TÀI LIỆU ÔN THI B2,C1

TOPICS FOR SPEAKING 4
PART 1:
PART 1
YOURSELF
Tell me something special about you
How would you describe yourself?
HOMETOWN
Where do you come from?
What is your home town like?
What do you like best about your home town?
What is special about your hometown?
What is it known for?
It it easy to travel around your hometown?
What do people in your town do?
What are the main industries in your hometown?
STUDY
When did you graduate?
Where did you go to college/university?
What was your study like?
What subjects did you like to study best?
FAMILY
Can you tell me about your family?
How much time do you manage to spend with your family?
What sorts of things do you like to do together?
TRAVEL
How often do you travel? Where have you been to?
What are some places would you like to visit when you travel? Why?
TYPICAL DAY
Can you describe a typical day in your life?
What would you like to change about your routine?
Do you enjoy watching movies? What is your favourite film?

Who are your favourite actors? How often do you watch films?
Do you watch television? What it your favourite channel? Why ?


HOBBIES
How do you relax?
How do you spend your spare time at weekends?
What is your favorite hobby?
How much time do you spend on your hobby?
When did you first develop this hobby?
FREE TIME ACTIVITIES
What is your favorite free time activity?
When you go out in the evening, what do you like to do?
Is there any kind of entertainment you don't like? Why not?
WORK
Where are you working?
When did you start working?
Do you enjoy working there? Why?
How long have you been working?
What is your school like? Do you like it? Why?
JOB
Do you enjoy your job?
Would you like to change anything about your job?
Is there any other kind of work you would rather do?
If you could change your job or profession, what would you do?
Do you have any plans for your future career?
What are you going to do? What will you do to develop your career?


PART II:

Describe a school you went to.
Where it is and when it was built
What it is like
What is special about it
And what you like or dislike about it
Answer:
When I grew up, I studied many grades of schools. But
in my mind, I remembered my high school very much. It
is SADEC high school. There are some good and bad
things in this school.
It has something I like in SADEC high school. First of
all, I like the most about its location. It is in the centre of
SADEC district. It is easy for us to go there. Secondly,
talking about the structure, it had traditional architecture.
It was built long time ago. I think It was opened in the 19 th
century. Moreover, it had the lake in the middle of the
school. When I felt tired, I used to come there to enjoy
fresh air. Furthermore, it had a big library which was easy
for me to read books when I had some periods off. Finally,
my high school had well-trained teachers. It means I could
get knowledge easily.
Beside the good things I say above, it has something I
dislike. Firstly, the school gate was so narrow. It was hard
for me to come out of the school after classes. Then, the
food in the canteen was not delicious. It was hard for me
to eat something. Furthermore, some teachers were very


strict. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable when I came to

class.
However, although it had some disadvantages in
SADEC high school, I like my high school very much. I
become an English teacher now thanks to it. I hope it will
develop more and more. I think it is all I can tell you about
my high school. Thank you for your listening.
Questions:
1) Which are the advantages and or disadvantages of
studying in a community college/ trade school?
2) How has education changed in the last 20 years?
3) What are some important qualities of a teacher? Why ?
4) In some countries, people teach their children at home.
This is called home school. Do you think home school
should be allowed in Vietnam?
Describe one electronic invention you like or dislike.
What invention it is
When it was invented
What it is like
and explain why you like or dislike it.
Answer:
Nowadays, there are many different inventions thanks
to the development of technology. However, the invention I like
best is the computer. As far as is known, the computer was
invented in the 20th century. To be operated, the computer is linked
with other tools such as monitor, a CPU or a keyboard and a
mouse. The monitor looks like a TV set that shows installed
programs on its screen. The next thing is the CPU that plays an
important part of the computer. The CPU contains hardware and
software that help the computer store information and run

smoothly. Beside the CPU, the keyboard which is also very
essential contains all the letter and numbers in its. The last one is
the mouse that helps you change the position of the cursor on your
computer screen by moving it with your hand. In fact the computer
is really my favorite invention because of some reasons. With the
computer, I can communicate with other people who live in other
places. Further more, I can learn foreign languages from the
computer. I also enjoy listening to music or playing some games
on the computer to relax my mind.
Questions:
1. In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of the invention?
2. Talking about television, how is it compared to a computer?
3. How has the invention of TV changed people's life?
4. Do you think life has been improved by technology? How?
5. Do you think children should be forbidden to watch
television?


Describe your plan for the next summer vacation.
How you are going to spend it
Where and with whom
How you are going to manage to carry out your
plan.
Answer: After a hard working year, every one feels
stressful and tired of their job. They need the time to relax
so that they can work better next year. I am no exception,
too. One of the relaxing forms I like best is traveling, so I
often take a trip in summer.
As you know, we are teachers, we are very busy

teaching all the school year and we seldom have free time.
I think that summer is the most convenient time for us to
travel. It is the reason why I plan for my next trip to Da
Lat with my family and some close friends next summer.
We will stay there for 5 days. It is said that Dalat is one of
the most beautiful places in Viet Nam so we want to know
about it.
To carry out my plan, I should save a lot of money and
I have to finish all school tasks. All of us will enjoy cool
and fresh air there. We are going to visit some famous
spots such as waterfalls, botanical gardens, valleys and we
will take some photos. Finally I will buy some souvenirs
for my relatives and friends.
Actually, Dalat is the most wonderful place attracting
lots of tourists both in VN and in the world. I think if we
have time, we should visit it.
Questions:


1)Would you rather take vacation with your friends or
with family?
2)How does vacation benefit vacation takers?
3)Do men and women spend their free time differently?
How?
4)Has the way people take vacation changed in the last
years?
5)How will people in Vietnam spend their holiday in the
future?

Describe your favorite colleague or friend.

Who he/she is
How did you meet him or her
How long you have known him or her
and explain why you like him/her
Answer: In my school, there are many good colleagues
but the person I like best is Mrs. Lan. She was my old


teacher over 20 years ago and we have been colleagues
for 10 years. She is small and thin; she has an oval face
and short black hair. She always smiles at everyone
whom she meets and communicates. She is calm in any
situations and never angry with anyone, so she makes
people love her so much. When I have trouble, I often
say to her and she gives me some advice. In addition,
she has good knowledge and behaviors which I always
try my best to get. When teaching, she is willing to
explain clearly to students what they don’t understand.
Therefore, students are very active in her lessons.
Moreover, she lives simply and she is economical in her
life but she often helps poor students such as supporting
materials for their study.
She is the person I like best because she has good
qualities and is a good-natured one. From my heart, I
really respect her and will never forget her.
Questions;
1)What qualities do you think are important in a friend /
a colleague?
2)How can people make friends?
3) Is it sometimes difficult to make new friends? Why /

Why not?
4)Do you think personal relationships have changed in
the past years?
5)What will relationships be like in the future?


Describe a party you went to which you enjoyed.
Where the party was
Why the party happened
Who was at the party
And explain why you enjoyed the party
Answers: I’d like to talk about my grandmother 80th
longevity party. As 80 is an important age for
everyone, my parents decided to have a party for her at
our house. All our family members and relatives
attended that party. As far as I can remember, about
40 people to congratulate my grandmother on her
longevity with wishes “long-lived centenarians”. My
father wore a garland marigold for her and she received
many kisses from her children and grandchildren.
At the party, we only had a roast pig without a
birthday cake. We express our gratitude to her and love
in bring up her children and grandchildren.
My grandmother was too happy to say a few words
with everyone about a meaningful party, and she
hoped to see such a gathering again. But she understood
that it was not very easy to have a party of this because
everyone was very busy with work. The next thing we
did was to take a lot of photos with her. After that, we
cut out a roast pig and enjoyed the food together and

told about good memories. Some grandchildren sang
some songs to give her and I found her face smile
happily. I think this is an occasion for everyone to


express her / his loves with grandparents and parents
and also show family reunion in society. This is a
wonderful party which I have enjoyed before.
Questions:
1) What kind of social events are most popular in your
home city?
2) What changes have there been recently in social life
in your home city?
3)What are the differences between the social events
that older and younger people enjoy?
4)Is it a good idea for colleagues at work to spend time
socially together?
5) Would you agree that technology can have negative
effects on the way people spend their leisure time?


Describe a holiday you would like to go on.
What place you would like to go to
How you would like to get there
What you would like to do when you were there
And explain why you would like to go on this
holiday
Answers: Nowadays, a lot of people enjoy going on
holiday. I myself also like to travel many beautiful places
in our country, too. The Tet holiday is coming, my family

and I are going to go on holiday in Da Lat city, Lam
Dong province. In fact, this is the fifth time we have
visited it.
You know, last year, we started in a sunny day, but as
soon as we arrived at Lam Dong land, everything seemed
to change. When our car went steeply on the mountains,
we had felt a completely cool atmosphere. Standing on the
high mountain, we could see the whole below scenes. I
seemed to be able to touch the clouds again. We stayed at
a hotel built by French architecture that my father had to
make a reservation. The day after, we visited Flower parkfamous for many kinds of flower blooming, and Valley of
Love - an extremely romantic place as its name. That
night, we went to Da Lat market. Then I, my younger
brother and my cousin were renting bikes to ride around
the city while my parents were walking around Xuan
Huong Lake.


Next time, we will visit many other famous landscapes
such as Cam Ly waterfall, Than Tho lake, Dream hill, Bao
Dai palace and so on.
I would like to go to Da Lat because the weather is
wonderful. I can enjoy the fresh air and the cool
atmosphere. I think visiting there will be a wonderful
vacation in our lives.
Questions:
1) Which places in Vietnam do you think visitors would
enjoy visiting most?
2) What are the benefits of going away on holiday?
3) What kinds of benefits might a significant increase in

tourist number bring to a location?
4) What developments might there be that affect
international travel in the future?
- policy to protect the environment.
- improve means of transportation
- develop high standard service
- apply some modern technology to advertise their tourist
services around the world.


Describe a conversation you have which was
important to you.
When the conversation took place
Who you had the conversation with
What the conversation was about
And explain why the conversation was important
to you
Answer: As we know, we are teachers who often talk
to many students about a lot of different things every
day. and I am unexceptional. There are many
conversations in my daily life but a conversation
which was important to me happened one year ago.
This was one of the most important conversations that
was about interviewing to apply for the job. I think
that the conversation is really important to me
because of the following reason. This was the first
time I had been interviewed to apply for the job so I
felt very worried and nervous. And I wondered what I
would do so that I could answer interviewers’
questions well. After the interview, I thought if my

interview had not been successful, I would not have
the job. And I couldn’t earn money to support myself
and to help my parents and my brothers. At that time,
my temper was really so bad. As a result, I passed the
important interview and I had a good and suitable job.
So I learnt a lot of experience from that conversation.


Questions:
1) Are there differences in the way men and women
communicate?
2) To what extent do you think films and TV
influence how people communicate with each other?
3) Do you agree that education has a strong and
positive effect on people’s ability to communicate
effectively?
4) What impact do you think the growth of
technology might have on communication in the
future?
1- Men: + strong voice
+ speak naturally
+ determined
+ powerful
+ tell jokes/ humorous
- women: + soft voice
+ shy
+ hesitated
+ dependent
+ sympathetic
2- Films & TV influence :

+ people’s feelings/ point of view e.g. lose their temper/
change our thought about women
+ people’s behaviors e.g. act violently/ rude to others
+ people’s styles e.g. Korean’s culture/ fashion/ hair
styles/ ridiculous clothes
+ viewers’ culture/ attitude/ knowledge e.g. learn a lot


+ voice / action e.g.

3- a strong and positive effect of education on
people’s ability to communicate effectively:
+ People learn how to communicate/ behave well
+ feel self confident. (subject: public speaking)
+ have good knowledge in communication
+ easy to solve problems
+ predict what happen in their conversations
+ education teaches them some soft skills to face
problems
4. What impact do you think the growth of technology

might have on communication in the future
+ easy to communicate/ keep in touch with e.g. mobile,
computer.
+ get information quickly/ fast / effectively
+ apply some modern appliances in their communication
with low prices / attractive promotion
+ shorten the time in work/ life

Describe the job you most like to have besides your current

one.
What this job would be
Where would you work
Which qualifications would you need


And explain why you would like to have this job most

Answer: I have been working as a high school English
teacher for 3 years. Honestly, I am not very interested in
teaching for two main reasons. First, my salary is low. I
just earn enough to meet my basic expenses. I have not
saved up for other plans since I started teaching. Second, I
have to take my job at home. People working in other
fields can finish their jobs at 5pm, go home, and enjoy
themselves. How about me? In the evenings, I have to
prepare lesson plans for the following days, mark
students’ tests, do paperwork, design new tests, and so on.
Usually I go to bed at 11pm. Therefore, if I could, I
would choose to work as a bank teller. You know it is said
that people working in banks now earn much more money
than teachers. Especially, at the end of the year, if they
work effectively, they may get a big bonus, up to 100
million VND. Working as a bank teller, I would be able to
start work only at 7:30 am and finish at 5pm. Then I
would have more time for my family and myself. I would
enjoy my life or take a training course to upgrade my
career. To do this job, I would need a university degree in
Economics, computer skills, English ability, and
communication skills. Let me explain one by one. First of

all, it requires knowledge of banking seriously. If I made a
mistake, it might result in confusing, complicated
problems. In addition, working on the computer, I would
need to be accurate because a single fault (mistake) might


influence the whole banking system. Also, I would spend
most of my time contacting different kinds of customers
and helping them deal with money. I would need to be
patient and polite. Whether or not these customers come
back to do business with that bank depends on the services
of that bank, especially bank tellers’ behaviors. Now last
but not least, I would have to speak English because
many of the customers are foreigners.
Questions:
1. Which jobs are most respected in Vietnam?
2. What changes have there been in recent years in employment in
Vietnam?
3. Do you think schools provide enough advice and support about
future careers?
4. Do you agree that pay for a job should reflect the level of
contribution to community the job makes?
1- Teacher:
+ noble job to train people to become a good citizen
+ good qualities / good knowledge
2- employment in Vietnam:
+ a lot of opportunity to have a good job. e.g: a lot of factories/
companies
+ specialized knowledge in work e.g: higher education
( universities) , economic development

3- schools provide enough advice and support about future careers
+ a lot of schools/ universities – a chance to study higher to get
knowledge ( study abroad )
+ modern technology in teaching to appeal students .
+ vocational schools support skills for careers
+ qualified / well trained teachers
+ outside activities for students to close to their career


4- pay for a job should reflect the level of contribution to
community the job makes
+ well trained staff will support good knowledge and work hard.
+ always create new ideas in their work.
+ willing to work under a lot of pressure
+ cooperate with foreign partners

Describe something healthy you enjoy doing.
What you do
Where you do it
Who you do it with
And explain why you think doing this is healthy
Answer: People usually say that health is gold. In fact, having a
good health is considered the most important factor in our life. It is
clear that there are a lot of ways to help people to have a good
health such as; jogging, playing football, playing tennis, running or
doing exercise in the morning or in the evening... In my opinion, I
like jogging in the morning best. First of all, jogging is an easy
exercise – a low running - which can do by anyone, so we don’t
need to spend much time on studying it. Secondly, people can jog
individually, in pairs or even in groups. Especially, jogging helps

people have a good heartbeats and good legs. Moreover, jogging
also helps people reduce stress from life or work. With many
benefits above, I like this kind of exercise very much, I usually jog
with my husband in the early morning on the road in front of my
house. It is funny and happy to be jogged in the fresh air in the
early morning with my honey. Finally, with jogging, I feel
healthier so we will jog every morning. I also hope that there will
have a lot of people jogging with my family every morning.


Questions:
1) What do most people do to keep fit in your home place?
2) How important is it for people to do some regular physical
exercise?
3) Would you agree that modern lifestyles are not healthy?
4) Why do some people choose to lead unhealthy lives?
5) Should individuals or governments be responsible for making
people’s lifestyle healthy?

Describe a leader you know or admire.
Who he/she is
What his/her position is
Where he/she is working or used to work
What some of his/her special leadership characteristics are

Answer: I have many chances to work with many kinds of
people. Most of them are talented ones. Among them is
one special person I admire most. He is my former boss,
the headmaster of our school.

The first time when I met him was the time I came to my
school to apply for job. Standing in front of me was a
small and ugly man. I required him for a meeting with the
headmaster. And there was a smile on his face. When
recognizing that the headmaster he was, I was confused,
nervous and did nothing! Although getting an
embarrassing and humorous experience, I was still
employed after all. After a long time working with him, I
knew that he was a talented and helpful boss. When
observing my teaching work, he gave me many good ideas
for my teaching skills perfectly. In addition, he was
professional and caring. If anyone didn’t obey the school’s
rules, there must be a punishment for that one. However, if
any teacher had family problems, there would immediately
be the help from school to him or her. Moreover, he was
ambitious. Everything he wanted to be done was perfect.
Beside that, there were some things about him I didn’t
like. First of all, he was a drunker. As I knew that he
always drank whenever he had a chance. Secondly, he
wasn’t well-dressed. He was opposite to any other boss
that wore best clothes, he looked badly. Maybe there were
some negative sites for this. In conclusion, there were a lot
of things that I admired most about my former boss.
Besides, there were not less problems of him. In reality, he
was not a perfect person. However, there isn’t any perfect
one in our real life. So I can’t deny the good things about
my former boss made me admire him best./.
1) What are the qualities that every leader should have?

2) What characteristics does a bad leader have?
3) What are some big challenges a leader usually deals with in
his/her organization?
4) Can women be good leaders? Why or why not?
5) Are leaders made or born? Explain your opinion.
6) If you were the leader of your school, what changes would you
make?
Describe the best party you have been to.
When the party was
Who celebrated the party
Who participated in the party
What activities were celebrated
Why it was the best party
Answer: Last week, I took part in my friend’s birthday party. It
was held in her house. In this party I had a chance to meet many
people. Some of them are my friends and some are new ones who
are interested and humorous, and I made a new friend with a
person. She is also a teacher. We share many things with each
other about our family and our job. Besides I enjoyed a lot of
delicious food and drinks such as birthday cake, fruit … And the
thing that I liked the best in this party was participating in some
interesting games, for example, we put a piece of paper which was
written the request into a balloon. The host was the first person
who started the game. She picked up a balloon in which was asked
to sing a song. She sang a love song very beautifully. Then she
asked another person to continue the game and everybody was
happy and excited until the end of the party. I like that party very
much because I have a chance to make new friends and have some
plans for my next birthday.

Questions:
1) What are the characteristics of a good host?


2) What kind of people do you like to meet at the party?
3) Where are some good places to meet people?
4) What are some things you shouldn't ask people you just met?
5) Do you like going to parties with a partner or by yourself?
Why?
6) Do you enjoy hosting parties at your house? Why?
Describe your favorite season.
What season it is
What the weather is like
Why you like that season
What activities you and people in your community usually do
in that season
Answer: We know there are four seasons in a year like spring,
summer, fall, and winter. Each season has specific features.
However, the season that I like best is the spring.
Certainly, in spring, the weather is often warm and fresh.
I like the spring season best because it is very nice and it also
helps make houses and streets be clean and comfortable. In spring,
the streets are crowded with many people to come in and to go out.
They are always busy all day and night.
There are lots of activities that I and people in my community
usually do in spring such as the children often play volleyball or
ride their bikes around the city or the town to see the sights, and
they also want to enjoy delicious food… While the adults have to
transport their goods or their products to everywhere to support our
lives

People crowd the streets to watch colorful parades. They like
taking part in different charity activities to help the poor, the
disabled, the abandoned, the homeless…This show our
humanitarian wish very highly and valuably. People also organize
many shows to raise money for general fund. Besides helping the
poor and people in policy cases, it can help our country develop,


become richer, and stronger and more powerful compared with
others. Most of people dress up and often visit their friends and
their relatives, and also play some more traditional games to
remind our great grandparents’ time. Some of them never forget to
go the pagodas or temples to pray for lucky things for themselves
and their families. In spring, there are various forms of
entertainment and many big festivals throughout the country that
are very exciting.
In conclusion, the spring is the one that I like best because of
its special features above. It is warm and comfortable. There are
many interesting things that are memorable and unforgettable in
our life.
Questions:
1) What kind of climate do you prefer when choosing a place to go
on vacation?
2) Do you think weather affects the way people feel? How?
3) How can extreme weather conditions affect the economy and
social
life in countries?
4) Do you think that climate change could affect economy? How?
5) Do you think weather patterns are changing? How?
Describe a person who has greatly influenced you in your life.

Who the person is
How you got to know him/her
What was special about him/her
And explain why this person has influenced so much.
Answer:
I am very lucky and happy to have known a lot of
good people. Some of them have influenced me a lot; however, the
person who has greatly influenced me in my life is Miss Van, my
old teacher. Miss Van taught me Literature when I was at grade 9
in Phung Hiep Lower Secondary School. Although Miss Van is tall


and rather big, she looks gentle. Her voice is very nice and makes
people who meet her for the first time to remember her for a long
time. Miss Van retired many years ago and moved to live in the
countryside. Now I am busy with my job so I seldom visit her but I
always remember her, think of her as my best teacher, who has
greatly influenced me in my life. Miss Van taught Literature very
well and she loved her students very much. She paid much
attention to me, gave me good advice and helped me overcome
difficulties in life. She taught me how to behave well, how to live
in harmony with people, and how to be a good teacher. Thanks to
her love, her help and her encouragement, I worked hard and
gained some achievements in life. Now I am a teacher. I always try
to do my best to be a good teacher like her.
Questions:
1) What are the benefits/disadvantages of being a celebrity?
2) In your opinion, what is a good celebrity?
3) How can people avoid a bad influence?
4) If you could influence people like a celebrity does, how would

you use it for the benefit of the planet?
5)Do you think being a celebrity automatically means the person is
intelligent? Explain.
6) Do you think that some celebrities earn much more money than
they deserve? Explain.
Describe your first meeting with a person who impressed you.
Who the person was
When you met him/her for the first time
Where you met him/her
And talk about your first impression of that person
Answer: I have many acquaintances but the person who impressed
me best was Ngoc Lan. She is my brother’s girl friend. I couldn’t
stand being curious when my brother say that he would invite his


girl-friend, Ngoc Lan to his party. And on his birthday party she
came, she was dressed in the lasted fashion with a pull-over and
jeans. She looked like an athlete. What a lovely girl! She is slim.
She has got an oval face and has long black hair. She always
smiled when she talked to every member in my family. During the
party, she always made a joke. We couldn’t stand laughing because
of her humor. At the end of the party, she helped me tidy up. That
was the time we shared each other about our hobbies, style… I
realized that we had a lot of same points. From then on, we became
closer. She often comes to my house at the weekend but I can’t
forget her smile when she came to my house in the first time.
Questions:
1) What are some ways to make first good impression?
2) What topics should people avoid when they first met
someone? Why?

3) How can we create more understanding and harmony
among people?
4) What makes you remember a new person that you have
just met?
5) Is appearance important in the first meeting?
Describe a restaurant that you enjoyed going to.
Where the restaurant was
When and why you chose this restaurant
What type of food you ate in this restaurant and explain why
yon enjoyed eating in this restaurant
Answer:
Off all the restaurants I have gone to, “Hau Giang” is the one I
like to go to best. It is in Vi Thanh, Hau Giang. Last summer, after
having made a tour around Vi Thanh, I had “thac lac”, special food
in Hau Giang, for lunch at Hau Giang restaurant. Besides “Thac
lac”, we can also choose a lot of different kinds of food such as