IELTS Speaking Sample Questions # Newspapers

We are living in the information age. Events, happening flow by as fast as they could and reach to a broader mass making a lasting impact. Gone are the days when it took months to reach news to the other place, the news in today’s time is just a click away. This time we are looking at some Section III speaking questions related to newspapers.

How do newspapers market themselves in your country?

Almost all the newspapers in our country, market themselves on social media. Most of them have facebook pages or twitter pages. People who like them get to see the news on their feeds. Even more, they all have a app for their newspaper that people can install and read the news. With regards to real readers, if a real agent advertises on how a newspaper helped it get a real deal, it could help more people to pitch it. For instance, there are many IAS officers who do recommend THE HINDU newspaper for IAS exam. So, most of the students who do prepare for it, go for the newspaper.

NEWSPAPERS

Do you think most newspapers put a spin to the story to get more sales?

I think definitely yes. Not only to increase their sales, more often newspaper reporters and editors do not know the entire story. But, waiting for the entire news to come up could give the other companies the competitive advantage. So, most of the times it is not only about increasing the sales but also about making sure that they have the competitive upper hand that makes the newspapers to put a spin to the story. But, yes, a twisted story always gives more readers than a plain simple story.

In terms of news, do you think there is much difference between newspapers and news channels?

Surely there is a difference. Newspapers have a limited space and they need to cater to a larger and broader audience. Giving simply news is not going to help the newspapers. So, there are sections for editorial and then news. Even more, there are newspapers with a section of games. With news channels, there prime motive is showing news. They don’t have much boundation on the content limit. A certain news can be broken down and telecasted more number of times to give it the entire perspective.

Do you think, in future, people are going to read more news on internet ?

With internet gaining so much of momentum, I think definitely yes. There are many news paper companies and news channels that have already created their account on social media. So, when most of the people are glued to their facebook ids, they often get the latest updates from the news channels or papers. Although, there are some people who still prefer newspaper or news channels, I think in coming times, there will be more people who will be taking in information from the internet.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of internet?

Internet has surely come up as a savior for lot of people. Gone are the days when you need to have huge sum of money to get knowledge or lot of time to solve one issue. We are living in an age when the information is just a click away. However, just like so many other good things, it surely has its own disadvantages. It brings with it things like cyber crimes. People often lose money or important information to hacking.

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IELTS Listening Sample Questions # Eyes

It is through the eyes that we see the world and its beauty. We often believe everything that we see, but is it necessary that whatever we see is true?? Well, this time we are listening to the BBC 6 minutes English audio on whether we can trust our eyes?

Listen to the audio and answer the following questions in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

  1.  In which part of the brain is there an area dedicated to remembering faces?
  2.  What is the synonym of rebuild?
  3. Which word describes something that has been changed?
  4. What is the place where a crime is committed called?
  5. Which word describes something that gets impure through contact from an outside source?
  6. What word describes a person was under threat of being stabbed?
  7. Which word is the synonym of something that is confusing and bit upsetting?
  8. What is the spoken statement of the eye witness in the court?
  9. Which part of brain is temporal lobe present?
ANSWERS
  1. temporal lobe
  2. reconstruct
  3. distorted
  4. crime scene
  5. contaminated
  6. at knifepoint
  7. disconcerting
  8. testimony
  9. Fusiform Face area

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IELTS Sample Essay Question # Prevention from Calamity

You should spend 40 minutes on this task.

 

It is the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens from any natural calamity. Do you agree or disagree?

 

You should write at least 250 words.

SAMPLE ANSWER 1

Natural calamity whenever occur cause a huge damage. Although, some people believe that there is nothing much can be done about them, neither by citizens nor government. There are some of the opinion that prevention from natural calamity must be the responsibility of the government. In my opinion, surely government has a huge role to play but they are not the only key players.

Government is the one having authority to make decisions for the millions of people living in the country and their decision surely have an impact. Passing a law that sets the standards for any construction will surely bring about changes and reduce the impact of natural calamities. Even more, there should be more campaign for combating natural disasters similar to the life taking diseases. In addition, once the calamity has occurred, governments must ensure that the rescue team reaches to the incident as fast as possible.

However, imposing everything on government is not really a pragmatic approach. Surely, government can make laws but until and unless we as individuals follow them, there is not much that can be done. Even more, people should act more pro actively while construction for their buildings are done, ensuring that the material used is right.

Overall, authorities surely have a major role to play in ensuring there are less damages being made post a calamity. However, nothing fruitful can be done if only one party tries. It must be a joint effort from both sides, citizens as well as government.

Prevention from Calamity

SAMPLE ANSWER 2

Natural Calamities often happen unannounced and the worst ones shake things up for the entire world. Knowing the impact they have made on our lives, some people believe that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the citizens of its country are safe during such a scenario. However, there are others who believe that government is of individuals just like us, having little control over natural calamities. In my opinion, surely government cannot do everything but surely certain steps can be taken by them.

Firstly, passing a law that ensures that a certain standard is maintained while doing any sort of construction can ensure that the impact of natural calamities is reduced. Secondly, government can make sure that the number of trees are increased and in cases of building societies, the plan must be such that it is surrounded by trees and other natural things. Nature often is the best way to fight back calamities. Thirdly, government can ensure that the people are made aware of any possible calamity through mass communication.

However, governance is only one part of dealing with the problem. Nothing can be done if individuals are not pro-active. It is the responsibility of the individuals to make sure that the they do follow the rules. Even more, in case there are no rules, they use the best quality product while building home or offices. Also, choosing places that are far away from the calamity zones must be preferred.

Overall, natural calamities have a very large impact on our lives and we must make sure that proper steps are taken to ensure that the post effect of the calamity are reduced. This is the responsibility of both the citizens and government.

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IELTS Cue Card Sample Questions # Earthquakes

Earthquakes are a kind of natural disaster that destroys livelihoods more than any other form of natural disaster does. Not that the impact of the others is not high, but the frequency of earthquakes in recent times has been so high, that it has impacted livelihoods and business like no other. This time let us have a look at some questions that could be asked related to a calamity in the Section II of the speaking section in IELTS.

Describe a natural calamity that you fear. You should say:

  • what it is and why do you fear it
  • how long it has existed
  • how it affects people’s lives

and explain how you think the damage can be reduced.

SAMPLE ANSWER 1

The one calamity that truly shakes me up is Earthquake. The reason I really am afraid of Earthquakes is that they cause more destruction and are often responsible for causing other forms of natural calamities. For instance, landslides and then tsunamis. Earthquakes, if not take away lives, do cause some building to fall. Often these are the life time savings of an individual. Even more, it has been observed that Earthquakes often come at times when nothing much could be done. Like, during night, when everyone is sleeping. Most people do not even feel the tremors until they die.

Earthquakes have been part of our history since Earth was made. They were responsible for shaking things up and changing our lands. Earthquakes surely bring about lot of changes. Not only do they cause deaths and tremors, often times they shatter people’s dream. For example, the 2001 Earthquake of Gujarat, not only caused loss of life, but there were many who had just built a home, or had bought a shop. People lost almost everything in it.

The only way we can fight back Earthquakes is by building homes and shops that are strong enough to handle Earthquakes. Also, there should be better analysis of Earthquake done to ensure that people know about it before hand and could take preventive measures.

EARTHQUAKES

EARTHQUAKES

SAMPLE ANSWER 2

The one natural calamity that I dread is Earthquake. The mere sight of losing everything that you have, not only the ones you love, but your dreams, shakes me up. Recently, while watching a video on Earthquake I saw a person half body under a stone and he was crying. The scene was so painful that I felt bad for the entire day. Even more, Earthquakes happen so fast and change things in way that one can never imagine.

Earthquakes not only affect lives primarily but are also responsible for causing other natural calamities, like Tsunami and landslides. On top of it, they have become so frequent that it seem as if some part of the Earth is always shaking up. As far as I know, Earthquakes are the reason Earth and all our lives came into existence and they have been part of us since Earth came into being.

The only way we can fight back Earthquake is by making sure that our walls are strong enough to endure it. Not only of our home but of our office and any place that we go. It is often our negligence to make safer places, that makes the impact of Earthquake worse. Also, proper analysis must be done for the Earthquake and if there is a chance of it, people should be made aware about it through news channels or any other medium of mass communication.

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