Q1.
Work in pairs. Take turns to speak for a minute on any one of the senses you value the most. Use the given prompts to frame your response before you speak: I value my sense of sight/sound/touch/smell/taste the most because…; One of my favourite experiences is…; This is so because…; I appreciate being able to see/hear/touch/smell/taste…; God forbid, if I were to lose the sense of…, it would make me feel…; I would not be able to…; I thank God that I am able to see/hear/touch/smell/taste.
Answer
Method: Pick one sense only — a speech that tries to cover all five says nothing about any. Write the seven prompts as short notes on a card, then speak for a minute using the card only for glances.
Sample answer (the sense of smell): “I value my sense of smell the most, because it brings back things that my eyes have forgotten. One of my favourite experiences is the smell of the first rain falling on dry ground in June. This is so because it arrives before anything else does — before the clouds are heavy and before a single drop reaches me, I already know the rain is coming. I appreciate being able to smell my mother's kitchen from the gate, and to know from that alone whether it is a festival day. God forbid, if I were to lose the sense of smell, it would make me feel cut off from my own home; food would be only texture, and I would not be able to tell milk that has turned, or smoke, or the rain. I thank God that I am able to smell, and after reading Helen Keller I have started noticing what I smell instead of only what I see.”
Tip: The book's speaking checklist on page 37 — speak clearly and confidently, glance at your notes rather than reading, make eye contact, use gestures if you wish, pronounce words clearly and avoid mumbling, and keep a steady, moderate pace.