English Self-Study

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 on pages
88 and 89.
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

WATER ON TAP
A Eorlg people hod no need

Jo,
engineering works to supply their
woter. Hunters ond nomods comped
neor noturol sources ond populotions
were so sporse thot pollution oJ the
woter supplg did not pose a serious
problem. But os civilised liJe developed
ond smoll settlements grew into cities,
woter monogement become o mojor
concern, not onlU to supply the urbon
centres but olso to irrigote the Jorms
surrounding them. The solution wos to
Jind o wou to roise woter up Jrom the
rivers.

B Around 5000 BC, primitive ottempts

were mode bg the Eggptions. They
used the Perion Wheel, o woter-wheel
thot dipped contoiners into a river,
liJting up woter os it revolved. Another
method wos o simple lever-ond-bucket
sgstem colled
shodooJ. The

the

invention

,J the lever, os well os o

screw, to liJt woter is oJten ottributed

to Archimedes Q87-213 BC) but both
devices were without doubt in use
thousonds oJ yeors beJore his time. A

more occurote explonotion is thot

Archimedes wos the Jirst to try to
describe in mothemoticol terms the
woy these devices worked.

C Bg 2000 BC, the rulers

"J
Mesopotomio, Bobylonio ond EgUpt
hod constructed systems oJ doms ond

to control the Jlood woters

"J
the Tigris, Euphrotes ond the Nile.
Such conols not onlg irrigoted crops
conols

but olso supplied woter Jor domestic

purposes, the woter being stored in
lorge pottery jors, hond-corried Jrom
the river bg household sloves. The
remoins
the eorliest oqueduct on

"J been pinpointed to the

record hove
works oJ the Assyrion king ond moster
builder Sennocherib (705-681 BC),
who developed o 10-mile conol in
three stoges, including 18 Jresh-woter
courses Jrom the mountoins.

D But we con thonk the Romons

being the Jirst

Jo,

to consider seriouslg the

sonitotion of their woter supplg. Foced

with the prlblem oJ directing-enough
woter towords Rome - woter Jrom the
Tiber, o muddy, smelly river, wos out
q the question they set obout
constructing the most extensive sgstem
oqueducts in the oncient world.
"J
These brought the pure woters oJ the
Apennine Mountoins into the city,
with settling bosins ond Jilters olong
the woy, to ensure the wtter's clorit!
ond cleonliness. The Jirst, built oround
312 BC during Appius Cloudius
Coecus's odministrotion, wos Aquo
Appio, oh underground oqueduct
obout 10 miles in length.

E The orch revolutionised woter supplg.

1
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

English Self-Study
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

By using it, Romon orchitects could

roise oqueducts to the height needed
to spon volleys. The Aquo Morcion in
Rome - oround 56 miles long with o

dropped. As the door hissed owo!,

opening ond closing, he reolised the
weight wos displocing oir ond octing

os o piston. This reolisotion

Ctesibius to investigote methods

"J
moving Jluids olong o pipe using o
piston, ond to the Jounding principle
hydroulics. Ctesibius's Jorce pump
"J not copoble
pumping high
wos
"J
volumes oJ woter but it ploged o vitol
port in oncient Greek culture. Among
other uses, Jorce pumps droined the
bilges oJ the troding ships oJ the time.
They were used to extinguish Jires ond
they brought to liJe the Jountoins thot
groced Alexondrio.

10-mile bridged section - wos built by

the proetor Morcius in 144 BC, ond
wos the Jirst to corrU woter obove
ground. Eventuollg, Rome wos served
bg eleven linked oqueducts. These kept
the citg's tops ond Jountoins running providing on ostonishing 38 million

woter eoch doy. Ports

gollons
"J
"J
these ore still in use,
severol
such
olthough"Jthe construction

"J

mossive woter-supply sgstems declined

with the Joll oJ the Romon Empire. For
severol centuries oJterwords, springs
ond wells provided the moin source oJ

led

ln London, the Jirst

Ctesibius
the broinchild
"J
"J
Alexondrio ond it dotes to the 3'o

pumping
woterworks were completed in 1562.
This pumped river woter to o reservoir
suspende d 120Jt obove the Thomes. lt
wos then distributed bg grovitg vio
leod pipes to surrounding buildings. ln
more recent times, mony oqueducts
hove been built worldwide. Among
them ore the oqueducts supplying
woter to Glosgow (35 miles long),
Morseilles (60 miles), Monchester (96

century BC. Like oll greot engineers,

Ctesibius took his inspirotion Jrom his
surroundings. While working on o wog
to roise ond lower a mirror in his

world. Woter drown Jrom

domestic ond industriol woter.

The introduction oJ the Jorce pump in

the 16'h
Englond in the middle
"J
the
extended
centuru greotlu
possibilities oJ development oJ wotersupply systems. This pump wos bg no
meons o new invention. lt wos in Joct

Jother's borber shop

counterboloncing it with a

by

leod

weight, he stumbled on a method

"J
outomoticollg closing the shop's door

without it slomming. He ron

weighted line Jrom the door over a

pulleg ond into o pipe, which slowed
the speed ot which the weight

miles), Liverpool (68 miles) ond Vienno

(144 miles). ColiJornio now hos the
most extensive oqueduct system in the

the
Colorodo River's Porker Dom is corried
242 miles over the Son Bernodino

Mountoins, supplying more thon o

billion gollons o dog. ln oddition, the
338-mile Los Angeles oqueduct drows
woter Jrom the Owens River in the
Sierro Nevodo, giving o doilg supplg oJ
oround 4 billion gollons.

2
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

English Self-Study
DEMIC READING
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

Questions

1-6

Complete the table below.

ryffi5ru
choose N0 M0RE THAN THREE W0RDS from the passage

for each onswer.

Wite your answers in boxes 1-6 on your onswer sheet.

Perian Wheel

water . use of force

supply 4 ........
pump

o systems of dams and

o system of

canals

(a type of water-

dealt with

wheel.)

ol - ........

water for

2 ........

and

e water pumped

aqueducts

to reservoir
carried to

invention of

buildings

5 ........ led to

through

aqueducts above

6 ........

(a lever and
bucket system)

r J ........

used for

keeping water in

and

ground

Questions

7-10

Reading Passage

t has seven paragrophs

labelled A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

write the correct letter A-G in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

7
8
9
10

an invention that could onty suppl.y Limited amounts of water

a reference to a widespread but false beLief
reasons why water-suppty systems needed

to be devetoped

the name of the person responsibte for creating the first known aqueduct

Questions 11-13
Answer the questions below using N0 M0RE THAN THREE W0RDS
Write your onswers

tl
t2
13

for each onswer.

in boxes L1-13 on your onswer sheet.

What was Ctesibius trying

to

move?

What did Ctesibius succeed in causing to move?

What area of science did Ctesibius help to establ.ish?

actice test

3
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

English Self-Study

HOWL OF WOLVES

Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

+#*iiI#iiFiJfii=i.d+#**

iii

EARS

Phil Miller flies the single-engine plane in a tight

circle at an altitude of about 300 feet, listening
on his headset to beeping from a wolf 's radio

forest land, which is heavily, heavily used by

recreationalists like snowmobilers, crosscountry skiers and hunters. This is the classic

collar. The animal is somewhere below in a

mix of patchy pine forest and low, sparse brush
scattered over a snow-covered swamp. lt is a
gray day, drizzlingand misty, and after the plane
circles a line of pines several times, the wolf is
still not visible. Then Mr Miller spots a pair their coats a peppery mix of gray, black and

case of the quiet recovery of wolves without a

U B U RB

S OF WOVES NEARS US SUBURB

HOWLS

big fanfare, without big attention.' He added

that because the wolves conducted their own
repopulation, public reaction had been largely
favourable. ln the 1950s, nofthern Minnesota
had a remnant population of a few hundred
wolves, Dr Treves said. After the Endangered
Species Act was passed in1973, the protection

cinnamon - standing casually under a pine tree,

looking for all the world like they are trying to
decide whether it's worth going out in the rain.
lf they were really worried about the weather,

they might go to the vast Mall of America in

Bloomington, Minnesota, only a two-hour
drive away - or a 19O-kilometer trot, no great
challenge for a wolf. These wolves are not on
Arctic tundra or in the confines of Yellowstone
National Park. They are in Wisconsin, not
exactly the suburbs, but not the wilderness
either.

B ln their quiet way they have shown that wolves

do not need pristine

wilderness

to

be
successful, that they do not necessarily need a
highly managed reintroduction programme, as
used in Yellowstone, and that they can increase
their range without stirring conflict among wolf
proponents and opponents. 'Once wolves

were thought emblematic of wilderness,' said

Dr Adrian Treves, a biologist with the Wildlife
Conservation Society in New York who has
just published an analysis of what conditions
are most likely to bring wolves and people into

conflict. But the nearly 350 wolves of

Wisconsin, in 80 known packs, have shown
that they can cope with people.

'The wolves,' Dr Treves said, 'have managed to

make dens and breed successfully for 25 years

on a lot of private land, on county and state

it afforded, along with some forest

regeneration and a change in attitudes, allowed

the wolves to start growing in number. There

are now more than 3,000 wolves in Minnesota,
Michigan and Wisconsin.

The day after flying with Mr Miller, who tracks

wolves from the air, I went with Adrian
Wydeven as he drove slowly around on sandy

roads looking for wolf tracks in the same

forested areas. Mr Wydeven, a mammalian
ecologist, has been in charge of the wolf
programme for the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources for about 10 years. The
talking stopped when we saw tracks in the
sand. These were wolf tracks, not the large
dog tracks we had seen earlier. 'lf you look at
these tracks,' he said, 'they're more elongated

than those other tracks.' He noted that the

wolf was not trotting but running, so that both
back feet set down at once and then both front

- a gallop. 'lf he's chasing after a deer, that

would make sense,' Mr Wydeven said.
feet

Stepping into the snow at the side of the road,

he added, 'lt looks like the deer veers off a bit

here.' The tracks were fresh. 'l would say less

than a day. I would say a few hours. lt could be
this morning. There might be just a pair.'

The road is just a few miles from a cattle

operation that has claimed significant

Practice test

4
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

ACADEMIC READIN
English Self-Study
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

depredations from wolves each year. Those

attacks on livestock are the central problem in
any resurgence of predators, and it is those
attacks that Dr Treves has been studying. The
state compensates anyone who has suffered
loss from wolves. The highest risk, Dr Treves
said, was 'at the colonization front' where an
expanding wolf population, especially young,
inexperienced wolves, comes into contact with
people who are unused to coping with wolves.
His findings may lead wildlife managers away

from lethal control, which Dr Treves said

is

inefficient at getting the wolves that are preying

on livestock. The more refined the

understanding of how wolves and people
interact, the better the chances are for keeping

the public on the side of the wolves. The

wolves are doing their part to keep their
population growing. When Mr Wydeven was
inspecting the tracks in the road, we came on a
spot where the road was all scuffed up with
tracks. 'They're milling about here,' he said.
I asked whether they might be playing. 'They
might be, or they might be mating,' he replied.
'We're still in the breeding season.'
From "Howl of Wolves Nears U.S. Suburbs," byJames
Gorman. Copyright @ 2004 by the New York Times Co.

ACADEfvrIC READING

Questions

20-23

Complete the notes below.

Choose
N0 MORE THAN
ltl-26
Questions

from the plssage for each onswer.

Wite your onswers fn boxes 20-23 on your onswer sheet.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage
2 on the following pages.
THREE W0RDS

Wolves in the US

Questions 14-19
may not require an organised
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs A-F.

20

.... , dS carried out in

one of the
nationaI parks
Choose the correct heading for each parograph from the list of headings below.
o have
reproduced
your by
time 14-19
i-xsome
on tand
numbersfor
in boxes
on used
answer
27 sheet.
Wite the
correct
of various

..

kinds

List of Headings
o greatest danger of wolves attacking
is at a place known as 22

Predictable behaviour
i
23
may not prevent attacks on cattle
ii Interpreting
evidence
iii An out-of-date image of wolves
iv New problems for wolves
v Preventing negative views of wotves
Questions 24-26
vi A-F.
Wolves who may be sheltering
Choose THREE letters
reactions
Understandable
Wite your answersvii
in boxes
24-26 on your
onswer sheet.
viii Contrasting behaviour patterns among wolves
Which THREE of the
areunnoticed
mentjoned
as new developments concerning wotves
A largely
increase
ix following
in the US?
x Damage done by wolves
A the ptaces they now inhabit
B their abiHty to adapt to climate changes
Paragraph
A in smaller groups
C a change from Uving int4packs
to liv'ing
15
Paragraph
D their ability to coexist with people B
Paragraph
C environmental initiatives
E the fact that they have16benefited
from
t7
Paragraph
D
F a change in the'ir behaviour towards other
animats

a poticy of

18
19

Paragraph

Paragraph

Practice

5
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

test

inexperienced wolves, comes into contact with

people who are unused to coping with wolves.

His findings may lead wildlife managers away

English Self-Study
from lethal control, which Dr Treves said is
inefficient at getting the wolves that are preying
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading
Questions

was all scuffed up with

tracks. 'They're milling about here,' he said.
I asked whether they might be playing. 'They
might be, or they might be mating,' he replied.
'We're still in the breeding season.'
From "Howl of Wolves Nears U.S. Suburbs," byJames
Gorman. Copyright @ 2004 by the New York Times Co.

20-23

Complete the notes below.

Choose N0 MORE THAN THREE W0RDS

from the plssage for each onswer.

Wite your onswers fn boxes 20-23 on your onswer sheet.

Wolves in the US
.

may not require an organised

20

.... , dS carried out in

one of the

nationaI parks

o have reproduced for some time on tand used by 27

..

of various

kinds

o greatest danger of wolves attacking is at a place known as 22

a poticy of

23

may not prevent attacks on cattle

24-26

Questions

Choose THREE letters A-F.

Wite your answers in boxes 24-26 on your onswer sheet.

Which THREE of the following are mentjoned as new developments concerning wotves

in the

US?

A
B
C
D
E
F

the ptaces they now inhabit

their abiHty to adapt to climate changes

a change from Uving in packs to liv'ing in smaller groups
their ability to coexist with people
the fact that they have benefited from environmental initiatives
a change in the'ir behaviour towards other animats

Practice

6
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

test

93

CADEfV1IC READING

English Self-Study
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 on poges
94 and 95. IELTS Academic Reading
Objective:

MISSION OUT OF CONTROL

Itt not just physicol dcngeru

ostronouts have to contend with

psychologicot friaion is o

b[

On space missions, weightlessness and radiation

are often seen as being the key dangers. But there
is increasing evidence to show that one of the
greatest hazards lies in the crew itself.The hostile
sPace environments and the hardware are, of
course, crucial factors in any space mission. But

so

is the software of the human brain.

During long missions, space travellers have shown

of increased territoriality, withdrawal and

signs

need

for

privacy.

As a result of these sorts of

psychological difficulties, one cosmonaut had

that led him to make

religious experience

and anxiety, worsens. The spacefarers

unusually upset by loud noises

24 hours.

in 1973 and 1974 almost immediately

ran into trouble. One astronaut erroneously

A House in

changed the control systems while suffering from

psychological problems. Crew members began

the third mission with a schedule that was too
strenuous. They

fell behind in their work

or

are

unexpected

information. This is the period when crew

members get testy with one another and with the
ground crew.There have been reports describing
how one crew member did not speak to another
for days; there are even rumours of fist fights one over a chess game.Tensions frequently spill
over to mission control, as they did in the Skylab
strike. One Russian crew aboard a Salyut space
station reportedly got so cross with mission
control that they shut down communications for

dangerous, unauthorised spacewalk. Nasa's Skylab

missions

problem,soys Raj Persoud

to Henry Cooper, who wrote a book,

Spoce, on the loneliness of the longdistance astronaut, at least three missions have
been aborted for reasons that were in part
psychological. ln the 1976 Soyuz-2l mission to

According

The Russians have identified three phases in

adaptation to space. The first lasts up to two
months and is dominated by adjustments to the

the Salyut-S space station, the crew was brought

home early after the cosmonauts complained
fiercely of an acrid odour in the space station's
environmental control system. No cause was ever
found, nor did other crews smell it;conceivably, it
was a hallucination. Coincidentally, the crew had
not been getting along. The crew of the Soyuz
T- 14 mission to Salyut-7 in 1985 was brought
home after 65 days after Vladimir Vasyutin
complained that he had a prostate infection. Later,
the doctors believed that the problem was partly

new environment. This is followed by increasing

psychological. Vasyutin had been getting behind in

fatigue and decreasing motivation,'asthenia'.What

his work and was under pressure, having been

and

became demoralised. On their 45th day in space,

the crew went on strike, refusing to perform

scheduled tasks. Disregarding orders was an
unusual and dangerous response for astronauts.
After concessions from mission control, the crew
settled down and eventually completed an 84-day
mission.

once seemed exciting becomes boring

and

repetitious. Next comes a lengthy period during

which the asthenia, which can include depression

passed over

for a flight several times before.

Alexander Laveikin returned early from the Soyuz

TM-2 mission to the Mir space station in 1987

Practice test

7
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

A(iAFEfvtIC RE/A,DIN
English Self-Study
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading

of a cardiac irregularity.
Flight surgeons could find no sign of it. The

because he complained

cosmonaut had been under stress

- he had made

a couple of potentially serious errors. And he had

not been getting along with his

partner, Yuri

indoors by the extreme temperatures. Antarctica

has served as one of the primary means of
gathering psychosocial data for space missions,
according to Dr John Annexstad, a space scientist
and ten-time veteran of scientific missions to

Romanenko.

Antarctica.

The same psychological phenomena curse men

and women on expeditions to remote places.

During the first few months of an Antarctic

mission, interpersonal problems dont play a
major part. The problem arises, says Dr
Annexstad, after the initial shock and awe of the

lsolation and sensory deprivation are the

common denominators, whether the mission is in

the Arctic wastes or the realm of the deep,

causing a series of symptoms heightened
anxiety, boredom, depression, loneliness,
excessive fear of danger and homesickness. The
scientists and support staff who work in

environment wear off, and crew members get to

Antarctica have been studied by DrJoannaWood

four.ln a study of personnel who wintered over in

the Antarctic, 85 per cent reported periods of
significant depression,65 per cent had periods of
anger or hostility,60 per cent suffered from sleep

of the National Space

Biomedical Research

lnstitute in Houston, who also studies how crews

behave

in a special test chamber.'After a few

know their surroundings a little better. Then they

to rebel against authority and each other.ln

one ice base, anxiety episodes increased from 3
during the first four months to l9 during the last
begin

53 per cent had impaired

the 1977 lnternational
Biomedical Expedition to Antarctica, a l2-man

months, you get tired of looking at the same faces.

disturbance, and

People frequently have behaviours that might be

cognition. During

endearing in the larger society, but when you're

living with

it

day after day it's an annoyance.'

adventure lasting 72 days, bickering became such

This continent,the lastto be explored by humans,

a problem that psychologists accompanying the

is the coldest, windiest and driest land mass.

expedition had to intervene. Antarctic literature

is full of stories about teammates who stopped
talking to one another or even fought - one
concerns a cook with a meat cleaver facing off
against an engineer brandishing a fire axe.

Because of the extreme environment, researchers

must'winter over' for six months out of the year.

During this period, there is little contact with the
outside world and groups tend to be confined

Practice

8
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1

test

English Self-Study
DEfvlIC READING
Objective: IELTS Academic Reading
Questions

27-29

Complete the sentences below with words taken

Use N0 M0RE THAN THREE W0RDS

from Reading Passage 3.

for each onswer.

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

27
28
29

Space travetlers on long mjssions demonstrate the des'ire

called

to have some

Astronauts can get into a state

..... after two months in space.
psychotogical
The causes of
problems on both space missions and expeditions
to remote places are
... together with

..

Questions

30-35

Look at the statements (Questions

30-35) ond the list of space missions

it refers to.

below.

Match each statement with the space mission

Write the correct letter

A-D in

boxes 30-35 on your onswer sheet.

NB You moy use any letter more than once.

30
31
32
33
34
35

Two of the astronauts had a bad relationship with each other.

to carry out their duties.

One of the astronauts did not complete the mission.
One of the astronauts had faited to be selected for previous miss'ions.
One of the astronauts made a mistake with the equipment.
The astronauts percejved something that may not have existed.
The astronauts decided not

List of Space Missions

A Skyl.ab
B Soyuz-21
C Soyuz T-14

D Soyuz TM-2

Questions

36-40

Complete the summary below using words from the box.

Write your answers in boxes 36-40 on your onswer sheet.

Antarctic missions
According to Dr fohn Annexstad, relationships are not an important factor
during the first part of a mission because crew members lack 36
..... with
their environment and have a feeling of 37
After this, there is less
38 ..
... from crew members and the number of events caused by
39 ..
... increases enormously as the mission continues. According to some
stories, relationships can even result in 4O
..... involving crew members.
expectation

boredom

cooperation

improvement

sympathy

discussion

fami[iarity

error

determination

careLessness

disappointment

vio[ence

amazement

involvement

misunderstanding

confidence

failure

tension

competition

envy

Practice test

9
IELTS Reading Self-Marking Practice Exam 1