IELTS General Training Reading practice test (with answers)

SECTION 1 — Questions 1–14

Riverside Community Centre: Evening Classes

A  Beginners’ Photography — Learn how to get the best from your camera or smartphone. Topics include lighting, composition and simple editing. Tuesdays, 7–9 pm, 8 weeks. £96. No previous experience needed, but you must bring your own camera or phone.

B  Conversational Spanish — For learners who already know the basics and want to build confidence in speaking. Classes are taught entirely in Spanish by a native speaker. Wednesdays, 6.30–8 pm, 10 weeks. £110. Students should have completed at least one year of study.

C  Practical Bookkeeping — Ideal for people running a small business. Covers keeping accounts, preparing invoices and understanding tax deadlines. Thursdays, 7–9 pm, 6 weeks. £75. A certificate is awarded to students who attend every session.

D  Healthy Cooking on a Budget — Prepare nutritious family meals for less. Each week you will cook two dishes and take them home. Mondays, 6–8.30 pm, 6 weeks. £60 plus £5 per week for ingredients. Please tell us about any food allergies when you book.

E  Pottery for All — Discover the pleasure of working with clay. Use our wheels and kiln to make bowls, cups and decorative pieces. Saturdays, 10 am–12.30 pm, 8 weeks. £120, including all materials. Suitable for complete beginners and those with some experience. Wear old clothes!

F  Introduction to Website Design — Build a simple website for yourself or a club without writing any code. Laptops are provided. Tuesdays, 6–8 pm, 5 weeks. £70. Students who are over 65 receive a 20% discount on this course.

Greenhill Public Library — Information for New Members

Membership of Greenhill Public Library is free for everyone who lives, works or studies in the area. To join, simply visit the main desk with one form of photo identification and a document showing your current address, such as a recent utility bill. Children under 16 can join if a parent or guardian signs the application form.

Adult members may borrow up to twelve items at a time, including books, DVDs and audiobooks. Books may be kept for three weeks and DVDs for one week. Items can be renewed twice, either online, by phone or in person, unless another member has reserved them. A charge of 20p per day is made for overdue books; there is no charge for overdue children’s books.

Members can use the library computers for up to two hours a day free of charge. Printing costs 10p per page for black and white and 50p per page for colour. Free wi-fi is available throughout the building; ask at the desk for the password, which changes every month.

The study room on the first floor is reserved for silent study. It can be booked by groups of up to six people for discussion sessions on Saturday mornings only. If you lose your membership card, a replacement costs £2.

Questions 1–7

Look at the six advertisements for evening classes, A–F.

For which class are the following statements true?

Write the correct letter, A–F, in boxes 1–7 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Classes

A  Beginners’ Photography

B  Conversational Spanish

C  Practical Bookkeeping

D  Healthy Cooking on a Budget

E  Pottery for All

F  Introduction to Website Design

1  Students receive a document if they do not miss any classes.

2  The price includes everything students will use.

3  Older students pay less.

4  Students need to have studied the subject before.

5  The class takes place at the weekend.

6  Students must provide their own equipment.

7  Students should give information about their health when booking.

Questions 8–14

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

In boxes 8–14 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

8  You need two documents to join the library.

9  Children cannot become members without an adult’s permission.

10  DVDs can be borrowed for the same period as books.

11  Members can renew items an unlimited number of times.

12  There is a fine for returning children’s books late.

13  The library computers are mostly used by students.

14  Groups may use the study room for discussions on some days.

SECTION 2 — Questions 15–27

Working From Home: Guidelines for Staff

Following a successful trial last year, Harlow Logistics now allows eligible employees to work from home for up to two days per week. These guidelines explain who can apply and what is expected of staff who take part in the scheme.

Who can apply? The scheme is open to all employees who have completed their six-month probation period, provided that their role can be performed effectively away from the office. Staff in warehouse, reception and maintenance roles are not eligible, since their duties require them to be on site. Applications should be made to your line manager, who will normally respond within ten working days.

Equipment The company will provide a laptop and, where needed, a headset for video calls. Employees are responsible for having a reliable internet connection at home; the company will not contribute to broadband costs. Staff who require a desk or chair for health reasons should contact the Human Resources department, which can arrange an assessment of their home workspace.

Working hours and availability Home-based staff must keep to their normal contracted hours and be available by phone and email during the core hours of 10 am to 3 pm. All team members are expected to attend the weekly team meeting in person every Monday, so Mondays cannot be chosen as a home-working day.

Security Company laptops must not be used by family members or friends, and confidential documents must never be printed at home. If a laptop is lost or stolen, you should report it to the IT helpdesk immediately so that the device can be locked remotely.

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

A  Start by researching the organisation. Read its website, recent news articles and any annual reports, and try to understand its main products, customers and competitors. Interviewers are quickly able to tell which candidates have done this, and a lack of basic knowledge is one of the most common reasons for rejection.

B  Next, look carefully at the job description and identify the skills that the employer is looking for. For each one, think of a specific occasion when you have demonstrated it. Many interviewers now use the ‘STAR’ approach, asking candidates to describe a Situation, the Task they faced, the Action they took and the Result. Preparing examples in this format will help you to give clear, well-organised answers.

C  Practise your answers aloud, ideally with a friend who can ask follow-up questions. This will make you more confident, but avoid learning answers word for word, as they may sound unnatural. It is also wise to prepare two or three questions of your own to ask at the end of the interview; asking about training opportunities or the team you would be working with shows genuine interest.

D  On the day itself, plan your journey so that you arrive about ten minutes early, and dress slightly more formally than the employer’s usual standard. If the interview is held online, test your camera, microphone and internet connection beforehand, and choose a quiet room with a plain background.

E  Finally, after the interview, send a short email to thank the interviewer for their time. This simple courtesy is often forgotten, yet it can leave a positive impression. If you are not offered the job, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for feedback, which may help you to perform better next time.

Questions 15–20

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 15–20 on your answer sheet.

15. Staff can apply for the scheme once they have finished their (15) ________.

16. Requests to work from home should be sent to the employee’s (16) ________.

17. Employees must pay for their own (17) ________ connection.

18. Staff must be contactable between 10 am and 3 pm, which are known as (18) ________.

19. Employees are not allowed to work from home on (19) ________.

20. A missing laptop should be reported to the (20) ________ without delay.

Questions 21–27

The text has five sections, A–E.

Which section mentions the following?

Write the correct letter, A–E, in boxes 21–27 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

Sections

A  Section A

B  Section B

C  Section C

D  Section D

E  Section E

21  a method that helps candidates to structure their answers

22  the risk of memorising answers exactly

23  checking technical equipment before an interview

24  a frequent cause of candidates being unsuccessful

25  asking how you could improve after a rejection

26  suitable topics for questions to the interviewer

27  how to decide what clothes to wear

SECTION 3 — Questions 28–40

The Return of the Repair Shop

Thirty years ago, almost every high street had a shop where broken radios, shoes or bicycles could be mended. As manufactured goods became cheaper and more complicated, many of these businesses disappeared. It became normal to throw away a toaster that had stopped working and buy a new one, since the cost of repairing it, if repair was possible at all, was often higher than the price of a replacement. Now, however, there are signs that the culture of repair is making a comeback.

One of the clearest signs is the growth of ‘repair cafés’. The first was organised in Amsterdam in 2009 by Martine Postma, a former journalist who was concerned about the amount of waste produced by modern households. At these free events, volunteers with practical skills help members of the public to fix their own broken items, from lamps and clocks to clothing and laptops. The idea spread rapidly, and today there are more than 2,500 repair cafés around the world. Organisers say that roughly two-thirds of the items brought in are successfully repaired, and that many visitors leave with the confidence to attempt simple repairs at home.

Governments have also begun to act. In 2021 the European Union introduced rules requiring manufacturers of products such as washing machines, dishwashers and televisions to make spare parts available for up to ten years after a model is sold, and to ensure that these parts can be fitted using ordinary tools. Similar ‘right to repair’ laws have since been introduced in several American states. Campaigners argue that such rules are needed because some companies have deliberately made their products difficult to open, or have refused to supply parts and instructions to independent repairers.

Manufacturers have not always welcomed these changes. Some have warned that allowing untrained people to open devices could be dangerous, particularly where batteries or high-voltage components are involved, and others have raised concerns about security and the protection of their designs. Nevertheless, a number of large firms have recently begun selling repair kits and publishing manuals online, perhaps because they recognise that customers increasingly value products that last.

There are environmental reasons, too, for the change in attitude. Electronic waste is now the fastest-growing type of household rubbish, and less than a quarter of it is properly recycled. Extending the life of a smartphone by just one year can, according to one European study, save as much carbon as taking a car off the road for several weeks. Repairing is also often cheaper for consumers, especially when prices of new goods rise.

Not everyone is convinced that repair will become widespread again. Professional repairers point out that their work is time-consuming and that labour costs in wealthy countries make many repairs uneconomic. Many products are also now designed with components glued together rather than screwed, which makes them hard to take apart. Even so, supporters believe that the combination of new laws, public interest and rising prices will gradually change how products are designed and how people treat the things they own.

Questions 28–32

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

Write the correct letter in boxes 28–32 on your answer sheet.

28  According to the first paragraph, many repair shops closed because

A  people no longer had broken items.

B  repairing goods often cost more than replacing them.

C  shop rents on high streets increased.

D  manufacturers refused to deal with them.

29  Martine Postma started the first repair café because she was worried about

A  the loss of practical skills.

B  the cost of new products.

C  the quantity of household waste.

D  the closure of local shops.

30  What do organisers say about visitors to repair cafés?

A  Most of them bring electronic items.

B  Many feel able to do repairs themselves afterwards.

C  They usually pay a small fee.

D  About a third of them become volunteers.

31  The 2021 EU rules require manufacturers to

A  repair products free of charge.

B  offer spare parts for a fixed period.

C  train independent repairers.

D  stop using special tools.

32  Why might some manufacturers now sell repair kits?

A  They were forced to do so by law.

B  Repair kits are very profitable.

C  Buyers increasingly want products that last.

D  They want to reduce the number of complaints.

Questions 33–37

Complete the summary below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 33–37 on your answer sheet.

Arguments about repair

Some manufacturers argue that opening devices can be unsafe, especially those containing (33) ________ or high-voltage parts. They also have worries about (34) ________ and protecting their designs. Supporters of repair point to environmental benefits, since electronic waste is growing faster than any other type and less than a (35) ________ of it is recycled correctly. However, professional repairers say that high (36) ________ costs make many repairs unprofitable, and that parts which are (37) ________ together are difficult to separate.

Questions 38–40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?

In boxes 38–40 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

38  There are now over 2,500 repair cafés worldwide.

39  Right to repair laws have been introduced in every American state.

40  Keeping a smartphone for an extra year can reduce carbon emissions.