr Stéphane Douady, a physicist at École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in France. ‘Even when two dunes collide, they quickly take on their distinctive shapes again. It’s like a living organism.’

F Douady and his colleagues have also been studying an even odder phenomenon than moving dunes: some barchans actually sing. Local legends attributed the sounds to dangerous spirits which were trying to trap unwary travellers. Douady is more pragmatic. ‘It’s a strong booming noise with a low frequency,’ he explains, making a noise like a foghorn to demonstrate. ‘It can last for a long time – up to several minutes. It’s a very loud sound and you don’t understand where it’s coming from when you first hear it.’ There are about 50 dunes distributed across 35 deserts round the world that are known to sing. Douady says the sound is caused by the way sand avalanches down the faces of particular dunes. Rather than tumbling randomly, the sand grains flow in synchrony and set each other vibrating like the membrane on a gigantic loudspeaker. The synchronisation causes the air to move in and out between the grains, creating a powerful sound wave.

G What really surprised the scientists, however, was that they were able to take samples of the singing sand back to France and replicate the sound at ENS, proving that it’s the sand, not the dune shape, that causes the sound. Their studies show the grains are a uniform shape, well-rounded from years of striking each other, and that the variations in size affect the tone. Crucially, the grains are coated with a special veneer, which Douady calls ‘desert glaze’, made from a precise combination of minerals from surrounding rocks including iron, aluminium, manganese, silicon and calcium. The team found that after a month or so, the veneer wore off and the grains lost their ‘voice’. ‘We managed to reproduce the desert glaze and then the grains started to sing again,’ says Douady. ‘We tried putting the coating onto different grains, but they weren’t round enough and it didn’t work. But some American colleagues made some artificial grains and managed to make them sing, after covering them in desert glaze.’ Douady has now made recordings of dunesong from all over the world which are to be made into a CD.

26
Paragraph A
- i. Moving rapidly
- ii. Recreating a phenomenon in the laboratory
- iii. Music created by human movement
- iv. Threats to industry and transport
- v. Coming together and re-forming
- vi. Formed under special conditions
- vii. A continuous cycle
- viii. The most common type
- ix. Explaining an old superstition
27
Paragraph B
28
Paragraph C
29
Paragraph D
30
Paragraph E
31
Paragraph F
32
Paragraph G
33
What are we told about linear dunes?
- A. They are formed by strong winds blowing from one direction.
- B. They can move up to 100 metres in a twelve-month period.
- C. They develop in a recognisable shape.
- D. They make up about 20% of the world’s deserts.
34
Bagnold discovered that movement in barchans was caused by
- A. the long straight shape of the dunes.
- B. the particular composition of the dunes.
- C. the exceptionally heavy nature of the sand grains.
- D. the unusual strength of the wind in certain seasons.
35
Why does Dr Douady compare a barchan dune to a living organism?
- A. It starts small and then increases in size.
- B. It has an effect on its immediate surroundings.
- C. Its relations with desert organisms are quite developed.
- D. Its outline stays the same even after a period of movement.
36
Singing dunes, which belong to the type of dunes known as ____ , produce a very loud sound which is transmitted at a low frequency. Researchers have worked out that sand grains fall down the dune and start vibrating against other grains, forming a sound wave.
37
Research proves that the individual grains have a similar ____ , but the differences in dimensions alter the ____ of the ‘song’. Each grain is covered with a mixture of different ____ , and this is vital to the sound production. (Fill in the three blanks in order)

Phiếu trả lời

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Hiện đáp án

1. clay
The answer is 'clay' because the passage says that in Egypt, 2000 BC, bodies were made of wood and clay was used for the hair.
2. goddesses
The answer is 'goddesses' because the passage mentions that in Ancient Greece and Rome, older girls gave their dolls to goddesses.
3. limbs
The answer is 'limbs' because the passage states that realistic dolls from 600 BC had separate clothes and limbs that could be put in different positions.
4. wax
The answer is 'wax' because the passage says that in the 17th and 18th centuries, dolls made of wax became more common.
5. plaster
The answer is 'plaster' because the passage explains that in the 17th and 18th centuries, moulds were made of plaster.
6. composition
The answer is 'composition' because the passage notes that in the 1800s, a new group of mixtures known as composition was introduced.
7. B
The answer is FALSE because the passage says bisque dolls appear more realistic than dolls made of china, not less. The tempting wrong answer TRUE fails because it is the opposite of what the passage says.
8. A
The answer is TRUE because the passage states that French dolls tended to cost more than German bisque dolls.
9. B
The answer is FALSE because the passage says rag dolls existed before the 1850s, so the statement is not correct.
10. A
The answer is TRUE because the passage says only dolls made of cotton or linen are classified as cloth dolls.
11. A
The answer is TRUE because the passage mentions that dolls made of celluloid tended to lose their colour.
12. B
The answer is FALSE because the passage says plastic dolls made in the 1940s lasted longer than composition dolls. The tempting wrong answer TRUE fails because it reverses the facts.
13. C
The answer is NOT GIVEN because the passage does not say if collectors prefer dolls dressed in original clothing.
14. ii
The answer is ii (Physical adaptations for migration) because Paragraph A discusses how birds' bodies are adapted for migration.
15. iv
The answer is iv (The search for food) because Paragraph B talks about birds migrating to find food.
16. x
The answer is x (Rejection of closer feeding grounds) because Paragraph C explains why birds do not stop at closer feeding grounds.
17. vi
The answer is vi (Migration without teaching) because Paragraph D describes how some birds migrate without being taught by parents.
18. v
The answer is v (Scientific studies of navigation) because Paragraph E discusses scientific research on how birds navigate.
19. i
The answer is i (The importance of timing the journey) because Paragraph F talks about how birds time their migration.
20. ix
The answer is ix (Problems and success with wind) because Paragraph G discusses how wind affects migration.
21. A / C
The answers are A and C. A is correct because the passage says many birds migrate farther than needed, and C is correct because birds need less water if they migrate at night. The tempting wrong answer B fails because the passage does not say family groups migrate most successfully.
22. parental
The answer is 'parental' because the passage says the cuckoo can migrate without parental guidance.
23. predators
The answer is 'predators' because the passage states that night travel helps birds avoid contact with predators.
24. visible
The answer is 'visible' because the passage says some birds can anticipate weather changes without visible clues.
25. lost
The answer is 'lost' because the passage says people used to think birds were lost when flying in the dark.
26. iv
The answer is iv (Threats to industry and transport) because Paragraph A discusses how dunes can threaten industry and transport.
27. viii
The answer is viii (The most common type) because Paragraph B describes the most common type of dunes.
28. vi
The answer is vi (Formed under special conditions) because Paragraph C explains dunes formed under special conditions.
29. vii
The answer is vii (A continuous cycle) because Paragraph D talks about the continuous cycle of dune formation and movement.
30. v
The answer is v (Coming together and re-forming) because Paragraph E discusses how dunes come together and re-form.
31. ix
The answer is ix (Explaining an old superstition) because Paragraph F explains an old superstition about dunes.
32. ii
The answer is ii (Recreating a phenomenon in the laboratory) because Paragraph G describes recreating dune sounds in the lab.
33. C
The answer is C because the passage says linear dunes develop in a recognisable shape. The tempting wrong answer D fails because the passage does not say they make up 20% of deserts.
34. B
The answer is B because Bagnold discovered that the movement in barchans was caused by the particular composition of the dunes.
35. D
The answer is D because Dr Douady compares a barchan dune to a living organism since its outline stays the same even after moving. The tempting wrong answer A fails because the passage does not focus on size increase.
36. barchans
The answer is 'barchans' because the passage says singing dunes, which are a type of barchan, produce a loud sound.
37. shape / tone / minerals
The answers are 'shape', 'tone', and 'minerals' because the passage says the grains have a similar shape, but differences in dimensions change the tone, and each grain is covered with different minerals, which is important for the sound.

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Reading Passage 1: Dolls Through the Ages

Reading Passage 2: Bird Migration

Reading Passage 3: Living dunes

Phiếu trả lời

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