IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 36
Part 1 Topic: “Hometown/ village”.
Part 2 Topic: “Describe a thing you possess which is important to you”.
Part 3 Topic: “Possessions and status”.
Part 1: Introduction and interview
[This part of the test begins with the examiner introducing himself or herself and checking the candidate’s identification. It then continues as an interview.]
Q. Let’s talk about your home town or village. What kind of place is it?
Answer: I come from “Wengen”, which is a beautiful Swiss town located at the foothills of Jungfrau Mountain. Breathtaking views, amazing food, warm locals, and access to some of the most stunning natural wonders make it one of the most beautiful places in Switzerland. It’s known for its timber chalets and belle époque hotels.
Q. What’s the most interesting part of this town/village?
Answer: “Wengen” is a Swiss Alpine town in the Bernese Oberland region, and it is 4,180 ft above sea level. Whenever you are there, you will feel like the mountains are calling you for an adventure, and the magnificent view of our town is something you will thoroughly enjoy. Perhaps “Jungfraujoch”, which lies in the heart of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the highest place in Europe, is the most interesting part of our town. Additionally, Wengen hosts the internationally well-known Lauberhorn ski races, and it is on the route of the Jungfrau Marathon.
Q. What kind of jobs do people in the village/town do?
Answer: We have many farmers and hotel owners in our town, along with residents who own many other small businesses and stores. Some others work as bankers, journalists and teachers. Many professionals, who no longer live here, work in different other professions in large cities.
Q. Would you say it’s a good place to live?
Answer: Yes, our town is an ideal place to live in for its fresh environment, spectacular views, friendly neighbourhood, necessary amenities and perfect social harmony. I have been living there for more than 20 years, and I am happy to be a resident of this beautiful town.
Part 2: Individual long turn (Cue Card/Candidate Task Card)
[Examiner: Alright? Remember, you have one to two minutes for this, so don’t worry if I stop you. I’ll tell you when the time is up.]
Topic:
Describe a thing you possess which is important to you.
You should say:
- what it is
- what you can do with it
- how you use it
and explain why it is important to you.
[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.]
[Examiner: Can you start speaking now, please?]
Click here for the answer to this Cue Card topic
Rounding-off Questions:
Examiner: Thank you. Would it be easy to replace this, I mean, your laptop?
Answer: I think I would not like to replace my laptop in the near future, as I purchased it only a few months ago. I will consider replacing it when it becomes outdated and more powerful laptops become available in the market. For the time being, I would stick to this one, I guess. However, it would be quite impossible for me to do without a laptop as it has many practical utilities for me.
Examiner: Which one do you use more frequently – your mobile or your laptop?
Answer: I use my mobile phone more frequently primarily because I can carry it wherever I go. I have a smartphone, and it is quite handy for me. However, the laptop is more important in terms of its utilisation for more serious work.
Part 3 – Detail Discussion
Examiner: In your country, what kind of possessions do you think give status to people?
Answer: Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is ‘the car’. A great number of people in my country like to have elegant and expensive cars to show their status and their place in society. Apart from that, a gorgeous house in a posh area, some kind of fame, designer clothes and prestigious jobs are often status symbols for people in Switzerland.
Examiner: Is this a new development?
Answer: I believe it isn’t a new development as status symbols and people’s perceptions about them have remained almost the same for the last few decades in my country. At least this is what I have experienced! People in the past also considered luxury cars, designer clothes, nice houses in posh areas, prestigious jobs and fame as their status symbols, as people do these days.
Examiner: What do you think of this way of thinking that ‘I need to have a car or certain clothes to show my status’?
Answer: I think ‘talent’, ‘creativity’ and ‘educational qualification’ should be the symbols of aristocracy and status. However, status is a strange thing as it has to be accepted by others, and it seems like we are more interested in assessing someone’s earthly possessions to be more important than their inner beauty and talent. I am sure someday people will start giving more emphasis to something we become, not something we spend money on to own.
Examiner: And do you think this will change? In the future, will cars and designer clothes be status symbols in the same way?
Answer: I’m sure someday people will start realising that we boast about things we have not achieved, but rather have purchased with money that anyone with money can do. They would keep asking why we do not consider someone’s talent, educational qualification, moral values, knowledge and honesty as the most important aspects of gaining status in society. Only after this radical social change would people no longer consider branded cars and designer clothes to be important for having status in society. Perhaps this day will come in the distant future, and we won’t be here to witness it!
Examiner: Why do people spend so much money on branded cars and designer clothes? Would you do the same? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Thank you for this great question. In most cases, people seek luxury cars or want to have designer clothes because they have a huge amount of money they can spend, and they feel a false sense of satisfaction when they spend money on luxury brands. I am not against buying quality products from brands, but I am against spending a fortune to own a car or spending thousands of dollars to have a dress.
As a consumer, I like to buy products from brands as they ensure better quality and after-sales service. Electronics and home appliances are some products which I prefer to be branded rather than non-branded. However, I will never understand how one of my rich friends can spend two thousand dollars on a single bottle of perfume. This is just outrageous in my opinion. I believe that we should be frugal and better at money management, as we never know what financial disaster our lavish consumerism habits might bring us in the future.
Examiner: How do you compare the type of things the young generation wants to possess differ from that of elderly people? Why is it so?
Answer: Well, young people love to have electronic gadgets, designer clothes, computers, cars and many other luxury items they see their friends have. Life is a mystery to them, and they want to reveal it randomly by possessing luxury items, which is the wrong approach, in my opinion. They also like to take part in risky yet adventurous activities, and that’s why they need different gadgets and tools. Finally, they want to have as many things as they can to show their importance to others.
But this scenario with elderly people is often different. They do not want to possess all the silly things that young people possess. Life has a different meaning to them, and they are not often up to owning materialistic possessions. They love to spend time with their family and friends and wish for economic freedom for basic and important needs.