Speaking preparation
Private list
1. Ideal house
It would be a house – Having lived in a dorm, I can see with
my own eyes all the downsides that come with living near
others. I cant stand all the noise and commotion that comes
with living in a skyrise
Ideally, I would like to settle in a seaside region of Vietnam,
even if I had travelled elsewhere. The temperature is milder
by the sea. Never too hot nor too cold. From what ive heard,
access to fresh food in such a tropical location is even more
probable than in European countries.
Honestly other than a concrete or stone-laden backyard, I
wouldn’t want to have other luxuries such as a pool or a
garden. They look gorgeous. Ofc. But it seems like a hassle
to maintain them.
Similarly, excess space is unneeded for the building itself. I’d
imagine 3 to 4 bedrooms to be enough to host my extended
family if they come to stay over the holiday.
All in all, I want to have a house that I feel in control of.
Anything larger than that and it would be serve nothing
other than making me feel lonely. Moderation, I think, is the
keyword here
2. Strong opinion
My uncle. We used to meet only once a year during LNY.
That’s when all my family members congregate at my
grandparent’s home to celebrate the holiday. It is during
these feasts when he expresses his rather bizarre takes. It is
usually about politics, which is already controversial in of
itself. He would spout things like Vietnamese should have
lost the Vietnam wars. . That’s an example of his disdain
against the current regime. He’s also misogynistic. He
doesn’t have the best relationship with my aunt, nor his
daughter. Of course I’m not in favor of his stance. Particularly
he once looked down on a scholarship I was granted, saying I
am stealing taxpayer’s money (as it came from the
government). That struck a nerve of mine. Luckily my
parents are always there to guide me to think on my own
and not give in to his provocations.
3. Re-meeting an old friend
Today I’ll take about an old buddy of mine whom I met again
thanks to fortunate circumstances. Il call him Jack. We first
became friends when I met each other in an English cram
school. I studied together for about a year and a half. Though
afterwards, I found myself thinking the current level is too
easy. So I moved to a different school. We didn’t keep
contact, so I didn’t know that I actually went to the same
high school with me. Regardless, we talked with each other
again upon entering university. Turned out we enrolled in the
same major. One might expect the reunion to be emotional
or something similar. It was anticlimactic. We grew to have
different interests and neither of us is a particular sociable
guy. So, it was rather anticlimactic. Still, we have the same
aspirations to be programmers and worked together on
exciting projects. And to me, that’s what matters.
4. Something I did that made me feel confident
Today i will talk about a highlight of my highschool years,
which helped a lot with the dissatisfaction I was plagued with
at the time. It was back in grade 11 when I was chosen to
compete for a national English competition. Honestly it was a
total surprise because there were certainly more capable
candidates. To prepare for the competition contestants like
me had to abandon normal coursework to train ourselves. In
the end I got third place. That does not come across as
significant, but it did wonders to my self-esteem. I was
praised on end and received prizes from all sorts of parties.
Monetary gifts asides, this whole ordeal represented a
milestone in my English studying journey and gave me the
push needed to continue studying.
5. Prize
A watch from Casio, which is a JPN brand known for their
reliable product line-ups. Received a year ago as an award
for my efforts in a national-level competition. So in this
competition we had to spent half a year skipping
coursework to study English. It was somewhat arduous as I
had to hole myself up in the room doing english exercises of
CPE level. In the end I got third place and this watch is the
reward I got from the school. It is crafted from silver alloy
with real leather band. I never looked up the price but it does
seem high-quality from look of it at least. This piece of
craftmanship holds a special place it my heart because it’s
both valuable, monetary value wise and useful. As a lot of
memorabilia I received were for display only. Till this day, I
still wear this accessory for formal events and during tests.
Both as a instrument to gauge the time and as a good luck
charm. Furthermore, Im not a fashionista, so this is actually
one of the very few piece of accessories I actually possess.
This does add to the sentimental value.
6. Educational online videos
This is a lesson on computer algorithm. Two years ago, I was
successfully enrolled in the CS major program of a local
university. I was eager to get a head start. AS such I scour
the Internet and found this course, called CS50, which
teaches the basics of programming. The quality of pedagogy
instantly blew me away. It is head and shouder over any
class ive attended before, The lecturer was eloquent and
treat students with the kindness that can be felt through the
computer screen. The lesson that leaves the strongest
impression was the one where he teaches elegant solutions
to a few problems. The approach was unique. Using
illustration, we quickly understood concepts such as
pointers. I still use his illustrations later to visualize the
problems. Amazingly, this seemingly straightforward
techniques are not taught in my university, which left
dumbfounded at first. Thanks to the video, I have a strong
understanding of CS and can delve deeper into other topics.
7. Public transports journey
Last month, our dorm had the power cut for maintenance.
We decided to take a trip to a shopping mall situated in the
city center. We caught our first bus at about 10 in the
morning. Unfortunately we caught the wrong one. It was the
correct bus but it was heading the opposite direction. AS a
result, the trip took a 45 min detour around the city. Whats
worse, that wasn’t the only mishaps that occurred that day.
We also missed our last connection to the mall and had to
substitute that with a taxi trip, which itself mad ea dent in
our pockets. It was worth it though.
8. Sports watched
Quite a few years ago, when TV is still actually the main form
of entertainment, my family and I stumbled on a ping pong
match being broadcasted live. We did not intentionally click
on it, but as my dad cycling through the channel catalogue,
we stopped at this tournament, admiring the speed and
agility of the athletes. My dad, after seeing so fast they
were, push me to try it myself. He saw me as a bit on the
slower side of things when it comes to reaction, so I wish to
improve upon that. I concurred with his opinions. But as life
would have it, that plan was never realized at its fullest. I did
partake in a beginner table tennis course. But since I don’t
have friends who share the same interests nor be able to
make acquantances with other players at the sports center, I
gave up practicing afterwards. I do have regrets…
9.
