Work & study: IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Feeling

I work full-time as a civil engineer for a firm that designs roads and bridges. I graduated about four years ago and joined the company straight after university. It's demanding, but I genuinely can't imagine doing anything else.

straight after university

immediately after finishing university

can't imagine doing anything else

feel sure this is the right job for me

38 words · about 17 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Example

It's a real mix of office work and time on site. Most mornings I'm at my desk checking technical drawings and running calculations to make sure a structure will be safe. In the afternoons I often visit a construction site to meet contractors and see whether things are going to plan.

a real mix of

a varied combination of

time on site

time spent at the place where building happens

going to plan

happening as expected

51 words · about 22 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Example→
3. Feeling

Seeing something I've worked on actually take shape is incredibly satisfying. Last year a footbridge I helped design opened in my neighbourhood, and I still get a little thrill whenever I walk across it. It's nice to know that thousands of people use it every day without giving it a second thought.

actually take shape

gradually become a real, finished thing

get a little thrill

feel a small moment of excitement

without giving it a second thought

without thinking about it at all

52 words · about 23 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Feeling

The pressure of deadlines can be tough, particularly when a project falls behind schedule. Delays are often caused by things outside my control, like bad weather or late deliveries, but I'm still the one who has to sort them out. I've learned not to take it home with me, though, which has made a huge difference.

falls behind schedule

becomes later than planned

outside my control

that I cannot influence or prevent

take it home with me

keep worrying about work after the working day

56 words · about 24 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Reason

Broadly speaking, yes, although I'd like to move into a more senior role eventually. In five years or so, I'm hoping to be managing whole projects rather than just one part of them. That would mean more responsibility, but it would also give me a say in how things are planned from the very start.

move into a more senior role

be promoted to a higher position

give me a say in

let me influence decisions about

from the very start

right from the beginning

55 words · about 24 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Example→
3. Reason

I suppose it chose me, in a way, because I was always fascinated by how things were built. As a kid I used to spend hours making bridges out of lolly sticks and testing how much weight they could take. Maths and physics were also my strongest subjects, so engineering seemed like the obvious path.

in a way

partly, to some extent

used to spend hours

often spent a long time doing something in the past

seemed like the obvious path

looked like the natural choice

55 words · about 24 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Feeling

Yes, I'm a full-time undergraduate, currently in the second year of a four-year degree. I also work a couple of evenings a week in a bookshop to help cover my rent. It keeps me busy, but I like having a bit of structure to my week.

help cover my rent

pay for part of my housing costs

It keeps me busy

it gives me plenty to do

a bit of structure

some routine and organisation

46 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Feeling

I'm studying environmental science, which is a mixture of biology, chemistry and geography. This term we're focusing on water pollution, so I spend a lot of time testing samples from local rivers. It's quite hands-on, which suits me far better than sitting in lectures all day.

quite hands-on

involving a lot of practical activity

suits me far better than

is much more right for me than

46 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Example→
3. Reason

Mainly because I've always cared about the natural world. I grew up near a lake that became badly polluted when a factory opened nearby, and watching the fish disappear really stayed with me. I wanted to understand why that happens and, ideally, how to stop it.

the natural world

nature: plants, animals and the environment

badly polluted

seriously damaged by dirt or chemicals

really stayed with me

affected me deeply and I kept remembering it

46 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Feeling

I'd have to say the fieldwork, without question. Last spring we spent a week on the coast, counting seabirds and measuring how much plastic washed up on the beaches each day. It was exhausting, but it made everything we'd read in textbooks suddenly feel real and urgent.

I'd have to say

a gentle way to give your choice

washed up on

carried onto the shore by the sea

feel real and urgent

seem true and important to act on now

47 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Example

The statistics side of it has been a real struggle for me. I'd assumed it would be mostly outdoor work, so I wasn't prepared for how much data analysis is involved. I've been going to extra support sessions on Wednesday afternoons, and it's slowly starting to click.

a real struggle

something very difficult for me

wasn't prepared for

didn't expect and wasn't ready for

starting to click

beginning to make sense

47 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Detail→
3. Reason

Ideally, I'd like to work for an environmental consultancy or a conservation charity. I'm particularly interested in river restoration, which is a growing field at the moment. Before that, though, I might do a master's, since a lot of the jobs I've looked at seem to ask for one.

a growing field

an area of work that is expanding

do a master's

take a postgraduate degree

49 words · about 21 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Example

History was my favourite by a mile, followed closely by English. We had a brilliant history teacher who brought everything to life with stories rather than just dates. I still remember her acting out the signing of a peace treaty, using two pupils as the rival kings.

by a mile

by a very large margin

followed closely by

with another thing almost as good just behind

brought everything to life

made the subject vivid and interesting

47 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Example

Chemistry was never really my thing, I'm afraid. I found all the formulas quite abstract, and I could never see how they related to everyday life. I once managed to set fire to a paper towel during an experiment, and I don't think my teacher ever trusted me again.

never really my thing

something I didn't enjoy or wasn't good at

related to everyday life

connected to normal daily experience

set fire to

made something start burning

49 words · about 21 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Example

On the whole, I prefer learning by doing. I need to try something out myself before it properly sinks in. When I taught myself to touch-type, for instance, reading about it was useless, but twenty minutes of practice a day for a month worked wonders.

learning by doing

learning through practice rather than reading

properly sinks in

is fully understood and remembered

worked wonders

was extremely effective

45 words · about 20 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Example→
3. Feeling

Some of them are, though not always in the way I expected. I work in marketing now, and the essay writing I did in English and history helps me every single day when I'm drafting reports. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I needed algebra, and I doubt I ever will.

not always in the way I expected

differently from what I predicted

every single day

each day, without exception

I can't remember the last time

it has been a very long time since

55 words · about 24 seconds spoken

1. Answer→
2. Reason→
3. Detail

I really wish I'd taken economics, which my school didn't offer. So much of the news is about inflation, interest rates and the job market, and I sometimes feel I'm only half following the conversation. I've started listening to an economics podcast on my commute, so I'm trying to catch up in my own time.

only half following

understanding only part of what's being said

trying to catch up

trying to reach the level I should be at

in my own time

outside work or study hours

55 words · about 24 seconds spoken