Describe a time you were surprised to meet a friend: Bài mẫu kèm từ vựng

Trong bài thi IELTS Speaking Part 2, chủ đề describe an experience (miêu tả một trải nghiệm) là một trong những chủ đề có tỷ lệ ra thường xuyên. Sau đây là Sample IELTS Speaking part 2 Describe a time you were surprised to meet a friend và có kèm theo các từ vựng ghi điểm trong bài.

Describe a time you were surprised to meet a friend

You should say:

1. When this happened
2. Who this person was
3. What you did together on that day

And explain why you thought it was a surprise to meet this person

IELTS Speaking sample

I'm working as a teaching assistant at ZIM for about 2 years now. I'd like to tell you about a time I was really surprised to see Linh - an old friend of mine – giving a demo lesson to apply for a teaching assistant position in my company. 

In my company, we have a weekly discussion among teaching assistants. The main purpose of this meeting is to encourage the exchange of ideas among us to come up with practical solutions for different types of problems that our students are having. It's also a chance for new teaching assistants to prove their expertise by giving a demo lesson. The HR manager will then collect our feedback on the overall performance of a candidate to see if they have what it takes to become an official member of our academic department. 

So in a meeting a year ago, I met Linh – the girl whom I had a secret crush on when I was a secondary school student. We studied in the same class, and I had admired her diligence and dynamic personality from day one. She performed extremely well in pretty much all subjects, especially in English, so I wasn't surprised when she passed the entrance exam to a prestigious high school for gifted students after that. Then we took different paths, and I thought I'll never see her again because you know we were not that close. So when I saw her at the meeting, I was really surprised. Of all training centers, she decided to apply for ZIM – where I’m also working at. 

I was pretty impressed by her performance. She had a pretty smart approach to a tricky topic. Her demo lesson was of course not flawless, but she definitely showed how far she could go. Hence, a week later we officially became coworkers.

Từ vựng trong IELTS Speaking sample

1. The exchange of ideas: sự trao đổi ý kiến

2. Expertise /ˌek.spɜːˈtiːz/: chuyên môn

3. Diligence /ˈdɪl.ɪ.dʒəns/: tính siêng năng

4. Prestigious /presˈtɪdʒ.əs/: có uy tín

Ví dụ: The car won some of the industry's most prestigious awards.

5. A pretty smart approach: một cách tiếp cận khá thông minh

1. pretty /ˈprɪt.i/ : khá là
2. smart /smɑːt/ : thông minh
3. approach /əˈprəʊtʃ/: tiếp cận

Ví dụ: She had a pretty smart approach to this problem

6. Be flawless /ˈflɔː.ləs/: hoàn hảo, không có lỗi

Ví dụ: The countdown was flawless, and the space missile went off exactly on schedule.

Mở rộng:

Từ vựng và ý tưởng từ chủ đề trên có thể được áp dụng vào chủ đề: Describe a friend you lost contact with and started contacting again.

Sau phần gặp lại, bổ sung thông tin về việc hai người liên lạc với nhau: Now, as we are working in the same company, we meet each other pretty often. Sometimes we chat on Facebook for hours, and I feel like my crush on her starting to come back. Maybe this time, I’ll do something about it.

IELTS Speaking Part 3 sample

What happens when someone has an appointment with you but they cancel it?

Gợi ý: unreasonable (phi lý), get mad at (nổi giận với), reschedule (sắp xếp lại thời gian), appreciate (cảm kích)

I'm okay with it. I think that people only cancel an appointment when they have no other choices, so it is unreasonable to get mad at them. Therefore, when my appointment with others is cancelled, I will discuss with them to reschedule it. However, I will really appreciate it if people don’t wait until the last minute to tell me about their cancellation.

Do you think it’s strange to meet friends online?

Gợi ý; advent (sự đến, sự ra đời), interact (tương tác), soulmates (bạn tâm giao), disapproval (sự phản đối)

Absolutely not! The advent of social media allows people to meet and interact with others who have the same interests around the world. A great number of people make friends online now, and many of them are even able to find their soulmates. There was some disapproval when the idea of making friends online first arose, but now people get used to it.

Why do some people have few friends?

Gợi ý: introverts (những người hướng nội), strike conversations (bắt chuyện), make friends (kết bạn), truly (thật sự)

There are some reasons why people do not have many friends. First, some introverts may find it difficult to strike conversations and make friends. Another reason is that some people prefer quality to quantity. Instead of having a lot of friends, these people want to be surrounded by only people who truly understand them.

What is more important: new friends or old ones?

Gợi ý: be with someone through ups and downs (cùng ai đó trải qua những thăng trầm), maintain relationships (duy trì các mối quan hệ), seek opportunities (tìm kiếm cơ hội)

In my opinion, old friends are definitely of greater importance. While having new friends can make our life more interesting, old friends are those who understand us better and have been with us through ups and downs. Therefore, I think we should try our best to maintain relationships with old friends rather than seeking opportunities to make new friends.