There are perhaps three ways of looking at furniture: some…
Read the text aloud.
There are perhaps three ways of looking at furniture: some people see it as purely functional and useful, and don’t bother themselves with aesthetics; others see it as essential to civilized living and concern themselves with design and how the furniture will look in a room - in other words, function combined with aesthetics; and yet others see furniture as a form of art.
Opens question #010076 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
There are perhaps three ways of looking at furniture:|some people see it as purely functional and useful,‖and don’t bother themselves with aesthetics;‖others see it as essential to civilized living|and concern themselves with design|and how the furniture will look in a room -‖in other words,|function combined with aesthetics;‖and yet others see furniture as a form of art.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 25–29 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| aesthetics | aes·THET·ics | /ɛsˈθɛtɪks/ |
| essential | es·SEN·tial | /ɛˈsɛnʃəl/ |
| functional | FUNC·tion·al | /ˈfʌŋkʃənəl/ |
| themselves | them·SELVES | /ðɛmˈsɛlvz/ |
| furniture | FUR·ni·ture | /ˈfɝnɪtʃɚ/ |
| civilized | CIV·i·lized | /ˈsɪvəlaɪzd/ |
64 words in 25–29 seconds. No numbers; "three" is already a word. One long sentence split by semicolons, so breathe after useful, aesthetics (first), room - and aesthetics (second), with short pauses at the colon and commas.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress: aes·THET·ics, es·SEN·tial, them·SELVES, not the first syllable; FUNC·tion·al, FUR·ni·ture, CIV·i·lized start strong. Hesitating before aesthetics both times. Dropping endings in ways, others, civilized, combined.
General tip: the semicolons mark three equal options; let your voice fall slightly at each one so the listener hears the list structure rather than one breathless run.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 看待家具大概有三种方式：有些人认为它纯粹是功能性的、实用的，不去操心美感；另一些人认为它是文明生活的必需品，关心设计以及家具在房间里的效果——换句话说，功能与美感相结合；还有一些人则把家具看作一种艺术形式。
हिन्दी: फ़र्नीचर को देखने के शायद तीन तरीके हैं: कुछ लोग इसे केवल कार्यात्मक और उपयोगी मानते हैं और सौंदर्य की परवाह नहीं करते; कुछ इसे सभ्य जीवन के लिए आवश्यक मानते हैं और डिज़ाइन तथा कमरे में फ़र्नीचर कैसा दिखेगा, इसकी चिंता करते हैं — दूसरे शब्दों में, कार्य और सौंदर्य का मेल; और कुछ अन्य फ़र्नीचर को कला का एक रूप मानते हैं।
नेपाली: फर्निचरलाई हेर्ने सायद तीन तरिका छन्: कोही यसलाई केवल उपयोगी र काम लाग्ने वस्तु ठान्छन् र सौन्दर्यको वास्ता गर्दैनन्; कोही यसलाई सभ्य जीवनका लागि अत्यावश्यक ठान्छन् र डिजाइन तथा कोठामा फर्निचर कस्तो देखिन्छ भन्नेमा ध्यान दिन्छन् — अर्को शब्दमा, उपयोगिता र सौन्दर्यको संयोजन; र अरू कोही फर्निचरलाई कलाको एक रूप मान्छन्।
Tiếng Việt: Có lẽ có ba cách nhìn về đồ nội thất: một số người xem nó thuần túy là thứ có công năng và hữu ích, không bận tâm đến thẩm mỹ; những người khác xem nó là thiết yếu cho cuộc sống văn minh và quan tâm đến thiết kế cũng như đồ nội thất sẽ trông thế nào trong phòng — nói cách khác, công năng kết hợp với thẩm mỹ; và còn những người khác xem đồ nội thất là một hình thức nghệ thuật.
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.