B2 First Speaking Parts 3 & 4 Sample Answers

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These are high-scoring sample answers for the following Cambridge B2 First Speaking Parts 3 and 4. Read them and the analysis to understand what you need to talk about and the kind of answers you need to give for a good B2 First speaking score.

B2 First Part 3

Question

Sample Answer – Discussion

There is two minutes to discuss how each part influences the central question.

A/ Well, first well, first of all, I would say it’s incredibly important to keep up with what’s going on as far as technology is concerned. I think in this day and age, if you don’t, then one day you’ll find that maybe your phone doesn’t work or everyone else is managing to do something that you can’t do and you have been left behind completely. What do you think?

B/ I couldn’t agree more with you, actually. I think what you say is 100% true. As far as the news is concerned. I think that you need to be aware of what’s going on. But although you don’t really need to be up to date with each individual story, I think maybe follow the stories that are important to you. What’s your opinion about that?

A/ Yes, I think you’re absolutely right. I think it’s pointless knowing the ins and outs of the political affairs in some obscure country, to be quite honest with you. But as far as education is concerned, I think maybe it’s not so important for the general public to know what’s going on apart from those who have children in the education system and of course, for those who are teachers. Would you agree?

B/ I think that that’s completely true. And as for fashion, I think some young people, some young girls, and both sexes would be interested in knowing what’s going on in the fashion world so that they can keep up to date with what’s happening as far as the latest look is concerned.

Sample Answer – Reaching a Decision

There is one minute for the candidates to reach a decision about which activity needs the most concentration.

B/ If we’re looking to make a decision on which path is most important, I would say keeping up with education. The changes in education are by far the most important because I have children and because I’m a teacher, I would say also technology is important. Do you see things the same way?

A/ No, actually I don’t. I think that keeping up with the news is much more important. I think it’s essential to know what’s going on with the economy and what’s happening politically in the country. Maybe we could come to some kind of compromise.

B/ On second thoughts, yes, I see your point. Because if we know what’s going on in the news, then that should include what’s happening in education.

Sample Answer Video

B2 First Part 4

One candidate is asked a Part 4 question, then the other one is asked to give a shorter opinion on it too.

Questions

Some people say that we spend too much time checking for updates on social networking websites. Do you agree? (Why? / Why not?)
Do you think the best way to keep up to date with changes in the world is to watch television? (Why? / Why not?)
Some people say the world is changing so fast that we can’t keep up to date with everything. Do you agree? (Why? / Why not?)
How important is it for people to have change in their lives?
Some people don’t like it when things change. Why do you think that is?
Do you think people these days are only interested in new things and ignore history and tradition? (Why? / Why not?)

Sample Answers

Question – Some people say that we spend too much time checking for updates on social networking websites. Do you agree? (Why? / Why not?)

Sample answer – I completely agree with that, to be quite honest with you, for various reasons. One of these reasons would be that these days everyone expects you to have all these social media things and maybe your boss, maybe your wife, maybe your friends and so on. And so they expect you to keep up to date with what they’re doing and what they want in the same places on the same apps that you use. Quite frankly, I hate that kind of thing, but there we go. I think in other aspects you can use social media to cheque on what your friends are.

Question – Do you think the best way to keep up to date with changes in the world is to watch television? (Why? / Why not?)

Sample answer – When I was younger, I would have said TV, radio and newspapers were by far the easiest ways of following the latest trends in whatever sphere. These days, however, the internet is the most obvious way. One of the main reasons for this is, you can get TV, radio and newspapers online too as well as a whole range of other means. All kinds of social media, huge sites such as MSN and so on are there to tell you about any developments as soon as they happen. There are other issues with the internet, though, such as fake news.

Question – Some people say the world is changing so fast that we can’t keep up to date with everything. Do you agree? (Why? / Why not?)

Sample answer – I would say that in the past, people were resigned to not knowing everything that went on, because there were not many ways to find out. These days it’s basically the same, but because no one has enough time to do it. I would also like to add that many people including myself, are fed up with the speed of so-called progress due to the repeated learning curve we have to go through, just to stay up to date.

Question – How important is it for people to have change in their lives?

Sample answer – If you ask me, it depends on their circumstances, and maybe their personality too. For some, change is essential because it shows that their lives are moving forward or that they are fortunate enough to remain stable while the majority of others are having difficulties, as in a recession, for example. Others, though, see clinging on to a stable and unchanging life as a sign of success compared to what they have previously experienced.

Question – Do you think people these days are only interested in new things and ignore history and tradition? (Why? / Why not?)

Sample answer – I would say there is a section of the population that would think like that. Maybe primarily younger people. There are others who are getting tired of constant change and so look at tradition as a foundation of their identity. History can be reassuring to some people because it shows that no matter what has happened, things will usually get better over the long term.

Question – How easy do you think it is to work when there is background noise?

Sample answer – This is a tricky question for me, as I tend to work best when there is either complete silence or when there is a lot of background noise. To me, if there is no noise at all, then the slightest cough or movement like you get in a library, for example, drives me crazy. On the other hand, If I am somewhere where there are two TVs at high volume with lots of people talking, that noise blends into one unintelligible racket, which for me is the same as silence, so I can get a lot done.

Less Common Vocabulary

Quite frankly – honestly
trends – fashions
sphere – field / area of work
obvious – very clear
issues – problems
fake – not true
resigned – accepted something bad cannot be avoided
basically – simply
fed-up – annoyed unhappy or bored
so called – used to express one’s view that such a word is inappropriate
learning curve – the rate of how quickly a person gains experience or new skills.
a recession – the economy is doing badly
clinging – emotionally dependant on something
stable – not changing