CELPIP Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 Sample Answer: Cyclist About to Hit a Camera Tripod at a Cherry Blossom Photo Shoot

This prompt asks what will most likely happen next in the cherry blossom park, where a boy on a bike is heading straight for a camera tripod. The tricky part is predicting a chain of reactions, not just the crash, with varied future forms.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

Same as Task 3

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 practice picture: Cyclist About to Hit a Camera Tripod at a Cherry Blossom Photo Shoot

In this picture, what do you think will most probably happen next?

How to plan your answer

What they want

Predict what will most probably happen next in the cherry blossom park, where a cyclist is riding straight at a camera tripod near a woman taking a family photo.

Plan (60 sec)

Set-up: the boy is pedalling along the path, and the tripod's legs stick out right in front of his wheel.
Prediction 1: his wheel will hit the tripod, and it will topple over.
Prediction 2: the camera may crash to the ground and break, or at least the shot will be ruined.
Prediction 3: the boy may lose his balance and fall, but his helmet will protect him.
Prediction 4: the photographer and the family will run over; the boy will apologize and help pick things up.
Close: "In the end, they'll set up again and retake the photo."

Useful vocabulary

knock over, topple, crash, lose his balance
damage, ruin the shot, retake, apologize

Phrases

"I think the first thing that will happen is..."
"As a result,..."
"After that,..."

Avoid

Re-describing the whole park; focus on future events.
Predictions that ignore the cyclist, the tripod and the photographer.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Well, unless that boy hits the brakes immediately, he's going to ride straight into the second tripod. It's set up right in the middle of the path, and his front wheel is practically touching it already. Most likely, the bike will knock the tripod sideways, and that camera will come crashing down onto the pavement. If it lands lens-first, it could be a very expensive accident. The boy might manage to stay on his bike, but there's a good chance he'll wobble and tip over into the grass, though with his helmet on, he should be fine. The photographer will spin around at the noise and rush over to rescue her gear, probably looking pretty upset. Meanwhile, the family will drop their poses, and the dad will likely hurry over to help the boy up. Once everyone's calmed down, I imagine she'll check the camera, and hopefully, they'll finish the photo shoot with a funny story to go with it.

160 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: Opening with "unless that boy hits the brakes immediately" frames the prediction conditionally, and each event then naturally causes the next.
Vocabulary: Lively phrasing such as "come crashing down," "lands lens-first," "wobble and tip over" and "rescue her gear" makes the scene easy to imagine.
Task Fulfillment: It weighs outcomes, noting "with his helmet on, he should be fine," and ends with a hopeful resolution, showing judgement rather than simple guesses.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I think in a second, the boy on the bike is going to crash right into the camera on the tall tripod. It's standing in the middle of the path, and his front wheel is already very close, so I don't think he can stop in time. The tripod will probably fall over, and the camera might hit the ground and break. The boy could also lose his balance and fall off his bike. The photographer kneeling next to it will be really shocked, and she'll jump up to check her equipment. The family under the tree will stop posing and come over to see if the boy is okay. In the end, I think he'll apologize, and the photographer will have to finish the family photos with just one camera.

131 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: Predictions follow a natural order, crash, fall, reactions, then "In the end," closing with the shoot finishing "with just one camera."
Vocabulary: A range of future forms, "is going to crash," "will probably fall," "might hit" and "could also lose his balance," shows control of certainty.
Task Fulfillment: The predictions are reasonable but mostly obvious; weighing how likely each outcome is, or what a broken camera would cost, would add depth.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

I think the boy on the bike will hit the camera on the tripod. The tripod is in the middle of the path and he is very close. He cannot stop. The camera will fall down on the ground and maybe it break. Maybe the boy fall too. The photographer will be very surprise and angry, because it is her camera. The family will stop smiling and look at the boy. After, the boy will say sorry, and the family will help him.

83 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: Future forms break down in "maybe it break" and "Maybe the boy fall too," and "very surprise" should be 'very surprised'.
Content/Coherence: The reasoning is clear, since "The tripod is in the middle of the path and he is very close," but ideas are stated flatly with few connecting words.
Task Fulfillment: Each reaction, from the photographer's anger to the family helping, gets one short sentence, so the predictions feel like a list rather than a sequence.

These are original CELPass examples written at each level. The CLBs are our estimates, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB