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To improve your Read aloud section in PTE Academic Exams , you need to listen and record to yourself 🙂
1- ” Your Own Book Shop for a Week- Read, listen and learn a little English! “
Have you ever dreamed of running a bookshop? You can have a go for a week at the Open Book Store in Wigton, Scotland. In fact, if you book a holiday at the self-catering flat on Airbnb, you also have to work for 40 hours in the bookshop downstairs. A week in the flat costs £150. You won’t get paid for working, but you can use your own creative ideas to sell books and gain valuable experience. Wigton is Scotland’s national book town and this new venture is attracting interest from all over the world.
Study the words
running– managing
have a go– try
gain– obtain
self-catering flat– a holiday apartment with a kitchen
venture– project
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2- ” Spend an Evening in Prison- Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
Few people would choose a prison as the location for a special evening out. However, Italy has launched its first restaurant to be located in a real jail. At the Ingalera Restaurant in Bollate prison, Milan, there are four prisoners working as waiters and five others cooking in the kitchen, headed by a professional chef and a maître. It is a ground-breaking project, which allows prisoners to be gradually included into society. The reataurant has had great reviews: everyone says the food is worth going to prison for.
Study the words
Few– not many
Lauched– started
Jail– prison
Waiters– people who serve in a restaurant
Headed– led
ground-breaking– innovative
gradually– slowly
reviews– evaluations by customers
worth going to prison for– so good that you don’t mind going to prison
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3- ” Female Elephants Need their Grannies- Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
Grannies are very important for female elephants. A Behavioural Psychologist at the University of Stirling has been studying elephant herds in Kenya for decades. Her studies have found that the survival of female elephants and their success at reproducing is helped not only by having a mum but also by having a grandma. Female elephants support each other and protect and care for calves as a group and the grandmothers play an important role. Elephants and girls should never forget their gran.
Have a conversation:
What do you know about elephants?
Do you think grandmothers are important for girls? Why?
Study the words
grannies– grandmothers (informal)
female– girls/women (not male)
herds– groups of animals
decade– ten years
reproducing– giving birth
calves– baby elephants
gran– grandmother
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4- ” Leo Has Won at Last – Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
Leonardo DiCaprio has finally won his first Oscar after six nominations. DiCaprio received a standing ovation as he picked up the award for his role in The Revenant. He said the film was “about man’s relationship to the natural world”. He used the opportunity to raise awareness about climate change, a subject he is passionate about. “Climate change is real – it is happening right now,” said DiCaprio. “It is the most urgent threat facing our species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.” He added: “Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.”
It is 22 years since he was first nominated for an Academy Award, as best supporting actor for the movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
Have a conversation:
– Which Leonardo Dicaprio movies have you seen?
– Which was your favourite?
– What do you know about Leonardo Dicaprio?
– What do you think about climate change?
Study the words
Picked up– collected
Raise awareness– inform people
Threat– danger
Take for granted– fail to appreciate
Supporting actor– actor not in the leading role
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5- ” Be Happy with Less Stuff – Read, listen and learn a little English! “
A recent survey by the National Association of Professional Organizers reveals that 54% of Americans feel overwhelmed by clutter and 78% have no idea what to do with it. According to psychologists, people accumulate things because they are unhappy but having too many posessions brings stress and more unhappiness. Minimalists say you can live better if you focus only on what’s really important and get rid of your excess stuff. You can donate things you don’t need to charity. Minimalism is not new. Some of the ancient Greek philosophers were advocates, as were Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy. There may be more joy in owning less than in constantly accumulating more.
Do you have too much clutter?
Would you like to get rid of it?
Study the words
Reveals– shows
Overwhelmed– inundated (when there is too much of something)
Clutter– a lot of useless objects
Accumulate– collect
Get rid of– give or throw away
Stuff– things
Donate– give away for free
Advocates– supporters
Joy– happiness
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6- ” Mess Makes You More Creative – Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
According to Kathleen Vohs, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota, working in a messy space can boost creativity. In an experiment, she put 48 people into messy or tidy rooms, and asked them think of new uses for Ping-Pong balls. The people in both rooms came up with about the same number of ideas, but, the messy room subjects came up with more highly creative ideas; five times more to be precise. So, do you need to make your workplace messier? Maybe not! When interviewed by Inc. Vohs agreed that a messy room may be best for brainstorming, but an orderly setting might be better for a fast meeting where a quick decision is required.
What’s your way to stay creative?
Study the words
Messy– untidy
Boost– increase
Came up with– invented, thought of
To be precise– exactly
Messier– more untidy
Orderly setting– tidy space
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7- ” A Coffee, Please! – Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
If you visit a café and the staff are rude you can choose not to go back, but what happens when it’s the customers who are impolite? A French Café has decided to reward polite customers and punish rude ones by implementing some unusual coffee price variations. According to the menu board, ‘a coffee’ costs €7 while ‘a coffee, please’ costs a more affordable €4.50. Of course, there’s an even cheaper option: ‘hello, can I have a coffee, please?’ will cost you just €1.40. Sometimes it pays to be polite and if you are in a bad mood you can always choose another café.
Study the words
Rude– not polite
Reward– give a prize
Punish– discipline (for bad behavior)
Implementing– putting into practice
Affordable– not too expensive
Pays– has a positive result
in a bad mood– feeling unhappy and negative
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8- ” Do you suffer from FOMO? – Read, listen and learn a little English! ”
Do you feel anxious when you can’t update your facebook profile, read your emails or tweet? If so, you may be suffering from FOMO. A new survey says that 56% of people suffer from FOMO when they stay away from social networks. The term has recently entered the Oxford English dictionary. It stands for ‘fear of missing out’. The dictionary definition is “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website”. 27% of those who participated in the survey admitted that checking their social media feeds is the first thing they do when they wake up. More than a quarter said they would give up cigarettes or reality TV in exchange for social media but the good news is that only 3% would give up sex.
What would you give up for social media?
Study the words
Update– write new information
Survey– study
Stay away– have no contact with
Stands for– is an abbreviated/short form of
Currently– at this moment
Elsewhere– in another place (other than where you are)
Aroused– provoked
Admitted– confessed
Give up– stop using or doing something
In exchange for– instead of
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