IELTS Speaking Part 2
Describe a person you know whose job is important to society
You should say:
• who this person is
• how you know this person
• what job they do (= he or she does)
and explain why you think their job is important or why you think their work contributes tosociety.
Describe someone in the news who you would like to meet.
You should say:
• who this person is
• why they are in the news
and explain why you would like to meet this person.
Answer
Today, I am going to talk about a person whose job is important to society/ in the news whom I would like to meet. It is Kenny G, the saxophonist.
I first listened to his music when I was very small, starting with the well-known piece “Forever in Love”. It was so melodious and relaxing that every time I listened to it, I felt like I was on cloud 9.
Recently, Kenny G decided to hold a concert in Vietnam and it quickly became a major news story, covered in all of our media from newspapers to TV, and most radio channels. For people like me, who have been used to listening to his saxophone recordings since we were young, this was a once in a lifetime chance to meet him in person and listen to his music at a live concert, not on a music CD or online playlist.
Maybe to many people, being a musician doesn’t contribute much to our society. However, I think that any career that we choose to pursue plays an important role in our lives. If a business person is important, so is a musician. Imagine a world without music, it would definitely be so dull and boring. In addition, music also helps us soothe our soul and relax our brain after hard days at work. Although we cannot quantify its benefit, the positive effects that music brings to our lives are undeniably worth valuing.
Vocabulary:
– saxophonist: [noun] a person who plays the saxophone.
Example: At the music concert, I thought that the saxophonist and the pianist were particularly good.
– piece: [noun] here we use ‘piece’ to mean a ‘piece of music’. We usually use it to refer to classical music or jazz –not modern or rock music.
Example: At the concert, Kenny G played two pieces which he had written himself.
– melodious: [adjective] music which is pleasant to listen to is ‘melodious’.
Example: The piece was so melodious that I remember it whenever I am feeling relaxed and comfortable.
– on cloud 9: [expression] extremely happy.
Example: When I read that I had passed the exam, I was on cloud 9.
– hold a concert: [verb phrase] to have a concert – we also use ‘hold a meeting/hold a competition’ in the same way.
Example: The organisers decided to hold the concert in New York.
– once in a lifetime: [expression] used to describe something special that is not likely to happen to you again.
Example: When my friend invited me to Brazil, I knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance to visit the Amazon rainforest.
– live concert: [noun] a concert when people are watching and listening when the event is actually taking place.
Example: One thousand people attended the live concert to hear the musicians perform in person.
– soothe our soul: [verb phrase] to make us feel relaxed and peaceful.
Example: Rock music is loud, but to feel relaxed I prefer to listen to classical music to soothe my soul.
– quantify: [verb] to express something as an amount or number.
Example: The pleasure that we feel when we see or hear something beautiful is impossible to quantify.
