Famous personality, not of your country

·         I know of many famous personalities, but here I would like to talk about Barack Obama

·         Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States.

·         He is the first African American to hold the office.

·         He is about 49 years old.

·         He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.

·         His father Barack Obama, Sr., is from Kenya and his mother is from Kansas.

·         He is married to Michelle Obama and has two daughters Malia and Sasha.

·         Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

·         Obama's presidential campaign began in February 2007.

·         He won his party's nomination, against Hillary Clinton.

·         In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain

·         and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009.

·         Obama is also the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

·         He has respect for variety of cultures.

Favourite book from childhood

·        I have read many books in my childhood – like story books, comics and so on

·        But here I would like to talk about a book that is very special to me even today

·        The title of the book is Grimm’s fairy tales

·        The book is written by W.C.Grimm

·        This book was gifted to me by my mother on my tenth birthday

·        She bought the book from an exhibition

·        This book has many fairy tales

·        To name a few – the frog prince – the sleeping beauty – snow white and the seven dwarfs and so many more

·        Even today I flick through the pages of the book when I am free.

·        The pages of the book have turned yellow but still the book is very special to me

·        I remember I was very possessive about the book

·        I never used to give it to anybody

·        Sometimes I used to take it to school also

·        Once I took part in a story telling competition and I got first prize

·        I told the story of The Frog Prince

·        The stories are very interesting and meaningful

·        Along with the text there are many pictures also

·        I have covered the book with glazed paper

·        Every night before going to bed, I used to read one or two stories

·        My brother also used to read stories from this book

·        This book inculcated in me the habit of reading

·        You know ma’am, nowadays the habit of reading is going down in children

·        My mother always inspired me to read books

TV programme that you did not like

·       Well, I live watching TV

·       In fact whenever I get free time, I glue myself to the TV screen

·       I watch a few daily soaps and some reality shows

·       The recent programme I saw and did not like was – Raaz pichle janam ka – which means the mystery of the past life

·       I saw the programme last week when I went to visit my cousin

·       There I saw it for the first time

·       My cousin never misses any episode

·       The programme was telecast on NDTV Imagine at 9.30 p.m.

·       The program was hosted by mr Ravi Kishan

·       He hosted the programme very nicely

·       As per the program, a person can peep into his past life

·       I did not like it because it appeared very unrealistic to me

·       Moreover, the past is over and there is no fun digging into past life

·       I also feel that such programmes can breed superstitions

·       Such programmes are not my cup of tea

·       Later on I came to know from my cousin that the programme has been withdrawn

·       Maybe it did not appeal to the masses

Interview( Lucky Basra - Jan 2010)

-       What is your full name?

-       How shall I call you

-       May I see your identification

-       Where do you come from

-       Describe your home town

-       What is your favourite weather and why

-       How do you get weather forecast

-       Do you know your next door neighbour

-       Is it beneficial to know your neighbour

Cue Card
Talk about a place / town / city you have visited

-       Where is it

-       How often you go there

Discussion
- what is the weather like in your home town

-       What sounds you hear in cities

-       What sounds you hear in villages

-       What facilities should be there in cities

-       What facilities should be there for relaxation in cities

-       Are people healthier in cities or villages

-       Where do you go for relaxation

A dangerous sport

·         There are many dangerous sports played in the world

·         Like boxing, rugby, wrestling and bungee jumping

·         Some people play dangerous sports because they love adventure

·         Others play for money

·         Any sport which can risk life is dangerous

·         Here I am going to talk about the most dangerous sport of all according to me

·         It is wrestling

·         It is a contact sport

·         I see wrestling programs on TV

·         My brother is all the time watching wrestling

·         Players injure each other badly

·         There is so much blood from wounds

·         It is a very old game

·         In Punjab it is called pehalwani

·         If it is played with rules it seems not so dangerous

·         But on the TV they seem to play without any rules

·         That is very bad

An animal that lives in water

·         Almost two third of the earth is covered with water

·         There are many animals that live in water

·         Such animals are called aquatic animals

·         Many types of fish live in water

·         Here I am going to talk about an animal that lives in water but is not a fish

·         It is a mammal

·         It is the whale

·         It gives birth to its young one and suckles to feed it

·         It cannot breathe under water

·         It has to come to the surface to breathe

·         Even the little baby has to be pushed to the surface to breathe.

·         The whale can live under water for a long time on one breath.

·         The whale eats small fish in the water

·         Such small fish are called plankton

·         The blue whale is the largest mammal

·         The largest land mammal is elephant.

·         I saw a program on whales on Discovery channel

·         I was very impressed by the whale.

·         I was so excited I saw the whole program

·         The program also talked about many other animals which live in water.

·         The frog can live on land and water

·         It is an amphibian

Some people prefer to provide help and support directly to those in the local community who need it. Others, however, prefer to give money to national and international charitable organisations. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Intro:  You can begin with a quotation

“ To have enough to share; to know the joy of giving; to thrill with all the sweets of life  - is living”

Para 1: Advantages of direct help

1.      A person remains directly in touch with the needy

2.      You can see how your money is being used – no mediators and so no chances of corruption

3.      Moreover, charity begins at home

Para 2: Advantages of joining national and international organisation

1.      Can work on a larger platform – for global issues – larger platform is a must

2.      Help activities can be better spread through a larger network. You feel part of a global village.

Conclusion: Help in any form is good. Depends on the condition of the country.

International tourism has become a huge industry in the world. Do the problems of international travel outweigh its advantages?

Intro – Faster planes – cheaper flights. In developed societies – visiting exotic places is a status symbol. Tourism industry of both developing and developed countries are taking advantage.

Para 1 : Problems of international tourism

1.      Increase in crime – tourists are in unfamiliar territory and carry visible items of wealth like cameras and jewellery which can be easily disposed off for a profit.

2.      Health – spread of infectious and contagious diseases like SARS, AIDS etc.

3.      Damage to environment

 Para 2: Advantages

1.      Boost economy

Para 3: Advantages

1.      Cultural exchange

2.      Infrastructure develops which helps local people

Conclusion: 

Some people think history has nothing or little to tell us, but others think that studying the past history can help us better understand the present. Please discuss the two views and give your own opinion.

Intro:

Para 1: importance of the study of history

1.      Evolution of civilization

-          Evolution of progress

-          Evolution of technology

-          Evolution of academics

2.      Inspiration of the great men of the past

3.      So that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past

Para 2 : American and French revolution has no bearing on today’s life

Para 3 : Nevertheless they teach us

-          the value of liberty

-          the importance of self-governance

Conclusion: v. imp. To study history

In many countries more and more young people are leaving school but unable to find jobs. What problems do you think youth unemployment causes for individuals and the society? What measures should be taken to reduce the level of unemployment among youngsters?

Intro:

Para 1: Effects on individual

-          Economic loss

-          Peace of mind and feeling of security is lost

-          Self worth is lost

-          Social status and status within the family is lost

-          Mental health is affected

Para 2: Effects on society

-          Increased poverty

-          Crime

-          Political instability

-          Diminished health standards

Para 3: What can be done

-          Education system reform – many people are without jobs and many jobs are without suitable people

-          Government subsidies to those firms that take on unemployed people

-          Control of birth rate – fewer children to care for and feed

-          Set up industries based on agriculture

-          Set up cottage industries – carpets – mats – soaps

Conclusion: