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1. Bài mẫu chủ đề Spending time with people – IELTS Speaking part 1
1.1. Are you fond of conversing with others?
Hmm…I would say yes and no. And by saying that I mean I love talking to certain groups of people only. My close friends and I always see eye to eye with each other in almost anything so I can be super chatty when I’m around them. On the other hand, I would avoid maintaining conversations with long-forgotten relatives, or total strangers out on the streets.
- See eye to eye with s.o: ăn ý với ai đó, hiểu ai đó
- Long-forgotten (adj): bị lãng quên từ lâu
1.2. What is your preferred way to spend time with your friends?
You know, we take part in all kinds of activities that youngsters do nowadays, you know, going shopping, visiting the cinemas, partying all night and playing sports. My friends and I are also avid travelers, so we often go on trips together. One of the best parts about traveling with friends is the strengthened bond that develops out of the experience. I can share unique moments and learn new things with my friends throughout our travels.
- Avid traveler (n): người đam mê du lịch
- Strengthen the bond: thắt chặt tình cảm
1.3. Would you rather study alone or with companions?
Self-study, I’d say, because it allows me to set the perfect study environment so I get the most out of studying. It helps me to find out study tactics that are the most effective for my learning style. What I often do is to make my own study plans and try to work on them by myself first, then only discuss further with my friends if I ever needed different insights and perspectives on the materials.
- Get the most out of s.th: phát huy tối đa hiệu quả của việc gì
- Study tactics (n): phương pháp học tập
- Insight (n): ý tứ sâu sắc
- Perspective (n): khía cạnh
1.4. Can you recall a situation where you had to collaborate with others?
I do. Last semester my friends and I had an important school project which required us to pull all-nighters to finish. After weeks of relentless hard work, we finally made it, right in the nick of time. It was such a relief that we completed it the task, and I was glad to have supportive teammates by my side.
- Pull an all-nighter: thức đêm (học bài, làm việc,…)
- Relentless (adj): không ngừng nghỉ
- In the nick of time: vừa kịp lúc
2. Discuss a person you enjoy spending time with in IELTS Speaking part 2
You are required to say:
- Who this person is
- How you knew him/her
- What you usually do together
Example
And clarify why you enjoy spending time with him/her
Today, I want to share about a friend whom I love spending time with. This person is Annie, not just my closest friend but also someone who has had a significant impact on me.
I believe I should talk about how we got to know each other. She was the first person I get acquainted with in college, because she was sitting next to me while we were waiting for the lecturer to come. As a sociable 18-year-old girl, Annie immediately broke the ice by asking me a lot of questions. We hit it off right away, and we were able to pull jokes as if we had known each other for years. As time goes by, we turned out to be really close-knit.
It feels like Annie and I see eye to eye in almost anything. As we have a lot in common, we often do things that we both enjoy like eating, shopping and travelling. Sometimes we can simply lie next to each other, confiding about daily stuff, which makes us realize how much we were on the same page.
Most importantly, I want to talk about the reason why I like spending time with Annie. You know what they say, human energy is contagious and I have never befriended with such a positive energised person like her. She often makes me feel recharged and uplifted just by being by her side.
I always found her in a jubilant mood in spite of the fact that she had a very troublesome incident in her life as well, and this has contributed a lot in my outlook towards life. Besides, she is also a smart cookie who often comes up with brilliant ideas. More than just a friend, she is like a mentor that I can always turn to for help and constructive advice when in adversity.
Words cannot describe how much I love my bestie, and I cannot wait for our next get-together.
Vocabulary
- Get acquainted with s.o: làm quen ai đó
- Break the ice: phá vỡ bầu không khí ngột ngạt, bắt chuyện
- Hit it off: hợp nhau ngay từ lần đầu gặp
- Pull jokes: chọc cười
- Close-knit (adj): thân thiết
- See eye to eye: hiểu nhau
- Have s.th in common: có điểm chung
- Confide (v): tâm sự
- Be on the same page: hiểu nhau
- Contagious (adj): có tính lây lan
- Be recharged: được nạp lại năng lượng (tích cực)
- Outlook (n): cái nhìn (về cuộc sống)
- A smart cookie: một người thông minh
- Come up with s.th: nghĩ ra gì đó
- Constructive (adj): có tính đóng góp, xây dựng
- Get-together (n): cuộc gặp
3. Sample topic on Spending time with people – IELTS Speaking part 3
3.1. Những người dễ hòa đồng với nhau là những ai?
From my observation, there are several factors deciding if a person is easy to be on good terms with others. The most important thing is that they need to be emotionally stable, meaning that they are not prone to negative emotional experiences like anxiety and depression.
Talking to easily-offended people is a real pain in the neck, as you have to mind your p’s and q’s at all times in order to avoid upsetting them. People who are open-minded, chatty and agreeable are also easily befriended with, as they value new experiences and differing points of view instead of overreacting about them.
- Be on good terms with s.o: có mối quan hệ tốt đẹp với ai đó
- Emotionally stable (adj): ổn định về mặt cảm xúc
- Overreact (v): phản ứng thái quá
3.2. Lãnh đạo làm thế nào để hòa hợp với cấp dưới?
Theo ý kiến của tôi, một nhà lãnh đạo nhóm xuất sắc phải trước tiên là một nhà lãnh đạo tốt. Anh ta cần hỗ trợ đồng đội đúng thời điểm và học cách hiểu những gì họ muốn và cần. Khi sự tin tưởng được xây dựng giữa các cá nhân, mối quan hệ giữa họ chắc chắn sẽ mạnh mẽ hơn. Một điều khác mà một nhà lãnh đạo có thể làm để cải thiện mối quan hệ với cấp dưới là thật thà khi anh ta kết nối với nhóm của mình.
Life does not always revolve around work and making profits, so people need to know that their manager cares about them personally and not just what he can get out of them. This gets them to bond with him as their leader in a different way rather than him just being their boss.
- Revolve around s.o/ s.th (v): xoay quanh ai/ cái gì
3.3. Are people currently able to find personal time?
Apparently no, sadly speaking. Most people nowadays are strapped for time due to extreme busyness and long work hours as an indispensable part of their lives. Besides the “overwork culture”, people also have to live under a lot of pressure having to perform family duties while maintaining relationships.
These heavy burdens have led to people somehow forgetting about who they actually are, what they are passionate about and they have also prevented people from simply letting their hair down every now and then. I guess life is not at all easy, but having to suffer from time scarcity is a pressing concern of modern life.
- Be strapped for s.th: thiếu thốn trầm trọng
- Indispensible (adj): không thể thiếu
- Let one’s hair down: thư giãn
- Time scarcity (n): sự thiếu thốn thời gian
- Pressing concern (n): vấn đề cần giải quyết
