Oral_Exam

Reading Passage 1 Highlighted words & phrases that are difficult & others that could be stressed; intoned to express a particular emotion appropriate to what is being said. In this passage, the writer describes an unfortunate experience which happened to him while on holiday. We were on holiday. We had travelled a long way by car. We had visited many famous cities and were on our way home. We were young and adventurous. "Let's avoid main roads. They're boring!" I said. "Look, there's a road shown on the map which goes through some unspoilt country. Shall we take that'" 9/10 My friend agreed and we turned off on to the back road. It was deserted. We drove through valleys between high hills. We could hear birds singing as we drove quietly along the road. The sun shone brightly. Occasionally, in the distance, we could see people working in the fields. 6/7/10 At last we came to a small village. A group of men were standing by the side of the road. One waved us down as we approached. He appeared to be very excited and spoke quickly to us in his native language which we could not understand. "Do you speak English'" my friend asked hopefully. [Insert your own commas, breaking the longer sentences down into groups of 3-5 words each] The man continued to speak even faster in his own language. We tried every language we knew, but to no effect. [Frustration/anger] "Oh, come on, let's go on," I said. [Frustration/anger] [Frustration/anger] We swerved round the man and drove out of the village. [PEACE] calm Peace soon returned. The valleys became greener and steeper; the road was even emptier than before. At last, as evening approached, we reached a fast-flowing river. There was a bridge across it, but it was closed off as the middle had been washed [Frustration] away by a flood. [Realisation & CLIMAX]: At last we understood what the man had been saying. Our hearts sank. Conversation Topic 1 How you might go about answering the examiner’s questions (using 5Ws & H) Examiner: Tell me about a time when you experienced unusual or severe weather conditions. ← WHO' self, mum and dad ← WHEN & WHERE' A Saturday evening, on way back from shopping trip in BSB, and having visited relatives in Kiarong, on the main highway just south of Tutong ← WHAT' Tropical downpour while we driving ← HOW & WHY' Well, it was the rainy season, so we can expect this sort of weather during this time. How did dad cope' There was nothing for it but to slow right down and eventually stop. We waited on the side of the road till the rain eased and dad could see well enough to continue the journey. Examiner: What particular problems did the experience cause to you and your family' ← We were surprised at how other drivers seemed to ignore the terrible conditions and drive fast. Other cars whizzed past, splashing enormous sheets of water over us and making visibility all that more difficult! ← Incredibly heavy rain that blanketed the road with water, and was so heavy & thick that dad couldn’t see to drive. ← While we waited, we listened to the radio and chatted. I like playing Eye-spy with my little brother, so we did this. But there wasn’t much we could eye-spy about outside: we had to be content with what was in the car! ← We did get hungry and thirsty, but there was little we could do about that until the rain lessened and we could get moving again. Examiner: What did you find most exciting or scaring about the situation' ← The rain lasted at least 30 minutes, so when we finally got going again, it was dark. The rain didn’t stop completely, and the road was like a river, well lots of rivers actually – all running in different directions. ← It was very scary – especially since it is more difficult to see at night in wet weather, than during conditions like this in daytime. The lights of other cars were dazzling: the light splinters more and is somehow more glary when the windscreen is wet. It took all dad’s driving skill to stay on the road, and get us home safely. ← It was exciting though, being all huddled together in the cold of the car, but feeling warm and safe from the weather outside. Thank goodness we didn’t get a flat tire!