IELTS Academic Practice Examination - Reading and Writing (Target Band 7.5)

SECTION 1: ACADEMIC READING (60 MINUTES)

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1–13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

READING PASSAGE 1

The Domestication of the Horse and Bronze Age Pastoral Mobility

The domestication of the horse (Equus caballus) represents one of the most transformative milestones in human prehistory, permanently reshaping demographic distribution, commercial exchange, and the dynamics of armed conflict across Afro-Eurasia. While archaeological consensus historically attributed the genesis of ungulate domestication to the sedentary farming villages of the Fertile Crescent, equine exploitation followed an entirely distinct trajectory. It originated not among agrarian communities seeking sedentary traction, but within the mobile pastoralist groups traversing the vast, ecologically challenging forest-steppe ecozones of Northern Kazakhstan and the Pontic-Caspian steppe during the late fourth and third millennia BCE.

For several decades, researchers centered their inquiries on the archaeological site of Botai in northern Kazakhstan, dated to approximately 3500 BCE. Excavations at Botai yielded hundreds of thousands of faunal remains, over 99 percent of which were identified as equine. Compelling forensic markers corroborated the functional integration of horses into daily subsistence. Microscopic analysis of dental assemblages revealed characteristic bit-wear facets on the premolars, indicative of the severe mechanical friction caused by organic or bone bridles. Concurrently, organic residue analysis of ceramic potsherds revealed traces of horse-milk fatty acids, furnishing incontrovertible evidence of mares being milked—a practice fundamentally incompatible with the opportunistic hunting of wild quarry. Consequently, the Botai culture was widely celebrated as the cradle of horse domestication.

However, the advent of paleogenomics has disrupted this long-standing paradigm. In 2018, an extensive international team sequenced the ancient genomes of horses spanning several millennia. The findings demonstrated that modern domestic horses share negligible genetic affinity with the Botai herd. Instead, the lineages descended from Botai horses unexpectedly persisted exclusively as the modern Przewalski's horse—long regarded as the world's sole remaining truly wild horse species. This revelation indicates that the Botai animals represented an isolated, localized domestication episode that ultimately became an evolutionary dead end, rather than the ancestral stock of modern equine lineages.

Subsequent paleogenetic investigations point toward a secondary, far more consequential domestication locus. Around 2200 BCE, a genetically distinct equine lineage designated the DOM2 lineage emerged within the lower Volga-Don region of modern Russia. Unlike their predecessors, these horses possessed two pivotal mutations that underwent profound positive selection: one linked to enhanced docility and reduced anxiety behaviors, and another associated with stronger, more resilient vertebral columns capable of bearing weight over extended periods. Within several centuries, this single genetic lineage displaced all indigenous Eurasian horse populations with unprecedented velocity, coinciding precisely with the widespread dissemination of spoke-wheeled chariots and pastoral Yamnaya and Sintashta cultures across Europe and Central Asia.

The sociopolitical ramifications of this mobility revolution were profound. Before equine domestication, pastoral transhumance was constrained by the physiological limitations of oxen, which haul substantial tonnage but move at an excruciatingly deliberate pace. Horses increased human terrestrial velocity by an order of magnitude. This dramatic acceleration allowed pastoralists to manage far larger herds over vastly dispersed grazing regimes, exploit previously inhospitable arid steppe environments, and construct expansive trade networks connecting disparate linguistic and material communities. Simultaneously, the mastery of mounted transport laid the infrastructural foundation for Bronze Age warrior aristocracies, catalyzing sweeping demographic migrations whose linguistic and genetic footprints remain legible in contemporary Eurasia today.

Questions 1–6

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1–6 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

Câu 1. Pastoralist communities in the Eurasian steppe domesticated the horse primarily to serve as draft animals for sedentary agriculture.
Câu 2. Dental analysis of skeletal remains at the Botai settlement provided evidence that the animals were controlled using bridles.
Câu 3. Residues detected on ancient pottery from Botai proved that the inhabitants exclusively consumed horse meat.
Câu 4. The contemporary Przewalski's horse is genetically linked to the horses once kept by the Botai culture.
Câu 5. The Sintashta culture developed the world's earliest spoke-wheeled chariots before the DOM2 lineage emerged.
Câu 6. The replacement of oxen with horses enabled herders to substantially enlarge the geographic range of their pastures.

Questions 7–13

Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7–13 on your answer sheet.

The Paleogenetic Revision of Equine Domestication

For many years, the site of Botai in Northern Kazakhstan was regarded as the primary center of equine domestication due to substantial faunal findings and traces of bit-wear and 7. ______ found inside pottery vessels. However, modern research utilizing 8. ______ showed that the modern domestic horse does not share ancestral lineage with the Botai animals. Instead, descendants of the Botai herds survived as 9. ______, which had previously been classified as the only genuine wild equine.

Researchers discovered that modern domestic horses trace their lineage to the 10. ______ lineage that arose around 2200 BCE near the Volga-Don region. These animals carried specific genetic adaptations: one mutation contributed to 11. ______ and decreased fear, while another reinforced their 12. ______, allowing them to withstand prolonged physical burdens. The rapid dispersal of these horses brought an end to indigenous varieties and fostered the emergence of Bronze Age 13. ______ who dominated trans-Eurasian trade and migration routes.

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Biomimicry and Architecture: Nature's Structural Engineering

List of Headings

- i Thermal regulation inspired by social insect structures
- ii The mechanical advantages of skeletal and marine shell forms
- iii Limitations and economic costs of bio-inspired materials
- iv Emulating natural water-repellent and self-cleaning surfaces
- v The conceptual foundation: Moving beyond visual imitation to functional synthesis
- vi Replicating plant hydraulics for passive moisture and humidity control
- vii Historical precursors of architectural ornamentation derived from nature
- viii Structural optimization through branching and botanical growth algorithms

Questions 14–19

Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A–F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings above.
Write the correct number, i–viii, in boxes 14–19 on your answer sheet.

Câu 14. Paragraph A
Câu 15. Paragraph B
Câu 16. Paragraph C
Câu 17. Paragraph D
Câu 18. Paragraph E
Câu 19. Paragraph F

A. Architecture has long drawn aesthetic inspiration from the natural world, incorporating floral motifs into Corinthian capitals or mimicking the graceful curves of animal forms in Art Nouveau facades. However, contemporary biomimetic architecture represents an ontological departure from mere visual metaphor. Rather than borrowing the external morphology of organisms, architects and structural engineers increasingly study biological mechanisms, materials, and processes to address modern engineering dilemmas. The discipline operates on the premise that evolution constitutes a 3.8-billion-year research-and-development program during which organisms have optimized resource efficiency, structural resilience, and climate responsiveness under severe thermodynamic constraints.

B. Perhaps the most celebrated deployment of macro-scale functional biomimicry is Harare's Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe, designed by architect Mick Pearce in collaboration with engineers at Arup. The mixed-use complex utilizes virtually no conventional air conditioning, consuming roughly ten percent of the energy demanded by equivalent conventional buildings in the region. Pearce analyzed the architectural ingenuity of macrotermitine termite mounds (Macrotermes michaelseni). These insects construct complex, labyrinthine subterranean ventilation channels that leverage diurnal temperature differentials. By absorbing heat into dense concrete slabs during scorching daytime hours and expelling warmed air upward through central exhaust chimneys via the stack effect, the structure harnesses ambient wind currents and natural convection, maintaining interior temperatures within an exceptionally stable thermal envelope.

C. Beyond subterranean climate moderation, structural engineers have turned their attention to botanical growth strategies to minimize material usage while maximizing load-bearing capacity. Trees, for instance, display an extraordinary ability to distribute mechanical stress evenly across their trunks and limbs. By adding material exclusively to zones of elevated tensile or compressive stress, botanical structures avoid superfluous weight. German computational engineer Claus Mattheck translated these biological principles into Computer-Aided Optimization (CAO) and Soft Kill Option (SKO) algorithms. Today, structural design firms employ these predictive codes to generate branching structural columns—such as those inside Stuttgart Airport's terminal—that mimic the geometry of arboreal canopies, supporting colossal roof spans while reducing steel tonnage by up to forty percent.

D. Water management and envelope physics have similarly been revolutionized through micro-morphological mimicry. The leaves of the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) exhibit legendary superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning capabilities, an attribute christened the "lotus effect." Under electron microscopy, the leaf surface does not appear smooth; instead, it is densely carpeted with micro-papillae coated in hydrophobic epicuticular wax crystals. Water droplets resting on the leaf cannot establish adequate surface adhesion, remaining virtually spherical. As rainfall glides effortlessly off the tilted surface, it gathers and carries away airborne particulates and biological contaminants. Material scientists have replicated this surface roughness at the nanoscale to formulate exterior facade coatings, such as Lotusan paint, which drastically reduce maintenance expenditures and chemical detergent usage on high-rise buildings.

E. Marine biology provides another repository of structural archetypes, notably within the domain of thin-shell construction and kinetic facade deployment. The Venus' flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum), a deep-sea glass sponge, fabricates an intricate cylindrical skeleton composed of amorphous silica spicules arranged in an interlocking square-grid pattern reinforced by diagonal struts. Mathematical modeling reveals that this geometrical lattice demonstrates exceptional resistance to hydrostatic shear and buckling loads that would crush solid glass cylinders of equivalent mass. Architects studying this structure have adapted its diagonally braced cylindrical framework to supertall skyscraper design, finding that it dramatically mitigates aerodynamic vortex-shedding and seismic torsion without necessitating massive internal cores.

F. In tandem with structural geometries, the micro-scale mechanics of plant movements offer sustainable alternatives to mechanical facade shading. Many plants accomplish kinetic transformations—such as the opening and closing of pine cones or the curling of seed pods—in the total absence of metabolic energy or muscular tissue. These hygroscopic movements are mediated entirely by differential swelling within bilateral layers of cellulose fibrils when exposed to relative humidity fluctuations. By laminating synthetic bilayer polymers with distinct thermal expansion and moisture absorption coefficients, researchers have pioneered responsive architectural envelopes. These autonomous "skins" dilate or constrict their apertures in direct response to solar exposure and ambient moisture, completely circumventing the electrical motors and sensors that frequently malfunction in motorized kinetic facades.

Questions 20–23

Look at the following natural organisms and biological systems (Questions 20–23) and the list of architectural applications below.
Match each organism with the correct architectural application, A–F.
Write the correct letter, A–F, in boxes 20–23 on your answer sheet.

Câu 20. Macrotermitine termite mounds
Câu 21. Tree branch stress distribution
Câu 22. Lotus leaves
Câu 23. Pine cone scales

List of Architectural Applications

- A. The design of self-cleaning exterior paint coatings that eliminate chemical cleaning.
- B. The deployment of passive ventilation mechanisms utilizing natural convection.
- C. The reduction of building weight using biological growth algorithms for column placement.
- D. The construction of underwater foundations resistant to extreme hydrostatic pressures.
- E. The fabrication of motor-free facade components responsive to ambient moisture.
- F. The generation of acoustic insulation through porous cellular geometry.

Questions 24–26

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 24–26 on your answer sheet.

Câu 24. How does modern biomimetic architecture differ fundamentally from earlier nature-inspired architectural styles?

Câu 25. What is the primary structural benefit derived from studying the Euplectella aspergillum glass sponge?

Câu 26. The author's tone throughout the passage toward the future of biomimicry in construction can best be characterized as:

READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27–40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.

The Cognitive Neurobiology of Multitasking and Attentional Fatigue

A. The omnipresence of digital telecommunications and ubiquitous computing in the twenty-first century has precipitated an unprecedented reconfiguration of the human attentional ecology. In workplace and academic settings alike, individuals routinely pride themselves on their presumed capacity for simultaneous execution of complex tasks—monitoring communication channels, reviewing academic texts, and participating in algorithmic discourse simultaneously. However, contemporary cognitive neurobiology presents a decisive rebuttal to this self-flattering appraisal: what lay observers categorize as simultaneous multitasking is, under neurophysiological scrutiny, an illusion. The human central nervous system does not possess the parallel architecture required to consciously execute disparate, goal-directed cognitive operations concurrently; rather, it engages in rapid, successive serial switching, a process governed by stringent biological bottlenecking.

B. The primary neural substrate orchestrating this attentional distribution is the prefrontal cortex (PFC), specifically the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Working in tandem, these structures maintain executive control, formulate behavioral rules, and prioritize working memory buffers. When a subject attempts to alternate between two cognitively demanding objectives—such as composing an analytical report while screening incoming electronic correspondence—the executive network must execute a bipartite cognitive sequence: first, "goal shifting" (actively deciding to switch track), followed by "rule activation" (disengaging the cognitive parameters of the prior task and retrieving the procedural rules of the new one).

C. This executive shifting does not occur instantaneously or without cost. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies illustrate that the transition incurs a quantifiable neurological penalty known as "switch cost." Each switch consumes a fraction of a second and draws upon finite reserves of glucose and neurotransmitters within the frontal lobes. While several hundred milliseconds of processing delay may appear trivial in isolation, modern knowledge workers switch tasks several hundred times daily. Aggregated over an eight-hour shift, these cumulative switch costs produce significant cognitive friction, reducing overall task efficiency by as much as forty percent and dramatically inflating error margins on tasks requiring analytical rigor.

D. Furthermore, chronic attentional fragmentation induces a profound state of cognitive depletion designated Attention Restoration Theory (ART) as "directed attention fatigue" (DAF). Directed attention requires active, conscious inhibition of competing internal and external stimuli, a mechanism sustained largely by the prefrontal cortex. As prolonged selective inhibition continues without reprieve, the metabolic resources of the inhibitory neural circuitry become exhausted. Individuals suffering from acute DAF exhibit heightened impulsivity, compromised error monitoring, degraded divergent thinking, and an impaired capacity for emotional regulation.

E. Paradoxically, despite experiencing demonstrable decrements in performance, habitual media multitaskers frequently report feelings of heightened stimulation and cognitive engagement. Neurobiologists attribute this discrepancy to the dopaminergic reward pathway. Novelty-seeking is an evolutionary adaptation hardwired into mammalian subcortical regions; each notification, text fragment, or incoming prompt triggers a minute release of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens. This neurochemical burst reinforces the impulse to seek further distraction, creating a self-perpetuating feedback loop wherein the brain rewards the very behaviors that impair its executive fidelity. The conscious subject misinterprets this neurochemical surge as a state of energized productivity, remaining completely oblivious to the concurrent collapse in comprehension and analytical synthesis.

F. The long-term neuroplastic consequences of habitual multitasking have emerged as an urgent area of empirical investigation. Studies led by neuroscientist Kep Kee Loh demonstrated that high-frequency media multitaskers exhibited lower gray-matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex compared to their peers who practiced sustained, single-pointed attention. Because the ACC is integrally linked to cognitive flexibility, empathetic processing, and socio-emotional regulation, these structural variations raise disquieting questions regarding whether prolonged digital distraction merely inflicts transient fatigue or systematically alters the micro-architecture of the human brain.

G. In response to these concerning findings, researchers are exploring therapeutic interventions aimed at replenishing depleted executive reserves. Environmental psychologists have established that exposure to natural environments—characterized by soft, effortless fascination rather than forced, voluntary attention—allows the inhibitory mechanisms of the prefrontal cortex to recuperate. Known as nature immersion, this protocol restores working memory bandwidth and divergent problem-solving ability. In pedagogical environments, institutions that enforce structured periods of uninterrupted, deep cognitive focus report substantial gains in conceptual retention, underscoring that human intelligence thrives not on hyper-connectivity, but on the sustained cultivation of quiet attentional depth.

Questions 27–31

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 27–31 on your answer sheet, write:

- YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
- NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
- NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Câu 27. The human brain is neurophysiologically equipped to carry out multiple conscious, high-level analytical tasks simultaneously.
Câu 28. Switching back and forth between different activities depletes measurable physiological and metabolic reserves in the frontal lobes.
Câu 29. Highly experienced knowledge workers ultimately become immune to the operational inefficiencies caused by switch costs.
Câu 30. Habitual multitaskers generally have an accurate assessment of their own declining cognitive accuracy.
Câu 31. Technological developers deliberately design digital interfaces to exploit human evolutionary novelty-seeking behavior.

Questions 32–36

Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A–G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 32–36 on your answer sheet.
NB: You may use any letter more than once.

Câu 32. A description of the dual-stage executive process required when alternating between tasks.
Câu 33. An explanation of how environmental exposure can facilitate cognitive recovery.
Câu 34. Evidence linking chronic digital distraction to physical structural alterations in brain tissue.
Câu 35. A physiological account of why individuals mistakenly believe multitasking feels rewarding.
Câu 36. The specific behavioral symptoms associated with the exhaustion of mental inhibitory control.

Questions 37–40

Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 37–40 on your answer sheet.

Câu 37. The executive operations that coordinate working memory and rule retrieval are primarily situated within the prefrontal ______.
Câu 38. The brief delay and metabolic drain incurred each time an individual switches objectives is designated the switch ______.
Câu 39. Neurologists observe that digital notifications stimulate the release of ______ inside the nucleus accumbens.
Câu 40. A reduction in the density of ______ matter has been documented in the anterior cingulate cortex of frequent multitaskers.

SECTION 2: ACADEMIC WRITING (60 MINUTES)

WRITING TASK 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart below illustrates global investments in three clean energy sectors (Solar Energy, Wind Power, and Biofuels) across four benchmark years: 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Values are expressed in billions of US Dollars ($bn).

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

[Biểu đồ]

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:

In recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and machine automation has begun transforming high-skilled professions, including medicine, law, and education.

Some people argue that this will inevitably render human expertise obsolete and lead to catastrophic unemployment among educated workers.

Others believe that artificial intelligence will merely augment human capability, creating more sophisticated and rewarding forms of employment.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

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