Animal minds: Parrot Alex | Actual exam reading pdf | Past exam ielts reading pdf | 25 January ielts reading pdf for free | 21 January 2025 ielts reading pdf for free

 Passage 1 Animal minds: Parrot Alex

SECTION 1

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Test 2 

PASSAGE 2 

PASSAGE 3 

Animal minds: Parrot Alex

A

In 1977 Irene Pepperberg, a recent graduate of Harvard University did something very bold. At a time when animals still were considered automatons, she set out to find what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. She brought a one-year-old African gray parrot she named Alex into her lab to teach him to reproduce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”

B

When Pepperberg began her dialogue with Alex, who died last September at the age of 31, many scientists believed animals were incapable of any thought. They were simply machines, robots programmed to react to stimuli but lacking the ability to think or feel. Any pet owner would disagree. We see the love in our dogs’ eyes and know that, of course, they have thoughts and emotions. But such claims remain highly controversial. Gut instinct is not science, and it is all too easy to project human thoughts and feelings onto another creature. How, then, does a scientist prove that an animal is capable of thinking – that it is able to acquire information about the world and act on it? “That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Pepperberg said. They were seated – she at her desk, he on top of his cage – in her lab, a windowless room about the size of a boxcar, at Brandeis University. Newspapers lined the floor; baskets of bright toys were stacked on the shelves. They were clearly a team – and because of their work, the notion that animals can think is no longer so fanciful.

C

Certain skills are considered key signs of higher mental abilities: good memory, a grasp of grammar and symbols, self-awareness, understanding others’ motives, imitating others, and being creative. Bit by bit, in ingenious experiments, researchers have documented these talents in other species, gradually chipping away at what we thought made human beings distinctive while offering a glimpse of where our own abilities came from. Scrub jays know that other jays are thieves and that stashed food can spoil; sheep can recognize faces; chimpanzees use a variety of tools to probe termite mounds and even use weapons to hunt small mammals; dolphins can imitate human postures; the archerfish, which stuns insects with a sudden blast of water, can learn how to aim its squirt simply by watching an experienced fish perform the task. And Alex the parrot turned out to be a surprisingly good talker.

D

Thirty years after the Alex studies began; Pepperberg and a changing collection of assistants were still giving him English lessons. The humans, along with two younger parrots, also served as Alex’s flock, providing the social input all parrots crave. Like any flock, this one – as small as it was – had its share of drama. Alex dominated his fellow parrots, acted huffy at times around Pepperberg, tolerated the other female humans, and fell to pieces over a male assistant who dropped by for a visit. Pepperberg bought Alex in a Chicago pet store where she let the store’s assistant pick him out because she didn’t want other scientists saying later that she’d particularly chosen an especially smart bird for her work. Given that Alex’s brain was the size of a shelled walnut, most researchers thought Pepperberg’s interspecies communication study would be futile.

E

“Some people actually called me crazy for trying this,” she said. “Scientists thought that chimpanzees were better subjects, although, of course, chimps can’t speak.” Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have been taught to use sign language and symbols to communicate with us, often with impressive results. The bonobo Kanzi, for instance, carries his symbol-communication board with him so he can “talk” to his human researchers, and he has invented combinations of symbols to express his thoughts. Nevertheless, this is not the same thing as having an animal look up at you, open his mouth, and speak. Under Pepperberg’s patient tutelage, Alex learned how to use his vocal tract to imitate almost one hundred English words, including the sounds for various foods, although he calls an apple a “banerry.” “Apples taste a little bit like bananas to him, and they look a little bit like cherries, so Alex made up that word for them,” Pepperberg said.

F

It sounded a bit mad, the idea of a bird having lessons to practice, and willingly doing it. But after listening to and observing Alex, it was difficult to argue with Pepperberg’s explanation for his behaviors. She wasn’t handing him treats for the repetitious work or rapping him on the claws to make him say the sounds. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly imitate them,” Pepperberg said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a good dozen times in a row. “I’m not trying to see if Alex can learn a human language,” she added. “That’s never been the point. My plan always was to use his imitative skills to get a better understanding of avian cognition.”

G

In other words, because Alex was able to produce a close approximation of the sounds of some English words, Pepperberg could ask him questions about a bird’s basic understanding of the world. She couldn’t ask him what he was thinking about, but she could ask him about his knowledge of numbers, shapes, and colors. To demonstrate, Pepperberg carried Alex on her arm to a tall wooden perch in the middle of the room. She then retrieved a green key and a small green cup from a basket on a shelf. She held up the two items to Alex’s eye. “What’s same?” she asked. Without hesitation, Alex’s beak opened: “Co-lor.” “What’s different?” Pepperberg asked. “Shape,” Alex said. His voice had the digitized sound of a cartoon character.

Since parrots lack lips (another reason it was difficult for Alex to pronounce some sounds, such as ba), the words seemed to come from the air around him, as if a ventriloquist were speaking. But the words – and what can only be called the thoughts – were entirely his.

H

For the next 20 minutes, Alex can through his tests, distinguishing colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (wool versus wood versus metal). He did some simple arithmetic, such as accounting the yellow toy blocks among a pile of mixed hues. And, then, as if to offer final proof of the mind inside his bird’s brain, Alex spoke up. “Talk clearly!” he commanded, when one of the younger birds Pepperberg was also teaching talked with wrong pronunciation. “Talk clearly!” “Don’t be a smart aleck,” Pepperberg said, shaking her head at him. “He knows all this, and he gets bored, so he interrupts the others, or he gives the wrong answer just to be obstinate. At this stage, he’s like a teenager; he’s moody, and I’m never sure what he’ll do.”

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

1 Firstly, Alex has grasped quite a lot of vocabulary.

2 At the beginning of the study, Alex felt frightened in the presence of humans.

3 Previously, many scientists realized that the animal possesses the ability of thinking.

4 It has taken a long time before people get to know cognition existing in animals.

5 As Alex could approximately imitate the sounds of English words, he was capable of roughly answering Irene’s questions regarding the world.

6 By breaking in other parrots as well as producing the incorrect answers, he tried to be focused.

Questions 7-10

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage.

Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

After the training of Irene, Parrot Alex can use his vocal tract to pronounce more than 7…………………….., while other scientists believe that animals have no this advanced ability of thinking, they would rather teach 8………………………. Pepperberg clarified that she wanted to conduct a study concerning 9……………………….. but not to teach him to talk. The store’s assistant picked out a bird at random for her for the sake of avoiding other scientists saying that the bird is 10……………………. afterwards.

Questions 11-13

Answer the questions 11-13 below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

11 What did Alex reply regarding the similarity of the subjects showed to him?

12 What is the problem of the young parrots except for Alex?

13 To some extent, through the way, he behaved what we can call him?

Questions 1-6

1. Firstly, Alex has grasped quite a lot of vocabulary.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The passage states that Alex learned to use his vocal tract to imitate almost 100 English words. This demonstrates that he grasped a substantial amount of vocabulary.

2. At the beginning of the study, Alex felt frightened in the presence of humans.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not provide any information about Alex's feelings or fear at the beginning of the study.

3. Previously, many scientists realized that the animal possesses the ability of thinking.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The passage mentions that, at the time of the study, many scientists believed animals were incapable of thought and were like automatons, reacting only to stimuli.

4. It has taken a long time before people get to know cognition existing in animals.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The passage discusses how researchers gradually documented evidence of animal cognition over time, chipping away at the belief that humans were unique in these abilities.

5. As Alex could approximately imitate the sounds of English words, he was capable of roughly answering Irene’s questions regarding the world.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The passage explains that Alex could imitate sounds well enough to answer questions about colors, shapes, and numbers.

6. By breaking in other parrots as well as producing the incorrect answers, he tried to be focused.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The passage states that Alex interrupted other parrots or gave wrong answers because he was bored, not because he was trying to focus.

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Questions 7-10

7. After the training of Irene, Parrot Alex can use his vocal tract to pronounce more than...
Answer: ONE HUNDRED WORDS
Explanation: The passage mentions Alex learned to imitate almost 100 English words, which includes various food names and other terms.

8. While other scientists believe that animals have no this advanced ability of thinking, they would rather teach...
Answer: CHIMPANZEES
Explanation: The passage states that other scientists believed chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas were better subjects for studying communication.

9. Pepperberg clarified that she wanted to conduct a study concerning...
Answer: AVIAN COGNITION
Explanation: Pepperberg emphasized that her study was about understanding avian cognition, not teaching Alex to talk.

10. The store’s assistant picked out a bird at random for her for the sake of avoiding other scientists saying that the bird is...
Answer: ESPECIALLY SMART
Explanation: The passage states that Pepperberg let the store assistant select the bird to ensure no one could claim she chose an exceptionally intelligent bird.

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Questions 11-13

11. What did Alex reply regarding the similarity of the subjects showed to him?
Answer: COLOR
Explanation: When Pepperberg asked Alex what was the same between the key and the cup, he responded, “Color.”

12. What is the problem of the young parrots except for Alex?
Answer: WRONG PRONUNCIATION
Explanation: The passage mentions that younger parrots were not able to pronounce words clearly, leading Alex to command them to “Talk clearly!”

13. To some extent, through the way, he behaved what we can call him?
Answer: TEENAGER
Explanation: The passage describes Alex as moody and obstinate, comparing his behavior to that of a teenager.

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE | Actual exam reading pdf | Past exam ielts reading pdf | 25 January ielts reading pdf for free | 21 January 2025 ielts reading pdf for free

 Passage 2 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

SECTION 2



PASSAGE 1 

PASSAGE 3 

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

A

Stories and poems aimed at children have an exceedingly long history: lullabies, for example, were sung in Roman times, and a few nursery games and rhymes are almost as ancient. Yet so far as written-down literature is concerned, while there were stories in print before 1700 that children often seized on when they had the chance, such as translation of Aesop’s fables, fairy-stories and popular ballads and romances, these were not aimed at young people in particular. Since the only genuinely child-oriented literature at this time would have been a few instructional works to help with reading and general knowledge, plus the odd Puritanical tract as an aid to morality, the only course for keen child readers was to read adult literature. This still occurs today, especially with adult thrillers or romances that include more exciting, graphic detail than is normally found in the literature for younger readers.

B

By the middle of the 18th century there were enough eager child readers, and enough parents glad to cater to this interest, for publishers to specialize in children’s books whose first aim was a pleasure rather than education or morality. In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant in 1742, while the more famous John Newbery published A Little Pretty Pocket Book in 1744. Its contents – rhymes, stories, children’s games plus a free gift (‘A ball and a pincushion’) – in many ways anticipated the similar lucky-dip contents of children’s annuals this century. It is a tribute to Newbery’s flair that he hit upon a winning formula quite so quickly, to be pirated almost immediately in America.

C

Such pleasing levity was not to last. Influenced by Rousseau, whose Emile (1762) decreed that all books for children save Robinson Crusoe were a dangerous diversion, contemporary critics saw to it that children’s literature should be instructive and uplifting. Prominent among such voices was Mrs Sarah Trimmer, whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular reviews of children’s books. It was she who condemned fairy-tales for their violence and general absurdity; her own stories, Fabulous Histories (1786) described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum.

D

So the moral story for children was always threatened from within, given the way children have of drawing out entertainment from the sternest moralist. But the greatest blow to the improving children’s book was to come from an unlikely source indeed: early 19th-century interest in folklore. Both nursery rhymes, selected by James Orchard Halliwell for a folklore society in 1842, and collection of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in 1823, soon rocket to popularity with the young, quickly leading to new editions, each one more child-centered than the last. From now on younger children could expect stories written for their particular interest and with the needs of their own limited experience of life kept well to the force.

E

What eventually determined the reading of older children was often not the availability of special children’s literature as such but access to books that contained characters, such as young people or animals, with whom they could more easily empathize, or action, such as exploring or fighting, that made few demands on adult maturity or understanding.

F

The final apotheosis of literary childhood as something to be protected from unpleasant reality came with the arrival in the late 1930s of child-centered best-sellers intend on entertainment as its most escapist. In Britain novelists such as Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton described children who were always free to have the most unlikely adventures, secure in the knowledge that nothing bad could ever happen to them in the end. The fact that war broke out again during her books’ greatest popularity fails to register at all in the self-enclosed world inhabited by Enid Blyton’s young characters. The reaction against such dream-worlds was inevitable after World War II, coinciding with the growth of paperback sales, children’s libraries and a new spirit of moral and social concern. Urged on by committed publishers and progressive librarians, writers slowly began to explore new areas of interest while also shifting the settings of their plots from the middle-class world to which their chiefly adult patrons had always previously belonged.

G

The critical emphasis, during this development, has been divided. For some, the most important task was to rid children’s books of social prejudice and exclusiveness no longer found acceptable. Others concentrated more on the positive achievements of contemporary children’s literature. That writers of these works are now often recommended to the attention of adult as well as child readers echo the 19th-century belief that children’s literature can be shared by the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier between childhood and the necessary growth towards adult understanding.

Questions 14-18

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from Reading Passage 2 for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

Questions 19-21

Look at the following people and the list of statements below.

Match each person with the correct statement.

Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 19-21 on your answer sheet

19 Thomas Boreham

20 Mrs Sarah trimmer

21 Grimm Brothers

List of statements

A Wrote criticisms of children’s literature

B Used animals to demonstrate the absurdity of fairy tales

C Was not a writer originally

D Translated a book into English

E Didn’t write in the English language

Questions 22-26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 22-26 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

22 Children didn’t start to read books until 1700.

23 Sarah Trimmer believed that children’s books should set good examples.

24 Parents were concerned about the violence in children’s books.

25 An interest in the folklore changed the direction of the development of children’s books.

26 Today children’s book writers believe their works should appeal to both children and adults.

Table Completion (Questions 14-18)

14. Stories

• Reason: The passage mentions that "A Little Pretty Pocket Book" contained rhymes, stories, and games.
• Location: Paragraph B: "Its contents – rhymes, stories, children’s games plus a free gift..."

15. America

• Reason: The passage explains that John Newbery's book was pirated in America.
• Location: Paragraph B: "...pirated almost immediately in America."

16. Folklore

• Reason: The passage highlights a growing interest in folklore in the early 19th century, particularly nursery rhymes and fairy stories.
• Location: Paragraph D: "...early 19th-century interest in folklore. Both nursery rhymes... and fairy-stories..."

17. Fairy-stories

• Reason: Nursery rhymes and fairy stories were popularized in the 19th century and tailored for children.
• Location: Paragraph D: "...fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers... swiftly translated into English..."

18. Adventures

• Reason: Stories in the late 1930s were centered on harm-free adventures, as seen in the works of Enid Blyton.
• Location: Paragraph F: "...described children who were always free to have the most unlikely adventures..."

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Matching People with Statements (Questions 19-21)

19. Thomas Boreham (C)

• Reason: Thomas Boreham, though not an author by profession, produced a children's book as a merchant.
• Location: Paragraph B: "In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant..."

20. Mrs. Sarah Trimmer (A)

• Reason: Sarah Trimmer critiqued children's literature and wrote reviews in her magazine.
• Location: Paragraph C: "...whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular reviews of children’s books."

21. Grimm Brothers (E)

• Reason: The Grimm brothers collected fairy tales and wrote in German, not English.
• Location: Paragraph D: "...collection of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in 1823."

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True/False/Not Given (Questions 22-26)

22. FALSE

• Reason: The passage indicates that children read adult books before 1700 because children's literature wasn’t widely available.
• Location: Paragraph A: "...children often seized on when they had the chance... these were not aimed at young people in particular."

23. TRUE

• Reason: Sarah Trimmer believed children's books should promote morality and good examples.
• Location: Paragraph C: "...Mrs Sarah Trimmer... condemned fairy-tales... described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum."

24. NOT GIVEN

• Reason: While critics like Sarah Trimmer opposed fairy tales, there is no mention of parents being concerned about violence in children’s books.
• Location: Not explicitly mentioned.

25. TRUE

• Reason: Interest in folklore, like nursery rhymes and fairy stories, influenced the direction of children’s literature.
• Location: Paragraph D: "...interest in folklore... nursery rhymes... swiftly translated into English... leading to new editions..."

26. TRUE

• Reason: The passage states that contemporary children's books are often shared by adults and children alike.
• Location: Paragraph G: "...children’s literature can be shared by the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier..."

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The Rainmaker design | Actual exam reading pdf | Past exam ielts reading pdf | 25 January ielts reading pdf for free | 21 January 2025 ielts reading pdf for free

 Passage 3 The Rainmaker design

1


Passage 1 

Passage 2

SECTION 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

The Rainmaker design

A

Sometimes ideas just pop up out of the blue. Or in Charlie Paton’s case, out of the rain. ‘I was on a bus in Morocco traveling through the desert,’ he remembers. ‘It had been raining and the bus was full of hot, wet people. The windows steamed up and I went to sleep with a towel against the glass. When I woke, the thing was soaking wet. I had to wring it out. And it set me thinking. Why was it so wet?

B

The answer, of course, was condensation. Back home in London, a physicist friend, Philip Davies, explained that the glass, chilled by the rain outside, had cooled the hot humid air inside the bus below its dew point, causing droplets of water to form on the inside of the window. Intrigued, Paton – a lighting engineer by profession – started rigging up his own equipment. ‘I made my own solar stills It occurred to me that you might be able to produce water in this way in the desert, simply by cooling the air. I wondered whether you could make enough to irrigate fields and grow crops.’

C

Today, a decade on, his dream has taken shape as a giant greenhouse on a desert island off Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf – the first commercially viable version of his ‘seawater greenhouse’. Local scientists, working with Paton, are watering the desert and growing vegetables in what is basically a giant dew-making machine that produces freshwater and cool air from sun and seawater. In awarding Paton first prize in a design competition two years ago, Marco Goldschmied, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, called it ‘a truly original idea which has the potential to impact on the lives of millions of people living in coastal water-starved areas around the world’.

D

The seawater greenhouse as developed by Paton has three main parts. They both air-condition the greenhouse and provide water for irrigation. The front of the greenhouse faces into the prevailing wind so that hot dry air blows in through a front wall. The wall is made of perforated cardboard kept moist by a constant trickle of seawater pumped up from the ocean. The purpose is to cool and moisten the incoming desert air. The cool moist air allows the plants to grow faster. And, crucially, because much less water evaporates from the leaves, the plants need much less moisture to grow than if they were being irrigated in the hot dry desert air outside the greenhouse.

E

The air-conditioning of the interior of the greenhouse is completed by the second feature: the roof. It has two layers: an outer layer of clear polyethylene and an inner coated layer that reflects infrared radiation. This combination ensures that visible light can stream through to the plants, maximizing the rate of plant growth through photosynthesis but at the same time heat from the infrared radiation is trapped in the space between the layers, and kept away from the plants. This helps keep the air around the plants cool.

F

At the back of the greenhouse sits the third elements. This is the main water production unit. Here, the air hits a second moist cardboard wall that increases its humidity as it reaches the condenser, which finally collects from the hot humid air the moisture for irrigating the plants. The condenser is a metal surface kept cool by still more seawater. It is the equivalent of the window on Paton’s Morcoccan bus. Drops of pure distilled water from on the condenser and flow into a tank for irrigating the crops.

G

The Abu Dhai greenhouse more or less runs itself. Sensors switch everything on when the sun rises and alter flows of air and seawater through the day in response to changes in temperature, humidity, and sunlight. On windless days, fans ensure a constant flow of air through the greenhouse. ‘Once it is turned to the local environment, you don’t need anymore there for it to work,’ says Paton. “We can run the entire operation of one 13-amp plug, and in the future, we could make it entirely independent of the grid, powered from a few solar panels.’

H

Critics point out that construction costs of around $4 a square foot are quite high. By illustration, however, Paton presents that it can cool as efficiently as a 500-kilowatt air conditioner while using less than 3 kilowatts of electricity. Thus the plants need only an eighth of the volume of water used by those grown conventionally. And so the effective cost of the desalinated water in the greenhouse is only a quarter that of water from a standard desalinator, which is good economics. Besides it really suggests an environmentally-friendly way of providing air conditioning on a scale large enough to cool large greenhouses where crops can be grown despite the high outside temperatures.

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true

NO if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

27 The idea just came to Charlie Paton by accident.

28 The bus was well ventilated.

29 After waking up, Paton found his towel was wet.

30 The fan on the bus did not work well.

31 Paton immediately operated his own business in the Persian Gulf after talking with Philip Davies.

Questions 32-36

Label the diagram below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.

Questions 37-40

Complete the summary below.

Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

To some extent, the Abu Dhai greenhouse functions automatically. When the day is sunny, the equipment can respond to the changes in several natural elements. When there is no wind, 37………………….. help to retain the flow of air. Even in the future, we have an ideal plan to power the greenhouse from 38………………………. However, there are still some critics who argue that 39………………………. are not good economics. To justify himself, Paton presents favorable arguments against these critics and suggests that it is an 40……………………… approach to provide air conditioning in a scale large sense.

Questions 27-31

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

27. The idea just came to Charlie Paton by accident.

Answer: YES
Explanation: In paragraph A, it is mentioned, "Sometimes ideas just pop up out of the blue. Or in Charlie Paton’s case, out of the rain." This indicates that the idea was accidental.
Location: Paragraph A.

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28. The bus was well ventilated.

Answer: NO
Explanation: The passage says, "The bus was full of hot, wet people. The windows steamed up." This suggests poor ventilation.
Location: Paragraph A.

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29. After waking up, Paton found his towel was wet.

Answer: YES
Explanation: It is explicitly stated, "When I woke, the thing was soaking wet. I had to wring it out."
Location: Paragraph A.

---

30. The fan on the bus did not work well.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: The passage does not mention anything about the fan or its condition.

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31. Paton immediately operated his own business in the Persian Gulf after talking with Philip Davies.

Answer: NO
Explanation: After speaking to Philip Davies, Paton started experimenting with solar stills at home, and his greenhouse was developed a decade later, as mentioned in paragraph B and C.
Location: Paragraphs B and C.

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Questions 32-36

Label the diagram below.
(No specific diagram is provided, but the answers correspond to the description of the greenhouse components in the passage.)

32. Front wall purpose

Answer: Cool and moisten the air
Explanation: The front wall is described as being made of moist cardboard, cooling and moistening incoming desert air.
Location: Paragraph D.

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33. Roof purpose

Answer: Maximize photosynthesis
Explanation: The roof lets visible light pass through for photosynthesis but reflects infrared to keep the air cool.
Location: Paragraph E.

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34. Back wall purpose

Answer: Increase humidity
Explanation: The back wall raises humidity levels as it increases moisture before the air reaches the condenser.
Location: Paragraph F.

---

35. Condenser purpose

Answer: Collect moisture
Explanation: The condenser collects moisture from humid air for irrigation.
Location: Paragraph F.

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36. Output from condenser

Answer: Pure distilled water
Explanation: Drops of distilled water are collected from the condenser.
Location: Paragraph F.

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Questions 37-40

Complete the summary below.

37. When there is no wind,

Answer: fans
Explanation: Fans ensure a constant flow of air in windless conditions.
Location: Paragraph G.

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38. Plan to power the greenhouse from

Answer: solar panels
Explanation: Paton suggests that solar panels can make the greenhouse entirely independent of the grid.
Location: Paragraph G.

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39. Critics argue that

Answer: construction costs
Explanation: Critics highlight the high construction costs of $4 per square foot.
Location: Paragraph H.

---

40. It is an

Answer: environmentally friendly
Explanation: Paton argues that the design provides an environmentally friendly method for large-scale air conditioning.
Location: Paragraph H.

Making of Olympic Torch | Actual exam reading pdf | Past exam ielts reading pdf | 25 January ielts reading pdf for free | 21 January 2025 ielts reading pdf for free

 Passage 3 Making of Olympic Torch

1

SECTION 3

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

Making of Olympic Torch

A

Every two years, people around the world wait in anticipation as a torch-bearing runner enters the Olympic arena and lights the cauldron. The symbolic lighting of the Olympic flame marks the beginning of another historic Olympic Games. The opening ceremony is the end of a long journey for the Olympic torch. The ancient Greeks revered the power of fire. In Greek mythology, the god Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans. The Greeks held their first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. The Games, held every four years at Olympia, honored Zeus and other Greek gods. A constantly burning flame was a regular fixture throughout Greece. At the start of the Olympic Games, the Greeks would ignite a cauldron of flame upon the altar dedicated to Hera, goddess of birth and marriage.

B

The flame was reintroduced to the Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. A cauldron was lit, but there was no torch relay. The first Olympic torch relay was at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games and it was not introduced to the Winter Olympics until the 1952 Games. It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because it was the birthplace of skiing. But since the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria, every Olympic Games – Winter and Summer – has begun with a torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, followed by a torch relay to the Olympic stadium.

Designing an Olympic Torch

C

The torch starts out as an idea in the mind of a designer or group of designers. Several design teams submit proposals to the Olympic Committee for the opportunity to create and build the torch. The team that wins the assignment will design a torch that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. A torch can take a year or two to design and build. And once the torch has been built, it must be tested rigorously in all kinds of weather conditions. The look of the modern Olympic torch originated with John Hench, a Disney artist who designed the torch for the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. design provided the basis for all future torches. Since then, designers have tried to create a torch that represents the host country and the theme for that Olympic Games.

D

The torch must then be replicated … and replicated. It’s not just one torch making the journey to the Olympic stadium; it’s thousands. Anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 torches are constructed to accommodate the thousands of runners who carry them through each leg of the Olympic relay. Each runner has the opportunity to purchase his torch at the end of his leg of the relay.

Olympic Torch fuel

E

The first torch used in the modern Olympics (the 1936 Berlin Games) was made of a thin steel rod topped with a circular piece from which the flame rose. It was inscribed with a dedication to the runners. The torch must stay lit for the entire length of its journey. It must survive wind, rain, sleet, snow, and a variety of climates (desert, mountain, and ocean). For fuel, early torches burned everything from gunpowder to olive oil. Some torches used a mixture of hexamine (a mixture of formaldehyde and ammonia) and naphthalene (the hydrogen- and carbon-based substance in mothballs) with an igniting liquid. These substances weren’t always the most efficient fuel sources, and they were sometimes dangerous. In the 1956 Games, the final torch in the relay was lit by magnesium and aluminum, burning chunks of which fell from the torch and seared the runner’s arms. The first liquid fuels were introduced at the 1972 Munich Games. Torches since that time have carried liquid fuels – they are stored under pressure as a liquid but burn as a gas to produce a flame. Liquid fuel is safe for the runner and can be stored in a lightweight canister. The torch designed for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics has an aluminum base that houses a small fuel tank. As fuel rises through the handle, it is pushed through a brass valve with thousands of tiny openings. As the fuel squeezes through the small openings, it builds pressure. Once it makes it through the openings, the pressure drops, and the liquid fuel turns into gas for burning. The tiny holes maintain a high pressure in the fuel to keep the flame going through harsh conditions.

F

The 1996 torch was fueled by propylene, which produced a bright flame. But because propylene contains a high level of carbon, it also produced a lot of smoke – not a plus for the environment. In 2000, the creators of the Sydney Olympic torch came up with a more lightweight, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly design. To fuel their torch, they decided on a mixture of 35 percent propane (the gas used to heat home stoves and barbecue grills) and 65 percent butane (cigarette lighter fuel), which ignites a strong flame without making a lot of smoke. Because the propane/butane mixture can be stored as a liquid under relatively light pressure, it can be kept in a lightweight container. It then burns as a gas under normal atmospheric pressure. The liquid fuel is stored in an aluminum canister located about halfway up the torch. If flows up to the top of the torch through a pipe. Before leaving the pipe, the liquid fuel is forced through a tiny hole. Once it moves through the hole, there is a pressure drop, causing the liquid to turn into gas for burning. The torch moves the liquid fuel at a consistent rate to the burner, so the flame always burns with the same intensity. The torch can stay lit for about 15 minutes.

G

The engineers behind both the 1996 and 2000 torches adopted a burner system that utilized a double flame, helping them to stay lit even in erratic winds. The external flame burns slowly and at a lower temperature than the internal flame. This flame is big and bright orange, so it can be seen clearly, but it is unstable in winds. The interior flame burns hotter, producing a blue flame that is small but very stable because its internal location protects it from the wind. It would act like a pilot light, able to relight the external flame should it go out.

H

When the 2002 Olympic Torch, in Salt lake city, the top section was glass, and the Olympic Flame burned within the glass, echoing the 2002 Olympic theme Light the Fire Within. The glass stood for purity, winter, ice, and nature. Also inside the glass was a geometric copper structure which helped hold the flame. The two silver sections also mirrored the blue/ purple colors of the Fire and Ice theme.

Questions 27-29

Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage

Write your answers in boxes 27-29 on your answer sheet.

The Olympic torch, as Olympic Committee requested, is carefully designed which takes years to design and build so that it is capable of withstanding all kinds of 27………………….. and staying lit through widely differing weather conditions. The torch used in the modern Olympics which is to hold the 28…………………… And the torch must then be copied and thousands are built as demanded by the thousands of runners who carry them through. Each runner has the opportunity to 29…………………… his torch at the completion of his journey of the relay for memorial and as for souvenirs.

Questions 30-35

Match the following statements as applying to different Olympic flames A-H.

NB There are more choices than questions. You may not need all the choices.

A ancient Greek Olympic flames

B Berlin Games torch (1936)

C 1952 Winter Games flame

D 1956 Games torch

E Munich Games torch (1972)

F 1996 torch (Atlanta)

G 2000 torch (Sydney)

H 2002 torch (Salt lake city)

Write your answers in boxes 30-35 on your answer sheet.

30 first liquid fuel torch

31 not environmentally friendly

32 began to record the runners’ name

33 potential risky as it burnt runner’s arms

34 special for a theme

35 flame not lit in Greek

Questions 36-40

Diagram filling

The chart below shows the structure of the 1996 Olympic torch.

Complete the chart using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each blank.

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Questions 27–29: Summary Completion

Answers:
27. weather conditions
(Reference: Paragraph C - "Once the torch has been built, it must be tested rigorously in all kinds of weather conditions.")

28. Olympic flame
    (Reference: Paragraph E - "The torch must stay lit for the entire length of its journey.")

29. purchase
    (Reference: Paragraph D - "Each runner has the opportunity to purchase his torch at the end of his leg of the relay.")

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Questions 30–35: Matching Statements to Flames

Answers:
30. E (Munich Games torch, 1972)
(Reference: Paragraph E - "The first liquid fuels were introduced at the 1972 Munich Games.")

31. F (1996 torch, Atlanta)
    (Reference: Paragraph F - "The 1996 torch was fueled by propylene, which produced a bright flame. But because propylene contains a high level of carbon, it also produced a lot of smoke – not a plus for the environment.")

32. B (Berlin Games torch, 1936)
    (Reference: Paragraph E - "The first torch used in the modern Olympics (the 1936 Berlin Games) was ... inscribed with a dedication to the runners.")

33. D (1956 Games torch)
    (Reference: Paragraph E - "The final torch in the relay was lit by magnesium and aluminum, burning chunks of which fell from the torch and seared the runner’s arms.")

34. H (2002 torch, Salt Lake City)
    (Reference: Paragraph H - "The 2002 Olympic Torch, in Salt Lake City, ... echoed the 2002 Olympic theme 'Light the Fire Within.'")

35. C (1952 Winter Games flame)
    (Reference: Paragraph B - "It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because it was the birthplace of skiing.")

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Questions 36–40: Diagram Completion

Answers:
36. aluminum base
(Reference: Paragraph F - "The 1996 torch has an aluminum base that houses a small fuel tank.")

37. fuel tank
    (Reference: Paragraph F - "As fuel rises through the handle, it is pushed through a brass valve with thousands of tiny openings.")

38. brass valve
    (Reference: Paragraph F - "As the fuel squeezes through the small openings, it builds pressure.")

39. pressure drop
    (Reference: Paragraph F - "Once it moves through the hole, there is a pressure drop, causing the liquid to turn into gas for burning.")

40. consistent rate
    (Reference: Paragraph F - "The torch moves the liquid fuel at a consistent rate to the burner.")

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Intelligence and Giftedness| Actual exam reading pdf | Past exam ielts reading pdf | 25 January ielts reading pdf for free | 21 January 2025 ielts reading pdf for free

Passage 2 Intelligence and Giftedness

PASSAGE 1

PASSAGE 3

SECTION 2

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Intelligence and Giftedness

A

In 1904 the French minister of education, facing limited resources for schooling, sought a way to separate the unable from the merely lazy. Alfred Binet got the job of devising selection principles and his brilliant solution put a stamp on the study of intelligence and was the forerunner of intelligence tests still used today, he developed a thirty-problem test in 1905, which tapped several abilities related to intellect, such as judgment and reasoning, the test determined a given child’s mental age’. The test previously established a norm for children of a given physical age. (for example, five-year-old on average get ten items correct), therefore, a child with a mental age of five should score 10, which would mean that he or she was functioning pretty much as others of that age. The child’s mental age was then compared to his physical age.

B

A large disparity in the wrong direction (e.g., a child of nine with a mental age of four) might suggest inability rather than laziness and mean he or she was earmarked for special schooling, Binet, however, denied that the test was measuring intelligence, its purpose was simply diagnostic, for selection only. This message was however lost and caused many problems and misunderstanding later.

C

Although Binet’s test was popular, it was a bit inconvenient to deal with a variety of physical and mental ages. So in 1912, Wilhelm Stern suggested simplifying this by reducing the two to a single number, he divided the mental age by the physical age and multiplied the result by 100. An average child, irrespective of age, would score 100. A number much lower than 100 would suggest the need for help, and one much higher would suggest a child well ahead of his peer.

D

This measurement is what is now termed the IQ (for intelligence quotient) score and it has evolved to be used to show how a person, adult or child, performed in relation to others. (the term IQ was coined by Lewis M. Terman, professor of psychology and education of Stanford University, in 1916. He had constructed an enormously influential revision of Binet’s test, called the Stanford-Binet test, versions of which are still given extensively.)

E

The field studying intelligence and developing tests eventually coalesced into a sub-field of psychology called psychometrics (psycho for ‘mind’ and metrics for ‘measurements’). The practical side of psychometrics (the development and use of tests) became widespread quite early, by 1917, when Einstein published his grand theory of relativity, mass-scale testing was already in use. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare (which led to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915) provoked the United States to finally enter the First World War in the same year. The military had to build up an army very quickly; it had two million inductees to sort out. Who would become officers and who enlisted men? Psychometricians developed two intelligence tests that help sort all these people out, at least to some extent, this was the first major use of testing to decide who lived and who died, as officers were a lot safer on the battlefield, the tests themselves were given under horrendously bad conditions, and the examiners seemed to lack commonsense, a lot of recruits simply had no idea what to do and in several sessions most inductees scored zero! The examiners also came up with the quite astounding conclusion from the testing that the average American adult’s intelligence was equal to that of a thirteen-year-old!

F

Intelligence testing enforced political and social prejudice, their results were used to argue that Jews ought to be kept out of the united states because they were so intelligently inferior that they would pollute the racial mix, and blacks ought not to be allowed to breed at all. And so abuse and test bias controversies continued to plaque psychometrics.

G

Measurement is fundamental to science and technology, science often advances in leaps and bounds when measurement devices improve, psychometrics has long tried to develop ways to gauge psychological qualities such as intelligence and more specific abilities, anxiety, extroversion, emotional stability, compatibility, with a marriage partner, and so on. Their scores are often given enormous weight, a single IQ measurement can take on a life of its own if teachers and parents see it as definitive, it became a major issue in the 70s, when court cases were launched to stop anyone from making important decisions based on IQ test scores, the main criticism was and still is that current tests don’t really measure intelligence, whether intelligence can be measured at all is still controversial, some say it cannot others say that IQ tests are psychology’s greatest accomplishments.

Questions 14-17

The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

14 IQ is just one single factor of human characteristics.

15 Discussion of the methodology behind Professor Stern’s test.

16 Inadequacy of IQ test from Binet.

17 The definition of IQ was created by a professor.

Questions 18-21

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet.

18 Professor Binet devises the test to ……………………

A find those who do not perform satisfied

B choose the best one

C measure the intelligence

D establish the standard of intelligence

19 The test is designed according to ……………………

A math

B age

C reading skill

D gender

20 U.S. Army used Intelligence tests to select………………………

A Officers

B Normal Soldiers

C Examiners

D Submarine drivers.

21 the purpose of the text is to……………………

A Give credit to the contribution of Binet in IQ test

B prove someone’s theory is feasible.

C discuss the validity and limitation of the test

D outline the history of the test

Questions 22-26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement is true

FALSE if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

22 Part the intension in designing the test by professor Binet has been misunderstood.

23 Age as a factor is completely overlooked in the simplified tests by Wilhelm Stern

24 Einstein was a counter-example of IQ test conclusion.

25 IQ test may probably lead to racial discrimination as a negative effect.

26 The author regards measuring intelligent test as a goal hardly meaningful.

Explanation of Answers

Questions 14-17: Matching Paragraphs

• 14 (G): The statement mentions that "IQ is just one single factor of human characteristics." This is reflected in Paragraph G, which discusses psychometrics and mentions other psychological qualities that can be measured alongside IQ, emphasizing that IQ is just one of many traits.
• 15 (C): The methodology of Professor Stern’s test is discussed in Paragraph C, which explains how Stern simplified Binet’s method by introducing the formula for IQ (mental age divided by physical age, multiplied by 100).
• 16 (B): The inadequacy of IQ tests designed by Binet is highlighted in Paragraph B, where it states that the test was not measuring intelligence but was merely diagnostic. This caused misunderstandings later.
• 17 (D): The definition of IQ is credited to Professor Lewis M. Terman in Paragraph D, who coined the term and developed the Stanford-Binet test.

Questions 18-21: Multiple Choice

• 18 (B): Binet designed the test to identify children whose mental performance did not match their age, as mentioned in Paragraph A.
• 19 (B): The test was based on age (mental age vs. physical age), explained in Paragraph A.
• 20 (A): The U.S. Army used intelligence tests to select officers, discussed in Paragraph E.
• 21 (C): The passage’s purpose is to discuss the validity and limitations of IQ tests, as reflected throughout the text but summarized in Paragraph G.

Questions 22-26: True/False/Not Given

• 22 (TRUE): Paragraph B mentions that Binet’s intention was misunderstood as the test was only diagnostic, not a measure of intelligence.
• 23 (FALSE): Paragraph C explains that age was central to Stern's methodology as he introduced the concept of IQ based on mental and physical age.
• 24 (NOT GIVEN): There is no mention of Einstein being a counter-example to IQ test conclusions.
• 25 (TRUE): Paragraph F discusses how intelligence tests enforced political and social prejudices, leading to racial discrimination.
• 26 (NOT GIVEN): The author does not explicitly state whether measuring intelligence is meaningless.