They controlled for the birds’ age, sex, body size and…
Read the text aloud.
They controlled for the birds’ age, sex, body size and species. And they found that the hunted specimen’s brains were actually five percent smaller, on average, than the brains of birds that died by other means. “The surprising thing is that, if you make a smaller kind of analysis of liver or heart size, there is absolutely no difference there. So this is specific to the brain. ”
Opens question #010065 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
They controlled for the birds’ age,|sex,|body size and species.‖And they found that the hunted specimen’s brains|were actually five percent smaller,|on average,‖than the brains of birds that died by other means.‖“The surprising thing is that,|if you make a smaller kind of analysis|of liver or heart size,‖there is absolutely no difference there.|So this is specific to the brain. ”
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 26–31 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| absolutely | ab·so·LUTE·ly | /æbsəˈlutli/ |
| analysis | a·NAL·y·sis | /əˈnæləsəs/ |
| surprising | sur·PRIS·ing | /sɚˈpraɪzɪŋ/ |
| actually | AC·tu·al·ly | /ˈæktʃuəli/ |
| specific | spe·CIF·ic | /spəˈsɪfɪk/ |
| controlled | con·TROLLED | /kənˈtroʊld/ |
68 words, aim 26–31 seconds. The only number is already in words: five percent. Breathe after species, after average, after means and after size.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress a·NAL·y·sis, ab·so·LUTE·ly, spe·CIF·ic, sur·PRIS·ing, con·TROLLED; AC·tu·al·ly is front-stressed. Keep -ed in controlled, hunted, died and the /z/ in birds', brains, means. Don't stop before liver or heart size.
General tip: Read the list 'age, sex, body size and species' with a rise on each item and a fall on species; keep 'on average' as a quick aside.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 他们控制了鸟的年龄、性别、体型和物种等变量。结果发现，被猎杀的标本其大脑平均比因其他原因死亡的鸟类小百分之五。“令人惊讶的是，如果你对肝脏或心脏大小做一个较小规模的分析，那里完全没有差异。所以这是大脑特有的现象。”
हिन्दी: उन्होंने पक्षियों की उम्र, लिंग, शरीर के आकार और प्रजाति को नियंत्रित किया। और उन्होंने पाया कि शिकार किए गए नमूनों के दिमाग़ औसतन पाँच प्रतिशत छोटे थे, उन पक्षियों के दिमाग़ की तुलना में जो दूसरे कारणों से मरे। "हैरानी की बात यह है कि अगर आप जिगर या दिल के आकार का छोटा विश्लेषण करें, तो वहाँ बिल्कुल कोई अंतर नहीं है। तो यह दिमाग़ के लिए ही विशिष्ट है।"
नेपाली: उनीहरूले चराहरूको उमेर, लिङ्ग, शरीरको आकार र प्रजातिलाई नियन्त्रण गरे। अनि उनीहरूले पत्ता लगाए कि सिकार गरिएका नमुनाहरूको मस्तिष्क अरू कारणले मरेका चराहरूको मस्तिष्कभन्दा औसतमा पाँच प्रतिशत सानो थियो। "अचम्मको कुरा के हो भने, यदि तपाईंले कलेजो वा मुटुको आकारको सानो विश्लेषण गर्नुभयो भने, त्यहाँ कुनै फरक छैन। त्यसैले यो मस्तिष्कसँग मात्र सम्बन्धित छ।"
Tiếng Việt: Họ đã kiểm soát các yếu tố tuổi, giới tính, kích thước cơ thể và loài của chim. Và họ phát hiện não của những mẫu vật bị săn bắn trung bình nhỏ hơn năm phần trăm so với não của những con chim chết vì nguyên nhân khác. "Điều đáng ngạc nhiên là, nếu bạn làm một phân tích nhỏ hơn về kích thước gan hay tim thì hoàn toàn không có sự khác biệt. Vậy nên điều này chỉ đặc trưng cho não."
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.