CELPIP Speaking Task 2 · Talking About a Personal Experience · question 9 of 20
A Purchase You Regretted
A CELPIP Speaking Task 2 practice question (Talking About a Personal Experience), with a model answer below. No sign-up needed. Read the task, take 30 seconds to prepare, then speak for 60 seconds, out loud, as you would on the test.
The task
Talk about a time when you bought something and later regretted it. Describe what you bought and why you regretted it.
- Read the task, prepare during the preparation time, then speak aloud for the speaking time.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Question
- 9 of 20
A simple way to build your answer
- Set the scene briefly: when, where and who.
- Tell the events in order, in the past tense.
- Finish with how you felt or what you learned.
Model answer · CLB 9
137 words · no sign-upA few winters ago I bought an expensive treadmill during a Boxing Day sale. It was about forty percent off, and I convinced myself that I would run every morning before work. The delivery took almost a month, and when it arrived, it was much bigger than I expected. It barely fit in the corner of my basement. For the first two weeks I used it every day, and I felt really proud of myself. But then work got busier, and the treadmill slowly turned into a place to hang laundry. After about a year I sold it online for less than half of what I'd paid. Now, before I buy anything big, I wait at least a week and ask myself whether I really need it. That one purchase taught me a lot about impulse shopping.
Why this answer works
- Clear cause and effect: the sale, the promise to himself, what actually happened.
- Humorous detail (a place to hang laundry) makes the answer memorable without going off topic.
- Finishes with a changed habit, showing what the experience led to.
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