#7 - IELTS Speaking Test in Sydney - March 2016

Test # 7

- What is your full name?

My name is (name)_(father's name)_(surname)

- Can I see your ID?

Yes sure!

- Where are you from?

I’m from the biggest city of Gujarat, Ahmedabad.

- Do you work or study?

I work as a junior software developer in a private firm.

- Do you like snacks?

Yes I love snacks, especially fried ones.

- What is your favorite snack?

My favourite snack is potato chips. I like eating the masala flavoured chips from a company called Uncle Chips. I also like the tomato flavoured chips from Lay’s.

- Do you still like the same snacks as when you were a child?

Yes I never outgrew my love for potato chips. I used to love eating potato wafers in childhood and I still do.

- Is swimming popular in your home country? Why?

It is becoming popular since the last 2-3 years. People in my country considered swimming as a leisure time activity and not as a sport for commoners or as an activity that helps you stay fit. This mentality is changing now.

- How important is it for kids to learn swimming?

I think all kids should know how to swim. Basically if they are in any water related emergencies they’ll know their way out of them. Secondly, developing a habit of swimming from childhood will encourage them to swim more in adulthood thereby keeping their body fit.

- Why do you think so?

I think people overhype cricket and football a lot in my country and kids generally do not initiate learning more sports in their life. This is one of the many reasons I feel children should learn swimming.

Cue Card

Describe a success that you had in your life. Please say

- What was it?

- When and where did it take place?

- How did it affect your life?

It happened 2 years back when I used to work in another software company in Ahmedabad as a trainee. I had joined this company for learning some on-hand experience about how I need to work and behave in corporates. The academics in India in my field do not provide sufficient practical training so when I get out of college to get a job, I am basically clueless about the code of conduct in offices. So coming back, I used to do all sorts of odd jobs in this company like typing a document for someone, taking prints out, and such work which was not fully related to my field. 3 months into the job I started feeling the need to show my employer my potential. I asked him to give me a project in which I could put my academics to use. He was skeptical about it so he assigned me to a software developer just to observe his work, which didn’t satisfy me much. One day he was absent and his work was pending. I decided to take this chance and complete the software code that he was creating. I spent the whole day on that and stayed late till 9 pm that night, but I successfully finished it, and mailed it to my boss. The next day I was fearing a scolding, but to my surprise the boss came to my desk and praised me for my work, as the code that I created was difficult to get completed in one day. He applauded me in front of everyone and declared me as the employee of the month. It was a proud feeling at that time, and although small but I consider it one of my first successes out of the comforts of my school and college.

Discussion

- Do you think success is important? Why?

Yes it is because success drives to you be more ambitious and push yourself constantly to out-shine your previous self.

- Why do you think people enjoy success more than the process of achieving success?

The process of achieving success has a lot of struggles and hurdles. Some people also quit midway. But even after enduring all the difficulties if you’re able to achieve what you wanted, definitely that feeling would be a better one.

- Do you think success equals happiness? Why?

Yes I agree to that and I’d like to explain that giving my own example. I feel happy when I get successful in some task. That whole day becomes a cheerful one for me. I’m sure the same happens for a lot of other people as well. When you work hard towards something and you get it, it makes you very happy.