PTE Core Listening Test 4
PTE Core Listening Test 4 is a premium, 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.
Unlock this 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 4
What each passage, recording and prompt is about, in the order the tasks appear.
- Summarize Spoken Text: Coral reef biodiversity and algae partnership
- Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers: Urban planning; Sleep science
- Listening: Fill in the Blanks: Printing press; Photosynthesis
- Highlight Correct Summary (PTE Academic task): Volunteering; Electric vehicles
- Multiple Choice, Single Answer: Opportunity cost; Antarctic ice sheet
- Highlight Incorrect Words: Bird migration: navigation and night flight; Industrial Revolution's spread from Britain
Sample questions from PTE Core Listening Test 4
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 does opportunity cost represent?
- A.The value of the next best alternative that is given up.
- B.The total amount of money spent on a purchase.
- C.The profit earned from a successful investment.
- D.The cost of borrowing money from a bank.
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.Volunteering benefits both communities and the volunteers themselves, improving happiness, mental well-being, and possibly physical health, suggesting that helping others rewards the giver as much as the receiver.
- B.Volunteering is mainly valuable because it provides free labour to struggling communities, though it offers little personal benefit to the individuals who participate.
- C.Older people should avoid volunteering because the physical demands often worsen their health and increase the risk of depression over time.
- D.Research proves that happiness is the only reason people volunteer, and that communities rarely gain any meaningful help from such efforts.
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 4?
Compared with the other 7 PTE Core listening tests on PTEMock, PTE Core Listening Test 4 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 | 137 words/min | 134 words/min |
| Transcript reading level | 12.5 | 12.5 |
| Long words (3+ syllables) | 21% | 22% |
| Total audio | 6 min 33 s | |
| Write from Dictation sentence length | 10.3 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 2 is the next hardest. To warm up first, PTE Core Listening Test 1 is the next easiest.
How PTE Core Listening Test 4 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.