Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last century. Most…
Read the text aloud.
Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last century. Most people these days will live for over 70 years. This is more than double the lifespan of the average human in the seventeenth century. We can attribute our longevity to advances in medicine and lifestyle. While everyone agrees that living longer is wonderful, overpopulation is becoming a serious environmental concern.
Opens question #010012 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Life expectancy|has increased dramatically|in the last century.‖Most people these days|will live for over 70 years.‖This is more than double the lifespan|of the average human|in the seventeenth century.‖We can attribute our longevity|to advances in medicine and lifestyle.‖While everyone agrees|that living longer is wonderful,|overpopulation is becoming|a serious environmental concern.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Words to stress correctly
| overpopulation | o·ver·pop·u·LA·tion | /oʊvɚpɑpjəˈleɪʃən/ |
| environmental | en·vi·ron·MEN·tal | /ɪnvaɪrənˈmɛntəl/ |
| dramatically | dra·MAT·i·cally | /drəˈmætɪkli/ |
| expectancy | ex·PEC·tan·cy | /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/ |
| longevity | lon·GEV·i·ty | /lɔnˈdʒɛvəti/ |
| advances | ad·VAN·ces | /ədˈvænsəz/ |
60 words, aim for 23–27 seconds. Say 70 as "seventy": "over seventy years". Breathe after century, years, the second century and lifestyle.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress o·ver·pop·u·LA·tion and en·vi·ron·MEN·tal late, not on the first syllable. Keep second-syllable stress in dra·MAT·i·cally, ex·PEC·tan·cy, lon·GEV·i·ty, ad·VAN·ces. Don't drop the -s in advances, agrees, years or the -ed in increased.
General tip: the two longest words come at the very end; keep breath in reserve so overpopulation and environmental are not rushed.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 在过去一个世纪里，预期寿命大幅提高。如今大多数人能活到70岁以上。这比十七世纪普通人寿命的两倍还多。我们可以把长寿归功于医学和生活方式的进步。虽然人人都认为活得更久很美好，但人口过剩正成为一个严重的环境问题。
हिन्दी: पिछली सदी में जीवन प्रत्याशा नाटकीय रूप से बढ़ी है। आजकल अधिकांश लोग 70 वर्ष से अधिक जीते हैं। यह सत्रहवीं सदी के औसत मनुष्य की आयु के दोगुने से भी अधिक है। हम अपनी दीर्घायु का श्रेय चिकित्सा और जीवनशैली में हुई प्रगति को दे सकते हैं। हालाँकि सभी मानते हैं कि लंबा जीना अद्भुत है, अधिक जनसंख्या एक गंभीर पर्यावरणीय चिंता बनती जा रही है।
नेपाली: पछिल्लो शताब्दीमा औसत आयु नाटकीय रूपमा बढेको छ। आजभोलि धेरैजसो मानिस ७० वर्षभन्दा बढी बाँच्छन्। यो सत्रौँ शताब्दीको औसत मानिसको आयुको दोब्बरभन्दा पनि बढी हो। हामी आफ्नो दीर्घायुको श्रेय औषधि र जीवनशैलीमा भएको प्रगतिलाई दिन सक्छौँ। लामो बाँच्नु राम्रो हो भन्नेमा सबै सहमत भए पनि, अधिक जनसंख्या गम्भीर वातावरणीय चिन्ता बन्दै गएको छ।
Tiếng Việt: Tuổi thọ trung bình đã tăng mạnh trong thế kỷ qua. Ngày nay hầu hết mọi người sẽ sống trên 70 năm. Con số này hơn gấp đôi tuổi thọ của một người bình thường ở thế kỷ mười bảy. Chúng ta có thể quy sự trường thọ của mình cho những tiến bộ trong y học và lối sống. Dù ai cũng đồng ý rằng sống lâu hơn là điều tuyệt vời, tình trạng quá tải dân số đang trở thành mối lo ngại nghiêm trọng về môi trường.
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.