Every morning, no matter how late he had been up…
Read the text aloud.
Every morning, no matter how late he had been up, my father rose at five-thirty, went to his study, wrote for a couple of hours, made us all breakfast, read the paper with my mother, and then went back to work for the rest of the morning. Many years passed before I realized that he did this for a living.
Opens question #010237 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Every morning,|no matter how late he had been up,|my father rose at five-thirty,‖went to his study,|wrote for a couple of hours,|made us all breakfast,‖read the paper with my mother,|and then went back to work for the rest of the morning.‖Many years passed before I realized|that he did this for a living.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Words to stress correctly
| realized | RE·al·ized | /ˈriəlaɪzd/ |
| before | be·FORE | /bɪˈfɔr/ |
60 words, aim for 23–27 seconds. No digits—five-thirty is already in words; say it as one unit. Breathe after five-thirty, breakfast, and morning. Keep the six past-tense verbs (rose, went, wrote, made, read, went) at a steady pace with short pauses at each comma.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress RE·al·ized on the first syllable and be·FORE on the second. Keep the -d in realized and passed, the -s in hours and years. read here is past tense—say /red/, not /reed/.
General tip: Irregular past forms are the trap—rose, wrote, read /red/—practise the verb chain once before you start.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 每天早晨，不管前一晚睡得多晚，我父亲都在五点半起床，走进书房写作几个小时，给我们全家做早餐，和我母亲一起看报纸，然后回去继续工作，直到上午结束。许多年过去了，我才意识到他是靠这个谋生的。
हिन्दी: हर सुबह, चाहे वह रात को कितनी भी देर से सोया हो, मेरे पिता साढ़े पाँच बजे उठते, अपने अध्ययन-कक्ष में जाते, कुछ घंटे लिखते, हम सबके लिए नाश्ता बनाते, मेरी माँ के साथ अख़बार पढ़ते, और फिर बाकी सुबह काम पर लौट जाते। कई साल बीत गए, तब मुझे एहसास हुआ कि वे यही काम रोज़ी-रोटी के लिए करते थे।
नेपाली: हरेक बिहान, राति जति ढिलो सुतेका भए पनि, मेरा बुबा साढे पाँच बजे उठ्नुहुन्थ्यो, आफ्नो अध्ययन कोठामा जानुहुन्थ्यो, दुई-तीन घण्टा लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो, हामी सबैलाई बिहानको खाजा बनाउनुहुन्थ्यो, मेरी आमासँग पत्रिका पढ्नुहुन्थ्यो, र त्यसपछि बाँकी बिहानभर फेरि काममा फर्कनुहुन्थ्यो। धेरै वर्षपछि मात्र मैले बुझें कि उहाँ जीविकाकै लागि यो गर्नुहुन्थ्यो।
Tiếng Việt: Mỗi sáng, dù đêm trước thức khuya đến đâu, cha tôi vẫn dậy lúc năm giờ rưỡi, vào phòng làm việc, viết vài giờ, làm bữa sáng cho cả nhà, đọc báo cùng mẹ tôi, rồi quay lại làm việc cho đến hết buổi sáng. Nhiều năm trôi qua tôi mới nhận ra rằng ông làm việc đó để kiếm sống.
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.