Authentic Speaking Part 2 Questions

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe a restaurant / a small shop you often go to with your family members and friends.

Describe a restaurant / a small shop you often go to with your family members and friends.

I would like to introduce a dessert store named New Dream to you. It’s my favorite. It’s within the walking distance of my home. So I go there regularly with my girlfriend. I like it not only because of its nearness, but also because of the better decoration and atmosphere in it, which greatly appeal to me. Most people who go there are local residents. The shop assistants have a nice service attitude. They often wear a smile on their face, which makes them really approachable. In terms of products, of course, the desserts it sells are awesome. I often end up having a fantastic and tasty afternoon tea there. Besides, the store owner always plays some famous classical music to calm the costumers down and gives an everyday topic for people to exchange opinions about. It is really interesting.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe something you wish to buy that is made in another country.Describe a vehicle you wish to buy.

Describe something you wish to buy that is made in another country.Describe a vehicle you wish to buy.

Ok, I am going to describe one of the popular cars in China, called forester, which is also my dream car. Forester is designed by one famous car company, Subaru. Even though the appearance of this car is average, it is really a good. It is a sports utility [ju:’tiləti] vehicle. So it has a stronger engine than ordinary car, which enables you to overcome most of the obstacle on the road. You can drive it both in the city areas and the mountain areas. It does offer you a sense of passion. That is exactly why it is my dream car. Besides, the space of this car is so large that you will feel comfortable when you are sitting inside.

You know, if you want to buy a car, one of the most important considerations is the safety. And then, forester may probably your first choice because it contains 6 air bags.

I really want to have a forester coz driving makes life much easier for me and my family members. But as an imported car, the price of forester is sky high to me, around 300 thousand RMB.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe an expensive thing you had when you were a child. (How about an expensive storybook ? ) Describe a gift you gave a friend / a gift you received before.Describe a gift you will buy for a friend.

Describe an expensive thing you had when you were a child. (How about an expensive storybook ? ) Describe a gift you gave a friend / a gift you received before.Describe a gift you will buy for a friend.

When I was a child, my classmates and I used to play yo-yo after class together. Actually I had many yo-yos with different colors and size, but my favorite one was a present from my father on a children’s day many years ago although I couldn’t remember how old I was exactly.

That yo-yo looked almost the same with the others. It consisted of a piece of string and a small spool [spu:l]. But it has different shapes, colors and designs. like those yo-yo specialists taking part in World yo-yo contests[kən’test] that I got to know on television. But I could only do the simplest play. It’s like this.

Bring your elbow [‘elbəu] down with a snap [snæp] as you release the yo-yo out. Then the yo-yo would go down. As soon as it reaches the bottom of the string, turn your hand over and the yo-yo will climb the string and return to your hand. It may sounds pretty easy, but it surely took me much time to learn, I mean it called for much training.

Some of my classmates were really good at playing yo-yo and could perform many tricks, such as “walking the dog”, “loop [lu:p] the loop”. We often held a competition after classes or at weekends. It was so much fun.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe something you lost.Describe an expensive thing you want to buy / the most expensive thing you’ve bought.Describe something you would buy if you had a lot of money.

Describe something you lost.Describe an expensive thing you want to buy / the most expensive thing you’ve bought.Describe something you would buy if you had a lot of money.

When I was a child, my classmates and I used to play yo-yo after class together. Actually I had many yo-yos with different colors and size, but my favorite one was a present from my father on a children’s day many years ago although I couldn’t remember how old I was exactly.

That yo-yo looked almost the same with the others. It consisted of a piece of string and a small spool [spu:l]. But it has different shapes, colors and designs. like those yo-yo specialists taking part in World yo-yo contests[kən’test] that I got to know on television. But I could only do the simplest play. It’s like this.

Bring your elbow [‘elbəu] down with a snap [snæp] as you release the yo-yo out. Then the yo-yo would go down. As soon as it reaches the bottom of the string, turn your hand over and the yo-yo will climb the string and return to your hand. It may sounds pretty easy, but it surely took me much time to learn, I mean it called for much training.

Some of my classmates were really good at playing yo-yo and could perform many tricks, such as “walking the dog”, “loop [lu:p] the loop”. We often held a competition after classes or at weekends. It was so much fun.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe a handicraft. Describe something that was made by yourself.

Describe a handicraft. Describe something that was made by yourself.

I made a simple kite[kait] for my cousin last week. Since I’d never made a kite before, I’d thought it must be tricky[‘tr ki:]. But it turned out that making a kite was actually just a breeze.

I decided on its shape first. You know, I just chose a flat one coz obviously it was the most basic form and could be easily around. Then I got a sheet of coloured paper and cut out the shape.

My cousin found some thin plastic[‘plɑ:stik] strips[strip] for me. I tied them together with a string[striŋ], which, apparently, would be the frame of the kite. After that, we made the “bridle[‘bra dl]”, which connected the frame to the control line. Finally, I glued[ɡlu:] the paper to the frame.

All set. Ready for the “maiden[‘meidn] flight”.

It flew [flu:] pretty well. Our hard work paid off.

I have no idea what happened to it later-maybe it got thrown[θrəun] away. My cousin is just 8-year-old, anyway…

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe your favorite clothes/ an item of clothing.

Describe your favorite clothes/ an item of clothing.

I still remember a suit[sju:t] of school uniform, which is indelible[ n’deləbəl] in my memory. When I was in the kindergarten, there was a primary school near it. Every day, when I played with other kids I could see many students wearing in uniform studying in the school. The uniforms looked like sport suits. The upper was of blue with some white stripes on the sleeves[sli:v]. The trousers were in white. It seemed to me that the uniform was very attractive and I always dreamed to be one of the pupils[‘pju:pəl] and wore [w :, wə r] the same uniform as them. Then, two years later, I really became one of the primary school students and got a suit of uniform. I dressed in it every day no matter in school or home. To me, it was not just clothes but a kind of indication, which showed that I was a formal student in an academic school. And I could always feel that I was growing up with it.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe an important festival people celebrate in your country. Describe a celebration. Describe a special meal.

Describe an important festival people celebrate in your country. Describe a celebration. Describe a special meal.

In my country, the spring festival is one of the most significant celebration that every single chinese anticipate every year.  It’s usually celebrated between late January[‘d ænjuəri] to early February [‘februəri].

Generally, the Chinese people prepares for this holiday by making sure everything in their life is in order, or at least under control. I mean the house should be clean and decorated with colorful lights，problems should be resolved, clothes worn out should be replaced. That’s why people buy new cloths before new year arrives.

Meanwhile, red envelopes that contain money, are given to family and friends (especially the youngsters) as a symbol of luck and wealth.

At midnight there are fireworks and firecrackers show to greet the coming of the New Year.

Although people nowadays don’t celebrate spring festival as passionately[ pæ ən tl ] as they used to do, it’s still a festival that everybody looks forward to celebrating because the 7-day holiday brings family and relatives together at the end of the year, sharing the happiness together. 

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe a skill you wish to learn. Describe something you learned recently. Describe your favorite subject. Describe an interesting / unusual thing you did recently. Describe something you did on your computer.

Describe a skill you wish to learn. Describe something you learned recently. Describe your favorite subject. Describe an interesting / unusual thing you did recently. Describe something you did on your computer.

Computer has become an very important part of modern life because of its powerful functions. Several years ago when I was studying in college, I first got to know a great software on my computer science class called adobe[ə’də bi:] Photoshop, which is a photo editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems company. I’ve been really interested in it.

I have to say Photoshop is pretty hard at first since there is an overwhelming amount of tools and features available. But once you get the hand of the most basic tools used for photo editing，then you can make awesome pictures! I strongly recommend that you just start playing around with all of the different functions and see what happens instead of following some tutorials on the internet.

Thanks to Photoshop, now you can put your enemy’s head on a cow’s body, which is quite entertaining. But more importantly it can also be used to refine flawed[fl :d] photos, such as (Brightening the teeth and face in a bad photo, erasing a pimple[‘p mpəl] as well as removing any blemish[‘blem ]).

Photoshop’s a powerful thing and worth learning. Up to now, on my blog, I’ve already posted many pictures and photos that I’ve edited. And my friends like them a lot. It’s awesome.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe a wedding. Describe a special family event.

Describe a wedding. Describe a special family event.

I’d like to talk about a time I took part in my cousin’s wedding ceremony. My cousin, who is now working in Guangzhou, is one year older than me. She got married 4 years ago during national day holiday. And I felt happy for her.

(What event + when + how I feel)

The wedding reception was held in a big restaurant near the downtown area. The moment I entered[‘entə] the restaurant, I saw a big wedding photo at the entrance of the banquet[‘bæŋkwit] hall and I loved the way the restaurant was decorated, you know, the ribbons[‘ribən], the white and pink[piŋk] roses and colorful balloons[bə’lu:n]. (where)

All the guests had arrived before the wedding feast kicked off. (who)

About half an hour later, my cousin in her beautiful white wedding gown[ɡaun] went up onto the stage with her husband,who looked pretty handsome when we were enjoying those great delicacies[‘del kəsi:] on the table. (what happened)

And then, as the wedding host instructed, they were holding their hands cutting the cake, and pouring[p :] the champagne down into the cup tower before they  exchanged the ring and kissed each other. (what happened)

Afterwards, interestingly, my aunt was so thrilled that her voice was trembling[‘trembl] when she was making a speech, which is so emotional. She said that it had been one of the most meaningful days in her entire[in’taiə] life. (What happened)

Ending:

If I hadn’t attended my cousin’s wedding ceremony, I would definitely be full of regrets since she and I are so close. And each time my cousin came back, my aunt kept nagging about her marriage. But now, Since my cousin has found her true love, my aunt needn’t worry any longer.

AUTHENTIC SPEAKING Describe a conversation / dialogue (on the phone / mobile phone) that you enjoyed.Describe a musical event.Describe an occasion when you listened to music from another country.

Describe a conversation / dialogue (on the phone / mobile phone) that you enjoyed. Describe a musical event. Describe an occasion when you listened to music from another country.

The music event[i’vent] I’d like to talk about is “superstars’ night”, which is a music concert featuring classic pop songs that have been popular for years.

The concert was held in the sports center last year in Zhuhai . I went to the concert with my family. It was the first and only music concert that we’ve been to, ever. My parents and I had a great time.

The concert was nearly 4 hours long, so we didn’t go home until midnight. Nearly 20 the most successful pop singers from HongKong and Taiwan presented a fantastic show together. The various colored lights as well as the two massive LED screens on both sides of main stage made the atmosphere thrilling[ θr l ŋ]. The huge sports center was jam-packed with loads of music fans from different age groups, just like my family.

My parents and I, together with all the other crazy fans, kept waving our hands when the singers were singing and performing live on the stage. And when those pop stars stayed so close to the audience shaking their hands, they couldn’t help screaming.

What I liked about the show was that it was pretty unusual  to  see  those  pop  icons[‘a ,k n] in reality[ri’æliti]. Hearing so many classic pop songs in one show was quite an unforgettable experience.