Original website: https://www.examword.com/ielts-practice/speaking-exam-question
Where is your hometown?
I was born and raised in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Province.
Do you like your hometown? Why?
Yes, I love my hometown and I think there are 3 main reasons, the food the weather and the people. Firstly xinjiang cuisine uses a lot of beef, mutton and tomatoes. I think it not only nutritious but also delicious. Secondly there are a lot of sunny days and the air is very fresh. Last but not least, people are friendly
How long have you been living in your hometown?
I was born in 1993 and I went to Shanghai for college in 2012, so I have been living in my hometown for about 19 years.
Do you believe it is a proper place to grow up? Why?
Yes I think so. Because on the one hand, I think I have grown strong physically because of eating a lot of beef and mutton. On the other hand, my home town is a multiethnic city including Uyghur, Kazakh, Han, Mongolian and so on. So I think I know more about different cultures, and my way of thinking is more inclusive and diverse.
How could your hometown be improved?
Better higher education is needed to prevent the best local students from going to other city or abroad to study, work and never come back.
Has your hometown changed much since you were a child?
I think the infrastructure of the city has changed a lot, such as the addition of subways and high-speed rails, but the feeling of the city has not changed much, probably because I am a part of it and it changed gradually so I have not felt the change in it.
Is there good public transportation in your hometown?
I would be honest with you, the public transportation was awful. I think it was mainly a matter of urban planning. I mean the width of the road could not meet the needs of traffic. But I think it will become better since there are several subway lines under construction.
Will you be moving away from your hometown?
I don't plan to go back to my hometown, because there are not many suitable job opportunities in my hometown, and the income is not as high as mine in Shanghai.
Have you ever seen some old buildings in the city?
There are many old buildings of different styles in Shanghai, many of which are protected buildings. For example, there are many European-style buildings on the Bund, and there are Chinese-style gardens in Yu Garden.
Do you think we should preserve old buildings in cities?
I think we should protect them becasue they are beautiful at the first place, I mean architechture is an important form of art right? and also I think people should allways remenber the history carried by old buildings, I think it is important to learn what happened in the past to see how people came through so that we can try to avoid making repeated mistakes in the future.
Do you prefer living in an old building or a modern house?
I prefer living in a modern house because I think it will be more comfortable. Because I can't imagine how my life will be like if I live in 6th floor and I don't have an elevator. And I can't imagine if I can get used to using a squatting pan aftering using toilet for my whole life. I mean I believe with the development of architechture technology, people build better houses than years before.
Are there any old buildings you want to see in the future? Why?
Yes, if I could I would like to know the story and history behind European-style buildings. For now, they all look similar to me and I believe all different styles come for a reason. I am curious about the thought behind.
Do you make plans every day?
Yes, I try to take 15mins in the morning of every workday to make a plan with an APP called Ticktick.
Is it easy to manage time?
I think it was difficult for me, I have tried a lot of methods like paper and pencil, Microsoft execl and outlook. But I sruggled a lot. And after 5 years working, now I am using ticktick, it is an APP you could used on all kinds of platform, like your windows PC, mac, ipad, iphone and apple watch. It is much easier to add new tasks, arrange the time with calendar and get reminded automatically by cell phone or apple watch. I think it is very helpful.
Do you think it's helpful to plan your time?
Yes it is, in every moring, I try to pick up the top three most important tasks of the day and book enough time for them on my calendar. And during the reserved time I will not check any emails or messages. In this way I can review my priorities in the moring and finish the most important tasks in a very efficient way. It is greatly helpful to my work.
Do you like being busy?
I don't, because I don't like the pressure of being busy, if I have too many unreasonable deadlines, I will be anxious and my heart will beat more quickly, which is not healthy at the first place. On the other hand, people are more likely to make mistakes if they are in a hurry, and I think quality is more important than quantity, so I prefer reasonable workload and have a work life balance, which I think is more sustainable.
Are you ever late for anything?
Under most circumstances, I'm a punctual person. I think when I was in middle school, I used to be late for school, because I used to walk to school and there were a lot of attractions on my way. Like basketball playground, parks, shops, street food and so on.
Do you think children should learn to manage time?
Yes, I think people no matter the age should all learn to manage their time. Because time is money, all we have is time. Why not find a better way to use it.
Do you think most people can manage their time well?
I am not sure because for myself, I don't think I can manage my time well although I can use some tools to manage my time and tasks under the pressure of work. But in my spare time, I did waste a lot of time lying on the sofa and watch tiktok or youtube and in the evening felt regret in doing nothing. So I still have a long way to go in manage my spare time more wisely.
