IELTS Reading Sample

A Everyone is familiar with scented flowers, and many people have heard that floral odors help the plant attract pollinators. This common notion is mostly correct, but it is surprising how little scientific proof of it exists. Of course, not all flowers are pollinated by

For thousands of years, the handshake has been used for different purposes.  A. There is a lot that can be conveyed in a handshake, a kiss, or a hug. Throughout history, such a greeting was used to signal friendship, finalize a business transaction, or indicate

A. This year, the number of retired pensioners in the UK exceeded the number of under 18 years old for the first time in history. That’s remarkable in its own right, but the real ‘population explosion’ has been among the oldest of the old —

A Parrots are found across the tropic and in all southern hemisphere continents except Antarctica, but nowhere do the display such a richness of diversity and form as in Australia. One- sixth of the world’s 345 parrot species are found there, and Australia has long

A strong, light bio-material made by genes from spiders could transform construction and industry A Scientists have succeeded in copying the silk-producing genes of the Golden Orb Weaver spider and are using them to create a synthetic material which they believe is the model for

A The scientific study of twins goes back to the late 19th century, when Francis Galton, an early geneticist, realised that they came in two varieties: identical twins born from one egg and non-identical twins that had come from two. That insight turned out to

A. Our bodies are built to respond when under attack. When we sense danger, our brain goes on alert, our heart rate goes up, and our organs flood with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. We breathe faster, taking in more oxygen, muscles tense, our

Movie of Metropolis …being the science-fiction film that is steadily becoming a fact A When German director Fritz Lang visited the United States in 1924, his first glimpse of the country was a night-time view of the New York skyline from the deck of an

A  Americans today choose among more options in more parts of life than has ever been pos­sible before. To an extent, the opportunity to choose enhances our lives. It is only logical to think that if some choices are good, more is better; people who

A. RONALDS, Sir FRANCIS (1788-1873), inventor of the electric telegraph and meteorologist, son of Francis Ronalds, a London merchant, and of his wife, Jane, daughter of William Field, was born in London on 21 Feb. 1788. Ronalds was educated at a private school at Cheshunt

A. One of the main problems posed by sand dunes is their encroachment on human habitats. Sand dunes move by different means, all of them aided by the wind. Sand dunes threaten buildings and crops in Africa, the Middle East, and China. Preventing sand dunes

A. The start of the automobile’s history went all the way back to 1769 when automobiles running on the steam engine were invented as carriers for human transport In 1806, the first batch of cars powered by an internal combustion engine came into being, which