AcademIELTS Original — Reading Test 2

• Read each passage carefully. You can highlight text by selecting and right-clicking.
• Answer all 40 questions. Move freely between parts using the question palette.
• Submit before time runs out — auto-submit at 60:00.

The second Originals paper is a humanities-leaning set that rewards careful reading and a steady eye for vocabulary. Passage 1 tells the story of how the modern public library evolved from cloistered scholarly collections into a free civic institution open to ordinary readers. Passage 2 examines the engineering and labour behind medieval European stone bridges, including the difficult foundation work in flowing rivers. Passage 3 documents the disappearance of natural dyes drawn from roots, bark, insects and shellfish, and the small workshops now reviving them.

You will face True/False/Not Given and note completion on the library passage, then a tougher central block on bridges that combines matching information (six items), three multiple-choice and a four-gap summary. Matching information is the tactical hinge of this test: read every paragraph for its main point and one supporting detail before scanning the questions. The history of dyes in Passage 3 uses many proper names, so underline them on your first pass.

Plan around fifteen minutes for the library, twenty for the bridges, and twenty-two for the dyes, leaving three minutes to recheck spelling on the completion answers. Old crafts reward patient readers — pace yourself, and let each passage breathe.

New to this skill? Read the Reading question types guide for tactics, scoring rules, and frequency analysis across Cambridge 10–20. Or browse all Reading practice tests.

Looking for written strategy? See the IELTS Blog for in-depth posts.