IELTS Reading Section
Time: 20 minutes
Read the following passage.The Rise of China's Humanoid Robots: From Stage to StadiumA In recent months, China has demonstrated remarkable progress in humanoid robotics through two very different public spectacles. The first, a traditional cultural performance, saw robots executing martial arts moves and choreographed dance alongside human performers during the annual Spring Festival Gala, the country’s most-watched television broadcast. The second, a highly unconventional sporting event, involved over 100 humanoids competing against 12,000 human runners in a half-marathon in Beijing, where the winning machine finished more than 6 minutes faster than the current human world record.
B The dancing robots, developed by several Chinese firms, performed intricate stunts including kung fu sequences, comedy sketches, and synchronised dance routines. Clips circulated online drew immediate comparisons with the previous year's gala, which had featured noticeably simpler movements such as walking, twisting, and kicking. According to robotics expert Georg Stieler, the key signal of progress was not just individual agility but "the ability to run large numbers of near-identical humanoids in synchronised motion with stable gaits and consistent joint behaviour."
C Meanwhile, the half-marathon in Beijing's E-Town showcased a different kind of advancement. The winning robot, Lightning—made by Honor, a Huawei spin-off—completed the 21.1km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This performance marked a dramatic improvement from the inaugural robot race the previous year, when the winning humanoid finished in over two hours and forty minutes, and most robots failed to complete the distance. This year, nearly half of the participating humanoids navigated the race autonomously, without remote control, and several were faster than professional human athletes.
D Engineers from the winning team revealed that Lightning had been in development for just one year. It was fitted with legs measuring 90 to 95 centimetres long to mimic elite human runners, and incorporated liquid cooling technology adapted from smartphone manufacturing. Du Xiaodi, an engineer on the team, explained that while running faster may not seem meaningful at first, it enables technology transfer into areas such as structural reliability and cooling, which eventually benefit industrial applications.
E Experts, however, caution against overinterpreting these public displays. Georg Stieler notes that stage performance does not equate to industrial robustness. The dance routines, he explains, involve very little environmental perception and are essentially imitation learning plus a balance-keeping controller, trained hundreds or thousands of times for a fixed routine. This has little bearing on reliability in unstructured environments—a prerequisite for factory deployment. Kyle Chan of the Brookings Institution suggests that Beijing uses these performances strategically to "dazzle domestic and international audiences with China's technological prowess," particularly as humanoid robots are a highly visible area where China can claim to be ahead of the United States in scaling up production.
F Nevertheless, the pace of change is undeniable. By the end of 2024, China had registered over 450,000 smart robotics companies, with total capital approaching one trillion dollars. Morgan Stanley projects that China's humanoid sales will more than double to 28,000 units in 2026. Elon Musk has stated that he expects his biggest competitors to be Chinese companies as he pivots Tesla toward embodied AI. For spectators at the Beijing race, the impression was clear. One attendee who watched both the 2025 and 2026 races remarked, "It's the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that's something I never imagined."
Questions 1–5 (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
- FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
- NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
- The dancing robots at the Spring Festival Gala performed entirely without human performers on stage.
- The winning robot in the 2026 Beijing half-marathon completed the race in less than 55 minutes.
- All the robots that finished the half-marathon were controlled remotely for the entire race.
- According to Georg Stieler, the dance routines demonstrate high levels of environmental perception.
- Elon Musk has publicly stated that Chinese robotics companies will be Tesla's main competition in embodied AI.
Questions 6–10 (Short-answer questions)Answer the questions below using
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- What technology, originally developed for smartphones, was adapted for use in the winning marathon robot?
- In which month of 2026 did the robot half-marathon take place?
- What specific aspect of the 2025 gala robots was noticeably simpler than the 2026 models, according to the passage?
- What does the passage state as a prerequisite for factory-grade deployment of robots?
- Which company, described as a Huawei spin-off, manufactured the robots that took the three podium positions?
IELTS Writing Task 2
Time: 40 minutes
Write about the following topic:Some people believe that the rapid advances in humanoid robotics, as demonstrated by Chinese robots dancing, running marathons, and outperforming humans, are a positive development that will lead to greater efficiency and industrial progress. Others argue that such developments are unsettling and may lead to negative consequences for human society.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.