PTE Academic Reading Practice Test 18 (with Answers)

Type 1 · Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)

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

A Short History of the Umbrella

Umbrellas were first used not for rain but for shade, and in ancient Egypt, China and Assyria they as symbols of rank, carried by servants above kings and nobles. The Chinese are thought to have been the first to waterproof them, paper canopies with wax and lacquer. In Europe, umbrellas widely used until the eighteenth century, when the traveller Jonas Hanway began carrying one in the rain-soaked streets of London. He was mocked at first, coach drivers saw umbrellas as a threat to their business. the nineteenth century, however, the umbrella had become an everyday item for city dwellers.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

প্রথমে ছাতা বৃষ্টির জন্য নয়, ছায়ার জন্য ব্যবহৃত হতো এবং মর্যাদার প্রতীক ছিল। চীনারা প্রথম মোম দিয়ে একে পানিরোধী করে। ইউরোপে অষ্টাদশ শতকে জোনাস হ্যানওয়ে লন্ডনে বৃষ্টিতে ছাতা ব্যবহার শুরু করেন এবং উনিশ শতকে এটি দৈনন্দিন জিনিসে পরিণত হয়।

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 Elephants Communicate

Elephants are known for their loud trumpeting calls, but much of their communication takes place at frequencies too low for humans to hear. These deep rumbles can travel several kilometres through the air, and researchers believe that elephants may also detect vibrations from the calls through the ground, sensing them with sensitive nerve endings in their feet and trunks. Such long-distance communication helps scattered family groups to coordinate their movements and allows males to locate females that are ready to mate. Elephants also use touch extensively, greeting relatives by intertwining their trunks, and they appear to recognise the individual voices of dozens of other elephants.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Elephants appear to recognise the voices of many individual elephants. All elephant calls can easily be heard by humans. Elephant rumbles travel only a few metres. Elephants may sense vibrations from calls through the ground. Elephants avoid touching other members of their family.

The Decoy Effect

Marketers have long known that the options presented alongside a product can change which one people choose. In the so-called decoy effect, a company adds a third option that is clearly worse than one of the existing choices, making that choice look more attractive. For example, if a cinema sells a small popcorn for three dollars and a large one for seven, many customers choose the small size. But if it adds a medium size for six and a half dollars, the large now seems like excellent value, and sales of the large increase sharply. The decoy itself is rarely bought; its purpose is simply to shift customers' sense of what counts as a good deal.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Adding a medium popcorn can increase sales of the large size. Decoy options are usually the most popular choice. The decoy effect makes customers choose the cheapest option. Customers are not influenced by other options on offer. A decoy option is designed to make another option look better value.

Type 3 · Reorder Paragraphs

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

The Story of the Bengali Calendar

Because the lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year, tax dates gradually moved away from the harvest, causing hardship for farmers.

To solve this, the Mughal emperor Akbar introduced a new calendar based on the solar year, so that taxes fell due after the harvest each year.

This calendar developed into the Bengali calendar, and its first day, Pohela Boishakh, is still celebrated as a major cultural festival.

Before the sixteenth century, taxes in Bengal were collected according to the Islamic lunar calendar, which did not match the agricultural seasons.

How Fog Forms

When this air cools to its dew point, the water vapour it contains begins to condense into tiny droplets suspended in the air.

These droplets form a low-lying cloud known as radiation fog, which usually clears as the sun warms the ground the next morning.

As the ground cools, the layer of air directly above it also becomes colder.

On clear, calm nights, the ground loses heat rapidly by radiating it into the sky.

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.

plastic freezer cooking recycling oxygen digester fertiliser

Energy from Waste: Biogas

Biogas is a fuel produced when bacteria break down organic material, such as animal manure or food waste, in the absence of _____. This process takes place in a sealed tank called a _____. The gas produced is mainly methane, which can be burned for _____ or used to generate electricity. In rural Bangladesh, small biogas plants allow households to replace firewood, reducing smoke inside homes and saving time spent collecting fuel. The material left over after digestion is rich in nutrients and can be used as _____ for crops, making the system an excellent example of _____.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

বায়োগ্যাস তৈরি হয় যখন অক্সিজেন ছাড়া ব্যাকটেরিয়া গোবর বা খাদ্য বর্জ্য ভেঙে ফেলে। সিল করা ডাইজেস্টারে উৎপন্ন মিথেন রান্না বা বিদ্যুতে ব্যবহার হয়। অবশিষ্ট অংশ সার হিসেবে ব্যবহার করা যায়।

Type 5 · Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Read each passage and select the single best answer.

Why We Get Goosebumps

When we feel cold or experience a strong emotion, tiny muscles attached to the base of each hair contract, pulling the hairs upright and creating small bumps on the skin. In furry mammals, this reflex has a clear purpose: raised fur traps a thicker layer of air, providing better insulation against the cold, and it can also make an animal look larger to a threat. Humans have far too little body hair for the reflex to provide either benefit, so goosebumps are generally regarded as a leftover from our evolutionary ancestors. Interestingly, recent research suggests that the same muscles may help to stimulate the growth of new hair in cold conditions.

Why are goosebumps in humans described as a "leftover"?

Humans have too little hair for the reflex to provide its original benefits. Goosebumps make humans look larger to predators. The reflex has disappeared completely in humans. Goosebumps keep humans much warmer than furry mammals.

The Role of Wetlands

Wetlands such as marshes, swamps and the haor basins of north-eastern Bangladesh were once widely regarded as wasteland to be drained for farming or building. Scientists now recognise them as among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. Wetlands act like natural sponges, storing floodwater during heavy rain and releasing it slowly, which reduces flooding downstream. They also filter pollutants from water, provide breeding grounds for fish and support large populations of migratory birds. Despite this, a large share of the world's wetlands has been lost over the past century, and restoring them is now a priority in many conservation plans.

How do wetlands reduce flooding, according to the passage?

They prevent rain from falling nearby. They are drained to create farmland. They drain water quickly into the sea. They store floodwater and release it slowly.

PTE Reading Practice Test 18