| Describe a time when you were excited You should say:
And explain why you were excited | Describe an exciting event you've had You should say:
And explain why you felt excited |
As far as I remember, it was some time around my 22nd birthday, so I decided to treat my family members to a dinner at a famous restaurant by Saigon River. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins attended the birthday party, and what made me happy the most about is the very presence of the uncle who is an overseas Vietnamese living in Australia. He tried his best to arrange time to fly to Vietnam to join with us so I felt extremely grateful.
The dinner was in a small, cozy Italian restaurant, which created a pleasurable atmosphere for its customers. Well, the restaurant that I had carefully chosen is particularly renowned for quality pizza, flavorful pasta and unique beverages and more importantly, its view overlooks the river. Actually, I had to reserve the table a week in advance, as the tables in this special place are always full. That was also my first experience of such a first-class restaurant, and it was all the more rewarding to share it with my family.
This dinner means a lot to me, as it not only marked my 22nd birthday with my beloved ones, but it was also a family reunion. I realize that family bonds, after all, are such an irreplaceable treasure for each person, and quality time with your own flesh and blood is always important.
| Describe a difficult challenge you met You should say:
And explain why you think it is a challenge | Describe an achievement when you put great effort to gain (Describe a goal you set and achieved.) You should say:
And explain how you felt about achieving this goal. | Describe a situation when you celebrate your achievement You should say:
And how you felt about it
|
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I'm going to talk about the time when I overcame a lot of challenges in organizing an 'Amazing Race'-style game for teenagers.
It was around 6 years ago when I was in my junior year in university. At that time, I was a member of the Communication Group of a Youth Club for university students. In order to raise fund for the Group, the members and I did create a game called “The Amazing Race – Saigon version”. The preparation of the game was extremely challenging since there were disputes and conflicts among team members. I remember in an internal meeting of our Group to finalize the games and missions in each landmark of the race, the atmosphere of the meeting was so intense because the opinions the Group leader were so different from mine – as a vice leader. At that time, the meeting was on the verge of a terrible argument.
So as to get things done, I decided to take a step back. To be more specific, I listened and took into consideration all of the opinions of the group leader as well as the ideas of other members. The plan of the game was made based on those ideas, but I also made a back-up plan which was based on my ideas. When it came to execute the plan, it was the back-up plan of mine that worked better. I knew this from the very beginning since the people having the ideas were the talker rather than the doer. So, their ideas were more likely to be impractical and unmatched with the reality. I was the one who got the game ready and took main responsibility in preparation and execution. Eventually, the game took place successfully, attracting almost two hundred participants and raising nearly a thousand US dollar. I considered this successful game as the greatest achievement I have ever made in my life and I was really proud of myself.
| Describe a time when someone apologized you You should say:
And explain how you felt about it | Describe a time you did not tell your friend the truth You should say
And explain how you feel about it | Describe a time your friend did not tell you the truth You should say
And explain how you feel about it |
This happened around 6 years ago when I was in my junior year in university. At that time, a youth club of which Han and I were members held a fundraising project to help people with disadvantages. We were assigned to sell handmade bracelets and stuffed animals to raise around 1000 US dollars within two weeks. Han and I decided that each of us would raise 500 dollars. Two weeks later, I successfully raised around 600 US dollars, while Han raised only 400 dollars. However, together we still met the given target. I was really happy with the result and handed the money over to the club's management board.
A few days later, I accidentally visited Han's house and met her mother. Han's mother complimented us on our successful fundraising. She told me that Han raised a lot of money, maybe more than 800 dollars, because in addition to selling fundraising products, one of her relative also gave her 400 US dollars for donation. I was really frustrated when I learned the news. She in fact raised more than 800 dollars, but only gave half of the money to the charity club. I couldn't believe that my friend embezzled hundreds of dollars from charity. How terrible and greedy she was.
I immediately met Han and talked to her about what I knew. After giving some ridiculous excuses, she finally admitted that she secretly took the money because she wanted to buy a new phone. She apologized for her guilt. I was terribly disappointed at what she did and made her give the money to the charity club.
| Describe an occasion when weather prevented your activity You should say:
And how you felt about it |
Hoi An is a small ancient town, around 40 km away from Da Nang city, and located in central Vietnam. This place is extremely famous for its distinct cultural and historical characters, so my family and I decided to have a 2-day trip there last year. However, the trip was not as exciting as I expected. The weather forecast told us that the weather conditions in Hoi An on that day would be nice, but everything was so different. I remember on the day we came to Hoi An, the weather was so terrible with the sky being changeable and heavy, together with cold winds. As a result, my family and I couldn't take a walk along the roads in Hoi An town as we planned. Furthermore, the plan of having nice river boat dining was also canceled because there was a heavy rain in the evening of that day, making the water level in the river go up and the river banks unstable. Because of these reasons, my parents complained a lot about the weather and they blamed me for choosing the destination. They also criticised that there was nothing special about Hoi An and spending money to visit there was such a waste. I got sick of their constant nagging and had to bear with it until the end of the trip. It was a luck that the trip only lasted 2 days.
| Describe an interesting conversation you had with a stranger/ a time you met someone for the first time. You should say: - Who this person was - What the conversation was about - Why you had this conversation And how you felt about it |
It was 6 months ago that I paid to visit to Da Lat to find relaxation after long working months. When I sat at a sofa in the lobby of the hotel where I stayed, I had a chance to talk to a man named Minh who was also a guest of the hotel.
The conversation started by introducing names and occupations. Minh told me that he was a university student and also a member of the Service Learning Center at his university. At first, I didn’t have any impression on him, but after listening to his concerns about environmental issues and his contributions to environmental protection, my thoughts about him changed.
Minh told me about the project called "Trash collecting day" which he organized in his university. This is one of his efforts in trying to change the littering behaviour of young people. In the trash collecting day, students would collect trash in the surrounding area of the university campus then categorise the garbage and recycle items which were still reusable. There were also some useful and interesting workshops on recycling and how to help the environment. You know, the event was so well-known that it was broadcast on TV and on the internet by HTV channel.
Also, it amazes me that Minh is a doer rather than a talker in terms of saving the planet. At the end of the conversation, Minh showed me some small actions I could do every day to protect the environment, for example using reusable bags when shopping, recycling paper whenever possible, turning off the lights and air-conditioners before leaving any rooms.
Honestly, I was immensely impressed at this man since he is truly aware of environmental protection and takes it seriously. If everybody behaves like Minh, I believe our environmental issues will be significantly alleviated in a short time.
| Describe a sky you would like to see / a time you looked at the sky You should say: - Where it is - Who you would like to see it with - What you would like to see And explain why you would like to see it |
(Bài này cô lấy hoàn toàn từ các câu trả lời cho các câu hỏi của Speaking Part 1 - Topic: Sky)
I have my preference for the night sky over the morning sky because I can find peace and relaxation by gazing at the moon and stars. The fresh and cool air at night is also something so appealing and comfortable. Therefore, I’m really into watching the night sky and can lose myself gazing at the starry night for hours.
It is better to watch the night sky somewhere far away from HCMC. Clearly, big cities inevitably experience high levels of light pollution, and this obscures many stars from view. I still can observe the moon from my house in HCMC but not in all of its glory. Therefore, when it comes to night sky enjoyment, I would like to visit my hometown in a rural area. That is the place where there are many vast open spaces and can offer the best star gazing view.
I yearn to be under a clear night in the rural area when the night sky is bright with the lights of so many stars, even the Milky Way can be seen and the sky can almost be touched. Also, I would like to see when the night sky is adorned with the beauty of the full moon. The brightness of the moon is so gentle and not as super strong as the sun so watching it is very relaxing and peaceful. Moreover, the moon is always meaningful to me. It is lonely and full of imperfections, but can shine in times of darkness.
And that's all I want to talk about a perfect night sky that I would like to see.
| Describe a time you wouldn’t use the mobile phone You should say:
How you felt about it |
| Describe a time when you first met someone You should say:
And how you felt about it |
It was about six months ago I had a trip to Da Lat. This hill town has long been famous as a a perfect getaway holiday destination for Saigonese because this place can offer a good change of atmosphere with refreshingly cool climate which is very different from the hot and humid weather in Ho Chi Minh City. I took the trip there in order to quickly escape from the stressful world of work. My trip lasted three days and two nights, and in general the trip was very wonderful.
I rented a hotel room for my stay in Da Lat. On the second day of my trip, when I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for a friend of mine to come and pick me up, I had a chance to talk to a man who was also the guest of the hotel. He was also waiting for someone. We had a small conversation to kill the time.
He told me that his name was Hai and he was a student at HCMC Conservatory of Music majoring in music composition, yet he was also a part-time mobile game developer. I remember how I was astonished when I knew about this because the two areas are totally different. I also gave a brief introduction about me, talking about my name, my job and why I visited Da Lat. The man’s style of thinking was very analytical and methodical, yet intuitive and artistic, making the conversation with him very humorous and interesting.
| Describe a situation when you didn’t have enough time You should say: – when it was – where you were – what you tried to do or finish And explain why you didn’t have enough time for it | Describe a time that you got up early in the morning You should say: - when it happened - why you got up early - who you were with And explain how you felt about getting up early. | Describe a time when you were too tired but had to stay awake You should say: - When and where that happened - Why you were so tired and had to stay awake - Who were there with you And explain how you felt at that time |
Normally there aren't any occasions in my life making me wake up early in the morning. My full-time job starts at around 9:30 AM so I have plenty of time in the morning to get ready before getting out of my house. But today is immensely different because of the IELTS test. It starts at exactly 8:00 AM, so it is understandable that I have to get up at around 6:00 AM to get ready. In order to get up that early, I went to bed at around 10 p.m. the night before. However, an incident happened the next morning since my alarm clock on the smartphone didn't go off so I quite overslept. I intended to get up at 6 a.m. but it turned out to be an hour later that I got out of bed.
Needless to say, I had little time to do personal hygiene. I remember I brushed my teeth quickly, washed my face with water only, instead of with cleanser as usual. Then, I combed my hair carelessly, changed my clothes as fast as I could, grabbed my stuff and raced out the door. I didn't even check appearance before a mirror like I normally do. Obviously I had to skip the breakfast and totally ignored the feeling of hunger in my stomach. I rode my scooter way too fast to get to the venue where the test was going to take place. I was completely breathless and my heart was beating to fast when I arrived. Fortunately, I got to the test room in time so the coordinators allowed to let me in the room.
Waking up early like what I did today is such an interesting yet not really desirable experience.
Normally I need to have an 8-hour sleep at night so that I can be fully awake in the next morning. However, in the evening before the IELTS test, I was flooded with emails and phone calls from my company's clients and suppliers. Due to the huge amount of workload, it was not until 2.00 AM that I went to bed. The IELTS Test started at exactly 8:00 AM in the next morning, so it is understandable that I had to get up at around 6:00 AM to get ready. This means that I slept only 4 hours. Needless to say, not getting enough sleep made me suffer from sleepiness and fatigue.
In order to stay awake and focus on the test, I drank a large cup of black coffee before entering the test room. I hoped that caffeine would be a magic saving me from the terrible mental condition. However, as opposed to my expectation, I suffered from greater tiredness since my body didn't respond well with this kind of stimulant. I could clearly tell that I had trouble with thinking and concentration during the test since I found it harder to focus and understand the texts. I tried to use all of my skills and knowledge to answer the questions. Eventually, I completed all the test but I wasn't really confident of my answers. That was rather disappointing.
And that's all I want to say.
| Describe a time when you heard a person talking on the phone in the public places You should say:
And tell what you heard |
I remember it was a year ago in my trip to Hoi An. It was summer and I wanted to make a quick escape from the stressful world of work so I decided to take a 2-day trip to Hoi An, which is a popular tourist destination located in Central Vietnam. I has longed for paying a visit to this place so I spent all day to walk around the town, enjoy the local food and visit a lot of historical sites. When I was sitting on a bench, taking a break after a long walk around the town, I accidentally heard a man sitting next to me talking to someone about his lost wallet.
As per what I heard, he was also a tourist and he dropped his wallet somewhere while walking around the town. There was a worried look on his face because in addition to money, there were some important personal documents in the wallet. The person talking to him on the phone was the one who accidentally picked up his wallet lying on the ground on a pedestrian street, and that kind stranger managed to find his phone number from one of his cards. That person told the man to come to his place to get the wallet back. Needless to say, the man had a sigh of relief when he learned that his wallet was found.
| Describe an unusual experience of travelling/vacation/holiday You should say: - When and where that trip took place - Who went with you - What you did during that trip And explain why you think that trip was unusual |
More than 6 months ago, my friends and I travelled to Da Lat on our holiday. The hill town of Da Lat has long been the most popular getaway holiday destination because it offers a good change of atmosphere with a refreshingly cool climate, opposed to the hot and humid weather of Ho Chi Minh City.
For our convenience, we rented a whole house for our group of 9 people and we stayed there for 3 nights. In general, the trip was very wonderful. We enjoyed a lot of local dishes, met friendly local people, visited lots of natural sites and took many nice photos of Da Lat's beautiful landscape, evergreen forests and minority villages. However, something weird happened on the last night of the vacation.
Because it was the last night, we were too excited to go to bed early. Also, the atmosphere at that time was really creepy, provoking our mood for ghost stories or something mysterious. Therefore, we decided to play hide and seek in the house. As far as I remember, the weather at the time was cold and foggy and there was only dim light, making the whole place very creepy and terrifying. While I was hiding behind a curtain in the corridor to wait for my friend to come find me, I noticed something unusual. Opposite my hiding place was a closed door of a room which was supposed to be unoccupied. Suddenly, the door was opened a little bit, and from there I had a feeling that someone was standing in the room and staring at me. That made me totally overwhelm with fear and fright and I could even feel a cold shiver ran down my spine. Because of that, I immediately ran away back to my room and was totally freaked out so much I couldn't sleep until sunrise. That may be an absurd story, but until now just thinking about it can give me goose bumps.
| Describe an experience when you travelled by public transport You should say:
And explain how you felt about travelling in this way |
It was a Sunday morning and I was due in London that afternoon. There was no traffic at all as I drove in to Manchester, and I was expecting a nice, peaceful trip on a half-empty train. But my first surprise came when I tried to print my prepaid ticket at one of the ticket machines: there wasn’t a reserved seat number on my ticket, which meant that I would have to find an available seat. I was still wondering about this when I heard loud voices and singing coming from the main station concourse. Suddenly I realised what was happening - I was going to be on a train full of football fans travelling to a big match!
Luckily I managed to find a seat before the train filled up. However, the noisy fans made sure that I couldn’t concentrate on any work; I couldn’t even read the newspaper without being interrupted by laughter, singing and football stories. In the end, I just sat and relaxed with a cup of coffee, watching and listening to the excited fans.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad journey; I love travelling by train and at least I had a comfortable seat so that I could sit back and relax for a couple of hours. I would have preferred a quieter trip, but the football fans were all friendly and good-natured, so I can’t really complain. Even so, I made sure that I avoided them on the way home later that day!
