[ACE THE TEST] Sample IELTS Speaking Test from April 2, 2022

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Sky and stars

Example

1. Do you enjoy observing the sky? Why?

Oh Definitely. When I am overloaded, staring at a star-studded night sky can actually help me alleviate stress. I and my girlfriend sometimes sit on the balcony with some crackers and bubble tea tumblers to enjoy the night sky after a hectic week.

• Star-studded night sky (n): bầu trời đêm đầy sao
• Alleviate stress (v): giảm stress
• Bubble tea tumbler (n): ly trà sữa trân châu
• Hectic (adj): bận rộn

→ After a stressful week of work and study, it's understandable to relieve stress by gazing at the sky. Add some details about what you do while observing the sky to make your answer more vivid.

2. Are you able to see the moon and stars at night where you reside?

Well, residing in a concrete jungle like Ho Chi Minh city leaves me less chances to obverse the moon and stars. I have to move away from the city center where there are many skyscrapers to easily catch sight of the moon and stars.

• Reside (v): sinh sống
• Concrete jungle (n): nơi có rất nhiều toà nhà
• Skyscraper (n): toà nhà chọc trời
• Catch sight of s.th: nhìn thấy cái gì 

→ In large cities like Ho Chi Minh City, where there are many tall buildings, it's challenging to see the moon and stars. You can also elaborate on how to make it easier to see the moon and stars.

3. Do you prefer the morning sky or the night sky?

If I were to choose, I would prefer looking at the night sky as I am quite caught up in my job in the daytime and to me, the night sky is much more fascinating because at night, we can actually see countless glittering stars which are hard to be visible during the day.

→ In optional questions like these, express your answer naturally with phrases like: 'If I were to choose, I would...' This not only diversifies your answer but also enhances grammar points.

• To be caught up in s.th (idiom): bận rộn với cái gì đó
• Fascinating (adj): thú vị
• Glittering (adj): lấp lánh
• Visible (adj): có thể thấy được

4. Are there good spots to view the sky where you live?

As mentioned above, I am currently living in Ho Chi Minh city and such a metropolis is not an ideal place to look at the sky since there are many high-rise buildings erected, which may hinder us from observing the sky

→ The phrase 'As mentioned above, ...' links this answer's content with the previous one.

• Metropolis (n): thành phố lớn
• Ideal (adj): lí tưởng
• High-rise building (n): toà nhà cao tầng
• Hinder (v): cản trở
• Observe (v): quan sát

5. Would you like to live on other planets?

Honestly, travelling to other planets has never crossed my mind, let alone spending my life outside the Earth. However, with the advent of modern technologies, I believe my descendants are possibly able to dwell on other planets.

→ Có lẽ việc sống trên một hành tinh khác hiện tại có vẻ không thể thực hiện được, vì vậy chúng ta có thể khẳng định rằng đó chưa bao giờ xuất hiện trong tâm trí tôi ( … has never crossed my mind). Tuy nhiên, thế hệ sau của chúng ta vẫn có thể suy nghĩ về điều này, phải không nào!

• Has never crossed my mind: chưa bao giờ xuất hiện trong tấm trí tôi.
• Let alone (idiom): huống hồ là
• Descendant (n): con cháu đời sau, hậu duệ
• Dwell (v): cư ngụ, sinh sống

IELTS Speaking Phần 2: Mô tả một lần bạn không nói sự thật với bạn bè của bạn

You should say:

• What happened
• Why you did not tell the truth
• Who you did not tell the truth to

And express your feelings about this.

Example

Well, I must say lying is really unacceptable to me and honestly, I am not a good liar. But sometimes, making a white lie can actually result in positive effects. Now, I am going to tell you how I lied to one of my fellow workers – My who is also my best friend as well.

My has been an outstanding employee for many years and she has set a good example in my company since she has always completed her own missions with a powerful mindset. To that end, she shows no signs of giving up on her tasks and goes the extra miles to get everything done. Besides, she usually bends over backwards to help others, which allows her to endears herself to people around her.

To my best recollection, in order to secretly celebrate her 30th birthday, I and other colleagues asked her to come to a high-end restaurant to have dinner and meet a new client of our company. She immediately agreed upon that invitation without suspecting a thing.

We booked a VIP room to set up a memorable birthday party for her that night which was kept close to our chest. As soon as she entered the room, The “Happy Birthday” song came up to her surprise and everybody in the room sang it along. She was taken back by what we had done for her and burst into tears. Later on, each of us gave her our presents and we totally had a blast together.

From my perspective, lying is not really a serious matter if we do it in appropriate situations and in some cases, making white lies can even spark a lot of joy and happiness.

→ Chúng ta có thể bắt đầu bằng cách nói rằng chúng tôi không thích nói dối nhưng đôi khi lời nói dối cũng mang lại những kết quả tích cực. Sau đó, chúng ta có thể bắt đầu câu chuyện về việc nói dối với câu diễn đạt: 'Hôm nay, tôi sẽ kể cho bạn nghe...' Đó là một câu chuyện về việc không nói sự thật cho bạn bè của mình, vì vậy trong câu hỏi này, chúng ta có thể bổ sung thêm chi tiết về người bạn đó và sau đó mô tả cách chúng ta đã nói dối họ như thế nào!

Vocabulary

• White lie (n): lời nói dối vô hại
• Go the extra mile: nỗ lực hết mình
• Bend over backwards: nỗ lực làm gì đó cho người khác
• Endear oneself to someone (v): Khiên ai đó yêu mến
• High-end restaurant (n): nhà hàng sang trọng
• Keep something close to someone’s chest: giữ bí mật về cái gì đó
• To be taken aback: ngạc nhiên
• Burst into tears: bật khóc
• Have a blast: vui vẻ
• Spark a lot of joy and happiness: tạo ra rất nhiều niềm vui và sự hạnh phúc.

IELTS Speaking Part 3: Dealing with lies

Example

1. Do people in your country judge others when they lie?

In my opinion, attitude toward lying has changed recently. Most of the time, people in my nation usually take whether lies are done with good intentions into account before giving a final judgment on those who make them. For example, if a doctor tells a little girl a lie about her father’s health condition when things are getting worse, her relatives will empathise with him.

→ Có thể đề cập đến quan điểm của người dân trong nước về việc nói dối đã thay đổi như thế nào để trả lời. Sau đó, hãy đưa ra một ví dụ để làm ý của chúng ta thêm thuyết phục.

• good intention (n): ý định tốt
• take something into account: xem xét kĩ cái gì đó
• empathise (v): thông cảm

2. How can we distinguish between a white lie and other lies?

Well, it depends on our basic instincts and experiences. I mean some people are pretty good at detecting a white lie by observing gestures and facial expressions and I am quite unsure of my ability, just to tell you the truth. So, giving you how to spot a white lie is really beyond my knowledge.

→ Lời khuyên cho câu trả lời này là hãy thừa nhận rằng mình không có kiến thức về vấn đề này. Tuy nhiên, đừng chỉ đơn giản trả lời 'I don’t know', mà hãy trình bày những gì bạn biết và thật lòng với ban giám khảo rằng vấn đề này nằm ngoài hiểu biết của bạn (… beyond my knowledge). Với cách trả lời này, dù bạn không có thông tin về vấn đề này, ban giám khảo vẫn sẽ đánh giá cao bạn!

• basic instinct (n): bản năng
• gesture (n): cử chỉ
• facial expression (n): biểu hiện trên khuôn mặt
• beyond someone’s knowledge (phrase): ngoài sự hiểu biết của ai đó

3. Is it acceptable to tell small lies?

For the most part, white lies are often innocuous. If we are truly aware of the consequences when making white lies, it will be socially accepted.

→ “White lies” thì thường không gây hại. Chỉ cần xem xét kỹ lưỡng hậu quả trước khi nói thì nó vẫn có thể chấp nhận được.

• for the most part (phrase): đa phần
• innocuous (adj): vô thưởng vô phạt
• socially accepted (adj): được xã hội công nhận

4. What are the reasons why some people continue to tell lies?

There are a host of reasons behind this. In some circumstances, not revealing the truth is deemed better for the listener’s feeling. A student who doesn’t want his parents to fret about his difficulties at school, for instance, may lie to them. However, some are of the opinion that telling a lie is a good way to avoid punishments. To illustrate, a driver who is pulled over for speeding by traffic wardens will make up a story on his wife being hospitalized so that he won’t get any hefty fine.

• To be deemed: được cho là
• Fret (v) : lo lắng
• To illustrate (phrase): Để minh hoạ
• Pull over (v): tấp vào lề
• Traffic warden (n): cảnh sát giao thông
• Make up a story (v): dựng một câu chuyện
• Hefty fine (n): tiền phạt nặng