PTE Academic Test Tal

229 Pages·2017·28.76 MB·English

OFFICIAL GUIDE
THE TO
FROM THE TEST DEVELOPERS
Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM20 2JE
England
and Associated Companies throughout the world.
www.pearsonelt.com
© Pearson Education Limited 2012
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers.
Licensed edition from the Pearson Education Asia edition, entitled The Official Guide to PTE
Pearson Test ofE nglish Academic published by Pearson Longman Asia ELT Copyright © 2010.
First published 2010
This edition published 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4479-2891-1
Set in 11.5/l4pt Minion
Printed in Slovakia by Neografia
Acknowledgements
The publishers would like to thank the following people and institutions for their feedback and
comments during the development of the material:
From Second Language Test, Inc
Lauren Kennedy (Director, Test Development) and Catherine Casteel (Test Developer and
Literacy Specialist) for writing and revising the Overview and Task sections in Chapters 3-6
Corinna Duron (Test Developer) for reviewing the Overview and Task sections in Chapters 3-6
Margaret Matthews (Writer and editor, educational materials) for writing and reviewing the Test
preparation guidelines section in Chapter 1 and the strategies sections in Chapters 3-6
Betty Jean Gran (Consultant, Training and Development Services) for writing the general skills
sections in Chapters 3-6
Alison Ross (PTE Academic reviewer) for reviewing the CD-ROM practice items
SunMi Ma and her Reading Comprehension class, Vikki Weston, Mandy Evans, Nisreen Hasan,
Chris Baker, Mark Knight, Christopher Fulton and Varisara Payananol for reviewing the Official
Guide and providing valuable insights and suggestions
The
publisher's
policy is 10 use
paper manufactured
from sustainable forests
I
Contents
Introduction to the Official Guide ... "" ............................................... ix
What is in the guide? ix
What is on the Audio CD? x
How to use the guide and the Audio CD xi
What is on the CD-ROM? xi
Chapter 1 PTE Academic Introduction " ...... ......................... ..........
1
Overview ... , .... ,., .. ," ., .. ' ... ,., .... , , .. , ......... ,., ........ ,., .. ,., .... ,' ... ,
1
Key features .. , ...... ,., ....... , ............. , ...... ,', ...... , ...... ,', .... " .... ,
2
Integrated skills items 2
Source materials 2
Test delivery 3
Accessing your score report 3
Retaking the test 4
Structure ...................... " ..... ,"',.,.," .... , .... ,.,"',.,.,'.,.,", .. ,.,' 4
Part 1: Speaking and writing 5
Part 2: Reading 7
Part 3: Listening 8
Scoring ., .. " ...... , ..... " .... , ..... , ........... , ............... , ....... , .... ,',.. 9
Types of scoring 9
Types of scores 10
Score report 11
PTE Academic scores and the Common European Framework 14
Chapter 2 PTE Academic Preparation .. .................... ............ ..........
21
Test preparation , ............ , ... ,., .... , .. , ...... , .......... , .. , .. ,.,. "...... ..
21
Test format 21
Evaluating your English proficiency 22
Deciding when to take the test 22
Creating a study plan 23
General test-taking tips 24
Resources " ....... " ... " ...... '" .... , ,., ..... ,., ............... , ... " .. , .. ,.,.. 24
Registration and scheduling ..... " .............. "......................... 27
On test day ,., " .. , ................ , ............ , ............... , ...... "..... 28
Arriving at the test center 28
Taking the test 29
Chapter 3 PTE Academic Speaking ..... " ...................... " ...... " .........
37
Speaking skills , ............. " ................................................ 38
Overview .. , ............... , .... , ........... , .............. ,' .,., ... " .. , ....... ,., 38
111
Read aloud . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. 40
Task 40
Scoring 42
Speaking and reading skills 42
Strategies 43
Practice 44
Repeat sentence ................................................................ 45
Task 45
Scoring 47
Listening and speaking skills 48
Strategies 48
Practice 49
Describe image ........................................................ ........ .. 50
Task 50
Scoring 52
Speaking skills 53
Strategies 43
Practice 54
Re-telllecture ................................................................... 55
Task 55
Scoring 57
Listening and speaking skills 58
Strategies 59
Practice 60
Answer short question ........................................................ 61
Task
Scoring
Listening and speaking skills
Strategies
Practice
Improving general speaking skills ........................................ 65
Effective speaking
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses
Developing your speaking skills
Sources of spoken English
Preparing for PTE Academic
Chapter 4 PTE Academic Writing ...................................................
71
Writing skills..................... ........................................ ........ 71
Overview .......................................................................... 72
Summarize written text . ...... ...... .... .... ........ .... ...... ...... .......... 73
Task 73
Scoring 74
Reading and writing skills 75
Strategies 76
Practice 77
IV
Write essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Task 78
Scoring 79
Writing skills 81
Strategies 81
Practice 82
Improving general writing skills........................................... 84
Effective writing 84
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses 85
Developing your writing skills 86
Sources of written English 87
Preparing for PTE Academic 88
Chapter 5 PTE Academic Reading .................................................
89
Reading skills............ ....................................................... 89
Overview. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . 90
Multiple-choice, choose single answer........ .......................... 91
Task 91
Scoring 93
Reading skills 93
Strategies 94
Practice 95
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers ........... ........ .......... 96
Task 96
Scoring 98
Reading skills 98
Strategies 99
Practice 100
Re-order paragraphs ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 101
Task 101
Scoring 103
Reading skills 103
Strategies 104
Practice 105
Reading: Fill in the blanks ....................... ~.......................... 106
Task 106
Scoring 107
Reading skills 108
Strategies 108
Practice 109
Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks ..................................... 110
Task 110
Scoring 111
Reading and writing skills 112
Strategies 112
Practice 113
v
Improving general reading skills ........ ........ .... .... .......... ........ 115
Effective reading 115
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses 115
Developing your reading skills 117
Sources of reading material 118
Preparing for PTE Academic 119
Chapter 6 PTE Academic Listening....... .......... ...... ........ ........ ..........
121
Listening skills .................................................................. 121
Overview .......................................................................... 122
Summarize spoken text ..... .................. ...... ........ ........ ..... ..... 124
Task 124
Scoring 125
Listening and writing skills 127
Strategies 127
Practice 128
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers.............................. 130
Task 130
Scoring 132
Listening skills 132
Strategies 133
Practice 133
Fill in the blanks ........ " "" .. ,,.............................................. 135
Task 135
Scoring 136
Listening and writing skills 137
Strategies 137
Practice 138
Highlight correct summary ................................................... 140
Task 140
Scoring 142
Listening and reading skills 142
Strategies 143
Practice 143
Multiple-choice, choose single answer .................................. 145
Task 145
Scoring 147
Listening skills 147
Strategies 148
Practice 149
Select missing word ........................................................... 150
Task 150
Scoring 152
Listening skills 152
Strategies 152
Practice 153
VI
Highlight incorrect words..................................................... 154
Task 154
Scoring 156
Listening and reading skills 156
Strategies 157
Practice 157
Write from dictation .......... ........ ........ ............ .... ........ .......... 159
Task 159
Scoring 160
Listening and writing skills 161
Strategies 161
Practice 162
Improving general listening skills ....... .................................. 163
Effective listening 163
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses 164
Developing your listening skills 164
Sources of listening material 165
Preparing for PTE Academic 166
Answer key and transcripts . ... ..... ......... .... ........ ............ ........ .... ..........
167
Glossary .............................................................................................
193
Appendix: CEF language descriptors ............................................................. 197
Acknowledgements ............................................................................
205
Vll