Updated June. 19, 2019
Index of this Page
75. Old People
78. Equipment
80. Sport
82. Service
83. Shoes
84. Similarity
85. Skills
86. Success
87. Sunglasses
89. Teachers
90. Watches
91. Driving
92. Want to do
93. Truth, Crime
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An “old person” = above the age of 60 or 65
An “elderly person” or “elderly people” sound a bit more polite than “old person” or "old people".
“Senior citizen” is used by government and the news media (e.g., newspapers). This term is not often used in everyday conversation.
“An elder” or “elders” is sometimes used to describe an "old person" or “old people” but not often. The word, “elder” is used more to describe an old, respected leader of a group such as a tribe or some community group, such as the local church congregation: "the elders of the church". Usually these groups or communities have several "elders" who are recognized as leaders of this particular community or group.
We also use the term, "my elders" (one's elders) to mean, "the older people (much older than me) in my life, such as my parents, grandparents etc". However, to repeat, "elders" is not usually used to mean, "old people" in general.
Wise, wisdom, (accumulated) experience
Respected, given respect
a pensioner; retired, retirement
Senility = a layman’s term for the medical condition, Dementia. Dementia is an older term and has a connotation with the word, “crazy”, which is derogatory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia It is called “Alzheimer’s Disease” today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease Only a minority of old people get that disease in their last few years of life.
An “Old People’s Home”. These are not common in countries like China. In these “homes” a number of old people are all living together, socializing together and they usually have trained nurses on hand. Sometimes the residents of these homes each have their own apartment within an “old people’s compound” or community. There are actually two groups of these homes – Nursing Homes and Retirement Homes. Those who live in nursing homes require some medical care / treatment while those in retirement homes might be perfectly healthy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_home_care
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retirement_home
“Interesting” describes something that stimulates your mind, i.e. your thinking, not your feelings.
The “generation gap”
Mutual, mutually (People from two different generations teaching each other.)
The elderly have personal experience of life, and society, for the past 50 or more years. That is, they can teach young people (give them information / knowledge) about recent history.
Elderly family members can give younger relations information about their family history.
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To draw, to sketch – both are dry
To paint – is wet
However, a sketch can be made using pen and ink, which is wet.
Drawing tools – pencils, charcoal, crayons, pens, ink, paint
An art gallery (= US Art museum)
An exhibition
a) A drawing, a painting = the works of art, b) Drawing (verbal noun), painting (verbal noun) = the activity
See also the vocabulary here - http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_4.htm#46.%20Art
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Look up the definitions, and see the examples for the words, “a talk”, “a speech” and “a lecture”. Do it on at least two websites. Eg. at https://dictionary.cambridge.org and https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
“Interesting” means it appeals to your mind, not your heart (your emotions).
Children – think about their concentration span, what topics appeal to them (interest them/affect their feelings) and their level of knowledge, especially their vocabulary.
Adjuncts to a speech, talk, lecture, presentation - physical objects, audio/visual information such as a Power Point presentation etc. Do that refer to Power Point as “PPT” – most English speakers don’t use that abbreviation.
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The definition of, “a talk”
Most of the (British) English dictionaries don’t seem to be defining this word very well. They seem to treat the word as similar to “a chat”. It is similar to “a lecture”, but with some key differences.
A “talk” can seem similar to a lecture but the topic or purpose of the talk is usually different to the typical topics of lectures, and a talk is less formal than a speech. The purpose of a talk is often to give advice or to give some simple information, or a mixture of both, to a group of people. For example, “He gave an orientation talk to the new students.”
The following link is a discussion of which word is most often used, “to give a talk”, “to present a talk” or “to deliver a talk”.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/29900/to-give-a-talk
The link below is an article about how to give “a talk” but I don’t really suggest you study this whole page, which is quite advanced and detailed. Just read the first few sentences.
https://users.cs.duke.edu/~brd/Teaching/Giving-a-talk/giving-a-talk.html***********************************************************************
"Equipment" is non-count
Many things can be called “equipment”. For example, a handbag and a backpack are examples of equipment used for carrying things.
See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_3.htm#35.%20Non-Electrical%20Equipment
See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists.htm#7.%20Electrical%20&%20Electronic%20Appliances
Broken, not working, didn’t work, missing, to malfunction, to be defective (general, not specific)
Get it fixed = have it fixed. These mean that you ask someone else to fix it, not fix it yourself.
To maintain a piece a equipment = keep it in good working order (keep it clean, put some oil on it if it is mechanical with moving parts. Oil also helps prevent rust.)
The “throw-away society”, waste (rubbish, garbage, trash), landfill
wasteful
To be a “handyman” = to be capable of, or good at fixing general things around the home such as a window that needs fixing. This term can also be used to apply to having an ability to fix things in general such as a broken chair or even broken electrical equipment (which is sometimes unsafe to do.) = to be practical
DIY = “Do it yourself”. Be careful of speaking abbreviations in case the examiner doesn’t know what the abbreviations mean or doesn’t hear it clearly.
To fix, to repair, to mend ('Mend' is most often used for items such as clothes)
Problem solving – to analyse what the problem is and what the cause is; to search the internet to find solutions to problems
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“Do you prefer a hot, or a cold climate?” – If this is the exact wording of the question, you are being asked to choose between two extremes. Hot is not warm, cold is not cool.
The meaning of that question is probably, “If you had to be/live in a place with a cold or a hot climate, which would you prefer?”
Only say, “I would prefer” if you also say something like, “if I had to choose between those two extremes”.
It’s possible to say, “I don’t like either of those” but still make a choice.
Always give at least one reason when answering a question about your likes, dislikes, preferences, favourite etc.
Reasons – 1) Your feelings of comfort; 2) the activities you prefer to do in different seasons or weather conditions; 3) certain aspects of the weather or of the seasons that you especially like or dislike such as flowers blooming in spring, the fact that rain damages your shoes, the clothes you wear etc.
Rainy days, wet days, wet weather, sunny says, a sunny day, ice, snow, slippery footpaths, . . .
“When it’s raining” is not the same as “a rainy day”, which means a whole day, or most of it, that experiences rain.
to drizzle
sunny
A warm climate; warm weather. (or cool, or hot or cold weather). Notice that “climate” is a count-noun, “weather” is not.
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See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_2.htm#29.%20Sports%20Facilities
to keep fit; a social activity
a spectator sport; professional sport; amateur sport
Definitely know the difference between “sport” and “exercise.”
“Exercise”, as a singular non-count noun = a type of activity that causes you to generally exercise your body, e.g., running, walking, climbing the stairs at home, riding a bicycle, working out at a gym etc. Most types of sport involve exercising your body but some types, such as archery, do not involve much body movement.
“Exercises” (callisthenics) as a plural countable noun = various different body movements that people do in order to make their bodies move in different ways. For example: one exercise is to swing your arms from side to side, another exercise is to touch your toes; push-ups, sit-ups, etc
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A “facility” = a place usually with some equipment that allows people to do an everyday activity. Often used in the plural, “facilities”.
Public facilities” includes those facilities that the public pay for such as a cinema. These facilities are open to the public; they are not private.
Entertainment facilities; Health facilities; Educational facilities; Transportation facilities (buses, trains etc.); Recreational facilities; Sports facilities; Shopping facilities …
A "facility" is similar to “infrastructure” but "infrastructure" is used to describe large-scale facilities that usually require engineers to design and build and large-scale facilities that encourage economic activity such as roads, airports, bridges, shipping ports, an electricity supply etc.
City living – Living in apartments is not as conducive to interacting with neighbours as living in a house.
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For this topic and most of the questions in Part 3, “service” is treated as a non-count noun, especially when speaking in general.
There are times when people do talk about “services” but it is best to refer to some examples, such as the various services that a hotel offers to guests (e.g., a laundry service, the daily room-cleaning service, the delivery of meals to rooms, the wake-up call service etc.)
There are two kinds of service in the commercial world, service at the time of the sale, and after-sales service.
Poor service is sometimes (not always) a result of a poor attitude of the service worker towards his/her job or towards the public.
“Table service” = the service a restaurant customer receives from a waiter or waitress.
“The Service Economy” refers to that side of the economy that is not involved with manufacturing a product, growing crops or extracting natural recourses such as fishing, mining and forestry. Many (or most) city dwellers work in some part of the service economy.
To varying extents, you can also think that “public servants” (people who work for the government) serve the public.
“Customer Service” usually refers to after-sales service.
The “Customer Service” desk in a big department store also answers people’s questions such as whether the shop sells a certain product, whether it is in stock, and where it is in the shop.
A defective product, to return the product, to replace, a replacement
A refund, to refund
A saying: “The customer is always right.”
“The Hospitality Industry” = esp. hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. Those are related to travellers, tourists or visitors.
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How many? – Always talk about “pairs of shoes”
Fashionable or comfortable – The expression, “not mutually exclusive”
See also “Types of Footwear” under this topic - http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists.htm#6.%20Types%20of%20Clothing
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To be “similar to” someone = to be “like” someone
Resemble, resemblance, a “splitting image” of someone, to look alike
To “take after” someone
Role model, hero, heroine, idol
A positive influence
Similar in personality; to look similar / to look alike/ to have some facial features in common; similar interests; similar habits; similar attitudes; similar likes and dislikes; etc. . . .
Same, identical, similar, matching
Childhood influences (movies, TV etc.)
Social changes (growth of the economy, The “One Child Policy”, urbanization, the Opening and Reform policy of Deng Xiao Ping, etc)
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Most skills are expressed as a verbal noun (an activity) such as “swimming”, “cooking” “sewing” “riding a bicycle” or, “knowing how to” + verb eg., “knowing how to sew”.
A skill that takes a long time to (fully) learn (= to master) usually requires practice.
Skills could possibly be divided into:
i) “practical skills” (or, “everyday life skills”) such as cooking , using a washing machine, reading a subway map, reading a bus timetable, using an ATM machine (banking). Using a computer is now considered to be a necessary everyday skill.
ii) Some practical skills could also be called “technical skills” or “specialized skills” such as knowing how to write a computer program, how to repair a car engine, how to build a house etc;
iii) “academic skills” such as reading, writing an essay, knowing how to study; solving calculus problems;
iv) “social skills” such as knowing how to make friends, how to initiate a conversation, knowing how to behave politely, how to express sympathy to someone, how to handle difficult people etc.
v) “artistic skills”, which can include “musical skills” such as playing a musical instrument, composing music, singing, painting and drawing, dancing and acting
vi) “language skills” such as speaking, reading, listening to and writing a language (including your mother tongue)
vii) “physical skills” such as swimming, riding a bicycle, kicking a ball accurately, putting a basketball into the basket accurately, playing golf, and all of the Olympic Games sports.
viii) “mental skills” such as knowing how to memorize, how to think rationally (logically), how to analyse data in order to recognize patterns
ix) “self-control skills” such as controlling anger, impatience, self-discipline
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For both Part 2 & Part 3, you need to have a clear idea of what “success” means. If not, your answers will be less coherent than they could be.
“Success” means “the attainment of (= the achievement of; the realization of; reaching) a goal.” If a person has no goal, it is not logical to talk about that person achieving “success”.
Although many or most people have the goal of achieving considerable wealth (becoming rich) or becoming “financially comfortable”, this is just one example of a goal. For example, someone who inherited great wealth from his or her father would probably have another goal (or goals) in life, such as achieving a certain level of respect and status in their profession.
You should also consider this – What others think is a “successful” person in a certain area may not be the same as what this person thinks of himself or herself. For example, some people might consider a man to be “successful” as a “family man” (= having a happy marriage and doing a good job as a parent) but appearances can be deceiving. This person might consider himself to have been a failure as a good, “family man” because he knows things that others do not know, such as the problems in his marriage or problems (failures, mistakes) he has made as a parent.
To accomplish something, an accomplishment
To prosper, prosperity, prosperous
To “make good” = to be successful, especially financially. This is American slang but acceptable in the test, especially with North American examiners.
To “live on easy street” = to be very wealthy. This is American slang but acceptable in the test, especially with North American examiners.
To be (or live) “in the lap of luxury” = to be very wealthy.
Goal = aim, plan; to be motivated; a motivation
A plan – requires visualization (imagining) the achievement of the goal. That is a little different to simply “dreaming” of having this achievement. A well-thought-out plan also requires dividing the plan into different stages (levels or steps).
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“Sunglasses” and “glasses” are always used in the plural. Never say, “a sunglass” or “a sunglasses”. Always say, “a pair” or, “a pair of sunglasses”. Refer to sunglasses as “they” or ‘them”.
sunglasses – word stress on the word “sun”, not on “glasses”.
To shield the eyes from the glare of the sun; bright sunshine
The view appears less bright than it actually is when wearing sunglasses; more relaxing than looking at a bright scene.
Wearing sunglasses helps reduce the formation of wrinkles around the eyes; to squint
To look “cool”, to hide you identity, to hide your eyes from others (not good for face-to face communication)
Prescription glasses, prescription sunglasses; non-prescription sunglasses
the frame, the lens, the style
Designer sunglasses = Brand-name sunglasses
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Know the differences between “learn” and “study”.
“To teach” and “to train” are sometimes the same in usage. But training usually takes place over a longer period of time and is usually concerned with teaching a practical or non-academic skill.
A skill is expressed using either the verbal-noun (base verb + “ing”) or, “how to ___.” E.g., driving, how to drive.
Normally, we do not “study” a skill. Instead, we learn it or learn how to do it. For example, you don’t “study swimming”; you “learn (how) to swim”. That is slightly better than saying, “learn swimming” but the latter is possible.
A “coach” is slightly different to someone who teaches a skill.
Motivation to learn = a reason to learn in general, not just a skill and not just academic materials in school or university.
“General knowledge”
Future - “The Information Age”, automation, robots, technology
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Encourage, encouragement, enthusiasm for / love of learning, teach how to ask questions, teach how to learn independently
Read the notes attached to some of the questions at http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/Part_1_Questions_JAN_to_APR_2019.htm#TEACHERS
Strictness – maintaining disciple in the classroom; keeping the class under control; maintaining a good learning environment in the classroom; misbehave / misbehaviour; “naughty” is only suitable for describing young children such as primary school-aged kids;
The question about teachers being strict means, “Should teachers be strict in the classroom, when it is needed?” If the students are well-behaved, strictness is not needed.
There are degrees of strictness and situations when a teacher sometimes needs to be stricter than in other situations.
Teachers vs.. Parents – teach academic knowledge & skills (teachers) / teach moral values, social skills, basic life skills such as how to cook, how to use a washing machine, how to use the subway etc. (parents)
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A wristwatch = the usual type of watch that people wear
A digital display / a traditional watch face (with an hour hand and a minutes hand)
To tell the time, to check the time, to keep track of the time
Watches, especially expensive ones are usually sold in jewellery shops.
An accessory
waterproof
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A driver’s licence = A driving licence
“I got my licence two years ago.”
A driving school; driving lessons
Driving lessons; a driving class; a driving school; the practical test and the test of road rules
My own car
A motorcycle rider’s licence
Driving skills – safety for both the driver and for others (passengers, pedestrians, other road users); knowing how to pass another car (or vehicle) safely; keeping to the right side of the road (= not “hogging” the road); knowing how to park correctly; being a “defensive driver” (e.g., watching out for pedestrians, bicycle riders etc.); slowing down when a traffic light is about to turn red; knowing how to drive to suit the weather conditions; frequently checking the rear-vision mirror; . . .
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Be clear (in your understanding and in your speaking) on the differences between “want to do” and “would like to do”.
hope to do
Avoid the formal-sounding, "I wish to . . . "
Plan, goal, aim, ambition, dream, fantasy
Realistic; unrealistic
Adverbs of certainty: certainly = definitely, probably, possibly
“Will” when used alone without any adverbs of certainty means “certainly will” = “will certainly”. See http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/TALKING_ABOUT_THE_FUTURE.htm
See also: http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists.htm#13.%20Leisure%20Time%20&%20Relaxing
See also: http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_3.htm#Relaxing
Entertainment; recreation
See also: http://ielts-yasi.englishlab.net/vocabulary_lists_3.htm#30.%20Time%20Management
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To tell the truth
To be honest / to be dishonest, honesty, dishonesty
The veracity = the truthfulness of a statement
Mendacious, mendacity (advanced, rather formal English)
A lie, to lie
A “white lie” = a “fib”, to “fib”, a “fibber”
People sometimes tell “white lies” when they are trying to flatter or compliment another person, or to allay their fears (set their heart at ease), generally to make the other person “feel good” or “feel better”.
To “embellish the truth” (a euphemism for "to lie"), to exaggerate
To flatter someone, to compliment someone; to try to avoid hurting someone's feelings; to give confidence to someone
To “lie by omission”= to omit a key detail or key details in order to deceive
To deceive someone, deception, deceptive
To “be under the impression” that something is true = to believe it is true
An habitual liar
To commit a crime, a criminal
Evidence, to gather evidence
A DNA test,
fingerprints
A Lie Detector Test
Incontrovertible evidence, foolproof evidence
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