Mastering the IELTS Academic Reading Test With Answers
The IELTS Academic Reading Test With Answers helps you practice essential skills for the actual exam. Each passage reflects real IELTS question patterns and includes solutions for self-evaluation. By studying academic topics across science, culture, and education, you build confidence and improve your comprehension abilities.
Free IELTS Reading Practice Resources
Access IELTS Reading Test 1 Academic and IELTS Reading Practice Test Online Free to understand the test structure thoroughly. These free online tools simulate real exam conditions, helping you develop time management and scanning strategies. Reviewing answer explanations also allows you to correct mistakes and strengthen your test approach.
Improve Your Reading Strategy
Focus on identifying main ideas quickly and recognizing paraphrased words in the text. Practice with diverse passages, analyze results, and gradually increase your reading speed. With consistent preparation using these resources, achieving a higher band score becomes realistic and rewarding.
🚀 IELTS Academic Reading Passage 1: The Rise of Space Tourism and Commercial Space Travel
The dream of non-professional astronauts journeying into space is rapidly becoming a reality, signaling the dawn of the commercial space travel era. Space tourism, once a concept confined to science fiction, is now a viable industry. This shift is primarily driven by private companies, rather than governmental space agencies, who are developing reusable spacecraft and infrastructure at a scale previously unimaginable.
The groundwork for this industry was laid decades ago. The first official space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American engineer and businessman, who paid a reported $20 million to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2001. This landmark journey proved the feasibility of commercial access to low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Today, several pioneering companies are competing to democratize access to space. Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, focuses on suborbital spaceflight. Their SpaceShipTwo vehicle carries passengers to an altitude of over 80 kilometers, providing a few minutes of weightlessness and stunning views of Earth before gliding back. In contrast, companies like SpaceX (founded by Elon Musk) and Blue Origin (founded by Jeff Bezos) are aiming for orbital missions and beyond. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the Inspiration4 mission in September 2021, which was the first all-civilian crew to orbit the Earth.
The process for space tourists involves rigorous preparation. Participants must undergo extensive medical screening and several weeks of intensive training, which includes learning about spacecraft systems, emergency procedures, and coping with the physical demands of launch and microgravity. While the costs remain prohibitive for the average person, the increasing competition and advancements in rocketry are projected to steadily reduce the price over the next decade. Commercial space travel promises not only leisure trips but also new platforms for scientific research and manufacturing in space.
✅ Quiz Results
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