Task 2 (2–3 minutes)
You are a student in an international school in Britain. You’ve just heard news about changes in your course programme. It said that you don’t have classes this Friday because of a public holiday. (It’s a Bank Holiday when banks and most businesses are closed but museums and other places of interest are open.) The school administration is planning to arrange an excursion on this day. To match the interests of the students, the administration has asked them to suggest any place in London for this excursion themselves. You see your classmate Linda/Len somewhere on campus and want to tell her/him the news. · Find out if your classmate has heard the news. If not, tell her/him about it.
· Answer her/his questions about the place of interest you would like to go to.
· Answer your classmate’s questions about the holiday celebrated in Britain
on Friday and about public holidays celebrated in Russia.
· Politely reject any invitation or request for help for tonight because you have
very important plans. Let your classmate know about these plans.
You begin the conversation. The examiner will play the part of your classmate.
Remember to:
- mention all the four aspects of the task;
- take an active part in the conversation and be polite.
SAMPLE CONVERSATION
S: Hi, Linda/Len. Have you heard the news?
I: Oh, hi! What news are you talking about?
S: We don’t have classes this Friday because it’s a public holiday. But we can arrange an excursion to some place in London or nearby.
I: Where exactly will we go?
S: That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. We can come up with our own suggestions and the school administration will arrange the excursion to the most interesting place.
I: Do you mean we can suggest the place ourselves?
S: Yes.
I: But I don’t really know… I don’t know London very well… Have you got any idea of where we could go?
S: I’ve always wanted to see the Tower of London.
I: The Tower? Hmm… I’m afraid I don’t remember much about it. Could you tell me more about it? Is it a popular tourist attraction?
S: Oh, yes! You must visit it if you are in London! The Tower of London is in central London, on the bank of the River Thames. It’s known as a royal prison. Princes, queens, barons and other rich and powerful people were kept in the prison for years. But the Tower was built as a fortress, not a prison. It was also used as a Treasury, and now it’s a museum.
I: Museum?
S: Yes. Lots of tourists visit it every day. It’s like going back to medieval England. The guards still wear the traditional historical uniform and there are still ravens in the yard.
I: Ravens?
S: Yes. Large black birds. They are … like a …symbol of the Tower.
I: Sounds interesting. I’ll support your idea to go on the excursion to The Tower.
S: Great.
I: By the way, do you know what holiday they celebrate on Friday?
S: It’s a bank holiday. Banks and most businesses are closed but most museums and attractions are open.
I: We don’t have holidays like that in my country. Do you have bank holidays in Russia?
S: No, we don’t either.
I: And what public holidays do you celebrate?
S: Oh, lots of them. New Year’s Eve, the 1st of May, which is a holiday for spring and workers, Victory Day, when we celebrate victory in the Great Patriotic War and honour all the people who fought for our lives and freedom. The war ended in 1945, but it’s still a great holiday for everyone, because there’s not a family in my country who didn’t lose somebody in that war. And there are other holidays like International Women’s Day, Unity Day and others.
I: Which is your favourite?
S: It’s definitely New Year’s Eve. I like this winter holiday very much.
I: I love it too. Look, I wanted to ask you a favour… Could you help me to make a PowerPoint presentation for my project? It’s due tomorrow but I’m not very good with computers…
S: Sorry, Linda/Len, but I really can’t. There’s a dancing competition tonight and I’m in the team representing our school. I’m very sorry but I can’t miss it.
I: Oh, it’s fine, I’ll ask someone else.
S: Right. Look, Linda/Len, I have to be off I’m afraid. My class is about to start. See you around.
I: See you. And good luck in the competition!
S: Thank you.