Cambridge IELTS 10 Academic Reading Test 3

• 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.

Cambridge 10 Test 3 spans tourism, biology and Pacific archaeology. Passage 1, on the context and scope of tourism, defines the field and traces its history from prehistoric travel onwards. Passage 2 follows Canadian writer Jay Ingram as he investigates why leaves turn red in the autumn — pigments, sunlight, tree health and theories of why the colour change exists at all. Passage 3, Beyond the blue horizon, reports an archaeological discovery on the island of Efate that reshapes our picture of ancient Pacific seafaring.

Question types tilt towards detail tracking. Passage 1 combines four headings, six True/False/Not Given and three sentence completions. Passage 2 is the centrepiece, with five matching information items, four note completions, three True/False/Not Given and one multiple choice — start with the most specific note completion gaps to anchor your scan. Passage 3 ends with summary completion, multiple choice and five Yes/No/Not Given.

Aim for fifteen minutes on tourism, twenty-two on autumn leaves, and twenty on the Pacific dig, with three minutes to spare. Travel light through the first passage; spend your reserves where the colours change.

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.