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đź’Ť Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time (Part 2) + Transcript

15m 6s

đź’Ť Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time (Part 2) + Transcript

The speaker discusses a cherished family heirloom: a portrait-style photograph of his late grandmother. This item has been kept for decades, with its presence dating back as far as the speaker can remember, always hanging in the family dining room. The exact time of acquisition is unknown, but it has been a constant fixture. The photo’s importance lies in its sentimental value, as it reinforces a sense of continuity and connection to past family members, rather than any monetary worth. The speaker describes the photograph as well-executed, with skillful lighting that enhances his grandmother’s features. Its ornate frame is polished and seems to glow, making it a cornerstone of the room’s decoration. The material appears unusual, possibly not standard photographic material, as it shows fine lines when examined closely, but from a normal viewing distance, it remains an excellent image. The photo is A4-sized and larger than typical pictures. Without it, the speaker feels the family would lose a vital link to the past and an element that ties the home’s design together, making it a true sign of home and family heritage.

Transcription

2171 Words, 11300 Characters

English
Hello, hello lovely and welcome into IELTS Speaking Part 2. A very interesting topic today. Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time. You should say what it is, how when your family first got this thing, how long your family has kept it. And explain why this thing is important to your family. Wow, so first of all it should be something important, old, and something that your family has kept. So your family has had this thing at home for a long time. Rory, give us your story. Oh, I think we have a ton of heirlooms in the house to be honest with you. But the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait style photograph of my late grandmother, which we must have had for decades now. When it comes to when we first got the thing, honestly, I have no idea. It's been with us almost as long as I can remember, and it's always been in our dining room next to the kitchen. In terms of why we've hung on to it for so long, well, family is pretty important, obviously. So having pictures of past and present family members is important for a sense of continuity with nothing else. To tell you a bit more about what it looks like, I know I said it's a photograph, but it's also a very nicely done one with good use of light that highlights all the features of my grandmother's face. You might even say it shows her in a good light. The frame of the thing is very ornate and made this sort of polished material that almost glows in the light of the room itself. It's like it's not just a picture. It's also a cornerstone of the decorations in the room itself. And everything on the walls is structured around it. And not sure it has much monetary value, but the sentimental value should be obvious, at least. It's also worth mentioning the material it's made from. I don't think it's like the normal celluloid or whatever photos are usually made from. It's like it's been pieced together from different parts when you look closely. You can make out these fine lines between the smaller segments that make it up. You would think that would make it look odd. But as long as your face isn't pressed up against it, then it's still a great photo, at least I think so. It's a four size, so it's bigger, and maybe that necessitates something different. But I'm not really in the know about that sort of thing. I'm no photographer. If we didn't have the portrait hanging in the house, I think we'd have missed out on a real connection to the past as well as something that draws the room design and decoration together. It's really nice to have there. It's like a sign of home now. As you know, we now release all of our premium content for free, and it's available for one month. After one month, it goes into our super secret archive. Design up for the archive, click the link in the description below. See you soon. So, do listen. You need to choose an important old thing if you don't have this thing, then you imagine it. Usually it's a photograph or it's something like a painting, a book, a piece of jewelry, a diamond, like imagine anything important and old, but you should be able to describe it because it's difficult to describe a piece of jewelry, for example. But a photo could be okay or a book, right? Don't say that's something like, "Oh, a yacht is an important old thing that my family has kept for a long time. A helicopter." "Well, unless you're a millionaire, I'm. " So you can start off with, we have a ton of heirlooms in the house. heirloom. "Things we haven't herited." A valuable object that has been given by all the members of a family to younger members. So if Rory's grandma has given him this book or a ring, this is an heirloom, usually kind of jewelry, right? A ring, a diamond necklace, right? Some old photographs or. "Well, no, no." But furniture, yeah, and also cups, glasses. "Well, anything you inherit that's got value." "Yeah, but very, very common like jewelry." "Yes." I have a lot of heirlooms in the house, but the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait style photograph of my late grandmother. So something that stands out is like, "I remember this one particular object that is memorable for me." So you can just remember the whole phrase. We have a lot of heirlooms, we have a ton of heirlooms in the house, but the one that stands out the most for me is blah, blah, blah. We must have had it for decades. So we probably have had it for a long time. We started having it, we've had it for a long time and we still have it. "Shin." "Dear listener, are you okay with this structure? Are you with me?" We must have had it for decades, for years, for a long time. "Logical deduction." Oh yes, very advanced. We changed the topic. When it comes to when we first got the thing. So as for when we first got it, I have no idea. Or we got it 20 years ago, or just imagine something. But use present perfect. It has been with us for a long time. So it's been with us. And all the time until now. And you can also say it's been with us as long as I can remember. So it's always been in the dining room or it's always been in the kitchen. We changed the topic again and now use in terms of why we've had it for so long. It's because that's it. Which verb did you use here, Rory? "Oh, we hung on to it." It's a phrase of verb. You're hung on to something. But the verb is hang, right? Oh yes. Well, we have hung on to it. Hang, hang, hang. And it's pretty important for our family, because like pictures of the past and present family members are important. As sense of continuity. What does it mean? Oh God, like connection to the past and into the future, I suppose, is the best way to talk about it. To tell you more about what it looks like, it's a photograph, it's a very nicely done photograph. And it shows all the features of my grandmother's face. So our faces have certain features, facial features. The photograph shows my grandma in a good light. So like she looks really pretty in this photo, in the photo, do you listen? So you see my family in the photo. The frame. Photographs usually are usually put in a frame. So the frame is also very ornate. What does it mean ornate? It just looks nice. It's decorative. Decorative. The frame is made of polished materials and glows. So it has this light. It doesn't have any monetary value. So it's not expensive, right? But it has the sentimental value. And Rory, do I use an article? Do I say like, this photo has a sentimental value or the photo has sentimental value or the sentimental value? I would say it has sentimental value, but I suppose you could say it has a sentimental value. And it would be okay. But I think you're more likely to have it without the article. It's worth mentioning that. So it's important to mention that. It's also worth mentioning that it's made of wood or leather or gold. But if you don't know what the material is, don't worry, because I didn't know either. I guess that it is. I don't think it's the like celluloid and then I said, or whatever photos are normally made from. Because I don't know what the word is. I think it's celluloid. Am I right? Or photos made from celluloid? Oh, I have no idea. Wow. Maria. Yeah, you can also mention the size of a photo. Like it's a four. It's an A4 size. Photo. So Rory, the photo is hanging on the wall, right? Yes. Do you doubt that? No, no, I'm just curious. So usually we hang a photo on the wall. Right? Or if a photo is standing, what can I say? The photo stands on my desk or the photo, I don't know, on the shelf. Yeah. It's free standing. Yeah. So this photo helps us to keep this connection to the past. Right? So it symbolizes the connection to the past to my. Grandmother. It's really nice to have such a photo like a sign of home. Oh nice, he wouldn't cut me. I think my home would feel very different without that. Yeah, Dylissna, so don't pick any crazy objects. So a photo, a book, a piece of jewelry. But if you choose jewelry, then you need to be able to describe it, right? I would say so, yes. But I didn't describe that. I described a picture, but what things could we use in my description to talk about other things? For example, heirlooms, usually an old thing, and then, well, that could be when we first got the thing, that could be used to talk about anything. It's always been in our home, I would imagine. Then talking about old things, they were hanging onto them, probably all of them are important for a sense of continuity, so we can keep that to. Then we could talk about it's also very nicely made or very well made, and it will also be worth mentioning the material it's made from. And then you could say, I think it's this or whatever these things are made from. And of course, with the conditional, if we didn't have this thing in our house or if we didn't have this thing, it would be a shame. So all of these structures and phrases and words could be used to describe any old thing, not just a picture, anything. Roy, do you have photos of you in your house? In my house that I live in now. Yeah, like portraits of you. I have pictures of my friends and I, I don't have individual pictures of me, I think that's a bit narcissistic. Do you have pictures of yourself? No, I have got photos of my brother and of my family, my parents. Oh yeah, I have a picture of my brother and me on the fridge. Oh, well, that's okay, it's like two people. Don't have many photos. Yeah, but I will talk about, you know, if I want to talk about it, I will talk about a diamond ring that my grandmother gave to my mother so kind of like, I've got a mother. She had a mother. So my mother's mother gave the ring to her. So originally, it was my grandmother's diamond ring. She got it from her husband. And my mother had it and now I have it. Oh my God, I feel like I need a flow chart for this. But you could say it's always been in the family. You could say that about anything. Yeah, it's always been in the family. Yeah. It's always been in the family. Roy, do listen up. Thank you very much. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye. And describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time. You should say what it is. How when your family first got this thing, how long your family has kept it and explain why this thing is important to your family. But the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait style photograph of my late grandmother, which we must have had for decades. Now, when it comes to when we first got the thing, honestly, I have no idea. It's been with us almost as long as I can remember. And it's always been in our dining room next to the kitchen. So having pictures of past and present family members is important for a sense of continuity, if nothing else, to tell you a bit more about what it looks like. I know I said it's a photograph, but it's also a very nicely done one with good use of light that highlights all the features of my grandmother's face. It's also a corner stone of the decorations in the room itself. You would think that would make it look odd, but as long as your face isn't pressed up against it, then it's still a great photo, at least I think so. It's a four-size, so it's bigger, and maybe that necessitates something different. I'm no photographer. It's like a sign of hall, though.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The speaker describes a portrait-style photograph of his late grandmother as the most important old item kept by his family.
  2. The photo has been in the family for decades, always displayed in the dining room, and its exact origin is unknown.
  3. The item holds strong sentimental value, providing a sense of family continuity and serving as a focal point for room decor.
  4. The photograph is well-crafted with good lighting, an ornate frame, and a unique material that appears pieced together, though it has little monetary worth.
  5. Without this photo, the speaker feels the family would lose a connection to the past and a key element of home identity.

Summary:

The speaker discusses a cherished family heirloom: a portrait-style photograph of his late grandmother. This item has been kept for decades, with its presence dating back as far as the speaker can remember, always hanging in the family dining room. The exact time of acquisition is unknown, but it has been a constant fixture.

The photo’s importance lies in its sentimental value, as it reinforces a sense of continuity and connection to past family members, rather than any monetary worth. The speaker describes the photograph as well-executed, with skillful lighting that enhances his grandmother’s features. Its ornate frame is polished and seems to glow, making it a cornerstone of the room’s decoration.

The material appears unusual, possibly not standard photographic material, as it shows fine lines when examined closely, but from a normal viewing distance, it remains an excellent image. The photo is A4-sized and larger than typical pictures. Without it, the speaker feels the family would lose a vital link to the past and an element that ties the home’s design together, making it a true sign of home and family heritage.

FAQs

A portrait-style photograph of a late grandmother, which has been in the family for decades.

They have had it for decades, as long as the speaker can remember.

It provides a sense of continuity and connection to past family members, and it is a cornerstone of the home's decoration.

It is a nicely done photograph with good lighting that highlights the grandmother's features, and it has an ornate, polished frame.

No, it does not have much monetary value, but it has significant sentimental value.

The speaker is unsure, but it appears to be made from different segments with fine lines, not standard celluloid.

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