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BEST IELTS General Reading Test 490
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 490 – PASSAGE – 2

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 490
READING PASSAGE – 2
SEA TURTLE
From leatherbacks to loggerheads, six of the seven species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered at the hand of humans. Sadly, the fact is that they face many dangers as they travel the seas including accidental capture and entanglement in fishing gear (also known as bycatch), the loss of nesting and feeding sites to coastal development, poaching and ocean pollution including plastic. These creatures are well-adapted to the ocean though they require air to survive. Their size varies greatly, depending upon species from the small Kemp’s ridley, which weighs between 80-100 pounds, to the enormous leatherback, which can weigh more than 1,000 pounds.
Habitat & diet
Sea turtles live in almost every ocean basin throughout the world, nesting on tropical and subtropical beaches. They migrate long distances to feed, often crossing entire oceans. Some loggerheads nest in Japan and migrate to Baja California Sur, Mexico to forage before returning home again. Leatherbacks are capable of withstanding the coldest water temperatures (often below 40F) and are found as far south as Chile and as far north as Alaska.
IELTS General Reading Test
These reptiles spend their entire lives at sea, except when adult females come ashore to lay eggs several times per season every 2 to 5 years. After about sixty days, baby sea turtles (known as “hatchlings”) emerge from their sandy nests and make their way to the ocean attracted to the distant horizon. The juvenile turtles spend their first few years in the open oceans, eventually moving to protected bays, estuaries and other near shore waters as adults. Each species relies on a different diet: greens eat sea grasses, leatherbacks feed on jellyfish and soft-bodied animals, loggerheads eat heavy- shelled animals such as crabs and clams, hawksbills rely on sponges and other invertebrates and the Kemp’s ridley prefers crabs.
Human threats
These ancient creatures have been on Earth for more than 100 million years even surviving the dinosaurs when they became extinct 65 million years ago. Among the threats these marine reptiles face are entanglement, habitat loss, and consumption of their eggs and meat. Sea turtles often drown when caught in fishing gear. Coastal development can destroy important nesting sites, impact coral reefs, and artificial light from houses and other buildings attracts hatchlings away from the ocean. Pollution like plastic bags are often mistaken for food such as jellyfish and ingested, which blocks their intestines and potentially kills them. In some countries, they are hunted for their meat and shells and their eggs are eaten.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 15-20
Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS/OR A NUMBER from the above passage.
15. How many of the total species of sea turtles are endangered or threatened?
16. The presence of what causes the ocean pollution leading to decline in the populations of sea turtles?
17. Name the heaviest sea turtle with its weight on earth?
18. Which Southern and Northern state boasts of inhabiting sea turtles despite freezing temperatures?
19. How many days do the hatchlings take for emergence before immediately moving to the seas?
20. Sponges and other invertebrates constitute the diet of which species of sea turtles?
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer Questions 21-26.
A PARK
Three years ago, when I lived in HCM city, I really liked to go to a park which is called Gia Diònh park. It’s located not far from the main intersection of Phu Nhuan district. It’s free for people to visit, so I could go there whenever I wanted. Through the fluster of the traffic and the dust from the streets, the park was always quiet and pure thanks to its wideness and vegetation. There were many pathways around it. The plants are always in order and clipped well. The most important part of a park is the coolness and this park was very shady with many tall trees. I saw that most of benches around park were usually occupied.
GD Park also has many rooms for various purposes. For example, children have their playground in which they can ride mini bicycles or drive mini electric cars. Children can paint small gypseous statues with watercolor or fill pictures with colored sand. The brick red jungle gym sits there in its solitude, longing for some eager company. In between parts of the jungle gym is the bridge to partake in children’s fantasies from battling trolls or patrolling the fort.
IELTS General Reading Test
In the early mornings and the evenings, adults can use many sites for doing exercises, learning all kinds of dance such as break dance, dance sport, aerobic and so on. Many clubs gather here to perform their special capacity such as skating, magic, yoyo. I just walked around and watched children playing. They looked really jolly and energetic.
In short, there were many things to enjoy at that park. I really loved the freshness and the coolness which always eased my mind. The park offers a variety of scenery, which make the jog more worthwhile. As the end of the jog nears, my mind is refreshed and my body is energized for the day. Unforeseen thoughts pop into my head just as new answers for old problems unfold. Parks provide intrinsic environmental, aesthetic and recreation benefits to our cities. They are also a source of positive economic benefits.
IELTS General Reading Test
They enhance property values, increase municipal revenue, bring in homebuyers and workers and attract retirees. City parks and open space improve our physical and psychological health, strengthen our communities and make our cities and neighborhoods more attractive places to live and work. Numerous studies have shown the social, environmental, economic and health benefits parks bring to a city and its people. One beautiful morning run can change your day and make all the difference.
Questions 21-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text above?
In boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE – if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE – if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN – if there is no information on this
IELTS General Reading Test
21. The flora of the park aggrandizes the temperature than in the city.
22. Parks provide environmental, aesthetic and divertissement benefits to our cities.
23. The park is a well pruned and preserved area of land meant for people to come, relax and enjoy.
24. Many beautiful birds had built their nests in the trees lining the park.
25. The brick red jungle in the park waits for its apple harvest.
26. A child’s fantasies are all catered for in the park area.
IELTS General Reading Test

IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. SIX OF SEVEN
16. PLASTIC
17. LEATHERBACK, 1000 POUNDS
18. CHILE & ALASKA
19. SIXTY/60
20. HAWKSBILLS
21. FALSE
22. TRUE
23. TRUE
24. NOT GIVEN
25. FALSE
26. TRUE
IELTS General Reading Test