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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 18

Part 1 - Introduction & Interview:

Where are you from?
A. I am originally from "Biratnagar", a town located in Morang district in the Koshi Zone of Eastern Nepal. However, for the last couple of years, I have been staying in Kathmandu, which is the capital city of Nepal.

What do you do in your leisure time?
A. Generally speaking, I spend my leisure hours reading books, browsing the internet, enjoying movies and listening to music. Sometimes I hang out with my friends during the weekends and travel to new places.

Do you like music? What types of music do you listen to most often?
A. Yes, I like to listen to music very much and I believe that music is refreshing and stimulating. I often listen to music in my free time, especially at night. I also listen to my favourite music whenever I feel stressed. Usually, I prefer classical music with meaningful lyrics. Contemporary soft rock music is also on my favourite list.

Why do teenagers like rock music?
A. I believe teenagers are attracted to high-pitched music and they like the heavy instruments used in rock music. The rock singers represent the contemporary issues in their music and have a different tone than conventional music and that’s another reason teenagers often prefer rock music.

Which one is better - classical or pop music? [Why?]
A. Music preference varies from person to person and there is no definitive winner, I believe. While some people mostly prefer classical music, others favour pop music. The choice of music, in my opinion, varies based on geographical location, the type of music we listen to in our childhood, gender, age and educational level as well. I personally prefer classical music over pop music. But as I said, which one is better is solely dependent on a person’s preference for music.

Who is your favourite musician? [Why?]
A.  My favourite musician is A. R. Rahman, who is basically an Indian musician. He won several prestigious music awards for his tremendous contribution to the music as well as inherent talent in music composition. He has a natural talent for music and has created several popular songs and lyrics. Apart from him, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney and John Lennon are a few of my favourite musicians and singers.

Do you listen to foreign music or music of your language? [Why?]
A.  I like listening to both local and foreign music. I used to listen to Hindi music until I was 16 years old. But now I listen to both English and Hindi music. I have heard a few Spanish songs but I did not understand the lyrics that well as my Spanish is not good enough.

Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Topic:

Describe your favourite politician.

You should say:

• who is he/she
• what he/she has done that you can tell others
• whether you want to be like him/her

and explain why this person is your favourite politician.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Click here for the answer to this Cue Card Topic

Part 3 - Details Discussion:

How politicians' help and decisions make the world a better place?
A. Politicians are in the leading roles in a country and their decisions and strategies affect the country and its citizen one way or another. They often prepare roadmaps for the development of the nation and provide directions in important sectors like economy, administration, agriculture, education, industry, trade, infrastructural development and monetary policy. Though not all politicians are honest and dedicated, the world has still got many politicians who sacrifice their lives for the betterment of the nations. They make better policy to run the country, they protest unjust, they sacrifice their personal lives and make the nations prosperous.

What qualities a good leader should have in your opinion? 
A. A good leader or politician should always be honest, visionary and selfless. He/she will think and work for the countrymen and would not be tempted by any personal gain, or influenced by any force or pressure. He/she should have a clear vision and work accordingly and remember that he/she was given the position to serve ordinary citizens not to oppress them. Moreover, a good politician, in my opinion, needs to be a skilled observer, mentor, fearless leader, and guide for others who work around him or her.

In your opinion, what responsibility a good politician has towards his countrymen?
A. Well, a good politician should focus solely on the betterment of the fellow countrymen. Political modernization is a key task for such a leader in a country like Nepal. He or she should be responsible for the good governance and better policy for all. Ensuring public interests should also be their core objectives. The entire political system should be more communicative to extend cooperation among the countrymen. Weak maintenance of the democratic inputs should be rechecked and the politicians should make it stronger. They also should come forward to reduce income inequality, poverty, and improve the livelihood of people and never get involved in political conflicts that are harmful to the country.

Why many young people these days want to stay away from politics?
A. Generally speaking, many young people do not show any interests in getting engaged in politics and a few serious reasons are liable for this matter. To begin with, the existing political system is not up to the mark and the evaluation of political activists is incomplete in most of the cases. Secondly, "talent" and "leadership" are no longer valued in the political system and "money" and "influence" play a big role instead. Moreover, corruptions and power exercise by political leaders have also led to discouraging talented and deserving youths in staying in politics. Since most of the Nepalese youths prefer a peaceful life but politics offer violence and conflicts, they generally stay away from politics.

Do you think the political leaders in your country are doing exactly what people expect from them? Why/ Why not?
A. Umm… This is a controversial issue and to be honest, difficult to answer. Majority of the political leaders in my country are not performing their roles effectively and are not loved by ordinary citizens. Expectations of people from these leaders are high and in most cases, they are not fulfilled. They do not play their legislative and authoritative roles to help maintain peace and accelerate national development. For example, alleviating poverty has always been in election agenda of political parties but in reality, it has hardly been addressed.

I think the whole political system stands on a faulty base and thus honest and talented people do not join political parties. As a result, no visible changes are happening. The corruption and personal greeds for money and power are two other major reasons there is a wide gap between people's expectations and political leaders' performance.

Political conflicts often cause harm to people's life and property. Do you think politicians should be accused of any political instability and conflict and be punished?
A. Of course, political leaders should be accused and punished for political instability and conflicts. Due to the political struggles, valuable lives and properties of mass people come under threat. It mostly happens when political leaders have different views and fail to reach an agreeable solution. Consequently, ordinary people suffer and sometimes serious damages are caused to lives and properties. Considering all the aspects, it is evident that all the matters take place for the negligence and insincerity of political leaders. Hence, there should be penalties against those leaders who are responsible for such political instability and conflicts.

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