Your body’s composed of trillions of cells - lots of…
Read the text aloud.
Your body’s composed of trillions of cells - lots of different types of cells that make up different organs and other parts of your body. Your body is also where 10 times that number of bacteria call ‘home sweet home.’ But don’t be afraid - these bacteria do more good than harm to you. And besides, just in case you wanted to strike up a conversation with your tenants, you and your bacteria do have a few things in common.
Opens question #010109 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Your body’s composed of trillions of cells|- lots of different types of cells|that make up different organs|and other parts of your body.‖Your body is also where 10 times that number of bacteria|call ‘home sweet home.’‖But don’t be afraid|- these bacteria do more good than harm to you.‖And besides,|just in case you wanted to strike up a conversation with your tenants,‖you and your bacteria do have a few things in common.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Words to stress correctly
| conversation | con·ver·SA·tion | /kɑnvɚˈseɪʃən/ |
| bacteria | bac·TE·ri·a | /bækˈtɪriə/ |
| different | DIF·fer·ent | /ˈdɪfɚənt/ |
| composed | com·POSED | /kəmˈpoʊzd/ |
| besides | be·SIDES | /bɪˈsaɪdz/ |
| afraid | a·FRAID | /əˈfreɪd/ |
80 words, aim for 31–36 seconds. Say 10 as "ten". Breathe after body, home.’, you and tenants; take only a short pause at each dash.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress the second syllable in com·POSED, a·FRAID and be·SIDES, and the second in bac·TE·ri·a. Keep the endings: trillions, cells, organs, parts, tenants, things. Do not stop before conversation.
General tip: the two dashes are rhetorical asides; keep the voice flowing through them rather than dropping to a full stop.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 你的身体由数万亿个细胞组成——许多不同类型的细胞构成不同的器官和身体的其他部分。你的身体也是十倍于此数量的细菌称之为“甜蜜之家”的地方。但不必害怕——这些细菌对你利大于弊。此外，万一你想和你的“房客”聊上几句，你和你的细菌确实有一些共同之处。
हिन्दी: आपका शरीर खरबों कोशिकाओं से बना है - कई अलग-अलग प्रकार की कोशिकाएँ जो अलग-अलग अंग और शरीर के अन्य भाग बनाती हैं। आपका शरीर वह जगह भी है जहाँ उससे 10 गुना अधिक बैक्टीरिया इसे ‘अपना प्यारा घर’ कहते हैं। लेकिन डरिए मत - ये बैक्टीरिया आपको हानि से ज़्यादा लाभ देते हैं। और इसके अलावा, अगर आप अपने किरायेदारों से बातचीत शुरू करना चाहें, तो आपमें और आपके बैक्टीरिया में कुछ बातें समान हैं।
नेपाली: तपाईंको शरीर खर्बौं कोषहरूले बनेको छ - धेरै फरक प्रकारका कोषहरू जसले फरक अंगहरू र शरीरका अन्य भागहरू बनाउँछन्। तपाईंको शरीर त्यो ठाउँ पनि हो जहाँ त्यसको १० गुणा बढी ब्याक्टेरियाले यसलाई ‘प्यारो घर’ भन्छन्। तर नडराउनुहोस् - यी ब्याक्टेरियाले तपाईंलाई हानिभन्दा बढी फाइदा गर्छन्। अनि साथै, यदि तपाईं आफ्ना भाडावालहरूसँग कुराकानी गर्न चाहनुभयो भने, तपाईं र तपाईंका ब्याक्टेरियाबीच केही कुरा साझा छन्।
Tiếng Việt: Cơ thể bạn được cấu tạo từ hàng nghìn tỷ tế bào - rất nhiều loại tế bào khác nhau tạo nên các cơ quan khác nhau và các bộ phận khác của cơ thể. Cơ thể bạn cũng là nơi mà số vi khuẩn gấp 10 lần con số đó gọi là ‘tổ ấm’. Nhưng đừng sợ - những vi khuẩn này mang lại cho bạn nhiều lợi hơn hại. Và hơn nữa, nếu bạn muốn bắt chuyện với những ‘người thuê nhà’ này, bạn và vi khuẩn của bạn thực ra có vài điểm chung.
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.