Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Reading Test 1

• 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 16 Test 1 covers ecology, ancient engineering and the workplace. Passage 1, Why we need to protect polar bears, links Arctic warming to wider ecological consequences. Passage 2, The Step Pyramid of Djoser, describes Imhotep's sixth-dynasty Egyptian monument and its construction. Passage 3, The future of work, reports consultancy estimates that 3–14 per cent of workers will need to switch occupations within fifteen years.

Passage 1 carries seven True/False/Not Given and a six-row table completion — the table is the most efficient block to start with because it forces sequential reading. Passage 2 has seven headings, four note completions and a two-answer multiple choice on the pyramid. Passage 3 closes with four multiple choice, a four-gap summary and a six-item matching task linking views on automation to named experts. The matching block is where the test really earns its difficulty — start with the most distinctive surname.

Allow seventeen minutes on polar bears, eighteen on Djoser, twenty-two on automation, leaving three minutes to transfer. The future of work passage is opinion-rich, with several named experts taking quietly different positions, so flag attribution carefully. Polar bears travel huge distances for small rewards; you should not.

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