Collecting things & Treasured possessions

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 why the people might enjoy collecting these things, and how their collections might change over time.

I'd like you to start. These photographs show people with their collections.

Collecting things

A man showing his large vinyl record collection on tall shelves

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/44e5439e73f35ff21b5d1c8fdbebd1fc7768973d32051e83e021bfb68cb34cd2.avif

candid documentary photograph, a man in his forties pulling a record from floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with vinyl records in his living room, proud and absorbed, the record sleeves plain or with abstract artwork and no lettering, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

A teenage girl and her grandfather sorting stamps at a desk

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/75c703ab883c65eb87748ad71f43bf7c98a2f66dc693dd5a1689625c6a4c8274.avif

candid documentary photograph, a teenage girl and her grandfather sorting old stamps with tweezers into an album at a desk under a lamp, both concentrating, the stamps tiny and out of focus, both in plain dark knitted jumpers with nothing on them, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

A woman arranging stones and shells from beaches on a windowsill

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/c39f6c86322770a94abb7e7849d888a4bc84c49c97a8a8d396350393bf15c1fa.avif

candid documentary photograph, a woman arranging smooth pebbles and seashells she has collected on a sunny windowsill, a sea view outside, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

What would you be most tempted to collect yourself? (Why?)

Why might the people enjoy collecting these things?

How might their collections change over time?

Choose two of the photographs and compare them. Say why these objects might mean so much to the people, and why they might find it hard to give them away.

Now it's your turn. These photographs show people with objects that mean a lot to them.

Treasured possessions

An older woman looking through a box of old photographs and letters in an attic

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/d81cafeee459caf9ac94ca99df8699e83613f903e94b9ae0c1ca01e7a077e8bb.avif

candid documentary photograph, an older woman sitting in a sunlit attic looking through a cardboard box of old photographs and letters, smiling softly at one picture, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

A young man tuning a battered old acoustic guitar

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/0ba66a9e2d19d4b5810e51df23af705fc9a97cd75eec4abfaaea99ff9f6732dd.avif

candid documentary photograph, a young South Asian man sitting on his bed tuning a battered, well-worn acoustic guitar, scratches on the wood, a warm bedroom, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

A young woman looking at her grandmother's old ring on her finger

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/0311b36fba853ca1275f74311cf345302a30732e00ef250c090634c840c7d009.avif

candid documentary photograph, a young woman sitting by a window gently turning an old gold ring on her finger and looking at it closely, a small open jewellery box on the table beside her, quiet tender mood, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no print, logos or writing on anyone's clothes, no signs or labels with readable text, no text, no watermark

Which of your own belongings would you find hardest to give away? (Why?)

Why might these objects mean so much to the people?

Why might they find it hard to give them away?

Next, you'll each have three photographs to work with. Choose two of them and speak by yourself for roughly a minute, and after that I'll ask you a quick 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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