IELTS GT Test – Speaking Mock Test # 43
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
PART 1:
Topic: Your neighbourhood
Q 1. Do you like the neighbourhood you live in? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, I do like the neighbourhood in which I currently live because people here are mostly very easygoing and friendly. Besides, what I like even more about this neighbourhood is that it is easily accessible from all directions through some major roads and streets of my city.
Q 2. What do you do in your neighbourhood in your free time? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Unfortunately, I don’t really get much free time to mingle with my neighbours. But when I do have some free time, I try to either just walk along the streets, or watch the kids playing soccer or some other sports, especially, in the afternoon.
Q 3. What new things would you like to have in your neighbourhood? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Well, we have pretty much everything, we can hope for, in a small neighbourhood like ours. But, if I was really have anything else in it, I certainly would have preferred a nice swimming pool and a large café next to it, because it would allow all of us to enjoy some friendly time together.
Q 4. Would you like to live in another neighbourhood in your town or city? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: No, I wouldn’t really like to live in another neighbourhood because I have been living in this area for quite some time, and I am pretty comfortable with the environment and atmosphere of this place. Besides, I have managed to make a few friends here who are always good to me.
PART 2: [IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card]
Describe a website you have bought something from.
You should say:
- what the website is
- what you bought from this website
- how satisfied you were with what you bought
and explain what you liked and disliked about using this website.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Cue Card Answer:
A few months ago, I visited a friend of mine and spent a week with him. It was at that time that I ordered a book from a famous website, and today, I would like to talk about how much I really liked or disliked that website.
Now, I must say that even though, I have bought a number of things from e-commerce sites before, I hadn’t bought a book up and until that point, because I was, and still I am, more of a traditional buyer when it came to buying a book. In other words, I like to actually read a few pages of the book or learn about its author before purchasing it, in order to understand if I really like the contents of that book. I also want to get a book that has superior paper and printing quality. Needless to say, I can’t touch or judge the book when I buy it from a website.
But, thankfully, my friend told me that I wasn’t only able to get some of that information on flipkart.com, very much to the satisfaction of my mind but I could also learn about the readers’ reviews and comments. Besides, the company took a great deal of care when packing my book, before delivering it to me, so that the book wasn’t at any risk of getting damaged due to some foul handling or adverse weather condition. However, what really had satisfied me the most was the fact the book was actually delivered to my home 4 days ahead of the expected arrival schedule! In fact, I was so satisfied with buying my book from flipkart.com that I even told some of my close relatives to buy something from that great e-commerce website.
Anyway, apart from feeling very satisfied with what I bought from Flipkart, what I really liked about the website was that it laid out all the important information about their products in very clear terms. Besides, their ordering process was fairly quick and easy. However, what I disliked about using this e-commerce website was that there were just too many products that were not perfectly organized by their “categories” and “sub-categories”.
PART 3
Discussion topics: Shopping online
Q 1. What kinds of things do people in your country often buy from online shops?
Answer: Well, it is kind of hard to tell precisely what kind of things are often bought online by the citizens of my country since no authentic data and statistics are available on this as yet. But, from what I can see from the people around me, it can be easily said that mostly fashionable items, like clothing, perfumes, wrist watches, sunglasses and cosmetics, are usually purchased online these days by the people in my country. People also like to buy gift items, books and household items from online shops.
Q 2. Why has online shopping become so popular in many countries?
Answer: Online shopping is gaining popularity all over the world because it has all the benefits of offline shopping plus something extra. For example, what you could usually get or buy by shopping at a physical store, you get the same things by shopping online, but you are doing so without ever getting out of your home and wasting any time in the traffics of the roads. Besides, shopping online also allows us to save more money because it helps us track the continuous discounted price of the products which is not always possible with offline shopping.
Q 3. What are some possible disadvantages of buying things from online shops?
Answer: Well, it all depends on what kind of personality one possesses. For example, if you have a bubbly personality, and like to catch up with your friends at a shopping mall every once in a while, then I don’t think that online shopping is for you. Besides, if you have a very “suspecting” or “watchful” personality, who always prefers to learn every detail of a product before making a purchase, then the chances are that online shopping is going to disappoint you big time, more often than not.
Discussion topics: Online retail businesses
Q 4. Do you agree that the prices of all goods should be lower on internet shopping sites than in shops?
Answer: No, I don’t agree with this idea unless someone seriously wants to completely eliminate offline shopping or shopping at a physical store. After all, such a scheme will force the stores or offline businesses to shut their shops and business activities since they won’t be able to compete with the prices of an offline business or e-commerce site. Of course, the idea of a lower price on the internet shopping sites can always be tempting to many of us, but please rest assured that there are things which just can’t always be bought online for some practical reasons.
Q 5. Will large shopping malls continue to be popular, despite the growth of internet shopping?
Answer: Yes, all kinds of shopping malls, be it large or small, will continue to be popular for a long time to come for those who don’t only see them as some places to buy some of their favourite products, but also a place to socialize with friends and families on a regular basis. Besides, there are things or products which just can’t be bought online with total satisfaction of mind, and for that, one certainly has to buy them from a large shopping centre. So, yes, shopping malls will continue to thrive despite the growth of internet shopping.
Q 6. Do you think that some businesses (e.g. banks and travel agents) will only operate online in the future?
Answer: If we believe that we are heading for a “cashless” society in the future (and trust me, there are plenty of indications of that, already), the chances are that some businesses will only operate online in the future. Besides, international trade and commerce are increasing at such a fast pace among individuals and companies that people eventually will have to rely on online money transactions for the purpose of doing their businesses easily and quickly.