Speaking Task 3 · Describing a Scene

10 CELPIP Speaking Questions with Pictures and Sample Answers

Ten everyday scenes, ten chances to make yourself clearer. Choose a picture, take 30 seconds to prepare, then describe it for 60 seconds.

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By Kate FengLanguage Education Specialist · Updated September 27, 2026

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Choose a picture and start speaking

Describe what is happening to someone who cannot see the image. Give an overview, then connect a few details using clear positions and actions. You don't need to describe everything.

Practise aloud or record yourself here. Recordings stay in this browser and are not uploaded. Download any recording you want to keep before leaving. These exercises do not give a score.

Describe the scene

A neighbourhood market

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At an outdoor market, a vendor weighs apples, a customer waits, an adult and child collect spilled fruit, and shoppers browse flowers behind them. — Picture 1 · A neighbourhood market · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

This looks like a lively outdoor market in a neighbourhood square. On the left, a vendor in a green apron is weighing apples for a woman carrying a large blue bag. There are boxes of fruit spread across his stall. The main activity on the right is a small spill: a child and an adult are crouching down to collect apples beside an overturned crate. Behind them, two shoppers are looking at bunches of flowers under the next awning. Farther back, a person wearing a helmet is walking a bicycle through the square, while two people sit on a bench. The stalls, trees and different groups make the market look busy, but there is still plenty of space between the people.

Useful language

weighing apples on a scale
crouching beside an overturned crate
farther back, under the awning

Review your answer

Could your listener locate the fruit stall, the spilled apples and the flower shoppers? Check that your description connects each person to a visible action rather than simply naming produce.

Describe the scene

Boarding a harbour ferry

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Passengers board a white ferry as a worker checks a ticket, an adult adjusts a child's backpack straps, and a traveller reads beside a red bag. — Picture 2 · Boarding a harbour ferry · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

The picture shows passengers getting ready to board a ferry on a clear day. A large white boat is moored on the right, with a ramp leading up to its entrance. In front of the ramp, a worker in an orange vest is checking a woman's ticket. She has a backpack and a blue suitcase. On the left, an adult is kneeling in front of a child and adjusting the straps near his shoulders. Behind that pair, a man is sitting on a bench reading, with a red bag beside his feet. Two passengers are already walking towards the boat. Across the water, there are low buildings, a lighthouse and a few sailing boats, which help show that this is a sheltered harbour.

Useful language

moored beside the terminal
a ramp leading to the entrance
checking a passenger's ticket

Review your answer

Listen for clear differences between people waiting, preparing and boarding. Avoid inventing the ferry's destination or saying that a passenger is late; the picture does not establish either fact.

Describe the scene

Harvest time in the garden

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People work among raised garden beds: one plants seedlings, one waters vegetables, an adult and child gather carrots, and another person pushes a wheelbarrow. — Picture 3 · Harvest time in the garden · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

Several people are working together in a garden with raised wooden beds. Closest to us on the left, a woman wearing red gloves is kneeling in the soil and planting small seedlings. On the opposite side, an older man is watering a bed with a large green watering can. In the centre, a child is holding carrots over a basket while an adult steadies it. That gives us a view of both planting and harvesting in the same garden. Behind them, another person is pushing a wheelbarrow with a bag in it along the path. There is a wooden shed at the back and climbing plants on tall supports to the right. The separate paths leave room for everyone to work around the beds.

Useful language

raised wooden beds
steadying a basket
climbing plants on tall supports

Review your answer

Did you distinguish planting from harvesting? Try connecting those two visible activities without guessing who owns the garden or how long the group has worked there.

Describe the scene

An afternoon pottery class

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In a pottery studio, a person shapes a bowl on a wheel, an instructor demonstrates at a table, a learner paints a mug, and another carries finished bowls. — Picture 4 · An afternoon pottery class · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

This is a bright pottery studio where people are working at different stages of making ceramics. In the foreground on the left, a man is shaping a bowl on a pottery wheel, with both hands against the wet clay. At the central table, a woman in a blue apron appears to be demonstrating a technique while two seated learners watch her closely. On the right, another woman is painting a leaf pattern on a white mug with a small brush. Behind the main table, a man is carrying several bowls on a wooden tray towards the shelving. Pots, tools and brushes are spread around the room, and the large windows let in a lot of daylight. Everyone seems focused on a separate part of the process.

Useful language

shaping wet clay
demonstrating a technique
painting a pattern with a fine brush

Review your answer

Check whether your verbs make the stages distinct: shaping, demonstrating, painting and carrying. You do not need specialist pottery terms to explain the visible work accurately.

Describe the scene

At the outdoor skating rink

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At a snowy outdoor rink, a seated skater ties her laces, a child uses a blue skating aid beside an adult, two people skate, and a worker clears ice. — Picture 5 · At the outdoor skating rink · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

The scene shows an outdoor skating rink surrounded by snow-covered trees. In the left foreground, a woman is sitting on a bench tying the laces of a white skate. Her boots are on the ground underneath. Near the centre, a child in a yellow jacket is holding a blue skating aid, and a man beside the child is offering support. Two other skaters are moving across the ice behind them. On the far right, a worker in an orange jacket is using a wide shovel to clear the edge of the rink. Just behind him, someone at a small wooden kiosk is handing a cup to a customer. There is a mixture of people preparing to skate, learning and enjoying a break.

Useful language

tying the laces of a skate
holding on to a skating aid
clearing the edge of the rink

Review your answer

Could you explain the blue frame without getting stuck on its exact name? 'A support to help the child balance' also communicates the visible function clearly.

Describe the scene

A busy dog park

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In a fenced autumn dog park, a man throws a ball, a woman fills a water bowl, an older person handles a dog's lead, and visitors enter through a gate. — Picture 6 · A busy dog park · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

This looks like a dog park on an autumn day, with orange leaves covering part of the ground. On the left, a man has just thrown a yellow ball, and a brown dog is looking up at it. In the foreground on the right, a woman is pouring water into a metal bowl while a small white dog stands beside her. Near the bench in the middle, an older woman is handling the lead of a black dog. At the entrance, a man is holding the gate open for another visitor and her dog. A fence separates this area from the path and benches beyond it. The people are spread out, giving the dogs room to play, drink and move around.

Useful language

looking up at a ball
pouring water into a bowl
holding the gate open for someone

Review your answer

Listen for precise references when several dogs appear in your answer. Colour and position can help the listener follow which dog you mean without repeating 'the dog' ambiguously.

Describe the scene

Setting up beside the lake

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At a lakeside campsite, two people put up a green tent, a child helps unpack plates, a camper carries firewood, and two people carry a canoe towards the water. — Picture 7 · Setting up beside the lake · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

A group of people is setting up a campsite beside a lake. On the left, two adults are putting up a green tent: one is holding the frame while the other kneels near a peg at the corner. Their car is parked behind them with its back open. On the right, a child is helping an adult arrange plates at a picnic table covered with a checked cloth. In the middle of the scene, a man is carrying an armful of wood towards a stone fire ring, which is not lit. Farther back, two people wearing life jackets are carrying a red canoe towards the water. The lake and wooded hills fill the background, while the activity is concentrated around the campsite.

Useful language

securing a tent peg
an armful of firewood
carrying a canoe towards the shore

Review your answer

Did you keep present activities separate from predictions? They are carrying a canoe towards the water; saying where they will paddle would add a detail you cannot see.

Describe the scene

A visit to the museum

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A museum guide points to a model ship for a family, a seated visitor sketches, two visitors study a landscape painting, and a worker adjusts a display. — Picture 8 · A visit to the museum · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

We are looking into a museum gallery with several different displays. The largest object near the centre is a model sailing ship inside a glass case. A woman with a name badge is pointing out part of it to two children and an adult, who are leaning closer to look. On the left, a seated visitor is sketching in a notebook. Across the room, two people are standing in front of a large framed landscape painting. To their right, a worker wearing gloves is adjusting a tall display panel. There are other exhibits visible through the doorway in the background. The scene feels calm, with some visitors listening to an explanation and others taking time to look or draw on their own.

Useful language

inside a glass display case
pointing out a detail
studying a framed landscape

Review your answer

Check that you describe the model as a sailing ship without inventing its name or historical importance. The useful details here are the visitors' different ways of engaging with the exhibits.

Describe the scene

Inside the railway station

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In a station concourse, a traveller picks up a scarf beside a red suitcase, a companion holds drinks, a staff member gives directions, and passengers head towards a train. — Picture 9 · Inside the railway station · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

The picture shows a spacious railway station with a train visible through the entrance to the platforms. In the foreground, a woman is bending down to pick up a scarf beside a red suitcase. Her companion is standing next to her holding two takeaway cups. On the right, a traveller with a backpack is asking for help at an information desk. The staff member is pointing towards the platform area while he holds an unfolded map. Between these groups, a woman is pushing a stroller, and another traveller is pulling a suitcase towards the train. There is a large clock above the entrance and seating along the left-hand side. The scene contains several small interactions within the wider movement through the station.

Useful language

bending down to pick something up
asking for directions at a desk
heading towards the platforms

Review your answer

Avoid assuming the travellers have missed a train or are in a hurry. Use the suitcase, scarf and pointing gesture to explain what is happening without inventing a problem.

Describe the scene

Morning at a sidewalk cafe

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Outside a cafe, a server carries two cups to a table, a customer reads a menu, another sets down a dog's water bowl, and a cyclist locks a bicycle nearby. — Picture 10 · Morning at a sidewalk cafe · Select the image to enlarge.

Describe this scene to someone who cannot see the picture. Explain where things are and what people are doing.

After you speak: sample answer and useful language

One possible description by Kate Feng. Your answer can focus on different visible details.

This is a sidewalk cafe on a sunny day. On the left, a server is carrying two cups on a tray beside a table. A man at the table has his hand on a closed laptop, while the woman opposite him is reading a menu. In the right foreground, another customer is crouching beside a small dog and placing a water bowl on the ground. Behind her, a cyclist wearing a helmet is fastening a bicycle to a rack. Near the cafe window, a worker is watering a long box of flowers, and two pedestrians are walking past farther back. The tables are arranged along the building, leaving a path for people to pass between the cafe seating and the bicycle area.

Useful language

carrying cups on a tray
crouching beside a chair
fastening a bicycle to a rack

Review your answer

Try describing two simultaneous actions in one connected sentence, using 'while' or 'as.' Keep the relationship spatial rather than assuming the people know one another.

A clear description in 60 seconds

Set the scene

Give the listener a place and an overall activity. “This looks like a busy outdoor market” gives the details that follow a home.

Move through the picture

Choose a route: foreground to background, or left to right. Connect people with what they're doing instead of listing objects.

Describe what you can see

Use “is carrying,” “is leaning over” or “is waiting beside.” If you're unsure, say “appears to.” Avoid inventing people's names, jobs or reasons for being there.

Questions about this practice

Which CELPIP Speaking task uses these pictures?

These are original practice scenes for Task 3, Describing a Scene. The task gives 30 seconds of preparation and 60 seconds to speak. You describe the scene to someone who cannot see it.

Should I describe every person and object?

No. Give a useful overview, then choose several clear details and connect them. An organized description is easier to follow than a hurried list. The sample answers show possible selections, not a required script.

Will my recording be graded or saved to my account?

No. This page gives you a timer, a recording you can play back and download, and sample descriptions for self-review. For personalized feedback and saved practice, use CELPIP Speaking practice.

What if the microphone does not work?

Allow microphone access in your browser, or leave Record my voice unticked and practise aloud with the timer. You can also record on another device. Use a quiet place and check playback before doing several attempts.

Are these official CELPIP questions?

No. These are new PrepEx exercises attributed to Kate Feng. They are separate from official CELPIP test materials. Format and timing were checked against the official Speaking Pro study pack on September 27, 2026.

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