Part of the ielts speaking Test Yourself 13 Reading Your Family 14

9. What kind of house or apartment would you like to have in the future
？
Well, I would love to own a whole house, just like what I’ve seen on TV in Western
countries．In China, we don’t have enough space to build private individual houses，
especially in the city. So pretty much everyone gets to live in apartment buildings. My dream
would be to have a nice house in the suburbs of my hometown, with a backyard and a
lawn（＝grass area)．My house would have to be modern and spacious, with a very large
kitchen, because I love cooking, and a bright living room with a huge TV My whole family could
live there. In China, space is luxury. We’11 see what happens. But I would need a lot
of money to build this kind of house nowadays.
10. Do you prefer the appearance of old or modern buildings?
Well, in my country I love the design of old houses，you know, with the inclined
roof, and the traditional architecture. I like the old-fashioned looking facades（＝face of
a building), with the Chinese windows．They are all carved and made of wood. They’re
beautiful. On the other hand, usually, modern houses are quite ugly. They are made of
cement and tiles．They are generally all square. They look good from the inside though.
You know, they are comfortable and well-equipped, but the outside is just too common, too
boring.
11.What can you see from your bedroom window?
I can’t see much except for other buildings．We live in a community, and there are like
10 or 12 high-rises next to each other. But just outside the living room, we have a balcony,
and from that side of the building, we overlook the Min River and the mountains that
surround Fuzhou. At night the banks of the river light up. Although there are still a lot of
buildings in the way, the view is pretty nice.

---

87
TRY TO USE：
I have been studying there for 2 years．
I have been studying economics.
I’ve been living in a dorm with 5 other girls.
I’ve been learning a lot since I entered university.