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Aptis Advanced practice questions

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Question 1Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The council's decision to pedestrianise the High Street for six months was presented as a trial. Three weeks in, footfall has risen by a fifth, but takings at the butchers and the greengrocer have fallen sharply. Deliveries now arrive before eight, when the barriers are still down, and several traders say their older customers will not carry shopping far from the car park. What is the main point of the passage?

  1. The council ignored traders' concerns when planning the trial.
  2. The trial has produced mixed results for local businesses. Correct answer.
  3. Delivery arrangements have proved impossible to organise.
  4. Older shoppers have stopped visiting the High Street entirely.

Explanation

The passage sets a rise in footfall against falling takings and complaints from traders, so the overall point is that the effects are mixed. A main-idea question asks for the claim that covers the whole passage, not for one detail inside it. Unsupported extremes and claims about the council's planning process go beyond what is stated.

Question 2Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The museum's new wing opens on 3 May. Entry to the permanent collection remains free, but the opening exhibition, which features forty works on loan from Lisbon, will cost £12 for adults, £7 for students, and nothing for under-twelves. Members of the museum's Friends scheme go free, though they must still book a timed slot. A student who is a Friend of the museum wants to see the opening exhibition. What must they do?

  1. Pay £12 unless they bring a student card.
  2. Pay £7 and book a timed slot.
  3. Book a timed slot but pay nothing. Correct answer.
  4. Enter without a ticket at any time.

Explanation

Two rules apply to this visitor at once: Friends go free, and Friends must still book a timed slot. The question tests whether you can combine overlapping conditions rather than read off a single price. The student rate applies only to non-members.

Question 3Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. For years the village shop survived on milk, newspapers and gossip. When the Post Office counter closed, the owner installed a coffee machine and two tables. The gossip, she says, now arrives in larger quantities and stays longer. What does the passage suggest about the coffee machine?

  1. It was bought with money from the Post Office.
  2. It has brought more people into the shop. Correct answer.
  3. It replaced the income lost from newspapers.
  4. It was unpopular with the shop's older customers.

Explanation

The joke that gossip 'arrives in larger quantities and stays longer' implies more customers coming in and lingering. An inference question asks what the wording suggests rather than what it states outright. Nothing in the passage links the machine to newspaper income or to Post Office funds.

Question 4Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Critics of the scheme describe the fees as a tax on the poor. Its defenders are more measured: they accept that the charges are regressive, but argue that without them the service would end altogether. In the passage, the word 'measured' is closest in meaning to:

  1. physically restrained
  2. slow to respond
  3. moderate in tone Correct answer.
  4. calculated precisely

Explanation

The defenders are contrasted with critics who use a strong phrase ('a tax on the poor'), so 'measured' describes a calmer, more moderate way of speaking. The context of conceding a point while arguing another signals restraint in language. The other meanings of 'measured' belong to different contexts, such as measurement or physical control.

Question 5Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Two of the bridge's supporting beams had cracked. They were replaced at considerable cost, but the weight limit imposed at the time has never been lifted. What does 'They' refer to?

  1. the repairs carried out in 2019
  2. the cracks found in the beams
  3. the two supporting beams Correct answer.
  4. the engineers who inspected the bridge

Explanation

A pronoun refers back to the nearest suitable noun phrase that fits the verb. Beams can be replaced; cracks are repaired rather than replaced, and the repairs themselves cannot be replaced. Checking the verb against each candidate is the reliable way to resolve reference.

Question 6Reading

Choose the sentence that best fills the gap. Most people assume that memory works like a camera, recording events faithfully for later replay. [ ] Each act of recall, they argue, rewrites the memory slightly, so that the version we eventually remember may owe more to the last time we told the story than to the event itself. Which sentence fits the gap best?

  1. Cameras, by contrast, are now almost never used.
  2. Psychologists reject this comparison. Correct answer.
  3. Forgetting, too, has been studied extensively.
  4. This is why photographs are so valuable to historians.

Explanation

The sentence after the gap says 'they argue', so the missing sentence must introduce a group of people who dispute the camera comparison. Cohesion depends on matching pronouns and linking ideas across sentences, not just on topic words. Only one option supplies both the disputing stance and the plural subject the next sentence needs.

Question 7Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Please note that the library's upper floor will be closed from Monday to Wednesday for the installation of new shelving. Books may be requested at the ground-floor desk and will be fetched by staff within the hour. We apologise for the inconvenience. What is the purpose of this notice?

  1. To explain a temporary change in service Correct answer.
  2. To recruit extra staff for the ground-floor desk
  3. To complain about repeated delays to the building work
  4. To advertise the new shelving on the upper floor

Explanation

The notice announces a closure, explains why it is happening and tells users how to get books in the meantime, so its function is to explain a temporary arrangement. Purpose questions are answered by the overall function of the text rather than by any single sentence. There is no promotional, recruitment or complaint element.

Question 8Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. He had been told the manuscript was valuable, and he treated it accordingly: gloves, a padded box, and a room kept at a constant eighteen degrees. It was only when the auctioneer began to laugh that he realised the ink was still wet. What is implied about the manuscript?

  1. It was too fragile to be handled.
  2. It was not genuine. Correct answer.
  3. It was sold for a high price.
  4. It had been kept in the wrong conditions.

Explanation

Wet ink on a document supposedly centuries old means it has been produced recently, which is why the auctioneer laughs. The other details about gloves and temperature exist to set up this reversal, not as evidence about fragility or storage. Inferences of this kind depend on a detail that conflicts with the assumption made earlier in the text.

Question 9Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The guidebook describes the hotel as 'characterful'. Having spent a night there, I would choose a plainer word: the taps ran brown, the walls were thin enough to hear next door's television, and the 'complimentary breakfast' consisted of a banana. What is the writer's attitude towards the guidebook's description?

  1. It is factually inaccurate about the price.
  2. It is misleadingly favourable. Correct answer.
  3. It is too detailed to be useful.
  4. It is unnecessarily harsh.

Explanation

By offering a 'plainer word' and then listing discomforts, the writer turns a complimentary label into a criticism, implying the guidebook made the hotel sound better than it is. Attitude questions require you to read the writer's stance from word choice and irony. Alternative spellings of 'plainer' point away from the opposite stance, not towards it.

Question 10Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Applications for the research grant are assessed in two stages. A shortlisting panel checks eligibility and scores the proposal against published criteria; only then does an external reviewer comment on the methodology. Applicants who fail at the first stage are not told why, and there is no appeal. According to the passage, when does an external reviewer see a proposal?

  1. Only if the applicant appeals
  2. Before eligibility has been checked
  3. At the same time as the panel
  4. After it has been shortlisted Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase 'only then' places the external review strictly after the shortlisting stage, which itself includes the eligibility check and scoring. Sequence signals like 'only then' and 'before' are the key to this type of detail question. The passage also states that unsuccessful applicants are given no feedback and that there is no appeal.

Question 11Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The finding should not be read as an argument for abolishing homework. Rather, it suggests that the amount set matters less than whether pupils understand why they are doing it. Which sentence best expresses the writer's point?

  1. The amount of homework matters more than its purpose.
  2. Pupils should be allowed to set their own homework.
  3. Homework should be abolished because pupils dislike it.
  4. Its value depends on pupils seeing its purpose. Correct answer.

Explanation

The writer explicitly denies the abolition reading and then ranks purpose above quantity, so the correct paraphrase must reverse the priority of amount and purpose. A good paraphrase keeps the original claim's direction and strength. Options that move in the opposite direction, or invent proposals, are not paraphrases.

Question 12Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The festival runs from 12 to 19 July. Concerts begin at 7.30 p.m. except on Sundays, when there is a matinee at 3 p.m. and no evening performance. The box office opens at 10 a.m. daily and closes thirty minutes after the last performance begins. On Sunday 16 July, at what time does the box office close?

  1. 3.00 p.m.
  2. 8.00 p.m.
  3. 7.30 p.m.
  4. 3.30 p.m. Correct answer.

Explanation

Sunday has only the 3 p.m. matinee, so the last performance begins at 3 p.m. and the box office closes thirty minutes later. The question requires you to apply the Sunday exception and then apply the closing rule to it. The 7.30 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. times belong to ordinary days.

Question 13Reading

Choose the sentence that best fills the gap. The company's first product was a failure by any measure: it sold fewer than two hundred units and was discontinued within a year. [ ] The second, a modest redesign of the same idea, sold two million. Which sentence fits the gap best?

  1. Its designers were not discouraged. Correct answer.
  2. Two hundred units is a very small number.
  3. Discontinuation usually follows poor sales.
  4. The failure was widely reported in the press.

Explanation

The gap sits between a failure and a later success by the same company, so the linking sentence must explain why a second product followed. Contrast between the two outcomes makes continued effort the only coherent link. The other options comment on the failure without connecting it to what comes next.

Question 14Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. When the railway arrived in 1848, the coaching inn lost most of its trade overnight. Its landlord responded by converting the stables into a reading room and letting the upper floors to clerks. The building has changed hands eleven times since, but never again stood empty. What does the passage suggest about the landlord?

  1. He moved away after the railway arrived.
  2. He sold the building at a loss.
  3. He adapted quickly to changed circumstances. Correct answer.
  4. He invested heavily in the new railway line.

Explanation

The landlord's immediate conversion of stables and upper floors shows a rapid practical response to the loss of coaching trade, and the building's later record supports the success of that response. The inference rests on the sequence 'lost trade overnight' followed at once by new uses. No financial figures or personal moves are given.

Question 15Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The committee's report is generous with adjectives and sparing with figures. Where numbers do appear, they are given without sources, and the crucial estimate of savings is described as 'indicative'. Readers who wish to check the arithmetic will find that the appendices referred to in the text were not, in fact, published. What is the writer's main criticism of the report?

  1. It relies too heavily on committee members' testimony.
  2. It fails to consider the views of the public.
  3. Its claims cannot be verified from what it provides. Correct answer.
  4. Its conclusions contradict its own recommendations.

Explanation

Unsourced figures, an 'indicative' key estimate and missing appendices all point to one problem: nothing can be checked. The details are chosen to build a single cumulative criticism rather than several separate ones. Distinguishing a main criticism from supporting evidence is the core skill here.

Question 16Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The novel's prose is deliberately spare: sentences are short, adjectives are few, and the reader is left to supply the emotion that the characters will not name. In the passage, 'spare' is closest in meaning to:

  1. plain and restrained Correct answer.
  2. kept in reserve
  3. carelessly written
  4. generous in detail

Explanation

The colon introduces an explanation: short sentences and few adjectives define what 'spare' means here. The word describes a deliberately economical style, so the meaning is plainness and restraint. The other senses of 'spare' apply to objects held in reserve or to a person's build, not to prose style.

Question 17Reading

Choose the expression that best fills the gap. The two studies reached opposite conclusions from almost identical data. [ ] the difference lies not in the numbers but in the assumptions each team made about the rate of inflation. Which expression fits the gap best?

  1. For instance
  2. In the same way
  3. Most probably Correct answer.
  4. Even so

Explanation

The second sentence offers the writer's explanation for an unexpected contrast, so a hedging phrase of probability is appropriate. Contrast and example links misrepresent the relationship, which is causal rather than adversative or illustrative. Cohesion questions test the logical relation between sentences, not just grammatical fit.

Question 18Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Anyone thinking of applying should note that the scheme is competitive: last year there were eleven applicants for every place. We therefore recommend that candidates contact a potential supervisor at least three months before the deadline. Who is this text most likely written for?

  1. People planning to apply to the scheme Correct answer.
  2. Journalists reporting on the scheme
  3. Administrators processing the applications
  4. Supervisors looking for research students

Explanation

The advice is addressed to 'anyone thinking of applying' and to 'candidates', and it tells them what to do before the deadline. Identifying the addressee depends on the directives given and the terms used for the reader. The other groups appear only in supporting roles or not at all.

Question 19Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Wind farms are often opposed on the grounds that they spoil the view. Yet surveys consistently show that support for them rises sharply once a farm is built nearby - a pattern researchers call 'the proximity effect'. Opposition, it seems, is greatest among those who have never seen one. What is the main idea?

  1. Familiarity tends to reduce opposition to wind farms. Correct answer.
  2. Wind farms are often built too close to homes.
  3. Surveys about wind farms are unreliable.
  4. Wind farms spoil the landscape they are built in.

Explanation

The passage presents a claim, contrasts it with survey evidence and ends with a general conclusion about who objects most. That conclusion about familiarity and opposition is the main idea. The objection about spoilt views is the view being examined, not the writer's point.

Question 20Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The invention of the shipping container is usually credited with globalising trade. The standard box did indeed cut the cost of loading a ship by more than ninety per cent. But the change required new ports, new cranes, new roads and, above all, new agreements between dockworkers and employers - a process that took twenty years and was resisted at every stage. Which sentence best summarises the passage?

  1. Globalisation began with the invention of the standard box.
  2. Technical change needed institutional change to work. Correct answer.
  3. Containerisation was opposed by dockworkers and employers.
  4. Shipping costs fell by ninety per cent within twenty years.

Explanation

The passage concedes the technical achievement and then stresses the ports, roads and labour agreements that had to accompany it, so the summary must cover both halves. A summary states the overall claim rather than repeating one figure or one detail. The 'But' marks the emphasis the summary needs to capture.

Question 21Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Asked whether the policy had worked, the minister replied that it had 'sent a clear signal'. This is true. The signal was received, understood and, by most of those it was aimed at, ignored. What does the writer imply about the policy?

  1. It was never publicly announced.
  2. Its aims were unclear from the start.
  3. It changed rhetoric more than behaviour. Correct answer.
  4. It was misunderstood by those it targeted.

Explanation

The writer grants that a signal was sent and received but says it was ignored, which concedes the communication and denies the effect on conduct. The irony depends on separating what was said from what was done. Implication questions reward attention to concessive structures such as 'This is true. The signal was...'.

Question 22Reading

Choose the sentence that best fills the gap. The letters were never intended for publication. [ ] They are full of the small, unguarded details that a writer composing for strangers would have cut: a quarrel over a borrowed umbrella, a toothache, the price of coal. Which sentence fits the gap best?

  1. Publication followed within a few months.
  2. Her novels, by contrast, are carefully plotted.
  3. That is what makes them worth reading. Correct answer.
  4. Even so, they are far duller than her novels.

Explanation

The sentence after the gap praises unguarded detail, so the link must turn the private nature of the letters into a virtue. The colon then supplies examples of exactly that quality. A linking sentence has to set up the evidence that follows it, not introduce an unrelated judgement.

Question 23Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The council approved the plans in principle, subject to a survey of the site's drainage. That caveat has since been used to delay the work for eighteen months, although the survey itself took a fortnight. What does 'That caveat' refer to?

  1. A condition attached to the approval Correct answer.
  2. The cost of the drainage survey
  3. The council's approval of the plans
  4. The eighteen-month delay that followed

Explanation

A caveat is a qualifying condition, and the only condition in the passage is the requirement for a drainage survey before approval takes effect. The following sentence confirms this by calling the survey itself quick, so the delay is separate from the condition. Reference questions require matching the abstract noun to the idea it labels.

Question 24Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. Two explanations are offered for the decline of the town's fishing fleet. The first blames the size of the catch; the second blames the price of boats. The statistics support neither: landings held steady until 1990, and boat prices fell throughout the 1980s. What did change, in 1987, was the ownership of the harbour. What point is the writer making about the two explanations?

  1. Both are inconsistent with the evidence. Correct answer.
  2. They agree on the underlying cause.
  3. Both are confirmed by the fall in boat prices.
  4. The first is better supported by the figures.

Explanation

The writer sets out each explanation and then shows that the relevant figures move in the wrong direction: catches did not fall and boat prices did not rise. 'The statistics support neither' is then demonstrated point by point. Recognising that evidence is being used to refute rather than support is central to this kind of analysis.

Question 25Reading

Read the passage and answer the question. The reviewer calls the exhibition 'important' four times in the first paragraph and 'beautiful' not at all. Visitors will notice the difference between a show that has been admired and one that has been enjoyed. What does the writer suggest about the exhibition?

  1. It is more enjoyable than the review suggests.
  2. It is both beautiful and important.
  3. It was treated unfairly by the critic.
  4. It is respected but not pleasurable. Correct answer.

Explanation

The contrast between repeated 'important' and absent 'beautiful' is mapped onto the pair 'admired' and 'enjoyed', implying respect without pleasure. The inference comes from the distribution of words in the review, not from an explicit judgement. Reading for what a text avoids saying is a common advanced skill.

Question 26Reading

The committee was asked to produce a preliminary report by Friday, but its findings remain tentative: the survey is incomplete and two of the sites have not yet been visited. In the passage, 'tentative' most nearly means:

  1. exhaustive and detailed
  2. provisional Correct answer.
  3. confidential
  4. confident and decisive

Explanation

'Tentative' describes something not yet fixed or final. The passage supports this by saying the survey is incomplete and some sites have not been visited.

Question 27Reading

The council has promised to repair the footbridge before winter. It has been closed since March, and residents have complained that the diversion adds twenty minutes to the school run. What does 'It' in the second sentence refer to?

  1. the council
  2. the diversion
  3. winter
  4. the footbridge Correct answer.

Explanation

The pronoun refers to the singular noun that can logically be closed since March. The footbridge fits because it is the object being repaired.

Question 28Reading

The museum's free guided tours leave at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays, and at 2 p.m. only on Saturdays. The museum is closed on Sundays and public holidays. On which day can a visitor join only a 2 p.m. guided tour?

  1. Monday or Friday
  2. Saturday Correct answer.
  3. Sunday
  4. any weekday

Explanation

The passage states that on Saturdays the tour leaves at 2 p.m. only. On weekdays there are two tours, and on Sundays the museum is closed.

Question 29Reading

The new library is smaller than the old one. ____, it has far more study spaces and a much better collection of digital resources. Which word best fills the gap?

  1. However Correct answer.
  2. Therefore
  3. For example
  4. Similarly

Explanation

The second sentence contrasts a disadvantage with advantages. 'However' signals this contrast between smaller size and better facilities.

Question 30Reading

The village shop closed in 2015. Since then, volunteers have run a weekly market in the church hall, and a mobile library visits every second Tuesday. A bus service now connects the village to the nearest town three times a day. What is the main point of the passage?

  1. New services replaced the shop. Correct answer.
  2. The nearest town has better shops.
  3. Volunteers prefer the church hall.
  4. The village shop was unprofitable.

Explanation

The passage lists new services that began after the shop closed. Together they show that replacements were introduced for the lost shop.

Question 31Reading

When Maya arrived at the station, the platform was empty and the departure board showed only a blank screen. She checked her ticket for the third time. What can be inferred about Maya?

  1. She has lost all her luggage.
  2. She works at the station.
  3. She has definitely missed her train.
  4. She is unsure about her journey. Correct answer.

Explanation

Checking a ticket repeatedly and finding no information on the board suggest uncertainty. The passage does not confirm that she has missed the train.

Question 32Reading

The instructions were deliberately vague, leaving the team to interpret them as they wished. In this sentence, 'vague' most nearly means:

  1. not clearly expressed Correct answer.
  2. highly detailed
  3. strictly enforced
  4. translated from another language

Explanation

'Vague' means unclear or imprecise. The phrase 'leaving the team to interpret them' supports the idea that the instructions were not clearly expressed.

Question 33Reading

Please note that the car park will be resurfaced on 3 and 4 May. During this time, permit holders may use the overflow car park behind the sports centre. We apologise for any inconvenience. What is the purpose of this notice?

  1. To announce a temporary change Correct answer.
  2. To advertise the opening of a new car park
  3. To explain the charges for using the car park
  4. To report an accident in the car park

Explanation

The notice informs users that the car park will be unavailable for two days and gives an alternative. This is a temporary change rather than an advertisement or explanation of charges.

Question 34Reading

The report describes the project as 'ambitious'. It might have added 'unrealistic'. The budget assumes that costs will fall by a third within two years, although no evidence is offered that this has ever happened elsewhere. What is the writer's attitude towards the project?

  1. Indifferent
  2. Enthusiastic
  3. Confused
  4. Sceptical Correct answer.

Explanation

The writer questions the budget assumption and points out the lack of supporting evidence. This shows doubt rather than support.

Question 35Reading

The company announced that it would close its factory in Leeds. [ ] The decision will affect about 300 workers, many of whom have lived in the town all their lives. Which sentence best fills the gap?

  1. The company's shares rose on Monday.
  2. Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire.
  3. Councillors called the news a serious blow. Correct answer.
  4. The factory was built in the 1970s and expanded twice.

Explanation

The sentence after the gap discusses the impact on workers. A reaction describing the closure as a serious blow connects logically to that impact.

Question 36Reading

The survey found that employees who were allowed to choose their own working hours reported lower levels of stress than those on fixed schedules, even when their total hours were the same. Which sentence best restates the finding?

  1. Fixed schedules cause stress in all employees.
  2. Flexibility in hours was linked to lower stress. Correct answer.
  3. Choosing hours reduces total working time.
  4. Employees who work fewer hours are less stressed.

Explanation

The finding links choice of working hours with lower reported stress. It does not say that fixed schedules always cause stress or that total hours were reduced.

Question 37Reading

Many everyday products contain ingredients that were discovered by accident. Penicillin, for instance, was noticed only because a culture dish was left uncovered in a laboratory. Why does the writer mention penicillin?

  1. To argue that accidents are always useful.
  2. To prove that laboratories are untidy.
  3. To show that medicine is the most important science.
  4. To give an example of an accidental discovery. Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase 'for instance' signals that penicillin is an example. It supports the general claim that some ingredients were discovered by accident.

Question 38Reading

The new bridge cost £4.2 million and opened in June. It is undoubtedly the finest piece of engineering in the region, although some drivers complain that the approach roads are too narrow. Which part of the passage is an opinion rather than a fact?

  1. The new bridge cost £4.2 million.
  2. It opened in June.
  3. The finest engineering in the region Correct answer.
  4. Some drivers complain that the approach roads are too narrow.

Explanation

The phrase 'finest' is an evaluative judgement that cannot be objectively verified. The other statements report costs, dates, or observable complaints.

Question 39Reading

Because the soil in the valley drains quickly, farmers there have traditionally grown root vegetables rather than wheat, which needs more consistent moisture. Why have farmers in the valley grown root vegetables?

  1. The valley has no access to irrigation.
  2. Root vegetables need less sunlight.
  3. Wheat is more expensive to buy.
  4. The soil does not hold water well. Correct answer.

Explanation

The sentence gives the cause directly: the soil drains quickly, meaning it does not retain water well. Wheat is said to need more consistent moisture, so it is less suitable.

Question 40Reading

The first proposal was rejected because it relied on untested technology. The second was more conventional, but the committee found its cost estimates equally unconvincing. What does 'its' refer to?

  1. the untested technology
  2. the first proposal's technology
  3. the second proposal Correct answer.
  4. the committee's decision

Explanation

The possessive pronoun refers back to the nearest suitable noun phrase, 'the second'. It is the second proposal's cost estimates that were unconvincing.

Question 41Reading

The article argues that remote working has benefits for employees, such as avoiding commuting, but that it can weaken informal communication between teams. It concludes that a mix of office and home working is likely to work best for most organisations. Which sentence best summarises the article's conclusion?

  1. Remote working is better for employees than office work.
  2. A balance of home and office work suits most firms. Correct answer.
  3. Teams communicate less well when they commute.
  4. Organisations should abandon office working entirely.

Explanation

The conclusion states that a mix of office and home working is likely to work best. The summary must capture this balanced recommendation.

Question 42Reading

The minister's announcement was long on promises and short on detail. What does the writer suggest about the announcement?

  1. It was cancelled at the last minute.
  2. It was delivered too quickly.
  3. It lacked specific information. Correct answer.
  4. It contained too many figures.

Explanation

The idiom 'long on X and short on Y' means there was plenty of X but not enough Y. Here it suggests many promises but little detail.

Question 43Reading

Dr Ellis argues that the decline in bee numbers is mainly caused by habitat loss. Professor Nwosu agrees that habitat matters but claims that pesticides are the more immediate threat. How do the two researchers' views differ?

  1. Nwosu believes habitat loss is irrelevant.
  2. Ellis denies that bee numbers are declining.
  3. Ellis thinks pesticides are more important.
  4. Nwosu emphasises a different main cause. Correct answer.

Explanation

Both accept that habitat matters, but Nwosu identifies pesticides as the more immediate threat. The difference lies in which cause each researcher emphasises.

Question 44Reading

(1) The seeds are collected in autumn. (2) They are then dried and stored over winter. (3) In spring, they are sown in shallow trays. (4) Finally, the young plants are moved outdoors. Which sentence states what happens immediately after the seeds are collected?

  1. They are collected in spring.
  2. They are moved outdoors.
  3. They are sown in shallow trays.
  4. They are dried and stored. Correct answer.

Explanation

The sequence places drying and storing directly after autumn collection and before spring sowing. The word 'then' also signals the next step.

Question 45Reading

The treatment has been shown to reduce symptoms in most patients. It is not, however, a cure, and the effects appear to last for only a few months. What does the passage imply about the treatment?

  1. It works for every patient without exception.
  2. Its effects never wear off.
  3. Its benefits are temporary and limited. Correct answer.
  4. It permanently removes the cause of the illness.

Explanation

The passage says the treatment is not a cure and that its effects last only a few months. This implies that its benefits are temporary, and 'most patients' shows they are limited.

Question 46Reading

The council's plan to reduce congestion assumes that drivers will abandon their cars if bus services are improved. But the experience of other towns suggests that people switch only when driving also becomes more expensive or more difficult. What assumption does the writer question?

  1. Other towns have tried similar plans.
  2. Better buses alone will persuade drivers. Correct answer.
  3. Bus services are currently inadequate.
  4. Congestion is a serious problem in the town.

Explanation

The council's plan relies on the idea that improving buses is enough to change behaviour. The writer cites evidence that driving must also be made less attractive.

Question 47Reading

It is often said that the internet has made us better informed. Yet a person who reads only material that confirms their existing views may end up less well informed than someone who reads a single balanced newspaper. What is the function of the second sentence?

  1. It challenges the claim made in the first sentence. Correct answer.
  2. It provides statistical evidence for the first sentence.
  3. It defines a term used in the first sentence.
  4. It offers a solution to a problem raised earlier.

Explanation

The word 'Yet' signals a contrast with the claim that the internet makes us better informed. The second sentence presents a case in which internet use could leave someone less informed.

Question 48Reading

One study reports that students who take notes by hand remember more than those who type. Another finds no difference when the typed notes are reviewed afterwards. The two studies used different tests of memory, which may explain the discrepancy. What does the passage suggest about the two studies?

  1. One of them must have been badly designed.
  2. Neither used a reliable test of memory.
  3. Their conflicting results may be due to method. Correct answer.
  4. They prove that handwriting is always better for students.

Explanation

The passage explicitly says that the different tests of memory may explain the discrepancy. It does not conclude that either study was badly designed or unreliable.

Question 49Reading

The biography is meticulously researched and beautifully written. It is also, regrettably, almost entirely uncritical of its subject, whose failures are mentioned only to be excused. What is the writer's overall view of the biography?

  1. It is poorly researched but well written.
  2. It is fair and balanced in its treatment.
  3. It is too critical of its subject.
  4. It is admirable but flawed in judgment. Correct answer.

Explanation

The writer praises the research and writing but criticises the lack of criticism towards the subject. This gives a mixed view: admirable in some respects but flawed in judgement.

Question 50Reading

The claim that the scheme 'reduced unemployment by 20 per cent' refers only to the first six months and to one small district. Nationally, unemployment changed very little over the same period. What is the writer's point about the claim?

  1. It describes the national picture accurately.
  2. It is technically true but misleading. Correct answer.
  3. It is completely false.
  4. It was made by people without jobs.

Explanation

The claim is limited to a short period and a small area, while national figures show little change. The writer suggests the claim is selectively presented rather than representative.