CELPIP Speaking Practice Test 2 — All 8 Tasks With Prompts & Sample Answers

Your friend has just moved to Toronto and is deciding between living in a downtown condo and a suburban house. Provide advice on factors to consider.

If a friend were moving to Toronto and trying to decide between living downtown or in a quieter neighbourhood, I would advise them to spend at least a weekend exploring each option before signing a lease, because the experience of each area is radically different. Living downtown on Bay Street or near King West means you can walk to work, access the PATH underground network in winter, and enjoy restaurants, theatres, and nightlife within minutes of your door. However, it comes at a cost. A one-bedroom condo downtown can easily exceed twenty-five hundred dollars a month, and the noise level, especially on weekends, can be challenging if you value peace and quiet. The alternative is a neighbourhood like Leslieville or the Beaches in the east end, or Roncesvalles in the west. These areas feel more like small communities within the city. You get tree-lined streets, independent coffee shops, farmers markets, and a much quieter pace of life. The trade-off is your commute. From the Beaches to the financial district can take forty-five minutes on the Queen streetcar during rush hour, which can feel long on cold January mornings. If my friend has a family or a dog, I would strongly recommend the neighbourhood option for the extra space and park access. If they are young, single, and want to be at the centre of everything, downtown makes more sense. Either way, Toronto has excellent options, and the decision really comes down to personal lifestyle.

Talk about a time you learned to use a new technology or digital tool that made an important task easier. What was the tool, why did you need it, and how did it change your routine?

A few years ago, my small bookkeeping business in Scarborough was struggling with receipts piling up everywhere. I was spending hours every week entering numbers manually into spreadsheets. A colleague recommended a cloud-based accounting app that could scan receipts with a phone camera and categorize expenses automatically. At first, I was hesitant because I am not particularly tech-savvy, but I decided to try it. The first week was challenging — I had to learn how to connect my bank account and set up expense categories. However, by the second week, I had reduced my paperwork time from six hours to just two. The app even flagged duplicate entries I had missed. Now I use it daily, and I have recommended it to three other small business owners. This experience taught me that investing time to learn a new tool pays off enormously in the long run.

Describe the scene at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal on a busy summer afternoon.

It is a sweltering July afternoon at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, and the scene is classic Toronto summer chaos. The lineup for tickets snakes back past the hot dog cart and nearly reaches the Harbourfront Centre, with families in shorts and sunglasses fanning themselves with folded maps. Children chase each other around the concrete pillars while parents shout at them to stay close. A street performer near the entrance juggles flaming torches, drawing scattered applause from the crowd. The ferry itself, a white and blue vessel named the Ongiara, is just pulling into the dock, and passengers crowd toward the boarding ramp before the crew has even finished tying the ropes. On the upper deck, tourists lean against the railing with cameras ready, eager to capture the skyline view of the CN Tower and the financial district against a bright summer sky. A group of teenagers blasts music from a portable speaker near the bow, and a grandfather beside me shakes his head and smiles. The ferry horn lets out a deep, resonant blast that echoes across the harbour, and a flock of seagulls rises from the water in response. As the boat pulls away, the city skyline slowly recedes, and the air turns cooler and fresher. For twelve minutes, everyone on board forgets the heat and the crowds and just enjoys the ride.

Predict how the Toronto Islands will change in the next 10 years.

I predict that the Toronto Islands will undergo significant changes over the next ten years, driven by rising visitor numbers and the increasing pressure of climate change on the waterfront. First, I expect the ferry system to be modernized with electric vessels, similar to what is already happening in Halifax and Vancouver. This would reduce emissions and make the service quieter for both passengers and island residents. Second, I believe the city will need to implement a reservation system for ferry tickets during peak summer weekends. Last August, I waited nearly two hours to board a return ferry from Centre Island, and the crowding was not only uncomfortable but potentially unsafe. A reservation system with timed entry, like the one used at popular national parks, would spread demand more evenly throughout the day. Third, climate change will force shoreline reinforcement projects. The islands were originally formed by sand deposits, and they are vulnerable to rising lake levels and increasingly severe storms. I predict that sections of the beach at Hanlan's Point will need to be rebuilt with engineered breakwaters to prevent erosion. On a positive note, I think the islands will become a year-round destination rather than just a summer escape. With investment in winterized facilities, the islands could host ice skating, cross-country skiing, and winter markets, making them a four-season attraction.

As condo board president, convince owners to approve a plan to renovate the lobby instead of upgrading the gym. Compare the benefits.

As condo board president, I want to clearly explain why approving the lobby renovation plan is the right decision for all of us. I know that a renovation means disruption and cost, and I do not take either of those lightly. But I genuinely believe that delaying this project will end up costing us more in the long run, and here is why. First, the lobby is the first thing potential buyers see when they walk into our building, and right now it looks dated. The carpet is stained, the lighting is dim, and the reception desk from 2008 does not reflect the premium building we actually are. Two units in our building sold below asking price this year, and both real estate agents cited the lobby appearance as a factor. A renovated lobby pays for itself by protecting our property values. Second, the cost will only go up. Construction material prices have risen twelve percent in the last two years, and if we delay another year, the same renovation could cost each of us an additional two thousand dollars. Third, we have already secured a preferred contractor rate because the board negotiated in advance, and that rate expires if we do not sign by the end of this quarter. I ask everyone to look at the renderings again and think about the long-term value. This is not just about appearances. It is about being responsible stewards of our shared investment.

You are stuck in an elevator with two strangers during a power outage. Describe how you would handle the situation.

I was riding an elevator at my office building on a Friday evening when the lights flickered once and then the entire car shuddered to a complete stop between the fourteenth and fifteenth floors. There were two other people with me, a young woman in a business suit who looked immediately panicked, and an older man who sighed as if this was merely an inconvenience. The silence after the hum of the motor died was unsettling. I pressed the emergency call button and a security guard responded within seconds, which was reassuring. He said the power outage was affecting the entire block and that the backup generator would activate shortly. Meanwhile, the young woman beside me was breathing quickly and gripping her bag with white knuckles. I introduced myself and asked her about her day, just to distract her. She told me she was an architect who had just finished a big presentation, and within minutes she was animatedly describing her project. The older man, who turned out to be a retired high school physics teacher, started explaining how elevator counterweights and safety brakes work, which was fascinating and somehow very calming. After about twenty minutes, the lights flickered back on, and we descended smoothly to the lobby. We exchanged contact information before parting ways. What could have been a terrifying experience became strangely memorable because two strangers chose to be kind to each other.

Express your opinion: Should the city invest more in public transit than in road infrastructure? Provide reasons.

I firmly believe that Toronto should invest more in public transit than in expanding roads, and I say this as someone who both drives and takes the TTC. Every time a city widens a highway, it fills up with more cars within a few years. It is called induced demand, and we have seen it happen repeatedly on Highway 401 and the Gardiner Expressway. You cannot build your way out of traffic congestion. What you can do is give people a reliable alternative to driving. When the Eglinton Crosstown LRT finally opens, it will connect neighbourhoods that have been underserved for decades and take thousands of cars off the road every day. That is the kind of investment that actually reduces gridlock. Beyond traffic, transit investment is also an equity issue. Low-income families are far more likely to rely on buses and subways to get to work, and every dollar we spend on widening an arterial road in a wealthy suburb is a dollar that is not going toward improving bus frequency in Rexdale or Scarborough. I also think transit investment is better for the environment. Every person who switches from driving to taking the GO Train or the subway reduces their carbon footprint by about two tonnes per year. If we are serious about climate goals, transit must be the priority. Roads have their place, but the future of Toronto is on rails and buses, not in wider lanes.

Describe an unusual situation you experienced while using online banking.

About six months ago, I logged into my online banking application to pay my credit card bill, which I have done dozens of times without issue. But this time, something very unusual happened. After I entered my password, instead of seeing my account summary, the screen displayed someone else's banking information. I could see a stranger's chequing balance, their last five transactions, and even their mortgage payment schedule. My heart started racing because I immediately realized this was a serious security breach. I took a screenshot of the error screen, which I thought might be useful evidence, and then I logged out and called the bank's fraud hotline immediately. The representative I spoke with sounded genuinely alarmed and transferred me to the security team right away. They asked me detailed questions about when it happened, what browser I was using, and whether I had clicked any suspicious links. They also assured me that my own account had not been compromised and that the error was on their server side, not my computer. Later that week, I received a formal letter from the bank's chief security officer apologizing and explaining that a software update had caused a temporary data routing error. They offered me a year of free credit monitoring as a gesture of goodwill. The experience was unsettling, but it taught me to be more vigilant about monitoring my accounts and to trust my instincts when something does not look right.