What is the Occupational English Test (OET Exam)?
The Occupational English Test, also known as the OET Exam, is an exam that assesses the skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking in a healthcare context.
A free OET practice reading exam is provided below. For further practice for the other parts of the test, please scroll to the bottom of the page.
OET Reading Practice Exam
Instructions: Read the OET exam practice passage below and write down your answers to the 11 questions that follow. You should allow twenty minutes to complete this task.
1. A survey by the Food Standards Authority has discovered an immense lack of knowledge about how much bread and pasta should be eaten daily, the importance of fruit and vegetables for overall health, and the danger of foods that are high in fat or sugar.
2. The survey results demonstrate that significant numbers of Australians do not understand how to eat a balanced diet, in spite of several prominent campaigns explaining which foods are healthiest. While 52 percent knew that high-fat and high-sugar consumption can be damaging to the health, 48 percent were not aware of this important fact. In addition, many respondents incorrectly assumed that they could eat extra fruit and vegetables to counterbalance eating foods that are bad for the health.
3. Obesity is an ever-frequent consequence of poor nutrition choices over the long term, and this issue is becoming a national health risk. More and more Australians are becoming fatter, and the heightening incidence of diabetes, strokes, and heart disease caused by obesity is estimated to cost the national health care system billions of dollars.
4. However, certain reports claim that obese Australians are not responsible for their own situations because they are victims of a new phenomenon called “lifestyle obesity.” This theory claims that modern habits like excessive computer use and over-reliance on traveling by car, rather than walking when possible, inherently cause people to gain weight, without even noticing. “Our modern society prevents us from remaining fit and healthy because this modern way of life has become so entrenched,” said a scientist involved in conducting this research.
5. In view of these recent debates, the Minister of Health has compared the problem of obesity to that of climate change and has suggested that that immediate government intervention is necessary. “The significance of obesity-related health issues is now very clear: we are being confronted with a crisis of the same magnitude as climate change, and we must reverse this growing trend,” he said.
6. He added that, in his view, the government should not focus on changing people’s eating behaviors, but emphasize instead the necessity of the food industry to make their products healthier. He said that “food manufacturers will have to re-label their products as part of a compulsory re-labeling program. Such re-labeling will help consumers better to understand the nutritional value of the food they are buying and eating.”
7. Manufacturers of high sugar foods, like baked beans and canned spaghetti, have been informed that they may have to re-formulate the recipes for some of their products in order to meet the requirements of the re-labeling program, unless they can show evidence that their products meet the minimum nutritional requirements. The re-labeling program has received strong support from health professionals, who fear that manufacturers’ nutritional claims may be misleading consumers. Consumer research has also indicated that the development of a national symbol for healthy foods may be underway, but nevertheless also expressed concern that companies could create their own “healthy” symbols to be used nefariously on high fat, salty, and sugary foods.
8. A number of state-sponsored and charitable organizations have been working together to try to get people to make healthier food choices. Encouraging everyone to eat a healthy amount of fruit and vegetables every day, these campaigns may need to be reassessed in the long term to help consumers avoid foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt.
9. Only 14% of men and 21% of women eat healthy amounts of fruit and vegetables daily. Government scientists have claimed that up to 25% of all deaths by heart disease and cancer could have been avoided had people been eating healthy amounts of these foods.
10. There are also increasing worries about the amount of the artificial food additives used in the packaged and convenience food that many people eat every day. The nutritionists assert that certain chemicals used to prolong the life of foods could damage DNA and cause hyperactivity in children. They explain that most people have insufficient knowledge about food additives and has suggested that public information announcements might be the way forward in order to educate people.
11. In light of these issues, the some argue that a “nutritious food” logo should be created, which would be trademarked and granted to manufacturers upon approval of their products. Initially, they suggest, it could be used for foods that do not contain any added fats, sugars, or salts, although they concede that other foods may be able to meet appropriate criteria.
12. The president of a food lobbying group commented that food industry representatives tentatively were to be involved in initial discussions over the criteria for such a logo. An expert lamented: “Any logos, symbols, or labelling should be developed entirely based on scientific evidence alone, rather than being influenced by capitalistic enterprises.”
13. Others fear that there would be no way that such a logo would withstand any legal challenges if any manufacturers invented their own “nutritious food” symbols, outside the official scheme. The government should therefore work hard to make the food industry accountable and follow its official advice so that clear and consistent nutrition information can be provided to consumers.
Questions
1. Which paragraph states the main concern of this article?
- (A) Paragraph 1
- (B) Paragraph 2
- (C) Paragraph 3
- (D) Paragraph 4
2. What is the purpose of paragraph 2?
- (A) To sum up the results of a recent survey
- (B) To provide the reader with key statistics
- (C) To give examples of healthy and unhealthy foods
- (D) To discuss what to do if one is eating poorly
3. What is the best description of the term “lifestyle obesity”?
- (A) A condition that causes diabetes and heart conditions
- (B) The fact that pollution and environmental problems cause health issues
- (C) The way that our lifestyles make us put on weight
- (D) The poor food choices that cause us to become obese
4. According to this article, what changes in nutrition policy does the Minister of Health suggest? (Choose 2)
- (A) Prioritizing the problem of nutrition as more urgent than climate change
- (B) Encouraging the food industry to reformulate their products to make them healthier
- (C) Educating the public about how to change their eating habits
- (D) Providing more funding to food manufacturers
- (E) Forcing food manufacturers to re-label their products
The chart below sums up possible consequences for the food industry. Fill in the gaps with a suitable word.
| 5. The food industry may be forced to participate in a _______scheme. |
| 6. Certain manufacturers may have to re-evaluate their _________ . |
| 7. Manufacturers may be able to use their own logos and other _________ on their labels. |
8. Which comment have nutritionists recently made?
- (A) Most people lack a sufficient understanding about the dangers of food additives.
- (B) They intend to introduce their own nutritious food logo.
- (C) They are concerned that profit-making entities are involved in public health decisions.
- (D) Eating the right amount of certain food could prevent some forms of cancer.
Match the number of the paragraph in the article to the sentence below which best summarizes the paragraph.
9. _______ Discusses the involvement of representatives of the food industry.
10. _______ Talks about which foods would be able to display the “nutritious food” logo.
11. _______ Provides a quotation from a governmental spokesperson.
Answers to OET Practice Exam
Here are the answers to the OET practice reading exam.
1) The correct answer is B. Paragraph 2 provides the main idea: “significant numbers of Australians do not understand how to eat a balanced diet, in spite of several prominent campaigns explaining which foods are healthiest.” The first paragraph of an article often gives the main idea of the text, but in our article, a surprising fact is provided in order to attract the reader’s attention.
2) The correct answer is A. The passage begins by stating that there has been “a survey by the Food Standards Authority.”
3) The correct answer is C. Paragraph 4 explains the causes of lifestyle obesity: “modern habits like excessive computer use and over-reliance on traveling by car, rather than walking when possible, inherently cause people to gain weight, without even noticing.”
4) The correct answers are B and E. In paragraph 6, we have the opinion of the government official: “the government should not focus on changing people’s eating behaviors, but emphasize instead the necessity of the food industry to make their products healthier.” He added that “food manufacturers will have to re-label their products as part of a compulsory re-labeling program.”
5) The correct answer is: re-labeling. This word is from paragraph 7.
6) The correct answer is: recipes / ingredients. This answer is from paragraph 7.
7) The correct answer is: symbols. This word is from paragraph 13.
8) The correct answer is A. According to paragraph 10: “They (nutritionists) explain that most of people have insufficient knowledge about food additives and has suggested that public information announcements might be the way forward in order to educate people.”
9) Paragraph 12: Discusses the involvement of representatives of the food industry.
10) Paragraph 11: Talks about what types of foods would be able to display the nutritious food logo.
11) Paragraph 5: Provides a quotation from a governmental spokesperson.
Further Practice Exercises
You may also want to try our listening, speaking, and grammar exercises:
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