Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 185
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 185 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 185
READING PASSAGE – 1
Read the text below and answer Questions 1 – 9.
BOOKS
Our Friendly librarian Miss Martha has reviewed some of the books for us that can intrigue us to develop mind and spirits.
1. The Social Animal
In my humble opinion, I think it is the greatest general overview of social psychology ever written. This book seems to be in such a high demand that the Amazon prices are often outrageous. The demand is warranted however, few books will give you as in-depth, interesting and just a generally well written overview of social psychology quite like Elliot Aronson’s classic. A must-read if you can obtain it; I consider it the best presentation of social psychology ever written.
IELTS General Reading Test
2. Influence: Science and Practice
This is considered the gospel on the psychology of persuasion. Cialdini’s now infamous work deserves the amount of praise it gets. Not only is the book easy to follow with tons of excellent examples (explained in laymen terms), Cialdini also spends the time to go into why these studies played out as they did. Lastly, he addresses how to defend yourself from persuasion techniques that wish to harm you rather than ethically convince you (scammers, people selling faulty products knowingly, disingenuous attempt to persuade, etc.) A true classic.
3. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive
Don’t get me wrong, 1 really enjoyed this book, but just be forewarned that this should be used as a compliment to the other more comprehensive entries on this list. While the book is informative, the studies are grazed over pretty quickly, not much depth is given to any individual study. It does make for a great “rabbit hole” read. This is where you find out about a study, look up more about it, find more related studies, and “go down the rabbit hole” searching for new material. A great starting point to get your feet wet in a variety of persuasion-related studies.
IELTS General Reading Test
4. Thinking, Fast and Slow
Without a shadow of a doubt, is one of my all-time favorites. Trying to go over what this book digs into would take me a whole post in itself, so allow me to just gush: This book is damn awesome, read it! Seriously though, for behavioral research, there are few books that touch the scope and breadth that Dan Kahneman dives into with this masterpiece Mr. Kahneman holds a Nobel Prize in Economics as well, and this aspect shines through in the book’s many examples.
5. Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
The Heath brothers, Dan Heath and Chip Heath, put out some of my favorite material on the subject of persuasion. Their book Switch aims to answer the question: “Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?” Specifically, why is it so hard to change things that have become commonplace. Their arguments are structured well, as is their other entry on this list, and incredibly readable; you can tell that a lot of effort was put into breaking the book down into appropriate sections and making it easy to pick up by anyone.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1 9
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? In boxes 1- 9 on your answer sheet write
YES – if the statement agrees with the writer’s opinion
NO – if the statement contradicts the writer’s opinion
NOT GIVEN – if there is no information on the writer’s opinion
1. Switch can be a good book to read for beginners.
2. Martha considers the book of Scientific Persuasion to be non useful.
3. Cialdini’s book has gained some notoriety.
4. Fast and slow is the most favourite book of the writer.
5. Mr. Kahaneman has been nominated for Nobel Prize due to his new book.
6. Elliott Arson’s book is one of the best sellers.
7. Influence only teaches defense from Persuasion techniques.
8. Heath’s book can work in difficult situations.
9. According to Martha one book in the list requires more comprehensive study.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 10 – 13.
RAINFOREST TOURS
The Peruvian Amazon jungle is one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth. Most species have probably still not been discovered, or adequately studied. As a nation, Peru has the largest number of bird species in the world and the third largest number of mammals; 44 percent of birds and 63 percent of the mammals inhabit the Peruvian Amazon. Peru also has a very high number of species of butterflies, orchids, and other organisms.
The lowland jungle (in Spanish Selva Baja) is also known as Omagua region, Walla, Anti, Amazonian rainforest or Amazon basin. This ecoregion is the largest in Peru, standing between 80 and 1000 meters above sea level. It has very warm weather with an average temperature of28°C, high relative humidity (over 75%) and yearly rainfall of approximately 103 in.
IELTS General Reading Test
The highland jungle (in Spanish Selva Alta) is also called Rupa-Rupa region, andean jungle, ceja de selva. This ecoregion extends into the eastern foothills of the Andes, between 1000 to 3800 m above the seal level. The eastern slopes of the Andes are home to a great variety of fauna and flora due to the different altitudes and climates within the region. Temperatures are warmer in the lowlands and colder in higher altitudes. There are many endemic fauna because of the isolation caused by the rugged terrain of the area.
Questions 10 & 11
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
10. Peruvian Amazon is mostly inhabited by
A. Birds
B. Mammals
C. Butterflies
D. Orchids
11. Amazon Basin
A. Is larger than most of the regions
B. Is 80 and 1000 Meters below sea level
C. Has 80% relative humidity sometimes
D. Has highest rainfall
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 12 & 13
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
12. Which mountain ranges are specific to Selva Alta?
13. Variation in what is expected with heights in Highland jungle?
ANSWERS ARE BELOW
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. YES
2. NO
3. YES
4. NO
5. NOT GIVEN
6. YES
7. NO
8. YES
9. YES
10. B
11. C
12. ANDES
13. TEMPERATURES