TOPIC SPEAKING 11 FIRST SEMESTER

TALK ABOUT YOUR FRIEND.
To me, one of my best friends is Nam. Nam is 18 years old. He has black hair, a broad
forehead, a straight nose and bright eyes. He is very good-looking. He has a kind heart and is
easy to get on with everybody. We have been friends for a very long time. The deeper our mutual
understanding becomes the more we feel closely attached to each other. Nam and I are keen on
learning. We are the best pupils in our class. Nam is always at the top. He is good at every
subject, but he never shows pride in his abilities and always tries to learn harder. Nam’s family
is not rich enough. His parents are retired workers. I like Nam very much because of his honesty
and straight forwardness. He is always ready to help his weak friends in their study. In my
relation with Nam, I have got precious experience: thirst for learning, patience to overcome
difficulties, helpfulness and filial piety.

Is it easy to have a true friendship? Why?
I don’t think it is easy to have a true friendship. Because true friend will stand by us in our
trials and tribulations. He will be a great source of consolation and comfort in our troubles. So
we must be careful in choosing our friends. It is difficult to choose a sincere friend overnight; it
takes years for us to find a sincere friend.

What do you think are the qualities of a true friendship?
Loyalty

sympathy

unselfishness

TET HOLIDAY IN VIETNAM
Tet is a traditional holiday of our country, Vietnam.
It often begins in late-January and ends in early-February. With the meaning of seeing the
old year off and welcoming the new year, Tet becomes a special occasion of reunion for
Vietnamese families. At that time, all family members try to come back to their home and get
together to make such preparations for Tet as buying new clothes and cleaning their house. A

branch of apricot blossoms or a Kumquat tree is indispensable decoration for every family in
these days. They seem like a fresh air to the house. We display a tray full of fruits and vases of
flowers on the ancestral altar.
Some typical Tet's food are sweets, coconut jam, fruit candies, melon seeds, stew pork
with eggs, and especially sticky rice cake. Tet meals are usually bigger and more delicious than
our daily ones.
On Tet holiday, people have many recreational activities. Young persons take part in the
traditional games such as: tug of war, cooking rice, cock fighting, watching lion dance. Many
people visit relatives to wish a happy new year. Adults will give lucky money to children.
Woman like going to pagoda to wish good things for their family.

Some other celebrations: Christmas, Easter, Mid-Autumn
Why? I like Tet best.
In my opinion, I like cozy and fresh Tet atmosphere. All family members gather and talk
about resolutions for a happy new year. I can hang out with my friend and don't worry about
anything. " Tet" holiday is always in Vietnamese's heart.


DESCRIBE A PARTY YOU HAVE BEEN TO.
I would like to talk about a birthday celebration that I attended 2/3 months ago. It was one of my
friends' birthday who turned 17 that day. My friend's name is Nam and his parents wanted to celebrate
his birthday just before his departure to United Kingdom. Nam invited almost all of his close friends and
6-7 of us attended the birthday celebration together.
The party was celebrated at my friend's house. We went there together and bought a present for
him. After reaching there, Nam and his parents warmly welcomed us. Later Nam introduced us to his
relatives and to some of his neighbors. We were astonished when we saw the huge birthday cake. 17
candles of different colors were lit around the cake and the whole house was redecorated for the
occasion. Anybody could say that some occasion was going on in this house without knowing anything.
We sang the birthday song when Ryan cut the cake. We congratulated him and wished him a
prosperous life ahead. Then we ate cake and had a good feast. The foods were delicious and good. We,

friends of our circle, went to visit a nearby place and sang different songs. In the evening we went to
Ryan's house again and attended a raffle draw. That was a very exciting part of the birthday celebration.
Then after few minutes we left the party and went our homes.

VOLUNTEER WORK
I and my friends often visit Quê Hương Humanitarian center where many orphans are living to
help them
The children are unhappy and miserable. Some of them are orphan, some deaf, some dumb and
others mentally retarded. When I come there, I usually play with them, or tell many funny stories, clean
the house, tidy the rooms, help them do homework. Every month, I and my friends have managed to
collect a lot of books to distribute to the children there, when they get books they are very happy, which
make me happy too.
Volunteering can give me the opportunity to try something new, gain experience, develop skills,
improve my career prospects, build confidence and meet new people. Through volunteering I can: Take
on a challenge - Getting involved in something new can be a real challenge.
In my opinion, The more we give, the happier we feel. Volunteering increases self-confidence. I am
doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment. I role as a
volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity.

a frightening experience.
I am not one who is frightened easily; but I must admit that one night I saw a
figure that struck terror into my heart. It was a moonlit-night. I was returning home on
foot from a town a few miles away. As I was walking, I could hear the noises made by
squirrels, insects and owls. Suddenly, I caught sight of an old lady, a short distance away.
Her head was covered with a white cloth, and she was waving to me. Curious to know
why she was there at that time of the night, I stopped for a while. As I stood there,
however, vague memories of stories about ghosts began to come back to my mind. I was
soon gripped with fear and took to my heels. I ran as fast as I could, and when I reached

home I could hardly speak.

Memorable Experience
One day last summer, I was walking through the local park. It was a hot day and I was eating an icecream. When I was watching many beautiful flowers, I saw my friends, Nam and Lan. They were taking their
dog for a walk. When we met, we stopped for a chat. While we were talking, the dog suddenly jumped up and
tried to get my ice-cream. I pulled my hand away and unfortunately the ice-cream came out of the cone. Now
there was a man behind me. The poor man was just sitting on the bench reading a newspaper. Well, when I pulled
my hand away, the ice-cream flew through the air and it landed on the man’s head. I didn’t know whether to
laugh or cry.

The causes of overpopulation in a given region may include good
food production, improvement in public health, illiteracy, poverty and disease control or prevention. While some
of these causes may seem positive, the effects of overpopulation eventually become negative and may cause
societal ills like unemployment, slum development, insecurity, poor living conditions and resource exhaustion.

Solutions to Overpopulation
Creation of Awareness: in order to ensure that a society does not have to deal with the negative effects of
overpopulation, conducting awareness campaigns can be of great help. Teaching people the importance of having
fewer children is likely to help change attitudes toward reproduction.
Provision of Contraceptives: making contraceptives cheap and available to people can help control the number of
births recorded in each year.
Reducing Incentives: instead of encouraging people to give birth, governments should reduce or eliminate
incentives or programs that encourage childbearing.
Guarantee Education: making it possible for all girls and boys to learn to the highest level can help control early
pregnancies. People that are committed to secondary education are unlikely to become pregnant as they will
focus more on their academic work.
Population Stability Policies: encouraging leaders to focus more on policies that can help stabilize population
growth can also help in management.