BỘ ĐỀ DỰ ĐOÁN IELTS Speaking Part 2 - Tháng 9-12/2019 (Describe other things)

I watched the movie 6 months ago at a cinema with my cousin. And, I can tell that this James Bond movie has left good impressions on me so I kept talking about it to my friends and colleagues and recommended them to watch it.

In the movie, the hero, Bond, is on a mission to save the world from an arch-criminal as usual. In general, the movie is similar to most of the previous Bond films, with a plot line involving lots of twists and turns, and with Bond using his skills to defeat his nemesis in the end.

Having said that, the action scenes and special effects in the movie are the plus points. I credit you that the movie will thrill you and get the adrenaline pumping by magnificent scenes of gun fight, martial arts fight, or car racing. The character James Bond is played by Daniel Craig - a famous English actor, and I would say that Daniel has done a very good job in portraying a determined, smart and resourceful James Bond. Also, I like the fact that Bond’s missions always take place in spectacular locations in different parts of the world. Of course, Bond films are totally unrealistic, you could even say ridiculous. But they're always fast, entertaining and fun, a bit like a roller-coaster ride!

I obviously know about this movie because I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and any movies relating to the wizarding world. The first time I watched the movie was in 2017 and I enjoyed the movie at a cinema with my younger sister.

Talking about the content of "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them", the movie is about the drastic fights between good and evil wizards. The main character - Newt Scamander - is a wizard who studies magical creatures and of course he belongs to the good wizard party, fighting against the evil wizard party. 

I'd like to recommend this film because of several reasons. First, the main character is played by Eddie Redmayne who is my favourite English actor. I would say that Eddie has done a very good job in portraying an intelligent, resourceful and socially embarrassing Newt Scamander. Second, wizarding and magic are my perennial interests and this series has brought these magical things to life. I credit you that the movie will thrill you and get the adrenaline pumping by magnificent scenes of magic fight, martial arts fight, or the living of magical creatures. 

Giáo viên BE READY IELTS - Ms Thi

The friend that I consulted with was Hai. 6 years ago we were both members of a Youth Club for university students. At that time, in order to raise fund for the Club, we did create a game called “An Amazing Race – Saigon version”, in which contestants would pay a fee to join the game and try to win the prize. As far as I remember, when we came to the stage of finalizing the mission challenges and the route of the race, I was in a huge conflict with the Club leader. The reason was that her opinions were so different from mine – as a vice leader. I believed all the programme would be ruined if we followed what she said so I strongly objected to her proposed plan, and she also disagreed with mine. We were on the verge of a terrible argument.

In order to find a solution to this matter, I talked to Hai and asked for his advice. Fortunately, Hai played an excellent role of a neutral third party, coming up with a whole new plan which was a combination of the leader’s ideas, my ideas and of course his ideas as well. It was truly a balanced solution merging all the plus points of everyone’s ideas. This made all relevant parties feel that their contributions were recognized. In addition, he presented his plan in a very logical yet humourous way so everything was very understandable and persuasive. Eventually we went with his proposal and the Race took place successfully. Not many people can be a smart moderator and problem-solver like him 

I had three travelling companions in the car with me, who were three of my close friends and we had agreed on gathering at my house at 5am, which was our point of departure. Actually, I’m quite an early riser, so I found it quite easy to get up that early and be ready on time.  And luckily, the weather that day was really nice, so we were able to leave the windows down for most of the trip. The fresh air and tranquillity of the countryside made me feel really relaxed but energetic at the same time.

After driving all day, we arrived in Hanoi quite late, by around 6:30pm and continued to drive around the lake a few times, until about 7pm, when the sun began to set and the streets became a little quieter. After that, we stopped at our favourite cafe to sip on some coffee and reflect on our long day.

I really enjoyed that car trip because of several reasons. To begin with, it was a great chance for me to see my country from a very different angle, a road trip with my mates. Usually I would take the train or a plane to complete that journey. So this was a great way to see things, stopping whenever we liked, if we saw something that interested us, for example. This car trip also helped me to refresh my mind by just hitting the open road and leaving all my worries behind. It was also a really great opportunity for me and my friends to enjoy each other’s company and exchange stories along the way from our daily lives. You know, we are often too busy to meet regularly, so chances like this are really valuable.

Vocabulary highlights:

1. travelling companions – people to travel with
2. gathering – to come together
3. point of departure – place to begin a journey from
4. an early riser – someone who wakes up early every morning eg. at 5am
5. tranquillity – calm, peaceful and quiet
6. sip on – to drink slowly
7. reflect on – to think about
8. mates – friends
9. refresh my mind – to be mentally relaxed
10. hitting the open road – going for a drive somewhere out of the city
11. enjoy each other’s company – to have a good time with someone

Nguồn: Bài trích từ trang IELTS-Share.com (link) 

I first heard about this prize during my training and orientation period just after I got the job three years ago. It was early December and some of my colleagues were discussing who might be awarded ‘employee of the year’ later that month. I was intrigued and asked them to tell me more about the award.

As I said, the prize is given for ‘outstanding contribution to the business’. We don’t have an exact definition of what this means, but we assume that you have to achieve certain standards, such as 100% attendance, good punctuality, meeting targets and deadlines, good teamwork, and so on. I think the winner also needs to have done something especially creative. For example, last year’s winner created a completely new service for our clients.

I’d like to win ‘employee of the year’ because it would mean that my work had been recognised by the company directors, and this would definitely help me to progress in my career. It would also give me a great sense of personal achievement.

Câu trả lời của Mr Simon, nguồn

Sample answer: lottery prize

It is the lottery prize worth billions of VND that I would like to win someday.

Maybe this is something superstitious, but I had a vision of digits popped in my dream years ago. Normally I forget almost all of my dreams soon after waking up, but at that time, the digits were like marking in my head so that I could remember it clearly. I wrote it down and a friend persuaded me to play the lottery. So I did, every month, without fail. I have been doing so for two years and I hope it will happen one day that I win billions of VND.

I always want to have a tremendous fortune to make some other dreams of mine come true. If I won a lottery ticket, I would immediately start meeting with bankers to set up a trust fund that will help people with disadvantages around the world. Also, I would donate to all public hospitals in Vietnam so that they can improve healthcare facilities and equipment to treat patients better. I used to suffer from the terrible hospital conditions a year ago when I had a serious illness, so I never forget the experience. A new house for my parents is also in the top of my to-do-list since our current house is in poor conditions. I plan to have fun too. I would travel to many popular tourist destinations around the world, like Kyoto City in japan or Istanbul in Turkey or Europe countries.

In general, there are many things I can do if I win the lottery prize, and I believe there are many people having the same wish like mine. 

Running Man is a fun-to-watch variety show where the MCs and guests will strive to complete clever games and missions at a landmark to win the race. All of the participants of the show are celebrities, such as famous MCs, singers, actors, actresses, models, comedians, thereby making it capture the public’s attention.

There are countless funny moments in the show which make me laugh to tears. I remember in one episode, the contestants played a telepathy game. Two players from one team must wear headphones with loud music so that it is impossible to hear what the other person says. The one giving questions must choose one question out of ten, while the other person answering it must choose one answer out of ten. If the question and answer didn’t match, they could not earn points. I bursted into laugh from the beginning of this episode till the end. The contents of the questions and answers were so creative and funny, and the mismatching of the players made everything so hilarious. Watching this show is really amusing and entertaining.

This game show was created originally in Korea and has become extremely popular in the community of K-pop fans. Because of its enormous popularity, Vietnam, as well as many other countries like China or Thailand, bought the copy rights of this game from its producer and made the local version. Even though Running Man Vietnamese version is not as good as the original Korean version, I still love and enjoy this game show.

As far as I can remember, it was originally a UK TV Game Show, and it made its first debut in Vietnam around 10 years ago.

This was kind of a quiz show in which contestants have to go through a set of 15 questions with increasing difficulty. The first 5 questions are pretty silly really, and they always give me and my family a good laugh. Contestants are given 4 lifelines to aid them with difficult questions, and most of them are usually used up when the contestant reaches around question 7 or 8. The entire show is a sea of knowledge. Many questions from different fields are asked, ranging from trivial things like ingredients needed to make cookies to academic stuff like quantum physics and archeology.

You know, I’m quite a curious man, so back when I was a high school kid, I hardly missed an episode. When the Internet became available in Vietnam, I started to watch the UK and US version as well, and knowledge acquired from those shows were really helpful to me in many of my high school knowledge quizzes.

 Vocabulary highlights:

• Debut: The first public appearance of something
• Give somebody a good laugh: Make someone laugh in excitement
• A sea of knowledge: a lot of knowledge

In terms of the reason why to master this skill is so time-consuming, there is no doubt that writing is the most difficult skill for language learners, even for students studying their native language. Writing requires a different kind of organization as compared to speaking. When you speak, you can still make mistakes in pronunciation or grammar in speaking, but it’s acceptable as long as it doesn’t impede communication. However, there is a completely different story in writing. There are so many factors that people have to care about when practicing writing, such as grammar rules, lexical resource, coherence and task achievement if you are writing an essay at university.

Talking about the time I learn this skill, it was not until I entered the world of employment that I resumed my practice on writing. At that time, I wanted to write a good and polite email responding to my company’s clients. I kept regularly using some words and sentence structures in emails and they have become parts of my writing. I also asked my colleague who is an English native speaker to help correct my writing. Slowly but surely my writing has improved and it doesn’t take too much time to write as it used to be. Moreover, I made the most remarkable progress in writing skill when becoming an english tutor for my cousins who are students in high school. I am given an opportunity to review the common mistakes in writing of Vietnamese people. Also, I study and read more about english grammar rules so that I can give clear and detailed explanation for the mistakes of my cousins.

At the present time, I can perform in English writing much better than myself a few years ago. The skill is immensely challenging so getting better at it is extremely rewarding. I'm proud of myself whenever I complete the decent and error-free reports or sample answers for my students. 

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It is snorkelling that I would like to talk about as the water sport I have watched before and want to give it a try in the future.

I did watch a video clip of people going snorkelling in Phuket, Thailand by chance on Youtube. In the video, a tourist shows the underwater scenery with blue sea, many sea creatures and especially the amazingly stunning coral gardens and the beautifully alien underwater landscape.
This video intrigued me to read about this water sport. I always want to get in the water, see how it seems underneath the surface and experience the underwater world, and snorkelling is the best and fairly easy way to do that. I find it more approachable compared to scuba diving. I already know how to swim so maybe it won’t take long to get ready for the snorkelling adventure.

The snorkelling equipment is not as complicated and heavy as scuba diving. All you need is a set of mask and snorkel that fits your face well, a pair of fins and a wetsuit if you intend to dive deep into the sea. 

I have learned that snorkelling would bring many health benefits to the human body. To be more specific, it improves your breathing, makes your lungs healthier, boosts your overall fitness and creates stronger muscle. The best part of snorkelling is connecting our human with nature. We’ll be encountering colorful creatures and enjoying the underwater formations of the ocean. This is truly the best way to relax and escape the human world.

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.

(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. 

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It is Mandarin that I would like to talk about as a foreign language I would like to learn.

Personally I really love Chinese historical TV series, especially ones about The imperial Harem of Chinese emperors during Qing dynasty. I find watching dramas about the life of ancient concubines which is sorrowful and painful so sensational. There are a lot of meaningful and inspirational quotes from the series that move me to tears, motivating me to study Mandarin.

There are many things in common between Mandarin and Vietnamese so somehow I find Mandarin Chinese much easier to learn than European languages, especially no tenses, no plurals, no subject/verb agreement and simple numbering system.

There is no doubt that written Chinese is challenging because this is a logographic language. Despite its difficulty, learning to read and write Chinese will give you a lifetime of intellectual stimulation. Each Chinese character carries itself a distinct meaning, and only by learning the patterns and ideas hidden inside the characters, we can understand this language thoroughly and systematically. The real beauty of Chinese language is revealed in the writing.   

As for me, even though the study of Chinese language opens the way to different areas such as Chinese politics, history, or economy, studying this language finally means to study its culture, its people. Chinese language reflects the values, the struggles, the sensibility, the joys and sorrows of this people, and often offer insights even into the most intimate feelings of people in the past.