Many people believe that employers discriminate against older people because…
Read the text aloud.
Many people believe that employers discriminate against older people because youths have more energy and creativity. This is not true. The main reason for hiring younger workers is payroll. In most countries, your salary is dependent on how many years of work experience you have. It is far more cost efficient to hire postgraduates, fresh out of university, than senior staff with over twenty years of industry knowledge.
Opens question #010022 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Many people believe that employers discriminate against older people‖because youths have more energy and creativity.|This is not true.‖The main reason for hiring younger workers is payroll.‖In most countries,|your salary is dependent on how many years of work experience you have.‖It is far more cost efficient to hire postgraduates,|fresh out of university,‖than senior staff with over twenty years of industry knowledge.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 26–31 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| creativity | cre·a·TI·vi·ty | /krieɪˈtɪvəti/ |
| university | u·ni·VER·si·ty | /junəˈvɝsəti/ |
| discriminate | dis·CRI·mi·nate | /dɪsˈkrɪməneɪt/ |
| experience | ex·PE·ri·ence | /ɪkˈspɪriəns/ |
| employers | em·PLOY·ers | /ɛmˈplɔɪɚz/ |
| dependent | de·PEN·dent | /dɪˈpɛndənt/ |
68 words, aim 26–31 seconds. No figures; 'twenty' is written out. Breathe after people, true, payroll, have and university.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress the third syllable in cre·a·TI·vi·ty and u·ni·VER·si·ty, the second in dis·CRI·mi·nate, ex·PE·ri·ence, em·PLOY·ers, de·PEN·dent. Don't hesitate before postgraduates. Keep the -s in employers, youths, countries, years, postgraduates.
General tip: 'This is not true' is a short, emphatic sentence; give it a clear fall and a brief pause, then move on without rushing into 'The main reason'.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 许多人认为雇主歧视年长者，是因为年轻人更有精力和创造力。事实并非如此。雇用年轻员工的主要原因是薪资成本。在大多数国家，你的薪水取决于你有多少年的工作经验。雇用刚从大学毕业的研究生，远比雇用拥有二十多年行业知识的资深员工更划算。
हिन्दी: बहुत से लोग मानते हैं कि नियोक्ता बुज़ुर्गों के साथ भेदभाव करते हैं क्योंकि युवाओं में ज़्यादा ऊर्जा और रचनात्मकता होती है। यह सच नहीं है। युवा कर्मचारियों को रखने की मुख्य वजह वेतन-खर्च है। ज़्यादातर देशों में आपका वेतन इस पर निर्भर करता है कि आपके पास कितने साल का कार्य-अनुभव है। बीस साल से ज़्यादा उद्योग-ज्ञान वाले वरिष्ठ कर्मचारियों की तुलना में विश्वविद्यालय से ताज़ा निकले स्नातकोत्तरों को रखना कहीं सस्ता पड़ता है।
नेपाली: धेरै मानिस ठान्छन् कि रोजगारदाताले वृद्धहरूलाई भेदभाव गर्छन् किनभने युवामा बढी ऊर्जा र सिर्जनशीलता हुन्छ। यो सत्य होइन। युवा कामदार राख्नुको मुख्य कारण तलब खर्च हो। धेरैजसो देशमा तपाईंको तलब तपाईंसँग कति वर्षको कामको अनुभव छ भन्नेमा भर पर्छ। बीस वर्षभन्दा बढी उद्योग-ज्ञान भएका वरिष्ठ कर्मचारीभन्दा विश्वविद्यालयबाट भर्खर निस्केका स्नातकोत्तरहरू राख्नु धेरै सस्तो पर्छ।
Tiếng Việt: Nhiều người tin rằng nhà tuyển dụng phân biệt đối xử với người lớn tuổi vì người trẻ có nhiều năng lượng và sáng tạo hơn. Điều đó không đúng. Lý do chính để thuê lao động trẻ là chi phí lương. Ở hầu hết các nước, lương của bạn phụ thuộc vào số năm kinh nghiệm làm việc. Thuê người vừa tốt nghiệp sau đại học rẻ hơn nhiều so với thuê nhân viên kỳ cựu có hơn hai mươi năm kiến thức ngành.
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.