Frankly speaking, I am a music addict and pretty keen on all sorts of music ranging from classical to rock music, yet the piece of song that popped my mind at this instant is my favori
Trang 2COMMON RECENT SPEAKING QUESTIONS
AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS
(Phần 10)
PART 1
Topic 10: Bags
1 Do you like bags?
Bag is not really must-have item to me I just use a backpack due to its convenience Probably I’ll spend some time getting to know more about bags later on
Must-have item: món đồ bắt buộc phải có
A backpack: ba lô
Get to know: tìm hiểu để biết
2 What types of bags do you like?
I’m not a big fan of this item so the only bag I use from time to time is the backpack I
love backpack because I tend to put a lot of heavy stuff inside such as my laptop, my
water bottles, etc whenever I get outdoors It’s the long-term convenience that makes
high-quality backpacks worth my money
A big fan of sth: rất thích thứ gì đó
From time to time: thỉnh thoảng
Long-term convenience: sự tiện lợi lâu dài
High-quality backpack: balo chất lượng tốt
Trang 3
3 Do you usually carry a bag (when you go out)?
As aforementioned I carry my backpack all the time, when I go to school or hang out with friends Although it may not give me a fashionable look, I think comfort and
convenience is the top priority to me
To priority: ưu tiên hàng đầu
4 What types of bags do you use (in your everyday life)?
I use different types…I mostly use a messenger bag or a couple different medium/large purses Tote bags I find didn’t even help at all when it came to carrying everything around especially since there are no pockets or anything and it’ll get cluttered And your
shoulder will hurt of course
A messenger bag: túi của người đưa thư
A tote bag: túi vải cứng, to
Get cluttered: trở nên lộn xộn
5 Do you have different bags for different occasions (or, different purposes)?
Well I must say that at present I have no idea about different types of bags or that sort of
things And it also costs me an arm and a leg if I ever want to become a bag collector
with, say, twenty different bags for different occasions However, I do have one
fashionable small satchel for special occasions I’m also kind of afraid that wearing
heavy bags all the time will somehow affect my spine and my shoulders
Cost an arm and a leg: rất đắt
6 What do you put in these bags?
Trang 4Well, when I go out or go to work, I usually put my laptop, cellphone, charger, basic beauty products like lipsticks, lotions, water bottle and probably a pair of earphones When I use the smaller backpack, I tend to leave everything at home but my makeup kit and water bottles
PART 2
Topic 10: Describe an interesting song you like
You should say:
What it is Which country the song comes from What story the song tells
And explain why you think it is interesting
Frankly speaking, I am a music addict and pretty keen on all sorts of music ranging from
classical to rock music, yet the piece of song that popped my mind at this instant is my
favorite song, “Picture postcards from LA” Of course, LA stands for Los Angeles, a city best known for its entertainment industry on the West coast of America
This song is about an average-looking waitress who always harbors a dream of becoming
a superstar in Hollywood But whenever she shares her dream with the singer of this song (Joshua Kadison), he’s like, “So send me picture post cards from LA And if you find me one, I'd love a picture of the California sun"
The melody of this song really calms me down, very tranquil and serene And the lyrics
are totally touching It's all about the average people’s lives, our joys and sorrows Maybe
all of us, at least at some points of our lives, have dreamed about making it big But very
few of us manage to make our dreams come true
Trang 5Few of us have the good fortune to become a super star The singer has a deep and rich
voice I simply adore him and I love this song so much It’s just so moving cause it’s about
us, the average people who wish to turn over a new leaf someday
Frankly speaking: nói một cách thẳng thắn
A music addict: người nghiện nhạc
Pop my mind: xuất hiện trong tâm trí tôi
Average-looking: ngoại hình tầm trung
Harbor a dream of doing sth: nuôi ước mơ làm gì đó
Tranquil: yên bình, yên ả (adj)
Serene: thanh bình, trầm lặng (adj)
Make it big: thành công
Have the good fortune: may mắn
Turn over a new leaf: bước sang trang mới của cuộc đời
PART 3
1 Do you like to visit movie theaters?
Yes, I am really into seeing a movie at the theater with my buddies when I’m free at the weekend We would just have a snack of fried chips and chicken before taking the lift to the top floor and watch a blockbuster there
2 What do old people like to listen to? Why do you think old people like old songs?
My guess is that the old generation would show a big preference for old songs, particularly the ballad or love story Those songs usually contain meaningful lyrics and give them a golden chance to reflect on their life a bit Besides, such melodious pieces of music are great ways to let their hair down, they like immersing themselves in the soft and meaningful music, I’d say I wouldn’t forget to mention songs with a theme on wars as they remind the
Trang 6elderly of their miserable time and all the hardship they had to suffer when the country was still in poverty and conflict
3 How would your grandfather feel if you gave him some hip hop music to listen to?
What an interesting question! As I have mentioned earlier, modern music like hiphop or rap is definitely not their taste Having that in mind, I have never thought of recommending that sort of songs to my grandparents
4 Why do you think people of different age groups have different favourite songs?
Simply speaking, people of different ages belong to different groups and each group has its own norms So, teenagers are under the influence of other members in the group and would go for the latest pop songs of current artists on TV or songs that go viral on the social networks Meanwhile, the older and more mature group would rather look back on past values and prefer old songs that usually have something to do with their life some 40 years ago What I’m trying to say is they can recall bitter or sweet memories from those pieces of music
5 What kinds of music do (small) children in Vietnam like to listen to? = What kinds of music are popular in Vietnam?
Well, thinking about it, I would say that there’s an increasingly wide variety of music types which are catching on nowadays in Vietnam, such as pop music of course, as well as rock, R&B, and traditional Vietnamese folk music But out of all of these, I’d say that pop music
is, by far, the most in vogue at the moment And I’m sure if you steal a glance at anyone’s
Trang 7MP3 player here, you would find that the majority of the songs in the playlists on it, if not all of it, are pop music songs – at least that’s the case with all of my intimates anyway
6 Why do some people like to play music (= play a musical instrument) in the open?
As far as I’m concerned, when you are out in the open air and hold your musical instrument, sing a song, you not only give yourself but others a great time as well From my personal experience, I have seen many university students, for instance, gather around in the park, surrounded by a lot of trees and sing group songs with their guitar This is great fun you know, just imagine everyone feeling the beat and dance to the tunes of the songs, or many other passersby stopping for a while to enjoy the song
7 Do you think children should learn how to sing?
No, I wouldn’t actually say it is all that necessary, simply because it’s something that we are all able to do inherently, regardless of whether or not we’ve been taught So unless a child is really serious about becoming a singer, I’d say there’s no real need for them to learn how to sing
8 What are the differences in the music that young and old people listen to?
To be honest, I suppose there are a handful of differences, one of which would be that young people, on the whole, mainly like listening to pop music, whereas the older generation tend to be more into listening to more traditional music, like folk music, Vietnamese opera, and even old revolutionary songs So that’s one difference, and I guess another would be that the youths often listen to Western music as well as Vietnamese music, whereas in contrast,I think it’s fair to say that most elderly people just tend to listen
to Vietnamese music
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9 Is it necessary for children to listen to traditional Vietnamese music?
If I were to say, I don't think I would go so far as saying it's absolutely necessary, but it's certainly a good thing to do, because it's one way of helping children become more conscious oftheir culture So for example, if parents occasionally put on some traditional music at home, it gives children the chance to develop an interest in this aspect of their culture, even though they might not be able to fully appreciate it
10 What kinds of songs do children like listening to?
From my point of view, based on what I recall from my own childhood, I would have to say most kids tend to be drawn by short, simple songs which have catchy tunes and memorable lyrics, and I suppose a lot of them are the theme songs from their favourite cartoons or some songs accompanying the adverts on the TV
11 What music is suitable for children?
Personally, I guess it's probably fair to say that more or less all music is, even classical music, because although kids might not fully appreciate it, they can still have an enjoyable time, and it's even been said that listening to composers like Mozart can make them smarter! So I would basically say that, as long as a song’s lyrics don’t contain any foul language, then it’s suitable for children to listen to