1. Describe a hobby or interest that you enjoy. - how you became interested in it - how long you have been doing it - why you enjoy it - what benefits you get I’m going to describe the hobby that I enjoy doing. It is swimming. I became interested in it 5 years ago when some of my students asked me to go swimming with them on a hot summer day. At that time, I still did not know how to swim. But the following day, I started learning swimming and until now, I can do the breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly and I think that butterfly is the most difficult for us to learn whereas breaststroke is quite easy. The basics are that your arms pull, you breathe, you kick and glide. I enjoy swimming a lot because I see that there are benefits galore when we swim. Firstly, it is an activity that burns a lot of calories and is easy on the joints, supports your weight, builds muscular and endurance, improves cardiovascular fitness, cools you off and refreshes you in the summer, and one that you can do safely in your old age. Secondly, the pieces of equipment we need for swimming are just a swimsuit and goggles. The bottom line to these pieces of equipment is that choose one that’s comfortable. I think that my hobby is a good one because knowing how to swim means knowing how to keep fit and rescue ourselves in some serious situation when we are in the water. 2. Describe a river, lake or sea which you like: - what the river, lake or sea is called - where it is - what the land near it is like - why you like this river, lake or sea. I’m going to describe Hoan Kiem Lake, which means Lake of the Returned Sword or Lake of the Restored Sword. According to the legend, emperor Lê Lợi handed a magic sword called Heavens Will which brought him victory in his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty back to the Golden Turtle God in the lake and hence gave it its present name (the lake was formerly known as Green Water). The Tortoise Tower standing on a small island near the centre of lake is linked to the legend.It is a lake in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life. I think the land or the area near the lake is so wonderful because if you wake up early in the morning, at about 5a.m, you will see lines and lines of oldies and teenagers doing anything from yoga to aerobics. It looks as if the whole city was up and running for morning exercise. I like the lake not only because it is special in history but also because the water in the lake is not commonly found in other lakes elsewhere in the country: greenish with dark or light shade depending on the reflection of the sky. Also, the lake is full of tortoise, which is second to none to be found among Vietnamese Lakes. If you are lucky, you will catch sight of these giant animals rising out of water. Last but not least, I like it because it is so romantic. When the darkness takes over, you can see couples holding hands in hands walking side by side along the lake, trying to breathe in the breeze of summer night or keep warmth against the winter cold. If you have time and really want to observe Hanoi’s life, sit down on one of the stone bench, enjoy the view and have a good talk with some local friends over an ice-cream cone. 3. Describe a useful website you have visited - what it was - how you found the address for this website - what it contained - why it was useful to you. Facebook is a social networking website. Its a free website that allows you to keep in contact with friends or find people youve lost touch with. Its one of the most popular websites in the world, with millions of users in different countries. All of my friends use Facebook. One of my friends sent me an email inviting me to join. I signed up and Ive been using it ever since. Facebook allows you to keep up to date with what friends are doing. You have a profile page with information and status updates so that you can tell everyone what youre doing. You can post messages to other peoples pages. You can upload photos and videos. I find Facebook most useful for organising my life, keeping in touch with friends and storing photos. I think social networking websites have become part of everyday life. 4. Describe an interesting advertisement you have seen: -where you saw it -what it was about -why you think it was interesting Im going to talk about an advertisement for Coca-Cola, which is one of the biggest brands in the world. Ive seen Coke advertised everywhere, on posters and TV commercials.The advert shows a picture of Santa Claus smiling and holding a bottle of Coke. I think the aim is to target children and associate (link/connect) the brand with Christmas time.The advert is interesting because the company is deliberately trying to influence and attract children. The marketers are trying to capture young customers. They are presenting the drink as something special, a gift for Christmas. However, Coca-Cola is not necessarily a healthy drink for children; it contains a lot of sugar. Maybe this kind of advertising manipulates children and encourages them to pester their parents. 5. Describe a modern building: -where it was -what it is used for -why you like/dislike it. Heres my example description of a building in Manchester:Im going to describe a modern building in Manchester. Its called the Beetham Tower, and its the tallest building in the city, with about 50 floors.Although its called the Beetham Tower, most people know this building as the Hilton Hotel. In fact, the bottom half of the tower is the hotel and the top half is apartments. The apartments are expensive because the location and views make them very desirable. Im not sure if I like the design of the building, its just a huge glass tower, but it definitely stands out. It has become a famous landmark in the city. You can see it as you approach Manchester, and its an easy place to meet people because its so distinctive and easy to find. The most interesting thing about the Beetham Tower is that there is a bar/restaurant on the 23rd floor which has spectacular views of the city; its definitely the best vantage point in Manchester because there are no walls, only huge windows, so you can look out over the city in any direction. Id recommend anyone who visits Manchester to go there and experience the view. 6. Describe a party that you enjoyed -whose party it was -what it was celebrating -where it was held -who went to it -what people did during the party -what you enjoyed about it. When and where: my friends birthday party, last Saturday evening, we went for a meal in an Italian restaurant.Who: there were about 10 of us, he invited some close friends and work colleagues, most of them were people Ive known since university.What happened: we met at the restaurant, I gave my friend a present and a birthday card, we ordered some food, while we ate dinner everyone chatted, after the main course the waiter brought out a cake and we sang Happy Birthday, everyone went home quite late.Why it made me happy: it was great to get together with old friends, I had some interesting conversations, it was a good opportunity to catch up with what my friends had been up to, it was a nice way to wind down after a hard week at work, the food was delicious, I went home feeling full after a fantastic meal. 7. Describe a memorable event in your life: -when it took place -where it took place -what happened exactly -why it was memorable The memorable event in my life took place 11 years ago when I passed the university entrance examination. I remember It was on August 15th 2000. It was so memorable to me because it was the first time I could make my own decision. I used to be an obedient girl when I was a child. I always listened and followed my parents’ instructions since I knew that parents always want the best things for their children. I tried my best to be the cream of the crop just to please my parents’ wishes and also to make them proud of me and love me more. However, it seemed that I became more and more obstinate when I grew up. I was tired and did not want to be a robot any more. I wanted to listen to my heart, make my own decisions and live my own life. That is why when my parents wanted me to do things as their wishes, I would do the opposite. Especially when I was about to enter university. My parents wanted me to become a businesswoman, therefore, they forced me to apply to University of Economics while my dream was to become a teacher of English and study Linguistics. Finally, I made it my own way. To my parents’ greatest disappointment, I applied to University of Social Sciences and Humanities after having a heated debate with them. I know clearly at that time I drove my parents to despair when I did not follow their advice. Only when ten years passed did I prove to them that I did make a judicious choice and I am now a very successful teacher. 8. Describe one of your friends: - how you met - how long you have known each other - how you spend time together - why you like this person. In my family, the person I love most is my grandfather who passed away about six years ago because of cancer. When I was just a child, my parents usually went to work. Therefore, I stayed at home with him and our relationship was quite good. He was very friendly and helpful. Whenever my friends came to my house, he usually greeted them with cordiality. He liked growing flowers very much. It was the reason why there were flowers galore in my garden. Every morning I tried to get up early to garden the flowers and enjoy the fresh atmosphere with him. He loved me very much and I was an apple of his eyes. When I went to primary school, it was he that rode me on his bike to take me travel back and forth between my house and school. When he passed away, I felt like having a broken heart. I was sad and cried so much. I missed him. I missed every time we had been together, missed his gentle and righteous smiles. From that time, I became reserved and did not want to talk to anyone. A long time passed. I realized that I could not continue living like this. I could not be a coward person. I must be strong despite the tragedy in life as what he had advised me to. I decided to dance to another tune to live well as my grand father hoped. 9. Describe an important festival in your country: - when it occurs - what you did during it - what you like or dislike - why it is important I’m going to describe the most important and popular holiday/festival in my country. It is the New Year or more commonly known as Tet holiday. Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. It is celebrated around late January or early February, until at least the third day. Last year, like many other Vietnamese people, I prepared for Tet by cooking special holiday foods, decorating and cleaning the house. I also returned to my families during Tet, to worship at the family altar and to visit the graves of the ancestors. I like it because it is a chance for people to get together with their relatives. This lets everyone focus on their relatives and the importance of family. It is important because during Tet holiday, Vietnamese visit their families, pagodas and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Since the Vietnamese believe that the first visitor a family receives in the year determines their fortune for the whole year, people never enter any house on the first day without being invited first. Usually, a person with a happy demeanor who had experienced good luck during the previous year is invited first into the house. In some cases, any person with the names such as Happiness, Wealth, and Luck will be invited to perform this act. However, just to be safe, the owner of the house will leave the house a few minutes before midnight and come back just as the clock strikes midnight to prevent anyone else from entering the house first who might potentially bring any unfortunate events in the new year to the household. Sweeping during Tet is taboo, since it symbolizes sweeping the luck away. It is also taboo for anyone who experienced a recent loss of a family member to visit anyone else during Tet. 10. Describe a piece of electronic equipment that you find useful: - what it is - how you learned to use it. - how long you have had it. - why you find it useful. I’m going to describe a piece of electronic equipment that I find useful. It is the laptop. I have had it for nearly two years and it was a gift from my parents on my birthday. it’s not difficult at all for me to learn to use it because I just needed to look at the manual and follow the instructions about how to turn it on, turn it off, how to install software and many other things. The most significant thing is that it is portable. And its portability features offer several distinct advantages: first is its productivity. When using a laptop, I don’t have to waste my time. For example, I can manage my email during a long-hour commute by bus or do my homework in the university coffee shop during short break between lectures. Second is its immediacy. When I carry my laptop, it means I have instant access to various information, personal and work files. Immediacy allows better collaboration between students, as a laptop can be flipped open to present a problem or a solution at anytime, anywhere. I think it is really useful because it has everything integrated into the chassis. I am a teacher of English and at school, I can use my laptop to bring texts, sound, and pictures into a classroom. With the laptop and things shown on the projector overhead, I can attract and retain students’ attention. I can speed up the teaching process and make difficult-to-explain ideas straight forward. This means that I can spend more time answering students’ questions and catering for other needs. 11. Describe an interesting historic place - what it is - where it is located - what you can see there now - why this place is interesting I am going to talk about the Reunification Palace, formerly known as the Independence Palace. It was built on the site of the former Norodom Palace and it is a landmark in HCMC. It is located in Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street and was designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The attractions inside of the airy palace interior are pretty sparse. Roped-off rooms such as the presidential office, receiving room, and bedroom appear musky and grim with antique furniture and bare walls. A highlight of the Reunification Palace is found in the basement which includes a command bunker with old radio equipment and strategy maps on the walls. After exiting the basement into the courtyard, there is a room filled with historic photos – heavily sprinkled with propaganda – portraying the fall of the Independence Palace. On the fourth floor rooftop, there are some nice views of the palace grounds as well as an old US-UH 1 helicopter. The rooftop was used as a helipad for evacuating staff just before the palace was overrun. The palace is interesting to me because marks the end of Viet Nam war during the Fall of Saigon. Also, knowing clearly about the history of my own country is what I think I can be proud of. 12. Describe a wild animal in your country - what it is - what it looks like - where it lives - how people in your country feel about it. I’m going to describe a wild animal in my country, which is the elephant. The elephant has an enormous cultural and religious significance n Vietnam. Historically elephants graced the Royal Courts and were revered by Vietnams ethnic minorities. In later times elephants played a crucial transportation role in the war for independence and Vietnam war. At present, elephants survive into small groups of 3-5 individuals living in divided habitats in the provinces of Gia Lai, Dac Lak, KonTum, Quang Nam, Ha Tinh, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, However the elephants survival in Vietnam is critically endangered and the government is currently feverishly attempting to halt their slide into total extinction. In recent years, conflicts between elephants and local people occurred vigorously in the provinces and the number of elephants becomes more and more reduced. I think the reasons are: 1. A reduction of forest cover from logging 2. Forest clearance for agriculture 3. Capture for domestication 4. Elephant Human conflict and the killing of elephants as pests 5. Ivory poaching 6. Forest fires The result was the increasing fragmentation of the forests and the isolation of the ever diminishing elephant herds into unviable population units. Faced with the possibility of total extinction the government of Vietnam has developed a The National Elephant Action Plan to be overseen by the Forest Protection Department. The plan allows for the creation of elephant protection areas in Dak Lak, Dong Nai and Nghe An provinces, the three areas with the largest populations of elephants. The habitats will be examine to create the optimal conditions for the elephants long term survival and a system of electric fences and trenches will be put in place in an effort to reduce elephant-human conflict. 13. Describe a teacher who has influenced you in your education: -where you met them -what subject they taught -what was special about them -why this person influenced you so much As far as I am concerned, the person who is the most memorable to me is my middle school P.E teacher. I believe this for the following reason. Firstly, he taught me how to play many different sports like baseball, basket ball and soccer effectively. Second of all, he didn’t just teach me how to play sports, he also instructed me in philosophy. He taught me that doing my best is always more important than winning or losing. It is all of these things that have made him the most memorable teacher in my life. Also, it is because he is my father and he has been a major influence in my life.My father was always a good role model for me as I was growing up. Hes hard-working, patient and understanding; hes also got a good sense of humour and seems to get on well with everybody. Hopefully Ive inherited some of these traits.I admire my father because I think he brought me and my brothers/sisters up well; he was quite strict but always fair, and he has always been someone I can turn to for advice. I think my father set a good example by working hard and having a positive outlook on life. I remember that he used to leave for work early and come home quite late, but he always made time for me and my brothers/sisters. 14. Describe a film or TV programme that has made a strong impression on you: - what kind of film - when you saw the film - what the film was about - explain why this film or TV program made such an impression on you. I am going to describe a film that made a strong impression on me. The film is called ‘Dream High’ and the typical of the film is about music idols. In recent time, I had a chance to watch this film on HTV2. As I see it, Dream high was the one of the best dramas that was produced by KBS. This film was about 6 students who came from discrepant environment. Nevertheless, all of them had the same purpose, coming to Kirin High School of Art and followed the student life as they aspire to become superstars. Although they had their own issues, they had vehement ambitions and tried their best to reach them. It made such an impression on me because they could do anything in order to have it. I think they are good imitations for teenagers. Love, friendship, hope and dream are strength and power which help me stand up again and I shouldn’t become discouraged when facing problems. I can learn from this film about the way how to think in an optimistic way and never abdicate my dreams. Dream High is a good film and it is meaningful about the dreams of adolescents.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 08:27:07 +0000