With vague language, "a couple" does not usually mean “two”; it can mean "up to three" or even "four". When you do not want to give accurate numbers, you can use the following:
There were about 30 odd students in my class.
There were about 30 or so people at the party.
She’s not that old.
I'd say she's about 40-ish.
There are a lot of / lots of / loads of choices.
I’ve been to Beijing a couple of / a few times.
I think I saw about / around 10 or so.
4. Asking for help
In the speaking test there are strict rules about how much help the examiner can give you. These rules are different for each Part of the test.
In Part One the examiner is allowed to repeal the question TWO TIMES if you don’t understand it. lf you don’t understand a certain word and ask about that word, the examiner is not allowed to explain it; the question will be repeated in exactly the same way.
If you do not understand the question in Part One or if you just didn’t hear it clearly, it is fine to ask the examiner to repeat it. Use the following language:
I'm sorry I didn’t quite catch the question; could you ask it again please?
I’m sorry I missed that one; could you repeat it please?
As a rule, if this happens two or three times in Part One, there will be no problem. If it happens more than 4 times, then the examiner will reduce your fluency score (usually by one point, i.e. 5 will be reduced to 4).
In Part Two, it is unlikely that you will need the examiner to repeat anything because the examiner doesn’t actually say much. However, if there is a word on the topic card that you don't understand, then the examiner is allowed to quickly explain that word to you (usually by replacing it with an easier word or giving an example). You can avoid this problem by checking all the topic cards featured in this book.
In Part Three the rules are less strict. The examiner will explain vocabulary, change the wording of questions or simplify the questions whenever necessary. This shouldn’t happen very often because when Part Three begins the examiner should have a very clear idea of your language level and he / she will ask the questions in a way in which you should be able to understand quite easily.
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