What can you see from the windows where you live

Maria: Rory, can you describe the place where you live?

Rory: Oh, I can very vividly, since I’m completely in love with this place. So it’s a three-bedroom apartment and the rooms are very spacious. There’s a really well-equipped kitchen, both: a bathroom and a shower room separately, and the hall, the main hall is massive. It’s not just like at the door and then there’s the bedrooms. There’s like, a sort of, internal space as well. I actually think it’s the biggest apartment I’ve ever lived in. I’m really pleased with it.

Maria: What can you see from the windows where you live?

Rory: Well, it’s somewhat depressing. It’s just other apartments. But on the other hand, at least the skyline looks nice when it’s all lit up at night. There’s a small cluster of shops at the base of the building if you look straight down, which is convenient, if you need something at very short notice. And we have a McDonald’s which is less convenient for my waistline.

Maria: What do you like about living there?

Rory: Well, the apartment itself is so massive that I can finally have people around without feeling like I’ve got people packed into a can of sardines. And the metro station is close by, so I can go anywhere I need to at a moment’s notice. It’s just… It’s the most convenient and probably luxurious apartment I’ve been in.

Maria: What do you dislike?

Rory: I think the one thing I probably dislike is that it’s a little further from where I usually get the bus to work, so I have to wake up about half an hour earlier than normal — about half past five in the morning. But on the other hand, I find I get more done that way. And it’s a bit further from the gym as well and the place where I usually do my weekly shop. So there’s that. But the situation’s hardly desperate. I mean, if I have serious problems, I’ll just get a taxi. It’s not a big deal.

Maria: Would you change anything about your home?

Rory: Well, obviously, I’d have it closer to the metro station or just to places that I usually frequent, but I think that’s it… Oh, yeah, I’d probably change the décor too if I had the time and inclination. But as we both know, I’m not very good at interior design.

Maria: Do you prefer living in a house or a flat?

Rory: Well, for the moment I’m happy with the flat I’m living in, which is good because I live in a city and it’s basically all apartments in Moscow. I don’t think there are many houses. When I do have a family, though, I think I’ll choose to live in a house by the sea. I think that would be much better for them and me.

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Topics and Questions 2022

Список тем и вопросов IELTS Speaking Part 1, которые есть на устной части в 2022 году. Обычно в 1-й части экзаменатор задаёт вопросы по 3-м темам. Это значит, что на устной части вас могут спросить по любым 3 темам из этого списка.

Accommodation
Do you live in a house or an apartment/flat?
Can you describe the place where you live?
What do you like about living there? What do you like about your flat?
Which is your favourite room in your home? Why?
Which room does your family spend most time in?
What can you see from the windows?
Would you change anything about your home? Why/why not?
Would you like to move to a different home in the future?
What sort of accommodation would you most like to live in?

Home Decoration
What kind of decoration do you prefer?
How is your home decorated?
What is your favorite color when decorating your home?
What colour would you never use in your home?
What colour would you choose to paint the walls of your room?
Do people in your country like redecorating their homes?
What is the new decorating trend for this year?

Hometown
Tell me about your hometown.
What’s your hometown known for?
Do you like your hometown?
Is it big or small?
How long have you been living there?
Do you think you’ll continue living there for a long time?
How has your town changed in the last 20 years?

Your Country
Tell me about your country.
Where is your country located?
Which part of your country do most people live in?
What are the main industries in your country?
What are some of the good things about living in your country?
What are some of the bad things about living in your country?
Do you know the history of your country well?
Which part of your country do you want to live in?
What makes you feel proud of your country?
Will you stay in your country in the future?

TV programs
What kind of TV programs do you like?
What’s your favourite TV program?
Do you often watch programs on TV or your cell phone?
Do you like watching the same kind of program all the time?
Do you talk with your friends about the program you watched?
In your country is it possible to watch any TV programs in English?
What benefits can people get from watching foreign TV programs?

Museums
Do you think museums are important?
Are there many museums in your hometown?
Do you like to visit museums?
How often do you go to museums?
When was the last time you visited a museum?
Did you visit museums when you were a child?
Why is it boring for children to go to museums?
How can we make museums interesting for children?

Life Stages
Do you enjoy your current stage of life?
Which stage of your life do you think is the most important?
In which stage of your life were you the happiest?
What is your plan for your next stage of life?

Rest
How often do you take a rest?
What do you do when you take a rest?
Do you take a nap?
How do you feel after taking a nap?

Singing
Can you sing?
Do you like singing?
When do you like to sing?
Is it difficult to sing well?
What kind of music do you like to sing?
Do you want to be a singer?

Scenery
What can you see from the windows where you live?
Is there good scenery in cities?
Are there many places in your hometown with beautiful scenery?
When you travel, do you stay in hotels with scenic views?
Do you enjoy visiting places with beautiful views?
Would you like to live in a house with beautiful scenery around it?
Do you like to take pictures of good scenery?
Why do people like taking pictures of the scenery? What about you?

Forest/trees
Do you like trees?
Are there any important trees in your country?
When was the last time you went to a forest?
Would you like to go to the forest if you are free?
Do you like to go to a forest?
Is there a forest near your hometown?
Would you like to live in a place that has a lot of trees?
Where can one find trees or forests in your country?
Did you ever climb trees when you were a child?
Do you think we need to protect trees?
Do you think places with trees attract more visitors than places with few trees?
Have you ever planted a tree?

Picnics
Have you ever gone to picnics?
Do you enjoy going on picnics?
How often do you go out for picnics?
Did you go on a picnic when you were a child?
When was the last time you went on a picnic?
What kind of places do people choose as their picnic spots?

New Activities
Do you like to try new activities? Why?
What activities would you like to try?
Is it good for people to try new things?
Why are some people afraid of trying new things?
What activities did you do when you were a child?
Do you like to try new activities alone or with friends?
Did you try new activities when you were younger?
What help do people need when they’re trying new things?
What are some of the difficulties a person might have when they try something new?
Do you think it’s better to have new experiences when you’re young or when you’re older?

Concentration
When is it hard for you to concentrate?
What may distract you when you are trying to stay focused?
In what situations do you need to concentrate?
When do you need to be focused?
What do you do to improve your concentration?
What do you do to help you concentrate?
Is it easy for you to do two things simultaneously?
Is difficult for you to stay focused on something?

Writing by hand
Do you generally prefer to write by hand or use a computer? (Why?)
Are there any situations when you think it is important to write by hand? (Why/Why not?)
How important is good handwriting to you? (Why/Why not?)
Do you think computers will replace writing by hand in the future? (Why/Why not?)

Clothes/Colours
What colour clothes do you like to wear?
Do people in your country like to wear bright colours?
What are the differences between men and women’s preference in colour?
What kind clothes do you like to wear?
What kind of clothes do you never wear?
Do you wear the same style of clothes on the weekend and on the weekdays?
Do you wear the same clothes at school/work?
Did you have any special clothes when you were a child?

Making Lists
Do you make a list before going shopping? Why?
Why is it important to make a shopping list?
Do you make a list of your work? Does it work?
Why don’t some people like making lists?
Do you prefer using a piece of paper or making a list on your phone?

Your Neighbourhood
Where are you living now?
Do you like the area that you live in?
What do you like most about where you live?
What is the neighborhood like where you live?
What can be improved in the area that you live?
Do you know any famous people in the area that you live in?
Do you intend to stay in this area in the future?

Recycling
Do you recycle? Why/why not?
What do you recycle?
Do you always try to recycle paper and plastic?
Do you always try to recycle paper and plastic?
What is commonly recycled? What products?
Did you learn recycling when you were a child?
Why have people’s attitudes towards recycling changed over the last several years?
Do you think recycling is important?
Will you keep recycling in the future?

Farming
Have you ever visited a farm?
What kinds of farms are there in yr country?
What kind of farm do you like?
What farm would you like to visit?
Do you think farming is important?
Did you do any farm work when you were young?
Does your country use many traditional farming methods? Which?

Happiness
How would you define happiness?
What usually makes you happy?
What would you do to make you happy?
Do you think money can make people happy?
Do you think people in your country are generally happy people?
What kinds of things make people in your country happy?
Are people in your country happier now than they were 30 years ago?
Why do some people say that happiness never lasts long?
What makes you feel unhappy?
What do you do when you are unhappy?
What’s your happiest moment?

People’s Names
Is it easy for you to remember people’s names?
How do you remember people’s names?
Do you often forget people’s names?
What do you do to remember a specific name?
How do you feel when people don’t remember your name?

New Year
How do you celebrate New Year?
How do people in your country celebrate New Year? Do you have any ceremonies?
What do people do on New Year’s Day?
Why do people think New Year is a new beginning?
Have you ever celebrated NY that you still remember?

Getting up early
Do you often get up early in the morning?
What do you usually do when you get up early?
What’s your morning routine?
Is breakfast important to you?
Do you get up early on weekends?
What kinds of people usually get up early? Why?
What are the benefits of getting up early?

Reading
Do you like reading?
What books do you like to read?
What book have you read recently?
What did you learn from it?
Do you like to read at home or in other places?
In what places do you think it is difficult to read?
Do you like to read by yourself or with other people?
Do you read professional books?
Why do parents make children read books at an early age?
What was your favourite book as a child?
Should reading be compulsory at school?

Sport
Did you do any sport when you were younger? (Why/Why not?)
Have you ever supported a sports team? (Why/Why not?)
Do you enjoy watching sport? (Why/Why not?)
Do you think there’s too much sport on television in your country?
Do most people in your country like sport?
What sports do people in your country like to play?
Do you like extreme sports?
Who is your favourite sports star?

Changes
Do you like changes? Why?
Do you often change?
What do you change?
What would you not like to change?
Have you changed a lot since your childhood?
What was the last change you made?
What has been the greatest change in your life so far?
Have there been any changes in your hometown recently?
What do you plan to change next year?

Text Messages
Do you like texting?
How often do you write texts?
Why do you send texts?
So you use any apps to write texts?
Do you text someone if they don’t answer your phone call?
Do you prefer sending or receiving messages?
Do you always reply to a text message?
In what situations is making a call better than writing a text?
Is texting better than calling people?
Have you ever received a confusing text message?
Do you receive texts with ads?

Weekends
What do you usually do in your spare time?
What do you usually do on the weekends?
Do you like to work on the weekends?
Do you feel that weekends now are more important to you than when you were a child?
What would your ideal weekend be like?
Is it important to make the most out of your weekends?
Which is your favourite part of the weekend?
Do you think your weekends are long enough?
How important do you think it is to have free time on the weekends?
In your country, do men and women usually do the same kind of things on weekend?
Why do you think many people consider the weekend to be important?
What are you going to do next weekends?

Furniture
Do you have many items of furniture at home? At work?
Do you have any wooden furniture?
What furniture do you own? Which items do you like?
What’s your favourite item of furniture?
Have you ever received furniture as a gift?
Has anyone bought a piece of furniture for you?
Do you often buy furniture? Why? Where?
What furniture do you usually buy? What did last you buy?
What kind of furniture would you like to buy?
What styles do you prefer: modern or traditional furniture?
Are you planning to buy any furniture this year?

Maths
Do you like Math?
Is Math difficult for you to learn?
Do you think Math is hard?
When did you start learning Math?
Who taught you Math?
Do you usually use a calculator?
Do you like using a calculator?

Being in a hurry
How often are you in a hurry?
Do you like doing things quickly?
What do you often do in a hurry?
What helps you to finish things quickly?
When was the last time you did something in a hurry?
What did you do? Why did you do it in a hurry?
Do you like to finish things quickly?
What kind of things do you never do in hurry? Why?
Is it good to be always in a hurry?
Why do people make mistakes when they are in hurry?

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IELTS Mentor «IELTS Preparation & Sample Answer»

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IELTS Speaking Sample 41

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 41

Part 1: Introduction & Interview

Q. What is your full name?
A. My full name is «Elruz Rehimli», but you can call me by my surname which is «Rehimli».

Q. Where are you from?
A. I am from «Baku» – the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan.

Q. Tell me about the apartment or house where you live.
A. I don’t live in an apartment as we own a large house. I live in this house with my family and we have eight family members in total. It is an L-shaped house with a nice garden in the backyard, and have plenty of rooms for us and our guests. We have been living in this house for the past ten years and we would love to live there as long as we can. Our house is beautiful and painted in white and green. It is a two-storied bungalow type building and gets plenty of fresh air and sunlight.

Q. What you can see from the window of your house?
A. Our house is a two-storey building, so it is not too high. The first thing that I can see from my window is the garden we have in front of our house. It is so refreshing to look at those beautiful garden and the flowers in it. I can also notice the street in front of our house and can see the people who walk on that street. If I see more closely, I can see many other houses in our neighbourhood and tall buildings which are not far away from our house.

Q. Do other houses in your neighbourhood look like your house?
A. Well, yes, most of the houses in our neighbourhood have similar outlooks. The exterior of these houses are strikingly similar and many of them are painted with white and green like ours one. Moreover, the total area of those houses are the same and they have identical boundaries and gates. In fact, if someone new does not look too closely, may mistakenly visit a different house than his/her intended one.

Q. Would you change anything about your house? [Why/why not?]
A. Well, I have not actually thought about it before but if I have to change something about my house, I would like to redecorate some of the rooms in our house and add a few more modern furniture in them. I would also like to convert the backyard of our house to a green lawn.

Part 2: Cue Card /Candidate Task Card

Topic:

Describe a book you have recently read.

and explain if you enjoyed the book or not.

[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.]

Rounding-off/ Follow-up Questions:

Q. Would you recommend that book to anyone? Why?
A. Yes, I would absolutely recommend this book to any of my friends and family members. This book, in my opinion, is one of the best books I have ever read. It was so good a book that I could not leave it until I finished reading it. This book was highly praised by critiques, and I liked the important lesson this book tried to teach us. It was a fast-paced and compelling book.

Q. What types of books are popular among children and adults in your country?
A. Children, in my country, mostly read books that have compelling visual illustrations and interesting stories. Apart from that, fairy tales, comic books, detective and travel books attract them. On the other hand, the reading list among adults varies to a great extent ranging from fiction, romance, politics, poetry, history, and religion.

Part 3: Details Discussion

[The examiner will now ask several discussion questions about the topic given in the Cue Card.]

Q. 1. What impacts do you think our modern lifestyle has on our reading habit?
A. I think modern lifestyle and modern gadgets pretty much occupy our time and that is why many adults and children do not read books unless they absolutely need to. Watching movies, playing video games, and chatting with friends online are more interesting to them than reading books.

The modern world has given us so many options, nevertheless, to read and learn, and it only requires our willingness and passion to read. These days, it is far easier to read reviews on a book, get book recommendations, purchase any book online, read them on an electronic device and share our opinions to find other book lovers. Some people would say that we don’t have time to read books as we lead a very busy life. But I won’t agree with that as I still see many people read books when they are waiting in the line, waiting for someone in a café and so on. So enthusiastic readers always find time for reading no matter what.

Q. 2. Between books or movies which one, in your opinion, is better? Why is so?
A. Well, I like reading books and I also enjoy watching movies. They are not alternative to each other. Rather they both have their own appeals and values. In terms of «serious learning» and «knowledge enhancement», books are better. But, in terms of entertainment and easy learning, movies are far better. While a book enhances the imagination power and creativity of a reader, movies present events and stories more vividly. In my opinion, both are equally important and I personally like both of them.

Moreover, due to their ignorance and lack of scientific knowledge, they fail to appreciate the world around us the way an educated person would do. Besides, they need to rely on others for such matters including reading a letter written by a family member. They might be deceived easily as they never know what’s been written. They can’t write to their dearest person and can’t read the extraordinary books others can read and enjoy.

Q. 4. How can we encourage our young children to become passionate about reading books?
A. We can encourage our young children to become enthusiastic about reading books in several ways. To begin with, we can surround our children with different kinds of books with interesting subjects and pictures so that they can read books of their choice whenever they like. Secondly, we can show more interest in what our children are reading by asking them what parts of the stories/books they like better than others. Thirdly, we can use different kinds of technologies like “e-readers” and “tablets” to engage our children on an “intellectual” level so that they can feel “smart” by reading different books. Finally and most importantly, we can become good role models to our children by becoming good readers ourselves in order to encourage them.

Q. 5. It is often said that reading habits come from the family. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
A. Yes, I do agree with the suggestion that reading habits come from the family primarily because it is the family with which we spend most of our times. So, when we see that our family members are reading books, we automatically pick up the habit sooner or later just like any other habit. Besides, usually, families are the legal authorities or guardians of the «growing-up children» in helping them to buy the books, or in helping them decide which kind of books to buy. And so, without the help of the families, it would be really hard to develop and carry on with the reading habit.

Q. 6. How can our reading skills help us in our career?
A. Reading skill is important as it can help us in our career in several ways. First, reading is directly linked to general world knowledge, reasoning abilities and improved vocabulary whereby critical thinking abilities and general world knowledge especially can help us deal with different kinds of difficult situations at our workplaces. Besides, reading skills can also increase our emotional intelligence, reduce stress and improve communication skills which can certainly improve our productivity and efficiency at work. Finally, we can learn new things and new techniques related to our works by reading different kinds of books so that we can keep ourselves up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the professional world.

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IELTS Speaking: How to Talk About Where You Live and Your Home/Apartment

IELTS Speaking Tips

This topic will almost definitely come up on the test. In IELTS Speaking Part 1 the examiner will either ask you about your work/study or about where you live.

So there is a 50% chance that it will come up at the beginning of the speaking test and a pretty good chance after that it will come up in part 2 or 3 of IELTS speaking.

My #1 tip for the speaking test is to be as specific as you can. Real places, people and experience. That will help your fluency and bring out more good vocabulary.

Avoid giving general, easy answers where you repeat the same vocabulary and ideas. Those answers will bore the examiner to death and lower your vocabulary and fluency scores.

Read below for some sample question and answers based on my experience as an examiner as well as a video of me answering the questions as best I can!

Be sure to avoid the mistakes that most students make on writing by signing up for my exclusive IELTS Ebooks here on Patreon.

Can the Examiner Answer the Questions? Listen and find out!

In my answers, I tried to be as specific and natural as possible, while still showing off a little bit.

Don’t give general, weak answers – name specific places, talk about real situations, give great examples.

This will help to improve your fluency because your speaking will have clear points and structure.

It will also improve your vocabulary score by expanding the range of subjects that you talk about.

IELTS Speaking Model Answer: Where you Live

Let’s talk about where you live.

Do you live in a house or an apartment?

Right now I just moved into a brand new apartment on the outskirts of the city to save some money so I can afford the fee for this test. It’s a cozy studio and I share it with a family of 5 so it ends up being a bit too cramped for my liking. It’s only temporary and I expect I’ll move out as soon as I win the lottery or get hitched with someone rich. I don’t really fancy living in a big house but this living situation is also far from perfect.

What kind of home would you like to have in the future?

I’m not that bothered about the type of home I’ll have in the future as long as it’s stuffed full of the things I like. It would be great to have a robot on hand to help with the cleaning up and lots of windows with decent views. The location is key too. Somewhere central would be ideal for me because I don’t like lazing around the house. I like having lots of things to get up to at night.

What do you like most about where you live?

Where I’m living at the moment I really appreciate the convenience. There’s a supermarket just below my apartment that I can pop into quickly if I run out of something. It’s also a fairly quiet area – lots of families and older people live around there so I don’t have to deal with loud music or difficult neighbours. The other thing that suits me is the gorgeous views. From my balcony I look out over a river, nearby villas, a working-class neighbourhood, and some high-rises in the distance.

Have you lived in your current city for a long time?

Yeah, a bit longer than I’d like to be honest. I’ve been here the last 8 years. I’m keen on moving to a new city, somewhere with a touch of culture where I can integrate fully with the locals. I feel isolated now even though my life here is very comfortable. I reckon I’ll try out a new spot in the next few years if I get the chance.

What would you improve about your current city?

There’s a lot of room for improvement where I live. Traffic drives me up the walls. The streets are packed during rush hour so I’d get rid of all the cars if I could. People could still get around by motorbikes, bicycles and on foot. And more music venues. There isn’t much of a music scene so I’d open some small theaters where promoters can bring in the live acts that we lack now.

What’s the neighbourhood like where you live?

My neighbourhood is a mix of foreign expats, primarily from Korea, Japan and the West, and the local Vietnamese. It’s a good deal in the end – lots of different cuisine from all over the world but nothing too pricey. It’s also relatively quiet for a big city because my area is outside the hub of the city. Like many neighbourhoods in Vietnam, there is a lot of contrast – grotesque, tasteless mansions living side by side with cramped family homes.

Vocabulary:

brand new apartment new place

outskirts of the city suburbs, outer districts

afford the fee be able to pay

cozy studio small apartment

share it live with

bit too cramped not enough space

temporary impermanent

get hitched get married

don’t really fancy don’t like

living situation where you live

far from perfect not ideal

I’m not that bothered don’t care about

stuffed full of got lots of

on hand available

cleaning up tidying up

decent views good views/scenery

key important

central in the middle of

lazing being lazy

get up to do

I really appreciate am grateful full

convenience easy

pop into quickly go to

run out of something not have anymore

fairly decently

deal with handle

difficult neighbours annoying neighbours

suits fits

gorgeous views spectacular views

look out over can see

villas small mansion

working-class neighbourhood poorer neighbourhood

high-rises in the distance syscrapers far away

bit small

to be honest frankly

I’m keen on I like

a touch of culture some culture

integrate fully part of

locals local people/residents

isolated alone

try out try

new spot new location/place

if I get the chance get the opportunity

room for improvement space to get better

drives me up the walls makes me crazy

packed full of

rush hour traffic heavy period

get rid lose

get around go around

music venues music spaces

music scene the culture around music in a location

promoters advertisers

bring in find

live acts live bands

lack don’t have

mix combine

expats immigrants

good deal good opportunity

nothing too pricey cheap

relatively quiet fairly calm/quiet

hub central area

a lot of contrast lots of differences

grotesque ugly

tasteless mansions ugly big homes

cramped crowded

One Last Thing…

There’s one other point I want to make about IELTS speaking. A lot of students ask me about moving up to band 7 or 8 for vocabulary.

Let’s take a look at exactly what that means. In the band desriptors, to get to band 7+ you need to have lots of nuanced, specific, flexible meaning (in terms of both vocabulary and grammar).

Take a look at this answer again:

I’ve been here the last 8 years. I’m keen on moving to a new city, somewhere with a touch of culture where I can integrate fully with the locals.

That phrase is really flexible because I don’t just say that it has culture. I say a touch of culture, which means a little bit and is a very specific phrase.

I don’t just say integrate – I say integrate fully, which means completely.

If you use simpler vocabulary you might say something like this:

I’m keen on moving to a new city, somewhere with more culture where I can integrate with the locals.

This does not communicate the same depth of meaning and you will not be able to get band 7+.

Comment your own answers below for feedback!

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Last Updated: Friday, 01 November 2019 13:34

Written by IELTS Mentor

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IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 41

Part 1: Introduction & Interview

Q. What is your full name?
A. My full name is «Elruz Rehimli», but you can call me by my surname which is «Rehimli».

Q. Where are you from?
A. I am from «Baku» – the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan.

Q. Tell me about the apartment or house where you live.
A.  I don’t live in an apartment as we own a large house. I live in this house with my family and we have eight family members in total. It is an L-shaped house with a nice garden in the backyard, and have plenty of rooms for us and our guests. We have been living in this house for the past ten years and we would love to live there as long as we can. Our house is beautiful and painted in white and green. It is a two-storied bungalow type building and gets plenty of fresh air and sunlight.

Q. What you can see from the window of your house?
A.  Our house is a two-storey building, so it is not too high. The first thing that I can see from my window is the garden we have in front of our house. It is so refreshing to look at those beautiful garden and the flowers in it. I can also notice the street in front of our house and can see the people who walk on that street. If I see more closely, I can see many other houses in our neighbourhood and tall buildings which are not far away from our house.

Q. Do other houses in your neighbourhood look like your house?
A.  Well, yes, most of the houses in our neighbourhood have similar outlooks. The exterior of these houses are strikingly similar and many of them are painted with white and green like ours one. Moreover, the total area of those houses are the same and they have identical boundaries and gates. In fact, if someone new does not look too closely, may mistakenly visit a different house than his/her intended one.  

Q. Would you change anything about your house? [Why/why not?]
A.  Well, I have not actually thought about it before but if I have to change something about my house, I would like to redecorate some of the rooms in our house and add a few more modern furniture in them. I would also like to convert the backyard of our house to a green lawn.

Part 2: Cue Card /Candidate Task Card

Topic:

Describe a book you have recently read.

You should say:

•  what book it is  
•  who is the author of this book 
•  what is the story/theme of the book

and explain if you enjoyed the book or not.

[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.]

Click here for the answer to this Cue Card Topic

Rounding-off/ Follow-up Questions:

Q. Would you recommend that book to anyone? Why?
A. Yes, I would absolutely recommend this book to any of my friends and family members. This book, in my opinion, is one of the best books I have ever read. It was so good a book that I could not leave it until I finished reading it. This book was highly praised by critiques, and I liked the important lesson this book tried to teach us. It was a fast-paced and compelling book.

Q. What types of books are popular among children and adults in your country?
A. Children, in my country, mostly read books that have compelling visual illustrations and interesting stories. Apart from that, fairy tales, comic books, detective and travel books attract them. On the other hand, the reading list among adults varies to a great extent ranging from fiction, romance, politics, poetry, history, and religion.

Part 3: Details Discussion

[The examiner will now ask several discussion questions about the topic given in the Cue Card.]

Q. 1. What impacts do you think our modern lifestyle has on our reading habit?
A. I think modern lifestyle and modern gadgets pretty much occupy our time and that is why many adults and children do not read books unless they absolutely need to. Watching movies, playing video games, and chatting with friends online are more interesting to them than reading books.  

The modern world has given us so many options, nevertheless, to read and learn, and it only requires our willingness and passion to read. These days, it is far easier to read reviews on a book, get book recommendations, purchase any book online, read them on an electronic device and share our opinions to find other book lovers. Some people would say that we don’t have time to read books as we lead a very busy life. But I won’t agree with that as I still see many people read books when they are waiting in the line, waiting for someone in a café and so on. So enthusiastic readers always find time for reading no matter what.

Q. 2. Between books or movies which one, in your opinion, is better? Why is so?
A. Well, I like reading books and I also enjoy watching movies. They are not alternative to each other. Rather they both have their own appeals and values. In terms of «serious learning» and «knowledge enhancement», books are better. But, in terms of entertainment and easy learning, movies are far better. While a book enhances the imagination power and creativity of a reader, movies present events and stories more vividly. In my opinion, both are equally important and I personally like both of them.

Q. 3. What problems, in your opinion, illiterate people in society face?
A. Illiterate people often face unavoidable and frustrating problems in their social life. In most of the cases, they are not socially admired unless they are really wealthy — believe me this is true even if it sounds a little strange. They are not offered important positions in a community and they often suffer from inferior complexity.

Moreover, due to their ignorance and lack of scientific knowledge, they fail to appreciate the world around us the way an educated person would do. Besides, they need to rely on others for such matters including reading a letter written by a family member. They might be deceived easily as they never know what’s been written. They can’t write to their dearest person and can’t read the extraordinary books others can read and enjoy.

Q. 4. How can we encourage our young children to become passionate about reading books?
A. We can encourage our young children to become enthusiastic about reading books in several ways. To begin with, we can surround our children with different kinds of books with interesting subjects and pictures so that they can read books of their choice whenever they like. Secondly, we can show more interest in what our children are reading by asking them what parts of the stories/books they like better than others. Thirdly, we can use different kinds of technologies like “e-readers” and “tablets” to engage our children on an “intellectual” level so that they can feel “smart” by reading different books. Finally and most importantly, we can become good role models to our children by becoming good readers ourselves in order to encourage them.

Q. 5. It is often said that reading habits come from the family. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
A. Yes, I do agree with the suggestion that reading habits come from the family primarily because it is the family with which we spend most of our times. So, when we see that our family members are reading books, we automatically pick up the habit sooner or later just like any other habit. Besides, usually, families are the legal authorities or guardians of the «growing-up children» in helping them to buy the books, or in helping them decide which kind of books to buy.  And so, without the help of the families, it would be really hard to develop and carry on with the reading habit.

Q. 6. How can our reading skills help us in our career?
A. Reading skill is important as it can help us in our career in several ways. First, reading is directly linked to general world knowledge, reasoning abilities and improved vocabulary whereby critical thinking abilities and general world knowledge especially can help us deal with different kinds of difficult situations at our workplaces. Besides, reading skills can also increase our emotional intelligence, reduce stress and improve communication skills which can certainly improve our productivity and efficiency at work. Finally, we can learn new things and new techniques related to our works by reading different kinds of books so that we can keep ourselves up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the professional world.

[ Written by  — Elruz Rehimli ]