Duolingo English Test (DET) Practice: Reading & Vocabulary

Getting a strong reading score on the Duolingo English Test is a vocabulary problem before it is anything else.

The two question types students fear most - "Read and Select" (spot the real words among fakes) and "Read and Complete" (rebuild a gapped text) - punish a shaky vocabulary bank and reward a trained one. This course is that training: 6 full-length mock tests, 360 questions, built on a hand-crafted word bank spanning B1 to C2, with the same three question formats the DET uses and a written explanation on every single question.

How each 60-question test is built:

- Section A - Real or Fake? Multi-select sets of 8 words: real words against engineered fakes and near-miss traps (misspellings, wrong derivative forms, lookalikes). Exactly the judgment "Read and Select" demands.

- Section B - Complete the Text. C-test passages with gapped words - the closest paper practice to DET "Read and Complete".

- Section C - Vocabulary in Context. Choose the matching paraphrase or synonym, tested in context the way the DET phrases it.

- Section D - Finish the Sentence. Pick the word that correctly completes a sentence with its natural collocations - the skill behind DET writing readiness too.

A difficulty curve, not six identical tests.

Tests 1-2 run on a friendly B1/B2 mix while your accuracy settles. Test 3 begins the ramp: fewer B1 items, more C1. Tests 5-6 retire easy vocabulary entirely - the final test is a C1/C2 challenge across the whole bank. You can measure real progress by which tests you pass (80% to pass) and where your score first dips.

Every question explained.

This is the difference between practising and improving: a wrong answer tells you nothing unless you know why it was wrong. All 360 items ship with a written explanation of the correct answer - including, for the fake-word traps, exactly why the trap looks real. You'll meet the bank's classic traps (attainment vs obtainment, waiver vs waivered, adverse vs averse) the way the exam would present them.

British spelling throughout, global audience in mind. The DET accepts both conventions; this course consistently teaches one (UK) so you never confuse yourself mid-test.

What's included:

- 6 timed full-length practice tests (60 questions / 60 minutes each, randomized question order)

- 360 written answer explanations

- Vocabulary entries: academic verbs, law and government, work and economy, health and science, crime, character, abstract ideas, and everyday language

- Pass mark 80% per test; unlimited retakes

- Lifetime access, including future question refreshes

Take Test 1 before your exam-date panic sets in, and Test 6 the week before the real thing. If you can pass the final test, the real DET will feel familiar.

Note: This course is an independent practice resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by Duolingo.