Reading 2026-01 Test 15 — IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test with Answers

基于考生回忆投稿及材料收集整理 — 非官方 IELTS 资料。

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 ideal 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 3 mm. 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
Dolls Earliest known dolls • represented religious figures • used as toys • 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
moulds made of ______
6
1800s • new manufacturing process developed • new group of mixtures known as ______ • recipes for these mixtures kept secret
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: The plan to bring an asteroid to Earth

Moving in orbit around our Sun are millions of rocks known as asteroids. Now scientists have plans to capture one.

Send a robot into space, catch an asteroid and bring it back to Earth’s orbit. This, say scientists and engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), could be feasible. A four-day workshop was dedicated to investigating the feasibility of capturing a near-Earth asteroid, bringing it closer to our planet and using it as a base for future manned space-flight missions. This is not something the scientists are imagining could be done someday in the future. It is possible with the technology we have today and could be accomplished within a decade. A robotic probe could anchor to an asteroid with simple magnets or grab it with specialised claws. Alternatively, a large spacecraft could use its gravitational field to shift the orbit of a larger asteroid, sending it towards Earth. ‘Once you get over the initial reaction — You want to do what?! — it actually starts to seem like a reasonable idea,’ says engineer John Brophy, who helped organise the workshop. In fact, many of these ideas have been on the drawing board for years as part of NASA’s planetary-defence programme against large space-based objects that might threaten Earth. And there’s no shortage of potential targets: NASA estimates there are 19,500 asteroids at least 100 metres wide within 45 million kilometres of Earth.

Though rearranging the heavens may seem an excessive undertaking, this US mission has its merits. The US already has plans to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid, a mission that would mean confining them in a tiny capsule for three to six months and would involve all the risks of a deep-space voyage. Instead, robots could bring an asteroid close enough for them to get there in just a month. An asteroid would provide a stationary base from which to launch missions further into space. There are several advantages to this. For one, launching missions carrying materials from Earth requires a lot of power, fuel and, consequently, money, because of our planet’s strong force of gravity. Since this would be far weaker on an asteroid, materials mined there could be more easily taken off the asteroid and shuttled around the solar system. Many asteroids have a lot to offer. Some are rich in metals, which can be mined and used to build space-based habitats, or brought back to Earth. Others are up to one-quarter water, which could be used for life-support or broken down into hydrogen and oxygen to make fuel. Astronomers would also have the chance to get a close-up look at one of the solar system’s earliest relics, generating important scientific data. ‘Executing the asteroid-retrieval plan would help demonstrate and greatly expand mankind’s space-based engineering capabilities,’ says engineer Louis Friedman, another co-organiser of the Caltech workshop. For instance, the mission would teach engineers how to capture an unco-operative target, which could be useful practice for planetary-defence missions in the event of a threat from a meteoroid or comet approaching our planet,’ he adds.

Former astronaut Rusty Schweickart, co-founder of the B612 Foundation, an organisation dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid strikes, points out that although it would be technically feasible, shifting such a hefty and substantial target would not be easy: ‘You’re moving the largest mother-lode imaginable,’ he says. Engineers would need to be absolutely certain they could control such a potentially dangerous object. ‘It’s the opposite of planetary defence; if you do something wrong you have a Tunguska event,’ says engineer Marco Tantardini from the Planetary Society, referring to the powerful 1908 explosion above a remote Russian region thought to have been caused by a meteoroid or comet.

Still, these obstacles only add to the appeal of the project for engineers, who love to go over every potential difficulty in order to solve it. And if the challenges posed by a large asteroid seem too daunting, researchers could always start with a smaller asteroid, perhaps two to ten metres across. Last year, Brophy helped conduct a study to look at the feasibility of bringing a two-metre, 1,000-kilogram asteroid — of which there might conceivably be millions — to the International Space Station. The study suggested the asteroid could be captured robotically in something as simple as a large bag. Of course, such a small object might not have the same emotional impact as a larger target. ‘NASA isn’t going to want to go to something that is smaller than our spaceships,’ says engineer Dan Mazanek from NASA’s Langley Research Center.

No matter the size of the asteroid, these plans would require hefty investments. Even capturing a small asteroid would consume at least a billion dollars. Convincing taxpayers to foot such a bill could be difficult. However, private industry might be interested in getting involved. One possibility would be to push the asteroid into near-Earth orbit and then invite anyone who wants to develop the capabilities to reach and mine the object. However, although the undertaking might be scientifically exciting and provide great insight into the solar system’s formation, this is not enough on its own to justify the expense of bringing an asteroid to Earth. Investigations of asteroids can be done much more cheaply with an unmanned spacecraft, says chemist Joseph A. Nuth from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. According to Brophy, ultimately we would be working towards bringing an asteroid closer to Earth in order to help humanity move out into the solar system.

14
Section A
- i. The need for skill and care
- ii. Choosing the richest asteroid
- iii. The safest way to protect an asteroid
- iv. Obtaining support for the project
- v. An achievable goal, not an impossible dream
- vi. The need for global cooperation
- vii. Beginning with a less challenging task
- viii. Practical, economic and research justifications
15
Section B
16
Section C
17
Section D
18
Section E
19
Louis Friedman
- A. A mistake could have serious consequences for Earth.
- B. It might be difficult to arouse interest in an asteroid of limited size.
- C. The project could be an early step in space exploration.
- D. An asteroid’s weight makes the project extremely challenging.
- E. The skill gained could save Earth from future danger.
- F. An asteroid could be a useful landing place for a spaceship.
- G. Capturing an asteroid would not be an efficient method of research.
20
Rusty Schweickart
21
Dan Mazanek
22
Joseph A. Nuth
23
The merits of the US mission: Capture of an asteroid would reduce the time that astronauts travelling to it needed to spend in space. An asteroid could also act as a ______ for further space travel and exploration.
24
The fact that an asteroid would have weaker ______ would allow easier movement of resources.
25
These resources include ______ which could be used in space or on Earth, and ______ which could be consumed or used as a source of power.

Reading Passage 3: Detection of a Meteorite Lake

As the sun rose over picturesque Lake Bosumtwi, a team of Syracuse University researchers prepared for another day of using state-of-the-art equipment to help bottom. Nestled in the heart of Ghana, the lake holds an untapped reservoir of information that could help scientists predict future climate changes by looking at evidence from the past. This information will also improve the scientists’ understanding of the changes that occur in a region struck by a massive meteorite.

The project, led by earth sciences professor Christopher Scholz of the College of Arts and Sciences and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is the first large-scale effort to study Lake Bosumtwi, which formed 1.1 million years ago when a giant meteor crashed into the Earth’s surface. The resulting crater is one of the largest and most well-preserved geologically young craters in the world, says Scholz, who is collaborating on the project with researchers from the University of Arizona, the University of South Carolina, the University of Rhode Island, and several Ghanaian institutions. “Our data should provide information about what happens when an impact hits hard, pre-Cambrian, crystalline rocks that are a billion years old,” he says.

Equally important is the fact that the lake, which is about 8 kilometers in diameter, has no natural outlet. The rim of the crater rises about 250 meters above the water’s surface. Streams flow into the lake, Scholz says, but the water leaves only by evaporation, or by seeping through the lake sediments. For the past million years, the lake has acted as a tropical rain gauge, filling and drying with changes in precipitation and the tropical climate. The record of those changes is hidden in the sediment below the lake bottom. “The lake is one of the best sites in the world for the study of tropical climate changes,” Scholz says. “The tropics are the heat engine for the Earth’s climate. To understand the global climate, we need to have records of climate changes from many sites around the world, including the tropics.”

Before the researchers could explore the lake’s subsurface, they needed a boat with a large, working deck area that could carry eight tons of scientific equipment. The boat – dubbed R/V Kilindi – was built in Florida last year. It was constructed in modules that were dismantled, packed inside a shipping container, and reassembled over a 10-day period in late November and early December 1999 in the rural village of Abono, Ghana. The research team then spent the next two weeks testing the boat and equipment before returning to the United States for the holidays.

In mid-January, five members of the team – Keely Brooks, an earth sciences graduate student; Peter Cattaneo, a research analyst; and Kiram Lezzar, a postdoctoral scholar, all from SU; James McGill, a geophysical field engineer; and Nick Peters, a Ph.D. student in geophysics from the University of Miami – returned to Abono to begin collecting data about the lake’s subsurface using a technique called seismic reflection profiling. In this process, a high-pressure air gun is used to create small, pneumatic explosions in the water. The sound energy penetrates about 1,000 to 2,000 meters into the lake’s subsurface before bouncing back to the surface of the water.

The reflected sound energy is detected by underwater microphones – called hydrophones – embedded in a 50-meter-long cable that is towed behind the boat as it crosses the lake in a carefully designed grid pattern. On-board computers record the signals, and the resulting data are then processed and analyzed in the laboratory. “The results will give us a good idea of the shape of the basin, how thick the layers of sediment are, and when and where there were major changes in sediment accumulation,” Scholz says. “We are now developing a three-dimensional perspective of the lake’s subsurface and the layers of sediment that have been laid down.”

Team members spent about four weeks in Ghana collecting the data. They worked seven days a week, arriving at the lake just after sunrise. On a good day, when everything went as planned, the team could collect data and be back at the dock by early afternoon. Except for a few relatively minor adjustments, the equipment and the boat worked well. Problems that arose were primarily non-scientific – tree stumps, fishing nets, cultural barriers, and occasional misunderstandings with local villagers.

Lake Bosumtwi, the largest natural freshwater lake in the country, is sacred to the Ashanti people, who believe their souls come to the lake to bid farewell to their god. The lake is also the primary source of fish for the 26 surrounding villages. Conventional canoes and boats are forbidden. Fishermen travel on the lake by floating on traditional planks they propel with small paddles. Before the research project could begin, Scholz and his Ghanaian counterparts had to secure special permission from tribal chiefs to put the R/V Kilindi on the lake.

When the team began gathering data, rumors flew around the lake as to why the researchers were there. “Some thought we were dredging the lake for gold, others thought we were going to drain the lake or that we had bought the lake,” Cattaneo says. “But once the local people understood why we were there, they were very helpful.”

26
With the investigation of the lake, the scientist may predict the climate changes in the future.
27
The crater resulted from a meteorite impact is the largest and most preserved one in the world.
28
The water stored in lake Bosumtwi was gone only by seeping through the lake sediments.
29
Historical climate changes can be detected by the analysis of the sediment in the lake.
30
The greatest obstacle to the research of scientists had been the interference by the locals due to their indigenous.
31
Step 1 in collecting data from the lake (flow chart):
32
Step 2 in collecting data from the lake (flow chart):
33
Step 3 in collecting data from the lake (flow chart):
34
Step 4 in collecting data from the lake (flow chart):
35
The boat-double R/V Kilindi crossed the lake was dismantled and stored in a _______.
36
The technology they used called _______.
37
Then the data had been analyzed and processed in the _______.
38
Scholz also added that they were now building _______ view of the sediment or sub-image in the bottom of the lake.
39
The whole set of equipment works well yet the ship should avoid physical barrier including tree stumps or _______ floating on the surface of the lake.

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1. clay
The answer is 'clay' because the passage says that in Egypt, 2000 BC, dolls had bodies made of wood and clay was used for the hair.
2. goddesses
The answer is 'goddesses' because it states that in Ancient Greece and Rome, older girls gave their dolls to goddesses.
3. limbs
The answer is 'limbs' because the passage mentions that in 600 BC, realistic dolls had separate clothes and limbs that could be put in different positions.
4. wax
The answer is 'wax' because it says that in the 17th and 18th centuries, dolls made of wax became more common.
5. plaster
The answer is 'plaster' because the passage notes that moulds were made of plaster.
6. composition
The answer is 'composition' because it says that in the 1800s, a new group of mixtures called composition was developed and the recipes were kept secret.
7. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says bisque dolls appear more realistic than dolls made of china, not less.
8. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage states that French dolls tended to cost more than German bisque dolls.
9. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says rag dolls existed before the 1850s, not that the first were made then.
10. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage defines cloth dolls as those made of cotton or linen.
11. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says dolls made of celluloid tended to lose their colour.
12. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says plastic dolls made in the 1940s lasted longer than composition dolls, not the other way around.
13. NOT GIVEN
The answer is NOT GIVEN because the passage does not say if collectors prefer dolls dressed in original clothing.
14. v
The answer is v (An achievable goal, not an impossible dream) because Section A discusses how the project is possible and not just a fantasy.
15. viii
The answer is viii (Practical, economic and research justifications) because Section B gives reasons such as economic and research benefits for the project.
16. i
The answer is i (The need for skill and care) because Section C focuses on the technical challenges and the need for careful planning.
17. vii
The answer is vii (Beginning with a less challenging task) because Section D suggests starting with an easier asteroid before trying more difficult ones.
18. iv
The answer is iv (Obtaining support for the project) because Section E discusses the need to get support and approval for the project.
19. E
The answer is E because Louis Friedman says the skills gained from the project could help save Earth from future danger.
20. D
The answer is D because Rusty Schweickart points out that an asteroid's weight makes the project very challenging.
21. B
The answer is B because Dan Mazanek mentions that it might be hard to get people interested in a small asteroid.
22. G
The answer is G because Joseph A. Nuth says capturing an asteroid would not be an efficient way to do research.
23. base
The answer is 'base' because the passage says an asteroid could act as a base for further space travel and exploration.
24. gravity
The answer is 'gravity' because the passage says weaker gravity would make it easier to move resources.
25. metals / water
The answer is 'metals / water' because the passage lists metals as resources for use in space or on Earth, and water as something to consume or use for power.
26. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says investigating the lake can help scientists predict future climate changes.
27. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says the crater from the meteorite impact is the largest and most preserved in the world.
28. FALSE
The answer is FALSE because the passage says water also leaves the lake by evaporation, not only by seeping through sediments.
29. TRUE
The answer is TRUE because the passage says historical climate changes can be detected by analyzing the lake's sediment.
30. NOT GIVEN
The answer is NOT GIVEN because the passage does not mention locals interfering with the scientists' research.
31. air gun
The answer is 'air gun' because the flow chart shows the first step in collecting data is using an air gun.
32. sound energy / sound wave
The answer is 'sound energy / sound wave' because the second step involves producing sound energy or sound waves.
33. cable
The answer is 'cable' because the third step is using a cable to connect equipment.
34. hydrophones / underwater microphones
The answer is 'hydrophones / underwater microphones' because the fourth step is using hydrophones to collect data underwater.
35. shipping container
The answer is 'shipping container' because the passage says the boat was dismantled and stored in a shipping container.
36. seismic reflection profiling
The answer is 'seismic reflection profiling' because the passage names this as the technology they used.
37. laboratory
The answer is 'laboratory' because the passage says the data was analyzed and processed in the laboratory.
38. three-dimensional
The answer is 'three-dimensional' because Scholz says they are building a three-dimensional view of the sediment.
39. fishing nets
The answer is 'fishing nets' because the passage says the ship should avoid tree stumps or fishing nets floating on the lake.

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