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

Nature Communications

6 students marked "I sat this"Added 11 Oct 2020Question #120287

Choose the word for each blank.

In a new study 1 in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the universities of Nottingham and Durham and the British Geological Survey (BGS), have discovered the cause of a mass extinction within marine organisms called foraminifera. Foraminifera are an important group in relation to biomass in the deep ocean and the cause of their extinction was 2 unknown. Scientists tested various possible 3 for the mass extinction and were able to discount others such as ocean cooling. 4 they discovered that the extinction was caused by a global change in plankton at the surface of the ocean.

Options for each gap (alphabetical)

  • 1 be published · published · publishes · publishing
  • 2 lately · normally · previously · recently
  • 3 because · causes · evidence · sources
  • 4 besides · however · instead · therefore
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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.