Speaking Task 8 — Describing an Unusual Situation
CELPIP Speaking Task 8 sample answers — bands 10, 11, 12
30s prep · 60s speak
The prompt
You are talking on the phone with your friend, Marco. On your way to work this morning you saw something unusual. Describe the picture to Marco in as much detail as you can. He cannot see the picture.
Try this exact task freeBand 10
Tells the story clearly for a listener who cannot see the picture, covering the man, the detail that makes it unusual, and the crowd's reaction. Language is simple but accurate and well sequenced.
Transcript
Marco, you will not believe what I saw on my way to work this morning. There was a man riding a unicycle down the middle of a busy street downtown. Not a bicycle — a unicycle, with one wheel and no handlebars. And he was wearing a full business suit, dark blue, with a white shirt and a tie. The best part is that he was holding a paper coffee cup in each hand. So he had nothing to hold on with, and he still looked completely calm, like it was a normal Tuesday. Around him everybody was reacting. A woman on the left was filming him with her phone. Two men on the right were laughing and pointing at him. Behind them there were tall office buildings and a bus in the street. He just went past all of them without looking. Honestly, it was the funniest thing I have seen in months.
Why this is a band 10
Opens the phone call in the register the prompt sets up, and creates expectation before describing.
Corrects a likely misunderstanding immediately, which matters when the listener cannot see the picture.
Identifies the detail that makes the scene remarkable rather than merely odd.
Conveys his expression through comparison, which is more vivid than saying he looked relaxed.
Uses position words so the listener can place the people around the main figure.
Band 11
A lively retelling that sets the scene, delays the key detail for effect, and characterizes three separate reactions. Natural idiom and strong control of pacing for a spoken anecdote.
Transcript
Marco, I have to tell you what I saw this morning on the way in. Picture a proper downtown street, office towers on both sides, rush hour, a bus coming up behind. And straight down the middle of it, a man in a navy suit and tie riding a unicycle. One wheel, no handlebars, sitting bolt upright. And here is the part that finished me: a takeaway coffee in each hand. Both hands occupied. He was steering with nothing at all, completely expressionless, looking somewhere over everyone's heads like this was a perfectly normal commute. The reactions were the best bit. A woman on the left had stopped dead and was filming him. A guy in a cycling helmet was crouched down staring, absolutely baffled. And two men on the right were pointing and laughing at each other. He sailed past all of it without acknowledging a single person. I have been thinking about it all morning.
Why this is a band 11
Builds the setting first, which is essential when the listener cannot see the image.
A spoken hinge that tells the listener the punchline is coming, controlling the timing of the story.
Spells out the implication of the coffee cups rather than leaving it to the listener.
Precise description of a background figure, with an adjective that captures the expression exactly.
Sailed carries the effortlessness of the whole image in one verb.
Band 12
A precisely staged anecdote: scene, subject, the detail that makes it impossible, then the crowd reacting on the speaker's behalf. Sentence lengths are varied deliberately and every detail earns its place.
Transcript
Marco, I need to describe something to you exactly as it happened, because the details are what make it. Downtown, rush hour, glass towers either side, a bus pulling up behind. Coming straight down the middle of the road, at walking pace, a man in a well-cut navy suit and tie — riding a unicycle. Sitting perfectly upright, no handlebars, nothing to hold. And he had a takeaway coffee in each hand. Both of them. Which means he was balancing on one wheel, in traffic, with no free hand — and his face was completely blank — not smug, not performing, just mildly bored, looking somewhere above the crowd. Everyone else was doing the reacting for him. A woman frozen mid-step with her phone up, filming. A man in a cycling helmet actually crouched over, trying to work out how it was physically possible. Two commuters on the right, doubled up laughing. And he went straight through the middle of all of it without registering one of them.
Why this is a band 12
Tells the listener up front that this is a description, which suits a picture they cannot see.
Three fragments that set the scene fast, mimicking how people actually narrate something they saw.
A two-word sentence used purely for emphasis and timing, which only works aloud.
Defines his expression by ruling out two wrong readings first, which is remarkably precise.
One sentence that organizes the entire background of the picture around a single idea.
Ends on the contrast between his indifference and everyone else's astonishment.
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