Describe an old friend you enjoy talking with.

You should say:

- who this person is
- how you knew him/her
- what you usually talk about and explain why you want to talk to this person.

Band 9.0 Sample Answer

I have always been lucky enough to be surrounded by a large circle of friends who are incredibly
supportive, compassionate and open-minded. And everybody knows how precious it is to have such a
gift and I, of all people, know better than taking that for granted. That is why I always make effort to
keep in touch with people I’ve become close with and one of whom is my ex-boss, aka my mentor –
Eli.

Admittedly, it’s far from an ordinary relationship for most people, but to Eli and I, it came naturally. We
first met during the training course we both attended for a luxurious soon-to-be-open restaurant in
town roughly 2 years ago. Eli was our Filipino manager and I was about to be a hostess for the very
first time. Every concept, every rule and every etiquette when working in hospitality industry just
overwhelmed me and if it hadn’t been for Eli, a patient teacher as well as a dedicated friend, I
wouldn’t have managed to complete my training and achieved high performance at our workplace.
However, thanks to those hard times we’ve been through together, we became closer and our
conversations would last endlessly ranging from family, career, happiness to setbacks in life. As a
predecessor, Eli usually offers me valuable advice and emotional support whenever I confine in him.
No lecturing. No “I told you so”. Just pure compassion. He always tries to bring out the best in people
instead of being Mr. Know-it-all and patronizing, which is one of million things I admire about him.

Even though we are no longer working together and hanging out more often than we should, our
strong bond has never got loose. We keep each other in the loop about everything significant
happening around us and provide mutual support if needed. Once in a while, we would meet over
coffee or dinner to catch up if our schedules allow and still, I truly, deeply treasure every moment
together.

Vocabulary & Useful expression

- a large circle of friends: a number of friends who usually do things together

Ex: I had a large circle of friends when I was in university but then we lost contact in years.

- take something/ someone for granted: fail to appreciate the value of something/ someone
Ex: He has always taken her for granted, which is the main reason why they split up.

- make effort to do something: do something even though you find it hard to do

Ex: Her parents made effort to reconcile their relationship but it didn't work out.

- keep/remain/stay in touch with: maintain communications with

It is hard to stay in touch with your friends when you have to work your ass off.
- come naturally: to be naturally easy to someone
Ex: Josh's ability to play guitar came naturally when he was young.

- roughly: approximately
I spent roughly 5 days trying to figure out the problem.

- achieve high performance: do an excellent job

Ex: They spend hours practicing everyday to achieve high performance in a play-off round.

- hard time: difficulty that can be overcome with effort

Ex: 2017 is going to be a hard time for real estate market.

- offer (valuable/ practical/ useful...) advice

- (offer/ provide...) emotional support

- confide in someone: to trust someone with one's secret or personal problem

Ex: Jack always has difficulty confining in anyone but his twin.

- bring out the best/ the worst in someone: cause someone to behave in the best/ worst manner
Ex: Susan is a bad influence. She always brings out the worst in me.

- Mr. Know-it-all (informal) (disapproving): someone who acts as if he/ she knows everything
Ex: We can't get along with Steve, who plays Mr. Know-it-all every time someone raises a question as if
we asked for his opinion.

- no longer = not anymore:

Ex: Tom no longer smoked since his wife was pregnant.

- keep someone in the loop: keep someone informed about something

Ex: We keep you in the loop if we have any update about the contract.