Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer
The "Multiple-choice, choose single answer"
task is the first one you'll encounter in the PTE Reading section. Here is a
comprehensive guide covering its format, scoring, effective strategies, and
practice samples.
Overview of the "Multiple-Choice, Choose Single Answer" Task
|
Feature |
Details |
|
Number of Questions |
Typically 2 to 3 per test. |
|
Time for Questions |
Part of
the overall 29-30 minutes Reading section timer. Aim for no more than 2 minutes per question. |
|
Passage Length |
The text
prompt is usually up
to 300 words. |
|
Task Format |
You are
given a passage and a question with 4 options. You must select
the single correct answer. |
|
Scoring |
Binary scoring: You get 1 point for a correct answer
and 0 points
for an incorrect one. There is no negative marking. |
|
Skills Assessed |
Reading only. This task tests your ability to
understand the main idea, specific details, author's purpose, and make
inferences from a text. |
Key Strategies for Success
Read the Question and
Options First
Before you
start reading the passage, quickly look at the question to understand what you
need to find. This gives you a purpose for reading and helps you scan for only
the relevant information.
Skim for the Main
Idea
Read the
passage with the question in mind. Focus on grasping the overall meaning and
the author's tone. Don't get bogged down in understanding every single word.
Don't Just Match
Keywords
A common
mistake is to simply find the same words from an option in the text. The
correct answer is often rephrased or uses synonyms. Focus on matching the
meaning, not the exact words.
Use the Process of
Elimination
If you are
unsure, rule out the options that are clearly wrong. Look for options that are
too extreme (using words like "always"
or "never"), too
broad, or are directly contradicted by the text.
Never Leave it Blank
Since there is
no penalty for a wrong answer, you should always make an educated guess.
Leaving the question blank guarantees a zero, but a guess gives you a chance to
score.
Manage Your Time
While
important, this task is considered less impactful on your final score than
other tasks, like Fill in the Blanks. Avoid spending more than 2 minutes here to save time for later
questions.
5 Practice Samples with Answers and Explanations
Here are
practice questions based on the official PTE format. Try to apply the
strategies above to each one.
Sample 1: Mars Rover Curiosity
Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question
by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
Four
Earth-years ago, NASA’s Curiosity rover successfully touched ground on Mars’
dusty surface, after surviving a nail-biting descent through the red planet’s
thin atmosphere. Since its triumphant arrival, the car-size “laboratory on
wheels” has travelled more than 13.5 kilometres, taking pictures, collecting
samples, and analysing rocks along the way. Recent software upgrades even let
Curiosity autonomously choose which rocks it examines – and shoots with laser beams.
Curiosity has
spent more than 1,421 sols, or Martian days, exploring Gale Crater, a low-lying
region that may have held past life, if it existed. While the rover has yet to
confirm whether Mars once hosted living things, it has found evidence of an ancient
freshwater lake in the sediments of Yellowknife Bay, the lowest point of the
crater, offering tantalizing insight into the planet’s past habitability. Since
September 2014, Curiosity has been examining Mount Sharp, a mountain of layered
rocks towering more than five kilometres high in the middle of Gale Crater.
Choose the best summary of the text.
A. Over the
last four years, NASA’s rover, Curiosity has collected samples and taken
photographs of Mars’ surface which have revealed evidence of water, but has not
confirmed evidence of life.
B. NASA’s
rover, Curiosity has taken photographs of 13.5 kilometers of Mars’ surface over
1,421 days to find out if life could have existed on the planet.
C. NASA’s
rover, Curiosity has had recent software upgrades that have let it explore new
areas of Mars looking for evidence of life.
Answers & Explanations:
A is correct. This option accurately summarizes the key points: it mentions the
rover's activities (taking photographs and collecting samples), the evidence of
water ("ancient freshwater lake"), and that evidence of life has not
been confirmed ("has yet to confirm whether Mars once hosted living
things"). It captures the main idea and key details without inaccuracies.
B is incorrect. This is a distortion. While Curiosity did travel 13.5 km and spend
1,421 sols on Mars, the text doesn't say it took photos "of" 13.5
kilometers. This is an oversimplification.
C is incorrect. This is a half-truth. The software upgrades are mentioned, but the
text's broader purpose is to summarize Curiosity's entire mission, not just
this one feature. This option is too narrow and misses the main achievement.
Sample 2: The Blitz Bomb Census Maps
Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question
by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
The German
Luftwaffe dropped thousands of bombs on London from 1939 to 1945, killing
almost 30,000 people. More than 70,000 buildings were completely demolished,
and another 1.7 million were damaged. The extent of the damage to each and
every one of these buildings was logged and mapped in near real-time by
surveyors, architects, engineers, and construction workers. The result is an
incredible collection of maps, colour-coded by hand, that reveal the amount of
the destruction in painstaking detail. Today, the maps remain an invaluable
resource for academics, family historians, and even builders trying to avoid
touching off unexploded bombs.
Now these bomb
census maps are available in a beautiful oversized book released earlier this
year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Blitz, a nine-month
period during which London and other British cities were relentlessly attacked
by the German air force. Visually, the maps are quite striking. The apparent
randomness of the colours stands in contrast to the more orderly pattern of
streets and buildings. The damage from World War II transformed London into the
architecturally diverse city it is today. The maps showing how widespread the
destruction was, really brings home the scale of the devastation.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the
opinion of the author in the text?
A. The author
believes that the maps are a valuable piece of World War II history.
B. The author
believes that the maps are a beautiful and accurate representation of pre-war
London.
C. The author
believes that the maps are works of art that give information about London’s
destruction in World War II.
D. The author
believes that the maps are an accurate representation of post-war London.
Answers & Explanations:
C is correct. The author’s opinion is captured by describing the maps as both
visually striking works of art ("beautiful oversized book,"
"Visually, the maps are quite striking") and as historical documents
that detail the destruction of London ("maps showing how widespread the
destruction was, really brings home the scale of the devastation").
A is incorrect. While the author does state the maps are an "invaluable
resource," this option is too broad. It ignores the author's focus on the
maps' aesthetic quality and detailed depiction of destruction.
B is incorrect. The maps show the destruction of London, not a representation of the
city before the war.
D is incorrect. The maps are a record of the damage from the war, showing which
buildings were destroyed, which is not an "accurate representation of
post-war London" that would also include new buildings.
Sample 3: The Titanic Disaster
Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question
by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
The belief that
the Titanic was unsinkable was so strong that passengers and crew alike clung
to the belief even as she was actually sinking. Not realising the magnitude of
the impending disaster themselves, the officers allowed several boats to be
lowered only half full. The officers were afraid the lifeboats would buckle
under the weight of the passengers as they had not been informed that the
lifeboats had been fully tested prior to departure. As a result, 1,517
passengers met their deaths.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the
opinion of the author in the text?
A. People on
board were too shocked to take action.
B. There was a
large loss of life when the Titanic sank.
C. Procedures
were to blame for the sinking of the Titanic.
D. The sinking
of the Titanic was an avoidable catastrophe.
Answers & Explanations:
D is correct. The text emphasizes the preventable nature of the tragedy. It
highlights the officers' mistaken belief (not being "informed that the
lifeboats had been fully tested") and the consequent action of lowering
boats "only half full." This suggests the author sees the loss of
life as avoidable.
A is incorrect. While people may have been in shock, the author focuses on the
officers' specific, flawed reasoning that led to the loss of life.
B is incorrect. This is a factual statement mentioned in the text, but it is not the
author's central opinion. The author is explaining why the loss of life was so
high.
C is incorrect. This is a trap. The "procedures" refer to the actions of the
officers (which contributed to the loss of life), not the procedures that
caused the ship to sink. The author's opinion is about the tragedy of the loss
of life, not the cause of the sinking itself.
Sample 4: The Popularity of La Niña
Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question
by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
Weather
experts have suggested that the natural climate phenomenon known as La Niña is
set to arrive this year. This could spell a long, cold winter for some parts of
the UK. La Niña is characterized by unusually cool ocean temperatures in the
equatorial Pacific Ocean, which leads to alterations in global weather
patterns. This is the opposite of El Niño, which is characterized by unusually
warm ocean temperatures in the same region. The potential arrival of La Niña
has generated significant discussion among meteorologists and the public, with
many remembering the severe winter of 2009-2010, which brought widespread
disruption.
Which of the following statements about La Niña is
true?
A. It creates
warmer-than-average conditions.
B. It is a
form of extreme weather.
C. It is
linked to cooler ocean temperatures in the Pacific.
D. It is
expected to cause a mild winter.
Answers & Explanations:
C is correct. The text explicitly states that "La Niña is characterized by unusually cool ocean
temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean."
A is incorrect. This is the definition of El Niño, which is the opposite of La Niña.
B is incorrect. The text describes La Niña as a "natural climate phenomenon," not a single
form of "extreme weather"
like a tornado or hurricane.
D is incorrect. The text says it could lead to a "long, cold winter," not a mild one.
Sample 5: Sugar Tax Study
Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question
by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct.
A 20% sugar
tax could discourage shoppers from buying unhealthier breakfast cereals, new
research led by Newfinland University shows. Researchers found demand for
sugary cereals fell by 48% if consumers knew a tax was being applied and
consumers purchased healthier alternatives. The study, carried out by experts
from Newfinland University, examined the impact of both a 20% and 40% tax on
unhealthier cereals and soft drinks containing sugar. It also looked at whether
telling people they were being taxed influenced the way they shopped. Lead
researcher, Damien Rizzo, Professor of Economics at Newfinland University
Business School, said: “Our findings suggest a 20% sugar tax would work and
lead to large changes in shopping behaviour.”
What factor caused a decrease in demand for high sugar
cereals?
A. A 20% tax
B. Knowing
how much sugar was in the cereal
C. Knowing a
sugar tax was included in the price
Answers & Explanations:
C is correct. The text states, "Researchers
found demand for sugary cereals fell by 48% if consumers knew a tax was being
applied." The key factor was the awareness of the tax, not the tax itself.
A is incorrect. This is too broad. The research shows that the knowledge of the tax was the specific
factor that caused the change in buying behavior.
B is incorrect. The text focuses on the effect of a sugar tax on
buying behavior, not consumer knowledge of sugar content.
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