Speaking Sample 19

IELTS GT Test – Speaking Mock Test # 19



Topic: Photographs

Q. What type of photos do you like taking? [Why/Why not?]
A. I must mention that I am not a professional photographer and do not understand the technical aspects of photography. Thus anything that seems beautiful or interesting is my subject of snap shooting. However, nature, children and landscapes are some common subjects that I like to frame in my camera.

Q. What do you do with the photos you take? [Why/Why not?]
A. I first transfer the photos to my laptop and then sort out the ones I like. I then store those photos online. Sometimes I print out a few photos which I believe are worth printing. Sometimes I share a few of them online with my friends and family.

A. I mostly like to take photos in that case. Buying postcards is not a common practice in my country these days. However, if I visit a different country, I do both. I believe taking photos and buying postcards have different appeals. Since I know very little about foreign cities, I try to buy some postcards to make it more interesting.

A. I would not allow a stranger to take a photo of mine. I think this is a breach of privacy. However, if the person is someone close to me, I might allow as I know his or her intention of taking my photograph.



Describe a day when you thought the weather was perfect.

You should say:

  • where you were on this day
  • what the weather was like on this day
  • what you did during the day

and explain why you thought the weather was perfect on this day.

Cue Card Answer:

The summer in the city of “Kolkata” (formerly known as Calcutta) in India is usually hot and humid with temperatures hovering around the high 30’s and with humidity as high as 80%. Then, of course, with the possibility of torrential rain on a hot July day, any Kolkata resident like me would be pretty certain what the weather is going to be like on any given day during the summer. But, luckily, about 3 years ago, when I and my friends were just casually visiting “The Eden Gardens”, the oldest cricket ground in India, to buy our tickets for the next cricket match between India and Australia, we felt like the Kolkata weather was in a mood to surprise us.

In fact, the weather on that particular day was nothing like what we are used to in a long, long time. With no rain in the forecast for the rest of the day, a perfect temperate at around 28 degree Celsius and almost 50% humidity, the Calcutta weather was seemed to be “too good to be true” for us. Besides, the near-perfect breeze at a nice and steady speed of around 15-20 kilometre per hour, together with a few fluffy clouds high in the sky, was working like a “perfect natural cooling system” in the open for us.

It was just a perfect day for doing outdoors. So, instead of riding on an “auto rickshaw” for too long (we lived quite far away from the Eden Gardens), I and my friends decided to walk as much as we could with a pack of “jhalmuri” (a popular street snack in Calcutta made of puffed rice and an assortment of fried lentils, peanuts and chickpea flour ghatia) in our hands each. After walking for almost 45 minutes by constantly trying to evade a “sea of human” on the streets, when we finally reached our destination, we didn’t see any trace of sweats on our bodies.

Now, if you don’t find any sweats on your body after walking for almost 45 minutes on Calcutta streets on a typical summer day, it has to be either because you are completely immune from an irritating human condition called “sweating” or because you are under the “magical spell of a perfect weather”. I would go with the “magical spell of a perfect weather”.

Having visited the Eden Gardens many times in the past, I never really felt the need or urge to see the place from up close. But, this time, I felt really different because of the perfect weather. So, we decided to see the “actual Eden Gardens”, instead of the Ranji Cricket Stadium where the cricket matches are played, which was actually a beautiful, peaceful and serene park. Being the final resting place of two Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, a former Governor General of British India, the Eden Gardens is also home to a large artificial lake which is adjoined by a Burmese style pagoda of some exquisite designs. Interestingly enough though, after finishing our little tour, we were wondering more about the beautiful Kolkata weather on that day than the beautiful Eden Gardens.


Discussion topics: Types of weather

Q. What types of weather do people in your country dislike most? Why is that?
A. People in my country, in general, hate the storm, heavy rain, prolonged snowfall and extremely hot or cold weather. It is natural that extreme weather conditions and storms disrupt our normal life and damage life and property on one hand, and bring discomfort for us on the other hand. So all of us enjoy the normal weather condition while dislike excessively hot or cold weather.

Q. What jobs can be affected by different weather conditions? Why?
A. I believe people who need to travel a long distance every day to reach their workplaces and professionals who have to remain outside most of the time are affected most severely by the bad weather condition. For instance, an office executive who travels more than 60 miles to get to his office find it hard to drive during heavy snowfall and similarly a vendor who sells street food on the corner of a street can’t stay outside due to severe weather. People avoid being outside on a rainy day and that’s why these professionals lose their customers on such a day. Apart from that, drivers, who are on the road most of the time, farmers who grow crops, and marketing executives, who go door to door are also worse sufferers.

Q. Are there any important festivals in your country that celebrate a season or type of weather?
A. We have in fact many such festivals and ‘Navroze’ or ‘New Day’ is one of the most celebrated festivals in India. Many people celebrate the festival of Navroze on the spring equinox. It is a day to clean and paint our houses, wear new clothes – and children love it so much, and hang roses and jasmine flowers on doors and windows. If you ever witness this festival, you will love it and find it interesting how ordinary people spontaneously celebrate the day. We also celebrate the first day of Spring and the first day of Autumn every year and these celebrations have their own charms and traditional values.

Discussion topics: Weather forecasts

Q. How important do you think it is for everyone to check what the next day’s weather will be? Why?
A. I believe everyone should check the weather forecast for the next day and sometimes for the whole week. It is particularly easy these days as our handheld devices and the Internet can provide us with the latest weather updates at any time. Without knowing what the weather would be like, we might end up wearing inappropriately dresses and suffer due to this. If the prediction is a rainy day, we would be able to take an umbrella or a raincoat to avoid being soaked on the street. Similarly, a hot day forecast would allow us to dress up accordingly. Besides, we often plan for a backyard barbeque party or a tour to open space and if we do not check the weather forecast, our plans may be completely ruined.

Q. What is the best way to get accurate information about the weather?
A. I believe the internet can be a reliable source for checking weather updates and predictions. Forecast.io and accuweather.com are tow reliable sources for such information and they have mobile applications that we can use on our mobile phones to get updates on the weather. Many people in my country use local TV and radio stations to get weather forecast and updates.

Q. How easy or difficult is it to predict the weather in your country? Why is that?
A. I believe the weather forecast in my country has become more accurate these days than the past and technological advancement has made it possible. Meteorologists now have a combination of different approaches and mathematical trajectory system to analyse and prepare the weather forecast. However, we must bear in mind that, weather prediction is not accurate all the time and the best forecasts take into account the weather events that are happening over a wide region. This is why despite the use of satellite data, supercomputers, doppler radar, weather buoys, ships, and aeroplanes we can’t always have 100% accurate weather forecast.

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