IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test 17 with Answers

This IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test consists of three reading passages. Passage 1 is titled "The Connection Between Culture and Thought"; Passage 2 covers " Eco-Resort Management Practices"; and Passage 3 focuses on " The Future of the World’s Languages". The test includes a variety of question types, such as True/False/Not Given, Sentence Completion, Matching Features, Multiple Choice, and Matching Information. You have 60 minutes to complete the entire test.

Passage 1

The Connection Between Culture and Thought

IELTS Matching Information( Q1-Q5)

IELTS Matching Features (Q6-Q9)

IELTS Sentence Completion (Q10-Q13)

Passage 2

Eco-Resort Management Practices

IELTS Multiple Choice Question ( Q14-Q18)

IELTS Summary Completion (Q19- Q23)

IELTS Multiple Choice Question (Q24-Q26)

Passage 3

The Future of the World’s Languages

IELTS Summary Completion( Q27-Q31)

IELTS True / False / Not Given (Q32-Q35)

IELTS  Multiple Choice Question (Q36-Q40)

READING ACADEMIC: TEST PAPER 17

Passage 1

The Connection Between Culture and Thought

A. The world’s population has now exceeded 7 billion and is still increasing. People across the globe differ in many ways. These differences may be shaped by geography, climate, political systems, nationality, and many other factors. Culture is one important element that can influence how people behave.

B. Culture may affect the clothes you wear, the language you speak, and many other areas of your life. But is it powerful enough to influence the way a person thinks? For a long time, it was believed that individuals from different cultures think differently. For instance, a boy growing up on a farm might talk about cows, whereas a boy from New York might discuss cars. If two children from different countries were asked to describe a painting, their responses would likely vary because of their different cultural backgrounds.

C. In recent years, new research has challenged this long-standing belief. However, this was not the first time scholars examined whether culture affects thought. Earlier studies had already offered important insights. One of the earliest projects was conducted in the Soviet Union. The aim was to determine whether culture influenced patterns of thinking. Researchers examined how the living environment and nationality could shape cognitive processes. The experiments, led by Bessett, explored various aspects of cognitive psychology through multiple versions designed to test different mental processes.

D. In one experiment conducted by Bessett and Masuku, participants watched an animated video showing a large fish swimming among smaller fish and other sea creatures. They were asked to describe what they saw. Japanese participants tended to focus on the background elements, such as plants, water colour, and the relationships between the fish. American participants, however, focused more on individual fish, especially the largest and most distinctive one. The findings suggested that people from Eastern cultures tend to pay attention to the overall context, while those from Western cultures concentrate more on individual objects.

E. In another experiment carried out by Bessett and Choi, participants were first given convincing evidence supporting a particular argument. Both Korean and American participants initially expressed strong agreement. When they were later presented with evidence opposing the argument, the Koreans adjusted or reduced their support. In contrast, the Americans strengthened their original position. The results indicated that in Korean culture, support for arguments may depend on context, and individuals may be more willing to reconsider their views. Americans, on the other hand, appeared less inclined to change their original conclusions.

F. Bessett and Ara designed another experiment to examine reasoning patterns in Eastern and Western cultures. Participants were given the argument: “All animals with fur hibernate. Rabbits have fur. Therefore, rabbits hibernate.” Eastern participants questioned the logic because they knew that not all furry animals hibernate. American participants, however, tended to accept the conclusion as logically correct, assuming that if the premises were valid, the conclusion must also be valid.

G. From these early Soviet experiments, it might seem reasonable to conclude that culture does indeed influence thought. However, more recent research has criticised both this conclusion and Bessett’s original experiments. While the studies altered previous beliefs about cognitive processing, researchers argue that other contributing factors must be considered. Fischer believes that Bessett’s work provided useful insights but relied mainly on qualitative descriptions rather than results from strictly controlled environments. Chang partly agrees, suggesting that various social factors may have influenced the outcomes.

H. Another criticism is that Bessett treated culture as if it were identical to nationality. The experiments assumed that all individuals from a particular country shared the same culture. For example, every American participant was presumed to have the same cultural background. In reality, culture is far more complex than nationality alone. The studies did not adequately control for variables such as socioeconomic status, education level, ethnicity, or regional cultural differences, all of which could significantly influence responses.

I. A further criticism concerns the content used in the experiments. Some researchers argue that the tasks should have been more abstract, such as logic puzzles or IQ-style tests. When experiments involve concrete subjects like animals or nature, participants from different regions may draw on varying prior knowledge. Such background knowledge could distort the results. More abstract or quantitative tasks might provide a clearer and more controlled examination of cognitive processes across cultures.

J. Research into the relationship between culture and cognition continues today. Although Bessett’s early studies have been criticised, they still offer valuable insights. Future research must carefully control relevant variables, including how culture itself is defined. Culture is a complex concept that is difficult to define and measure. It is also shaped by other influences such as geography and educational systems. Researchers must clearly define what they mean by culture and distinguish what does and does not fall under this concept.

K. Modern research must also consider ethical implications. Scholars should carefully evaluate whether their findings could negatively affect any group involved. In today’s global job market, broad generalisations about nationalities may harm individuals seeking employment. Research findings could also influence testing systems or university admission policies, potentially giving advantages to some groups while disadvantaging others. Therefore, researchers studying culture and nationality must carefully consider both the positive and negative consequences of publishing their conclusions.

The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A–K.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

1. Everyone has the same reaction to a certain point of view.

2. Qualitative descriptions are valuable in exploring thought processing.

3. Different cultures will affect how the same scene is described.

4. We thought of young people as widely different at different geographical locations.

5. Easterners are less likely to stick to their arguments. 

Look at the following statements (Questions 6–9) and the list of researchers below.

Match each statement with the correct researcher, A–C.

A.  Bessett & Masuku

B. Bessett & Choi

C. Bessett & Ara

6. Geographical location affects people’s position on certain arguments.

7. Animated images reveal different process strategies.

8. Eastern people challenge a deduction because they know it is not true.

9. Eastern people find it more difficult to identify the same object when asked. 

Complete the sentences below.

Researchers in the Soviet Union wanted to find out how 10. __________________ and nationality would control the way people think.

Bessett and Ara’s experiment shows that for Americans, as long as the logical deduction is based on a correct argument, the 11. __________________ should be right.

Fischer thinks Bassett's research is quite valuable because it is conducted in a 12. __________________ way rather than in a controlled environment.

Future researchers on culture’s effect on cognitive processing should begin with a 13. __________________ of culture as a variable.

Passage 2

Eco-Resort Management Practices

Ecotourism is often regarded as a form of nature-based tourism and has become an important alternative source of tourists. In addition to providing the traditional resort-leisure product, it has been argued that ecotourism resort management should have a particular focus on best-practice environmental management, an educational and interpretive component, and direct and indirect contributions to the conservation of the natural and cultural environment (Ayala. I996). Conran Cove Island Resort is a large integrated ecotourism-based resort located south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia. As the world’s population becomes increasingly urbanised, the demand for tourist attractions which are environmentally friendly, serene and offer amenities of a unique nature has grown rapidly. Couran Cove Resort, a tourist attraction, is located on South Stradbroke Island and occupies approximately 150 hectares. South Stradbroke Island is separated from the mainland by the Broadwater, a stretch of sea.’ kilometres wide. More than a century ago, there was only one Stradbroke Island, and at least four Aboriginal tribes lived on the island. Regrettably, most of the original island dwellers were eventually killed by diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and influenza by the end of the 19th century. The second ship wrecked on the island in 1894, and the subsequent destruction of the ship (the Cambus Wallace) because it contained dynamite, caused a large crater in the sandhills on Stradbroke Island. Eventually, the ocean broke through the weakened land form, and Stradbroke became two islands. Conran Cove Island Resort is built on one of the world’s few naturally occurring sand lands, which is home to a wide range of plant communities and one of the largest remaining remnants of the rare Livistona rainforest left on the Gold Coast. Many mangrove and rainforest areas, and Melaleuca Wetlands on South Stradbroke Island (and in Queensland), have been cleared, drained or filled for residential, industrial, agricultural or urban development in the first half of the 20th century. Farmers and graziers finally abandoned South Stradbroke Island in 1959 because the vegetation and soil conditions there were unsuitable for agricultural activities.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES OF COUKAN COVE RESORT

Being located on an offshore island, the resort is only accessible by means of water transport. The resort provides hourly ferry service from the mainland marina to and from the island. Within the resort. transport modes include walking trails, bicycle tracks and the beach train. The reception area is the counter of the shop, which has not changed for at least 8 years. The accommodation is an octagonal “Bure’’. These are large rooms that are clean, but the equipment is tiled and, in some cases, just working. Our ceiling fan only works on high speed, for example. Beds are hard but clean. There is a television, a radio, an old air conditioner and a small fridge. These “Bures” are right on top of each other, and night noises do carry. So he is careful about what you say and do. The only thing is the mosquitoes, but if you forget to bring mosquito repellent, they sell some oil on the island.

As an ecotourism-based resort, most of the planning and development of the attraction has focused on coexistence with the fragile natural environment of South Stradbroke Island to achieve sustainable development.

WATER AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT

South Stradbroke Island has groundwater at the centre of the island, which has a maximum height of 3 metres above sea level. The water supply is recharged by rainfall and is commonly known as an unconfined freshwater aquifer. Couran Cove Island Resort obtains its water supply by tapping into this aquifer and extracting it via a bore system. Some of the problems which have threatened the island’s freshwater supply include pollution, contamination and over-consumption. In order to minimise some of these problems, all laundry activities are carried out on the mainland. The resort considers washing machines as onerous to the island’s freshwater supply, and that the detergents contain a high level of phosphates, which are a major source of water pollution.

The resort uses LPG-power generation rather than a diesel-powered plant for its energy supply, supplemented by wind turbines, which has reduced greenhouse emissions by 70% of diesel-equivalent generation methods. Excess heat recovered from the generator is used to heat the swimming pool. Hot water in the eco-cabins and for some of the resort’s vehicles is solar-powered. Water-efficient fittings are also installed in showers and toilets. However, not all the appliances used by the resort are energy efficient, such as refrigerators. Visitors who stay at the resort are encouraged to monitor their water and energy usage via the in-house television systems, and are rewarded with prizes (such as a free return trip to the resort) accordingly if their usage level is low.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

We examined a case study of good management practice and a proactive, sustainable tourism stance of an eco-resort. In three years of operation, Couran Cove Island Resort has won 23 international and national awards, including the 2001 Australian Tourism Award in the 4-Star Accommodation category.

The resort has embraced and has effectively implemented contemporary environmental management practices. It has been argued that the successful implementation of the principles of sustainability should promote long-term social, economic and environmental benefits, while ensuring and enhancing the prospects of continued viability for the tourism enterprise. Couran Cove Island Resort does not conform to the characteristics of the Resort Development Spectrum, as proposed by Prideaux (2000). According to Prideaux. The resort should be at least at Phase 3 of the model (the National tourism phase), which describes an integrated resort providing 3-4 star hotel-type accommodation.

The primary tourist market in Phase 3 of the model consists mainly of interstate visitors. However, the number of interstate and international tourists visiting the resort is small, with the principal visitor markets comprising locals and residents in nearby towns and the Gold Coast region. The carrying capacity of Couran Cove does not seem to be of any concern to the Resort management. Given that it is a private commercial ecotourist enterprise, regulating the number of visitors to the resort to minimise damage done to the natural environment on South Stradbroke Island is not a binding constraint. However, the Resort’s growth will eventually be constrained by its carrying capacity, and quantity control should be incorporated in the management strategy of the resort.

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

14. The Stradbroke became two islands

A. by an intended destruction of the ship of the Cambus Wallace.

B. by an explosion of dynamite on a ship and following natural erosion.

C. by the movement of sandhills on Stradbroke Island.

D. by the volcanic eruption on the island.

15. Why are laundry activities for the resort carried out on the mainland?

A. to obtain its water supply via a bore system

B. to preserve the water and anti-pollution

C. to save the cost of installing onerous washing machines

D. to reduce the level of phosphates in the water around

16. The major water supplier in South Stradbroke Island is by

A. desalinating the seawater.

B. Collecting the rainfall.

C. transporting from the mainland.

D. boring groundwater.

17. What is used for heating water at the Couran Cove Island Resort?

A. the LPG-power

B. a diesel-powered plant

C. the wind power

D. the solar power

18. What does, as the managers of resorts believe, the prospective future focus on?

A. More awards for the resort’s accommodation

B. sustainable administration and development in the long run

C. economic and environmental benefits for the tourism enterprise

D. successful implementation of the Resort Development Spectrum

Complete the summary below.

Being located away from the mainland, tourists can attain the resort only by 19. __________________ in a regular service provided by the resort itself.

Within the resort, transports include trails for walking or tracks for both 20. __________________ and the beach train.

The on-island equipment is old-fashioned which is barely working such as the 21. __________________ overhead.

There is television, radio, an old 22. __________________ and a small fridge.

And you can buy the repellent for 23. __________________ if you forget to bring some.

Choose THREE letters, A–E.

Which THREE of the following statements are true as to the contemporary situation of Couran Cove Island Resort in the last paragraph?

1. Couran Cove Island Resort goes for more eco-friendly practices

2. The accommodation standard only conforms to the Resort Development Spectrum of phase 3

3. Couran Cove Island Resort should raise the accommodation standard and build more facilities

4. The principal group visiting the resort is international tourists

5. Its carrying will restrict the future businesses’ expansion

Passage 3

The Future Of The World’s Language

Of the world’s 6,500 living languages, around half are expected to be out by the end of this century, according to UNESCO. Just 11 are spoken by more than half of the earth’s population, so it is little wonder that those used by only a few are being left behind as we become a more homogenous, global society. In short, 95 per cent of the world’s languages are spoken by only five per cent of its population—a remarkable level of linguistic diversity stored in tiny pockets of speakers around the world. Mark Turin, a university professor, has launched WOLP (World Oral Language Project) to prevent the language from the brink of extinction.

He is trying to encourage indigenous communities to collaborate with anthropologists around the world to record what he calls “oral literature” through video cameras, voice recorders and other multimedia tools by awarding grants from a £30,000 pot that the project has secured this year. The idea is to collate this literature in a digital archive that can be accessed on demand and will make the nuts and bolts of lost cultures readily available. For many of these communities, the oral tradition is at the heart of their culture. The stories they tell are creative as well as communicative. Unlike the languages with celebrated written traditions, such as Sanskrit, Hebrew and Ancient Greek, few indigenous communities have recorded their own languages or ever had them recorded until now. The project suggested itself when Turin was teaching in Nepal. He wanted to study for a PhD in endangered languages and, while discussing it with his professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands, was drawn to a map on his tutor’s wall.

The map was full of pins of a variety of colours, which represented all the world’s languages that were completely undocumented. At random, Turin chose a “pin” to document. It happened to belong to the Thangmi tribe, an indigenous community in the hills east of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. “Many of the choices anthropologists and linguists who work on these traditional fieldwork projects are quite random,” he admits.

Continuing his work with the Thangmi community in the 1990s, Turin began to record the language he was hearing, realising that not only was this language and its culture entirely undocumented, but it was known to few outside the tiny community. He set about trying to record their language and myth of origins. “I wrote 1,000 pages of grammar in English that nobody could use—but I realised that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough for me, it wasn’t enough for them. It simply wasn’t going to work as something for the community. So then I produced this trilingual word list in Thangmi, Nepali and English.” In short, it was the first-ever publication of that language. That small dictionary is still sold in local schools for a modest 20 rupees, and used as part of a wider cultural regeneration process to educate children about their heritage and language. The task is no small undertaking: Nepal itself is a country of massive ethnic and linguistic diversity, home to 100 languages from four different language families. What’s more, even fewer ethnic Thangmi speak the Thangmi language.

Many of the community members have taken to speaking Nepali, the national language taught in schools and spread through the media, and community elders are dying without passing on their knowledge. Despite Turin’s enthusiasm for his subject, he is baffled by many linguists’ refusal to engage in the issue he is working on. “Of the 6,500 languages spoken on Earth, many do not have written traditions, and many of these spoken forms are endangered,” he says. “There are more linguists in universities around the world than there are spoken languages, but most of them aren’t working on this issue. To me, it’s amazing that in this day and age, we still have an entirely incomplete image of the world’s linguistic diversity. People do PhDs on the apostrophe in French, yet we still don’t know how many languages are spoken.”

“When a language becomes endangered, so too does a cultural worldview. We want to engage with indigenous people to document their myths and folklore, which can be harder to find funding for if you are based outside Western universities.” Yet, despite the struggles facing initiatives such as the World Oral Literature Project, there are historical examples that point to the possibility that language restoration is no mere academic pipe dream. The revival of a modern form of Hebrew in the 19th century is often cited as one of the best proofs that languages long dead, belonging to small communities, can be resurrected and embraced by a large number of people. By the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. It is now spoken by more than seven million people in Israel.

Yet, despite the difficulties these communities face in saving their languages, Dr Turin believes that the fate of the world’s endangered languages is not sealed, and globalisation is not necessarily the nefarious perpetrator of evil it is often presented to be. “I call it the globalisation paradox: on the one hand, globalisation and rapid socio-economic change are the things that are eroding and challenging diversity. But on the other hand, globalisation is providing us with new and very exciting tools and facilities to get to places to document those things that globalisation is eroding. Also, the communities at the coal-face of change are excited by what globalisation has to offer.”

In the meantime, the race is on to collect and protect as many of the languages as possible, so that the Rai Shaman in eastern Nepal and those in the generations that follow him can continue their traditions and have a sense of identity. And it certainly is a race: Turin knows his project’s limits and believes it is inevitable that a large number of those languages will disappear. “We have to be wholly realistic. A project like ours is in no position, and was not designed, to keep languages alive. The only people who can help languages survive are the people in those communities themselves. They need to be reminded that it’s good to speak their own language, and I think we can help them do that—becoming modern doesn’t mean you have to lose your language.”

Complete the summary using the list of words, A–J, below.

Of the world’s 6,500 living languages, about half of them are expected to be extinct. Most of the world’s languages are spoken by a 27. __________________ of people.

However, Professor Turin set up a project WOLP to prevent 28. __________________ of the languages.

The project provides the community with 29. __________________ to enable people to record their endangered languages.

The oral tradition has great cultural 30. __________________.

An important 31. __________________ between languages spoken by few people and languages with celebrated written documents existed in many communities.

A. similarity

B. significance

C. funding

D. minority

E. education

F. difference

G. education

H. diversity

I. majority

J. disappearance

For Questions 32–35, decide whether the following statements agree with the information in Reading Passage 3.

Write:

32. Turin argued that anthropologists and linguists usually think carefully before selecting an area to research.

33. Turin concluded that the Thangmi language had few similarities with other languages.

34. Turin has written that the 1000-page document was inappropriate for the Thangmi community

35. Some Nepalese schools lack resources to devote to language teaching.

Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

36. Why does Turin say people do PhDs on the apostrophe in French?

A. He believes that researchers have a limited role in the study of languages.

B. He compares the methods of research into languages.

C. He thinks research should result in a diverse cultural outlook.

D. He holds that research into French should focus on more general aspects.

37. What is discussed in the ninth paragraph?

A. Forces driving people to believe endangered languages can survive.

B. The community where people distrust language revival.

C. The methods of research that have improved language restoration.

D. Initiatives the World Oral Literature Project is bringing to Israel.

38. How is the WOLP’s prospect?

A. It would not raise enough funds to achieve its aims.

B. It will help keep languages alive.

C. It will be embraced by a large number of people.

D. It has a chance to succeed in protecting the endangered languages.

39. What is Turin’s main point of globalisation?

A. Globalisation is the main reason for the endangerment of languages.

B. Globalisation has both advantages and disadvantages.

C. We should have a more critical view of globalisation.

D. We should foremost protect our identity in the face of globalisation.

40. What does Turin suggest that community people should do?

A. Learn other languages.

B. Only have a sense of identity.

C. Keep up with modern society without losing their language.

D. Join the race to protect as many languages as possible, but be realistic. 

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