IELTS practice test 08 reading academic test

IELTS PRACTICE TESTS

READING
TEST 08


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Good Luck!

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Please note that while we truly hope that the pack will help you to achieve the IELTS test band
score you need, by purchasing this pack you agree to the 'Terms and Conditions of Use'. This
pack, which includes all pages and the associated audio files, is for your own individual study
only. The pack or any of its contents can not be shared or transmitted in any form without the
prior written consent of TruLern Ltd.

Please remember copyright laws exist to help us ALL. Breach of copyright kills creativity,
innovation and healthy competition. If you breach this copyright you could face legal action

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
against you.

Respecting copyright makes our world a better place. Please respect our copyright.
Once again, many thanks and once again, the very best of luck with your IELTS test.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Terms and Conditions of Use
The terms ‘IELTS PRACTICE TESTS’, 'TRULERN', ‘us’ and ‘we’ refer to the owners of the IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS website.
The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.
Copyright Notice
Unless otherwise expressly stated, copyright or similar rights in all material presented on this website, apart from those held
on any 'links' page and used as hyperlinks to other websites, are owned by TruLern Ltd.
You are entitled to download and print the practice tests for your own individual study use only and you are not permitted to share
free or commercialy, or distribute free or commercially any of the contents in any form. Copies of the website pages which you
have saved to disk or to any other storage system or medium may be used for subsequent viewing purposes or to print for your
own individual study use only. You may not (whether directly or indirectly including through the use of any program) create a
database in an electronic or other form by downloading and storing all or any part of the pages from this website without prior
written consent save as expressly authorised by an agreement in writing between us. Unless with our prior permission no part of
this website may be reproduced or transmitted to or stored in any other website, nor may any of its pages or part thereof be
disseminated in any electronic or non electronic form, nor included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service.
Terms of Use
You agree that all the materials displayed on or available through this website including without limitation any and all names,
logos, data, information, graphics, underlying software, displayed on or available from this website are protected by copyright,
trade mark and other intellectual property laws and are available for your own individual study use only. You must not copy,
modify, alter, publish, broadcast, distribute, sell, transfer or share any of these materials without our express written permission.
You agree to use this website and its content, and the services and products delivered herein only for lawful purposes.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Warranties and Disclaimers
Your use of this website including all content downloaded or accessed from or through this website is at your own risk. Every
effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, we take no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the

website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control. In no event will we be liable for any loss or
damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from
loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Whilst precautions are taken to detect computer viruses and ensure security, we cannot guarantee that the website is virus-free
and secure. We shall not be liable for any loss or damage which may occur as a result of any virus or breach of security. We give
no warranties of any kind concerning the web site or the content. In particular, we do not warrant that the website or any of its
contents is virus free. You must take your own precautions in this respect as we accept no responsibility for any infection by virus
or other contamination or by anything which has destructive properties.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Whilst making every attempt to secure personal data, we cannot accept responsibility for any unauthorised access or loss of
personal information that is beyond our control.

Through this website you may be able to link to other websites which are not under our control. We have no control over the
nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse
the views expressed within them.
You agree to indemnify and hold TruLern Ltd and its subsidiaries, affiliates, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, licensors,
suppliers, employees and representatives harmless from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of
the use or connection to this website (including any use by you on behalf of your employer or your violation of any rights of
another).
Website and Content
In compiling the content contained on, and accessed through this website, we have used our best endeavours to ensure that the
information is correct and current at the time of publication but we take no responsibility for any error, omission or defect therein.
All study materials are generally hypothetical or imaginary and are included for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to
individuals, companies, institutions or otherwise in real life is entirely coincidental. The opinions expressed in any third party
materials are not necessarily those of TruLern Ltd but are provided for academic practice and educational purposes only.

We reserve the right to change these terms at any time and you will be considered to have accepted such changes if you use this
web site after we have published the changed terms on this web site. If you have any questions about this document or our
privacy policy, please contact us.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Reading Academic
IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Test 08

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

SECTION 1

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Questions 1 – 13

Healthy Food?
A THE shelves of every supermarket are packed with probiotic yogurts that can supposedly ease
constipation and fend off infections, butter substitutes that claim to reduce cholesterol, tomato extracts said

to keep skin looking young while warding off cancer, infant cereals enhanced with micronutrients essential
for development, and so on. Have food companies taken on a higher level of morality or are there other
motives for this concern over the health value of their produce?
B Food companies have taken to trumpeting the supposed health and nutritional benefits of their
products for several reasons. Such products may appeal both to health-conscious buyers and to people who
know they eat unhealthily, but hope that some vitamins here and some probiotics there might compensate
for the junk. Best of all, from the food companies’ point of view, these “functional foods”, which blur the line
between foods and drugs, hold out the promise of higher margins and faster growth. In western Europe
sales of functional foods grew by 10.2% a year between 2006 and 2009, for example, whereas sales of
packaged food grew by 6.3%. That is why Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, is making a big bet on
functional foods as a source of future growth.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
C All this has attracted the attention of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. They are concerned that
some of these health claims may be misleading or unsupported by evidence, and are tightening the rules. On
October 20th America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would overhaul the rules for
nutritional claims on food labels and issue new standards early next year. It has already rebuked General
Mills, the maker of Cheerios, a popular breakfast cereal, for claiming that it is “clinically proven to lower
cholesterol”. The European Food Safety Authority is also cracking down, requiring companies to back up
health and nutrition claims with scientific studies. Hundreds of applications submitted to its scientific panel
have just been turned down. The panel has decided that there is not enough evidence to claim that, for
instance, heather helps you sleep, dried cocoa extract helps you lose weight, quinoa makes your hair grow
and Jerusalem artichokes make your gut healthy.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
D Many in the industry are howling that these rules are heavy-handed, given that most of their products
are perfectly safe and that some health claims go back decades or more. Demanding expensive studies to
justify such claims will stifle innovation, they argue, and tilt the playing field against smaller firms, which
will be unable to afford them. Surely, they say, firms that find profit in adding iron, iodine, zinc and vitamins
to their products, or cutting levels of high-fructose corn syrup or saturated fat, ought to be applauded, not

denounced. Many food brands started off as a means of reassuring customers that products were
trustworthy. The desire to defend their brands gives food firms a strong incentive to ensure that their
products are safe.
E The situation now however is that food companies are claiming their products provide specific
benefits—not merely that they are safe to eat. Ordinary folk cannot tell whether health claims made by food
marketers are scientifically valid, so there is a case for regulatory scrutiny of such claims. What’s more, even
though it is difficult to imagine someone being harmed by eating too much breakfast cereal or yogurt, say,
there is a risk of harm if health claims made about functional foods encourage people to see them as
substitutes for drugs or lifestyle changes they may need. A few helpings of vegetables will do more good than
any probiotic yogurt.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

F A lesson from the drugs industry is that industry-funded studies have a clear tendency to produce
results that please their sponsors. So food companies should have to register all studies and publish even
those with unfavourable results. Clear guidelines on labelling are also important. To its credit, the FDA
recently proposed rules that would force food companies to publish all the important components of their
products on the front of their packages, rather than picking out the healthy ones and keeping quiet about the
fat, salt and sugar.
G The industry’s claim that greater scrutiny will kill innovation is off the mark. Those firms making
misleading claims will suffer; those prepared to invest in proper scientific studies to back up their supposed
breakthroughs will benefit. And in pharmaceuticals, smaller firms seem to be more innovative than bigger
ones. If food companies wish to make the sorts of claims about their products that pharmaceutical
companies do, they must be prepared to submit to similar scrutiny. Extraordinary claims, after all, require

extraordinary evidence.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

QUESTIONS 1 - 7
Match each heading to the most suitable paragraph.
i. Food companies should benefit from additional regulation
ii. The need for clarity between food and medicine
iii. The main reason behind the shift towards functional foods
iv. Similarities between the pharmaceutical and the food industries
v. The food industry's case for less regulation
vi. A new trend in food production
vii. More transparency in the results of food research
viii. Demands for food companies to be more accountable
1

Paragraph A ..........

2

Paragraph B ..........

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
3

Paragraph C ..........

4

Paragraph D ..........

5

Paragraph E ..........

6

Paragraph F ..........

7

Paragraph G ..........

QUESTIONS 8 - 10

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Write True, False or Not Given.

8. Food companies are investing in functional foods because they are healthier.
9. The FDA is going to revise the legislation on food labels next year.

10. The food industry welcomes the regulators new demands.

QUESTIONS 11 -13
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
11. For many people it is now difficult to ................. the information given by food producers is true or not.
12. New FDA legislation forces companies to put both healthy and unhealthy ................ on the front of their
products.
13. The food industry must accept the same level of ................ as the pharmaceutical industry if it wishes to
make similar claims.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

SECTION 2

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Questions 14 – 27

Fitter with friends
THE enduring image of Sylvester Stallone's legendary pugilist Rocky Balboa is that of a solitary athlete,
braving the elements, and his own demons, to prepare for a big fight. Yet according to a new study he might
have done better by having a bit of company on his long workouts.
Research by Emma Cohen, an anthropologist at Oxford University, suggests that a better model is provided
by Hicham El Guerrouj, a Moroccan middle-distance runner who is the current holder of the world
1,500-metres and one-mile records. Before retiring in 2006 Mr El Guerrouj was known for the throngs of
training partners that followed him everywhere in Morocco. This was a good strategy because, as Dr Cohen

reports in a forthcoming issue of Biology Letters, training in a synchronised group may heighten tolerance
for pain. That, in turn, could allow athletes like Mr El Guerrouj to reach even higher levels of fitness by
being able to train longer and harder.
The reason is almost certainly the effects of endogenous opioids, better known as endorphins. When these
are released in the brain they make a person feel good. What causes their release is, however, more complex.
Biologists think it is part of an evolved mechanism which rewards behaviour that may not be immediately
pleasant but is ultimately useful to the species.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Endorphins show up nearly everywhere. Hunting an animal may be tiresome but necessary, so endorphins
are secreted during exertion to numb the discomfort induced by lactic acid production in the muscles.
Collaboration makes it easier to kill animals while others set traps.
Dr Cohen wanted to see if combining exercise and collaboration would heighten the effect. One of the
study's co-authors, Robin Ejsmond-Frey, rowed for Oxford and thought it would be a good activity to study.
For one thing, it is easy to spot a crew that is not well synchronised. Secondly, ergometers, machines on
which rowers train, provide data on the power exerted on each stroke. In addition, it can be rather painful so
the endorphins should be out in droves.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
The researchers got 12 members of Oxford's heavyweight squad to row on machines in four 45-minute
sessions over two weeks. In two sessions they rowed in complete isolation and in the others in groups of six,
perfectly synchronised. Immediately following each session their endorphin levels were tested. Because
endorphin levels can only be measured directly through an invasive lumbar puncture-unfeasible, even for
notoriously pain-hungry oarsmen-the researchers used a readily accepted proxy: they deduced pain
tolerance, and hence endorphin levels, by gradually tightening a cuff around each rower's arm. When he
said "now" they stopped squeezing and noted the pressure.

As expected, the rowers' pain thresholds were significantly higher following the group sessions. This was
despite nearly identical power outputs in all four tests and efforts to control for possible confounding
variables, such as the time of day.

The athletes may be rewarding themselves for their collaboration. Whether heightened tolerance is due
specifically to rowing synchronously remains unclear. Data from other studies suggest that co-ordinated
physical exercise can heighten social bonds, as in military training. The reverse may also be true. As the
rowers had been teammates for nearly a year it is possible that the mere presence of friends explains the
observed effect. The researchers are keen to replicate the study to test for such things. Meanwhile, solitary
joggers might want to take along a friend or two.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Questions 14 - 19
Write Yes, No or Not Given.

14 Emma Cohen's research proves that training in synchronised groups leads to higher levels of fitness.
15 Biologists believe that the release of endorphins is part of a reward for useful behaviour.
16 Robin Ejsmond-Frey did not believe Dr Cohen's research would be valuable.
17 Dr Cohen 's researchers used a cuff to measure the athletes' endorphin levels.
18 The rowers' power output changed depending on the time of day.
19 The best way to jog is probably in a group.

Questions 20 - 24

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Match each name to the sentences below.

A

Dr Emma Cohen

B

Sylvester Stallone

C

Hicham El Guerrouj

D

Robin Ejsmond-Frey

20 Used to train in large groups
21 Represents a good example

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
22 Is the author of a report soon to be published
23 Is usually seen training alone

24 Does research work with Emma Cohen

Questions 25 - 27
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.

25 In order to find out the endorphin levels of the 12 rowers, researchers first ............... the level of pain the
rowers could withstand.

26 The power performance of the rowers was almost ............... in every test carried out.
27 It cannot be said with certainty that rowers show a higher ............... to pain as a result of rowing
synchronously.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

SECTION 3

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Questions 28 – 40

Glue bones
A Torn flesh is usually easy to put back together with stitches, but when bone breaks, repairs are nowhere
near as simple. Fractures that run in a straight line can often be placed back in their proper alignment and
set in a cast for a period of time that allows the break to heal. Complex fractures, though, those that involve
bones shattered into fragments, are more challenging. Large fragments can, with the aid of metal screws and
pins, be reattached and set in place for healing. Small fragments cannot be treated in the same way, as they
are often too tiny to be connected with metal hardware. Medics have long sought a glue to do this work, and
now Russell Stewart of the University of Utah may have found one in the secretions of a marine worm.
B The sandcastle worm, as the beast is known, lives in a mineral shell. It does not, however, secrete this
shell directly in the way that, for example, a mollusc would. Instead, it secretes a glue and uses this to stick
bits of sand together to form its casing, in the way that a freshwater caddis fly larva does. The glue does not
dissolve in water. Indeed, it is able to displace water and thus adhere to surfaces in aqueous solutions. It also
solidifies soon after being secreted. It, or something like it, therefore sounds ideal for repairing bones.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
C Dr Stewart and his team began by analysing sandcastle-worm glue to see how it works. What they found
was a mixture of proteins, some positively charged and some negatively charged, and also a lot of calcium
and magnesium ions. The combination produces a material that can, when circumstances are right, bind the
protein molecules so tightly together that any water molecules between them are expelled.

D The trigger for this to happen is a change in acidity. The gland in which the glue is generated is mildly
acidic. In these circumstances the glue remains liquid. Seawater, however, is alkaline. This alkalinity causes
the glue to set. It solidifies into a foam within 30 seconds and becomes a flexible, leathery substance over the
course of several hours.

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
E Having understood how the sandcastle worm performs its trick, Dr Stewart was in a position to replicate
it. Instead of proteins, he and his team used two synthetic polymers. These, however, had the same crucial
chemical groups as their natural counterparts, and also similar electric charges.

F The result, as the team reported to a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society, was a substance
even better, from a medical point of view, than the natural glue. Not only did it solidify in response to
changes in acidity, it also did so in response to changes in temperature, being liquid at room temperature
and solid at body temperature.
G The resulting glue not only sticks bits of bone together in watery environments, but also does so with
twice the strength of the glue used by the worm. In addition, although it is still early days, preliminary tests
suggest it is both non-toxic and biodegradable. If further testing confirms this, it means that, as the broken
bone heals, the glue will disappear naturally. Complex fractures will thus heal more easily.

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Questions 28 and 29
Write True, False or Not Given.

28 The topic of the text is broken bones.
29 Repairing smaller breakages with metal parts is harder than repairing larger ones.

Questions 30 - 34
Which paragraph contains

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
30 the man-made version of the sandcastle-worm glue is body-friendly
31 examples of how broken bones can be mended
32 how the sandcastle worm produces its shell
33 an explanation of how the sandcastle-worm glue adheres molecules together
34 how a man-made version of the sandcastle-worm glue was produced

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com
Questions 35 - 40
Complete the summary with ONE WORD from the text.

In order for the sandcastle worm to produce its 35 ................. it produces a glue which it uses to stick
together bits of sand. Because this glue is able to stick to surfaces even when they are in 36 ................. liquids,
it is a useful substance in the process of bone repair. Dr Stewart, from the University of Utah, and his team
have managed to produce a man-made version of the glue using artificial 37 ................. . If early
38................. prove correct, this man-made version seems to have added benefits over the natural version
being 39................. as strong, and able to vanish from the repaired area 40 ................. .

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

Answers

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.


IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

Pra ctice Test / Rea ding

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9
10
11
12
13

vi
iii
viii
v
ii
vii
i
False
True
False
tell whether
components
scrutiny

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

24
25
26
27

Not Given
Yes
No
Yes
Not Given
Not Given
C
C
A
B
D
deduced
identical
tolerance

28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37

38
39
40

False
True
G
A
B
C
E
casing
aqueous
polymers
tests
twice
naturally

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com

© IELTS-PRACTICE-TESTS.com , All Rights Reserved.
This content is for your ow n individua l study only. You ca nnot sha re or tra nsm it it. Non com plia nce could result in lega l a ction a ga inst you.