The complete Reading Practice Test 2 in the official MET structure: Grammar (20 questions), single-text reading (2 passages, 10 questions) and multiple-text reading (2 sets, 20 questions) — 50 questions in 65 minutes.
Take this test interactively with instant scoring →
Part 1 — Grammar (20 questions)
Each sentence has a missing word or phrase. Choose the best option to complete the sentence.
1. The architect _____ the blueprints when the client arrived unexpectedly.
- was reviewing
- reviewed
- has reviewed
- reviews
Why: Past continuous is used for an action in progress when another action occurred.
2. You will not be admitted to the venue unless you _____ a valid ticket.
- have
- will have
- had
- are having
Why: Present simple is used in conditional clauses after 'unless' for future reference.
3. The research paper, _____ over three years, was finally published last month.
- conducting
- conducted
- was conducted
- had conducted
Why: Past participle acts as a reduced passive relative clause modifying the paper.
4. He explained that the shipment _____ delayed due to customs inspections.
- is
- was
- has been
- had been
Why: Reported speech shifts present perfect to past perfect when reporting verb is past.
5. Either the marketing team _____ the sales department needs to approve the budget first.
- nor
- and
- or
- but
Why: 'Either...or' is the correct correlative conjunction pair.
6. Most of the equipment _____ damaged during the relocation last week.
- were
- are
- was
- have been
Why: 'Equipment' is uncountable and takes a singular verb.
7. The consultant _____ report we cited has won several industry awards.
- who
- which
- whose
- whom
Why: 'Whose' is the possessive relative pronoun connecting the consultant to their report.
8. She resented _____ to work overtime without prior notice.
- to ask
- asking
- being asked
- having asked
Why: Passive gerund 'being asked' follows 'resented' to show receiving the action.
9. This year's sales figures are substantially _____ than those of the previous quarter.
- high
- higher
- highest
- more high
Why: Comparative 'higher' is needed with 'than' for comparison.
10. The committee recommended that the proposal _____ revised before resubmission.
- is
- was
- be
- being
Why: Subjunctive requires base form 'be' after 'recommended that'.
11. She managed to _____ the project despite numerous setbacks and delays.
- pull through
- pull off
- pull over
- pull down
Why: 'Pull off' is a phrasal verb meaning 'succeed in doing something difficult'.
12. Never before _____ such a rapid transformation in the energy sector.
- we have witnessed
- have we witnessed
- did we witnessed
- we witnessed
Why: 'Never before' at the start triggers subject-auxiliary inversion.
13. If the software update _____ properly tested, the system failure could have been avoided.
- was
- is
- had been
- would be
Why: Third conditional mixed with passive: past perfect passive in the if-clause.
14. The interns were shown how the database _____ on a daily basis.
- maintained
- maintains
- is maintained
- has maintained
Why: Passive present simple is needed to describe a routine process.
15. She devoted her entire career _____ solutions for renewable energy.
- to develop
- for developing
- to developing
- in developing
Why: 'Devote...to' is followed by a gerund, where 'to' is a preposition.
16. The journalist inquired _____ the minister would attend the summit.
- that
- whether
- which
- what
Why: 'Whether' is used to report yes/no questions in indirect speech.
17. _____ the two proposals offers a viable long-term solution to the housing crisis.
- None of
- Neither of
- Both of
- All of
Why: 'Neither of' takes a singular verb when referring to two items.
18. The pianist _____ last night's performance received a standing ovation.
- giving
- given
- was giving
- gave
Why: Present participle 'giving' acts as a reduced active relative clause.
19. She is one of the most accomplished surgeons _____ at this hospital.
- ever worked
- who ever worked
- to have ever worked
- ever working
Why: Infinitive perfect 'to have ever worked' follows superlative structures.
20. The more resources we invest in early education, _____ the returns for society.
- greater
- the greater
- greatest
- the greatest
Why: Double comparative: 'the more..., the greater...'
Part 2 — Single-text reading (10 questions)
For decades, economists assumed that rising national income automatically translated into greater public happiness. This assumption, known as the Easterlin Paradox after the economist who first challenged it, has been increasingly undermined by data. Research across sixty countries shows that once basic needs are met, additional income yields diminishing returns in life satisfaction. Factors such as social trust, leisure time, and access to green spaces correlate more strongly with reported well-being. A landmark study in Bhutan, which measures Gross National Happiness rather than GDP, found that citizens reported high life satisfaction despite modest incomes. Skeptics argue that self-reported happiness is inherently subjective and difficult to compare across cultures. Nevertheless, a growing number of governments, including those of New Zealand and Scotland, have begun incorporating well-being metrics into their policy frameworks, signaling a potential shift in how national success is measured.
21. What is the central argument of the passage?
- GDP is the only reliable measure of national success
- Increasing national income beyond basic needs does not always increase happiness
- Bhutan has the highest GDP in the world
- Economists unanimously support the Easterlin Paradox
Why: The passage argues that once basic needs are satisfied, extra income buys less and less life satisfaction, so the central claim is that richer is not automatically happier; GDP is never called the sole measure of success.
22. The word 'diminishing' in the passage is closest in meaning to:
- Increasing
- Decreasing
- Stable
- Immediate
Why: Diminishing returns describes gains that shrink as income rises, so decreasing captures the meaning. Stable and increasing would both contradict the idea that extra money matters less over time.
23. Why does the passage mention Bhutan?
- To provide an example of a country that prioritizes happiness over GDP
- To show that small countries cannot grow economically
- To argue that tourism damages national well-being
- To illustrate the failure of government policies
Why: Bhutan is introduced as a real case in which national policy tracks Gross National Happiness instead of GDP while citizens still report high satisfaction, illustrating that wellbeing and income need not move together.
24. What criticism do skeptics raise about happiness research?
- It is too expensive to conduct
- Self-reported data may not be cross-culturally comparable
- The sample sizes are too small
- It excludes wealthy nations
Why: Sceptics argue that self-reported happiness is inherently subjective and hard to compare between cultures, so the criticism targets the comparability of the measure rather than its cost, its sample sizes or its coverage.
25. What does the passage say about New Zealand and Scotland?
- They have rejected all economic growth targets
- They are incorporating well-being measures into policy
- They have the highest happiness scores in the world
- They dispute the Easterlin Paradox
Why: New Zealand and Scotland are named as governments that have started weaving wellbeing metrics into their policy frameworks, showing a shift in how national success is judged rather than any rejection of growth.
Coral reefs, often described as the rainforests of the sea, support approximately a quarter of all marine species despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor. Their decline due to rising sea temperatures has alarmed marine biologists worldwide. When water temperatures exceed a critical threshold, corals expel the algae living in their tissues, a process known as bleaching. Without these algae, corals lose both their vibrant color and their primary source of nutrition, often dying within weeks if conditions do not improve. Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science have been experimenting with 'assisted evolution,' selectively breeding heat-resistant coral strains and transplanting them to degraded reefs. Early trials in the Great Barrier Reef have shown promising survival rates of up to seventy percent for the modified corals. However, researchers caution that assisted evolution alone cannot save reefs if carbon emissions continue to warm the oceans. They emphasize that such interventions are temporary measures that must accompany, not replace, aggressive climate action.
26. What is the main purpose of this passage?
- To describe the beauty of coral reefs
- To explain coral bleaching and discuss potential interventions
- To promote tourism on the Great Barrier Reef
- To criticize the Australian government's environmental policies
Why: The passage explains what bleaching is and then describes assisted evolution trials alongside the warning that such work cannot replace emissions cuts, so its purpose is explanatory and balanced rather than promotional.
27. According to the passage, what happens to corals during bleaching?
- They change color to blue
- They grow faster
- They expel the algae living in their tissues
- They migrate to cooler waters
Why: Bleaching occurs when corals expel the algae living in their tissues; without those algae they lose colour and their main food source, and they may die within weeks if conditions do not improve.
28. What does 'assisted evolution' involve?
- Moving all coral to laboratories
- Breeding heat-resistant coral strains for transplantation
- Building artificial reefs from plastic
- Reducing the number of fish near reefs
Why: Assisted evolution means selectively breeding heat-resistant coral strains and transplanting them onto degraded reefs, not relocating corals to laboratories or building artificial reef structures in the sea.
29. What survival rate did the modified corals show in early trials?
- Up to thirty percent
- Up to fifty percent
- Up to seventy percent
- Up to ninety percent
Why: Early trials on the Great Barrier Reef produced survival rates of up to seventy per cent for the modified corals, a figure the passage presents as promising but not yet conclusive.
30. What limitation do the researchers emphasize about assisted evolution?
- It is too expensive to implement
- It cannot succeed without parallel climate action
- It has been shown to be entirely ineffective
- It harms other marine life
Why: Researchers stress that assisted evolution is a temporary measure that must accompany aggressive climate action, so it cannot succeed on its own while carbon emissions keep warming the oceans.
Part 3 — Multiple-text reading (20 questions)
Flight Cancellation Chaos
Due to an unexpected IT system outage affecting our reservation and check-in platforms, approximately 180 flights have been canceled today. Our technical teams are working urgently to restore full functionality. Affected passengers will be rebooked on the next available flights at no additional cost and are entitled to meal vouchers and hotel accommodation where applicable.
Travelers at major airports across the country faced chaos this morning after SkyLink Airlines suffered what it described as a 'critical infrastructure failure.' Long queues snaked through terminals as staff were forced to process check-ins manually. Some passengers reported waiting over six hours with no updates from airline personnel.
Stuck at Gate 14 for five hours now. No one from SkyLink has told us anything. I'm supposed to be at my sister's wedding tomorrow and I'm losing hope. The staff at the desk just keep saying 'the system is down.' Has anyone managed to get rebooked? I can't get through on the phone either.
31. What caused the flight cancellations according to the airline?
- Bad weather
- An IT system outage
- A staff strike
- A fuel shortage
Why: The airline attributes the disruption to a failure of its information technology systems, a technical fault rather than bad weather, industrial action or a shortage of fuel.
32. Approximately how many flights were canceled?
- 100
- 140
- 180
- 220
Why: The airline's statement puts the number of cancelled flights at roughly one hundred and eighty, the figure reported in the texts for the scale of the disruption.
33. What does the airline promise for affected passengers?
- A full refund only
- Free rebooking and compensation for meals and hotels
- A free flight anywhere in the world
- Priority boarding for a year
Why: The airline promises to rebook passengers free of charge and to cover meals and hotel costs, going well beyond a refund alone without offering free flights or long-term boarding perks.
34. The word 'snaked' in the news article is closest in meaning to:
- Disappeared
- Moved in long winding lines
- Became angry
- Doubled in number
Why: Snaked describes queues winding away in long, twisting lines through the terminal, so the word carries movement and shape rather than anger, disappearance or growth in numbers.
35. What is the passenger in the social media post most concerned about?
- Getting meal vouchers
- Missing a family wedding
- The quality of the food
- Getting a hotel room
Why: The passenger's overriding worry is missing a family wedding, a personal commitment that no compensation can repair, rather than meal vouchers, the quality of the food or a hotel room.
36. How long did the passenger report waiting at the gate?
- Two hours
- Three hours
- Five hours
- Eight hours
Why: The post reports a five-hour wait at the gate after the flight was cancelled, a stretch that captures how long passengers were left standing with almost no information.
37. How does the tone of the social media post compare to the airline statement?
- More formal and technical
- More emotional and frustrated
- More optimistic and reassuring
- Equally neutral and factual
Why: The airline statement is measured and corporate in tone, whereas the post is an exasperated account of the ordeal, making it emotional and frustrated rather than neutral, formal or reassuring.
38. What detail does the news article add that is not in the airline statement?
- The number of canceled flights
- Descriptions of passenger wait times and conditions at terminals
- The cause of the outage
- The airline's compensation policy
Why: The news article supplies vivid detail about queues, waits and conditions inside terminals, material that a brief corporate statement would not include, while the cause and compensation terms come from the airline itself.
39. Why does the passenger mention being unable to get through on the phone?
- To show the airline's phone service is excellent
- To illustrate the difficulty of getting help during the crisis
- To request a different phone number
- To complain about phone manufacturers
Why: The mention of unanswered phone calls shows how hard it was to reach anyone for help during the chaos, strengthening the picture of an overwhelmed airline rather than praising its service.
40. What can be inferred about the airline's preparedness from the three texts?
- It had excellent backup systems in place
- It was unprepared for a system failure of this scale
- It had canceled flights intentionally
- It had warned passengers in advance
Why: Long queues, unanswered calls and minimal help on the ground point to an airline overwhelmed by an outage of this scale, not one with strong contingency plans or advance warnings.
University Tuition Increase
The Board of Trustees has approved a 7% tuition increase for the upcoming academic year. This decision was not taken lightly. Rising operational costs, including faculty salaries and campus maintenance, have made this adjustment necessary. Additional financial aid funds will be allocated to support students from low-income backgrounds.
Another year, another tuition hike. The administration cites 'rising costs,' yet executive salaries have increased by 12% over the same period. Students are graduating with unprecedented levels of debt while the university expands its endowment. Where is the accountability? A tuition freeze is long overdue.
My daughter is a sophomore, and this is the third increase since she enrolled. We budgeted carefully, but at this rate, we may need to explore transferring to a public institution. I appreciate the additional aid promise, but middle-class families like ours rarely qualify. It feels like we're being squeezed out.
41. What percentage increase in tuition has the board approved?
- 5%
- 7%
- 9%
- 12%
Why: The board has approved a seven per cent tuition increase, so the larger percentage mentioned elsewhere in the texts belongs to executive pay rather than to student fees.
42. What reason does the administration give for the increase?
- Declining enrollment
- Rising operational costs
- Government funding cuts
- New construction projects
Why: The administration justifies the increase by pointing to rising operational costs, so declining enrolment, government funding cuts and construction projects are not the reasons given in its message.
43. What counter-argument does the student editorial present?
- Faculty salaries have decreased
- Executive salaries increased by 12%
- The university is losing money
- Fewer students are applying
Why: The editorial counters that executive salaries rose twelve per cent, far more than the tuition rise, which undercuts the claim that students alone must absorb the shortfall.
44. The word 'hike' in the student editorial is closest in meaning to:
- Reduction
- Journey
- Increase
- Freeze
Why: Hike in this context means an increase in price or fee, so reduction and freeze are the opposite of what the editorial describes; journey is an unrelated sense of the same word.
45. What does the parent fear may be necessary?
- Taking out a larger loan
- Transferring to a public institution
- Dropping out of school
- Protesting at the university
Why: The parent fears the family may have to move the daughter to a public institution because the fees are becoming unaffordable, rather than borrowing more, leaving study or protesting.
46. How many tuition increases has the parent's daughter experienced?
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
Why: The parent's daughter has already faced three tuition increases during her studies, which explains the family's mounting financial strain and their frustration with the latest rise.
47. What concern does the parent raise about financial aid?
- There is no financial aid available
- Middle-class families rarely qualify
- The application process is too slow
- Aid amounts have been reduced
Why: The parent's complaint is that middle-income households rarely qualify for financial aid, so families just above the threshold absorb the full increase with no support.
48. What do the editorial and the forum comment share in common?
- Both praise the university's decision
- Both express dissatisfaction with the tuition increase
- Both are written by faculty members
- Both offer solutions to reduce costs
Why: The editorial and the forum comment both criticise the tuition rise, one attacking the university's spending priorities and the other describing the financial squeeze on families, so dissatisfaction is the shared element.
49. What is the main purpose of the university's email?
- To justify the tuition increase and announce additional aid
- To recruit new students
- To announce a new campus building
- To request donations from alumni
Why: The email sets out the administration's reasoning for the increase and points to additional financial aid, so its aim is justification and reassurance rather than recruitment, construction news or fundraising.
50. Based on the three texts, which group's perspective is NOT directly represented?
- University administration
- Current students
- Parents of students
- Faculty members
Why: The administration, students and parents all speak for themselves in the three texts, whereas faculty members appear only as a subject of debate and never give their own view.