Categories
Speaking

Culture

CD2 Tracks 30

What is the most important festival in your country?

Do you think this festival will still be as important in the future?

Tell me how weddings are celebrated in your country.

What are some forms of traditional dancing in your country?

Categories
Speaking

Home

CD2 Tracks 20

1- Back in the 1960s, this was a nice place to live. Everyone knew everyone and people looked out for each other. I’m sorry to say that, since the 60s, the population has risen dramatically and this has led to a breakdown in the community ties that used to unite us. Also, second-home owners buy holiday homes here, and that has meant that the price of property has escalated in recent years, forcing young people to move away from the area.

Categories
Speaking

Youth

CD2 Track 11

1- When I hear music from the 70s, it really takes me back. It makes me feel like I’m a teenager again, the memories are so vivid. So many things from that period of my life left a lasting impression on me, like meeting my first girlfriend and sitting my A levels in sweltering heat. It’s still fresh in my mind.

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Speaking

Hobbies

CD1 Track 51

What are your hobbies?
What is your favourite musical instrument?
Do you prefer action films or comedies? Why?
Do you think it is important to read novels and poetry? Why?

What are your hobbies?
There is no one thing I’m fanatical about. I have various interests. I’m a keen cook and love to create new dishes and then invite my friends over to taste them. I love playing cards, especially Uno. Most of my friends are crazy about karaoke and I go with them from time to time but it’s not really my kind of thing.

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Speaking

Communication

CD1 Track 30

My mother tongue is Hungarian. It is spoken in Hungary and it is a minority language in the surrounding countries, especially Romania. It is not part of the same language family as European languages like English, French, German or Russian. It is a Uralic language, distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. Because Hungarian is not a widely spoken language, if you want to get on, you have to speak a foreign language. Unsurprisingly, the most popular second language among Hungarians is English, the global language. Like most of my friends, I am multilingual- as well as Hungarian, I am fluent in English and German. I can also get by in Italian and I did an evening course in Spanish a few years back, but I’m a bit rusty now. I seem to pick up languages quite easily, helped, I’m sure, by the fact that language teaching in Hungary is so good – it has to be, given that no-one speaks our language but us!

Categories
Speaking

3 – Studies & work

CD1 Track 15

My name’s Mubarak and I’m from the United Arab Emirates. My favourite subject at school was Maths. I really loved it, I think primarily because I liked being able to use logic to work out answers, rather than having to speculate and theorise, as you often do in arts subjects.

I went on to study for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in Mechanical Engineering at Leeds University in England. I chose that subject because, although I was more keen on Maths, engineering
is more practical. My decision to study in Britain was motivated by the high prestige of British qualifications back in my home country. The tuition fees are very high for foreign students but my family paid them for me.

Categories
Speaking

1- People & Relationships

CD1 Track 01

The person I’m closest to in my family is definitely my mum, Kate. We ‘ve always got on and we hardly ever fall out. I know that’s unusual! She’s really outgoing and sociable – she’s always going out with friends and colleagues. Everyone thinks she’s good fun. I look up to her because she’s so hardworking she never sits still and she works long hours. She can be a bit impatient, though – she gets annoyed when her colleagues aren ‘t as efficient as her. I take after her in that – I’m impatient, too. And she’s over-sensitive, often getting offended for seemingly no reason.