Exam English

PTE Academic Listening Vocabulary Practice with Answers

Published Updated 5 min read Editorial standards

Pearson currently lists eight question types in PTE Academic Listening. This original bank practices vocabulary and meaning decisions from several of them: summarizing, multiple choice, fill in the blanks, selecting a missing ending, identifying transcript differences, and dictation.

Because the exercises are written, they train language analysis rather than real-time audio perception. Use recorded practice separately for sound recognition and memory. The explanatory parent guide is PTE Listening vocabulary by question type.

Exercise 1: summarize relationships

Read this original lecture extract once, take notes, and write one sentence that preserves the claim, evidence, and limitation.

After commuter representatives raised concerns about early travel, a university tested later morning seminars in three introductory courses. The trial lasted one term and involved classes from two departments. Attendance increased in two courses but remained unchanged in the third. Student surveys suggested that commuting schedules influenced attendance, although some respondents also mentioned employment and family responsibilities. The researchers cautioned that neither the short duration nor the small course sample could show whether the pattern would continue in other subjects or seasons. They recommended comparing early and later seminars for a full academic year before considering any campus-wide timetable change.

Model summary: During a one-term trial, later morning seminars were associated with higher attendance in two of three introductory courses. Student surveys identified commuting schedules as a possible influence, but researchers cautioned that the short duration and limited course sample prevented a broad conclusion. They therefore recommended a longer comparison before any campus-wide timetable change.

Rationale: Linked does not claim definite causation. Possibly preserves the tentative survey explanation. Two of three and one-term retain boundaries that a broad summary might erase.

Exercise 2: multiple answers

Based on the extract above, select every supported statement.

A. Attendance rose in every course.
B. The trial included three introductory courses.
C. Survey responses pointed to commuting schedules as one possible influence.
D. Researchers demanded an immediate campus-wide policy.
E. The trial's duration limited the conclusion.

Answers: B, C, and E. A changes two courses to all courses. D reverses the recommendation for longer comparison.

Exercise 3: fill in collocations

Use the word bank: draw, preliminary, account, substantial, consistent.

  1. The two surveys produced broadly ______ findings.
  2. These results are ______ because data collection is continuing.
  3. We should not ______ a firm conclusion from one observation.
  4. The analysis must take seasonal variation into ______.
  5. The change was ______, rising from 42% to 71%.

Answers: 1 consistent, meaning mutually compatible. 2 preliminary, meaning not final. 3 draw, in draw a conclusion. 4 account, in take into account. 5 substantial, supported by the stated 29-point increase.

Understanding is only the first step.

Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.

Start a practice session →

Exercise 4: select the missing ending

Read the argument:

Early reports described the wetland project as unsuccessful because bird counts fell during its first month. Later monitoring showed that the birds had moved temporarily to a nearby site during construction and returned after work ended. The initial count was accurate, but the interpretation was...

A. based on too short a period
B. proof of permanent habitat loss
C. unrelated to construction timing
D. supported by decades of monitoring

Answer: A. The later return and temporary movement show that the first interpretation used an insufficient time frame. The passage does not say the count itself was wrong.

Exercise 5: stance and correction

For each pair, choose the sentence that matches the stated stance.

  1. The researcher accepts one benefit but questions the overall conclusion.
    A. The program improved access, and its success is beyond dispute.
    B. The program improved access; nevertheless, the evidence is too limited to establish its overall effectiveness.

  2. The speaker revises an earlier explanation.
    A. We initially attributed the decline to price, but later data points to reduced availability.
    B. Price and availability are identical concepts.

  3. The evidence supports possibility, not certainty.
    A. The pattern suggests that early feedback may improve retention.
    B. The pattern proves that early feedback always prevents withdrawal.

Answers: 1 B, because nevertheless introduces the reservation. 2 A, because initially...but later marks revision. 3 A, because suggests and may preserve uncertainty.

Exercise 6: transcript precision

Imagine the recording contains the first sentence. Identify the one changed word in the displayed transcript.

  1. Recording: “The revised policy applies to temporary staff.”
    Transcript: “The revised policy applies to permanent staff.”

  2. Recording: “Demand declined gradually throughout the quarter.”
    Transcript: “Demand declined sharply throughout the quarter.”

  3. Recording: “The committee deferred the decision until June.”
    Transcript: “The committee postponed the decision until June.”

Answers: 1 permanent, which changes the affected group. 2 sharply, which changes the rate. 3 postponed, which is a meaning-preserving synonym but still differs from the exact word in the recording.

Exercise 7: dictation reconstruction

Reorder each set into one grammatical sentence, then compare exactly.

  1. evidence / requires / reliable / consistent / measurement
    Answer: Reliable evidence requires consistent measurement.

  2. preliminary / should / findings / interpreted / cautiously / be
    Answer: Preliminary findings should be interpreted cautiously.

  3. policy / revised / takes / the / effect / Monday / on
    Answer: The revised policy takes effect on Monday.

The fixed collocations—reliable evidence, consistent measurement, preliminary findings, interpreted cautiously, and takes effect—help reconstruct order, but exact-word listening still requires audio practice.

Log each error as scope, stance, collocation, spelling, or exact form. Then use the PTE Academic vocabulary hub to practice the relevant Lyra Practice guide instead of repeating only this set.

Sources

PTE is a trademark of Pearson. Lyra Practice is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.

How precise is your vocabulary in this situation?

Take a free situation-based assessment and find the vocabulary decisions worth practicing next.

Find my vocabulary gaps

More for exam english

Exam English →
PTE Academic Research Methods Vocabulary Learn PTE Academic research-methods vocabulary for studies, samples, variables, evidence, limitations, summaries, lectures, reading, and writing. PTE Academic vs Duolingo English Test Vocabulary Compare PTE Academic and Duolingo English Test vocabulary demands across adaptive, integrated, image, speaking, writing, reading, and listening tasks. PTE Core Answer Short Question Vocabulary Practice Practice PTE Core Answer Short Question with precise category labels, everyday distinctions, rapid retrieval, and concise original question sets. PTE Core Community Services and Appointments Vocabulary Learn PTE Core vocabulary for appointments, public services, eligibility, applications, delays, complaints, requests, and practical solutions. PTE Core Listening Fill in the Blanks Vocabulary Practice PTE Core Listening Fill in the Blanks through grammar prediction, sound-to-spelling mapping, collocation, endings, and transcript checks. PTE Core Listening: Select All Supported Options Practice PTE Core Listening multiple answers through proposition notes, paraphrase, speaker stance, scope, chronology, and evidence checks.