CELPIP Speaking Task 3 · Describing a Scene · question 1 of 20
An Outdoor Skating Rink on a Winter Afternoon
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 an outdoor skating rink 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 cold, clear winter afternoon at an outdoor skating rink in a small-town park. The sky is pale blue and the snowbanks around the rink are piled high. On the left, a father in a red parka is kneeling beside a wooden bench, lacing up his young daughter's white skates. In the centre, a teenage boy and girl are skating side by side, holding hands and laughing. Near them, a small boy in a blue helmet is pushing a plastic skating aid shaped like a seal. On the right, a man in an orange vest is clearing snow off the ice with a wide shovel. Behind the boards, a woman is pouring hot chocolate from a large thermos into paper cups for two children. In the background, there is a small green warming hut with smoke rising from its chimney, and a row of pine trees covered in snow.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Question
- 1 of 20
A simple way to build your answer
- Mention the weather and the snowbanks early so the listener can picture the cold.
- Move from left to centre to right, then finish with the warming hut and trees in the background.
- Describe the small boy's seal-shaped skating aid; an unusual object makes your answer memorable.
Model answer · CLB 9
158 words · no sign-upSo this is an outdoor skating rink in a park, on a really cold but sunny winter afternoon. The sky is pale blue and there are huge snowbanks all around the ice. Over on the left, a dad in a red parka is kneeling by a bench and lacing up his little girl's white skates, so she's probably just learning. Right in the middle, a teenage couple is skating together, holding hands and laughing. Close to them, a small boy in a blue helmet is pushing one of those plastic skating helpers, and it's shaped like a seal, which is pretty cute. On the right side, a man in an orange vest is shovelling snow off the ice. Just behind the boards, a woman is pouring hot chocolate from a thermos for two kids. And at the back, there's a little green warming hut with smoke coming out of the chimney, and a row of snowy pine trees.
Why this answer works
- Sets the time, place and weather in the first two sentences before any people appear.
- Moves clearly from left to centre to right and then to the back, so the listener never gets lost.
- Adds a sensible inference ('she's probably just learning') without inventing anything that is not in the scene.
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