Free OET Reading sample · Parts A, B and C
OET Reading sample with answers
OET Reading is 60 minutes and 42 questions in three parts. Part A is fast scanning of short texts, Part B is short workplace texts, and Part C is longer articles that test meaning and inference. Here is a short original example of each, with the answer and why. Open each answer once you have tried the question.
Clodia is not affiliated with OET or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment.
Part A · 15 minutes · 20 questions in the real test
Part A: Hypoglycaemia in adults with diabetes
The real Part A has four texts and 20 questions; this sample shows three texts and four questions.
For each question, find the answer in the texts and copy the words from the text, checking the spelling.
Hypoglycaemia: capillary blood glucose below 4.0 mmol/L.
Early signs: sweating, trembling, hunger, palpitations, anxiety.
Later signs: confusion, drowsiness, slurred speech, unusual or aggressive behaviour.
Give 15–20 g of fast-acting carbohydrate, for example 150–200 ml of pure fruit juice or 4–5 glucose tablets (4 g each).
Recheck capillary blood glucose after 10–15 minutes.
If it is still below 4.0 mmol/L, repeat the treatment, up to three times in total. If glucose remains below 4.0 mmol/L after three treatments, contact the doctor.
If the patient is unconscious or cannot swallow safely, give nothing by mouth and follow the emergency protocol.
Once blood glucose is 4.0 mmol/L or above, give a long-acting carbohydrate, such as two biscuits or a slice of bread, unless a meal containing carbohydrate is due.
Do not omit a dose of insulin that is due; ask the diabetes team to review the dose.
Record the episode and its likely cause in the patient's notes.
Question 1 · Matching
Which text tells you what to give once the patient's blood glucose has recovered?
Show the answer
Answer: C. Text C, "After recovery", gives the long-acting carbohydrate to follow.
Question 2 · Matching
Which text would help you decide whether a patient's new confusion could be caused by low blood glucose?
Show the answer
Answer: A. Confusion is listed among the later signs in Text A.
Question 3 · Sentence completion
A patient who can swallow should be given 15–20 g of fast-acting carbohydrate, such as 150–200 ml of ______.
Show the answer
Answer: pure fruit juice (or fruit juice). Copy the words from Text B and check the spelling.
Question 4 · Short answer
How long after treatment should the blood glucose be checked again?
Show the answer
Answer: 10–15 minutes (or 10 to 15 minutes). Text B, second line. Short answers are words or numbers from the text, not a sentence.
Part B · 6 short texts · 3 options each
Part B: a workplace extract
Part B has six short texts like this one, each with one question. Choose the answer the text supports, not one that is only true in general.
Patients may continue to use medicines they bring in from home, provided a pharmacist or registered nurse has checked that each item is labelled with the patient's name, is in date and matches the current prescription. Medicines that fail any of these checks must not be used; with the patient's consent they are returned home with a relative or sent to pharmacy for disposal. Checked medicines are kept in the patient's locked bedside cabinet and must not be used for any other patient.
Question 1 · Multiple choice (3 options)
According to the extract, a patient's own medicines can be used on the ward when
- Aa relative has confirmed what each medicine is for.
- Beach item has passed the label, date and prescription checks.
- Ca pharmacist has checked them on the day of admission.
Show the answer
Answer: B. The extract names three checks: name label, expiry date and the current prescription (B). Relatives only take home medicines that fail (A). A registered nurse may do the checks too, and no timing is given (C).
Part C · 2 long texts · 4 options each
Part C: a paragraph from a longer article
Part C has two articles of about 800 words, with eight questions on each. The questions ask what the writer means or thinks, so watch for options that reuse the text's words but change its meaning.
The case for nurse-led discharge is usually made in terms of bed days: patients who no longer need a doctor's review need not wait for one. That argument is sound, but it undersells the change. In the units that have adopted it most fully, the more lasting effect has been on how discharge is planned. When the nurse who will make the decision is also the person who has been talking to the family all week, the questions that hold up a discharge on the day, such as who will collect the patient or whether the medicines are ready, tend to have been answered the day before.
Question 7 · Multiple choice (4 options)
According to the writer, what is the longer-term gain from nurse-led discharge?
- APatients no longer wait for a doctor's review before going home.
- BFamilies are less involved in decisions about the discharge.
- CPractical questions about going home are settled before the day of discharge.
- DNurses spend more of the week talking with patients' families.
Show the answer
Answer: C. A is the usual bed-days argument, which the writer says "undersells the change". The more lasting effect is on planning: the on-the-day questions "tend to have been answered the day before". The nurse talking to the family all week is the reason, not the effect (D).
Six extracts in the real format, marked as soon as you finish. No account needed.
Three things this sample shows
- Part A rewards scanning: read the question first, then find the line. You don't need to read every text in full.
- Part B turns on exact wording: what staff must, should or may do.
- Part C wrong options often use the text's own words. Check what the writer actually says about them.
How the 60 minutes are usually split
Answer: 15 minutes for Part A, then about 10–12 for Part B and the rest for Part C. Part A is collected at 15 minutes, so its time can't be borrowed. Parts B and C share 45 minutes, and you decide how to divide them.
OET Reading questions
How long is OET Reading?
60 minutes and 42 questions. Part A has 15 minutes on its own clock for 20 questions. Parts B and C share one 45-minute block: 6 questions in Part B and 16 in Part C.
Does spelling count in OET Reading Part A?
Yes. Part A answers are words or numbers taken from the texts, so copy them exactly as they appear rather than paraphrasing.
Is OET Reading different for nurses?
No. The Reading paper is the same for every profession. The texts are about healthcare, but they test reading, not clinical knowledge.