96. Ideal Home
Describe the ideal home that you would like to live in.
You should say:
where it would be
what type of house it would be
how you would decorate it (or, how you would furnish it)
and explain what why you would like to live in this kind of home.

Notes:
• See the notes for Topic #102 for important information about grammar for this question.
• It is unsuitable to use the following expressions for this topic: "I hope my house will ..." or,
"It will ...".
Possible follow-up questions:
• Have you ever seen a home like that? *
• Do you know anyone with a home like that? *
• Do you think you will really live in a house like that? *
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97. Future Work Plans (2)
Version A
Describe the work ( = the job) that you plan to do in the future.
(Or, Describe the work ( = the job) that you want to do in the future.)
(Or, Describe the work ( = the job) that you would like to do in the future.)
You should say:
(what job it is)
where you plan to work (what country/city etc)
how you plan to prepare for this work
why you choose this kind of work
and explain what skills are necessary for this work.

Version B

(or, what people you would need to help you set up this business)
and explain why you would like to open/own/run/have this small business.

Note
• See the notes for Topic #102 for important information about grammar for this question.
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you know anyone who has a business like that? *
• Do you really plan to have a business like that?
• Do you think you will really have that kind of business one day?
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99. A Type of Film
Describe the type of film that you most enjoy watching (for example, action or romance films).
You should say:
what this type is
what the characteristics of this type are
when you last watched this type of film
(when & where you usually watch this kind of film *)
and explain why you like this type of film.

Notes
• This topic could possibly be worded as, "Describe the type of film that you find most
interesting" or "Describe the type of film that you are most interested in watching".
• You should choose only one type of film, not several types.
• Of course you can (and perhaps, should) include one or two examples of this type of film.
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Possible follow-up questions:

101. A Newspaper You Like to Read
Describe a newspaper (in your own language) you like to read.
You should say:
what the newspaper's name is *
what the contents of thenewspaper are (what sections it has)
when or how often it isprinted/published
how long you usually spend reading this newspaper
explain what sections of the newspaper are most interesting to you.

See Note
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do your friends also (like to) read this newspaper? (Or, Do you ever share your newspaper
with your friends?)
• Is this a popular newspaper in China? *
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102. An Ideal Park
Describe the perfect park for a city.
You should say:
where it would be located in the city
what (facilities) it would have ( = what would be in the park)
what people would do in the park (or, what people would be able to do)
and explain why you think this would be the best kind of park for a city.*

See important NOTES
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Possible follow-up questions:

and explain how this person helps others. *

See NOTE
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Are you still in contact with this person? *
• Do many people know him/her?
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105. An Important Letter You Received (2)
Describe an important letter that you received.
You should say:
who wrote it
when you received it
what the letter was about
(how you felt about the letter)

and explain why it was important.

See NOTE
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you still have this letter? *
• Do you often write letters to your family and relatives? *
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106. Someone You Like to Spend Time With
Describe a person who you like to spend time with.

(how) to relax" ...
• The words "knowledge" and "information" are non-count. Therefore, we do not say "learn
many informations" or "an information". We say, "some information" or "a piece of
information".
• "Knowledge" is a noun. "Acknowledge" is a verb, with several meanings such as 承认.
• The words "study" and "learn" do not have exactly the same meaning .
"Studying" is an activity that people do with the aim of learning something. The usage of the word
"to study" in English is similar to using the words, "to examine", "to analyze", "to ponder", "to
research" and "to look closely at". It can also simply mean, "sitting at my desk doing some kind of
schoolwork". For example, "He dislikes studying."
Students who study very efficiently learns quite a lot when they study. But an inefficient student
does not learn the same amount even if they work as hard as an efficient student and study for the
same amount of time.
Here are two examples of extremely inefficient study: If you know nothing about the Greek
language and I give you a page of written Greek to study, you will be able to learn only limited
things even if you study that page for 5 hours; Similarly, if you try to study a page from a Ph.D.
thesis in mathematics, you will learn very little because you will understand almost nothing on the
page. In other words, most cases of "learning" involve understanding and proceed in a step-by-step
manner.
"Learning"
When we "learn" something, a change takes place in the brain - we increase or improve our
knowledge or understanding.
However, some examples of "learning" only require memorization, not understanding. For
example, one can "learn to sing a song in Russian" = "learn a song in Russian" by mimicking a
recording, without understanding what the words mean.
• Other examples of the difference between "learn" and "study" are: Babies learn a lot in their
first few years of life. For example, they learn to talk and they learn to walk. But have you
ever seen a baby (say, a 1 year-old baby) studying? Similarly, a dog can learn how to open
a door but have you ever seen a dog studying?
• Some examples of the use of "study":

• The wording is probably either, " ... an important traditional event ..." or " ... an important
traditional celebration ..."
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Have you ever participated in this activity?
• Is this event popular in your family or in your city?
• Do you think people will want to continue with this tradition in the future? *
109. Success (2)
Describe a success you would like to achieve (in the near future).
You should say:
what it is
how difficult you think it will be
what you should do to prepare forthis
and explain why you want to succeed in doing this. *
or
and explain how you think you will feel after you reach this goal. *

See Notes
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you know anyone who has achieved that success?
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110. A Photograph (2)
Describe a photograph that is important to you.
You should say:
what (or who) is in the photograph
when and where it was taken

Notes:
• As at November 11, 2008, this topic is still in use. On Nov. 11, all of the questions here
were copied to a new location, Topic # 180. You should go there to continue reading
because any changes and improvements to these questions will, after Nov. 11, be
added to Topic # 180 only, not to here. The topic was moved to make sure that readers
no not overlook this topic.
• If the words just say, 'a place you have been to', you could talk about a part of
your hometown that has an environmental problem - you don't have to talk about
going to a place away from your hometown. But I think the topic is not referring
to the place where you live. Many people report the words are, "... a city you
visited that has pollution."
See further NOTES
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do other people think this is a problem?
• If you had the opportunity, would you like to go there again?
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112. Travel to Somewhere in the World
Describe a place in the world that you would like to travel to.
You should say:
how you would go there
how you know about this place
what the scenery is like in this place
(who you would go with) *
(when you would like to go there. *)
and explain why you would like to go to this place.
(or, and explain what you would like to do there.) *
　

Describe another language that you would learn, if you wanted to learn another language [in
addition to English and your own language (Chinese)] *
You should say:
the name of this language (& where it is spoken)
how you would learn it
what equipment or facilities you would need to study this language *
and explain what difficulties you think you would have (or, might have) when learning this
language.
or
and explain why you would choose to study this language. *
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you think you will really study this language?
• Do you have any friends who speak that language? ( friends from that country)
• Or: Have you ever met anyone who speaks this language?
• Or: Do you know any Chinese people who can speak that language?
116. A Family Event
Describe an enjoyable family event (such as a birthday party or family dinner) that you attended.
You should say:
where and when this event took place
what you did (or, what happened at this event)
who was there at this event (or, who participated in this event)
and explain why this event was enjoyable.

Notes
• Instead of the word 'enjoyable', the word 'important' might be used.
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Possible follow-up questions:

Describe an artistic activity that you do/did (outside of normal classes) at school or university (such
as painting, woodwork or pottery)*
You should say:
what the activity is/was
when & where you do/did this activity
who you do/this activity with
how you did this activity

and explain how you felt (feel) about his activity.

See Notes
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you still do this activity? *
• Are you still interested in this activity? *
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120. A Person You Would Like to be Similar to
Describe a person who you would like to be similar to in the future.
You should say:
who this person is
how you know this person
what impresses you about this person

and explain why you would like to be similar to this person. *
or
and explain in what ways you would like to be similar to this person. *

Notes

when you went there
what you liked & disliked about the city
and explain why you visited this city. *
or
and explain why this city left an impression on you. *
or
and explain what kind of work people do in this city. *
or
and explain what was special about this city. *Notes
• See also old Topic# 24 .
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Possible follow-up questions:
• Do you think you will go there again one day? (Or: Would you like to visit there again?)
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123. A School Friend
Describe a friend who you had at school.
You should say:
what he/she looked (looks) like
where you first met
how you became friends (or, how you first met each other)
what you do/did together (or, what you had in common)
and explain why you remember him/her so well. *