雅思口语PART 1

MUST-HAVE QUESTIONS

1 [work or study / subject] what do you do / why did you choose it?

Currently, I'm a senior studying at Guangdong Ocean University, majoring in Plant Protection.

To be honest, i didn't choose this major, I was assigned to it by chance, it’s kind of hard to accept this offer at first, but after the knowledges and experiences I've gained in these years i believe I'm on the right track now.

2 [accommodation / dream house] where do you live? / Is it convenient?

At current stage, I'm living in a three bedroom apartment with my parents and sister, which is located in the suburb of the city.

Surely it is! It only takes me steps to all kind of facilities, like subway stations, restaurants, supermarkets and so forth.

3 [hometown] tell me sth about your hometown / Is it a perfect place to live?

Generally speaking, I'm from Shenzhen, which is a kind of a metropolis, located in the southern part of China. (there’s a range of local specialties in my hometown, yet i guess the most famous thing would be delicacies and skyscrapers.

Personally speaking, yes. Since people here are quite hospitable, it is very likely for most to make a lot of friends here. Besides, this city is full of job opportunities, so it offer a relatively easier way for people to find a well-paid job here.

HOBBY&INTEREST

1 [movie] do you like watching movies? home or theatre? why?

Yeah I'm really into watching movies, as long as I have spare time, I’d like to grab a movie in the theatre with my bestie to get away from reality.

I’ll go for the latter one, since theatre is always the perfect place to enjoy a movie, especially when it comes to 3D or IMAX version of movies. Compared with watching it at home, I can have a premium experience of sound and visual effects.

2 [music / singing] do you like music? live or record? like singing? how often go singing? benefits?

I guess everyone enjoy listening to music, and I'm no exception. Basically, I’d like to listen to some light music before i go to sleep to have a peace of mind.(Normally, I’d like to sing with my friends in a karaoke box from time to time to release our stress.)

Between two of them, i suppose my preference is the latter one, since it is money and time saving, by this i mean, if i attend a concert, then i need to spent extra money on a ticket and staying there throughout the concert. which is not as convenient as downloading them from Internet.

Its benefits can be various, for example, it offers us a chance to release our stress, besides, I'm pretty sure some people were born with the singing talent, they even can turn this hobby into a profession to become a singer or a performer.

3 [reading] do you like reading? paper to ebook? benefits?

Yes i do, I'm a big fan of Higashino Keigo(ひがしのけいご). Besides, given that I'm still a student, it is common and necessary for me to read on a daily basis,

Personally i don't mind. I love the feeling of a real paper book but I also can’t say no to the convenience of my kindle, since i don't have to have a light on if i want to read before i go to sleep.

The benefits of reading can be manifold, first of all, it provides us with a chance to acquire knowledge and absorb information, in addition, our own writing skill might as well be improved by immersing ourselves in well-written works.

4 [dance] do you know how to dance? where to dance? benefits?

To be honest, no, since I'm quite clumsy at body coordination, if i dance, i’ll look like a giant bunny in slow-motion.(simply because barely do i have a chance to learn how to dance, but in the future, i’d like to give it a try if there’s chance.)

To begin with, dancing is a great way for people of all ages to get and stay in shape. Besides being fun, people’s flexibility, strength, and endurance can be greatly improved.

5 [place near water] what kinds? what do ppl do? do you like traveling to those places? why?

There is a range of activities ppl could do there, including playing sand, setting up a barbecue, fishing (surfing, diving, paddling) and so on.

i guess my answer will be negative, since i don't know a thing about how to swim and i just can't help myself thinking what if i drown?

6 [taking photos] do you like it? do you often carry a camera? how important it is?

I guess every girl in this world enjoy taking photos, and I'm no exception. There are heaps of occasion that i would take photos (as a way to freeze the fleeting moment) and keep it as a record of my life experience. (I might as well upload them to my Wechat moment if i want to share it with my friends.) The answer is positive, especially during the process of traveling or important occasions like graduation ceremony, i need a camera with me to capture the fleeting moment or natural sceneries.

Well, taking photos is inevitable for everyone in our lives, for example, photos can be a faithful record of what might fleet very quickly, especially during the process of traveling or important occasions; besides, taking photos is quicker than taking notes in a class. Plus, nowadays, sharing photos on Wechat moment is rather popular, where we can get like or nice comments from friends.

7 [magazines / newspapers] magazines or newspaper? differences? how has it changed?

Truth be told, i really don't mind. But i guess i read newspaper more since subway stations provide citizens with free newspaper every morning.

The main difference between newspaper and magazine is that newspaper contain relatively short articles on current news while magazines contains longer articles on a variety of subjects. Apart from that, design and attraction is another difference between the two of them, one is simple and plain while the other is complex and colorful.

Personally, i guess the most obvious difference is the way we access and interact with news, to be specific, more and more people access news stories online via links on social media. Also, there is plenty of news focusing on entertainment industry now.

8 [holidays / leisure time / weekend]what holidays are there? what do ppl do? important? family/friends?

There is a wide range of holidays in my country, like spring festival, dragon boat festival, lantern festival and so on.

Generally speaking, people will do a variety of things, like having a family reunion, visiting their relatives, go shopping or just watching TV at home.

Absolutely yes, since it is the chance to take a break from work; plus, it can be considered as a way to remind us to cherish the value of our tradition and culture.

It vary from case to case, in the Chinese traditional holidays like spring festival and lantern festival, home seems to be more attractive. However, when it comes to some holidays from overseas like christmas, hanging out with friends will be more exciting.

9 [indoor / outdoor / walking / park] indoor or outdoor? what to do? benefits?

In most cases, i prefer to do outdoor activities since it is beneficial to our health, and my capability of endurance, strength and flexibility can be enhanced.

There are heaps of activities people could do outdoor, including jogging, playing basketball, football and so on. (indoor - playing computer games, reading books, watching TV programs that kind of things.) … By the way, i might as well lose some weight by doing so.

10 [painting / drawing] do you like painting? have you learnt? benefits?

My answer is positive, but i have to admit that i barely have any idea about how to paint, so in the future, if there’s a chance, i’d like to give it a try since i guess it’ll be fun to create sth by my own hands.

There is no doubt that painting is beneficial in terms of cultivating children’s aesthetic feeling, creativity and imagination, besides, it also offer us a chance to improve our hands-on ability and eye-hand coordination.

11 [gifts / handicrafts] what gifts? when to send? why is it necessary? what kinds? benefits?

Generally speaking, there are all kinds of gifts in our daily life, including perfumes, handicrafts, lucky money and so on.

As i see it, sending gifts is a way to boost bonds between people, if the present is properly chosen, receiver will definitely be cheered up. In addition, gifts can represent one’s love and support.

We can come across a variety of handicrafts in our daily life, including Paper-cutting, Chinese knot, pottery and porcelain, etc.

The benefits of making handicrafts can be multiple, first of all, it offers people a chance to develop their abilities in terms of hands-on skill, eye-hand coordination and so on. Additionally, it can be considered as a way to remind people to cherish our tradition and culture.

12 [bags / hats] what kinds? do you like carrying a bag/wearing a hat? why is it important?

In our life, it is common to see all sorts of bags, including purses, wallets, handbags, shoulder bags and so forth. (baseball cap, hard hat, beret and so on.)

*The significant difference is that cap fits closely to the head and doesn't have a brim /br?m/, but it may have a visor /?va?z?(r)/. Hats vary in shape—they may or may not have a brim, but they are usually grander than caps.

I can take it or leave it, but sometimes hats can be used as an accessories to match the suit we wear, so my hats have to be pretty and practical at the same time.

I always carry a bag with me whenever I go out, or else everything will be messy since i have too much stuff to carry with me, a bag is definitely needed for me to place all my belonging such as books, mobile phone, purse etc.

LIFESTYLE

1 [advertisement] what kinds? your favorite one? pros and cons?

There is a range of adverts, like TV commercials, banners, leaflets, Public Service Announcement and so forth.

I guess my answer would be Public Service Announcement, since it is educational for audiences to preserver our environment and to help the vulnerable groups.

*There are heaps of benefits, for example, it offers us a well-rounded understanding of a product, such as price, function, appearance and so on, by comparing them from ads, we can save time and money.

As i mentioned above, it can be a good thing; yet when it comes to shortcomings, i have to say there is a lack of supervision from authorities, it is likely that adverts are misleading or exaggerating.

2 [chocolate] do you like eating it? how often do you eat? benefits?

kind of, as long as i am in the mood of sth sweet, i’ll go spoiling myself and try not to think about the weight i might gain by doing so.

The benefits can be various, firstly, chocolate can help with stress relief and cheer people up, besides, the TV commercial says dark chocolates can lessen the risk of diseases like stroke and heart attack.

3 [bicycles] do you know how to ride? is it popular in your city? why?

yes i do, my mom has taught me how once, but i have to admit that I'm not good at it at all since i barely have a chance to ride bicycle in my daily life.

I guess so, given that environmental protection is such a trend nowadays, if more and more people choose riding a bike instead of driving their own cars, two major problems will be solved, which are air pollution and traffic jam.

4 [cars / public transport] do you have a license? private or public? why?

yes i do, i got my license several months ago after studying in a driving school for months and passing four tests.

5 [visitors] how often? what do you do? indoor to outdoor to meet them? is it important?

Given that I live i live in a dorm with other classmates, it is quite frequent for me to have visitor from time to time.

We will do a variety of activities together, like watching TV series, gossiping and discussing our homework.

Mostly speaking, I prefer the former one, since i think there is more thing we can do together indoor, like watching movies, chatting when we are drinking coffees or having a meal and so on.

Absolutely, if there is no visitor at all, people might feel lonely, especially the elder people. Having friends meeting together is a way to boost bond between people.

6 [celebrity] who are famous in your country? which one do you like? pros and cons?

There are loads of famous people in my country, like movie star, TV star, sport star, entrepreneur politician /p?l?’t??(?)n/ and so forth.

Among them, I suppose my favorite one is sport star, since they work very hard for the sake of our country, and their fighting spirit is rather inspirational.

First of all, celebrities can gain fame and fortune in the shortest time, meanwhile, they tend to have more privilege in life like get special tables at restaurant, best seat at theatres and VIP treatment at clubs or events. But conversely, it seems like their privacy and freedom is deprived, they have to live under a spotlight all the time and might even have stalkers.

7 [family member] what to do together? who do you take after? living with them or alone?

Many people have said that I takes after my mother in personality and my father in appearance.

My preference is to live with my parents since they mean everything to me, i don't think there’s anyone who will love and support like they do, the only thing i can give back to them is my accompany.

8 [weather / sunny / rainy] sunny/rainy? what do you do? how could it affect people’s life?

In most cases, I’m partial toward sunny days, since jogging is my daily routine, the wet ground outside will make me uncomfortable both physically and mentally. Besides, sometimes rainy days can be really annoying when the clothes hanged outside are unable to dry.

There is a range of activities i would do during sunny days, including washing clothes, hang out with friends and do outdoor activities like climbing mountains, fishing and so on.

Its effect on people’s life can be multiple, for example, researches have shown that weather has a direct impact on people’s mood, for instance, sunshine can bring a depressed person up, the warmth it spread can surely delight people.

9 [communication / letters / email / mobile / computer] letter/email? why? how has it changed? what do you do with it? important?

I suppose i will choose the latter one in most cases, mainly because it is more time-saving and labor-saving than writing letters; but i still write letters to my friends on some occasions since it seems more sincere this way.

The way we access and interact with others have changed a lot, currently, only with a click of mouse or touch of screen can we find our friends through internet, compared with the traditional way to contact others like writing letters or telegraphy, it is more time/labor/money-saving.

SURELY - WITHOUT - ……

10 [language] how to learn? what is the most difficult part? why is it important?

There are all kinds of way people can use to learn languages, including reading original novels, watching native movies and talking with native speakers and so on.

As i see it, the hardest part is to think like a native speaker, by this i mean, when we are learning second languages our mother tongue will protects itself by causing interferences /.?nt?(r)’f??r?ns/, that’s why so many people are saying Chinglish right now.

Well, someone who don't know and have no intention to learn any foreign languages will have less opportunities in terms of life and work with language skills, for example, misunderstanding is likely to happen when they travel abroad.

TRICKY QUESTIONS

1 [art] do you like art? what forms of arts are there? why is it important?

Yes i do, i like many kinds of arts, including painting, calligraphy, handicrafts, movies and so on.

If there is not any form of arts in this world, our life will be so dull, everything will become monotonous, and there will be no way for us to cultivate our creativity and aesthetic feeling.

2 [museum] have you been to? what things are there? is it important?

Yes i do, i’d like to visit museum alone whenever i feel frustrated to get away from reality and immerse myself in the arts world.

There are plenty of things there, such as cultural relics, painting, sculpture, calligraphy and so on.

Surely they are, since museums are places for recording the progress of civilization, without it, we could only learn history and appreciate artist’s work from intangible things like textbooks, photos on the Internet, which can be boring and tedious.

3 [birthday] what do ppl do? 18th or 30th? family or friends? why is it important?

There are heaps of activities people could do to celebrate their birthday, for instance, singing karaoke with friends, having reunion dinner with family, throwing a party and so on.

As far as i can concern, I prefer to say 18th is more meaningful, since it is the time of being an adult, accordingly, it stands for more social rights and responsibilities; that’s why there is a routine called coming-of-age ritual.

Probably because it symbolized the passage of the previous year, in that case, we are reminded to cherish more about our life. Also, it is always cheerful to gather friends together for a reunion party, birthday happens to be that perfect theme.

4 [flowers / gifts] what kinds? when to send? any special meaning? receiving or giving?

There are all kinds of flowers in our daily life, including rose, lily, carnation, lavender and so on, you can’t have romance without flowers.

There are a wide range of occasions to send flowers, like, during the process of proposing, or on graduation ceremony, anniversary, birthday and so on.

Well, flowers only have meaning if the person receiving them understands.Today, the meaning of giving and receiving flowers is as simple as 'I care for you’.

Frankly speaking, i’ll go for receiving them, especially given that I'm still a student, i’m pretty sure receiving gift can be more exciting. But i do love the feeling of cheering others up by sending gifts to them, that’s what i’ll do in the future when i earn my own salary.

5 [noise] what kinds? how to reduce? is it important to live in a peaceful environment?

There are a variety of sorts of noises in our life, like construction noise, traffic noise, neighborhood noises and something like that.

Surely it is, if our living surrounding are packed with noises, we might have insomnia problems, therefore our working efficiency and productivity on the following day will be dragged down.

6 [science subject / primary school] what kinds? which one is your favorite? why?

There is a range of sorts of science subjects, including mathematics, statistic /st?’t?st?ks/, physics, biochemistry and so forth.

To be honest, I'm not into science subjects at all, mainly because i am slow reacted in the field of science, and i’ll get frustrated if i can’t solve those equations. But I do admire people who is good at science subjects.

7 [teachers] do you want to be a teacher? who is your favorite teacher? is it important?

To be honest, no, but don't get me wrong, it simply because i find it quite patience-demanding to be a teacher, and i have to admit that sometime i’m quick tempered.

It will be my chemistry teacher at high school, his sense of humor is able to disarmed everyone who is disagreed with him, besides, his handwriting is so beautiful!

I guess teacher is one of the most important professions in this world, as i see it, they are our nation builders, all profession grows out of the knowledge and skills that teachers help to instill in our children.

8 [teamwork] what activities require teamwork? do you like studying alone or with a team? why important?

There are series of activities require teamwork, like playing sports, attending to group contest or running a company.

Mostly speaking, i prefer studying alone since i don't have to keep up with other’s schedule, which tends to be troublesome. But undeniably, teamwork offer us a chance to learn from each other.

Since there’s a limitation for everyone’s ability, it can be taken as a chance for us to learn from each other. Apart from that, facing challenge alone can be quite stressful while the pressure can be shared in a group.