IELTS Writing Test topic : Environment
Climate Change (vocabulary)
IELTS Speaking Test Part 1
Pets and Animals
What’s your favorite animal? Why?
My favorite animal is a horse. And perhaps this is because of the movies that I watched in my childhood in which dacoits would ride their steeds and also are chased by police who would also ride horses.
What is the most popular animal in your country?
This is the beauty of my country that there is a wide range of domestic as well as wild animals in India.
Dog is the most popular domestic animal , whereas Asiatic lions are famous among tourists that come to India every year. And in the state of Kerala, elephants are quite popular.
Have you ever had a pet before?
No, but I made up for it by befriending the street dogs in my colony. And they are just like my own pets, except they stay outside my house.
And unlike household pets, these street dogs can eat whatever they get. They have no qualms about it.
Where do you prefer to keep your pet, indoors or outdoors?
If I had a pet, I would keep it inside my house, especially during the winter season. But then, they are animals, and they also need open spaces to run and play.
So, during the daytime I would take them for a walk in a park.
But, I would treat them as family members, and take care of them as I would of my children.
Holidays
Where did you go for your last holiday?
I went to Diu when it was Diwali vacation last year.
It’s a beautiful island located off the coast of Junagadh.
Do you like holidays? Why?
I just love them as they give us a breather in our busy lives.
We need some peaceful time to rejuvenate ourselves.
Which public holiday do you like the best?
I like Rakshabandhan – that is a festival of brother and sister’s love. I go to my sister’s house and that day becomes a very joyful for me and my sister.
What do you do on holidays?
People like going to tourist places, but I do something that is quite opposite.
I stay at home, and I try having some quality time with my family.
Reading
Do you like reading?
Yes, I like reading. In my childhood I read storybooks based on Indian mythology , Akbar Birbal, and many others. In college years I liked reading Gujarati novels. But these days I don’t find much time for reading.
Do you like to read at home or in other places?
If I get some time for reading, then I would do it at home. As it is very peaceful and relaxing to read something interesting at home.
In what places do you think it is difficult to read?
Noisy places like railway stations. Here it is very difficult to concentrate.
Do you like to read by yourself or with other people?
It’s a solitary activity for me. I would prefer the company of fictional characters in the books , rather than having a real person’s company.
Speaking Task 2
Favourite Book
Describe a book that you enjoyed reading because you had to think a lot.
You should say:
- what this book was
- why you decided to read it
- what reading this book made you think about
and explain why you enjoyed reading this book
Sample Answer:
I can call myself a voracious reader, and it is as hard for a reader of several books to choose a favorite book as it would be for a mother to pick her favorite child.
I draw this analogy whenever someone asks me this same question. Having said that, I would choose “Life of Pi” as my favorite book if I were to choose only one book.
A story of a young boy from India named Pi who was stranded in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. This book is written by Yann Martel – a Canadian author who created a masterpiece by using his experiences as a traveler in writing this story.
I was studying at university when a movie based on this book was released. I usually like reading a book first, and then , if chance permits, I watch the movie based on it.
This time, the opposite happened. I saw the movie and then realized that it was actually a book that the movie was based upon. The next day I was at my local library, browsing the bookshelves.
Fortunately, I found the book there. And I was so excited that I didn’t wait to read the blurb on the back cover, I simply got it issued from the counter and dashed to my place to start reading it.
It has a beautiful message of ‘letting go’ that has been expressed beautifully in the movie, but there were time restraints that didn’t allow the movie director to have artistic freedom. To understand and enjoy the story better, I was reading that book. And I am happy that I read the book.
It was a year of daily struggles, new challenges , and occasional setbacks for me. And this book gave me hope. Just like the protagonist Pi, I also got courage and motivation by letting go of the unnecessary worries about the future, and consoled my troubled soul with the hope that ‘there is a higher power somewhere in the universe that guides our actions, which ultimately leads us towards peace and success.’
Sample Answer 2
I am not a voracious reader. I hardly find time to read newspapers.
But there are some days when I am not at my bank and I find some leisure time.
Instead of watching TV, I try to spend that time reading some interesting books.
One day I found the book Bhagwad Geeta lying on my son’s study table.
This was a Gujarati translation of Bhagwad Geeta by a well-known author (writer)
After reading the first 3-4 pages of that book, I was so much absorbed in it that I couldn’t put that book down.
Years ago my father had told me to read any chapter of Bhagwad Geeta whenever I felt stressed or frustrated.
This time, just out of curiosity, I read that book. And I was completely enthralled by the message given in that book.
It teaches us the value of detachment. We should perform our duty, and then we should leave it to God to give us rewards.
It was a very cold winter morning, and birds were chirping outside my balcony.
And suddenly I felt myself carried away by the book to the spiritual world.
I felt very peaceful after reading a few chapters from that book.
And I wait for the next opportunity when I can read that book again.