An Item of Clothing that was Bought for You
Describe an item of clothing that was bought for you. You should say:
what it is
what it looks like
why it was bought for you
and explain how you feel (or felt) about this item of clothing.
Shopping for Clothes
? Where do people in your country usually buy their clothes?
? What are the differences between buying clothes in big shops and buying clothes in small shops? ? Are there any differences between men and women when they go shopping for clothes?
? Is there much difference between young people and old(er) people when it comes to shopping for clothes? ? How do people buy clothes online (on the internet)? ? Do you think buying clothes online is good?
? Why are some clothes considered to be \? Why are some people so keen to buy \Second-hand Clothes
? Do people in your country ever buy second-hand clothes? ? What do you think of the idea of buying second-hand clothes? Custom-made (tailor-made) Clothes
? What are the advantages of having your clothes made for you by a tailor (or dressmaker)?
A Piece of Advice
Describe a situation when you needed some advice. You should say:
when you received the advice who gave you the advice what the advice was
and explain why you needed this advice.
Advice Giving
? What kind of advice do parents give their (adult) children?
? Do you think that some young people reject the advice of their parents simply as a result of a generation
gap?
? Do you think teachers are capable of giving students advice about life situations? ? In general, what do you think of the value of advice from old people? Is it useful?
? Which do you think is more useful (=effective), giving advice to someone or actually showing them or
teaching them how to do something?
The Helping Professions
? Can you think of any occupations where the person gives advice as part of their job? ? What is your opinion of the advice that these people give?
? Do you think these professionals should receive special training in giving advice? (Why? What specific
training?)
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How should people in the helping professions, such as doctors and teachers, be trained and regulated? ? How do you think these so-called experts can be controlled (regulated)? Work Suggestions
? Has anyone given you advice at work? (Who? What advice?) ? Was this person trained to give you advice?
? Do you think special training (for giving advice) is useful?
A Broken Piece of Equipment
Describe an occasion when a piece of equipment at home broke down or stopped working. You should say:
what the equipment was how badly it was broken how this affected your life
and explain how you handled this situation.
The Quality of Products
? What are some examples of equipment at home that most easily break? ? What are some of the reasons why (some) things break down?
? Do you think the quality of products (in your country) has improved, compared to the past, or has it
deteriorated?
? Can you give any examples of that? Second-hand Goods
? What are some examples of equipment (or, goods) that people can buy second-hand in your country? ? Why do some people buy second-hand things?
? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of buying second-hand goods? ? Would you ever buy a second-hand car?
An Advertisement
Describe an advertisement that you think is successful. You should say:
what is advertised
what the advertisement contains
what kinds of people would be (or, are) interested in and explain why you think this advertisement works well.
The Nature of Advertising
? What are some examples of places where we often see advertisements?
? Why do you think many (most) advertisements use good-looking people (to promote the product or
service)?
The influence of advertisements
? What are the different kinds of advertising?
? What kind of advertising is most common in China?
? What are the ways in which advertisements catch the attention of viewers? ? Is advertising on the internet very influential?
? How do advertisements attract the attention of people?
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What is the purpose (= the function) of advertising? = Why do companies spend money on advertising? ? What kinds of advertisements are most attractive to children (or, young people)? ? Do you think advertisements are a good or bad influence on children?
? Do you think advertisements actually influence people to buy things (perhaps things they don't really need)? ? Do overseas advertisements used in, or adapted for use in China affect Chinese culture and values? Controls on Advertisements
? Does the Chinese government control advertisements in any way?
? What should happen to those people or companies who engage in false advertising?
? Do you think there should be controls on (= laws concerning) advertising, for example cigarette and alcohol
advertising?
?
A Small Thing to Protect the Environment
Describe a small thing that you do to help the environment. You should say:
what it is you do
why you do it (why you want to help the environment) how you know about this
and explain how you think this will help the environment.
Environmental Problems and People's Lifestyles
? Can you give any other examples of how people (or governments) could improve the environment? ? What are the different kinds of pollution that exist in our environment?
? Do you think that if people changed their lifestyles it would help improve the environment?
? Do you think people will change their lifestyles in the future (in response to the needs of the environment)? ? Do you think it will be (or, would be) difficult for people to change their lifestyles, such as using public
transport instead of driving their own cars?
? How do you suggest this difficulty could be overcome? Environmental Awareness
? Do young people today and old(er) people have the same level of awareness (or, understanding) about
environmental problems?
? Some people think that, as individuals, there's nothing much we can do. (They think that this is a problem for
governments to tackle.) Do you agree?
A Type of Book You Like to Read
Describe a type of book you like to read. You should say:
what type
what’s kind of content
and explain why you like to read this type of book.
Books and other Media
? Besides textbooks, what other materials (or teaching media) are used in schools in China?
? Do you think textbooks will be replaced in future by other teaching media such as small notebook
computers?
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Education
? Is education important? (Why?)
? How do people in China consider teaching, as a profession?
? Who should decide what is taught in schools & universities - the students, the teachers or the government? The Importance of Reading
? Why do children like adults reading stories to them?
? What are some of the main differences between books and films? ? What can a person learn from reading books from overseas?
? Do you think it's a good idea to learn a foreign language by reading materials such as novels in that
language?
A Vehicle You Would Like to Buy
Describe a vehicle you would like to own. You should say:
what kind of vehicle
why you would like to have it how you would get (buy) it
and explain why you would prefer this means of transport.
Public versus Private Transportation
? Compare and contrast the different types of transport that exist today.
? What are the advantages and disadvantages of public and private (= individual) transportation? ? What are the advantages to society of having more people using mass transportation?
? Should it be the responsibility of governments or of individuals to limit the number of cars that are in use? ? Do you think that governments should control the number of private cars that are on the roads? How could
this be done?
? How can the government encourage more people to use public (mass) transportation? Buying a Car
? Why do people like to drive cars?
? Why do some people want to buy a car and other people not want to buy a car? ? Do men and women like to buy the same kind of car?
? How do different vehicles reflect the social status of the users of those vehicles? ? What's your impression of advertisements for cars?
A Foreign Food You Would Like to Try
Describe a (type of) foreign food that you would like to try. You should say:
the name of this food where you can eat it
how you know about this food
and explain why you would like to try it.
Cooking
? Do many people cook nowadays? (Why?/ Why not?)
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What typical kitchen equipment do people have in your country?
? How has kitchen equipment changed (or, improved), compared to many years ago? Diet
? What do people in your country typically eat? ? What is the most popular food in your country?
? What factors determine what foods different people eat?
? Do you think the food we eat now is healthier than in the past?
? In your opinion, do any people in industrialized countries have health problems that are related to food? ? (If you say, \? How do you think people could be better educated about food?
?
A Gift You Gave
Describe a gift you gave to a friend. You should say:
what the gift was who you gave it to why you gave it
and explain why you chose to give that gift.
Gift Giving in Your Country
? What do you think is better, giving or receiving a gift? ? Where do people buy things to give as gifts?
? What are the occasions (or, the circumstances) when people in your country give gifts? ? Do you think it's difficult to choose gifts for people? Money and Gifts
? Do you think that when someone receives a gift from a friend, they care about the financial value (the cost)
of that gift?
? Do you think that the more expensive the gift, the better it is? Charity
? What do you think of charities?
? Do people in your country place much importance on charities? ? Have you ever donated to a charity?
? Do you agree that rich people should donate part of their wealth to charity?
A Photograph
Describe a photograph You should say:
who took the photo when it was taken where it was taken and explain why you like it.
The Purposes of Photographs
? Do you like taking photographs?
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