The examiner asks you some questions about yourself and about familiar, everyday topics. Answer each question aloud and record yourself if you can; the model answers unlock after you submit.
Topic 1 — Work or studies
"I'm a student at the moment. I'm in the third year of an environmental science degree at a university in Dhaka, and I'm hoping to work on river pollution once I graduate."
"Probably the fieldwork. Last term we spent a week testing water quality in rivers around Dhaka, and seeing the problems first-hand made everything we'd read in lectures feel far more real."
"I'd like a bit more practical work, to be honest. A lot of what we do is based on textbooks, and I think we'd learn far more from short placements with environmental organisations."
"Mostly on my own, because I concentrate better when it's quiet. That said, before exams I meet up with a couple of classmates, and explaining things to each other really helps to fix the ideas in my head."
Topic 2 — Names
"It does, actually. My name means 'light' in Arabic, and my grandfather chose it because I was born just before dawn — or at least that's the family story!"
"Very often. Almost everyone in Bangladesh has a pet name that's used at home, and quite a few people are known by it far more widely than by their official name."
"Not especially, I'm afraid. I'm much better with faces, so I sometimes recognise someone instantly but have to wait for a clue in the conversation before I can work out what they're called."
Topic 3 — Boats
"Yes, many times. Whenever we visit my grandparents in Barishal, we take the overnight launch from Sadarghat, so for me a boat journey is a normal part of going home rather than an adventure."
"I loved it. My cousins and I used to stand on the upper deck for hours, waving at the small fishing boats and trying to count how many we passed before it got dark."
"Less than they used to be, I'd say. Since the Padma Bridge opened, a lot of people travelling to the south go by bus instead, although the launches from Sadarghat are still packed around Eid."
"Perhaps one day, but I'd want proper lessons first. Rivers here can look calm and then change very quickly, so I'd rather leave it to people who really know what they're doing."
Read the card, then use the 1-minute preparation timer to make quick notes. When it ends, start the 2-minute timer and speak until it stops, covering all four points.
"I'd like to talk about my grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary, which we celebrated about two years ago. It was actually a surprise party, which made it even more special.
The whole thing was organised by my mother and her three brothers, and it took place on the rooftop of my uncle's building in Mirpur. They'd hired fairy lights and a few tables, and one of my cousins, who's quite artistic, made a huge banner with old black-and-white photos of my grandparents from when they first got married.
As for who was there, it was pretty much the entire extended family — I think around sixty people in all — including some relatives I hadn't seen for years, because they'd travelled down from Sylhet and Chattogram especially. A few of my grandfather's old colleagues came too, which he definitely wasn't expecting.
What I remember most is the moment my grandparents walked up the stairs. My grandfather had been told we were just going for a quiet family dinner, so when everyone suddenly shouted and the lights came on, he just stood there, completely speechless. My grandmother, on the other hand, burst into tears — happy tears, I should say.
So why did I enjoy it so much? Well, partly it was just a great evening: the food was fantastic, and my younger cousins put on a slightly chaotic little play about how my grandparents met, which had everyone in stitches. But mainly, I think, it was because it made me appreciate how much they'd built together. Seeing four generations in one place, all there because of these two people, was genuinely moving. It's the kind of evening that reminds you what really matters, and I'm so glad we made the effort while they're both still healthy enough to enjoy it."
The examiner asks you some more general questions connected with the topic in Part 2. Answer each question aloud; the model answers unlock after you submit.
Theme 1 — Family celebrations
"In some ways they've become much bigger and more formal. My parents say that weddings used to be held at home, with neighbours helping to cook, whereas now most families hire a community centre and a catering company, and the guest lists have grown enormously. On the other hand, the core of these occasions — bringing relatives together and honouring elders — hasn't really changed, even if the setting has become far more commercial. In a way, the occasions have grown while the spirit has stayed the same."
"I can understand the desire to make a big day memorable, but I think it often goes too far. It's not unusual for families to take out loans just to meet social expectations, and that debt can hang over a young couple for years. Personally, I'd say the money would be far better spent on helping them set up a home. A celebration doesn't need to be lavish to be meaningful, and some of the happiest weddings I've been to were actually quite modest."
"Partly it's a question of priorities. For older people, these gatherings are a rare chance to catch up with relatives, but young people often feel they're being questioned about their exams, jobs or marriage plans, which can be quite uncomfortable. There's also the fact that young people are in constant contact with their friends online, so a big family get-together doesn't feel quite as special to them. I suspect many of them will value these occasions more once they're older, though."
"I suspect they will, at least in cities. Families are getting smaller and more scattered, with many people working abroad, so it's simply harder to gather everyone in one place. My guess is that we'll see more small, intimate events, with distant relatives joining by video call. That said, I don't think big occasions like weddings will disappear entirely, because they carry too much cultural weight, and families will still make the effort for the occasions that really count."
Theme 2 — Celebrations and society
"The main difference, I think, is scale and purpose. A family celebration marks something personal, like a birth or a marriage, whereas a national celebration is about shared identity. On Victory Day, for example, millions of people who will never meet each other are remembering the same history. So family events strengthen private bonds, while national ones remind people that they belong to something much larger. Both matter, but in quite different ways."
"Within limits, yes. Well-organised public celebrations can bring people from very different backgrounds together and give a real boost to tourism and local businesses. But there has to be a line. If hospitals and schools are short of funding, spending huge sums on firework displays would be very hard to justify, so the scale should always reflect what the country can genuinely afford. A modest, well-run event can be just as meaningful as an extravagant one."
"It's already changing things, and I imagine that will continue. People now share every moment of an event online, and relatives abroad can join in live. In the future, perhaps virtual reality will let someone in Canada feel as if they're actually sitting at a wedding in Dhaka. The risk, though, is that people spend so much time recording a celebration that they forget to enjoy it. I'd hate to see celebrations turn into something we mainly watch through a screen."