IELTS Question Bank

IELTS Reading Question Bank

3 passages · 40 questions · split-screen with highlighter · Full test 60 min

ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking

Recent Exam Topics (2024–2025)

18 single passages on topics reported in recent tests · 20 minutes each · computer-based layout. Original practice material, not official papers.

Passage 1 level · Questions 1–13

  1. 1

    The Owl That Stayed

    Animals · New Zealand birds · reported 2025

    True / False / Not Given · Completion

  2. 1

    Three Revolutions on the Plate

    History · Humans and food · reported 2024–2025

    True / False / Not Given · Completion

  3. 1

    Mapping the Food Desert

    Society · Food deserts · reported 2025

    Completion · True / False / Not Given

  4. 1

    Katherine Mansfield: A Life in Short Stories

    Literature · Katherine Mansfield · reported Frequently repeated

    True / False / Not Given · Completion

  5. 1

    More Than a Matter of Taste

    Science · The sense of flavour · reported Apr 2024 · Apr 2025

    True / False / Not Given · Completion

  6. 1

    A Warm, Wet Puzzle

    Space · Climate of early Mars · reported 2025

    Matching · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  7. 1

    How Economies Evolve

    Economics · Economic evolution · reported 2025

    True / False / Not Given · Multiple choice · Completion

  8. 1

    Hooks from the Past

    History · Māori fish hooks · reported 2025

    Matching · True / False / Not Given

Passage 2 level · Questions 14–26

  1. 2

    The Hidden Legacy of Conflict

    Health · Depleted uranium · reported Apr 2025

    Matching · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  2. 2

    The Cost of Instability

    Economics · Volatility and growth · reported Apr 2025

    Matching · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  3. 2

    Bees That Live Alone

    Nature · Solitary bees · reported 2025

    Multiple choice · Matching · Completion

Passage 3 level · Questions 27–40

  1. 3

    Making Mars Habitable

    Space · Terraforming Mars · reported 2025

    Yes / No / Not Given · Multiple choice · Summary (word box)

  2. 3

    The Science of Self-Control

    Psychology · Willpower · reported 2025

    True / False / Not Given · Matching · Multiple choice

  3. 3

    The Trouble with 7-38-55

    Communication · Verbal and non-verbal messages · reported 2025

    Summary (word box) · Yes / No / Not Given · Multiple choice

  4. 3

    When the Music Makes No Sense

    Music · Tone deafness · reported Aug 2024 · May 2025

    Multiple choice · Yes / No / Not Given · Completion

  5. 3

    History Goes Digital

    Education · Teaching history · reported Jan 2024 · Apr–May 2025

    Matching · Multiple choice · Yes / No / Not Given

  6. 3

    From Billiard Balls to Bakelite

    Technology · Invention of plastics · reported Apr 2025

    Matching · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  7. 3

    Clearing the Air, at a Price

    Health & environment · Asthma inhalers · reported 2025

    Matching · Yes / No / Not Given · Completion

Full Reading tests

Reading Test 1 (Academic)

Vertical farming · Procrastination · Deep-sea mining

Full test
  1. 1

    Passage 1: Farming Upwards

    By 2050, roughly two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. Feeding these urban populations whi…

    Questions 1–13 · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  2. 2

    Passage 2: Why We Put Things Off

    Almost everyone delays tasks from time to time, but for some people procrastination is a chronic problem. Surveys sugges…

    Questions 14–26 · Matching · Multiple choice · Completion

  3. 3

    Passage 3: Treasure of the Deep

    Scattered across vast areas of the deep ocean floor, some four to six kilometres below the surface, lie trillions of pot…

    Questions 27–40 · Yes / No / Not Given · Matching · Multiple choice

Reading Test 2 (Academic)

History of the bicycle · Coral reef restoration · Machine translation

Full test
  1. 1

    Passage 1: The Bicycle: Two Centuries of Change

    The first machine recognisable as a bicycle was built in 1817 by Karl Drais, a German civil servant. His “running machin…

    Questions 1–13 · True / False / Not Given · Completion

  2. 2

    Passage 2: Rebuilding the Reef

    Coral reefs cover less than one per cent of the ocean floor, yet they support around a quarter of all marine species. Th…

    Questions 14–26 · Matching · Completion · Multiple choice

  3. 3

    Passage 3: Lost and Found in Translation

    In 1954, researchers from Georgetown University and IBM demonstrated a computer that translated more than sixty Russian …

    Questions 27–40 · Multiple choice · Yes / No / Not Given · Matching