Aptis reading Test: General Tips and Strategies

 
Part 3: In this part of the test, you are going to look at two pictures and I will ask you two 
questions about it. You will have 45 seconds for each response. Begin speaking when you hear 
the beep.

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3.1. Compare the pictures. 
3.2. Which of the two activities would you prefer? 
3.3. How do the spectators differ in the two activities? 
Part 4: In this part of the test, you will look at a picture and answer the questions below. 
You will have 60 seconds to prepare before you start speaking. Then, you will speak for 2 
minutes.
4.1 How did you learn to read? 
4.2 Has the way people read changed? 
4.3 What does reading give you that other forms of media don’t? 
I learned to read before I started school. At that time schools didn’t want children to learn 
beforehand because the reasoning used to be that everyone had to learn the same way, the school’s 
way and that if you didn’t, you might somehow get into bad habits. At the time I saw a lot of my aunt 
and uncle and my aunt was very particular about speaking English correctly, good pronunciation 
and grammar etcetera. So, my aunt thought that she would teach me to read and because I liked my 
aunt and wanted to impress her, I tried extremely hard and soon learned to read. I think that this is 
one of the first things that has changed. I don’t think as many people spend their time on their 
children’s education, particularly on reading, and leave more of it to the school. Maybe this is why 
nowadays people seem to read differently. Before people all had mobile devices, people on buses 
and trains all used to read books or newspapers but now they are all looking at mobile phones. 
Maybe some people are reading a novel or looking at the news, but most people will be looking at 
what their friends are doing. This seems strange because the more access to the world digital 

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technology gives us, the smaller our circle of interest becomes. What reading fiction and non-fiction 
gives you are insights into other worlds and other cultures, real and made up, and you have to use 
your imagination. When your friend sends you a picture of their lunch, it isn’t very thought-
provoking.
APTIS For Teaches: Model Answer to Sample Speaking Question #4