Duolingo English Test Interactive Reading — Practice and Examples
A longer passage with several gaps, each with a choice of words. You pick the word that fits each gap, reading the passage as a whole.
Practise Interactive Reading →
What it tests
Understanding a full text — how sentences connect, what the writer means — rather than single words.
Worked example
The honey stall
My aunt has sold honey at the Saturday market for eleven years, and I help her from six until noon. We (1) [load / empty / unpack / return / sell] the jars into the van the night before, because the road into town is shut to traffic after seven. Customers who come early want to (2) [taste / watch / count / pour / weigh] the three kinds before they choose, so we keep a spoon and a jug of water on the table. The prices are painted on a board, and my aunt will not (3) [lower / write / read / print / repeat] them, even when a buyer asks twice. By ten the queue has gone and the stall is (4) [quiet / crowded / noisy / narrow / heavy], which is when the other sellers come over to talk. If rain is forecast we (5) [stretch / fold / tear / remove / forget] a sheet of plastic over the frame before we open. Whatever is left at noon goes back into the van, (6) [because / unless / although / whether / until] the honey keeps for months.
Show the answers
- load
- taste
- lower
- quiet
- stretch
- because
How to do well
- Several options are often grammatically possible. Choose the one that fits the meaning of the whole paragraph.
- Linking words (because, unless, although) depend on the logic between two ideas: say both ideas to yourself first.
- Time goes quickly on long passages. Move on from a hard gap and return to it.
Practice at three levels
Our practice for this task comes in three levels you choose yourself: Foundation teaches the format, Standard is 12 sessions plus 12 full tests at the level most candidates aim for, and Hard is another 12 + 12 with academic topics and tighter wording. Progress is kept per level, so you can move up when the current one feels easy.
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