ielts-yasi.englishlab.net                                                                                                    

(Updated Mar. 27, 2016)                                                                                  

Good Internet Links for Reading About Topics

The links on this page will show you some links to websites that have useful articles on some common IELTS Speaking test questions. 

Reading about typical IELTS Speaking test topics is a key way to increase your vocabulary, your general knowledge and your understanding of what good English writing looks like. Similarly, listening to suitable materials also helps your ability in all four IELTS tests, not just the Listening test.

However, as students of English, not all reading and listening materials on the internet are suitable for you because the level of English is sometimes too high. The links below are to some places on the internet that have excellent resources for you, at about the right level for most IELTS students. 

Other Pages with Internet Links on this website.

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Note: Discussion Topics

Those topics at http://www.englishclub.com or labelled as "Discussion Topic" on this page are discussion topics on an internet forum for learners of English (like you). Many of the postings on this forum have English errors! The idea of reading this discussion forum is to get ideas and to see how other people discussed these topics. See if you can pick out the (many) English errors.

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Online Encyclopedias (百科全书) in English  

Read Chinese News in English

China Radio International

'Up-Close', CCTV9 Program

'Crossover', CCTV News Discussion Program

Environmental Issues

Animals/Pets

Water

The Future

Chinese Food

China

The Internet

Company-Sponsored Exercise Programs

Tourism

Volunteering

Crime and Law

Life Changes

Parties

Stress

Studying English

Globalization

Shopping

Family

Clothes

Colour

Personality Traits

Success

Learning

Art

Dreams

Language

Competition

Climate and Weather

Rest and Recreation

Fame

Gifts  

Children's Games

Libraries and Reading

Money

Extreme Sports

Science

Psychological and Medical Problems

Change

Festivals 

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Online Encyclopedias (百科全书) in English 

(Note that some of these websites are not always well-balanced on political topics.)

http://www.wikipedia.org/ is a famous site but the English is sometimes not simple. However, there are versions of the pages in many languages. Wikipedia is one of the best websites for information about non-political topics but many people believe Wikipedia does not present balanced and unbiased information about political topics.

www.answers.com is quite a good reference for general knowledge and the meaning of words. The English is a little high-level but not as difficult as other online reference sites. 

http://www.infoplease.com/ is a good (American) site for different types of information and the English is not too advanced. However, although the site attempts to present a 'politically objective' tone, it still treats Taiwan as a 'republic' rather than a part of China.

http://www.encyclopedia.com is a portal site to many different encyclopedias

http://www.britannica.com/  This is a pay site but you can read things on this site.

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/ An encyclopedia about art

http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk  This site is more an information site than a dictionary, although the site does give short dictionary definitions of most words. (Oxford's full online dictionary exists but it is a pay site.)

http://dsc.discovery.com/  Discovery TV Channel. Some good reading on certain topics.

http://www.bartleby.com/  This is a portal site for looking up many different things such as famous quotations. 

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Read Chinese News in English

http://english.sina.com/index.html

http://www.chinaview.cn/index.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

http://english.people.com.cn/

http://english.cctv.com/index.shtml

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/index.htm

http://www.china.org.cn/

http://www.womenofchina.cn/

http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/ (An English language guide to Beijing with some news)

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China Radio International

(This site is mostly for listening, not reading.)

http://english.cri.cn/  (Topic of the Day is shown in the right-hand side column.)

http://english.cri.cn/ce_easyfm/

This radio station has lots of different English content, often with Chinese translations.

Pay special attention to the  'Topic of the Day' for the program called, "China Drive". These topics are very often related to current IELTS Speaking test questions. This program is on both in the mornings and afternoons and they might sometimes have two different topics – one for the morning & one for the afternoon.

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'Up-Close', CCTV9 Program

This is not really an internet link but, rather, a recommendation to watch the program called 'Up-Close', which is on CCTV9 on Sundays, 9:15am, 3:15 pm, 11:15 pm & Monday 3:15 am. Previously, this program was not especially suitable for IELTS students, although any program in English is good. But I noticed today (Jan. 27, 2008) that today's program and next week's programs are especially suitable for IELTS students. This program is a 'talk show', an interview of one or two guests. In the past, most guests were foreigners or overseas Chinese. Today, the guests were two young Chinese people from China and the topic was 'holidays' and 'weekends' and free-time activities. One of the guests spoke just like a typical IELTS candidate – his English contained many grammatical errors but he was still quite fluent. The concept of 'change' was mentioned several times. Next week's program will be about food. This program has been redesigned to suit IELTS students! 

The following link will take you to videos of previous Up-Close programs. http://www.cctv.com/program/upclose/01/index.shtml

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'Crossover', CCTV News

('CCTV News' is the new name for what was previously known as 'CCTV9')

This TV program shows people chatting informally in English about topics that are often the same topics that are used in the IELTS Speaking test, especially in Part 3. Usually at least one of the people is a native English speaker. (Julien Gaudfroy is French but his English is very good, i.e., somewhere between Bands 8.0 and 9.0.)

Watching this program will help you see how people discuss topics in an informal way, while still speaking 'educated' English. You might get some ideas, as well as some language examples from this program. The style of speaking on this program is probably, at times, a bit too informal for the way you should speak in Part 3. However, it's good for you to see people speaking like this because many people think that Part 3 is more formal than it really is. Don't forget, the IELTS Speaking test is testing to see if you are capable of having an educated conversation, not speaking as if you were in a 'speaking contest'. Alternatively, you can consider that Part 3 is testing to see if you are able to participate in classroom discussions, which are now part of many university courses. In both of these two situations people do not speak in a highly formal way.

Webpage: http://english.cntv.cn/program/crossover/homepage/index.shtml This webpage has recordings of past programs for you to watch on the internet.

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Environmental Issues

(Man-made) Global Warming - See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/GLOBAL_WARMING_NOTES.htm (My opinion on this topic)

 

Garbage Disposal and Recycling in Beijing

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/china_urban_recycling.php

(The video has both Chinese and English.)

 

Help the Environment

http://www.jea.com/community/education/efficiency/help/index.html

 

Greenpeace China

(You can read this website in English and Chinese.)

http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/

 

Sustainable Agriculture

There's no need to spend a lot of time reading the following sites but it's a good idea to know about the ideas behind the concept of, 'sustainable agriculture'.

http://www.answers.com/sustainable%20agriculture

http://www.answers.com/permaculture 

http://www.permaculture.org.uk/ 

http://www.permaculture.org.uk/mm.asp?mmfile=whatispermaculture 

 

Alternative Energy

http://www.howtopowertheworld.com/alternative-energy-sources.shtml

 

Biofuels

"10 Disadvantages of Biofuel":  http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/biofuels/10-disadvantages-of-biofuels.htm

"What are the disadvantages of biofuels?": http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_disadvantages_of_biofuels

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=49277

 

Wind Power (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=45116

 

Eco-Tourism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism (Chinese translation https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/生態旅遊)

http://www.ecotourism.org/

http://www.untamedpath.com/Ecotourism/what_is_ecotourism.html

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Animals/Pets

http://animal.discovery.com/

http://animal.discovery.com/petplanet/

 

The Responsibilities of Pet Owners (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23163

 

Eating Animals such as Dogs

This is the Animals Asia Foundation, based in Hong Kong. It's overall concern is animal welfare. That is, the prevention of cruelty to animals and similar issues. There's lots of good reading here. There are articles on dogs, cats and bears etc. –  it's not only about eating dogs.

http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?module=3&lg=en

At the top of the page you can change the language to Chinese or go directly to the Chinese site here:

Chinese Language Page

http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?module=15&lg=cn

 

Dogs

http://www.dog-names.org.uk/dog-types-uses.htm

 

Cats

http://www.webindia123.com/pets/cats/types.htm

http://cats.about.com/od/coatcolorpatternstypes/Coat_Color_Patterns_and_Types_Tabbies_Calicos_and_more.htm

 

The Endangered Animals of China

http://www.wwfchina.org/english/loca.php?loca=87

http://www.ifce.org/pages/conservation.html and http://www.ifce.org/endanger.html

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/27/eng20021027_105733.shtml

http://www.aapn.org/endangered.html

 

Animals in China

http://www.muddlepuddle.co.uk/The%20World/Country%20pages/Animals%20of%20China.htm

http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/222917.htm

http://www.china.org.cn/english/zhuanti/zly/148300.htm

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://no.chineseembassy.org/eng/dtxw/t230943.htm

 

Work Animals in China

http://www.fao.org/docrep/w0613t/w0613T0p.htm (Not simple English)

 

The Humane Treatment of Animals

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  (Australia)

http://www.rspca.org.au/

 

Vivisection

http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/

 

Animal Welfare

http://www.animalconcerns.org/

 

Animal Rights

http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalrights101/a/ARtenets.htm

 

Animal Welfare Institute (U.S.A.)

http://www.animalwelfare.com/

 

Animal Welfare League (Australia)

http://www.animalwelfareleague.com.au/

http://www.animalwelfareleague.com.au/generalinfo_FAQ.asp

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Water

Water Resources  

Conserving Water

Recycling Water

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Water Resources

P.R.C. Ministry of Water Resources

http://www.mwr.gov.cn/english/

Water Resources - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources

 

Conserving Water

Why conserve water? 

http://www.jea.com/community/education/efficiency/wisely/save.html

http://www.thewaterpage.com/important-water.htm

 

Tips on saving water

There are many internet sites with ideas on how to conserve water (in the home). Below are some of these. You'll find many of the same ideas repeated on different websites.

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/WaterSavingTips/

http://www.americanwater.com/49ways.htm 

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/09/conserve_water.php 

http://www.monolake.org/waterconservation/

http://www.conservewater.melbournewater.com.au/ 

http://www.canadianliving.com/life/green_living/water_conservation_10_ways_to_conserve_water_in_your_home.php

http://www.air-n-water.com/water-conservation-resources.htm

This page is at quite an advanced reading level: http://www.epa.gov/nps/chap3.html

 

Recycling Water

Harvesting Rain Water

(In China, put youtube urls into www.vtunnel.com)

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCiX005jScI&feature=related

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HamURhj_S3E&feature=related

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHi4IU7JQ5Q&feature=related

 

Waste Water Treatment Plants

This topic is advanced technology. You only need a few ideas on this for the IELTS test.

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pYoUXilyyg

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMD8gb4fTJk&feature=related

These three are rather advanced reading

http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/recycling/index.html

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/water/recycle.htm

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The Future

Building the Future

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/building-the-future/episode-guide/episode-guide.html

 

Alternative Energy (These are videos in English. There is no written English - it's all listening.)

http://dsc.discovery.com/video/player.html?playerId=203711706&bclid=958525258

 

The Future of the Internet

These three (pdf) articles are not simple English but if spend some time studying these articles you will learn some excellent English, as well as get some ideas to talk about.

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_Future_of_Internet.pdf)

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_Future_of_Internet_2006.pdf  (Number 2, 2006)

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_FutureInternet3.pdf  (Number 3, 2008)

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Chinese Food

http://chinesefood.about.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cuisine

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China

http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/index.htm

http://english.gov.cn/chinatoday.htm

http://www.cctv.com/english/special/chinatoday/01/index.shtml

 

Although there are many websites with general information about China in English, I am attempting to put internet links on this page that are written in simple English but not all information written in English on the internet is simple English. Not only that, many websites contain political content that I do not want to promote on my website. 

The link below is written for school children in America and seems reasonably well-balanced, politically, (although this page,  - http://www.tooter4kids.com/china/map_of_china.htm shows two maps of China but Taiwan is included in only one of them. One cannot expect much better from an American website.) 

The main page, http://tooter4kids.com, is a website to help children study by home schooling, which is becoming popular in America. There is a lot of good reading for Chinese IELTS students here, at an English level meant to suit American school children up to 6th grade level (about the age of 12).

http://www.tooter4kids.com/china/Index.htm

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The Internet

Note: The English in the websites shown below is sometimes a little advanced.

 

Internet Usage Statistics for China (January, 2008)

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/141494/china_internet_population_tops_200_million.html

(Of course, these statistics have changed a lot by 2012!)

 

Some comparisons between Chinese and U.S. internet usage

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3627587

 

Predictions for world internet usage in the near future

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3626274

 

The Future of the Internet

These three (pdf) articles are not simple English but if spend some time studying these articles you will learn some excellent English, as well as get some ideas to talk about.

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Future_of_Internet.pdf  (Number 1 - 2005)

(The same document, stored on this website: ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_Future_of_Internet.pdf)

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_Future_of_Internet_2006.pdf  (Number 2, 2006)

ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/PIP_FutureInternet3.pdf  (Number 3, 2008)

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Company-Sponsored Exercise Programs

Are Company Sponsored Fitness Programs Good or Bad?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-44940874/are-company-sponsored-fitness-programs-good-or-bad/

 

UGA study shows employer-sponsored workouts increase physical activity

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=1566

 

Effective Exercise and Wellness Programs in the Corporate World

http://suite101.com/article/effective-exercise-and-wellness-programs-in-the-corporate-world-a278006

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Tourism

Reading this webpage (and the linked pages to this page) will help you increase your vocabulary and will give you more knowledge about the topic of tourism.

http://www.answers.com/topic/tourism

 

Tourism and Holidays

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=23893

 

The Benefits of Tourism (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23889

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Volunteering

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/

 

Why people volunteer - a Canadian study

http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/heritage/ComPartnE/WhyPplE1.htm

 

Personal Benefits of Volunteering

http://www.energizeinc.com/art/subj/Benefits.html

http://www.givingandvolunteering.ca/pdf/factsheets/Benefits_of_Volunteering.pdf

http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/resources/how-to-guides/volunteer/doc/benefits-of-volunteering.html

 

The Importance of Volunteering

http://herenb.canadaeast.com/front/article/391633 (A Canadian article)

http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2000/nsw/vitalrolevolunteersandorganisations.asp (A Speech from Australia)

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Crime and Law

Police & Crime

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=48487

 

Bribery and Corruption

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=40081

 

Corruption (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23042

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Life Changes

Life Changes

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=47853

 

Life Changes (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=47852

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Parties

Party - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party

 

Party Games

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=47578

 

Parties (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=47577

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Stress

Stress

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=46409

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Studying English

Reading in English

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=45615

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Globalization

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/globalization

http://www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm

http://www.globalization101.org/

http://www.globalpolicy.org/globalization.html

 

Anti-globalization (advanced topic): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement

 

Globalization  (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=43090

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=43089

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Shopping

'Shopaholics'

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=42478

 

Shopping (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=42477

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Family

The Family

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=41728

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Clothes

Clothes

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=38328

 

Culture, Religion and Clothes (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=38327

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Colour

Colour

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=35084

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Personality Traits

What Is Personality? http://psychology.about.com/od/overviewofpersonality/a/persondef.htm

(Advanced reading) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality

Vocabulary

(There are many more sites similar to the ones shown below.)

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/exercises/grammar/adjectives/personality/words-for-describing-personality.html

http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/adjectives-personality-positive.htm

http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-personality.htm

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets/exams/ielts/ielts-sp/ielts-sp-one-two-three/ielts-personality-vocab/

http://www.expandyourvocabulary.com/personality/menu.php/

http://www.englishpage.com/vocabulary/interactivelesson1.html

http://elt.oup.com/student/naturalenglish/pre/b_vocabulary/unit13/nepre_vocabulary13_exp;jsessionid=C287AC61DA390B3790CBA79A5DBA99E0?cc=global&selLanguage=en

Negative Personality Traits: http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/adjectives-personality-negative.htm

 

A Sense of Humour

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=34060

 

Adventurers

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=48911

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Success

Success

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=33232

 

Success (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=33231

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Learning

Intelligence and Learning Styles

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=23580

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Art

http://www.helium.com/knowledge/2475-the-different-types-of-art Articles (short essays) by different people on the topic of, "What is art?" or, "The Different Types of Art".

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/art-questions.htm#art  Information about painting.

http://www.artcyclopedia.com  This website is not easy reading for most IELTS candidates but it shows many good examples of the different forms of Western visual art, especially the famous works of art.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-artforms.htm Some reading on the topics of "Architecture, "Design and Fashion", "Dance", "Drama", "Film", "Literature", "Music" and "Visual Arts" in relation to Britain.

 

Below are a few links to articles on the internet addressing the question, "What is the importance of art?"

(This is a very abstract topic)

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Is-The-Importance-Of-Art?&id=630024

The Importance of the Arts in a Community: http://www.thecenterfordance.org/user/Arts%20and%20the%20Community.pdf

A Discussion forum on the topic, "What place does fine art have in society?" http://www.ted.com/conversations/6559/what_place_does_fine_art_have_1.html

 

The links below concern the question, "What is the importance (or value) of art in children's education?"

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/maryann-kohl-importance-of-art/379002442/

http://www.dryden.k12.ny.us/schools/shared/Dreamweaver%20WWW/ERechtin/docs/Why%20Important%20Page.htm

The Importance of Fine Arts Education: http://www.katyisd.org/finearts/Pages/importance.aspx

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/367088/the_importance_of_art_help_for_students.html

http://www.aplaceofourown.org/question_detail.php?id=236

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/187750/the_importance_of_exposing_your_child.html?cat=25

http://www.indiaparenting.com/develop/data/develop17_17.shtml

http://www.delmarlearning.com/companions/content/1401865615/art/ArtPages.pdf?isbn=1401865615

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy5S2UmbiEs  This is a nice video with many quotes by famous people on the topic of art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gky8-xHKSE&feature=related  This video is good practice for your listening skills! (Fast speaking)

 

Art

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=23458

Museums and Stolen Artifacts – Should they be returned to the Countries They Were Stolen From? (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23431

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Dreams

Dreams

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=192&t=23457

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Language

An International Language (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23048

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Competition

The Olympics and the Importance of Winning (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23637

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Climate and Weather

Global Warming - See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/GLOBAL_WARMING_NOTES.htm  (My opinion on this topic)

Climate and where people live (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=35477

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Rest and Recreation

The Value of Holidays (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23055

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 Fame

Fame (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=23050

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Gifts

Gifts (Discussion Topic)

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=24246

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Children's Games

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/traditional_chinese_games.htm

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Libraries & Reading

I have tried to find some internet pages on the topic of "libraries" that are written in easy English. So far, I have not found pages that are very easy but the following links are approximately at the level of the IELTS (Academic) Reading test, so that should not be too difficult for most people. Don't forget, you can use the Google translation site to help you. See 翻译

 

Libraries

http://www.answers.com/topic/what-is-a-library This is a rather simple description of public (= circulating) libraries. (For kids.)

http://www.answers.com/topic/library This entry at Answers.com has copies of articles from several different encyclopedias on the topic of 'libraries'. (More difficult English than the page above.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_library This article gives a good overview of public libraries in Western countries.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2236/how-did-public-libraries-get-started This is an interesting article on the evolution of libraries, especially in the U.S. However, the level of English is a bit high for most IELTS students.

http://halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/kids/index.html This is a kid's page about the public library of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This page, http://halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/kids/how_to_use.html explains to kids how to use the library.

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Library/Interested.html This is an American webpage on the general topic of libraries and the value of getting kids interested in libraries. You can click to the next page at the bottom of the page.

 

Vocabulary about Libraries

http://www.quia.com/pages/libraryterminology.html This page has some activities to help learners of English learn words on the topic of, 'the library'. Most of these activities involve using Java on your computer. But you can simply see the words used by clicking on "list of terms", which is on each page.

Example: "See a list of terms used in these activities."

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/vocab.html This is a page for Cornell University library, New York. The list of words is for university students and it is very detailed! You will only need some of these words for the IELTS test.

 

Reading Aloud to Children

http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/readalouds/ht/readaloud.htm  This page at About.com gives good information (and vocabulary) about the value of reading aloud to children. From this page, you can also visit other pages related to this topic.

http://www.literacyconnections.com/ReadingAloud.php  This page has similar content to the one at About.com.

http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200303/ReadingAloud.pdf  This is an excellent Acrobat Reader document with lots of ideas and vocabulary. It's called, "Reading Aloud to Children of All Ages"

 

Some Videos on the topics of Libraries and Reading

(In China, put youtube urls into www.vtunnel.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYJ1QGk0Oo&feature=channel  (Fast speaking)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqvZgiFGCM&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7l2QufBm8E&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaltsXv2nR0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z8URPoSojw&feature=related

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Money

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iku3yOVuQIA&feature=channel_page (About child allowances for doing chores around at home.)

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Extreme Sports

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_sports

If you look at the lower left-hand side of that page you'll see where you can read a Chinese translation of that page.

http://www.google.com/Top/Sports/Extreme_Sports/

http://www.extremesportscafe.com/

Wingsuit Basejumping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ATikkZPHck&feature=related  (In China, put youtube urls into www.vtunnel.com)

You won't believe this video! It shows guys flying through the air while wearing 'wingsuits'. The sport is called, "base jumping", which is a form of skydiving. See a transcript of the words spoken in the video here.

Here's another base jumping video: http://www.dump.com/2010/12/25/wingsuit-base-jumping-at-its-finest-video/  This wingsuit flying is basically a controlled and manageable form of falling from a high place, such as a mountain top. The speed is actually faster than the video seems to show - these guys are basically falling through the air.

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Science

Definitions of Science and Vocabulary Lists

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/science-definition.html

 

The Branches of Science

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branches_of_science

 

The Importance of Science

http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/old/feb99/feb99/sci_horan.html (A high school student's essay)

 

The Importance of Science for Children

https://www.msu.edu/~dougla41/electonic%20portfolio/importance_of_science.htm

 

Science in China

http://www.scidev.net/en/china/  (This is a 'news magazine' kind of website, on the topic of science in the developing world.)

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Psychological and Medical Problems

http://web4health.info/en/

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Change

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/chinneg.html  (Not very easy English)

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Festivals 

Mid-Autumn Festival

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/harvest-moon-festival.htm

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