PTE Academic Reading Practice Test 7 (with Answers)

Type 1 · Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)

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

Tea's Journey from China to the World

Tea drinking is believed to have in southwestern China several thousand years ago, initially valued primarily for its medicinal properties rather than as an everyday beverage. Buddhist monks travelling between China and Japan credited with introducing tea cultivation and drinking customs to Japan around the eighth century. tea had been known in Europe for over a century, it did not become widely popular in Britain until the late seventeenth century, when it was popularised partly through royal patronage. British demand for tea eventually to the large-scale establishment of tea plantations in colonial India and Ceylon, dramatically reshaping the economies and landscapes of those regions. Today, tea the second most widely consumed beverage in the world after water.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

চা পান কয়েক হাজার বছর আগে দক্ষিণ-পশ্চিম চীনে উৎপত্তি হয়েছিল বলে মনে করা হয়, প্রাথমিকভাবে ওষুধি গুণের জন্য মূল্যবান ছিল। বৌদ্ধ সন্ন্যাসীরা জাপানে চা প্রবর্তন করেছিলেন। ব্রিটেনে চা সপ্তদশ শতাব্দীর শেষের দিকে জনপ্রিয় হয়, যা পরবর্তীতে ঔপনিবেশিক ভারত ও সিলনে চা বাগান প্রতিষ্ঠার দিকে নিয়ে যায়।

Type 2 · Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

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

Noise Pollution Beneath the Waves

Underwater noise pollution, generated primarily by commercial shipping, sonar systems and offshore construction, has increased substantially in ocean environments over the past century. Many marine species, including whales and dolphins, rely heavily on sound for communication, navigation and locating prey, since sound travels much farther underwater than light does, making hearing more reliable than vision in the deep ocean. Rising background noise levels can mask these acoustic signals, forcing some marine mammals to call more loudly or at different frequencies in an attempt to be heard over the interference, a phenomenon researchers compare to humans struggling to hold a conversation in a noisy room. Some research also suggests that certain whale species have altered their migration routes partly in response to particularly noisy shipping lanes, though isolating noise pollution's specific contribution from other factors, such as changing prey distribution, remains scientifically challenging.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Sound travels farther underwater than light, making hearing especially important to marine species. Rising ocean noise can force marine mammals to call more loudly to be heard. Scientists have definitively proven noise pollution is the sole cause of all whale migration changes. Underwater noise pollution has decreased significantly over the past century. Marine mammals rely exclusively on vision, never on sound, for navigation.

The History of the Abacus

The abacus, a manual calculating tool consisting of beads or counters arranged on rods or in grooves, has been used by various civilisations for thousands of years, with early forms appearing independently in Mesopotamia, China, and later in Rome and Japan. Skilled abacus operators can perform basic arithmetic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and even division, at remarkable speed once they have mastered the specific finger movements associated with the device. Even after the widespread adoption of electronic calculators in the mid-twentieth century, the abacus remained in active use in parts of Asia, partly because trained abacus users can often calculate certain sums faster than someone unfamiliar with a calculator's buttons. Some educators today continue to teach abacus techniques to children specifically because the practice is believed to strengthen mental arithmetic ability and visual-spatial memory, even among students who no longer use a physical abacus in daily life.

According to the passage, which TWO statements are true?

Skilled abacus operators can perform basic arithmetic at remarkable speed. Some educators teach abacus techniques because it may strengthen mental arithmetic ability. The abacus completely disappeared from use immediately after electronic calculators were invented. The abacus was invented independently in only a single civilisation. No students today learn abacus techniques for any educational reason.

Type 3 · Reorder Paragraphs

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

Urban Rewilding Projects

One common approach involves converting unused urban land, such as former industrial sites or vacant lots, into meadows or small woodlands planted with native species rather than manicured, non-native lawns.

Urban rewilding refers to a range of efforts to reintroduce natural habitats and biodiversity into city environments that have traditionally prioritised paved surfaces and ornamental, low-diversity landscaping.

These native plantings typically require far less maintenance and irrigation than conventional urban landscaping, while also providing food and shelter for pollinators, birds and other urban wildlife.

Proponents argue that beyond environmental benefits, urban rewilding also improves residents' mental wellbeing, since regular exposure to natural, biodiverse green space has been linked in several studies to reduced stress levels.

How Anesthesia Was First Discovered

Building on this observation, American dentist William Morton conducted a public demonstration in 1846, successfully using ether to render a surgical patient unconscious and pain-free during an operation.

Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was an agonising and often traumatic experience, since patients typically remained fully conscious throughout even major operations.

Several substances, including ether and nitrous oxide, had been used recreationally for their intoxicating effects for decades before their medical potential as anaesthetics was seriously considered.

News of this successful demonstration spread rapidly, and within just a few years, ether anaesthesia had become standard practice in hospitals across Europe and North America.

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.

fortified deficiency absorption mandated nutrients avoided discouraged

Why Foods Are Fortified with Vitamins

Food fortification, the practice of deliberately adding vitamins and minerals to common foods during processing, was first widely adopted in the early twentieth century to address widespread public health problems caused by _____ diseases. Countries facing high rates of certain conditions began requiring that staple foods such as flour or salt be _____ with specific missing _____, since these foods were already consumed regularly by nearly the entire population. Several governments _____ fortification by law, requiring food manufacturers to comply as a condition of selling certain products. Nutrition researchers have also studied how cooking methods and combinations with other foods can affect nutrient _____, further refining fortification guidelines over time.

📖 বাংলা অনুবাদ · Bangla translation

খাদ্য দৃঢ়করণ (ভিটামিন-মিনারেল যোগ করা) বিংশ শতাব্দীর শুরুতে ঘাটতিজনিত রোগ মোকাবেলায় গৃহীত হয়েছিল। অনেক দেশ আইন করে ময়দা বা লবণে নির্দিষ্ট পুষ্টি উপাদান যোগ করা বাধ্যতামূলক করে। গবেষকরা রান্নার পদ্ধতি কীভাবে পুষ্টি শোষণকে প্রভাবিত করে তাও অধ্যয়ন করেন।

Type 5 · Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Read each passage and select the single best answer.

The Function of a Camera's Aperture

A camera's aperture, the adjustable opening through which light passes to reach the image sensor or film, controls both the amount of light entering the camera and the depth of field visible in a photograph. A wider aperture setting allows more light to enter in a shorter time, useful in dim conditions, but produces a shallower depth of field, meaning only a narrow range of distances from the camera will appear in sharp focus while the background blurs. Conversely, a narrower aperture setting allows less light in, requiring either a longer exposure time or additional lighting, but produces a much greater depth of field, keeping both near and distant objects in relatively sharp focus simultaneously. Photographers therefore choose an aperture setting based on the specific creative and technical demands of a shot, such as isolating a single subject against a blurred background or keeping an entire landscape scene in focus.

According to the passage, what effect does a wider aperture setting have on a photograph?

It allows more light in but produces a shallower depth of field. It always requires a significantly longer exposure time than a narrow aperture. It keeps both near and distant objects equally sharp in every photograph. It blocks light from reaching the camera's image sensor entirely.

Why Some Metals Rust and Others Do Not

Rust, the reddish-brown coating that forms on iron and steel, is the visible result of a chemical reaction between iron, oxygen and moisture, a process known more precisely as oxidation. Unlike some other metals, such as aluminium, which also react with oxygen but form a thin, tightly bonded protective oxide layer that prevents further reaction, the iron oxide that forms as rust is porous and flaky, allowing oxygen and moisture to continue reaching fresh metal underneath, so the corrosion process continues largely unchecked over time. This is why untreated iron and steel structures gradually weaken and can eventually fail structurally if rust is allowed to spread unchecked, while aluminium structures remain protected by their initial, self-limiting oxide layer. Manufacturers commonly apply protective coatings, such as paint, zinc galvanising, or specialised alloys like stainless steel, specifically to prevent oxygen and moisture from reaching the iron surface in the first place.

According to the passage, why does rust continue spreading on iron while aluminium's oxide layer stops further corrosion?

Iron oxide (rust) is porous and flaky, letting oxygen and moisture keep reaching fresh metal. Aluminium does not react with oxygen at all under any circumstances. Iron is chemically incapable of forming any oxide layer whatsoever. Rust prevents any further oxygen from reaching the metal underneath.

PTE Reading Practice Test 7