HANDOUTS FOR GE2/ FAST TRACK COURSE

SPEAKING HANDOUT 06

EXAM FOCUS
 Comparing two sports/competitions
 Talking about advantages and disadvantages

SPEAKING SAMPLE TEST

(7 minutes per candidate)
Speaking ● Part 1: Social interactions

Interview (2-4 minutes)

The examiner asks the candidate some questions about Sports and Competition and other
familiar topics.
- Do you enjoy playing any sports? Why (not)?
- What kind of sports did you play as a child?
- What is the most popular sport in your country?
- Which do you prefer: watch or play a sport? Why?
- Do you prefer to watch sports events on television at home or watch it live?
- What are the benefits of playing sports?
- What are the differences between team sports and individual sports?
- Do you enjoy taking part in sporting competitions? Why (not)?
- What are the advantages of competitions to young people?
- Are there any disadvantages of joining in sport competitions?
Speaking ● Part 2: Small talk

Situation (2-3 minutes)

The examiner gives the candidate a topic card and lets him/her prepare for 1 minute before
speaking.
Example:
Describe a sporting event that you enjoyed watching. You should say:

 What the event was

 Where you watched it
 Who watched this event with you
 and explain why you enjoyed watching this event.

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 HANDOUTS FOR GE2/ FAST TRACK COURSE

VOCABULARY INPUT
Look, say and match the meanings of the following words.

SPORTS & COMPETITION

1. Athlete /'æθli:t/ nhà vô địch, đội vô
She was once an Olympic athlete. địch
2. Appreciate /ə'pri:ʃieit/ cuối cùng, chung cuộc;
We should appreciate the difficulties our players are facing. trận chung kết
3. Compete /kəm'pi:t/ thi đấu, biểu diễn
A lot of tennis players have gathered to compete in a new
tournament.
4. Champion /'tʃæmpjən/ vinh quang
The former champion was defeated in the final by a weaker
opponent.
5. Eliminate /i'limineit/ đẩy mạnh, tăng cường,
Their team was eliminated in the quarter-final. thăng chức
6. Enthusiasm  sự chiến thắng
The Vietnamese always participate in the SEA GAMES with
great enthusiasm.
7. Final /'fainl/
vận động viên thể thao
The final will be held in a famous stadium.

8. Glory /'glɔ:ri/ phổ biến, được ưa

Many people try their best to seek glory in their sports. chuộng
9. Participate /pɑ:'tisipeit/ đánh giá, cảm kích,
Would you like to participate in the volleyball contest at our nhận thức được
school next week?
10. Perform /pə'fɔ:m/ tổ chức
Our athletes performed well and won a lot of medals.
11. Popular /'pɔpjulə/ loại, loại ra, đánh bại
Football is the most popular sport all over the world.
12. Promote /prə'mout/ tham gia, tham dự
Most international sports competitions can promote friendship
and solidarity.
13. Organize /'ɔ:gənaiz/ sự nhiệt tình, sự nhiệt
My university has decided to organize a meeting between its huyết
students and some famous volleyball stars.
14. Sportsman /'spɔ:tsmən/ vận động viên (thể

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 HANDOUTS FOR GE2/ FAST TRACK COURSE

The president is talking to the sportsmen who won medals in the thao, điền kinh)
Olympic Games.
15. Victory /'viktəri/
thi đấu, cạnh tranh
Vietnam U23 Football team had a historic victory over Qatar in
the semi-final of the AFC U23 championship.

LANGUAGE INPUT
Talking about advantages and disadvantages
When you introduce the advantages of something, here are some really common useful
expressions:
- One advantage of … is that …
- Another merit of … is that …
- The main benefit of … is that …
- The greatest advantage of … is that …
- A really good thing about … is that …
Here are some examples.

When you introduce the disadvantages of something, here are some really common useful
expressions:
- The main disadvantage of … is that …
- A bad thing about … is that …
- One drawback of … is that …
- Another shortcoming of … is that …
- The key limitation of … is that …
Here are some examples.
- The main disadvantage of cars is that if you want to own a car, you have to consider
a place to park it as well as the fee to maintain it every month.

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 HANDOUTS FOR GE2/ FAST TRACK COURSE

- Another shortcoming of living in the countryside is that high quality medical service
can be inaccessible.
The following table will supply you with a range of adjectives to help you elaborate on the
disadvantages of something.

FACULTY OF ENGLISH-ULIS 4