PRACTICE IELTS READING TEST 6 WITH ANSWERS
READING PASSAGE 1
You
should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1- 12 , which
are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
MOUNT EVEREST
AND HILLARY
·
Mount Everest, also known as Sagarmartha (Goddess of the Sky),
is 8,348 metres tall, the highest mountain on earth above sea level.
Formed about 60 million years ago and lying between Tibet and Nepal, Mount
Everest appeals to climbers of every level, from novice to experienced
climber. Each mountaineer pays a considerable amount of money to
an experienced guide to help them achieve a successful climb. Everest was
given its official English name in 1865 by the Royal Geographic Society
upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India
at the time.
·
When Everest was officially announced as the world’s highest
mountain in 1852, it won interest from people all over the world, and the
idea of climbing all (lie way to the summit was viewed as the ultimate feat.
Nobody was able to climb Everest until 1920 when Tibet first opened its
borders to outsiders, and between 1920 and 1952, seven major expeditions
failed to reach the tip of Mount Everest, In fact, the mountain has a
history of adversity and failure. With advances in climbing equipment in
the last ten years or so, and more experienced guides, the fatality rates
have dropped from 37% in 1990 to 4% in 2004. Nonetheless, the
deadliest year in Mount Everest’s history was 1996, when 19 people died
near the summit.
·
In 1924, Mount Everest claimed the lives of its first two
climbers. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were two British climbers,
attempting to reach the summit. The men were last seen heading for the top of
the mountain until clouds surrounded Everest and they
disappeared. Mallory’s body was not seen again until 75 years on, in May
of 1999, and Irvine’s body is yet to be found. There is still no evidence as
to whether these two men made it to the top or not, although disputes rages on,
Those that believe the pair were the first; to climb Everest point to two specific points,
firstly, Mallory’s daughter has always said that Mallory carried a photograph
of his wife on his person with the intention of leaving it on the summit when
he reached it. This photo was not found on the body when it was discovered.
Secondly, Mallory’s snow’ goggles were in his pocket when the body was found,
indicating that he died at night. This implies that he and Irvine had made a
push for the summit and were descending very late in the day. Given their known
departure time and movements, had they not made the summit, it is unlikely that
they would have still been out by nightfall.
·
The first time the actual peak of this monstrous mountain was
reached was in 1953, in a combined effort by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay. On the 29th of May that year, the duo conquered this epic mountain,
standing at the highest point in the world for a brief 15 minutes.
After a brief but fruitless search for evidence of the 1924
Mallory expedition, they buried a cross and some candy in the snow, taking a
few photographs of the historic event. As Norgay had never operated a camera,
there are no photographs of Hillary on top of the mountain, just shots of
Norgay, and some additional photos looking down the mountain, ensuring evidence of
their conquest and that the ascent was not faked.
·
When the news reached London on June 2nd, Sir Edmund Hillary was
knighted in the Order of the British Empire and Norgay (a subject of the King
of Nepal) was granted the George Medai by the UK, Sir Hillary turned to
Antarctic exploration and led the New Zealand section of the Trans-Antarctic
expedition from 1955 to 1958. In 1958, he took part in a mechanised expedition
to the South Pole. Hillary continued to organise further mountain- climbing
expeditions but, as the years passed, he became more and more concerned with
the welfare of the Nepalese people. In the 1960s, he returned to
Nepal, to aid in the development of the society, building clinics,
hospitals and schools. After conquering Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary devoted
most of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan
Trust.
·
In January 2007, Sir Edmund Hillary went to Antarctica to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Scott Base. He flew to
the station on 18 January 2007 with a delegation including the Prime Minister.
On the 22nd of April 2007, while on a trip to Kathmandu, he was reported
to have suffered a fall. There was no comment on the nature of his
illness and lie did not immediately seek treatment. He was
hospitalized after returning to New Zealand. Sadly, Sir Edmund Hillary
died of a heart attack on the morning of January the 11th 2008. Hillary’s
life was marked by wonderful achievements, his giving nature, grand
discovery, and excitement. But he was a humble man who did not admit to
being the first man to reach the summit of Everest until long after 1386,
well after the death of his climbing companion Tenzing Norgay.
·
The latest record for climbing Mount Everest was set on the 30th
of May in 2005 by Nepalese Mona Mulepati and PemDorje Sherpa, who were the
first couple to get married on top of Mount Everest.
Questions 1 – 6
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1 – 6 on your
answer sheet.
Who suggested that the name Everest be used to refer to the
mountain? 1
Which country prevented explorers climbing Everest until
1920? 2
What has not yet been recovered? 3
What was not found on Mallory’s body that indicates he may have
reached the summit? 4
Who was photographed at the top of the mountain? 5
What was the name of Hillary’s charitable organisation? 6
Questions 7 – 12
Do the following statements agree with the information given in
the reading passage?
In boxes 7- 12 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
7 Mortality
rates on Everest have consistently declined since 1990.
8 Hillary
found evidence of the Mallory expedition.
9 Photographs
were taken from the summit as proof of the Hillary/ Norgay climb.
10 Both
Hillary and Norgay received recognition of their achievement from Britain.
11 Hillary
was the first person to reach the South Pole by mechanised transport.
12 Hillary’s
death was attributed to an accident that occurred in Kathmandu.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-27 , which are based on Reading Passage 2 below
SLEEP
A. Like many things about your body, scientists and medical professionals still have a lot to learn about
the process of sleep. One earlier
misconception that has now been revised is that the body completely slows down
during sleep; it is now dear that the body’s major organs
and regulatory systems continue to work actively – the lungs, heart and stomach
for example. Another important part of the body also operates at night – the
glands and lymph nodes, which strengthen the immune system. This is commonly
why the body’s natural immunity is weakened with insufficient sleep.
B. In some cases, certain systems actually become more active
while we sleep. Hormones required for muscle development and growth, for instance, as well as the growth of new nerve cells. In
the brain, activity of the pathways needed for learning and memory is
increased.
C. Another common myth about sleep is that the body requires
less sleep the older we get. Whilst It is true that babies need 16 hours
compared to 9 hours and 8 hours respectively for teenagers and adults, this
does not mean that older people need less sleep. However, what is true if that
for a number of different factors, they often get less sleep or find their
sleep less refreshing. This is because as people age, they spend less time in
the deep, restful stages of sleep and are more easily awakened. Older people
are also more likely to have medicalconditions that affect their
sleep, such as insomnia, sleep apnoea and heart problems.
D. Getting a good sleep is not just a matter of your head
hitting the pillow at night and waking up in the morning. Your sleep goes in
cycles throughout the night, moving back and forth between deep restorative
sleep and more alert stages with dreaming. As the night progresses, you spend
more time in a lighter dream sleep.
E. Sleep patterns can be broken down into two separate
and distinct stages – REM and NREM sleep, REM
(Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is when you dream. You usually have 3 to 5 periods
of REM sleep each night, lasting from 5 minutes to over an hour, during which
time your body’s activities increase. Breathing
becomes fast, shallow and uneven, with an increasein
brain activity, heartbeat and blood pressure. Although your major muscles generally don’t move, fingers and toes may
twitch and body temperature changes and you may sweat or shiver.
F. Research has concluded that this sleep is most important
for your brain. It is when it is most active, processing emotions and memories
and relieving stress. The areas used for learning
and developing more skills are activated. In fact, the brain waves measured
during REM sleep are similar to those
measured when awake.
G. NREM (Noil-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is dreamless sleep.
NREM sleep consists of four stages of deeper and deeper sleep. As you move
through the stages, you become more relaxed, less aware of
what is happening around you and more difficult to wake. Your body’s activity
will also decrease as you move through the
NREM stages, acting in the opposite manner to REM sleep. Stage 1 of NREM sleep
is when you are falling to sleep. This periodgenerally
lasts between 5 and 10 minutes, during which time you can be woken easily.
During stage 2, you are in a light sleep- the in-between stage before your fall
into a deep sleep. It lasts about 20 minutes. In stage 3, deep sleep begins,
paving the way for stage 4, in which you are difficult to awake and unaware of
anything around you. This is when sleep walking and talking can occur. This is the most important stage for your body.
Your brain has slowed right down and is recovering. Blood flow is redirected
from your brain to your large muscles allowing them to mend any damage from
your day at work. People woken quickly from stage 4 sleep often feel a sense of
disorientation, which is why it is helpful to use an alarm clock with an
ascending ring.
H. About an hour and a half into your sleep cycle you will go from deep Stage 4 sleep back into
light Stage 2 sleep, then into REM sleep, before the cycle begins
again. About 75% of your sleep is NREM sleep. If you sleep for eight hours,
about six of them will be NREM sleep. As the night progresses, you spend more
time in dream sleep and lighter sleep.
I. When you constantly get less sleep (even 1 hour less) than
you need each night, it is called sleep debt. You may pay for it in daytime
drowsiness, trouble concentrating, moodiness, lower productivity and
increased risk of falls and accidents. Although a daytime nap cannot replace a
good night’s sleep, it can help make up for some of the harm done as a result
of sleep debt. But avoid taking a nap after 3 pm as late naps may stop you
getting to sleep at night. And avoid napping for longer than 30 minutes as
longer naps will make it harder to wake up and get back into the swing of
things.
Questions 13 – 16
Do the following statements agree with the information, given in
the reading passage?
In boxes 13-16 on your answer sheet write
TRUE
if the
statement agrees with the in formation
FALSE
if the statement contradicts the in formation
NOT GIVEN
if there is no information on this
13 It
was previously believed that biological processes slowed during sleep.
14 Teenagers
lose less sleep than adults when they have a medical condition.
15 During
the night, our sleep becomes increasingly deep.
16 Lack
of sleep can cause heart problems and other medical conditions.
Questions 17-20
Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer,
Write your answers in boxes 17 – 20 on your answer sheet.
REM sleep can help reduce 17 .
During REM sleep, 18 are
similar to those recorded whilst awake.
During Stage 1 NREM sleep, you can be 19 with
little effort.
Suddenly being woken from deep sleep can cause 20 .
Questions 21 and 22
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write your answers in boxes 21 and 22.
NB Your answers may be given in either order.
REM sleep
A . is more
common for younger people.
B . is when we
dream.
C . may cause
your extremities to move of their own accord.
D . lasts about
an hour a night.
E . is when the
brain is most relaxed.
Questions 23 – 27
The reading passage has nine paragraphs, A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 23-27.
23 Differences
in sleep patterns between generations
24 Brain
activity is limited as resources are diverted
25 Repetition
of the cycle
26 Dangers
of accumulated lack of sleep
27 Increased
activity during sleep
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend shout 20 minutes on Questions 28 – 40 , which are based on Reading Passage 3
below.
A. A constellation is a group of stars which when viewed
collectively appear to have a physical proximity’
in the sky. Constellation boundaries and definitions as used today in
Western culture, and as defined by the
International Astronomical Union (IAU), were formalised in 1930 by Eugene
Delporte. There are 88 official constellations as recognised by the IAU,
those visible in the northern hemisphere being
based upon those established by the ancient Greeks, The constellations of the
southern hemisphere – since invisible to the Greeks due to geographical
location – were not defined until later in the early modem era.
B. Arguably, the twelve constellations through which the sun
passes – as used to represent the signs of the zodiac to define birth
characteristics – are the most culturally significant and
well known of those established by the ancient Greeks. Cultural differences
in Interpretationand definition of star
constellations mainly relate to these zodiac interpretations, Chinese
constellations, for example, which are different to those defined in the
western world due to the independent development of ancient Chinese astronomy,
includes 28 ‘Xiu’ or ‘mansions’ instead of the 12 western zodiac counterparts.
In Hindu/Vedic astronomy, in which constellations are known as ‘rashis’, 12
rashi corresponding directly to the twelve western star signs are acknowledged;
these are however, divided again into 27 ‘Nakshatras’ or ’lunar houses’. Many
cultures have an intricate mythology behind the stars and their constellations.
In Greek mythology, for example Pegasus, the winged horse, is said to have
sprung from the decapitated head of Medusa, and later was used by the God King
Zeus to carry thunder and lightning to Earth, before being put into a
constellation.
C. In Western astronomy, all modern constellation names derive from Latin, some stars within the constellations
are named using the genitive form of the Latin word by using the usual rules of
Latin grammar. For example the zodiac sign for the Fish constellation Pisces
relates to Piscium. In addition, all constellation names have a standard
three-letter abbreviation as assigned by the IAU, under which, for example,
Pisces becomes PSC.
D. Some star patterns often wrongly considered constellations
by laymen are actually ‘asterisms’ – a group of stars that appear to form
patterns in the sky -and are not in fact one of the 88 officially divided areas
truly defined as a constellation. A famous example of an asterism oft mistaken
for a constellation is the Big Dipper’ (as it is termed in North America) or
the ‘Plough’ as it is known in the UK. In astronomical terms, this famous star
formation is in fact considered only part of the larger constellation known as
Ursa Major.
E. In order to identify the
position of stars relative to the Earth, there are a number of different
celestial coordinate systems that cart
provide a detailed reference point in space. There are many different systems,
all of which are largely similar with the
exception of a difference in the position of the fundamental plane
– the division between northern and southern hemispheres. The five most common
celestial systems are the Horizontal system, the Equatorial system, the
Ecliptical system, the Galactic system and the Supergalactic system.
F. The launch of the Hubble space telescope in April 1990
changed the way that astronomers saw the universe, providing detailed digital
images of constellations, planets and gas- clouds that had never been seen
before. Compared to ground-based telescopes, Hubble is not particularly large.
With a primary mirror diameter of 2.4 meters
(94.5 inches). Hubble would be considered a medium-size telescope
on the ground. However, the combination of its precision optics,
state-of-the-art instrumentation, and unprecedented pointing
stability and control, allows Hubble to more than make up for its lack of size,
giving it a range of well over 12 billion
light years.
G. The telescope’s location above the Earth’s atmosphere also
has a number of significantadvantages over land
based telescopes. The atmosphere bends light due to a phenomenonknown
as diffraction (this is what causes starlight to appear to twinkle and leads to
the often blurred images seen through ground-based telescopes). The Hubble
Space Telescope can also observe infrared light that would otherwise be blocked
by the atmosphere as the wavelength (distance between successive wave crests)
of ultraviolet light is shorter than that of visible light.
H. Despite early setbacks – one of the reflective mirrors had
to be replaced after finding that it had been ground incorrectly and did not
produce the images expected – the telescope has reignited interest in space
amongst the general public – a requirement, given that taxpayer funding paid
for the research, deployment and maintenance
of the telescope.
Questions 28 – 35
Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs A-H.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-H from the list of
headings below.
Write the correct number i-xii in boxes 28-35.
List of Headings
i.
Different methods of locating and identifying
ii.
A better view of the constellations
iii.
Technological advances in research and development
iv.
Atmospheric weaknesses of telescopes in orbit
v.
Different interpretations of star groupings
vi.
Common misconceptions
vii.
Bypassing terrestrial limitations
viii.
Renewed interest in the stars
ix.
Ethnic differences in celestial mapping
x.
Formal marking of constellations
xi.
Universal myths of constellations
xii.
Historical and modern reference
28 Paragraph
A
29 Paragraph
B
30 Paragraph
C
31 Paragraph
D
32 Paragraph
E
33 Paragraph
F
34 Paragraph
G
35 Paragraph
H
Questions 36 – 40
Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.
Write the correct answers in boxes 36-40.
Despite an initial flaw in a 36 ,
the Hubble space telescope is superior to telescopes on land as it can
identify 37 which would not normally
reach the Earth’s surface.
This is all the more impressive given that Hubble is only
classified as a 38 telescope.
Being above the atmosphere, it also has the advantages of not
being affected by 39 , which would
otherwise lead to 40 images.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ANSWERS
1. Andrew
Waugh
|
21. B C (IN
ANY ORDER)
|
2. Tibet
|
22. B C (IN
ANY ORDER)
|
3. Andrew
Irvine’s body
|
23. C
|
4. A
photograph
|
24. G
|
5. Tenzing
Norgay
|
25. H
|
6. Himalayan
Trust
|
26. I
|
7. FALSE
|
27. E
|
8. FALSE
|
28. x
|
9. TRUE
|
29. v
|
10. TRUE
|
30. xii
|
11. NOT
GIVEN
|
31. vi
|
12. FALSE
|
32. i
|
13. TRUE
|
33. ii
|
14. NOT
GIVEN
|
34. vii
|
15. FALSE
|
35. viii
|
16. FALSE
|
36. (reflective)
mirror
|
17. Stress
|
37. Infrared
light
|
18. Brain
waves
|
38. Medium
sized
|
19. (easily)
woken
|
39. Diffraction
|
20. Disorientation
|
40. Blurred
|
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