IELTS Speaking Part 1 - Band 9 Tips and Tricks

(upbeat music)

- Do you have a pet?

- I do, in fact, I have two pets.

I have two cats and right now they're cuddling together.

(laughing)

One is a black cat with some white markings

and the other cat is a white cat with some black markings,

so they're the perfect combination.

- Right, and do you like animals?

- I do like animals,

but I don't often like the upkeep of animals.

So I love visiting other people who have dogs.

Today I visited a farm so I could see some goats

and chickens.

My toddler loves animals too, so it's good to visit,

but it's not always nice to have to do the daily upkeep.

- And did you have a pet as a child?

- Yes, I had a few pets,

but the main pet that I had was a cat,

a Siamese cat named Dodger,

who in fact lived for 18 years

and he passed away just two years ago,

and we got him when I was in middle school,

so he had a long, amazing life.

- When did you start to learn math?

- Oh, I learned lots at school when I was a kid,

and I always loved math.

It was a really nice, a really enjoyable subject for me.

And at one point I was thinking of studying at university.

- Is maths important?

- Oh, absolutely.

Wow, yes, I mean, even from simple arithmetic,

when you go around the supermarket,

you need to be able to add up and check your bill.

I need arithmetic to do my taxes every year.

- And what is a good way to learn maths?

- I think a good teacher is essential.

I think I enjoyed math so much

because I had inspiring teachers

who made it fun and interesting.

- What do people usually do with rubbish in your country?

- Well, in the US we often call this trash,

(laughs)

and usually people just throw their trash in the trash can,

but it's becoming more popular recycle.

And we often, for example, in my house,

we have a trash can for things that can't be recycled,

and then we have a recycling bag where we put glass bottles

or plastic containers,

but there's often some scandal in different cities

about if the recycling is actually being recycled.

So some people feel really skeptical and don't even recycle,

but for me, I tried to do that.

- Right, so, what do you think

when you see rubbish or trash on the roads?

- When I see trash on the road,

I usually wonder what kind of people could throw their trash

on the ground and not pick it up.

It's kind of mind blowing to me

that the simple act of picking up your trash,

someone wouldn't do for me, it's a no brainer,

of course I'll pick up my trash,

but it's amazing some people don't feel the same way.

- Do you ever recycle paper and plastic?

- Yes, I often recycle paper and hard plastics,

but in my city, something like a plastic bag,

these kinds of soft plastics, we can't recycle.

So we have to just throw them out

or try to at least reuse a plastic bag a couple of times

before throwing it out.

- Harry, is it important to keep your city clean?

- Absolutely, I'd say it should be everyone's priority.

We should avoid littering at all costs,

otherwise the streets just become filthy and on top of that,

it can pose a health risk to the community, nice.

Great, and what's your favorite room?

- Oh, that's a difficult one.

I like the main room, so we've got a main room,

which is like a kitchen, dining room, living room.

And it's quite spacious, there's a nice fireplace,

so we can actually have a log fires going

in very cold nights.

- And is there anything you would like to change

about that room?

- Yeah, we need to put more artwork on the walls

because we moved in, well, it's a year ago now,

but things move very slowly around here.

We haven't put up enough artwork,

so we're looking for pictures, paintings,

designs, and things that will go on the walls.

- Nice, did you like wearing jeans?

- For sure, I wear jeans an awful lot

because they're just so comfy and practical.

That said, I don't wear them in the summer so much

because it's usually too hot.

I think they're more suitable for the cooler seasons.

- Right, how many hours do you sleep every day?

- And this is a really strange question for me

because my sleep is very erratic.

Sometimes I'll only sleep four hours

or sometimes it will be six hours

or sometimes it will be 10.

- Are you a patient person Harry?

- By and large, yes.

I'm a fairly laid back person,

that said it really does depend on the situation.

I can get impatient sometimes in long queues,

like at the checkout till, in a supermarket.

- Are you a patient person, Dick?

- Yes, I am.

I have to be as a musician.

I don't get impatient easily.

I'm happy to just let things happen,

unless I'm hungry, then I lose my patience really quickly.

- Which languages do you speak?

- I speak English and I speak some French as well.

I live in France.

My friends should be better than it is,

but I do speak some French every day.

I go out to the, you know,

to the bakery that belongs to Yuri and buy my bread

and sort of chat to people I meet in the streets

and I pick up my daughter from the creche

and I speak a bit French there.

So yeah, my French is kind of coming along.

- Do you often look at the sky?

- Yes, I do, I love looking at the sky.

In Paris sometimes we get beautiful sunsets,

and it's fantastic to look out the window

and see the sky there.

Also when I'm in the countryside back home,

certainly in England, I'll often be looking at the sky,

looking for birds because my family will,

for some reason, the birdwatchers we love, you know,

identify different birds and things.

And so it's always interesting

to have a sort of scan of the horizon.

- Do you know much about the stars and planets?

- Well, I mean, there's so much to know.

I know little things, I know for example,

some constellations, I know what Orion looks like.

I know what is it the great bear or the plow

is what we used to call it in my family,

and the north star and some things like that,

but no, not really, I don't understand most of it,

it's incredibly complicated.

- Right, here we are,

have you always had the hair style you have now?

- No, not at all.

I mean, my hair really short now

because it's much more manageable, you know,

easy to wash, no need to brush it and that.

But when I was younger,

I used to have long, shoulder-length hair.

I also played with the idea of dying it,

but in the end, I never did.

- Right, now then., what's happening.

Do you go to the barber's a lot?

- To tell the truth,

I never go to the hairdressers these days

because my wife cuts my hair.

However, when I was younger,

I used to go once a month and I always got the same style,

short back and sides.

- What mobile apps do you use?

- I use the usual ones of like

the social media channels of,

well, mainly Facebook and Instagram.

I'm not so clued up on how to use Twitter for example,

it's a bit too complicated for me.

What other apps do I use?

I use Sky Sports News quite a lot,

so I can keep up to date with all the football news.

- What kind of apps do you expect will have in the future?

- Well, wow, in the future, I mean,

I suppose any kind of app,

I know this virtual, what's it called?

Virtual reality, VI virtual intelligence kind of thing

is quite big these days, so maybe something like that,

where you wear the goggles as well with the app.

I'm not so sure, I'm not really big on technology.

I just do what they tell me to do,

and even then I have difficulty,

but to try and actually envisage

what will happen in the future, I'm not so sure.

- Right, have you spend a lot of money on a perfume?

- Yes, I think I would,

if I was buying a present for somebody,

I'd be happy to splash out on a nice perfume.

It depends really, if I was buying it for myself,

I don't think I would spend too much.

If I was buying a present for somebody,

then yes, I'd fork out a bit of extra money.