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[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Musical instruments:
Q. Which instrument do you like listening to most? [Why?]
Answer: I like listening to the tune of the guitar the most primarily because this versatile musical instrument is able to play any kind of my favorite songs at very ease. Besides, listening to the guitar helps me to get in the positive frame of mind when I feel little “depressed”.
Q. Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument? [Which one?]
Answer: I learned to play the guitar as a high school student almost 10 years ago, and I became reasonably good at playing it. I even played this great musical instrument in subsequent years at some parties with my friends. But, as I got older and became busy with other priorities of life, I now pay it only once in a blue moon.
Q. Do you think children should learn to play a musical instrument at school? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Children should learn to play a musical instrument because it would help children develop math skills, quick thinking, and creativity. In fact, understanding the relationship between different musical notes and chords is pure math. Besides, it would actually help bring out the musical talents, hidden in children, and turn them into some very famous and world-class musicians in future.
Q. How easy would it be to learn to play an instrument without a teacher? [Why?]
Answer: I personally think that without the guidance and supervision of a mentor, learning a musical instrument and being good at it is pretty impossible. This is primarily because the teacher can always correct us when we do something wrong and can motivate us to a great extent. Without the guidance of a master, we might even lose our inspiration to continue learning.
[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]
Describe something healthy you enjoy doing.
You should say:
and explain why you think doing this is healthy.
[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.]
[Examiner: All right? Remember you have one to two minutes for this, so don’t worry if I stop you. I’ll tell you when the time is up. Can you start speaking now, please?]
Model Answer 1:
Like everybody else, I like to stay healthy while also enjoying life at the same time. But, the problem is we can’t really enjoy life enough unless we also enjoy doing something healthy from time to time. Of course, different people enjoy doing different kinds of healthy activities, but as far as I am concerned, it is swimming.
I enjoy swimming. In fact, swimming was one of my most favourite hobbies when I was growing up as a child as I would hardly let any day pass by during the summertime without swimming, whether I was swimming in a lake or a big river. Besides, one of the greatest advantages of living in the countryside (yes, I grew up in the countryside until I started attending high school) of my country is that it almost certainly would have some natural lakes or rivers to invite those who would like to swim.
Of course, the difference is that when I was growing up as a child, I used to enjoy swimming just for the fun of it, but today, I do swimming because it helps me remain healthy. Besides, these days, I swim mostly in a local swimming pool as the city, in which I live now, doesn’t have many natural lakes, rivers or any ocean where I would be able to enjoy this activity better. Anyway, I enjoy this healthy activity with a bunch of other guys (they are not related to me in any respect), and I do this every weekend if not more. By the way, I am trying to form a swimming club in my city in order to make swimming more of a fun activity rather than considering it as only a healthy activity.
Anyway, I think that swimming is a healthy activity because it forces each and every part of our bodies to engage in perfect sync with each other in order to keep us floating in the water. Besides, it also helps me relax after a long week of work by allowing me to forget about the worries of my daily life for a while.
Sample Answer 2:
I wake up early in the morning and then walk for an hour every day. After that, I swim in the nearby river for about 30 minutes and then I start my day. Waking up very early and then doing the physical exercise is the healthy habit I have developed from the early stage of my life.
I remember my father insisting us to wake up very early and then took us to the nearby high school ground for exercise. Nowadays, I wake up from bed at around 5:30 am and wear my exercise trousers and a pair of shoes. Then I start walking along with the road that has passed beside the river. The fresh air in the morning is very healthy for health. Sometimes I take my bicycle and instead of walking, I ride my cycle. I started doing this early morning exercise and swimming a few years back but nowadays 2 of my friends and cousins accompany me almost every day. They enjoy doing exercise very much.
The morning is a time when the air and environment remain fresher than at any time of the day. So breathing the fresh air, doing the exercises and finally swimming in the freshwater is definitely a very healthy habit. A sound mind lies on a sound body and this habit that I adopted is pretty helpful for keeping sound health and a sound mind.
Tips for answering this Cue Card Topic:
Exercise, visiting open and natural places, good food habit etc. are some of the habits which are related to health. Exercise can vary from going for walking in the morning & evening, running, swimming, cycling, playing outdoor games, and going to the gymnasium, doing yoga etc. You can talk about any exercise habit that you have for this cue card as exercise is a healthy habit.
Again you can talk about your passion for visiting different places on your vacation as travelling to open spaces gives you mental refreshment as well as help keeping good health.
Finally, a good food habit is something positive we can have to maintain good health. You can talk about your habit of eating vegetable instead of eating fishes and meats. Your habit of drinking fruit juice daily is also something health you do. Gardening is a good habit which involved both the passion and physical exercise and can be described as a healthy habit.
Pick an idea related to exercise, good food habit or travelling and talk about that particular topic.
On the other hand, reading books, cooking, listening to music etc. are good for our mental health and thus keeps us joyful which is a healthy habit. If you want to talk about your habit of listening to music, painting, cooking or reading, first mention the mental benefits it offers. Then relate the mental health with the physical health and then continue describing the habit.
The second question: “why you do it” and the fourth question “and explain why you think doing this is healthy” are actually similar. For the later one describe the benefits it offers and for the second question mention that you have a passion for it, you spend quality time this way and you really enjoy doing it. Since the cue card asks you to describe something healthy you enjoy doing, do not only mention the health benefit it offers. You should also talk about why you enjoy it, how passionate you feel about doing it and your involvement in the task.
Discussion topics:
Keeping fit and healthy:
Q. What do most people do to keep fit in your country?
Answer: Most people in Germany try to remain fit by exercising at local gyms, walking in parks and swimming in the pool. Besides, it’s the very lifestyles of most people in Germany which help them to remain fit. In fact, walking and cycling in my country to get around are very common, with footpaths and cycle routes (more than 46,000 miles of cycle routes) all over the country, making it really easy to travel between the towns without a car. On top of that, most people in Germany are health-conscious, and as a result, they are very particular about their food and diets they choose to eat on a regular basis.
Q. How important is it for people to do some regular physical exercise?
Answer: In my opinion, it is absolutely important for people to do some regular physical exercise in order to remain physically fit and healthy. Physical activity or exercise can improve our health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, a minimum of 30 minutes of regular activity can improve our quality of life by helping us manage our weight better as well as having stronger bones, muscles and joints. Besides, regular exercise will make us feel better with more energy, better mood and better sleep.
Q. Why so many people these days suffer from stress-related issues?
Answer: Even a few decades ago, very few people knew about stress the way we do today, and the reasons behind this are rather simple. Before a few decades, our family relationships and community ties were relatively stronger. Besides, back then, we were not exactly so much focused on goals such as money, fame, and self-image. Finally, our expectations are probably just too high from our lives these days, as opposed to a few decades ago, because we think that life is too short, and we will have to get everything right here and right now.
Health and modern lifestyles:
Q. Why do some people think that modern lifestyles are not healthy?
Answer: Many of us, rather than just some of us, in my country think that modern lifestyles are not healthy because we have compromised “quality” over “quantity” in a massive way. In our modern world today, we see no problem in sitting in front of our TV and computer for hours for no obvious benefits and reasons, and yet, we suddenly feel very “busy” to walk to a local store just for 10 minutes. We spend tons of money everyday eating “junk” food with almost no or very limited nutritional value, and yet, we suddenly become very “economic” when it comes to buying some fresh fruits and vegetables. So, yes, modern lifestyles may have given us a lot of things, but “health”, be it physical or mental, is probably not one of them.
Q. Why do some people choose to lead unhealthy lives?
Answer: Some people choose to lead unhealthy lives either because they don’t understand the “value” of living a healthy life or they are just too “lazy and arrogant” to get out of their comfort zone in order to find out how leading unhealthy lives will affect their health and minds in the long run. Besides, some people, because of being unhappy with nothing to look forward in life, also choose to lead unhealthy lives. Then, finally, there is another group of people who choose to lead unhealthy lives because they are just “brought up” that way, and they consider that leading unhealthy lives actually make them look “cool” to others.
Q. Should individuals or governments be responsible for making people’s lifestyle healthy?
Answer: What kind of lifestyles people should choose in order to remain healthy should be a personal and individual responsibility. What a person should eat and drink, and when a person should sleep, or how long a person should exercise every day should be entirely up to the person involved. If a person doesn’t understand what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle, the government can’t really do much about it except raising a certain level of awareness among its citizens about the benefits of living a healthy life as well as the harms of living an unhealthy one.
However, the government can run some campaigns and advertisements to aware people about the importance of a salubrious lifestyle and can build more parks, sports centre and medical check-up points to help people lead a better life.
Q. What could be done to encourage people to live in a healthy way?
Answer: The best way to encourage people to live in a healthy way is to teach them from a very early age, both at home and school, about the benefits of living a healthy life. Some kind of incentives and rewards, such as tax breaks or “certification”, can also be arranged for the “healthy families” in all communities so that the people there really feel “pumped up” and compete with each other in order to become “healthier” than others. Finally, at least one sports centres and one park/garden can be provided in close proximity of each community so that people there can go to those places and spend some times “working out and sweating” a little every day.
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