IELTS Speaking Sample Answer # Jokes

Jokes are part of every individual’s life who is happy. We often share them with the people we love, the people we work with or sometimes just with ourselves. There are some people in our gang, jokes of whom are so exciting and funny that we often end up laughing our head and heart out. Let us today have a look at some of the questions related to humor.

Do you like listening and telling jokes?

Yes, I love listening to jokes. But, more importantly I like the sarcastic humor. The one that creeps into everyday conversation, the one where people cross question each other, in the most stupid way. Jokes are funny as well, but nothing can replace the humor we all share in our daily conversation.

How do you know what joke is proper to tell to your friends?

With my friends, there is nothing proper and improper. My friends know me in and out and we often talk to each other in the most comfortable and frank way. So, we can just go about and say whatever we feel to each other. But, then if there is something that one does not like, he/she simply says it out loud. However, for the most part, we know each other and so it rarely happens.

jokes

When are some time you shouldn’t tell a joke?

I think when someone is telling you what they feel and you know they are very susceptible at that point, telling a joke can only ruin the situation. Like, a person is telling you the problems he or she is facing at work or in life and if you tend to tell a joke, it might be possible that the other person get offended.

How can a joke hurt someone?

When a joke is on the physical appearance or things that someone is sensitive about, it tends to hurt people. Also, there are times when people ignore things, but when those things become in tolerable they start hurting people.

What are some situations when it is impolite to laugh at a joke?

When someone else is making fun of other person’s feeling, I think it is improper to laugh at the joke. Because, then it shows that you support what the other person is saying making the person being laughed off at even more irritable.

How can joke be a form of discrimination?

When a joke is on the physical appearance, be it color, sex or community, it becomes a form of discrimination.

Have you ever heard a sexist joke?

Yes, there are so many times that I hear them. Either on television or on some video or sometimes even the people I work with.

What are some common subjects that people like to joke about?

I think with social media becoming so active, most people like to joke about some or the other celebrity. But, for the most part, people like joking about either their seniors or may be juniors. Also, people laugh off at the government or politicians.

What are some good joke pages on the Internet?

There are so many joke pages on social media, these days. But, I think my favorite would be “The sarcastic Indian” and “Chill life”. These are the two pages that share some very funny jokes or situations, you can relate very well with, making you laugh your heart out.

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IELTS Speaking Sample Answer # Childhood

Childhood is that time of our lives, when we have no worries, nothing to fear, when we live in the present, with no worries about future, we are carefree and just living life. It is that time of life, that we all remember long after we have lived our lives. So, let us today have a look at some of the questions related to childhood.

What was the best thing about your childhood?

The best thing about my childhood has to be the fact that I made little friends. It was early in life that I had learnt that it is great to have friends but one can enjoy by oneself as well and that it is better if you have friends who will stick all through your life. I have been more independent because no one could ever tell me that I could not do it.

What do you miss most about being a child?

The best part about being a child is that no one cares how you look, because they look at your habits, your eyes, what you speak. It gives so much more freedom, when there is no sophistication associated with you, nothing to pretend, no one to impress and living life on your terms, in the present with no care about future.

Do you think that children these days have a better or worse childhood than your generation? Why?

I think definitely, children have a better childhood than our generation. Parents are now more aware and work on their children, developing the skills of their children.You can now see children working on things like cricket, music, dance activities. However, when it comes to general development, I think our generation was better. We were more aware of our families, we had stories to share, we had met our grandparents more often, heard stories from them and enjoyed life more better.

childhoood

What do you think is most important for a happy childhood?

The most important thing for a happy childhood is a happy home. It is very important for a child to grow as a happy individual to have a home where his/her parents love each other. Where, there is a balance in life.

What about your childhood do you wish you could change?

If ever I could change one thing about my childhood, it would be my relation with my brother. For some reasons, I think we as children, never talked to each other much and it was later in life that I came to know that we both were two lonely souls and could have stuck together and enjoyed life as we grew up.

Where did you grow up? How did that affect your childhood?

I have grown up in different places because of my father’s transfer. Travelling to different places as I grew up, taught me that we all are the same, fundamentally. As humans, we have the same problems and the same goals. It is just that some fight for them till the end, while others tend to lose hope and it is that one determination, love that changes and shapes our lives.

What were some of your favorite activities when you were a child?

I love cycling when I was a child. Cycling gave me the sense that I was free, that there was nothing that could stop me and I could just live the life as I want to and it was this feeling that made me love cycling even more. I remember, cycling during holidays and then evenings, even in the morning. I just loved it.

Who, besides your parents, had the biggest impact on your childhood?

I think as a child, my relatives had a very great impact on me. It was their opinions that have shaped to an extent the things that I believe in and the things that I do. It was when I started questioning their opinion, that I realized how fragile their opinion was, changing every minutes. It was through them that I learnt that we should just keep doing what we love.

What do you want to provide your children that you didn’t have when you were growing up?

Feeling of the fact that I am their friend. Yes, this is one thing that I want my children to know, that no matter what, I am their friend and whatever is happening in their lives, they can share it with me. I want to know my issues and share with me theirs. I wish to have conversations like we have with our friends.

Who were you really jealous of when you were a child? Why were you jealous?

As a child, I was jealous of those pretty girls in my class. I mean I used to wonder how could come school on time, wearing clean clothes and then score high in exams as well. I used to be the one who was always clumsy, figuring out things from here and there.

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IELTS Speaking Sample Answer # Motivation

Motivation is that catalyst that is important for achieving something. If you are not motivated enough to do things, often it so happens that you end up not doing it or giving up. There are so many things people derive their motivation from, some derive from people, others from quotes, some from themselves. Let us today, have a look at some of the questions related to motivation.

What motivates you? Why?

I think my dreams motivate me. The image that I get of myself, that I am going to be successful, the image of what life will be after that, it just makes me going on.

Are you very motivated to do things or do you need motivation?

Most of the times I am self motivated, but then there are days when I feel truly exhausted and lost or worn out. It is in those days that I seek motivation, either from the letters that I have written to myself or from the quotes of successful people, or most probably through some songs.

What activity do you have no motivation to do?

Writing for me requires no motivation, I can do it just like that, because it is so much fun doing it.

What is a great motivational quote?

” The life that we are living,the world that we are living in, was created by people no smarter than us. And if we don’t like it, we can change it. ‘. This was something said by Steve Jobs, and I find it very motivating because it tells me that I can make the change as well.

Have you read any good motivational books or articles? What were they about?

I have read “The Secret” by Rhonda Bryne and I think it is one of the most motivating books that I have read. I tells you that whatever is happening to you is what you have thought for yourself and when you start thinking in some other way, you can change the things, and the events happening to you.

Does motivation come from inside a person or from their environment? Explain why you think so.

I think motivation comes from within. Yes, definitely there are outside factors also. Like, a person who reads Steve Jobs or Mahatma Gandhi is likely to get motivated but to be able to move with it, to remain motivated, focused on your goal it requires, motivation,the one that comes from within. The determination to do things.

How can you help someone who has no motivation?

I think no one can help a person without any motivation, because it is the most important thing to be able to do something. A person with no motivation is more likely to fail, but, what we can do is, show them the life of people who fought back failure, loss and death and can out alive. Like, Steve Jobs, the one man who was kicked out of his own company, built up a new empire. And then Colonel Sanders and Abraham Lincoln who gained success in the later years of their lives.

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How often do you exercise or workout? What is the best way to motivate yourself to work out?

I workout everyday in the morning. I go out for jogging and then do some sort of stretching. I think the best way to motivate yourself for work out is to imagine yourself young and old. When we are young it is so easy to do things, jump off and dance, but then as one goes old it becomes so difficult. But, it is only when the young work hard, work out that they can remain young for a long time.

What song do you listen to for motivation?

There are few songs that I listen for motivation. One of them is “Brothers Anthem” and then there are several others like “drag me down”, “I bet my life” and “roar” .

 

Do you think motivation posters in offices help?

I think too an extent they do help because they remind of what we are doing. Even these bring lot of positivity along with them. But, it is only useful if the person is motivated from within. If there is no motivation within, then there is no point of any motivation poster.

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Village That Inspired Tagore # Improve Vocabulary

Source : National Geographic Traveler

Download the text with meaning for print – The File

The Village That Inspired Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore often holidayed in Mongpu, a quiet Himalayan village about 1.5hr from Darjeeling, during the last three years of his life. So it was only natural that photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee and Bollywood music director Shantanu Moitra visited Mongpu—and their Bengali heritage—when they were on the West Bengal leg of their #100DaysInHimalayas project. Between February and December 2016, the duo will make a series of trips in the Himalayas covering reaches running from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, and into the neighbouring foothills of Nepal and Bhutan—and they’re taking National Geographic Traveller Indiaalong for the ride.

On a day trip to Mongpu, they visited the bungalow where Tagore stayed at the invitation of his protégée, the author Maitreyi Devi. The house overlooks a cinchona plantation and quinine factory, once managed by Devi’s husband. On his last visit in 1940, Tagore fell very ill and had to be shifted to Kolkata. He passed away the next year, leaving behind several possessions at the Mongpu residence, which was later turned into a museum by the government, and named Rabindra Bhavan.

Among Rabindra Bhavan’s display are artworks, handwritten documents, and most interestingly, furniture designed by Tagore and carved by his son, Rathindranath Tagore. Moitra and Mukherjee saw Tagore’s bed, which has an inclined headrest said to have tackled his respiratory problem. His mahogany writing desk and chair, said to be designed to support his back, faces a window with a tranquil view of the lush, hilly landscape that the nature-loving writer treasured. For Mukherjee, the window by which Tagore wrote provided the biggest emotional connection. “He had a vast view in front, and that landscape is intact,” the photographer said, “It’s very green, there are lots of trees; it’s at the edge of the snow.”

Like many visitors at this memorial to a literary giant, Moitra was dismayed by the broken windowpanes, cracked walls, dented doors and inadequate security. “We could have walked out with any of Tagore’s belongings,” he said. And yet, much of it remains. The place may be unkempt but the legacy of Tagore’s visits is still strong in the village.

WORD MEANING SYNONYM
1.       Photographer A person who takes photographs, especially as a job. Paparazzo, photojournalist, shutterbug
2.       Heritage Property that is or may be inherited; and inheritance;

A special or individual possession; an allotted portion

 Ancestry, culture, custom, legacy, right, tradition, bequest, birthright, convention, dowry, endowment, estate, fashion, inheritance, lot, patrimony, portion, share
3.       Cinchona An evergreen South American tree or shrub with fragrant flowers, cultivated for its bark
4.       Plantation An estate on which crops such as coffee, sugar, and tobacco are grown;

Colonization or settlement of emigrants, especially of English and then Scottish families in Ireland in 16th -17th centuries under government sponsorship.

 Estate, homestead, orchard, ranch, farmstead, hacienda, vineyard
5.       Protegee A person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person Applicant, buyer, consumer, patient, patron, shopper, believer, chump, dependent, disciple, follower, front, head, mark, purchaser, walk-in, ward
6.       Quinine A bitter crystalline compound present in cinchona bark, used as a tonic formerly as an antimalarial drug. Blame, castigation, censure, curse, defamation, derision, hosing, insults, invective, knifing, libel, obloquy, opprobrium, put-down, reproach, revilement, scolding, signifying, slander, swearing, tirade, upbraiding, vilification, vituperation
7.       Possessions The state of having, owning, or controlling something.

Something that is owned or possessed.

 Custody, dominion, hold, occupancy, occupation, proprietary, retention, tenancy, tenure, title
8.       Residence A person’s home, especially a large and impressive one. Apartment, condo, dwelling, hall, headquarters, home, house, mansion, palace, abode, address, co-op, domicile, habitation, hole, household, inhabitancy, inhabitation, lodging, manor, occupancy, occupation, rack, roof, roost, seat, settlement, villa
9.       Artworks Illustrations, photographs, or other non-textual material prepared for inclusion in a publication. Art, artwork, picture, piece, portrait, watercolor, oil
10.   Carved Cut in order to produce and object, design or inscription. Chiseled, engraved, sculpted, carven, chased, cut, etched, furrowed, graved, graven, grooved, hewed, hewn, modeled, scissored, slashed, sliced, whittled
11.   Tackled Make determined efforts to deal with ( a problem or difficult task) Accept, begin, deal with, engage in, take up, try, undertake, work on, attack, attempt, essay, launch
12.   Mahogany Hard reddish-brown timber from a tropical tree, used for quality furniture.

A tropical tree which produces mahogany.

 Amber, bay, beige, bister, brick, bronze, buff, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cooca, coffee, copper, drab, dust, ecru, fawn, ginger, hazel, henna, khaki, nut, ochre, puce, russet, rust, sepia, sorrel, tan, toast, umber
13.   Tranquil Free from disturbance; calm Amicable, balmy, calm, easygoing, gentle, mild, pastoral, placid, restful, sedate, serene, sober, stable, tame, temperate
14.   Intact Not damaged or impaired in any way; complete Flawless, perfect, unblemished, unbroken, unharmed, unhurt, unscathed, untouched
15.   Memorial A statue or structure established to remind people of a person or event; a statement of facts, especially as the basis of a petition. Remembering, canonizing, celebrative, commemoratory, consecrating, consecrative, dedicatory, deifying, enshrining, in tribute, memorializing, monumental
16.   Inadequate Lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose Deficient, faulty, incompetent, incomplete, incomplete, lacking, meager, poor, scarce, sketchy, skimpy, unequal, weak
17.   Unkempt Having an untidy or disheveled appearance. Bedraggled, dilapidated, disheveled, grubby, grungy, messy, neglected, rumpled, scruffy, shaggy.

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