Describe something that surprised you | Bài mẫu Speaking Part 2, 3
Describe something that surprised you. You should say:
What it is?
How you found out about it?
What you did?
And explain whether it made you happy?
Actually, I haven’t received many surprises in my life, but today, I’m going to tell you about a time when I had such an experience. Interestingly enough, it was around 4 years ago when I first took the IELTS test and received the result.
I was an eleventh-grader back then, and I must say that at that time, taking the IELTS exam was a commonplace, as compared to the present where it has become a prevalent trend. Basically, IELTS is an examination that aims to test your level of English proficiency. The idea of a high school student owning an IELTS certificate will give him or her an edge over their peers. In brief, the certificate could facilitate the process in which a high school student takes the university entrance exam.
What really blew me away was the result of the test. I had to admit, although I was not bad at studying English, studying IELTS was a completely different thing to me. I struggled constantly at first because the knowledge and requirements involved in the test were rather challenging. There was a moment when I thought I would fail, but when I received my result, I was speechless. It was a 7 overall, which had far exceeded my initial target.
The main reason why I was so dumbfounded is that I found it hard to finish the test under the pressure of time. I didn’t manage the time properly during my pre-exam lessons, while the situation was slightly better in the actual test. And I was right, although I did fail under the time pressure, I knew I tried my best.
Một số từ vựng ăn điểm được sử dụng trong bài mẫu IELTS Speaking Part 2 – Describe something that surprised you:
Interestingly enough (phrase): dùng để nói về những sự kiện người nói cho là kỳ lạ và thú vị
Eleventh-grader: người học lớp 11
Commonplace (n): điều tầm thường, thông thường
Prevalent (adj): thịnh hành
Proficiency (n): sự thông thạo
Edge (n): lợi thế
Facilitate (v): tạo điều kiện
Blow sbd away (phrasal verb): (điều gì) làm cho ai đó bất ngờ
Constantly (adv): liên tục
Challenging (adj): khó khăn, đầy thử thách
Speechless (adj): không nói nên lời
Exceed (v): vượt xa
Initial (adj): ban đầu
Dumbfounded (adj): quá bất ngờ, không nói nên lời
You should say:
– What it is?
– How you found out about it?
– What you did?
– And explain whether it made you happy?
Surprises are always pleasant and in fact, they make people feel the peak of happiness. Well, I haven’t received many surprises in my life, however, today I am going to talk about a time when I had such an experience. It was about four years ago when I was pursuing my Masters degree in England. Since it was the first time I celebrated my birthday in a foreign country without my family, I was out of sorts. However, my close friend who lived in the same dormitory said he would like to throw me a party, and I was so grateful for his kindness.
On the day of my birthday , I came to the common room to meet him and was over the moon to see all of my close friends in England were there. He even invited some of my classmates, who didn’t live in the same residence as us, to come over and celebrate my birthday. But that’s not all of it. After that, he showed me a video of birthday wishes given by all of them, and the most surprising part was that my English teacher was also there! It turned out that my friend contacted him by email and asked if he could make a short video to send me some wishes. It was such a pleasant surprise and I was moved to tears. They also brought out a cake that the girls made by themselves for my birthday, which was the best cake I’ve ever eaten in my life!
I was so happy and grateful to my foreign friends, who made all these arrangements. We all enjoyed the party to the fullest, and it gave me the chance to share my happiness with everyone. During this celebration, many photographs were clicked, and I still have those and whenever I check out these photographs, I recall the memories and the surprise that my friends gave.
Từ vựng:
Bản dịch:
Những điều bất ngờ luôn dễ chịu và khiến chúng ta cảm thấy hạnh phúc tột đỉnh. Tôi chưa nhận được nhiều điều bất ngờ trong cuộc đời mình, tuy nhiên, hôm nay tôi sẽ nói về khoảng thời gian mà tôi đã có một trải nghiệm như vậy. Đó là khoảng bốn năm trước khi tôi theo học bằng Thạc sĩ ở Anh. Vì đây là lần đầu tiên tôi tổ chức sinh nhật của mình ở nước ngoài mà không có gia đình bên cạnh, tôi cảm thấy khá buồn. Tuy nhiên, một người bạn thân sống cùng ký túc xá với tôi nói rằng anh ấy muốn tổ chức cho tôi một bữa tiệc, và tôi rất biết ơn lòng tốt của anh ấy.
Vào ngày sinh nhật của tôi, tôi đến phòng sinh hoạt chung để gặp anh ấy và đã rất hạnh phúc khi thấy tất cả những người bạn thân của tôi ở Anh đều ở đó. Anh ấy thậm chí còn mời một số bạn học của tôi, những người không sống cùng khu ký túc xá với chúng tôi, đến đó và chúc mừng sinh nhật tôi. Nhưng đó không phải là tất cả. Sau đó, anh ấy cho tôi xem một đoạn video có những lời chúc sinh nhật của tất cả mọi người, và điều bất ngờ nhất là giáo viên tiếng Anh của tôi cũng ở trong đoạn video đó. Hóa ra là bạn tôi đã liên lạc với thầy qua email và hỏi liệu thầy có thể làm một đoạn video ngắn để gửi cho tôi vài lời chúc không. Đó là một bất ngờ thú vị và tôi đã cảm động rơi nước mắt. Họ cũng mang ra một chiếc bánh do các bạn nữ tự làm cho sinh nhật của tôi, và đó là chiếc bánh ngon nhất mà tôi từng ăn trong đời!
Tôi rất vui và biết ơn những người bạn nước ngoài của tôi, những người đã sắp xếp tất cả những điều này. Tất cả chúng tôi đều tận hưởng bữa tiệc một cách trọn vẹn nhất và nó đã cho tôi cơ hội để chia sẻ niềm hạnh phúc của mình với mọi người. Trong buổi tiệc này, rất nhiều bức ảnh đã được chụp, và tôi vẫn còn giữ những bức ảnh đó và bất cứ khi nào tôi xem những bức ảnh này, tôi nhớ lại những kỷ niệm và sự ngạc nhiên mà bạn bè của tôi đã dành cho tôi.
One thing that surprised me was when I found out that I had won a scholarship to study abroad. I had applied for the scholarship a few months prior, but I had forgotten about it because I thought the chances of getting it were slim.
I found out about the scholarship through an email from the scholarship committee. At first, I thought it was a joke or some sort of scam email, so I double-checked the sender and the content of the email. After confirming its authenticity, I was overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotions.
I immediately called my parents and close friends to share the good news with them. I also started researching the country where I would be studying and planning my trip. I had to complete some paperwork and attend a few orientation sessions before leaving.
The news of winning the scholarship not only surprised me but also made me extremely happy. I felt like all my hard work and dedication had paid off. I was excited to embark on a new journey, explore a new culture, and meet new people. It was an opportunity of a lifetime that I never thought I would have.
Từ vựng:
Life is full of many surprises except that we don’t always care to recognize them just as such. I have also been surprised many times in my life, only to forget about them shortly thereafter, but the story, I am about to share here, will probably keep surprising me for a long, long time.
My father is a rather “reserved” person, meaning he doesn’t really like to talk much unless it is absolutely necessary. In fact, I have seen my father not having any normal and pleasant conversation with his wife, children, and even his elderly parents for days in a row unless the talks were about picking up some kind of trash or laundry. To my father, his work and office were his life- or at least this is what I assumed!
So, I wasn’t really surprised to learn that my father had decided to leave for a foreign country to avail of a very lucrative job offer about a few years ago. Initially, I didn’t really make much of this news, but when I was told that we probably wouldn’t be able to see him for at least the next 2 years or so, I was a bit saddened. I am sure that my father also knew how I really felt, but I guess he just chose to ignore it, apparently because he was determined to have the job - well, again this is what I thought.
But, on the other hand, I was determined to stop him from leaving his country. So, I just told him that he might not have missed me or his other family members, but I would miss him a lot if he were actually to leave his country. As soon as I said that, my father sat in his room and told me to leave his room in an emotional voice.
Later, I thought that he was mad at me, but to my utmost and pleasant surprise, he just told me that he was not leaving! In fact, I couldn’t quite believe that he would value the opinion of a “little guy” like me! Besides, I didn’t also expect my father to show his “emotion” like that! The whole affair was one of the most surprising events in my life so far.
No doubt, surprises and good news always delight a person and bring a huge smile to their face. However, there have been many surprising moments in my life. But one that I will share here is the surprise: my sister gave me on my 16th birthday. My elder sister, who has been living in Canada for a long time now, couldn’t travel to India for almost five years without any intimation. She arrived on my 16th birthday, and I was on cloud nine to see her on the doorsteps as she entered; she gave me a warm hug and wished me happy birthday and handed over a parcel to me. As I opened the parcel, I couldn’t believe my eye because it was the latest iPhone handset I had dreamed of for a long time. I was super happy on this day because nothing could have been a better gift for me on this special day. We all enjoyed the party to the fullest, allowing me to share my happiness with my sister and family. We’ve taken many photos, and whenever I see them, I recall the memories and the surprise that my sister gave me.
I think that Vietnamese people express their happiness in pretty much the same way as people in other countries. Basically, when we are happy, we tend to put a big smile on our face. I once read an article that said smiling causes the brain to release dopamine – a kind of hormone that results in the feeling of well-being.
Moreover, people also tend to show they are happy by either verbal or non-verbal language. They can directly tell you that they are happy, or communicate such positive feelings through their eye contact or facial expression.
Từ vựng:
Pretty much (phrase): gần như là
Dopamine (n): một loại hóoc môn giúp kích thích tinh thần vui vẻ, sảng khoái
Well-being (n): sự khỏe mạnh, hạnh phúc
Verbal >< non-verbal language (phrase): ngôn ngữ nói >< ngôn ngữ không lời
Facial expression (phrase): biểu cảm khuôn mặt
It is proved by research that shopping, or retail therapy makes us happier, even if the feeling is only temporary. It is a very effective way at improving a bad mood because treating oneself does really cheer us up. And as I mentioned above, dopamine is also released by our brains when we buy the things we like, hunt for a good deal, and so on.
Từ vựng:
Retail therapy (phrase): phương pháp trị liệu bằng việc mua sắm
Temporary (adj): tạm thời, không kéo dài lâu
Cheer sbd up (phrasal verb): làm cho ai đó vui
Hunt (v): săn (cả nghĩa đen lẫn bóng)
It seems obvious that happy emotions like joy or contentment promote a healthy lifestyle. Such a positive feeling can help us relieve stress or boost the immune system, even. I feel that happy people generally are the ones who always think positively. They see the world in a different perspective and they solve the problems in a very wise and rational way, too. So yeah, I mean, being happy is extremely beneficial to our life.
Từ vựng:
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