PTE - READING

PTE Vibes Sri Lanka – Zoom Session 14

Shanika Hewage
12/08/2023
READING - SECTIONS
Item Category
Read Aloud Speaking
Fill in the Blanks R/W Reading
Fill in the blanks R Reading
Highlight Incorrect Words Listening
Re-Order Paragraph Reading
Summarize Written text Writing
Multiple choice Multiple Answer – R Reading

Highlight Correct Summary Listening

Multiple Choice Single Answer – R Reading
THINGS TO FOLLOW – FIB-R
& FIB-RW
 Apply grammar rules and norms (Tenses, Voice, conjunctions, etc)
 Improve reading comprehension skills and vocabulary
• Newspapers, novels, articles

 Get familiarized with collocations

 Don’t get stressed with the timer initially when resolving FIB and increase the speed
gradually to keep up with timer
 Practice Skim reading
 Apply different approaches
• Bottom-up approach
• Clue based
• Elimination Method

 Stop relying on intuition to do FIB (try to apply a logic)

 Understand the context and the period(time) the paragraph belong to(written tense)
EXAMPLES
 Bottom-up approach

Adam loves to eat pizza. He went to a market and found a ………..

Though he was in rush to quench his hunger, the sight of this beauty struck him.
He was unmoved and completely forgot to look for a ……………
(restaurant, limousine, pizza, hunger)
 Elimination Method
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/833

 Clue based
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/864

Source :
TENSES

Present Past Future

Present Simple Past Simple Future Simple

Present Past Continuous Future

Continuous Continuous
Present Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect

Present Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect

Continuous Continuous Continuous
TENSES - USE
Present Past Future
Simple I do I did I will do
He does He did He will do
They do They did They will do
Continuous I am doing I was doing I will be doing
He is doing He was doing He will be doing
They are doing They were doing They will be doing
Perfect I have done I had done I will have done
He has done He had done He will have done
They have done They had done They will have done
Perfect I have been doing I had been doing I will have been doing
Continuous He has been doing He had been doing He will have been
They have been They had been doing
doing doing They will have been
doing
ACTIVE VOICE
In the active voice, the subject is performing the action
Subject + Verb + Object

 He is reading a book present continuous

 Dog chased the ball past tense
 I have played cricket present perfect
 They have been doing this project since 2015 present perfect
continuous
PASSIVE VOICE
 In a passive sentence, the object of an active sentence becomes the
subject
 In English, passive voice sentences are mostly used when the
subject(who/what performed the action) is unknown/untold/not
important/obvious

 A bank was robbed yesterday. (=We don’t know who robbed the bank.)
 He was arrested last night. (=It’s obvious that the police arrested him.)
 I have been told that you insulted my brother. (=I don’t want to say
who told me.)
 PASSIVE
VOICE

Image Source : https://test-

english.com/explanation/b1-2/pa
ssive-voice-tenses/
 COLLOCATIONS
 a collocation is a series of words or terms that co-occur more often
 Refer the document shared in the group
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/841

depend on <something> discuss with <someone> draw a conclusion

adopt a strategy meet/fulfil requirements meet the demand

pose a threat have/take a break have a seat

perform a task/job make use of <something> make arrangements
commit a crime have a conversation collect evidence/data
focus on <something> come up with an idea roll out <something>
Take into account meet the criteria compared to <something>

develop a strategy/method make an assumption equally important

THINGS TO KNOW
1. The verb after a singular noun, should be with ‘s’ at the end
 It completes
 Committee suggests

2. If there is a verb after ‘to’ , the verb should be in original form (when in active voice)
 to wear
 to show

3. If there is a blank after an article (‘a/an/the’) the word should be a noun

 an elephant
 the books
 a house

4. If there is a blank between an article and a noun, the word should be an adjective
 an enormous help
 a large house
 THINGS TO KNOW
5. If there is a blank after can/could/should/will/shall,
 if in active voice, the verb should be in original form -> would read, can go
 if in passive voice, verb should be be + 3rd form -> could be done, should
be submitted

6. Verb after for/while/when is used in ‘verb+ing’ form

 for reading
 while leaving

7. Verb after is/are/was/were should be,

 If in active voice, the verb should be in +ing form -> is receiving, are getting
 If in passive voice, the verb should be in 3rd form -> is postponed, were
admitted
THINGS TO KNOW
8. The verb after be/been should be,

 In active voice -> be + verb+ ing -> I will be doing, I will be getting
-> been + verb+ ing > They have been reading
 In passive voice -> be+ verb in 3rd form -> It will be done
-> been + verb in 3rd form -> The report has been completed

9. After ‘one of ’ the noun should be in plural

 One of the books
 One of my friends
THINGS TO KNOW
10. When two singular subjects are connected by or, use a singular verb.
The same is true for either/or and neither/nor.
 John or Mary is coming tonight.
 Either coffee or tea is fine.
 Neither John nor Mary participates the event.

11. Adjectives usually come before a noun (except when a verb separates
the adjective from the noun).
 I have a big dog.
 She married a handsome Italian man.
THINGS TO KNOW
12. Adverbs used before or after a verb usually ends with ‘LY’
 Largely equipped
 Carefully chosen
 Wind blew gently

13. Noun after ‘an’ starts with a/e/i/o/u sound

 an implementation
 an obvious conclusion
 an understanding concept
 a university program

14. The word after ‘let’ +’noun/pronoun’ should be a verb in original form
 Let him imagine
 Let people do
 Let it go
THINGS TO KNOW
15. With the word "help," original form of verb can be used with or without
"to.“
 With “to”
 They helped me to move the items
 The kids help their mother to finish her work

 Without ‘to”
 It helps me choose between the options
 Those extra readings help me gain more knowledge
 They help determine the factors

https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/555
MORE TO KNOW
16. If two words/phrases are connected with ‘and’, those two words/phrases
usually are common in context

 temperature and speed - parameters

 John and Paul - People
 buying and selling

Questions :
https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/618
MORE QUESTIONS
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/845
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/411
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/553
 https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/547
CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is a word that is used to connect words, phrases, and
clauses
But However
Yet Still
Although / Though Even though/ In spite of
While Whether/or
Before After
Since As/Because
Either/or Neither/Nor
Not only, but also What/where/when/who/which
CONJUNCTIONS
Yet
Presents an idea that logically contrasts the first statement
 Stella plays tennis well, yet her favorite sport is soccer

So/Therefore
for this reason; therefore
 There weren’t enough beds, so I had to sleep on the floor.
 There weren’t enough beds; therefore, I had to sleep on the floor.
CONJUNCTIONS
Although/Though
Similar to Even though, In spite of

 Although the sun was shining, it wasn't very warm

 Anne was fond of Tim, though he often annoyed her.
CONJUNCTIONS
As
 They arrived as we were leaving -> represents a time
 I went to bed early as I had a plane to catch next morning -> gives a
reason

Because
 Because of the rain, the tennis match was stopped.
 There were so many people in the shop because there was a sale.

Whereas
In contrast or comparison with
CONJUNCTIONS
After
 After he finished his studies, he went to America.
 He arrived after everybody had gone home.
 I decided not to submit the application after reading the terms of conditions

Before
 Think carefully before you choose.
 I had to read application carefully before submitting

While
during the time that; at the same time as
 His paintings were sold out while some other artists accused him
 The teacher explained the theory while giving examples
CONJUNCTIONS
Since
 from a time in the past until the time under consideration
o We've played better since he joined the team

 for the reason that; because

o Since you've finished all your homework, you may go out and play.
o The committee was happy since his report was good.

Not only/But also

 The car not only is economical but also feels good to drive
CONJUNCTIONS
Either/or
Used to connect two nouns or two options
 You can choose either the red car or the blue car.
 Either I drive to the airport, or I get a taxi

Neither/Nor (negative)
 I neither speak Spanish nor understand it.
 He likes neither apples nor oranges.
CONJUNCTIONS
Whether/or
When expressing a choice between two options.

A popular course for beginners, Suenos World Spanish is designed to ………

…….. (record, meet, choose, collect)
the varied needs of adult learners, ……………….. (as, whether, nor, not)
learning at home or in a class

https://www.apeuni.com/en/practice/fib_rd/828
ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS
Adjective
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or noun phrase
 Attractive, bald, magnificent, important, ancient -> ancient monument
 Flexible, ongoing, outgoing, tremendous, influential -> outgoing nature

Adverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb, an adjective, another
adverb.
 Sing loudly
 Very tall
 Too quickly
 FIB – R/W
QUESTIONS
 QUESTION 01 - #891
Crime prevention has a long history in Australia, and in other parts of the world. In all societies, p
eople have tried to ………… (promote, respect, protect, enhance)
themselves and those close to them from
assaults and other abuses. Every time someone locks the door to their house or their car, they pr
actice
…………… (part of, a form of, relation to, addition to)
prevention. Most parents want their children
to learn to be law abiding and not spend extended periods of their lives in prison. In this country,
at least,
most ……… (succeeded, has succeeded, succeed, was
succeeded). Only a small minority of young
people become recidivist offenders. In a functioning society, crime prevention is part of everyday
life.
QUESTION 02 - #878
What killed off the dinosaurs? The end of the Cretaceous Period saw one of the most dramatic mass e
xtinctions the Earth has ever seen. The fossil record shows that throughout their 160-million-
year ……………. (existence, continuous, extent,
expectation), dinosaurs took on a huge variety of forms as the environment changed
and new species evolved that were suited to these new conditions. Others that failed to adapt
…………….
(went, to go, go, going to)
extinct. But then 66 million years ago, over a relatively short time, dinosaurs
disappeared ………….. (partially, gradually, completely, excessively)
(except for birds). Many other
animals also died out, including pterosaurs, large marine reptiles, and other sea creatures such as a
mmonites. …………… (However, Because, Although,
Unless) the number of dinosaur species was already declining,
this suggests a sudden catastrophic event sealed their fate, causing unfavorable changes to the envi
 QUESTION 03 - #876
Bhutan used to be one of the most isolated nations in the world. Developments including
direct international flights, the Internet, mobile phone networks,
and cable television have ……………..
(spontaneously, increasingly, contemporarily, mechanically)
modernized the urban
areas of the country. Bhutan has …………. (juggled, opted, balanced, altered)
modernization
with its ancient culture and traditions under the guiding philosophy of Gross National Ha
ppiness (GNH). Rampant …………..(destruction, embodiment, vanity,
execution) of the environment
has been avoided. The government takes great …………. (pride, measures, effects,
allowance)
QUESTION 04 - #416
Turning now to the heart of the study, in two divisions an attempt ………… (was
made, make, making, made)
to change the supervision so that the decision levels were ………… (put off, setup,
turned over, pushed down) and detailed supervision of the workers reduced.
More general supervision of the clerks and their supervisors was introduced. In additio
n, the
managers, assistant managers, supervisors and assistant supervisors of these two divi
sions
were …………… (fired, overlapped, trained, deduced)
in group methods of leadership,
which they ……………. (expanded, gathered, covered, endeavored)
 QUESTION 05 - #281
A team in the University of London found that people who went with their initial resp
onse on a test of visual perception (questions included picking out an anomaly in a p
attern of symbols) did better than those who were given more time to ponder.
........................... (Even, Whereas, Whether,
Therefore) the subconscious brain recognized
a rotated version of the same symbol as different, the conscious brain reasoned that
'an apple is still an apple whether rotated or not', the researchers on the project …
……………….
(claimed, concluded, speculated,
asked). When the subjects had time to engage their
higher-level functions ……………..(instead, because, in spite, together)
of relying on their intuitive responses, they were more ……….. (likely, involved,
 QUESTION 06 - #56
Agrarian parties are political parties chiefly representing the interests of peasants or,
more
broadly, the rural sector of society. The extent to which they are important, or …………
…
(why, how, what, whether)
they even exist, depends mainly on two factors. One, obviously,
is the size of an identifiable peasantry, or the size of the rural relative ……. (from, to,
of, on)
the urban population. The other is a matter of social integration: ……. (as, in, for, to)
agrarian parties to be important, the representation of countryside or peasantry must
not be
integrated with the other major sections of society.
SOURCES
 https://youtube.com/@skillspteacademic (Highly recommended)
 https://youtube.com/@myaussielife
Thank You