Fractional reserve banking is a banking system in which banks…
Read the text aloud.
Fractional reserve banking is a banking system in which banks only hold a fraction of the money their customers’deposit as reserves. This allows them to use the rest of it to make loans and thereby essentially create new money. This gives commercial banks the power to directly affect the money supply.
Opens question #010240 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
Fractional reserve banking is a banking system|in which banks only hold a fraction of the money|their customers deposit as reserves.‖This allows them to use the rest of it to make loans|and thereby essentially create new money.‖This gives commercial banks the power|to directly affect the money supply.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 20–24 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| essentially | es·SEN·tial·ly | /ɛˈsɛnʃəli/ |
| commercial | com·MER·cial | /kəˈmɝʃəl/ |
| directly | di·RECT·ly | /dɚˈɛktli/ |
| deposit | de·POS·it | /dəˈpɑzɪt/ |
| fractional | FRAC·tion·al | /ˈfrækʃənəl/ |
| customers | CUS·tom·ers | /ˈkʌstəmɚz/ |
52 words, aim 20–24 seconds. No numbers. Breathe after reserves and new money.
Where marks are usually lost
Stress FRAC·tion·al and CUS·tom·ers on the first syllable; de·POS·it, es·SEN·tial·ly, com·MER·cial, di·RECT·ly on the second. Keep the final -s on banks, customers, reserves, allows, loans, gives. Don't stall on thereby essentially—link the two words smoothly.
General tip: banking appears twice in the first sentence; say both naturally without adding extra emphasis to the second one.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 部分准备金银行制度是一种银行体系，在该体系中，银行只把客户存款的一部分作为准备金持有。这使它们能够用其余的资金发放贷款，从而实质上创造出新的货币。这赋予了商业银行直接影响货币供应量的权力。
हिन्दी: आंशिक आरक्षित बैंकिंग एक ऐसी बैंकिंग प्रणाली है जिसमें बैंक अपने ग्राहकों द्वारा जमा किए गए धन का केवल एक अंश ही आरक्षित निधि के रूप में रखते हैं। इससे वे बाकी धन का उपयोग ऋण देने में कर पाते हैं और इस तरह वास्तव में नया धन सृजित करते हैं। इससे वाणिज्यिक बैंकों को मुद्रा आपूर्ति को सीधे प्रभावित करने की शक्ति मिलती है।
नेपाली: आंशिक रिजर्भ बैंकिङ त्यस्तो बैंकिङ प्रणाली हो जसमा बैंकहरूले आफ्ना ग्राहकहरूले जम्मा गरेको रकमको एक अंश मात्र रिजर्भका रूपमा राख्छन्। यसले उनीहरूलाई बाँकी रकम ऋण दिन प्रयोग गर्न दिन्छ र यसरी वास्तवमा नयाँ पैसा सिर्जना गर्छ। यसले वाणिज्य बैंकहरूलाई मुद्रा आपूर्तिमा प्रत्यक्ष प्रभाव पार्ने शक्ति दिन्छ।
Tiếng Việt: Ngân hàng dự trữ một phần là hệ thống ngân hàng trong đó các ngân hàng chỉ giữ lại một phần số tiền khách hàng gửi làm dự trữ. Điều này cho phép họ dùng phần còn lại để cho vay và qua đó về cơ bản tạo ra tiền mới. Điều này trao cho các ngân hàng thương mại quyền tác động trực tiếp đến cung tiền.
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.