Topic: Weather / Climate
Here is an audio of the sample answers given below. Please listen to it for more clarity on the Speaking Test.
Speaking Part 1
1 Do you like sunny days?
I definitely love sunny days, I can hang out with friends or do some sports. It is even better with the winds blowing. Sunny days are somehow helpful for laundry as well as cleaning both inside and outside the house.
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2 What do you like to do when it’s a sunny day?
I’d love to participate in some outdoor activities under the sun like meeting up with some friends or do some sports, especially swimming. Or I’ll grab the chance for a photography tour. Everything becomes so clear and stunning on sunny days, no matter whether it’s early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as long as the sun shines, I’m sure I’ll find inspiration almost everywhere.
3 Would you like to stay at home or go outside when the weather is great?
I think I would say it depends on my mood and my workload. I definitely cannot go out and enjoy myself if my work schedule is still a mess, even though it is a nice weather and unless I feel super energetic and motivated. I think most of the time I’d prefer staying inside, no matter how the sun shines or how cool the weather is.
4 Are there many sunny days in your hometown?
It is a modern big city so unless it’s our rainy season, otherwise the sun would shine most of the time, either during the day or the whole year. Sometimes the temperature rises so high that it feels like burning, that’s when people prefer staying indoors enjoying the cool air produced by air conditioners.
5 Does it rain much in your country? Where? When?
I would say yes. It rains a lot in the summer when tropical storms strike our country. There is torrential rain in the region in June, July and August, and the rainfall tends to be higher in the North than in the South.
6 Is there any part of your country where it doesn’t rain much?
To tell you the truth, I have no clue about this. I do not give a hoot about geography and the amount of rain in my country. I think the most rainfall is in the North where there is an intricate system of rivers.
7 Does it rain a lot in your hometown?
Well, it depends on the season. In winter and spring, there is a dearth of rain associated with the arid weather. In contrast, it is usually raining cats and dogs in summer and august, causing loads of troubles for people travelling on the road.
Speaking Part 2
Describe your favorite season or time of the year
You should say:
- when this time is.
- what the weather is like at this time.
- what you usually do at this time and explain why it is your favorite time of the year.
Sample Answer
I think my favorite time of the year is spring. The main reason I like it is because it’s neither freezing cold nor scorching hot.
In some places I’ve lived, such as …, it rains most of the spring. But I was mainly thinking of when I lived in Sydney, it was so beautiful. The sky is blue and the weather is nice and warm. The flowers start to bloom and the leaves on the trees turn green.
Since Sydney has many parks, my family and I would often go for picnics in the parks where we would play badminton, eat, rest, and look at all the plants and flowers. Our favorite park was Botanical Garden. It had so many different kinds of plants, trees, flowers.
Another thing I like to do during springtime is to get up early and climb mountains. There was one mountain near our house called ABC , it wasn’t so high but there were no steps, only a few rough trails.
Another thing I like about spring is that when all the animals are born. That’s when you can see all of the little baby squirrels, dogs, cats, snakes, and spiders. The air always seems fresher in the spring, the sky is bluer, the grass greener, and the people friendlier—or at least I think so.
Vocabulary For Cue card
- Trails: a mark or a series of signs or objects left behind by the passage of someone or something.
Eg: A trail of footsteps was left behind - Scorching: very hot.
Eg: On the scorching day, all that the cowboy could think was only about having a sip of cold water.
Speaking Part 3
1How do the different seasons affect the lifestyle of people in your country?
In places like A, B, C where it’s always hot there aren’t many extreme weather changes to worry about. But in other places such as X, Y, Z, the weather changes so drastically from summer to winter that it affects lifestyles. During the winter the weather may go below zero, and in the summer it may get as hot as 40 Celsius. That means you have to have different kinds of clothes for each season. Also, in the winter you might need heating and in the summer you will most likely have to use a fan or an air conditioner, a friend of mine uses both.
2 How do different seasons affect the way people feel?
One of the things that weather affects is the kind of food you eat, but when it’s really hot I don’t usually feel like eating a lot, just some fruit or quick and easy food, like sandwiches, cold noodles, whereas in the winter I usually feel like eating lots of food such as soups, rice, noodles. Also when it’s hot I just feel like sleeping, but in the winter I’m naturally colder, so I have to move around to keep warm.
3 How does the climate of a place affect the kind of buildings that are built there?
Well, if the climate is hot, then the builders will construct the buildings to stay as cool as possible. But if you are in a cold climate then you might find double insulation on the windows, or the houses will be built to retain heat as much as possible. It’s quite common to see a house with a bunch of open porches and verandas in a hot climate. And probably every room will have a hole for an air conditioning vent. But colder climates will most likely have central heating.
4 Do you think fighting global climate change is a governmental responsibility or the responsibility of individuals?
As the saying goes, many hands make light work. If the government and individuals work together on the climate problems, there will be many changes and more progress will be made. Of course more responsibility should fall on the shoulders of the government because they have the means to do more than the average citizen. But that shouldn’t stop ordinary people from doing their parts.
Vocabulary For Speaking Part 3
- Drastically: in a way that is likely to have a strong or far-reaching effect.
Eg: Management was drastically diminished. - Many hands make light work: a task is soon accomplished if several people help.
Eg: The manager thought that many hands might light work on the hectic project. - Air conditioning vent: a duct or pipe for conveying air
Eg: The air conditioning vent of the company got destroyed and many people got injured. - central heating: a system for warming a building by heating water or air in one place and circulating it through pipes and radiators or vents.
Eg: The central heating of the store exploded that the shopkeeper got sick. - Insulation: material that is used to stop the passage of electricity, heat, or sound from one conductor to another.
Eg: There is no insulation inside the room - Retain: to keep in possession or use.
Eg: Some students retain evidence of past history easily . - Fall on the shoulders: To be or become the sole responsibility of someone.
Eg: The responsibility of maintaining the house fell on the neighbour’s shoulder. - Porches: a covered shelter projecting in front of the entrance of a building.
Eg: I am always attracted to these country inns when they have hospitable porches and a general look of homely comfort. - Verandah: is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building.
Eg: Rashmi always has his morning breakfast on a tea table in his beauty.
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