The Domestication of the Horse: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 13 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “The relationship between people and horses is one of the most significant partnerships in human history. For thousands of years the horse provided a speed and strength that no human could match, transforming the way people travelled, farmed, traded and fought.”
- Passage length: about 751 words
- Questions: 13
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Domestication of the Horse” 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
The Domestication of the Horse 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
Early human communities first valued wild horses mainly as a source of food.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “For early human communities these animals were at first simply a source of food, hunted like other wild game for their meat.”
- 2
Horses were easy to tame because they are naturally calm and unafraid.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “…horses are naturally wary and quick to flee from danger, and taming them required patience and skill.”
- 3
The bones of a horse alone can easily show whether it was wild or tame.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Bones alone do not easily reveal whether an animal was wild or tame, so archaeologists must look for subtler clues.”
- 4
Marks of wear on horse teeth can suggest that the animals were ridden or driven.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “The discovery of such wear on horse teeth from a particular period offers a hint that the animals were being ridden or driven, not merely hunted.”
- 5
Horses were domesticated earlier than any other farm animal.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims horses were domesticated earlier than any other farm animal, but the passage neither confirms nor denies this, focusing instead on the gradual domestication process of horses without comparing it to other animals.
- 6
The horse remained the fastest means of overland travel until the arrival of railways and engines.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “…right up until the coming of the railway and the motor engine, the horse remained the fastest and most dependable means of travelling overland.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. In dense forests
- B. In the grassland regions where horses were most abundant
- C. In mountainous areas
- D. Near the sea
- 7
Where does the passage suggest the domestication of horses probably developed?
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Answer: B — In the grassland regions where horses were most abundant
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — In the grassland regions where horses were most abundant.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…probably in the grassland regions where horses were most abundant and where people were already familiar with their habits”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Training them to be ridden
- B. Keeping them in captivity for their meat and perhaps milk
- C. Using them to pull heavy loads
- D. Racing them against one another
- 8
What is described as the probable first step in domesticating horses?
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Answer: B — Keeping them in captivity for their meat and perhaps milk
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — Keeping them in captivity for their meat and perhaps milk.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “The first step was probably to keep horses in captivity for their meat and perhaps their milk, managing herds rather than hunting them in the wild.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. A small piece of a horse's food
- B. A device placed in a horse's mouth to control it
- C. A mark on a horse's bones
- D. A type of grassland
- 9
What is a 'bit', according to the passage?
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Answer: B — A device placed in a horse's mouth to control it
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — A device placed in a horse's mouth to control it.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…a rider using a bit, a device placed in its mouth”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. People travelled more slowly
- B. Communities became more isolated
- C. People could travel far faster and farther than on foot
- D. Horses became extinct in the wild
- 10
What was one major consequence of people mastering the horse?
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Answer: C — People could travel far faster and farther than on foot
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — People could travel far faster and farther than on foot.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “A person on horseback could travel far faster and farther than one on foot”
Questions 11–13: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
Across the grasslands of which two continents did wild horses once range widely?(max 3 words)
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Answer: europe and asia (also accepted: europe, asia)
Why: The answer “europe and asia” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Wild horses once ranged widely across the open grasslands of Europe and Asia”
- 12
On which part of ancient horses can the marks left by a bit be found?(max 2 words)
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Answer: teeth (also accepted: the teeth / certain teeth / their teeth)
Why: The answer “teeth” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “…the bit can leave distinctive marks of wear on certain teeth.”
- 13
The new mobility given by horses allowed herders to manage what across wider areas?(max 2 words)
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Answer: larger flocks (also accepted: flocks)
Why: The answer “larger flocks” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Herders could manage larger flocks across wider areas”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 13 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 |
|---|---|
| 13 / 13 | 9.0 |
| 12 / 13 | 8.5 |
| 11 / 13 | 7.5 |
| 10 / 13 | 7.0 |
| 9 / 13 | 6.5 |
| 8 / 13 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 13 | 5.5 |
| 5–6 / 13 | 5.0 |
| 4 / 13 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 13 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 13 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 13 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 13 | 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 “The Domestication of the Horse” under exam conditions
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