Annoying Situations & Looking Carefully - Test 8

C1 Advanced · Speaking Long Turn · Cambridge English Advanced 2, Cambridge University Press

Compare two of your three pictures and speak on your own for about a minute. Then answer a short question about your partner's pictures.

I'd like you to compare two of the pictures, and say what can be annoying in these different situations, and what might happen next.

It's your turn first. Here are your pictures. They show people in annoying situations.

Annoying situations

A shocked office worker looking at coffee spilled across his desk

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/d06c789aaaba1c54b6e60aa190899539ddada19d9af82d4054bfec429d72ea04.avif

candid documentary photograph, shocked middle-aged office worker in a blue shirt and striped tie with one hand on his head, staring at a tipped-over white mug and coffee spilled across his desk next to the keyboard and mouse, grey cubicle office behind, natural indoor light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A long queue of young people behind rope barriers outside a shop

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/30af6b626eb572d06f79d434b1ea18f24a74220fc2a986520bcd64e489e9bea9.avif

candid documentary photograph, long crowded queue of young people waiting behind black rope barriers outside a bright glass-fronted shop inside a modern shopping mall, polished floor reflections, bored expressions, bright retail lighting, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A woman on the phone beside her broken-down car on an empty highway

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/96438b1885b0a29186c03c88abacde207238b4fd6779dd4b01bd698bd5ea5541.avif

candid documentary photograph, frustrated woman in a blue windbreaker talking on her phone while standing beside her silver car with the bonnet raised, empty desert highway stretching behind her under a big cloudy sky, windswept hair, natural daylight, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Who do you think will be most affected by the situation? …… (Why?)

What can be annoying in these different situations?

What might happen next?

I'd like you to compare two of the pictures, and say why the people might be looking at these things, and how important it is for them to look at these things carefully.

Now, here are your pictures. They show people looking at different things.

Looking carefully

Two surgeons in scrubs examining X-ray images on a lightbox

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/26b98749d8ac97791a8b5b7f9d816d1d47fbb8ecc8212a69d93567e96ab2c1f1.avif

candid documentary photograph, two female surgeons in pale blue scrubs and surgical caps examining a row of X-ray images on a bright wall-mounted lightbox, one pointing at a bone X-ray, hospital corridor light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Three construction workers in hard hats studying plans indoors

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/ebfdcb97d4afa20e316a4c4fa4e730ebd5d74d069d72c803e5f45a3badc7f908.avif

candid documentary photograph, three construction workers in white hard hats and orange hi-vis vests studying a large unrolled technical drawing together inside a dim industrial warehouse under a steel roof, work lights glowing, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A family reading a notice pinned to a wooden pole in the countryside

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/fd646ead55320aabb0cddc7f72479a7477e0fb8e8c245e275d7c72149dff1fec.avif

candid documentary photograph, family of four in colourful rain jackets reading a paper notice pinned to a tall wooden pole at the edge of a dry field, white motorhome parked in the background, muted autumn colours, overcast light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Who do you think needs to concentrate the most? …… (Why?)

Why might the people be looking at these things?

How important is it for them to look at these things carefully?

In this part of the test, I'm going to give each of you three pictures. I'd like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner's pictures.

Practise this Speaking task free online: solo with exam timers and a self-recorder, as a live mock Speaking test with a partner over a video call, or as a full three-person mock exam — a real examiner reads the official examiner script to Candidates A and B. Rooms are invite-by-link; partners can join without an account.

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