Taking photos & Keeping memories
B2 First · Speaking Long Turn · Cambridge Ready original exercise
Speak by yourself for about one minute, comparing your two photos. Afterwards, give a short answer to a question about the photos your partner described.
Compare them, please, and tell us why the people might want to take photos in these situations.
Let's begin with you. These are your photographs, and they show people taking photos.
Taking photos
A tourist taking a photo of a city view with a phone.
https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/eaf2a644f4b5b5144fc30a8ca3844693c1f11ec474b8fd23ebd503b65c59bac4.avif
candid documentary photograph, a young male tourist holding up a phone to photograph a wide view of rooftops from a hilltop viewpoint, other visitors nearby, sunny holiday 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
A wildlife photographer lying in long grass with a large camera.
https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/9c40be5680d13cb6f665b3e89303cb34177b6a4785107e5d32a4d468edeb5ae0.avif
candid documentary photograph, a female wildlife photographer in her fifties lying in long grass with a large camera and long lens pointed at a distant herd of deer, early morning, patient quiet 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
Do you take a lot of photos? (Why? / Why not?)
Why might the people want to take photos in these situations?
Talk about how the two photographs are similar and different, and tell us why it might be important for the people to keep these memories.
Right, your turn now. Here are your two photographs, and they show people keeping memories of their lives.
Keeping memories
A mother and her adult daughter looking through an old photo album on a sofa.
https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/90b11d691f68b6ba0e48176e5d664a98a928e0c3edb88a126f407b507ad24380.avif
candid documentary photograph, a mother in her sixties and her adult daughter sitting close together on a sofa turning the pages of an old photo album, smiling, nostalgic warm 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
A young man sticking printed photos into a scrapbook at a café table
https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/dfb37903811db6ced760a993d6d48fc93d349bd12bbd595970ecf62513cbbf48.avif
candid documentary photograph, a young South Asian man in a plain white shirt with nothing printed on it at a café window table pressing a single printed beach photo into an open scrapbook, a glue stick in his other hand, a few other loose photos of mountains and the sea on the table, each photo different, a coffee cup beside him, thoughtful nostalgic mood, a plain unmarked white glue stick, a plain white cup with no logo, 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
Do you keep things to remind you of special days? (Why? / Why not?)
Why might it be important for the people to keep these memories?
Next, you'll each get two photographs to talk about by yourself for roughly a minute. After that, I'll ask you a short question about your partner's pictures.
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.