PTE Core Listening Test 1
PTE Core Listening Test 1 is a free, timed set of 16 PTE Core listening questions, 2 of them extra PTE Academic 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 Core listening tests on PTEMock. For every listening task type explained, with tips, see PTE listening practice. All 40 Core tests, with the official format, are on the PTE Core practice test page, and the PTE Core score chart shows the CLB level each skill score converts to.
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 (PTE Academic task) | 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 Core Listening Test 1
What each passage, recording and prompt is about, in the order the tasks appear.
- Summarize Spoken Text: How coral bleaching happens
- Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers: Green roofs; Gig economy
- Listening: Fill in the Blanks: Photosynthesis's light reactions; Industrial Revolution's textile production and railways
- Highlight Correct Summary (PTE Academic task): Sleep science; Volcanic eruptions and climate
- Multiple Choice, Single Answer: Honeybees; Printing press
- Highlight Incorrect Words: Bird migration and navigation cues; Brain energy use and neuron communication
Sample questions from PTE Core 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 concern?
- A.Bees produce insufficient honey for commercial use
- B.Declining bee populations could threaten food security
- C.Pesticides have become too expensive for farmers
- D.Bees are spreading disease among crop plants
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.Volcanic eruptions warm the planet by releasing heat trapped beneath the Earth's crust, which raises global temperatures and lengthens growing seasons worldwide.
- B.Major volcanic eruptions release ash and sulphur dioxide that reflect sunlight, temporarily cooling the Earth and historically causing cold summers and crop failures.
- C.Volcanoes affect only the regions immediately surrounding them and have no measurable impact on weather or agriculture in distant parts of the world.
- D.Sulphur dioxide from volcanoes mainly improves soil fertility, which explains why farmland near active volcanoes tends to produce abundant harvests each year.
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 Core Listening Test 1?
Compared with the other 7 PTE Core listening tests on PTEMock, PTE Core Listening Test 1 is about average. It ranks 4th 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 | 131 words/min | 134 words/min |
| Transcript reading level | 12.5 | 12.5 |
| Long words (3+ syllables) | 25% | 22% |
| Total audio | 6 min 28 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 Core Listening Test 4 is the next hardest. To warm up first, PTE Core Listening Test 6 is the next easiest.
How PTE Core 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.