IELTS Speaking Test January 2020 Patiala
PART 1 – Introduction & Interview
[This part of the test begins with the examiner introducing himself or herself and checking the candidate’s identification. It then continues as an interview. In the interview, the examiner asks the candidate about his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Q. How did you reach the examination centre?
A. After I left my home earlier in the morning, I booked a Uber car and it dropped me in front of the exam venue. So it was easier for me to reach the exam centre on time.
Q. Do you like travelling? Where have you travelled to lately?
A. Yes, I do like travelling very much. Travelling gives me first-hand experience of diverse places, people and their culture and ways of life. I would like to travel more often in the future.
I went to Hong Kong to have some business deals two months ago. This is the latest tour I have had.
Q. How do you usually travel?
A. I usually travel in a private car that my family owns whenever I need to move within the city. As renting a car from Uber is really convenient these days, I often book a car from Uber if someone else in my family needs to use our private car. However, I take a train or a bus when I need to travel to somewhere far away. While travelling to a different country, air travel is the way to go.
Q. What are the most common types of transportation run on the roads in your town?
A. Well, private cars and public buses are the two most common types of vehicles in my town. Taxis and trams are also available for us to use. To reach a faraway destination within the city one can also take a metro rail. The Uber has, however, made the car journey popular among people who are daily commuters and like to share a ride.
Citizens in my country mostly use public buses or Uber cars to move from one place to another within the city. If they need to visit outside the city, they take the train and that’s the most convenient way of travelling a long distance. Sometimes people hire a taxi, which is a bit expensive, to reach important places where they need to maintain strict time schedules.
Q. What kind of places do you like to visit?
A. I like to visit sites and areas which are either naturally beautiful or historically important. In particular, sea beaches, mountains and old historic places are at the top of my list.
Q. Do you think that the new transportation system should be introduced in your city? Why?
A. I don’t think that new transportation systems would be required in my city right now especially because Uber has filled the gap. However, the existing transportation system like public bus and tram should be renovated. The number of such public transportations should also be increased for the convenience of commuters.
PART 2 – Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card
Cue Card Topic:
Describe a historical place that you know about.
You should say:
• what the place is
• where it is located
• what is the historical significance of the place
and explain what you think about this place.
[You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 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:
I love to visit popular places whenever I get free time and historic places have special appeal to me. I have visited a few historic places including Machu Picchu in Peru, The Pyramids at Giza, Taj Mahal in India, and the Parthenon in Greece. The historic significance and the grandeur of these places mesmerise me. The place that I would like to talk about today is Colosseum (also known as Coliseum, or as the Flavian Amphitheatre) which is situated in Rome, Italy. I would like to thank you for the time you have allowed me to talk about it.
It is basically an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, which is the largest amphitheatre in the world and is made of concrete and stone. The construction of Colosseum began under emperor Vespasian in 70 AD and was completed under Titus in 80 AD.
The Colosseum could hold approximately 50,000 to 80,000 spectators at the time when it was used as an amphitheatre. Perhaps it is well-known for its use for the gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of many famous battles. The Colosseum was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 and was also included among the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is 189 meters long, and 156 meters wide, with a base area of 6 acres. The height of the outer wall is 48 meters. The Colosseum nowadays is one of the major tourist attractions in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena.
I have heard and seen of this famous place a lot and when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless. The huge architect, the overwhelming interior and exterior decoration were beyond appreciation. The place kept reminding me of the classical mythological and historical facts I have read and heard about. Visiting this site was like travelling to the past. I would always like to get back to this place due to its prominence in history and incredible appeal.
Sample Answer 2:
I am going to talk about an amazing historic place that I know about, even though I’ve never visited it. I’ll tell you what it is, where it is, about the historical meaning of the place as much as I can and finally my own experience and reactions regarding it.
I want to tell you about Stonehenge. This is an ancient set of standing stones, arranged in a circle. It is located in Wiltshire, in England, but I think it would be fair to say the image of it would be recognised worldwide, as it is possibly one of the most famous historic sites in the world.
In terms of the meaning of the place, it’s really impossible to say. It is so very old, even archaeologists aren’t sure exactly when it was built, estimates go back to as long ago as 3000 BC, which is mind-boggling to me! It is certainly accurate to describe it as a prehistoric monument. Some people think it might have started as a burial mound and be even more ancient than 5,000 years. The colossal slabs are arranged like huge door frames, no-one really knows how they were erected without the technology of modern times, but everyone agrees it was an incredible feat of engineering and showed foresight and tenacity in spaces! However, it is certain that they were somehow aligned so that at key stages of the lunar (moon) and solar (sun) cycles, the way the light strikes the stones is of some significance. Apparently, it was deliberately constructed so that the rising sun only reached the middle of the stones for just one day of the year.
Lots of people like to try and imagine what sort of ceremonies and importance the stones might have had for the people who built it, but the truth is we can’t say. Even today, modern-day druids have for many years gathered at the stones for the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and winter solstice (shortest day of the year) to watch the sunrise and mark the event with their own celebrations.
For me, I think this is the ultimate historical place, even though I have yet to visit it. It is just so remarkable to think it was constructed all those thousands of years ago just by physical labour. Even the stones themselves – the largest of which are up to 30 feet and weigh about 25 tons, had to be brought to the site from about 20 miles away, how on earth was that possible? For me, the stones prove that with determination, tenacity and working together it is sometimes possible to achieve what seems impossible. At the same time, the way they have endured over time gives perspective on our place in the world. Time passes, people and generations pass too, but they can leave a legacy behind even if it only one of many unanswered questions for future people to ponder over!
PART 3 – Detailed Discussion
Topic: Historic sites and their significance
Q. Do you think that governments should be required to pay for the maintenance of areas of historical significance?
A. Yes, I do think that the governments should pay for the maintenance of historically important places mainly because those significant places are part of national and international history and heritage. Moreover, the general public or the local authority can’t look after these places and their maintenance all the time in an efficient manner. Besides, there are just too many sites of historical importance around the whole world (in fact, I would even dare to suggest that our entire world is like a “giant historical ground), and it is just not possible for individuals or community to maintain them on their own without risking any significant damage to those historical sites. Finally, the government needs to look after these sites to promote tourism to the entire world.
Q. How the importance of different places changes over the course of history?
A. Whether we like it or not, the perception of people on different matters and subjects changes over time because they are continuously fed with different sets of historical data and information in order to penetrate into the “crux” of the matters, which some people may call the “truth”. As a result, what was considered to be very important even just yesterday may prove out to be very obsolete and irrelevant the next day. Therefore, it is no surprise that the importance of different places changes over the course of history whether we consider it fair or not. For instance, we have different lists of “Wonders of the World” in different ages and some important places are left out from this list to make it more prevalent and interesting.
Q. Should historic buildings and sites be preserved or demolished for modern constructions? Why?
A. I think that historic buildings and sites should be preserved at all costs unless they are causing discords among people, mainly because they are the parts of our “past”. Some people would even argue that destroying a historic building is very much like destroying a certain part of our history. Besides, demolishing them may cause some strife and tension within the members of some communities who consider the buildings to be “sacred” and important for their ‘identity’. Finally, they should not be demolished because they promote tourism which may prove out to be crucial for the business and economic development of the areas in which the buildings are located.
Topic: Travelling to Historic Places
Q. How can travelling be important for students? What about travelling to historic places for them?
A. Well, travelling is extremely important for students, I believe. In fact, travelling is also a form of education. It helps to broaden the outlook of the students. The things that students learn in their classrooms, they can see those when they travel and their knowledge becomes matured. Moreover, when students will travel to different places, they would come out of their comfort zone which in reality will increase their skills to adapt to new situations and learn to deal with them smoothly in the future. But the most important thing is that travelling is fun. It provides immense pleasure to the students. It refreshes their minds and helps them focus on their studies.
Q. Why some people prefer to visit a historic place than a more renowned tourist spot without any historical significance?
A. Some people prefer to visit historical places instead of some famous tourist spots because the historical places bring them a great experience of learning new things or some important past events – events that probably had changed the course of history or affected lives of many people in a very significant way. Besides, visiting historical places allow people to connect with certain cultures or lifestyles, which are different from theirs, on an intellectual level so that they can better understand and appreciate the diversity among different people. Moreover, people’s preference while choosing a place to visit vary to a great extent and those who prefer history and want to learn more about it have a weakness towards visiting historically significant places.
Q. Will more people travel to different historic places in the future than the past? Why do you think so?
A. As of now, I don’t really have any reason to think that more people would travel to different historical places in the future than in the past mainly because people today are too busy to “live in the present” due to their “materialistic views of life” instead of digging into some “past history or events” which may or may not be of any use to improve their lives. Besides, many historical places in the world are losing their original look and sight because of the changes in the surrounding environments, and as a result, losing their appeals as well to attract history lovers, so it is only natural to think that lesser and lesser people will visit the historical places in the future.