B1 speaking

I. Introdution
II. Topic

UNIT 1. Animals

Describe an interesting animal

If anyone ever asks me about the animal that I am into, I wouldn’t hesitate to say it is cats.

Truth be told, I have a pet cat at home which is so adorable and curious, and I think that I will never
get enough of it. About this one, I brought it home a year ago from a veterinarian when he was only
2 months old, and I have been living with him since then.

This kind of 4-leg animal is exhilarating as it possesses strange traits. The first worth-mentioning one
is that he is curious about anything around him. Therefore, he always scrutinizes me when I perform
daily tasks and loves to sniff anything he may find. Secondly, he really leads a sedentary life when
most of the time he lazes around the house doing nothing. According to some research, cats are
likely to sleep up to 16 hours a day, which helps save them a lot of energy for hunting or mating.
Even after being domesticated, cats have never given up on this habit, but many people may find
this cute and irresistible. The third trait I would like to mention is that cats are very smart as they are
rather observers than performers. To put it simply, they observe everything, and if we try to teach
them some tricks with enough treats, they would master it in no time.

All in all, cats are my favorite animals, and they have ruled my life until today. I hope that we will be
with each other for a long time.

1. Bài mẫu IELTS Speaking chủ đề Animal - Part 1

Ở Part 1, bạn sẽ được hỏi những câu hỏi chung mang tính chất gần gũi xoay quanh bản thân và cuộc
sống hàng ngày. Những chủ đề phổ biến thường thấy như: Hobbies, Study, Family, Job. Phần thi này sẽ
kéo dài từ 4 - 5 phút.

Câu hỏi: What’s your favorite animal? Why?

I love dogs since they are one of the most loyal animals. They will always protect you no matter what.
Moreover, they'll be the ones who lift your spirits up whenever you are feeling down. No wonder, a lot
of people consider dogs their friends or even members of their family.

Vocabulary ghi điểm:

Loyal animals (n): Động vật trung thành

Lift your spirits up (v): Nâng cao tinh thần của bạn

No wonder; Hèn chi, thảo nào

Câu hỏi:
+ Do you like going to the zoo?

To be honest, I am really into exploring the animal kingdom, so zoos are the perfect places for
me to get to know more about mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. In my city, there is a
spacious zoo where I frequently visit to take photos of animals and feed them, which is exhilarating.

Vocabulary ghi điểm:

I am really into exploring: Tôi thực sự thích khám phá

Animal kingdom (n): Thế giới động vật

Mammals (n): Động vật có vú

Reptiles (n): Bò sát

Amphibians (n): Động vật lưỡng cư

Exhilarating (adj): cảm thấy phấn khởi

Câu hỏi: Why do some people keep pets at home?

Definitely, there are many good reasons to share your home with a furry friend, but I believe
one of the most compelling is that pets are really an augmentation of our families. When someone is
feeling down or exhausted, they may help reduce tension and lift their spirits. This is why many people
consider their cats and dogs to be part of the family.

Vocabulary ghi điểm:

Compelling (adj): mang tính thuyết phục

Augmentation (n): sự gia tăng

Reduce tension (n): giảm căng thẳng

Câu hỏi: Do you think cities are suitable places for keeping a pet

From my standpoint, no. You know, as metropolises are areas of bumper-to-bumper traffic and are
another definition of a concrete jungle, pets are exposed to the risk of being involved in traffic accidents
or lack of playing spaces.

Vocabulary ghi điểm:

Bumper-to-bumper (idiom): Tình trạng giao thông ùn tắc

Concrete jungle (n): Khu vực nhiều nhà cao tầng, chỉ các thành phố.

Are exposed to (v): trải nghiệm thứ gì đó (thường là tiêu cực)

Câu hỏi: Describe an interesting animal

If anyone ever asks me about the animal that I am into, I wouldn’t hesitate to say it is cats.
Truth be told, I have a pet cat at home which is so adorable and curious, and I think that I will never get
enough of it. About this one, I brought it home a year ago from a veterinarian when he was only 2
months old, and I have been living with him since then.

This kind of 4-leg animal is exhilarating as it possesses strange traits. The first worth-mentioning one is
that he is curious about anything around him. Therefore, he always scrutinizes me when I perform daily
tasks and loves to sniff anything he may find. Secondly, he really leads a sedentary life when most of the
time he lazes around the house doing nothing. According to some research, cats are likely to sleep up to
16 hours a day, which helps save them a lot of energy for hunting or mating. Even after being
domesticated, cats have never given up on this habit, but many people may find this cute and
irresistible. The third trait I would like to mention is that cats are very smart as they are rather observers
than performers. To put it simply, they observe everything, and if we try to teach them some tricks with
enough treats, they would master it in no time.

All in all, cats are my favorite animals, and they have ruled my life until today. I hope that we will be with
each other for a long time.

UNIT 2: Customs and Tradition

+ What’s your favorite holiday?

Okay so well besides the Tet holiday which I’m quite sure that every one of you is familiar with,
Christmas is also one of my all-time favorite festive occasions. Although it’s not a traditional holiday in
Vietnam and non-Christians like us would not attach any religious importance to it, I still feel the joyful
atmosphere prevailing everywhere from cafes to stores and shopping malls whenever Christmas comes.

+ How do you celebrate festivals in your country?

Woah, isn’t this tricky? Let’s see… Each festival is quite one of a kind, but I always make a point
of having outings or small dates with my extended family and close-knit friends. We’d enjoy festival food
and do some common rituals that vary for each festival. So, take the Mid-autumn festival as an example,
every year I would go to the Old Quarter to see the different toys specifically made for this holiday.

+ How do you celebrate festivals in your country?

To be honest, I have lost count of the festivals in Vietnam because there are so many.
Depending on the occasion, Vietnamese people will have their own celebration. Most of the time people
usually celebrate festivals by joining in the festivities with their friends and loved ones. Also, with some
festivals like the Hung King festival, people will take this time to pay tribute to ancestors.

What special food and activities do you have for these festivals?

How do you celebrate spring Festivals?

What do people do to celebrate this holiday in your country?

Từ vựng:

Festive occasions: các dịp lễ hội

Attach any religious importance to: theo tín ngưỡng, tôn giáo
One of a kind: độc nhất vô nhị

Outing (n.): họp mặt, gặp mặt

Extended family: đại gia đình

Close-knit friend: bạn thân

Ritual (n.): nghi thức

Pay tribute to: tỏ lòng thành kính, tôn vinh

Ancestor (n.): tổ tiên

PART 2

Mẫu câu hỏi và câu trả lời:

+ What’s your favorite holiday?

Okay so well besides the Tet holiday which I’m quite sure that every one of you is familiar with,
Christmas is also one of my all-time favorite festive occasions. Although it’s not a traditional holiday in
Vietnam and non-Christians like us would not attach any religious importance to it, I still feel the joyful
atmosphere prevailing everywhere from cafes to stores and shopping malls whenever Christmas comes.

+ How do you celebrate festivals in your country?

Woah, isn’t this tricky? Let’s see… Each festival is quite one of a kind, but I always make a point
of having outings or small dates with my extended family and close-knit friends. We’d enjoy festival food
and do some common rituals that vary for each festival. So, take the Mid-autumn festival as an example,
every year I would go to the Old Quarter to see the different toys specifically made for this holiday.

+ How do you celebrate festivals in your country?

To be honest, I have lost count of the festivals in Vietnam because there are so many.
Depending on the occasion, Vietnamese people will have their own celebration. Most of the time people
usually celebrate festivals by joining in the festivities with their friends and loved ones. Also, with some
festivals like the Hung King festival, people will take this time to pay tribute to ancestors.

What special food and activities do you have for these festivals?

How do you celebrate spring Festivals?

What do people do to celebrate this holiday in your country?

Từ vựng:

Festive occasions: các dịp lễ hội

Attach any religious importance to: theo tín ngưỡng, tôn giáo

One of a kind: độc nhất vô nhị

Extended family: đại gia đình

Close-knit friend: bạn thân

Ritual (n.): nghi thức

Pay tribute to: tỏ lòng thành kính, tôn vinh

Ancestor (n.): tổ tiên

PART 2

Mẫu câu hỏi:

My favorite holiday is Tet – one of the most important national celebrations in Vietnamese culture. We
celebrate Tet annually in January or February in the Gregorian calendar and it is considered the biggest
occasion for family and friends’ reunions.

While Lunar New Year can be regarded as quite a cliché event to describe, I think there are still many
intriguing facets of it to mention. As Tet is the biggest celebration in Vietnam, schools and shops are
often closed and workers would get around 2 weeks of holiday. Vietnamese people usually return to
their families during Tết.

Some worship at the family altar or visit their ancestors’ graves in their homeland. What I love the most
about Tet is Tet food. We get to cook and make very special dishes like banh chung, banh giay or nem
ran. Thanks to the exquisite taste of these dishes, after Lunar New Year, I often gain a lot of weight.
Other customs and traditions that my family usually practice during Tết are quite exhilarating too.

We often exchange New Year’s greetings, decorate the house with apricot flowers or peach blossoms,
give lucky money to children and elderly people, or simply hang out on the streets to immerse myself in
the distinctive atmosphere of Tet.

Tet is my favorite festival because it is one of the rare occasions where I get to reunite with my relatives
and visit my grandparents. As we often return to our homeland during Tet holiday, it is a breath of fresh
air from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Tet is a break from work and an opportunity for us to forget our worries and troubles of last year, bask
in the warmth from friends and family’s company and enjoy the cheery, festive spirit. Thus, Tet teaches
me to appreciate the people around me, as well as the traditional festivals that are indispensable.

Từ vựng:

Gregorian calendar: lịch Dương

Cliché (adj.): rập khuôn

Intriguing (adj.): thú vị

Facet (n.): khía cạnh

Ancestor (n.): tổ tiên

Exquisite (adj.): rất ngon, tuyệt hảo

Exhilarating (adj.): phấn khích

Immerse myself in: đắm chìm trong

Distinctive (adj.): đặc biệt, riêng có

Hustle and bustle: sự xô bồ

Bask in (v.): hưởng thụ

Company (n.): sự bầu bạn

Indispensable (adj.): không thể thiếu

PART 3

Mẫu câu hỏi và câu trả lời:

Do you think festivals are important?

I would say yes with no hesitation. Festivals are extremely important in any culture. They all provide us
with brilliant opportunities to express our gratitude to the country's forefathers and heroes.
Furthermore, festivals bring people time to get away from the hectic daily life and return to themselves
as well as their beloved ones, which, indeed, will bring a great deal of inspiration to anyone.

How do people in Vietnam value traditional festivals?

Oh, absolutely. In fact, I think we do take the word ‘value’ to a whole new level. Our country has over
8000 festivals every year, some of which are held at the national level, and some are only local
celebrations. No matter the scale, though, most Vietnamese go to great lengths to ensure that the
traditional customs are celebrated after meticulous planning and preparation. The elders also make a lot
of effort in passing down the meanings and ceremonies involved in these festivals to the young
generation.

What’s the difference between the ways festivals are celebrated now and in the past?

Well, the standard of living in Vietnam has improved dramatically over the last decades so there have
been drastic changes in festival celebrations. I suppose the most obvious difference is that in the past,
people put more effort and time in celebrating such events so they used to be far more elaborate and
authentic. In recent years, however, the majority of local traditions and festivals have been simplified or
westernized to fit the modern hectic lifestyle. For example, most Vietnamese people are no longer
wearing traditional clothes on Lunar New Year Holiday. Additionally, today’s festive foods are often
ordered from catering services rather than be prepared by the family, which might indicate that local
people place somewhat less significance on such traditions.

Do you think it is wrong for young people to not celebrate traditional festivals?
Do you think western festivals are replacing traditional festivals in Vietnam?

Từ vựng:

Hesitation (n.): sự do dự

Scale (n.): cấp độ

Go to great lengths: cố gắng rất nhiều để làm điều gì đó

Meticulous (adj.): cẩn thận, kỹ càng

Pass down (v.): truyền lại

Drastic (adj.): quyết liệt

Westernize (v.): tây hóa

The modern hectic lifestyle: lối sống bận rộn hiện đại

Festive food: thức ăn lễ hội

Significance (n.): ý nghĩa

TRADITIONS

PART 1

Mẫu câu hỏi và câu trả lời

Do you like to wear traditional costumes?

Occasionally, I think it’s a nice way to express my artistic side. But, you know, Vietnam is hot and humid
so wearing costumes can be quite uncomfortable.

Did you try any traditional costumes when you were young?

Yes. When I was very young, I went on a tour to Hue where the imperial city was located. And the tour
guide took me to a place where I dressed up as a king and posed on a throne for a picture. I still have
that picture.

What are some forms of traditional dancing in your country?

Folk dancing is quite popular, even among young people, The dancers wear traditional costume, which
looks beautiful. My favourite is a circle dance performed by women, but there’s also a marching dance
and a couple dance. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the choreography of these dances, I just
know I like watching them

Do you ever buy special costumes?

When was your last time to wear special costumes?

Từ vựng:

Express (v.): thể hiện

Humid (adj.): ẩm

Dress up as: hóa thân thành

Pose (v.): tạo dáng chụp ảnh

Throne (n.): Ngai vàng

Folk dancing: múa dân gian

Choreography (n.): vũ đạo

PART 2

Mẫu câu hỏi:

Describe an interesting tradition in your country

Describe a traditional product in your country

Mẫu câu trả lời:

Question: Describe an interesting tradition in your country

You should say:

What that festival is

When it is celebrated

How it is celebrated

And explain why it is so important in your country.

Well, if I am to describe an interesting tradition in my country, I would talk about ancestor veneration, a
very popular tradition across Asia including Vietnam. In my opinion, this tradition is obviously the most
unifying aspect of Vietnamese culture because it is easy to find an ancestor altar in nearly every single
Vietnamese household regardless of religious affiliation. There is also a common belief that the
deceased has an influence on the fortune of the living so Vietnamese people usually carry out these
ceremonies not only to show their filial duty but also to ask for guidance, counsel, and sometimes
protection from their ancestors whenever they need.

Actually, I’ve known this practice since I was little when I saw my parents and grandparents always
celebrate the death anniversaries of our deceased ancestors. During these occasions, as I remember,
incense sticks and hell notes are usually burnt, along with platters of food being served on the altars as
offerings. The reason why I think this is a very interesting tradition in Vietnam is that women are
traditionally allowed to participate in and co-officiate ancestral rites, unlike in Chinese Confucian
doctrine, which only lets the male descendants perform such rituals. I firmly believe that traditions like
this should be passed onto the next generation in Vietnam so that young Vietnamese citizens can know
about them and preserve them as a way to show respect to their ancestors.

Từ vựng:

Ancestor veneration: thờ cúng tổ tiên

Unifying (adj.): thống nhất

Ancestor altar: bàn thờ tổ tiên

Religious affiliation: tôn giáo

Incense sticks: que hương

Ancestral rites: nghi thức tổ tiên

Chinese Confucian doctrine: học thuyết nho giáo Trung Quốc

Ritual (n.): nghi thức

PART 3

Mẫu câu hỏi và câu trả lời:

+ Why are traditional products important?

The reasons vary. Firstly, they represent the significant features of the regions. By that I mean,
they can be weather conditions, culture or history. For example, green beans prefer warm weather, so
they can be easily seen in tropical countries like Vietnam. Secondly, traditional products can be sold to
visitors, which provides a source of income for the locals. As mentioned, each region offers something
different from what can be found in the tourists’ home countries, so they’re likely to buy some
specialities when travelling.

What are the traditional Vietnamese products?

Vietnam is very famous for its cuisine. Mid-Autumn festival is around the corner, so Moon Cake has just
come to my mind. It is a round-shaped cake with various Vietnamese floral patterns on the surface. In
addition, Vietnamese dress is also something that appeals to me very much. It can be seen in quite a lot
of movies including some from Hollywood. I suppose that the dress could be considered one of the
symbols of Vietnamese culture.

Why is it important for children to learn about traditional products?

The way I see it, tradition needs to be preserved from generation to generation. And one of the ways is
to teach children about traditional products. They’re gonna know where they come from, what
specialties they have within the country, partly contributing to their identity when they become grown-
ups. Additionally, some of the children are inclined to take an interest in some traditional products
which can be their future careers. When they are able to earn big money from these, tradition, at the
same time, lives on.

Do you think tradition is important for a country? Why?

Từ vựng:

Tropical countries: các nước nhiệt đới

The locals: người địa phương

Home countries: nước sở tại

Around the corner: cận kề

Appeal to sb (v.): hấp dẫn ai

The way I see it: Theo cách tôi nhìn nhận

Grown-ups: lớn lên

Are inclined: có xu hướng

Take an interest in: quan tâm đến

Earn big money: kiếm được khoản tiền lớn

Unit 3: History
+ Do you like to learn about history?

Yes. I’m into reading about the past events of Vietnam and other countries. The historical period
of the Nguyen dynasty, which was the last imperial family of my country is always of interest to me.

+ What historical event do you find interesting?

Well, I think this question is really putting me on the spot because my recollections about
historical events are pretty hazy. Having said that I think the first event that spring to mind is probably
Independence Day, which is the biggest milestone in Vietnamese history. Because it marks the day when
Vietnam has become a sovereign state. I mean Vietnam is totally free from French colonization.

+ Do you think history is important?

Definitely. History is the backbone of any society. Because it helps instil in every citizen a sense
of patriotism. And we can acquire a deeper understanding formidable feats of our forefathers. When
Vietnam is at war with many powerful nations, we can know that against all the odds, the Vietnam army
triumphed.

+ Describe a historical place in Vietnam

It’s one of the links between the central part of Hanoi and the east side of the city. Because the bridge is
so old, it has been in place to witness many crucial events in Hanoi’s history. Long Bien had been fixed
many times when it was bombed during the war, and afterward, when we constructed more modern
bridges for dense motor traffic, this bridge became for cyclists and pedestrians only.

Nowadays, the Long Bien is seldom taken by commuters, but it doesn’t feel any less important. It
actually has a role in adorning the landscape of Hanoi since it is so photogenic. The scenery on the Red
River becomes livelier with it, so you can understand why some consider Long Bien to be Hanoi’s
signature landmark.

For me, this bridge is also a part of my life because it’s my favorite spot to cycle. I can’t remember since
when I’ve felt an attachment to this place. The Long Bien is certainly ancient by today’s standards, which
is why I believe the government should spend some money maintaining it. But at the same time, the
work should be done in a way that allows the bridge to retain its structural beauty.