TOPIC1 : describe your house The house I am living in is located in the suburb of Ha Noi capital, within thirty minutes

drive off the central city. I, together with my family have lived there for two years. This is a fairly large house surrounded with a lovely garden. My house consists of two bed-rooms, a living-room, a bathroom with a shower, a dinning-room, a kitchen and a toilet. It is air-conditioned and well-furnished. The living-room is decorated beautifully. Impressive lacquer paintings are hung on the walls. At night, the color neon lights increase coziness of the room. There, on Sundays and holidays my father usually spends his time playing chess or drinking tea with his friends. My mother and my two sisters are diligent and hard-working women. They often keep the house clean and tidy. On suffocating days of summer, we usually take meals in the garden. It is fairly cool and quiet here. We enjoy our meals amid the melodious twitters of birds. On stormy and rainy nights all whole family members gather in the living-room, watching television or telling each other about their daily activities. I love my house very much because it is the place where I live in the love of my father and in the tender loving care of mother.I wish I would live in it forever. TOPIC2: CONFLICT I feel it is always best to first address the source of any conflict whenever possible. I believe that a majority of conflicts come as result of misunderstanding and /or mis-communication, and these issues are most quickly cleared-up when working directly with the individual involved. Although I am, by nature, rather nonconfrontational, I find that by being direct, open and honest, not only is resolution most quickly achieved, but I feel better for having dealt with the problem. Once, when dealing with an issue regarding personal property, I realized that there was no tip-toeing around the subject. Initially, both I and the other individual were uncomfortable. When I had the opportunity to state my position, and then ask for feedback from the other individual, we realized that we had a common goal... the resolution of the issue. The situation was taken care of, and both us felt as though the solution was mutually beneficial. TOPIC3: FOVORITE TV PROGRAMME

The television (TV) is part and parcel of many households. Therefore, watching television is a culture of todays modern society. It is a favourite past -time of many people, cutting across the culture, creed, gender and age. I must admit that I too enjoy sitting glued to the TV as mum often laments. Since I watch TV whole day long, I dont blame mum. However, whenever I watch my favourite TV programme she doesnt complain. In fact, she often sits together to watch it, the National Geographic. The National Geographic is a well-known documentary programme, focusing mainly on the ever-changing world, on Mother Earth and on nature and peoples and creatures that colour it with. Just the press of a switch and a button and Hey Presto!, the whole world is brought before me, for me to savour its beauty and wonders. Personally, I am often awed and amazed with them. I like this programme because it is very educational. It is a window to the world. By watching it, I can travel, explore and discover the four corners of the world. I have trekked up the highest peak and conquered Mt. Everest. I have dived down the deepest trenches. I have walked through the wilderness and be amongst the wild beasts, big and small. Thus, this programme has helped to expand my horizon and improve my knowledge and experience. I can proudly say I am no more a frog in the well. I also enjoy watching the National Geographic because it is entertaining, interesting and stimulating. I never imagined that such an educational programme can be very enjoyable. I get a chance to enjoy the kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and colours of the world and its different peoples, all in the comfort of my own home. TOPIC4: A PERFECT HOLIDAY. For me it has always been going to a place I have never been before and observing the people going about their routine - Interacting with them if I can. I do like to always take a city sightseeing tour so I can see what attracts me. I go probably go with my best friend on the understanding that holidays are normally boring if we travel alone and also its much safer to travel as a group. I choose Rome- the capital of Italy as my perfect destination. We would be on a large ship because large ships are pretty stable in rough waters. On the nice ship tourists d have plenty to enjoy themselves with shopping stores, casinos, movies

and delicious food. Sightseeing tours are offered at most all stops and can provide entertaining information about the locale. I know a holiday like this would be very expensive but I hope one day I can accomplish this dream.

TOPIC5: an important year in your life

I think one of the most important and significant years in my life is when I went abroad for Master s degree. Living in a foreign country was much more difficult than I had expected. There were no friends or acquaintances and at first ,I could not get used to the natives` English. In addition, I had to begin my study immediately . I still remembered that year was emotionally and physically exhausting for me but an extremely valuable experience. Eventually, my English skill got better. I also made many good friends who helped me through hard time even though they have different nationalities. As time passed by, I learned to be independent, flexible and decisive. Living by myself in overseas far away from friends and family definitely taught me priceless lesions and helped me widen my perspective of the world. Therefore, I believe that year was an important year in my life. TOPIC6: Talk about something you often do to help the environment

There are many things that people can do to help the environment, such as: recycling, reducing their use of energy at home and at work, reducing contamination or pollution from their cars and things like that. Many modern cities have now introduced better public transport and implemented various programs targeting the use of private cars and commercial trucks etc. within city centres. Parking restrictions have been enforced and many cities throughout the world now restrict when you can use you car in the city centre, typically banning or prohibiting its use for one day each week. All these actions have helped reduce the amount of pollution caused within urban areas, but they have also caused problems regarding mobility for many people. The relative difficulty of parking in some city centres now, due to the restrictions, can cause consumers to favor out of town hyper centres or large shopping malls and subsequently take business away from local

stores in the centre of the city. This hurts local commerce and can also adversely affect the local economy, jobs and many other related aspects. Personally, I love using my car because it is the most conveflnient method of transport for me. However, I also use my motorcycle as much as I can so as to reduce the emissions as a result of travelling and reduce my overall carbon footprint.

TOPIC7: a household chore you often do in your house

The housework often do is to do the laundry. Firstly, I divide clothes up into whites and darks, Do an extra load of linens if there are enough to fill the machines. I have to do laundry twice a week because there are not many people in my family. This chore also includes sorting clean laundry, folding, hanging up clothes and possibly ironing. To be honest, I am quite fussy about clothes so I feel very satisfied with clean clothes.

Topic 8.
Along with newspapers, television, internet, we have another useful means of media: radio. Although radio can not broadcast with both sounds and images it still have its own advantages over other mass media. The best advantage, i think is its flexibility. You can hear radio in by using tiny portable devices such as an mp3 player. You can hear radio while walking on the streets or driving a car. I find radio really useful when i have to drive in rush hours. It can give information on how the traffic changes on roads so that i can aily move. Another great thing is its interactiveness.(khong phai interaction nha) When im hearing a discussion which i find interesting i can call in and tell others who are also listening to that subject my opinion. However, I think when hearing radio, the information can be a little bias due to the speakers opinions. Moreover, since the info is updated every minute, radio can be kinda fast and fleeting. And it is really bad when you can not hear the sounds precisely due to frequency (sounds can be very fuzzy).

Topic 9.
In this techno era , i think almost everyone would have at least a technological item which is important to them. For me, i think my most important item would be my camera. I am a person who likes photographing very much. I have worked hard in order to get a modern camera. When i have freetime, i often travel around and use my cameras to take some beautiful shots of landscape. It was exciting to capture

things from a beautiful view. I can also use it to record and make movies. In my camera there are alot of pictures of my family, my friends, my countrys life. When I go somewhere far, i can always have those pictures with me as my precious memorials. Thats why ( ha ha ) I like my camera so much.

Topic 10.
I was brought up in a small city which has many cultural traits. My city has a wide range of famous specialities which attract many tourists. I have seen many foreigner tourists come to my city and i think one of the most popular thing they want to do in my hometown is to walk arround on the streets seeing the life of everyone there and trying to find somewhere good to eat some interesting dishes. They said they want to find new kinds of food in vietnam since they found food in vietnam really delicious and special. It would be very good if a local resident can show them way to exciting places. most important food in my hometown are Gai cake, Crispy peanut candy also known as keo lac, Bnh bo, bnh chui, and Ph,which is the most special thing according to many foreigners and they said they would eat it at least one more time once they come to Vietnam again. Even when I lived there since small , I still have a habit of going around in the city and find a good place to eat nice food. It is so interesting and i think all tourists coming there would feel like that too.

Topic 11.
My city does not have many big and luxurious shopping streets but it has some beautiful small ones which are quite busy at night. There is one place near my workplace which i like to go there in free time in order to get some things i like. The street is small but the goods on sale are various and interesting. There is a wide range of crafts like hats, bracelets, shoes, different kinds of souvenirs and many paintings and photos. Many youngsters hang out there at night in order to talk to each other while seeing beautiful things in the shops. In the past, there were only a few shops selling those kinds of goods but now it has become a verey lively place. Tourists coming to my city also like to go to there to find some nice things or some beautiful photos of the city. I want this part of my hometown will remain in the future it is very special for its unique little shops and quaint ambiance which i think is attractive more than any busy and modern shopping center in my city.

Topic 12.
I am not a type of person who likes to eat out much but recently I found a small but very interesting restaurant near my house. It serves some kinds of food like fried chicken, fried rice, noodles, soups. Although the restaurant is not big very much but it has a very cozy atmosphere since its interior design gives out a feeling of warm and relaxing, with beautiful paintings on the soft-coloured wall and a lot

of tiny plants. I like to eat noodles there so much. It was so good , it has a different taste from other restaurants and i also like some kinds of soup there. The service is fast and the waiters are friendly. Food is not only good but quite cheap so people came here quite a lot. Since I have only come there with my fmaily, I want to invite some of my friends to have dinner with me on a Sunday evening. They will definitely like it for sure. Topic 13. My parents are always busy for work so we have little time together. But last month, they decided to take a rest and all of us travelled to Hoi An abeautiful ancient town of my country for about 3 days. It was a memorable time. Hoi An is really attractive for its quaint and romantic ambiance, especially at night, when you wander along many old houses standing besides the river. The houses were like huge lamps at night if you see from the other side of the river. They were glamorously twinkling with colourful lanterns. I and my father eat a lot of specialities like Cao Lu, M Qung, Hi An grilled corns. We went to Caauf Pagoda and took alot of pictures there. Night in Hoi An is really amzing. And in the morning Hoi An becomes really peaceful with yellow and brown streets, paper flowers falling from balconies, And somewhere there are paintings of Hoi An on the streets which make the town more poetic. My mother really like them and decided to buy one to put in the living room. We did plenty of things together on the streets, go into every small lanes. I still want to stay there for a few days but my we need to get back to work. I hope i can have another exciting time travelling with my family like this in the near future.

Topic 14.
When i was little, I was often told fairy stories when i sleep with my mom. The fairies in those stories were so cool with their tiny appearances and above all, each of them have a wide pair of wings which helps them to fly to wherever they want. I was very curious when I was little. I have alove for sky at night when I saw them when sitting on my roof. So when I was 4 years old, I always went to the roof to see the night sky filling with stars, but I was not satisfied because I want to touch the mysterious sky above my head with my hands. I strongly want it so that time my biggest dream was to do the touching thing and I got a great ambition of being able to create a pair of wings with helps me to fly to the sky to touch it. I tried to find material that is suitable for making wings but it was so hard. Then I told my sister to buy me two big kites and i will tie it to my back and my two arms. I stood on the well spread my wings and use all of my strength to jump to the tree nearby. Of course I fell on the ground. I as OK since the part on the ground of the well is not high very much but the two kites broke, my sister saw it and she laughed at me like a drain all day. Since then, I have been trying not to get involved into some dangerous thougt like that again.