Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the Reading Passage below.
A Brief History of Tea
A The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, the Emperor Shen Nung was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and as the leaves infused, the water turned brown. As a scientist, the Emperor was intrigued by the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created.
B Tea consumption spread throughout Chinese culture, reaching into every aspect of the society. The first definitive book was written on tea – a book clearly reflecting Zen Buddhist philosophy – 1,200 years ago. The first tea seeds were brought to Japan by a returning Buddhist priest, who had seen the value of tea in enhancing meditation in China. As a result, he is known as the ‘Father of Tea’ in Japan. Because of this early association, tea in Japan has always been linked with Zen Buddhism. Tea received the Japanese Emperor’s support almost instantly and spread rapidly from the royal court and monasteries to other sections of society.
C Tea was elevated to an art form in the Japanese tea ceremony, in which supreme importance is given to making tea in the most perfect, most polite, most graceful, most charming manner possible. Such a purity of expression prompted the creation of a particular form of architecture for tea house: duplicating the simplicity of a forest cottage. The cultural/artistic hostesses of Japan, the geishas, began to specialize in the presentation of the tea ceremony. However, as more and more people became involved in the excitement surrounding tea, the purity of the original concept was lost, and for a period the tea ceremony became corrupted, boisterous and highly embellished. Efforts were then made to return to the earlier simplicity, with the result that, in the 15th and 16th centuries, tea was viewed as the ultimate gift. Even warlords paused for tea before battles.
D While tea was at this high level of development in parts of Asia, information concerning the then unknown beverage began to filter back to Europe. Earlier traders had mentioned it, but it were unclear as to whether tea should be eaten or drunk. The first European to personally encounter tea and write about it was Portuguese – Portugal, with her technologically advanced navy, had been successful in gaining the first right of trade with China.
E Tea finally arrived in Europe in the 16tr’ century, brought to Holland by the country’s navy, and becoming very fashionable in the Dutch capital, the Hague. This was due in part to tea being very expensive (over $100 per pound), which immediately made it the domain of the wealthy. Slowly, as the amount of tea imported increased, the price fell, and by 1675, it was available in common food shops throughout Holland.
F As the consumption of tea increased dramatically in Dutch society, doctors and university authorities in Holland argued as to its benefits or drawbacks. The public largely ignored the scholarly debate and continued to enjoy their new beverage, though the controversy lasted from 1635 to roughly 1657. Throughout this period, France and Holland led Europe in the use of tea.
G As the craze for all things oriental swept through Europe, tea became part of the way of life. Adding milk to the drink was first mentioned in 1680. Around that time, Dutch inns provided the first restaurant service of tea. Innkeepers would furnish guests with a portable tea set complete with a heating unit. The Dutchman would then prepare tea for himself and his friends outside in the inn garden. Tea remained popular in France for only about fifty years, being replaced by a preference for wine, chocolate, and exotic coffees.
Tea was introduced into England in 1660 by King Charles II and his Portuguese queen, who were both confirmed tea drinkers. Tea mania swept across England as it had earlier spread throughout France and Holland. By 1708 tea importation had risen to thirteen times the 1699 level. Tea was drunk by all levels of society.
H The Russian interest in tea began as early as 1618, when the Chinese embassy in Moscow presented several chests of tea to the Emperor, Czar Alexis. Later in the century, a trade treaty between Russia and China allowed caravans to cross back and forth freely between the two countries. Still, the journey was not easy. The average caravan consisted of 200 to 300 camels, and the 18,000-kilometre trip took over 16 months to complete. Eventually, however, tea became – as it still is – one of the most popular drinks in the country.
Question 1- 8
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 1-8. On your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. Not enough tea to meet demand
ii. Religious objections
iii. In – and sometimes out of- fashion
iv. A connection between tea and religion
v. A luxury item
vi. News of tea reaches another continent
vii. Is tea a good or bad thing?
viii. A chance discovery
ix. Tea-making as a ritual
x. Difficulties in importing tea
1 Paragraph A
2 Paragraph B
3 Paragraph C
4 Paragraph D
5 Paragraph E
6 Paragraph F
7 Paragraph G
8 Paragraph H
Question 9-13
Look at the following statements (Question 9-13) and the list of countries below.
Match each statement with the correct country, A-G.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 9-13 On your answer sheet.
List of Countries
A China
B Japan
C Portugal
D Holland
E France
F England
G Russia
9 Claims that tea might be harmful failed to affect its popularity.
10 Tea lost favour to other drinks.
11 Special buildings were constructed in which to drink tea.
12 Animals were involved in importing tea.
13 A ruler’s specialist knowledge led to an interest in tea.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the Reading Passage below.
The Nature of Yawning
A While fatigue, drowsiness or boredom easily bring on yawns, scientists are discovering there is more to yawning than most people think. Not much is known about why we yawn or if it serves any useful function. People have already learned that yawning can be infectious. “Contagious yawning” is the increase in likelihood that you will yawn after watching or hearing someone else yawn, but not much is known about the under-lying causes, and very little research has been done on the subject. However, scientists at the University of Albany, as well as the University of Leeds and the University of London have done some exploration.
B It is commonly believed that people yawn as a result of being sleepy or tired because they need oxygen. However, the latest research shows that a yawn can help cool the brain and help it work more effectively, which is quite different from the popular belief that yawning promotes sleep and is a sign of tiredness. Dr. Andrew Gallup and his colleagues at the University of Albany in New York State said their experiments on 44 students showed that raising or lowering oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood did not produce that reaction.
In the study participants were shown videos of people laughing and yawning, and researchers counted how many times the volunteers responded to the “contagious yawns”. The researchers found that those who breathed through the nose rather than the mouth were less likely to yawn when watching a video of other people yawning. The same effect was found among those who held a cool pack to their forehead, whereas those who held a warm pack yawned while watching the video. Since yawning occurs when brain temperature rises, sending cool blood to the brain serves to maintain the best levels of mental efficiency.
C Yawning is universal to humans and many animals. Cats, dogs and fish yawn just like humans do, but they yawn spontaneously. Only humans and chimpanzees, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, have shown definite contagious yawning. Though much of yawning is due to suggestibility, sometimes people do not need to actually see a person yawn to involuntarily yawn themselves: hearing someone yawning or even reading about yawning can cause the same reaction.
D However, contagious yawning goes beyond mere suggestibility. Recent studies show that contagious yawning is also related to our predisposition toward empathy— the ability to understand and connect with others’ emotional states. So empathy is important, sure, but how could it possibly be related to contagious yawning? Leave it up to psychologists at Leeds University in England to answer that. In their study, researchers selected 40 psychology students and 40 engineering students.
Generally, 57 psychology students are more likely to feel empathy for others, while engineering students are thought to be concerned with objects and science. Each student was made to wait individually in a waiting room, along with an undercover assistant who yawned 10 times in as many minutes. The students were then administered an emotional quotient test: students were shown 40 images of eyes and asked what emotion each one displayed. The results of the test support the idea that contagious yawning is linked to empathy.
The psychology students—whose future profession requires them to focus on others—yawned contagiously an average of 5.5 times in the waiting room and scored 28 out of 40 on the emotional test. The engineering students—who tend to focus on things like numbers and systems—yawned an average of 1.5 times and scored 25.5 out of 40 on the subsequent test. The difference doesn’t sound like much, but researchers consider it significant. Strangely enough, women, who are generally considered more emotionally attuned, didn’t score any higher than men.
E Another study, led by Atsushi Senju, a cognitive researcher at the University of London, also sought to answer that question. People with autism disorder are considered to be developmentally impaired emotionally. Autistics have trouble connecting with others and find it difficult to feel empathy. Since autistics have difficulty feeling empathy, then they shouldn’t be susceptible to contagious yawning. To find out, Senju and his colleagues placed 49 kids aged 7 to 15 in a room with a television.
24 of the test subjects had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, the other 25 were non-autistic kids. The test subjects were shown short clips of people yawning as well as clips of people opening their mouths but not yawning. While the kids with autism had the same lack of reaction to both kinds of clips, the non autistic kids yawned more after the clips of people yawning.
F There also have been studies that suggest yawning, especially psychological “contagious” yawning, may have developed as a way of keeping a group of animals alert and bonding members of a group into a more unit one. If an animal is drowsy or bored, it may not be as alert as it should to be prepared to spring into action and its yawning is practically saying, “Hey, I need some rest, you stay awake”.
Therefore, a contagious yawn could be an instinctual reaction to a signal from one member of the herd reminding the others to stay alert when danger comes. So the theory suggests evidence that yawning comes from the evolution of early humans to be ready to physically exert themselves at any given moment.
Question 1 – 5
Read paragraphs A-F. Which paragraph contains the following information?
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1 Humans’ imaginations can cause yawning.
2 Research shows that yawning is closely related to occupations.
3 An overview of the latest research in yawning.
4 Yawning is used to regulate brain temperature.
5 Scientists discovered some evidence disproving the early understanding of yawning.
Questions 6 – 9
Match each of the following research results with the university which it comes from
NB You may use any letter more than once.
A University of Albany
B University of Leeds
C University of London
6 There is no gender difference in the cause of yawning.
7 People with certain disorders are less likely to be affected by other people yawning.
8 Yawning is associated with the way people breathe.
9 People who are trained to feel empathy for others are more likely to yawn than those who are untrained.
Questions 10 – 13
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
Another theory shows that yawning is used for 10……………….individuals into a tighter social unit. Alternatively, yawning can help increase alertness of group members in case 11………… is close. For example, yawning signals that a member of the group needs some 12……………….and requires the others to stay aware of the surrounding situation. This theory proves that yawning is only a spontaneous behaviour resulting from some part of a simple 13……………….system in early humans.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
How Bacteria Invented Gene Editing
A This week the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority okayed a proposal to modify human embryos through gene editing. The research, which will be carried out at the Francis Crick Institute in London, should improve our understanding of human development. It will also undoubtedly attract controversy – particularly with claims that manipulating embryonic genomes is a first step towards designer babies. Those concerns shouldn’t be ignored. After all, gene editing of the kind that will soon be undertaken at the Francis Crick Institute doesn’t occur naturally in humans or other animals.
B It is, however, a lot more common in nature than you might think, and it’s been going on for a surprisingly long time – revelations that have challenged what biologists thought they knew about the way evolution works. We’re talking here about one particular gene editing technique called CRISPR-Cas, or just CRISPR. It’s relatively fast, cheap and easy to edit genes with CRISPR – factors that explain why the technique has exploded in popularity in the last few years. But CRISPR wasn’t dreamed up from scratch in a laboratory. This gene editing tool actually evolved in single-celled microbes.
C CRISPR went unnoticed by biologists for decades. It was only at the tail end of the 1980s that researchers studying Escherichia coli noticed that there were some odd repetitive sequences at the end of one of the bacterial genes. Later, these sequences would be named Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats – CRISPRs. For several years the significance of these CRISPRs was a mystery, even when researchers noticed that they were always separated from one another by equally odd ‘spacer’ gene sequences.
D Then, a little over a decade ago, scientists made an important discovery. Those ‘spacer’ sequences look odd because they aren’t bacterial in origin. Many are actually snippets of DNA from viruses that are known to attack bacteria. In 2005, three research groups independently reached the same conclusion: CRISPR and its associated genetic sequences were acting as a bacterial immune system. In simple terms, this is how it works. A bacterial cell generates special proteins from genes associated with the CRISPR repeats (these are called CRISPR associated – Cas – proteins). If a virus invades the cell, these Cas proteins bind to the viral DNA and help cut out a chunk. Then, that chunk of viral DNA gets carried back to the bacterial cell’s genome where it is inserted – becoming a spacer. From now on, the bacterial cell can use the spacer to recognise that particular virus and attack it more effectively.
E These findings were a revelation. Geneticists quickly realised that the CRISPR system effectively involves microbes deliberately editing their own genomes – suggesting the system could form the basis of a brand new type of genetic engineering technology. They worked out the mechanics of the CRISPR system and got it working in their lab experiments. It was a breakthrough that paved the way for this week’s announcement by the HFEA. Exactly who took the key steps to turn CRISPR into a useful genetic tool is, however, the subject of a huge controversy. Perhaps that’s inevitable – credit for developing CRISPR gene editing will probably guarantee both scientific fame and financial wealth.
F Beyond these very important practical applications, though, there’s another CRISPR story. It’s the account of how the discovery of CRISPR has influenced evolutionary biology. Sometimes overlooked is the fact that it wasn’t just geneticists who were excited by CRISPR’s discovery – so too were biologists. They realised CRISPR was evidence of a completely unexpected parallel between the way humans and bacteria fight infections. We’ve known for a long time that part of our immune system “learns” about the pathogens it has seen before so it can adapt and fight infections better in future. Vertebrate animals were thought to be the only organisms with such a sophisticated adaptive immune system. In light of the discovery of CRISPR, it seemed some bacteria had their own version. In fact, it turned out that lots of bacteria have their own version. At the last count, the CRISPR adaptive immune system was estimated to be present in about 40% of bacteria. Among the other major group of single-celled microbes – the archaea – CRISPR is even more common. It’s seen in about 90% of them. If it’s that common today, CRISPR must have a history stretching back over millions – possibly even billions – of years. “It’s clearly been around for a while,” says Darren Griffin at the University of Kent.
G The animal adaptive immune system, then, isn’t nearly as unique as we thought. And there’s one feature of CRISPR that makes it arguably even better than our adaptive immune system: CRISPR is heritable. When we are infected by a pathogen, our adaptive immune system learns from the experience, making our next encounter with that pathogen less of an ordeal. This is why vaccination is so effective: it involves priming us with a weakened version of a pathogen to train our adaptive immune system. Your children, though, won’t benefit from the wealth of experience locked away in your adaptive immune system. They have to experience an infection – or be vaccinated – first hand before they can learn to deal with a given pathogen.
H CRISPR is different. When a microbe with CRISPR is attacked by a virus, the record of the encounter is hardwired into the microbe’s DNA as a new spacer. This is then automatically passed on when the cell divides into daughter cells, which means those daughter cells know how to fight the virus even before they’ve seen it. We don’t know for sure why the CRISPR adaptive immune system works in a way that seems, at least superficially, superior to ours. But perhaps our biological complexity is the problem, says Griffin. “In complex organisms any minor [genetic] changes cause profound effects on the organism,” he says. Microbes might be sturdy enough to constantly edit their genomes during their lives and cope with the consequences – but animals probably aren’t. The discovery of this heritable immune system was, however, a biologically astonishing one. It means that some microbes write their lifetime experiences of their environment into their genome and then pass the information to their offspring – and that is something that evolutionary biologists did not think happened.
I Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the idea that natural selection acts on the naturally occurring random variation in a population. Some organisms are better adapted to the environment than others, and more likely to survive and reproduce, but this is largely because they just happened to be born that way. But before Darwin, other scientists had suggested different mechanisms through which evolution might work. One of the most famous ideas was proposed by a French scientist called Jean-Bapteste Lamarck. He thought organisms actually changed during their life, acquiring useful new adaptations non-randomly in response to their environmental experiences. They then passed on these changes to their offspring.
J People often use giraffes to illustrate Lamarck’s hypothesis. The idea is that even deep in prehistory, the giraffe’s ancestor had a penchant for leaves at the top of trees. This early giraffe had a relatively short neck, but during its life it spent so much time stretching to reach leaves that its neck lengthened slightly. The crucial point, said Lamarck, was that this slightly longer neck was somehow inherited by the giraffe’s offspring. These giraffes also stretched to reach high leaves during their lives, meaning their necks lengthened just a little bit more, and so on. Once Darwin’s ideas gained traction, Lamarck’s ideas became deeply unpopular. But the CRISPR immune system – in which specific lifetime experiences of the environment are passed on to the next generation – is one of a tiny handful of natural phenomena that arguably obeys Lamarckian principles.
K “The realisation that Lamarckian type of evolution does occur and is common enough, was as startling to biologists as it seems to a layperson,” says Eugene Koonin at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, who explored the idea with his colleagues in 2009, and does so again in a paper due to be published later this year. This isn’t to say that all of Lamarck’s thoughts on evolution are back in vogue. “Lamarck had additional ideas that were important to him, such as the inherent drive to perfection that to him was a key feature of evolution,” says Koonin. No modern evolutionary biologist goes along with that idea. But the discovery of the CRISPR system still implies that evolution isn’t purely the result of Darwinian random natural selection. It can sometimes involve elements of non-random Lamarckism too – a “continuum”, as Koonin puts it. In other words, the CRISPR story has had a profound scientific impact far beyond the doors of the genetic engineering lab. It truly was a transformative discovery.
Questions 1–5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1–5 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
1 The research carried out at the Francis Crick Institute in London is likely to be controversial.
2 Gene editing, like the one in the upcoming research, can happen naturally in humans or other animals.
3 CRISPR-Cas is a gene editing technique.
4 CRISPR was noticed when the researchers saw some odd repetitive sequences at the ends of all bacterial genes.
5 A group of American researchers made an important revelation about the CRISPR.
Questions 6–9
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 6–9 on your answer sheet.
6 ‘Spacer’ sequences look odd because:
A they are a bacterial immune system
B they are DNA from viruses
C they aren’t bacterial in origin
D all of the above
7 The ones, who were excited about the CRISPR’s discovery, were:
A biologists
B geneticists
C physicists
D A and B
8 Word “learns” in the line 44, 6th paragraph means:
A determines
B gains awareness
C adapts
D studies
9 What makes CRISPR better than even our adaptive immune system?
A long history of existence
B immortality
C heritability
D adaptiveness
Questions 10–16
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10–16 on your answer sheet.
10 Vaccination is so effective, because it involves ………….. with a weakened version of a pathogen.
11 CRISPR adaptive immune system works in a way that seems, at least superficially, superior to ours. But perhaps our ………….. is the problem, according to Griffin.
12 Some microbes write their experience into the genome and pass the information to their ……………..
13 Before Darwin, one of the most famous ideas was proposed by a ………………… scientist, Lamarck.
14 ………………… are often used to demonstrate Lamarck’s hypothesis.
15 Lamarck’s ideas became deeply unpopular as soon as Darwin’s ideas ……………………. .
16 No ……………… biologist agrees with Lamarck’s idea that inherent drive to perfection is the key feature of evolution.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
Video Games and Violence
For quite some time now, video games that involve significant amounts of violence have been blamed for growing numbers of violence by young people, the demographic most likely to play these games. Debate about this has even reached the courts, with both sides of the argument claiming that the scientific literature supports their opinions. Some experts involved have proclaimed that the debate is scientifically settled and that only people holding personal concerns and biases oppose these established truths.
Scientifically, two competing social theories have been formulated about the potential effects of video game violence. The first is that video games increase violence because they teach players how to be violent and reinforce violent tendencies. The second theory is that video games have a possibly beneficial effect, because they provide a socially acceptable outlet for the release of aggression and thereby promote better mental health.
Articles reviewing the effects of video games on general populations have found links between playing violent video games and changes in behaviour, and/or thought process, with some finding that people who played realistic violent games for 45 minutes had a greater increase in violent and aggressive feelings than persons who played unrealistic violent video games or non-violent video games for the same period. What seems clear though is that certain populations are more at risk and/or are more likely to play violent video games than others.
Studies suggest that at-risk individuals are usually male, have pre-existing personality disorders or traits, for example a conduct disorder, have pre-existing mental health conditions, have had difficult or traumatic upbringings, and are insecure with poor self-esteem. Children with attention deficit disorder were also seen to be at a higher risk of showing addictive behaviour to violent video games and that violent video games might be a significant risk variable for aggressive behaviour in persons who already have aggressive personality traits.
There are, of course, plenty of other groups of people (probably the majority of users) who play and enjoy video games, with or without violence, that have no character disorders at all. Another recent key report which relied on parents’ self-report of their children’s video game playing behaviours suggest that spending a large amount of time playing violent video games was correlated with troublesome behaviour and poor academic achievement. The same study also indicated that children who played more educational games had more positive outcomes.
What is interesting is that the comic book debate of the 1950’s is eerily similar when compared to the current debate about the effects of video games on children. In 1954, the US Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on the effects of comic books on America’s youth. The primary focus of the Senate hearings was ‘crime and horror’ comic books, some of which graphically showed horrific images, such as dismembered bodies.
Concerns were voiced that these comics would lead to a decline in public morals, an increase in violence and aggression, an increase in general lawlessness, and societal disrespect and deterioration. Medical and social science experts became involved in the debate, writing articles in reputable journals. Many of the concerns that dominate the current video game debate were also expressed and it could show the frequently experienced perception that violent behaviour is always more prevalent in the present than in the past and that people just search for a scapegoat on which to blame it.
Although many articles have suggested a connection between violent video games and aggression, several studies have found no such relationship. One study in fact showed that non-gamers and excessive gamers both had lower self-reported mental wellness scores than low to moderate gamers. This finding suggests that excessive playing may be detrimental, but that there are some protective and non-harmful consequences to playing in moderation.
This finding is in line with social theory, which suggests that video games, like sports, may provide an outlet for individuals to work through aggression and, therefore, have better mental functioning and overall lower levels of aggression. The same study pointed to the positive attributes of violent video game playing, such as improved visual-spatial coordination, increased peripheral attention, and increased decision-making capabilities. People who play a lot of video games also generally have better overall computer skills than people who do not.
Another study examining the multivariate risk issues for youth violence showed that the most common positive predictors of youth violence were delinquent peer influences, antisocial personality traits, depression, and parents or guardians who use psychological abuse in family relationships. The factors that were not found to be predictive of youth violence included neighbourhood quality, parental use of domestic physical violence in intimate relationships, and exposure to violent television or video games.
A recent neurological study provided further evidence that video games do not increase violent behaviour by users. The study examined whether there was a change in brain imaging that suggested a loss of distinction between virtual and actual violence in players of violent video games compared with controls. What was found was that the ability to differentiate automatically between real and virtual violence was not diminished by a long-term history of violent video game play, and nor were gamers’ neural responses to real violence subject to desensitization processes. This would indicate that video games do not cause people to lose their grip on what is real in comparison with what is fantasy.
Many questions are raised by the split nature of the scientific literature regarding violence and video games and it should also be remembered that a correlation does not prove a causation. Stakeholders need to examine the current video game debate in order to decide how to sensibly influence social policy.
Questions 27-33
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
27 Violent video games are most likely to be played by people in their youth and middle age.
28 It has been claimed that people, who still feel the effects of violent video games are not decided and clear, have vested interests in the debate.
29 lt is claimed that men and women are more or less equally threatened by the effects of violent video games.
30 One study has found a link between usage of violent video games and poor school performance.
31 Various violent video games are based on stories previously published in comic books.
32 Some of the comic books of the 1950’s had shocking images of mutilated people.
33 It has been claimed that violence has always been present in society and video games are just the latest thing to blame it on.
Questions 34-39
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Studies Defending the Use of Violent Video Games
Study 1
Non-gamers and excessive gamers had similar grading in terms of 34………….It shows excessive gaming can have protective effects.Similar ideas in social theory – users can rid themselves of 35……. and therefore have a better mental condition.Gaming can improve visual spatial coordination, peripheral attention, 36………. and computer skills.
Study 2
It examined the various risk factors for youth violence – peers, personality, depression and psychological abuse.Non-factors were 37…………., violence at home and violent TV and video games.
Study 3
A neurological study examining variations in 38…………. when users interacted with virtual and real violence.Results showed that users’ differentiation between virtual or real violence was not affected by the use of violent video games.The 39………… with regards to real violence in users’ neural reactions were also not affected.It shows video games do not affect people’s perceptions of what is real or what is fantasy.
Question 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
40 What is the writer’s purpose in the reading passage?
A To defend the use of violent video game usage.
B To discourage people from using violent video games.
C To examine examples of violence by users of violent video games.
D To review what has been discovered about the effects of violent video games.
Essential strategies and practice techniques for this IELTS Reading question type. Learn how to manage time and improve accuracy.
Originally published April 2023. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
Private Space
A It’s a remarkable achievement: the question is no longer ‘How can we send humans into space?’ but ‘How can we keep them there?’. Spaceflight is reaching a turning point where new technologies in engine development, better understanding of aerodynamics and materials for body construction are making spaceflight possible for private industry.
B The history of space exploration, until relatively recently, has been one of big government-backed projects like the Space Shuttle, Mars Landers and Long March rockets. But the most recent launches to the International Space Station (ISS) have been very special for at least three reasons. Firstly, along with 450 kg of scientific equipment, food and clothes, the rocket was carrying ice cream for the three space station astronauts. Secondly, the rocket was unmanned, being guided into docking position and back to earth again by remote control and automated systems. Finally, the rocket was commissioned from a private company by NASA.
C When the privately owned rocket delivered its goods to the ISS, it marked a milestone in the evolution of space flight and vindicated NASA’s decision to delegate routine supply flights to the space station. The flight has been a long time in development. It started with President George W Bush announcing his Vision for Space Exploration, calling for the ISS to be completed. Under the next President, America’s Space Shuttles were retired, leaving NASA with no other choice but to look for alternative methods of supplying the ISS. The initiative was part of an effort to commercialise the space industry in order to decrease costs and spread the investment in the industry across a wider group than governments.
D The initiative had many attractions for NASA. By outsourcing to the private sector the routine business of taking food and equipment to and from low-earth orbit, NASA can theoretically free up money to do things that it really wants to prioritise: missions such as sending astronauts to Mars and landing on asteroids by the 2030s. Now that the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (spaceX) has proved that private enterprise can be players in space exploration, firms are pouring money into developing new spacecraft built to transport cargo, to mine asteroids and to carry passengers into space.
E In the last half of the twentieth century only government-backed agencies like NASA and Russia’s ROSCOSMOS were capable of running space programmes due to the gigantic investment costs and uncertain payoffs. However, SpaceX and similar companies are proving that the former conditions are no longer relevant as new solutions are coming to light. Commercial companies like Boeing are able to raise large sums of money to run these projects.
Furthermore, as the firms are running cargo and taxi services to lower orbits, the break-even point is lower, the technology is cheaper and they have the benefit of years of experience in commercial aviation and space flight. Opening space programmes to the commercial sector has the additional advantage of generating more solutions to old problems. An analogy is the invention of the Internet. When the technology went into the commercial sector, no one could have envisioned the development of social network sites. Likewise, no one can predict where commercial enterprise will take the space industry.
F The uncertainty surrounding where the space industry will end up is a problem as well as an asset and it is unsettling private investors who like to invest in relatively certain prospects. At the moment the industry is dominated by big-spending billionaires like the owner of SpaceX. In addition, the relatively small number of companies in the area could pose a problem in the future. The commercial space industry is still very new and there is no guarantee that progress will be smoother. For one thing, no one is sure that the business model is sound: government is still the major, if not only, customer available to the private space companies.
The other problem is that space travel is high risk: the loss of space shuttles Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003 illustrates that even the most carefully planned launches have unavoidable risks associated with them. The question is what would happen to the industry if another accident occurred. Finally, many space experts are doubtful that, even if private industry takes over the ‘taxi’ role for low-orbit missions, NASA will be able to achieve its ambitions, given its squeezed budgets and history of being used for political purposes. Furthermore, NASA may have created another space race, this time between government and private industry. If NASA doesn’t go to Mars or the asteroid belt, its private competitors certainly have plans to do so.
G In spite of all of these risks, many argue that it is critical for the private sector and federal government to work together to push further into space.
Questions 1-6
The passage has six paragraphs labelled A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
1 NASA being able to spend money on important projects ……….
2 events leading to the commercialisation of spaceflight ……….
3 new developments that have made spaceflight more accessible ……….
4 an automated rocket that successfully completed a mission ……….
5 the great dangers of space travel ……….
6 new answers being found to previous questions ……….
Questions 7-11
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
7 Which is NOT mentioned as making private space flight possible?
A new methods of constructing the rockets
B modern substances from which to build the rockets
C understanding better how air moves round objects
D new methods of making space suits
8 Why are the recent launches special?
A Their destination was the International Space Station.
B They carried clothes.
C They were not managed by a private company.
D The rocket is not owned by a government.
9 In order to make NASA look for other spaceflight providers, the US government
A invested in private space companies.
B started to build the international space station.
C stopped using the Space Shuttle.
D allowed private companies to fly into space.
10 Private companies
A need to reduce the cost of space projects.
B have social network sites.
C are able to fly rockets at high orbits.
D act as ferries to and from the space station.
11 At present, the private space industry is characterised by
A uncertainty about how to make profits.
B companies controlled by individuals.
C companies too small to raise the amount of money needed.
D government interference.
Questions 12-17
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 12-17 on your answer sheet.
There are a number of problems with commercial space projects. To start with, the 12……… might not be sound. There is also great 13……….. attached to space flight – what would happen if there was another 14……..? Experts doubt whether NASA can fulfil its 15……….. as it has often been under 16…………. pressure. Moreover, the development may lead to a 17………… between NASA and the private space industry.
