雅思歷年真題（通用8套）
雅思考試， 全稱為“國際英語測試系統”，簡稱“雅思（IELTS）”，是著名的國際性英語標準化水平測試之一。雅思考試于1989年設立，由英國文化教育協會、劍橋大學考試委員會和澳大利亞教育國際開發署（IDP）共同管理。以下是小編幫大家整理的雅思歷年真題（通用8套），歡迎大家借鑒與參考，希望對大家有所幫助。
雅思歷年真題1
1. The failure of a high-profile cholesterol drug has thrown a spotlight on the complicated machinery that regulates cholesterol levels. But many researchers remain confident that drugs to boost levels of ’good’ cholesterol are still one of the most promising means to combat spiralling heart disease.
2. Drug company Pfizer announced on 2 December that it was cancelling all clinical trials of torcetrapib， a drug designed to raise heart-protective high-density lipoproteins (HDLs)。 In a trial of 15000 patients， a safety board found that more people died or suffered cardiovascular problems after taking the drug plus a cholesterol-lowering statin than those in a control group who took the statin alone.
3. The news came as a kick in the teeth to many cardiologists because earlier tests in animals and people suggested it would lower rates of cardiovascular disease. There have been no red flags to my knowledge， says John Chapman， a specialist in lipoproteins and atherosclerosis at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris who has also studied torcetrapib. This cancellation came as a complete shock.
4. Torcetrapib is one of the most advanced of a new breed of drugs designed to raise levels of HDLs， which ferry cholesterol out of artery-clogging plaques to the liver for removal from the body. Specifically， torcetrapib blocks a protein called cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP)， which normally transfers the cholesterol from high-density lipoproteins to low density， plaque-promoting ones. Statins， in contrast， mainly work by lowering the ’bad’ low-density lipoproteins.
Under pressure
5. Researchers are now trying to work out why and how the drug backfired， something that will not become clear until the clinical details are released by Pfizer. One hint lies in evidence from earlier trials that it slightly raises blood pressure in some patients. It was thought that this mild problem would be offset by the heart benefits of the drug. But it is possible that it actually proved fatal in some patients who already suffered high blood pressure. If blood pressure is the explanation， it would actually be good news for drug developers because it suggests that the problems are specific to this compound. Other prototype drugs that are being developed to block CETP work in a slightly different way and might not suffer the same downfall.
6. But it is also possible that the whole idea of blocking CETP is flawed， says Moti Kashyap， who directs atherosclerosis research at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach， California. When HDLs excrete cholesterol in the liver， they actually rely on LDLs for part of this process. So inhibiting CETP， which prevents the transfer of cholesterol from HDL to LDL， might actually cause an abnormal and irreversible accumulation of cholesterol in the body. You’re blocking a physiologic mechanism to eliminate cholesterol and effectively constipating the pathway， says Kashyap.
Going up
7. Most researchers remain confident that elevating high density lipoproteins levels by one means or another is one of the best routes for helping heart disease patients. But HDLs are complex and not entirely understood. One approved drug， called niacin， is known to both raise HDL and reduce cardiovascular risk but also causes an unpleasant sensation of heat and tingling. Researchers are exploring whether they can bypass this side effect and whether niacin can lower disease risk more than statins alone. Scientists are also working on several other means to bump up high-density lipoproteins by， for example， introducing synthetic HDLs. The only thing we know is dead in the water is torcetrapib， not the whole idea of raising HDL， says Michael Miller， director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center， Baltimore.
(613 words nature)
Questions 1-7
This passage has 7 paragraphs 1-7.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i-ix in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. How does torcetrapib work?
ii. Contradictory result prior to the current trial
iii. One failure may possibly bring about future success
iv. The failure doesn’t lead to total loss of confidence
v. It is the right route to follow
vi. Why it’s stopped
vii. They may combine and theoretically produce ideal result
viii. What’s wrong with the drug
ix. It might be wrong at the first place
Example answer
Paragraph 1 iv
1. Paragraph 2
2. Paragraph 3
3. Paragraph 4
4. Paragraph 5
5. Paragraph 6
6. Paragraph 7
Questions 7-13
Match torcetrapib，HDLs，statin and CETP with their functions (Questions 8-13)。
Write the correct letter A， B， C or D in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
7.It has been administered to over 10，000 subjects in a clinical trial.
8.It could help rid human body of cholesterol.
9.Researchers are yet to find more about it.
10. It was used to reduce the level of cholesterol.
11. According to Kashyap， it might lead to unwanted result if it’s blocked.
12. It produced contradictory results in different trials.
13. It could inhibit LDLs.
List of choices
A. Torcetrapic
B. HDLS
C. Statin
D. CETP
(by Zhou Hong)
Suggested Answers and Explanations
1. vi
2. ii
3. vii 本段介紹了torcetrapib和statin的治病原理，但是同時短語in contrast與之前第二段后半段的內容呼應，暗示了這兩種藥在理論上能相輔相成，是理想的搭配。第一個選項無法涵蓋整段意義，故選擇i是錯誤的.。
4. iii 本段分析了可能導致torcetrapibl臨床試驗失敗的原因，后半段指出如果以上推測正確，那么未來的藥物可借鑒這個試驗，設法避免torcetrapib的缺陷，研制出有效的藥物。viii選項無法涵蓋后半段的意思。
5. ix 見首句。
6. v
7. A 見第二段。題目中administer一詞意為用藥，subject一詞為實驗對象之意。
8. B 見第四段… to raise levels of HDLs， which ferry cholesterol out of artery- clogging plaques to the liver for removal from the body.即HDLs的作用最終是將 choleserol清除出人體：… for removal from the body。
9. B 見第四段But HDLs are complex and not entirely understood.
10. C 見第二段… plus a cholesterol-lowering statin，即statin是可以降低cholesterol的。
11. D 見第六段 So inhibiting CETP， … might actually cause an abnormal and irreversible accumulation of cholesterol in the body.
12. A 見第三段。
13. C 見第四段Statins， in contrast， mainly work by lowering the ’bad’ low-density lipoproteins.
雅思歷年真題2
Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year’s surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. "It’s very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one," said an expert from Britain’s National Portrait Gallery.
The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image—commonly known as the “Flower portrait” —was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare’s death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare’s plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery’s curator(館長), told the Associated President.
The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”
Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation(調查) and the results will come out later this month.
______________________________________________________________.
1. Why this year’s surprise on the birthday of Shakespeare is dramatic?
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Now we know what Shakespeare looked like. (T/F)
3. “Flower portrait” was actually painted using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. (T/F)
4. In histor
y, many people doubted the painting. (T/F)
5.Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?
A.Soon we’ll know which portrait is reliable.
B.Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare.
C.If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more.
D.For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery.
1.The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake.
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. D
雅思歷年真題3
A.
Neoclassical economics is built on the assumption that humans are rational beings who have a clear idea of their best interests and strive to extract maximum benefit (or utility， in economist-speak) from any situation. Neoclassical economics assumes that the process of decision-making is rational. But that contradicts growing evidence that decision-making draws on the emotions—even when reason is clearly involved.
B.
The role of emotions in decisions makes perfect sense. For situations met frequently in the past， such as obtaining food and mates， and confronting or fleeing from threats， the neural mechanisms required to weigh up the pros and cons will have been honed by evolution to produce an optimal outcome. Since emotion is the mechanism by which animals are prodded towards such outcomes， evolutionary and economic theory predict the same practical consequences for utility in these cases. But does this still apply when the ancestral machinery has to respond to the stimuli of urban modernity?
C.
One of the people who thinks that it does not is George Loewenstein， an economist at Carnegie Mellon University， in Pittsburgh. In particular， he suspects that modern shopping has subverted the decision-making machinery in a way that encourages people to run up debt. To prove the point he has teamed up with two psychologists， Brian Knutson of Stanford University and Drazen Prelec of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology， to look at what happens in the brain when it is deciding what to buy.
D.
In a study， the three researchers asked 26 volunteers to decide whether to buy a series of products such as a box of chocolates or a DVD of the television show that were flashed on a computer screen one after another. In each round of the task， the researchers first presented the product and then its price， with each step lasting four seconds. In the final stage， which also lasted four seconds， they asked the volunteers to make up their minds. While the volunteers were taking part in the experiment， the researchers scanned their brains using a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)。 This measures blood flow and oxygen consumption in the brain， as an indication of its activity.
E.
The researchers found that different parts of the brain were involved at different stages of the test. The nucleus accumbens was the most active part when a product was being displayed. Moreover， the level of its activity correlated with the reported desirability of the product in question.
F.
When the price appeared， however， fMRI reported more activity in other parts of the brain. Excessively high prices increased activity in the insular cortex， a brain region linked to expectations of pain， monetary loss and the viewing of upsetting pictures. The researchers also found greater activity in this region of the brain when the subject decided not to purchase an item.
G.
Price information activated the medial prefrontal cortex， too. This part of the brain is involved in rational calculation. In the experiment its activity seemed to correlate with a volunteer’s reaction to both product and price， rather than to price alone. Thus， the sense of a good bargain evoked higher activity levels in the medial prefrontal cortex， and this often preceded a decision to buy.
H.
People’s shopping behaviour therefore seems to have piggy-backed on old neural circuits evolved for anticipation of reward and the avoidance of hazards. What Dr Loewenstein found interesting was the separation of the assessment of the product (which seems to be associated with the nucleus accumbens) from the assessment of its price (associated with the insular cortex)， even though the two are then synthesised in the prefrontal cortex. His hypothesis is that rather than weighing the present good against future alternatives， as orthodox economics suggests happens， people actually balance the immediate pleasure of the prospective possession of a product with the immediate pain of paying for it.
I.
That makes perfect sense as an evolved mechanism for trading. If one useful object is being traded for another (hard cash in modern time)， the future utility of what is being given up is embedded in the object being traded. Emotion is as capable of assigning such a value as reason. Buying on credit， though， may be different. The abstract nature of credit cards， coupled with the deferment of payment that they promise， may modulate the con side of the calculation in favour of the pro。
J.
Whether it actually does so will be the subject of further experiments that the three researchers are now designing. These will test whether people with distinctly different spending behaviour， such as miserliness and extravagance， experience different amounts of pain in response to prices. They will also assess whether， in the same individuals， buying with credit cards eases the pain compared with paying by cash. If they find that it does， then credit cards may have to join the list of things such as fatty and sugary foods， and recreational drugs， that subvert human instincts in ways that seem pleasurable at the time but can have a long and malign aftertaste.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statemets reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
TRUE if the statement reflets the claims of the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is possbile to say what the writer thinks about this
1. The belief of neoclassical economics does not accord with the increasing evidence that humans make use of the emotions to make decisions.
2. Animals are urged by emotion to strive for an optimal outcomes or extract maximum utility from any situation.
3. George Loewenstein thinks that modern ways of shopping tend to allow people to accumulate their debts.
4. The more active the nucleus accumens was， the stronger the desire of people for the product in question became.
5. The prefrontal cortex of the human brain is linked to monetary loss and the viewing of upsetting pictures.
6. When the activity in nucleus accumbens was increased by the sense of a good bargain， people tended to purchase coffee.
Questions 7-9
Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 7-9 on your answe sheet.
7. Which of the following statements about orthodox economics is true?
A. The process which people make their decisions is rational.
B. People have a clear idea of their best interests in any situation.
C. Humans make judgement on the basis of reason rather then emotion.
D. People weigh the present good against future alternatives in shopping.
8. The word miserliness in line 3 of Paragraph J means__________.
A. people’s behavior of buying luxurious goods
B. people’s behavior of buying very special items
C. people’s behavior of being very mean in shopping
D. people’s behavior of being very generous in shopping
9. The three researchers are now designing the future experiments， which test
A. whether people with very different spending behaviour experience different amounts of pain in response to products.
B. whether buying an item with credit cards eases the pain of the same individuals compared with paying for it by cash.
C. whether the abstract nature of credit cards may modulate the con side of the calculation in favour of the pro。
D. whether the credit cards may subvert human instincts in ways that seem pleasurable but with a terrible effect.
Questions 10-13
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 1 for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
To find what happens in the brain of humans when it is deciding things to buy， George Loewenstein and his co-researchers did an experiment by using the technique of fMRI. They found that different parts of the brain were invloved in the process. The activity in …10… was greatly increased with the displaying of certain product. The great activity was found in the insular cortex when …11…and the subject decided not to buy a product. The activity of the medial prefrontal cortex seemed to associate with both …12…informaiton. What interested Dr Loewenstein was the …13… of the assessment of the product and its price in different parts of the brain.
Part II
Notes to Reading Passage 1
1. the nucleus accumbens， the insular cortex， and the medial prefrontal cortex：
大腦的不同部位 (皮層，皮質等)
e.g. cerebellar cortex 小腦皮層cerebral cortex 大腦皮層
2. hone：
珩磨，磨快，磨練，訓練使。更完美或有效。
3. subvert：
毀滅，破壞;摧毀：
4. piggyback：
騎在肩上;在肩上騎
5. deferment：
推遲、延遲、分期付款
6. aftertaste：
余味，回味事情或經歷結束后的感覺，特指令人不快的.感覺
Part III
Keys and explanations to the Questions 1-13
1. TRUE
See the second and third sentence in Paragraph A Neoclassical economics assumes that the process of decision-making is rational. But that contradicts growing evidence that decision-making draws on the emotions—even when reason is clearly involved.
2. TRUE
See the third sentence in Paragrph B Since emotion is the mechanism by which animals are prodded towards such outcomes， evolutionary and economic theory predict the same practical consequences for utility in these cases.
3. FALSE
See the second sentence in Paragrph C In particular， he suspects that modern shopping has subverted the decision-making machinery in a way that encourages people to run up debt.
4. TRUE
See the last sentence in Paragrph E Moreover， the level of its activity correlated with the reported desirability of the product in question.
5. FALSE
See the second sentence in Paragrph F and G respectively Excessively high prices increased activity in the insular cortex， a brain region linked to expectations of pain， monetary loss and the view
雅思歷年真題4
It is common for enterprises to have seniors as top executives nowadays. However, there is an argument that young people should also be offered the opportunities to be the leaders as the age should not be the glass ceiling that bars them from upper management in large corporations. From my perspective, I agree with this idea.
First of all, young leaders, especially those employed in high-technology companies, are easy to keep pace with the rapidly changing market. Admittedly, compared with senior employees, they do lack experience of the past, but facing this rapid shifting market, their inadequate experience can be in turn seen as an advantage, as being in the same age of the targeting customers,they can understand the current popular tendency and are less likely to be inhibited by self - consciousness. Therefore, they are able to absorb the latest information and use their lateral thinking to make adaptations to meet the demand,. Besides, young people have more abundant time and vigorous to be a leader. Being managers means catering to enormous tasks simultaneously, and as most young people have not been married and formed their families, they can devote themselves to their work and maximise their output, which is impossible for older people.
Undeniably, when facing an emergency or a dilemma, compared with the aged leaders, the young generation tend to be less responsible and considerable, resulting in impulsive decisions due to their immaturity. Consequently, organisations might be at risk. However, young candidates who have the potential to be the manager can be first recruited as the management trainee, and after having the professional training ranging from six months to five years, they are sure to have the capability to deal with diverse situations.
In conclusion, despite the defects of young managers, young people are eligible for leadership. Therefore, organisations should be encouraged to employ the young generation in top positions.
雅思歷年真題5
Sample answer：
Traditionally, toddlers are raised by their relatives such as grandparents in most countries. However, daycare centers have gained a growing popularity among working parents in recent years. From my point of view, attending a childcare center has more benefits.
One obvious argument in favor of daycare centers is that it provides children with the professional childhood education. This is because a good daycare centre is normally equipped with well-trained staff who can impart different skills, such as singing, dancing, painting and storytelling, to children through a variety of activities during the day. In addition to the well-organised, structured projects, toddlers are provided with more opportunities to socialize with other peers, which helps them gain confidence and self-consicousness. However, these opportunities are rare to achieve if they are watched over by grandparents.
Opponents feel that a relative care is as effective as children center. The reason for this is that taking care of a child is never an easy task, as children need constant love and attention. In fact, due to the limited number of caregivers, children are less likely to get the one-on-one care. By contrast, relatives, grandparents in particular, have sufficient time to take care of their beloved grandchildren, which also contributes to the family bond.
I personally believe that no child can become an active and valuable member of any society without intercommunicating with other peers. Therefore, although there are conniving arguments for a relative care, it is better to send them into daycare centers in the childhood period.
雅思歷年真題6
Environmental protection is no doubt a major issue confronting the modern society with the development of new technologies and the explosion of world population. While the issue is certainly relevant to each individual citizen and all the companies, some people contend that only the government should be concerned about protecting the environment. I concede that the government should lead the efforts in addressing the environmental problems. Nevertheless, cooperation and participation from the corporations and individual citizens are essential as well.
There is no doubt that the government is the agency that should play the leading roles in solving the environmental problems. To begin with, with the power to collect taxes from individual citizens and private companies, the government have the financial resources that are necessary to deal with environmental issues. In addition, the government may formulate policies to provide incentives for the companies and individuals to reduce the amount of pollution caused by their activities. Finally, the government is the only institution that may enact laws related to environmental problems. s.
On the other hand, without the cooperation and participation of individual citizens and private companies, the governments efforts to protect the environment would not be effective. For example, the government may launch a campaign to educate the public about the desirability of driving compact cars for reducing the air pollution. The campaign would make little difference if the individuals pay little attention to the information or do not care about the environment at all. Nor would the governments goal be achieved if the car manufacturers do not produce more compact cars for the market. In other words, the government alone cannot solve the problem of environment. It takes the collaborative efforts from individual and corporate citizens to improve the situation. on.
In conclusion, I agree that the government should take the responsibility to lead the society in addressing the problems of environmental pollution as it has the power and resources necessary to do so. Nonetheless, individual citizens and private companies have to be engaged if the government is to accomplish anything.
雅思歷年真題7
The relative importance of natural talent and training is a frequent topic of discussion when people try to explain different levels of ability in, for example, sport, art or music.
Obviously, education systems are based on the belief that all children can effectively be taught to acquire different skills, including those associated with sport, art or music. So from our own school experience, we can find plenty of evidence to support the view that a child can acquire these skills with continued teaching and guided practice.
However, some people believe that innate talent is what differentiates a person who has been trained to play a sport or an instrument, from those who become good players. In other words, there is more to the skill than to a learned technique, and this extra talent cannot be taught, no matter how good the teacher or how frequent a child practices.
I personally think that some people do have talents that are probably inherited via their genes. Such talents can give individuals a facility for certain skills that allow them to excel, while more hard-wokring students never manage to reach a comparable level. But, as with all questions of nature versus nurture, they are not mutually exclusive. Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports star have probably succeeded because of both good training and natural talent. With the natural talent, continuous training would be neither attractive nor productive, and without the training, the child would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent.ent.
In conclusion, I agree that any child can be taught particular skills, but to be really good in areas such as music, art or sport, then some natural talent is required.
雅思歷年真題8
Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness?
lt is no doubt true that the majority of people would like tobe happy in their the personal nature of happiness makes it difficult to describe, there do seem to besome common needs that we all share with regard to experiencing or achieving happiness..
Happiness is difficult to define because it means something different to each individual person. Nobody can fully understand or experience another persons feelings, and we all have our own particular passions from which we take pleasure. Some people, for example, derive a sense of satisfaction from earning money or achieving success,whereas for others, health and family are much more important. At the same time, a range of other feelings, from excitement to peacefulness, may be associated with the idea of happiness, and the same person may therefore feel happy in a variety of different ways.
Although it seems almost impossible to give a precise definition of happiness, most people would agree that there are some basic preconditions to achieving it. Firstly, it is hardfor a person to be happy if he or she does not have a safe place to live and enough food to eat. Our basic survival needs must surely be met before we can lead a pleasant , the greatest joy in life is usually found in shared experiences with family and friends, and it is rare to find a person who is content to live in complete isolation. Other key factors could be individual freedom and a sense of purpose in life.
ln conclusion, happiness is difficult to define because it is particular to each individual, but l believe that our basic needs for shelter, food and company need to be fulfilled before we can experience it.
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