CAE Speaking Part 2 sample questions with answers. If you want to print them or save in PDF, click the red icon at the bottom of this page.
Examiner: Here are your pictures showing a meeting of friends. Compare two of the pictures and say why people might have chosen to meet and how well they might know each other?
- Why they might have chosen to meet?
- How well might they know each other?
Candidate A: I’ll talk about the top two pictures. In the left one we see people who seem to be partying – bottles in their hands and smiles on their faces. I’m pretty sure they know each other rather well. The same can’t be said about the other picture where a group of people are staring at their phones. If anything, they could be complete strangers or maybe something really exciting is happening on the Internet, I can’t really know for sure.
As for their reason to meet, it’s really hard to tell! The people having a celebration are probably happy that they have finished a project or maybe it’s somebody’s birthday or a wedding. The situation in the right photo is much less certain – it could be almost anything, a school reunion or maybe a family meeting or something of the kind.
Short-turn question: Which situation is going to be most memorable for the people?
Candidate B: I’d say it’s the one with teens from the bottom picture. They seem to be in a rather picturesque place. They are quite young too, and we tend to cherish our memories of youth the most. I mean, they will probably be coming back to these fond moments over the course of their lives!
Examiner: Here are the pictures, which show people dressed in different ways and styles. Compare two of the pictures and say why the people might have chosen to dress like that and how comfortable they might be, okay?
- Why might people have chosen to dress like that?
- How comfortable might they be?
Candidate B: I’d like to compare the top left picture and the bottom one. The former looks like a fruit and vegetable shop, and the owner probably chose to wear these rather simple clothes for practicality’s sake – he wouldn’t feel bad if he were to stain those, I’m sure. The bottom picture shows a different setting – something like a business meeting, they are probably reporting to their superior, sharing their productivity figures or other corporate nonsense.
I’m convinced that people in both pictures are comfortable in their clothing of choice. I mean, as long as one’s apparel is of appropriate size and the fabric is nice to your body, you shouldn’t feel any discomfort. In any case, you get used to what you wear, so you practically stop paying attention to that. So I wouldn’t say that any of the people pictured in these photos might be feeling discomfort because of their clothes.
Short-turn question: Which person is dressed most appropriately for the occasion?
Candidate A: The street vendor seems to have nailed it, ha-ha! He seems to have successfully struck the balance between being presentable and not having to worry about getting some dirt on his sleeve. Speaking of sleeves, he doesn’t even have any, but this shouldn’t be a problem to his clients, anyway.
Click to download this CAE Speaking Part 2 Worksheet in PDF. Don’t forget to switch to landscape mode when printing!