ABOUT YOUR HOMETOWN

Describe your hometown?
The town where I live is called Miraflores which is a district of Lima city. It is well known for its shopping areas, gardens, flower-filled parks and beaches. It is one of the most upmarket district that make up the city of Lima, and in addition, you can find almost anything you want.

What's special about it?
From my point of view, the place whose name is "the green coast" is the most awesome of Miraflores because you can find amazing Pacific Ocean views along the beach walk, and besides you can see paragliders flying over beaches, surfers riding waves and restaurants overlooking the sea.

Spanish: "El uso de frases formales antes de dar una opinión son vitales en el puntaje del "speaking". Aqui he usado From my point of view,...,pero también puedes usar: According to me,...,In my view,...,It seems to me that,...,From my perspective,...,To my way of thinking...
Te aconsejo que nunca uses In my opinion..., o, In my case...ya que son informales y muy "básicos" y tu entrevistador puede pensar de inmediato que tienes un vocabulario limitado".

English:"Using formal phrases before you give an opinion is very important to get a high score in the test. Here, I used FROM MY POINT OF VIEW but you can also use According to me,...,In my view,...,It seems to me that,...,From my perspective,...,To my way of thinking...
I would recommend that you never use In my opinion..., or, In my case...in this test because they are informal and you interviewer could think that you have a basic vocabulary".

Where is your hometown located?
The Miraflores district is located on the seafront in the southern side of Lima and it is, without a doubt, the tourist destination and favourite district for staying by tourists, when they are visiting the city of Lima.

Is it easy to travel around your hometown?
Certainly I have always had problems travelling around it due to the chaotic and huge traffic of the city in general. I consider this problem is because in Lima city there are not some important kinds of transport system, such as undergrounds and trams, in comparison with others capital cities of South America.

Spanish: "Cuando quieras dar un ejemplo o ejemplos sobre algo de manera formal, usa for example o such as o for instance.".

English: "When you formally want to give a example about something, you must use for example or such as or for instance".

What is it known for?
Miraflores is not a particularly famous town. Not many people outside of Perú have heard of it but I am confident that all people who have known its awesome beaches, its very warm and polite people and its superb streets, have been delighted with the town.

Spanish: "Fijate que sure tiene hasta dos sinonimos bien formales: confident (el cual lo uso en esta respuesta última) y certain; los cuales recomiendo usar en vez de sure para obtener un mejor puntaje (I am certain.., I am confident...)".

English: "Look, sure have two formal synonyms: confident (which I used in this last answer) and certain; which I would recommend to use instead of use to get a better score (I am certain.., I am confident...)".


"Una vez mas el tener un rico vocabulario en adjetivos para describir una ciudad, te permite afrontar bien este tipo de preguntas leidas lineas arriba: upmarket, awesome, huge, chaotic, warm, superb, etc."


What do people in your hometown do?
Due to the great economic movement and for being a cosmopolitan town, there are all sorts of jobs and professions. Nowadays, more and more students at university are studying to become tourist guides, chefs and business people because that is where the money is.

What are the main industries in your hometown?
It is, by far, the tourist industry because of most tourist that come every year to the Lima city, prefer staying, buying and walking around in my hometown.

What problems do you hometown face?
There are lots of them. I would say that of late, the greater troubles are the chaotic traffic and the crime, which have increased dramatically. To my way of thinking the economic growth of the Lima city has been disorderly and it has created these big problems. I very much hope it will be resolved by the government and municipalities as soon as possible.

What languages are spoken in your hometown?
Spanish of course which is our national language after all. However, Miraflores is considered as a cosmopolitan town due to there are a great deal foreign people staying there and therefore, you can find several people speaking different languages at anywhere.

What are the advantages of living in your hometown?
The advantages? Well, Miraflores is one of nicest and safest areas of Lima city as well as there are highly diverse business, such as shopping areas, cinemas, parks, art galleries, hotels, restaurants, beaches, banks, among others.Those are certainly great advantages because you can find everything and within walking distance.

Compare your hometown with another city?
I would like to compare my town with Buenos Aires city, where the food, the weather and the architecture are really different than my hometown. For example, my hometown's food is much more diverse than Buenos Aires' food where it is basically pastas and meats but with regard to the architecture, it is very lovely in Buenos Aires city in comparison with my hometown. Finally, as far as the weather, it is extremely hot in summer and freezing in winter, in Buenos Aires city, which is really different from my hometown where the weather is mild throughout all year.

Spanish: "Este tipo de preguntas son para ver si puedes pensar "logicamente" en Inglés. Casi siempre es una pregunta difícil porque comparar ciudades o paises es hablar al menos de tres temas que pueden ser la comida, la arquitectura, el clima, los sitemas de transporte, etc. y te exige tener un buen vocabulario de adjetivos y el dominio de conectores comparativos (...is really different than...;...is much more..than...;with regard to...; in comparison with...;as far as....; etc.)"

English: "These type of questions are to see if you can think "logically" in English. Almost always they are difficult questions because when you have to compare cities or countries, you have to speak, at least, about three topics which may be: food, architecture, weather,transport system, and so on, and it requires you have a good vocabulary of adjectives and know very well about comparative connectors (...is really different than...;...is much more..than...;with regard to...; in comparison with...;as far as....; etc.)"