Cambridge 14 Speaking Test 4

Part 1


The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.

Your neighborhood

Do you like the neighborhood you live in? [Why/Why not?]

The place where I live is a very quiet neighborhood, with little movement of people and little noise. For those reasons I like my neighborhood.

You can go outside my house at any time of the day and nobody will bother you. It’s really tranquil.

What do you do in your neighborhood in your free time? [Why?]

In the afternoons when I have free time I go for a walk.

The good thing about my neighborhood is that there are very few cars and the streets have many tall and beautiful trees that protect you from the sun.

Quite often I see some neighbors also out walking their dogs.

What new things would you like to have in your neighborhood? [Why?]

I wish there was a park in my neighborhood. With space to play ball, basketball, and volleyball courts. It would be great if it also had a closed place to release your dog so it could play with other dogs.

Would you like to live in another neighborhood in your town or city? [Why/Why not?]

I don't think I would like to live in another area within the city where I live. There are several reasons why I wouldn’t prefer to live elsewhere, such as my neighborhood is quiet, safe and one of the coolest areas of my city because the other neighborhoods are hotter and busier – with lots of people and traffic.



Part 2
Describe a website you have bought something from.
You should say:
  • what the website is
  • what you bought from this website
  • how satisfied you were with what you bought
and explain what you liked and disliked about using this website.



Some years ago I decided to buy a desk because I was about to start college and I wanted something very comfortable to spend many hours studying.

The plan was to position it in a specific corner of my house. Thinking about this, I went looking for several furniture stores in my city, but none of the desks I saw were adapted to my needs for space and taste.

Due to this problem, I chose to start my search on the internet, looking at websites that some friends recommended, where I could buy the ideal type of desk for what I wanted.

After several visits to many pages, I found Amazon, which surprised me with the great variety of designs and prices that they offered in furniture, in addition to the thousands of different things that can also be found on that site.

This website is well-known worldwide. You can buy any type of product from it, basically, as its slogan says: "From A to Z", there is no minimum amount, nor a minimum number of products to buy, so it is a giant online retailer.

The design of the page is very comfortable and rigorously organized. Everything is cataloged by fields of different topics, some examples are home, electronics, motorsports, sports, tools, gardening, and of course, the product with which Amazon initially started: the sale of books of any kind.

One of the curiosities of this page is the origin of its name since it comes from the word Amazonas, the explanation according to its creator, is that he wanted the offer to be as immense and varied as the river that bears the same name.

On this page, I found the type of desk I needed, despite not seeing it physically and only having the idea from ​​the photos shown, all the characteristics, features, and measurements were explained on the page.

As for the cost of shipping, it was free, due to the amount of the purchase, and it arrived in a very short time at my address without any setback.

Part 3

Discussion topics:

Shopping online


What kinds of things do people in your country often buy from online shops?

Most of the people who live in my country buy their things directly from the commercial stores since not everyone has the confidence to buy online, due to the theft of card data and unreliable websites.

But people who buy online choose items from a wide variety of products such as footwear, clothing, kitchen utensils, tools, and sports items, among others.

Why has online shopping become so popular in many countries?

Buying online has become a very useful option for everyone in the world. The reasons may vary, but I think the most important are: time, diversity, and economy.

Currently, due to people working so much, there is less time to visit physical stores.

In addition, when you shop online you are more likely to find hundreds of different options even from different countries around the world.

And on several occasions, the costs are cheaper online than in a physical store.

What are some possible disadvantages of buying things from online shops?


The possible disadvantages of buying online could be related to the quality of the product you are looking for and the reality when the product arrives, since the photos on the website can give a very different impression of a product sometimes. This is more common with the not so well known brands.

Another disadvantage can be the waiting time between the purchase and the arrival of the product since it could take longer than expected, and even not arrive on time, which is important in case it is for an event on a specific date.

Online retail businesses

Do you agree that the prices of all goods should be lower on internet shopping sites than in shops?

Because physical establishments in shopping centers have to pay different permits, rent, and salaries, most of these businesses raise their costs in order to be profitable for their owners.

It’s not so with online stores, since they don't have to pay a lot of these inevitable taxes and rent. That is why I consider that the costs should be cheaper in online stores, and in most cases they are.

Will large shopping malls continue to be popular, despite the growth of internet shopping?

Shopping in the malls is a custom that will rarely be forgotten. Humans are by nature social beings that require interaction.

So, shopping in malls offers this opportunity to interact with the world and meet more people.

Shopping centers have the advantage of this social interaction since inside them you’ll always see many people gathered to spend a pleasant time together.

Do you think that some businesses (e.g. banks and travel agents) will only operate online in the future?

In recent years we have witnessed an undeniable race because many services, for the most part, have been transferred to the Internet and to the comfort of mobile devices.

There is even a growing generation of people who increasingly dispense with using cash in favor of contactless mobile payments, and so they no longer need bank branches like before.

For this reason, I consider it very likely that in the future banks and probably many other types of business will be operated solely online, especially in developed countries and large cities. People want the greater convenience that this offers.





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