How the Human Heart Pumps Blood: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “The human heart is a muscular pump about the size of a clenched fist, and it works ceaselessly from before birth until the end of life. Positioned in the chest, slightly to the left of centre, it drives blood through a vast network of vessels that reaches every corner of the body.”
- Passage length: about 772 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“How the Human Heart Pumps Blood” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
How the Human Heart Pumps Blood answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
The heart keeps working throughout a person's whole life.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 1 “The human heart is a muscular pump about the size of a clenched fist, and it works ceaselessly from before birth until the end of life.”
- 2
In a healthy heart, the blood on the right and left sides mixes together.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “The right side of the heart and the left side are separated by a muscular wall, so that in a healthy heart the blood on the two sides does not mix.”
- 3
The walls of the left ventricle are thicker than those of the right ventricle.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “Because the left ventricle must push blood all the way around the body, its walls are considerably thicker and more powerful than those of the right ventricle, which only has to send blood the short distance to the lungs.”
- 4
The sound of a heartbeat is produced mainly by the valves closing.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “The familiar sound of a heartbeat, often described as a lub-dub, is produced largely by these valves snapping shut.”
- 5
The heart depends entirely on the nervous system to produce each beat.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “Because the signal originates within the heart itself, the organ can continue beating even when separated from the body's nervous system, provided it has a supply of oxygen.”
- 6
Women's hearts beat faster on average than men's hearts.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that women's hearts beat faster than men's, but the passage never confirms or denies this, only mentioning that an average adult heart beats around seventy times a minute while resting.
Closest related text · Paragraph 1 “In an average adult it beats around seventy times a minute while resting, and far faster during exercise, yet most of us give it no thought at all.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Directly from the lungs
- B. From the atria as they fill
- C. From vessels called the coronary arteries
- D. From the blood passing through its chambers
- 7
How does the heart muscle obtain the oxygen it needs?
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Answer: C — From vessels called the coronary arteries
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — From vessels called the coronary arteries.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…the heart muscle, like every other tissue, needs its own supply of oxygen-rich blood, and it does not absorb this from the blood passing through its chambers. Instead it is fed by a set of vessels called the coronary arteries, which branch across its surface.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. The ventricles contract first, then the atria.
- B. The atria contract first, then the ventricles.
- C. The atria and ventricles contract at exactly the same time.
- D. The valves contract, followed by the whole muscle.
- 8
What is the correct order of events in a single heartbeat?
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Answer: B — The atria contract first, then the ventricles.
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — The atria contract first, then the ventricles..
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “First the two atria contract together, squeezing blood down into the relaxed ventricles below. A fraction of a second later the ventricles contract, forcing blood out to the lungs and the body while the atria relax and fill again.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. A valve becoming leaky or stiff
- B. The atria contracting too quickly
- C. A coronary artery becoming blocked, starving the muscle of oxygen
- D. The heart's natural pacemaker stopping
- 9
According to the passage, what causes a heart attack?
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Answer: C — A coronary artery becoming blocked, starving the muscle of oxygen
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — A coronary artery becoming blocked, starving the muscle of oxygen.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “If one of these becomes blocked, part of the heart muscle can be starved of oxygen and begin to die, an event commonly known as a heart attack.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. It adjusts the heart's rate.
- B. It produces the heart's electrical signal.
- C. It supplies the heart muscle with blood.
- D. It closes the valves after each beat.
- 10
What does the passage say the nervous system does to the heart?
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Answer: A — It adjusts the heart's rate.
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports A — It adjusts the heart's rate..
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “The nervous system does, however, adjust the rate, speeding the heart up during exercise or stress and slowing it down during rest.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What are the two upper chambers of the heart called?(max 2 words)
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Answer: atria (also accepted: the atria)
Why: The answer “atria” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “The two upper chambers are called the atria, and the two lower chambers are the ventricles.”
- 12
What are the one-way structures that stop blood from flowing backwards?(max 2 words)
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Answer: valves
Why: The answer “valves” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “To keep blood flowing in one direction, the heart is fitted with valves.”
- 13
What is the small patch of specialised tissue that produces electrical impulses sometimes called?(max 3 words)
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Answer: natural pacemaker (also accepted: the heart's natural pacemaker)
Why: The answer “natural pacemaker” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “A small patch of specialised tissue, sometimes called the heart's natural pacemaker, sends out regular electrical impulses that spread through the muscle and tell it when to contract.”
- 14
What is the name of the vessels that feed the heart muscle with blood?(max 3 words)
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Answer: coronary arteries (also accepted: the coronary arteries)
Why: The answer “coronary arteries” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “Instead it is fed by a set of vessels called the coronary arteries, which branch across its surface.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “How the Human Heart Pumps Blood” under exam conditions
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