Speaking Test Part 2:

Model Answer:

I admire several of my friends for different reasons but today I’ll tell you about James, who lives in my neighbourhood and has been one of my close friends for several years.

I look up to James because he is self-motivated and determined. He started his own furniture business several years ago, and at the time he had absolutely no experience, so he had to learn everything from scratch. It can’t have been easy, but he was able to build a successful business. 

What’s more, he’s not very interested in money, and so his perseverance comes from loving what he does rather than chasing financial reward. In fact, he’s known for working very long hours if he needs to meet a deadline for a customer order. I’d say this is also because he’s someone with strong moral values and integrity, and he feels a big responsibility to fulfil his promises and commitments.

Finally, James is also the kind of person who you can go to if you have a problem. Although sometimes he comes across as not very sympathetic, he has a heart of gold, and will go out of his way to help people, even when they’re not close friends. Of course, he has his faults too, but I won’t go into them now!