IELTS Speaking Part 2&3 #58 Describe a place near water (such as a river, a lake) that you enjoyed visiting

Describe a place near water (such as a river, a lake) that you enjoyed visiting You should say:
Where this place was? What you did at this place? Who you went there with?
And explain why you liked this place.

Sample Answer:

I have visited many places near a river or a sea and I enjoyed the scenic beauty and vast water very much. I would like to talk about a river I visited 2 years back. I chose to talk about it because I really enjoyed my visit there.

The name of the river was (…say a river’s name…) and it was in (…say a place’s name…). One of our relatives invited us to visit their house and we decide to visit there. I went there with 4 of my family members including my parents. After we reach there, I was amazed to notice that our relative’s house was near a big river. This was the first time I visited that relatives and I was very excited for the natural beauty there.

After we reach our relative’s house, my younger sister told me that she would like to visit the river. I restrained her by saying that we will all go there in the evening. In the evening we went near the river and the river was very calm at that moment. A sweet wind was blowing from the river and the weather was very pleasant. We sat near the river and had our tea. That was kind of family picnic. I had my younger brother, sister, my parents and 3 of our relatives at this place. Since this was the summer season, we felt very comfortable being at the bank of the river. We noticed many boats were in the river and we planned to rent a boat for an hour. When we were in the boat, the wind suddenly started blowing heavily. We quickly came to the high land and left for our relative’s house.

Follow-up questions:

  1. Not being able to get clean drinking water is a big problem in many places. What are some ways in which people can be provided with clean water?
    I do agree with the problem that people all around the world are facing regarding clean water. In my opinion, the easiest technique is conservation. Making sure that the water that we get from natural resources like rain are conserved well and then purified well. Apart from this, it comes upon government to ensure that everyone gets equal amount of water. It can be seen that some people are having more than required access to water while others are starving. Even more, different supply for water can be provided. Like for drinking water, fresh water should be given while for things like cleaning dishes and clothes, a little compromise on quality is possible.
  2. Which is the biggest river in your country? How much polluted is it and would you ever try swimming in it?
    Ganga is the biggest river of our country, stretching around 2500 km. Lately, Ganga was one of the most polluted rivers of our country, especially because of its religious importance. Some materials like food, waste or leaves are left in the Ganga for ritualistic reasons. People come here to take a bath to wash away their sins. Also, with the establishment of industrial areas near it, there was lot of industrial waste getting accumulated in Ganga. However, in recent times it has seen some initiatives to get cleaned. I have tried swimming in Ganga but the shore that I chose was clean.
  3. Where does the biggest city in your country get its clean water from?
    The biggest city in my country is Mumbai. It gets its clean water from different sources, like Bhatsa, Tansa, Modak Sagar and the Vaitarna.
    The world’s population is increasing rapidly. Getting clean water for everyone might become difficult in the future. Think of three ways we can avoid this problem.
    I think awareness is the first thing that needs to be done. The way people were aware about AIDS or cancer, people need to be aware of the dead consequences of water shortage. Next, we need to bring out more tangible solutions for saving water. Simply putting down theoretical solutions won’t help us. Something like ensuring everyone, irrespective of the stature in society gets limited water. This will ensure that everyone gets water and at the same time we will be able to conserve water for future. Use of water for washing, cleaning etc should be limited or the quality of water for doing this should be changed.
  4. What is the major use of water in your country?
    Ummm, water is primarily used for drinking in my country. Besides, it is also used for numerous purposes including bathing, washing clothes, irrigation, cleaning and also serves many other functions. In fact, the answer to this question cannot be given in one or two statements, you know. Water is synonymous with life. If there were no water on earth, there would have been no life. So, the use of water cannot be bracketed into some specific use.
    Accordingly, the use of water in my country, India, is not limited to drinking only. It is also used for diversified aspects, not into my country alone, rather globally. Different light to heavy industries need water to clean their raw materials, vehicles need water to cool their carburetors and cleaning, electricity production, and domestic uses etc.
  5. Is it important to conserve water?
    Well, to me, it is important to conserve water. Water is limited and collected mostly from the ground. Sometimes the groundwater dries up for excessive use and creates water shortage. As a result, the sometimes massive water shortage creates famine in some areas. If they have any preserving system, they would not suffer from the deficiency of water.
    Besides, someday it may happen that the water scarcity will be so acute that people will lock into fights to get their respective share of water. With the increased population, the pressure on ground water has increased to a great extent and my thought may come true (though I don’t want it to be true). But people may say that they will depend on nature or rain then I will say that they have forgotten about the climatic changes around the world. Rainfall is not abundant in the current days. Thus it becomes too risky to rely on nature for water and therefore, I think it is important to conserve water for future use.
  6. Why should scientists focus on space exploration rather than exploring water? Good question for me to test my intelligence level. The scientist should focus on space exploration for several reasons instead of wasting their priceless moments after water exploration. Someday it may happen that the water bodies and all the other available sources may get dried and there will be not a single drop of water. But if they explore the space, they might discover any planet or galaxy where a habitable environment may exist similar to our solar system. If they start exploring the space, I believe they could be able to invent some sort of transportation system to reach the external livable planets. But if they explore water on earth, it would be mere wastage of their time and labor.
  7. [Also refer to question 21] Other possible questions:
    What is the importance of the ocean to your country?
    Do you think the oceans should be protected? (Why?)
    In general, do you think people like to live near water? (Why?)
    Do many people in your country today like traveling on ships
    What are the sources of pollution in rivers, lakes and the ocean?