Just like in the IELTS Reading test, the reading passages can be based on anything in the IELTS Reading Practice test. Moreover, they will usually be informational in the General Training IELTS module: the type of information you might expect to read in a pamphlet, newspaper, or magazine. The passages in the Academic IELTS module will cover three different academic themes. You do not need any prior knowledge of these topics to take the test.