Family Living Situations
Family Size and Household Living Arrangements
• In China today, what what is the structure of the typical family (= the typical
household)? FQ
• Have there been any changes in families in China in the past 20 or 30 years?
• Do you think these changes are changes for the better or changes for the worse? *
• In what ways do you think the number of people in a family (a household) affects
the family?

• Do you think China's "One Child Policy" pleases everybody?
• What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of big families
(i.e., many children) as opposed to small families? FQ
• In China, are there any differences between family living arrangements
(households) in the cities and in the countryside?
Old Family Members (grandparents)
• Do people in China like to have three generations of their family all living together?
See Note
• How many generations live in your family home?
• What are some of the pros and cons of three generations living together (i.e., a
household including grandparents)? FQx2
• (Similar to above) What do you think are some of the advantages and possible
disadvantages of having children, parents and grandparents all living together?
FQx2
• What do you think are some differences between children being brought up by their
grandparents and being brought up by their parents?
• Do you think old people should go out to work in order to support themselves
financially?
• Do you think that people are (or, should be) responsible for looking after their
parents when the parents are old?
• (Similar to above) Whose responsibility do you think it should be (or, is) to
(financially) look after old people - the government's responsibility or the family's?

• Would you agree that each person in a family has certain responsibilities towards
the other members of the family?
• What responsibilities do young people (and/or children) have towards their parents?
FQ
• What are some examples of stress (or pressure) that can threaten family
relationships? (E.g., husband and wife working in different cities because of
economic necessity)
• How can the "generation gap" be reduced?
• Do you feel that you will be friends with the other members of your family for a
long time?
• Do you think modern technology such as computers and the cell-phones play a
positive role in family relationships?
Male and Female Family Roles
• In a marriage, who do you think should carry most of the responsibility for the
family, the husband or the wife?
• In typical Chinese families, who is the dominant person, the mother or the father?
FQ
• (Similar to above) In typical Chinese families, who is the the head of the family?
FQ
• (Similar to above) In typical Chinese families, who is the most important person,
the mother or the father? FQ
• Do you think this has changed at all in recent years?
• In a family, do you think it's important that the men and women have set (= clearly
defined) roles to play?
• (Similar to above) Do you think (married) men and women should have set roles in
the family?
• In the typical family (in China) who takes on (= is responsible for) most of the
family-related responsibilities?
• In the typical family (in China), what is the role of the man and what is the role of
the woman? (State the roles; and compare/contrast) FQ

family and between friends?
• Do people feel the same about helping family members and helping friends?
• What's the difference between help from family members (or, from parents) and
help from friends? FQ
• Which do you think is better?
• Do young people in China today usually ask (or, prefer to ask) their parents for help
or their friends?
• (Similar to above) Do children in China today usually ask (or, prefer to ask) their
parents for help or their friends?
• In the future, do you think people will be co-operating more with each other than
they do today or will people be doing things more independently than today?
• How do you personally feel about working with other people?
• How do you think you could contribute to your community?
*******************************************************
***************
192. A Course You Would Like to Study (Jan. 10, 2009) Not Confirmed as a
Part 2 Topic
Describe a course you would like to study, if you had time. *
You should say:
what (kind of) course it is (or, would be) *
where you would do this course *
how you would study it *.
how easy or difficult you think it would be *
and explain how you would benefit from studying this course. Notes
• See Note about this topic possibly being Topic 154
• This is a 假养养养养
• Also see Notes

for work? FQ
• Which do you think is more useful (or, important), studying a course in a classroom
or getting practical work experience? (Why?) FQx2
• (Similar to above) When companies hire people, do you think they should pay more
attention to the job applicant's study record or the job applicant's work experience?
FQ
• Do you think schools (and universities) should include more opportunities for
gaining practical experience? (Why? How? / Why not?)
Refresher Courses
• How useful (or, how important) do you think refresher courses are, (for example,
going to a class to learn how to use the most recent computer software even though
you took a similar course 10 years previously)? (Hint: The speed of technological
development means that refresher courses will be increasingly important in the
future.)
*******************************************************
***************
193. A Piece of Good News (Jan. 10, 2009)
Describe a piece of good news that you received by phone. *
You should say:
what the news was
where you were when you received this news
who gave you this news *
and explain why you felt this was good news. *
or
and explain what you did after you received this good news. *

See Notes
• The card might say, "mobile phone" but it probably just says "phone", giving the
opportunity for those without a mobile phone to answer. But of course, the main
idea here is the mobile phone.

• Why do you think girls like using telephones (or, cell-phones) more than boys?
Communication Methods/Tools
• How have communication methods in China changed in the past 20 or 30 years?
FQx2
• Compare the benefits and shortcomings of using different communication methods
(or, tools) such as face-to-face communication, letters, emails and phones. *
• Compare (the advantages & disadvantages of using) emails as opposed to cell-
phones (= mobile phones) as a means of communication.
• Compare (the advantages & disadvantages of using) emails as opposed to (hand-
written) letters as a means of communication. FQ
• What impact have new communication technologies such as mobile phones and the
internet had on people's work lives and on their personal lives? FQ See Note
• With the increasing use of computers for communication, what do you think the
eventual result will be? FQ
• (Similar to above) With the increasing use of computers for communication, do you
think people's handwriting skills will suffer as a result?
• Do you think the skill of handwriting might one day disappear?
• How do you think people will be communicating with each other in the future (e.g.,
30 years from now)?
*******************************************************
***************
194. A Future Change (Jan. 10, 2009)
Describe a change you would like to make to your life in the future.
You should say:
what change you would like to make
when you would like to make this change *
how easy or difficult you think this change might be
(or, how you would make this change happen)
and explain why you would like to make this change.


• How can people have more control over the changes that occur in their lives?
Personal Change
Changing Oneself
• What are some examples of changes that people choose to make to their lives (or to
themselves)?
• What are some personal changes that occur only over quite a long time?
• Why do adults find it harder to change (to make changes to themselves) than
children? FQ
• (Similar to above) Why do you think it is difficult for people in general to change
(to make changes to themselves)? FQ
Changes that Happen to People
• And can you give any examples of changes that just happen to people, not really
changes that people choose to make?
• What changes take place when a child becomes an adult?
• What are some things about a person that never change?
Changes In Society
• What are some of the major changes that have taken place in Chinese society in the
past 20 or 30 years?
• If you were the government, what changes would you bring about in society?
• What's the difference between "change" and "progress"?
• In the past 20 or 30 years, have there been any changes in family life (or, the family
structure) in China? FQ
• Do you think these are all changes for the better or are some of them changes for
the worse?
• How do you think changes in technology (electronic technology) have affected
people's everyday lives?
• What changes do you think the internet has brought to society?
• Have there been any changes in the natural environment (e.g., the weather)?
• Can you think of anything that hasn't changed since ancient times?
Educational Changes Frequent Topic

City versus Rural Living
• Compare (the differences between) living in a city and living in a rural
environment.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a city and in a rural
environment?
• Compare the differences between people's homes in cities and in the countryside.
• Which do you think is the better place to live, in a city or in the countryside?
(Why?) FQ
• Nowadays, many people move to live either in the city or the countryside. What do
you think are (some of) the reasons why people make these moves?
• What is the trend in China - are people moving into the cities from the countryside
or are they moving into the countryside from the cities? (Why?)
• In the future, do you think (more) people will move out of the cities into rural
areas?
• Why do (many) people today move from rural to urban areas? FQ
• What do you think the government could do to improve the living situation in the
countryside?
• What city would you prefer to live in? (Why?)
Essential Facilities in a Town or City
• What would you say are the essential facilities (or, the important facilities) and
services that people need in their town or city? FQ
• (Similar to above) What important (or essential) facilities and services does your
hometown have? FQ
• What kind of entertainment facilities are there in your hometown?
• (Similar to above) What kind of entertainment facilities do you think are essential
for a town or city?
• What facilities are there for the welfare of old people in the community?
• (Similar to above) What do you think are essential facilities in a community for old
people?
• What do you think are the essential educational facilities that a community (a town

how and where you did this activity *
who you did it with *
and explain why you enjoyed that activity.

Notes
• This seems to be a different topic to Topic #179, A Childhood Game. An "activity"
can be a game but it doesn't have to be a game. For example, it could be playing a
sport, riding your bicycle etc. The words are not yet clear but someone wrote on the
internet that the word "game" is not written on the topic card. The Part 3 questions
seem different to Topic #179, too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
Possible follow-up questions:
• Do children today still do that?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
Part 3
Childhood Activities
• Do many people today still do the same things as they did when they were
children?
• (Similar to above) Do many people today still play the same games as they did
when they were children?
• Do you think children today prefer playing with other children or do they prefer
doing things by themselves?
The Role of Children in the Family
• In the family, what is the role of children?
• As they grow up, how do you think this role changes?
• What do you think parents can do to help their children grow up to become good
people?
• What pressures do modern children have in their lives?

benefit them when they are adults?
• If a child were too shy to join other kids in play, what would you do to help this
child?
The Global Community
• Would you agree that the people in the world are today living in a "global village"?
*******************************************************
***************
197. A Person who Visited your Home (Mar. 7, 2009) ( Not in China )

Describe a person who visited your home.
You should say:
who the person was
why they visited your home
how you spent the time with this visitor (or how you entertained this visitor)
and explain how you felt about the visit.

Note
• It seems this topic is not being used in China at the moment. But it might be among
the 'new' topics after May 9, 2009.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
Possible follow-up questions:
•
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------
Part 3
See also the Part 3 questions for Topic # 138. So far, the topic reported in Australia on

about? FQx2
• Can you think of any situations when two strangers might engage in a
conversation?
Gender Differences Frequent Topic