[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Topic: Bicycles
Q. How popular are bicycles in your hometown? [Why?]
A. It’s indeed depressing that bicycles are not as popular as they used to be in our hometown. They have been replaced by motorised vehicles and people hardly use this environment-friendly mode of transport these days in my hometown.
I believe people want to ride faster and save time and that’s why they have chosen motorbikes over the bicycles despite the fact that bicycles are cheaper and good for our health.
Q. How often do you ride a bicycle? [Why/Why not?]
A. I live in a city where we have a separate bicycle lane. As a student, I want to save money and I use a bicycle every single day- to commute to and from my college and to meet friends. I ride a bicycle because I can afford it and it is a healthy habit.
Q. Do you think that bicycles are suitable for all ages? [Why/Why not?]
A. Yes, they are indeed suitable for people of all age groups. Bicycles are easier to ride, posses a very low risk of accident, require no costly servicing or repair and are good for health. I think if parents encourage their children to ride a bicycle every day, obesity would not be so prevalent in the future. Besides, riding a bicycle on a regular basis keeps us healthy and it emits no harmful gas unline the motorised vehicles.
Q. What are the advantages of a bicycle compared to a car? [Why?]
A. First of all, bicycles are cheap and environmental-friendly. Cars, on the contrary, are expensive and harmful to the environment. Air pollution in some cities is increasing faster due to the number of cars on the roads. Second, a bicycle does not require enough space to be parked and can be carried away easily. Car parking is a concern for many. Finally, riding a bicycle is good for our health while we do no physical exertion while we drive and increasing health-related issues are attributed to our over-reliance on cars.
[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 how you know about this person.
Cue Card answer:
Helping others in need, in whichever capacity that might be, is certainly a great act of “charity”. In fact, in my opinion, it is the “act of charities” among many of us, that has helped our human race survive from becoming “extinct” so far on a planet called Earth, which has been proved out to be pretty hostile sometimes. But, do we all always help each other equally? “No” is the straight forward response to this question, simply because we all are different, and we all live under different circumstances.
However, when it comes to dedicating one’s whole life to the cause of uplifting the humanity in order to bring some smile on the faces of millions, if not billions, we can talk about the life of Mother Teresa in a heartbeat. Having born in the year 1910 at a place called “Skopje” in the Republic of Macedonia, “the mother of humanity”, lived in Ireland for a brief period of time before moving to India where she lived most of her life.
I have never really met Mother Teresa, one of the most revered philanthropists of all time, if not the most, personally, but when I first came to know about her at my elementary school, I developed a tremendous respect for the “symbol of charity” of the 20th century. As I grew older, I began to learn about her charity works which created millions of loyal disciples not only in India but also all over the world. But, I became even more interested about Mother Teresa, who pretty much changed the idea and trajectory of charity/missionary works, after learning how she got the Noble Peace Prize award in 1979, and how she didn’t attend the ceremonial banquet for the award but asked instead that the $192,000 fund be given to the poor. In fact, later on, during my college years, I chose to write an essay on this “great avatar of love and compassion” in my language class.
Being a devout Christian, the “symbol of selfless work”, fed those who nobody else was prepared to feed, sheltered those who nobody else otherwise was prepared to shelter and treated those who nobody else was prepared to touch and look after. Having started her charity works by begging for funds at times, Mother Teresa the Saint, never stopped her charity works in order to fulfil her mission of serving the poor needy even when she was old, weak, frail and physically ill. With more than 700 charity missions throughout the world today, the greatest “charity organizer” of all time will be remembered for her extraordinary efforts, unparallel passion and dedications, who managed to bring people of all religions, races, castes and creeds in the cause of humanity like no other in human history.
Discussion topics: Helping other people in the community
Q. What are some of the ways people can help others in the community? Which is most important?
A. In fact, there is a lot that we can do to help others in a community we live in. First, we can extend our helping hands to elder citizens, young children and physically challenged people. Sometimes spending some time with them can make a big difference. We should then volunteer in charitable events and help outdoors. Mowing someone’s lawn, trimming hedges, or shovelling their walkway can be a great surprise that encourages community service. We can truly help others by offering our skills and then sometimes taking up initiatives to clean the neighbourhood, water the plants and sweep the streets.
In my opinion, being able to offer our skills for free to other community members could be the best support to the community.
Q. Why do you think some people like to help other people?
A. People who are benevolent, selfless and possess helping mentality often assist others. This is a basic human nature and being able to help someone brings unimaginable joy to us. Those who know how important it is for us to help others and how our little effort can make a great difference do not fear to extend their helping hands to others. Our life is temporary and people always remember us for what we do and say to others. Thus kind words, which is also considered a charity, and noble acts to help others make us live forever.
Q. Some people say that people help others in the community more now than they did in the past. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
A. I can’t say for sure how supportive people in the distant past were but I have seen people help each other as long I can remember. We, as a community, can’t sustain without the cooperation and mutual understanding. Thus I have seen how people risk their own lives to help others even when I was a kid. Two years ago, a devastating storm hit our area and many people worked restlessly to support the victims. So I believe we have flourished as the supreme being not only because we have superior brains but also because we have always supported each other.
Discussion topics: Community Services
Q. What types of services, such as libraries or health centres, are available to the people who live in your area? Do you think there are enough of them?
A. We have two public libraries, two public parks, one sports centre, two community centres, a night school, more than five health centres, two support centres for women and children and an old home in our area. Two of these health centres are funded by the government and another one by an NGO. I believe considering the population in our area those community service centres are good enough. However, I personally feel that we need a dedicated sports centre for the youth where they would be able to spend quality time and play different sports with their friends. I also feel the need for a cultural centre where children would learn and practice arts & crafts, dancing and singing.
Q. Which groups of people generally need most support in a community? Why?
A. I believe elder, physically challenged and poor citizens need more support than other people in a community. Since our senior citizens often live alone and are not as physically strong as we are, they need more help and time from us. Physically challenged people also need assistance as they have difficulties doing things on their own. Finally, our poor neighbours need our backing as they often find it hard to manage a budget to live properly.
I also believe that women need a dedicated centre run by other women to discuss their rights. Many women are often subject to domestic violence and don’t get proper support to overcome it. Such a centre for women could be an excellent idea, I believe.
Q. Who do you think should pay for the services that are available to the people in a community? Should it be the government or individual people?
A. I think that should be managed both by the government and capable individuals. For instance, a community needs health centres, public parks, libraries, security personnel, roads and other amenities which are too expensive for individuals to manage. The government has a great role in managing such ventures. Affluent citizens of a community should also contribute by donating food, paying money to charitable events, running private charitable organisations and so on. If a collaborative approach is maintained, it would bring a better result in the long run.
This post was last modified on 23rd April 2019 5:03 pm