Unions take the power out of the employer's hands on…
Read the text aloud.
Unions take the power out of the employer's hands on many issues. There are examples of cases where workers were engaging in sexual or racial harassment, but were protected by their unions and allowed to keep their jobs. Poor workers and excellent workers often receive the same pay and raises, giving no reason for a person to work harder than necessary at their job.
Opens question #010094 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Unions take the power out of the employer's hands on many issues.‖There are examples of cases|where workers were engaging in sexual or racial harassment,‖but were protected by their unions|and allowed to keep their jobs.‖Poor workers and excellent workers often receive the same pay and raises,‖giving no reason for a person to work harder than necessary at their job.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 25–29 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| employer's | em·PLOY·er's | /ɛmˈplɔɪɚz/ |
| harassment | ha·RASS·ment | /hɚˈæsmənt/ |
| protected | pro·TECT·ed | /prəˈtɛktɪd/ |
| necessary | NEC·es·sar·y | /ˈnɛsəsɛri/ |
| examples | ex·AM·ples | /ɪɡˈzæmpəlz/ |
| engaging | en·GAG·ing | /ɛnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/ |
64 words, aim 25–29 seconds. No numbers. Breathe after issues, harassment, jobs and raises; short pauses after cases and unions.
Where marks are usually lost
em·PLOY·er's, ha·RASS·ment, pro·TECT·ed, ex·AM·ples and en·GAG·ing are all stressed on the second syllable; NEC·es·sar·y on the first, four syllables. Plurals everywhere: Unions, hands, issues, examples, cases, workers, jobs, raises — drop one and it counts as a wrong word. Don't hesitate before harassment.
General tip: Poor workers and excellent workers is a contrast — put a little extra weight on Poor and excellent.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 在许多问题上，工会把权力从雇主手中拿走。有案例表明，一些工人实施性骚扰或种族骚扰，却受到工会保护并得以保住工作。表现差的工人和优秀的工人往往拿同样的工资和加薪，使人没有理由在工作中付出超出必要的努力。
हिन्दी: कई मुद्दों पर यूनियनें मालिक के हाथ से ताक़त छीन लेती हैं। ऐसे मामलों के उदाहरण हैं जहाँ कर्मचारी यौन या नस्लीय उत्पीड़न कर रहे थे, लेकिन उनकी यूनियनों ने उन्हें बचाया और नौकरी बनाए रखने दी। खराब कर्मचारी और उत्कृष्ट कर्मचारी अक्सर एक जैसा वेतन और वेतन-वृद्धि पाते हैं, जिससे किसी को अपने काम में ज़रूरत से ज़्यादा मेहनत करने की कोई वजह नहीं रहती।
नेपाली: धेरै विषयमा युनियनहरूले रोजगारदाताको हातबाट शक्ति खोस्छन्। यस्ता घटनाका उदाहरण छन् जहाँ कामदारहरू यौन वा जातीय दुर्व्यवहारमा संलग्न थिए, तर युनियनले उनीहरूलाई जोगायो र जागिर राख्न दियो। कमजोर कामदार र उत्कृष्ट कामदारले प्रायः उही तलब र वृद्धि पाउँछन्, जसले गर्दा कसैले आफ्नो काममा आवश्यकभन्दा बढी मेहनत गर्ने कुनै कारण रहँदैन।
Tiếng Việt: Công đoàn lấy đi quyền lực khỏi tay người sử dụng lao động trong nhiều vấn đề. Có những ví dụ về các trường hợp công nhân quấy rối tình dục hoặc phân biệt chủng tộc nhưng vẫn được công đoàn bảo vệ và cho phép giữ việc. Công nhân kém và công nhân xuất sắc thường nhận cùng mức lương và mức tăng lương, khiến người ta không có lý do gì để làm việc chăm chỉ hơn mức cần thiết.
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.