نمونه سوالات اسپیکینگ آیلتس با جواب برای سال ۱۴۰۲

Q. Good morning. My name is Katherin Hingis. Could I have your name, please?

Q. And your candidate number?

Q. Can I see your ID?

Q. Well, great. Where are you from?

Q. What do you do?

Topic - Friends:

Q. Do you have many friends? [Why/Why not?]

Q. How often do you go out with friends? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Tell me about your best friend at school.

Q. How friendly are you with your neighbors? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Which is more important to you, friends or family? [Why?]

Q: Do you have many friends? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I have more than 10 friends and I am not sure if I should say this is many! However, I had more than 30 friends in my school days. With the passage of the time, the number plummeted. If I count my Facebook friends as real friends, the number would go high!

Q: How often do you go out with friends? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I meet my friends almost twice a week. I love to spend my weekends with them and sometimes I visit different places, watch movies and discuss different topics with them. I do not go out with all of my friends. I mostly hang out with 2-3 close buddies and go out with them almost 3-4 times a month.

Q: Tell me about your best friend at school.

Answer: My best friend at school was John and he was a great friend. He was tall and brave. He taught me how to show courage when we are in trouble. He has a great impact on my life. Though he lives in Australia now, we regularly communicate via Skype. I specifically liked him because he was more like a brother than a friend to me.

Q: How friendly are you with your neighbors? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I must say I am quite lucky to have good neighbors who are always supportive and well-behaved. I am quite close to them. We have been living in our neighborhood for more than a decade and our neighbors have become our close relatives. We have a mutual understanding and an invisible bond that ties us together as good neighbors. I respect their opinion, and privacy and try to step forward whenever they need me.

Q: Which is more important to you, friends or family? [Why?]

Answer: To be honest, family comes first. However, there are some friends who become our family members. The bond between family members is often stronger but this does not mean that we do not have friends who are less important in our life. Being with the family makes us who we really are and friends make our life worth living.

Topic - People you study/work with:

Q. Who do you spend the most time studying/working with? [Why?]

Q. What kinds of things do you study/work on with other people? [Why?]

Q. Are there times when you study/work better by yourself? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Is it important to like the people you study/work with? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Who do you spend the most time studying/working with? [Why?]

Answer: As a university student, I have a couple of classmates, who are also my friends, with whom I spend a considerable amount of time studying or discussing different topics related to our studies or assignments. If I have to single out a person among them, I would say I spend the most time with “Jessica”, who is a very close friend of mine, and a very brilliant student.

Alternative Answer: I work in a software company in our country, and I often have to work with a number of colleagues on different projects and requirements. However, I believe I work mostly with two of my colleagues, who happen to be also from my university, as we are often in the same team working on the same projects.

Q. What kinds of things do you study/work on with other people? [Why?]

Answer: My major is Business Studies, and I often find myself studying or discussing accounting, banking, technology, finance, management, and computer applications-related topics or assignments with the people I study with. If we have important assignments, which are quite frequent, we also discuss how we can approach and prepare to get a good grade.

Alternative Answer: As a software developer, I almost always work in a team. My work nature is such that I have to constantly interact with a group of people ranging from the clients to the project manager, from teammates, subordinates, the design team, the marketing team to the testing team. I work with the clients to understand the project requirements. With other teams and project managers, I mostly discuss the progress of the projects or do formal meetings about the projects. With the testing team, I collaborate in order to solve bugs or improve a feature.

Q. Are there times when you study/work better by yourself? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I think most of us would agree that group studies are better for understanding comparatively complex topics and it also helps us share our ideas. However, there are some instances, at least this is what my experience has taught me when we tend to do better if we study all by ourselves. For instance, if I need to write an essay, read a chapter of a book that requires utmost attention, solve a math problem, or do some online research for a small project, I prefer working alone to being in a group of several people. I would like to share my ideas or get reviews on the work I do in such situations, but when it comes to jotting down my thoughts or thinking with rapt attention, I think working solo is sometimes the best option.

Alternative Answer: Well, before starting to work on a project, I need to discuss and collaborate with several people. But when it comes to actually writing codes for the software or application, I prefer to work all by myself. However, during this work, I often need to supervise my subordinates and interact with seniors. I think I prefer writing code in a silent environment without the intervention of others because this way, I can pay absolute attention and produce great outputs.

Q. Is it important to like the people you study/work with? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: Yes, it is absolutely important to like the people we study with. Students, most of the time, if not always, create a friendly bond with others they study with. So if they do not like each other, chances are that the group would not sustain itself in the long run and produce very poor output. As for me, the students who I study with are my dear friends, and this friendship has begun after we started studying together.

Alternative Answer: In my opinion, it is quite important to like and respect the people we work with. Without having a work environment where we have friendly and helpful colleagues, we cannot go on for long. In fact, we spend a significant amount of our day-time in our workplace, so it is imperative that we are surrounded by the people we like to work with and respect each other.

Topic - Names:

Q. Did your parents choose your name(s)?

Q. How did your parents choose your name(s)?

Q. Does your name have any special meaning?

Q. Is your name common or unusual in your country?

Q. If you could change your name, would you? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Did your parents choose your name(s)?

Answer: Yes, my parents selected my name. When I was born, my parents wanted me to have a great name, at least to them. I have heard from my mother that my father brought a baby name book even before I was born. So the credit of my name solely goes to them.

Q. How did your parents choose your name(s)?

Answer: I learned that they were inspired by a name they found in the book and they took the surname from my grandfather. Thus they combined the name and selected it for me. However, this was the final step they went through to pick my name. As far as I know, they had to choose from hundreds of names and spend considerable hours to finally become satisfied with the name.

Q. Does your name have any special meaning?

Answer: My name is very special to me as it is to my parents. The first part of my name, Clyde, came from the name of a river, more specifically it is a Scottish river. The river was close to the location where I was born and I believe my parents wanted me to be as big as a river! The second part of my name, which is Entriken', is the family name of a famous ancient dynasty from Great Britain.

Q. Is your name common or unusual in your country?

Answer: Statistically speaking, this is not a very common name. However, from my experience, I can tell that I have personally met at least 10 others with the same name but with a different family name.

Q. If you could change your name, would you? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: My name is very special to me and I would never change it. For anyone, his/her name is quite unique and significantly important. I might take an alias someday if I need to ghost-write some articles, but changing my real name to something for the sake of modernism or style is something I will never accept.

Topic - Food and cooking:

Q. What sorts of food do you like eating most? [Why?]

Q. Who normally does the cooking in your home?

Q. Do you watch cookery programs on TV? [Why/Why not?]

Q. In general, do you prefer eating out or eating at home? [Why?]

Q. What sorts of food do you like eating most? [Why?]

Answer: I prefer homemade food and am a fan of my mother's recipe. She is an amazing cook and I always enjoy her cooking. Whenever we go to a restaurant, we like to order Chinese menus. Apart from that, I like buttered popcorn, pizza, Indian Masala dosa, Mexican Tacos, doughnuts, and sandwiches - a mixture of many foreign food items actually.

Q. Who normally does the cooking in your home?

Answer: My mother does the cooking in our house and as I have said, she is a magnificent cook. I often compliment her and inspire her to start a restaurant in the city and she always laughs hearing this. Sometimes, my elder sister Emma assists my mother in the kitchen. I, on the contrary, am in charge of the grocery and daily shopping.

Q. Do you watch cookery programs on TV? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: Not much, I would say. I am not a big fan of TV programs and mostly watch movies on my laptop. Once in a while, I watch programs related to travel and cooking, and 'Hell's Kitchen', 'Iron Chef' and 30 'Minute Meals' are my favorites.

Q. In general, do you prefer eating out or eating at home? [Why?]

Answer: I like to eat at home. Homemade food has better food value and offers a wide range of choices. It is more hygienic and less expensive. However, we like to eat at a restaurant whenever we have special occasions to celebrate. As dining out in a restaurant offers my mom plenty of time to socialize rather than getting stuck in the kitchen, my father and I often insist she goes to an eatery on occasions like wedding anniversaries and birthdays.

Topic - Photographs:

Q. What type of photos do you like taking? [Why/Why not?]

Q. What do you do with the photos you take?

Q. When you visit other places, do you take photos or buy postcards? [Why/Why not?]

Q. Do you like people taking photos of you? [Why/Why not?]

Q. What type of photos do you like taking? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I often experiment with my camera and mobile phone camera and that's why I like to take a wide range of photos that include nature, people, gift items, sky, river, flowers and so on.

However, I am inclined to take photos of people. Some of the best photos that I took were taken in unknown places where people posed for my camera. Their genuine smile, sad expressions, and sometimes bewilderment make the photograph worth cherishing.

Q. What do you do with the photos you take?

Answer: After I take around 20-30 photographs in my camera or my mobile phone, I connect it to my laptop and sort out the best clicks. Then I name those phones according to the theme and prepare those to upload to my Flickr account. Flickr is a great photo storing and sharing website owned by Yahoo! and it offers enormous storage space. Sometimes, I share a few pictures with my friends on Facebook and Instagram. I usually print a photo if I want to gift it to someone or frame it.

Q. When you visit other places, do you take photos or buy postcards? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: I used to buy postcards whenever I visited a new place with my parents in my childhood. Perhaps I did so to bring souvenirs of the places I had been to. But with the increasing use of the smartphone and cameras, we can now take our own picture and video and frame it to our digital storage. In this age of technological advancement, we are more inclined to take pictures and videos and then share those with friends and family rather than purchasing souvenirs, especially postcards.

Q. Do you like people taking photos of you? [Why/Why not?]

Answer: If someone asks me firsts and I feel like being captured in a photo, I do not mind. Otherwise, I do not prefer to be in a photograph, especially with less known or unknown people. I think this is a personal choice and I am not the type of person who likes taking selfies or self-photograph now and then.

Describe a picture or photograph in your family
You should say:

What is in the photo
Where this photo is in your home
How this picture was taken

The photograph that was taken when I was only 4-5 years old with my parents, grandfather and grandmother is one of my favorite photographs.

I do not have a clear memory of the event at which the photograph was taken but I have seen it thousands of times and still, I look at it with delight and sadness. The photograph is a black-and-white one and later I enlarged it and framed it in my living room. My grandparents and parents make the picture really significant to me.

I look with amazement into the picture and sometimes can’t believe I was so small and different at that time. The picture gives me gloomy feelings as my grandfather and mother are no longer with us. In the picture, they seem so lively but I can’t be with them anymore! This photograph is probably my most favorite one as it keeps me closer to my grandparents and reminds me of how we were a happy family. Every time I look at this particular picture, it gives a different sensation – a mixture of happiness and sadness. This is a priceless possession to me and I would like to cherish it for the rest of my life.

Describe a present you have given someone.

You should say:

Who you gave it to
What kind of present it was
How it compared to other presents you have given
Explain why you decided to give this particular gift.

I’m going to talk about a present that I gave to someone.

The person that I gave it to was a very good friend of mine at the time. His name was Kaaliya and he came from India. I knew him because we studied together at a language school in Cambridge. Although we were from different backgrounds and cultures, we got on really well and we had the same sense of humor so we became very good friends.

The present was a picture that had been painted of the River Cam in Cambridge. It was not so big - maybe around 10 inches by 14 inches, but it was very beautiful. It came in a gold-plated frame and the picture had been drawn by a particularly well-known Cambridge artist. It had been signed by this person as well.

It’s the first time I have given this person a present, and I guess it’s quite different from presents that I have given to other people before – I don’t recall ever giving someone a picture actually. If I’m buying for the family then I’ll usually buy clothes or maybe some jewelry if it is a special occasion. Normally when I’ve bought something for friends it’s something more jokey so we can have a laugh about it, nothing that serious.

The reason why I decided to give this particular gift is that we had spent a lot of time together in Cambridge and we had had some really fun times punting on the River Cam – that’s obviously why I thought this was an appropriate present. We used to go punting at least once a week, sometimes a couple of times. On one occasion there was a group of about ten of us that went down there, and we spent the whole day sitting by the river in the sun, and as usual we went on a boat trip together. We all have a lot of photos to remind us of this great day.

So my friend, Kaaliya, is the person that I gave a presentation to and this was because I felt it would always remind him of the fun times that we had and also of Cambridge.

Describe an old person that you know.

You should say:

What your relationship is with this person
How often you see them
What people think about this person
Explain why you like them

Ok, I’d like to tell you about an old person that I know.

His name is John, and he is the owner of a small convenience store at the end of my street.

I would say that my relationship with him is as a friend. I know him because I regularly go to the shop in order to buy things when I don’t have time to go to a supermarket. He’s quite friendly and I always have a chat with him. I’ve known him now for about five years - since I’ve lived in the area in fact. That’s why I’d now call him a friend.

I’d say that I see him fairly regularly. Like I said, I go to the big supermarket out of town sometimes to stock up, but you always need odd things during the week such as milk, or some snack or other. So when this happens I just have a walk down to his shop. So I’d say I see him every one or two days.

I think John is pretty popular as he’s been there for years as far as I’m aware, so most of the locals around the area know him. There will always be someone in the shop having a chat with him. They like him because he’s not just the shopkeeper but also very involved in activities in the community. For example, I know he helps out at the old people’s home some nights, and he runs the quizzes at the local pub. He also helps organize the fete held each year in the town.

The reason that I like him is that he’s great to have a chat with. For instance, a while back I was having problems with my work, and I was really feeling stressed. I didn’t really have anyone to talk to at the time as my family is abroad and a couple of my good friends were not around. I mentioned it to John and he was great. He listened and also gave me some really good advice. He didn’t need to do that so it was great that he made the time to anyway. Generally, though, he’s really welcoming when you go to his shop. He’ll always have a smile on his face.

Describe an environmental problem that has occurred in your country.

You should say:

The cause of the problem
What effect it has had on your country
The steps, if any, that have been taken to solve this
Explain why you think this problem is so important to solve.

Ok, I'm going to talk about a problem with the environment in my country.

One of the most serious problems at the moment is flooding. This is starting to happen every year and each year it seems to get worse. I think it may be caused by a number of factors. Firstly there has been a lot of deforestation in the north of the country, a lot of it from illegal logging. Because of this, when it rains the water has nothing to soak it up so it just runs down the mountains and into the villages and towns. Another factor may be global warming. Scientists believe that this is causing more severe weather so this may account for the increasing amount of rain that we seem to be seeing. It also means the soil is drier so again the rainwater runs off it rather than being soaked up.

Unfortunately, there have been really serious effects on my country. As I said, the excess water runs into the villages and the towns through the rivers, and the rivers then overflow causing massive flooding. This affects thousands of people who then become homeless. Several hundred usually die each year as well. It travels through the country as it starts in the north and goes down to the sea, so it can affect many towns and the capital city too. This also has repercussions for the government as they have to spend so much money managing the disaster each year.

The government is trying to tackle the problem, but it is not easy. They are trying to stop so much deforestation but a lot of the damage has already been done so what can they do? They are also starting to build defenses such as walls along some of the major rivers that run through the town to try to stop them from overflowing. Another thing they are doing is trying to improve their response systems. In most towns, there is now a government organization responsible for coordinating relief operations and making sure they are prepared in advance.

I think this problem is a top priority to solve because it has such devastating impacts. As I mentioned before, it causes suffering for so many people and it is also a huge expense for the government and as we are not a rich country we cannot afford this. It means that other services suffer because of a lack of money. There are other problems that my country has but I think that is by far the worst.

So, that is the serious problem in my country, and I only hope that it does not continue to get worse.

Describe something healthy you enjoy doing.

You should say:

what you do
where you do it
who you do it with
and explain why you think doing this is healthy.

I’m a real fitness fanatic and do loads of things to stay fit and healthy but the one I’d like to tell you about is circuit training. I do this for an hour every Tuesday evening with a group from my rowing club.

We meet at TM Fitness, a gym owned by my friend and crewmate Linda and her son Tom. Tom actually runs the gym but we hire the hall and Chris, another of our rowers, leads the session.

The great thing about circuit training is that it involves lots of different types of activities so this keeps it interesting week by week. We’re never quite sure what we’ll be doing when we turn up.

With a conventional circuit, you work every part of the body in turn, doing aerobic activities and also body conditioning using weights. I like these types of circuits best. Sometimes, if there aren’t many of us there, we do a session on the spin cycles. This is really tough if you don’t get out on a bike very often as I don’t. I used to cycle a lot but don’t have time since I took up rowing. Anyway, spin is hard but I always feel good afterwards.

One of my favorite pieces of equipment is the punch bag. If you’ve had a stressful day at work, putting on a pair of boxing gloves and thumping the bag gets rid of all the negative energy.

I really enjoy exercising with other crew members from my rowing club. It helps to create a team spirit and we encourage and motivate each other. Our rowing club has members of all ages from teenagers to several people in their 60s and everyone works out at their own level. I like to really push myself so that I get the most out of the session. There’s no point in going if you’re not going to get the greatest benefit out of it that you can.

There can be no doubt that circuit training keeps me aerobically fit and also gives me a strong body. Although I do it mainly to improve my fitness for rowing, I enjoy it so much that I think I’d still keep going even if I gave up rowing.

Topic: Family.

1. Is family important in your country?
2. How has the size of the family changed in the last few decades in your country?
3. How do you think the family will change in the future?
4. What role do grandparents play in the family in your country?
5. Who do you think should be responsible for the care of the elderly, the family, or the government?
6. Why is the number of joint families decreasing in modern time?

Q1: Is family important in your country?

Answer: Thank you for this question. Well, people in my country believe that family comes first and they put their family ahead of anything else. They would do anything for the family and I am proud that family bonding in my country is quite strong.

Q2: How has the size of the family changed in the last few decades in your country?

Answer: From my experience, I can say that my grandfather had an extended family, and people at that time used to live together with close relatives. As far as I have heard, their forefathers also live in a joint family and the number of family members was sometimes more than twenty. However, the trend of living in an extended family has changed remarkably in cities where most families are nuclear in nature. The villages in my country still have large families who live together but the number is shrinking day by day.

Q3: How do you think the family will change in the future?

Answer: I believe more people will have a nuclear family and the size of the family will be small in the future. People do not like to have more than two children nowadays and who knows they will consider having one baby policy in the distant future. The very norm that a man gets married to a woman and has their own children to form a family is being challenged by the concept of same-sex marriage and this trend will increase in the future.

Q4: What role do grandparents play in the family in your country?

Answer: Grandparents in a family are like the pillars of virtue and they play an important role. They maintain a balance for the family by nurturing the old traditions and values and teaching how to adhere to the roots. With the increasing number of working parents, grandparents often look after the children. They often advise the rest of the family from time to time regarding family matters as they have more experience and thus their advice often saves us from taking wrong decisions. In this sense, they act like reliable mentors.

Q5: Who do you think should be responsible for the care of the elderly, the family or the government?

Answer: I believe the family has the major responsibility to look after their elder family members and support them personally as they did in their youth age. These senior citizens have sacrificed a lot throughout their lives to form a family and then to make them happy. The young members should do everything in their power to accompany their elder members and provide them with their necessities.

Having said that, the government has some responsibilities as well. These elder members were once taxpayers and thus they deserve healthcare, entertainment, and other facilities from the state.

Q6: Why is the number of joint families decreasing in modern time?

Answer: I believe the city-centric life which is highly competitive and busy has diminished the concept of a joint family and created the nuclear family. Besides the urban influence, ever-increasing inflation, our affection towards a materialistic life, and less inclination towards traditions and values have ended up making our own nuclear family.

Topic: Sports and competition.

1. Why are some sports fans so passionate?

2. Is there any violence at sporting events in your country?

3. Should athletes be better role models?

4. What benefits do international sporting events bring?

5. Is it important for a country to win lots of medals?

6. The money professional sportsmen earn is significantly higher than that the earning of other professionals. Is it justified?

Q1: Why are some sports fans so passionate?

Answer: I believe some people love sports more than other forms of entertainment and competition and they always follow their favorite sports on TV. ‘Watching and playing sports’ is their favorite leisure activity while many of those passionate fans once were players themselves and played the game in their youth. Growing up, they see their family, friends, and city go wild when a goal is scored or a game is won. So, it’s natural to follow others’ enthusiasm and cheer for their local teams. Such attachment often increases their love for sports. In my country, many youths are ardent fans of football and they have their favorite teams. When their favorite team plays, they take every opportunity to support them and sometimes go to the stadium to show their support. Sportsmen are often idolized by youths and they love to follow their favorite sportsmen as enthusiastic followers.

Q2: Is there any violence at sporting events in your country?

Answer: Generally speaking, such violence is very rare in my country. However, a dispute among fans are quite common and most of the time they are verbal than physical. They often take social networking platforms and blogs to criticize their rivals. I can, however, recall a very unfortunate event that took place probably three or four years ago when the fans of two competing teams got agitated and three people died due to this incident while several others were critically injured. The security of the stadium has been revamped to address such unexpected events and hopefully, it wouldn't happen again.

Q3. Should athletes be better role models?

Answer: I believe most fans start adoring an athlete or a sportsman due to the spectacular performance he or she shows. Thus football magicians like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have several million fans and many of them started idolizing them without knowing them personally. However, when these youths start following their favorite sportsmen or athletes, they sometimes follow them blindly. Thus considering the impact, famous sports personalities should always try to lead exemplary lives as thousands of others mimic them. They are also famous and the media is always watching them. Any bad conduct can bring controversy to their fame and they should try to become better role models for youths as it is a social and moral responsibility for any celebrity.

Q4. What benefits do international sporting events bring?

Answer: International sporting events bring nations together and eliminate the tension and hostility among them. Such an event is highly popular and can be a great reason for people to enjoy the competition in the stadium. Thus such competitions foster tourism and help local businesses to flourish. Such prestigious events sometimes encourage young children all around the world to take some sort of sports. This is good for spreading the essence of sports globally and I think sports have economic, political and cultural impacts on society.

Q5. Is it important for a country to win lots of medals?

Answer: I believe every country wants to win as many trophies as possible since it represents how great a nation is in sports and athleticism. Being at the top of the medallist is often considered a great achievement but I personally believe that it is not absolutely necessary. Participating in international sporting events like the Olympics is often inspiring for many small nations. A few medals could be often satisfying and inspiring for them. The most important thing in an international sporting competition is being able to perform and enjoy it, not the number of medals won. When athletes and sportsmen from all around the world gather at a common platform, they not only represent their own country but also the whole of humanity and this is important for maintaining global peace and harmony.

Q6. The money professional sportsmen earn is significantly higher than that the earning of other professionals. Is it justified?

Answer: I think very few fortunate sports celebrities earn a hefty amount of money while most others do not. Considering the training, dedication, challenge and sacrifice that are part of their lives, the earning, in my opinion, is justified. We have to keep in mind that their career is short-spanned and they earn because they perform really well. The payment to those celebrities is high because people buy tickets when they perform and different companies that earn millions of dollars each day want them as brand ambassadors. Since these payments are legit and transparent, I do not see any problem if they earn a lot.

Topic: Historic Place.

1. How do people in your country feel about protecting historic buildings?
2. Do you think an area can benefit from having an interesting historic place locally? In what way?
3. What do you think will happen to historic places or buildings in the future? Why?
4. How were you taught history when you were at school?
5. Are there other ways people can learn about history, apart from at school? How?
6. Do you think history will still be a school subject in the future? Why?

Q1: How do people in your country feel about protecting historic buildings?

Answer: I believe people from my country would want to protect and preserve important historic buildings except maybe a few who put business ahead of their morality and rational thinking. We had our moments when people spontaneously protested the plan to demolish such sites in the past. Due to a huge public backlash and outcry, the authority had been forced to abandon their plan to build multi-storied commercial buildings by smashing the old buildings that have historical significance. Thus citizens in my country are sensitive about protecting anything that has historical importance.

Q2: Do you think an area can benefit from having an interesting historic place locally? In what way?

Answer: Definitely an area with an interesting historic place can reap the benefits from different perspectives. First, such a place would attract a huge number of tourists and help grow different local businesses. Besides, such areas are strategically important for the local government and it can bring more development projects to the area. The government takes extra measures to protect such areas from natural disasters and thus get more attention. On top of that, the flourishing tourism of the area spreads the local custom and traditions to other parts of the country. Thus the development of such a region occurs faster than in other areas.

Q3. What do you think will happen to historic places or buildings in the future? Why?

Answer: That is hard to tell and all would depend on the future generation. If they feel that such locations and buildings are worth preserving, the authority would take steps to protect them. Otherwise, many of them, which are less internationally known, would disappear and would be converted into ultramodern commercial buildings. Prominent sites, on the other hand, would be preserved as they will attract many international tourists. Some of them will be debilitated due to the lack of maintenance and a few new ones would emerge as historic places and buildings in the distant future. The main reason some of the historic places and buildings will disappear is that they are less popular and can't sell tickets to tourists. So the authority or the owner would like to convert them for business purposes. Urbanisation, pollution and the need for more buildings for the increasing population are threats to such historic sites.

Q4: How were you taught history when you were at school?

Answer: Our teachers mainly taught us history from textbooks and we were lucky to have a few amazing teachers who explained how history is important to understand the future. They often explained important events and characters from history and told us how these events and powerful men have shaped future events. We were required to study history books and watch documentaries made on real historical facts and those were not included in our syllabus. Thus we were able to learn more about history. Our school authority took us to different museums and historic sites, generally two to three times a year, and those excursions were our chances to explore more and witness the artifacts from the past. I can recall one particular occasion when we were taken to a war museum and we learned how wars that we hate so much had such profound impacts on our human society.

Q5: Are there other ways people can learn about history, apart from school? How?

Answer: I believe reading about history and researching them online is the best way to learn more about it. What we learn about history in our school is just the beginning. To truly explore the past, we need to read a lot of books and the book choices should be based on the interests of the readers. The Internet is an amazing tool that can help us learn about our past and the interactive videos found on different websites are truly helpful. It offers us to dive deeper into history. Finally, traveling is an excellent way to learn about the world we live in and how this world was shaped by different civilizations. Someone who travels extensively learns about history faster and witnesses history instead of assuming them.

Q6: Do you think history will still be a school subject in the future? Why?

Answer: I believe history is not merely a collection of past events, stories of civilizations and powerful characters. It is rather a way to look at the future. Thus the importance of history in the future will increase and more students would be interested to learn about it than today. We are yet to comprehend the full potential of history and it is still frowned upon as a subject for weaker students. But in the future, we will realize how important it is for people to learn it for a prosperous future. So I do not see any reasons history will disappear from the school syllabus.

Topic: Films/ Cinema.

1. Do you think the cinema has increased or decreased in popularity in recent years?
2. In your opinion, will this trend continue in the future?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of making films of real-life events?
4. How important do you think it is for a filmmaker to remain true to the original story?
5. Should films and television be censored or should we be free to choose what we see?
6. How do you think censorship laws will change in the next 20 years?

Q1: Do you think the cinema has increased or decreased in popularity in recent years?

Answer: That's a bit complex issue as the answer might seem paradoxical. Well, I heartily believe that more people enjoy movies today than ever before but most of them do not go to a movie theatre to enjoy a movie. Thus the cinema halls have lost their glorious days, especially in my country, but an increasing number of people make time to watch movies either on TVs or on their computers. Gone are the days when my parents used to take me to a movie theatre and that was once in a while. These days we enjoy more than 3-4 movies a week but do not go to a cinema hall at all. I believe the popularity of international movies, low-quality local movies and amenities to get a great movie-viewing experience at home are the reasons for this shifting trend.

Q2: In your opinion, will this trend continue in the future?

Answer: Unless radical changes are brought to the cinema halls and restrictions are imposed on the way we stream and watch the latest movies at home, the trend will continue in the future. Movie theatres would lose their attractions further and technology would assist us to watch movies on demand at home. However, some people will still go to the cinema with friends and family to enjoy a movie on a day out.

Q3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of making films of real-life events?

Answer: Among the advantages, I assume, those movies have a ready-made plot, the storylines are already popular and the producer can think of characters easily. Such movies often win awards considering their historical values and are positively taken by the audience and critics.

However, there are some drawbacks in making such movies based on real-life events. First and foremost, people and critics scrutinize such movies more thoroughly and they are often subject to controversy. Secondly, the story is already known to people and the movie has to promise something more than its storyline. Furthermore, making such movies require a huge sum of money and they often end up poorly in the box office.

Q4: How important do you think it is for a filmmaker to remain true to the original story?

Answer: I believe true facts from history should be intact in a movie and every filmmaker should adhere to the truth as much as possible while making a movie based on a real-life event or a prominent historical figure. Otherwise, the film would end up receiving resentment and negative criticism from ordinary viewers as well as from movie critics. Sometimes, a filmmaker needs to add some surprises and twists to make such a movie more appealing but they can always do so by not distorting the main facts. We should keep in mind that children who watch such movies often take them as evidence of real events from history. So such movies should not misrepresent history and invite controversy.

Q5: Should films and television be censored or should we be free to choose what we see?

Answer: I believe some sort of censorship is required in the TV and film industry so that we can enjoy movies and watch TV programs without embarrassment and getting offended. For instance, if I start watching a movie with my parents and the film has too many sensual and violent scenes, we would feel embarrassed. Since movies have a major impact on the viewers' minds, we should not allow too much violence, hatred and offensive scenes to be shown. However, I also believe that creative artists should be allowed to express their feelings and thoughts through these media. Hence, too much tight censorship, as we see in some countries, is not desirable as well. We, as adults, might often choose what we want to watch but we should always monitor what our youngsters are watching for their own good.

Q6: How do you think censorship laws will change in the next 20 years?

Answer: Well, that's a tough question to answer, but I will nevertheless try! In my opinion, after two decades or so, some first-world countries, where censorship laws are too much flexible, would find themselves amending laws to make them more a bit rigid. While an opposite approach would be taken in developing countries to give more freedom to creative artists. All countries, in my opinion, will try to make a balance in censorship laws to make it more friendly and helpful to the viewers.

Topic: Travel and transport.

1. How easy is it to travel around your country?
2. Which method of travel do you consider the safest? Why?
3. Has travel become safer in recent years than that was in the past?
4. What are the pros and cons of low-cost air travel?
5. How do you think people will travel in the future?
6. Should the government in a country focus more on rail transport or road transport? Why?

Q1: How easy is it to travel around your country?

Answer: We have a good number of public transportation including bullet trains, modern buses and airplanes and I would say someone can travel in my country very easily. Major cities in my country have airports and it makes commuters' life hassle-free. Since we have eight-lane highways and they are maintained periodically, someone can drive his/her own car to commute from one area to another smoothly. Besides, metro rails are convenient for city-dwellers to commute to and from their offices and citizens can take long-route trains to visit other districts and they are comparatively cheaper.

Q2: Which method of travel do you consider the safest? Why?

Answer: Despite some common misconceptions, I believe airways are the safest means of transportation. We have frequent national and international flights and the service is really excellent. Aviation accidents are deadly and claim the lives of many, and such accidents often make headlines that give the impression that air travel is nocuous. However, if we compare air causalities with that road accidents, we can easily learn that air travel is the safest. Flying is the most secure way to get around in my country as flights are well-organized and the air traffic is controlled more efficiently by trained professionals.

Q3: Has travel become safer in recent years than that was in the past?

Answer: Some people would say that accidents and casualties are higher in modern time than in the past. But I believe that traveling in recent years has significantly improved and offers more convenience to commuters. We see more accidents these days because they all are being reported in the news, unlike in the past when we could hear about only major accidents. In recent days, we have more strict traffic rules, acute safety measures including biometric checking, and modern transportation which are built considering safety in mind. Rigid airport rules make terrorist attacks almost impossible.

A typical train station in my country has more than 15 train schedules and they carry thousands of passengers each day. Such a station used to have only three to four trains a day. If we consider the number of vehicles and commuters with that of the past, we would get a real picture of road safety, which I believe has advanced in recent days.

Q4: What are the pros and cons of low-cost air travel?

Answer: The major benefit of cheap air travel is that many people can afford to visit more places around the world and thus foster the tourism industry. More frequent travels by ordinary people make them tolerable to other cultures and it maintains global peace.

Among the demerits, increasing flights are responsible for air pollution. Cheap air travel attracts more passengers and thus they indirectly contribute to air pollution. Moreover, low-cost air tickets do not ensure desirable comfort and amenities which people often regret. Food and drinks in such a journey are unreasonably expensive and it often includes hidden fees and charges.

Q5: How do you think people will travel in the future?

Answer: That's an interesting question and I will be both realistic and imaginative to answer this. I believe people will prefer to take airplanes and speedy trains in the near future to travel to long-distance and flights will be cheaper to attract more passengers. Cars would be our constant companions and we would rely on our automobiles more than ever to travel within the city.

After 30 or 40 years, our cars would be able to fly short-distance and even run on the river, much like a science-fiction vehicle. After 50 years or so, we will have flying cars that will take us to our offices and the software instead of humans will drive those cars. A century later, we will have personal pods of SkyTran carriers that would use the airways rather than moving on a road. After a few centuries later, who knows, we might even teleport straight to our destination from our home!

Q6: Should the government in a country focus more on rail transport or road transport? Why?

Answer: I believe the decision should be made based on the geological condition, existing infrastructure, population and economic condition of the country. For instance, if a country has mostly hilly tracks and rivers, developing rail tracks is both challenging and expensive. For such countries, connecting highways and road transports are more practical and cost-effective. Moreover, if the country does not have enough rail tracks already, it should focus on developing and enhancing roads rather than rails. Finally, countries with higher populations should consider developing their railroads as it can carry a great number of people at a time. Whether to invest in road or rail transportation, thus, should be made based on a number of factors rather than a single one.

Part 1

Examiner: Do you enjoy reading?

Candidiate: Yes, absolutely! A great way to relax to learn something new is to peruse a book... I'm so addicted to reading that sometimes I can't even fall asleep without an hour of bedtime reading.

Examiner: Do you like watching movies?

Candidate: No, not really... If I have some free time, I'd rather read an interesting book... Books leave us a lot of space for imagination, while in movies everything is spelled out for us... That's why I find films boring.

Examiner: What is the last book you read? And did you like it?

Candidate: The last book I've read is "Theatre" written by William Somerset Maugham ... and I absolutely enjoyed it! Maugham is my favorite writer of all time and I've read his novel from cover to cover in 2 days... I was truly captivated by the characters and the unraveling of the plot.

Examiner: How often do you go to the cinema with your friends?

Candidate: Quite often, to be honest... I like catching the latest movies with my friends, so we go to the cinema almost every week. I especially like action movies and sci-fi films.

Part 2

Examiner: Now, have a look at the card and prepare a monologue.

Describe a book or a film that had a strong impact on you. You should say:

• What was it
• When you read or saw it
• How it influenced you
• And say if you liked it and why.

Part 3

Examiner: Why do you think cinemas are still popular nowadays, even though people can watch movies in their homes?

Candidate: I believe that there are several reasons for it... First of all, watching a film on a big screen is a lot more fun than watching it at home... Not to mention the fact that you won't be able to see the movie on the DVD as soon as in the movie theater... You'll have to wait a couple of months for the DVD release of the movie... Moreover, a lot of people like the atmosphere of cinema with its half-light halls, popcorn, and sound effects.

Examiner: What do you think about e-books?

Candidate: In my opinion, paperback or hardback books are much better... Reading a book from an e-reader just doesn't feel the same for me - I adore the sensation of turning pages and that special smell of paper. I think that the look and feel of a book can never be replaced by an e-reader... But I do understand the usefulness of electronic books. It is very convenient to be able to carry hundreds of books in your pocket and have the possibility to read them at any time... Also, e-readers support keyword searches, which paperbacks obviously do not.