Updated Feb. 11, 2009
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
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136. A Place where People Listen to Music (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
137. No Topic
138. A Person who has Visited your Home (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
139. A Person who is Good at his/her Job (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
140. A Place with Lots of Water (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
FQ = frequent question = a question that has frequently been reported = a question that is probably in the examiner's question book
* = I am not sure of the words here.
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136. A Place where People Listen to Music (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
Describe a place you know where people go to listen to music (such as a theatre or a music hall).
You should say:
where it is
what kind of music is performed there
what type of people go there
why people go there
how you know this place
and explain your impressions of this place. *
See Notes
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Possible follow-up questions:
Have you ever been there?
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Part 3
People's Musical Tastes Today
In China, where does the average person in society go to listen to music?
(Similar to above) What are some of the different places where modern people go to listen to music? FQ
Which one do you prefer? (Why?)
Is the music that people listen to today the same type of music that people listened to 20 or 30 years ago?
Does traditional (Chinese) music still play an important role in China today? (Compare with before.)
The Effects of Music on People/on Society
Do you think music is an important part of people's lives?
What benefits do people get from listening to music?
What do you think are some major differences between people who know how to play a musical instrument and those who don't?
Some studies have shown that people who have studied music are better at mathematics than people who have not studied music? Do you see any similarities between music and mathematics? DIFFICULT QUESTION
What do you think are the various functions (or usages) of music? DIFFICULT QUESTION
When you listen to a song, does it ever take you back to ( = remind you of) the past ( = your past experiences)? FQ
Do you think music can ever be a better way to communicate than just using words? FQ DIFFICULT QUESTION
Some people say that some great works of music have had more influence on people (on society) than novels. What do you think?
Children and Music
Are you good at any kind of music?
Do you think it is good for children to listen to music?
What are some of the different ways that children are exposed to music? FQ
(Similar to above) Where do children listen to music? FQ
What music do most modern children first come into contact with?
What kinds of music remind you of your childhood? (Hints: Nursery rhymes; .... )
What kinds of music do you think are best for children to listen to?
What are the advantages for children of listening to music?
What effects do different kinds of music have on children?
How important do you think parents are in influencing the attitudes of children towards music?
Besides the piano and the violin, what musical instruments do you like?
How do you feel about children learning to play a musical instrument? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think learning music is important in the upbringing of children? FQx2
Do you think it's important for schools to have music classes for (young) children? FQ
Do you think every child should have a musical instrument?
(Similar to above) Do you think every child should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument?
If you had a child, would you have your child learning to play a musical instrument from an early age?
If your child didn't want to do his or her music practice, what would you do?
The Influence of High Technology on Music
How has modern science and technology (i.e., hi-tech) influenced the music we listen to today? FQ
(Similar to above) How do you think modern technology has influenced music?
Where do you get most of your recorded music from?
Do you think people should be able to freely share copies of recorded music on the internet?
(Similar to above) Do you think people should be allowed to freely download music from the internet? FQx2
(Similar to above) Do you think people should pay when they download music from the internet (or, listen to music online)? (Why?) FQx2
What's your opinion on the question of the piracy of music? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think copyright laws are important? * FQ
In what ways do you think modern science and technology, especially the internet, will affect (will change) the music industry?
Do you think computers will ever replace music composers?
Do you think computers will ever replace musicians (performers of musical instruments)?
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137. No Topic
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138. A Person who has Visited your Home (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
Describe a person who visited your home.
You should say:
who the person was
why they visited your home
how you spent the time with this visitor (or how you entertained this visitor)
and explain how you felt about the visit.
Notes
Whenever you use the past tense, you must say when it happened.
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Possible follow-up questions:
Does that person often visit your home?
Do you like to visit other people?
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Part 3
Some of the recently asked questions are very similar to some of the Part 3 questions from Topic #66, 'A Hotel'.
Accommodation when Traveling See Note
Relatives arrive for a visit
Today, when people travel to another city or country, are most of them traveling for business (for work) or for pleasure?
When people travel away from home, which do you think is better, to stay with friends or stay at a guesthouse (= a hotel)? FQx2
(Similar to above) If you were traveling to another city, would you prefer to stay in a hotel or with family or friends? (Why?) FQx2
What services do you think a hotel/guesthouse should provide?
(Similar to above, although 'services' and 'facilities' are not exactly the same) What are the most important facilities that a hotel should have?
For visitors to your hometown, what different choices of accommodation are there?
What are the most famous hotels in China like?
What are typical hotels in China like?
How have hotels in China changed in the past 20 years or so?
Do you think hotels are important for a city?
What do you think are the most important services that a hotel should provide?
Do you think people who work in the hospitality industry (e.g., people who work in hotels and guest houses) should be trained? Why? FQ
What qualities (and skills) should people who work in hotels have? FQ
How should employees in the hospitality industry be trained? FQ
Do you think these qualities and skills are very important?
In what ways do you think hotel staff (in China) could be improved?
What qualities do you think a hotel manager needs to have? (Hint: Include qualities for this specific industry).
How do you think hotels could attract more guests?
(Similar to above) What changes to hotel conditions, facilities and service do you think could be made to attract more guests? FQ
How do you think tourism in China will develop in the future?
Hospitality
Would you say Chinese people like to have visitors come to their home? (Why?/Why not?)
When friends visit someone at home, what is the atmosphere (the feeling) like in the home?
In China, do people usually visit after they have been invited or do they usually 'invite themselves' (or visit unannounced)?
What's the difference between being invited to visit and visiting someone of your own accord?
Do you think it's important to visit other people (in their homes)? FQ
(Similar to above) Are people in your country very hospitable to guests? FQ
(Similar to above) Is hospitality towards guests very important to Chinese people? (Why?) FQ
How do Chinese people welcome guests? FQx2
How do you think you could make a visitor 'feel at home'?
If you traveled to visit someone (in another city), how would you like them to treat you?
When you have guests, do you think it is better to eat at home or to go to a restaurant? (Answer the basic question & compare the two.)
How important is the living room in a person's house when guests visit?
Can you tell me something about the culture of eating and drinking when a guest visits a home in China?
Why do people offer food and drink to visitors?
In China, what food and drink do people offer guests to their home?
Would you say the new generation today is less formal than previous generations on the question of how to treat guests? FQx2
(Similar to above) Compared to the past, are people today more formal or less formal when they visit other people? FQx2
In China, when people visit other people in their homes, do they usually bring a gift? (Or, is it necessary to bring a gift?) FQ
Has this gift-giving custom changed much in the past few years?
(Similar to above) Did people bring the same sorts of gifts in the past as they do today when they visit someone?
Do you think there are any people who don't like visitors coming to their home? (Hint: People who don't have much money and feel embarrassed about their simple home or the poor surroundings of their home.)
What could these people do instead of having visitors come to their home?
In general, what different people visit other people in their homes?
Is there much difference between having visitors who you know well (such as friends or family) and visitors who you don't know well?
(Similar to above) How do people behave differently when they have visitors they don't know well, compared to when they have visitors they know well?
Do you think it's important to show hospitality to strangers?
How would you show hospitality to a foreign visitor to your home?
Visiting Another Country
What different kinds of people visit your home? (or, hometown or home country)*
What personal qualities do you prefer visitors to your home to have? See Notes
If you visit another country, do you think the culture will be the same as in China?
In English, sometimes we say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Do you agree with that? (Why?/Why not?)
(Similar to above) Do you think people should change their behaviour, for example, the way they relate to other people, what they eat, and other social customs when they visit a place that has a different culture? FQ
(Similar to above) When someone visits a foreign country, how should he/she behave concerning the customs of that country? FQ (Hint: respect)
Can you think of an example of such foreign customs? (Hint: different religious practices)
What facilities or services do you you think should be provided for foreign tourists who visit China?
How do you think a foreigner can get used to life in China?
What kinds of things do foreigners need to pay attention to when they travel in your country?
If you were visiting another country, what do you think would be the biggest problem(s) you would have?
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139. A Person who is Good at his/her Job (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
Describe a person you know who is good at his or her job.
You should say:
who the person is
[how you know this person *]
what job they do
what effect he or she has on other people
and explain why he or she impresses other people.
Notes:
The wording might be, "Describe a person who is good at their job." ('They' sometimes means, 'he or she'.)
Someone reported that one question on the card is, "when you knew him or her". This implies that the wording for the question is "a person you know (or knew)". This means someone you personally know or knew. So you should not talk about Deng Xiaoping or someone else who you have never met.
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Possible follow-up questions:
Do other people also think he/she is good at his/her job?
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Part 3
Preparation for Work
Career Advice at School/University
What experience of working have you had?
How did you find out about this work opportunity?
How do people in China decide on what vocation to follow (= decide on what career to have)?
Are university students in China given advice on how to find work after they graduate?
Do you think universities should help students find a job when they garduate?
The Relevance of Academic Education
Do you think that what students learn in university is important (for later use in the workplace)?
Why did you decide to go to university?
What do you think is the purpose of university education?
What do you think are the major differences between the purposes of high school education and university education?
What about high school - do you think what students learn in high school is useful?
Do you think a high school education is enough for people to get a job?
How could the high school curriculum be improved?
Do you thinks schools and universities have a responsibility to prepare students for work?
(Similar to above) What kinds of things should students learn in high school to enable them to be useful for (working in) society?
What are the differences between high school education and university education? FQ
Why do you think it is important to encourage innovation in the work place?
Necessary Qualities for Employees
If you were interviewing someone for a job, what would you pay attention to? (I.e., What qualities would you look for in the person?)
Would you pay most attention to the interviewee's school record?
Work Skills
What skills do you think are most important for young school leavers? FQx2
What do you think is the most important skill for young people to have when they begin working?
What work skills do you think will be most important in the future? FQ
How important do you think it is for young school leavers (or university graduates) to have work skills?
Practical Experience
In high school and university, there isn't enough time for students to gain a lot of practical knowledge. So, when they start working, they still need to gain practical experience before they are very useful to the employer. Who do you think should pay for this practical education - the employer or the employee? FQ
In high school in China, are there many opportunities for you to gain practical work experience? What about in university? FQ
Do you think working at a part-time job is a good idea for students (e.g., 15 years & older but especially university students)?
Do you think practical work experience for students is a good idea?
When a person first starts work, do you think it's important that he or she receives training (for that particular work unit or department)?
Work in China
What jobs are most popular in China at the moment?
What do you think is the most important work?
The Relative Value of Age in the Workplace
Do certain age groups tend to be concentrated in certain types of work in China?
Do you think older employees are more important to a company than younger employees?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of hiring young people and of hiring older people for work?
(Similar to above) What are the advantages of having young people in the workplace and what are the advantages of having older people in the workplace? How do young people and older people relate to each other in the same workplace?
What jobs are more suited to older people and what jobs are more suited to younger people? FQx2
Do you think older employees are more suitable for working at the lower levels or the upper levels of a company?
Do you think older employees should receive higher salaries and more benefits than younger employees?
What are the benefits of having older employees doing some jobs? (Or: Which jobs are more suitable for older employees?)
Work Preferences of Different Age Groups
What kinds of (or, what are some examples of) jobs that young people prefer to do? (Why?)
(Similar to above) What qualities do young people consider to be important in a job (= a career, a type of work)?
Can you think of any examples of jobs that most young people don't like doing?
And can you think of any examples of jobs that most older people don't like doing?
Promotion
Do you think people should be promoted at work because they given many years of service to the company (or organization) or do you think that people should only be promoted based on their performance at work? FQ
(Similar to above) Do you think people at work should be paid according to their performance at work or according to their (educational) qualifications? FQ
Retirement
What is the usual retirement age for people in China? FQ
If someone who is older than the retirement age wants to and is able to continue working, is he or she allowed to do that? FQ
Do you think that it's a good thing to allow companies (or, employers) to set age limits for the people they hire? That is, do you think it's a good idea to have a minimum age and a maximum age for employees? FQ
Do you think people who have retired should be given a pension?
Who do you think should pay for the living costs of retired people (i.e., pay for pensions) - the government, the company (or work unit), or the family? FQx2
Salaries
Do you think different occupations should be paid different salaries?
On-the-job training or extra training
Do you think people should have to study more after they start working?
Do many people in China have to do extra, work-related training?
Is this training usually "in-house" training or outside the company? *
What's your opinion of this kind of training?
Do the companies pay for this training?
What sorts of skills can/do older employees learn?
(If you are working:) What sorts of extra training would you like to have for your work?
(If you have not started work yet:) When you start working, what kinds of extra training would you like to receive for your work?
Rewarding Employees
What are some different ways that companies could (or, do) use to reward employees for doing a good job? FQ
(Similar to above) How do you think employers could encourage their employees to improve their work performance? FQ
Do you think that to just give employees a financial reward is enough of a reward for doing a good job?
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140. A Place with Lots of Water (Jan 10, 2008) (Probably no longer used)
Describe a place you have been to that had a lot of water and that you liked.
You should say:
where this place was
what you did at this place
why (& when) you went there *
and explain why you liked this place.
See Notes
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Possible follow-up questions:
When (or, what time) did you get there?
Did you invite anyone to go with you?
Do your friends also like that place? *
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Part 3
How People Use Places With a Lot of Water
Living Near Water
Why do people like places with a lot of water? FQx2 See Note Difficult question
(Similar to above) Why do so many people like to live or work close to water? FQx2
(Similar to above) Why are so many cities built near places with water?
Why do you think is the ocean so important to people who live near it?
What are some of the things that people can do when they live near (or visit) the ocean?
What are some differences between seeing a place such as a waterfall or the ocean on TV and actually visiting that place?
Do you think people get mostly emotional (or, mental) benefits from living near water or physical benefits? Difficult question
Water Sports
Scuba diver
(Besides swimming), can you think of any examples of water sports? See Note
What are some differences between swimming and these sports?
What are some differences between swimming in a swimming pool and swimming in the sea?
Children and Swimming
Why do you think children (like to play in) places with water?
Do you think it's important for children to learn how to swim?
What do you think are the advantages of learning to swim at an early age?
Do you think it's best for a child to be taught to swim by a parent or by someone else?
Do you think schools should teach children how to swim? FQ
Water Usage
See internet links HERE
Do people in China use a lot of water?
What do they use it for?
What are the main ways that water is used in the home?
Is the way people use water today (= people's habits of use) the same as the way people used water, say, 50 years ago? FQx2
The Water Shortage
Do you think the scarcity of water is a global problem or is a more local problem?
What are the reasons for water shortages in (parts of ) China? (Hints: population expansion; wastage; greater use of water in industry e.g., steel production; droughts; pollution of rivers ...)
What would you suggest we do to overcome the problem of water shortage?
How do you think the problem of a shortage of water will be tackled in the future?
Do you think climate change (global warming) will cause problems with people's water supply? See Note and here
How can we make sure that the world's people have enough clean drinking water in the future?
Wasting/Conserving Water
Saving water
Do you think people use more water today than they did before (e.g., 20 or 50 years ago)? FQ
Can you think of examples of behaviour that results in a waste of water?
Do you think it's important to try to save (conserve) water? (Why?) FQ
Do people in China try to save water? (If yes, how?)
How can people save water?
Do you think it's necessary to control the amount of water that people use? (Why?/Why not?) FQ
What measures do you think could be used to control people's water usage?
Do you know how water can be (or, is) recycled? Difficult question
Does everybody in your country have clean water available?
Would you say that access to clean drinking water is a human right?
Water Resources
See internet links HERE
In general what role does water play in life? (Hint: Water is essential for all forms of life!)
What is the importance of having sources of fresh water? (= drinking water) See Note
What water resources do you think are most important?
(Similar to above) What water resources do you think are most important for protection and conservation?
What measures do you suggest the government could do to protect these resources?
Do you think the protection of water resources should be a national concern or an international one? *
Do you think access to water resources is sometimes an international concern? * See Note
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