IELTS Intensive Course By Trang Vu

PART 2+3 SPEAKING TOPICS

(Jan – Apr 2019)

1. up-market – Relatively expensive and designed to appeal to wealthy consumers

 an upmarket restaurant that is quite pricey but also quite good
2. in high spirits – extremely happy
 They’d had a couple of drinks and were in high spirits.
3. keep one’s chin up – remain brave and keep on trying ; remain cheerful in difficult circumstances.
 Keep your chin up. Don’t take your troubles to bed with you
Keep your chin up. Things will get better sooner or later
4. read my/your/his mind – W – guess what somebody is thinking
 I was surprised he knew what I was planning, like he could read my mind.
5. get the ball rolling – start doing something, especially something big
 I decided to set the ball rolling and got up to dance.
 You should get the ball rolling as soon as possible to be well-prepared for the IELTS test.
6. for ages – for a very long time
 I waited for ages but he never showed up
7. fill in for someone – do someone’s work while he is away; substitute for
 Bill is going to be filling in for me while I’m out on maternity leave.
8. (as) easy as pie – very easy
 For Tom, getting a graphic design certificate was easy as pie –he seemed to have a natural talent for it.
9. under the weather – sick; not completely well
 I noticed that the cat was looking a little under the weather.
10. fingers-crossed = keep one’s fingers crossed (for someone or something) – to wish for luck for someone or
something
 fingers crossed for your driving test
 We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he’ll be healthy again very soon
11. a blessing in a disguise – something that seems bad or unlucky at first, but results in something good happening
later
 Losing that job was a blessing in disguise really.
12. all in the same boat – in the same difficult situation as someone else
 None of us has any money, so we’re all in the same boat.
13. beating around the bush – avoid the main topic and not speaking directly about it
 Let’s stop beating about the bush and discuss this matter
14. early bird (someone who gets up early)
 I never miss sunrise. I’m an early bird.
15. a breath of fresh air – something that is new & refreshing
 Selena was a talented and beautiful entertainer, a breath of fresh air in an industry full of people all trying to
copy each other.
16. keep an eye on – W – to monitor a situation, not forget about it.
 Keep an eye on the noodles, there almost done.
17. now and then – W – on an occasional basis, often every is used as the first word of this idiomatic phrase.
 Every now and then I have a good idea.

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IELTS Intensive Course By Trang Vu
Theme: Place
Part 2 Part 3

1. Describe a beautiful city you’ve visited/ 1. Do you think modern life give people enough time for leisure?
Describe an interesting part of your
country
You should say: 2. What’s the most important factor for a tourist attraction?
 Where is it?
 When did you go there?
3. Do you think we should have more public holidays?
 What did you do there?
 And explain why you like it
4. What do people need before travelling to another country?

5. Is there any difference between young tourists and adult tourists?

6. Do you think tourism will harm the earth?

7. Which method of travel do you consider safest?

8. In 20 or 30 years, how do you think traveling will be different to

what it is today?

2. Describe a newly built public facility 1. What are the advantages of living in the countryside?
(such as parks, cinemas..) that influences
your city
2. What are the disadvantages of living in the countryside?
You should say:
 where this facility is
 when it was built 3. What kinds of people live in the countryside?
 what people can do there
 and what influences this facility have
4. What do people living in the countryside like to do?

5. How has life changed over time in the countryside?

6. Do you think it is better to live in the countryside or in the city?

7. Do you think that landmarks will make a city more famous, why?

8. What interesting things can we do in big cities?

9. What’s the difference between living in the city and countryside?

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IELTS Intensive Course By Trang Vu
3. Describe an ideal house (house or flat) 1. Do you still remember your children room? What did it look like?
that you want to live in
You should say:
2. Do you think children should have their own rooms? Why?
 where this place is
 what it is like
 when you want to live there 3. Is it common to own your own house in your country?
 and explain why you think it is ideal for
you
4. What are the advantages of owning your own house?

5. Do you think it is good idea to rent house to live? Why?

6. Why do most young people live in apartments in cities?

7. What are the reasons that people renovate their houses?

8. For people in big cities, the living space is becoming smaller and
smaller. Could you recommend some possible solutions on this?

4. Describe an interesting place in your 1. What kinds of tourist sites are popular in your country?
country that not many tourists get to
You should say
 Where it is located 2. What can governments do to prevent pollution in tourist sites?
 Why it is interesting
 What you can do there
 Why are few people go there 3. What are the advantages of visiting less known places?

4. What are the disadvantages when there are too many tourists in
one site?

5. Describe a building that you like.

1. Have you been inside this building?
You should say:
 What it is
 Where and when you saw it 2. Should the government be responsible for maintaining such
 Why you like it buildings?
 Have you been inside this building?

3. Should money be spent on the exterior design of a building?

4. Do you think interior and space of office are more important?

5. What essentials are to be kept in mind when constructing a building?

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 IELTS Intensive Course By Trang Vu
6. What types of buildings are the most popular in your country today?

7. Should there be regulations about the exterior of buildings in the

city?

8. Do you think there is a relationship between society’s culture and

building exterior?

6. 6. Describe a place you plan to travel to 1. Do you think that holidays are becoming more and more important?
which is far away.
You should say:
When possibly it will be 2. Why do some people take their holidays at the seaside?
Where would you go
What preparation do you need for that trip
3. What do you think has led to the growth in the tourism industry?

4. How do people tend to choose their destinations?

7. 7. Describe an indoor or outdoor place where 1. What is the difference between learning face-to-face with teachers
it is easy for you to study and learning by yourself?
You should say:
Where it is 2. What are difficulties in self-study?
When you go there
What you study there
Who you go with and why you would study in 3. What are the factors affecting a person’s study?
this place.

4. Why do some people fail to study properly?

5. Do you think it is good to have a timetable and why?

6. Why some people fail to follow the timetable?

7. Tell me the advantages and disadvantages of group studies.

8. Which way is better, online, or classroom teaching?

9. Which place is most suitable for study? Why?

10. Nowadays, people don’t study for their personal interest. Why is it
so?

11. How important it is to study with personal interest?

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