IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
A PLACE YOU VISITED
THAT
IS POLLUTED
Describe a place you visited that is polluted
You should say:
- What the place is
- Where it is
- What type of pollution it has
And explain the cause and effect of pollution
A N S W E R
In the first place, nobody really wants to pay a visit to a place that is polluted because it’s simply disgusting! But let me share an interesting and awakening story of mine when I visited a village that’s located close to a landfill during my university days.
I had this subject called Community Development, in which I needed to study some social issues in a particular community for my research paper. I decided to visit the neighboring town because I knew it was the perfect place since it’s a poverty-stricken town, meaning to say, I could study major social issues that the locals were experiencing.
So, I coordinated with some local officials and they took me to a small village but very populous which was situated a few meters away from a landfill.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
In the first place [phrase] – to begin with
Disgusting [adj.] – extremely unpleasant
Awakening [adj.] – coming into awareness
Landfill [noun] – a site for the disposal of waste materials
Poverty-stricken [adj.] – extremely poor
Coordinate [verb] – to work together
Populous [adj.] – densely populated
When I got there, I was appalled by the condition of the area not because it’s a slum, but because of the inexplicable smell of the place caused by the landfill. There were excavated areas with lots of garbage that weren’t filled with earth yet and I did believe that, that was the reason why the place smelt fusty and overpowering.
I was at a loss for words seeing the situation of the people living in that area. I knew how unsanitary the place was for the residents and how it affected their overall health and I learned that some of them had some respiratory illnesses because of the condition of their place.
Anyway, after I conducted some interviews with some locals in that place, I realized how unfair life was and how privileged I was for living a life that’s a completely opposite to the residents there. Since then, I reminded myself that I had no right to complain about some petty things since there were more people who wanted a life like mine, that’s healthy and free from pollution.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Appalled [adj.] – dismayed; horrified
Slum [noun] – a densely-populated area that is untidy
Inexplicable [adj.] – unable to be explained
Excavate [verb] – to remove earth from an area; to dig a hole
Earth [noun] – soil; the substance of a land surface
Fusty [adj.] – not fresh; smells of decayed things
Overpowering [adj.] – having a strong smell
Petty [adj.] – of little importance
PART 3
What do you think are the common environmental problems that are affecting many countries these days?
Well, the primary environmental problem that is greatly affecting the world is the excessive greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, from the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, and the heat generated from using some products like appliances that contain greenhouse gases in businesses and homes. These greenhouse gases trap the heat in the atmosphere and make our planet Earth warmer. As a result, the sea level rises due to the melting of ice in both the north and south poles.
Another problem is the intemperate use of plastic which contributes to tons of garbage around the world that kills many living organisms like marine life. These two major environmental problems have not been properly addressed by world leaders and sadly we are already paying the price for our actions such as experiencing the high increase in temperature and the irregular weather conditions.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Excessive [adj.] – uncontrolled; too much
Greenhouse gas [noun] – carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbon, methane, water vapor are examples of greenhouse gases that trapped in the atmosphere which cause heat
Intemperate [adj.] – excessive
Pay the price [idiom] – to experience the bad result of something you’ve done
TIPS
i.) The speaker gave his answer right away by explaining about greenhouse gas emissions and how it affected the atmosphere and the sea level. He did use some very helpful topic vocabulary words to his answer that helped him express his ideas even better.
ii.) Then he transitioned to giving another important problem which was about the tons of garbage and how it impacted on marine living organisms. And simply ended by giving his conclusive statement emphasizing the fact this generation was already suffering from the maltreatment of the environment.
What do you think is the world’s worst environmental disaster caused by humans?
I consider the nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine as the world’s worst environmental disaster caused by humans. If my memory serves me right, the explosion happened in 1986, well, I was not born at that time yet, but I read several articles about that nuclear disaster, and what I learned was that one of the reactors of that power plant was defectively designed and some inadequately trained plant operators made a mistake during their safety test operation in the plant.
That disaster displaced many people and many were killed due to Acute Radiation Syndrome, not only that, the site and the neighboring places were incredibly contaminated with radioactive materials that made people abandon their homes. The Chernobyl accident is the world’s dangerously unique environmental disaster.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
If my memory serves me right [phrase] – another way to say ‘If I remember it correctly’
Defectively [adv.] – with fault
Inadequately [adv.] – in a way that it lacks quality
Contaminated [adj.] – being exposed to pollutants
Acute Radiation Syndrome [noun] – also called as ‘radiation sickness’ or ‘radiation poisoning’
Do you believe that the problems of pollution will be better in the future?
I really want to believe that, however, day by day, I am getting skeptical because world leaders are not really serious about improving the condition of the environment. World conferences about addressing environmental issues are just a facade. If they take action very seriously to improve the condition of the environment, many businesses will be affected.
For instance, if electric cars are heavily promoted and supported by governments, for the purpose of massively reducing air pollution, oil companies will suffer and that imperils the world economy – that is something we cannot afford to bear. If we also use electric cars, we will be burning more fossil fuels to make those cars work, and that too is harmful to the environment.
So we do not have any better choice and that makes me believe that the condition will not be better in the future, especially on the issue of air pollution. Well, I am just being realistic.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Skeptical [adj.] – doubtful
Facade [noun] – false appearance
Imperil [verb] – put at risk or being destroyed
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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