Performing in public & Being in an audience

C1 Advanced · Speaking Long Turn · Cambridge Ready original exercise

Choose two of your three photographs, compare them and answer both printed questions in about a minute. After that, you get around 30 seconds to respond to one quick question on your partner's photographs.

Choose two of the photographs and compare them. Say how the people might be feeling at this moment, and what they might have done to prepare.

You're going first. These photographs show people performing in front of others.

Performing in public

A young street musician playing the violin in a crowded city square

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/0ad09163fbadde7b5e4adf7d2d87bff411a8af51ff7e379d4605048c8832d2ed.avif

candid documentary photograph, a young street musician playing the violin in a crowded old city square, passers-by pausing to listen, open instrument case at his feet, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A woman giving a presentation to colleagues in a bright meeting room

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/bcf81322db8c7fcf393337a2e6e8ad48e9a4c8f4c0c84aa999685f6b879a8b9c.avif

candid documentary photograph, a Black woman in her forties standing and giving a presentation to a small group of colleagues seated around a table in a bright meeting room, gesturing confidently, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A school drama group performing on stage under bright lights

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/849c5b5016cc5971649c74ad584e73cb4f65fa4ad8edb70bd6ae27af0b31c5b3.avif

candid documentary photograph, a group of teenage drama students in simple costumes performing a scene on a school stage under warm stage lights, audience silhouettes in the foreground, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Which of these situations would make you feel most nervous? (Why?)

How might the people be feeling at this moment?

What might they have done to prepare?

Choose two of the photographs and compare them. Say what the audience might be getting out of the experience, and how the atmosphere at these events might differ.

Now over to you. These photographs show people watching different kinds of live events.

Being in an audience

A crowd at an outdoor music festival cheering with their arms raised

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/950330a9c5dde5a697fa25712102553563cace5de8ecf584db58f5d51dd4c27f.avif

candid documentary photograph, a large, diverse crowd at an outdoor music festival in the late afternoon, cheering with arms raised towards a distant stage, dust and sunlight, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Older adults listening quietly at a classical concert in a wooden hall

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/014fefa00c26b80512f873f54e89539fc03354d936924b15839671a3a130875e.avif

candid documentary photograph, an audience of mostly older adults listening intently to a string quartet in an elegant wood-panelled concert hall, hushed and still, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Families sitting on the grass watching a puppet show in a park

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/dd36acee3cbfac5792ae280d767d9123f8dfb2dc7fc639355b36d50299d952bc.avif

candid documentary photograph, families of different backgrounds sitting on the grass in a park watching a colourful puppet show, parents and children laughing together, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Which of these events would you rather go to? (Why?)

What might the audience be getting out of the experience?

How might the atmosphere at these events differ?

In this next section, you'll each get three photographs. You'll pick two and talk about them by yourself for roughly a minute. Then I'll ask you a short question about your partner's photographs.

Answer this Speaking task out loud and an AI examiner marks it on the official Cambridge Speaking criteria, with what you did well and what to fix next.

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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