Answers and a full breakdown of your mistakes are shown as soon as you finish.
This is the hardest of our reading tests, and the difficulty is concentrated in Passage 3. It is about how language ability is measured — which means you are reading three experts disagree about the validity of the exam you are currently preparing for. Candidates find this either fascinating or uncomfortable, and both reactions slow you down.
Passage 2, on why memory is reconstructive rather than a recording, contains the densest paraphrasing in the set. Almost nothing in the questions reuses the wording of the text.
Three passages and 40 questions at the upper end of Academic Reading difficulty. The rise and sudden obsolescence of the tea clippers; why the brain reconstructs memories instead of replaying them; and three specialists disagreeing about how second language proficiency should be assessed. Recommended for candidates already scoring 6.5 and above who need practice at band 7 pace.
READING PASSAGE 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 – 13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. The Tea Clippers The brief and spectacular career of the fastest sailing ships ever built For about twenty-five years in the middle of the nineteenth century, the fastest way to move cargo across the world was a particular kind of sailing ship, and the trade that produced it was tea. The clipper was designed around a single commercial fact: the first cargo of the new season's tea to…
These give away part of the answer. Take the test first.
It is an original practice test written to the same format, question types and timing as the official IELTS reading paper. It is not a past paper.
Allow 60 minutes, the same as the real exam. Practising under time pressure is most of the value.
Yes. All 40 answers are shown as soon as you finish, along with a breakdown of which kind of mistake cost you marks.
You can take this test for free. An account lets you save your results and track progress.
See scores, strengths, weak areas and progress after each practice.
Azmoon AI recommends the smartest task for your next study session.
Follow a personalised route based on your target band and progress.
Track improvement across Task 1 and Task 2 over time.
Set your display preferences for Azmoon.
See scores, strengths, weak areas and progress after each practice.
Azmoon AI recommends the smartest task for your next study session.
Follow a personalised route based on your target band and progress.
Track improvement across Task 1 and Task 2 over time.
Set your display preferences for Azmoon.