IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers

IELTS Speaking Sample 23

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 23

Part 1 - Introduction and Interview

[The examiner asks the candidate about him/her, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics in this part.]

Q. Whats is your name?
A. My full name is Peter Smith. While "Peter" is my first name, "Smith" is my family name.

Q. What shall I call you?
A. Well, my friends and relatives call me "Peter". You can call me "Peter" as well if it's okay with you.

Q. Could you show me your identification, please?
A. Sure. Here is my identification card. Do you need any information from my side to verify it? Thank you.

Q. Where do you come from?
A. I come from a quiet and beautiful suburban area called "Sutton" which is located in South-West London and is approximately 20 kilometres away from here. This is is a great place to live in and I love this place very much.

Q. Can you tell me something about your hometown?
A. Well, "Sutton" is a beautiful suburban area located in South-West London in England. This was previously a village and was connected to central London in 1847 by the railroad. Afterwards, it began to grow into a town and significant Victorian-era expansions could still be observed there. More than sixty thousand people live in this area and it has the lowest crime rate in Greater London. People in "Sutton" are quite amiable and well-behaved and the natural tranquillity is a big feature of this town. This town is home to many international corporations and the sixth most important shopping area in London. It is also famous as a hub for filming movies.

Q. Can you tell me some famous landscapes or scenic spots in your hometown?
A. There are, in fact, plenty of renowned and beautiful places in Sutton and many tourists find it a great place to stay during their vacation. This town has more than 89 parks and each of them is quite beautiful. Manor Park, Morden Hall Park and Carshalton Lavender Fields are my personal favourite. Moreover, St Nicholas churchyard, St Nicholas clocktower, All Saints Church, Christ Church, Landseer Road Conservation Area are some of the prominent landscapes in this town. As I have already said, Sutton is also home to many big international corporations and large shopping malls. Public arts, large libraries, beautiful landscape and many beautiful parks make our hometown a worth visiting place.


 

Part 2 - Cue Card/Candidate Task Card

Topic:

Describe your favourite photograph.

You should say:

  • where the photo was taken
  • who took the photo
  • what it contains

and explain why it is your favourite photograph.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
 

Click here for the answer to this Cue Card Topic

 

Part 3 - Details Discussion:

Q. When do people use cameras in your country?
A.
Well, I guess professional journalists and photographers carry their cameras most of the time. But ordinary people generally use a camera whenever they visit a new place as they want to capture the landscapes and take their own photos there. People also use cameras whenever they meet old friends, colleagues and relatives and take a few snaps of the group. Parents often take pictures of their children, and finally, in my country, I have noticed that people use cameras on different festivals and occasions.

However, these days most of the people have smartphones that come with powerful built-in cameras. This is why mass people do not carry cameras too often and take photos or selfies using their mobile phones most of the time.

Q. How do you think someone can take a good photo?
A. Well, I am not a professional photographer and do not know much about the professional aspects of taking quality photos. However, as a layman in the world of professional photography, I can say that it takes a good camera, a great passion, proper lighting, angel and a great object to take a good photograph.

Sometimes an expensive camera that has good features is quite helpful in taking a nice shot. Moreover, a passion for taking good photos is also required. Lighting is another aspect that accentuates the objects of a photo and probably this is why professional photographers often wait several hours to take a single shot. Furthermore, the angle of the object or scenery, the way they are captured in the frame and the object itself is important to capture an impressive photograph.

Q. Why selfies are so popular these days? Do you like to take selfies?
A. I believe "selfie" is a comparatively new trend and it refers to the process of taking our own photographs using a mobile phone's front camera. People, especially young ones, love to take selfies primarily because they can instantly see how they look from those selfies and can also share them on their favourite social networking platforms. They can take selfies without any support from others and it virtually cost them nothing. They also love to find out what their online friends think about their photos. I firmly believe social networking websites and affordable smartphones have made selfies so popular. I am not a huge fan of selfies but this does not mean that I hate taking a few selfies of my own once in a while.


 

Q. How new technology has enhanced our skills as a cameraman for taking some nice photographs?
A. Well, I believe technology has revolutionised the way we use our cameras and take photographs. We now have powerful DSLR cameras and anyone without professional training can take good photos these days. Moreover, the powerful zooming system, night-vision and online photo editing features enable us to take great photos, edit them instantly and share them on our favourite social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter.

Besides, our smartphones come with powerful cameras and let us take photos whenever we want and as many as we want. Cheap memory cards have replaced the photo-films entirely and we have much freedom of taking pictures than our previous generation. I can recall some of my childhood memories when we had to hire a professional cameraman to take out photos and wait for more than a week to get those pictures printed. On the contrary, we no longer need to print our photos these days as we can instantly see and share them with the help of our smartphones and computers. Thanks to modern technology - photography is no longer is a sophisticated domain, it is, in fact, everybody's hobby nowadays.

Q. Storing pictures has become much convenient on the Internet. What are some advantages of this? Do you use any digital photo sharing or storing service? Which one?
A. Yes, I agree that storing pictures is far more convenient on the Internet than to print them and preserve them like the old method. In the past, people used to save photo-negatives to print the photos at a later time and it was expensive. But with the advancement of technology, photo storing is easier than ever before. We can save a great number of photos on several reliable photo-storing services for free, share them with friends and family, edit them and customise them the way we like. Unlike printed photos, online photos do not get damaged over time and they have the digital quality which means a far better resolution and image quality.

I use Facebook and Instagram to share my photos with my friends or family, but use Google drive and Flickr to store photos so that I can access them whenever I need to.

Q. With the advancement in camera and technology, anyone these days can take quality pictures? Do you agree? Why?/ Why not?
A. This question is a bit challenging I guess, and it has drawn my attention before. Well, to answer it - I do not agree with the fact that anyone can become an impressive photographer just because he or she has an expensive and modern camera. No doubt, technology has enhanced the photo capturing devices like a camera to a great extent but clicking some quality pictures is not as easy as we think it is. Photography is an art and a good photographer needs an aesthetic sense for that. Aspects like composition, framing, background selection, sense of perfect lighting are keys to a perfect photograph. So, if someone, who has no sense and skill in photography, just gets the latest camera, can't progress much.

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