How do we imagine the unimaginable? If we’re asked to…
Read the text aloud.
How do we imagine the unimaginable? If we’re asked to think of an object -say, a yellow tulip – a picture immediately forms in our mind's eye?But what if we try to imagine a concept such as the square root of a negative number?
Opens question #010006 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
How do we imagine the unimaginable?‖If we’re asked to think of an object|-say, a yellow tulip –|a picture immediately forms in our mind's eye?But what if we try|to imagine a concept‖such as the square root of a negative number?
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 17–20 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| unimaginable | un·i·MAG·i·na·ble | /ʌnɪˈmædʒɪnəbəl/ |
| immediately | im·ME·di·ate·ly | /ɪˈmidiətli/ |
| imagine | i·MAG·ine | /ɪˈmædʒən/ |
| negative | NEG·a·tive | /ˈnɛɡətɪv/ |
44 words, aim 17–20 seconds. No numbers. Breathe after unimaginable? and after concept; let the voice lift a little at each question mark so both questions sound like questions.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress un·i·MAG·i·na·ble and i·MAG·ine on the same syllable, im·ME·di·ate·ly on the second and NEG·a·tive on the first. Keep the final -s in forms and mind's. Don't stall at the dashes around say, a yellow tulip.
General tip: the dashes mark a short aside — drop your pitch slightly for say, a yellow tulip, then return to the main sentence without a long gap.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 我们如何想象不可想象之物？如果让我们想一个物体——比如一朵黄色的郁金香——脑海中会立刻浮现出一幅画面。但如果我们试着去想象一个概念，比如负数的平方根呢？
हिन्दी: हम अकल्पनीय की कल्पना कैसे करते हैं? अगर हमसे किसी वस्तु के बारे में सोचने को कहा जाए—मान लीजिए, एक पीला ट्यूलिप—तो हमारे मन की आँखों में तुरंत एक चित्र बन जाता है। लेकिन अगर हम किसी अवधारणा की कल्पना करने की कोशिश करें, जैसे किसी ऋणात्मक संख्या का वर्गमूल, तो क्या होगा?
नेपाली: हामी कल्पना गर्नै नसकिने कुराको कल्पना कसरी गर्छौं? यदि हामीलाई कुनै वस्तु—मानौं, पहेँलो ट्युलिप—को बारेमा सोच्न भनियो भने, हाम्रो मनमा तुरुन्तै एउटा चित्र बन्छ। तर यदि हामीले ऋणात्मक सङ्ख्याको वर्गमूल जस्तो अवधारणा कल्पना गर्न खोज्यौं भने के हुन्छ?
Tiếng Việt: Làm sao chúng ta hình dung được điều không thể tưởng tượng? Nếu được yêu cầu nghĩ về một vật thể – chẳng hạn một bông tulip vàng – thì một hình ảnh lập tức hiện lên trong tâm trí. Nhưng nếu chúng ta cố hình dung một khái niệm như căn bậc hai của một số âm thì sao?
More Read Aloud questions
Read Aloud format (Pearson)
| Prompt | Text up to 60 words |
|---|---|
| Preparation | 30–40 seconds |
| Time to answer | Depends on the length of the text |
| Skills assessed | Speaking |
| Scored on | Content; Pronunciation; Oral fluency |
How it is scored
- Content is scored by counting the correct words in your response.
- If you stay silent for more than 3 seconds, the recording stops.
- You can record your response only once.
Source: Pearson, PTE Academic & UKVI test format, Part 1: Speaking & Writing, checked 9 October 2026.