IELTS Speaking Task 2
Describe something that was broken in your home and then repaired.
You should say:
- What it is
- How it was broken
- How you got it repaired
- And how you felt about it
I am a minimalist , and I don’t like to stuff my room with unnecessary things.
Although, my other family members like to buy new things without getting rid of the old ones. And therefore their rooms are quite messy or lacking enough living space.
But there are disadvantages to keeping one’s room empty of unnecessary stuff.
I’ll tell you why.
My room is where I keep my digital piano. Apart from that I have a small chair and a sofa-cum-bed in it. Yet, there is a nice space still left in my room as it is perhaps the biggest room in my house.
I love playing my digital piano, as it is a gift that my wife gave to me on my last birthday.
This piano is Yamaha CLP725 which is the latest version of the piano series by Yamaha.
And it is a very costly instrument. The main problem is the scarcity of its original parts in India as it is manufactured in Japan and we have to import some parts if we want to replace them in our pianos.
Just last month my cousin Julie came to my house with her children. The children are very mischievous and they are pampered by their mother.
My wife also loves them and won’t reprimand them if they make any mischief.
As I said, my room is quite spacious. So, these kids decided to play cricket in my room. Of course, it is not a playground. But, it was afternoon and I was at my office. And other family members were busy doing household chores.
So, the kids sneaked into my room and started playing cricket. And just when my wife was about to tell them to play outside, the mishap happened. The ball with which they were playing fell on my digital piano and broke the display screen.
My wife instantly called me and I immediately rushed to my house.
I was heartbroken when I saw my digital piano. Of course, it was not something like an irreparable loss. But, I still felt very bad because it was a gift from my wife, and it was quite near to my heart. I could not see the piano in its damaged state.
Fortunately, the music dealer from whom I had bought this piano is my close friend. I called him and informed about the broken display of my piano.
He assured me that the screen will be replaced and I should not worry too much. He placed the order for the display screen with the Yamaha company dealer in India and asked me to wait.
Within a week, the parcel from Yamaha was at my doorstep. It had all the parts that were going to be replaced. A piano technician came to my house that same day, and in just an hour he replaced all the broken parts.
I was quite happy to see my lovely piano in its original shape. And my wife was also happy to see her gift restored by the technician.
We also called my sister and told her about the restoration. And also requested her not to feel sorry about this incident as kids are apt to make mistakes and it was not entirely kids’ fault.
Thus the entire episode ended happily, although it cost me around $70. But that doesn’t matter. Now, my piano is in its original form and I am happy with it.
Are IT-related jobs more valued by society?
Yes, they are more prestigious than other conventional jobs.
Because this is the era of Information-Technology. From smartphones to smart cars, IT professionals are creating wonderful gadgets and making our lives more comfortable.
And where else one can find lucrative jobs that offer 5 or 6 figure salaries?
Is the quality of products worse than before?
It is my observation that older products, though inferior in quality, lasted for longer durations than the ones we are using these days.
Take the example of smart-phones. Earlier, mobile handsets were sturdy . Even after a fall from our pockets or a table, they would not break instantly.
Whereas, today a smartphone is so delicate in built that its display screen instantly shatters into pieces if the phone accidentally falls on the floor from our hands.
So the quality in terms of durability has decreased. At the same time the quality in terms of efficiency has increased exponentially.
What kinds of things do people like to repair by themselves?
Some people have a genius for repairing and restoring anything .
These people are like wizards.
We, the mere mortals, would throw away a broken piece of furniture or an old electronic gadget. While these wizards would repair them ,restore them to their original form and function.
And nowadays, there are lots of videos available on YouTube that teach us things like “How to repair your PC” or “How to repair your bicycle” or “How to repair an old typewriter”.
So that it is a lot easier for our generation to repair things that our previous generation could not even think of repairing.
Why do people like to get their mobile phones repaired in specialized stores?
Specialized stores are authorized places where they use standard accessories for mobile repairs.
And there is no possibility of your personal data getting misused or your social media profiles being hacked by some miscreants.
Here the company itself provides the guarantee of safety. And this is the reason for them being the first choice for mobile repair.
IELTS Speaking Task 2
Describe a difficult decision that you once made.
You should say
- What the decision was
- When you made the decision
- How long did it take you to make the decision
- And explain why it was a difficult decision
In my opinion, we all have faced some situations when we have to take a decision that may change the course of our lives.
And these decisions are very critical as we regret afterwards if we take a wrong decision.
But, as per my experience, we need to trust our intuition. Because there is some kind of inner-compass that guides our path and leads us towards good things.
Having said that, I must say that sometimes, we can’t rely on intuitions.
Decisions about career, life-partner, and education require us to base our judgments on proper research and past experiences.
For me, choosing a school for my young girl was a very tough decision.
Next month, she will turn 6. Currently she is studying at Swastik English Medium school , which is a prestigious educational institution in my city.
But, it was not an easy task to choose this school for my daughter.
There were other schools that had the same prestige as this one.
Some schools were offering more extra-curricular activities , while some were offering facilities like free school-bus service, free meals , and free school stationery.
This Swastik school offered none of these services. On top of that, the annual fee was quite higher than the other schools.
And it was the admission-season, there were other parents who were trying their best to get their kids into this Swastik school, even though the fees were very high.
Thankfully, one of the trustees of the school was my father’s friend. But he gave us an ultimatum that we didn’t have more than a week to decide.
As there were others who were also approaching him for the same place.
Of course, a week is a very long time for such matters. But sometimes it is hardly enough to arrive at a decision.
So we had seven days to do some research. Instead of finding information on the internet, we approached several parents whose kids were studying in different schools.
They all had their own opinions. But one thing they all agreed that the Swastik English School is the best school, regardless of its high fees and lack of free services.
Now, we were in a dilemma. Choosing Swastik school was an expensive option, and choosing some other school was a compromise with the quality of education.
We are a middle-class family, so we usually go with the cheaper options.
But, this was about the education of my daughter.
So we wanted to choose the best option. And we decided to select the Swastik English Medium School for my daughter.
And today I am very proud of my decision, as my daughter is enjoying the friendly atmosphere of this school , and she is taking an active interest in studies as well as co-curricular activities, thanks to the teachers of this school.
What decisions do people generally make in their daily life?
Our every daily activity is a result of some decisions we have taken, consciously or unconsciously.
For example, we use products such as toothpaste, soaps, hair-oils, and other consumer goods. There are myriad products available in the market, but we choose the ones that we think are right for us. This is simply a decision making activity.
Likewise, we watch TV or YouTube videos. We all watch programs that we find interesting. And we ignore the ones that are boring. This is also an example of decision making.
And the best one is this. On any holiday, we urge the woman of the house to cook some special dish for us. And then we all family members arrive at a decision about what delicacies should be made on that day.
Which is easier, making a decision by oneself or making a decision after a group discussion?
It all depends upon the matter that is under consideration. If it is concerning an individual then the decision should be taken by that individual.
But, when an entire group is going to be affected by the decision then it must be a group decision.
To simplify it, there is some problem with the water pipeline in a housing colony and that needs to be replaced. In this case, each member of the colony should be involved in the decision about what new materials should be used to replace the old pipeline.
Whereas, there are some plumbing ( hear pronunciation of plumbing here) problems in a particular house of that colony, then the house owner should decide what to do about it.
Why are many young people unwilling to listen to their parents’ advice?
Yes, many young people don’t heed their parents’ advice.
In my opinion, the most common reason is the impatience of the youth.
And there is a generation gap between them and their parents.
Young people think that the old people are not progressive thinkers, and whenever these old people advise the young ones to exercise caution, young people consider it to be a restraining factor rather than a cautionary comment.
This type of misunderstanding leads the young people to ignore their parents’ advice.
Why do middle-aged people tend to second guess their decision?
Middle-aged people are at the threshold of old age. They are neither imprudent like the young nor cautious like the old.
In their young age, they could make decisions without worrying about their outcomes.
But, now that age has passed. Yet, they are not too old to be indifferent to the future. So they second-guess their decisions because, for them, a lot many things depend upon these decisions.
Question topics have been taken from MakkarIELTS book.