Alapfok B1

It’s a summer picture and it’s harvest time. It’s probably July or August when wheat is harvested. We can see a tractor with a trailer in the background and a harvester in the foreground of the picture. A man in a checked shirt is sitting on the big wheel of the harvester. He’s using his computer. The wheat has already been cut. The wheat heads are lying on the wheat field. I’m not sure what the man is doing on his computer. Maybe he is checking his e-mails or using his Facebook account. Or maybe he needs to get some quick information about the harvest. The blue tractor in the background is standing and I cannot see its driver. The sky is clear and blue, and the weather must be hot.

Harvesting wheat is a hard and tiring job. Wheat is important for baking bread. It’s basic for life and everybody needs it. A good wheat harvest means that there will be enough bread for people to eat. What we can see in the picture is a beautiful sight. I would definitely like to be there. I would enjoy the sight, the smell and the sounds of nature.

Alapfok B1

In the picture, we can see a couple of cyclists in a city. They are cycling on the road. All of them are smiling happily. They are all enjoying the ride. Some of the bikes are special. One of them has a box in front in which a little girl is sitting. Probably her father is pedalling the bike. We can’t see any cars in the street. It may be a pedestrian street where cars mustn’t go.

Riding a bike is very good for your health. It’s good exercise and it doesn’t pollute the air. But cycling is quite dangerous in cities because there are a lot of cars and car drivers don’t really like cyclists. Riding a bike is safer on bicycle lanes if there are any.

I live in a big city and I have a bike but I don’t ride it in the city. If I want to get some exercise I put my bike into the car and drive outside the city and cycle a few hours in the forest. This way I can enjoy nature and breathe fresh air. I always feel refreshed after a trip like this.

Középfok B2

We can see a group of happy cyclists riding their bikes on a road in a city or a town. Probably it’s not just a fun ride; maybe they’re going to work or they’re going home from work. The man in the middle in a checked shirt is transporting a little girl and a dog in a box on the front part of his bike. It’s a special type of bike that can often be seen in Scandinavian countries where biking is very much part of everyday life and there’s a huge number of bikes everywhere. Riding your bike every day is a healthy way of life but in cities, it has another side as well. Besides providing good exercise biking in cities can endanger your health and even your life. Cities pose a lot of danger to cyclists. The air is polluted on the roads where cyclists travel so they inhale lots of harmful gases while pedalling along motor vehicles. Although many bicycle lanes have been built recently, for example in Budapest, it’s still not without risks to set out on a bike ride in the traffic. Car drivers are not very enthusiastic about cyclists on the roads and they can behave very aggressively towards cyclists. Nowadays there’s a new phenomenon on the roads of the cities: food delivery guys who deliver food by bike. They carry a very distinctive-looking red or blue backpack container on their backs and they usually drive their bike like mad. They seem to be posing a danger to motorists and it’s true vice versa as well. If you sit in a car you never know when a food delivery cyclist will appear out of nowhere and force you to brake suddenly so as to avoid a crash. So city cycling can be a dangerous business even if you do it just for fun.

Although I have a bike and I would like to get more exercise I’ve never considered using my bike to go to work. It’s much more peaceful to use public transport than to manoeuvre among cars driving menacingly close and spewing smoke in my face. I ride my bike only in nature outside the city and at the weekends.   

Felsőfok C1

A happy bunch of people are riding their bikes in an urban setting on a road among high rise buildings. Although there are trees on the sides of the road it’s a typical city location with asphalt everywhere. City life is a way of estranged life far from nature. Cycling in a city is an effort to get out of the hustle and bustle of city life and do something for your body and soul. While riding your bike you don’t have to listen to people using their phones and endlessly talking to someone on the other end on a public transport vehicle. Although you are not in nature you can still feel the wind on your face and feel a bit more alive and free when you cycle in a city.

If you do that in a pedestrian area that’s not even dangerous. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case as most cities are teeming with cars and even bicycle lanes can put you into a precarious situation as they usually run parallel to busy roads and motorists are not very considerate when it comes to cyclists. Cycling next to a thoroughfare in peak hours is neither safe nor healthy. The air is highly polluted because of the exhaust fumes of the cars so even though cycling itself has its health benefits as exercise the quality of the air may counteract this benefit.

What is then the reason for the growing number of cyclists on the roads? Well, it’s difficult to tell. Public transport fees keep rising and some people try to find alternative ways to spare money on tickets. That can be one of the reasons. Another one could be that nowadays among young people it’s trendy to ride a bike in a city. The community of cyclists is a rapidly growing group and they share a kind of bond with each other. They help each other, they organise cycling events and form friendships.

A distinctive feature of cycling in the city is the increasing number of bikes for rent. They are an alternative form of getting about in the city. The price of renting them is affordable so if people don’t want to invest in a bike or they don’t have a place where they could store a bike they can make use of the rent-a-bike system. These bikes are available in the most frequented parts of cities and they are very simple to use providing a means to avoid having to use your car or public transport.

Even if cycling has its advantages, for me the drawbacks surpass the benefits of it. I’ll stick to riding my bike outside the city in nature.

Alapfok – B1

This is a nice photo of a family, a mother, a father, a little girl and a baby. They’re painting eggs, they’re preparing for Easter. The girls are quite funny in their bunny headbands. The table is full of nicely painted colourful Easter eggs. There are beautiful spring flowers in colourful pots on a shelf behind the family. The walls are decorated with paper bunnies and little flags. We celebrate Easter in spring, in March or in April. It’s a holiday, when people don’t have to work and they can be together with their family. The children get a lot of chocolate. The Easter Bunny hides chocolate figures and small presents in the garden and children can go for an Easter egg hunt. The weather is usually mild at Easter and you can wear light clothes. Families meet and have a meal together, usually something special and delicious. Some families go to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Easter is a happy holiday, people like celebrating it.

Középfok – B2

In the picture there’s a happy, smiling family painting Easter eggs. They’re sitting at a table in a nicely decorated, very colourful room which is full of spring flowers. The girls seem happy to paint the eggs and they look cute in their bunny headbands. It’s a happy family preparing to celebrate Easter, an important Christian holiday. At Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Religious people go to a church service and then they usually go home and have a big Sunday meal together. Families come together, they visit their relatives who live far away and catch up with the news. At Easter people usually eat typical Easter food. In Hungary it’s generally ham and boiled eggs. Before Easter the shops are full of different kinds of ham and tons of chocolate figures. Easter is fun for children as well, but in a different way. They are looking forward to getting a lot of chocolate. Parents usually tell them that it’s the Easter Bunny that brings the chocolate and the gifts they get for Easter, but actually it’s the parents themselves who give the presents. Those who have a garden hide the eggs in little nests in the grass and the kids hunt for the eggs. The more eggs they can find the happier they are. It’s a mystery why children believe that there is a magical Bunny that can bring chocolate to them, but most children believe it anyway.

In my family we celebrate Easter together with my grandparents in the countryside. We travel on Easter Sunday in the early morning. We arrive by mid-morning and help my grandma with the cooking. Lunch is always very delicious and something special. The whole family sits around the table, we laugh a lot and devour my grandma’s cookies and cakes. On Easter Monday me and my cousins go to sprinkle the neighbour girls with perfume and we get boiled eggs and money in exchange. I’m always sorry when the celebration is over and we have to go home.

Felsőfok – C1

The picture depicts a happy, idyllic family preparing for one of the greatest celebrations of Christianity, Easter. The family consists of two parents and two children, a rare sight in today’s modern society where families tend to disintegrate and marriages don’t last long. In the past, marriage was a decision made for a lifetime, for better or for worse. Nowadays relationships aren’t so strong, commitment isn’t considered important and divorces are widespread. One-parent or patchwork families are more and more common. Though one could argue that the traditional, two-parent families provide the most favourable environment for raising children, the challenge that those other types of families pose to society is inescapable.

Easter is a national/bank holiday. It is preceded by Good Friday, which has just recently been included among the national/bank holidays in Hungary, so people can spend the day at home and celebrate this feast without having to work. Originally, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who had been crucified and after three days of lying in the tomb He was resurrected and came back to life. What people celebrate though nowadays is really different from the original Easter story. Few people go to church and the holiday is getting more and more commercialized. The shops are laden with seasonal goods to sell, and people flock to the hypermarkets to spend money on items they don’t really need as our consumer society requires them to do. It doesn’t even occur to most people to question whether it’s the right way to celebrate or not. Everybody does what everybody else does, nobody wants to differ from the rest. Easter is the time to feast, so people devour an enormous quantity of food. Family reunions are supposed to be a relaxing and happy time, but in reality they rarely are. Hidden pressures and desperate quarrels can easily spoil what’s supposed to be a peaceful and refreshing event.   

Easter is an occasion children benefit from the most. Preparing for Easter is fun, as you can see it in the picture. Painting eggs, decorating the homes with colourful decorations and spring flowers keep those little hands occupied and busy for a long time. And to crown the celebration, the Easter Bunny comes to children and brings them loads of chocolate as a treat. Who cares that it’s difficult to believe that a hairy domestic animal is able to carry and hide sweets in the garden? Chocolate is the best thing in the world and childhood doesn’t last long. Unfortunately, sooner or later every child will be forced to realise that the Easter Bunny, just like Santa Claus, is just a make-believe game, a ruse. 

In this colourful picture, we can see four trees. The first tree is full of pink flowers. The second tree is full of fresh green leaves. On the third tree, the leaves are yellow and brown. On the fourth tree, there are no leaves at all and the tree branches are snowy. The picture shows the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Nature is different in every season. In spring trees and bushes bloom and the grass is green. In summer the plants are green and they start to grow fruits, for example, cherries, sour cherries, and apricots. In autumn the leaves first turn brown, yellow and red then they fall from the trees. Autumn is the month of the harvest, you can pick apples, grapes, plums, and pears. It’s a season of colours when the trees are beautiful. In winter trees and bushes are bare, only the evergreen trees have leaves and stay green.

My favourite season is spring. I love it when the spring flowers start to bloom after the grey and white winter months. The first blooming flower is usually the snowdrop. We have a lot of snowdrops in our garden. They are a nice sight in spring.

Alapfok – B1

In the picture we can see an elderly man and a cute little girl planting tomatoes in a pot. There are lots of tomato plants around them, some of them are ripe and some of them are still unripe. The man may be the grandfather of the little girl. He’s helping her to fill the pots with the soil to prepare it for the tomato plant. They’re in the garden, but not outside. They’re in a greenhouse. It’s raining outside and it’s probably early spring when the weather is still not warm enough to grow tomatoes out in the garden. In the greenhouse the temperature is warm and the plants can grow well. Most people like doing the gardening. It’s usually cheaper to grow vegetables at home than to buy them at the market, and they are healthier as well. Home-grown vegetables and fruit are delicious and it’s very convenient that you just go out to the garden and pick something fresh when you do the cooking. My favourite vegetables are tomatoes and peas, but I also like beans and I’m happy when the first strawberries appear at the market.

Középfok – B2

This photo must have been taken in spring because we can see tomato plants in a greenhouse. In summer tomatoes don’t need a greenhouse, they can grow very well outside in the garden, too. A little girl and an elderly man are working in the greenhouse. They’re filling a flowerpot with soil and probably they’re going to plant tomato plants in the pot. There are several pots of cherry tomatoes in different stages of ripening around them. It seems the little girl is happy to help the man who’s probably her grandpa. Gardening is good fun and it’s also useful. It’s very economical to grow your own vegetables and fruit in your garden if you have enough ground for it, though it can be hard work. You need good tools to start with. A spade to dig the dirt, a hoe to deal with the weeds, a rake to smooth the soil, secateurs to prune the trees. Gardening needs some expertise, you have to know where to plant what and how to do pest control. But if you invest enough time and effort and take good care of your garden it pays off. You can harvest and enjoy your own crop.

We live in a house with a garden and I also enjoy gardening. We don’t grow any vegetables in the garden we only have a few fruit trees, raspberry bushes and a small strawberry patch in the back garden. We have lots of flowers – snowdrops, tulips, daffodils, roses, hyacinths, lilies of the valley, forget-me-nots, violets – and grass of course. The lawn needs a lot of care if you want it to be green all summer. It needs mowing every second week, you have to water it almost every day and weed it if necessary. But no matter how much you care for it will never be as green as the lawn for example in England. Hungarian summers are too dry for that and the lawn would need more rain. Watering in itself unfortunately can’t make up for that.

Felsőfok – C1

The picture shows an elderly gentleman and a small girl working together on a gardening project inside a greenhouse. The greenhouse can provide the necessary circumstances for vegetables to grow even when the circumstances outside aren’t ideal. A greenhouse can be heated, the humidity and the light can be controlled, so all the conditions are given to grow vegetables no matter which part of the year you’re in. Whether it’s a good thing or not is a controversial issue. Some say that it’s absolutely unnecessary and unwise to eat, for example, tomatoes in the winter months and we should stick to eating only what’s seasonal and grows in the garden and on the fields as their nutrients are better, fresher and they contain more minerals and vitamins than their counterparts grown in greenhouses. Others insist on their right to eat whatever they have a liking for, no matter where it comes from or what kind of environmental issues it poses. It’s a fact that growing vegetables and fruits in greenhouses requires lots of electricity and puts a strain on the environment, but the crop that comes out of them is not only a treat for your eyes, but is also good for your health. The more varied diet you have the healthier it is. Seasonal goods can be rather dull after a while and pose a challenge for cooks and housewives how to use them as ingredients if they don’t want to cook the same dishes always.

Gardening is a very popular pastime activity. Home-grown vegetables and fruit are said to contain more nutrients than those you can purchase in big hypermarkets. Working in the garden is also beneficial for health, it relieves stress, moves your muscles and provides lots of fresh oxygen for your lungs. Children are usually fond of planting seeds and harvesting the products they grow. Gardening with the grandparents or parents is generally more educational than science lessons in school where the kids only learn about things in theory. Experiencing the real shape, smell and texture of a vegetable or fruit is lasting and they definitely will remember what nature has taught them. In my opinion schools should be less theoretical and should teach more practical subjects. Gardening could be introduced as a practical subject where children could experiment with seeds and plants and could acquire first-hand experience about what textbooks try to cram into their heads with little success. Gardening doesn’t require a big plot of land, a small patch of land is usually available even in an urban environment or if all else fails – you can grow plants in window boxes as well. Nothing is impossible, if there is a will there’s a way. 

Alapfok B1

It’s a picture of a young woman. She has plastic bags in her hands with fruit and vegetables in them. She was at the vegetable market where she bought peaches, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. She’s taking them home. She also has her purse in her hand. In the picture we can see her only from the waist down. She’s wearing white shorts and a patterned blue blouse. It’s probably summer time because she’s wearing light clothes. The bags are heavy, it’s not easy to carry them. She may not live far and that’s why she went to the market on foot. Maybe she needed some vegetables for cooking lunch. The market is a very colourful place in summer and spring. You can buy fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables from local people there.

I like going to the market. I prefer markets to supermarkets because the products are fresher and more delicious there than in the shops. The vendors are nice and kind and you can even taste the fruit or vegetables before you buy them. My favourite market is on the corner of my street. I have to walk only five minutes if I need something from there.

Középfok B2

In the picture I can see a girl or a young woman carrying bags of vegetables and fruit. You can see her only from the waist down but you can tell that it’s a female person because of her clothes. She’s wearing white linen shorts and a bluish top. She must have been at the vegetable market. She has bought green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and peaches. She has her purse in her hand, which is not very safe to do. She went to the market on foot so she probably lives somewhere near. It is day time and summer time. She may have needed some fresh ingredients for cooking lunch and that’s why she has been to the market. She’s carrying the goods in plastic bags. That’s not very environment friendly. If I were in her place I would take linen bags or a basket with me for the shopping. She probably lives in a big town or city because I can see a lot of cars parking in the background and she’s walking on concrete pavement.

If I have a choice I prefer doing the shopping at a market. Super- and hypermarkets are crowded and the products there are not as fresh as at the market. It’s difficult to find a salesperson if you have any questions and there is always a queue at the checkout. The market is a lot friendlier place. Local people sell what they grow in their own garden and they are kind and happy to talk to you. They know their products and are willing and able to answer any questions you may have.

In summer the market is a very colourful place with the piles of different fruits and vegetables. It is also noisy, full of smiling and chattering people. You can take your time with the vendors as they aren’t in a hurry and they’re happy to serve you. Locally grown and organic fruit and vegetables are healthier than those that come from the other end of the world. If your health is important for you you’d better buy whatever you can at the market.

Felsőfok C1

It’s quite an unusual picture showing a young woman only from the waist down. It’s not the person that is important in this case but what she’s doing right now. She must have been at the vegetable market to do some grocery shopping. She’s carrying her shopping in quite a few disposable plastic bags showing that she may not care much about the environment. There are countries where you cannot get plastic bags with your purchase so you have to take along your own bag or basket. It’s a more environment friendly way of life causing less harm to nature. She’s carrying her purse in her hand which shows that she lives somewhere nearby and that she has been to the local market. Doing the shopping at a local market has various advantages. You support the local farmers so that they may have a reasonable income to live on. Moreover, you support your country’s home economy if you buy the locally grown products and not the ones from overseas. Locally- or home-grown fruits and vegetables are fresher, more delicious and have more nutrients in them as they are not transported from long distances. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are a healthy choice. Even if strawberries are available in super- and hypermarkets all year round, their taste cannot be compared with the taste of freshly picked local strawberries. Health experts say that every season has its seasonal fruits and vegetables that are beneficial for health and there is no need to eat for example exotic fruits. You might not agree but there is definitely some truth in it.

A local market is a colourful and inviting place with its many stalls and friendly vendors who are happy to talk to you. They are not in a hurry and they are proud of what they’ve grown. They willingly show off their products and accept it gratefully if you show your appreciation. The market is a kind of social platform where people relate to each other, listen to each other and have an amiable relationship with each other. Local vendors are like good friends who know your taste and preferences and make sure that they provide the best possible service for you. Besides getting the freshest, most delicious goods you also get love, acceptance and friendly words. It’s quite a contrast to the alienated world of big shops where you are hardly more than an object who couldn’t matter less except for your spending power.    

Alapfok – B1

In the picture we can see an elderly man and a cute little girl planting tomatoes in a pot. There are lots of tomato plants around them, some of them are ripe and some of them are still unripe. The man may be the grandfather of the little girl. He’s helping her to fill the pots with the soil to prepare it for the tomato plant. They’re in the garden, but not outside. They’re in a greenhouse. It’s raining outside and it’s probably early spring when the weather is still not warm enough to grow tomatoes out in the garden. In the greenhouse the temperature is warm and the plants can grow well. Most people like doing the gardening. It’s usually cheaper to grow vegetables at home than to buy them at the market, and they are healthier as well. Home-grown vegetables and fruit are delicious and it’s very convenient that you just go out to the garden and pick something fresh when you do the cooking. My favourite vegetables are tomatoes and peas, but I also like beans and I’m happy when the first strawberries appear at the market.

Középfok – B2

This photo must have been taken in spring because we can see tomato plants in a greenhouse. In summer tomatoes don’t need a greenhouse, they can grow very well outside in the garden, too. A little girl and an elderly man are working in the greenhouse. They’re filling a flowerpot with soil and probably they’re going to plant tomato plants in the pot. There are several pots of cherry tomatoes in different stages of ripening around them. It seems the little girl is happy to help the man who’s probably her grandpa. Gardening is good fun and it’s also useful. It’s very economical to grow your own vegetables and fruit in your garden if you have enough ground for it, though it can be hard work. You need good tools to start with. A spade to dig the dirt, a hoe to deal with the weeds, a rake to smooth the soil, secateurs to prune the trees. Gardening needs some expertise, you have to know where to plant what and how to do pest control. But if you invest enough time and effort and take good care of your garden it pays off. You can harvest and enjoy your own crop.

We live in a house with a garden and I also enjoy gardening. We don’t grow any vegetables in the garden we only have a few fruit trees, raspberry bushes and a small strawberry patch in the back garden. We have lots of flowers – snowdrops, tulips, daffodils, roses, hyacinths, lilies of the valley, forget-me-nots, violets – and grass of course. The lawn needs a lot of care if you want it to be green all summer. It needs mowing every second week, you have to water it almost every day and weed it if necessary. But no matter how much you care for it will never be as green as the lawn for example in England. Hungarian summers are too dry for that and the lawn would need more rain. Watering in itself unfortunately can’t make up for that.

Felsőfok – C1

The picture shows an elderly gentleman and a small girl working together on a gardening project inside a greenhouse. The greenhouse can provide the necessary circumstances for vegetables to grow even when the circumstances outside aren’t ideal. A greenhouse can be heated, the humidity and the light can be controlled, so all the conditions are given to grow vegetables no matter which part of the year you’re in. Whether it’s a good thing or not is a controversial issue. Some say that it’s absolutely unnecessary and unwise to eat, for example, tomatoes in the winter months and we should stick to eating only what’s seasonal and grows in the garden and on the fields as their nutrients are better, fresher and they contain more minerals and vitamins than their counterparts grown in greenhouses. Others insist on their right to eat whatever they have a liking for, no matter where it comes from or what kind of environmental issues it poses. It’s a fact that growing vegetables and fruits in greenhouses requires lots of electricity and puts a strain on the environment, but the crop that comes out of them is not only a treat for your eyes, but is also good for your health. The more varied diet you have the healthier it is. Seasonal goods can be rather dull after a while and pose a challenge for cooks and housewives how to use them as ingredients if they don’t want to cook the same dishes always.

Gardening is a very popular pastime activity. Home-grown vegetables and fruit are said to contain more nutrients than those you can purchase in big hypermarkets. Working in the garden is also beneficial for health, it relieves stress, moves your muscles and provides lots of fresh oxygen for your lungs. Children are usually fond of planting seeds and harvesting the products they grow. Gardening with the grandparents or parents is generally more educational than science lessons in school where the kids only learn about things in theory. Experiencing the real shape, smell and texture of a vegetable or fruit is lasting and they definitely will remember what nature has taught them. In my opinion schools should be less theoretical and should teach more practical subjects. Gardening could be introduced as a practical subject where children could experiment with seeds and plants and could acquire first-hand experience about what textbooks try to cram into their heads with little success. Gardening doesn’t require a big plot of land, a small patch of land is usually available even in an urban environment or if all else fails – you can grow plants in window boxes as well. Nothing is impossible, if there is a will there’s a way. 

Vizsgáztatói tippek:

–        A vizsgákon általában nem csak a kép leírását várják el, ezért próbáld meg összeszedni és elmondani a gondolataidat mindarról, ami a képről eszedbe jut.

–        Beszélhetsz a témáról általánosságban, de vannak vizsgák, ahol azt is értékelik, ha a személyes tapasztalataidat, élményeidet is megosztod.

–        Érdemes felkészülni arra, hogy az egyes témákról mit mondanál el, és azt előre leírni, gyakorolni vagy akár szó szerint megtanulni. 

Salánki Ágnes – Dezsényi István