Situation

Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship.
You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his
trip abroad.
Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.
Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.
i. cash
ii. a computer
iii.  some suitable clothing
iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A
Task A:  Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.
Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother
has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a
special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him.
The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there.
There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He
will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus.
As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful.
Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England.
I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore,
he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss
him we can just give him a call.
Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t
take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very
heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring
money and buy those things when he gets there.
In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best
choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.
Candidate B
Task A:  You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why.
A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He
has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special
gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer.
Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop
computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere.
Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he
will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently.
Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring
the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer.
Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England.
Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main
advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of
information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he
can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail.
In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his
assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make
the best gift. Thank you for listening.
Candidate C
Task A:  You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why.
To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was
lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift
so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing.
The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is
very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to
have different clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters,
cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep
him warm in winter.
The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity.
This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of
traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look
good but promote our culture overseas.
Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes
like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about
himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him
and have a good impression about Malaysian students.
To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be
very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D
Task A:  You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.
I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a
scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some
Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present.
First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is
hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because
it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in
the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him.
The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite
hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal
belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if
we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home.
The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the
Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organize events like Malaysian Night and so he and
his friends can cook some Malaysian specialties for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence,
the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture.
In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea.
This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also
share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.