Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks · Part 2: Reading

Significance of instinct

78 students marked "I sat this"Added 28 May 2020Question #120125

Choose the word for each blank.

What is the significance of instinct in business? Does a reliable gut feeling separate winners from losers? And is it the most valuable emotional tool any entrepreneur can possess? My 1 of successful company owners lead me to believe that a highly analytical attitude can be a drawback. At critical junctures in commercial life, risk-taking is more an 2 of faith than a carefully balanced choice. Frequently, such moments require 3 and absolute conviction above all else. There is simply no time to wait for all the facts, or room for doubt. A computer program cannot tell you how to invent and launch a new 4. That 5 involves too many unknowns, too much luck - and too much sheer intuition, rather than the infallible 6 that machines deliver so well. As Chekhov said: “An artist’s flair is sometimes worth a scientist’s brains” - entrepreneurs need right-brain thinking. When I have been considering whether to buy a company and what price to offer, I have been 7 too often by reams of due diligence from the accountants and lawyers. Usually it pays to stand back from such mountains of grey data and weigh up the really important issues-and decide how you feel about the opportunity.

Options for each gap (alphabetical)

  • 1 idea · observation · research · thought
  • 2 act · art · emphasis · importance
  • 3 confidence · courage · decisiveness · patience
  • 4 invention · item · product · project
  • 5 journey · path · procedure · process
  • 6 logic · principle · rationale · rule
  • 7 allured · attracted · blinded · deceived

More Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks questions

Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks format (Pearson)

Pearson's name: Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)

PromptText up to 200 words
Time to answerNot set per question (Part 2 lasts 23–30 minutes)
Skills assessedReading, 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.