IELTS General Reading Short Answer Questions Exercises with answers

This blog contains IELTS general reading short answer questions exercises with answers to test your answering skills. In this task, you will find the reading passages and the list of questions. You have to answer the questions within a mentioned word limit (1 to 3) by reading the passages. Scanning skill has proved to be an effective way to solve the questions. 

In the IELTS reading question types, most of the students preferred short answer questions because it is both the easiest and frequently asked question type in the IELTS exam. Though the short answer questions are slightly easier to answer compared to others, you need to practice to answer them efficiently. For that purpose, we provided at least 3 well-designed IELTS general reading short answer questions exercises with answers. It will help you to accomplish a good band score in the IELTS general reading test.

3 2022 IELTS General Reading Short Answer Questions Exercises with answers

In your list of questions, focus on Wh-words such as When, What, When, Where or a number (How much or How many), it will help you to pinpoint the required portion of the passages. And, read those portions in detail to identify the appropriate words as an answer to the questions. Implement these tips both in following exercises and in the IELTS exam to get better results. 

Also read: IELTS general reading tips

IELTS General Reading Short Answer Questions Exercise 1

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

The risks of cigarette smoke

Nicotianine was discovered in the early 1800s, now it is the main active ingredient of tobacco. It is in the form of oily essence. Though nicotine is only a tiny component of cigarette smoke, it has above 4,700 chemical compounds. It includes 43 cancer-causing substances. Scientific research has proven that an increase of cigarette smoking results in the development of fatal medical conditions. 

Smoking is responsible for more than 85 % of lung cancers and also it causes about 14 percent of cervical cancers and leukaemia and accompanied with cancers of mouth, stomach, and kidneys. Smoking killed 84,000 people in 1990, it is the result of problems such as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. It is also believed that smoking causes about 30 percent of all deaths from cancer.

The smoke comes from burning of tobacco either between puffs or exhalation of smoke can cause serious health problems. Breathing this smoke is termed as Passive smoking. And this kind of smoke is known as side-stream smoke. A US Environmental Protection Agency report says that side-stream smoke contains smaller particles which can settle deep in the lungs. By this report, The EPA puts environmental tobacco under the category of highest risk of causing cancer. 

As an illustration of the health risks, in the case of a married couple where one partner is a smoker and one a non-smoker, the latter is believed to have a 30 per cent higher risk of death from heart disease because of passive smoking. The risk of lung cancer also increases over the years of exposure and the figure jumps to 80 per cent if the spouse has been smoking four packs a day for 20 years. It has been calculated that 17 per cent of cases of lung cancer can be attributed to high levels of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke during childhood and adolescence. 

Consider the example of a married couple where one partner is a smoker and another partner is non smoker. Non-smokers have a 30 percent chance of getting heart disease because of passive smoking. The risk of getting lung cancer also increases over the years of exposure to smoke. If the spouse smokes four packs a day for 20 days, the percentage of getting lung cancer increases upto 80 years. It is found that 17 percent of lung cancer cases are attributed to passive smoking during childhood and adolescence. 

Questions 1-5

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

1. Which is the main active ingredient of tobacco ?
2. How many cancer causing substances nicotine contains ?
3. How many percent cigarette smoking is responsible for lung cancers ?
4. Which term refers to the act of breathing a side-stream smoke ?
5. How many percent of cases are attributed to smoking during childhood and adolescence ?

Answer for Exercise 1

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1.   Nicotianine

Explanation: Nicotianine was discovered in the early 1800s, now it is the main active ingredient of tobacco. 

2.   43/forty three

Explanation: It includes 43 cancer-causing substances. Scientific research has proven that an increase of cigarette smoking results in the development of fatal medical conditions. 

3.   85/eighty five

Explanation: Smoking is responsible for more than 85 % of lung cancers and also it causes about 14 percent of cervical cancers and leukaemia and accompanied with cancers of mouth, stomach, and kidneys. 

4.   Passive smoking

Explanation: The smoke comes from burning of tobacco either between puffs or exhalation of smoke can cause serious health problems. Breathing this smoke is termed as Passive smoking. And this kind of smoke is known as side-stream smoke.

5.   17/seventeen

Explanation: It is found that 17 percent of lung cancer cases are attributed to passive smoking during childhood and adolescence. 

Check more IELTS general reading short answer questions practice questions

IELTS General Reading Short Answer Questions Exercise 2

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

The rocket - from East to West

The idea of a rocket or the mechanism which propels the object into air has been around over two thousand years. The discovery of the reaction principle is important in the history of scientific thought, it is a key to space travel and also rocket technology is able to develop. It not only solved the problem that interested humans for ages, it also helped the humans to explore the universe. 

This intellectual milestone, even though it is brilliant, it is not easy to convert the theory into practice. Though the rockets have not been used regularly, it remains a minor artefact of civilization till the twentieth century. Enormous amounts of effort is required to translate the imagination into reality. Even fiction writers ignored writing about rockets which can help to transport their heroes to strange places beyond the earth since in china, the fireworks have been commonly used. The key reason is no one thinks of associating the idea of reaction principle with the idea of travelling through space to other planets. 

We can understand how a rocket operates by using a simple analogy. It is similar to a machine gun mounted on the backside of the boat. When bullets are discharged, the boat will move forwards. The bullets of a rocket motor are both small and high-speed particles which are produced by the burning propellant in an appropriate chamber. As a reaction of the ejection of these minute particles, the rocket will move forwards. The evidence also found that the reaction principle actually existed before the rocket was invented. Aulus Gellius describes ‘the pigeon of Archytas’ in his Noctes Atticae or Greek Nights. It was invented during the period of 360 BC.  

Questions 1-5

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

1. How many years has the idea of rockets been around the world ?
2. Which principle is considered as an important milestone in the history of scientific thought ?
3. Who ignored writing about the rockets ?
4. Which gun is mounted on the rear of the boat in the analogical explanation of rockets ?
5. Who described the pigeon of Archytas ?

Answer for Exercise 2

1.   Two thousand years

Explanation: The idea of a rocket or the mechanism which propels the object into air has been around over two thousand years.

2.   Reaction principle

Explanation:  The discovery of the reaction principle is important in the history of scientific thought, it is a key to space travel and also rocket technology is able to develop.

3.   Fiction writers

Explanation: Even fiction writers ignored writing about rockets which can help to transport their heroes to strange places beyond the earth since in china, the fireworks have been commonly used. 

4.   Machine gun

Explanation: We can understand how a rocket operates by using a simple analogy. It is similar to a machine gun mounted on the backside of the boat. 

5.   Aulus Gellius

Explanation: Aulus Gellius describes ‘the pigeon of Archytas’ in his Noctes Atticae or Greek Nights. 

Attempt this free IELTS general reading short answer questions mock test

IELTS General Reading Short Answer Questions Exercise 3

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

Bringing Cinnamon to Europe

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of trees belonging to the genus Cinnamomum, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is filled with sweet and fragrant spice. It has a reference in some books of the Bible. It is used as an ingredient which is mixed with oils to anoint the people’s bodies, also it acts as a token of friendship among friends and lovers. It is burnt in funerals to create pleasant smells in ancient Rome. During the Middle ages, Europeans were able to buy the spice, using it to flavour their food and to show off to others that they have the capacity to purchase an expensive condiment. At a banquet, A host offers a plate with various spices to signify wealth. Cinnamon also has health benefits, for example, it cures indigestion. 

The European middle classes wanted to live in the way of elites, near the end of the middle ages. It also includes consumption of species. It increased the demand for cinnamon and other species. During that time, Arab merchants used to transport the cinnamon, which they guarded from their potential rivals. Arabs take the spices from India and go overland routes to the Mediterranean via camels. If they reach Alexandria, then their journey will end. Europeans sailed there to purchase cinnamon and bring it back to Venice. After, the spice will be travelled from the great trading city to all the markets situated in Europe. 

When the Dutch arrived off the coast of southern Asia at the very beginning of the 17th century, they set their sights on displacing the Portuguese as kings of cinnamon. The Dutch allied themselves with Kandy, an inland kingdom on Ceylon. In return for payments of elephants and cinnamon, they protected the native king from the Portuguese. By 1649, the Dutch broke the 150-year Portuguese monopoly when they overran and occupied their factories. By 1658, they had permanently expelled the Portuguese from the island, thereby gaining control of the lucrative cinnamon trade.

At the very beginning of the 17th century, Dutch arrived to the Southern Asia coast and they wanted to turn the Portuguese to kings of cinnamon. The Dutch associate with Kandy, which is an inland kingdom on Ceylon. For the payments of cinnamon and elephants, they guarded the native king from the Portuguese. The Dutch occupied the factories of the Portuguese, 150 year monopoly broke, as a result, at the end of 1649. By 1658, dutch fully dismissed the Portuguese from the island. Therefore, they gained control of the lucrative cinnamon trade.

Questions 1-5

Answer the questions below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

1. Which genus does Cinnamon belong to ?
2. In which place cinnamon is burnt in funerals to create a pleasant smell ?
3. Why does the host offer a plate with various spices ?
4. Who transported the cinnamon ?
5. Whom is Dutch associated with ?

 Answer for Exercise 3

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1.   Cinnamomum

Explanation: Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of trees belonging to the genus Cinnamomum, native to the Indian subcontinent.

2.   Ancient Rome

Explanation: It is burnt in funerals to create pleasant smells in ancient Rome

4.   To signify wealth

Explanation: A host offers a plate with various spices to signify wealth.

5.   Arab merchants

Explanation: During that time, Arab merchants used to transport the cinnamon, which they guarded from their potential rivals.

6.    Kandy

Explanation: The Dutch allied themselves with Kandy, an inland kingdom on Ceylon

Also check IELTS general reading short answer questions tips

Conclusion

Practicing these IELTS general reading short answer question types will help you in improving your answering and time management skills. We hope these practice questions will boost your confidence in facing the short answer questions.