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350 articles in IELTS · page 8 of 15
Passage 1 THE BRIEF HISTORY OF TEA
A. The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, the Emperor Shen Nung was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts…
Passage 2 New filter promises clean water for millions
A. An ingenious invention is set to bring clean water to the third world, and while the science may be cutting edge, the materials are extremely down to earth. A handful …
Passage 2 The Discovery of baby mammoth
A. On a May morning in 2007, on the Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia, a Nenets reindeer herder named Yuri Khudi stood on a sandbar on the Yuribey River, looking ca…
Passage 2 Thoughtful Computing system
A. "YOUR BATTERY IS NOW FULLY CHARGED," ANNOUNCED THE LAPTOP COMPUTER to its owner, Donald A. Norman, with enthusiasm-perhaps even a hint of pride? in its synthetic voice…
Passage 3 Irish ELK
A. Toothed cats, mastodons, giant sloths, woolly rhinos, and many other big, shaggy mammals are widely thought to have died out around the end of the last ice age, some 1…
Passage 3 The Cause of Linguistic Change
A. The changes that have caused the most disagreement are those in pronunciation. We have various sources of evidence for the pronunciations of earlier times, such as the…
Passage 3 What makes a Musicial expert
A. Does that class of people acknowledged to be musical experts just have more of the same basic skills we are all endowed with, or do they have a set of abilities - or n…
Personality and Appearance
Personality and Appearance What the science says about judging character from faces — and why the human tendency to do so is both powerful and unreliable A. The tendency …
Photovoltaics on the Rooftop
A natural choice for powering the family home A. In the past, urban home owners have not always had much choice in the way electricity is supplied to their homes. Now, ho…
Playing Soccer
A Street soccer, as its name implies, is an informal variation of the sport, often played on the street, particularly in urban areas. There are many reasons for the wides…
Practical Learning in the Classroom
A teacher describes a case study involving middle school students and traditional earthen architecture A. The way we think about architecture in schools has come a long w…
Practical Learning in the Classroom
A The way we think about architecture in schools has come a long way. Once, studying architecture in the art class meant learning to appreciate great buildings art-histor…
Preserving Antarctic History
A. Few people conjuring up the 'most comfortable dwelling place imaginable' are likely to picture a wooden shelter on an island off the coldest continent on Earth. But th…
Public art programs: research update
A. Researcher Howard Spector suggests that active art experiences benefit all age groups by providing individuals with the means to freely and creatively express themselv…
Putting the Brakes on Climate Change
Are hydrogen cars the answer? A. It is tempting to think that the conservation of coral reefs and rainforests is a separate issue from traffic and air pollution. But it i…
Renewable Energy
An insight into the progress in renewable energy research The race is on for the ultimate goal of renewable energy: electricity production at prices that are competitive …
Rethinking the Past
It is by now a truism that the story of human evolution is being rethought. Discoveries have come thick and fast over the last decade or so, and these have forced us to r…
Revolutions in Mapping
A. Today, the mapmaker's vision is no longer confined to what the human eye can see. The perspective of mapmaking has shifted from the crow's nest of the sailing vessel, …
Roller Coaster: The Great Fairground Attraction
How they move Like a passenger train, a roller coaster consists of a series of connected cars that move on a track. But unlike a passenger train, it has no engine or powe…
Rubber
The plants that produce rubber are spread right across the globe, and grow in many different habitats. One might think it likely, therefore, that humankind has known abou…
Save the Leatherback Turtle
Save the Leatherback Turtle The world's largest sea turtle faces threats from every direction — and conservationists are racing to keep it alive A. The leatherback sea tu…
Saving the Bittern
A. The bittern, a British waterbird, does not have a good record as far as survival is concerned. By 1886, habitat destruction and other pressures had pushed it close to …
Saving the Saiga
The saiga, a species of antelope native to Central Asia, once roamed the vast grasslands of this region in enormous herds, many millions strong. Regrettably, such spectac…
Science and the Stradivarius
Uncovering the secret of quality A. Violins made by long-dead Italian craftsmen from the Cremona region are beautiful works of art, coveted by collectors as well as playe…