PTE Academic Listening Test 1
PTE Academic Listening Test 1 is a free, timed set of 16 PTE Academic listening questions with natural neural-voice audio across every listening task type. Every objective question is scored the moment you finish, and the review shows your answer next to the correct one; the Summarize Spoken Text response is expert scored.
Start this free test16 questions · 40 minThis is one of 8 PTE Academic listening tests on PTEMock. For every listening task type explained, with tips, see PTE listening practice.
What's in this test
| Write from Dictation | 3 questions | Instant |
| Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers | 2 questions | Instant |
| Listening: Fill in the Blanks | 2 questions | Instant |
| Highlight Correct Summary | 2 questions | Instant |
| Multiple Choice, Single Answer | 2 questions | Instant |
| Select Missing Word | 2 questions | Instant |
| Highlight Incorrect Words | 2 questions | Instant |
| Summarize Spoken Text | 1 question | expert scored |
Topics in PTE Academic Listening Test 1
What each passage, recording and prompt is about, in the order the tasks appear.
- Summarize Spoken Text: Coral reef biodiversity and bleaching threat
- Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers: Sleep science; Industrial Revolution
- Listening: Fill in the Blanks: Photosynthesis; Workplace communication
- Highlight Correct Summary: Volcanic eruptions and climate; Multilingual cognition
- Multiple Choice, Single Answer: Placebo effect; Urban green spaces
- Highlight Incorrect Words: Falling renewable energy costs; Monarch butterflies' multigenerational migration
Sample questions from PTE Academic Listening Test 1
Two questions taken from this test, so you can see its level before you start. Answers are not shown here; your review shows them when you finish.
What is the speaker's main point about the placebo effect?
- A.It shows how patient belief can produce real physical improvements.
- B.It proves that most modern medicines are unnecessary.
- C.It occurs only in patients who are deliberately deceived.
- D.It has no relevance to the design of clinical trials.
In the real exam the audio plays once. The correct answer is shown in your review when you finish the test.
Which paragraph best summarises the recording?
- A.The speaker argues that learning two languages mainly improves vocabulary and grammar, with little evidence of any effect on attention or brain health.
- B.Bilingualism may enhance executive functions like attention and task switching, help people ignore distractions, and possibly delay dementia symptoms, illustrating how language experience shapes the brain.
- C.Research has conclusively proven that bilingual people never develop dementia and always outperform monolinguals on every cognitive task throughout life.
- D.The passage explains that managing two languages is exhausting for the brain and reduces its ability to switch between tasks or control attention.
In the real exam the audio plays once. The correct answer is shown in your review when you finish the test.
How hard is PTE Academic Listening Test 1?
Compared with the other 7 PTE Academic listening tests on PTEMock, PTE Academic Listening Test 1 is easier than average. It ranks 2nd of 8, where 1st is the easiest.
| Measure | This test | Average of 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking speed in the recordings | 135 words/min | 132 words/min |
| Transcript reading level | 11.8 | 12.8 |
| Long words (3+ syllables) | 22% | 23% |
| Total audio | 6 min 44 s | |
| Write from Dictation sentence length | 9.3 words |
How this is measured: Speaking speed comes from the actual length of every audio clip; reading level and long words are measured on the transcripts. It compares the material itself, not how other candidates scored.
For a step up, PTE Academic Listening Test 7 is the next hardest. To warm up first, PTE Academic Listening Test 8 is the next easiest.
How PTE Academic Listening Test 1 is scored
Listening questions are scored instantly and objectively the moment you finish, no waiting and no email required. You get your band score plus a per-question breakdown showing exactly which items you missed and why. Summarize Spoken Text is the exception: it is expert scored on content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling, and included in your report.