Test your language

Updated on: Monday, December 20, 2010

The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) is recognised by more than 2040 academic programmes including over 455 institutions in the UK. Results of the test can be obtained within five business days. For practice purposes, the website has scored and unscored tests. The test is divided into three parts. Each part will contain a number of sections. At the beginning of each part you will receive instructions. These will provide details on what to expect in that part of the test. By clicking on the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of each screen you confirm your answer and move to the next question. Use the ‘Previous’ button to return to the last question. You will be offered a break of up to 10 minutes after Part 2. The break is optional.

This test makes use of different varieties of English, for example, British, American, Australian. You can answer in the standard English variety of your choice

In the scored PTE Academic test, each section is individually timed. You will not be able to return to the previous question or review your responses at the end of the test. If you spend more than 10 minutes on the break, that time will be taken from Part 3. In India, the PTE Academic is delivered through Pearson VUE centres.

Reading
6. Who are Aborigines? Aborigines are Australia’s indigenous people. Recent government statistics counted approximately 400,000 Aboriginal people, or about 2 per cent of Australia’s total population.
Australian Aborigines migrated from somewhere in Asia at least 30,000 years ago. Though they comprise 500-600 distinct groups, Aboriginal people possess some unifying links. Among these are strong spiritual beliefs that tie them to the land; a tribal culture of storytelling and art; and, like other indigenous populations, a difficult colonial history.
The Dreamtime: Aboriginal spirituality entails a close relationship between humans and the land. Aborigines call the beginning of the world the “Dreaming” or “Dreamtime”. In the “Dreamtime”, Aboriginal “Ancestors” rose from below the earth to form various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water, and the sky. Unlike other religions, however, Aboriginal belief does not place the human species apart from or on a higher level than nature. Aborigines believe some of the Ancestors metamorphosed into nature (as in rock formations or rivers), where they remain spiritually alive.
Storytelling, art and the didgeridoo: The oral tradition of storytelling informs Aboriginals’ vibrant cultural life. Songs illustrate the Dreamtime and other tales of the land, while dances and diagrams drawn in the sand accompany oral tales. In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal art includes sculpture, bark and rock paintings, and baskets and beadwork. Rock carvings and paintings can be found in such places as Arnhem Land, Ubirr, and Nourlangie. Many Aborigines earn a living through selling native artworks.
Aboriginal music is often recognisable for its most famous instrument, the didgeridoo. A wind instrument typically made from bamboo, it extends about five feet and
produces a low, vibrating hum. Aborigines use didgeridoos in formal ceremonies at such events as sunsets, circumcisions and funerals.

Read the text and answer the question by selecting all the correct responses. You will need to select more than one response.
Which of the following statements about Australian Aborigines can be supported from this text?
1. It is estimated that the population of Australian Aborigines peaked at about 400,000 some 30,000 years before white settlement.
2. Despite being recognised internationally, the Aboriginal musical instrument the didgeridoo, rarely plays a significant role in Aboriginal cultural ceremonies.
3. Today Aborigines comprise approximately 2 per cent of the Australian
population.
4. Aboriginal culture is based on a belief that people, animals, and the land are integrally linked.
5. Unlike many other indigenous cultures, Australian Aborigines developed equitable relationships with colonial powers.
Answer: 3 and 4

7. Adaptations enable living organisms to cope with environmental stresses and pressures. Adaptation can be structural or behavioral. Structural adaptations are special body parts of an organism that help it to survive in its natural habitat (e.g., skin colour, shape, body covering). Behavioural adaptations are the ways a particular organism behaves to survive in its natural habitat. Physiological adaptations are systems present in an organism that allow it to perform certain biochemical reactions (e.g. making venom, secreting slime, being able to keep a constant body temperature). Adaptations are traits that have been selected for by natural selection. The underlying genetic basis for the adaptive trait did not arise as a consequence of the environment; the genetic variant pre-existed and was subsequently selected because it provided the bearer of that variant some advantage.

Read the text and answer the question by selecting all the correct responses. You will need to select more than one response.
Which of the following are true statements about adaptations?
1. They can be structural, behavioral, or physiological adaptations.
2. They mostly occur in physical appearances of special body parts of an organism.
3. They are new genes created to increase an organism’s chance of survival.
4. They are genes selected due to the benefits they offer in a particular environment.
5. They are created by the environment to help an organism survive in its habitat.
Answer: 1 and 4

8. The text boxes have been placed in a random order. Restore the original order.

He was able to argue that the State was the only organ that was genuinely capable of responding to social needs and social interests, unlike markets.

Markets may be good at encouraging innovation and following trends, but they were no good at ensuring social equality.

Mill was able to see an expanded role for the State in such legislation to protect us against powerful interests.

There had already been some legislation to prevent such abuses — such as various Factory Acts to prevent the exploitation of child workers.

These markets had become rapidly dominated by powerful enterprises who were able to act in their own interests, against the interests of both workers and consumers.

Answer: Markets may be good at encouraging innovation and following trends, but they were no good at ensuring social equality. These markets had become rapidly dominated by powerful enterprises who were unable to act in their own interests, against the interests of both workers and consumers. There had already been some legislation to prevent such abuses — such as various Factory Acts to prevent the exploitation of child workers. Mill was able to see an expanded role for the State in such legislation to protect us against powerful interests. He was able to argue that the State was the only organ that was genuinely capable of responding to social needs and social interests, unlike markets.

9. In the text below some words are missing. Put them in the appropriate place in the text.
Of course there were many different Enlightenments, and scholars still argue about which was the real torch-bearer…However, despite their quarrelsome diversity, most Enlightenment thinkers shared certain intellectual traits – A)………….on intellectual autonomy, a B)……… of tradition and authority as the infallible sources of truth, a C)…….. of bigotry an

Test your language

More Education news