Speaking Part 1 · Hometown Changes 5 題 Band 7+ 範答 + 城市變遷詞庫

Q1. Has your hometown changed much in recent years?

Quite a lot, actually — I grew up in a fairly quiet district of Taipei, and over the last decade it's gentrified pretty hard. The traditional breakfast shops and small bookshops I remember as a kid have largely been replaced by speciality coffee places and chain pharmacies. The bones of the place are the same, but the texture has changed completely.

Q2. What's the biggest change you've noticed?

Probably the demographic shift more than anything physical — the older generation who used to dominate the morning markets are gradually thinning out, and a much younger crowd has moved in for the rent. It changes the whole rhythm of the neighbourhood: shops open later, close later, and the streets are quiet at 6 AM in a way they never were.

Q3. Do you think these changes are positive?

Mixed feelings, honestly — on the surface a lot of it is positive: the area is cleaner, the food options are more interesting, and there's a real café culture now. But I do miss the rougher, slightly chaotic version I grew up with. The new place is nicer, but it's also less distinct; you could pick it up and drop it in any other Asian city and barely tell.

Q4. Has the population changed in your hometown?

Yes, in two opposing directions, oddly — overall, Taipei's population has been quietly shrinking as young families move out to cheaper cities like Taoyuan or Tainan. But within neighbourhoods, the demographic mix has shifted: more young singles, more international residents, fewer multi-generational families living together. Same total, very different makeup.

Q5. Do you think your hometown will continue to change?

Without question — and I think the next decade will be more dramatic than the last, partly because of the demographic decline. You're going to see more conversion of old residential buildings into co-living spaces and creative offices, and probably more public transport investment. Whether that makes it a better place to live is genuinely an open question.

Band 6: Yes, my hometown has changed a lot. There are more buildings and more shops. The MRT is also bigger now. People say it is more modern.

Band 7+: Quite a lot, actually — I grew up in a fairly quiet district of Taipei, and over the last decade it's gentrified pretty hard. The traditional breakfast shops and small bookshops I remember as a kid have largely been replaced by speciality coffee places and chain pharmacies. The bones of the place are the same, but the texture has changed completely.