IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145

IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 ( Passage 1 Research using twins, Passage 2 Is it time to halt the rising tide of plastic packaging?, Passage 3 When evolution runs backwards ) we prefer you to work offline, download the test paper, and blank answer sheet.

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For Answers Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Answers

Reading Passage 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Reading Passage REIKI below.

REIKI 

{A}. The spiritual practice of Reiki was first introduced in the early 20th century in Japan and continues to be used by its followers today with the intention of treating physical, emotional and mental imbalances and consequent ill-health. The principles of Reiki involve techniques employed by practitioners they say will channel healing energy through the subject’s body, and advocates hold that these techniques can also be used for self-healing. The name of the practice itself stems from two Japanese characters, pronounced ‘rei’ which translates to ‘unseen’ or ‘spiritual’ and ‘ki’ meaning ‘life force’ or ‘energy’. 

{B}. According to Reiki philosophy, only by undergoing an attunement process performed by a Reiki Master is an individual able to access, then channel this positive energy within, this ability once established is considered to be enduring. Once attuned, it is said that an individual has the ability to allow energy to flow to weak or diseased areas of the body, activating a natural healing process. Reiki energy is considered to be ‘intelligent energy’ in that it automatically flows to such areas; for this reason, practitioners believe that diagnosis of a specific problem is unnecessary beforehand and that the practice can be used as preventative medicine and encourage healing prior to the onset of tangible symptoms. Since healing initiated by Reiki treatment is entirely natural, many practitioners are confident that it can be used alongside any other type of treatment without adverse effect; however, others recommend that since the patient may undergo significant internal improvement for certain ailments – diabetes, for example – careful monitoring is required since such improvements may establish a need for an alteration in medication requirements. 

{C}. A ‘whole body’ Reiki treatment session typically lasts between 90 minutes. The subject is required to lie down – often on a treatment table – clothed in comfortable and loose-fitting attire. Treatment may involve the practitioner placing their hands on the recipient in a variety of positions; however, some therapists take a non-touching approach, holding their hands a few centimetres away from the body. Hands are usually held in one position for up to 5 minutes before moving on to the next part of the body; between 12 and 20 hand positions are generally used. Those who have undergone a Reiki treatment session often state that they experienced a pleasant warmness in the area of focus and a feeling of contentment and relaxation throughout the session. 

{D}. The healing energy is said to originate in the universe itself and is not the passing of personal energy from practitioner to the patient; it is therefore thought to be inexhaustible and the personal well-being of the practitioner uncompromised. While some masters and teachers hold that subjects must be receptive to the concept in order for energy to flow, others believe that the attitude of the patient is of no consequence and that benefits will follow regardless; for this reason, those following the latter school of thought say that since Reiki requires no conscious belief it can also benefit the well-being of animals and plant life. 

{E}. Controversy surrounds the practice of Reiki, some in opposition as they say that Reiki may offer only a perceived improvement in health and therefore only a ‘placebo’ effect. Whilst the practice of Reiki itself is not necessarily considered potentially harmful, some medical practitioners are concerned that its benefits may be overestimated by patients and that, as a result, they may ignore or abandon conventional treatments. Others argue against the reliability of Reiki due to the lack of regulation of practitioners, holding that patients may be left vulnerable to illegitimate therapists who lack knowledge and skill. While Reiki is not connected to any particular religious doctrine, some religious leaders oppose the practice for spiritual reasons; however, others hold that the meditative principles involved in treatment have enhanced their own ability to explore and embrace their own particular religion. 

{F}. Limited scientific studies in the authenticity of Reiki have been conducted. During research conducted by the Institute of Neurological Studies at South Glasgow University Hospital, it was observed that there was a significant decrease in heart rate and blood pressure amongst subjects receiving 30 minutes of Reiki treatment as opposed to a group receiving placebo treatment of 30 minutes rest. Since the test group consisted of a small number of subjects just 45 – the research recommendations concluded a requirement for further studies. A similarly small preliminary study into the potential effects of Reiki on patients suffering mild dementia, conducted in the USA, tentatively suggested that treatment had a positive effect on the subjects’ memory abilities; however, research limitations included insufficient analysis of potential placebo effects. 

{G}. Other studies have also attempted to determine the correlation between Reiki treatment and improvement in cancer and stroke patients. Whilst investigations into the first condition indicated a seemingly positive effect on degrees of fatigue, pain, and stress experienced by sufferers, the second project failed to reveal a link between treatment and improvement in the subjects’ condition and rehabilitation. Theories have been put forward that the benefits of energy treatments such as Reiki may be scientifically attributed to the effect of electromagnetic fields; however, the majority of researchers agree that more extensive investigation is required. 

IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145Questions 1-3 

Choose THREE letters A-H. 

Write your answers in boxes 1- 3 on your answer sheet 

Your answers may be given in any order 

Which THREE of the following statements are true of Reiki? 

(A). Principles for self-healing differ from those used on others. 

(B). Attunement is said to have a permanent effect on the recipient. 

(C). Its preventative properties are more significant than cure. 

(D). There are differences in opinion regarding its use with other therapies. 

(E). The treatment typically involves contact between the therapist and the patient. 

(F). The recipient’s own energy is the key to the philosophy. 

(G). Some therapists believe a pessimistic approach affects results. 

(H). It is only practised on human subjects. 

Questions 4-9 

Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A-G. 

Which paragraph contains the following information? You can use each paragraph more than once. 

(4). A scientific explanation of why Reiki may have positive effects. 

(5). An overview of the practicalities of how Reiki is performed. 

(6). The prerequisite required to experience Reiki benefits. 

(7). When a patient’s faith and expectations cause concern. 

(8). The immediate effects can be experienced by recipients. 

(9). The safety of conducting therapy for practitioners. 

Questions 10-13 

According to the information in Reading Passage 1, 

Classify the following research findings into the benefits of Reiki as relating to 

(A) The Institute of Neurological Studies 

(B) Research conducted in the USA 

(C) Cancer research 

(D) Stroke research 

Write the correct letter A, B, C or D in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet 

(10). The groups’ comfort and quality of life appeared to improve. 

(11). No apparent links were identified. 

(12). Results were compared to a control group who did not receive Reiki treatment 

(13). Recollection ability seemed to be enhanced. 

Reading Passage 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on the IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Reading Passage Gifted children and learning below.

Gifted children and learning 

{A} Internationally, ‘giftedness’ is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test, known as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cutoff point, usually at around the top 2-5%. Children’s educational environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision ( Freeman, 2010). The higher the children’s IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly influenced by what the child has learned, they are to some extent measures of current achievement based on age norms; that is, how well the children have learned to manipulate their knowledge and know­ how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary aspect, for example, is dependent on having heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the processes of learning and thinking nor predict creativity. 

{B} Excellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in any area, very able children need the means to learn, which includes material to work with and focus on challenging tuition -and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation. To be at their most effective in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to identify their own ways of learning -metacognition – which will include strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn. Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around the area to be learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example. 

{C} High achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks. This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, (Shore and Kanevsky , 1993) put the instructor’s problem succinctly: ‘ If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice ‘. But of course, this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of the many ways individuals think. 

{D} Yet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy. Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teachers risks loss of autonomy and motivation to discover. However, when teachers or pupils reflect on their own learning and thinking activities, they increase their pupils’ self­ regulation. For a young child, it may be just the simple question ‘What have you learned today?’ which helps them to recognise what they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of education is to transfer the control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving pupils’ learning to learn techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child­ initiated learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas. 

{E} But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is so vital to outstanding performance: individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not ( Elshout , 1995). Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great demands of effort and time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise mixed with a high level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993). 

{F} To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advancement, because it motivates problem-solving behaviour. In Boekaerts’ (1991) review of emotion, the learning of very high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency and increase their own learning resources. 

Questions 14-17 

Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F. 

Which paragraph contains the following information? 

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet 

NB You may use any letter more than once. 

(14) a reference to the influence of the domestic background on the gifted child. 

(15) reference to what can be lost if learners are given too much guidance. 

(16) a reference to the damaging effects of anxiety. 

(17) examples of classroom techniques that favour socially disadvantaged children. 

IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Questions 18-22 

Look at the following statements (Questions 18-22) and the list of people below. 

Match each statement with the correct person or people, A-E.

Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet. 

(18) Less time can be spent on exercises with gifted pupils who produce accurate work. 

(19) Self-reliance is a valuable tool that helps gifted students reach their goals. 

(20) Gifted children know how to channel their feelings to assist their learning. 

(21) The very gifted child benefits from appropriate support from close relatives. 

(22) Really successful students have learnt a considerable amount about their subject. 

List of People 

(A) Freeman 

(B) Shore and Kanevsky 

(C) Elshout 

(D) Simonton 

(E) Boekaerts 

IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Questions 23-26 

Complete the sentences below. 

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. 

Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet. 

(23) One study found a strong connection between children’s IQ and the availability of …………..and …………… at home. 

(24) Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not have ……………. 

(25) Meta-cognition involves children understanding their own learning strategies, as well as developing ………….. 

(26) Teachers who rely on what is known as …………… often produce sets of impressive grades in-class tests. 

Reading Passage 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on the IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Reading Passage The effects of light on plant and animal species below.

The effects of light on plant and animal species 

Light is important to organisms for two different reasons. Firstly it is used as a cue for the timing of daily and seasonal rhythms in both plants and animals, and secondly, it is used to assist growth in plants. 

Breeding in most organisms occurs during a part of the year only, and so a reliable cue is needed to trigger breeding behaviour. Day length is an excellent cue because it provides a perfectly predictable pattern of change within the year. In the temperate zone in spring, temperatures fluctuate greatly from day to day, but day length increases steadily by a predictable amount. The seasonal impact of day length on physiological responses is called photoperiodism, and the amount of experimental evidence for this phenomenon is considerable. For example, some species of birds’ breeding can be induced even in midwinter simply by increasing day length artificially (Wolfson 1964). Other examples of photoperiodism occur in plants. A short-day plant flowers when the day is less than a certain critical length. A long-day plant flower after a certain critical day length is exceeded. In both cases, the critical day length differs from species to species. The plant which flower after a period of vegetative growth, regardless of photoperiod, are known as day-neutral plants. 

Breeding seasons in animals such as birds have evolved to occupy the part of the year in which offspring have the greatest chances of survival. Before the breeding season begins, food reserves must be built up to support the energy cost of reproduction, and to provide for young birds both when they are in the nest and after fledging. Thus many temperate-zone birds use the increasing day lengths in spring as a cue to begin the nesting cycle, because this is a point when adequate food resources will be assured. 

The adaptive significance of photoperiodism in plants is also clear. Short-day plants that flower in spring in the temperate zone are adapted to maximising seedling growth during the growing season. Long-day plants are adapted for situations that require fertilization by insects, or a long period of seed ripening. Short-day plants that flower in the autumn in the temperate zone are able to build up food reserves over the growing season and over winter as seeds. Day-neutral plants have an evolutionary advantage when the connection between the favourable period for reproduction and day length is much less certain. For example, desert annuals germinate, flower and seed whenever suitable rainfall occurs, regardless of the day length. 

The breeding season of some plants can be delayed to extraordinary lengths. Bamboos are perennial grasses that remain in a vegetative state for many years and then suddenly flower, fruit and die (Evans 1976). Every bamboo of the species Chusquea abietifolio on the island of Jamaica flowered, set seed and died during 1884. The next generation of bamboo flowered and died between 1916 and 1918, which suggests a vegetative cycle of about 31 years. The climatic trigger for this flowering cycle is not yet known, but the adaptive significance is clear. The simultaneous production of masses of bamboo seeds (in some cases lying 12 to 15 centimetres deep on the ground) is more than all the seed-eating animals can cope with at the time, so that some seeds escape being eaten and grow up to form the next generation (Evans 1976). 

The second reason light is important to organisms is that it is essential for photosynthesis. This is the process by which plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon from soil or water into organic material for growth. The rate of photosynthesis in a plant can be measured by calculating the rate of its uptake of carbon. There is a wide range of photosynthetic responses of plants to variations in light intensity. Some plants reach maximal photosynthesis at one-quarter full sunlight, and others, like sugarcane, never reach a maximum, but continue to increase photosynthesis rate as light intensity rises. 

Plants, in general, can be divided into two groups: shade-tolerant species and shade-intolerant species. This classification is commonly used in forestry and horticulture. Shade-tolerant plants have lower photosynthetic rates and hence have lower growth rates than of shade-intolerant species. Plant species become adapted to living in a certain kind of habitat, and in the process evolve a series of characteristics that prevent them from occupying other habitats. Grime (1966) suggests that light may be one of the major components directing these adaptations. For example, eastern hemlock seedlings are shade-tolerant. They can survive in the forest understorey under very low light levels because they have a low photosynthetic rate. 

IELTSFever Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Questions 27-33 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? 

TRUE if the statement is True
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN If the information is not given in the passage

(27) There is plenty of scientific evidence to support photoperiodism. 

(28) Some types of bird can be encouraged to breed out of season. 

(29) Photoperiodism is restricted to certain geographic areas. 

(30) Desert annuals are examples of long-day plants. 

(31) Bamboos flower several times during their life cycle. 

(32) Scientists have yet to determine the cue for Chusquea abietifolia’s seasonal rhythm. 

(33) Eastern hemlock is a fast-growing plant. 

Questions 34-40 

Complete the sentences. 

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. 

(34) Day length is a useful cue for breeding in areas where it is unpredictable. 

(35) Plants which do not respond to light levels are referred to as . 

(36) Birds in temperate climates associate longer days with nesting and the availability of 

(37) Plants that flower when days long often depend on to help them reproduce. 

(38) Desert annuals respond to as a signal for reproduction. 

(39) There is no limit to the photosynthetic rate in plants such as. 

(40) Tolerance to shade is one criterion for the plants in forestry and horticulture. 

For Answers Academic IELTS Reading Test 145 Answers

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