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.
A Neurologists tend to divide the experience of love into three distinct categories: attraction, lust, and attachment. The combination of all three can make for an intoxicating and lasting bond, but they have not always experienced together. Frequently, for example, we lust after those with whom we have no desire of having a long-term relationship; at other times, we feel ‘attached’ to people in the sense of being drawn to them emotionally or spiritually, but not drawn to them physically.
It is accurate to describe these as ‘stages’ of love — lust tends to come first, then attraction, which lasts for months or years, and finally attachment, which can keep people together for decades. These are separate chemical substrates, so they can overlap; however, evidence suggests that attraction has a limited lifespan.
B Lust is typically experienced soon after puberty. This is when estrogen and testosterone — the underlying chemical substrates for lust in women and men respectively — activate themselves in our bodies for the first time. The primary purpose of lust is believed to be procreation, and the experience is one of feeling physically drawn, or even ‘pulled’ towards another person. Pheromones, physical attractiveness, and our socialized predispositions for what we seek in a mate are the factors that activate the sensation of lust. Despite the strength, it can have over our psyche, lust on its own is a very fleeting experience. It can firmly steer people together for their initial encounters, but it has no power to keep them there.
C If the relationship is to last, something called attraction must take place. The attraction is the intoxicating sensation experienced in the initial period of knowing someone. The ‘symptoms’ include dizziness, flushed skin, and a loss of appetite and sleep. These are a result of a chemical cocktail of dopamine and norepinephrine that PEA — a transmitter chemical — unleashes into the bloodstream when attraction takes place.
Dopamine is responsible for the blissful feelings of self- confidence, joy, and motivation that new love brings about; norepinephrine, similar to adrenaline, brings about palpitations and anxiety. The attraction has more staying power than lust; while its intensity fades after a few weeks, the effect of the PEA transmission can continue for some time between eighteen months and four years. After that, our bodies build up a natural tolerance.
D At this stage, a transition to a phase called attachment can occur. The ‘rush’ of attraction is replaced by endorphins like oxytocin and vasopressin that feel like a gentle, warm sort of pleasantness — a safe feeling that calms the mind, numbs pain, and soothes anxiety. This is a much more pleasant feeling in which to spend an extended period of time — potentially, forty, fifty or more years, depending on when you meet your partner.
It allows you to live your life with someone, without their being the central obsession of your life. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that PEA transmission will evolve into the endorphin stage — in many instances, it will be replaced by a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction. It is not a coincidence that peak divorce rates occur at between four and seven years, as PEA transmission wears away and attachment does not materialize in many people’s brains.
E Even neurologists agree that chemistry isn’t everything. There are numerous other factors such as culture and personality, for which science may never have an explanation. While dopamine is bliss, however, ignorance is not — neurology has much to contribute to satisfaction in our personal lives. It may not be a good idea to commit to marriage or spending the rest of your life with someone if you still feel the blissful rush of PEA transmission, for example.
Once your brain has succumbed to the warming opiates of oxytocin and vasopressin, this will be a safer commitment. Attachment brings other needs to the foreground, however; while people enjoy the security that attachment brings about, they do not lose their desires for either lust or attraction. Losing the ability to give your partner the rush of PEA transmission, while knowing that he may feel this for other people, can bring about jealousy and anxiety in people. Acknowledging and discussing these insecurities can alleviate them as it is likely that, to some extent, both partners will be feeling them.
Questions 27-33
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Lust
Attraction
Attachment
Designed to encourage 27 ……………..
Two chemicals are released through a third one called PEA.
Chemicals in the brain work to reduce physical and mental suffering, and calm 31 …………
Generated by natural scent, look and 28 ……………..
29………….. is a feel-good chemical, norepinephrine, brings about elevated heart rate and nervousness.
Separate chemical processes mean PEA transmission does not always progress to 32 …………….. There is a relationship between 33 ……………… and the failure of attachment to occur.
Has weak staying power
Can last for up to 30 ……………..
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Questions 34-39
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the Reading Passage ?
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
34 We cannot explain all romantic decisions based on chemical processes.
35 Knowing about brain chemistry can actually harm our happiness.
36 Long-term relationship commitments should be made after attraction has faded.
37 Relationship insecurities fade away once the attachment phase begins.
38 Growing resistance to PEA transmission is experienced as mental anguish.
39 Talking about the effects of PEA resistance on a relationship can make anxiety worse.
Question 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
40 Which is the most suitable title for the Reading Passage?
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.
A Radioactivity occurs naturally. The main source comes from natural sources in space, rocks, soil, water and even the human body itself. This is called background radiation and levels vary from place to place, though the average dose is fairly constant. The radiation which is of most concern is artificial radiation which results from human activities. Sources of this include the medical use of radioactive materials, fallout, and contamination from nuclear bomb tests. discharges from the nuclear industry, and the storage and dumping of radioactive waste.
B While artificial radiation accounts for a small proportion of the total, its effects can be disproportionate. Some of the radioactive materials discharged by human activity are not found in nature, such as plutonium, while others which are found naturally may be discharged in different physical and chemical forms, allowing them to spread more readily into the environment, or perhaps accumulate in the food-chain.
For all these reasons simple comparisons of background and artificial radioactivity may not reflect the relative hazards. Equally important, it has never been shown that there is such a thing as a safe dose of radiation and so the fact that we are progressively raising global levels should be of as much concern to us as the possibility of another major nuclear disaster like Chernobyl. Every nuclear test, nuclear reactor or shipment of plutonium means an additional and unnecessary health risk.
C In general, the effects of radiation can be divided into those which affect the individuals exposed and those which affect their descendants. Somatic effects are those which appear in the irradiated or exposed individual. These include cancer and leukemia. Hereditary or genetic effects are those which arise in subsequent generations.
Many of the elements which our bodies need are produced by the nuclear industry as radioactive isotopes or variants. Some of these are released into the environment, for example, iodine and carbon, two common elements used by our bodies. Our bodies do not know the difference between an element that is radioactive and one which is not. So, radioactive elements can be absorbed into living tissues, bones or the blood, where they continue to give off radiation. Radioactive strontium behaves like the calcium-an essential ingredient in our bones — in our bodies. Strontium deposits in the bones send radioactivity into the bone marrow, where the blood cells are formed, causing leukemia.
D There are three principal effects which radiation can have on cells: firstly the cell may be killed; secondly the way the cell multiply may be affected, resulting in cancer; and thirdly damage may occur in the cells of the ovaries or testes, leading to the development of a child with an inherited abnormality.
In most cases, cell death only becomes significant when large numbers of cells are killed, and the effects of cell death therefore only become apparent at comparatively high dose levels. If a damaged cell is able to survive a radiation dose, the situation is different. In many cases, the effect of cell damage may never become apparent. A few malfunctioning cells will not significantly affect an organ where the large majority are still behaving normally.
However, if the affected cell is a germ cell within the ovaries or testes, the situation is different. Ionizing radiation can damage DNA, the molecule which acts as the cell’s ‘instruction book’. If that germ cell later forms a child, all of the child’s cells will carry the same defect. The localized chemical alteration of DNA in a single cell may be expressed as an inherited abnormality in one or many future generations.
In the same way that a somatic cell in body tissue is changed in such a way that it or its descendants escape the control processes which normally control cell replication, the group of cells formed may continue to have a selective advantage in growth over surrounding tissue. It may ultimately increase sufficiently in size to form detectable cancer and in some cases cause death by spreading locally or to other parts of the body.
E While there is now broad agreement about the effects of high-level radiation, there is controversy over the long-term effect of low-level doses. This is complicated by the length of time it takes for effects to show up, the fact that the populations being studied (bomb survivors, people exposed to nuclear tests or workers in the nuclear industry ) are small and exact doses are hard to calculate.
All that can be said is that predictions made about the effects of a given dose vary. A growing number of scientists point to evidence that there is a disproportionately high risk from low doses of radiation. Others assume a directly proportionate link between the received dose and the risk of cancer for all levels of dose, while there are some who claim that at low doses there is a disproportionately low level of risk.
Questions 1-4
Reading Passage has 5 sections A-E.
From the list of headings below choose the most suitable heading for sections B to E.
Write the appropriate numbers (i-viii) in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
Note: There are more headings than sections, so you will not use all of them. You may use any of the headings more than once.
HEADINGS
i. Cells affected by radiation
ii. Effects of low-dose radiation
iii. Effects on cell multiplication
iv. Effects of radiation on cells
v. Sources of radiation
vi. Radiation in the food chain
vii. Dissemination of radiation
viii. Health effects of radiation
Example Section A Answer v
1 Section B
2 Section C
3 Section D
4 Section E
Questions 5-10
Classify the following as linked in the passage to:
BR Background Radiation
AR Artificial Radiation
N Neither
B Both
Write the appropriate letters in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.
5 produced by the human body
6 involves only safe amounts of radiation
7 is used for medical purposes
8 includes plutonium
9 produces a constant level of radiation
10 can enter the food chain
Questions 11-16
Complete the summary of Section D of Reading Passage below.
Choose your answers from the box below the summary and write them in boxes 11—16 on your answer sheet.
Note: There are more words/phrases that you will need to fill the gaps. You may use a word or phrase more than once if you wish.
SUMMARY
Radiation can affect an organism by damaging 11……… which may then die or malfunction. If the 12……. affected in this way is small, the effect will not be too drastic and may not be noticeable. Alternatively, the 13……. may grow uncontrollably and form cancers, in which case the organism is likely to die.
If the DNA in a germ cell in the ovaries or testes is affected, and 14…….. originating from that 15….. may display 16…., which can, in turn, be passed on to further offspring.
