IELTS Speaking Test January 2020 ludhiana
Part 1 – Introduction & Interview:
Q. What’s your name?
A. My full name is Anoop Asokan, and my friends and family call me “Anoop”.
Q. What do you do?
A. I am a nurse by profession and I work for the Saudi Aramco Remote Area Clinics in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia. I have finished my graduation a few years ago and then took a two-year diploma course in nursing. Afterwards, I moved to Saudi Arabia as a professional nurse.
Q. Where do you come from?
A. I was born in India and I am still an Indian citizen. My hometown is called Kochi, which is the commercial capital of the State of Kerala. Now I am living in Saudi Arabia as a professional nurse and I have a temporary resident permit to live and work in Saudi Arabia.
Q. Do you like your country
A. As a matter of fact, I would say, I am proud that I am an Indian and yes, I love and respect my country a lot. India is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I have every valid reason to love this fascinating country to whom I owe a lot.
Q. What do you like about your country?
A. Well, my country has the world’s largest democracy with more than 1.33 billion residents. Additionally, you won’t find another country like India that has that kind of vast diversity in culture, language, religion, language, customs and race. The simple and amiable people who represent the country are quite helpful to others. Our country has a vast diversity of natural beauty and if you ever travel to India, you can, in a sense, say that you have travelled the entire world. I like the way this country has struggled throughout history and yet rose again only to proclaim its superiority and virtue.
Q. What street do you live in now?
A. Now I live in the city of Jubail, and the street where I live now is called “Jubail Central Street”. Well, I suppose, it is called so because this street extends from the heart of the city to the northern end and it is a great area to live in especially because of the stunning malls, large stores and lively gathering on the street.
Part 2 – Cue Card /Candidate Task Card
Topic:
Describe an important event in your life.
You should say:
- what it was
- how old you were then
- what happened
and explain why this is an important event in your life.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
Well, I have so many important events in my life and I can remember many of them. However, I would like to talk about the most auspicious ceremony of my life, my marriage, which happened in December 2012.
When I got married, I was 26 years old. Since I belong to a traditional and orthodox Hindu family, it’s more or less like a religious and family festival. We invited most of our friends and relatives and the celebrations started three days prior to the event. We had to arrange all the amenities to the guests who came by; such as hotels to stay, food and drinking arrangements and we had to make sure all of them were pretty satisfied. However, another biggest challenge I faced was the raising of the fund for the occasion. Fortunately, everything went well and the day is still a wonderful experience to think about.
On the flip side, the greatest reason why that day is rather important is because, ever since then, I witnessed a dramatic change in the way I live. I had to become more responsible and after all, I got someone to share my life together. I gradually realised, the biggest part in life is to become shoulders and shade, to someone who is important to us, especially at the time of crisis. I would like to conclude by saying that now I am happily living with my parents, wife and son, and my marriage was the first significant step towards this journey.
[ Written by – Anoop Asokan ]
Sample Answer 2:
Living in a suburban area was interesting for me as the life was peaceful and quiet. But moving to the Cape Town, the centre of the city, from Salt River was also hopeful for me that I would get chances of meeting with new people and environment.
It was a memorable event for me. I was a teenage then but still can remember the entire event. We shifted in the city of Cape Town as my dad was transferred with his responsibilities in the city. And it was hard for him to move in the city every day and come back home again to prepare for the next day office. So, he planned to shift in the city with the family to avoid the unnecessary hassles of travelling. Besides, the communication system was not so developed in those days as it is now.
I was 13 when we moved to the city. Before moving to the city my dad had to travel for around 16/17 miles each way to reach his office. In fact, he was the manager for a local clothing manufacturer. So, he had to be busy with his office and manage everything his authority wanted him to do. As a teenager, I was unable to understand the entire issue but felt comfortable that I will get something special. In fact, I did not have any friends of my age. Either they were senior to me or junior. So, it was a horrible situation for me. Attending the school was the only matter of relief. But attending a new school in a new place was more interesting to me.
My family moved into Cape Town from Salt River. It was a massive change in my family. My dad had been living in Salt River since his early age but now he shifted to another place with us. It was also enjoyable to all the other family members. But by the same time, we were feeling sad to leave this place. Initially, dad planned to sell the house we lived in but later he changed his decision. We rented an apartment in Cape Town and also planned to visit this suburban house whenever we could manage time. It was a heart twisting event for all of us, especially my dad. We have been living in the area for a long time and now we are moving in a different place
This was an important event in my life in many aspects. Firstly, I had to assist in shifting activities with my other family members. Besides, I got completely an unfamiliar environment and it was just the opposite as I thought. The event was important in another sense that it taught me some special learnings in my life. I came to know about a different type of lifestyle. Besides, I got admitted in a new school which was interesting indeed. I found that the life that I lived in Salt River was not the similar with the living in Cape Town. The entire city was crowded with people and vehicles. But the environment was the opposite. I was not used to with the city life rather the life of Salt River was comfortable to me. But now I am used to with the city life while the suburban life appears dull and boring. So, I think this was an important event for me.
Part 3 – Details Discussion
Q. Is it important to celebrate different events in our lives? Why?
A. Yes, it’s imperative that we enjoy and celebrate different events to enjoy our life together on earth and make impressive memories. The traditions of celebrating important life events, traditional, religious and national events are deeply rooted in our lifestyle. Moreover, giving and receiving surprise gifts marking important events and spending time together with family and friends are necessary, especially in these hectic modern days. Furthermore, these events offer us excellent opportunities to meet new people and to refresh relationships with people around us.
Q. Do most people in your country prefer to celebrate family occasions at home or in a restaurant? Why?
A. That largely depends on where people live and the types of lifestyle they have. For instance, people in the rural area mostly have traditional lifestyles and they prefer to celebrate special family occasions at home. They like to invite people to their home and arrange everything at home rather than booking an expensive community centre or a restaurant.
On the contrary, city-dwellers mostly like to celebrate family events at a restaurant probably because they already have a hectic lifestyle due to busy work schedule and they want to enjoy the occasion at a nicely decorated restaurant where everything would be taken cared of by the restaurant staffs. I presume it’s a personal choice and both have advantages and disadvantages.
Q. Some people say that the amount we spend to celebrate different family occasions could be better utilised by donating to poor people? What do you think?
A. I may not be the most philanthropic person in the world, but I do agree with the argument that the amount of money, we spend, to celebrate different family occasions should be donated to help poor people simply because ‘celebrating life’ is certainly not a “life and death” issue for many of us while a little amount of our donation money can save a life or two of the countless number of poor people. Besides, we should donate to the poor whatever we can in order to keep peace and security in our communities because if we keep the poor “deprived’ of their basic needs for too long, the chances are that they would one day take the things, they need, by “force”. I personally know some people who like to keep the celebrations to a moderate level while also donate to poor people and I really like this idea.
Q. How different celebrations and events can bring people together?
A. Let’s face it, we are all different, and we are all busy in taking care of our own things in our own ways, but one thing is for certain that we all like to celebrate life in whichever capacity we can. So, when there is a celebration, we forget about our little differences, hatred and animosities for a while and gather together for a common cause which is to “celebrate”. Of course, the celebration may last only for a while, but that little time provides all of us a little “window of opportunity” to learn and understand about us each other a bit more so that we can actually appreciate our diverse cultures, lifestyles and backgrounds instead of looking down upon them in suspicion.
Q. What are some important historical events in your country?
A. India (officially, the Republic of India) is a land of numerous historical events. From the ancient time, the country has been a subject to invade and overrun by foreign powers. Rulers appeared here, ruled and then disappeared only to give chance to another ruler. Empires have been built and destroyed. But the most remarkable events took place in the past couple of centuries. Occupation of the British in 1757 was one of the most influencing historical events through the Battle of Plassey and the independence of India in 1945 was the greatest events so far. The participation of the commoners in the elections is another important aspect to consider too.
Q. Do you think the money a government spend to celebrate national and public events are justified? Why/Why not?
A. Well, the question is quite critical to answer! The government of India spends a big amount of money for celebrating various national and public events. Personally, I do not think that the spendings are justified when we have millions of hungry mouths to feed to and a lot to build and reconstruct.
The money spent on the celebrations could be used for better reasons and particularly for the development of infrastructures inside the country. Some parts in India are devoid of necessary civic facilities and the government could reduce the spending for public and national celebrations and use the rest of the fund for such development works. Providing subsidy on daily necessaries would make life comfortable to the commoners and the government may also consider it.