IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers
IELTS Speaking Sample 17
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- Last Updated: Thursday, 04 May 2023 02:43
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IELTS Speaking Mock Test# 17
Part 1 - Introduction & Interview:
[...Good morning. My name is George Fella...]
Q. Could you tell me your name, please?
A. Good morning. My name is Rambod Tauhoodi. You can, however, simply call me "Rambod".
Q. Please show me your identification/ passport?
A. Sure, here it is. Thank you.
Q. Where are you from?
A. I am from Iran, a country located in the Middle East. I live in Tehran, which is the capital city of Iran.
[...Now I'd like to ask you a few questions about your family...]
Q. Do you have a large family or a small family?
A. We are a married couple living together, and we separately live from our parents and we have not become parents yet. So from this point of view, I have a very small family consisting of only me and my wife.
Q. Can you tell me something about your family members?
A. My parents live together in their home in "Isfahan" city with my younger brother who is in college. Another brother of mine is single and works as a professional engineer in Canada. He moved to Canada a couple of years ago. My sister is happily married to a doctor and lives in "Urmia". I married two years ago and had to move to Tehran for professional reasons. I met my wife at my university and she is an architect. I am often sad that I have to live far away from my parents and try to visit them during my vacations.
Q. How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?
A. As I've told you, I live with my wife while my parents live in a different city. From this regard, I do not see my parents often unless of course when I visit them during vacations. I spend time with my wife whenever I am at home. That would be around 5-7 hours excluding the sleeping hours. Finally, on Saturday and Sunday, I try to spend most of the day with her and I often take her outside in the evening.
Q. What sorts of things do you like to do together?
A. We often watch different TV programmes together, go shopping, watch a movie at a theatre, cook food, have conversations on different topics, walks in the park in the evening, visit friends and family and listen to our favourite music.
Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card
Describe your favourite news source.
You should say:
- what it is and how often you use it
- what other news sources you use
- what types of news you are interested in
and explain why this is your favourite news source.
Click here for the answer to this Cue Card Topic
Part 3 - Details Discussion:
Q. Compare people's attitude to media between now and that of 20 years ago?
A. Approximately two decades ago, a few mainstream newspapers were the main source of news and people trusted the news and articles they read. Besides, TV and radio were two other media for news and communicating information and there were very few privately-owned TV channels at that time in my country. So, in a sense, people had less access to different media but they trusted them.
With the advancement of technology, nowadays a large number of people have access to different media types but people often criticise them for fabricated or biased-news. So, the attitude towards the media has become more negative despite widespread access to different media. Educated and conscious citizens can verify the authenticity of news and articles and can identify fake news while ordinary and less educated people often share whatever they read on their social networking platforms.
Q. Should we trust the journalists? Why/ Why not?
A. I believe that we cannot solely rely on the reports that journalists produce unless they are quite famous for their honesty, neutrality and professionalism. In most of the cases, we should check the authenticity of a news item because reporting is a part of the media business, and media personnel may exaggerate or alter an event based on their favourite or benefit. Thus, we should trust the journalists and their news to a certain extent but if the news has a chance to be influenced by political motives and personal benefits, we must rely on various authoritative sources as well as use our judgements and critical thinking.
Q. What do you think a good journalist should be like?
A. A good journalist should be honest, dedicated, professional and unbiased. He or she should value other people’s opinion and never report something that could be defamatory or damaging for society. Professionalism and national interests are more important to them than their personal gains. Moreover, a good journalist must be able to work diligently and be sensitive to the accuracy of his or her reports which is being exposed to viewers. An honest journalist must understand that he is doing a responsible and sensitive job and that’s why should not be biased or influenced.
Q. Many people think the Internet will soon replace the printed newspapers and magazines. What's your opinion on that?
A. Well, this is a highly controversial issue and I believe that the demand for the printed newspaper will indeed decline in the future but they will survive with a limited number of circulation.
Online newspapers have already started replacing the printed newspapers to some extent and people prefer getting news and updates instantly rather than waiting for the next day. Since they get the news and information immediately by accessing the internet and browsing their preferred news websites or magazines, there is no doubt that the demand for the printed newspaper will decrease in the future. Furthermore, someone needs to buy a printed newspaper to read while online newspapers are almost free. Hence, online newspapers are gaining popularity among readers around the world.
Q. Is the Internet as a news source trustworthy? How?
A. Uhhh… online news sources are not always trustworthy especially when they do not come from a famous and authentic source. Personally, I do not trust news or article which are not from an authentic source. Some people, and sometimes even groups, spread fake or manipulated news and dealing with fake news requires some expertise and willingness. Unfortunately, the number of fake and fabricated online news and reports is on the rise. So, people should always avoid spammy news websites and rely on authentic, reputed and large news agencies for online news and information.
Q. How the way we used to get news has changed? How will it change after 10 years?
A. With the extensive use of internet technology today, people get news and other necessary information mostly from online newspapers and social networking platforms. But in the past, people had to wait to listen to any news aired on television or radio. Besides, they also read newspapers to know about the world.
I think the internet will become the main news source for people after a decade or so. All the newspapers and news agencies will have their digital versions which will get more visitors. People will have great freedom to choose what type of news they would like to be notified about and their online activities and preference would be greatly considered while delivering news to their email, social media or in the search results.
[ Written by - Rambod ]
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