PTE Academic Listening Test 3
PTE Academic Listening Test 3 is a premium, 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.
Unlock this 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 3
What each passage, recording and prompt is about, in the order the tasks appear.
- Summarize Spoken Text: Coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures
- Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers: Urban green spaces; History of writing
- Listening: Fill in the Blanks: Sleep and learning; Renewable energy's growing market share
- Highlight Correct Summary: Placebo effect; Animal behaviour
- Multiple Choice, Single Answer: Behavioural economics; Antibiotic resistance
- Highlight Incorrect Words: Photosynthesis and its role in sustaining life; Neural networks and brain function
Sample questions from PTE Academic Listening Test 3
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.
According to the speaker, what is one factor driving antibiotic resistance?
- A.The overuse of antibiotics in healthcare and agriculture.
- B.A decline in the total number of bacteria worldwide.
- C.The discovery of too many new antibiotic classes.
- D.Improved infection control in hospitals.
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 lecture claims that birds migrate only by following older, experienced flock members and that climate change has had no measurable effect on the timing of their seasonal journeys.
- B.Bird migration involves impressive navigation using the sun, stars, and magnetic fields, with some routes appearing genetically encoded, while climate change now disrupts the timing of food availability along their journeys.
- C.The speaker focuses on how birds build nests in wintering grounds and explains that genetics play no role in determining the long-distance routes that different species choose to follow.
- D.The talk describes how warmer springs benefit all migrating birds by providing more food and concludes that navigation is learned entirely through experience rather than inherited instinct.
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 3?
Compared with the other 7 PTE Academic listening tests on PTEMock, PTE Academic Listening Test 3 is about average. It ranks 5th of 8, where 1st is the easiest, but the 8 are close together on these measures, so it sits near the group average.
| Measure | This test | Average of 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking speed in the recordings | 133 words/min | 132 words/min |
| Transcript reading level | 13.0 | 12.8 |
| Long words (3+ syllables) | 22% | 23% |
| Total audio | 6 min 56 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 5 is the next hardest. To warm up first, PTE Academic Listening Test 6 is the next easiest.
How PTE Academic Listening Test 3 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.