Part
1 Topics and Questions [Updated Dec 4, 2006]
For
The IELTS Speaking Tests in China, September 2 to December 16, 2006
Notes
1. For
more general information on Part 1 of the test and about this page, go HERE.
2. For
the test of September 23 & 24, Guangzhou and
Shenzhen used a different set of Part 1 topics and questions –
the same topics
and questions that were used throughout most of China between January and April
2006. Go HERE,
to see these questions.
3. It
is possible (although not probable) that the Part 1 questions will suddenly
change at any time for any other test center in China. If you have time, it
might be a good idea to have a quick look at those old questions. I do know that Taiwan is currently using the Part 1
questions that were used on the Mainland from January to April this year.
4. On the weekend of December 2, 3 out of the 6 test centres in China used the set of Part 1 questions that were previously used in China from May to August this year. These centres were Guangzhou, Xiamen and Changsha. Xiamen and Guangzhou are managed by the Guangzhou British Council office but the tests in Changsha are managed by the Beijing office. This could be a warning that, in the future, any test centre in China could suddenly use an old set of Part 1 questions at any time. Therefore, it would be a good idea to also prepare yourselves for all the Part 1 questions that are in the Part 1 archives of this website. Go HERE to see these old questions. Normally, one set of Part 1 questions is used throughout China for 4 months. (This does not include Taiwan and Hong Kong.)
5.
*
= a question which might not be in the current test, but which you should
prepare for, anyway.
6. If there are two or more questions in one topic that are very similar, you will only be asked one of them.
7. Some useful vocabulary for these questions can be found HERE.
8. NOTE! A new set of Part 1 questions will probably start being used on January 6, 2007. Therefore, it is not a good idea to do the test on that date because you will have no information about the topics and questions. It would be best to wait until early February to do you test, after a few tests have revealed the new topics and questions.
************************************************************************************
Summ
0. The four standard introductory questions.
One of the two topics above is a
compulsory topic and you will be asked about 4 questions on this topic. You will
then be asked questions on two of the topics from below. (Again, about 4
questions per topic).
4. Leisure Time
5.
Rain
6. Restaurants
7. Letters
10.
Travel
************************************************************************************
1.
Your Work/Studies
l
Do
you work or are you a student?
(You must choose one and
then you will answer either 1a or 1b, below.)
l
What work do you do?
l Why did you choose that job (that kind of work)? *
l What are your responsibilities at work?
l What is the most interesting part of your work? *
l Is your job (your work) very important to you? (Why?/Why not?) *
l Would you like to change your job? (Why?/Why not?)
l If you had the opportunity to change your job, what would you choose to do?
l Tell me about your typical daily routine at work. *
l How do you and your work colleagues help each other at work? (Or: Do you and your colleagues help each other at work? How?) (Or: Who gives you the most help at work?)
l Do you often get together with your colleagues (workmates) after work? (What do you do?)
l
What subject are you studying? (= 'What's your
major?' in American English)
l Why did you choose to study that?
l Where do you study?
l Do you like your university/school? (Why?/ Why not?)
l Does your university specialize in any particular subject/area? *
l Is there anyone who helps (helped) you (with your studies) at university/school? (Who? In what way?) (Who gives you the most help?)
l Do you often get together with ( = go out with = do things in your free time with ) your classmates after classes? (What do you do?)
l
Whereabouts (=where) did you grow up?
l
Is that a city or is it in the countryside?
l
Do you still live there?
l
Does (do) your family still live there?
l
What kind of place is your hometown? (=
Describe your hometown) *
l Would you say it's a good place to live? *
l
How has your hometown changed in recent years?
(e.g., the past 20 years or since
you were a child)
l
What part of your hometown do you like best?
(Why?)
l What's the most famous (= well-known) place in your hometown?
Note: One of
the two topic
Note 1: It seems that you could be asked about your secondary school studies even if you are working now or a university student now. However, if you are a university student (and especially if you are a secondary student now) and if you answered 1b, above, you probably will not get these questions. Everyone should prepare for this topic because if you get 'Hometown' as your first topic, 'Secondary School' is possible as one of your other topics.
Note 2: 'Secondary school' means the same as 'high school'. Unlike China and the U.S.A., most students in Britain and Australia go to one school from the age of about 12 to 18, called 'secondary school' (= high school). However, there are also a small number of 'Junior High Schools' and 'Senior High Schools' in Britain and Australia.
Note 3: Avoid saying 'Middle School' or 'Senior School' because these names are not familiar to many IELTS examiners.
l
What subjects did you study in secondary school
(= high school)? *
l
What was your favourite subject ( = class) in
secondary school? (= high school)
l
And which class (= subject) did you like the
least? (Why?)
l
Which secondary school subject do you think is
most useful for people in adult life?
l
What part of your secondary school education
did you enjoy most?
l
When do you have free time?
l How do you like to relax? (What’s your favourite way to relax?)
l How do Chinese people like to relax?
l How does that (the way Chinese people like to relax) compare with western countries?
l Do you think it's important to have leisure time?
l How could we (or you) find more time for leisure?
l How do you think people will relax in the future? *
l Compare the way people in China relax today and the way they used to relax years ago.
l In your leisure time, what do you usually do with friends or family? (= Do you do things in your leisure time with friends or family? What?)
l Do you think it's important to spend your leisure time with your family? Why?
l Do your friends ever come to your home in their free time? What do you usually do together?
l Do you have any hobbies or interests? (= What are your hobbies or interests?) *
l What do you do in your holidays (= vacations)? (= How do you spend your holidays?) Or: How do people in China spend their holidays?
l Are holidays important (to people/to you)? (Why?) Or: Do you think holidays are necessary? (Why?) Or: Why do we need to have holidays?
l
Does it rain much in China? (Where? When?)
l
Do you like rainy days? (= How do you feel on
rainy days? = Do you feel sad on rainy days?)
l
How does rain affect different people’s
moods?
l
What do you do on rainy days (or, on a rainy
day)?
l
Do you think rain is good? (Why?)
l
Is there any part of China where it doesn't
rain much? (Where?) (or: Is there an even distribution of rain throughout
China?)
l
What effects can a shortage of rain (a drought)
have on people's lives?
l
When (in what month/season) does it rain most
in your hometown?
l
What about the other parts of China?
l
Can you remember any time when it rained
particularly heavily in your hometown? (When?)
l
Does rain ever affect transportation in your
hometown? (How?)
l
Do you think the seasons have changed in recent
years, compared to the past?
l
Do you usually go out to eat or do you usually
eat at home?
l
How often do you go to a restaurant (to eat)?
(Do you often go to restaurants (to eat)? How often?)
l
Why do you (or, why do people) go to
restaurants?
l
What kind of restaurants do you like? (prefer)
(Why?)
l
What kind of restaurants do young people in
China prefer? (Why?)
l
What do you usually do there?
l
What kind of foods do you (or Chinese people)
like to eat in restaurants?
l
How (do you think) restaurants have changed,
over the past few years? (=How are restaurants today different to those of
before?)
l
How do you think
they will (might) change in the future? *
l
What skills do people need to work in a
restaurant?
l What are the qualities of a good restaurant?
l
Do you often write letters? (How often do you
write letters?)
l
Who do you usually write to and what do you
write about?
l
What (do you think) is the most difficult kind
of letter (or email) to write? (Why?)
l
Do you prefer to write letters or emails?
(Why?)
l
What role do emails (or letters) play in your
life? ( = Why do you write these emails or letters?)
l
How often do you write emails?
l
What kinds of emails (or letters) do you most
like receiving? (Why?) (= What kinds of emails/letters make you happy?)
l
What are the differences between handwritten
letters and emails?
l
Do you think it is a good thing that some
companies send out letters/spam emails for the purpose of advertising?
l
What kind of entertainment do you prefer, TV or
radio? (Why?)
l How are radio programs and television programs different?
l What programs do you like to watch/listen to?
l When do you watch TV/listen to the radio?
l In China, has television/radio changed much in the past few years? (How?)
l How do you think TV/radio broadcasts in China could be improved?
l Do you prefer TV news or news on the radio? (Why?) *
l
Tell me something about your daily routine.
l
(If you do not work) For you, what's the best
time of day for studying?
l
(If you work) For you, what's the best time of
day (or, day of the week) for working?
l
What part of the (= your) day do you like best?
(Why?)
l
If you could make one change to your daily
routine, what would it be?
l
If you had more free time, what would you do?
l
Do you get together with your fellow
students/work colleagues (=classmates/workmates) after classes/work? (What
do you do?)
l
Do you like to travel (in your holidays or free time)?
(Why?)
l
Do you think it's important to travel during your
holidays? (Why?/Why not?)
l
Do you think it's necessary to travel in order to
enjoy your holidays? (Why?/Why not?)
l
Where do you like to go?
*******************************************