IELTS Reading Practice
Sixty minutes, forty questions, no transfer time at the end. Reading is not a test of reading — it is a test of finding.
Timing decides more than vocabulary does
Three passages, sixty minutes, and no extra time to copy answers. Write onto the answer sheet as you go.
Twenty minutes each, and stop when the twenty minutes are gone even if you have not finished. The third passage carries as many marks as the first, and candidates who read passage one carefully and rush passage three routinely lose eight or nine marks doing it.
Do not read the passage first. Read the questions, then go looking. The passage is a reference book, not a story.
True, False, Not Given — where Sri Lankan candidates lose most
This one question type accounts for more lost marks than any other. The rule is short and people still get it wrong under pressure, because they answer from knowledge instead of from the text.
The decision, in three lines
| Answer | When to choose it | The test to apply |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | The text states this, in different words. | Can you point at the sentence that says it? Put your finger on it. |
| FALSE | The text states the opposite. | Can you point at a sentence that contradicts it? Contradiction, not absence. |
| NOT GIVEN | The text neither says it nor contradicts it. | You searched and it is simply not there. This is an answer, not a failure. |
Practice: decide the answer, then check your reasoning
Text: "The museum opened in 1923 and was extended twice, in 1961 and 1998."
Statement A: The museum has been extended more than once. → TRUE. Two extensions are stated.
Statement B: The museum opened in 1932. → FALSE. The text says 1923; that is a contradiction.
Statement C: The 1998 extension was more expensive than the 1961 one. → NOT GIVEN. Cost is never mentioned. It may well be true in reality — that is not the question.
Text: "Most researchers now accept the theory, although a small number continue to question it."
Statement A: The theory is universally accepted. → FALSE. A small number continue to question it contradicts universally.
Statement B: Some researchers still disagree with the theory. → TRUE. Same meaning, different words.
Statement C: Those who question the theory work mainly in Europe. → NOT GIVEN. No location is given.
Text: "The company introduced flexible hours in 2015. Staff turnover fell sharply the following year."
Statement A: Staff turnover fell in 2016. → TRUE. The following year after 2015.
Statement B: Flexible hours caused the fall in staff turnover. → NOT GIVEN. The text places the two facts side by side; it does not claim one caused the other. This trap catches strong candidates constantly.
The lesson: two facts in sequence are not a stated cause. Watch for it.
Working through a passage
Do
- Read the questions before the passage
- Underline the name, date, number or unusual word in each question, and hunt for that
- Answer in the order the questions come — most types follow the passage order
- Write the answer on the answer sheet immediately
- Guess every remaining blank in the last two minutes
- Accept Not Given as a normal, frequent answer
Avoid
- Reading the whole passage first, which uses a third of your time
- Stopping at an unknown word — you rarely need it
- Choosing an answer because the same word appears; test writers plant matching words deliberately
- Answering from what you know about the topic
- Leaving anything blank
- Spending more than twenty minutes on any one passage
Official free reading practice
The test owner publishes a free sample task for every reading question type — True/False/Not Given, matching features, matching headings, sentence and summary completion, multiple choice — each with an answer key.
Academic reading sample tasks · General Training reading sample tasks
Academic and General Training reading are different tests. Practise the one you are actually sitting.