PREPARATION FOR SPEAKING 1 SITUATIONS You have ONE minute to read the task carefully and another ONE minute to do the task as you are instructed to. 1 One of your friends has taken a parttime job. Ask herhim three questions about the part time job. 1. Do you enjoy your work? (Do you like your job?) 2. Is that a popular job in your country? 3. Why did you choose to do that kind of work? 4. How many hours do you work each day? 5. Where do you work? 2 One of your friends is a member of your school football team. Ask herhim three questions for some information 1. How many members does your school football team have? 2. What is your school football teams activity timetable? 3. Why do you like playing football? 4. Did your team ever win any competition? 3 Your school is going to have a trip to a museum. Ask the leader three questions about the trip. 1. What time does the trip start? 2. Where is the museum? 3. What transport are we going to the museum by ? 4. How can we get to the museum? 5. Are you excited before going on the trip? 6. What are you going to take with you on the trip?
Trang 1PREPARATION FOR SPEAKING 1 SITUATIONS
You have ONE minute to read the task carefully and another ONE minute to do the task as you are instructed to
1/ One of your friends has taken a part-time job Ask her/him three questions about the part time job.
1 Do you enjoy your work? (Do you like your job?)
2 Is that a popular job in your country?
3 Why did you choose to do that kind of work?
4 How many hours do you work each day?
5 Where do you work?
2/ One of your friends is a member of your school football team Ask her/him three questions for some information
1. How many members does your school football team have?
2. What is your school football team's activity timetable?
3. Why do you like playing football?
4. Did your team ever win any competition?
3/ Your school is going to have a trip to a museum Ask the leader three questions about the trip
1. What time does the trip start?
2. Where is the museum?
3. What transport are we going to the museum by ?
4. How can we get to the museum?
5. Are you excited before going on the trip?
6. What are you going to take with you on the trip?
4/ One of your friends has come back from his/her holiday Ask her/him three questions about the holiday
1. How much money was in your budget for this trip?
2. Where did you go on your vacation?
3. How did you go?
4. Who did you go with?
5. Did you enjoy the trip?
6. What did you do during the trip?
5/ One of your friends saw a TV program last night Ask her/him three questions about the program
1. What type of TV programs did you see last night?
2. What did you watch on TV last night?
3. Did you watch this TV program alone or with your family?
4. What time did it begin?
5. What was the program about?
6. What kind of TV program did you see last night?
7. What were the contents of the program?
8. Where did you see this program?
Trang 29. Who did you watch this program with?
10.Was this program interesting?
6/ One of your friends has just started his/her first year at university Ask her/him three questions about university life
1 Why did you choose this school?
2 Are you happy here?
3 What are your school's strengths?
4 What major did you choose?
5 Why did you choose that major?
6 Do you get along with your classmates?
7 What is the name of your university?
8 What subject are you studying?
9 Why did you choose to study that?
10 How do you go to your university?
11 How far is it from your house to university?
7/ You would like to buy a book at a bookshop Ask the shop assistant three questions
1 Do you have any books by any Japanese author?
2 How much does it cost?
3 Can you tell me where the non-fiction books are?
4 Can you recommend some books for children?
5 Can you ship it to my house?
6 How can I make the payment?
8/ One of your friends has been to the film club Ask her/him three questions about that club.
1 Why have you been to the film club?
2 Who did introduce the film club to you?
3 What did you do at the film club?
4 How often do you go to the film club?
5 Have you ever met any a famous actor at that club?
9/ One of your friends has taken an intensive English class at a language school Ask her/him three questions about that class.
1 Is the teacher interesting?
2 Does the teacher care that the students learn?
3 Is the course too hard?
4 Does the course have too much work?
5 How many students are there in your class?
6 How long did class last in each lesson ?
7 How about the tuition?
8 How much does the course cost?
Trang 310/ One of your friends has participated a birthday party Ask her/him three questions about the party
1 Whose birthday party was it?
2 Where was the birthday party organized?
3 How many people attended it?
4 What time did the party finish?
11/ One of your friends has taken a part-time job Ask her/him three questions about the part time job
1 Do you enjoy your work? (Do you like your job?)
2 Is that a popular job in your country?
3 Why did you choose to do that kind of work?
4 How many hours do you work each day?
5 Where do you work?
12/ One of your friends has come back from his/her holiday Ask her/him three questions about the holiday
1 How much money was in your budget for this trip?
2 Where did you go on your vacation?
3 How did you go?
4 Who did you go with?
5 Did you enjoy the trip?
6 What did you do during the trip?
13/ One of your friends has got a new Math teacher Ask her/him three questions about the teacher
1 What ‘s your Math teacher’s name?
2 Is he/she young?
3 How does she teach?
4 How do your feel about her/him?
14/ One of your friends has been to the bird park Ask her/him three questions about the park
1 Where is the bird park?
2 How many kind of bird does the park have?
3 How did you get there?
15/ One of your friends saw a movie last night Ask her/him three questions about the movie
1 Who was the main character in that movie?
2 How long did the movie last?
3 Was there any famous actor in that movie?
4 What was the movie about?
16/ One of your friends is going to move to a new house Ask his/her three questions about the new house
1 Where/How is your new house?
2 Do you like your new house?
3 How many rooms are there?
Trang 44 How is your neibourgh?
17/ You work in a travel agent A visitor would like to have a package tour Ask him/her three questions to get more information
1 Do you want to book a short or a long tour?
2 Do you want to book a domestic or foreign tour?
3 Do you go alone or in groups? If you go in a group, how many people are there in your group?
4 When do you want to go?
5 Where do you want to go?
18/ One of your friends has got a new English teacher Ask her/him three questions about the teacher
1 What’s your English teacher’s name?
2 Is he/she young?
3 How does she teach?
4 How do your feel about her/him?
19/ One of your friends has been to an art show Ask her/him three questions about that show
1 Who did you go with?
2 Were there a lot of audiences that came to see that show?
3 What was the show about?
4 Did you enjoy the show?
5 What was the most interesting part of the show?
20/ One of your friends has been to a painting competition Ask her/him three questions about the competition
1 When does the painting competition start/end?
2 What is the subject of the painting competition?
3 Where is the painting competition’s location?
4 What is your role at the painting competition?
21/ One of your friends has been to a club for young people Ask her/him three questions about that club
1 What is the address of the club?
2 What is your club's activity timetable?
3 What is the name and location of the club?
4 How many members does your club have?
5 What is the main activity in your club? Can I join your club?
22/ One of your friends has been to the film club Ask her/him three questions for more information
1 What is the address of the club?
2 What is your club's activity timetable?
3 What is the name and location of the club?
4 How many members does your club have?
5 What is the main activity in your club? Can I join your club?
Trang 523/ You would like to buy some household appliances at a department store Ask the shop assistant three questions
1 I want to buy a fan Can you recommend a kind of fan?
2 What functions does this fan have?
3 Does this fan have a charge function?
4 Does this fan have a timer?
5 How is the warranty?
24/ One of your friends has moved to a new house Ask her/him three questions about that house
1 Where/How is your new house?
2 Do you like your new house?
3 How many rooms are there?
4 How is your neibourgh?
25/ One of your friends has participated a wedding party Ask her/him three questions about the party
1 Whose birthday party was it?
2 Where was the birthday party organized?
3 How many people attended it?
4 What time did the party finish?
5 Will you prepare a gift?
26/ One of your friends has been invited to a conference Ask her/him three questions for more information about that conference.
1 When does the conference start/end?
2 What is the subject of the conference?
3 Where is the painting competition’s location?
4 What is the main topic that was discussed in the conference?
5 Do you think the conference is necessary in these days?
6 Where is conference hold?
27/ One of your friends has bought a new car Ask her/him three questions about that car
1 What ‘s kind of your car?
2 When did you buy it?
3 How much does it cost?
4 What is the brand of your new car?
5 Which is the color of your car?
28/ One of your friends has been back from a holiday in a foreign country Ask him/her three questions about that holiday
1 Do you enjoy the holiday?
Trang 62 Why or why not?
3 What do you usually do for this holiday?
4 What did you do last year?
5 What would you like to do next year?
6 Will you go back to the same place again?
7 Do you think holidays are important? Why?
8 What is best present you ever received?
9 What is your favorite holiday food?
10 What is your favorite holiday song?
11.How long did the holiday last?
12. What impressed you most in that foreign country?
13.Did you take any photographs in there?
29/ You are going to have a meeting with your colleague Ask the leader three questions about that meeting.
1. What is the purpose of the meeting?
2. What ideas do you want to discuss?
3. What should I do to prepare for the meeting?
30/ One of your friends is going to the supermarket to buy something Ask him/her three questions.
1. Where are you going?
2. What are you going to buy?
3. Will you buy me a strawberry cake when you get there?
4. How often do you go to the supermarket?
5. May I go with you? I need to buy some stuffs, too.
TOPICS
You have three minutes to deliver a speech of the topic given You are expected to include three
parts of a speech, namely Introduction, Development and Conclusion with the use of some linking
words
1/ What are the benefits and disadvantages of learning foreign languages at the early age
- Intro: Learning a foreign language at the young age is becoming a tendency all over the world This trend brings about both advantages and disadvantages Now I wil take this opportunity to talk about these aspects of this problem
- In term of benefit: young children learn a language faster, pick up pronunciation better, have more time to concentrate on learning, having a good preparation at the early age will help children get a better career in the future
Trang 7- On the other hand, learning a foreign language at the young age may have some disadvantages: may be confusing because children have to learn mother tongue and foreign language at the same time; cost a lot of money.
- Conclusion: In conclution, there are some particular advantanges and disadvantage of learning a new foreign language at the early age However, in my opinion, learning a foreign language at primary school is more benefical than disadvantage So, I will also let my child learn a foreign language from a young age
2/ What are the benefits and drawbacks of travelling?
- Intro: In my opinion, travelling is one of the best ways to discover the beauty of nature and explore the different cultures Whenever I have spare time, I often take a trip to different places in Vietnam or to another country to get rid of the hustle and bustle of the busy life Today I’m talking about…
- Benefits: First, Meeting new people When you travel you can make new friends and business contacts – and even fall in love Second, learning new languages What better way to improve your language skills than by traveling to a country where that language is spoken Finally, travelling is the best solution for those of us who suffer from boredom or want to get away from "grey reality" and experience great adventure
- Drawbacks: costs of travelling are often quite high for example travelling by plane, so naturally not everyone can afford What is more, journeys especially foreign ones expose us to danger of disease or even death Travelling can lead to fall ill and maybe then to expensive treatment or in case of fatal accident like for instance car and aerial one to death of many people The next disadvantage is fatigue that occur while travelling Most journeys last very long, and it can make us feel tired.
- Conclusion: To sum up, travelling is a very good way of spending time It can educate, give impressions, nice memories and let make friends However, in my opinion travelling in spite of its whole advantages, it should not
be the only way to learn about the world
3/ Discuss the importance of the Internet
- Intro: Today, the internet has become unavoidable in our daily life Appropriate use of the internet makes our life easy, fast and simple The internet helps us with facts and figures, information and knowledge for personal, social and economic development There are many uses of the internet, and now I’m gonna talk about some of them.
- Uses of the Internet in Education: The Internet is a great platform for students to learn throughout their lifetime They can use the internet to learn new things and even acquire degrees through online education programs Teachers can also use the internet to teach students around the world
- Internet Use to Speed Up Daily Task: The Internet is very much useful in our daily routine tasks For example, it helps us to see our notifications and emails Apart from this, people can use the internet for money transfers, shopping order online food, etc.
- Use of the Internet for Shopping: With the help of the internet, anybody can order products online The increase
in online shopping has also resulted in companies offering a huge discount for their customers.
- Internet for Research & Development: The Internet plays a pivotal role in research and development as it is propelled through internet research The benefit of the internet is enjoyed by small businessmen to big universities.
- Business Promotion and Innovation: The Internet is also used to sell products by using various e-Commerce solutions The result is new services and businesses starting every day thereby creating job opportunities and reducing unemployment.
Trang 8- Communication: Without a doubt, the internet is the most powerful medium of communication at present It connects people across different parts of the world free and fast
- In conclusion, internet plays an important role in many different fields which includes banks, schools, industries and others People have benefited from this technology in both their professional and personal lives.
4/ What are the benefits and drawbacks of watching TV?
live and see many interesting things Our knowledge is broadened (ró đình- mở rộng) in many ways
Secondly, television helps us to enrich our spiritual (xít bía ri chồ - tinh thần) lives In particular, we can
learn the language we like such as English, Chinese, France, Spanish, Japanese through language programs.
We can be good and clever at doing jobs, making cakes, cooking, arranging flowers through practical courses which are taught on television
And watching is an enjoyable way to relax After a hard-working day, it's so comfortable and fun to sit at the armchair and see a movie or watch a comedy program There are also educational programs on television, so children can learn a lot from these programs
On the other hand, television has some disadvantages It has negative effects, especially for children Some movies contain violence or crime Therefore, the evil influence of television on the young generation is
inevitable(in é vi đờ bồ - không thể tránh khỏi) It encourages them to commit crime, or make children grow up
to be violent adults
What's more, watching television too much makes us passive When watching TV, our brains don't need
to work Therefore, our brains become lazier Watching TV too much is also bad for our eyes This is the main
cause that leads to short-sightedness (sót sai địt nịc – cận thị)
All things considered, everything has two sides, advantages and disadvantages Television will be useful
to us if only we know how to use it correctly.
Disadvantages:
Trang 9- Watching too much television is not good for your health Studies have shown that there is a correlation between watching television and obesity
- It's a waste of time Watching television fills the time a person might have spent doing important, enriching things like interacting socially with other human beings, being physically active, discovering the outdoors Television can ruin your relationships
In conclusion, watching TV has both benefits and disadvantages In my opinion, the right way of
television use is the way which is responsible and for free time.
5/ What are the advantages and disadvantages of using public transports
SAMPLE 1:
Nowadays, more and more people prefer taking public transport rather than using their own car
However, there are a lot of positives and negatives about using public transport In this essay, I will discuss both views of it
On the one hand, public transport is beneficial for both countries and individuals Firstly, public
transport can help to decrease significant quantities of private vehicles and exhaust fumes from them as well This contributes to reduce air pollution causing global warming which may have devastating effect on our environment Secondly, investment in public facilities, particularly transportation system, will ease traffics congestion as people are encouraged to travel by buses and trains instead of driving Finally, modern public transport is often fast and cheap, which will bring out saving time and money on transit for everyone
On the other hands, it is inconvenient to have access to public transport because of some reasons Buses and trains are often slow and unreliable; as a result, commuters will show up non-punctually or even delay their important events For instance, last month, most of Singaporean pupils were late to get to school for the final examination in secondary schools due to train disruption and they had to take the exam later Moreover, people often feel like “sardine in can” as using metro system in the rush hours, which is not as comfortable as driving their own cars
In addition, public places are becoming insecure because of a possible threat of terrorism, which is not safe for travelers taking public transportation In conclusion, there are both advantages and disadvantages of public transport that people should consider before travelling by them regularly
SAMPLE 2:
Nowadays, using public transport has been becoming increasingly popular Many people choose public transport because they want to make a contribution to protect the environment However, there are certainly some benefits as well as drawbacks to this tendency and this essay aims to highlight both
One of the main advantages of public transport is to better the environment When people use public transport more and more, they will stop going by car Hence, the congestion will decrease In addition, the exhaust fumes from cars will become less The petrol consumption will also fall Therefore, all of the results of stopping using private cars will lead to protecting the environment
Secondly, using public transport will save the money and resources of both individuals and society Going by public transport often costs less than other private vehicles because it is subsidized by the government Also, it is more efficient when comparing the cost per person for travelling As I represented above, the petrol
Trang 10consumption and carbon emissions will decrease when public transportation is used, so the total cost to society will decrease
Thirdly, public transportation will bring more jobs and more social interactions between people When travelling by public transportation there are chances to talk and to interact with the people around us
Sometimes, it’s a small joy when you discover a cabin mate has the same viewpoint Besides, public
transportation creates a lot of jobs, hence, it will aid the development of the economy
Having looked at both sides, slowness is a major problem Many are often behind the timetable, which brings about the loss of passengers For example, I went by bus to a recruiting company for an interview
However, the bus did not run on the schedule so I was late when I went to the company, then the company refused to recruit me
Another disadvantage is that public transport such as buses, trains are very crowded Sometimes, there is not enough space for passengers to have a seat The vehicle are also used for a long time, therefore, they can be very out of date and dirty All of these factors make the passenger feel very inconvenienced
To sum up, going by public transport has both positives and negatives While people could save money and protect the environment by using public transportation, they have to endure the inconvenience and
slowness In my opinion, if the government invests in modernising public transportation in the years to come, it will attract a huge number of people to use it.
6/ Present the good points and bad points of having fast food.
SAMPLE 1:
Fast foods are probably the most attractive food to many, especially to children and young people People usually think that fast foods are absolutely bad, but I believe they have some positive points
I agree that fast food is unhealthy They are high in fat, which easily makes the ones who consume it overweight Besides, there are some components inside fast food that may lead to cancer if people eat too much of it Also, they are high in cholesterol, which affects their blood flow and leads to heart diseases, sometimes even stroke and death Also, consumers really don’t know what ingredients are really used to make them The process of cooking and preparing may be not salubrious, you can even
be food poisoned
Besides such above drawbacks, fast food has some certain advantages First, they save time for people, they don’t need to cook or prepare meals, just go to a fast food restaurant, they can enjoy their meals there And so, eating and getting a full meal is not a problem because anyone can just walk a few meters or cross the street and food is available That’s why fast food is chosen by workers, office staff and the ones who are always busy Moreover, it’s true that fast food provides a huge amount of energy,
so it’s very suitable for those who have to work for long hours without having a rest The calories inside fast food help them to maintain their power as well as alertness
In conclusion, fast food is good at some points Don’t consume it too much or too regularly to keep you fit and healthy.
Trang 11SAMPLE 2:
Fast food is the name given to food that can be cooked and served very quickly, fast food can also be described as any food that provides little or no nutrient value to the diet but instead provides excess calories and fat, fast food can be a great way to save time but it is not the proper way for nutrition as these foods are often of little nutritional benefit and high in fat sugar and calories
Advantages of junk food:
- Saving your time: when you are in hurry and you don't have time to eat your lunch or dinner and you cannot wait for a longer period of time up for eating junk food is the option for you to fill your stomach and to get somewhat satisfaction from the hunger
- easy to make: McDonald’s and burger king make their so-called tasty burgers in just two to three
minutes and you don't have to wait for more than that so the point is that it is very easy to make and you can make it within a few minutes compared to lunch or dinner
- Affordable price: junk food is always having a low cost compared to lunch and dinner and in restaurants and hotels because it doesn't need to spend time and material to make, that’s why they are having an affordable price for everyone
Disadvantages of junk food:
First of all, fast food is fried by oil For example, When it was fried, chemical reactions occur products of these chemical reactions make us sick or give us bad effect Secondly, Raw materials of this food don’t have good nutrition for body.
By-Eating fast food has advantages and disadvantages for us Therefore we should eat more vegetables, fruits or home-cook meals and shouldn’t eat too much fast food in order to have a good health.
7/ There are the negatives and positives of living in a big city Do you agree with this statement?
SAMPLE 1:
Nowadays, large cities are becoming more and more inhabited(in há bi tax -cư trú) The majority of the population prefer living in a big town mainly because of the great advantages it has compared to living in the countryside However, what are the benefits of this situation, and what are the drawbacks?
Let’s start looking at the advantages One of the main positives of a big town is the large amount of shops available in every corner of the city What I mean by this is that whenever you live, there are some useful stores like supermarkets, banks, tobacconists and clothing stores where you can easily buy everything you need without going to the city center Secondly, living in a big town is a big challenge for evening parties In Ho Chi Minh, for example, there are so many things to do in the evenings like going to the cinema, to the pub or to the park during the summer period
Turning to the other side of the argument, traffic could be one of the major disadvantages of living in a big city Many people take the car everyday and it has also been proved that the majority of the families have at least two cars This means that you have to deal with rush-hour traffic on your way to work and on your way back In addition, in a big town there is consequently a lot of smog and this can really affect people’s health
To sum up, living in a big city has great advantages but also some significant negatives.You have to weigh up to the pros of enjoying evenings’ nights outside and the availability of many shops and the cons of cope with smog and traffic issues Personally, I believe that the benefits of enjoying the city-life and the comfort
of having shops at every corner, eventually overweigh the negatives.
SAMPLE 2:
Trang 12Nowadays, the majority of the population prefer living in a big town mainly because of the great advantages it has compared to living in the countryside In my opinion, living in big city has both drawbacks and advantages
Advantages: One of the main positives of a big town is the large amount of shops available in every corner of the city What I mean by this is that whenever you live, there are some useful stores like supermarkets, banks, and clothing stores Secondly, living in a big town is a big challenge for evening parties In Hanoi, for example, there are so many things to do in the evenings like going to the cinema, to the pub or to the park during the summer period
Drawbacks: traffic could be one of the major disadvantages of living in a big city Many people go to work by cars everyday This means that you have to deal with rush-hour traffic on your way to work and on your way back In addition, in a big town air pollution can affect people’s health Personally, I believe that the benefits of the city-life and the comfort of having shops at every corner, eventually overweigh the negatives.
SAMPLE 3:
Living in a big city has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Big city is a place of high living standard You can live in a good condition with modern facilities and social services such as health care, education and entertainment It is also an economic center which is a good area for you to develop your career and business Turning to the other side of the argument, big city life is not for everyone You may find it very noisy and hectic with crazy traffic which leads to environmental problems Moreover, a big city tends to have high rates of crime due to the density and poverty You can feel unsafe although it's crowded around you In conclusion, there are both good sides and bad sides of living in a big city The important thing is to learn how to adapt to your living environment and take advantage of it.
8/ Discuss the importance of learning English
It’s easy to see just how important English is around the world Many international businesses conduct meetings in English, universities teach courses in English and, around the world, tourists and travellers use English as a common language
- English is a global language: English is the most commonly spoken language in the world One out of five people can speak or at least understand English!
- Studying English can help you get a job: English is the language of science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism (tua rí zum) Knowing English increases your chances of getting a good job in a
multinational company within your home country or of finding work abroad
- Learning English can help you meet new people: English is the official language of 53 countries and is used as a lingua (lính gui) franca (a mutually known language) by people from all around the world This means that whether you’re working in Beijing, or travelling in Brazil, studying English can help you have a
conversation with people from all over the world
- Many scientific papers are written in English: In the last century, the number of scientific papers written in English has started to outweigh the number of papers written in the native language of the researcher
In the Netherlands, for example, the ratio is a surprising 40 to 1 For this reason, having a knowledge of English
is incredibly important to those working in the scientific field.
- English is the language of the media industry: Because of the prominence of Hollywood in global media, an enormous amount of films, TV shows and popular songs are written in English If you speak English,