Reading Comprehension Flashcards
7 cards from real PTE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Reading Comprehension flashcards as text
A PTE passage about the printing press states: 'Gutenberg's invention did not immediately democratize literacy; decades passed before books became affordable to the middle class.' What does this sentence correct?
Answer: The assumption that the printing press had instant widespread social impact
The sentence challenges the oversimplified narrative that the printing press immediately transformed society, noting the delay before its benefits reached ordinary people.
Which sentence structure is most typical of an academic passage found in PTE reading tasks?
Answer: Complex sentences with subordinate clauses expressing nuanced relationships between ideas
Academic texts typically use complex, hypotactic sentences to express logical, causal, and conditional relationships with precision, which is a key feature tested in PTE.
A passage reads: 'Deforestation not only reduces biodiversity but also destabilizes local water cycles and exacerbates climate change.' The 'not only...but also' construction primarily serves to:
Answer: Emphasize that deforestation has multiple compounding negative effects
The 'not only...but also' construction signals an additive relationship, emphasizing that deforestation's harmful impacts extend beyond the obvious to include additional serious consequences.
In a PTE 'Multiple-choice, Choose Multiple Answers' reading task, a student selects only one answer from a question expecting two. What is the most likely scoring outcome?
Answer: Partial or no credit because the task requires identifying all correct options
PTE's multiple-answer tasks award marks only when all correct options are selected; selecting only some correct answers typically results in partial or zero credit depending on scoring rules.
A passage about artificial intelligence concludes: 'Whether AI will ultimately serve as humanity's greatest tool or its most formidable challenge remains an open question.' What does this concluding sentence indicate about the author's stance?
Answer: The author presents a balanced view, acknowledging uncertainty about AI's long-term impact
The phrase 'remains an open question' and the balanced framing of 'greatest tool or most formidable challenge' shows the author deliberately avoids taking a definitive side.
Which of the following best demonstrates the skill of 'reading between the lines' in a PTE passage?
Answer: Inferring the author's unstated attitude from word choice and emphasis
Reading between the lines refers to inferential comprehension — deducing meaning, attitude, or implication not directly stated but suggested by language choices.
A PTE passage includes the following: 'Critics argue the policy is regressive; proponents counter that its long-term benefits outweigh initial costs.' What text structure does this sentence exemplify?
Answer: Presentation of opposing viewpoints on a contested issue
The sentence explicitly juxtaposes two opposing positions — critics versus proponents — making it an example of the point-counterpoint or debate structure common in academic and journalistic texts.