21. Dream job
1. What was the dream job for you when you were young?
When I was young I wanted to become a pilot
2. Have you changed your mind on your dream job?
Yes I have changed my mind as it is very expensive to become a pilot and it involves lot of studies.But I still plan to take flying lessons.
3. What do you plan to do in the future?
Personal Answer
4. What kinds of jobs are popular in your country?
In my country computer or IT related jobs are more popular these days because these are well paid jobs.
5. Have you had full-time or part-time job before?
Personal Answer
22. Animals
1. Do you like animals?
Yes, I like animals. I think they are all unique and beautiful creations of nature and form an important part of our ecosystem.
2. What’s your favourite animal? (Why?)
My favourite animal is dog because I think it is the most affectionate and the most loyal animal. Dogs make excellent companions for humans.
3. What’s your favourite wild animal? (Why?)
My favourite wild animal is a tiger because I think tigers are beautiful creatures and they look very regal.
4. Are people in your country fond of animals?
Yes, in my country many people are fond of animals. Many people keep pet animals.
5. Do many people in your country keep animals at home (or, keep a pet)? OR Do people in your country like to raise animals?
Yes, people in my country like to keep pet animals. People keep dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish, etc. as pets.
6. What kinds of animals do people in in your county (or, hometown) keep? OR What kinds of pets do the people have in your hometown?
People in my hometown/country have different types of pets like dogs, cats, birds, fish, rabbits, etc.
7. Compared with the past, have there been any changes concerning pets in your country/hometown?
I think the only change I can think of is that the number of homes that have pets have increased.Also, there are many people who have started adopting the stray dogs and cats, instead of buying them from a breeder.
8. Do you think pets are important?
Yes, definitely. Pets act as stress reliever and are also said to be therapeutic. They act as good companions and provide security. They also teach us about responsibility and unconditional love.
9. Do you think cities are suitable places for keeping a pet?
Yes, cities are suitable to keep small pets like cats, smaller breeds of dogs, fish, etc.
Farm Animals
10. What farm animals do you have in your country?
There are many farm animals in my country, like cows, goats, sheep, buffalos, horses, hens, etc.
11. Do you think farm animals are important?
Yes, I think farm animals are important. They are a source of income for many people, especially in the rural areas. They provide us many products like milk, eggs, wool, meat and they can be used for farming, like to plough and till the land.
12. How are these animals used? OR In what ways are animals used in agriculture in your country?
Farm animals are used for their products, like eggs, milk, meat etc. or in the fields to plough and to till the land for the crops.
13. Do you think raising farm animals is important?
Yes, it is important to raise farm animals, as it is a source of livelihood and income for many people living in the rural areas. Also, they provide us with many products.
Wild Animals
14. What’s the most famous wild animal from your country?
India is a diverse country and many wild animals are found in India. However, I believe that the Bengal Tiger is the most famous wild animal in my country and it is also our national animal.
15. What’s your favourite wild animal (from your country)?
The Bengal Tiger is my favourite wild animal.
23. Dictionary
1. Do you often use a dictionary?If yes, how often and what for? If no, why not? If not very often, say how often and why not very often?
Yes, I use a dictionary very often, in fact daily. I am a student and I read a lot of text related to my studies. I often come across words I don’t know the meaning of and I use the dictionary to look up the meaning and synonyms.
2. Do you prefer to use an electronic dictionary or a dictionary made of paper?
I prefer to use the electronic dictionary now as it is very convenient and I can easily search for a meaning in a matter of a few seconds. I have a dictionary app downloaded on my phone.
3. If someone gave you a dictionary as a gift, how would you feel?
I will feel happy, as it is a very useful gift for me or for anyone. We keep coming across new words everyday and everyone should have a dictionary.
4. Do you think it would be interesting to write a dictionary? OR Do you think it would be interesting to be part of a team that is writing a dictionary?
Yes, I think so. It will be very interesting to understand the details of all the words, like which part of speech they form, what the origin of the word is, its synonyms and many more such details.
5. What kind of person do you think writes a dictionary?
A person who writes a dictionary has to have an in-depth knowledge of the language and also needs to know the origin and history of the language. It requires a great deal of work and thoroughness, so the person has to be very patient and thorough.
24. Mobile Apps
1. Which mobile apps do you use?
I use a lot of mobile apps for different purposes like Whatsapp for sending messages to my friends and family members. For social networking I use facebook and for sharing my pictures I use Instagram. Apart from this I use apps to read news or do banking services on my phone
2. Which ones do you want to use?
I would like to use apps to know more about jobs or studies related to my field. I believe there is a huge requirement for apps related to specific jobs or courses and these can help people in becoming good and what they do or study.
3. Which ones are popular in your country?
In my country whatsapp, snapchat and instagram are the most popular apps as people in my country like to spend their time by chatting with each other and sharing their pictures.
4. Do you want to make an app?
Yes, I would like to make an App. I would make an app for the IELTS exam which can help students in preparation of the exam and to score good band score.
25. Sleep
1. How many hours you sleep everyday
I sleep around 7-8 hours everyday. I think it is necessary to sleep for atleast 6 hours everyday.
2. Is it necessary to take a nap everyday
Yes it is very important to take a nap everyday because it gives a much needed break to our body and we feel refreshed after sleep.
3. Do old people sleep a lot? Why
Yes old people tend to sleep a lot because due to old age they get tired easily and they need more rest as compared to young people.
4. What time you usually go to the bed?
I normally go to the bed around 11 PM but if I have important work or have to prepare for exams I sleep early so that I can study or work by getting up early in the morning.
5. Do you always have a good sleep?
I am a happy person so I normally have a good sleep, but if I am disturbed about something or my health is not good I find it difficult to sleep.
26. Handwriting
1. Do you think handwriting is still important?
Yes, I think so. Handwriting skills will always be important. Formal letters are needed in business. Writing skills are also needed in writing resumes. We all know that we belong to a global village. Today we have to compete with children all over the world. We have to apply for jobs in multinational companies. So we need good writing skills.
2. Do you think computers might one day replace handwriting?
Even though technology has reduced the need of writing skills, still, I feel that it is very important in today’s world and will remain in future as well.
3. Do you usually write by hand or write using a computer?
Well it depends on the situation, if I am sending an email to my friends or texting them then it is usually by computer or mobile phone. When I am studying and making notes then I usually write by hand.
4. When do children begin to write in your country?
Nowadays the children have started writing a lot earlier. They normally join the schools at the age of 4 and they begin to write at the age of five
5. Do you think handwriting will die in the future?
No, definitely not. Handwriting will never die. Its need may decrease because of technology; still there will be many areas in which handwriting will be needed. I also feel that, that day is still very far when each and every person on earth will have access to technology.
6. Do you write letters?
Yes, I do. I write e-mails to my friends and relatives.
7. Do you think children should be taught to write like in the old days?
Yes, I think so. Writing is an art, which is going down because of modern technology. Computers automatically check the spelling and grammar because of which children are losing such skills.
27. Fruit
1. What is your favourite fruit?
My favorite fruit is apple. It is very healthy and is available all year long.
2. Why do you like it?
I like it both for the taste and nutritional value. Apples satisfy my need to eat something crunchy too. Because it takes a while to munch on one, I can control my appetite. Apples are one of the world’s healthiest foods.
28. Sunshine
1. Do you like sunny days?
Yes, I like sunny days, but only in pleasant and cold weather. I do not like sunny days in summers and hot weather.
2. Do you like going (or, being) outside on sunny days?
Yes, I like being outside on sunny days. However, not during the summer season.
3. What do you like to do on sunny days (or, when you go outside)?
On sunny days, I sometimes like to sit out in the sun and read. Sometimes I go out and meet my friends in a park. Sometimes we plan a picnic on a nice sunny day.
4. What benefits can (or do) people get from sunshine? OR What benefits can (or do) we get from the sun?
There are many benefits of getting sunshine. We need sunshine to get the essential vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for Calcium absorption and can cause several medical problems.
5. Do you think there are any downsides (or dangers) from sunshine?
Yes, certainly. There are some downsides of too much sunshine or being exposed to sunshine without the protection of sunscreen. It may cause skin burns or heat stroke or sometimes even skin cancer.
6. What do you do (when you are outside) and the sun is too strong?
When the sun is too strong and I am outside, I usually look for some shade or a cool place to sit and drink lots of water.
7. If you wanted to go to a place that has lots of sunshine, where would you go?
I would go to a place where the weather is pleasant and has a lot of sunshine. It would probably be a hill station.
8. Would you like to go, as a tourist, to a place that has little sunshine? OR Would you ever go, as a tourist, to a place that has little sunshine?
I like travelling and visiting new places. And given an opportunity I would definitely like to visit a place that has little sunshine.
29. Weekends
1. How do you usually spend your weekends? What do you usually do on weekends?
I spend my weekends in different ways. Sometimes I just relax at home. Sometimes I go out with my friends for a movie. Sometimes I finish my pending work. Sometimes I help my mother in household chores.
2. In your country, do men and women usually do the same kind of things on weekends (or in their free time)?
Gender differences are disappearing nowadays. Mostly men and women do the same kind of things on weekends.
3. When do you spend time with your family?
I spend the evenings with my family. We watch TV together, have dinner together and go for walks together.
4. What did you do last weekend?
Last weekend I went for a movie with my friends. We also had dinner at a restaurant. It was great fun.
5. What do other people in your hometown (or in your country) usually do on weekends?
People do a lot of things on weekends. Some go for outings; some people spend time at home with family; some people visit relatives. So people do different things on weekends.
6. What are you going to do next weekend?
I have not yet made any plan for the next weekend, but maybe I go out with my family for a movie.
7. Is there anything new that you would like to do on weekends?
I would like to learn some new language on weekends. As a plan to go to Canada, so French would be a good option for me. My relatives live in Montréal and it is a Francophone area. So learning French would help me.
8. Do you like working on weekends?
No, I don’t like working on weekends. I prefer to spend time with my family and friends on weekends.
9. Do you think employees should have to work on weekends?
No, definitely not. I think there should be no compulsion on employees to work on weekends. It should be their choice. If they want to earn more, they should be allowed to work.
10. Do you think that weekends now are more important to you, than when you were a child?
Yes, weekends now are more important to me than when I was a child. When I was a child, all days were like weekends. So I did not give importance to weekends. But today, I look forward to weekends.
30. Transportation
1. What’s the most popular means of transportation in your hometown?
The most popular means of transportation in my hometown is the bus. My hometown is on the national highway, and there is bus service to different places every two minutes.
2. How often do you take buses?
I take the bus pretty often, in fact three or four times a week.
3. Can you compare the advantages of planes and trains?
Trains are cheaper then planes, but planes are much faster than trains. In trains you can take as much luggage as you want to, but in planes there is a restriction. Railway stations are there in almost all towns and cities, where as airports are there in only a few places.
4. Is driving to work popular in your country?
Yes, driving to work is popular in big cities, and in places where transport facilities are not so good.
5. Do you think people will drive more in the future?
It is difficult to say about the future, but at the rate at which traffic congestion is increasing on the road, I think people will use public transport more.
6. Would you ride bikes to work in the future?
No, I don’t think I would ride bikes to work, as I think they are not very safe.
7. What will become the most popular means of transportation in India?
I think road transportation will remain the most popular means.
8. Do you prefer public transportation or private transportation?
I prefer private transportation for short distances and public transportation for long distances.
9. How did you come here(get here) today?
I came here/got here by bus/car/bike today.
10. Why did you choose that form of transport?
I chose it because I think it is very convenient and comfortable. (You can add 1-2 advantages of the mode of transport you used that day)
11. What form of transport do you usually use?
I usually prefer private transport to public transport. I feel that the public transport is not very comfortable and leads to wastage of time.
OR
I normally use public transport/bus. It is very convenient, comfortable and easy on the pocket.
12. Is it convenient to take a bus/taxi in your city?
Yes, it is very convenient to take a bus or a taxi in my city. It is a small city and the bus stand and taxi stands are very approachable.