As a child, you might dream one day of becoming…
Read the text aloud.
As a child, you might dream one day of becoming an astronaut and, the next day, of becoming a ballet dancer — the possibilities are endless. Eventually, this wealth of choice is whittled down by external circumstances and internal interests. Similarly, precursor cells in early embryos make a series of stepwise ‘decisions’ governed by external forces and internal factors to generate the diverse array of cell types present in adult organisms.
Opens question #010342 in the RealPTE practice screen.
How to read it
As a child,|you might dream one day of becoming an astronaut|and, the next day,|of becoming a ballet dancer —‖the possibilities are endless.‖Eventually,|this wealth of choice is whittled down|by external circumstances and internal interests.‖Similarly,|precursor cells in early embryos|make a series of stepwise ‘decisions’‖governed by external forces and internal factors|to generate the diverse array of cell types|present in adult organisms.
| short pause ‖ breathe
Aim for 27–32 seconds.
Words to stress correctly
| possibilities | pos·si·BIL·i·ties | /pɑsəˈbɪlətiz/ |
| eventually | e·VEN·tu·al·ly | /ɪˈvɛntʃəwəli/ |
| circumstances | CIR·cum·stan·ces | /ˈsɝkəmstænsəz/ |
| similarly | SIM·i·lar·ly | /ˈsɪməlɚli/ |
| precursor | pre·CUR·sor | /priˈkɝsɚ/ |
| decisions | de·CI·sions | /dɪˈsɪʒənz/ |
71 words in 27–32 seconds, a steady pace with no numbers. Breathe after dancer —, endless., interests. and ‘decisions’; take short pauses at the commas and before the dash.
Where marks are usually lost
Front stress on CIR·cum·stan·ces and SIM·i·lar·ly; mid stress on pos·si·BIL·i·ties and pre·CUR·sor. Hesitating at the dash before the possibilities or at the quoted ‘decisions’. Dropping endings in possibilities, interests, embryos, whittled, governed, organisms.
General tip: Treat the dash and the quote marks as short pauses, not full stops — keep the voice moving and let it fall only at the full stops.
What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt
中文: 小时候，你可能某天梦想成为宇航员，第二天又梦想成为芭蕾舞者——可能性是无穷的。最终，这种丰富的选择会被外部环境和内在兴趣逐渐削减。同样，早期胚胎中的前体细胞在外部力量和内部因素的支配下做出一系列逐步的“决定”，从而生成成年生物体中多种多样的细胞类型。
हिन्दी: बचपन में आप एक दिन अंतरिक्ष यात्री बनने का सपना देख सकते हैं और अगले दिन बैले डांसर बनने का — संभावनाएँ अनंत हैं। अंततः, विकल्पों की यह प्रचुरता बाहरी परिस्थितियों और आंतरिक रुचियों से छँटकर कम हो जाती है। इसी तरह, प्रारंभिक भ्रूणों में पूर्ववर्ती कोशिकाएँ बाहरी बलों और आंतरिक कारकों से संचालित क्रमिक 'निर्णयों' की एक श्रृंखला लेती हैं, ताकि वयस्क जीवों में मौजूद विविध प्रकार की कोशिकाएँ बन सकें।
नेपाली: बाल्यकालमा तिमी एक दिन अन्तरिक्षयात्री बन्ने र भोलिपल्ट ब्याले नर्तक बन्ने सपना देख्न सक्छौ — सम्भावनाहरू असीमित छन्। अन्ततः छनोटको यो प्रचुरता बाह्य परिस्थिति र आन्तरिक रुचिहरूले काटेर घटाइदिन्छ। त्यसैगरी, प्रारम्भिक भ्रूणका पूर्ववर्ती कोशिकाहरू बाह्य शक्ति र आन्तरिक कारकहरूद्वारा निर्देशित क्रमबद्ध 'निर्णयहरू' को शृङ्खला गर्छन्, जसले वयस्क जीवमा हुने विविध प्रकारका कोशिकाहरू उत्पन्न गर्छ।
Tiếng Việt: Khi còn nhỏ, có thể một ngày bạn mơ trở thành phi hành gia và ngày hôm sau lại mơ trở thành vũ công ba lê — khả năng là vô tận. Cuối cùng, sự phong phú về lựa chọn này bị thu hẹp dần bởi hoàn cảnh bên ngoài và sở thích bên trong. Tương tự, các tế bào tiền thân trong phôi giai đoạn sớm đưa ra một loạt “quyết định” từng bước, chịu sự chi phối của các lực bên ngoài và các yếu tố bên trong, để tạo ra mảng đa dạng các loại tế bào có trong cơ thể trưởng thành.
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.