Single Passage Practice
Practice individual passages at your own pace
Start with our free marketing passage to experience the full IELTS practice environment
How marketing and advertising appeal to the associative nature of the brain
While there had been a long tradition of giving rings as a commitment to marry, the custom of giving diamond โฆ
Australian artist Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston's vibrant paintings and prints of Australian flowers, animals and landscapes have delighted the Australian public since the early โฆ
Australian parrots and their adaptation to habitat change
A. Parrots are found across the tropic and in all southern hemisphere continents except Antarctica, but nowhere do they display โฆ
The value of research into mite harvestmen
Few people have heard of the mite harvestman, and fewer still would recognize it at close range. The insect is โฆ
Bovids
A. The family of mammals called bovids belongs to the Artiodactyl class, which also includes giraffes. Bovids are a highly โฆ
Toxic Stress: A Slow Wear And Tear
Our bodies are built to respond when under attack. When we sense danger, our brain goes on alert, our heart โฆ
Why Do We Touch Strangers So Much? A History Of The Handshake Offers Clues
For thousands of years, the handshake has been used for different purposes. There is a lot that can be conveyed โฆ
Chinstrap Penguin Population In The Last 50 Years
A. The chinstrap penguin has a cap of black plumage, a white face, and a continuous band of black feathers โฆ
Traditional Maori medicines
The Maori are the indigenous people of the islands of New Zealand. Their traditional medicine, which is believed to date โฆ
The Ecological Importance of Bees
A. Sometime in the early Cretaceous period of the Earth's history, hunting wasps of a certain type became bees by โฆ
Developmental Tasks of Normal Adolescence
Some years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst of the University of Chicago, USA, proposed that stages in human development can best โฆ
Relish the flavour - how the brain perceives flavour
A. The terms โtasteโ and โflavourโ are used interchangeably. Strictly speaking, however, taste refers to five basic qualities: salty, sour, โฆ
Science and the Stradivarius: Uncovering the secret of quality
A. Violins made by long-dead Italian craftsmen from the Cremona region are beautiful works of art, coveted by collectors as โฆ
Answers Underground
A. One way to slow global warming is to take the greenhouse gases that cause it and bury them. That โฆ
A new stage in the study and teaching of history
For hundreds of years, historians have relied on written or printed documents to provide the bulk of their source materials, โฆ
Insect decision-making
A. It has long been held that decision made collectively by large groups of people are more likely to turn โฆ
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Fishbourne Roman Palace is located in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex, England. This large palace was built in โฆ
How should reading be taught?
A. Learning to speak is automatic for almost all children, but learning to read requires elaborate instruction and conscious effort. โฆ
Water Filter
A. An ingenious invention is set to bring clean water to the third world, and while the science may be โฆ
The pesticide-free village
Around 20 years ago, a handful of families migrated from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, south-east India, into Punukula, โฆ
Fear of the Unknown
A. In the small Umagic office in Midtown Manhattan, a team of 30 computer programmers is working on setting up โฆ
Yawning
When Robert R Provine began studying yawning in the 1960s, it was difficult for him to convince research students of โฆ
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was born in 1888, into a prominent family in Wellington, New Zealand. She became one of โฆ
When People Are 'Deaf' to Music
Music has long been considered a uniquely human concept. In fact, most psychologists agree that music is a universal human โฆ
Should space be explored by robots or by humans?
A. The advisability of humans participating directly in space travel continues to cause many debates. There is no doubt that โฆ
Pacific Navigation and Voyaging
The many tiny islands of the Pacific Ocean had no human population until the ancestors of todayโs islanders sailed from โฆ
The dingo debate
A Plane flies a slow pattern over Carlton Hill station, a 3,600 square kilometre ranch in the Kimberley region in โฆ
Flying the Coast
The development of an air service on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island Cut off from the rest โฆ
The history of the British wool industry
Wood is part of Britainโs history and heritage, more so than any other commodity ever produced in that county. It โฆ
Inside the mind of a fan: How watching sport affects the brain
A. At about the same time that the poet Homer invented the epic here, the ancient Greeks started a festival โฆ
Driverless cars
Driverless cars may be set to become reality. At least that is, if the executives behind the taxi app, Uber, โฆ
Nanotechnology: its development and uses
A. Nanotechnology has been hailed by many as being a twentieth-century miracle of science. Essentially, nanotechnology, a term derived from โฆ
The Secret Schizoid
It is psychiatrist Ralph Klein who was credited with first coining the phrase โsecret schizoidโ. Unlike the overtly schizoid or โฆ
Low-Cost Lamps Light Rural India
Until three months ago, life in this humble village without electricity would come to a halt after sunset. Inside his โฆ
Park the Car Permanently
A. More than a million people are likely to be disappointed by their experience of the Government's attempts to improve โฆ
Money Transfers by Mobile
A. The ping of a text message has never sounded so sweet. In what is being touted as a world โฆ
Rise of the Robots
If you are into technology, you are living in wonderful times. Things are developing in leaps and bounds, especially gadgets. โฆ
Patients Are a Virtue
A. Despite conference jeers, job cuts, and a financial crisis, health secretary Patricia Hewitt may find a reason to smile โฆ
Secret of Thailand's Success
A. It is a question officials here in Asia are being posed more and more: Why are your economies so โฆ
Are these two reporters on the same planet?
An essay by scientist, educator and environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki. A number of books, articles and television programs have disputed โฆ
The race to make spider silk
The strength, toughness, and elasticity of silk continue to fascinate scientists, who wonder what gives this natural material its unusual โฆ
Survivor from the sky
In a remarkable documentary, Wings of Hope, German director Werner Herzog re-counts the true story of an eighteen-year-old girl, the โฆ
Cosmetics in Ancient Past
A. Since cosmetics and perfumes are still in wide use today, it is interesting to compare the attitudes, customs and โฆ
The future never dies?
The prospects for humanity and for the world as a whole are somewhere between glorious and dire. It is hard โฆ
The vikings wayfaring way
In the last century, Vikings have been perceived in numerous di๏ฌerent ways โ vilified as conquerors and romanticised as adventurers. โฆ
Human remain in Green Sahara
A. On October 13, 2,000, a small team of paleontologists led by Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago clambered โฆ
Finches on Islands
A. Today, the quest continues. On Daphne Major-one of the most desolate of the Galรกpagos Islands, an uninhabited volcanic cone โฆ
The Bite That Heals
A. Michael decided to go for a swim. He was on vacation with his family in Guerrero, Mexico, and it โฆ
Tool for ancient writing
A. With time, the record-keepers developed systematized symbols from their drawings. These symbols represented words and sentences but were easier โฆ
Paul Nash
A. Paul Nash, the elder son of William Nash and his first wife, Caroline Jackson, was born in London on โฆ
THE MPEMBA EFFECT
A. In 300 BC, the famous philosopher Aristotle wrote about a strange phenomenon that he had observed: โMany people, when โฆ
Life code: unlocked!
A. On an airport shuttle bus to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, Calif., Chris Wiggins took โฆ
The success of cellulose
A. Not too long ago many investors made the bet that renewable fuels from bio-mass would be the next big โฆ
Detection of a meteorite Lake
A. As the sun rose over picturesque Lake Bosumtwi, a team of Syracuse University researchers prepared for another day of โฆ
Koalas
A. Koalas are just too nice for their own good. And except for the occasional baby taken by birds of โฆ
Satellite Technology
A. Rocket technology has progressed considerably since the days of โfire arrowsโ (bamboo poles filled with gunpowder) first used in โฆ
How to handle the Sun
A. The medical world appears to be divided on the effects of the sun upon the human body. From statements โฆ
New ways of teaching history
A. In technology and the media-driven world, itโs becoming increasingly difficult to get our studentsโ attention and keep them absorbed โฆ
Exploring british village 2
A. The Neolithic longhouse was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe beginning at least โฆ
The Nagymaros Dam
When Janos Vargha, a biologist from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, began a new career as a writer with a โฆ
Lighting up the lies
A. Last year Sean A. Spence, a professor at the school of medicine at the University of Sheffield in England, โฆ
Light pollution
A. If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go into darkness โฆ
Terminated Dinosaur Era
A. Day after day, we hear about how anthropogenic development is causing global warming. According to an increasingly vocal minority, โฆ
New Agriculture in Oregon, US
A. Onion growers in eastern Oregon are adopting a system that saves water and keeps topsoil in place while producing โฆ
Father of modern management
A. Peter Drucker was one of the most important management thinkers of the past hundred years. He wrote about 40 โฆ
Teens Try to Change the World, One Purchase at a Time
When classes adjourn here at the Fayerweather Street School, eighth-graders ignore the mall down the street and go straight to โฆ
The Fertility Bust
A. Falling populations - the despair of state pension systems - are often regarded with calmness, even a secret satisfaction, โฆ
Spot the Difference
A. Taxonomic history has been made this week, at least according In the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). a conservation group. โฆ
Care in the Community
'Bedlam' is a word that has become synonymous in the English language with chaos and disorder. The term itself derives โฆ
TRICKY SUMS AND PSYCHOLOGY
A. In their first years of studying mathematics at school, children all over the world usually have to learn the โฆ
Daydreaming
Everyone daydreaming sometimes. We sit or lie down, close our eyes and use our imagination to think about something that โฆ
SPEECH DYSFLUENCY AND POPULAR FILLERS
A speech dysfluency is any of various breaks, irregularities or sound-filled pauses that we make when we are speaking, which โฆ
DRINKING FILTERED WATER
A. The body is made up mainly of water. This means that the quality of water that we drink every โฆ
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Albert Einstein is perhaps the best-known scientist of the 20th century. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 โฆ
Jack the Ripper: A Bungled Investigation?
Few murder enquiries have stirred the public imagination to such an extent as those relating to Jack the Ripper. The โฆ
Physiology and Criminality
Prior to the 19th century, criminality was considered more of a moral or philosophical issue. Only with the advent of โฆ
Prison: The Solution or the Problem?
In the Netherlands and parts of the USA such as Johnson County, a move towards rehabilitation of offenders and decreasing โฆ
TEAM-BASED LEARNING
With the globalisation of information technology (IT) and worldwide access to the Internet, people from all areas of learning are โฆ
Did tea and beer bring about industrialisation?
A. Alan Macfarlane thinks he could rewrite history. The professor of anthropological science at Kingโs College, Cambridge has, like other โฆ
PLEASE HOLD THE LINE
Nearly all of us know what itโs like to be put on โmusical holdโ. Call almost any customer service number, โฆ
Driverless cars
Driverless cars may be set to become reality. At least that is, if the executives behind the taxi app, Uber, โฆ
Homeopathy
A. Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine, founded in the early 19th century by a German physician, Dr. Samuel โฆ
Sleeping on the job
North Americans are not a people of the siesta. There is a tendency to associate afternoon naps with laziness and โฆ
Kids and Sport
Two Italian psychologists, Vincenzo Marte and Giovanni Notarnicola, describe the traditional spontaneous practice of sport by children -climbing trees, riding โฆ
Just relax ...
A. Hypnosis is an intriguing and fascinating process. A trance-like mental state is induced in one person by another, who โฆ
Frogwatch
Frogwatch, a remarkable success story started in Western Australia, is the brainchild of Dr. Ken Aplin. His work, as the โฆ
Are these two reporters on the same planet?
Heading: An essay by scientist, educator and environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki.
Crop circles
The crop circle phenomenon has puzzled and mystified humanity for many years. The designs just appear, placed carefully in fields โฆ
Wolves, dogs and humans
There is no doubt that dogs are the oldest of all species tamed by humans and their domestication was based โฆ
Mystery of the mummies
In 1992, a German scientist made a discovery which was to upset whole areas of scientific study from history and โฆ
The cells from hell
Recently, an international team of biologists met to discuss what they believe is a global crisis in the sudden appearance โฆ
Lake Vostok
A. Beneath the white blanket of Antarctica lies half a continent of virtually uncharted territory - an area so completely โฆ
THE SEARCH FOR FRESH WATER
The assertion that water has always been the essence of life is nothing new. Water comes in many forms: spring โฆ
Creature sleeps
A. Almost every living creature sleeps. For humans, it is typically something we dislike doing when we are younger and, โฆ
AUSTRALIAโS PLATYPUS
Of all the creatures on the earth, the Australian platypus, *Ornithorhynchus paradoxus*, is perhaps one of the most mysterious and โฆ
PREPARING FOR THE THREAT
It is an unfortunate fact that over the past 20 years, around 260 million people a year have been affected โฆ
The intense rate of change in the world
A. The intense rate of change in the world gives rise to numerous new products โ many of them electronic. โฆ
LOOKING IN THE TELESCOPE
A story is told that around 400 years ago some children were fooling around in an eye glass shop. They โฆ
PSYCHOMETRICS
A. Psychometrics involves psychological and educational assessment of the subject by way of measuring attitudes, personality, abilities and knowledge. The โฆ
WATER HYACINTH: BEAUTIFUL YET DESTRUCTIVE
A. Despite possessing vibrant purple flowers and being attractive to the eye, the water hyacinth has often been referred to โฆ
THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE
A. Language everywhere changes over time; it has to. A central reason that necessitates modification is to allow for developments โฆ
Unexpected Benefits to Human Brain
James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, played his first video game years ago when his โฆ
Stress of Workplace
A. How busy is too busy? For some it means having to miss the occasional long lunch; for others it โฆ
Mammoth kill
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus, proboscideans commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, in northern โฆ
The Can โ A Brief History Lesson
A. The story of the can begins in 1795 when Nicholas Appert, a Parisian, had an idea: why not pack โฆ
Facial Expression 1
A. A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles in the skin. These movements convey โฆ
Twin Study: Two of a kind
A. THE scientific study of twins goes back to the late 19th century, when Francis Galton, an early geneticist, realised โฆ
Pronunciation and physiognomy
Imagine the scene: you are sitting on the tube and on gets someone you instinctively feel is American. To make โฆ
The Dinosaurs Footprints and Extinction
A. EVERYBODY knows that the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid. Something big hit the earth 65 million years ago โฆ
Biology of Bitterness
A. There is a reason why grapefruit juice is served in little glasses: most people donโt want to drink more โฆ
Is Graffiti Art or Crime
A. The term graffiti derives from the Italian graffito meaning โscratchingโ and can be defined as uninvited marking or writing โฆ
A decibel Hell (The Effects of Living in a Noisy World)
Heading: Section A decibel Hell: Itโs not difficult for a person to encounter sound at levels that can cause adverse โฆ
Multitasking Debate
A. Talking on the phone while driving isnโt the only situation where weโre worse at multitasking than we might like โฆ
Decision, Decision !
A. A widely recognised legend tells us that in Gordium (in what is now Turkey) in the fourth century BC โฆ
Fossil Files โThe Paleobiology Databaseโ
A. Are we now living through the sixth extinction as our own activities destroy ecosystems and wipe out diversity? Thatโs โฆ
Maori Fish Hooks
A. Maori fish hooks, made from wood, bone, stone and flax, are intended to have the best possible design and โฆ
Martin Luther King
A. Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of the Reverend โฆ
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Most countriesโ education systems have had what you might call educational disasters, but, sadly, in many areas of certain countries โฆ
The problem of climate change
A. The climate of the Earth is always changing. In the past it has altered as a result of natยญural โฆ
The reconstruction of community in Talbot Park, Auckland
A. An architecture of disguise is almost complete at Talbot Park in the heart of Aucklandโs Glen Innes. The place โฆ
What are you laughing at?
A. We like to think that laughing is the height of human sophistication. Our big brains let us see the โฆ
Biodiversity
A. It seems biodiversity has become a buzzword beloved of politicians, conservationists, protesters and scientists alike. But what exactly is โฆ
The History of building Telegraph lines
A. The idea of electrical communication seems to have begun as long ago as 1746 when about 200 monks at โฆ
Organic Farming and chemical fertilisers
A. The worldโs population continues to climb. And despite the rise of high-tech agriculture, 800 million people donโt get enough โฆ
TV Addiction
A. The amount of time people spend watching television is astonishing. On average, individuals in the industrialized world devote three โฆ
Whatโs in Blood?
A. Blood is the most specialised fluid within living animals, playing an absolutely critical role. It symbolises life (โnew bloodโ), โฆ
Such a Fascinating Game
A. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people at home, in clubs, online, โฆ
Itโs Only a Cockroach
A. I turn on the light in my kitchen that night, and then I see it. I draw back, and โฆ
CLINICAL TRIALS
A. The benefits of vitamins to our well-being are now familiar to most; however, when the link between diets lacking โฆ
THE FACE OF MODERN MAN?
A. In response to the emergence of the โmetro-sexualโ male, In other words, an urban, sophisticated man who is fashionable, โฆ
Pine Trees
A. I am looking at a very thick twisted trunk, rising to medium height, at which point appears a stumpy โฆ
A LIBRARY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
A few years ago, at the height of the dotcom boom, it was widely assumed that a publishing revolution, in โฆ
A GUIDE TO WOMENOMICS
A. In rich countries, girls now do better at school than boys, more women are getting university degrees than men โฆ
Cleaner, Abundant Fuels Attracting Record Investment
A. Renewable energy captured from the wind, sun, Earthโs heat, tides, and from small dams is drawing record levels of โฆ