CELPIP Speaking · Task 8

Describing an Unusual Situation

See the task format, read an original example and practise your own response.

What to practise

Respond to the situation on screen, organise your ideas and speak clearly within the task timer. The speaking section has eight tasks and takes approximately 15 minutes.

Original practice example: The Wrong Box in Whitehorse

Original scene for Describing an Unusual Situation

You live in Whitehorse. You and your friend Abdi split the cost of a housewarming gift for your friend Freya, who moves in on Saturday: a coat rack ordered online. The box that arrived holds something else. The seller offers 40% back if you keep it, or a return with $25 shipping and a three-week wait. Call Abdi, describe the object in detail in your own words, and ask whether to keep it or send it back.

    One possible response

    This original model response illustrates an approach to the task. Its level label is a practice estimate.

    Hey Abdi, got a second? It's about Freya's housewarming gift. The package showed up, and, well, it's not a coat rack. Let me paint you a picture. Imagine a fat cylinder of thick grey felt, roughly knee-high and about as wide as a big wastebasket, with a black rubber rim around the top. Sticking up out of it are four white plastic tubes, each bent over at the top like a candy cane, with rows of tiny holes near the tips. On the side there's an orange dial about the size of a cookie, and a coiled cord comes out the back, so I'm guessing it's a boot dryer. You'd hang wet boots on those hooks. There's a little wooden shelf attached to one side, probably so you can sit while you pull your boots off. In a Whitehorse winter, Freya might love it. So what's your call? We could keep it and get forty percent back, or pay twenty-five dollars and wait three weeks, which means she'd have nothing on Saturday. Text me tonight.

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    Official format reference

    Format checked 22 October 2026 against CELPIP Test Format & Scoring. Questions and model responses here are independently created. Practice estimates are not official test results.