hi there it's Asiya
and today i've prepared for you answers
to the most challenging ielts speaking part 1 questions reported in recent exams
there are also words and phrases that will help you give high-scoring answers to these topics yourself
and a pdf guide with recent ielts writing and speaking topics for you to download
okay let's get started
one of the topics reported in recent exams is rivers you may be asked is there a river near you
if there is one probably this question won't catch you off guard but what if you come from one of
the 20 countries in the world where there are no rivers what do you say firstly not having direct
experience of something doesn't mean that you know nothing about it after all you don't have to
own a doll to talk about pets here is one way to reply there isn't one because i live in the center
of a flat dry country but i remember visiting london and sitting on the banks of the thames
watching it flow through the city one day we went downstream as far as the estuary
and i was impressed by how wide and unspoiled it was instead of talking about a river nearby
you could discuss a similar experience from your past let's have a look at the vocabulary
a bank is the side of a river to flow is to move the water in the river flows
downstream is the direction of the river as it flows to the sea an estuary is the wider
part of the river as it enters the sea and when it's not significantly wider it's called a mouth
unspoiled is not touched by development even if you have never been near a river you could
answer this question by referring to a river you know about actually i live quite far from any
the river nile however is in my part of the world and i'd love to see it one day after all
it's the longest river on earth and the cradle of ancient egyptian civilization the next question
is could you describe your favorite river the question demands some topic specific vocabulary
here it is i live on the river canada which runs through the center of my city the sauce
is spraying up the hills and is just a stream for the first 20 kilometers or so then it gets much
wider so it's navigable where i live there is also a canal that connects the cannon with the thames
a source is the beginning of the river a spring is a place where water comes from the ground
a stream is a small narrow river navigable means it's used by boats and a canal is a man-made
passage filled with water by the way have you noticed that i use the definite article there
with the names of all the rivers let's talk about it how to use the articles there with bodies of
water we always use the with rivers the tents the river nile similarly we use it with oceans
the atlantic ocean the pacific ocean and with seas the red sea the mediterranean sea however we don't
use it with lakes we just say lake coma or isico lake now let's have a look at the next question
do you know a river that is used for leisure activities you could reply the river near me
is famous for boating and other water pursuits people also go fishing there and there is plenty
of wildlife to look at especially birds so there are lots of bird watchers around
boating is rowing or sailing boat for fun and recreation water pursuits are water activities
wildlife are native birds and animals of the region but watchers are people who watch birds
the hobby the next topic is watches you may be asked how often do you wear a watch here is a more
traditional answer all the time the one i'm wearing was given to my dad by his father and
so it's a family heirloom even though it wasn't super expensive it has enormous sentimental value
it's also got a good vintage because it's an aviator's watch from the 1960s and that
makes me feel quite classy when i put it on let's have a look at the vocabulary
a family heirloom we don't pronounce the first h elu this is a valuable object belonging to a
family for several generations sentimental value means that something is treasured
because of its personal meaning a vintage is something from the past of high quality
an aviator's watch is a watch used by a pilot and classy means stylish and sophisticated of course
nowadays few people use watches and instead rely on their mobile phones so i could say not much
most of the time i use my phone but i can see why some people wear a watch they're more accessible
than a phone so they are better for punctuality which is also more stylish and can make you say
something about yourself accessible means easier to find and use and punctuality is the habit
of being on time the next question is is there any advantage to wearing a watch i think there
is first of all you don't have to worry about it running down because it doesn't need to be charged
it either has a long battery or you just wind it it's also more private as you can just glance at
it if you're in a meeting and it looks good there are some cool straps you can get in different
phases to run down means to lose power and to charge to feel a battery with power
to wind means to turn a gnome on the watch to make it work please note the pronunciation
the verb is to wind to wind your watch the noun is a wind there is a light wind today to wind a wind
to glance is to have a quick look at something and if you look at your watch you have a strap that
goes around your wrist and a face the front of the watch with hands and numbers the next question is
when did you get your first watch my first decent watch was given to me by
my parents as a coming of age present it has a black dye with silver hands and a metal strap
what i really like about it is because it's classical it will never go out of style
coming of age is reaching the age when one becomes an adult usually it's 18 or sometimes 21. a dial
is the flat surface under the glass and hence a pointers that indicate the time to go out of style
is to become no longer fashionable another topic that was used recently is driving can you drive
oh yes i've been driving since i was 17 that's the legal age when young people can take their
driving test in my country and i got my license as soon as i could i've been driving since i was 17.
that's the present perfect continuous tense you're saying for how long you've been doing something so
it's a perfect opportunity to use this tents i've been driving for two years or i've been driving
since i was 21. a driving test is a test you must pass before you're qualified to drive once
you pass it you get a document that shows that you are qualified this is your driving license
you may get a specific question about the driving age at what age are people allowed to drive
in your country in the uk it's 17 actually you can apply for a provisional driving
license when you're 15 years and 9 months old and can start driving under supervision
this is useful because it helps you develop your road sense and learn the rules of the road
road sense is awareness of how to drive in the traffic and rules of the road are
regulations and customs related to driving another question is what do you like best about driving
having a car is a lot more convenient for getting from a to b than using public transport and it's
much less time consuming i also love that i can listen to my own music to get from a to b
means to travel between two points time consuming is taking a lot of
time our next topic is taking photographs and the first question is do you like taking photographs
i try not to be too snap happy and take photos of everything so i'm quite selective i never take
selfies but i like to capture special occasions like birthdays or to have momentous when i travel
snap happy means you're keen to take photos of everything and selective is choosing what you
think is the best to take a selfie is to take a photo of yourself and a memento is a thing that
that you keep that reminds you of a person or a place next how do you keep your photographs
like many people i keep most of my photos stored on my mobile phone
but i have some hard copies that i've printed and some traditional style photos that i
keep in albums it's nice to get this out and go through them with other people
to store means to keep in a particular area hard copies are printed on the paper rather than a
digital image and albums are blank books used for inserting photos to go through means to
look or examine carefully you may be asked do you have any photographs on the walls of your house
quite a few actually in the kitchen there is a collage of snaps with
family and friends and in the living room there are some artist shots of seascapes and portraits
most of these are framed while the ones in the kitchen are just stuck on the wall haphazardly
a collage is a selection of images placed closely together snaps are informal photographs rt is an
informal word for artistic and a short is a photograph a seascape is a picture of the
coast and the sea while a portrait is a formal picture of a person usually the head and shoulders
framed means placed in a frame in this rigid structure holding the picture and haphazardly
means in a manner that has no organization or principle when you just put them everywhere
okay these are the new complex topics reported in ielts speaking part 1 but many topics are
used over and over again such as wearing shoes or jeans writing with a pen of pencil barbecues
trees and i've covered all of these topics in the previous videos you can download the pdf guide
with recent ielts speaking and writing topics on our telegram channel if you follow the link in the
description below and for more ielts speaking topics and sample answers please watch these
videos and thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye