Book 17 IELTS Academic Reading Test 2 |

READING PASSAGE 1 : Questions 1-13

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Discovery

Qumran, 1946/7

– three Bedouin shepherds in their teens were near an opening on side of cliff

– heard a noise of breaking when one teenager threw a 1.

– teenagers went into the 2. and found a number of containers made of 3.

The scrolls

– date from between 150 BCE and 70 CE

– thought to have been written by group of people known as the 4.

– written mainly in the 5. language

– most are on religious topics, written using ink on parchment or papyrus

Questions 6-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

6. The Bedouin teenagers who found the scrolls were disappointed by how little money they received for them.

True False NG

7. There is agreement among academics about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

True False NG

8. Most of the books of the Bible written on the scrolls are incomplete.

True False NG

9. The information on the Copper Scroll is written in an unusual way.

True False NG

10. Mar Samuel was given some of the scrolls as a gift.

True False NG

11. In the early 1950s, a number of educational establishments in the US were keen to buy scrolls from Mar Samuel.

True False NG

12. The scroll that was pieced together in 2017 contains information about annual occasions in the Qumran area 2,000 years ago.

True False NG

13. Academics at the University of Haifa are currently researching how to decipher the final scroll.

True False NG

READING PASSAGE 2 : Questions 14-26

Reading Passage 2 has five paragraphs, A-E.

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

14. a reference to a type of tomato that can resist a dangerous infection.

A B C D E

15. an explanation of how problems can arise from focusing only on a certain type of tomato plant.

A B C D E

16. a number of examples of plants that are not cultivated at present but could be useful as food sources.

A B C D E

17. a comparison between the early domestication of the tomato and more recent research

A B C D E

18. a personal reaction to the flavour of a tomato that has been genetically edited

A B C D E

Questions 19-23

Look at the following statements (Questions 19-23) and the list of researchers below.

Match each statement with the correct researcher, A-D.

Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 19-23 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

List of Researchers

A Jorg Kudla

B Caixia Gao

C Joyce Van Eck

D Jonathan Jones

19. Domestication of certain plants could allow them to adapt to future environmental challenges.

A B C D E

20. The idea of growing and eating unusual plants may not be accepted on a large scale.

A B C D E

21. It is not advisable for the future direction of certain research to be made public.

A B C D E

22. Present efforts to domesticate one wild fruit are limited by the costs involved.

A B C D E

23. Humans only make use of a small proportion of the plant food available on Earth.

A B C D E

Questions 24-26

Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.

24. An undesirable trait such as loss of may be caused by a mutation in a tomato gene.

25. By modifying one gene in a tomato plant, researchers made the tomato three times its original

26. A type of tomato which was not badly affected by , and was rich in vitamin C, was produced by a team of researchers in China.

READING PASSAGE 3 : Questions 27-40

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

27. The purpose of the first paragraph is to

A. defend particular ideas.

B. compare certain beliefs.

C. disprove a widely held view.

D. outline a common assumption.

28. What are the writers doing in the second paragraph?

A. criticising an opinion

B. justifying a standpoint

C. explaining an approach

D. supporting an argument

29. In the third paragraph, what do the writers suggest about Darwin and Einstein?

A. They represent an exception to a general rule.

B. Their way of working has been misunderstood.

C. They are an ideal which others should aspire to.

D. Their achievements deserve greater recognition.

30. John Nicholson is an example of a person whose idea

A. established his reputation as an influential scientist.

B. was only fully understood at a later point in history.

C. laid the foundations for someone else’s breakthrough.

D. initially met with scepticism from the scientific community.

31. What is the key point of interest about the ‘acey-deucy’ stirrup placement?

A. the simple reason why it was invented

B. the enthusiasm with which it was adopted

C. the research that went into its development

D. the cleverness of the person who first used it

Questions 32-36

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

32. Acknowledging people such as Plato or da Vinci as geniuses will help us understand the process by which great minds create new ideas.

Yes No NG

33. The Law of Effect was discovered at a time when psychologists were seeking a scientific reason why creativity occurs.

Yes No NG

34. The Law of Effect states that no planning is involved in the behaviour of organisms.

Yes No NG

35. The Law of Effect sets out clear explanations about the sources of new ideas and behaviours.

Yes No NG

36. Many scientists are now turning away from the notion of intelligent design and genius.

Yes No NG

Questions 37-40

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-G, below.

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

The origins of creative behaviour

The traditional view of scientific discovery is that breakthroughs happen when a single great mind has sudden 37. . Although this can occur, it is not often the case. Advances are more likely to be the result of a longer process. In some cases, this process involves 38. , such as Nicholson’s theory about proto-elements. In others, simple necessity may provoke innovation, as with Westrope’s decision to modify the position of his riding stirrups. There is also often an element of 39. , for example, the coincidence of ideas that led to the invention of the Post-It note. With both the Law of Natural Selection and the Law of Effect, there may be no clear 40. involved, but merely a process of variation and selection.

A invention B goals C compromise

D mistakes E luck F inspiration

G experiments

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