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Eva vs. Adrian
IELTS Band9 Speaking by Examiners
After the interview, Reasons and Tips for Band 9
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Welcome to the Speaking Section of the IELTS exam, my name
is Eva, and I will be your examiner for this part of the test. The speaking
test consists of three parts, I will give you instructions for each part, and I
will record this for marking purposes, Is that okay? Yes. Okay, so for the
first part I will ask you a couple of questions just to get to know you a bit
better, and also some questions on a general topic. Okay, so first, of all,
What is your full
name?
My full name is Adrina Lee, please just call me by my first
name Adrian.
Okay, Adrian. May I
see your identification please?
Yes, absolutely.
Here you go, this is my passport, I used if for
registration.
Okay. That’s
absolutely fine, thank you.
What do you like
doing in your free time?
Well, when I have some spare time on weekends, I like to hang
out with my friends, do something active like sports. I played football with a
couple of friends last week, and also, I like to watch movies to relax and
recharge my batteries.
Where do go to relax?
In order to unwind, I usually take a stroll in the park near
my home. There’s a lot of green space there and some benches, so sometimes I
sit down and just stare out into space, and meditate for a few moments.
Let’s talk about your
home.
Can you describe your
flat or house?
Yes, I live in a two-bedroom flat with my wife and daughter
in the heart of Budapest, very close to the Danube River. It has of course a
kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a balcony as well. It’s Bright and
spacious.
What is your favorite
room?
Uhmm, if I had to choose, I would say that the room I like
most of all is my office, just because that’s where I do my work, and I like my
job, so I would say that it’s my office.
Where can you easily
walk to from your home?
Well, since as I just mentioned, my flat is in the center of
Budapest, there are a lot of places conveniently available to me just a short
walk away. For instance, a supermarket, also a big shopping mall with Movie
Theater, and even athletic centers are located just maybe a kilometer from my
place.
Have you renovated
any part of your home over the years?
Yes, I have. Just about 16 months ago, we renovated our
kitchen and our living room. These two rooms used to be separated by a wall
which we removed. We wanted an open-floor concept, so that we could socialize a
little bit more easily when one of us is in the kitchen and another person is
in the living room.
Do you recycle your
rubbish? Why, or why not?
Definitely we recycle as much as possible, I make sure to
separate my plastics, paper, metal, glass, into different containers for the
recycling truck to take away. It’s very important to do this, to preserve
nature as much as possible, and I’d like to think that I do my part in that.
If you could renovate
any part of your home in the future, what would it be?
That’s an interesting question, and I have actually thought
about it. My wife and I were discussing this just the other week that come
summertime we will likely renovate our balcony, add some more space out there,
and also maybe some kind of a cover so that we can enjoy it year round, and
have guests over for barbecues.
Okay, so that is the
end of part 1. For part 2, I’m going to give you a card; please don’t turn it
over just yet. There will be some questions on it, and you will have one minute
to prepare your answers, and also you can take notes if you wish. So here’s
some paper, and also pencil. After the 1 minute, you will have 2 minutes to
talk about the topic. I will tell you when to start and when to stop/ Are you
ready to start? Mhm, okay,
Your one minute
preparation time starts now.
PART- 2
Talk about your
favorite dessert.
What is it?
Where do you eat it?
Where do you eat it?
When do you
especially like eating it?
What do other people
thing about it?
Why do you like this dessert
more than others?
You will have one to two
minutes to talk about this topic.
You will have one
minute to prepare what you are going to say.
Okay, so your
one-minute preparation time is up, please begin speaking.
The dessert that I love more nay other, would have to be New
York cheesecake.
I think the first time that I had this dessert was in my
childhood, probably around the age seven or eight, when I can remember.
New Your cheesecake, it’s usually a round flat cake with
graham cracker or a cookie crumb base.
The main layer is made of cream cheese, sugar, egg and maybe
some other ingredients, and then often on the top, people will put some fruits
or some kind of chocolate or fruit syrup.
I usually eat cheesecake either at home, or at a restaurant.
The reason being is that my white knows how to make New York
cheesecake. She knows it’s my favorite, so she prepares it for special
occasions, such as my birthday.
And, any chance I have to eat cheesecake at a restaurant, I such
as my birthday. And, any chance I have to eat cheesecake at a restaurant, I always
go for it. I choose it instead of any other dessert on the menu.
Last time, I believe I had it at a local pastry shop called,
Sweets, just down the road from my place.
I especially like eating it in the evenings after my main meal.
If I’ve had a steak for example, then topping it off with a
slice of cheesecake is just superb.
I do believe that most people love eating cheesecake as
well, not only because of its delicate, sweet, flavor, but it’s also a light cake
compared to some others, like a chocolate cake.
So, it’s a bit easier to digest. And, I think that it’s
sweet flavor, and also slightly sour flavor gives it a uniqueness which many
people like.
Whenever I meet with my friends, or talk with others about
cheesecake then they always agree that they love it as well.
So, and I like it more than other desserts for the same
reasons.
Okay, so your two
minutes are up. And, please give me back the paper, and also the questions. Thank
you. And, now we will move on to Part 3. In this part, I will ask you some
questions related to the topic of Part 2. Is that okay?
Mhm. Okay,
So let’s talk about
sweets and cakes. In general, have people’s consumption of sweets and cakes
increased or decreased over the last few decades?
I definitely think that people these days are eating a lot
more sugars and sweets than they were in past generations, simply because of
the availability of sugar. I think there are more chocolates and candies
available in stores than ever before. If I just think about my local grocery
store, there are two aisles dedicated to just these types of food products.
And, also in the past, I believe people ate such types of foods maybe one a
week. Nowadays, people are eating the even several times a day.
Can you elaborate a
bit?
Yes, so if I think about my childhood years. My parents would
restrict eating candies or cakes to once or twice a month, but these days, I
find myself eating a chocolate bar at least three to four times a week.
Too many sweets can
cause health issues for people. Do you agree with this statement? Why, why not?
Yes, I concur with this notions simply because the facts are
proven. Medical reports are now well-established that eating a lot of;
especially refined sugars, leads to health problems, such as type 2 diabetes,
as well as cardiovascular disease.
Certain types of
sweets and cakes can be very expensive. What do you think contributes to the
high price of some confectionaries?
It’s a good question. The reason why some cakes and
confectionaries can be in the high-price ranges, like 10, 20 dollars, or I’ve
even heard of some cakes costing in the hundreds of dollars, is likely because
the ingredients needed to make them are quite pricey, such as real vanilla
extract. And, also, the amount of training that goes into, and effort that goes
into preparing these cakes is extensive. Some of these pastry chefs go to
school for years and years to master their craft.
So, is it worth the
cost?
I believe that it is worth every penny. When a person finds
a good pastry shop, perhaps a French macaron shop, then tasting those sweets,
their texture, and their flavor, it’s absolutely divine, and can be worth what
they’re asking.
Okay, now let’s talk
about making food. How have food preparation practices improved over the decades?
There has been significant development, especially with the
technology that’s being used to prepare foods, such as kitchen appliances, blenders,
mixers, and for instance ovens; which gives chefs a lot more control over
timing and heat; thereby preparing meals more specifically to what they would
like and probably producing better flavors as well.
Do you feel that any
of these changes have been for the worse?
That’s good question, give me a moment to think... Perhaps
not with the tools, but rather the ingredients. There have been certain changes
that are negative; especially, the flavor of a lot of the base ingredients. I
think in the past there were a lot more organic foods available to cooks and
chefs, such as meats from farms, and real fruits and vegetables that weren’t
genetically modified. I believe these days that’s making it a little bit more
difficult for chefs to produce the same flavors as before,
Some people say that
the tradition of quality home-cooked meals is slowly disappearing. Why is this?
Hmm, well, certainly the pace of life has really increased
in a lot of the world. What I mean by that is, people are very busy these days,
so they just don’t have as much time to cook at home. Also, I think a lot of
the art of cooking hasn’t been passed down from generation to generation over
the last 30, 40 years the same way as it had been in the past. Furthermore,
it’s probably more expensive to cook at home now just because good ingredients
cost more than they used to.
What can be done to
encourage people to bake or cook more?
Hmm, well, I guess people can be educated about the benefits
of cooking at home, such as gaining more respect for food when we’re interacting
with it more intimately in our kitchens, as well as spending more time with our
families in the process of cooking and eating as well. So I think that
governments and schools can really focus on letting people know that cooking at
home does lead to happier and healthier life.
How would it impact
society if people cook more at home?
Well, as I just mentioned, ultimately I believe that people
would be in better health because they would pay more attention to what they’re
eating, as opposed to just picking menu items in a restaurant. In the short
term, it might negatively impact the hospitality industry, as people would be
spending less money in restaurants.
Okay, that concludes
the speaking part of your exam. Your marks will be available within two weeks,
along with the other sections of the test. Have a great rest of your day, and
please make sure to take your passport. Thank you
This is a band 9
because I answer, explain and give examples for all questions… I use
quantitative language – numbers to better describe ideas, like “one kilometer
from my flat there are…” I use a wide range of grammar, perfect tense,
progressive, conditional, and more.
A communication
strategy I use is…
I begin my answers
slowly and methodically…
Visualizing the
answer for the question…
While doing this,
thinking of the explanation, and increasing speed once ideas are clear in my
mind!
Just like this, the
technique works for good speaking and high band scores in IELTS. Start slowly,
think deeply about the answers. Once you have your ideas, pick up your speed.
Practice Daily
Good Luck on your
next IELTS exam!