PTE Reading Practice Test 5

Question 1 : Reading & Writing : Fill In The Blanks

Look at the text below with blanks. Choose the appropriate word from the provided lists for
each blank.

Item 1:

An ______________ type of diamond may have come toEarth from outer space, scientists say.
Called carbonado or "black" diamonds, the_______________stones are found in Brazil and the
Central African Republic. They are________________for being the color of charcoal and full of
frothy bubbles. The diamonds, which can_____________at more than 3,600 carats, can also have
a face that looks like melted glass. Because of their_______________appearance, the diamonds
are_______________as gemstones. Butthey do have industrial applications and were used in the
drill bits that helped dig the Panama Canal. Now a team led by Stephen Haggerty of Florida
International University in Miami has presented a new study ______________that the odd stones
were brought toEarth by an asteroid billions of years ago. The findings were published online in
the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on December 20. The scientists exposed polished
pieces of carbonado to extremely intense infrared light. The test revealed the presence of many
hydrogen-carbon bonds, indicating that the diamonds probably formed in a hydrogen-rich
environment—such as that found in space. The diamonds also showed
strong__________________to tiny Nanodiamonds, which are frequently found in meteorites.
"They're not identical," Haggerty said, "but they're very________________." Astrophysicists, he
added, have developed theories predicting that Nano diamonds form easily in the titanic stellar
explosions called supernovas, which scatter debris through interstellar space. The deposits in the
Central African Republic and Brazil, he said,________________ come from the impact of a
diamond-rich asteroid billions of years ago, when South America and Africa were joined.

1. Eccentric, exotic, weird, terrific

2. Mysterious, surprised, miracle, common
3. Common, ugly, abnormal, unusual
4. Count, weigh, value, weight
5. Pretty, mysterious, common, odd
6. Perfect, unsuitable, remarkable, suitable
7. Proving, suggesting, imposing, declaring
8. Similarities, connections, differences, relationship
9. Different, similar, related, identical
10. Probably, definitely absolutely, usually

Item 2:
There were twenty-six freshmen______________in Englishat Beijing Language Institute in the
class of 1983. I was assigned to Group Two with another eleven boys and girls who had
_______________from big cities in China. I was______________that language study
required smallness so that we would each get more attention from the skillful teachers. The
better the school, the smaller the class. I realized that my classmates were ready all
_______________in English, simple sentences tossedout to each other in their red-faced
introductions and carefree chatting. Their intonations were curving and dramatic and their
pronunciation refined and accurate. But as I stretched to catch the drips and drops of their
humming dialogue, I couldn’t___________________itall, only that it was English. Those
words now flying before me sounded a little familiar. I had read them and tried to speak them,
but I had never heard them_________________backto me in such a speedy, fluent manner.
My big plan of___________________the city folkswas thawing before my eyes.

1. Majoring, considering, taking, studying

2. Derived, come, originated, emerged
3. Told, informed, announced, instructed
4. Speaking, saying, talking, expressing
5. Accept, master, understand, figure
6. Have spoken, spoke, speaking, spoken
7. Beating, conquering, failing, supporting

Item 3:

Drive down any highway, and you’ll see a proliferation of chain restaurants—most likely, if you
travel long and far enough you’ll see McDonald's golden arches as well as signs for Burger
King, Hardee’s, and Wendy’s the “big four” of burgers. Despite its name, Burger King has fallen
short of_______________the burger crown, unableto surpass market leader McDonald's No.
1 sales status. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Burger King remains No. 2. Worse
yet, Burger King has experienced a six-year 22 percent decline in customer traffic, with its
overall quality rating dropping while ratings for the other three________________have
increased. The decline has been_______________toinconsistent product quality and poor
customer service. Although the chain tends to throw advertising dollars at the problem, an
understanding of Integrated Marketing Communication theory would suggest that internal
management problems (nineteen CEOs in fifty years) need to be________________before a
unified, long-term strategy can be put in place. The________________of_______________in
brand image and messages, at all levels of communication, has become a basic tenet of IMC
theory and practice. The person who takes the customer’s order must communicate the same
message as Burger King's famous tagline, "Have it your way,” or the customer will just buzz up
the highway to a chain restaurant that seems more consistent and, therefore, more
________________.

1.Claiming, winning, getting, filing

2.Participants, contestants, contenders, members
 3. Dedicated, attributed, contributed, due
4. Rectified, realized, recognized, ratified
5.Importance, principal, significant, result
6.Quality, service, consistency, management
7. Available, reputable, quality, reliable

Item 4:

The first section of the book covers new modes of assessment. In Chapter 1, Kimbell
(Goldsmith College, London) responds to_______________of design programs as formalistic
and conventional, stating that a focus on risk-taking rather than hard work in design innovation
is equally problematic. His research contains three parts that include preliminary exploration of
design innovation qualities, investigation of resulting classroom practices, and development of
evidence-based assessment. The assessment he describes is presented in the form of a
structured worksheet, which includes a collaborative______________and digital photographs,
in story format. Such a device encourages stimulating ideas, but does not recognize students as
design________________. The assessment sheet includesholistic impressions as well as
details about “having, growing, and proving” ideas._________________judgments are evident
in terms such as “wow” and “yawn” and reward the quality and quantity of ideas with the term,
“sparkiness”, which fittingly is a pun as the model project was to design light bulb packaging. In
addition, the assessment focuses on the process of optimizing or complexity control as well as
proving ideas with thoughtful criticism and not just generation of novel ideas. The definitions for
qualities such as “technical” and “aesthetic” pertaining to users, are too narrow and ill defined.
The author provides_________________of the project,its features and structures, students’
notes and judgments, and their sketches and photographs of finished light bulb packages, in the
Appendix.

1. Praise, results, criticisms, compliments

2. Line, element, factor, figure
3. Makers, leaders, students, innovators
4. Colloquial, formal, traditional, subjective
5. Results, examples, themes, ideas

Item 5:

HERIOT-WATT University in Edinburgh has become the first in Europe to offer an MBA in
Arabic. Arab students will be able to sign up to study at a_______________for the business
courses in their own language. The Edinburgh Business School______________the project at
a reception in Cairo on Saturday. It is hoped the course will improve links between the university
and the Arab business world. A university spokeswoman said: "The Arabic MBA will
_____________the profile of Heriot-Watt Universityand the Edinburgh Business School among
businesses in the Arabic speaking world and will create a strong network of graduates in the
___________." The first____________of students isexpected later this year. Professor Keith
Lumsden, director of Edinburgh Business School, said: "Arabic is a major global language and
the Arab world is a center for business and industrial development. We are proud to work with
Arab International Education to________________thedemands of the region."

1. Distance, discount, distribution, level

2. Announced, convinced, declared, suggested
3. Raise, rise, bring, strengthen
4. Local, region, place, size
5. Enroll, group, intake, season
6. meet, increase the reputation, improve the economy, promote the language

Question 2 : Re-Order Paragraphs

The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in a random order. Restore the original
order by marking it in the correct order.

Item 1:

A.It is not as simple as it appears.

B.Motivation practices and theories are difficult subjects relying on several disciplines.
C.The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees.
D.To do this, the manager should be able to motivate his/her employees.

Item 2:

A.Yet it threw off the older medium crisis, removing at a stroke the painting's unique
capacity to bear witness.
B.How these two medinas leapfrogged through the Victorian age, defining themselves
against one another, is the subject of Tate Britain’s exhibition Painting with Light.
C.Photography, from its appearance in 1839, looked to painting for fundamental models of
depiction.
D.Dependence, rivalry, envy, emulation: painting and photography, like members of a
dysfunctional yet inseparable family, just cannot cast off lineages of influence and
appropriation.

Item 3:

A.Back in 2008 a small company in San Francisco called Airbnb had a dream.
B.Fast Forward to 2016 and the big, successful Airbnb is considered a mainstay of what
we now call “the sharing economy”.
C.People with spare bedrooms would welcome strangers into their homes and share
restaurant recommendations with them for a small fee.
D.It is also the business that defines the mentality of the millennial generation.
Question 3 : Reading - Fill In The Blanks

In the text below some words are missing. Pick words from the box below to the appropriate
place in the text.

Item 1:

One of the characteristics of ‘good’ information identified earlier was that it should be ‘balanced’.
In an_______________world, ‘objective’ or ‘balanced’information would present all the
evidence for and against, and leave you to weigh this up and draw________________. In the
real world, however, we recognize that all information presents a position of interest, although
this may not necessarily be intentional. Objectivity may therefore be an unachievable ideal. This
means that the onus is on you as the reader and user of the information to develop a
________________awareness of the positions representedin what you read, and to take
______________of this when you interpret the information.In some cases, authors may
_____________express a particular viewpoint – thisis perfectly valid as long as they are open
about the perspective they represent. Hidden bias, whether or not it is_______________, can
be misleading.

deliberate explicitly account critical conclusions ideal

Item 2:

The Alpine Newt is native to much of central, continental Europe and_____________up the
coasts of northeast France through to Holland but it does not_______________to have been
native to the British Isles. As its name_______________it can be found in montane habitats up
to 2,500 meters in_________________but it can alsobe abundant in lowlands, and it will use
a_________________of water-bodies including bothshallow and deep ponds and slow flowing
streams (Griffiths, 1995).

suggests appear variety altitude occurs

Item 3:

To _____________ as a conservancy, a committee mustdefine the conservancy’s boundary,

elect a representative conservancy committee, negotiate a legal constitution, prove the
committee’s ability to manage funds, and produce an acceptable plan for_____________
distribution of wildlife- related benefits. Once approved, registered conservancies acquire the
________________to a sustainable wildlife quota,set by the ministry.
 qualify rights equitable

Item 4:

Academic writing is an_______________of logic thatis the product of thinking. This

______________that the writing that you produce isa_______________of your intellectual
abilities. It puts into words your knowledge and your conceptual understanding and shows
________________of your ability to think critically.

reflection evidence expression means

 Sample Answers

Question 1 : Reading & Writing : Fill In The Blanks

Item 1:

1. Exotic
2. Mysterious
3. Unusual
4. Weigh
5. Odd
6. Unsuitable
7. Suggesting
8. Similarities
9. Similar
10. Probably

Item 2:

1. Majoring
2. Come
3. Told
4. Talking
5. Understand
6. Spoken
7. Beating

Item 3:

1. Claiming
2. Contenders
3. Attributed
4. Rectified
5. Importance
6. Consistency
7. Reliable

Item 4:

1. Criticism
2. Element
3. Innovators
4. Colloquial
 5. Examples

Item 5:

1. Distance
2. Announced
3. Raise
4. Region
5. Intake
6. Meet

Question 2 : Re-Order Paragraphs

Item 1:

CDAB

Item 2:

DCAB

Item 3:

ACBD

Question 3 : Reading - Fill In The Blanks

Item 1:

1. Ideal
2. Conclusions
3. Critical
4. Account
5. Explicitly
6. Deliberate

Item 2:

1. Occurs
2. Appear
3. Suggests
4. Altitude
5. Variety
Item 3:

1. Qualify
2. Equitable
3. Rights

Item 4:

1. Expression
2. Means
3. Reflection
4. Evidence