IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
A GAME SHOW OR A QUIZ
PROGRAM YOU WATCHED
Describe a game show or a quiz program you watched on TV or online You should say:
- Where you watched it
- What it was like
- How often you watched it
- How you liked it
And explain why you liked/disliked it
A N S W E R
I’m a big fan of any quiz shows because I get thrilled watching every contestant answering a wide array of questions from general to specific knowledge. While watching those kinds of game shows, I can evaluate how much knowledge I have in different fields, I also feel like I’m in the contestant’s shoes!
LEXICAL RESOURCE
(A big) fan [noun] – an admirer
Thrilled [adj.] – excited
Array [noun] – a wide range of something
In someone’s shoes [idiom] – feeling or acting as if you were in the same situation as the person
Anyway, let me tell you about an international game show called Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, which was originally created and first aired in the UK in 1998. Currently, this game show has been franchised by more than 100 countries. There is only one contestant on this show and he tackles a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes.
Unlike other quiz shows, the contestant is given the question before attempting to answer with multiple choice, and has no time limit. The amount of money offered as a prize increases as the contestant tackles questions that become more difficult. In addition, the contestant is given three lifelines: Ask the Audience; 50:50 in which the computer eliminates two wrong answers; and Phone A Friend to help the contestant answer the difficult question.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Air (-ed) [verb] – to broadcast
Franchise [verb] [noun] – {as used as a verb} to give or sell a franchise to someone
Tackle [verb] – to try to deal with something
A few years ago, I watched the US version of this game show which was first won by John Carpenter winning $1 million dollars. While I was watching that show at home, I couldn’t help but admire the contestant’s intelligence. He didn’t use any lifelines until the last question for him to win that million dollars. Interestingly, he used his one lifeline, Phone A Friend, and the host contacted the contestant’s father.
What’s more interesting is that when he talked to his father and told him that he didn’t really need his help. Instead, he just told his father that he would win a million dollars very confidently and the audience went crazy laughing and cheering at him.
After that episode, I became an avid fan of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, that every now and then I check other countries’ versions of that game show and I enjoy it as it helps me expand my knowledge in different fields. I must say watching that game show or any kind of quiz show is for me a worthwhile way of being a couch potato!
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Episode [noun] – installment of a serialized TV program
Avid [adj.] – enthusiastic
Worthwhile [adj.] – valuable
Couch potato [noun] – a person who watches TV a lot
PART 3
Why do people like to watch TV shows?
I do not really believe that there are still a huge number of people who watch TV shows nowadays. Well, in the past, before the advent of the internet, yes, people enjoyed watching several TV shows since that was the best form of entertainment. However, these days in this digital age, the popularity of TV shows has been diminishing since people have shifted to watching YouTube videos or Netflix series or movies because it is more convenient – they can watch innumerable shows online any time of the day and wherever they may be.
Actually, the shift of entertainment platforms by the audience is the main reason why all TV channels set up their own websites or video channels, so they can upload their shows online and get an audience since there is undeniably a massive audience online. So, because of that irrefutable reality, I do not believe that there is still a great percentage of people in the world who watch TV shows these days.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
The advent of [noun] – the important event or invention that has come into existence
Digital age [noun] – the present time in which the use of computers and the internet is prevalent; also called the Information Age
Diminish [verb] – decrease; decline
Shift [verb] [noun] – transfer; movement
Innumerable [adj.] – too many; countless
Set up [phrasal verb] – to start a business; build something
Irrefutable [adj.] – undeniable; unquestionable
What kinds of TV shows do people like to watch?
Honestly, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all answer to that question. It surely varies from person to person depending on their preference or their personality. Some people enjoy watching talk shows like Ellen DeGeneres, some binge-watching Asian dramas, and others love to watch sitcoms. As you can see, there is a wide array of people’s interest that influences their choice of TV shows. So to answer this question, we have to understand what interests people the most.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
One-size-fits-all [adj.] – suitable for or used in all circumstances
Vary from (person to person) [phrase] – to differ from
Binge-watch [verb] – to watch several episodes
Sit-com [noun] – a situation comedy
(An) array (of) [noun] – a wide range of something
Why do some people watch TV shows online?
Well, that is simply because of convenience and there is no other reason for that. We are all living in a fast-paced environment – having a hectic schedule that we do not have the luxury of time to watch TV shows as scheduled on our favorite TV channels. The only way to keep up with the latest episodes of our best-loved TV shows is to check them online.
Thanks to YouTube for giving us the platform to watch and rewatch our most favored TV show. So, the fact that all the episodes are published on YouTube, we do have the convenience to watch shows at our most convenient time.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Fast-paced [adj.] – moving or developing quickly
Hectic [adj.] – frantic; restless
(Not have the) luxury of time [expression] – to not have enough free time
Keep up [phrasal verb] – to be updated
Best-loved [adj.] – favorite
Episode [noun] – an installment of a serialized TV program
Do you think people nowadays watch TV shows together?
Based on my observation, it is not as much as it used to be. These days both parents are busy working, children’s time is always occupied with school work, and the inevitable widespread of internet use in every household has changed the culture of most families in terms of watching TV shows together.
This modern society has made people become isolated, unlike in the previous generations, where everyone’s favorite pastime was watching TV shows with their family or friends, these days most people find comfort in being alone while enjoying surfing the internet or watching Netflix movies or series in their own bedroom and some children or students cannot help themselves but prioritize their homework over watching TV shows.
Well, there may still be some people or families who enjoy spending time together watching TV programs, however, we cannot deny the fact that it is getting fewer and fewer.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Occupied [adj.] – busy and active
Inevitable [adj.] – unavoidable
Widespread [adj.] – general; worldwide
Household [noun] – a house and its general occupants; family
Isolated [adj.] – having minimal contact
Pastime [noun] – hobby
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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