By COMMON RECENT SPEAKING QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS (Phần 10) PART Topic 10: Bags 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: đồ bắt buộc phải có A backpack: ba lô Get to know: tìm hiểu để biết What types of bags 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: thích thứ From time to time: Long-term convenience: tiện lợi lâu dài High-quality backpack: balo chất lượng tốt By 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 What types of bags 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 người đưa thư A tote bag: túi vải cứng, to Get cluttered: trở nên lộn xộn 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 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: đắt What you put in these bags? By Well, 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 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 By Few 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 cách thẳng thắn A music addict: người nghiện nhạc Pop my mind: xuất tâm trí Average-looking: ngoại hình tầm trung Harbor a dream of doing sth: nuôi ước mơ làm Tranquil: yên bình, yên ả (adj) Serene: bình, trầm lặng (adj) Make it big: thành công Have the good fortune: may mắn Turn over a new leaf: bước sang trang đời PART 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 What old people like to listen to? Why 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 By elderly of their miserable time and all the hardship they had to suffer when the country was still in poverty and conflict 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 Why 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 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 What kinds of music (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 By MP3 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 Why 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 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 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 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 By 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 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 ... listen to? Why 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... never thought of recommending that sort of songs to my grandparents Why you think people of different age groups have different favourite songs? Simply speaking, people of different ages belong... 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