📙 Part 2: Describe an interesting building
Rory takes us on a tour of Paris's most iconic landmark! Learn spectacular vocabulary and advanced grammar to describe famous buildings and why they're so special in your IELTS Speaking test.
This episode's vocabulary
Questions and Answers
Maria: Describe an interesting building. You should say where it is, what it looks like, what function it has, and explain why you think it's interesting.
Rory: I'd like to talk about the Eiffel Tower, which is a pretty famous building in Paris, in France. You might have seen it for yourself, on TV or in books, since it's a pretty popular site to have in movies or to set the scene for something like a guide book or a novel. When it comes to what it looks like, it's a tower, so it's a very tall building with a high point and a base that flares out in four places. So there are four pillars of steel, steel beams that support it. I'd say it was a pretty gray color from what I can remember, just from standing underneath it, which makes sense since that's the color of steel, I think. Not only is it just a sort of high metal framework, it's also a place with restaurants and viewing platforms, so you can see people enjoying themselves in those places. I've never been inside those places myself, but the views must be spectacular just looking at it from the ground up. In terms of its function, I think it's just a tourist attraction with places for people to see the sights and enjoy their meals these days. But I think it was originally constructed for the World's Fair to demonstrate how various metal frames could be used to create extremely tall buildings. I don't think that caught on in France, since there aren't many tall buildings there. But it certainly helped inspire many skyscrapers that we have today, at least from what I know. And oh, at night, the whole structure lights up and sparkles from time to time, so it's even more beautiful when that happens. As for why I think it's interesting, I think it's the combination of the iconic design and the history of the place. When you look at it, it immediately evokes all this imagery of construction and the effort that people put into it, and you immediately know where you are and what you're looking at. It's hard to imagine what the world would look like if we didn't have it, even though it's in a very different country to my own.
Maria: And what about your friends? Do they enjoy this building?
Rory: The ones that I have talked to about it all approve of it, yeah.
Unlock the full episode
This preview includes the vocabulary and model answers. Unlock the full audio, the episode archive, Rory and Maria's discussion, and speaking practice with band estimate and feedback.