The numbers on US student debt, after all, are truly…
Read the text aloud.
The numbers on US student debt, after all, are truly staggering. The average 2015 US university graduate who took out loans to help pay for tuition enters the workforce with $35,000 in student debt. In the US, total student debt exceeds $1.15 trillion - dwarfing, for instance, the nation's credit card debt.
Opens question #010044 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
The numbers on US student debt,|after all,|are truly staggering.‖The average 2015 US university graduate|who took out loans to help pay for tuition‖enters the workforce with $35,000 in student debt.‖In the US, total student debt exceeds $1.15 trillion - dwarfing,|for instance,|the nation's credit card debt.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Words to stress correctly
| university | u·ni·VER·si·ty | /junəˈvɝsəti/ |
| tuition | tu·I·tion | /tjuˈɪʃən/ |
| staggering | STAG·ger·ing | /ˈstæɡɚɪŋ/ |
| graduate | GRAD·u·ate | /ˈɡrædʒəwət/ |
| average | AV·er·age | /ˈævɚɪdʒ/ |
| exceeds | ex·CEEDS | /ɪkˈsidz/ |
52 words, aim for 20–24 seconds. Say 2015 as "twenty fifteen", $35,000 as "thirty-five thousand dollars", $1.15 trillion as "one point one five trillion dollars". Breathe after staggering, after tuition, and after debt (before "In the US").
Where marks are usually lost
Stress u·ni·VER·si·ty and tu·I·tion on the middle, not the first syllable; STAG·ger·ing, GRAD·u·ate and AV·er·age start strong. Do not pause before $35,000 or $1.15 trillion; read the dollar sign last. Keep the final sounds in numbers, loans, enters, exceeds, nation's.
General tip: Rehearse the three numbers aloud before you start; most fluency breaks here come from decoding money figures mid-sentence.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 毕竟，美国学生债务的数字确实令人震惊。2015 年美国大学毕业生中，那些为支付学费而贷款的人，平均背着 35,000 美元的学生债务进入职场。在美国，学生债务总额超过 1.15 万亿美元——例如，远远超过了全国的信用卡债务。
हिन्दी: आख़िरकार, अमेरिकी छात्र-ऋण के आँकड़े सचमुच चौंकाने वाले हैं। 2015 का औसत अमेरिकी विश्वविद्यालय स्नातक, जिसने ट्यूशन चुकाने के लिए ऋण लिया, 35,000 डॉलर के छात्र-ऋण के साथ कार्यबल में प्रवेश करता है। अमेरिका में कुल छात्र-ऋण 1.15 ट्रिलियन डॉलर से अधिक है — जो, उदाहरण के लिए, देश के क्रेडिट कार्ड ऋण को बहुत छोटा दिखाता है।
नेपाली: आखिर, अमेरिकी विद्यार्थी ऋणका अंकहरू साँच्चै चकित पार्ने खालका छन्। सन् 2015 मा शुल्क तिर्न ऋण लिएका औसत अमेरिकी विश्वविद्यालय स्नातक 35,000 डलर विद्यार्थी ऋण बोकेर रोजगार बजारमा प्रवेश गर्छन्। अमेरिकामा कुल विद्यार्थी ऋण 1.15 ट्रिलियन डलरभन्दा बढी छ — जसले, उदाहरणका लागि, देशको क्रेडिट कार्ड ऋणलाई निकै छोटो देखाउँछ।
Tiếng Việt: Suy cho cùng, các con số về nợ sinh viên ở Mỹ thực sự gây choáng. Sinh viên tốt nghiệp đại học Mỹ trung bình năm 2015 từng vay tiền để trả học phí bước vào thị trường lao động với 35.000 đô la nợ sinh viên. Tại Mỹ, tổng nợ sinh viên vượt 1,15 nghìn tỷ đô la — chẳng hạn, vượt xa nợ thẻ tín dụng của cả nước.
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.