Efficiency is not your friend when it comes to cognitive…
Read the text aloud.
Efficiency is not your friend when it comes to cognitive growth. In order to keep our brains making new connections and keep them active, you need to keep moving on to another challenging activity as soon as you reach the point of mastery in the one you were engaging in.
Pause plan and hard words
Pause plan (/ short pause, // longer pause)
Efficiency is not your friend / when it comes to cognitive growth. // In order to keep our brains making new connections / and keep them active, / you need to keep moving on to another challenging activity / as soon as you reach the point of mastery / in the one you were engaging in.
50 words. Breathe at the first full stop and again after the comma following 'active'. There are no numbers to read.
Words to practise
| Word | Stress |
|---|---|
| efficiency | ef·FI·cien·cy |
| cognitive | COG·ni·tive |
| connections | con·NEC·tions |
| challenging | CHAL·leng·ing |
| activity | ac·TIV·i·ty |
| mastery | MAS·ter·y |
RealPTE numbers
- 6 students practised this question on RealPTE
From RealPTE practice records and students’ “I sat this” reports, counted weekly (last count 2026-10-21). Reports are what students tell us; predictions are not guaranteed.
Questions about this question
What is the answer to PTE Read Aloud #731003?
Read it in sense groups: pause briefly at the single slashes and a little longer at the double slashes in the plan above. Practise efficiency, cognitive, connections, challenging first.
How do I get full marks on this Read Aloud question?
Read every word as written, pause at the sense-group boundaries and stress the right syllables. Content counts the words you read correctly; fluency and pronunciation are scored too.
Can I practise #731003 with scoring?
Yes. The practice button on this page opens question #731003 in the RealPTE practice screen, where your answer is scored when you finish.
Opens question #731003 in the RealPTE practice screen.
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.