PTE Academic Writing Practice Test 1

Urban green spaces, from small pocket parks to sprawling public gardens, have become a central concern for city planners who once treated them as decorative extras rather than essential infrastructure. Recent research has shifted this thinking by showing that trees and vegetation deliver measurable benefits to the people who live nearby. Green areas cool their surroundings through shade and the evaporation of water from leaves, which helps counter the heat that concrete and asphalt trap during summer months. This cooling effect can lower the temperature of a dense neighbourhood by several degrees, reducing the strain on power grids as fewer households run air conditioning.

The advantages extend well beyond temperature. Vegetation filters particles from polluted air, absorbs rainfall that would otherwise overwhelm drains, and provides habitat for birds and insects that keep urban ecosystems balanced. Perhaps most striking is the effect on human wellbeing. Studies tracking thousands of residents have found that people living within walking distance of a park report lower levels of stress and anxiety, and they tend to exercise more often. Access to these spaces is not distributed equally, however, and poorer districts frequently have far less greenery than wealthy ones. Planners now argue that expanding parks in neglected areas is a matter of public health and fairness, not merely aesthetics, and that every new development should reserve land for growing things.

For most of human history, sleep was treated as wasted time, a nightly pause that interrupted the productive hours of the day. Scientists have overturned that view completely. Far from being idle, the sleeping brain is intensely active, sorting through the experiences of the previous day and deciding which memories to keep. During deep sleep, the brain replays newly learned information, strengthening the neural connections that store it, which is why students who sleep after studying recall material better than those who stay awake.

Sleep also performs a kind of cleaning that waking hours cannot. As the body rests, a network of channels flushes waste proteins from brain tissue, including the compounds linked to memory disorders in later life. When this process is cut short by too few hours of rest, those waste products accumulate. The consequences of poor sleep reach into almost every system of the body. People who regularly sleep less than six hours face higher risks of heart disease, weakened immunity, and difficulty regulating appetite, which contributes to weight gain. Mood suffers as well, since tiredness makes the brain more reactive to negative events and less able to manage emotion. Despite this evidence, modern life pushes many people to trade sleep for work or entertainment, and artificial light from screens delays the natural signals that prepare the body for rest. Researchers warn that treating sleep as optional carries a hidden cost that individuals and societies pay slowly over many years.

Some people believe that companies should allow their staff to work from home permanently, while others argue that employees are more productive in a shared office. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.