PRE-TEST B COURSE

SPEAKING LESSON 6
Lesson focus Part 1: SNS, Reading.
Part 2: Advertisement and Game Show.

PART 1: SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES

1. What kind of social networking sites do you often use?

 Well, I use Facebook pretty much on a daily basis. Nowadays, everyone has a
Facebook profile and if you don’t have one, it kind of seems like you have been living
under a rock or something.
 Well, I use Instagram day in day out because I’m a huge fan of photography. I’m
always inspired by those stunning pictures on my instagram feed, you know. Besides,
whenever I see something that is instagrammable or insta-worthy, I always snap a
photo and post it on my instagram account.
 Well, I maily use Zalo, which is kind of a Vietnamese version of Facebook. I use it
purely for family and friends. It is my main way of keeping in touch with them bacuse
I’m living far away from them. I always try to chat with someone in my family
everyday simply because I miss them.

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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 2. Do you think it is good to make friends online?
 Absolutely. This is the new way to make friends, even though people still meet new
people in the traditional way. Personally speaking, I believe this way is here to stay.
 No, not at all. You don’t really know who is on the other end of the connection. I’m
guessing that you have heard of people using fake profiles to commit crimes before.
So yeah, I don’t know about other people, but for me making new friends online is a
no-no.
 Well, I do know that it’s really easy to find people who have the same interests as
you do, I mena it might be fun to make friends and talk about the things in common.
But I wouldn’t classify them as my real friends, in order to have a true friendship, in
my opinion, you need to meet people face to face.

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3. What are the disadvantages of social networking apps?

 I think privacy is the biggest disadvantage. Sending personal information over the
internet is risky, as hackers can easily obtain it and do fraudulent things.
 Being scammed is a negative thing, if you use social media to buy or sell things.
There is also the problem with romance scams, where people pretend to be
someone else to dupe lonely people.
 As fas as I’m concerned, these websites can be extremely addictive. I mean it is
common place to see people glue their eyes to Facebook or Instagram all day long,
and as a result, people tend to neglect their priorities such as study or work.

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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 4. Will you use these sites more in the future?
 Well, I’ve been spending way too much time on these websites, so I’m planning to
refrain myself from using them. But to be perfectly honest with you, I’m not sure I
can do it since it’s already taken over my life, you know.
 Well, I don’t think I will use them more in the future but, at the same time, I
wouldn’t say I will make less use of them. I mean it’s such an important tool for me
to stay in touch with my close friends and relatives since I’m living far away from
them.

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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 PART 1: READING

1. Do you like reading? or What kind of book do you like to read?

STRUCTURE:
Answer: I’m really fond of reading/ I’m a bookworm/ I’m an avid reader.
What: My favorite genre is science fiction/ comics/ horror/ self-help/ novel…
When: I read every single day/ once a week/ on a regular basis…
Where: While I’m on a coach/bus/taxi, reading is what I usually do to kill time.
Why: I’m keen on reading simply because I think it’s a wonderful way for me to
unwind and broaden my horizon/ enrich my knowledge/ help me to keep up with
the latest news and information.

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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 2. Which one do you prefer: eBooks or printed books?
 EBooks definitely! Simply because they’re portable so we don’t have to carry more
heavy stuff in our bags, all I have to do is to bring along my smartphone or tablet.
For example, when going on vacations it is more convenient for me to just pack my
kindle instead of dragging multiple books along with me.
 I prefer a hard copy of a book simply because I like the feel of a physical book in my
hands and the idea of being able to flip the pages of the book as well as the smell of
the paper. Another plus point is that reading traditional paper books is less tiring for
my eyes.

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3. Do you read for pleasure or education?

 Well, for the most part, I read for fun. I mean I usually opt for some comic books or
novels to relax and unwind a bit after a stressful day at work. Having said that, every
once in a while, I have to read some boring books as a part of my job.
 Well, when I was in school, I had no choice but to read some textbooks like maths,
science and suchlike; otherwise, I wouldn’t have passed those exams, you know.
However, nowadays, I mainly read just for fun and horror is always my genre of
choice simply because I’m a massive fan of it.

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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 PART 2: ADVERTISEMENT

Describe an advertisement that you remember well

You should say:
 What it was about
 Where you saw it
 What it was like
And explain why you remember well

Sample Answer:
I was struggling to think of what to talk about for this particular topic because to be perfectly honest,
I can’t remember the last time I saw an advert. I don’t watch TV nowadays because I use streaming
services like Netflix and although there are adverts on YouTube, I take absolutely no notice of them.
The only one I can remember is one about a chocolate bar so I’ve decided to talk about that one.

If I remember rightly, it was an advert for a bar of chocolate. The

brand has completely slipped my mind, but it’s one of the best-
selling ones I think, anyway despite being an advert for
chocolate, as far as I can remember, the bar of chocolate did not
appear until the very end. I remember seeing it for the first time,
many years ago in the distant past, and I thought to myself
‘what on earth is it advertising?’ I guess that is what made it
successful because the next day people were talking about it.

Anyway, what was the advert like? Well, it was a gorilla playing drums. You might be wondering
what that has to do with chocolate… me too, I have absolutely no idea. It wasn’t a real gorilla,
obviously, but it looked so realistic and that made it so eye catching because it made you question
whether it was a real gorilla and why they used it for advertising chocolate. This is what made it so
memorable – it was so different to anything I had ever seen before.

I don’t know if the advert led to an increase in sales, but it was an iconic advert and if you haven’t
seen it, I recommend you check it out. As for where I saw it, like I said, it was on TV a good few years
ago so I saw it when I was watching TV. In my country we tend to have one ad break in a 30 minute
programme so I saw it during the ads.

2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

Guided Answer:
Today, I would like to talk about an advert about a chocolate bar, which, in my opinion, is a
bit weird/bizzare.
Regarding when I first saw it, i still remember vividly that it was about _____ year(s) ago
when I was drowning in my assignments and class projects, and therefore I needed to relax
and unwind a bit. So I went on YouTube to watch some of my favorite MVs, and while I was
watching, out of nowhere, that advertisement poped up. Since I’m not a fan of adverts, I
tried to skip it, but YouTube didn’t allow me to, so I had no choice but to watch the whole
thing.
Moving on to what was the advert like,
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That’s all I want to share with you. Thank you!

2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 PART 2: GAME SHOW

Describe a quiz or game show that you like

You should say:
 What it is
 How you know about it
 What is it like
And explain why you like it.

Sample Answer:
Gosh, this is such a tricky topic for me because I don’t watch TV so much these days, I use
streaming services like Netflix to binge watch my favorite TV shows instead of gameshows.
Having said that, there is one quiz show that I am aware of and can talk about, it’s called
“Who wants to be a millionaire?”. This game show has been around for donkey’s years.
I’m guessing that you have probably heard of it because, as
far as I am aware, it is shown in many countries around the
world. It is not a team game, it is played solo and there are 15
questions to answer and if the person can answer them all,
then they become a millionaire. That sounds easy, but the
questions get increasingly more difficult so the first one is
relatively easy and the last one is incredibly tricky. If there is
a question that the contestant cannot answer, then they have
a number of options. Each contestant has three lifelines.
What this means is they have three chances to get help. One of the lifelines is a 50:50 option
so two wrong answers are removed. Another one is to ask the audience and they vote on
what they think is the correct answer and the other one is phone a friend so you can
nominate a friend to call during the show and they have 30 seconds to help you.
I think this gameshow goes down so well, because the audience at home can play too. You
listen to the questions and have a pop at the answers, even competing with your family or
whoever you happen to be watching with
I think the music as well creates a real feeling of suspense, and the host really draws it out,
waiting for ages before he gives the right answer - so keeping you on the edge of your seat.
An interesting titbit about this show is that it was featured in a film called ‘Slumdog
Millionaire’. That was about a scandal where the contestant cheated because he knew the
answers beforehand and so he could win the jackpot. If I am not mistaken, I think a similar
scandal happened in real life too.

2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

Answer:
Today, I would like to talk about a TV show called “WWTBAM”, which, I believe, has been
around for donkey’s years.
Regarding when I first saw it, i still remember vividly that it was about _____ year(s) ago
when I was drowning in my assignments and class projects, and therefore I needed to relax
and unwind a bit. So I went on YouTube and somehow I came across a video about a scandal
where the contestant cheated his way to the jackpot because his wife, who was among the
audience, had coughed when the correct answer was mentioned. There was even a court
case and he was found guilty.
Moving on to what’s the show like,
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That’s all I want to share with you. Thank you!

PART 3

2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL

 1. Do people usually buy things after watching adverts?
Idea: Oh, I’m not entirely sure, I think most people think they don’t. however, surely brands
would not make adverts if they were ineffective. I feel that the most effective adverts are
the ones with celebrities. People are more likely to be influenced by celebrity branding or
celebrity endorsement than a random person advertising a product.
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2. Do you think people watch more TV now than in the past?

Idea: Quite the opposite, I’d say we watch less television nowadays compared to say,
twenty years ago. And I think it’s mainly down to the fact that twenty years ago we couldn’t
access films, TV programmes and that, on the Internet. Today, I get the feeling that loads of
people watch films on their computers or phones via these Internet streaming services, you
know like Amazon, HBO or Netflix.
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3. Why do some people like to watch TV on their computers?

Idea: There are a number of reasons for this. For one, it is more convenient because if it is a
laptop you can watch it anytime, anywhere. On top of that, nowadays, most people don’t watch
terrestrial TV, they watch TV on catch up. Although many modern TVs are capable of accessing
platforms like Netflix, some older TVs aren’t so you need to use a PC to watch programs on
streaming services such as this.
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2 PRE-TEST B COURSE – SPEAKING | ZIM ACADEMIC ENGLISH SCHOOL