PTE WRITING Summarize Written Text (SWT) exam questions

Tip: Summarize Written Text questions tend to have higher repeated rate than other question types in PTE Academic test. Make sure you understand the whole passage. Memorise words as much as you can. We selected some of PTE predicted Summarize Written Text (Writing) for August 2021. You can get full version of this material by accessing PTE Predicted Questions for August 2021.

1.The National Oceanography Center

The National Oceanography Center (NOC) is engaged in research into the potential risks and benefits of exploiting deep-sea mineral resources, some of which are essential for low-carbon technology, as well as using ocean robots to estimate the environmental impact of these potential deep-sea mining activities.

Late last year the NOC led an expedition on the RRS James Cook that found enough of the scarce element Tellurium present in the crust of a submerged volcano that, if it were all to be used in the production of solar PV panels, could provide 2/3rds of the UK’s annual electricity supply. Recently, the NOC also led an international study demonstrating deep-sea nodule mining will cause long-lasting damage to deep-sea life, lasting at least for decades.

These nodules are potato-sized rocks containing high levels of metals, including copper, manganese and nickel. They grow very slowly on the sea-bed, over millions of years. Although no commercial operations exist to extract these resources, many are planned.

Professor Edward Hill, Executive Director at the NOC commented, “By 2050 there will be nine billion people on earth and attention is increasingly turning to the ocean, particularly the deep ocean, for food, clean supplies of energy and strategic minerals. The NOC is undertaking research related to many aspects and perspectives involved in exploiting ocean resources. This research is aimed at informing with sound scientific evidence the decisions that will need to be taken in the future, as people increasingly turn to the oceans to address some of society’s greatest challenges.”

Summarize Spoken Text (SWT) – The National Oceanography Center – Sample Answer:

The National Oceanography Center is engaged in research into the potential risks and benefits of exploiting deep-sea mineral resources, and late last year the NOC led an expedition and found enough of the scarce element Tellurium which could provide UK’s annual electricity supply, and NOC also found out that deep-sea nodule mining will cause long-lasting damage to deep-sea life. (63 words)

2.Two ways of Learning Language

“Over the years, language teachers have alternated between favoring teaching approaches that focus primarily on language use and those that focus on language forms or analysis. The alternation has been due to a fundamental disagreement concerning whether one learns to communicate in a second language by communicating in that language (such as in an immersion experience) or whether one learns to communicate in a second language by learning the lexicogrammar – the words and grammatical structures – of the target language. In other words, the argument has been about two different means of achieving the same end.”

As with any enduring controversy, the matter is not easily resolved. For one thing, there is evidence to support both points of view. It is not uncommon to find learners who, for whatever reason, find themselves in a new country or a new region of their own country, who need to learn a new language, and who do so without the benefit of formal instruction. If they are postpubescent, they may well retain an accent of some kind, but they can pick up enough language to satisfy their communicative needs. In fact, some are natural acquirers who become highly proficient in this manner. In contrast, there are learners whose entire exposure to the new language comes in the form of classroom instruction in lexicogrammar. Yet they too achieve a measure of communicative proficiency, and certain of these learners become highly proficient as well. What we can infer from this is that humans are amazingly versatile learners and that some people have a natural aptitude for acquiring languages and will succeed no matter what the circumstances.

Summarize Spoken Text (SWT) – Two Ways of Learning Language – Sample Answer:

Language teachers alter between two teaching approaches: primarily focusing on language use or forms, which cannot be solved easily because both approaches can be supported by evidence, no matter people pick up languages for communicative needs or sit in a classroom setting, and in conclusion, humans are versatile learners and some people have a natural aptitude of acquiring languages and succeed under different circumstances.(64 words)

3.Importance of Soil

It’s very easy to forget about what’s in the ground beneath our feet and why it’s so important to protect it. One tablespoon of soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth; billions of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms combine with minerals, water, air and organic matter to create a living system that supports plants and, in turn, all life. Healthy soil can store as much as 3,750 tons of water per hectare, reducing the risk of flooding, and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that 89% of all agricultural emissions could be mitigated if we improved the health of our soil.

Good soil management also increases disease resistance in livestock and ultimately drives profits for farmers – yet soil and its impact on the health of our animals has, over recent decades, been one of the most neglected links in UK agriculture. Over the last 50 years’ agriculture has become increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers, with applications today around 10 times higher than in the 1950s. Farmers often think the chemical fertilizer NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) provides all the nutrition a plant requires, but it also has a detrimental effect on the long-term health of the land: research suggests there are fewer than 100 harvests left in many of the world’s soils.

Summarize Spoken Text (SWT) – Importance of Soil – Sample Answer:

Soil organisms matter to create a living system since healthy soil reduces the risk of flooding as well as good soil management increases disease resistance in livestock and ultimately drives profits for farmers, whereas the impact has been neglected in UK agriculture because of rising dependence on chemical fertilizers. (49 words)