Practice
Original, full-length practice sets. Start one to enter the exam room.
Reading, scored the moment you submit
Full-length Reading with instant marking and an indicative band. Start Academic Reading — The Living Light of the Deep (AC-READ-001) · 10 questions.
Reading
40 sets · Live
Academic Reading — The Living Light of the Deep
A single Academic Reading passage on bioluminescence with 10 questions (True/False/Not Given, multiple choice, and sentence completion).
Academic Reading — Rivers, Spice and the Wandering Mind
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on beaver reintroduction, the medieval spice trade and the psychology of procrastination.
Academic Reading — Water, Time and Two Languages
A full-length Academic Reading test with three original passages on desalination, the mechanical clock and bilingualism, and 40 questions.
Academic Reading — Reefs, Tea and the Paradox of Choice
A full-length Academic Reading test spanning coral reef restoration, the cultural history of tea, and the paradox of choice.
Academic Reading — Farms, Roads and Sleep
A full-length Academic Reading test with three original passages on vertical farming, the Silk Road, and how sleep consolidates memory (40 questions).
Academic Reading — Fungi, Maps and Nudges
Full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on mycorrhizal fungi, the history of cartography, and nudge theory.
Academic Reading — Lenses, Tree Rings and the Measure of a Nation
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on lighthouse optics, the science of dating wood by its growth rings, and the limitations of gross domestic product.
Academic Reading — Bees, Weather and the Puzzle of Altruism
A full-length Academic Reading test with three original passages on honeybee communication, the history of weather forecasting and the evolution of altruism, and 40 questions.
Academic Reading — Hidden Oceans, Salt and the Narrow Beam
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the ocean moons of the outer solar system, the history of food preservation and the cognitive psychology of attention.
Academic Reading — Spans, Journeys and Numbers
A full-length Academic Reading test with three original passages on bridge engineering, animal migration and the philosophy of measurement, and 40 questions.
Academic Reading — Colour, Water and the Spread of Ideas
A full-length Academic Reading test covering the history of dyeing, how cities are supplied with water, and the way information travels through networks.
Academic Reading — Stone, Current and Speech
A full-length Academic Reading test with three original passages on how fossils form, the balancing of electricity grids and energy storage, and why languages change over time (40 questions).
Academic Reading — Drains, Kilns and Conservators
Full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the history of public sanitation, glass and ceramics technology, and the science of art conservation.
Academic Reading — Soil, Steam and the Difficulty That Helps
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the science of agricultural soil, the history of rail transport and research into memory and learning.
Academic Reading — Thirst, Transparency and the Homework Wars
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how desert plants survive drought, the history of glassmaking and the long argument over whether homework benefits school pupils.
Academic Reading — Compasses, Causeways and Contested Streets
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how migrating birds navigate, the archaeology of ancient road networks and the argument over car-free cities.
Academic Reading — Sour Dough, Fixed Yardsticks and Contested Treasures
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the microbiology of sourdough, the invention of standardised measurement and the argument over returning cultural objects.
Academic Reading — Restless Mountains, Cowpox and the Empty Office
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on volcano monitoring and forecasting, the history of vaccination and the disputed benefits of remote work.
Academic Reading — Frost, Type and the Captive Ark
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on animal survival in extreme cold, the printing press and the growth of literacy, and the debate over whether zoos serve conservation.
Academic Reading — Whale Song, Clockwork and the Creative Mind
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on underwater sound and whale communication, the history of clocks and standard time, and the debate over whether creativity can be taught.
Academic Reading — Seeds, Threads and Crowded Ruins
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on seed dispersal and seed banking, the archaeology of early textiles and dyeing, and the argument over tourism at heritage sites.
Academic Reading — Wind, Beans and the Measure of Merit
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how bridges withstand wind and load, the history of coffee cultivation and trade, and the debate over standardised testing.
Academic Reading — Lightning, Shipwrecks and the Judgement of Rules
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the physics of lightning, the rise of underwater archaeology and the long argument between expert judgement and statistical rules.
Academic Reading — Bats, Concrete and the Case for Culture
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how bats hunt by echo, the long history of concrete, and the argument over public funding for the arts.
Academic Reading — Meanders, Anaesthesia and Sleeping Tongues
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the science of river meanders, the conquest of surgical pain and the debate over reviving dormant languages.
Academic Reading — Chemical Whispers, Deep Water and the Shorter Week
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on chemical signalling between plants, the history of the submarine and undersea exploration, and the debate over shortening the working week.
Academic Reading — Memory, Paper and the Wild
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on immunological memory, the history of papermaking and the argument over how far wilderness should be managed.
Academic Reading — Sand, Silver and the Price of a Degree
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the formation of deserts and desertification, the invention of photography, and the argument over free university tuition.
Academic Reading — Anthills, Towpaths and the Creative Machine
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on swarm intelligence in ant colonies, the engineering history of inland waterways, and the debate over whether machines can be genuinely creative.
Academic Reading — Ice, Spice and the Question of Working Longer
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how glaciers move and what ice cores record, the long history of the spice trade, and the argument over whether people should be expected to work later into life as lifespans lengthen.
Academic Reading — Halls, Songs and the View Outward
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the acoustics of concert halls, how young birds learn to sing, and the argument over public spending on space exploration.
Academic Reading — Scent, Fire and the Case for a Floor
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the human sense of smell, the argument that cooking reshaped the human body, and the case for a universal basic income.
Academic Reading — Living Light, Horses and the Gatekeepers of Science
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how living organisms make their own light, the long argument about when the horse was domesticated, and the debate over peer review and open access publishing.
Academic Reading — Suds, Spokes and Selling to the Young
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the chemistry and history of soap and detergents, the invention and social consequences of the bicycle, and the argument over advertising aimed at children.
Academic Reading — Tides, Wolves and Judgement by Numbers
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the science and uses of the tide, the domestication of the dog, and the argument over whether decisions about individual people should be delegated to statistical models.
Academic Reading — Hot Streets, First Pots and Expensive Games
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on why cities are hotter than the countryside, the origins of pottery, and the case for and against publicly funded sporting mega-events.
Academic Reading — Resistance, Wings and the Case for Zoos
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on the rise and spread of antibiotic resistance, the disputed origins of insect flight, and whether zoos deserve to survive.
Academic Reading — Frozen Ground, Elastic Trees and the Uses of Curiosity
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on permafrost and the engineering of frozen ground, the global history of rubber, and the argument over public funding for research with no foreseeable application.
Academic Reading — Mountains, Names and the Case for the Library
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how mountain ranges are built and worn away, the naming and classification of living things, and the argument over public funding for libraries.
Academic Reading — Colour, Codes and Costly Ambitions
A full-length Academic Reading test with three passages on how animals detect colour, the decipherment of lost writing systems, and the argument over cost overruns on very large infrastructure projects.