Skip to main content

Transcript

πŸ“™ Part 2: Describe a city that you think is very interesting

Ever heard a native expert like Rory gush about his favourite city? He reveals what makes Moscow so fascinating, from its architecture to its wildly different people, giving you Band 9 ideas for your own answers.

Maria & Rory

Β· 12 min read

This episode’s vocabulary

Landmark

noun β€” a building or place that is easily recognized, especially one that you can use to judge where you are.

To encompass

verb β€” to include different types of things.

Myriad

noun β€” a very large number of something.

Ornate

adj. β€” having a lot of complicated decoration.

Skyscraper

noun β€” a very tall modern building, usually in a city.

Fast-paced

adj. β€” happening very quickly.

Diverse

adj. β€” including many different types of people or things.

Podcast cover
πŸ“™ Part 2: Describe a city that you think is very interesting
IELTS Speaking for Success
0:00 / 0:00

Questions and answers

Maria

Rory here is going to describe a city that he thinks is interesting. He's going to say where the city is, what it's famous for, why it's interesting, and Rory is going to explain how he feels about the city. Rory, are you excited?

Rory

I'm very excited to talk about my favorite city.

Maria

Yeah, bring it on, come on.

Rory

Well, how could I not speak about Moscow? Which is the capital city of Russia, more specifically, is located in the center of the European part of the country. Far from any coastal areas, though, it still gets plenty of water from the river of Moscow that runs through it, and it's where it gets its name from, or at least that's part of it anyway, I think it would be easier to talk about what it isn't famous for, rather than what it is. It's got just about everything. An interesting past, major landmarks, access to all kinds of shops, which sell everything from international brands to local goods and services. The architecture also encompasses a myriad of styles from the ornate Czarist era buildings to the Soviet period with influences of socialist realism. Right up to the modern skyscrapers of the Moscow City, which is the financial heart of the area. And I think it's also the financial heart of the country. Actually, I used to teach one of the chief architects for the buildings there, she made it sound incredibly impressive, I definitely couldn't do anything like that. I find it fascinating that all this can exist in one place. And it's really unusual for someone like me, who is like, I'm from such a small country, we only have about 6 million people. But in Moscow, there are 15 million, and you can almost feel it when you live there. Despite that, it's not all fast-paced, there are massive parks, which basically have their own ecosystems, and you can get lost in there and forget that you're surrounded by a major world capital. It's all very impressive. And all of this is supported by a very diverse and well developed infrastructure, from the, well, from the massive road network to the metro system, which is really well organized and runs underneath the city. So in a nutshell, I love Moscow, especially the people there. They're all wildly different and you could never get bored of it. I can't imagine living anywhere else like it. And I look forward to going back one day.

Maria

And what about your friends? Do they find this city interesting?

Rory

Yes, because they live there.

Maria

Hey, come back, Rory! Come to Moscow! When are you coming back already? -

Plus and Pro

Unlock the rest of this episode

This preview is the vocabulary and the model answer. Plus and Pro add the recording and the discussion.

  • Full audio
  • Discussion
  • Speaking practice