Describe an interesting animal
You should say:
- what animal it was
- where you saw it
- what happened when you saw it
And explain why you thought it was interesting.
OR
Describe an interesting animal you know about.
- You should say:
- what animal it is
- what features this animal has
- if it is a common animal in your country
and explain why this is an interesting animal.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Sample Answer 1
I am raising an Alaska dog, which is a large breed of domestic dog. My dog has a double coat: the undercoat is soft, while the outer one is coarse and water-proof. Also, his coat has two colors, black and white. In my opinion, his most attractive feature is the small upright ears which are out of proportion to the head.
Having had this dog for almost a year, I find him intriguing. He is very smart, so he learns everything quickly. I once taught him how to fetch. Surprisingly enough, he successfully chased and retrieved the object after I tossed it for the second time. He acted as if he had intrinsically understood the game. He is also friendly to everyone, especially children. Whenever someone visits my house, he welcomes them by licking their feet instead of barking.
For me, my dog is a friend I can play with after school. I often walk him around the park at the weekends, and he seems to like this, as there are different dogs there. I also talk with him regularly, and I feel he can understand what I say.
As a final point, I hope that my dog can live with me for a long time.
Vocab Highlights
– breed: [noun] an animal such as a dog, horse or cat that people have developed in a controlled way.
Example: The airport police use a breed of dog which can smell hidden drugs in bags and suitcases.
– coat: [noun] the fur or hair covering an animal’s body.
Example: Some breeds of cows have a thick winter coat to protect against cold weather.
– coarse: [adjective] rough
Example: As a result of working on a construction site all his life, his hands were coarse.
– upright: [adjective] straight, not lying down or bent.
Example: My dog’s ears appear large because they are upright, which helps him hear everything very well.
– intriguing: [adjective] interesting and unusual
Example: It is intriguing to see how my teacher explains things so clearly to the class.
– fetch: [verb] go to where something is and bring it back.
Example: It started to rain, so I returned to the house to fetch the umbrella for my wife and me.
– retrieved: [verb] to bring something back, especially from a place where it should not be.
Example: The wind blew my hat into the road, so I quickly retrieved it before any cars came.
– tossed it: threw it, but in no special direction.
Example: After he had read the newspaper, he tossed it onto the ground.
– intrinsically: [adverb] in a way that was part of his real nature or character.
Example: I believed his story because he is an intrinsically honest man.
– barking: [verb] the sound made by a dog.
Example: When the postman arrived, the dog started barking.
– licking: [verb] moving its tongue over someone or something.
Example: I saw the cat licking its whiskers after it had finished eating
Sample Answer 2
Today I would like to introduce to you my favorite animal, a cat. He is our family pet, and his name is also Cat because we are too lazy to name him. He is a big and fat cat with white fur and brown spots. He has been a family member for approximately 10 years. That is very old for a cat, right?
And, of course, he is granted permanent residence in my cozy home, with his own fluffy bed. Like many other cats, he is very lukewarm about hoomans, showing complete disinterest in my family members and strangers as well. But what really fascinates me about this emotionless creature is that he knows how to make people fall for him. He would often do silly stuff when someone is feeling down in the dumps, chasing his tail, for example.
However, once people start to have a soft spot for him, he will turn his back away from them and act like he couldn’t care less. It is just like the way how your crush starts to act affectionately and dump you immediately after that :)) I think these unique characteristics make him a very interesting animal to keep as a pet.
Sample Answer 3
Well, there is no doubt that Australia, my home country, is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, not only because of its stunning green environment and landscape but also because of the unique animals in its animal kingdom. And, today I would like to talk about one such unique and interesting animal.
This animal is called “Koala”. Also known as “Koala Bear”, this Australian “native bear” lives in the east coast and southern Australia. This cuddly animal usually has brownish or grey fur. They also have white furs on certain parts of their bodies as well, like on their chest, legs, ears, and neck. These beautiful animals are well-known for their large round head, big furry ears and big black nose (with no fur). With an average length of 67 to 82 centimeters and a weight of about 6.5 kilograms to 12 kilograms, these adult koala bears can eat between 200 to 500 grams of leaves daily.
By the way, their main food is eucalyptus leaves, even though they may occasionally eat leaves from other native Australian trees as well. They don’t only eat the leaves of eucalyptus trees, but they also live in these trees. Koalas are largely sedentary animals (meaning they are kind of “lazy” and don’t really like to get involved in any kind of physical activity. So, that would naturally mean that they sleep too much. In fact, they can sleep up to 20 hours a day. Anyway, these beautiful and cuddly but mostly asocial animals, for the most part, and with no tails, are not really that common in Australia since they live in only selected areas of Australia.
Anyway, I find Koalas really interesting, primarily because they look cute, and they look even cuter when they are terrified. Another intriguing fact about these kolas is that even though they look “lazy”, they can break into a gallop, moving at speeds of up to 30 kilometers (or 18 miles) per hour if necessary. Besides, very few animals in this world have such a strong sense of touch and smell as baby koalas.
Sample Answer 4
Bottlenose dolphins are quite interesting, and for this candidate task card, I would like to talk about this animal. They have got their name due to the shape of their beak, but interestingly, they cannot smell! However, they have outstanding eyesight and hearing ability.
Dolphins are mammals like humans; they need to breathe air, unlike many other fish and animals in the water. They breathe through the blowholes they have. Bottlenose dolphins usually live in groups.
Dolphins are not common in our country. They usually live in tropical waters ranging from Northern Japan to Australia and Southern California to Chile. They are also found in the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to South Africa, Norway, Mexico, the Mediterranean sea, the black sea, and the Hawaiian Islands.
From their appearance to their distinctive features, they are quite interesting. Their physiology and senses, intelligence level, relation to the human, history, and migration style make them unique and interesting animals.
Dolphins often work as a team to harvest fish and search for prey, mainly using echolocation. They emit sounds, mainly clicking, and wait to listen to the return echoes to determine the location and shape of nearby items, including potential prey. They have a high intelligence level and use artificial language, which is quite remarkable for animals. An adult bottlenose dolphin can live more than40 years and can jump up to 20 feet in the air. They jump in the air to communicate with other dolphins. The use of body language by bottlenose dolphins is quite fascinating, and many researchers are studying it. A study explains that mother dolphins teach behavioral patterns to their offspring, which is another interesting fact about dolphins. Large sharks sometimes prey on bottlenose dolphins, especially calves, and the Dolphins can also defend themselves by charging the predators. It is very interesting to observe that some dolphins show curiosity toward humans.
I wish we have bottlenose dolphins in our country! Once I have been to Australia and spent hours in a waterpark where I saw dolphins for the first time in my life. After that, I did some online research to learn more about them. This is one of the most intelligent animals with many unique features, and they are bound to draw our attention and curiosity.
Sample Answer 5
In Australia, Kangaroos are found widespread. They are available across the country, and most of the time, they are seen in the farmlands.
Kangaroo is a special type of animal for the country and comes with some special features. They belong to large foot species. Despite being four-footed animals, they feel comfortable using their legs to walk or run. They love to live in families and extremely care for their kids and other family members. In fact, they are the largest marsupials living in the world and are found in four different types – eastern grey kangaroo, western grey kangaroo, red kangaroo, and antilopine kangaroo. Though they are of different categories, they all have magnificent looks.
Kangaroo has some noteworthy features. The most impressive feature is its walking, I believe. They can walk and jump like humans, and in some cases, they are too fast than humans. Kangaroos are herbivorous animals. So, they completely rely on grasses. Another feature of kangaroos is that they are able to pass long hours without drinking water. Interestingly, they cannot move speedily with their four legs rather. They are comfortable with their two legs. Kangaroos are unable to walk back, which is another impressive aspect. However, Kangaroos may turn dangerous if humans or other animals attack them. But ordinarily, they are cool enough and makes friendly relation with humans.
Yes, Kangaroo is a common animal in Australia. In fact, this is unofficially the national animal in us. The symbol of the Kangaroo is found almost everywhere, and even it is present as an emblem on the coat of arms in Australia. Some of the national currencies also contain the Kangaroo symbol. Because of its availability everywhere, the animal has become a part of the national culture in Australia. Even some of the defense forces and the airline also use the symbol of the Kangaroo with them. Besides, this is useful for the economy as well. Wild Kangaroos produce leather and other necessary materials for us. In some points, there are arguments that the meat produced from Kangaroo has some health benefits. So, meat is also consumed frequently in line with traditional meats.
Kangaroos appear interesting to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they can jump to a height crossing their own length. For instance, if a Kangaroo is 6 feet in height, it can jump around 18 feet at a time. This happens for the strong legs. Besides, they are able to swim. I saw some Kangaroos swimming which appeared interesting to me. Many wild animals are unable to swim, and Kangaroos are the opposite in this matter. Though most of the Kangaroos live on grass, some are habituated to taking different types of foods other than grass. They love to spend time together in organized groups their groups are known as ‘mobs’.