IELTS Reading · Academic · Computer-delivered

IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test 3: The Science of Sleep, Biomimicry in Engineering, The Psychology of Decision Making

This is IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test 3 on the computer-delivered screen, with 3 passages: The Science of Sleep, Biomimicry in Engineering, The Psychology of Decision Making. You can start it free in your browser — no download.

• 60 minutes
• 40 questions
• Reading passages on screen

What is in this test

• Passage 1

  The Science of Sleep

  What happens in the brain during each stage of sleep, and what researchers have found when people are kept awake.

• Passage 2

  Biomimicry in Engineering

  Engineers copy shapes and surfaces from plants and animals, from kingfisher beaks on trains to shark skin on swimsuits.

• Passage 3

  The Psychology of Decision Making

  Why people make predictable mistakes when they choose, and how the way a choice is presented changes the answer.

Question types in this test

This test uses 7 of the Reading question types. Each one links to what it asks for and the mistakes that cost marks:

• True / False / Not Given
• Sentence completion
• Matching headings
• Note completion
• Matching features
• Multiple choice (one answer)
• Summary completion

Timing and marking

You get 60 minutes for all 40 questions, and there is no extra time at the end to copy answers across — on screen, what you type is already your answer.

There are 40 questions, one mark each, so your raw score is out of 40. The results screen shows which questions you got right, grouped by question type, so you can see where the marks went.

What is different on a computer

The passage sits on one side and the questions on the other, with a divider you can drag. You select text and highlight it instead of underlining with a pencil, and you can search the passage. Practising that is the point of this site.