APTIS Reading Part 3: Sample Questions, Tips And Strategy

This article will help you answer APTIS reading part III: Short Text comprehension questions more effectively.

Part 3 of the APTIS reading is Opinion Matching. It is designed to test a candidate’s ability to understand short texts and to understand the writer’s opinion or view on a certain topic.

In part 3 you will have four short texts of about 100 words each and seven sentences each ask you to decide how the writer behaves or thinks. Because there are seven questions, three writers will be used twice.

For the further details please visit British Council website here.

APTIS Reading Part 3: Example Question #1

Part 3: Read the four opinions posted on a travel forum. Then, answer the questions.

Person A: What is better than lying in the sun all day long? I surely can’t think of anything. When I go on vacation, I like to experience tropical beaches and exotic places. I work hard all year and I try to make the most of my time off. However, I must admit that I tend to indulge more than I normally would than I’m at home. Like for example, on my last holiday to Dubai, I rented a yacht and had a lobster dinner nearly every night. It was so luxurious!

Person B: Ever since I can remember, we have gone on a family holiday to Greece every June. There are just so many islands to discover, I can’t really imagine going anywhere else. Each village has its own unique culture, and I have been studying Greek to know more about the islanders. It makes things easier when you have your own boat, which my family does. My dad sailed it over from England when he was a teenager.

Person C: Have you ever gone hiking on a snowy volcano? I haven’t yet, but it is on my bucket list. I have been dreaming of going to Iceland ever since I saw photos in a travel blog. Unfortunately, it’s a bit out of my travel budget. Last summer, when I went trekking in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, I took some incredible photos of the breathtaking views. I packed a tent and camped out in the wilderness. It was a great way to save money and I got to see the beautiful stars too.

Person D: I am a history major so naturally, I love to go to museums when I travel. However, my thirst for culture doesn’t stop there. I try to go to the sites of famous events and try to imagine what life was like in the past. I don’t care much for the hot weather. In fact, I travel at off-season times to avoid it. I hate crowds so it works out well for me. I usually get a cheaper rate on flights that way, which is a bonus. I use the money I save to book all of my excursions.

Which person …

1. spends a lot of money on holiday? ________

2. enjoys outdoor activities? ________

3. participates in a tradition? ________

4. enjoys landscapes? ________

5. dislikes busy places? ________

6. prefers hot destinations? ________

7. is learning a new skill? ________

Exam Techniques- How to answer the question

· Read the text quickly (scan). You are not trying to understand every part of the text but just get a general idea. Remember, if you take too much time reading you will not be able to complete the task.

· Think of a few basic questions to give you a general idea- What does the writer like? What does the writer do? Where do they go?

· Do not worry if you cannot understand a word. Decide what type of word it is. i.e. a verb, adjective, adverb, noun. Ask yourself, is it positive or negative? Then decide if it is important to understanding the sentence/text.

· Look at the question options and think of the keywords. These are the words that carry the meaning of the sentence.

Example: 1- Which person spends a lot of money on holiday?

Here the word ‘money’ is important because you can look quickly at all of the paragraphs for parts about money, but the important phrase is ‘a lot of’ and you will need to find a synonym or phrase which means the same so that you can answer the question correctly.

If we look quickly at all the texts, only A & D mention money. D says she gets cheap flights and uses the money she saves on excursions. While A went to Dubai, rented a yacht and had a lobster dinner nearly every night. Therefore, the answer to number 1 is A.

Question 2 is: Which person enjoys outdoor activities?

A, B & C all talk about being outside but A and B were not very active. However, C talks about ‘hiking’ and ‘trekking’. They also ‘packed a tent and camped out’. The answer to 2 must be C

Question 3 is: Which person participates in a tradition?

A & C say nothing about tradition. Traveler D likes culture but traveler B says that ‘Ever since I can remember, we have gone on a family holiday to Greece every June.’ This is a specific tradition in his family and is the correct answer.

Question 4 is: Which person enjoys landscapes?

Traveler A likes tropical beaches and exotic places. B likes the Greek islands and D likes museums. C mentions specifically ‘breathtaking views’, therefore we know that the answer to this question is traveler C.

Question 5 is: Which person dislikes busy places?

The biggest clue in this question is the keyword ‘dislike’. We need to skim through the passages and find synonyms for ‘dislike’ and ‘busy’. There are none in paragraphs A, B & C but paragraph D has the phrase ‘I hate crowds’ and that confirms the answer.

Question 6 is: Which person prefers hot destinations?

In this question, we can ask ourselves ‘Which places are hot?’ A- Dubai, yes definitely. B- Greece, yes. C- Canada & Iceland, no. D- No countries mentioned but the traveler says they ‘don’t care much for hot weather, so not D.

Between A & B and person, A says ‘What is better than lying in the sun all day long?’ A is the answer.

Question 7 is: Which person is learning a new skill?

If we look at the keyword ‘learning’ in the question, we then see that traveler B has been ‘studying Greek’. Furthermore, none of the other people talk about learning anything, so we can conclude that the correct answer to number 7 is B.

If you are going to get a perfect score, as well as finding the correct answer, it is also important to eliminate the incorrect answers.

Try not to wait too long before answering the questions. As you answer more questions and refer back to the texts, they will begin to become much clearer to you.

APTIS Reading Part 3: Example Question #2

Part 3: Read the four opinions posted on a travel forum. Then, answer the questions.

Person A: I had high expectations for this film. It’s a sequel I had been looking forward to since the end of the last one. I even went to the cinema alone so that I wouldn’t be interrupted by anyone. But, was I ever let down! The special effects were so unrealistic and poorly done. There was very little character development and too many plot holes in the story line. I can’t believe I waited a whole year for that. The only saving grace was the lead actor. He played his part well, but I can’t say the same for the others.

Person B: I don’t really like watching movies in the cinema. I would much rather stay in and stream one at home. My friends really wanted to see this new film, so I joined them on a whim. The tickets cost an arm and a leg and I couldn’t believe the prices for concessions! I could buy 3 packages of popcorn at the supermarket for the price of medium size! Was the movie good? Well, yes, it was alright, but I could have done without spending all that money.

Person C: Normally, I avoid films that are based on books that I have read. I don’t feel like they ever do the literature any justice. However, this one was the exception. The director really respected the author’s vision and included all the necessary plot points. Of course, some details were missing, but if they were included, the film would be like 6 hours long. The set was also amazing. Overall, I can’t find a flaw! That being said, I still don’t think I’ll watch any other book-based movies.

Which person …

1. watched a different genre? ________

2. attended the cinema unaccompanied? ________

3. disliked experience? ________

4. thought the film was perfect? ________

5. watched the movie impulsively? ________

6. only liked part of the cast? ________

7. would watch something similar in the future? ________

General TIPs and strategies to prepare for APTIS reading test

There are some things that you can do in order to improve your reading. Improving your reading will raise the level of your English in general.

· Be Aware Of Timing: Don’t spend too long on one part. Learn to ‘pace yourself’ by practising the test at home using a timer. Learn the reading skills demonstrated and don’t spend large amounts of time trying to understand the complete text.

· Flag the question for later review if not sure: Remember you can always go back to a question and often something will become clearer if you stop concentrating on it for a moment.

· Don't leave any blank answers: Check the summary page to see if you have missed any questions. You do not lose marks for incorrect questions and so make sure that you answer everything.

· Go back to flagged questions (if you have time): If you have moved on to another question, don’t forget to go back and complete the ones you left. If you still don’t know the answer, guess and move on.

· Don’t expect to understand every word: Many of my students have been taught to look up every word they don’t understand in a dictionary. The theory behind this is good, a wide vocabulary is vital to getting a good score in the IELTS test, but worrying about words you don’t understand in the reading exam is one of the worst things you can do. It will slow you down and unknown words rarely prevent you from getting the answer right.

· Skimming and scanning: You should be able to skim and scan passages to do well in APTIS. Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea. To look at the topics of each paragraph and decide briefly what the paragraph is about. Scanning is looking for specific information. When you have read the questions you may find that there is a name or number in the text that will lead you to the answer. You would then skim the text looking for that word before reading the information around it in detail.

· Getting used to difficult passages on a range of topics: Although most English tests do not require specific knowledge of a subject and will not you technical words, some passages can seem difficult. You can make sure that this becomes less of a problem by reading in English more and by reading texts similar in length and style to the ones you would find in the test. Doing this will help your writing as well.

· Develop your speed reading skills: The test has a strict time limit which will challenge your ability. Remember that you are not reading a book or newspaper but just looking for information. Exam reading is different from reading in detail because you are only trying to answer some questions. Learn how to Skim and Scan texts and not to worry about unknown words.

· Leave difficult questions for the end. If you spend a lot of time on questions that you find difficult, you’ll be wasting valuable exam time. You won’t be able to answer all the easier questions and you’ll lose points! If you don’t know the right answers to some questions, leave them and move on. This way, you can focus on all the questions you do know the answers to. You can return to the difficult questions at the end if you have the time.

· Focus: Your focus should be on the text first, then on the questions! Only if you have a good understanding of the text, can you answer the questions precisely and more effectively.

· Unfamiliar vocabulary? That's OK! Do not worry if the word seems unfamiliar to you or you don’t know some words. Every answer can be found in the text, you don’t need any additional knowledge to succeed.

· Pay attention to the details: Look thoroughly through the text and answers. Any special features such as capital letters, underlining, italics, figures, graphs and tables are likely to matter.

· Cross out the wrong answers: If you see an answer that you're sure is wrong, cross it out. This way you won't get confused and save your time.

· Don’t start reading the text before looking at the tasks. When you start reading, you should do so with questions in mind. If not, you’ll read the text too often and you simply don’t have time for that. Read the tasks and questions first, before you read the text. Underline the keywords and think about the information you need to find to answer those questions while you’re reading. Skim the text for a minute to get a general idea and then scan for information.

· Do not rely on translation. You are more likely to remember a word if you learn it in context and with English having so many words that mean different things, you are not so likely to get the wrong meaning.

· Re-telling the story: It is a good idea to paraphrase what you have read. You can do this by writing down the main ideas of a chapter in a story, or an article you have found interesting. Summarizing what you have read, using your own words, helps to build your vocabulary, which is very important for your APTIS test.

· Notice the title of the passage. It often gives you a general idea about the main idea of the text, as will the sub-headings.

Practice as many as APTIS practice tests: You can find practice tests online (check the exam library on our website) for free or you can buy APTIS practice test books online. You can find largest database of free APTIS reading tests in here.