1. How to describe a tree in autumn
by Jane Lawson at DailyStep.com)
.
Just look at the autumn leaves on this beautiful tree! The colours are
amazing aren’t they? I took this photo in a town called Athlone, in central
Ireland. If you ever do an English examination, you will need to learn how to
describe a picture for your speaking exam, so here is an example of how to
do it. Below that, there is a study of some useful phrases for describing
pictures.
.
“These pictures show two different views of a tree in autumn. In the left
hand picture we can see the leaves of the tree with the sun shining on
them. The colours in this photo are amazing – the leaves are gold,
orange, yellow and brown. They remind me of a fire burning, because the
colours and shapes of the leaves look just like the flames of a fire. This is
obviously a very tall tree because the view in the photo looks up into
the branches of the tree, and we can see more and more branches up high
in the distance. It’s obviously a bright, clear day, and it is also likely to
be rather chilly because clear, sunny days in autumn often mean cold
weather!
.
In the picture on the right hand side we can see a carpet of gold-
coloured leaves that have fallen from the tree. The sunlight is making the
leaves look as if they are glowing. On the left hand side of the picture we
can see part of the tree trunk, and at the top we can see a couple of large
branches, covered in autumn leaves. The sun must be to the left of the
tree because the trunk is casting a shadow on the wall and also on the
ground between the tree and the wall.
.
Both these pictures make me think of a wood where I used to play when
I was a child. In the autumn, we used to gather up the leaves and throw

2. them at each other. There is something rather sad about the beautiful
season of autumn, because although the woods look stunning as their leaves
die and fall to the ground, we know that winter is coming, and the tree will
soon be bare, with no leaves until the new ones grow in spring.”
.
А вот примерное описание фотографии (задание 3) по опциям ниже:
 when youtook the photo — где ты сделал этот снимок
 what/who is in the photo — что или кто на фотографии
 what is happening - что происходит в момент, когда была сделан снимок
 why you took the photo — почему ты сделал этот снимок
 why you decided to show the picture to your friend — почему ты решил показать эту фотографию своему другу
Предположим вы выбрали эту фотография из трех предложенных (фото взята с сайта ФИПИ)
Hello, how are things? (вступление, вопрос «как дела?» является общепринятым при встрече) Look here, I w ould like you
to have a look at this photo. I took it a month ago w hen I w as going on excusion w ith my class. In this photo you can
see our bus driver. As you see, he looks very friendly. We were going to the State Darwin Museum and on the w ay he told
us a lot of facts about w ild life. By the way, he is from the northen part of Russia. Well, at that time I was doing a projet on
my future profession. That is why I took the photo. I had already had a lot of pictures of different people. And, you know,
w hen I w as a boy, I w anted to be a driver, too. So, I decided that it w as not a bad idea to use this photo in my
project. Although the job of a driver seems to me rather boring now , I would like to show the photo to you as he is very well-
read and interesting person. And I believe he likes his job. You know a saying «Choose a job you love and you w ill never have
to w orka day in your life». And w hat are you going to be? (в заключение, вы приводите известное изречение
китайского философа Конфуция)
Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Сonfucius

3. Слова-связки и союзы в этом описании подчеркнуты, они делают ваше описание более естественным и связным, обратите на
них внимание. Вы можете самостоятельно переделать или сократить данное описание, так как оно специально дано в
максимальном объеме. Однако вы должны оставить слова-связки (3-4), а также подчеркнутые слова, так как они являются
основными в вашем ответе и соответствуют опциям задания. Список таких слов вы найдете здесь —> Как написать эссе по
английскому языку (структура, слова-связки)
* * *
А вот примерное сравнение фотографий (задание 4) по опциям ниже:
 give a brief description (action, location) — кратко опишите действие или место
 say what the pictures have in common — что общего между двумя фотографиями
 say in what way the pictures are different — чем они отличаются
 say which kind of life you’d prefer for wild animals -какая из фотографий тебе больше нравится (это общий смысл
опции, так как ее дословный перевод может отличаться в зависимости от темы)
 explain why — объясните, почему вы так думаете
Вот 2 фотографии, взятые с сайта ФИПИ:
Фотография 1 (с сайта ФИПИ)

4. Фотография 2 (с сайта ФИПИ)
Давайте сравним их:
Well, both pictures show an animal, the bear. I would like to startwith (вступление) the first picture that show s a big polar
bear in the zoo. The bear is sitting on a stone w ith its paw s up. It is not looking at people, it looks aside and it seems that it is
tired of so much attention. A lot of people have gathered near the open-air cage, taking pictures. As the people are w earing
w arm coats and caps, it is probably late autumn. The colours in this picture are grey and dark.
As for the second picture, it alsoshows a bear, but it is the brow n bear. It is completelydifferentfrom the first one as it
shows the bear in the w ild. In contrast to the first picture, the second one is full of bright colours: yellow flow ers, green grass .
It show s a summer day. The bear is busy, it is carring a log. I like this picture more and not only because I like summer but also
because I believe that keeping w ild animals in the zoo is inhuman. Some people say that it is necessary for some educational
purposes, to say nothing of entertaiment.
All in all,both these pictures make me think of the w ildlife. And I am sure that w ild animals should live free in their natural
habitat because they are part of nature.

5. Speaking в ЕГЭ. Part 4
Задание:
Study the two photographs. In 1.5 minutes be ready to compare and contrast the photographs:
 give a brief description (action, location)
 say w hat the pictures have in common
 say in w hat w ay the pictures are different
 say w hat kind of lesson you’d prefer
 explain w hy
You will speak for not more than 2 minutes. You have to talk continuously.
Sample answer:
I would like to compare and contrast these two pictures:
In both pictures we see people studying. The first picture shows a lecture, perhaps, at university. The teacher might
be explainingsomething to the students. It seems that the lecture is quite interesting because most students are listening to
the lecturer. It looks as if some of the students are taking notes. In the second picture, w e also see a group of
students. Perhaps, they are doing some task at the seminar or a w orkshop.
These pictures have a lot in common: both of them show groups of students engaged in studying. Besides, the action
in these pictures takes place in a classroom. What is more, both groups of students seem to be genuinely interested in
whatever they are doing judging by their faces and postures. Another similarity is that some of the students in both
pictures are w riting something.

6. However, these photos have certain differences too. In the first picture, the students are not expected to take active
participation in the lesson. They are probably only expected to listen to the speaker. While in the second picture the
students seem to be active participants. They might be discussing something, or, perhaps, they are playing a game. What
is more, in the first picture the students are sitting at the desks w ith the teacher in front of them whereas in the second
picture the students are sitting in a circle. Finally, there are a lot of students in the first picture. In contrast, the group in the
second picture is relatively small.
Personally, I would prefer to attend the seminar rather than a lecture. Firstly, I believe that it is easier to study in a small
group because you get distracted less. In addition, I w ould like to be an active participant rather than a listener. Finally, I
believe people remember material better w hen they have an opportunity to discuss it together or role-play.