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Practice Task 3 — A city bus stuck in a snowbank

Task 8 · Describing an Unusual Situation — describe an unusual or hard-to-explain object or scene

Speaking Task 8Describing an Unusual SituationSPK-T8-03Intermediate
30s prepare · 60s speak

You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak. Describe the unusual thing to someone who cannot see it, and explain what you think is going on.

Listen to the task prompt. Two fixed voices: a female examiner and a male situation narrator.

Something has gone wrong at the bus stop. Describe it and explain what might have happened.

A city bus stuck in a snowbank.

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 scene: a snowy winter bus stop

Points to cover

  • • the bus stuck at an angle in the deep snow
  • • the four passengers waiting under the shelter
  • • why the bus could not get through

You get 30 seconds to prepare, then 60 seconds to speak. Everything here works offline — no AI needed.

  1. 1. Describe the unusual situation
  2. 2. Explain what is happening
  3. 3. Describe a possible cause
  4. 4. Explain the consequences
  5. 5. Suggest what should happen
  6. 6. Conclude

Sentence template

You won't believe what I've just seen. There's ___ right in front of me. It looks like ___, and ___. I'm not completely sure, but my guess is that ___. If that's true, it could mean ___. I think someone should ___. Anyway, I'll let you know if anything changes.