4.

Festival:
 Tell me about the most important festival in your country. 
Pakistan is an Islamic state and so, Eid is the biggest important festival here.
Besides, some other national holidays are also celebrated as a festival in the
country.

 What special food and activities are connected with this festival? 
During the Eid, most of the citizens prepare rich foods kebab, paratha, oven
baked bread etc. Usually, the meats are prepared with or without soups during
the festivals. Among the activities prayer, visiting people, meeting friends and
family members are most important.

 What do you most enjoy about it? 

Well, I enjoy the gathering of people during the festivals. Almost all the people
come to the street and meet each other and sometimes invite the near and dear
ones at their respective homes.

 Do you think festivals are important for a country? Why?

Yes, certainly festivals are important for a country. It helps to strengthen the
internal bond among the countrymen.

 Do you like to have flowers in your home? Why? Why not? 

I like to have flowers at home and in fact, there is a flower garden before my
house. I believe that flowers help to beautify a place naturally, and thus I like
flowers.

  Where would you go to buy flowers? Why?

There are some floral shops near our house who sell different kinds of flowers
and, when necessary, I buy flowers from them.

 On what occasions would you give someone flowers? 

Usually, flowers are offered on different occasions like birthday, marriage
anniversary, to show respect or propose etc. I would give flowers to someone on
any special day to wish him/her luck or to congratulate.
 Are flowers important in your culture? Why? Why not?
Of course, the flowers are important in my culture. Flowers are generally offered
to someone to show our love and respect. Sometimes the flowers work like
decorative materials at home as well. In our country, flowers are the symbol of
beauty and purity.

Discussion Topic - Songs and singing.

Part 1:
Q. 1. Did you enjoy singing when you were younger? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Yes, I used to enjoy singing when I was younger primarily because I
grew up in an environment where people loved to listen to songs and music.
Besides, where I was younger, I used to have a nice and sweet voice which
made singing easier for me.
Q. 2. How often do you sing now? [Why?]
Answer: Unfortunately, I don’t really sing these days at all because I remain busy
with my work and other important priorities most of the times. Besides, I have lost
my sweet voice because of not practising enough which makes it rather difficult
for me to sing these days.
Q. 3. Do you have a favourite song you like listening to? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Yes, I do have a number of favourite songs which I like listening to
mainly because I have grown up listening to these songs. Besides, these songs
are sung by some of my most favourite and world-class singers who could touch
our heart. Some of my favourite songs are "Yesterday" by The Beatles, "Born To
Run" by Bruce Springsteen, "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, "Like A
Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd and
"Hotel California" by The Eagles.
Q. 4. How important is singing in your culture?
Answer: Singing is very important in culture because seldom do we see any
social functions or celebration (except, of course, some religious celebrations)
where songs are not played. Besides, even when there is no occasion for
celebration, we listen to songs in order to feel happy and enjoy some light
moments in our life. In our culture,  almost every national event is inaugurated by
singing our national anthem.

Discussion Topic - Festivals.

Part 1:
Q. 1. Tell me about the most important festival in your country.
Answer: My country, where I live, is a predominantly Muslim country, and
therefore, the most important festivals in my country are “Eid ul Fitr” and “Eid ul
Adha”.  “Eid ul Fitr” is celebrated after a whole month of fasting from dawn to
dusk each day while “Eid ul Azha” is celebrated during the month of “pilgrimage”
called “The Hajj” when people gather in two cities called “Makkah” and “Medina”
of Saudi Arabia.
Q. 2. What special food and activities are connected with this festival?
Answer: One of the main ingredients of any kind of celebration is food – many
savoury food items that is – with beef, mutton, or chicken, depending on what
kinds of animals are slaughtered by different households, and, of course, many
different kinds of palatable sweet dishes. During these festivals, we try to visit our
friends and families and spend some quality times together with them. People
wear their best dresses and enjoy the festivals with great fervour and
enthusiasm.
Q. 3. What do you most enjoy about it?
Answer: I like everything about these celebrations, including the food, offering
prayers and visiting friends and families, but the thing, which I really enjoy the
most, during these celebrations is the “spirit” of sharing with the poor and
disenfranchised segment of the population, without which, the celebration would
remain incomplete.
Q. 4. Do you think festivals are important for a country? [Why?]
Answer: Yes, I do think that festivals are essential for a country as it helps build a
strong social bond among its population from different backgrounds, cultures,
colours and creeds which, in turn, offers the nation a strong sense of identity.
Besides, festivals allow people to have fun and relax and thus help them
recuperate from work fatigue.

Topic: Festivals
Q. Tell me about the most important festival in your country.
Q. What special food and activities are connected with this festival?
Q. What do you most enjoy about it?
Q. Do you think festivals are important for a country? [Why?]
 

Q. Tell me about the most important festival in your country.

Answer: Malaysia is a multicultural country where people of all religions and
faiths live in peace and harmony, and one of the most important religious
festivals in my country is called “Vesak day” (or Wesak) to commemorate the
Lord Buddha’s Birthday which is usually observed during the first full moon in the
month of May. To all Buddhist people in Malaysia, this is a very, very important
festival because they believe that the Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and
death had occurred on the same calendar day.
Q. What special food and activities are connected with this festival?
Answer: A typical Wesak Day usually begins at dawn at Buddhist temples
throughout Malaysia by getting devotees to gather in order to meditate on the
Eight Precepts as well as having Monks in saffron-coloured robes to chant the
sutras in unison. A candle procession is also the highlight of the celebration, and
at the same time, offerings of prayers and burning of joss sticks/incense also run
in full swing.
As far as the question of special foods, connected to this particular festival, is
concerned, well-wishers and devotees do come together, at the end of their
prayers, to dine on simple offerings of vegetarian food and drinks while providing
the same to the poor and needy. Donations are also made available to the
deserving ones.

Q. What do you most enjoy about it?

Answer: What I enjoy the most about the “Visak” is that it manages to bring people from all walks of
life in the spirit of “giving” and “charity” in order to the help the “less privileged” section of our society.
Q. Do you think festivals are important for a country? [Why?]
Answer: I don’t just think, but I actually believe the festivals are absolutely important for any country
as it helps bring all kinds of different people together so that they could learn about each other and
appreciate them, in a world which has seen too much hatred and animosities already towards each
other. They spread brotherhood, faith, love, sense of respect and duty among the people without
destroying others emotions and beliefs.

FESTIVALS
Festivals are the most important part of the society. It is during this time that people forget
almost everything and come together to celebrate life. Each country has its own different
festivals, and we celebrate so many of the festivals all around the world. This time let us have a
look at some of the questions related festivals that can be asked in the section III of the IELTS
speaking section.
What is the most important festival in our country?
India is a very diverse country. We have got more festivals than any part of the world. So, in
North, there are festivals like Diwali,Holi,Dusshera that are very important. And then, we have
east, where Durga Puja and Bihu are very important. Down the south we have Onam and
Pongal that are celebrated with lot of zest. In the west, we have kite festival. It is so amazing,
that going across from one part of the other in our country, we can experience all the diversity.

How do people celebrate festivals in your country?

Festivals are truly the time when people do come back home and celebrate with their family and
friends. People dress up according to the occasion and cook delicacies, invite friends and have
a family time. Almost all festival in our country start with a puja, i.e. prayers to God after which
the gatherings take place.

What special food are associated with festivals in your country?

Each festival has its own food. In Pongal, on the first day rice is eaten with fried chickpea
patties, known as vada and the next day people eat Venpongal. In Holi, people drink bhang
which is an alcoholic drink made with rosewater and dried fruits. Sweet dumplings filled with
khoya and dried fruits called gujjias are served as a dessert. In durga puja, bhog is given on
every day of the puja and then during diwali people celebrate it with sweets. There are so many
more festivals and so much more that people actually do.

Which festival do you enjoy the most?

I love Holi the most. This is the festival where people color each other and forget about any
clashes and enjoy with each other. Friends come together and dance and throw colored water
at each other and it is fun!! Later eating the gujiya is amazing.

Do you think festivals are important for the society?

I think definitely yes, festivals are surely  the binding force for the society. In lives of people who
are truly dissatisfied, festivals bring in the hope of something good and something new. Most
people forget their issues and come together to celebrate a festival. Even more, with prayers
being associated with each of the festivals, they bring about so much positivity in life.