A2–C2 · PTE Academic
PTE Academic Practice Test 25
AI-generated practice paper in the style of PTE Academic — original material, not a reproduction of any real exam paper, following the official task types. Listening audio is read aloud by your browser's voice. For Speaking you can record yourself and compare with a model answer, and Writing tasks include a model answer — neither is scored automatically, since that needs real speech and writing evaluation this site does not offer for this exam.
Speaking
Read Aloud
Look at the text below. In 30 seconds, you must read this text aloud as naturally and clearly as possible.
Cities around the world are planting trees to combat the urban heat island effect. Shade from a mature tree can lower surface temperatures by several degrees, and leaves release moisture that cools the surrounding air. Trees also absorb pollutants and provide habitat for birds and insects.
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Model answer: Stress "combat" and "several degrees". Pause after "effect", "degrees" and "air". Pronounce "pollutants" and "habitat" precisely. Lift on "birds and insects" before the final falling tone.
Space exploration has produced technologies that we now use every day, including satellite navigation, water purification systems and lightweight materials for sports equipment. Supporters argue that such benefits justify the enormous cost, though some taxpayers would prefer the money to be spent on problems here on Earth.
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Model answer: Pause after "day", "equipment" and "cost". Stress "every day" and "enormous cost". Take a short breath before "though" and lower your pitch slightly for the opposing view. End on "Earth" with a definite fall.
Repeat Sentence
You will hear a sentence. Please repeat the sentence exactly as you hear it.
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Model answer: Her grandmother taught her how to knit when she was seven.
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Model answer: The manager thanked everyone for their hard work throughout the year.
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Model answer: Coral polyps build limestone skeletons that gradually form reefs.
Describe Image
Describe the image in detail.
Look at the image below. In 25 seconds, prepare, then describe in detail what the image is showing. You will have 40 seconds to speak.
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Model answer: This line graph tracks an index of house prices, with 2010 set at 100. Prices dipped slightly to 96 in 2012, then recovered to 104 in 2014. From there they rose consistently, to 118 in 2016, 127 in 2018 and 135 in 2020. The steepest increase came between 2020 and 2022, when the index jumped to 158. Overall, prices are more than half again what they were in 2010.
Re-tell Lecture
Listen to the lecture and retell it.
Listen to the lecture. Then retell it in your own words. You will have 40 seconds to speak.
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Model answer: The lecture explains that Jane Goodall's nineteen-sixties observations of chimpanzees using twigs to fish termites overturned assumptions that tool use was uniquely human. Later research found chimps using stone tools to crack nuts, a skill learned culturally over years, with different communities showing distinct tool traditions, prompting scientists to reconsider the boundary between animal behavior and culture.
Answer Short Question
You will hear a question. Type your answer in one or a few words.
1. Type what you hear.
2. Type what you hear.
3. Type what you hear.
4. Type what you hear.
Summarize Group Discussion
Listen to a group discussion and summarise it.
Listen to the discussion. Then summarise it, covering each speaker's main point. You will have 70 seconds to speak.
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Model answer: Emma argues influencers should face the same advertising regulations as traditional advertisers, since followers often can't distinguish genuine from paid recommendations. Frank notes disclosure rules technically already exist. Grace points out enforcement and viewer understanding are the real problems. They agree stronger enforcement combined with media literacy education would address the transparency gap more effectively than new rules alone.
Respond to a Situation
Listen to the situation and respond as if you were in it.
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Model answer: The locker just opened with the correct code, but the item inside is completely different from what I ordered, even though your app marks it as successfully delivered. I still have the locker open and the wrong item in front of me right now. Could you tell me how to proceed, and how quickly you can send my actual order?
Writing
Summarize Written Text
Read the passage and write a one-sentence summary.
Telemedicine, the delivery of healthcare through video calls, telephone consultations and remote monitoring devices, expanded dramatically during the pandemic, when in-person visits were restricted. Many patients discovered its advantages. Those living in remote regions no longer needed to travel hundreds of kilometres to see a specialist, people with mobility problems could consult a doctor from their homes, and workers could avoid taking half a day off for a brief appointment. Health services also benefited, as missed appointments became less common and doctors could monitor conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure through connected devices, adjusting treatment before problems became serious. Even so, the approach has clear limitations. A physician cannot listen to a patient's chest, palpate the abdomen or take a blood sample through a screen, so remote consultations are best suited to follow-up visits, mental health support and the management of chronic illness rather than initial diagnosis of complicated symptoms. Access is another concern. Older people and those on low incomes may lack a reliable internet connection or the confidence to use the technology, which could widen rather than narrow inequalities in care. Data privacy also demands attention, since sensitive medical information travels across networks. Most health systems therefore envisage a blended model in which digital and face-to-face care complement one another rather than compete.
Read the passage and summarise it in ONE sentence of no more than 75 words.
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Model answer: Telemedicine saves patients travel and helps monitor chronic conditions, but because it cannot replace physical examination and may exclude people lacking technology or raise privacy concerns, most health systems plan to combine remote care with traditional face-to-face consultations.
Write Essay
Write an essay of about 200-300 words on the topic.
Zoos are cruel to animals and should be closed down. Others say that zoos play an important role in protecting endangered species and educating the public. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
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Model answer: Few subjects provoke stronger feelings than keeping wild animals in captivity. While critics have a point about the conditions in some zoos, I believe that well-run zoos deserve to continue.
Those who wish to see zoos closed argue that no enclosure, however large, can match the freedom of the wild. Elephants that would normally walk many kilometres a day may pace in circles, and big cats can develop stress-related behaviour. Since most visitors come for entertainment, opponents claim that animals are being used as exhibits for human amusement.
Defenders of zoos respond that modern institutions have a serious conservation purpose. Breeding programmes have saved species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from extinction, and some animals raised in captivity have been successfully released into protected areas. Zoos also fund research and field projects, and they give city dwellers, especially children, a chance to see real animals, which can inspire concern for wildlife in a way that documentaries may not.
The key point is that not all zoos are alike. Institutions that are small, poorly funded or focused only on profit should be closed or forced to improve. Those that provide spacious, naturalistic habitats, take part in international breeding schemes and use their revenue for conservation should be supported. Rather than a blanket ban, strict inspection and licensing would protect animal welfare while allowing the valuable work of the best zoos to continue.
Reading
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks
Select the best word for each blank.
Planners increasingly recognise that access to parks and street trees both the physical and mental health of city residents. Studies conducted in several countries have found that people living within walking distance of green space report levels of stress and are more likely to exercise regularly. Trees also cool the surrounding air by providing shade and releasing moisture, which can some of the warming caused by dense concrete and asphalt. Despite these benefits, green space is often distributed unevenly, with wealthier neighbourhoods typically enjoying far parkland than poorer districts nearby. Several cities have therefore begun prioritising new green infrastructure in areas that have historically been .
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
Read the text and select all the correct answers.
When the potato was first brought to Europe from South America in the sixteenth century, it was met largely with suspicion rather than enthusiasm. Because the plant belongs to the same family as several poisonous species, many Europeans initially believed potatoes were unsafe to eat, and some regions associated the unfamiliar vegetable with disease due to its unusual appearance and the fact that it grew underground. Adoption was also slowed by the fact that potatoes were unfamiliar to farmers accustomed to grain crops and required different cultivation techniques. Gradually, however, potatoes proved valuable precisely because they could produce a large, reliable harvest of calories from relatively poor soil and a small plot of land, making them especially useful for feeding a growing rural population during a period of expanding cities and frequent grain shortages. Some governments actively promoted potato cultivation, occasionally through unusual methods, such as reportedly having royal fields planted with potatoes and lightly guarded, so that curious local farmers would be tempted to steal and plant them themselves. By the nineteenth century, the potato had become a dietary staple across much of Europe, though this reliance also created serious vulnerability, as later famines caused by potato disease would tragically demonstrate.
1. Which TWO statements are supported by the passage?
Re-order Paragraphs
Click the sentences to put them in the correct order.
2. Put the paragraph in the correct order.
Reading: Fill in the Blanks
Choose the best word for each blank.
Permafrost refers to ground that has remained frozen continuously for at least two years, and vast areas of it underlie the Arctic regions of North America, Europe and Asia. As global temperatures rise, permafrost in many areas has begun to for the first time in thousands of years, with serious consequences for the buildings, roads and pipelines constructed on top of it. Perhaps more significantly, thawing permafrost also releases carbon that has been within the frozen soil since the last ice age, in the form of methane and carbon dioxide that further accelerate global warming. Scientists are particularly concerned about a feedback loop in which warming causes permafrost to thaw, which greenhouse gases, which then causes further warming and even more thawing. Researchers are working to exactly how much carbon remains stored in permafrost worldwide, since current figures remain highly uncertain.
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
Read the text and choose the best answer.
Groupthink describes a pattern in which members of a cohesive group prioritise reaching harmonious agreement so strongly that they suppress doubts, avoid voicing dissenting opinions, and fail to critically evaluate alternative courses of action, sometimes with disastrous consequences for the eventual decision reached. Psychologists studying the phenomenon have identified several warning signs that a group may be particularly susceptible, including strong pressure on individual members to conform to an emerging consensus, a shared and sometimes unwarranted belief in the group's own inherent superiority or infallibility, and the informal emergence of self-appointed members who actively discourage others from raising doubts or objections during discussion. Groups operating under significant time pressure or led by a highly directive, forceful leader appear especially vulnerable to groupthink, since there is often little perceived time or genuine appetite for the sort of thorough, open debate that might otherwise surface important objections before a decision is finalised. To help guard against this risk, some organisations now deliberately assign a specific individual the formal role of critically challenging the group's emerging consensus, a designated role sometimes informally referred to as a devil's advocate.
3. What is the main idea of the passage?
Listening
Summarize Spoken Text
Listen to the recording, then write a summary.
Transcript (available after checking)
Fast fashion describes clothing produced quickly and cheaply to follow the latest trends, with new collections arriving every few weeks instead of every season. Shoppers love the low prices, but the hidden costs are large. Making clothes uses huge quantities of water and energy, and the dyeing process pollutes rivers in some producing countries. A large share of fabric is now polyester, which sheds microplastics each time it is washed. Meanwhile, garments are worn only a few times before being thrown away, and much of that waste ends up in landfill or exported to countries with little capacity to handle it. Workers, mainly women, often earn very low wages in unsafe conditions. Campaigners urge consumers to buy fewer, better-made items, repair clothes, and choose second-hand. Some governments are also considering laws requiring producers to take responsibility for the waste.
Write a summary of the lecture in 50–70 words.
Show sample answer
Model answer: Fast fashion produces cheap clothing that follows trends rapidly, but it consumes large amounts of water and energy, pollutes rivers, sheds microplastics and generates waste after only a few wears, while workers earn low wages. Campaigners encourage buying fewer, better items and second-hand clothing, and governments are considering producer responsibility laws.
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
Listen and select all the correct answers.
Transcript (available after checking)
Launched in nineteen seventy-seven, the twin Voyager probes were designed for a four-year mission to Jupiter and Saturn, yet both are still transmitting data from interstellar space nearly five decades later. Each carries a golden record containing sounds and images of Earth, intended as a message in case the probes are ever found by another civilisation. Voyager took advantage of a rare planetary alignment that allowed it to use the gravity of each planet to accelerate toward the next, a technique that saved enormous amounts of fuel. As the probes travelled further from the sun, their instruments were switched off one by one to conserve the dwindling power from their nuclear generators. Voyager one crossed into interstellar space in twenty twelve, becoming the most distant human-made object, though scientists expect both probes to lose power completely sometime in the twenty thirties.
1. Which THREE facts about the Voyager probes are given?
Fill in the Blanks
Listen to the recording and type the missing words.
Many migratory birds follow strikingly consistent routes each year, often called flyways, connecting breeding grounds in the north with warmer wintering grounds far to the . These routes often follow coastlines or river valleys, which offer reliable landmarks and feeding stops along the where exhausted birds can rest before continuing. Some songbirds cross entire seas in a single non-stop flight lasting several , burning stored fat reserves built up beforehand. Because so many species depend on the same handful of stopover sites, losing even one wetland can disrupt migration for species using the same .
Highlight Correct Summary
Listen and choose the paragraph that best summarises the recording.
Transcript (available after checking)
Certain species of ants, particularly leafcutter ants found in Central and South America, don't eat the leaves they famously cut and carry back to their nest; instead, they chew the leaves into a pulp and use it to cultivate a specific type of fungus underground, which the ants then feed on as their primary food source, a farming relationship that has continued for millions of years. The ants actively tend this fungus garden, removing contaminating moulds and other unwanted fungal species, and even carry helpful bacteria on their bodies that produce natural compounds to protect the crop against disease, functioning as a kind of built-in pesticide system. Because the ants and their cultivated fungus have coevolved so closely over such a long time, neither can typically survive without the other, an example of dependency researchers compare to human agricultural societies relying entirely on their crops.
2. Which paragraph best summarises the recording?
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
Listen and choose the best answer.
Transcript (available after checking)
Deep-sea anglerfish live in near-total darkness far below where sunlight penetrates, and many species have evolved a remarkable adaptation: a thin spine from the head, tipped with a glowing lure produced by bioluminescent bacteria in a special pouch. The anglerfish dangles this lure in front of its mouth and stays almost motionless, waiting for a smaller fish, curious about the light, to swim close enough to be caught in a sudden strike. Because food is scarce at such depths, anglerfish also have an unusually large, expandable stomach and jaw, letting them swallow prey larger than their own body.
3. What does the speaker say about the anglerfish's hunting strategy?
Select Missing Word
The recording ends with a beep. Choose the option that best completes it.
4. Choose the word or phrase that best completes the recording.
Highlight Incorrect Words
Listen to the recording and select the words in the text that differ from what you hear.
5. The text below differs from the recording in some words. Select the words that are DIFFERENT from what you hear. Meerkats live in tightly organised social groups, and while most members forage for food, one or more individuals typically stand upright on a raised mound, scanning the surroundings for approaching predators such as eagles or jackals. This sentinel gives a specific warning call that clearly tells the rest of the group precisely what kind of danger is near, and sentinels regularly take turns so no particular meerkat goes hungry for too long.
Write from Dictation
Listen to the sentence and type it exactly as you hear it.
6. Type what you hear.
7. Type what you hear.
Keep your streak going
Up next: PTE Academic Practice Test 26