Aptis Advanced Speaking Test 1: Sample C1 Answers

Part One

(45 seconds per answer)

What do you see in the two pictures?

Both photos show young women doing competitive activities, though the first is a team game, whereas the second is individual. In the football photo, one determined-looking footballer is tackling another. They could be professionals, as women’s football’s really been gaining in popularity.

The other shows a chess player who looks as though she’s in her late teens. She seems very concentrated on the game – she’s staring at the board, working out her next move. It must be early on in the match, as there are still a lot of pieces in play.

Which of these activities would you prefer to do? Why?

If I had to choose one of the two, I’d say chess – although I’ve never played except as a child. Speaking personally, I’d much rather do mental activities such as crosswords and sudokus, as I’m really good at formulating plans, and that would be indispensable for any good chess player.

I’ve never been into sport that much, really … and anyway, recently I’ve been so busy studying that I wouldn’t have had much time to train for any physical sport. Plus with the pandemic, team games have been a real no-no!

Which of these two activities do you think children would prefer?

Obviously this would depend on the child, and everyone’s different … so it’s a bit difficult to generalise. Some kids can’t stand sport! Still, I’d say that the vast majority would choose football. As a primary teacher I’ve seen the magical effect producing a football can have on a group of kids. It gives them the chance to run around and let off steam … and the rules – unlike those of chess – are pretty easy to learn … basically, you just have to get the ball into the net!

Part Two

(1 minute to think, 2 minutes to answer all 3 questions)

How important is that children learn about saving money?

What advice would you give someone about managing their personal finances?

Why do people think that wealth brings happiness?

Funnily enough, only yesterday my colleagues and I were discussing the importance of teaching children about saving money. It’s definitely a vital skill to have. I reckon one reason so many people get themselves into debt is that they don’t understand about interest rates. They take out a loan, or get credit on goods, and then they’re trapped by exorbitant charges. If they’d learnt about this in school, they wouldn’t have such a hard time as adults.

The best advice I could give about managing personal finances is to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. This might be short-term goals like saving for a holiday, or a long-term goal like planning for your retirement. I’d advise people to make a list of all their incomings and outgoings, and work out where they could save money. Then start a savings account for their short-term goals, and a high-interest account for the long-term ones.

As I see it, people who think wealth automatically brings happiness are being fooled by media hype. They look at the glamorous lifestyle of the rich and famous and equate that with happiness. While of course it’s true that money can help you solve many problems in life, it’s not a magic wand.

Part Three

(1 minute to prepare your argument, 1.5 minutes to speak. Remember you only have to include TWO of the points from each group.)

TOPIC: Students should all wear school uniforms

FOR

Gives students a sense of belonging/community

Saves time in the morning

Students dress the same irrespective of their economic backgrounds

AGAINST

No sense of individualism and limits self-expression

Can be expensive for parents

Can lead to a policing of what students wear in school

This is a really interesting topic – whether or not students should have to wear a school uniform. I feel it depends on a number of factors, so I’ll briefly outline both sides of the argument.

Firstly, wearing uniforms can make students feel as if they belong to the school and give them a collective sense of identity. This probably works well with younger children. However, with older age-groups it could be argued that having to wear a uniform stifles students’ individuality. As I see it, teenagers in particular should be free to experiment with the look they want.

Secondly, if everyone is dressed the same, their socio-economic background isn’t so obvious. I know from experience that students are sometimes ridiculed because of their clothes or trainers, especially if others from more well-off families are wearing designer labels.

Nevertheless, I’ve also seen a negative side of enforcing uniforms – some schools really police what students wear, and don’t allow for any flexibility at all. I know of one school where the length of the girls’ skirts were measured every day! Furthermore, they weren’t allowed to wear trousers.

To sum up, there are pros and cons on both sides.

Part Four

(45 seconds)

How we dress nowadays is more important now than 50 years ago.

What is your response to this statement?

That’s a difficult question to answer, as I’m only 20! I know that social norms used to be much stricter, and if you dressed differently you were seen as a bit of a rebel. For example, women wearing trousers to work didn’t use to be socially acceptable.

Nowadays, we’re used to seeing both men and women dressing much more informally, even in quite formal situations. Suits have been replaced by T-shirts and jeans, especially since the pandemic. So I’d say how we dress is less important now.