You used to think that being green was a luxury…
Read the text aloud.
You used to think that being green was a luxury for your company, but climate change has made you realize that you can no longer ignore it. The buzz is about becoming carbon-neutral, but where do you start? Consider your drivers. Do you want to become carbon-neutral for marketing reasons, for financial reasons or to help save the planet?
Opens question #010232 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
You used to think that being green was a luxury for your company,‖but climate change has made you realize|that you can no longer ignore it.‖The buzz is about becoming carbon-neutral,|but where do you start?‖Consider your drivers.|Do you want to become carbon-neutral for marketing reasons,‖for financial reasons|or to help save the planet?
| short pause ‖ breathe
Words to stress correctly
| financial | fi·NAN·cial | /fəˈnænʃəl/ |
| becoming | be·COM·ing | /bɪˈkʌmɪŋ/ |
| consider | con·SID·er | /kənˈsɪdɚ/ |
| marketing | MAR·ket·ing | /ˈmɑrkətɪŋ/ |
| company | COM·pa·ny | /ˈkʌmpəni/ |
| realize | RE·al·ize | /ˈriəlaɪz/ |
59 words, aim for 23–27 seconds. No numbers. Breathe after company, ignore it. start? and marketing reasons,. Let the voice rise on where do you start? and fall on the final planet? (a choice question).
Where marks are usually lost
Stress fi·NAN·cial, be·COM·ing, con·SID·er on the second syllable but MAR·ket·ing, COM·pa·ny, RE·al·ize on the first. Keep the -s in reasons, drivers and the -d in used. Say carbon-neutral smoothly both times, no pause at the hyphen.
General tip: Consider your drivers. is a short command—say it firmly and pause, don't rush into the next question.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 你过去认为环保对你的公司来说是一种奢侈，但气候变化让你意识到，你再也不能忽视它了。现在的热门话题是实现碳中和，但该从哪里开始呢？考虑一下你的驱动因素。你想实现碳中和，是出于营销原因、财务原因，还是为了帮助拯救地球？
हिन्दी: आप पहले सोचते थे कि पर्यावरण-हितैषी होना आपकी कंपनी के लिए एक विलासिता है, लेकिन जलवायु परिवर्तन ने आपको एहसास दिलाया है कि अब आप इसे नज़रअंदाज़ नहीं कर सकते। चर्चा कार्बन-न्यूट्रल बनने की है, पर शुरुआत कहाँ से करें? अपने प्रेरक कारणों पर विचार करें। क्या आप मार्केटिंग के कारणों से, वित्तीय कारणों से, या ग्रह को बचाने में मदद के लिए कार्बन-न्यूट्रल बनना चाहते हैं?
नेपाली: तपाईं पहिले सोच्नुहुन्थ्यो कि वातावरणमैत्री हुनु तपाईंको कम्पनीका लागि विलासिता हो, तर जलवायु परिवर्तनले तपाईंलाई अब यसलाई बेवास्ता गर्न नसकिने महसुस गराएको छ। चर्चा कार्बन-न्युट्रल बन्ने बारे छ, तर सुरु कहाँबाट गर्ने? आफ्ना प्रेरक कारणहरू विचार गर्नुहोस्। के तपाईं मार्केटिङ कारणले, आर्थिक कारणले, वा पृथ्वी बचाउन मद्दत गर्न कार्बन-न्युट्रल बन्न चाहनुहुन्छ?
Tiếng Việt: Bạn từng nghĩ rằng sống xanh là một thứ xa xỉ đối với công ty mình, nhưng biến đổi khí hậu đã khiến bạn nhận ra rằng bạn không thể phớt lờ nó nữa. Mọi người đang bàn tán về việc trung hòa carbon, nhưng bắt đầu từ đâu? Hãy cân nhắc các động lực của bạn. Bạn muốn trung hòa carbon vì lý do tiếp thị, lý do tài chính hay để góp phần cứu hành tinh?
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.