Aptis reading Test: General Tips and Strategies

Part 1: In this part of the test, you are going to answer three personal questions about 
yourself and your interests. You will have 30 seconds to answer each question. Begin speaking 
when you hear the beep.
1.1 What do you do at the weekends? 
1.2 What kind of food do you like? 
1.3 Tell me about your favourite place. 

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Part 2: In this part of the test, you are going to describe what is happening in a picture. 
Then, I will ask you two questions about them. You will have 45 seconds for each response. 
Begin speaking when you hear the beep.
2.1. Describe this picture. 
I can see a group of people who are quite probably at a party and they are toasting their glasses 
in some kind of celebration. You can see this in the top left-hand corner of the picture as they all 
hold their glasses up. I think it’s a festival because there are light and what seems like decorations 
in the foreground and so I think it’s a New Year’s party or maybe a Christmas party. It looks like it 
could be a group of people from an office and you can tell that there are male and female people at 
the party. 
 
2.2. Do you like going to parties? 
I quite like going to parties although I’m not so keen now as I once was. I don’t like New Year’s 
parties much because they always seem to be a disappointment. I think that’s because people have 
overblown expectations of these parties and they are never as good as you had expected them to be. 
I’ve always preferred dinner parties where you can sit around and have a chat. Also, they don’t have 
to be quiet. I’ve been to lots of dinner parties where they’ve become lively and people dance and 
sing. Well, I do anyway.
2.3. Tell me about your favourite social activity. 
I think that the best social activity is when people meet up after work on a Friday evening. I prefer 
going straight out from work because if I go home, then I can’t be bothered to go back out again. 
Friday is good because it has a special energy to it. I particularly like it when some of the local bars 
have live music around 5.00 pm to attract people to them or to get people to stay longer than they 
planned. I also like going out to dinner with my family or my friends, especially if it is around 
someone’s house and you can just relax and have fun.