CELPIP® Speaking Task 8 sample: The Wrong Box in Whitehorse

Describing an Unusual Situation · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.

Practice question

You live in Whitehorse. You and your friend Abdi split the cost of a housewarming gift for your friend Freya, who moves in on Saturday: a coat rack ordered online. The box that arrived holds something else. The seller offers 40% back if you keep it, or a return with $25 shipping and a three-week wait. Call Abdi, describe the object in detail in your own words, and ask whether to keep it or send it back.

A knee-high cylinder of thick light-grey felt, about as wide as a large wastebasket, with a black rubber rim around the top edge and a flat black rubber base. Rising from the open top are four hollow white plastic tubes, each about 40 cm tall, bent at the top into a hook shape like a candy cane, spaced evenly around the rim. Each tube has a row of small round holes near its tip. Halfway down the outside of the felt cylinder is a round orange plastic dial the size of a cookie, with raised ridges around its edge. A short coiled black electrical cord comes out of the back near the base. A narrow wooden shelf, like a small bench seat, is attached to one side of the cylinder by two silver metal brackets. Plain white background. No text, labels or logos.

Model answers

These are transcripts of a model response, provided for comparison with your own recording.

Level 7 sample answer

144 words

Hi Abdi, it's me. The gift for Freya came today, but it's not the coat rack. Um, it's a round thing made of grey felt, about the size of a garbage can, but only knee-high. On the top there is black rubber rim, and four white plastic tubes come up from it. They are bent at the end like a candy cane, and they have small holes. I think you put boots on them and it blow warm air, because there's an electric cord at the back and an orange dial on the side. There is a small wooden shelf on one side, like a seat. The seller gives us 40% back if we keep it, or we pay $25 to send it back and wait three weeks, so no gift on Saturday. Should we keep it or send it back? Call me back.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 answer gives Abdi an understandable description and covers the refund, return cost, delay, and decision. Compared with the higher-level answers, its description relies more on simple listing and vague wording, while grammatical slips interrupt the flow.

On the top there is black rubber rim, and four white plastic tubes come up from it. — Content/Coherence: The description follows a sensible physical order, moving from the rim to the tubes. The higher-level answers make these relationships easier to picture through more precise descriptions of the opening, tube shapes, and attached parts.
Um, it's a round thing made of grey felt — Vocabulary: The material and general shape help Abdi picture the object, but 'round thing' is vague. The higher-level answers use 'cylinder' to distinguish its shape more clearly.
I think you put boots on them and it blow warm air, — Listenability: The likely function is understandable, but 'it blow' creates a grammatical stumble. The higher-level answers express the boot-dryer inference with smoother sentence construction and clearer links to the cord and dial.
or we pay $25 to send it back and wait three weeks, so no gift on Saturday. — Task Fulfillment: This clearly connects the return cost and delay to Freya's housewarming deadline. Together with the refund offer and closing question, it covers the required decision; the higher-level answers present that choice more conversationally.

Level 9 sample answer

175 words

Hey Abdi, got a second? It's about Freya's housewarming gift. The package showed up, and, well, it's not a coat rack. Let me paint you a picture. Imagine a fat cylinder of thick grey felt, roughly knee-high and about as wide as a big wastebasket, with a black rubber rim around the top. Sticking up out of it are four white plastic tubes, each bent over at the top like a candy cane, with rows of tiny holes near the tips. On the side there's an orange dial about the size of a cookie, and a coiled cord comes out the back, so I'm guessing it's a boot dryer. You'd hang wet boots on those hooks. There's a little wooden shelf attached to one side, probably so you can sit while you pull your boots off. In a Whitehorse winter, Freya might love it. So what's your call? We could keep it and get forty percent back, or pay twenty-five dollars and wait three weeks, which means she'd have nothing on Saturday. Text me tonight.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 answer builds a clear visual picture, explains the suspected function, and connects the unexpected gift to Freya's life in Whitehorse. Compared with level 11, some wording is less precise, and conversational fillers make the opening less compact.

In a Whitehorse winter, Freya might love it. — Content/Coherence: This connects the object's suspected purpose to Freya's location and gives Abdi a reason to consider keeping it. A higher-level answer could carry this useful reasoning into a more tightly organized comparison of the choices.
each bent over at the top like a candy cane, with rows of tiny holes near the tips. — Vocabulary: The familiar comparison and precise placement of the holes make the tubes easy to imagine. Level 11 adds finer distinctions elsewhere, including hollow tubes, a ridged dial, and the shelf's brackets.
The package showed up, and, well, it's not a coat rack. — Listenability: The contractions and conversational pause suit a call to a friend. However, 'and, well' delays the main point slightly; level 11 introduces the mix-up more deliberately before moving into the description.
We could keep it and get forty percent back, or pay twenty-five dollars and wait three weeks, — Task Fulfillment: Both options and their financial terms are explicit, and the waiting period is preserved. Level 11 frames the choice more sharply as a dilemma, although this answer includes the delay that level 11 leaves unstated.

Level 11 sample answer

188 words

Hi Abdi, it's me. Have you got a couple of minutes? It's about Freya's gift, and there's been a bit of a mix-up. The box arrived this morning, and instead of a coat rack I'm staring at what I can only describe as a felt drum with antlers. The main part is a knee-high cylinder of thick, light-grey felt, roughly as wide as a large wastebasket, with a black rubber rim around the top. Four hollow white tubes rise out of the opening, each curled over like a candy cane and dotted with small holes near the tip. Halfway down there's a ridged orange dial the size of a cookie, and a coiled black cord trails out the back, which convinces me it's an electric boot dryer. A narrow wooden shelf is fixed to one side with two silver brackets, almost like a bench for lacing up your boots. Here's the dilemma: if we send it back, we're out twenty-five dollars and Freya has nothing to unwrap on Saturday, whereas keeping it gets us forty percent back. Which way are you leaning? Call me back when you can.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 answer combines a memorable overall image with precise physical details, controlled sentences, and a clearly framed shared decision. Its main task-related limitation is that it leaves out the three-week wait, despite explaining the return cost and Saturday consequence.

what I can only describe as a felt drum with antlers. — Vocabulary: This distinctive comparison gives Abdi an immediate impression of the unusual base and projecting tubes. The following literal description clarifies the image, so the creative wording supports understanding.
A narrow wooden shelf is fixed to one side with two silver brackets, — Content/Coherence: This locates the shelf and explains how it attaches to the main object. It extends the organized description from the body and tubes to a smaller feature, with more structural detail than the other answers.
Four hollow white tubes rise out of the opening, each curled over like a candy cane — Listenability: The sentence establishes the tubes first, then adds their shape in a controlled phrase. This gives the listener a manageable sequence of details while maintaining a natural descriptive flow.
if we send it back, we're out twenty-five dollars and Freya has nothing to unwrap on Saturday, — Task Fulfillment: The return option is expressed through consequences that matter to both friends: their shared spending and Freya's gift deadline. The subsequent refund comparison and direct question complete the decision request, though the three-week wait should also be stated.

What moves an answer from 7 to 9 to 11

These are model answers written to show each level. The labels are practice estimates, not examiner scores.

Help the listener picture the unusual object through its shape, material, size and arrangement. Use comparisons and spatial language, then complete the requested interaction.

Content/Coherence: Level 7 models communicate the main ideas; level 9 models develop relevant details with clear connections; level 11 models sustain precise, well-integrated development.
Vocabulary: Compare adequate everyday wording with more varied, accurate choices at level 9 and flexible, precise expression at level 11.
Listenability: Higher-level delivery needs clear pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and controlled pauses. Transcripts suggest phrasing and organisation, but cannot demonstrate these audio features; a recording is needed.
Task Fulfillment: Compare how fully the response addresses the request, develops enough relevant detail and maintains an appropriate tone for the audience within the task limits.

Assess the criteria together. A longer answer or rarer words alone do not establish a higher level.

Answer this question and get your level