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IELTS Academic Reading 2022 past questions and answers

This 2022 IELTS Academic Reading set has 20 practice questions. Try these 5 free sample questions, tap a question to reveal the answer and explanation. Then practise the whole 2022 set with instant marking.

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Sample IELTS Academic Reading 2022 questions

1. Passage: In a study of moths near a coastal town, researchers compared flight paths beside brightly lit streets with those near lamps fitted with shields. Moths under unshielded lamps often circled the light and travelled less directly toward feeding sites. Shielded lamps, which directed light downward, reduced this circling, although they did not eliminate it. The team noted that wind and plant cover also influenced movement. They argued that modest changes to street lighting could help nocturnal insects without requiring towns to switch off every lamp. Question: What is the main idea of the passage?
  1. Wind is the only factor that determines where coastal moths feed.
  2. Towns should remove all artificial lighting to protect insects.
  3. Shielding street lamps may reduce disruption to moth movement.
  4. Moths naturally prefer to circle brightly lit feeding sites.

Answer: C. Shielding street lamps may reduce disruption to moth movement.

The study found that downward shields reduced circling and may offer a practical way to lessen lighting disruption.

2. Passage: The Kandar Desert railway opened in 1911 to carry copper ore from inland mines to a port. Its original timetable listed three freight departures each week, but passenger services were added after workers' families began settling along the line. A small station at Mirat became a trading point because farmers could send dates to the coast more quickly than by camel. When a paved highway opened in 1958, passenger numbers fell, while ore trains continued to use the railway for another two decades. Question: Why did Mirat become a trading point?
  1. Farmers could transport dates to the coast faster by rail.
  2. The highway brought more passengers to its station.
  3. The railway moved all copper processing to Mirat.
  4. A port was built beside the station in 1911.

Answer: A. Farmers could transport dates to the coast faster by rail.

The passage says farmers used the railway to send dates to the coast more quickly than by camel.

3. Passage: A survey of rooftop gardens in three northern cities found that several native plants flowered and produced seed despite shallow soil and strong winds. Researchers collected seed from only a small number of gardens, however, because many plants were isolated from others of the same species. Insects visited the roofs, but their visits did not always result in pollination. The authors therefore distinguish between a garden's ability to support adult plants and its ability to sustain a population over many generations. Question: What can be inferred about some rooftop gardens?
  1. They are unsuitable for any native plant species.
  2. They have no insect visitors during flowering.
  3. Their plants always produce viable seed.
  4. They may support plants without ensuring long-term reproduction.

Answer: D. They may support plants without ensuring long-term reproduction.

The passage separates survival of adult plants from successful reproduction across generations, which may be limited by isolation.

4. Passage: Ice cores from the Tavan Plateau contain annual layers of dust and snowfall, offering a record of past conditions. One team used the thickness of these layers to estimate winter precipitation over 600 years. Yet wind can remove snow from exposed slopes, and a single core may not represent the whole plateau. The researchers compared three cores and checked their estimates against nearby lake sediments. They describe the resulting history as a useful regional pattern, not a precise rainfall total for every year. Question: What claim do the researchers make about their reconstruction?
  1. One ice core can give exact annual rainfall for the entire region.
  2. The reconstruction indicates broad regional patterns but has limits.
  3. Lake sediments are too unreliable to compare with ice cores.
  4. Wind has no effect on the preservation of snowfall layers.

Answer: B. The reconstruction indicates broad regional patterns but has limits.

The researchers call the result a useful regional pattern while rejecting exact year-by-year totals for the whole plateau.

5. Passage: A seed bank in the dry interior stores samples from crops that are no longer widely cultivated. Some varieties tolerate salty soil, while others mature early enough to avoid late-season heat. When a disease damaged a commercial bean crop, local growers tested an older variety from the collection. It yielded less in ordinary conditions but recovered well after the disease outbreak. The curator calls this collection a form of agricultural insurance, since useful traits may become important when growing conditions change. Question: What does the word recovered most nearly mean in this passage?
  1. Returned to productive growth after being affected.
  2. Was collected and stored for the first time.
  3. Changed into a different kind of crop.
  4. Was sold to growers at a lower price.

Answer: A. Returned to productive growth after being affected.

The older bean variety yielded again after the disease damaged the crop, so recovered means returned to productive condition.

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