Read Aloud · Part 1: Speaking & Writing

The problem is, that increased immune vigilance has a side…

6 students marked "I sat this"Added 2 Sep 2022Question #010427
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Read the text aloud.

The problem is, that increased immune vigilance has a side effect: allergies. Our speculation is that this is some kind of trade-off. In the past you needed to resist some kind of pathogen, and the trade-off or sacrifice you have to make is increased responsiveness to nonpathogenic allergens. So next time some of you get the springtime sniffles, blame your distant ancestor-the one with the heavy brow ridge.

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Opens question #010427 in the RealPTE practice screen.

How to read it

The problem is,|that increased immune vigilance has a side effect: allergies.‖Our speculation is that this is some kind of trade-off.‖In the past you needed to resist some kind of pathogen,|and the trade-off or sacrifice you have to make‖is increased responsiveness to nonpathogenic allergens.‖So next time some of you get the springtime sniffles,|blame your distant ancestor-the one with the heavy brow ridge.

| short pause   ‖ breathe

Aim for 26–31 seconds.

Words to stress correctly

responsivenessre·SPON·sive·ness/rɪˈspɑnsɪvnəs/
speculationspec·u·LA·tion/spɛkjəˈleɪʃən/
increasedin·CREASED/ɪnˈkrist/
vigilanceVIG·i·lance/ˈvɪdʒələns/
allergiesAL·ler·gies/ˈælɚdʒiz/
sacrificeSAC·ri·fice/ˈsækrəfaɪs/

68 words, aim 26–31 seconds. No numbers. Breathe after allergies, after trade-off (second sentence), after make, and after allergens.

Where marks are usually lost

Stress in·CREASED on the second syllable both times, re·SPON·sive·ness on the second, spec·u·LA·tion on the third; VIG·i·lance, AL·ler·gies, SAC·ri·fice on the first. Keep the -s in allergies, allergens, sniffles and the -ed in increased, needed. Say ancestor-the as two words with a tiny pause.

General tip: after the colon, pause briefly and land allergies with a falling tone — it is the punchline of the sentence.

What it means: 中文 · हिन्दी · नेपाली · Tiếng Việt

中文: 问题在于,免疫警觉性的增强有一个副作用:过敏。我们的推测是,这是某种权衡。过去你需要抵抗某种病原体,而你必须付出的代价或牺牲,就是对非致病性过敏原反应增强。所以下次你们中有人春天打喷嚏流鼻涕时,就怪你那位眉骨厚重的远古祖先吧。

हिन्दी: समस्या यह है कि बढ़ी हुई प्रतिरक्षा सतर्कता का एक दुष्प्रभाव है: एलर्जी। हमारा अनुमान है कि यह किसी तरह का समझौता है। अतीत में आपको किसी रोगाणु से लड़ना था, और इसके बदले जो समझौता या बलिदान करना पड़ता है, वह है गैर-रोगजनक एलर्जन के प्रति बढ़ी हुई प्रतिक्रिया। तो अगली बार जब आपमें से किसी को वसंत में छींकें आएँ, तो अपने उस दूर के पूर्वज को दोष दें — जिसकी भौंहों की हड्डी भारी थी।

नेपाली: समस्या के हो भने, बढेको प्रतिरक्षा सतर्कताको एउटा साइड इफेक्ट छ: एलर्जी। हाम्रो अनुमान यो कुनै किसिमको सम्झौता हो भन्ने हो। विगतमा तपाईंले कुनै रोगाणुसँग लड्नुपर्थ्यो, र त्यसको बदलामा गर्नुपर्ने सम्झौता वा त्याग भनेको रोग नगराउने एलर्जेनप्रति बढेको प्रतिक्रिया हो। त्यसैले अर्को पटक तपाईंहरूमध्ये कसैलाई वसन्तमा हाछ्युँ र रुघा लाग्दा, आफ्नो त्यो टाढाको पुर्खालाई दोष दिनुहोस् — जसको आँखीभौंको हड्डी मोटो थियो।

Tiếng Việt: Vấn đề là, sự cảnh giác miễn dịch tăng lên có một tác dụng phụ: dị ứng. Chúng tôi phỏng đoán đây là một kiểu đánh đổi. Trong quá khứ bạn cần chống lại một loại mầm bệnh nào đó, và cái giá hay sự hy sinh phải trả là phản ứng tăng lên với các chất gây dị ứng không gây bệnh. Vậy lần tới khi ai đó trong các bạn bị sụt sịt mùa xuân, hãy đổ lỗi cho tổ tiên xa xưa của mình — người có gờ lông mày dày.

More Read Aloud questions

Read Aloud format (Pearson)

PromptText up to 60 words
Preparation30–40 seconds
Time to answerDepends on the length of the text
Skills assessedSpeaking
Scored onContent; 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.