Listening: Fill in the Blanks · Part 3: Listening

Bar code scanners

136 students marked "I sat this"Added 13 Jul 2019Question #150006

Type the missing words.

Audio question

Transcript with gaps

Many different types of bar code scanning machines exist, but they all work on the same fundamental principles. They all use the 1 of light reflected from a series of black and white stripes to tell a computer what code it is 2 White stripes reflect light very well, while black stripes reflect hardly any light at all. The bar code scanner shines light 3 across a bar code, simultaneously detecting and recording the pattern of reflected and non-reflected light. The scanner then 4 this pattern into an electrical signal that the computer can understand. All scanners must include computer software to interpret the bar code once it's been entered. This simple principle has transformed the way we are able to 5 data and the way in which many businesses handle recordkeeping.

More Listening: Fill in the Blanks questions

Listening: Fill in the Blanks format (Pearson)

Pearson's name: Fill in the Blanks (Type In)

PromptRecording of 30–60 seconds
Time to answerNot set per question (Part 3 lasts 31–39 minutes)
Skills assessedListening

How it is scored

  • Each correct word, spelled correctly, scores 1 point.
  • The recording plays only once.

Source: Pearson, PTE Academic & UKVI test format, Part 3: Listening, checked 9 October 2026.