Topic 1:

Tet is a traditional holiday of our country, Vietnam.
It often begins in late-January and ends in early-February. With the meaning of seeing the old year off and welcoming the new year, Tet becomes a special occasion of reunion for Vietnamese families. At that time, all family members try to come back to their home and get together to make such preparations for Tet as buying new clothes and cleaning their house. A branch of apricot blossoms or a Kumquat tree is indispensable decoration for every family in these days. They seem like a fresh air to the house. We display a tray full of fruits and vases of flowers on the ancestral altar.
Some typical Tet's food are sweets, coconut jam, fruit candies, melon seeds, stew pork with eggs, and especially sticky rice cake. Tet meals are usually bigger and more delicious than our daily ones.
On Tet holiday, people have many recreational activities. Young persons take part in the traditional games such as: tug of war, cooking rice, cock fighting, watching lion dance. Many people visit relatives to wish a happy new year. Adults will give lucky money to children. Woman like going to pagoda to wish good things for their family.
In my opinion, I like cozy and fresh Tet atmosphere. All family members gather and talk about resolutions for a happy new year. I can hang out with my friend and don't worry about anything.
" Tet" holiday is always in Vietnamese's heart.

Tet is a national and family festival. It is an occasion for every Vietnamese to have a good time while thinking about the last year and the next year. At Tet, spring fairs are organized, streets and public buildings are brightly decorated and almost all shops are crowded with people shopping for Tet. At home, every is tidied, special food is cooked,offerings of food, fresh water, flowers and betel are made on the family altar with burning joss- sticks scenting the air. First-footing is made when the lucky visitor comes and children are given lucky money wrapped in a red tiny envelope. Tet is also a time for peace and love. During Tet, children often behave well and friends, relatives and neighbors give each other best wishes for the new year.

1 )

I have an unusual hobby: carving eggshells. I started this hobby four years ago after getting a carved egg from my dad when he came back from Japan. It's amazing that something as fragile as an empty eggshell can be made into such a beautiful piece of art. I was so amazed that I learned how to carve them myself from the internet. I find carving eggshells a little difficult but so interesting and useful. The feeling of accomplishment when I finish a piece is absolutely awesome. This hobby also helps me be more patient and careful.

7)

Van Mieu (The Temple of Literature) was constructed in 1070 during Ly Thanh Tong's dynasty. Its original purpose was to honor Confucius. In 1076, the first university of Vietnam called Quoc Tu Giam (The Imperial Academy), was established within this temple by Emperor Ly Nhan Tong. That's the reason why the complex has the name of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam up to now. Initially, Quoc Tu Giam was the school for princes and children of royal families and then expanded in the following year to admit top students from around the country.

Nowadays, Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam is one of the most famous tourist destinations for both Vietnamese people and foreigners. It's also a place to celebrate doctorates and high ranking scholars of Vietnam. One special thing about this place is that there are 82 Doctors' stone tablets. They are tombstones with names and origins of 1304 doctors placed on the backs of stone tortoises. If you come here at the beginning of the year or in May, when many important examinations take place, you will catch sights of numerous families and students who come and pray for luck.

Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam opens daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the entrance fee for each adult is 30,000 VND.

1)

Cooking is my favorite hobby. My grandmother taught me how to cook my first dish when I was 8. My family enjoyed it so much so that is when I started this hobby. Some people say cooking is a waste of time but I find this hobby very interesting and meaningful. I really love trying new food and cooking for my family. The feeling of making my family happy with my food is amazing. I often collect recipes from my mother and my grandmother. Sometimes I also get recipes from the internet. Then I write them in a notebook. I hope I will become a good chef and have my own cookery book in the future.

Topic 4 :

Everybody has his or her own hobby. My favourite hobby is reading. I enjoy reading a book when I am free. I started to get the hobby from my father when I was four years old. My father is a researcher so he has a great collection of books on many fields: literature, science, art,…
I enjoy reading because it allows me to explore my own imaginative world. I keep the hobby of reading at least one hour every day. I usually read books at home, in my own room, at my office or at the local library. On my freetime, I can spend hours reading and thinking about facts described in each kind of books.
My favourite author is J.K.Rowling who wrote world-famous books “ Harry Potter”.
For me a good book is not only a true companion but also a well-experienced teacher guiding me through my life. There are a lot of advantages of reading. Reading makes me feel relaxed and calm. It has the miracle to relieve my suffering and my hardship and reveal to me strange and new horizons. I can also learn new vocabularies and grammars. So I can further improve my English. Moreover, it gives me unlimited imaginations. I can learn about different cultures of other countries in the world, too.
Instead of indulging myself in futile entertainments, I am often keen on reading books, which broadens my mind and improves my knowledge.
In a few words, the reading of books contributes to the moral and intellectual formation of a man. I love reading and I love books. I will collect more and more books and I wish I can write my own books in the future.

Topic 3 :

I would like to talk about the Lunar New Year festival, also known as the Tet holiday, which is the occasion expected the most by Vietnamese people every year. The festival usually lasts for around 3-4 days, and it takes place when a new year comes according to the lunar calendar.

The Lunar New Year festival takes place because it is one of the most well-known traditions of Vietnam. Our people have been celebrating this occasion for thousands of years, and although there has been some recent argument about whether we should stop celebrating this festival, I do not think this activity will come to an end soon, at least not in the short term.

There are some common things that people do during this festival. Perhaps the most important thing is that people who work and study in big cities would go back to their hometown to celebrate the new year with their families and relatives. The new year festival is one of very few occasions that families can gather together, so it is easy to understand why everyone in Vietnam expects this festival so much. Another thing that we usually do is that we give children some “lucky money” with the hope that it will bring fortune to those kids. We also have some other activities such as making “chung” cake, visiting temples and pagodas… and so on.

The new year festival is so important to me and also to all Vietnamese citizens. The reason is because we get more days off from work and study, and therefore we have more time to spend with our families and our loved ones. It is also a great time to think about what we have done in the previous year, and to make plans for the upcoming year.

Though I have been born and raised in a metropolitan city, I visited my grandfather’s house many times and that’s a beautiful village that I have ever seen. This village is in the north part of the country and falls under the ......( tự điền tên ) . This village is situated beside Lam river and has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.

I went there in my childhood with my parents and the latest visit was in the last January with my mother. This village is almost 125 kilometres away from the place we currently live in. First, we took a train to reach the station of the district/state/ country where my grandfather’s village is and from the station we took a taxi to reach the river port of our village. There we took a boat and finally we walked 1-2 kilometres to reach the village.

My grandfather has passed away a few years back and my grandmother, 2 of my uncles 2 aunts and their children still live in this village. Apart from our family members, the farmers and workers who work for my uncles, live there.

This, in my opinion, is the most beautiful village I have ever been to. My forefather lived there and my father spent his childhood and teenage there. So in terms of bonding, this is a very important place for me. My grandmother and some of the cousins are very fond of me and I mostly meet them in whenever I go there. So in terms of my relation to my origin and relatives, this is the village I admire most.

Besides that, this is a very beautiful village that seems like a painting by a famous painter. The environment is calm and pollution free, the green fields, fresh air and hygienic foods offer a very attractive reason for being there. The flowing river, the forest, the simple lifestyle of residence and my of my relatives are the main things I love about this village.

There are very few things that I dislike about this village and the village itself has nothing to do about it. Like the education facility and treatment facility of this village is very poor and primitive. That’s something bothers me a lot.

         Everyone had a good journey and also it was the last journey. Today, I will tell you my last journey.

       Last year, my family and I went to Phan Thiet by car. It was the perfect place. The weather was nice warm. We stayed here for three days. The hotel was big and beautiful. On the first day, we swam in the sea. Next, my parents sunbathe. On the second day, we visited Mui Ne. It wasn't dangerous.It was safe. Next, my parents bought souvenirs for our relatives and friends.On the last day, we visited Duc Thanh school where Uncle Ho taught us in past days. After that, we came back home. And that was my last journey.

Talk about the things you like doing in your free time

There are three activities I like to do in my free time. The first is cartoon. I like watch cartoons very much. I love “Total Spies” most because it is very exciting and funny. I often watch it with my friends to relax. Second, I also play football with my brother and my friends when I have free time. I often play it in our school yard. I think playing football is sport which helps us have good health and study better. Final, I like reading books best. Since reading books are good, you can learn about another culture and again your knowledge. Moreover, it is a form of entertainment, which is useful to our life. All in all, I find that if I haven’t anything to do in my free time, I will be boring. Therefore, you should also choose some activities for yourself to do, which helps you have healthy way of life.

talk about your hobby

My hobby is playing games. I started thí hobby whne i was a child, about six years ago. I think my hobby so easy. All you need is time, smart brain and the most important thing is patience. If you lucky, you will think it's easy but if you unlucky, it's so hard to level up. So, i think my hobby interesting and usefull because it make me smarter and relax. I will continue this hobby in the future and grow it more and more

Talk about your hobby

In my daily life, I have several hobbies such as cooking, surfing, listening to music and so on. However, I like reading books the most for some reasons. Firstly, reading makes me feel comfortable after many long stressful hours at school. I actually like comic books because they contain lots of colorful and interesting images that keep my spirit relax. Secondly, reading books provides me a great deal of diverse knowledge of many fields. For instance, I can know more specific culture of each country in The World’s Cultures book. In addition, I can know more things about different life of various animals that are living around the world in the Discovery of Animals World book. Finally, reading helps to enhance my vocabulary in both Vietnamese and English language. In Vietnamese book, I can learn many traditional folks or proverbs that help me understand more deeply the beauty of my mother tongue. About English books, I can improve my English reading comprehension skill in study. Besides, my communication skill with the foreigners will be better, too. In conclusion, I really like reading books, for it brings many good things to me. I see it as an useful activity to learn how to make life more meaningful and beautiful.