Part 2 cue cardHealth and fitness

Describe an outdoor activity you enjoy

This is a present-simple card about something you do regularly, so the grammar risk is slipping into one past story. Use a recent outing as an example but frame it as a habit, and give "why you enjoy it" a real reason beyond "fresh air".

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe an outdoor activity you enjoy.

You should say:

what the activity is
where and when you do it
who you usually do it with
and explain why you enjoy it

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what the activity isbirdwatching: binoculars, notebook, patience
where and when you do itTalangama wetland, Colombo, Sundays at six
who you usually do it withUncle Ranjith, retired teacher; cousin sometimes
and explain why you enjoy itslows me down; kingfisher; 112 species

Sample answers

223 words · about 1:56 spoken at a Band 6 pace

An outdoor activity I really enjoy is birdwatching. I know it sounds like a hobby for old people, but actually I find it very interesting. You need binoculars, a small notebook, and a lot of patient, because you have to stay quiet and wait.

I usually do it at Talangama, it's a wetland area on the edge of Colombo with paddy fields and small lakes. I go there almost every Sunday early in the morning, about six o'clock, because birds are most active before the sun get hot. In the rainy season I go less, because the paths become very muddy.

Normally I go with my uncle Ranjith. He is a retired science teacher and he has been watching birds since thirty years, so he knows nearly every species just from the sound. Sometimes my younger cousin come with us too, but she gets bored quickly.

I enjoy it for several reasons. First, it's very peaceful. During the week I work in an office and my phone never stop ringing, but at the wetland the only noise is the birds. Second, I like the feeling when I see a new bird. Last month we saw a kingfisher catching a fish, it was very beautiful. Until now I have recorded 112 different species in my notebook, and my aim is reaching 150 this year.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

a lot of patient should be a lot of patience
before the sun get hot should be before the sun gets hot
since thirty years should be for thirty years
my younger cousin come with us should be my younger cousin comes with us
my phone never stop ringing should be my phone never stops ringing
Until now I have recorded should be So far I have recorded
my aim is reaching 150 should be my aim is to reach 150

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Extends each bullet and organises the reasons clearly ("First", "Second"). It stays at Band 6 because that enumerating frame makes the last part sound like a list, and the kingfisher moment gets one sentence instead of a description.
Vocabulary: Good topic words ("binoculars", "wetland", "species", "kingfisher"), but some errors in form and choice: "a lot of patient" uses the adjective for the noun, and "Until now I have recorded" is not how English expresses progress so far. Band 7 would describe the birds and the place more vividly than "very beautiful".
Grammar: The present simple for habits suits the card, but agreement slips ("the sun get hot", "my phone never stop ringing") and harder structures break down: "since thirty years" needs a different preposition for a period, and "my aim is reaching" needs an infinitive. That is Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

255 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The outdoor activity I enjoy most is birdwatching. I realise that might sound like something people take up when they retire, but it's honestly one of the most absorbing things I do. All you really need is a pair of binoculars, a notebook and a lot of patience.

My usual spot is Talangama, a wetland on the outskirts of Colombo, where rice paddies and shallow lakes attract an incredible variety of birds. I try to get there by six on Sunday mornings, because once the sun is fully up, most birds disappear into the shade. During monsoon I go less often, mainly because the paths turn into rivers of mud.

I almost always go with my uncle Ranjith, a retired biology teacher who's been birding for over thirty years. He can identify most species by their call alone, which still amazes me. My cousin occasionally tags along too, although she tends to lose interest after about twenty minutes and starts scrolling on her phone.

The main reason I enjoy it is that it forces me to slow down. My job involves being on the phone all day, so standing silently by a lake for two hours feels like pressing a reset button. There's also a real thrill in spotting something new. A few weeks ago we watched a stork-billed kingfisher dive and come up with a fish, and I was grinning for the rest of the day. So far I've logged 112 species, and I'm hoping to reach 150 before the end of the year.

The slips

During monsoon should be During the monsoon

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length with flexible linking ("I realise that might sound like", "mainly because", "The main reason I enjoy it is that") and develops the reasons with an example. Not Band 8 because the answer still moves through the bullets in a predictable order, each opened by its own topic sentence.
Vocabulary: Less common items used naturally: "absorbing", "on the outskirts of", "rivers of mud", "tags along", "pressing a reset button", "logged 112 species". Band 8 would sustain this throughout; "an incredible variety of birds" is a little general.
Grammar: Present tenses for habits are accurate, with the present perfect continuous for a lasting activity ("who's been birding for over thirty years") and relative clauses. One slip, "During monsoon", which drops an article; otherwise accurate, which is Band 7.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

277 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'd say the outdoor activity I get the most out of is birdwatching. It has a slightly fusty image, I know, but there's nothing sleepy about it once you're into it: it's part treasure hunt, part exercise in sitting absolutely still.

I do most of it at Talangama, a stretch of marshland and paddy fields on the fringes of Colombo that's somehow survived the city creeping up around it. I aim to be there just after dawn on Sundays, when the air is still cool and the herons are fishing, because by mid-morning the heat sends everything into hiding. In the monsoon months I go less, purely because the narrow banks between the fields become treacherous.

My regular companion is my uncle Ranjith, a retired biology teacher who has been keeping notebooks of sightings since the early nineties. He can name a bird from a two-second call buried in the background noise, which is either a gift or a sign of an obsession, depending on who you ask. Now and then my cousin comes along, though her attention span rarely survives the first hour.

What I love about it is the way it rearranges my sense of time. My weekdays are a blur of calls and deadlines, whereas out there two hours can pass while you wait for a single bird to move. And when the payoff comes, it's out of all proportion to the effort: last month a stork-billed kingfisher plunged into the water barely ten metres from us and surfaced with a fish, and I don't think I stopped smiling until lunchtime. My tally stands at 112 species, and 150 by December is the target.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with the opening idea ("part treasure hunt, part exercise in sitting absolutely still") echoed in the reasons at the end. Short of Band 9 because the contrast in the final paragraph is a little too neatly balanced for spontaneous speech.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "a slightly fusty image", "on the fringes of Colombo", "treacherous", "a blur of calls and deadlines", "out of all proportion to the effort". The gap to Band 9 is a few safe phrases, such as "get the most out of".
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: the present perfect for survival ("that's somehow survived the city creeping up around it"), a reduced relative ("a two-second call buried in the background noise"), a contrast with whereas. No errors.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Do people spend enough time outdoors?: Most people in cities don't, I think. We go from home to car to office, and weekends often happen indoors too, at malls or in front of screens. Children seem to be the ones missing out most.
Why is being outdoors good for people?: Physically, it gets people moving and gives them daylight, which helps with sleep. Mentally, being somewhere green seems to lower stress, and you notice the seasons instead of just living by the clock.