PTE Academic Reading Practice Test 13 (with Answers)

Type 1 · Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)

Click each blank and choose the correct word from its dropdown menu.

The Magnetic Compass

The magnetic compass is to have been developed in China more than a thousand years ago, where it was first used not for navigation but for divination and the careful planning of buildings. Early compasses of a magnetised piece of lodestone or iron that, when allowed to rotate freely, aligned itself with the Earth's magnetic field. By the twelfth century, sailors in both China and Europe the device to find direction at sea, particularly when clouds hid the sun and stars. The compass made long ocean voyages far less dangerous, it allowed navigators to hold a steady course even in poor weather. , a compass needle points to magnetic north rather than true geographic north, so navigators must correct for the difference.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

চুম্বকীয় কম্পাস এক হাজার বছরেরও আগে চীনে উদ্ভাবিত হয়েছিল বলে মনে করা হয়, প্রথমে দিক নির্ণয়ের জন্য নয়, ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী ও ভবন পরিকল্পনার জন্য। দ্বাদশ শতকে নাবিকেরা সমুদ্রে দিক জানতে এটি ব্যবহার শুরু করে। তবে কম্পাসের কাঁটা ভৌগোলিক উত্তর নয়, চৌম্বক উত্তর নির্দেশ করে।

Type 2 · Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Read each passage and select all the options that are correct — more than one answer may be right.

How Mangrove Forests Protect Coastlines

Mangrove forests grow in the salty, muddy shallows of tropical coastlines, and their dense networks of arching roots act as a natural barrier against the sea. When storm waves reach a mangrove belt, the roots and trunks absorb a substantial part of the waves' energy, reducing both wave height and the speed of floodwater before it reaches villages further inland. Studies along the Bay of Bengal have shown that settlements sheltered by wide mangrove forests suffered noticeably less damage during cyclones than nearby settlements with no such protection. The tangled roots also trap sediment carried by rivers, gradually building up the land and helping coastlines keep pace with slowly rising sea levels. Despite these benefits, large areas of mangrove have been cleared for shrimp farms and coastal development, and restoration projects now aim to replant them in many countries.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Mangrove roots reduce the height and speed of storm waves and floodwater. Mangroves grow best in fresh water far from the coast. Mangroves help build up land by trapping sediment carried by rivers. Mangrove clearing has completely stopped in every country. Settlements protected by mangroves suffered more cyclone damage than unprotected ones.

The Psychology of Waiting in Line

Research on queuing suggests that how long a wait feels often matters more to customers than how long it actually lasts. People consistently overestimate the time they spend waiting when they have nothing to do, which is why many banks and airports place screens, mirrors or reading material near their queues. Uncertainty also makes waiting feel longer: customers who are told how long they will wait tend to be more patient than those left guessing, even when the stated wait is quite long. Perceived fairness is equally important. A single "snake" queue feeding several counters is generally preferred to separate lines, because no one can be overtaken by a person who joined later simply by choosing a faster line. Businesses that manage these psychological factors often receive better customer reviews without reducing actual waiting times at all.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Customers care only about the actual length of the wait. Telling customers the expected waiting time tends to make them more patient. People usually underestimate how long they have waited. A single queue serving several counters is usually seen as fairer. Better reviews always require shorter actual waiting times.

Type 3 · Reorder Paragraphs

Drag the paragraphs into the correct order, or use the ▲▼ buttons.

The Development of Braille

In the early nineteenth century, blind people had very few ways to read, and the books that did exist used large embossed letters that were slow to read and expensive to produce.

Although it was slow to gain official acceptance, his system eventually spread worldwide and remains the standard method of reading and writing for blind people today.

Louis Braille, who had lost his sight as a young child, encountered one such system at a school for the blind in Paris and became determined to find something better.

Drawing on a military code of raised dots designed for reading at night, he developed a simpler system in which each letter was represented by a pattern within a cell of six dots.

The Life Cycle of a Star

Finally, depending on its mass, the star either sheds its outer layers and shrinks into a white dwarf or, if it is very massive, explodes as a supernova.

When the temperature in this core becomes high enough, nuclear fusion begins, and the star starts to shine steadily as it converts hydrogen into helium.

Every star begins its life inside a vast cloud of gas and dust, where gravity slowly pulls material together into a dense, hot core.

After billions of years, the hydrogen fuel in the core runs low, and the star swells into a giant as its outer layers expand and cool.

Type 4 · Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop)

Click a word in the box below to select it, then click the blank where it fits (or drag it directly). Two extra words will not be used.

thermometer silicon inverter current charcoal angle battery

How Solar Panels Generate Electricity

A solar panel is made up of many small cells, usually built from thin layers of _____, a material that releases electrons when it absorbs light. When sunlight strikes a cell, energy from the light knocks electrons loose, and an electric field within the cell pushes them in one direction, creating a _____. Because this electricity is direct current, an _____ is needed to convert it into the alternating current used in most homes. The amount of power a panel produces depends on the intensity of sunlight and the _____ at which the panel faces the sun. Many households also store surplus energy in a _____ so that it can be used at night.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

সোলার প্যানেল অনেক ছোট সেল দিয়ে তৈরি, যা সাধারণত সিলিকন থেকে বানানো। সূর্যালোক পড়লে ইলেকট্রন মুক্ত হয় এবং বিদ্যুৎ প্রবাহ তৈরি হয়। ইনভার্টার এই ডিসি বিদ্যুৎকে বাড়ির এসি বিদ্যুতে রূপান্তর করে, আর অতিরিক্ত শক্তি ব্যাটারিতে জমা রাখা যায়।

Type 5 · Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Read each passage and select the single best answer.

Why Bread Dough Rises

When bakers mix flour, water and yeast to make bread, the yeast, a living single-celled fungus, begins feeding on the sugars present in the flour. As it digests these sugars, the yeast releases carbon dioxide gas and small amounts of alcohol. Kneading the dough develops long, stretchy strands of gluten, a protein network that traps the gas in thousands of tiny bubbles, causing the dough to expand. If the dough is kneaded too little, the gluten network remains weak and much of the gas escapes, producing a dense, flat loaf. During baking, the heat kills the yeast, evaporates the alcohol and sets the gluten structure, fixing the bubbles in place and giving bread its light, open texture.

According to the passage, what is the main role of gluten in bread-making?

It produces carbon dioxide gas directly. It provides the sugars that yeast feeds on. It kills the yeast during baking. It forms a stretchy network that traps the gas produced by yeast.

Sleep and Memory

Scientists have long suspected that sleep plays an important role in learning, and research over the past few decades has strengthened this view. During deep sleep, the brain appears to replay patterns of activity from the day, transferring new information from short-term storage in a region called the hippocampus to more permanent storage in the outer layer of the brain. In experiments, students who slept after learning a list of words remembered significantly more the next day than students who stayed awake for the same length of time. Sleep does not simply protect memories from interference; it seems to actively strengthen and reorganise them. For this reason, researchers caution students that staying up all night before an exam may undermine the very learning they are trying to achieve.

What does the passage suggest about staying up all night before an exam?

It may reduce how well students remember what they have studied. It helps move information into permanent storage. It is recommended by most sleep researchers. It has no effect on memory at all.

PTE Reading Practice Test 13