277.  An Interesting Job (May 2010)  (Probably no longer used)

279.  A Person you Helped (3)  (May, 2010)   (Probably no longer used)

280.  Someone Who Spoke a Foreign Language (Sep. 4, 2010)(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

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276. A Hobby (May, 2010)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe a hobby you had when you were a child. *

                You should say:

what it was

how you did this activity (Or: What was involved in this hobby)

how (and when) you became interested in this hobby (Or: How you started doing this hobby)

and explain why you liked doing this*

                  or

and explain what you gained from this hobby *

Notes

• See Notes

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Possible follow-up questions:

• Do you still do (pursue) that hobby? *

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Part 3

Hobbies

• Do you think hobbies are important?

• What hobbies do young people in your country have? FQ

• What are some popular hobbies in your country?

• What hobbies for children do you think will be most useful for them when they grow up? FQx2

• (Similar to above) Do you think children can learn any skills from a hobby that will be useful to them when they grow up? FQx2

• In what ways are (young) people's hobbies today different to people's hobbies in the past (about 30 years ago)? FQx2

• (Similar to above) In what ways are children's hobbies today different to children's hobbies in the past (about 30 years ago)? FQx2

• (Similar to above, but different!) In what ways are children's hobbies today different to children's hobbies when you were a child? FQx2

• How are the interests of children today different to when you were a child?

• Compare men's and women's hobbies.

• (Similar to above) Compare boys' hobbies with those of girls.

•  (Similar to above) Do males and females generally have the same hobbies? FQ

Leisure Time

• Do you think young people today have more free time than young people in the past? FQx2

• Do you think students have more free time than people who work? (Why?) FQx2

• How are the leisure time activities of students different to those of working people?

• Do you think people will have more free time (for hobbies) in the future?

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277.  An Interesting Job (May 2010)  (Probably no longer used)

Describe an (interesting) job you would like to try.

You should say:

what job it is

what people do in that job

where you heard or read about it

and explain why you think it would be interesting work to do. *    

                                or

and explain why you would like to try that work. *         

See Notes

See also the Part 3 questions for Topic 97, Topic 22, Topic 50, Topic 139, Topic 201

See the third definition on this page and here of the word, "benefits". See also some notes here.

See note on the words, "boss" and "employer".

Salaries & Benefits

• Do you think it's reasonable (or, fair) that people have different salary levels? FQx2

• What are some examples of jobs that you think should be paid at a higher rate than other jobs? FQ

• Besides a salary, how do you think employers could reward employees for doing a good job?

• (Similar to above) Besides the salary, what else do you think a good employer could give to the employees? FQ

• As well as a salary, what other (minimum) benefits do you think all employees should receive? FQ

• Do you think companies should provide rest and recreational facilities for the employees at work?

• What job do you think is the hardest to become successful in? (Possibly this means "the job with the lowest social status".)

• How do you think people who do that kind of work should be rewarded?

Finding a Job

• Do most young people in your country choose to work after they finish high school or do they choose to continue with their studies?

• Is it difficult (or, easy) for people to find a job in your country today? FQ

• (Similar to above) Is it very difficult for recent university graduates in your country to find a job? FQx2

• How (or, why) do you think a university education helps people find work?

• Is is easier (or, more difficult) to get a job today than in the past?

• What's the most difficult part about finding a job?

• Are there any jobs that are easy to find?

• How do people find (or, get) a job in your country? FQx2

• (Similar to above) What are the main ways that people can use to find a job? FQ

• Do many people in your country get help from their relatives when they're looking for a job?

• Where do people get information about jobs, from newspaper or TV?

• Are there any other ways to get this information?

• What do you think is the most important thing (the most important factor) that people should consider when deciding what job to take (= what company to join)?

• What information would you include on your resume (CV = curriculum vitae)?

• Would you ever consider doing an internship? (see Note)

Work Skills and Important Personal Traits for Employees

• How do employers (companies) find the employees that they need?

• What factors do employers consider when they choose who to employ?

• What are the main abilities (or skills) that people need to have in order to work (as an employee)?

• (Similar to above) What do you think makes a "good employee"?

• (Similar to above) What are the main qualities that employers want (or, require) their employees to have? FQx2

• How do you think a person's loyalty can be assessed? (The candidate said "loyalty" as one quality & the examiner followed with this question.)

• Do you think schools (and universities) are doing a good job of helping students develop these necessary qualities?

• How would you suggest schools (and universities) could improve, in this regard?

• In addition to what the boss tells an employee to do, do you think employees have certain other responsibilities that they should fulfill?

• Are communication skills very important in careers such as advertising and sales?

• Which do you think is better, to start working after finishing high school or to go to university after high school and then start working? FQ

• What did you learn from your study at university?

• How do you think that will be useful in a job?

The Films that Children & Teenagers Watch

(For some of these questions, the word "children" or the word, "teenagers" might be used.)

• Do you think films have much influence on young people? FQ

• What impact (or, influence) do films have on the people who watch them? (See Note)

• What about children - what impact do films have on children? FQ

• Do you think films that show violence can affect children?

• Do you think parents should supervise what films their children watch? FQ

• (Similar to above) Do you think parents should control what films their children watch? FQ

• Many parents are too busy (for example, with work) to supervise what films their children watch. What do you suggest could be done to control what films their children watch?

Culture

• Do you ever learn anything from watching a film? FQ

• Do you think that you can learn about other (foreign) cultures from watching films?

• In what ways can a country's culture be represented in a film?

• To what extent do films influence a country's culture? FQ

• How could a film enrich (or, strengthen) a country's culture?

The Film Industry

• In your opinion, what is a "good" film (and what is a "bad" film)? FQ

• In your opinion, what is a "successful" film? FQ

• In addition to the actors, what factors can make a film successful?

• Do you think that all films are made just to make money?

• (Similar to above) There are some good films that do not make much money. Why do you think this happens?

• There are some poor quality films that make a lot of money. Why do you think this happens?

• Do you think it's necessary for film-makers to spend a lot of money in order to produce a successful (or, a good) film? FQ

• How could we judge the success of an "educational film", that is, a film that was not made simply in order to make money?

The Future of the Film Industry

• Do you think we will continue to have cinemas in the future?

• (Similar to above) Do you think that, in the future, people will go to the cinema less to watch films, but will watch them at home more?

• In the future, do you think that cinemas will be replaced by DVD's (and/or films downloaded off the internet)? FQ

• What do you think would be the result if everyone watched films on DVD (instead of going to the cinema)?

Making Films

• With the advancements in technology that we have now, do you think anyone can make a film?

• Do you think it's possible for someone with no training to make a successful film?

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279.  A Person you Helped (3)  (May, 2010)   (Probably no longer used)

               Describe a time when you helped someone.

                     You should say:

                               who you helped

                               how you helped them

                               why you helped them (or, why he or she needed help)

and explain how you felt when/after you helped this person.

    

Notes

• This topic used to be #267 but it was moved to here, #279 on March 6, 2011. From now on, it will only be updated here, not at #267.

• This looks like Topic 156, returning to the test. However, the Part 3 questions might be different to Topic 156.

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Possible follow-up questions:

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Part 3

See also the Part 3 questions for Topic 156

Helping People

• Do you like helping people? FQ

• How often do you help others? FQ

• What are the benefits of helping others?

• Why do you think people generally like to help others? FQx2

• Do you think people should help others?

• Do people in your country like to help others?

• Do people always help others (when others need help)? (Why not?)

• What are some situations when people (usually) don't help others (who need help)?

• What kind of people don't like to help others?

Who Needs help?

• In what circumstances do people need help?

• Do these people get help?

• Does the government do anything to help these people?

• Have you ever received any help from the government?

Helping Children and Old People

• Do you think helping a child or an old person is the same as helping other people (who are not children or old people)?

• What skills (or, personal traits) does one need when helping an old person or a child? FQx2

• Who would you prefer to help, a child or an elderly person? FQ

• What are some differences between helping (or, taking care of) children and helping (or taking care of) old people? FQ

Family Help

• Do you think people have a responsibility to help members of their family?

• How do (people in) families help each other? FQ (See Note)

• (Similar to above) How do the members of your family help each other? FQ

• Do cousins, uncles and aunts also help each other?

• (Similar to above) Do your cousins, uncles and aunts also help each other?

The "Helping" Professions

• Can you think of some examples of work that involve helping other people?

• Why do you think some people want to do "helping" jobs such as nursing? FQx2

• Do you think people should be paid more to do this type of work than they are paid now? FQ

Children Learning to Help Others

• Do you think (young) children should help each other?

• Do you think it's natural for (young) children to help each other (or, to help others)? FQ

• (Similar to above) Do you think people are born with a natural instinct to help each other (or, to help others)? FQ

• What do you think is the responsibility of parents regarding this question?

• Do you think children should be (or, need to be) taught to (or, encouraged to) help others by their parents? FQx2

• How could this be done? FQ

• (Similar to above) How do you think parents could raise a child to be willing to help others? FQ

• (Similar to above) How do you think parents could teach a child to be less selfish? FQ

• Do you think it's good for parents to reward their children for good behaviour? FQ

• How do you think the behaviour of parents affects the attitudes that children develop concerning helping others?

• Do you think children should help others in school? How?

• (Similar to above) Do you think children should, at school, learn to help others? (How? Why?)

• (Similar to above) How could schools encourage children to help others? FQ

• Who do you think has the greater responsibility to teach children to help others, the school or the parents? * (Why?)

Charitable Organizations ( or, Non-Profit Organizations)

• Why do some people choose to do volunteer work (or, charitable work)? FQ

• What kinds of (non-government and/or government) charitable organizations are there in your country? FQ

• (Similar to above) Can you give some examples of some non-governmental organizations in your country that help people? FQ

• How do these organizations help people?

• What groups (or types) of people do these organizations help? FQ

• (Similar to above) In your country, who does the government help? (How? Why?) FQ

• (Similar to above) In your country, who should the government help? (= who needs help) (How? Why?) FQ

• How does the government help poor people?

• Do you think the government should invest more money in helping poor people?

• Do you think the community, as a whole, has a responsibility to help those in the community who need help?

• Who do you think should be (more) responsible for helping people in the community, government or individuals?

• Do you think (very successful) companies (or, very wealthy business people) have a responsibility to donate money to charitable organizations?

• Do you think big international financial organizations such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank are useful for helping people in poor countries?