Anesthesia
Choose the word for each blank.
Before effective anesthetics, surgery was very crude and very painful. Before 1800, alcohol and opium had 1 success in easing pain during operations. Laughing gas was used in 1844 in dentistry in the USA, but failed to ease all pain and patients 2 conscious. Ether (used from 1846) made patients totally unconscious and lasted a long time. However, it could make patients cough during operations and sick afterwards. It was highly flammable and was 3 in heavy glass bottles. Chloroform (used from 1847) was very effective with few side effects. However, it was difficult to get the dose right and could kill some people 4 the effect on their heart. An inhaler helped to regulate the dosage.
Options for each gap (alphabetical)
- 1 great · little · much · title
- 2 contained · released · remained · retained
- 3 translated · transmitted · transparent · transported
- 4 because of · but · due · rather than
Opens question #120073 in the RealPTE practice screen.
More Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks questions
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks format (Pearson)
Pearson's name: Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)
| Prompt | Text up to 200 words |
|---|---|
| Time to answer | Not set per question (Part 2 lasts 23–30 minutes) |
| Skills assessed | Reading, Writing |
How it is scored
- Partial credit applies: a partly correct response still scores.
Source: Pearson, PTE Academic & UKVI test format, Part 2: Reading, checked 9 October 2026.