IELTS Speaking — Practice Test 6

Band 9  ~2 minutes

The book I’d like to talk about is a novel called The River That Remembers, which I read a couple of years ago and which has stayed with me ever since.

It’s a work of historical fiction set in a small riverside village, and it follows a young boy growing up there during a period of great change. As new roads and factories gradually reach the village, his simple, traditional way of life begins to disappear, and the story traces how he and his family adapt — or fail to adapt — to the modern world arriving on their doorstep.

I actually read it during a long holiday, and I remember finishing the whole thing in just a few sittings, because I simply couldn’t put it down.

There are several reasons I enjoyed it so much. Firstly, the writing was absolutely beautiful — the author painted the landscape so vividly that I felt as though I were standing on the riverbank myself. Secondly, and more importantly, the themes really resonated with me. The tension between tradition and progress is something I see in my own country, so the story felt deeply relevant rather than distant.

Above all, though, it was the emotional depth that won me over. By the final page I felt genuinely moved, and it made me reflect on how quickly the world around us is changing. That, for me, is the mark of a truly memorable book.

Band 7  ~1.5–2 minutes

The book I want to talk about is a novel called The River That Remembers, which I read a couple of years ago and still remember well.

It is a work of historical fiction set in a small riverside village. It follows a young boy who grows up there during a time of big change. As new roads and factories reach the village, his simple, traditional life starts to disappear, and the story shows how he and his family try to adapt to the modern world.

I read it during a long holiday, and I remember finishing it in only a few sittings because I could not put it down.

There are a few reasons I enjoyed it so much. First, the writing was very beautiful, and the author described the landscape so well that I felt I was standing on the riverbank. Second, and more importantly, the themes were very relevant to me. The tension between tradition and progress is something I see in my own country, so the story did not feel distant.

Most of all, the story was very emotional. By the last page I felt really moved, and it made me think about how fast the world is changing. That is why it is such a memorable book for me.

Band 5–6  ~1–1.5 minutes

The book i want to talk about is a novel called The River That Remembers which i read a couple of year ago and still remember well.

It is a historical fiction set in a small riverside village. It follow a young boy who grow up there during a time of big change. As new road and factory reach the village his simple traditional life start to disappear, and the story show how he and his family try to adapt to the modern world.

I read it during a long holiday and i remember finishing it in only a few sitting because i could not put it down.

There are a few reason i enjoy it so much. First the writing was very beautiful and the author describe the landscape so well that i felt i was standing on the riverbank. Second and more important the theme were very relevant to me. The tension between tradition and progress is something i see in my own country so the story did not feel distant.

Most of all the story was very emotional. By the last page i felt really moved and it make me think about how fast the world is changing. That is why it is such a memorable book for me.

Band 9

1. For a whole host of reasons, I think. On the surface, films are pure escapism — a way to relax and forget your worries for a couple of hours. But the best films do more than entertain; they move us, challenge our views, and help us understand lives very different from our own.

2. That’s a tricky comparison, because they offer different things. A book lets your imagination do the work and usually explores characters in far greater depth, whereas a film brings a story to life visually and can be more immediate. Personally, I’d say neither is superior — they’re simply different experiences.

3. Enormously. Streaming and e-readers have made an astonishing amount of content available instantly and cheaply, which is wonderful for access. The downside, though, is that our attention spans seem to have shortened, and many people now struggle to sit through anything long or demanding.

4. In terms of books, probably yes — at least deep, sustained reading. That said, people are arguably reading more than ever in the broad sense; they’re constantly reading articles, messages and posts on their phones. It’s just that the reading is shorter and more fragmented.

5. I firmly believe they should. The arts are a vital part of a nation’s culture and identity, but they’re rarely very profitable, so without some public funding a lot of valuable work simply wouldn’t get made. It’s an investment in a society’s soul, not just its economy.

Band 7

1. For many reasons, I think. On the surface, films are pure escapism — a way to relax and forget your worries for a couple of hours. But the best films do more than entertain; they move us, challenge our opinions, and help us understand different lives.

2. That is a difficult comparison, because they give different things. A book lets your imagination work and usually explores characters more deeply, while a film brings a story to life visually and is more immediate. Personally, I think neither is better — they are just different.

3. A lot. Streaming and e-readers have made a huge amount of content available instantly and cheaply, which is great for access. But the problem is that our attention spans have got shorter, and many people now find it hard to watch or read anything long.

4. As for books, probably yes, especially deep reading. But in another way, people read more than ever, because they are always reading articles, messages and posts on their phones. The reading is just shorter and more broken up.

5. Yes, I strongly think they should. The arts are an important part of a country’s culture and identity, but they are not very profitable, so without some public funding a lot of valuable work would not be made. It is an investment in society, not just the economy.

Band 5–6

1. For many reason i think. On the surface film is pure escapism, a way to relax and forget your worry for a couple of hour. But the best film do more than entertain, they move us, challenge our opinion and help us understand different life.

2. That is a difficult comparison because they give different thing. A book let your imagination work and usually explore character more deeply while a film bring a story to life visually and is more immediate. Personally i think neither is better, they are just different.

3. A lot. Streaming and e-reader have made a huge amount of content available instantly and cheaply which is great for access. But the problem is our attention span have got shorter and many people now find it hard to watch or read anything long.

4. As for book probably yes especially deep reading. But in another way people read more than ever because they are always reading article, message and post on their phone. The reading is just shorter and more broken up.

5. Yes i strongly think they should. The arts are an important part of a country culture and identity but they are not very profitable, so without some public funding a lot of valuable work would not be made. It is an investment in society not just the economy.