CELPIP Speaking Task 3 · Describing a Scene · question 9 of 20
Moving Day on a Residential Street
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 on a residential street on moving day 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 bright, breezy morning at the end of June on a quiet residential street lined with brick houses. A large white moving truck is parked in front of one of the houses with its back door rolled up. On the left, two men in matching blue T-shirts are carrying a brown leather sofa down the front steps. In the centre, a woman with a clipboard is standing on the lawn, checking off items on a list. Next to her, a pile of cardboard boxes is labelled Kitchen and Books in black marker. On the right, on the neighbouring porch, an elderly man is holding a plate of muffins covered with plastic wrap and walking toward the woman. A boy is sitting on the curb beside a bicycle, hugging a cat carrier with a grey cat inside. In the background, a little girl is waving from the upstairs window of the house across the street.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Question
- 9 of 20
A simple way to build your answer
- Explain quickly that a family is moving; the truck and boxes make this clear.
- Describe the neighbour's plate of muffins and make a reasonable guess about why he is bringing it.
- Use prepositions of place carefully: on the lawn, down the steps, on the curb, across the street.
Model answer · CLB 9
163 words · no sign-upThis is a quiet street with brick houses, on a sunny, breezy morning, and it's clearly moving day for one of the families. There's a big white moving truck parked out front with the back door rolled open. On the left, two movers in matching blue T-shirts are carrying a brown leather couch down the front steps, and it looks heavy. In the middle, a woman with a clipboard is standing on the lawn, ticking things off a list. Beside her, there's a stack of cardboard boxes marked Kitchen and Books. Now, on the right, an older man from the house next door is walking over with a plate of muffins wrapped in plastic. He's probably saying goodbye, or maybe he just wants to be friendly. A boy is sitting on the curb next to his bike, hugging a cat carrier with a grey cat in it. And in the background, a little girl is waving from an upstairs window across the street.
Why this answer works
- Identifies the main event (moving day) in the first sentence, which helps the listener interpret every detail.
- Offers two possible explanations for the neighbour's muffins, showing flexible, careful inference.
- Uses a discourse marker ('Now, on the right') to shift attention naturally.
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