Describe an antique or some other old thing that your family has kept for a long time.
• What it is
• How (or when) your family first got this thing
• How long your family has kept it
• and explain why this thing is important to your family

回答示例

• There are many old things in my family which belong to my parents and great grand parents
• There are some old brass utensils and trunks and some articles of furniture like an old round wooden table, a chair and so on
• But here I would like to talk about an article which once belonged to my great great grandmother.
• It must be more than 150 years old.
• It is a beautiful set of gold jewellery
• It is a family heritage
• It has been handed down from generation to generation in my family
• It is a gold necklace with matching earrings
• My mother wears it on special family occasions
• Otherwise my father keeps it in a bank locker
• It is studded with rubies and emeralds
• You know, ma’am, the gold is so pure that it still shines like new.
• And the design is evergreen.
• Once my mother went to a goldsmith to get a similar set made for my aunt.
• But the goldsmith said that the design could not be replicated as it was hand-made.
• Now the sets available in the market are machine made.
• It goes with all types of dresses.
• My mother wears it with saris and suits.
• Whenever my mother wears it she gets a lot of compliments.
• Recently my mother wore it on my cousin’s wedding.
• She wore it with a red and green sari.
• As this set has rubies and emeralds which are red and green, so this set complemented the sari so much that mom was looking awesome.
• So, you see ma’am this gold set is one thing, which has been the pride of our family for years.

考官后续提问

1. Which do you think are better, old things or new things?
Well, it is very difficult to answer this question. In some ways old things are better, such as jewelry of the old times has better designs, some of which cannot be replicated now. As far as the technological gadgets are concerned, new things are far better than the old ones.

2. As well as family photographs, what are some other things that people keep in their family for a long time?
Apart from family photographs, some people keep the old jewelry for a long time. Some people like to collect old coins, a hobby called numismatics.

3. In your culture, what sorts of things do people often pass down from generation to generation? (Why?)
In my culture people pass down Jewellery from generation to generation. Some articles of clothing are also passed from generation to generation. For example, I have a stole, which has a traditional Punjabi embroidery done by my great grandmother. Now I take this stole on special functions in the family and every time I receive compliments.

4. Why do you think people keep these things?
People keep these things as memories of the past. These things also symbolize our traditions and culture. They hold nostalgic memories of the past.

5. What are the benefits (= what is the value/what is the importance) of keeping some old things in the family?
Old things are invaluable. Their worth cannot be calculated. They bring back nostalgic memories of past. They make us re-live those times.

6. Do you think it’s good to recall the past?
Yes, I think it is good to recall the past. That is way digging into the family history has become a very popular pastime. However, it should not become an obsession. One should not go out of the way, and waste a lot of money on searching for the past.