Full text practice for unknown vocabulary in the PTE test

Dealing with unknown vocabulary in the PTE test – long exercise

Now read the text below and guess what the missing word could be using the skills from the beginning of this lesson.

Every nation has a sport to represent it. In the UK there is football and in the US they follow baseball. In New Zealand, the majority of New Zealanders follow rugby. The All Blacks, New Zealand’s national team, have gained international ^(Example) respect/prestige for their skill and strength. While most people, regardless of their sporting preference or nationality, have some passing knowledge of the All Blacks, fewer can claim to know the ⁽¹⁾ of the name.Show answerPossible word here is origins, origin or history. As is true of most legends, there is more than one theory as to how the team was named, although one indisputable fact is that the New Zealand rugby team was first named The Originals in 1905. An Originals team member, Billy Wallace, held that the name ‘All Blacks’ was derived from a report on how the team played, and this theory is supported by a newspaper ⁽²⁾. Show answerPossible word here is article, piece or report. that commented that the when they toured England, the team played as though they were ‘all backs’. Others claim that the name came into common use because of the team’s kit; the pitch black colour still worn by the team today. Indeed, the only ⁽³⁾ Show answerPossible word here is alteration, modification, difference or change. to the kit in the last century is the addition of the Silver Fern, an iconic symbol for the country and one which has been adopted by a number of New Zealand sporting teams. The silver fern itself was used by Maori as it has a reflective underside; turning this over allowed the moonlight to reflect on it, thus creating markers to guide their way back to camp.

Names aside, the All Blacks have become an international legend not only for their prowess during the game but also for their pre-match performance of the haka. Originally a Maori war dance, the haka is an entertaining, and – at least for their ⁽⁴⁾ Show answerPossible word here is opposition, competition, competitors or rivals. – intimidating display of the All Blacks’ strength.

For the ⁽⁵⁾, Show answerPossible word here is uninitiated, layman or uninformed. it needs to be clarified that there are of course two types of rugby, each with a number of significant differences. The rugby played by the All Blacks is Rugby Union, as opposed to Rugby League the national team of which is The Kiwis (formerly the All Golds). Despite New Zealand’s size and population, in addition to what, on a global scale, is a limited amount of financial support, the All Blacks are the most ⁽⁶⁾ Show answerPossible word here is successful (we know it refers to their success because of the sentences that follow – ‘A number of international teams have still to beat them’). International Rugby Union team of all time. A number of international teams have still to beat them, and no other international team has achieved more ⁽⁷⁾ Show answerPossible word here is victories or wins (we know this because it balances the word ‘losses’ at the end of the sentence). than losses against them.

The origins of the game itself, as with the name ‘All Blacks’, are uncertain. William Webb Ellis, born in 1823 and a former student of Rugby school in England, is credited by many as having invented the game. It is said that, having tired of the ⁽⁸⁾ Show answerPossible word here is rules (the phrase ‘rules and regulations’ are often put together). and regulations of football, he picked up the ball and ran with it, so laying down the new rules of a game called rugby. However, games played in a rugby style, involving kicking, catching and ⁽⁹⁾ Show answerPossible word here is running, moving, striking or jumping – we know from the word families that it is some kind of action. with the ball have been recorded as being in existence as far back as medieval times. The Welsh called such games ‘craipan’, the French ‘la soule’ and the Irish ‘caid’. Interestingly, Webb Ellis’s father was known to have spent time in Ireland and may well have passed on his ⁽¹⁰⁾ Show answerPossible word here is experience or knowledge. of ‘caid’ onto his son. But no matter however or whenever the game originated, there is no doubt that the All Blacks have the sport down to a fine art.

We hope this exercise on dealing with unknown vocabulary in the PTE test has helped! Now move on to the next section of  the free PTE course.