A smart brain might help you do well in tests…
Choose the word for each blank.
A smart brain might help you do well in tests, but there are many other ways it can affect your life, both positively and negatively. Exams are not the only 1 to success, as billionaire businessmen Richard Branson and Alan Sugar - who left school aged 15 and 16 - will attest. Nevertheless, good grades can open doors, and intelligence certainly helps when it comes to educational 2. IQ test performance accounts for roughly two-thirds of the variance in people's school exam scores - other factors including motivation and mental and physical health also influence how well children do. But intelligence isn't just useful in school. IQ predicts how people will respond to workplace training and how well they will do their job, even in non-academic 3 such as being a car mechanic or carpenter. This is, perhaps, because general intelligence reflects people's ability to handle complexity in everyday affairs. Many tasks, from supermarket shopping to juggling our diaries, require us to deal with unexpected situations, to 4 and make judgements and to identify and solve problems. This is true of our social interactions too.
Options for each gap (alphabetical)
- 1 rate · riot · root · route
- 2 attachment · attainment · containment · detainment
- 3 confessions · possessions · processions · professions
- 4 reason · recite · resign · retreat
Answers
| Gap | Answer | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | route | …are not the only route to success, as… Not: riot, root, rate |
| 2 | attainment | …it comes to educational attainment . IQ test… Not: detainment, attachment, containment |
| 3 | professions | …job, even in non-academic professions such as being… Not: processions, possessions, confessions |
| 4 | reason | …with unexpected situations, to reason and make judgements… Not: resign, retreat, recite |
For each gap, read the words on both sides: the right option fits the grammar (word form, preposition, tense) and the meaning of the sentence.
RealPTE numbers
From RealPTE practice records and students’ “I sat this” reports, counted weekly (last count 2026-10-31). Reports are what students tell us; predictions are not guaranteed.
Questions about this question
What is the answer to PTE Reading FIB (Dropdown) #725016?
The answers in order are: route, attainment, professions, reason.
How do I get full marks on this Reading FIB (Dropdown) question?
Choose the option that fits both the grammar and the meaning of the sentence. Each correct gap scores one point.
Can I practise #725016 with scoring?
Yes. The practice button on this page opens question #725016 in the RealPTE practice screen, where your answer is scored when you finish.
Opens question #725016 in the RealPTE practice screen.
Reading: Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) format (Pearson)
| Prompt | Text up to 200 words |
|---|---|
| Time to answer | Not set per question (Part 2 lasts 23–30 minutes) |
| Skills assessed | Reading |
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.