PTE Academic Reading Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is "skimming" as a reading strategy in PTE Academic?
- Reading every word carefully for detail
- Moving eyes quickly over text to grasp the main idea (Correct answer)
- Searching for a specific piece of information
- Reading from the end of the text backwards
Correct answer: Moving eyes quickly over text to grasp the main idea
Skimming involves reading rapidly to get the general idea of a text without reading every word. It is useful for Multiple Choice and Re-order Paragraphs tasks where understanding the overall structure matters most.
Question 2: Which suffix correctly turns the adjective "persistent" into a noun?
- -ment → persistment
- -tion → persistion
- -ence → persistence (Correct answer)
- -ful → persistful
Correct answer: -ence → persistence
"Persistence" is the noun form of "persistent," using the suffix "-ence." Word form knowledge (adjective/noun/verb/adverb conversions) is directly tested in PTE Reading Fill in the Blanks tasks.
Question 3: In academic texts, the phrase "in light of" is used to mean:
- In spite of the evidence
- Taking into account or considering (Correct answer)
- In contrast with
- As a direct result of an experiment
Correct answer: Taking into account or considering
"In light of" means considering or taking into account new information or evidence. For example: "In light of recent findings, the original hypothesis must be revised." It is a common academic discourse marker.
Question 4: What does "synthesize" mean in the context of academic reading and writing?
- To copy information directly from sources
- To combine information from multiple sources into a coherent whole (Correct answer)
- To summarize a single source in your own words
- To create original research from scratch
Correct answer: To combine information from multiple sources into a coherent whole
Synthesis involves combining ideas and information from multiple sources to create a new, integrated understanding. PTE Academic Summarize Written Text tasks reward candidates who synthesize rather than simply copy.
Question 5: Which option best defines the word "empirical" as used in academic passages?
- Based on theory alone
- Based on observation and evidence from experiments (Correct answer)
- Relating to historical records
- Involving philosophical reasoning
Correct answer: Based on observation and evidence from experiments
"Empirical" refers to knowledge based on observation, experience, or experimental evidence rather than pure theory. Academic texts frequently describe "empirical research" or "empirical data."
Question 6: A PTE Reading passage says: "While urbanization brings economic benefits, it simultaneously exacerbates social inequalities." What does "exacerbates" mean?
- Reduces or alleviates
- Ignores or overlooks
- Makes worse or more severe (Correct answer)
- Replaces or substitutes
Correct answer: Makes worse or more severe
"Exacerbates" means makes a problem or situation worse. The sentence contrasts economic benefits (positive) with worsening social inequalities (negative), using "exacerbates" to emphasize the negative effect.
PTE Academic Reading Skills 2
What is "skimming" as a reading strategy in PTE Academic?