IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe an Old Building You Like (Band 7.0)

Now, I'm going to give you a topic,

and I'd like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.

Describe an old building that you like.

You have one minute to think about what you'd like to say.

Thank you. I've got a great example!

All right? Please start speaking now.

I'd like to describe an old brick warehouse by the river,

which is now the main library in my hometown.

It was built in the eighteen nineties to store tea.

It's a huge red-brick building with tall arched windows,

and inside, you can still see the original iron beams!

The sun sets right behind it,

and the whole place glows orange.

For about forty years, though, it was completely empty.

The windows had been broken, and pigeons were living inside.

At one point, the council planned to knock it down!

Luckily, local people started a campaign to save it,

and it reopened as a library about ten years ago.

What makes it special to me is my grandfather.

He worked there as a teenager,

when it was still a warehouse.

He'd carry heavy boxes of tea up and down the stairs all day.

He says the whole building smelled of tea,

and honestly, I can still imagine it!

I spent most of my final year of school studying there.

While my friends were revising at home,

I'd sit by the huge arched windows,

and I could concentrate for hours.

I'm sure that's why I passed my exams,

and I still go there every holiday.

If the city knocked it down now, I'd be heartbroken.

Do you think many people visit it?

Yes, it's always busy, especially at weekends!

Would you like to live in an old building?

Maybe, although the heating bills might be terrible!

Thank you. That's the end of Part Two.