IELTS general reading locating information practice questions

Table of contents

1. IELTS general reading locating information practice questions
2. 2 IELTS general reading locating information practice questions & tips to solve them (With Answer Key)
3. IELTS general reading locating information practice question 1
4. IELTS general reading locating information practice question 2
5. Answers for practice questions
6. IELTS general reading locating information question list for practice
7. Conclusion

The IELTS general reading locating information question has some points taken from the passages (A, B, C,...). Your task is to match the points to the passages to locate the correct passage containing the relevant information. Remember that your answer must be the letter of the passage, not the text or phrases. We've provided 3 IELTS general reading locating information practice questions in this article to familiarise you with the locating information question type.

Take a complete glance at this article to learn more about the locating information question type as it  is one of the highly important IELTS general reading question types. You will get at least 3 IELTS general reading locating information practice questions in this article. We believe that you will get an idea about the locating information question type after trying all the given practice questions. So, you can score high in your final IELTS general reading. 

2 IELTS general reading locating information practice questions & tips to solve them (With Answer Key)

Before you start looking for the IELTS general reading locating information practice questions, you should be aware of a few tips. First, skim through the passages to see what kind of information they include. Then, read the questions and highlight the keywords. Scan the paragraphs for the keywords and look for related information. 

Also, read IELTS general reading tips

IELTS general reading locating information practice question 1

Answer questions 1- 6 which are based on the reading passage below.

The Penny Black

1. The Penny Black, which is now 170 years old, was the first stamp ever made and was instrumental in the establishment of the modern postal system in the United Kingdom. To utilise the Royal Mail before 1840, when the Penny Black was introduced, you had to be wealthy and patient. A 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today's money, depending on the distance travelled and the number of sheets of paper used. When the top-hatted mail carrier arrived to deliver it, the receiver was responsible for paying the postage.
2. Letter writers used different ruses to cut costs, trying everything they could to fit as many words as possible onto a page. Nobody used hefty envelopes anymore; instead, letters were folded and wax-sealed. You then had to find a post office (there were no pillar boxes) and pray that your addressee didn't dwell in one of the system's unserved rural districts. If you were lucky, your letter would reach without being read or filtered (this may take days).
3. The state of mail had been a source of concern during the 1830s, but it was Kidderminster's Rowland Hill, an inventor, teacher, and social reformer, who presented a viable solution. Concerned that a broken, expensive system would suffocate communication at a time when Britain was undergoing its second industrial revolution, he believed that reform would facilitate the spread of ideas and encourage trade and business, fulfilling the same promise as the new railways.
4. Hill's penny post-proposal, which would allow any letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) to be sent anywhere in Britain for about 30p in today's money, was so radical that the Postmaster-General, Lord Lichfield, described it as "the most extravagant" of all the "wild and visionary schemes" he had ever heard of. Lord Lichfield advocated for a ruling class that did not believe that poor people needed to post anything. Hill, on the other hand, was supported by merchants and reformers. Soon after, the government instructed him to carry out his plan. This necessitated the creation of a new sort of currency.
5. Hill swiftly landed on a piece of paper with a sticky wash on the back that the user could glue to the back of a letter with a little wetness'. Stamps would be printed on 240-sheets that could be cut using scissors or a knife. It wouldn't be until 1854 that perforations were introduced. The concept caught on, and in August 1839, the Treasury announced a design competition accessible to "all artists, men of science, and the general public." The new stamp would have to be resistant to fraud, so Hill took a suggestion from Mr. Cheverton and turned it into one of the most eye-catching designs in history.

Questions 1- 6

This reading passage has eight paragraphs, A– E.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A- E, as your answer to each question.

Note: You may use any letter more than once. 

1. Kidderminster's Rowland Hill felt that reform would facilitate the spread of opinions and boost trade and business, fulfilling the exact promise of the new railways.

2. The receiver was responsible for paying the postage when the top-hatted postal courier arrived to deliver it.

3. Hill took a suggestion from Mr. Cheverton and turned it into one of the most eye-catching designs in history.

4. To save money, letter writers used various ruses, attempting to cram as many words as possible onto a page.

5. Lord Lichfield argued for a ruling class that did not believe the poor should post anything.

6. Instead of using bulky envelopes, letters were folded and wax-sealed.

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IELTS general reading locating information practice question 2 

Answer questions 1- 6 which are based on the reading passage below.

Glow-worms

1. The glow-worm is a member of the Lampyridae, or firefly, a family of beetles. Fireflies are a diverse group of insects with over 2000 species with new ones being discovered all the time. The capacity of fireflies and glowworms to produce a spectacular show of light is one of their most enticing characteristics. Adult fireflies utilise the light to attract a mate, and each species must create its unique 'call-sign' to prevent being confused with other species that are shining nearby. So, within a given area, each species will differ in some way from its neighbours, such as the colour or pattern of its light, the duration of its light pulses, the interval between pulses, and whether it displays in flight or from the ground.
2. For decades, humans have been drawn to the firefly's almost magical glow. It is documented in an old Chinese encyclopaedia written by a Confucius pupil around 2000 years ago. In Japanese and Arabian folk medicine, fireflies are frequently seen. They've been the subject of innumerable poems, paintings, and stories all around the world. There are numerous accounts in the United Kingdom telling how glowworms have been used to read by or as emergency bicycle lamps when a cyclist's batteries have failed unexpectedly. Early New World explorers returned with similar tales of Central American natives collecting a sort of click beetle and releasing them indoors to light up their houses. Girls strung them around their feet at night to light up the forest trails.
3. Fireflies that are remarkably similar to those we see now have been discovered fossilised in rocks produced around 30 million years ago, and their ancestors were most likely blazing long before that. The exact date and location of the first firefly's appearance are unknown. The tropics of South America have the highest concentrations of firefly species today, which could indicate that this is where they first developed or that they simply enjoy the circumstances there. Fireflies have since expanded to practically every corner of the planet, regardless of where they first appeared. Outside of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, members of the firefly family can now be found practically wherever.
4. The glow-life worms are separated into four distinct stages, similar to that of many insects: the egg, the larva (akin to a butterfly's caterpillar), the pupa (or chrysalis), and the adult. The glow-worm hatches from a pale yellow egg in the autumn. The surface of a newly placed egg is incredibly fragile, but it hardens into a shell within a day. The egg takes about 35 days to hatch on average, but the actual time depends on the temperature, ranging from around 27 days in hot weather to more than 45 days in cold weather. The glow-light worm's organ is fully formed by the time the egg is ready to hatch, and its glow indicates that the egg will hatch shortly.
5. The larva progressively grows from a few centimetres to the size and shape of a matchstick after it has left the egg. The bug can only feed during its larval stage. The larva spends much of its time feeding and building up its food reserves so that when it matures, it may focus all of its efforts on finding a partner and reproducing. The glow-worm emits a bright light throughout its larval stage, which lasts around 15 months. The light of the larva is much fainter than that of the adult female, yet it can still be seen from a distance of more than five metres.
6. The larva of a glow-worm encases itself in a pupa skin as it transitions from a basic larva to a more complicated adult fly in the final stage of its existence. When the adult fly emerges from the pupa, it looks for a female to mate with. The female lays about 120 eggs after mating. Adult flies lack mouthparts, are unable to eat, and so only live for a few days. People usually refer to the brightly luminous adult female glow-worm when they say they've seen one.
7. The larva of a glow-worm encases itself in a pupa skin as it transitions from a basic larva to a more complicated adult fly in the final stage of its existence. When the adult fly emerges from the pupa, it looks for a female to mate with. The female lays about 120 eggs after mating. Adult flies lack mouthparts, are unable to eat, and so only live for a few days. People usually refer to the brightly luminous adult female glow-worm when they say they've seen one.

Questions 1- 6

This reading passage has eight paragraphs, A– G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A- G, as your answer to each question.

Note: You may use any letter more than once.

1. When people say they've seen a glow-worm, they usually mean the brightly luminous adult female glow-worm.

2. The egg hatch time actually depends on the temperature.

3. One of the most appealing features of fireflies and glowworms is their ability to put on a dazzling light show.

4. The adult fly looks for a female to mate with when it exits from the pupa.

5. During its larval stage, which lasts around 15 months, the glow-worm emits a dazzling light.

6. When the egg is ready to hatch, the glow-light worm's organ is fully grown, and its glow signifies that the egg will hatch soon.

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Answers for practice questions 

• Answers for practice questions 1

1. Paragraph C

Explanation: …he believed that reform would facilitate the spread of ideas and encourage trade and business, fulfilling the same promise as the new railways.

2. Paragraph A 

Explanation: When the top-hatted mail carrier arrived to deliver it, the receiver was responsible for paying the postage.

3. Paragraph E

Explanation: …so Hill took a suggestion from Mr. Cheverton and turned it into one of the most eye-catching designs in history.

4. Paragraph B

Explanation: Letter writers used different ruses to cut costs, trying everything they could to fit as many words as possible onto a page. 

5. Paragraph D

Explanation: Lord Lichfield advocated for a ruling class that did not believe that poor people needed to post anything. 

6. Paragraph B

Explanation: Nobody used hefty envelopes anymore; instead, letters were folded and wax-sealed.

• Answers for skill-building exercise 2

1. Paragraph G (h6)

Explanation: People usually refer to the brightly luminous adult female glow-worm when they say they've seen one.

2. Paragraph D (h6)

Explanation: The egg takes about 35 days to hatch on average, but the actual time depends on the temperature, ranging from around 27 days in hot weather to more than 45 days in cold weather.

3. Paragraph A (h6)

Explanation:  The capacity of fireflies and glowworms to produce a spectacular show of light is one of their most enticing characteristics.

4. Paragraph F (h6)

Explanation: When the adult fly emerges from the pupa, it looks for a female to mate with. 

5. Paragraph E (h6)

Explanation: The glow-worm emits a bright light throughout its larval stage, which lasts around 15 months. 

6. Paragraph D (h6)

Explanation: The glow-light worm's organ is fully formed by the time the egg is ready to hatch, and its glow indicates that the egg will hatch shortly.

Also, check the IELTS general reading locating information tips

IELTS general reading locating information question list for practice

Answer questions 1- 5 which are based on the reading passage below.

Making the cut

1. We often think of acting, music, dialogue, props, and plot developments when discussing how films convey meaning, but the visual essence of a film, which is the cutting together of moving images – "motion pictures" – each one carefully tailored to meet a specific need or purpose, is often overlooked.
2. The majority of films, as well as many key moments within them, begin with an establishing shot. This picture usually comes before our introduction to the main protagonists by showing us the location where the scene's action or dialogue will take place. However, now and then, a director will use an establishing shot for a different purpose. An opening shot of a thousand troops marching in unison may offer little about the film's setting, but it does alert the audience to the fact that issues about discipline and conformity are likely to emerge in the material that follows. Establishing shots can also serve to introduce a film's concept in this way.
3. Most directors pick a long shot after an establishing shot to move the story forward. This style of view shows the full human body in relation to its environment, which makes it great for bridging the narrative barrier between place and individual activity. As a result, a long shot is frequently utilised to focus on a central character in a scene. For example, a film could start with an establishing shot of desolate, snowy mountains before cutting to a long shot of a lone skier, or a sweeping panorama of a bustling metropolis could segue into a street view of someone entering a building.
4. From here, filmmakers have complete freedom to determine which shots will best complement the story. Close-up shots of a revolver being loaded, a doorknob being turned, or the shocked visage of someone who has just awoken are common in suspense sequences. Constricting the visual field in this way heightens the viewer's fear. Character interaction will very certainly be emphasised in dramatic films. The third-person shot, which consists of a third of the frame filled with a back view of a person's upper body and head, can be used well here. This image enables us to immerse ourselves in the character's persona and live vicariously through their experiences.
5. A few special-purpose shots are used infrequently - only once or twice in most films. The money shot is an example of this. A money shot is often the most expensive aspect of a film's production values, with a cost enormously disproportionate to its screen time and has no specific technical attributes or content (which may be limited to just a brief glimpse). The money shot, on the other hand, is a big cash generator and is extensively exploited for use in promotional materials due to its stunning, lavish nature. Money shots are particularly common in high-visual-impact genres like action, war, thriller, and catastrophe films, although they are not confined to these.

Questions 1- 5

This reading passage has eight paragraphs, A– E.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A- E, as your answer to each question.

Note: You may use any letter more than once.

1. Only a few special-purpose shots are utilised in most films, usually only once or twice.

2. A thousand men marching in unison in the opening image may reveal little about the film's setting.

3. In suspense sequences, close-up shots of a handgun being loaded, a doorknob being turned, or the astonished expression of someone who has just awoken are prevalent.

4. Before moving to a long shot of a lone skier, a film could begin with an establishing shot of desolate, snowy mountains.

5. To drive the scene ahead, most directors choose a long shot after an establishing shot.

Answers 

1. Paragraph E

Explanation: A few special-purpose shots are used infrequently - only once or twice in most films. 

2. Paragraph B

Explanation:  An opening shot of a thousand troops marching in unison may offer little about the film's setting,... 

3. Paragraph D

Explanation:  Close-up shots of a revolver being loaded, a doorknob being turned, or the shocked visage of someone who has just awoken are common in suspense sequences.

4. Paragraph C

Explanation: A film could start with an establishing shot of desolate, snowy mountains before cutting to a long shot of a lone skier, or a sweeping panorama of a bustling metropolis could segue into a street view of someone entering a building.

5. Paragraph C

Explanation: Most directors pick a long shot after an establishing shot to move the story forward. 

Conclusion 

Constant practising boosts your confidence and familiarity with the task. It will also reduce your exam stress and give you more courage. Start answering all the practice questions given in this article to identify what you need to focus on more.