Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 529
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 529 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 529
READING PASSAGE – 3
The Golden Eagles of Scotland
A. The golden eagle is the largest and arguably the most impressive of British birds. Almost all breeding golden eagles in Britain are in Scotland, where the birds find the surroundings they prefer. Often they can be seen from up to a mile away, and the impression always is of sheer size, power and majesty.
B. The golden eagle prefers open, treeless areas to woods. Because of the climate in western Scotland, these usually upland conditions are present down to sea level and golden eagles are frequently found there at lower altitudes than in central Scotland. Golden eagles are sensitive to human disturbance and build their nests in remote, inaccessible places. Golden eagles in Scotland do not migrate and will remain in their breeding territories throughout the year. Young and nonbreeding birds avoid occupied territories in their search for suitable breeding areas.
IELTS General Reading Test
C. Golden eagles take several years to reach maturity and normally do not start producing young until they are 4 to 5 years old. The reproduction season continues almost all year. The females start to lay 1 to 3 eggs in early to mid April and incubate them for about 43 days. When they are hatched, the young spend 9 to 11 weeks in the nest before making their first flight. More often than not, only one chick will survive to leave the nest.
It is still not fully understood whether this is because of a lack of food or competition between the young birds. Young birds will remain in their parents’ territory into the early winter months, begging for food for as long as the adult will continue to feed them.
IELTS General Reading Test
D. Golden eagles will take any prey that is available, from small birds to snakes. In Scotland, they prefer hares and grouse and sometimes rabbits. In coastal areas, they prefer fulmars to gulls. Golden eagles are opportunistic feeders that will eat carrion as well as live prey if it is available. However, when eagles are feeding their young, a supply of live prey is much more important. A pair of eagles needs a huge territory of around 3,000 acres and they soar on thermals as they hunt their prey from the air.
Once an eagle spots prey, it swoops down at a speed of up to 150 km/h, striking and killing it with its fierce talons. Keen eyesight allows the eagle to see prey as small as a mouse or a lizard, but larger animals may be killed. Normally, larger mammals such as deer are only eaten if the eagle finds them as carrion.
IELTS General Reading Test
E. The main danger to golden eagles is from human activity. In the nineteenth century, many eagles were killed by farmers and gamekeepers in the belief that they killed large numbers of sheep and grouse. A few lambs may be killed, but mostly weak and sick ones which would probably die anyway. The lambs that eagles usually take are ones that are already dead; these may be carried back to the nest to be fed to the chicks. Golden eagles certainly do kill grouse, but research has shown that they do not eat nearly as many as gamekeepers used to suggest.
Fortunately, most farmers and gamekeepers now realise that the eagle is beneficial in controlling animals that are vermin, such as rats and rabbits. It is an important predator, helping to maintain an ecological balance within its habitat. Another serious danger is habitat destruction when forestry plantations take over the open areas over which the eagle likes to hunt. Also some pairs of eagles fail to breed or successfully rear their young when they are unintentionally disturbed by too many walkers or climbers passing close to their nests.
IELTS General Reading Test
F. Adult golden eagles are famous for the light golden brown colouring on their head, neck and shoulders. Their bodies are mostly a medium brown colour with lighter mottling. Golden eagles have a smaller head and longer tail than white-tailed eagles and there are also distinctive flight characteristics. The plumage of young golden eagles is a dark chocolate brown with very conspicuous white markings on the wings and upper parts of the tail. Golden eagles are rarely heard and adults generally only call when agitated. Hungry young birds make a loud ‘yip-yip’ sound that can be heard from some distance.
G. During the 1960s many golden eagles, as well as most other birds of prey, were affected by pollution from dangerous chemicals, such as DDT, which entered the food chains in their habitat. The eagles, being at the top of the food chains, were taking in considerable quantities of the chemicals from their prey; this either made them infertile or caused their egg shells to be so thin that they broke when the birds tried to incubate them.
IELTS General Reading Test
Fortunately, when the danger of these pesticides was realised, they were banned and since then the eagle has recovered in numbers to some extent. There are now around 500 breeding pairs, all in the remoter regions of Scotland, except for one pair which lives and nests around Hawes Water in the Lake District.
Questions 27 – 32
The reading passage on The Golden Eagles of Scotland has 7 paragraphs A – G. From the list of headings below choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B – G. Write the appropriate number (i – xi) in boxes 27 – 32 on your answer sheet. NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.
i. Diet
ii. World Legislation
iii. Threats
iv. The Greatest British Bird
v. Golden Eagle Migration
vi. Pesticide Pollution
vii. Habitat
viii. Population Explosion
ix. Breeding
x. Egg Collectors
xi. Identification
IELTS General Reading Test
27. Paragraph B
28. Paragraph C
29. Paragraph D
30. Paragraph E
31. Paragraph F
32. Paragraph G
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 33 – 40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in The Golden Eagles of Scotland?
YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
IELTS General Reading Test
33. Golden eagles are not often seen near the sea in Scotland because of the lack of altitude.
34. Juvenile golden eagles that have not yet laid claim to their own territories will try to keep away from the territories of other eagles.
35. It is now been proved that sibling rivalry leads to usually only one chick reaching maturity.
36. The parents of a young golden eagle accompany it on its first hunting expeditions.
37. Golden eagles are happy to feed on dead animals that they find.
38. Adult golden eagles are sometimes attacked by large animals such as foxes.
39. The appearance of golden eagles changes as they get older.
40. Scottish golden eagles will never fully recover their numbers after the effects of pesticides in their environment.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
27. VII
28. IX
29. I
30. III
31. XI
32. VI
33. NO
34. YES
35. NO
36. NOT GIVEN
37. YES
38. NOT GIVEN
39. YES
40. NOT GIVEN
IELTS General Reading Test