ielts-yasi.englishlab.net

Updated Aug 28. 2017

 

IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions

Page 150

746.  A Bicycle, Car or Motorcycle Trip  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

747.  Someone You Recently Met  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

748.  A Tall Building  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

749.  A Place in Another Country  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

750.  Something that Made You Laugh  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

 

RETURN TO PART 2 TOPIC INDEX

FQ = frequent question = a question that has frequently been reported = a question that is probably in the examiner's question book

* = my guess at a question

***********************************************************************   

746.  A Bicycle, Car or Motorcycle Trip  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a bicycle / motorbike / car trip that you would like to go on in the future.

        You should say:

where you would go

who you would go with

what you would do there

        and explain why you would like to make this trip. *

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Possible follow-up questions:

  • Is it common for people in your country to ride bikes or motorbikes to have an adventure?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Part 3

See also the Part 3 of Topics 665, 618, Topic 602, 503, 418, 318, Topic 275, 222 & 7

 

Transportation in Your Country

Bicycles & Motorcycles vs Cars

Holidays

***********************************************************************

747.  Someone You Recently Met  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a person you met recently and want to know more about. *

        You should say:

who it was

when and where you met

what you talked about

        and explain why you want to know more about this person. *

 

Notes

  • It is not certain whether the words, "want to" or the words, "would like to" are written on the card. Know the small similarities and differences between the usage of these two. "Want to" refers to something that you think about more, like a plan and is stronger than, "would like to". "Would like to" is often used with phrases such as, "if I had the opportunity". Then, adjust your answer to best suit whichever ("want to" or "would like to") is used on the card.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Possible follow-up questions:

  • Are you still in touch with him / her?

  • Would you like to spend more time with this person?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Part 3

The topic of "a friend" is almost always in the test so there are many past Part 3 sections to look at, if you want. For example, Topic 8, Topic 30, Topic 91, Topic 106, Topic 123, Topic 162, Topic 177, Topic 223, Topic 288, Topic 359, Topic 412, Topic 480, Topic 529, Topic 571, Topic 596 & Topic 691

Finding New Friends / Making Friends

The Nature of Friendship

Maintaining a Relationship

***********************************************************************

748.  A Tall Building  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a tall building that you like or dislike.

        You should say:

what you know about it

what it looks like

where it is located

        and explain why you like or dislike it.             .

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Possible follow-up questions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Part 3

See also any similar questions in the Part 3 of Topics 650, 532, 383, 327, 243, 314, 71, 35 & 13

Hi-Rise Buildings

Building Design (especially homes) in Your Country

Where People Live

***********************************************************************

749.  A Place in Another Country  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a place in another country you would like to work in (for a short time). *   See Note 3

        You should say:

where it is

how you know about this place

what type of work you would like to do

        and explain why you would like to work there.             .

 

Notes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Possible follow-up questions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Part 3

See also any similar questions in the Part 3 of the following topics: 661, 573, 541, 495, 386 & 220

Working Abroad

Working in International (or, multinational) Companies    See Note 5

Traveling Abroad (as a tourist)

***********************************************************************

750.  Something that Made You Laugh  (Sep. 2016)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe something you saw or experienced that made you laugh.

        You should say:

what it was

where it happened

who was with you

        and explain why you still remember it.  *           .

 

Notes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Possible follow-up questions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Part 3

See also the Part 3 of the following topics: Topic 404, 633 & 494

Laughter

Comedy

Sense of Humour

***********************************************************************

Note 1

Know the differences and similarities between the two words, "popular" and "common".

Note 2

In some cities in the world, you can find some sections of some busy streets in the centre of the city blocked off to car traffic, with those sections becoming pedestrian malls where many people can freely walk or sit on seats.

Note 3

Several people have reported that the words, "a short time" have been used for this Part 2 and in this Part 3 question. It's possible that the words, "for a short time" are only used in the Part 3 question and not in Part 2. The meaning here of those words is working overseas temporarily, not permanently as an immigrant would do. Probably any period of time less than two or three years could be considered to be "a short time".

Note 4

The words, "what kinds of people" can refer to adjectives such as, "adventurous". Those words can also be used to ask for classifications or types of work. For example, people who work in the diplomatic service often (or usually) work overseas, usually in several different countries during their careers.

Note 5

Note that working in an international company does not necessarily mean working abroad. It could be an international company that has an office, factory, shop, mine etc. in your country.

Note 6

Humour that is based on pun (a joke based on a double meaning of a word, 双关语) in one language is usually not understandable to someone who does not know that language.

Note 7

What are some ways that people date?

"To date" means to regularly meet with another person (usually of the opposite sex) in order to build a romantic relationship. Usually the goal is find someone who is suitable to marry but, of course, people also date others simply for the enjoyment of doing it.

Before the age of the internet, the most common way for people to date was to go out together, such as to the cinema, or to a restaurant, or to "be a pair" while attending group activities. Most people also consider it to be "dating" when two people meet each other in their homes. Writing letters and making phone calls were (are) part of this older style of dating.

With the arrival of the internet we now have the ability to "meet" others on services such as Skype or Wechat, which is almost the same as meeting face-face-face because we can see each other and can chat in real time. There are also the messaging services that people use to "chat" in real time by exchanging written text.  When these activities are used to build a romantic relationship, it can be called "internet dating", virtual dating", or "cyber dating".

Note 8

Although living in hi-rise buildings does affect the social environment, it is not easy to see any connections between hi-rise buildings in general and the physical environment.

However, one connection to the physical environment is the fact that if many homes or offices etc. are built upwards (i.e., on top of each other), then that saves the land that would be used if these were built outwards, as single storey buildings. That saves both naturally vegetated land (e.g., forests) and farmland. With more vegetation, or greenery, more CO2 is consumed and more O2 produced.

Note 9

I think it's possible that this question is expressed as, "Do you think more people will move from big cities to small towns in the future?"  The reason for this is explained below.

The usage of the English word, "suburb" is a bit tricky, especially when used in China.

In English-speaking countries, I think the word "suburb" usually means this: A part of the urbanized metropolitan area of a city or big town, but not including the downtown central business district. For example, Sydney Australia has a few dozen suburbs, each with a separate name, and each of which usually has its own railway station in the metropolitan rail network. An urbanized metropolitan area has (virtually) no rural areas, for example, for farming – it's urbanized.

Continuing to use Sydney as an example: The downtown central business district, which is about 4 square kilometers, is called "the Sydney CBD" or less accurately, "the city of Sydney". The whole metropolitan area is called, "the Sydney Metropolitan area". Sometimes the whole metropolitan area is referred to as "Sydney". Most people in Sydney live in the suburbs, not in the CBD, but they are not living in a rural area. The suburbs at the outer fringe of the metropolitan area might occasionally include a few isolated areas of market gardens or chicken farms, reflecting the fact that several decades ago they were just outside the urbanized area. But these small areas of agricultural production are no longer big enough or numerous enough for these areas to be called "rural" or "in the countryside".

On the other hand, in Beijing I noticed that people were referring to the small towns that are just outside the urbanized metropolitan area as "suburbs" of Beijing. These towns and villages are essentially surrounded by farmland. There might be 10 to 50 kilometers of this farmland between some of these towns and the outer edge of the urbanized part of Beijing city. According to my understanding of the word "suburb", these towns and villages are actually in the countryside surrounding the city of Beijing, and are not suburbs of the urbanized area of Beijing.

This different interpretation of the meaning of "suburb" probably arises from the fact that the name "Beijing" refers to a rather large administrative area that includes both the city and the surrounding rural areas. This administrative area is similar to a small province. So there's "Beijing city" and there's also the "Beijing administrative area". It's true that the urban area of Beijing city is expanding all the time and swallowing some of these outlying towns and villages so that in a few decades, more and more of them will actually will be part of the urbanized metropolitan area of Beijing city. I believe the same applies to other big cities in China such as Shanghai.

The main thing is that in the IELTS test you should communicate your meaning clearly to the examiner, taking into account what the examiner understands the word, "suburb" to mean.

--------------------

An alternative understanding of the question, "Do you think more people will move to the suburbs in the future?" is this –

In China, other parts of Asia, and probably elsewhere in the world where some big cities are hundreds of years old, people have always preferred to live in the centre of the city. This is because these cities traditionally didn't have the "central business district" (CBD) that we see today in modern big cities. That is, in modern big cities, there is a "central business district" mainly composed of office buildings, shops and hotels, with few residential buildings. Traditional cities hundreds of years ago did not have this concentration of administrative and commercial buildings all in the centre of the city with no residential buildings. Instead, cities in previous centuries had a mixture of residential and commercial buildings in the centre of the city.

So the question, "Do you think more people will move to the suburbs in the future?" could be interpreted to mean, "Do you think more people will move from the centre of their city to the suburbs of their city in the future?" This is probably the most accurate understanding of that question. That certainly has been happening a lot in Beijing from the 1970's to the present. Old residential areas very close to the CBD have been redeveloped into an expanding CBD composed almost exclusively of high-rise office buildings, shops and hotels, with the former residents moving to areas of the city further out from the centre of the city, but still within the urban area of the city.

In Sydney where more Chinese people, including those from Hong Kong are moving to live, the situation in Beijing is actually being reversed. Today there are quite a few high-rise apartment buildings almost within the CBD of the city, where previously few people were living.

Note 10

Introduction services on the internet introduce you to someone, or allow you to choose someone from a list, for the purpose of finding a girlfriend or boyfriend and possibly a future marriage partner.

Some people have reported this question as, "Do you think internet dating is a good idea?" It is possible that this is the real question. "Dating" means "meeting someone for romantic purposes" so internet dating implies only meeting via a message service or a service such as Skype or Wechat and not meeting or rarely meeting in person (= in real life). Nowadays this "internet dating" is how most people first get to know another person who they first met via an introduction service. They might meet this way a couple of times before actually meeting in person. Obviously, if they never meet in person then it would not be a very satisfying experience for most people.