CELPIP Speaking Task 3 · Describing a Scene · question 20 of 20
A Maple Sugar Shack in Early Spring
A CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice question (Describing a Scene), 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
Describe some things that are happening in this scene at a maple sugar shack as well as you can. The person with whom you are speaking cannot see it.
- Read the scene, prepare during the preparation time, then speak aloud for the speaking time.
The scene
On the real test you see a picture. Here the scene is described in words, so describe it as if you were looking at it.
It is a sunny afternoon in early April at a maple sugar shack in the countryside in Quebec. There are still patches of snow on the ground, and metal buckets are hanging from the trunks of the maple trees. On the left, a man in a checked shirt is pouring hot maple syrup in thin lines onto a long wooden tray filled with clean snow. A row of children is standing in front of the tray, each holding a wooden stick, ready to roll up the taffy. In the centre, a woman in a knitted hat is collecting sap, emptying a bucket from a tree into a larger container on a sled. On the right, a small wooden building has steam pouring out of the roof, and a man is carrying an armful of firewood through the door. In the background, families are sitting at long picnic tables, eating pancakes, and a brown horse is pulling a wagon along a muddy trail.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Question
- 20 of 20
A simple way to build your answer
- Explain the taffy-on-snow tradition in one simple sentence; the listener may not know it.
- Describe the steam from the roof and make a careful guess about what is happening inside.
- Mention the leftover snow and mud to show it is early spring.
Model answer · CLB 9
161 words · no sign-upSo here we are at a maple sugar shack in the Quebec countryside on a sunny afternoon in early April. There's still some snow around, and metal buckets are hanging on the maple trees. On the left, a man in a checked shirt is pouring hot syrup in thin lines onto a long tray of clean snow, and a row of kids is lined up in front, each with a wooden stick, waiting to roll up the maple taffy. That's a classic spring tradition. In the middle, a woman in a knitted hat is emptying one of the buckets into a bigger container on a sled. Over on the right, there's a little wooden building with steam pouring out of the roof, so they're probably boiling the sap in there. A man is carrying firewood through the door. And in the background, families are eating pancakes at long picnic tables while a brown horse pulls a wagon along a muddy trail.
Why this answer works
- Briefly explains a cultural tradition, which helps a listener who cannot see the picture.
- Interprets the steam from the roof with a sensible, hedged inference.
- Uses 'while' in the final sentence to combine two background actions smoothly.
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