TOPIC SPEAKING 11 FIRST SEMESTER

TALK ABOUT YOUR FRIEND To me, one of my best friends is Nam Nam is 18 years old He has black hair, a broad forehead, a straight nose and bright eyes He is very good-looking He has a kind heart and is easy to get on with everybody We have been friends for a very long time The deeper our mutual understanding becomes the more we feel closely attached to each other Nam and I are keen on learning We are the best pupils in our class Nam is always at the top He is good at every subject, but he never shows pride in his abilities and always tries to learn harder Nam’s family is not rich enough His parents are retired workers I like Nam very much because of his honesty and straight forwardness He is always ready to help his weak friends in their study In my relation with Nam, I have got precious experience: thirst for learning, patience to overcome difficulties, helpfulness and filial piety Is it easy to have a true friendship? Why? I don’t think it is easy to have a true friendship Because true friend will stand by us in our trials and tribulations He will be a great source of consolation and comfort in our troubles So we must be careful in choosing our friends It is difficult to choose a sincere friend overnight; it takes years for us to find a sincere friend What you think are the qualities of a true friendship? Loyalty sympathy unselfishness TET HOLIDAY IN VIETNAM Tet is a traditional holiday of our country, Vietnam It often begins in late-January and ends in early-February With the meaning of seeing the old year off and welcoming the new year, Tet becomes a special occasion of reunion for Vietnamese families At that time, all family members try to come back to their home and get together to make such preparations for Tet as buying new clothes and cleaning their house A branch of apricot blossoms or a Kumquat tree is indispensable decoration for every family in these days They seem like a fresh air to the house We display a tray full of fruits and vases of flowers on the ancestral altar Some typical Tet's food are sweets, coconut jam, fruit candies, melon seeds, stew pork with eggs, and especially sticky rice cake Tet meals are usually bigger and more delicious than our daily ones On Tet holiday, people have many recreational activities Young persons take part in the traditional games such as: tug of war, cooking rice, cock fighting, watching lion dance Many people visit relatives to wish a happy new year Adults will give lucky money to children Woman like going to pagoda to wish good things for their family Some other celebrations: Christmas, Easter, Mid-Autumn Why? I like Tet best In my opinion, I like cozy and fresh Tet atmosphere All family members gather and talk about resolutions for a happy new year I can hang out with my friend and don't worry about anything " Tet" holiday is always in Vietnamese's heart DESCRIBE A PARTY YOU HAVE BEEN TO I would like to talk about a birthday celebration that I attended 2/3 months ago It was one of my friends' birthday who turned 17 that day My friend's name is Nam and his parents wanted to celebrate his birthday just before his departure to United Kingdom Nam invited almost all of his close friends and 6-7 of us attended the birthday celebration together The party was celebrated at my friend's house We went there together and bought a present for him After reaching there, Nam and his parents warmly welcomed us Later Nam introduced us to his relatives and to some of his neighbors We were astonished when we saw the huge birthday cake 17 candles of different colors were lit around the cake and the whole house was redecorated for the occasion Anybody could say that some occasion was going on in this house without knowing anything We sang the birthday song when Ryan cut the cake We congratulated him and wished him a prosperous life ahead Then we ate cake and had a good feast The foods were delicious and good We, friends of our circle, went to visit a nearby place and sang different songs In the evening we went to Ryan's house again and attended a raffle draw That was a very exciting part of the birthday celebration Then after few minutes we left the party and went our homes VOLUNTEER WORK I and my friends often visit Quê Hương Humanitarian center where many orphans are living to help them The children are unhappy and miserable Some of them are orphan, some deaf, some dumb and others mentally retarded When I come there, I usually play with them, or tell many funny stories, clean the house, tidy the rooms, help them homework Every month, I and my friends have managed to collect a lot of books to distribute to the children there, when they get books they are very happy, which make me happy too Volunteering can give me the opportunity to try something new, gain experience, develop skills, improve my career prospects, build confidence and meet new people Through volunteering I can: Take on a challenge - Getting involved in something new can be a real challenge In my opinion, The more we give, the happier we feel Volunteering increases self-confidence I am doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment I role as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity a frightening experience I am not one who is frightened easily; but I must admit that one night I saw a figure that struck terror into my heart It was a moonlit-night I was returning home on foot from a town a few miles away As I was walking, I could hear the noises made by squirrels, insects and owls Suddenly, I caught sight of an old lady, a short distance away Her head was covered with a white cloth, and she was waving to me Curious to know why she was there at that time of the night, I stopped for a while As I stood there, however, vague memories of stories about ghosts began to come back to my mind I was soon gripped with fear and took to my heels I ran as fast as I could, and when I reached home I could hardly speak Memorable Experience One day last summer, I was walking through the local park It was a hot day and I was eating an icecream When I was watching many beautiful flowers, I saw my friends, Nam and Lan They were taking their dog for a walk When we met, we stopped for a chat While we were talking, the dog suddenly jumped up and tried to get my ice-cream I pulled my hand away and unfortunately the ice-cream came out of the cone Now there was a man behind me The poor man was just sitting on the bench reading a newspaper Well, when I pulled my hand away, the ice-cream flew through the air and it landed on the man’s head I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry The causes of overpopulation in a given region may include good food production, improvement in public health, illiteracy, poverty and disease control or prevention While some of these causes may seem positive, the effects of overpopulation eventually become negative and may cause societal ills like unemployment, slum development, insecurity, poor living conditions and resource exhaustion Solutions to Overpopulation Creation of Awareness: in order to ensure that a society does not have to deal with the negative effects of overpopulation, conducting awareness campaigns can be of great help Teaching people the importance of having fewer children is likely to help change attitudes toward reproduction Provision of Contraceptives: making contraceptives cheap and available to people can help control the number of births recorded in each year Reducing Incentives: instead of encouraging people to give birth, governments should reduce or eliminate incentives or programs that encourage childbearing Guarantee Education: making it possible for all girls and boys to learn to the highest level can help control early pregnancies People that are committed to secondary education are unlikely to become pregnant as they will focus more on their academic work Population Stability Policies: encouraging leaders to focus more on policies that can help stabilize population growth can also help in management