IELTS Rewind

IELTS Reading Practice Test: Stonehenge

Practice your IELTS reading skills with this comprehensive 13-question test. Time limit: 20 minutes.

Reading Passage Content Summary

## Stonehenge For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument that took an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located on Salisbury Plain in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circul...

Question Types Included

  • note-completion (8 questions)
  • true-false-not-given (5 questions)

Test Information

  • Total Questions: 13
  • Time Limit: 20 minutes
  • Level: Intermediate to Advanced
  • Format: IELTS Academic Reading

Stonehenge

Reading Passage Content

This page contains IELTS reading practice materials with comprehensive questions and explanations.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Questions 1–8: Note Completion

Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1–8.

Stonehenge

Construction
    Stage 1:
  • the ditch and henge were dug, possibly using tools made from (1).
  • may have been arranged in deep pits inside the circle (2).
  • Stage 2:
  • bluestones from the Preseli Hills were placed in standing position
  • theories about the transportation of the bluestones: o archaeological:
  • builders used (3). to make sledges and rollers
  • (4). pulled them on giant baskets o geological:
  • they were brought from Wales by (5).
  • Stage 3:
  • sandstone slabs were arranged into an outer crescent or ring
  • Builders
  • a theory arose in the 17th century that its builders were Celtic (6).
  • Purpose
  • many experts agree it has been used as a (7). site
  • in the 1960s, it was suggested that it worked as a kind of (8).

Questions 9–13: True/False/Not Given

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
Write FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
Write NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9 During the third phase of construction, sandstone slabs were placed in both the outer areas and the middle of the Stonehenge site.

10 There is scientific proof that the bluestones stood in the same spot until approximately 1600 BCE.

11 John Aubrey’s claim about Stonehenge was supported by 20th-century findings.

12 Objects discovered at Stonehenge seem to indicate that it was constructed by a number of different groups of people.

13 Criticism of Gerald Hawkins’ theory about Stonehenge has come mainly from other astronomers.

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Exam Duration:
min
Standard test • Range: 5-180 minutes
20 min
13 questions
IELTS Reading #48: Stonehenge | IELTS Rewind