Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 499
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 499 – PASSAGE – 1

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 499
READING PASSAGE – 1
World Doughnut Day
World Doughnut Day inspired me to go out into the streets and get my carbohydrate fix from these delicious hot sugary snacks, but I had no idea there were so many around the world. There are many variations of the doughnut, from sophisticated foie gras savouries to gold flake-topped ultra-luxe varieties.
Some of my favourites include:
Beignet: Fried choux pastry dough, usually square-shaped without a hole. Eaten throughout France and also New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, where the beignet is also hugely popular thanks to the French colonists in the 18th century. The place to have them in this American city is at the Cafe du Monde where you can dig into freshly-fried beignets served with large heaps of powdered sugar.
IELTS General Reading Test
Churros: Usually choux pastry-based, these are piped through a star-shaped nozzle and fried in oil in long tube shapes. They are eaten throughout Spain and Latin America and are traditionally served fresh and hot for breakfast, dipped in bowls of thick hot chocolate. You can often find them served by street vendors at markets or on breakfast menus in cafes.
Krapfen: These treats are prepared with a sweetened yeast dough. They are circular, holeless cakes, fried in oil and then stuffed with a custard or fruity filling. They are quite popular in Germany.
IELTS General Reading Test
Baursaki: This is a sweet eggy-pastry fried in oil and served in the form of a ball or triangle without any holes. The treat is eaten all over Kazakhstan and in many non-European parts of Russia. Although it tastes sweet, the Baursaki is often served with tasty soups and broths.
Malasada: This small, egg-sized ball of fried dough, is traditionally shaped in a ball. Sometimes it may be slightly flattened and twisted to create a small hole, served usually in sugar. The pastry comes from Madeira and also the Azores islands, but migrant workers took the recipe with them to Hawaii, in the United States, where its people came to love the sweet fried treat and have made it their own.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 1-8
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
1.The …………………. is a European version of the treat popular in a southern city of the United States.
2. This form of the pastry is …………………. as a side with warm soups in some areas in Asia.
3. Consumed in the morning with warm chocolate, …………………. are a breakfast dish to much of the Spanish-speaking population.
4. This treat is filled with …………………. and is most popular in a European nation other than France.
IELTS General Reading Test
5. The …………………. was brought to an island in USA where it took on its own form.
6. The famous cafe in America that makes the food serves them with lots of ………………….
7. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, …………………. sell this form of the doughnut on neighbourhood corners and local coffee shops.
8. They are not the healthiest of foods since doughnuts are a …………………. source for those looking to count calories.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the texts below and answer Questions 9-14.
Treatments
The Arizona desert offers some of the world’s Best Spa therapies. In the heart of the state you’ll find the city of Scottsdale, which is considered the ‘spa capital’ of the world thanks to its plethora of destination spa resorts; it has more per capita than any other location in the world.
Below are some of the best treatments and locations for you to choose from during your stay.
The Golf Ball Massage
Where: The Four Seasons Hotel
What: Excellent before or after a day of golf. This unique therapeutic massage uses warmed golf balls and stretching techniques to knead tight muscles and ease golf-related stiffness.
IELTS General Reading Test
Turquoise Wrap
Where: Boulders Resort
What: This treatment is based on the Native American belief that turquoise is a colour of protection, confidence and positive energy. During this wrap, the therapist performs a rainstick ritual and uses essential oils to harmonise the spirit.
Magnet Scrub
Where: Hyatt Regency
What: This treatment begins with inhalations, body alignment and chakra balancing, then exfoliation with a special scrub and removal with neodymium magnets. Finally, an application of Diamond Body Cream.
Peaceful Healing Treatment
Where: Talking Stick Resort
What: This method is typically used to rehabilitate farmers, hunters and exhausted travellers. Raw pima cotton poultices are filled with steaming desert herbs to produce luxurious aromas that bring your mind to a state of rest. Rhythmic pressure is applied along energy pathways of the body, offering renewed feelings of vitality and balance.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 9-14
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the texts? In boxes 9-14 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
9. The Peaceful Healing Treatment uses local ingredients in a massage used to treat agricultural workers.
10 At the Hyatt Regency, customers do not receive an exfoliation with a scrub.
11 The New Mexico desert offers better spa options than Arizona.
12 A special cream is used with the Magnet Scrub treatment.
13 The Four Seasons Hotel offers a free lunch with their massage.
14 The Talking Stick Resort uses golf balls in its treatment options.
IELTS General Reading Test

IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
1. BEIGNET
2. OFTEN SERVED
3. CHURROS
4. CUSTARD (OR FRUITS)
5. MALASADA
6. POWDERED SUGAR
7. STREET VENDORS
8. CARBOHYDRATE
9. TRUE
10. FALSE
11. NOT GIVEN
12. TRUE
13. NOT GIVEN
14. FALSE
IELTS General Reading Test