Answer Key Read Aloud 6

Statistics is the practice of collecting and analysing

Speaking data. It involves taking a sample from a small fraction
Personal introduction of a wider population. The information gained from
Sample answer: the sample allows conclusions to be drawn about the
I’m twenty-three years old and I like watching movies population as a whole without having to gather data
and playing online games. I am studying to become on a larger scale.
a dentist. I want to go and work abroad when I finish
my studies, so that I have a chance to experience a Read Aloud 7
new culture That is why I need to take the Pearson The rules of geography often determine how a country
Academic test. I’m happy that I can do the whole test in develops. Countries with a mountainous border have,
one day and get my results very quickly. as a general rule, been much safer than ones with
borders that spread over vast flat lands. At some point,
Read Aloud 1 the size of a country becomes problematic, as long
In many countries, learning a foreign language has supply chains can become unsustainable over time.
been introduced as part of primary school education.
One reason for this is the common idea that children Read Aloud 8
are naturally better language learners. Another is The development of football as a formal, organised
that in today’s world, it’s important to make children sport was hampered by a dispute between Scottish
interested in other cultures. clubs, who wanted to professionalise football, and
English clubs, arguing to keep it amateur. Matches
Read Aloud 2 between the two countries were prohibited, but
Students write far less by hand today than they used this quickly led to a shortage of competitive games.
to in the past. Many universities allow the use of Eventually, England caved in, clearing the way for a
laptops instead of pen and paper in lectures. However, professional domestic league.
it seems using them does not always help the learning
process. Some research shows that most students Read Aloud 9
remember information better when they write notes In many schools, pupils aren’t allowed to use their
by hand. phones during lessons. After all, when pupils spend
too much time checking their phones, it prevents them
Read Aloud 3 from giving their full attention to the lesson. However,
A research study has concluded that physiological the educational possibilities of technology shouldn’t be
measurements taken from wearable device forgotten, because smartphones offer access to a wide
sensors might actually be able to indicate abnormal range of learning activities. Surely balance is the key.
fluctuations relating to infections. It is also thought
that this continuous surveillance of an individual’s Read Aloud 10
health may aid the prevention and containment of Spending time in nature can improve physical and
strains of influenza. mental health. An activity known as the ‘forest bath’
takes this belief one step further. The basic idea is that,
Read Aloud 4 to get the maximum benefit from nature, it’s important
Building the emotional strength and independence to focus on the smells, sounds and general feel of the
of learners is believed to be as important as the environment. Therefore, forest baths involve far more
knowledge gained in traditional lessons. While than a simple walk outside.
not wanting to create an additional subject on the
curriculum, teachers are considering how to enable Read Aloud 11
students to develop teamwork and leadership skills. When governments do not or cannot provide the
Activities outside the classroom are thought to be financial support needed to improve the country’s
essential to achieving this aim. hospitals and schools, citizens themselves may decide
to raise the necessary funds through community
Read Aloud 5 events. The hard work of individuals can help bring
The worldwide effort to cut global carbon emissions is essential services to local communities, but such
gaining momentum, infiltrating all aspects of industry, projects should be in addition to, not instead of
including the growth in electric cars and environmental government spending.
goods and services. This move towards building more
sustainable economies encourages investment and Read Aloud 12
creates job opportunities. As a result, many countries Selecting the right degree is an important decision,
have crossed the threshold into a new industrial era. and it’s natural to consider how particular subjects
affect future career opportunities. While business

1 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
courses are obviously popular choices, creative accurately followed.
subjects like literature or philosophy can be just as Failure to do so will result in the thesis being returned
useful. Such courses encourage creative thinking to you for amendment. You will only be eligible to
skills, and companies value employees who can solve graduate once these conditions are met.
problems by looking at issues from different sides.
Read Aloud 19
Read Aloud 13 Artificial Intelligence has advanced dramatically
This research study investigates the effects of different as a field of study since the early days of slow and
types of music on wild monkeys. The aim of the study cumbersome computers. It can now be regarded as
is to examine changes in monkey behaviour when a mature discipline. Unsurprisingly, many authors
exposed to music, particularly in terms of social have aspired to produce the standard textbook on the
interaction levels. This paper reports several findings subject. Here we review a worthy contender for that
and identifies potential applications for the animal title whose second edition has just been published.
conservation sector.
Read Aloud 20
Read Aloud 14 The purpose of this paper is to make company owners
As a new student at the university, you will receive a and managers aware of the impact of accounting
campus card when you enrol. It is important that you software on business performance. Crucial to any
always carry this card with you when you’re on the company’s success is the availability of the very latest
campus because it is proof of your identity. You will accurate accounting information. Dealing with the
also need it to borrow books from the library, access challenging nature of market uncertainty and the
certain buildings, and pay for items in the cafeteria. tendency towards increased economic globalization
places new demands on accounting information
Read Aloud 15 systems.
It makes sense for experts in a subject to work
together in the same place. Universities are therefore Read Aloud 21
organised into various departments. However, Some people believe that we can never really be
global problems are often extremely complicated, sure if something is true. They say that we make or
and specialists from different areas should work invent knowledge instead of discovering it. As a result,
together to solve them. In this article, it is argued that nobody can ever be certain of anything. It’s all just
economists and scientists benefit if they combine their someone’s opinion.
skills on shared research projects.
Read Aloud 22
Read Aloud 16 You may sometimes notice a particular speech
Traditionally, scientific research has been undertaken pattern where the speaker’s voice rises at the end of a
by universities, government laboratories, or companies sentence. The rise occurs even when it is unnecessary.
in their research and development departments. The speaker, therefore, sounds as if they are asking a
Recently, however, professional scientists have question. As a result, they often sound less confident
sometimes asked ordinary members of the public to in what they’re saying.
help them, especially when they need to collect a huge
amount of data and cannot manage to do this on their Read Aloud 23
own. Such activity is known as citizen science. Proponents of hypnosis promote it as being a
heightened state of consciousness in which the subject
Read Aloud 17 is more susceptible to suggestions. This mental state
This report provides an overview of consumer trends may enable the subject to more effectively work
in global agricultural markets. It is subdivided into through something that is holding them back. Whether
chapters covering the arable, dairy, and meat market or not it actually works is a topic that is hotly debated.
sectors. For each sector, the drivers underlying
consumer trends are analysed. The most notable Read Aloud 24
of these are the increasing demand for organic If you need to locate a title in the university library,
products and heightened public concern regarding start by accessing the library’s directory. This can
environmental issues such as food system emissions. be done from any computer that’s connected to the
university’s server. You can search for the title’s name,
Read Aloud 18 author or publication date. Details of the title’s code
Your thesis must be formatted and bound correctly and directions to its location will then appear.
before submission for assessment, and this guidance
document specifies how this should be done. It is
extremely important that these stipulations are

2 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Repeat Sentence 1 Repeat Sentence 16
The reading list consists of both books and journal Psychologically safe corporate cultures with flat
articles. hierarchies tend to encourage more meaningful
communication.
Repeat Sentence 2
Students are not allowed to write in library books. Repeat Sentence 17
Maintaining concentration can be quite a feat when
Repeat Sentence 3 you’re inundated with phone notifications.
Please remind all visiting lecturers to sign in at
reception. Repeat Sentence 18
The cartographers of yesteryear used traditional
Repeat Sentence 4 mapping techniques rather than satellite imaging and
A successful entrepreneur needs to have ambition, computer technology.
determination and commitment.
Repeat Sentence 19
Repeat Sentence 5 Enzymes can vary in terms of molecular weight and
Active learning involves taking responsibility for your chemical reaction.
own studies and analysing what you know.
Repeat Sentence 20
Repeat Sentence 6 It’s essential to specify all your sources and provide a
Suburban sprawl is the outward expansion of an comprehensive reference list.
urbanized area into its agricultural surroundings.
Repeat Sentence 21
Repeat Sentence 7 Due to maintenance work in the lecture theatre,
Not getting enough sleep has been associated with tomorrow’s seminar will be online.
numerous health risks.
Repeat Sentence 22
Repeat Sentence 8 Moral philosophy focuses on analysing what is right
Artificial intelligence may soon replace social media and wrong, and why.
bloggers with robotic alternatives.
Repeat Sentence 23
Repeat Sentence 9 Companies are using increasingly sophisticated
An annotated bibliography summarises all citation software in an attempt to block hackers.
sources referred to in an academic research paper.
Repeat Sentence 24
Repeat Sentence 10 Many educational researchers attempt to identify
Plants convert carbon, light and water into food via a which type of classroom activity can most enhance
chemical process called photosynthesis. learning.

Repeat Sentence 11 Repeat Sentence 25

Incorporating appealing graphics can be paramount According to research, age affects a person’s capacity
when it comes to creating a film’s visual identity. to learn a language.

Repeat Sentence 12 Repeat Sentence 26

Artificial intelligence enables schools to automate Internal migration within a country can have an impact
administrative tasks, allowing teachers to focus on on regional language variations.
pedagogical matters.
Repeat Sentence 27
Repeat Sentence 13 Meeting customer demands in a timely manner can be
That particular pesticide has been proven to have a challenge for supply managers.
adverse effects on crop yields.
Repeat Sentence 28
Repeat Sentence 14 In the Literature Department, we analyse poetry with
All doctoral candidates should convene in the main the help of established theories.
lecture theatre for the plenary.
Repeat Sentence 29
Repeat Sentence 15 A liability can be a sum of money that a company owes
Tabloid journalism may well be the most commercially a supplier.
viable form of print news media.

3 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Repeat Sentence 30 around one thousand nine hundred metres long,
Please talk to your tutor if you need more time for just under two thousand metres, and its towers are
your essay. about two hundred and eighty metres in height. The
next longest bridge is in Turkey and is only slightly
Repeat Sentence 31 shorter than the one in Japan. Its height is around two
It’s important to think about your final year project hundred and fifty metres, while its length is around
very carefully. one thousand five hundred metres.
The bridge in the USA is the smallest and shortest of
Repeat Sentence 32 the three.
There is surely more than one way to solve this
problem. Describe Image 3
Sample answer:
Repeat Sentence 33 The bar graph shows the percentage of consumer
Make sure you provide examples for all the points you expenditure in the US between the years of 2017
include. and 2018. By far the biggest expense was housing,
taking thirty-three percent of an American’s income. In
Repeat Sentence 34 contrast, the lowest amounts were spent on education,
All Foundation students who pass the year will gain a consisting of just 2.4 percent. It is interesting to note
place on an undergraduate course. that spending on transport accounts for just under
half of the housing budget, and this, according to the
Repeat Sentence 35
figures, accounts for more consumer spending than
The use of laptops or smartphones during class is not
either food or insurance.
allowed.
Describe Image 4
Repeat Sentence 36 Sample answer:
We will announce the winner of the design prize at the The graph shows the percentage of people who
end of this semester. volunteered in the UK between 2013 and 2018. It
shows those who volunteered at least once a month
Repeat Sentence 37
and compares this to those who volunteered for at
You should make a note of the topics the class will
least once in twelve months. Both frequencies of
cover this term.
volunteering follow a similar pattern. There has been
Repeat Sentence 38 a downward trend between 2013 and 2014, and then
Changes in the economy can affect international a fairly stable amount of volunteering afterwards.
business relationships. Around sixty percent of people volunteer once a year,
while around forty percent volunteer around once a
Repeat Sentence 39 month.
Primary school pupils are encouraged to take an
interest in the natural world. Describe Image 5
Sample answer:
Repeat Sentence 40 The graph shows the percentage of the Canadian
Thousands of visitors use these coastal paths every population who drive between 2016 and 2019, and
year. the information for men and for women is shown.
We can see that the percentages of men and women
Describe Image 1 who drive are both increasing, but the number of
Sample answer: women driving is increasing fastest. Whereas in 2016
The pie charts show the blood types that are present more men in Canada drove, at around thirty percent
in two countries, Iceland and Norway. In Iceland, O is compared to twenty-five percent, by 2019 there
the most common blood type, found in around sixty were more women driving, at just over fifty percent
percent of the population. About one third have type compared to fifty percent of men.
A blood. Type B is rarer and type AB is rarer still. In
Norway, around half the population have type A blood Describe Image 6
and type O is found in about forty percent. The figures Sample answer:
for the other two types are similar to Iceland. The graph shows the average travel time to work
using various modes of transport, which goes up to
Describe Image 2 a maximum of sixty minutes. The longest commute
Sample answer: on average was by rail, which took just under sixty
The graph shows the dimensions of three suspension minutes. In comparison, the shortest average
bridges. The longest is the bridge in Japan. This is commute was on foot, where people spent an average

4 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
of around fifteen minutes getting to work. Describe Image 11
Commuting by car and bus took almost equal amounts Sample answer:
of time, around forty minutes on average. Commuting The graph shows the use of mobile phone apps by
by motorbike took slightly longer than cycling, both college students in two different years: 2019 and 2020.
taking between twenty and twenty-five minutes. For both years, using apps for social reasons and for
listening to music scored the highest percentages.
Describe Image 7 From 2019 to 2020, the use of social apps decreased
Sample answer: from eighty-two percent to seventy-five percent, while
The table shows what gifts people plan to buy for next the use of music apps increased from seventy-seven
Mother’s Day in the US. The majority said that they are percent to eighty-one percent. Games and reference
going to buy a card, and this is followed by flowers, apps were used at similar levels. However, there was a
with over half of the people choosing them as gifts. decrease in the use of both in 2020.
Clothing is less popular. The cost of the different items
is very different. The most expensive are flowers, at Describe Image 12
twenty dollars thirty-one cents, a little over the average Sample answer:
that people expect to spend on clothing. Greetings The graph shows the estimated numbers of five
cards are a much cheaper option. animal species in Kruger National Park over a period
of three years. As we can see, there are more zebras
Describe Image 8 in the park than any of the other animals. However,
Sample answer: there has been a decrease in the number of zebras,
The bar chart shows the participation of men and giraffes and elephants since 2018. For example, in
women in sports in the UK in 2008. The two most 2018 there were eight thousand giraffes, but this
popular sporting activities for both males and females dropped to about four thousand five hundred in 2020.
were going to the gym or fitness centre and swimming, It’s interesting to note that the number of hippos and
with around fifteen percent of the male and female buffaloes has increased over these years.
populations participating in each. More men went
cycling than women. Around fifteen percent of men Describe Image 13
cycled compared to just five percent of women, and it Sample answer:
was a similar story with football, with around fifteen The graph shows the percentages of global goods
percent of males and just one percent of females imports for five countries, and how this changed
playing the sport. Women were more likely to enjoy from 1999 to 2019. In 1999, the US imported more
yoga, though. goods than any other country. This was followed by
Germany, the UK, Japan, and China. However, things
Describe Image 9 had changed by 2019. The US was still the biggest
Sample answer: importer, but almost all the countries had reduced
This chart shows the energy drink consumption in the their percentage of imported goods. By contrast,
EU by 3- to 60-year-olds between 2010 and 2020. The China’s imports increased from about three percent to
levels in 2010 and 2017 were the same, at 500 million over ten percent.
litres consumed. It is interesting to note there was a
peak in 2014 where they went up to 600 million litres, Describe Image 14
but the biggest jump, perhaps most significantly, was Sample answer:
in 2020 when it went up by three hundred million litres The graph shows the income which a football club
in the space of three years. received from its club shops and the Internet store,
TV and radio, and stadium sales over six seasons from
Describe Image 10 2013 to 2018. The money from sales during the games
Sample answer: fell from two hundred million to one hundred and fifty
The two charts show the activities of students after million pounds. By contrast, the other two income
leaving college with a first degree or a postgraduate sources sharply increased. Incomes from club shops
degree. Sixty-seven percent of the postgraduates and the Internet store reached just over three hundred
got full-time jobs while only fifty-five percent of the and fifty million pounds. The most dramatic rise was in
first-degree students found full-time employment. radio and TV income.
However, twenty percent of the first-degree students
found part- time jobs, compared with fourteen Describe Image 15
percent of the postgraduates. More students with a Sample answer:
first degree went on to do further studies and there This bar chart shows the maths and science subjects
was slightly more unemployment among those with a studied by male and female students at a college.
postgraduate degree. The largest number of male students studied maths.
The most popular subject among female students
was medicine. The subjects studied by more men

5 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
than women were chemistry, maths, and physics. By automation are managers.
contrast, biology and medicine were studied by more
women than men. The biggest difference between the Describe Image 20
genders relates to medicine and physics. For example, Sample answer:
about one hundred men were studying physics, The data shows there are significant demographic
compared to just fifty women. differences relating to the amount of physical activity
that children take. Boys are more active than girls, with
Describe Image 16 over half of boys participating regularly in sports.
Sample answer: Seventy-eight percent of children take part in physical
The bar chart shows the results of a survey about exercise at school. In their free time, this drops to just
workers’ favourite types of office. The most popular over fifty percent after school and below fifty percent
choice was a medium shared office with between four at weekends. If these results represent all physical
and nine people. activity undertaken by children, then it seems that the
Eighty-five percent of the workers chose this as their majority of them do not have active lifestyles.
favourite option. The least selected choice was an
open-plan office. Eighty percent of the workers disliked Describe Image 21
that kind of work space. Working in an individual office Sample answer:
was also not very popular. When talking about small The annual survey into student satisfaction with
shared offices with two to three people, sixty-five university library services shows that there was a
percent liked this option, but thirty-five percent didn’t. marked improvement in satisfaction rates between
2018 and 2019. Students were asked if they thought
Describe Image 17 the library was the best place for them to study. The
Sample answer: percentage of students who strongly agreed with the
The bar chart shows the percentage of people who statement rose significantly by thirteen percent in
shopped using online stores in five age groups over 2019. What’s more, there was a noticeable drop in
three years. With the exception of the thirty-one to the number of students who strongly disagreed with
forty age group, where there was a slight drop in 2019, the statement: from eight to four percent. The survey
an increasing percentage of people of all ages shopped reveals that most students are satisfied with the
online from 2017 to 2019. People in the eighteen to facilities provided.
twenty-five age category used online shopping the
most. Generally speaking, the younger someone was, Describe Image 22
the more online shopping they did. Sample answer:
This chart illustrates mobile device usage for leisure
Describe Image 18 purposes by age and gender. By far the highest
Sample answer: percentage of leisure time spent using mobile devices
The two bar charts show the diets of male and female is by the under twenty-fives. In all age groups males
college students in 2018 and 2019. For both men and outnumber females, with men and boys aged under
women, eating healthy food generally was the most twenty-five spending over thirty-five percent of their
common diet. For example, the percentage of men leisure time on their devices. Mobile device use for
following this diet rose from sixty to sixty-five percent. leisure purposes declines gradually with age, with
Over the two years, the percentage of those following both males and females over the age of sixty spending
a vegan and a vegetarian diet increased for both males less than half the amount of time on mobile devices
and females. During the same period, there was a fall compared to the under twenty-fives.
in the percentage of men and women following an
ordinary diet. Describe Image 23
Sample answer:
Describe Image 19 This graph shows the ratio between productivity
Sample answer: and workers’ income growth in advanced economies
The risk of being replaced by a robot varies between 1950 and 2000. Productivity and income
considerably between different employment sectors. growth were increasing rapidly at the same rate until
Office workers are the sector most at risk in the the mid-1960s. But while productivity rose steeply
immediate future. Over the longer term, it’s factory in the following decades, income growth remained
workers who are most likely to lose their jobs. It’s relatively static. In the mid-twentieth century, workers
predicted that over sixty percent of these jobs could were paid according to how much they produced.
be done by robotic automation by 2037. Craft workers But as productivity soared in the second half of the
face a similar fate with almost fifty percent of these century, there was no longer a strong connection
jobs being taken over by robots. There is a slower rise between how much people were paid and how much
in automation for technicians and service and sales they produced.
workers. The sector predicted to be least affected by

6 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Describe Image 24 Retell Lecture 4
Sample answer: Sample answer:
This chart shows that the number of cars sold in Research has found that climate change can have a
Europe was slightly higher in 2020 than in 1991. negative impact on people’s health and wellbeing, as
During this period, the number of cars sold fluctuated well as on the natural environment. People can suffer
considerably. It fell sharply at least twice: at the start from a loss of livelihood as well as a loss of attachment
of the 1990s and after 2007. It grew rapidly a few times to place due to the impacts of climate change.
as well: for instance, from eleven million to about Unfortunately, the people most likely to experience
fifteen million between 1994 and 2000, or from almost these negative effects personally are also often the
twelve million to fifteen and a half million from 2015 to least likely to be able to access healthcare.
2018.
Retell Lecture 5
Describe Image 25 Sample answer:
Sample answer: Women have been under-represented in the STEM
The bar chart shows the total UK greenhouse gas subjects, which lead to prestigious careers and higher
emissions in 2016 by sector. At twenty- seven salaries, and while the numbers of women in Science
percent, transport was the most significant producer and Engineering are growing steadily and meeting
of greenhouse gases. It was closely followed by targets, this is not true yet for Technology.
the energy-generating sector. Business produced Companies say they are willing to address the
seventeen percent of emissions and this was almost imbalance, but there are not enough women to
on a par with the residential sector. Other sectors take these professional positions. However, there is
responsible for emissions were agriculture and optimism that the situation is changing and that the
forestry, which accounted for seven percent. The rest gap will be narrower in the future.
of the greenhouse gases produced were attributed to
waste and other sectors. Retell Lecture 6
Sample answer:
Retell Lecture 1 Agricultural robots, or agribots, are being developed
Sample answer: to help farmers produce crops and take care of them.
The Shard is London’s tallest building and a number There are three types currently being tested – one to
of new engineering techniques were used in its help with the growth of plants, another for fertilising
construction. The foundations were dug at the same plants and the third to get rid of any weeds. Once
time as the concrete centre of the building was put up, they have been tested, it is hoped that they will be
which had never been done with a skyscraper before. able to work significantly faster and more efficiently
Another innovation was that the building’s lift shaft than humans. They are self-powered and run
was used to take people and materials up and down independently, and will be able to tell the difference
during construction. Finally, the spire at the top was between food, plants and crops. The agricultural
assembled over the building at a height of 300 metres. robotics market is growing rapidly.

Retell Lecture 2 Retell Lecture 7

Sample answer: Sample answer:
Before the late 15th century, vocal music was far Humans have wanted to go to Mars for many
more important than instrumental music. Instruments generations, and this may soon come true.
were mainly used to accompany singers and they There are good reasons to go to Mars. We might learn
played the same notes that were sung. From the late more about our own planet and about what happens
15th century, however, much more instrumental when the climate changes. The innovations necessary for
music was written. Two reasons for this were that successfully making the journey to Mars, such as the use
instruments, such as the organ, had undergone many of solar power, are also likely to provide lasting benefits.
improvements, and that new dances became popular.
Retell Lecture 8
Retell Lecture 3 Sample answer:
Sample answer: A car park needs a marketing and advertising strategy
Companies used to primarily consider cost and like any other business. Many car parks are hidden
speed when deciding what method of transport to from view by buildings, and a sign outside can generate
use for shipping goods. Although these two factors interest in special rates, or just tell customers where
are still very important, the environmental impact of to find the car park. There may be a chance of sharing
transporting goods has now become another major marketing opportunities with other local businesses
factor in the decision-making process, with some to sell products or provide special parking for special
companies choosing rail and sea ahead of air due to events. What is important is to have a marketing plan.
the damaging effect of air travel on the environment.

7 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Retell Lecture 9 are the same, they keep the cards and have another
Sample answer: turn. The child turns over a picture of a boat and
Historically, mantelpieces and fireplaces have been bicycle so he keeps the cards.
a focal point within a family home, being places
where people would congregate and where personal Answer Short Question 1
ornaments would be displayed, often to show off a stethoscope
family’s wealth and status. Nowadays, people are more
likely to meet around a television, but mantelpieces Answer Short Question 2
remain fairly common and are often used for storage. helmet

Retell Lecture 10 Answer Short Question 3

Sample answer: eight
Nature was a clear source of inspiration for
Shakespeare. Firstly, he used it as the actual setting of Answer Short Question 4
many of his plays. He also used nature in an abstract pentagon
way to convey emotions and social or psychological
themes. The forest is the landscape Shakespeare Answer Short Question 5
is probably most closely associated with. However, prison
it represents different concepts depending on the
Answer Short Question 6
genre. In his comedies, the forest represents fantasy
one hundred
and magic, and the ability to transform oneself as a
form of escapism. By contrast, in his tragedies, the Answer Short Question 7
forest represents a much more dangerous aspect of monitor
transformation.
Answer Short Question 8
Retell Lecture 11 reservoir
Sample answer:
The speaker is talking about technology you wear Answer Short Question 9
which gives you information. It does this using some monolingual
kind of electronic equipment which is attached to your
skin. Many people already use this technology when Answer Short Question 10
they do sport, for example you can wear a special acknowledgements / acknowledgement
watch which records the distance you’ve run. As for
the future of this technology, there’s currently a gap Answer Short Question 11
between what the fashion industry would like the asterisk
technology to do and what it can do at the moment.
To solve this problem, scientists and engineers need to Answer Short Question 12
carry out research. thesaurus / synonym finder

Retell Lecture 12 Answer Short Question 13

Sample answer: pie chart / pie
The speaker is talking about when people who work
for different companies or work for themselves share Answer Short Question 14
an office to do their work in. It has the advantages of review
both working in a traditional office and of working at
home. Answer Short Question 15
Meeting new people gives you the chance to share weather forecast / weather report / weather
ideas and knowledge, and maybe create something programme
new. It’s good for people who usually work at home
Answer Short Question 16
because they can feel lonely. Meeting like this might
failure
not happen if people work in offices in different parts
of town. Answer Short Question 17
In the video, the woman is showing teachers how to prince
play a game with children. The game is to practise
different sounds. The cards are for three different Answer Short Question 18
sounds, b, k and t. The cards have a picture of the vowel
sound or a picture of an object that starts with that
sound. The child turns over two cards. If the sounds

8 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Answer Short Question 19 Answer Short Question 39
volunteer procedure

Answer Short Question 20 Answer Short Question 40

decade shortage / scarcity / dearth

Answer Short Question 21 Summarize Group Discussion 1

taxpayer Sample answer:
The three speakers are university students talking
Answer Short Question 22 about finding a way to manage study and social life.
model The first speaker starts by saying that their
coursework takes up most of their day and that it’s
Answer Short Question 23 difficult to make time for their friends. They don’t want
bestseller / blockbuster to miss out on all the fun, but they feel guilty for not
studying more. This is because they have been taught
Answer Short Question 24 that education comes before anything else. Speaker
boot / trunk / luggage compartment 1 likes the idea of making time to build relationships
and realises that making friends is important for their
Answer Short Question 25
well-being.
chalk
Speaker 2 explains that meeting friends is very
Answer sShort Question 26 important to them, so they organise their coursework
saddle to have some free time for themselves. They
understand that spending time with friends is useful
Answer Short Question 27 for their well-being and to avoid feeling lonely. They
poster study hard all week, but they keep one evening free
to go out and have fun at the weekend. Studying with
Answer Short Question 28 friends is helpful to feel less lonely, but they are now
fraction considering joining a club or after-class activities where
they could meet their friends without waiting for the
Answer Short Question 29 weekend.
empirical The third speaker agrees that enjoying free time
with friends is important for a student but prefers to
Answer Short Question 30 study alone. They say that their friends expect them to
truancy celebrate important events together and that making
time for relationships is important to avoid becoming
Answer Short Question 31 lonely. They think the solution might be to join a sports
commuter club so they can keep fit at the same time.
Answer Short Question 32 Summarize Group Discussion 2
paramedic Sample answer:
The three students are making plans to take part in a
Answer Short Question 33 competition that their university has organised.
jet lag The first student is giving information about the
competition. It’s a student film competition and
Answer Short Question 34
students have to create a short film to promote the
debate
positive points of the university. She says that students
Answer Short Question 35 can work in groups of no more than three people. The
evidence university will show the films on their social media
channel before choosing the winner, and the winners
Answer Short Question 36 will receive a cash prize. The first student wants to
invitation persuade her friends to take part in the competition
with her because they all enjoy making films.
Answer Short Question 37 The second student is very interested in the
architect competition and suggests several ideas for the film.
He thinks the film should be about the social aspects
Answer Short Question 38 of student life. For example, they can show students
psychology playing sports on campus, or cooking food together
in their accommodation. He wants to show that the

9 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
university offers a good balance between study and something is confusing, because just listening to the
leisure because that’s important to people when they same explanation a second time doesn’t help her to
are choosing a university. understand.
The third student is talking about some possible Then they suggested possible reasons for the
difficulties with filming on campus and makes college’s decision to stop recording lectures. They all
suggestions about what they should do next. agreed that there were good reasons for this decision,
He says some places will be too crowded, and there for example there could be practical problems with
are some places where they can’t film without getting clearly audible recordings, there might be
permission. He suggests that first they choose the other technical issues, or some students might be
best locations on the campus. He also suggests filming tempted to watch recordings instead of going to the
outside the library because it’s a beautiful building and live lectures.
people sit and chat there. The final point they talked about was what action
they should take about this change. One of the female
Summarize Group Discussion 3 students suggested finding out what other students
Sample answer: think and sharing this information with staff, but the
The woman is interviewing two university students. man said it might be enough to let individual students
She explains that the university wants to build more decide what they want to do. The other woman agreed
accommodation because more students want to that they do not need to do much. She suggested
study at the university. She asks two students to talk possibly talking to the tutors, but she said she didn’t
about their ideas about student accommodation. want to make a complaint, because she thinks not
She asks them not to discuss price or location. Both having recordings of lectures is a good idea.
students think it’s a good idea to build more student
accommodation. They say the university should focus Summarize Group Discussion 5
on two things: the study bedrooms and the social Sample answer:
facilities. The three speakers are college students discussing the
The male student says that study bedrooms don’t challenges and possible solutions of working on group
need to be very big, but they should look attractive. For projects.
example, they should have large windows and bright Group meetings were the biggest problem for one
colours. This makes the rooms feel like real homes. student. In their group project, because everyone
The female student says that having a fast internet had such different lives, it was very difficult to get the
connection for making video calls and streaming is whole group together and the progress was very slow.
more important. Another student had a similar experience, but they
Both students mention social facilities and places found a solution. Instead of trying to organise group
that students can use when they aren’t studying. meetings, they split the project into sections and set
The female student says that a lot of students enjoy deadlines, so everyone could work on their part of the
exercising but are very busy, so she says having a gym project by themselves.
with fitness classes in the accommodation is a good Another problem during group work is that not
idea. The male student doesn’t think this is necessary everyone does their job. One of the students talked
because the university already has a large sports about a group project where only two people did most
centre on the campus. of the work, while others didn’t do much work at all.
He would like the university to include more social This student suggests setting clear roles for everyone
areas in the accommodation where people can sit and in the group. Another student had a similar experience
chat. For example, there should be a large kitchen with where a group member kept making excuses for not
a table. This will help students make new friends and doing his work. The third student suggests using an
feel comfortable while they are living away from their online shared document to make sure everyone is
home. making progress.
The three students agree that problems with
Summarize Group Discussion 4 communication can make group work more
Sample answer: difficult. Group chats are full of all different kinds of
The three students discussed the possibility that their conversations. One student feels it’s better to keep
college may stop providing students with recordings of a special chat just for group projects, so it’s easy to
their lectures. find the important information. This is also useful for
The first point they discussed was how useful letting everyone know if there are any problems.
the recordings are for them. The first two students One of them suggests that a weekly phone call would
thought that having a recording is good in case they provide a useful check on progress. Another one
miss a lecture or if they have difficulty understanding agrees and says they’d be happy to try all the useful
something. However, the third student disagreed. ideas that have been suggested.
She said it’s better to speak directly to the tutor if

10 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Summarize Group Discussion 6 helping the college magazine in other ways. She offers
Sample answer: to help promote the magazine. She says she can help
The three speakers are university students talking the magazine by using social media to increase its
about accommodation and how to manage their number of readers.
money while studying.
One big decision is where to live. Staying in a room Summarize Group Discussion 8
on campus is easy because everything is close, but Sample answer:
it can be expensive. Renting a shared apartment is Three students discussed giving presentations at
usually cheaper because you can split the rent and college. The first speaker explained that he was
bills with roommates, but you’ll need to clean and pay worried about giving a presentation in class because
for anything you break. Living with a family feels like he thought he might forget something. He accepted
home, and meals are prepared for you, but you have that it’s important to learn how to do presentations
to follow their rules, so there’s less freedom. because they may well need to do them when they
The students have different ideas to save money. start working. That is why he has been to some
One way is to use an app to see where money goes workshops to help him develop his presentation
each month. Cooking at home is much cheaper than skills. He recommended these workshops to the other
takeaways and buying food from shops in the evening students.
can save you a lot of money because many items The second speaker said that she plans to prepare
are cheaper. Many places offer student discounts on cards with notes on to use in her presentation. She
transport, restaurants, and entertainment. Buying agreed that presentations are difficult, especially when
usedbooks and clothes and thinking before buying can people ask questions. She liked the third speaker’s
save you a lot of money too. suggestion of practising together. She was less sure
One of the students mentions that saving money about why they have to do presentations at college
is not always enough, so two of them suggest ways to because, in her opinion, preparing a presentation is
earn extra income. One is happy with walking dogs harder work and causes more stress. However, she
at the weekend because it doesn’t take too much of was interested in the workshops the first speaker
their time. The other has a part-time job at a café and mentioned, because they would give her a chance to
mentions some jobs often available on campus, like practise her presenting skills. So far, she has only done
at the student office, at the canteen, or at the sports training online.
centre. They both agree that a part-time job can be The third speaker also agreed that presentations
helpful, but it’s important to find something that leaves are not easy. He thought that the female student’s
you with enough time to study. suggestion of using cards was a good one, and he
said he thought it would be a good idea for them to
Summarize Group Discussion 7 practise doing their presentations together. He agreed
Sample answer: with her that preparing presentations takes more
The three students are talking about their college time than writing because there are more things to
magazine. One of the students, Ali, is the editor and include. He understood that they will have to do more
she’s decided to leave the role to focus on her studies. presentations on the course, and he accepted that this
She’s really enjoyed being an editor because there’s a will help him to improve, especially if he gets useful
lot of variety, and she has a lot of freedom to choose feedback.
unusual topics. She wants to persuade the other
two students to get involved in the college magazine Summarize Group Discussion 9
because they can learn a lot of useful skills for their Sample answer:
future careers, like giving feedback. If they don’t want Two students are talking to a member of staff about
to be the editor, there are other things they can do. their college website.
The male student, Ash, is interested in becoming The staff member explains that she’s involved in
the editor. He believes he has the right skills, and Ali improving the website. She says she’s interested in the
agrees. For example, he’s very organised and has students’ experience of how easy it is to use it. Both
lots of creative ideas. Ash also thinks working for the students had problems using it. The man says some
college magazine would help improve his skills when information, like dates and accommodation details,
working in groups. He decides to apply for the editor was difficult to find, and the woman explains that the
role. If he isn’t successful, he’d like to write some way the information was organised was unclear.
articles for the magazine instead. They both had to call the college to get the information
The other female student isn’t interested in applying they needed, which took more time.
for the editor role. She says she doesn’t have the right They also give their opinions about the appearance
skills to be an editor for two reasons. First, she doesn’t of the website. The two students like how the website
want to lead a team of people, and second, she doesn’t looks, but the man suggests adding more recent
like working to deadlines. Instead, she’s interested in photos to make it more attractive. This is something

11 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
that is already planned, according to the member she wouldn’t find in published information. The male
of staff. She would like to use photos which students student explained that he couldn’t attend one himself,
have taken, and she invites these two students to send but he realises how useful they can be for helping new
her some. The female student says that another good students settle in.
thing to have on the website could be student reviews The male student then enquired about how the
and comments, which students could update regularly. open days might impact on the daily lives of current
This would give people the student point of view about students, and the woman said she also wanted to
the college. The woman agrees that this is a good idea. know this as she would need to work in the library. The
The woman likes the students’ suggestions and asks tutor understood their concerns and explained that it
them to consider working on improving the website. might be sensible to find somewhere else to study, as
The female student accepts the offer, because this the visitors would be shown the library on their tour
would help with her future career. The male student is of the whole campus as they needed to see all the
a little unsure because he is busy with his studies and facilities available. The female student was grateful for
other activities, but agrees it could be good to do, so the information and understood that everywhere on
he says he will think about it. campus was likely to be busy. She said she hoped to
have completed most of her assignment before the
Summarize Group Discussion 10 open days.
Sample answer: Finally, the male student checked with the tutor
Three students are discussing a talk about space whether he needed volunteers for one of the open
research. Two of them attended the talk, but the third days, and suggested that he and the other student
student missed it. might both be able to do it. The tutor was grateful for
The first student explains what the talk was about, the offer, explaining that they’d find it fun and they
that is how space research affects life on earth, could choose when they helped and what they would
and the second student gives some examples, like do. The male student said he thought this would be
medicine and technology. They both agree that the a good thing to do and might help when applying for
speaker was very good. The third student, who missed jobs in the future.
the talk, explains that she knows a lot about the
subject because it is an area of personal interest. She Summarize Group Discussion 12
mentions the environment as another example of how Sample answer:
space research affects us. The students are checking they have understood the
In response, the second speaker introduces a task requirements and are discussing whether to use a
discussion of arguments people have against space poster activity as part of their presentation.
research, making the point that many people think First, the students talk about what they have to do
it’s a waste of time. The first speaker says some in the presentation. They mention the task guidelines
people believe the money spent on space research and their tutor’s advice when they discuss this. One of
could be spent on other things, like healthcare and the task requirements is the presentation length. The
education. The third speaker returns to the topic of the presentation is longer than usual – thirty minutes, and
environment and says this is sometimes seen the content must be shared equally, which means that
as an argument against space research because travel everyone should have an equal role.
into space creates harmful emissions. She explains They also need to include a visual element. The
that space research has both positive and negative students discussed whether this could include posters
implications, and it’s important to consider them all. rather than presentation slides, and confirmed that
The first speaker asks them to think about the focus posters would be allowed.
of a group assignment on the topic of space that they The students also considered how to ensure
have to do together. The third speaker suggests they that presentation content is memorable. Their
choose a different aspect of the topic from what was tutor emphasised this so the students think it is
covered in the talk and do their assignment on space important. They were initially worried that having a
tourism, and the male student agrees that this will be a poster wouldn’t be interesting enough for the whole
good area to discuss because they could cover several presentation.
different and interesting elements of space tourism. The idea that the three students talked about was
using a kind of poster gallery activity during their
Summarize Group Discussion 11 presentation. The audience can walk around and
Sample answer: look at a series of posters, like in an art gallery. The
A tutor informed two students about the college open students were in favour of this because it meets the
days planned for next week. He wanted them to know requirement of being memorable. The female student
what to expect on these days. The female student also pointed out that doing this type of activity would
explained how useful attending an open day had help them cover a lot of information in a simple way
been for her, because she was able to discover things so the audience would find it easier to remember a

12 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
lot of it. On the other hand, there were concerns that They then went on to discuss their concerns about
this activity wouldn’t meet the requirements of each the restaurant. The teacher and student had noticed
student having an equal share of the presentation. that there was a lot of food waste and nowhere to
It was felt therefore that they needed to give the fill up water bottles. The Head addressed this by
presentation more thought. saying that although the canteen was independently
managed, she had consulted with the managers and
Summarize Group Discussion 13 agreed on certain changes such as reducing food
Sample answer: waste, discounting items and providing water coolers.
Two students are in a discussion with their teacher Finally, they discussed the university’s
about the role of technology in education. They talk environmental policies going forward. The Head
about their experiences and opinions and discuss said that more needed to be done and outlined
some advantages and disadvantages. the university’s plans, which include energy-saving
The first student prefers using online research measures, solar panels and education for staff and
tools rather than having to use the reference section students on environmental issues.
of a library. However, he finds that he can easily go
off track and start looking on social media when he is Summarize Group Discussion 15
supposed to be studying, and this has had a negative Sample answer:
effect on him. Nevertheless, technology has overall The first speaker was enthusiastic about a lecture
been beneficial to his studies for example, in helping where a lecturer shared the results of research he is
him record his lectures and organise his notes in an doing. He says that learning about lecturers’ research
effective way. is something he really values. Then he mentions
The teacher responds to the point about online that he also enjoys having lectures because there
research by warning that although there is a wealth of is no pressure to contribute anything. As he is only
information out there, students have to be careful to required to sit and listen, he finds it easy to think and
analyse the quality of their sources. He is concerned make notes on what he hears. However, he admits
about the rise in cheating such as when students he wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to
take a text from the internet rather than writing it discuss ideas with other students because this helps
themselves. On a personal level, the teacher thinks him come up with ideas.
that technology such as document sharing and The second speaker responded by saying that she
communication platforms makes his job easier, and wants practical assistance with her assignments, and
he enjoys using technology such as videos in the she doubts whether students can receive this support
classroom. in lectures so large. Then she described an experience
The second student says that she prefers face to she had last year while studying overseas. She had
face lessons rather than having a class online and she one-to-one lessons with a teacher where they talked
has also found that she learns more when the teacher about an essay she had written and the topics in it. She
uses visual technology during lectures. However, she liked the fact that she had all the teacher’s attention
feels that writing essays is more time-consuming and that they gave her personal feedback on her work
because she wastes a lot of time researching on the so she could improve her essays.
internet and much of the information she finds there The third speaker mentioned that he would feel
isn’t useful and so can’t be used. nervous and uncomfortable in a one-to-one tutorial
though. His preferred way of learning would be in
Summarize Group Discussion 14 small-group seminars, because students still get
Sample answer: personal attention from their teacher but without
A student, a teacher and the Head of the university being under pressure to contribute all of the time.
are discussing their current concerns regarding the He also valued the fact that you can discuss your
university’s environmental policies on campus and ideas with other students and hear their opinions in
looking at ways it could be improved in the future. seminars.
Three main issues were discussed.
The first thing they talked about was the issue of Summarize Group Discussion 16
paper use on campus. The student believed that they Sample answer:
are being given too many paper worksheets and there The first speaker began by announcing that the
should be more use of technology in the classroom. Biology department will again be able to pay for an
Students are doing their best to make notes on their intern to work in the department this semester. This
devices rather than on paper. The teacher said teaching speaker then outlined the duties that the successful
staff were trying to use less paper and there were candidate would have to fulfil. These included
policies in place regarding reducing the amount of supporting students who have fallen behind with
printing being done. The Head pointed out that there their studies by giving tutorial sessions. The aim of
was a successful recycling system already in operation. these sessions would be to revise key concepts that

13 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
students need to be familiar with and deal with any Summarize Group Discussion 18
misunderstandings or questions that have arisen. In Sample answer:
addition to that, the intern will also work as a research The three students discuss research for a history
assistant in a lab, assisting members of staff with their project they have to do.
research. The first point they discuss is how time-consuming
The second speaker seemed to be most interested research can be. The first student introduces the
in the academic skills and personal qualities that the problem of how long research takes when there are so
intern candidate would need to have. She mentioned many resources to consider. The second student says
the importance of academic knowledge, which would the time needed for research also bothers him, but it’s
help the intern to run the tutorials, and the ability to more of a problem when there aren’t many resources
cooperate with other people in a team while working to look at. The third student agrees that research
in the lab in a very precise and accurate way. This takes time, but she’s glad when there is a choice of
speaker also said that the right candidate needed to resources.
be a very friendly and open person and urged the The second point they discuss is using appropriate
other speakers to keep these personal qualities in and reliable resources. The second student introduces
mind during the selection process. this point by saying how important it is to use accurate
The third speaker talked about the experience the information, which the third student agrees with,
intern would need to have to fulfil their duties. She mentioning that online resources can be particularly
emphasised how important it is that the intern has problematic in this respect. The first student agrees
both teaching experience and research experience in and explains that this is why she prefers to consult
a lab. She explained that these were not things that books rather than websites when doing her research.
could be learnt rapidly and received the response from The third point, which the first student introduces,
another speaker that all graduate biology students is about including references in their assignments.
should be familiar with research work in the lab. She says she gets frustrated by having to include
detailed references in a specific way in assignments
Summarize Group Discussion 17 and it’s something she often forgets to plan time for.
Sample answer: The other female student agrees. She accepts that
This discussion focuses on an issue that one of the referencing is important but admits that she finds it
speakers is currently experiencing and possible difficult to do it in the correct way. The male student
solutions for it. The issue is that the student is wonders whether it would be acceptable to use AI
struggling with her studies because she’s finding it for this type of repetitive task but the first student
difficult to read all of the books on her reading list in thinks there are doubts over the reliability of AI for
the time available. She explains that she was used to referencing and she suggests they just have to accept
having more time to do this when she was at school it as a frustrating task they have to complete for any
and she’s finding it difficult to adjust to the change in assignment.
the volume of reading she has to do at university level.
The first solution suggested is that the struggling Summarize Group Discussion 19
student could get through the books she has to read Sample answer:
faster if she looks through their pages with the aim The two students are new to using the library
of identifying the most important ideas and points in resources and need help to complete their first
them. She can then just make notes on these relevant university assignment. The first difficulty the students
points. mentioned was how to use the library’s resources. The
The second solution mentioned is asking lecturers male student was amazed by the size of the library.
for help. The struggling student is encouraged to The female student was struggling to find relevant
explain her situation to her lecturers so they can information when using the library catalogue.
advise her about what action to take. The other The librarian gave a brief overview of how to search
speakers emphasise the willingness of university staff for resources. He gave some simple tips to make
members to help students who are having difficulties. searching more effective, such as using key phrases
One speaker mentions that lecturers are interested and limiting date ranges. However, he strongly
in promoting students’ well-being and that he has recommended that the students book a full library
benefitted from asking a lecturer for help. tour because that goes into more detail.
The final solution they talk about is learning to make The second issue the students were having with
effective decisions about what sections of books to the resources was about the type of sources to use.
read and which articles are actually worth reading. It is The students had received a basic reading list at the
suggested that the struggling student could do this by start of the term but didn’t feel comfortable using
paying attention to what the chapter headings and journal articles even though the tutor had advised they
the abstracts of journal articles tell them about what should. One of them wanted to continue using books.
the content is likely to be.

14 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
 The librarian encouraged the students to use idea to focus on choosing a topic for the project when
journal articles for their university assignments we meet.
rather than just relying on their book list. Journal
articles often provide information about very specific Respond to a Situation 2
topics and are very useful if you want to discuss Sample answer:
the latest research findings about an issue. More Hey Max, did you know that the college is organising
generally, the students weren’t sure how to approach a welcome party for new students like us? I’m sure it’ll
their assignment. One student felt that university be lots of fun. I’d love to go but I don’t feel like going
assignments would be different to schoolwork and the alone. What about going together? It’ll be much more
other student agreed. enjoyable that way. I think it’ll be a great opportunity
The librarian encouraged the students to access the to meet some new people at the college. We might
library’s video tutorials on research skills before they meet some people who share similar interests to us or
start writing their assignment. He recommended that who are on our courses. What do you think?
they focus on organising their sources.
Respond to a Situation 3
Summarize Group Discussion 20 Sample answer:
Sample answer: Excuse me, I’ve got a question about the sports centre
Two students are having a discussion with the head opening hours. I’ve been coming here for a long time,
of the university about some of the issues raised via a but the recent change to the timetable means that I
student questionnaire regarding the university’s sports can’t use the facilities as often as I used to, because I
provision. The focus was on the gym on campus and have to study when the sports centre is open. Doing
the representatives explained the comments they had sport is important to me, so can you explain the
received, and the Head addressed them. reason for the change to the opening hours?
The first complaint concerned the fact that the size
of the gym doesn’t match demand. Students have Respond to a Situation 4
Sample answer:
reported that there isn’t much room to exercise. One
Excuse me, I was wondering if you could give me some
of the students suggested that the gym could be
advice. I’m thinking of trying a new activity while I’m at
expanded by opening up an underused storeroom.
college, so I’d like to join a student club. I’m really into
The Head agreed that the room could be used as
team sports because I enjoy being active and meeting
extra gym space, but it had to remain a separate room
new people. I also like doing creative things like
because the university couldn’t afford any construction
photography. Could you recommend some suitable
work. If work were to go ahead, it would have to be
clubs for me? Oh, and could you also tell me how
paid for by students in a new membership scheme.
much it would cost to join them, please?
The second issue involved the gym equipment.
There aren’t enough machines, and their availability
Respond to a Situation 5
is limited, leading to students having to queue to Sample answer:
use them. Some machines are often out of order, Hi. I’m really happy you’ve moved in, but can I talk to
which adds to the problem. The Head responded you about the house rules? I’m sorry but I’ve noticed
by saying that she was introducing a new booking that the kitchen is dirty after you’ve used it. Could you
system via an app and would personally ensure that try keeping everything clean, so that we can all use
broken machines would be repaired. She implied that the space? I think it might be a good idea to have a
sometimes students were responsible for machines cleaning timetable. For example, I could clean one day
not working. and you could do it the next. What do you think?
The final problem was the condition of the changing
room facilities. Students claimed that cleaning Respond to a Situation 6
had been poor and that some of the lockers were Sample answer:
unusable. The Head highlighted that there needs to I like your laptop. Are you pleased with it? My laptop’s
be cooperation with students to maintain the space really slow now, so I need to replace it with one that’s
and she promised to get the broken lockers repaired faster. It also needs to be small enough to put in my
straight away. bag. I want to bring it with me so I can take notes in
lectures. Would you recommend the one you’ve got?
Respond to a Situation 1 Where did you get it?
Sample answer:
Hi Alex, I know we have to talk about our class project, Respond to a Situation 7
but I can’t meet you tomorrow afternoon because I Sample answer:
have to go to the dentist. I’m really sorry about that. I’m sorry to hear that you’re going to stop playing with
How about meeting on Tuesday afternoon instead? We the team. I understand that your studies are more
could go to a café. Oh, and I think it would be a good important … that’s normal. The only thing is, we’re

15 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
playing in the final next month, and we need all of our Respond to a Situation 13
good players. Do you think you could stay until after Sample answer:
that match? Ali, employers aren’t only interested in work
experience. They want to know what other skills you
Respond to a Situation 8 have. It’s very important to show them what you can
Sample answer: do, like the web design skills that you learnt on your
Hi! You know that green group I joined the other week? course. Oh, and if I were you, I’d mention important
Well, I’m loving it. I’ve met some great people and qualities like being punctual or a good communicator,
we do lots of good work, like cleaning up around the because managers like that. If you want, work on your
college campus and improving the gardens – we’ve CV this week, and I’d be willing to check it and tell you
put in some great new plants. We’ve also started a what I think.
recycling campaign. It’s just your kind of thing, so
would you like to come along to one of our meetings Respond to a Situation 14
with me and see what you think? No pressure, of Sample answer:
course! They’ve put an announcement on the college website
about a photo competition. It looks like they want
Respond to a Situation 9 pictures of animals or plants – that kind of thing.
Sample answer: You’re a fantastic photographer, so you should
Hi everyone. You know I promised to find one hundred definitely enter. First prize is a camera! I’ve got the
people to take part in the survey for our project. Well, details here, but don’t leave it too late as the deadline
I’m afraid I’ve only been able to find sixty-two. I’m really is Friday.
sorry I’ve let you down, but I just couldn’t persuade any
more people to do the survey. Most people seem Respond to a Situation 15
to be too busy to take the time to help with a student Sample answer:
project. Maybe I could take on some other tasks to Do you have a moment to talk to me about becoming
make up for it. a mentor for new students? I heard about this scheme
the other day. I think this’d be a great thing for me
Respond to a Situation 10 to do, because I’m friendly, I’m keen to help first year
Sample answer: students settle in and I’ve been told I’m a really good
Excuse me. Could I ask you about some emails I’ve communicator. Do you have details about what’s
been receiving about four books I borrowed from the involved and how I go about signing up? Or can you
library? The emails say I haven’t returned the books yet tell me where to find this out?
and I have to pay a fine for not returning them by their
due date. But, in fact, I brought them back on time, so Respond to a Situation 16
I shouldn’t have to. Would you be able to look in your Sample answer:
system and check whether you can see that the books Hi. Have you noticed that some students don’t
have been returned, please? manage to put their litter in the right recycling bins?
It’s incredibly frustrating because the litter won’t be
Respond to a Situation 11 recycled if it’s in the wrong bin. We need to recycle
Sample answer: as much as we can because it really benefits the
I truly appreciate the invitation, but I’m afraid I have environment. What do you think we could do to
to turn it down. Although I realise this is an exciting encourage people to put their litter in the correct bins?
opportunity, I’m still adjusting to campus life myself, Do you have any ideas? Maybe we could put some
and I don’t feel confident enough to give a talk to new posters up around campus?
students at the moment. I believe someone who is
more familiar with what the campus has to offer Respond to a Situation 17
would be a better match for this task. However, I’m Sample answer:
happy to assist in other ways if needed. Hi. I was thinking that you’d be a great mentor for
new international students. The people who run the
Respond to a Situation 12 scheme are looking for people just like you. You’re
Sample answer: such a dedicated and optimistic person and you’re so
Good morning, Professor. Thank you for taking the good at talking to people and explaining things clearly.
time to speak with me. I’ve been struggling with the I think you’d get a lot of satisfaction out of taking part.
amount of coursework lately. I haven’t been able to You could make a massive difference to the experience
keep up with it and as a result, I couldn’t hand in my that a new student has here. Why don’t you sign up?
paper on global warming when it was due. I’ve never
given my work in late before and I would be very Respond to a Situation 18
grateful if you could consider allowing me another Sample answer:
week to complete it. I apologise for not completing the interviews as I

16 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
promised. Unfortunately, I ran out of time due to Summarize Written Text 3
other commitments and couldn’t arrange meetings Sample answer:
with students. However, I’ll prioritise scheduling In some countries, the safety of drinking water is
interviews this week. Additionally, I’ll reach out to unsatisfactory due to pollution at water sources or
students through email and social media to gather during the distribution process, but this problem can
their opinions more efficiently. I’m confident that be solved by implementing smart technology, and
by doing this, we’ll be able to understand why providing better infrastructure for distributing water to
contributors aren’t engaging and find ways to increase communities.
participation.
Summarize Written Text 4
Respond to a Situation 19 Sample answer:
Sample answer: An affordability crisis in housing has led to an increase
Wouldn’t it be better to feel relaxed while we’re in the residential separation of older and younger
working on our project? And providing we pick adults, which not only reflects the differing needs
something gentle and instrumental – maybe some individuals have at different stages of their life but also
classical music or jazz, for instance – it wouldn’t the fact that many people – particularly the young –
distract us. In fact, we’d focus more, which will help cannot afford what they need, which has associated
us get more done. I believe there have been studies implications for social cohesion policies.
about how music can help people with creative tasks
like brainstorming so it could be just what we need! Summarize Written Text 5
Sample answer:
Respond to a Situation 20 Many species of animals, including bears, are
Sample answer: increasing steadily in rural parts of Asia due to the
Thank you for meeting me. I’m undecided about which numbers of people moving to urban areas, which
modules to choose for next semester. means as the human population decreases, wild
I’ve narrowed it down to three modules, which all animal populations rise, thus as bear sightings
include themes I’d like to know more about. I’d love to increase and animals interact more closely with
do the research methods module, but I’m concerned people, future coexistence between the two seems
it might take up too much of my time. I also need to more likely.
bear in mind which modules will help me when I start
applying for jobs. I’d appreciate your advice about Summarize Written Text 6
which two I should choose. Sample answer:
The world is in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,
which means that technological development has
Writing significantly changed our day to day lives for the better
Summarize Written Text 1 in some ways – for example, with the economy and
Sample answer: healthcare – but for the worse in terms of privacy and
The effect that working in a complex environment has unemployment.
on spatial memory and navigational skills appears
to be reflected in the different abilities of rural and Summarize Written Text 7
urban dwellers, in that one study has shown that these Sample answer:
skills are more developed among country dwellers, Brain manipulation leading to the alteration of
and among urban dwellers, more developed among cognitive activity has now reached a point where
residents of cities with an organic, unpredictable targeted interventions can achieve specific,
layout, which is something urban planners are measurable outcomes due to advances in
encouraged to bear in mind. neurotechnology and science, which suggests that
protective measures to outlaw the exploitation of our
Summarize Written Text 2 brains are needed.
Sample answer:
Advocates of ‘shared space’, a kind of street design Summarize Written Text 8
which does away with the normal separation between Sample answer:
pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, say that it reduces Large numbers of tourists, although they contribute
traffic speed and results in fewer accidents, but to the economy, can have a negative effect on small
these claims are doubtful and the public in general, islands despite bringing in money – for example,
especially organisations which represent the blind or pollution – so one solution is to only allow them in in
disabled, are not in favour. small groups.

17 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Summarize Written Text 9 appreciate the importance of meeting deadlines,
Sample answer: their academic qualifications may not be enough to
The Internet is changing libraries because they are compensate for this.
offering more books and information online as well as However, academic qualifications are still crucial.
providing computers in library buildings, but libraries It is obvious that any person entering a professional
still have events and services for communities and field such as the law or medicine will need to have
activities for children. the knowledge to carry out their role effectively.
These qualifications are definite proof of a person’s
Write Essay 1 ability, whereas it is more difficult to obtain proof of a
Sample answer: person’s soft skills before the person is recruited.
When there is a shortage of schoolteachers, the In general, I do not think employers should rely
government’s response is usually to encourage more exclusively on formal qualifications when making
graduates to enter the teaching profession. Targeting their choice. However, these qualifications still have
older people who have spent their working life in a to be the first thing that an employer looks at. Once
different profession is a more radical attempt to deal it is clear that a candidate has the basic academic
with the problem. requirements, then other factors such as personality
Some people might doubt whether it would work can be taken into consideration.
well. Teaching in a school can be a demanding activity
requiring high levels of energy and so some people Write Essay 3
might find it difficult if previously they worked in a Sample answer:
quiet office. Moreover, if their previous profession The global population is still increasing at an incredible
involved working mainly with adults, they may have rate, and as such, it is inevitable that there will be a
little understanding of young people. rise in the numbers of people sharing living spaces.
However, on the whole I feel that schemes like Some people may choose to live with friends or
this are positive and more likely to be beneficial than family, and I am of the opinion that both situations are
otherwise. An older person who has worked in another equally beneficial.
profession will probably have a greater experience of Firstly, if people live with their family, it is a kind of
life outside school than someone who has gone into comfort. In some cultures, it is expressly encouraged
teaching straight from university. One of the criticisms to live with family and this can include the wider,
sometimes made of education systems is that they extended family too. In this kind of environment,
do not make enough connections with the working people are exposed to a traditional way of living
life that pupils will enter. Older people will be better within the boundaries of your family. It is a good way
able to make these links and may help pupils to see of staying connected to your family and remaining a
the point of studying. It is true there may be a lack of tightly bonded unit.
understanding between teachers and pupils in some On the other hand, if people choose to live with
cases, but perhaps an initiative like this could be part friends, there is still the chance to feel part of a non-
of the solution to the wider problem. It might increase biological family. There are differences, though, and
understanding on both sides through communication probably while living with friends, there is slightly more
in the classroom. freedom to do what you want. In saying that, it is likely
In general, I feel that an initiative like this is likely to that you will have much more responsibility if you live
be positive for education as long as the professional with friends, as bills and other commitments would be
people in question are truly committed to it and something you would need to take care of.
prepared for the new demands that this career move In conclusion, I believe that whoever you choose to
will bring. live with, there are both positives and negatives. It is
important that you choose to be in an environment
Write Essay 2 in which you feel comfortable and safe, and this can
Sample answer: either be with your close friends or with your extended
Choosing the right person for a job is a complex issue family.
which involves weighing up many different factors.
It would obviously be unwise not to consider both Write Essay 4
academic qualifications and a candidate’s personality. Sample answer:
Skills such as teamwork are very important for Healthcare can be defined as medical care and
the smooth running of any workplace, and so it services provided to citizens, individuals or a
is quite right for employers to base their decision community. It can be provided entirely free by
partly on these. In some areas, they might be seen governments or partially funded by national insurance
as more important than particularly high academic contributions. Alternatively, people may need to buy
qualifications. A person may be very highly qualified, private medical insurance plans, which can sometimes
but if they create conflicts with colleagues or do not be expensive. This essay will argue that healthcare

18 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
should be free for all citizens regardless of their available. Therefore, personal choice is provided within
national insurance contributions or their ability to a protected framework.
pay for private medical insurance. This is because To conclude, although parents may want to protect
healthcare is a basic human right which all individuals their offspring, children need to be given some
should have access to and should be based on need. freedom to fail to learn to make correct choices
Healthcare is a human right, hence there is a legal independently and this is achievable in a secure
obligation for governments to provide medical care environment with a balanced approach.
and services to those who require it. According to
international organisations such as the United Nations, Write Essay 6
citizens should be able to access food, clothing, shelter Sample answer:
and medical services in order to ensure fundamental Recent studies have shown that the obesity levels
health needs are met. Whilst other factors might be in many countries are on the rise. One way for us to
dependent upon the amount of money a person has, tackle this epidemic is to encourage schools to provide
their ability to pay should not be a means by which an increased amount of exercise and to motivate
they are prevented from accessing medical services children to participate in more outdoor physical
when needed. Children and the elderly might not be activities.
earning money, but they still have a right to access From my own personal experience, PE classes, or
medication and see a doctor when they are unwell. physical education classes, were mandatory twice per
Also, illnesses such as cancer and chronic conditions week. However, many of the students were able to
require advanced or regular treatment, which should simply watch rather than participate due to a forgotten
be available to everyone without having to pay for it. kit or a forged note from a parent saying the child was
These could affect anyone irrespective of their lifestyle. injured. Children were uninterested in exercise, mainly
In conclusion, healthcare should be free for all due to a lack of variety in the activities offered. In
citizens and provided by the government. It is a human cases such as this, students should be able to choose
right and the ability to pay should not determine the exercises they would like to do. If students feel
whether a person can receive treatment for an illness as though they have made their own choice about
or condition when they need it. The issue of how their learning, they may be more likely to participate.
healthcare is funded, though, still necessitates further In turn, their friends will want to join in the activity,
study and research. leading to more students trying something new, and
potentially finding a physical activity they enjoy.
Write Essay 5 On the other hand, the responsibility of
Sample answer: providing exercise does not solely lie with the school.
In recent years, parents in some countries have tended It requires the parents and the institution to work
to favour over-protecting their children rather than together to not only encourage participation in PE
giving them the freedom to decide for themselves, lessons, but to show exercise in a positive light and not
because they see this as a means of ensuring their as a chore.
safety. However, I would argue that children need to To summarise, I believe that schools should be
be given some degree of independence as part of their required to provide physical exercise classes, provided
physical and social development. that a range of activities are offered. This will help
In terms of the physical aspect, the ability to play ensure that children are doing enough physical activity
freely is a crucial part of childhood, yet often in and push them towards leading an active life in the
playgrounds parents display a reluctance to allow future.
children to get hurt in any way, thus effectively
restricting how they play. Parents do not want their Write Essay 7
children to get hurt and may worry a lot about even Sample answer:
minor injuries like bruises. But the importance of Doctors becoming able to consult patients remotely is
children being afforded the opportunity to play an important recent development in healthcare that
naturally must be remembered. Children need to be has a variety of benefits all across the globe. Video
given a chance to learn from their mistakes. communication technologies have already had a
Another factor to consider is giving children some significant impact and continue to revolutionize certain
freedom to develop socially. The social environment aspects of healthcare. However, it is highly unlikely
of a child today is often vastly different from how that they will ever replace face-to-face consultation
their parents grew up; take for example the influence entirely.
of modern technology, like computer games. Yet, A particular benefit of using this kind of technology
children can be given some freedom about what is that it allows people in areas without ready
games to play with their peers and parents can access to healthcare, such as remote rural areas, to
monitor their use and protect their safety online by communicate with doctors about everyday medical
using one of the many free parental control apps and healthcare issues in the way that people in

19 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
built-up urban areas can do by just popping into that students spend less time on their school work
their nearby doctor’s surgery. In this sense, video because of their participation in them. Nevertheless,
technology widens access to basic healthcare. the benefits of such activities do, in fact, help students
A further benefit is that it facilitates specialist to succeed at school, while also equipping them with
medical care in areas that may lack it. Certain regions better social skills and broadening their horizons.
may lack doctors with specialist knowledge of certain
subjects, for example skin inflammation. In the past, Write Essay 9
someone with a rash may have needed to travel Sample answer:
miles, or even across countries, in order to see a In every school system, there is a specified range of
specialist able to diagnose their condition. Nowadays, school subjects, some of which have been designated
dermatologists, and other specialists, can offer online compulsory and some of which are optional from a
consultancies, thereby widening access to their certain age. Some would argue that governments’
medical expertise. education departments know better than young
However, we must not forget two kinds of people: people what should be on their curriculum, and a
those who have ailments that must be touched to be grounding in certain subjects, such as maths, is simply
identified. At present, technologies do not exist that indispensable. On the other hand, the personal
would, for example, allow a doctor to press someone’s experience of most school pupils suggests they are
skin to check whether a bone is broken. There are able to learn more effectively if they can fully engage
also people who simply do not desire to use video with the content they’re learning. My point of view is
technologies for medical consultations. Healthcare that school systems need to strike a better balance
must be responsive to people’s wants as well as needs, between teaching useful subjects and allowing pupils
and it is likely there will always be some people who to pursue their own interests.
prefer face-to-face communication with their doctor. Clearly everyone needs to study their country’s
first language in order to become literate. However,
Write Essay 8 one could argue that once pupils have demonstrated
Sample answer: that they are able to do this, they should not be
Extracurricular activities are sports and hobbies that forced to study works of fiction in that language but
students pursue outside of their academic studies. written decades or centuries ago unless they have a
These are generally seen as having a positive effect on particular interest in literature. Similarly, all pupils will
the students who participate in them, yet some would need numeracy skills in order to cope with everyday
contend that they don’t provide any tangible benefits. life as an adult, but my personal experience suggests
My experience has been that these activities not only that advanced algebra has very few, if any, practical
help students to develop valuable skills – for example, applications for the majority of people.
the social skills such as collaboration which can be I would argue that allowing pupils to spend more
developed while working together – they can also time on subjects they’re passionate about, even if
increase students’ self-esteem and broaden their these are outside their country’s specified range of
horizons. subjects, enables them to gain skills and knowledge
Participating in extracurricular activities might be so they can develop real expertise in that area.
viewed negatively by those who believe that students’ These pupils would be better equipped to succeed in
sole focus should be on succeeding academically so higher studies or build a career in their chosen area
that they can achieve success in their future careers. of specialization. My proposal would, therefore, be
However, studies in this area suggest that students that governments give all pupils a good grounding in
who take part in extracurricular activities perform essential literacy and numeracy skills, but pupils are
better academically than those who don’t, because then free to pursue their own interests.
they gain useful skills and knowledge. Most high-flying
adults are also aware of the importance of applying Reading
their minds to tasks outside of the world of work for
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 1
their mental health and well-being.
1. through: ‘through’ is the best of these prepositions
The benefits of extracurricular activities for
to use with ‘processes’
students, therefore, seem to outweigh any potential
2. being: after ‘result in’ we usually use a noun or
issues, principally spending less time on school work.
gerund clause
As a student, I spent significant amounts of time
3. major: ‘major sources’ is the most natural
playing tennis, but I didn’t fall behind with my school
collocation
work as a result. On the contrary, my energy levels
4. despite: ‘despite’ is followed by a noun such as
increased due to the exercise I was doing and it was
‘health risks’
easier for me to concentrate on my homework.
In conclusion, it can be said that critics of
extracurricular activities may have valid concerns

20 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 2 3. gets caught: ‘one partner’ is a singular subject for
1. were revealed: this is a past event; they ‘were the verb
revealed to be from an ancient fern tree’ by 4. otherwise: seahorses may become extinct if
somebody researchers do not better understand how to
2. must: the evidence provides certainty manage oceans
3. support: an ‘idea’ can be given ‘support’ 5. species: animals are divided into ‘species’
4. bear: ‘bear a … resemblance’ is a common
collocation Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 8
5. insights: studying something provides insights into 1. could have expected: this is something they were
it able to do in the past
2. leaving: ‘leaving’ is the appropriate verb to use with
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 3 ‘impression’
1. in: ‘in’ is the correct preposition to use with 3. troubling: ‘troubling pattern’ is a common
‘resulted’ collocation
2. have not been met: the subject ‘standards’ is plural 4. name but a few: ‘to name but a few’ is an
and this is a past event with current importance, so expression that commonly follows a list like this
present perfect is the most appropriate tense 5. for: ‘for’ is the appropriate preposition to use with
3. However: this is the best option grammatically and ‘basis’ here
carries the right meaning for this type of contrast
4. address: ‘address’ is the best verb to use with Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 9
‘issues’ 1. has lectured: this part of the paragraph is a
description of his current life, so past tenses would
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 4 not be suitable
1. gathering: ‘gathering pace’ is a common collocation 2. inventing: ‘invention’ doesn’t follow the verb ‘do’;
2. despite: ‘despite’ is followed by nouns such as also, ‘do his inventing’ is correct because the do +
‘challenge’ his + ing structure shows someone’s work or task;
3. faced: ‘faced’ has the correct meaning and naturally the text isn’t about recording or computing
collocates with ‘realities’ 3. paid for: this means the money Mr Adler earnt from
4. beyond: ‘beyond’ has the correct meaning here, the product enabled him to buy (‘paid for’) the Bentley
because the women are already working and and house; ‘purchased from’ must be followed by the
intend to continue person/company that sold the Bentley and house;
‘used for’ and ‘spent on’ are incorrect because they
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 5 require a subject before the gap
1. fed: ‘to feed something into somewhere/something’ 4. but: the structure ‘not … but …’ is used to emphasise
is a common phrase that is often used, especially that the second part of the sentence (‘coffee-maker’)
when putting information into computers is true, rather than the first part (‘electrical’); ‘in
2. evidence: ‘to find evidence’ is a common collocation spite of’ and ‘instead’ also show contrasts, but are
3. evolved: simple past tense here describes this not used with ‘not’; ‘actually’ doesn’t fit in the gap
finished action because it requires ‘but’ before it
4. from: we ‘split from’ or ‘split away from’ something/
someone Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 10
1. has shown: ‘recent’ means that the verb shouldn’t
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 6 be in a past tense; ‘has been shown’ is passive and
1. targeting: advertisers target different consumer needs to be followed by ‘to’
groups 2. as important: ‘less useful’ and ‘not like’ cannot be
2. are exposed to: passive sentence is necessary here, followed with ‘as’; ‘as important’ is correct because
because other people expose children to these it means that both computers and books have the
adverts same importance
3. despite: ‘despite’ is followed by noun and gerund 3. aims: both ‘encourages’ and ‘allows’ should be
clauses followed by a person/object, so they are incorrect;
4. consumer: ‘consumer spending’ is a common ‘has’ is incorrect because it is not an obligation;
collocation ‘aims’ is correct because it shows the purpose of
the event
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 7 4. very few: ‘not much’ and ‘so much’ are incorrect
1. threat: ‘threat of extinction’ is a common collocation because they should be followed by uncountable
2. vulnerable: this is used with the preposition ‘to’ nouns; ‘very few’ is correct because the next
sentence (‘Unfortunately’) shows that not many
parents are reading with their children

21 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 11 3. vast outpouring of: the only option that fits due to
1. for: ‘opportunity for’ is correct because it describes the need for a phrase that supports the information
who will get the opportunity (all communities); the before and after the gap regarding the high levels
other options do not express this of public interest in the Beatles
2. variety: ‘a variety’ means many different ways; ‘kind’ 4. swollen into: the only option that fits with the
doesn’t mean this. ‘plenty’ doesn’t follow ‘a’; ‘group preposition ‘into’
of’ doesn’t match with ‘ways’ 5. plundered: the only option that fits due to the need
3. identical: the sentence is about the differences for a word which can have a negative connotation
between the UK and the US; this means they are to match ‘admission’, in order to express that the
‘not identical’ words were not originally written by the journalist
4. place: the sentence is about the timing of the event
(‘in October … in February’), so ‘takes place’ is the Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 15
phrase which means when an event happens; the 1. tantamount: the only option that fits due to the fact
other phrases have different meanings that it collocates with ‘to’ and suggests an analogy is
being made in the sentence
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 12 2. Such: the only option that fits due to the gap
1. are grown: present tense is needed when making requiring a word which can add emphasis to a
general descriptions of things; the other options previous idea while adding more information in the
are not present tenses clause that follows
2. not as: ‘not as’ goes with … ‘able … as crops like 3. levelled: the only word collocating with criticism
wheat’ to make a comparison and means that cocoa 4. nudges: the only option that fits due to the word
is less able to survive; ‘not much’ doesn’t go with ‘gentle’ before the gap and the need for a word
‘able’; ‘more’ and ‘most’ do not go with ‘able … as’ which means incentive, relating to the example of
3. Since: this sentence explains why cocoa farmers the fruit given in the sentence
have a problem; ‘Although’ and ‘Also’ are not used
to explain reasons; ‘Due to’ must be followed by a Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 16
noun 1. on a par: the only option that fits due to the gap
4. by purchasing: this sentence explains how requiring a phrase that can be followed by ‘with’ to
customers can do something about the issues; make a comparison
‘by …ing’ is the only option which can be used to 2. ultimately: the only option that fits due to the gap
express a method of how something can be done; requiring a desirable outcome that will collocate
‘in order to’ means why, and the other options refer with ‘soil erosion’
to times or people 3. as they once did: the only option that fits due to the
gap requiring a phrase that provides a reference
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 13 and comparison to a previous time
1. superficial: the only option that fits due to the 4. of: the only preposition which fits with ‘rob’ to mean
gap requiring a word which refers to ‘simply … ‘deprive’
fashionable’ 5. relentless: the only option that fits due to the gap
2. revive: the only option that fits due to the gap requiring a word which collocates with ‘processing
requiring a word which matches with ‘latest of the land’ and refers to ‘over- farming’
decision’ and refers to how the government plans
to introduce wind power Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 17
3. beyond: the only word collocating with ‘go far’ to 1. boiled down: the only option that fits due to the
mean ‘exceed’ gap requiring a verb which can be followed by ‘to’
4. need to be built: the only option that fits due to and then a summary of companies’ expectations
the gap requiring a structure which can follow 2. more than equipped: the only option that fits
‘would’ to describe a hypothetical (‘theoretical’) due to the gap requiring a positive professional
requirement in a passive form outcome for students who have critical thinking
skills
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 14 3. to the same degree: the only option that fits due
1. fretting: the only option that fits due to the gap to the gap requiring a phrase which expresses the
needing a verb which means ‘to worry’ to support extent to which literature can teach important skills
the idea in the previous clause when compared to other subjects
2. clueless: the only option that fits due to the gap 4. inserted: the only option with the appropriate
requiring a word which describes the writer’s view register
of the prediction made in the previous sentence,
given the factual information in the following
sentence

22 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 18 4. Incorrect: This is implied, but not directly
1. compelled: the only word with the correct meaning mentioned in the text.
to fit the text; ‘feeling compelled’ means you feel 5. Correct: The final sentence in the text mentions
strongly that you should do something the Vikings ‘expanding’ their trade beyond their
2. mobilised: the only verb that fits the meaning and borders.
style of the text
3. thereby: (meaning ‘in this way’) the only answer that Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 3
fits the meaning of the paragraph 1. Correct: ‘we’re expected to update the software on
4. Having proved: the only answer that fits the them regularly, as well as upgrading by purchasing
meaning and tense of the paragraph completely new software.’
2. Incorrect: Older adults prefer to keep using old-
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 19 fashioned laptops.
1. worthy of: the only answer which fits the meaning 3. Incorrect: This preference is not mentioned.
of the sentence, meaning ‘worth doing’ 4. Incorrect: ‘around a fifth of adults now say that a
2. them: fits the grammar of the sentence, referring to laptop is an essential device.’
‘the notes taken by an individual’ 5. Correct: There ‘are a lack of software updates
3. reap the rewards: the only option which fits the to older systems. Companies have admitted to
meaning of the sentence, meaning ‘benefitting in slowing down older models.’
the long term’
4. warrant: the only option which fits the meaning Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 4
of the sentence, meaning that the high ranking of 1. Incorrect: The passage states that the universities
note taking is justified or supported have been ignoring communities closer to home.
2. Correct: The passage states they could work
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) 20 together with local businesses to create
1. deduce: the only word which fits the meaning of employment opportunities.
the sentence, meaning ‘work out’ or ‘come to a 3. Incorrect: The passage states that universities need
conclusion’ to make sure they do this, but not that they do it.
2. prudent: the only word which fits the meaning of 4. Incorrect: The passage states that universities need
the text, ‘sensible’ in this context to learn how to do this, but not that they do it.
3. In: ‘in doing this’ is a phrase that means ‘as a result 5. Correct: The passage states their quest to increase
of doing this’ equality could be damaged if they do not succeed
4. synthesise: the only word which collocates with the in engaging local people.
sentence and fits the meaning of the text
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 5
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers1 1. Incorrect: The text refers to ‘messaging friends’ but
1. Incorrect: The writer refers to the increased cost of does not say you can make new friends.
car ownership in the 1970s, but says nothing about 2. Correct: The text says you can change the settings
whether it has become more expensive again now. on your phone, and that phones respond to
2. Correct: Online retail, telecommuting and online questions. So you can talk to your phone in a
socializing have all meant that it is less necessary to different language.
travel by car for shopping, work or meeting friends. 3. Correct: This happens when you are listening to
3. Incorrect: The writer refers to facilities in an urban and singing a song.
environment, but says nothing about whether 4. Incorrect: The text says phones can help people
people in towns are more aware of environmental who aren’t confident.
issues. 5. Incorrect: The text says ‘their phone … won’t point
4. Incorrect: The writer says that young people are out their mistakes’.
less likely to see buying your first home as a sign of
success, but nothing about space for keeping cars. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 6
5. Correct: Young people today are less likely to see a 1. Correct: Doing kind things is ‘good for a person’s
car as a status symbol (=sign of success). health’ and ‘makes the person receiving the help
feel happy too’.
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 2 2. Incorrect: The text talks about the effect of
1. Incorrect: This contrasts with the information in the technology on communication, but not about
text – ‘a sharp rise in birth rates’. whether it affects being social.
2. Correct: ‘Exploited a moment of weakness’ – ‘lack 3. Correct: The writer says that an act of kindness
of organised naval opposition’. ‘doesn’t have to be a major thing’.
3. Incorrect: This is not mentioned directly in the text. 4. Incorrect: The text doesn’t talk about how useful
kind actions are.

23 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
5. Incorrect: The text says people ‘shouldn’t ignore … to look at plans to reduce the amount of water used
offers’ when they come by text message. in the region. Hopefully, a greater awareness of water
management may help to achieve a better balance
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 7 between water supply and demand.
1. Correct: The writer says that the ‘many benefits’
include that gardening reduces pollution and helps Reorder Paragraph 3
‘the things that live in the soil’ by removing bacteria Poverty was believed to be the biggest threat to social
from water. Also, ‘This reduces the pollution stability until rising unemployment rates towards
produced by vehicles’. the end of the 19th century started to ring alarm
2. Incorrect: The text talks about plants growing in the bells. It was initially thought that some workers’
wrong places, but not the wrong crops. faulty character traits, such as a lack of drive or pure
3. Correct: The writer says that ‘having more plants idleness, had led to this increase. Therefore, the
in your garden’ is ‘attractive to wildlife’, and that general consensus was that unemployment was an
plants can reduce energy costs and create a more issue for individuals to deal with, rather than society as
attractive place – a space where people can relax. a whole, as the unemployed were themselves to blame
4. Incorrect: Pollution is mentioned, but it is the fact for their unfortunate position. It was not until later
that you reduce pollution levels if you grow plants that researchers started realising that it was actually
in your garden. negative conditions in the economy that had forced
5. Incorrect: The text says not to remove plants, but unemployment on individuals.
doesn’t tell you how to care for them.
Reorder Paragraph 4
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 8 Every day, individuals in society engage in a number
1. Correct: ‘much of his early work, which caught the of exchanges of information which may take the
attention of the art world, was an expression of his form of actual conversations, text messages, emails
own memories and interpretations of the Canadian or chats on social media platforms. When this
landscapes’. exchange occurs between two or more people, it is
2. Correct: ‘Doig himself acknowledges music and called the ‘communication process’. The sender or
film of the 1960s and 70s as providing as much source, receiver and message comprise the most
inspiration for his work’. basic elements of this, whilst the medium is the
3. Incorrect: The influences of other artistssuch as transmission mode. Once the message has been
Matisse are ‘clear’. successfully conveyed, received and comprehended,
4. Incorrect: The writer is not ‘discussing the role of direct feedback (a written or spoken reply) or indirect
film and music’ – she’s presenting the role of music feedback (an action response) occurs.
as one piece of new information.
5. Incorrect: There is no mention of Doig’s originality Reorder Paragraph 5
in the text. It’s about the influences on him. The study of human prehistory suggests the mass
extinction of dinosaurs was a direct consequence
Reorder Paragraph 1 of a giant asteroid crashing to Earth off the coast
Like many insects, termites display a fixed life cycle of Mexico. Within minutes of this collision a giant
in which they live underground, fly and lay eggs at tsunami was triggered, resulting in marine animals
different stages of their existence. As they mature being swept far inland. The force of the wave’s impact
beneath the soil, they develop wings in preparation travelled across every ocean range, from the Gulf of
for the time when they will emerge from their colony. Mexico before spreading out to the Atlantic. Models
Once out in the open air, mating takes place as they measuring the scale of destruction reveal catastrophic
fly in swarms, usually for about forty minutes. After outcomes for the planet, with the sun blocked out by
this, the termites will land and lose their wings. These particles, and chemical reactions turning the oceans
wingless termites will then go on to become kings and acidic.
queens of newly established colonies.
Reorder Paragraph 6
Reorder Paragraph 2 Network building is a continual process which helps
It is well-known that a number of the world’s major you find support from people in your industry. To
lakes are decreasing in size as a result of climate build your network, begin by summarising what
change. The surface area of one recently researched it aims to achieve in a clear and concise ‘mission
lake in Asia has decreased by over sixty percent and statement’. Clearly mention your targets within the
it might disappear altogether. In this case, the crisis is statement, and explain how you aim to achieve them
caused not just by climate change but by new farming in a network roadmap. Once this is planned out, invite
projects which need increased quantities of water. If new members to join, particularly early adopters of
the lake is to be saved, therefore, the authorities need experimental ideas, who can instantly reflect a culture

24 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
of originality and help differentiate your network. As 3. impact: ‘direct impact on’ is a common collocation
your network progresses, check in regularly with your 4. reducing: stress and anxiety are negative feelings
members to ensure they are working collaboratively that people want to reduce
and liaising with each other in the way you want.
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 2
Reorder Paragraph 7 1. theory: a ‘hypothesis’ is similar to a theory
Traffic used to be a serious problem affecting people 2. backed: experiments can back up, i.e. support, a
living in and around the French town of Millau. Its loca- hypothesis
tion near one of the most popular routes for motorists 3. inference: inference and observation are two
driving between Paris and Spain meant that long lines different ways to reach a conclusion
of vehicles were once a common sight in Millau. Howe- 4. provoked: ridicule is something that is provoked/
ver, the construction of a huge bridge over the River stimulated
Tarn has made life easier by creating multiple traffic 5. acceptance: this contrasts with the ridicule
lanes. In addition to the effect it has had on traffic
problems, the Millau Bridge should also be recogni- Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 3
sed as a great success in engineering. After all, it’s the 1. prevention: soil erosion is a negative occurrence
world’s tallest bridge and was even completed ahead that people want to prevent
of schedule! 2. shortages: it is important people do not experience
water shortages
Reorder Paragraph 8 3. assessed: it is important to assess requirements
During his time as American President, Lyndon B. during a planning process
Johnson introduced a series of important policies.
Many of them focused on improving economic Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 4
conditions for American people. For example, 1. undivided: this has a positive meaning and
Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act included steps ‘undivided attention’ is a common collocation
like creating jobs, providing training, and helping 2. nurturing: this makes sense in the context and is
local communities fight poverty, all of which helped often followed by the preposition ‘towards’
to close the gap between the rich and poor in society. 3. observed: this is usually used in the context
However, there are other reasons why the policies of studies to indicate what researchers have
shouldn’t be forgotten, especially the huge effects they witnessed
had on many areas of American life. These include the
benefits to the nation from Johnson’s steps to improve Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 5
access to education and healthcare, support art and 1. relationship: ‘relationship’ is the right word to
culture, and deal with environmental issues. connect workers and machines in this text
2. replaced: machines may replace some human jobs
Reorder Paragraph 9 3. created: the text is discussing ways to make money
Most corporate websites have sections discussing without jobs being lost
the company’s ‘social responsibility and values’.
However, in the 1970s, the influential economist Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 6
Milton Friedman had very different views about 1. planet: ‘planets and stars can be seen in the sky
what companies should focus on. For him, the only 2. support: some planets, such as the Earth, are able
obligation companies needed to fulfil was to their to support human life
shareholders, so companies were discouraged from 3. development: technologies, such as cameras and
doing anything which could prevent them from computer software, are developed
maximising their financial gains. Putting aside the 4. universe: all of the stars and planets around us are
obvious moral criticisms of this view, even from referred to as our ‘universe’
an economic perspective, ‘Shareholder Theory’
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 7
seems problematic. After all, research has shown
1. inspire: we use this word to describe engaging
that companies which are perceived to be socially
someone in something
responsible are more likely to attract more consumers,
2. sense: ‘sense of achievement’ is a common
proving that companies can increase their profits while
collocation
also helping society.
3. approach: having a ‘critical approach’ means
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 1 carefully thinking about something
1. involved: areas of the brain are involved in activities 4. compose: ‘to compose music/songs’ means to
like memory and learning create them
2. release: chemicals are released when certain things
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 8
happen
1. case: we make a case for something

25 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
2. ensure: we ensure that something happens Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 13
3. overcome: ‘overcome hurdles’ is a common 1. outcome: the only option that fits due to the gap
collocation needing a word which means the result of an
election
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 9 2. favour: the only option that fits due to the sentence
1. public: public opinion is formed by a range of describing the different cases where big and small
people parties are likely to perform well, so the gap needs
2. style: style is the type of interview being performed a verb meaning to offer an advantage
3. prepare: although little preparation is needed, 3. distribution: the only option that fits due to the
some research is necessary gap needing a word which goes before ‘of seats’ to
4. topic: topic is the subject the journalists want mean the statistical proportion of seats for each
people to discuss party

Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 10 Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 14
1. aesthetic: ‘aesthetic’ is contrasted with ‘user- 1. analysed: the only option that fits due to the gap
friendly’ to exemplify ‘the … conflict between form needing a verb which can be used before ‘cultures’
and function’ 2. valued: the only option that fits due to the gap
2. complicated: ‘complicated’ shows that sustainable needing a verb that means to support
building design is another consideration that 3. implications: the only option that fits due to
architects need to think about, in addition to the the gap needing a noun which means possible
ones previously mentioned consequences to show why Hofstede’s research
3. incorporate: because the architects must have was important for companies
ecological elements in their design 4. extensively: the only option that fits due to the gap
4. credentials: these are the qualities that make it needing an adverb which contrasts with ‘limited to’
suitable to show that the research is now widely used
5. baulk: ‘baulk’ at something means to be unwilling or
reluctant to do it Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 15
1. public: the only option that fits because the text is
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 11 about personal savings not business
1. expose: ‘expose students to the … concepts’ means 2. costs: the only option that fits as the previous
they will see them for the first time sentence talks about preparing for this by putting
2. grapple with: ‘grapple with’ means try hard to money in a savings account
understand, which is what the learner needs to do 3. repairs: the only option that fits as car or home
before getting help in the class repairs are something that people need money for
3. recipient: ‘passive … of knowledge’ means the 4. borrowing: the only option that fits as it is a way of
students receive the knowledge rather than actively spending on a ‘credit card’
creating it
4. hard-wired: ‘hard-wired’ means something which Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 16
is natural or we are born with; ‘native’ has a similar 1. articles: the only option that fits because the text is
meaning but refers to the place where we are from, about the structure of a news article
or the language we grow up speaking 2. briefly: the only option that fits because it means
only using a few words, and the title of an article
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 12 describes the story using only a few words
1. widespread: the only option that fits due to the 3. summary: the only option that fits because a
gap needing a word which links with the increasing summary is a short statement that gives the main
popularity of shopping centres information about something
2. needs: the only correct option due to the fact that 4. details: the only option that fits because it means
it can be used with ‘basic human’ to describe ‘food further information
and clothing’, which are basic needs
3. economic: the only option that fits due to the gap Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) 17
needing a word that can be used with ‘impact’ to 1. design: the only option that fits as people design
describe the kind of effect jobs have on the nation adverts
4. interaction: the only option that fits due to the 2. message: the only option that fits as an advert
meaning of the sentence; human interaction is communicates a message to its audience
something people usually need when they are 3. main: the only option that fits as it is the most
‘isolated from others’ important thing
4. brand: the only option that fits because it is the
name of a product

26 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 1 4. Incorrect: Although this may be true for sulphur
1. Incorrect: The writer refers to European settlers, hexafluoride, the text does not indicate whether it
but does not criticise them for destroying forests. is true for other greenhouse gases.
2. Incorrect: It is a popular, romantic idea that they
had little or no effect on the landscape, but the Multiple Choice, Single Answer 5
writer argues that this is not true since they carried 1. Incorrect: The text does not state face-to-face
out a form of forest management. communication is becoming less common.
3. Correct: The writer states in the last sentence that 2. Correct: This is stated in the first two sentences.
the idea that they exerted no control over their 3. Incorrect: This contrasts with the text, which
environment is wrong since they carried out forest describes a lack of social acceptance in face-to-face
management by burning trees. communication.
4. Incorrect: The writer mentions wood pastures 4. Incorrect: The text highlights that this ability to be
in Europe in passing, but to make the point that more empathetic in person ‘remains to be seen’.
neither North American nor European forests were
really natural. Multiple Choice, Single Answer 6
1. Incorrect: The development of trade increased the
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 2 population size, but the text doesn’t suggest an
1. Incorrect: The writer states that people skim the influence of the style of buildings.
text quickly, but nothing about how quickly they 2. Incorrect: The text states that historical accounts
forget what they have read. contain ‘conflicting ideas’.
2. Incorrect: The writer says nothing about how likely 3. Correct: The gradual development of Rome’s
people are to check the accuracy of the information commerce and infrastructure led to an increase in
in a text. social activity.
3. Incorrect: The writer suggests we can in fact 4. Incorrect: There have been conflicting ideas, and
consciously control the way we read, but says parts of the city have been excavated, but these
nothing about mental processes in general. two ideas are not linked in the text.
4. Correct: The writer states that people are less able
to understand the complexity of the argument in Multiple Choice, Single Answer 7
more difficult texts. 1. Incorrect: The writer doesn’t mention being worried
about the number of emails increasing.
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 3 2. Incorrect: The text doesn’t compare writing emails
1. Incorrect: The passage states that residents were and traditional writing as a key point.
affected by the changes and doesn’t indicate that 3. Incorrect: Grammar is the main focus here.
they led them. 4. Correct: Although the writer mentions the things
2. Correct: Tower blocks were expected to in the first three options, the question ‘Does this
significantly improve people’s lives, but ultimately mean that the quality of written English is poorer
had the opposite effect. because of email use?’ shows that this is the main
3. Incorrect: The passage mentions isolation as a issue which he/she is going to discuss.
result of tower block living and the increase in
population as a cause for new tower blocks, but Multiple Choice, Single Answer 8
there is no link between the two. 1. Correct: Although the statements in the last three
4. Incorrect: Although the writer indicates the tower options are all mentioned in the text and are all
blocks were not successful, there is no mention of true, the second half of the paragraph (beginning
resistance to them being built. ‘However, the secret of the book’s success” …’)
explains why the first option is the main reason for
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 4 the book’s popularity in the writer’s opinion.
1. Incorrect: There is only one use mentioned in this 2. Incorrect: The professor’s large amount of teaching
paragraph so this conclusion cannot be drawn from experience is not the main reason why his book is
this extract. so popular.
2. Correct: This is the main idea of the text and is 3. Incorrect: This is a true statement, but again not the
outlined in the first paragraph then reiterated in main reason for the book’s success.
the last one. 4. Incorrect: This is a true statement, but again not the
3. Incorrect: This is not a main idea and it does not main reason for the book’s success.
explicitly mention this in the text, it only says that
renewable energy production requires more circuit Multiple Choice, Single Answer 9
breakers and switches. 1. Incorrect: Although the text mentions caricatures,
it doesn’t talk about how these are combined with
realism.

27 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
2. Correct: The text mentions ‘Austen’s ability to Summarize Spoken Text 5
perceive the subtle nuances of human psychology Sample answer:
...’ and then the ‘insights’ her works provide ‘into Business plans remain crucial, despite a recent study
human frailty and its effects’. These references showing that most millennial start-ups have never
imply that Austen had a deep understanding of written one. Companies may write a plan for many
how people feel (their ‘psychology’, ‘human frailty’) different reasons, but the main purpose of a business
and how they react to the ‘effects’ of how they feel. plan is to attract an investor, or backer, and to prove
3. Incorrect: The text mentions the influence of that their money is safe and secure when investing in
Austen on the modern novel but doesn’t mention you. The company needs to show they have assessed
how Austen’s characters are thought of now. any potential financial risks.
4. Incorrect: The text doesn’t mention Austen
criticising aspects of human behaviour. Summarize Spoken Text 6
Sample answer:
Agriculture is responsible for pollution and a number
Listening of environmental issues in the world. Traditionally,
discussions around farming and the environment
Summarize Spoken Text 1
Sample answer: have been split between those who favour organic
The term ‘insomnia’ only came into common use in approaches and those who want a greater quantity
the 20th century, although sleep problems clearly of production, but a choice between these two things
existed before this. It is sometimes thought that this may not have to be made because small organic farms
is the result of a more stressful lifestyle. However, have actually been found to create higher yields.
the speaker attributes it to the tendency to define
Summarize Spoken Text 7
conditions such as the inability to sleep as single
Sample answer:
medical conditions, instead of part of a cluster of
A study has found that one type of garden bird could
symptoms arising from a particular situation.
be taught to avoid dangerous or disgusting foods by
showing them videos of other birds eating. The birds
Summarize Spoken Text 2
Sample answer: in the study learned to avoid foods that other birds
Offering too wide a choice of products to customers rejected. As a result, the birds saved time and energy
is not a good strategy. Although displaying a big and were less likely to eat harmful food.
selection of products may initially attract customers,
Summarize Spoken Text 8
fewer actually make a purchase because they find it
Sample answer:
too difficult to choose. It also suggests to customers
A new study shows that the temperature in the Arctic
that one of the products must be exactly right and so
has increased by almost 0.8 degrees Celsius over the
makes it more likely they will be disappointed.
last decade and this has had a considerable effect
on the landscape there. The temperature increase
Summarize Spoken Text 3
Sample answer: caused Arctic plants to grow taller. However, because
Scientists studying fish that emit light previously they then covered less ground, more heat entered the
believed that the fish made their own enzymes and ground causing an overall increase in temperatures in
molecules to do so. the region.
However, new research shows that one species of fish
Summarize Spoken Text 9
actually takes the necessary components from its prey.
Sample answer:
Scientists are surprised that the components survive
The ancient Olympics are virtually unrecognisable
digestion, but there is a lot more still unknown.
when compared to the modern version of the games.
The modern Olympic movement is far more inclusive,
Summarize Spoken Text 4
Sample answer: both in terms of the format of the competition and
Employee well-being is created through effective also in terms of who can participate. More importantly,
communication, good management and clear job there is a fundamental distinction between the
design. Whilst communication is important, so too is extremely competitive nature of the ancient games
job security, opportunities to use existing skills and and the modern Olympic ideals of peace, friendship
develop others. and fair play.
Managers have a role to play and should look at ways
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 1
to promote employee well-being that focus on the long
1. Incorrect: The speaker says that the company
rather than short term.
needs to be flexible about timing and deadlines will
not work.

28 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
2. Incorrect: The speaker says the company needs to 5 Correct: The text says it is self-powering, which also
analyse failures and understand why they occurred. links to the first correct answer of not relying on
3. Incorrect: The speaker says that focus groups with natural resources for lithium batteries.
customers will probably not be helpful because
they will only suggest incremental innovations. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 5
4. Correct: The speaker says that feedback to other 1. Incorrect: Although we know that atmospheric
departments from the team working on the data is complex and limited, this realisation is not
innovation is important. described as improving things.
5. Correct: The speaker says that successful radical 2. Correct: The speaker says that ‘we have more
innovations often occur when people from diverse sensors in the atmosphere and on land, which have
areas of business work alongside each other. increased the amount of data from which to make
predictions, with positive results.’
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 2 3. Incorrect: The speaker says that being able to
1. Incorrect: The speaker says mathematicians are record and include long-term features in the model
‘concerned with propositions that can be proved’ – has helped.
not that are hard to prove. 4. Correct: The speaker says that improved
2. Correct: The speaker says: ‘Economists really techniques for modelling the relationship between
endorse maths … for generating provable data and the subsequent weather will definitely
propositions.’ help.
3. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘they stand at opposite 5. Incorrect: The speaker says that the public’s
poles in terms of epistemology’. demand has always been higher than the reality of
4. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘throughout the history forecasting possibilities, and does not mention that
of economics, one can find economists praising this has changed.
maths as the pathway to rigorous and elegant laws’.
5. Correct: The speaker says: ‘the social system to Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 6
which they apply maths is so complex, too complex, 1. Correct: Many people such as the elderly or
to obtain reliable proofs’. those who live in remote locations may be able to
get medical treatment that they can administer
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 3 themselves directly much faster than it is possible
1. Incorrect: This contrasts with audio which does not to get a human medical team to them.
pinpoint exactly when the sketch was discovered, 2. Incorrect: ‘With more and more drivers stuck in
it is part of a collection from the 15th and 16th traffic jams, they waste billions of gallons of fuel …
centuries. we need to change this.’
2. Incorrect: The image was of a ‘wooden machine’, 3. Incorrect: The speaker mentions a number of
not drawn into wood. benefits, but none of these are specifically linked to
3. Correct: It is surrounded by controversy. growing the economy.
4. Incorrect: It is the earliest image of a bicycle, not da 4. Incorrect: The speaker says that there are a number
Vinci’s earliest image. The speaker suggests that it of social benefits, but there is no strong business
was not drawn by da Vinci. model.
5. Correct: It was labelled a forgery. 5. Correct: Switching to unmanned air vehicles may
go beyond simply taking drivers off the road and
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 4 bring additional benefits.
1 Correct: The speaker says the technology could 6. Incorrect: The speaker says that being stuck in a
help us move away from natural resources that are traffic jam is the least productive way to spend
currently being used at a rapid rate. your working hours, but doesn’t say that a potential
2 Incorrect: The speaker says it could be lifesaving benefit is greater productivity.
by recognising harmful chemicals in food, and only
mentions exercise by stating it can tell you when Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 7
you have bad body odour. 1. Incorrect: The speaker does not mention the
3 Incorrect: The chip is still being developed and number of expenses needed to require a budget
tested. 2035 is only mentioned to talk about how and says budgets ‘are … crucial for everyone’.
many computers there are estimated to be by this 2. Incorrect: The text talks about how everybody
time. kept to a budget in the past; there’s no mention of
4 Incorrect: The text says it can recognise odourless budgets being fashionable now.
and potentially harmful chemicals from food 3. Correct: The speaker says that budgets can be
production. ‘made relevant’ to schoolchildren and gives the
example of how a budget can apply to their school
dinners.

29 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
4. Incorrect: The speaker talks about working out Seurat painted in a different way to Monet, he used
your income minus your biggest bills to find out different painting techniques to Monet.
your budget; reducing your biggest bills is not 5. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘They [Seurat and
mentioned. his group] carefully studied where light fell and
5. Correct: The speaker says that budgets ‘are still reproduced that ...’. He doesn’t mention anything
crucial for everyone’ and gives examples of budgets about Seurat copying Monet.
for both adults and children.
Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 1
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 8 1. phase
1. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘Identity has many 2. merchandise
meanings, but in sociology it refers to an image we 3. artefacts
have of ourselves; literally who we think we are,’ 4. oblivion
which means that the concept of identity only has
one meaning in sociology and not ‘several different Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 2
meanings’. 1. influential
2. Incorrect: If you ‘focus on’ something, you 2. distinguished
concentrate on it or only do that thing. In this case, 3. represents
the speaker doesn’t want the students to just focus 4. effectiveness
on these two things and we know this because 5. reliable
he also mentions several other things, e.g. ‘your
family’, and what type of person you are, e.g. ‘I’m Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 3
outgoing, I’m shy,’ etc. 1. merited
3. Correct: The speaker says: ‘sociology is about the 2. engineers
relationship between the individual and society. 3. predict
That is how our lives are shaped by the social 4. impact
context in which we live.’ If there’s a ‘relationship’
Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 4
between people and society and their lives
1. compass
are ‘shaped by’ it, then people’s lives must be
2. compromised
‘influenced by society’.
3. altered
4. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘I’m going to give you a
4. occur
little activity. I’m going to ask you to write down …
5. surge
ten words to describe yourself.’ He doesn’t mention
anything about students doing this activity in small
Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 5
groups. What he does say suggests that they should
1. container
do this activity on their own.
2. recycle
5. Correct: The speaker says: ‘once you understand
3. pollution
this concept, you can bring it into almost any
4. difficult
question the examiners choose to set.’ If sociology
5. indicate
students can use a concept in most exams that they
take, it can help them in their exam. Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 6
1. common
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers 9
2. discussion
1. Correct: The speaker says: ‘Unlike Monet, they
3. valued
[Seurat and his group] decided to focus on the
4. ability
science of painting.’ If Seurat focused on the
5. choice
science of painting, he was interested in it.
2. Incorrect: The speaker says: ‘In my opinion, Seurat Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 7
is equally important in the history of art,’ which 1. improved
means that the speaker doesn’t think that one artist 2. experienced
is more important than the other. 3. survive
3. Incorrect: The speaker mentions how famous 4. increased
Monet is (‘Most of you will have heard of Monet ...’), 5. population
but then says that ‘many of you may not know the
paintings of another French artist, Georges Seurat.’ Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 8
This suggests that Monet was more famous than 1. behavioural/behavioral
Seurat and not the other way round. 2. prevalent
4. Correct: The speaker says: ‘The way these artists 3. exemplifying
painted also differed from the way Monet did it.’ If 4. settled

30 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
Fill in the Blanks (Type in) 9 reduction of accidents as one of the aims, he does
1. safety not link accidents directly to the elderly and people
2. reflect without access to public transport driving.
3. gold 4. Incorrect: The lecturer mentions both aims, but
4. created does not state that productivity is more important
to researchers than safety. He says that safety is
Highlight Correct Summary 1 the most important aspect of autonomous travel
1. Incorrect: The speaker says that when the theory for him.
was tried in New York, it resulted in a fall in both
petty crime and serious crime. Highlight Correct Summary 5
2. Incorrect: The speaker says that social scientists 1. Incorrect: The speaker describes being more
might find the theory inadequate as it does not exposed to rising energy costs and being more
examine social issues, not that they saw the theory dependent on finite fossil fuels as negatives.
was a way of lifting people out of poverty. 2. Incorrect: This directly contradicts the statements
3. Correct: This paragraph accurately summarises the in the audio – ‘climate stabilization and financial
main points of the recording. recovery are mutually beneficial’.
4. Incorrect: The speaker says that it is difficult to 3. Incorrect: The speaker does not say climate change
establish the real cause, but nothing about other can be prevented.
changes in police numbers or policing methods. 4. Correct: This paragraph effectively summarises the
speaker’s main ideas.
Highlight Correct Summary 2
1. Incorrect: The speaker says that working people Highlight Correct Summary 6
could read classic novels because they were 1. Incorrect: Although the recipes were found in
published in instalments. Persia and India, there is nothing to say that those
2. Correct: This paragraph accurately summarises recipes were shared internationally. The text says
what the lecturer says about literacy rates and the that sweets became popular as medicines, not
kind of publications consumed during this period. because they enjoyed sugary products.
3. Incorrect: The speaker does not say that changes in 2. Correct: The speaker says that Stone Age man and
taste meant that popular sensationalist fiction was Persians enjoyed honey, but sweets emerged in
replaced by classic novels. Europe and were intended for medicinal purposes.
4. Incorrect: The speaker says that there are Later, people decided to manufacture just sweets
similarities between the subject matter of popular and create a distinct industry.
sensationalist fiction and many classic novels. 3. Incorrect: There is nothing about why Stone
Age man collected honey. The text says that
Highlight Correct Summary 3 sweets were herbal and enjoyable, and that the
1. Incorrect: Scientists are relatively sure of when the confectionary business split from the apothecary
Big Bang happened and that a pocket universe was business rather than created medicine.
formed as a result of the explosion. 4. Incorrect: There is nothing about why doctors
2. Correct: The paragraph summarises the key started to introduce herbs into sweets, or about
information from the script. whether the sweets of Persia were considered to
3. Incorrect: There is no evidence to suggest the have health benefits.
theory has been misunderstood and the Planck
satellite has helped with dating the explosion. In Highlight Correct Summary 7
addition, particles expanded evenly, not randomly. 1. Correct: The focus is on how educators can provide
4. Incorrect: The expansion of the universe covered students with the technology.
all areas evenly and pockets refers to a pocket 2. Incorrect: The focus here is on the negative aspects
universe, not areas of the universe. of educators making an incorrect choice.
3. Incorrect: The focus here is on choosing apps for
Highlight Correct Summary 4 creative purposes.
1. Incorrect: The speaker doesn’t say that 4. Incorrect: This focuses on the technology becoming
entrepreneurs wish to help the elderly or those outdated.
living in remote areas. Although autonomous
cars may reduce people’s stress levels, there is Highlight Correct Summary 8
no mention of how this is correlated with road 1. Incorrect:The speaker says American audiences
accidents. watched ballet in the USA. There is no mention of
2. Correct: These are the main aims detailed by the developing a different dancing style.
speaker during the lecture extract. 2. Incorrect: The speaker does not talk about
3. Incorrect: Although the speaker mentions the differences between dance techniques at the start

31 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
 and end of the 20th century. who describes rather than undermines this theory.
3 Correct: The speaker says that one reason why 3. Incorrect: This contrasts with the point made by
ballet became popular was that one group of the speaker that interpretation and physiological
Russian dancers performed ‘all over the place’ responses happen ‘at the same time’.
in ‘large opera halls’ and ‘small venues’; many 4. Correct: The speaker says: ‘the nervous system
Americans saw them and decided that they wanted produces the degree to which the emotion is felt’.
‘to learn how to do that’.
4. Incorrect: The speaker does not say that ballet Multiple Choice, Single Answer 4
was an ‘elite cultural activity’, although she does 1. Incorrect: The speaker refers to how we show
describe how it became more popular with dominance ourselves, not how we feel when
children. She does not mention the size of the someone else does.
venues where ballet classes were held. 2. Incorrect: The speaker is not giving advice, but
stating facts from previous studies.
Highlight Correct Summary 9 3. Correct: ‘This can be seen in both humans and the
1. Incorrect: The recording doesn’t say that the young animal kingdom … when birds spread their wings or
person probably won’t be as good at the sport. people lift their arms …’
2. Correct: The speaker focuses on the positive 4. Incorrect: The talk does not suggest or point out
influences of a sporting hero and how a person ways to help us show dominance, only discussing
may learn from them that it is difficult to achieve ‘spreading’ which is genetically ingrained in us,
goals. according to the speaker.
3. Incorrect: The passage doesn’t talk about being
successful in life even if you are not successful at Multiple Choice, Single Answer 5
sport. 1. Incorrect: There was no significant increase in fears.
4. Incorrect: The passage does not mention that a 2. Correct: The speaker says that ‘it stimulated more
young person should want to be a sporting hero. trust in the work the police do.
3. Incorrect: They were aiming to improve policing,
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 1 but there is no suggestion that the data indicated it
1. Incorrect: The speaker indicates that social mobility was ineffective.
really means occupational mobility. 4. Incorrect: The findings were about trust in the
2. Incorrect: The speaker states that we are not police, not reducing crime.
considered successful due to kindness.
3. Correct: The speaker repeats that getting a better Multiple Choice, Single Answer 6
paid job shows our success. 1. Incorrect: The speaker says that there is an
4. Incorrect: The speaker states that showing association between some flavours and colours,
gratitude does not indicate success. not necessarily a preference.
2. Incorrect: The speaker says that food items often
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 2 had a specific colour associated with them, not that
1. Incorrect: The speaker describes the relevance of a surprising colour was more attractive.
skills developed in academia to other areas, such as 3. Correct: The increase has appeared because ‘it’s
the workplace. been estimated that up to seventy percent of the
2. Correct: The speaker emphasises the transferable food in the average American diet is made up of
nature of the critical thinking, problem-solving processed foods. This is a huge increase from the
and interpersonal competencies gained through past’, and so the use of colourings has increased in
research at university. parallel.
3. Incorrect: Although the speaker does mention 4. Incorrect: The text only says that processed foods
these skills, she does not limit their usefulness to are an unexpected colour, and so the plain grey
academia. colour is off-putting. It does not say that naturally
4. Incorrect: The speaker does mention that plain foods have lost their appeal.
interpersonal competencies can be honed through
research but she does not specify that it has to Multiple Choice, Single Answer 7
happen in group work. 1. Incorrect: The speaker mentions that the book is
on students’ reading lists, but it is not the most
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 3 important reason given by the speaker for reading
1. Incorrect: Although the speaker says an individual’s the book.
mood can sometimes match that of others around 2. Correct: The sentence ‘However, the main reason
them, there is no comparison between the extent I’d give is that it’s extremely readable’ contains the
of this influence and physiological influences. information which tells you that the second option
2. Incorrect: This is not supported by the speaker, is correct.

32 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
3. Incorrect: The speaker discusses an important Select Missing Word 2
topic/question, but it is not the most important 1. Incorrect: They become less effective, not less
reason given by the speaker for reading the book. popular.
4. Incorrect: The speaker mentions that the book is 2. Correct: It is likely that these negative influences
a standard text, but it is not the most important will cause less effectiveness.
reason given by the speaker for reading the book. 3. Incorrect: The importance of green technology has
become more widely recognised.
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 8
1. Incorrect: The speaker mentions ‘strong royal links’, Select Missing Word 3
but this is not the focus of the video. 1. Incorrect: The text mentions that the construction
2. Incorrect: The speaker says that ‘The castle is industry needs to be more resource-efficient, but
Scotland’s most popular tourist attraction’, but this this is not what the aforementioned measures in
is not the focus of the video. the sentence would necessarily lead to.
3. Correct: The speaker talks about the ‘welcome 2. Correct: This point is made throughout the
financial boost’ that popular locations for tourists recording.
bring the UK. In this context, the speaker then talks 3. Incorrect: Although infrastructure is mentioned
about the amount of money that tourists spend earlier in the text, it is to define construction and
in the UK, suggesting that tourists bring economic demolition waste and there is no indication that it
benefits to the country’s economy. will be improved in future if the aforementioned
4. Incorrect: The speaker mentions historical sites, but factors are implemented.
not other reasons for visiting the UK.
Select Missing Word 4
Multiple Choice, Single Answer 9 1. Incorrect: Lovers of reading do not necessarily
1. Incorrect: The speaker says that ‘usually citizens become librarians.
don’t have to vote if they choose not to’, but 2. Correct: The script is describing how this love of
doesn’t give an opinion on this. She says that ‘some reading is fostered in children.
Australians have complained about this system, 3. Incorrect: This does not fit the overall meaning of
however, saying that people should have the right the audio.
to choose whether they vote’. She doesn’t say 4. Incorrect: The aim is to encourage children to read,
whether she shares this opinion. not write.
2. Incorrect: The speaker doesn’t discuss whether
countries should encourage voting or not. Select Missing Word 5
3. Correct: The speaker gives several different 1. Incorrect: Interaction between children was not
reasons why people have to vote in elections. Then studied.
at the end of the recording, she uses the phrase ‘In 2. Correct: This difference between bilingual and
my opinion, ...’ to show that this is what she thinks monolingual children is the main point of the
about it. recording.
4. Incorrect: The speaker doesn’t say that other 3. Incorrect: We are not told what the first language of
countries should follow Australia’s example. monolingual children is.
4. Incorrect: They could respond to sounds of their
Select Missing Word 1 first language.
1. Correct: The speaker refers to grief and jealousy
to illustrate the fact that Shakespeare portrays the Select Missing Word 6
pains and psychological traumas of real life in the 1. Incorrect: The speaker stresses that there are many
last plays. interpretations and that is the problem.
2. Incorrect: The speaker refers to Shakespeare’s 2. Correct: The text implies strongly throughout that
tragedies, but says nothing about whether the last the number of different definitions is problematic.
plays have happy endings. 3. Incorrect: The speaker says that creativity is an
3. Incorrect: The speaker refers to Shakespeare’s equally problematic term.
history plays which deal with political questions, but 4. Incorrect: The hampering of development is not a
says nothing about political questions in the last desirable outcome, which ‘provided that’ would imply.
plays.
4. Incorrect: The speaker refers to the plots of the last Select Missing Word 7
plays as ‘dream-like’, but says nothing about the 1. Correct: The speaker explains there are many
joys of daydreaming. poisonous substances that now have health
benefits, and that more are being discovered all the
time.

33 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025
2. Incorrect: The speaker says nothing to suggest that Highlight Incorrect Words 8
earlier generations had made any mistakes. 1. significant (word in audio is: serious)
3. Incorrect: The speaker says nothing that there 2. nature (word in audio is: wildlife)
are any risks in using the poisons, and that their 3. policies (word in audio is: laws)
applications are, in fact, increasing. 4. produce (word in audio is: manufacture)
4. Incorrect: The speaker mentions that one poison 5. reduce (word in audio is: decrease)
has also been used by the beauty industry, but
there is nothing to suggest that it has prompted the Highlight Incorrect Words 9
changes – more that it has benefited from them. 1. arguments (word in audio is: evidence)
2. so (word in audio is: say)
Highlight Incorrect Words 1 3. really (word in audio is: actually)
1. doubt (word in audio is: deny) 4. idea (word in audio is: item)
2. recollect (word in audio is: retrieve) 5. amount (word in audio is: number)
3. compose (word in audio is: construct)
4. accepted (word in audio is: admitted) Write from Dictation 1
5. mentality (word in audio is: maturity) One of the purposes of education is to encourage
6. assess (word in audio is: ascertain) independent learning.

Highlight Incorrect Words 2 Write from Dictation 2

1. cosmopolitan (word in audio is: metropolitan) Some successful managers do not have academic
2. embraced (word in audio is: encompassed) qualifications.
3. inevitable (word in audio is: imperative)
4. enlightening (word in audio is: enriching) Write from Dictation 3
5. considering (word in audio is: contemplating) Massive contributions have been made to the genetics
of heredity.
Highlight Incorrect Words 3
1. contemplate (word in audio is: consider) Write from Dictation 4
2. probability (word in audio is: possibility) Students are expected to maintain an excellent atten-
3. dedicated (word in audio is: devoted) dance record.
4. perception (word in audio is: impression)
Write from Dictation 5
5. requisite (word in audio is: required)
Engineering students should attend the lecture on
Highlight Incorrect Words 4 product design.
1. usage (word in audio is: rules)
Write from Dictation 6
2. specifically (word in audio is: especially)
Some doctors are encouraging patients to spend more
3. confirm (word in audio is: confirm)
time outside.
4. familiar (word in audio is: informal)
5. vary (word in audio is: improve)
Write from Dictation 7
Setting aside regular mealtimes/meal times helps with
Highlight Incorrect Words 5
time management.
1. evolution (word in audio is: emergence)
2. belief (word in audio is: faith)
Write from Dictation 8
3. pronounced (word in audio is: proclaimed)
Most current smart devices routinely gather location
4. indicate (word in audio is: illustrate)
data.
5. adapted (word in audio is: adopted)
Write from Dictation 9
Highlight Incorrect Words 6
Subsistence farming aims to yield sufficient produce to
1. common (word in audio is: conventional)
satisfy local requirements.
2. intention (word in audio is: attention)
3. build (word in audio is: boost) Write from Dictation 10
4. initial (word in audio is: original) A hostile takeover can invigorate a company that is
5. supposed (word in audio is: suggested) performing poorly.
Highlight Incorrect Words 7 Write from Dictation 11
1. totally (word in audio is: completely) Aesthetic/Esthetic design is the cornerstone of many
2. traditional (word in audio is: cultural) architectural projects.
3. economic (word in audio is: practical)
4. especially (word in audio is: particularly) Write from Dictation 12
5. fall (word in audio is: drop) Frozen samples can be stored in the laboratory
freezers.
34 PTE Academic Question Bank Answer Key © Pearson Education Limited 2025