SPEAKING PART 2

PERSON

1. ​Describe an intelligent person you know

When it comes to this topic, I have a soft spot for my neighbour, which is one of my best
friends.
- He has a flair for music
- Turning to his appearance:
+ a tall, fit body
+ tidy hair
+ trendy, fashionable clothes
- He was trained on how to use instruments (piano, guitar, ukulele,..) by his parents at an
early age
- He is naturally gifted for his voice. He can sing a lot of types of music from traditional
to modern music. He controls his voice flexibly. So, he takes part in many musical
programs and even national competitions
- What’s more, he is very sensitive to melody and rhythm -> hear a song one time and can
play music tools and perform confidently.
- Whenever I feel down in the dumps -> he always plays a very long lightful melody to
make me feel better.
-> I believe that his innate ability is very admirable and promising.

2. Helps other people

When it comes to this topic, I have a soft spot for my neighbour, which is one of my best
friends.
- He was raised how to use instruments and sing by his parents, a musician at an early
age-> has a flair for music.
- He is not only talented but also warm-hearted.
- The way he uses his talent to help other people is very amazing.
+ He joins a lot of social activities, especially helping disabled children such as
blind, dumb and deaf ones.
+ He spends a lot of time teaching them to use instruments (guitar, piano,
ukulele,...) -> bc she believes that music is a kind of language, which helps people to
communicate without speaking. -> this is why music tools are very suitable for
disabled children, they can use them to share and show their emotions.
- Whenever I feel down in the dumps -> he always plays a very long lightful melody to
make me feel better.
- He also teaches me to play and sing.

3. Taught u when u were a child

When it comes to this topic, I have a soft spot for my neighbour, which is one of my best
friends.
- He has a flair for swimming -> won a lot of competition when he was in primary school.
- I was hopeless at this skill. -> He decided to help me to conquer swimming in summer.
- At first, I found it was not like a breeze.
+ Couldn’t use legs and hands to keep floating on the surface -> choked on water
repeatedly.
- But my friend. He:
+ He guided me slowly on how to use my hands and legs flexible underwater.
+ He gave me some advice to breathe better.
- Finally, 4 weeks later, thanks to him, I eventually could swim a quite long distance,
around 20 meters.
- If he hadn’t guided me with all his energy, I wouldn’t learn how to swim.

4. Open person:
When it comes to this topic, I have a soft spot for my neighbour, which is one of my best
friends.
- We started being friends when we were in secondary school.
- The special thing about him is that he rarely goes around the bush when he’s in a
conversation.
- Whenever someone talks with him, he often has a tendency to speak his mind out
frankly. Bc of his characteristics, friends including me usually turn to him for advice.
- If my mind serves me right: “ When we studied at high school, my teacher gave us the
wrong information, but no one wanted to speak it out because we were afraid of making
her angry. He stood up and gave her feedback. To my surprise, this was constructive
feedback so our teacher just fixed her mistakes and said thank you.”
- Having said that, He is sometimes so thoughtful just to avoid hurting someone.

5. Energetic person:
When it comes to this topic, I have a soft spot for my neighbour, which is one of my best
friends.
- People were born with eyes, ears or mouths to feel the world around, but he was born
without visual ability, he’s blind.
- The special thing about him is that he never ceases to amaze me by putting all his energy
into learning music.
- If my mind serves me right when we were in secondary school.
- He always woke up very early to practice a lot of vocal tests to make his voice stronger.
- Although reading music books was a hard task for him, however, he used Braille, a word
system for blind people to read them.
- He also spent a lot of time listening to music lessons through podcasts.
Most people may think that he can’t learn about music. But he proved that they are wrong.
Now he is not only a musician performed in numerous shows but also a music teacher in
high school.
-> He is my big motivation, which boosts me to pursue my passion.

6. Old friend you got contact again:

When it comes… soft spot… neighbour, best friends when we were young.
- When we went to University -> he and his family shifted to another city so we haven’t
been in touch anymore.
- Suddenly, I met him in a coffee shop yesterday, so we had a long talk. We talk about my
childhood, a lot of memories flooded back.
- If my mind serves me right:
+ In the past, he had a flair for science (tech, math,...)
+ Like most child prodigies, He always felt shy or embarrassed whenever he
communicated with others-> so he just studied alone.
+ Although he was quite indifferent to most classmates, he usually helped me to handle
my homework. In return, I guided him about sports.
- But now:
+ He is talkative, He said that thanks to the University environment, he gradually can
communicate with people better.
+ He also joins a lot of social activities such as doing charity.
-> At first, I felt really surprised bc of his changes, and then I was so happy for him.
7. Family-u like:
Although I am so close to some family. However, when it comes to this topic… a soft spot
for my neighbour family.
- When I was a child, my parents were busy (burning the candle at both ends-idiom)->
they asked my neighbour to look after me.
● - They have a kid, who is also my best friend.
- If my mind serves me right:
+ I always had an overnight sleep in his house with him after we did homework or
played video games.
+ He had a flair for music, so he guided me to play a lot of kinds of instruments like
piano, guitar.
- His parents are very warm-hearted:
+ They looked after me like their son. they cooked a lot of tasty dishes for me. They also
taught me to study.
-> Our relationship has been out of this world
Now:
- Although we don’t have much time together like before. However, on special holidays
such as the Lunar new year, we often gather at my house to make Chung cake and enjoy
comedy TV shows.

8. person-happy to know :
When it comes… soft spot… neighbour, best friends when we were young.
- I have known him for around 15 years
If my mind serves me right:
- When I just met him, while I was hopeless at music, he had a flair for this field. He was
raised how to use instruments and sing at an early age by his parents.
- Whenever I went to his house, he often guided me to use a lot of kinds of instruments
like … -> He believed that music is a good way for people to ease mental pain such as
stress.
- Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, I feel down in the dumps with my work or
study, he always plays a very long lightful melody to make me feel better.
- What is more, He has a good sense of humour, He usually throws jokes, so we cannot
stop smiling whenever we have a chat chit.
-> happy pill. Although now we’re both busy, we still hang out and share our stories on
the weekend.
9.Old person- know and respect :
When it comes… soft spot… my grandfather, my best friend.
- He‘s not only talented but also kindhearted. He has a flair for music, actually, he’s a
musician.
- When I was a child, my parents were busy (burning the candle at both ends-idiom)->
they asked my grandfather to looked after me. So we spent a lot of time together.
- He believed that music is a good way for people to show their emotions without
speaking it out. -> he guided me to use a lot of kinds of instruments such as… -> He
taught me how to feel the melody and rhythm of any songs.
- Sometimes, He took me to go fishing.
-> He said that it could help us to improve and develop our patient, a human significant
characteristic. Moreover, We would stay away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and
have time to think about everything around.
- He passed away two years ago -> Whenever I see some instruments, it reminisces me
about my grandfather and my beautiful childhood, I often feel melancholic.

10.Good leader :
When it comes… soft spot… neighbour, best friends.
- He has a flair for music. He is raised how to use instruments and sing at an early age by
his parents.
- But his characteristics always make me feel admirable.
+ He’s very conscientious and always lifts me up whenever I want to give up on
somethings
If my mind serves me right
- We created a band when we were in high school and joined a competition.
- We have troubles with the melody of our song. -> although we spent time practising, the
rhythm was not smooth.
-> I just wanted to give up and cancelled the performance
- But he just encouraged me to try a few times again and again. Besides that, he also spent
a lot of time searching for different ways for us to improve our song.
- Finally, our performance was out of this world, we won first place.
- At that time, I greatly admired him and thanked him for his dedication to this
performance.
Now, although we disbanded when we went to university, we sometimes hang out and
sing our old songs to reminisce about our beautiful time in high school.
16-49: good decision- take a risk but positive results:
....
My mind serve me right
- went to near forrest-> intended to have a camping here.
- While were setting up a tent, saw thick black clouds gathering
-> My friend were very nervous -> wanted to comeback my house immediately.
- A friend said “it will rain in torent -> we can get sick”
- although I was also scare, I said “It’s just a downpour, it will around 10 mins” because I
had updated a weather forecast that morning.
-> took a couple of minutes to persuade them, I even showed my weather forecast in my
phone -> they started to believe and wait.
- Finally, it was just a downpour like I said -> Kept camping and made a campfire. -> play
board game, share stories,..
If I had agreed with my friends instead of showing my opinion, we would not have a very
interesting camping that day.

3. Expensive activities:
…
- sporty person -> sports
- Indoor climbing. Although it’s quite expensive for a student like me, I play it sometimes
to meet my need which is the adventure feeling.
- Why
Protective equipments (gears, hooks climbing, helmet,...)
By specialized shoes
Pay money to instructor in order to receive advice about technique.
Past, I felt very nervous and scare because I was afraid of height. I usually struggled to
climb to the top bc of my stamina.
Now, after practicing, I overcome my fear and feel so excited whenever I play this sport.
I believe that this sport will help me to build up my body and even my concentration.

31. Sport try in the first time:

- Sporty -> play a huge number of sports -> have never been try any extreme sports. If
could, play indoor climbing.
- I saw information about it when I surfed on facebook
- It requires a special set of skills and movements to play.
-> need to put feet, hands on the right place, use a lot of muscle to avoid taking false step.
-> The most difficult I think is that my stamina is quire limited so I am afraid that I cannot
stand for long time and climb to the top.
Why
- brings numerous benefits -> helps me to build up my body, especially my stamina.
-> People need to focus seriously when play this sport so I think I can develop my
concentration, which may be come in handy for me in the long run.

7. Prize
If I am to describe a reward that I received, I always remember the grand prize that I got in
an extreme sports competition when I was in high school.
If my mind serves me right
- A indoor climbing competition was organised by my school to celebrate National sports
game named Phu Dong.
- This competition was for young students who wanted to challenge strength and stamina.
- I was sporty so I felt quite excited when I heard about it. I applied immediately although
I just had a little knowledge about it.
- At first, I felt that so hard to play this extreme sport, putting feet and hands in the right
place, and using numerous muscles to stand and avoid falling.
- I took up strenuous exercise to develop my muscle.
- I spent a lot of time finding and learning useful technique about this sport on the Internet
- Finally, I was so energetic before starting my performance. Luckily, I won 1st place and
a big cup.
But the biggest reward for me is that I went over many obstacles to win, felt like I just
overcame myself and became more confident.
Even until now, whenever I see this cup, I always have a sense of proud of myself in the
past.

27. indoor activities

I have played several sports, both indoor and outdoor.
Come to… I…Indoor climbing
- It requires a special set of skills and movements to play.
-> need to put feet, hands in the right place, use a lot of muscle to avoid taking a false
step.
- My father and I really enjoyed sth adventure so we usually went to the stadium or sports
area to play it together.
- In the past, I did not know why I loved this sport although it was considered extreme.
- After playing it on the regular basis, I realised that this sport would bring me numerous
benefits.
-> healthy -> muscle, stamina.
-> Increased my concentration which came in handy for me to study.

29-40: place to relax:

It comes.. my favourite place, a museum near my house.
- full-time student- go to school 5 days a week-> visit on the weekend.
- located on a quite small street behind my house.
- Look from the distance, it’s like an old tree because it is covered by moss -> felt fresh
and peaceful.
- Coming to inside, It’s home to a very unique coffee shop, where I spend most of my
weekend reading books, listening to music or sometimes just looking at artefacts around.
- What is more, Here I can not solely savour excellent coffee, tea and cakes, but also enjoy
numerous paintings.
- It usually is an ideal place when I hang out with my friends or stay away from the hustle
and bustle of city life.

32: waste time

when it comes….
- full time student-> I just have spare time on the weekends.
- last week, I decided to a comedy blockbuster in the cinema near my house in order to
blow up some steam.
- To be honest, I've been waiting for this film for a long time.
-> the trailer was very attractive and fun
-> participation of population comedian
→ thought film would be an ideal way for me to relax.
- It turned out to be a disappointment.
-> the movie plot was disorganised, so I often felt confused to catch them.
-> Whats more, the acting of actors was very strained. Although it was a comedy film, I
did not laugh.
-> Then I decided to stop watching this film and come home.

-> I have to say , this film downed my mood and even ruined my weekends.
23: tradition.
When … describe important tradition in my country. -> ancestor veneration.
- A very popular tradition across Asia including Viet Nam, my country.
- It easy to find an ancestor altar in nearly every VNese households
- VNese ancestors are believed to continue to live in another realm.
-> Their seeds have responsibilities to meet their needs by burning hell notes, money,
incensing sticks and serving food in front of the altar.
-> in return, VNese people will receive luck and fortune from their ancestors

- If my mind serves me right.

- I know about this tradition since I was a child when I saw my parents celebrated the
death anniversary of my deceased ancestors.

The reason why … important...is that

- It is a good way for people to show their gratefulness and respect for their ancestors.

---> I firmly believe that this tradition should be passed to the next generation in VN.

30: describe a time u met old friend and surprised:

When… I always remember a time I met my childhood best friend.
We were neighbour when I was a teenager. Our relationship was out of the world
-> moved to another city -> we got lost.
If my mind serves me right
- In the end of last year,
-> I decided to went back to my hometown to celebrate Tet holiday
-> was surfing Facebook while waiting for my flight. -> so called my name.
-> look around and.. to my surprised, I saw him, smiling at me.
→ I was just speechless, could not believe that we had a chance to meet each other again.
- It was so exciting to meet a very very old friend. Had not seen others for 6 years at that
time.
-> We had a lot of stories to share-> went to a near coffee shop-> ordered drinks and
started to chat chit.
-> The waiting time passed very quickly so we had to say goodbye -> we gave telephone
number and promised to keep in touch in the future.

34: got lost:

When it comes to this topic, I always want to talk about an incident that happened to me,
which I never forget.
If my mind…
- was on a trip to the national park with my friends last year.
-> I got lost and could hardly find directions to get back to my group.
- After climbing on a mountain in this park, decided to take a rest to recharge energy.
-> I saw the sun was starting to set-> the scenery was so thought-provoking.
-> I decided to go a bit further to take a nice picture and post to my Facebook.
I forgot the time until it began to turn dark
-> suddenly, I realized I was alone and did not see anyone around.
-> started being nervous.
- Luckily, before I totally lost my bearings, I tried to find a way to the main gate of the
park by using a map application on my phone.
-> finally, I came back with my friends
→ I glad that I did overcome my fear and found a suitable solution at that time…

36: has been affected by the pollution:

When it comes…, I just remember a time I and my friends visited a national park in the
south of my hometown.
- With a view to raising our awareness of the importance of protecting the environment.
- We expected this park would be a very clean and fresh place.
-> It turned out to be a disappointment when we went to a lake inside it.
- I was the water was black, with plastic bags, bottles and food wrappings floating on the
surface
-> the smell was horrible and fetid
- A staff here said that a significant number of tourists had littered the lake
-> making it heavily polluted and difficult to clean.
- At first, I was so angry. After a while, I just wished the park owner and especially
tourists would join hands to bring the lake back to life.

After this trip, I took a lesson that the awareness of people is key to protect the
environment
-> in the future, I must be responsible for what I have done to the natural environment.

35: city, would like to go back.

I have visited a lot of beautiful places, but the most captivating one is Hoi An.
- It is an ancient town located in the central of VN
- It is also known as a world heritage site by Unesco.
- With an interesting history, unique architecture, amazing cuisine, this town will attract
any people, I am not an exception.
If my mind…
- I visited here last summer with my friends.
-> In the morning, we walked on atmospheric streets, they made me felt like going back in
time because of charming historical building around.
-> Then we sat in a riverfront cafe’ and savoured local drinks and cakes.
What’s more,
-> There were numerous ao dai stores, and all of ao dai were very eye-catching with
different decoration and colour. I enjoyed window-shopping here.

-> But the main reason why I will visit there, again and again, is that it’s an ideal place for
me to not only blow up some steam after work and study but also stay away from the
hustle and bustle of city life.

43-28: Long car journey:

When it comes… I just want to share my … last summer.
If my mind…
- My friends and I wanted to visit the historical place to blow up some steam after study.
- This place is 300km far away-> we decided to hire a car.

- began our journey in the morning at 4 am in order to

-> avoid gridlock on the way and scorching heat of sun
-> we enjoyed pleasant weather.
- When we got close to the town, we saw a beautiful beach
-> decided to have a short rest here and enjoy the sunset.
-> sat on the sand, looked at the picturesque landscape
-> when it turned dark, we continued the journey.
- We went to a town. after storing our luggage at the hotel, we walked around the town
-> went to a local restaurant, immersed into a lot of delicious indigenous dishes
- After that, we were asked to join a local celebration
-> danced, sang with many people
The next morning, we come back home and started a new week.
----------
28. group activities
The reason why…. long car journey
- Have a lot of time together
- develop relationships by sharing stories, play activities
- Còn lại giống ở trên

19. did not like music

When it comes … wedding last week

- In my mind, believe that wedding is a very fine place to immerse into elating and
romantic songs
- Tobe honest, I have been waiting for this event just to feel into the music at that night
-> turned out to be real let-down
- The first thing, the kind of music.
-> at first, used songs which were light-hearted -> then they started to be melancholic
-> hypnotized me and made me sleepy
- The second, the volume
-> so loud -> could not even hear and talk with my friends.
-> Drunk people started to come to the stage and sing for fun but their voice was so
terrible.
→ I decided to end up leaving the party very soon and coming home, then I sent my
apology to my friends.
→ Now, whenever I remember this wedding, I strongly believe that the music ruined this.

20. Poem - song (line)

When it comes to this topic, I always remember a line in a poem I learned when I was in
secondary school.
- Transferring to English, it’s “ Don’t ask what our country have done for us, but ask what
we have done for our country”
- If my mind serves me right,
+ When I was in secondary school, I had to learn it by route (= commit this phrase to my
memory) (hoc thuoc) to complete my final exam. -> did not care about the meaning
behind, it was just boring and repetitive I thought.
+ I just saw this line again on the TV shows about our history last Tet holiday
-> realized that this line was covered by huge meaning about patriotism
-> It talked about national history (how my ancestors fought against outside and inside
intruders to take back independence) -> made me have a deeper understanding about my
country history -> build up a sense of pride-> made me treasure my homeland-> think
about my responsibility to my country -> finally, I just knew that I, as a young people,
have to join hand to maintain and develop my country.

32. Describe an experience when you changed an important decision (32)

When it comes to this topic, I always want to share my story about changing university.
If my mind serves me right,
- When I was in high school, I had to make a decision about what I learn in university.
Although I really like to learn more about education, my parents want me to be a doctor.
I stuck between a rock and a hard place (tiến thoái lưỡng nan) -> so to please my
parents, I applied to a medical school. After that, I was freakily confused about my
decision. -> I felt that I wasn't suitable for this field and also hopeless about it, so I didn't
apply right away.
-> I decided not to live up to my parents' expectation. I applied to education school.
Then I had a big argument with my parents, I tried to persuade them, said how I love
education. Finally, luckily, they understood and allowed me to study the subject I
wanted.
Now, I enjoy being a teacher. Whenever I think about this, I always feel very proud of
myself.
31. Describe a job you would like to do in a foreign country for a short term (31)
When it comes to this topic, I always want to share my dream job in Thailand that I really
want to do in a short-term. -> A volunteer, I would say.
Base on my knowledge, this job requires some factors such as dedication, hard work
and the most important is conscientious. I mean the main work is that I would join hand
to help the underprivileged, especially the young generation from learning some
subjects like mathematics. -> I am an Extrovert so I enjoy to communicate and interact
with others. However, I believe that this job is really meaningful and it can help me to
build up my sense of philanthropy.
What is more, besides helping local people, I can have a chance to immerse in
indigenous activities such as traditional games at their festival. This could have a deeper
understanding of their culture; hence, it helps me to broaden my horizon. This
knowledge would come in handy in the future.
48. Describe an ambition that you have had for a long time (48)
When it comes to this topic, I always want to share you about my biggest ambition that I
have cherished this for a long time. I want to open a restaurant.
- I believe that my national traditional culinary is such a wonderful thing. -> I want to
introduce people from over the world about them, especially tourists. When they savour
Vietnamese food, they would love it and decide to discover and explore more about not
solely local foods but also other traditions.
- What is more, a local restaurant means a lot to me. I would like to say -> learning and
cooking these dishes are an ideal way for me to preserve indigenous cuisine -> And It’s
like I join hand to maintain and develop my country identity.
- Although now I just a student-> meagre income-> but I apply myself in a lot of kinds of
jobs from part-time to full-time to earn more, I also save my money to complete my
ambition in the long run.
35. Describe something difficult you would like to succeed in doing (35)
When it comes to this topic, I always want to share my story about learning English.
While many students these days can learn E at an early age, the situation is often
different in Dong Ha, a rural area where I was born.
Because of the lack of English teachers, I was not raised how to learn anything about
this language. For this reason, I did not aware of its benefits as well.
When I came to university, I relied on this language has become necessary for landing a
stable job. I was freakily nervous about my future career. I decided to apply to some
English classes, including communication ones to improve my English skills. The thing
is that it was so challenging for me, who haven’t known anything about this language.
- I practised every day in a group of people. It was so hard to talk and speak my
opinions out because I lacked vocabulary.
- It took me 2 hours per day to shape my mouth to have a clear pronunciation. - I started
writing some simple sentences. It required a lot of time and effort because I was
hopeless with grammar.
-> Over time, my English is improving and now it is quite good, I can communicate with
foreigners and write an essay. However, I think that’s not enough -> I plan to develop
my sense of English on a regular basis because I believe that this lingua franca would
be hands-on for my future path of career.