[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Topic: Television
Q. How often do you watch television? [Why/Why not?]
A. I am not a big fan of television programmes. I mostly watch movies and TV series on my laptop. However, I watch news, documentary and a few episodes of my favourite TV series on television. So I would say I watch TV for about 6-7 hours a week.
Q. Which television channel do you usually watch? [Why?]
A. I watch BBC, CNN and a few other news channels whenever I am in front of the TV. Besides, I watch a few TV series on ABC, FOX, and STAR World. National Geographic Channel and History channel are two of my favourite channels for documentary and educational programmes. These channels, in my opinion, have better programme quality and complies with my taste as a viewer.
Q. Do you enjoy the advertisements on television? [Why/Why not?]
A. I do not mind a few advertisements while watching one of my favourite programmes and I understand that these adverts are important for the owner to generate some revenue. However, frequent advertisements and lengthier breaks often irritate me. These breaks are sometimes so longspun that I am forced to switch the channel.
Q. Do you think most programmes on television are good? [Why/Why not?]
A. I would not say that most programmes on television are suitable for all and have excellent quality. With the huge popularity of satellite TV, people have hundreds of channels to watch and I believe all of those are not suitable for people, especially for children. However, we have a choice to pick the type of shows we like and want our children to watch. So we can and should stick to those favourite and quality channels.
[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.]
You should say:
and explain why you remember this person.
Cue Card Answer:
As far as I can remember, Miss Nipa, a college friend of my mother, has always been a great friend to our family. I would like to thank you for the chance to let me talk about a person who had become one of our family members and had been a great companion for us.
She was a young woman with a great vision to work for the betterment of the world. She was an active vocal for female empowerment and a member of a political party in her college days. Her father was a university professor and mother a writer. She must have been greatly influenced by her parents and chose a life most other women would not dare to pursue. When I was 6 or 7 years old, she was appointed as my first teacher at home. She was around 25 years old then and the best teacher I have ever had.
She started helping me in my lessons as per my mom’s request and thus visited our house thrice a week. At a time I realised that we loved her companionship and her stories were so exciting that we eagerly waited for her to visit us in the evening.
She was a mentor to me and taught me how to play different games and sports. She was my mother’s best friend and we never treated her as an outsider. Over time, she became a part of our family and shared both happy and sad memories with us.
I liked her because she was kind, well-behaved, an adventurous person and a great teacher. As a child, I constantly learned from her and she was always there when we needed her. I still remember her because she was my first teacher, the person who taught me how to write a poem, how to be kind to others, and protest any unjust.
Discussion topics: Friendship
Q. What do you think makes someone a good friend to a whole family?
A. I believe similar mentality, compassion and positive attitude bring someone close to a family. Every family shares a strong tie and becoming one of them is not so easy. It takes times and when a family finds someone in times of necessity, they cordially accept the person to the family.
Q. Do you think we meet different kinds of friends at different stages of our lives? In what ways are these types of friend different?
A. Yes, the friends we have at different stages of our life have different attributes and our expectations change. Our requirement for friends in childhood is not the same when we get matured. This even varies when we get older. For instance, people mostly like an adventurous person and good playmates in their childhood. When they are in colleges, they like friends who would be helpful for academically and have common interests. When we get older, we have fewer friends but most of them are close ones.
Q. How easy is it to make friends with people from a different age group?
A. Sometimes age is a determining fact whether two persons can become good friends or not. However, this is always not a barrier. If two persons from two completely different age groups have similar interests, habits, and background, they can become good friends. For instance, my friends are mostly my age, but I have a few junior and senior friends and our friendship started from our mutual interests and journey together. There is, however, exceptions and friendships are often hard to define and two persons with completely opposite comprehension can even become friends!!!
Discussion topics: Influence of friends
Q. Do you think it is possible to be friends with someone if you never meet them in person? Is this real friendship?
A. I think making friends online has become a mainstream trend these days though it was unheard-of in the pre-internet era. From my personal experience, I can say that people can have good friends without even meeting them in person. I had two very close pen-pals in my childhood who still contact me. I also have friends in different countries with whom I have never met.
As I told, the very definition of friendship is diverse and can vary from person to person. While some people would not accept friends whom they cannot interact in real life, some would accept friends even if this means being in touch with the help of technology.
Q. What kind of influence can friends have on our lives?
A. The influence is immense. We become one of them over time. This is why it is so much important to keep good friends. The company we keep shapes our nature, the way of thinking and impact who we become. At a time, people share more with friends than they do with family and this is why friends can be such instrumental in our life.
Q. How important would you say it is to have friends from different cultures?
A. Friends from different country and culture help us learn about traditions, manners and way of life that are completely new to us. This helps us become more tolerant of other cultures and races. Sometimes, friends from other countries inspire us to become a whole new person and open new possibilities to become a better person. However, this is one just one side of the story. Strange cultures and friends can often influence us negatively.
This post was last modified on 11th April 2019 12:19 pm