ENSpeak the language you have been studying.
DESprich die Sprache, die du gelernt hast.
ESHabla el idioma que has estudiado.
ARتكلم اللغة التي درستها.
HIजो भाषा पढ़ी है, उसे बोलो।
URوہ زبان بولو جو سیکھی ہے۔
ZH说出你学过的那门语言。
PTFale o idioma que você estudou.
FRParle la langue que tu as étudiée.
JA勉強してきた言語を話そう。
ENSpeak the language you have been studying.
DESprich die Sprache, die du gelernt hast.
ESHabla el idioma que has estudiado.
ARتكلم اللغة التي درستها.
HIजो भाषा पढ़ी है, उसे बोलो।
URوہ زبان بولو جو سیکھی ہے۔
ZH说出你学过的那门语言。
PTFale o idioma que você estudou.
FRParle la langue que tu as étudiée.
JA勉強してきた言語を話そう。

IELTS Reading: geography passages

Oceans, rivers, weather, volcanoes and landscapes: how the physical world works and changes.

42 passages mainly about geography · 56 more that touch on it · from 91 full tests

Passages mainly about geography

Each passage opens as a timed 20-minute practice with its 13–14 questions. Submit to see your band estimate and the sentence that proves every answer.

Other passages that cover geography

These passages have a different main subject but deal with geography along the way.

56 passages

Key geography vocabulary

Words worth knowing before you read about geography, each with the sentence it appears in.

WordMeaningExample from a passage
geomorphologists
noun
scientists who study landforms and the processes that shape them“the largest fields of them, which geomorphologists call sand seas” Test 410
asymmetric
adjective
having two sides that are different in shape or size“Downwind of a growing mound the shape becomes asymmetric” Test 410
avalanches
noun
sudden slides of large amounts of material down a slope“steepened by avalanches until it stands at the angle of repose” Test 410
colonise
verb
to spread into and settle in a new place or habitat“other plants colonise it, lichen and moss spread over the surface” Test 410
exposed
adjective
open to the weather and not protected by anything“though faster rates are measured in exposed places” Test 410
dilute
adjective
made weaker by having water or another liquid added“The result is a very dilute solution of carbonic acid” Test 412
seeps
verb
moves slowly through very small openings in a material“as it seeps through soil it collects much more” Test 412
dormant
adjective
not currently growing or active, although still able to do so later“may add a fraction of that, and some are dormant” Test 412
reconstruct
verb
to build up a picture of something past from the evidence that survives“a long sequence of layers can be used to reconstruct past rainfall and temperature” Test 412
capillary
adjective
relating to the force that pulls liquid through very narrow spaces“Water may be forced through a tiny central channel by capillary pressure” Test 412
manifestations
noun
visible signs or forms in which something shows itself.“Of all the manifestations of volcanic heat, the geyser is the most spectacular and the rarest” Test 416
precipitates
verb
separates from a liquid and settles as a solid.“the silica precipitates out and is deposited around the vent” Test 416
delicate
adjective
easily damaged or easily put out of balance.“Because they depend on a delicate balance of pressure and flow” Test 416
confined
adjective
limited to a small enclosed space.“Water in a confined space can remain liquid well above its boiling point” Test 416
irregularities
noun
small uneven features or differences in something.“may depend on tiny irregularities in the rock or on gases dissolved in the water” Test 416
surf zone
noun
the band of water near the shore where waves break and churn“Water moves along the beach within the surf zone” Test 420
circulation
noun
a system in which water or air moves round and returns to where it started“A rip is best understood as part of a circulation system” Test 420
sediment
noun
sand and tiny solid particles that are carried along by water“sometimes carrying sediment or foam out to sea” Test 420
substantial
adjective
large in size, amount or importance rather than slight“rip currents are associated with a substantial share of drownings” Test 420
concentrated
verb
brought together into a smaller area so that the effect is stronger“becomes concentrated into a stream perhaps ten to thirty metres wide” Test 420
labyrinth
noun
a complicated network of passages in which it is easy to get lost“Visitors who descend into it enter a labyrinth of corridors, stairways and chambers excavated over seven centuries” Test 429
contorted
adjective
twisted or bent out of a simple or natural shape“the deposits were squeezed, folded and pushed upwards into steep, contorted seams” Test 429
revenue
noun
the money that a business or organisation receives from selling something“the revenue from the sale of salt was administered by officials appointed at court” Test 429
antiquated
adjective
old-fashioned and no longer considered efficient or useful“mechanical methods replaced hand cutting elsewhere, the Wieliczka workings came to seem antiquated” Test 429

Question types in these passages

  • Summary completion · 36 passages
  • Multiple choice (choose more than one) · 36 passages
  • Matching information · 27 passages
  • True / False / Not Given · 27 passages
  • Sentence completion · 26 passages
  • Note completion · 20 passages
  • Matching headings · 19 passages
  • Flow-chart completion · 17 passages
  • Short-answer questions · 17 passages
  • Multiple choice · 14 passages
  • Matching features · 12 passages
  • Table completion · 8 passages
  • Summary completion (word list) · 8 passages
  • Matching sentence endings · 4 passages
  • Diagram label completion · 4 passages
  • Yes / No / Not Given · 3 passages

Practise one question type at a time →

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