FCE Course Lesson 5 – A dialogue taken from a recent exam of the speaking test first b2 with exercises.
A Dialogue speaking test first b2 Skills 4. In this lesson we will discover the main difficulties of the speaking part in the first certificate b2 exam. We will study vocabulary structures which are essential for the conversation part. The exam tip of today is about pronunciation: how to avoid mispronouncing 40 generally mispronounced words in English.
Dialogue 5: Vocabulary and structures
As Susan mentioned that she had difficulty with describing the pictures in the exam, Gordon suggests working through this part with her, which Susan really appreciates. Gordon takes out 4 pictures from his briefcase and they begin.
GORDON: Ok Susan, so here we have five pictures. These pictures each contain a person in a very different situation. For now, I just want you to describe the people to me and tell me why you think they have chosen to wear the outfits which they have on.
SUSAN: Ok. So, picture 1 shows a man who is wearing a suit. He is standing in front of a room of other men who are sat around a big table, all in suits as well. Therefore, I would say he is a businessman. Perhaps he is giving a conference. Ok, let’s see. The man has grey hair which suggests he is quite old. The suit is black, he is wearing a white shirt and a black tie. And ummm, I don’t know what else to say.
GORDON: Not bad Susan! You gave a physical description by saying a little about what the man looks like and what he is wearing. You also talked about his position in the room and deduced what his situation could be from that. I also advise you to talk about his facial expression as well, so here’s another photo to describe with that in mind.
SUSAN: Ok so here I can see two men who appear to be wearing sporty clothes. One of them is standing up while they other is kneeling down, tying his shoelaces. The man who is kneeling is looking up at the other man and the other man is looking back at him. They are both laughing which suggests they are friends and are enjoying each other’s company. They are both wearing tracksuits and trainers, the standing guy is carrying a holdall, whereas the guy kneeling down has his holdall next to him on the floor. So, I can imagine that they are on their way to or from the gym. They both look about 25 years old. One of them is pale and blonde whereas the other is tanned with very dark hair. If I take a closer look at their faces, I see they are both wearing sunglasses, which suggests it is a sunny day. Um, yes that’s it.
GORDON: Much better Susan! You have described their physical appearance in more detail, have described what they are wearing. You have also described their facial expressions and said what you think this means about their relationship. Ok good, so here is another picture.
SUSAN: Well, this picture shows a man who is dressed up as a clown. He is wearing a red haired curly wig, long striped trousers with braces, a white shirt and an oversized bow tie. He is also wearing massive shoes which I presume is for comical effect and he has his face painted white with a huge red smile painted across the bottom half of his face. He is walking alone on the street, with one hand he appears to be pulling his pants up at the waist which suggests they are too baggy and don’t fit him. With the other hand he is looking at his watch with a worried facial expression, suggesting he is in a rush. It’s possible that he is on the way to a fancy dress party and is running late.
GORDON: Excellent answer Susan, you’re really getting the hang of it now. Ok so here is the last one.
SUSAN: Right, so this picture shows a young girl, I would say she is about 16 or 17 years old. She is wearing a long dress which is boob tube style. It is detailed with sequins and pearls at the top of the dress then it has a belt at the waist. Below the belt, the dress flows down so it is loose and floaty. The dress is navy blue and looks very smart. She also appears to be wearing high heeled shoes. The girl is smiling and is standing with her hand on her hip, she is looking at the camera which means she is posing for a photograph. She looks very happy, I would guess that she is about to leave for a school dance, it could be her end of school prom, she looks the right age for that. The dress really suits her, she looks very pretty.
GORDON: Excellent Susan, by the end you had really grasped it. So you just need to remember that where descriptions are concerned, if you have a checklist of everything to include, you should be fine. The checklist should have; physical aspects, clothing, facial expressions, positions and relationships. Remember this and you should be fine, good luck!
Vocabulary First Speaking Skills 4
| ENGLISH | SYNONYM or DEFINITION | |
| to appreciate something | to be grateful for, to value | |
| a briefcase | an attaché case, a satchel, a portfolio | |
| an outfit | an ensemble, attire, set of clothes | |
| to wear something | to dress in, to have on, to sport | |
| a suit | an ensemble, attire, set of clothes | |
| in form of | presented as, in a way | |
| to give a conference | to give a formal meeting for discussion | |
| let’s see | let me see | |
| which suggests… | which indicates, leads to the belief… | |
| I don’t know what else to say. | I am not inspired or lost for words. | |
| to advise (verb) / to give advice (noun) | to give guidance, to offer suggestions / help, information, recommendations, guidelines | |
| with that in mind | bearing that in mind | |
| sporty clothes | casual clothing | |
| to stand up | to get up (from) | |
| to kneel down | to go down on one’s knees | |
| to tie one’s shoelaces | to attach, to form a knot or bow with one’s shoelaces | |
| to look up at something | to direct one’s gaze upwards | |
| to look back | to direct one’s gaze backwards | |
| to enjoy each other’s company | to like spending time with each other | |
| tanned | brown or browner after exposure to the sun | |
| to take a closer look at | to carry out a more thorough examination | |
| physical appearance | the way that someone or something looks | |
| in more detail | as regards every feature or aspect | |
| facial expressions | making one’s thoughts or feelings known through facial gestures | |
| to be dressed up as | to dress in a special costume for fun or as part of an entertainment | |
| a clown | a comic entertainer | |
| curly | arranged in curls or curves | |
| a wig | artificial hair made to cover the head | |
| the waist | part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips | |
| to pull up | to move upwards | |
| to be in a rush | to be in a hurry | |
| a fancy dress party | a costume party, a theme party | |
| to get the hang of something | to learn how to do something | |
| sequins | a small shiny disk sewn on clothing for decoration | |
| pearls | a hard lustrous spherical mass | |
| to flow | to hang loosely in a graceful manner | |
| high-heeled shoes | shoes with a high heel | |
| loose | baggy, not tight, loose fitting | |
| floaty | light and flimsy | |
| to suit: this suits her | to go well with or enhance the figure of someone |
Exam tips First Speaking Skills 4
EXAM TIP FOR FCE LESSON 5
Today’s Exam Tip for the First speaking test first b2 4 is about Pronunciation: avoid mispronouncing these 40 commonly mispronounced words:
almond
ask
bowl
breakfast
brewery
bury
chaos
clothes
cocoa
comfortable
the desert
a dessert
to develop
to dine
a dinner
a draught
etc
famous/infamous
fruit
high/height
joke
juice
kitchen/chicken
onion
picture
pronounce
pronunciation
queue
raspberry
receipt
recipe
regularly
salmon
sour
thesaurus
tourist
vegetable
wide/width
wire
yolk
Grammar and Vocabulary recommended Videos
Exercises First Speaking skills 4 speaking test first b2
Vocabulary Exercise
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