CONTENTS

SAMPLE ANSWERS
1 Sample questions and
answers from speaking part 1,
2 and 3
1. 2.

KEY VOCABULARY
2
TOPIC:
3. Words and terms frequently
used when talking about
envifonment

ENVIRONMENT
4.

WORD FORMATION
3 Learn how to use wide
variety of parts of speech,
such as nouns, verbs,
adjectives
Sample answers, useful
COLLOCATIONS
vocabulary and resources for 5. 4 Find out groups of words that
usually used together by
IELTS speaking exam native speakers

USEFUL RESOURCES
5 References to teaching and
authentic materials related to
this topic: IELTS blogs,
podcasts, videos and articles

[Link]
 1. SAMPLE ANSWERS
PART 1
-I do not like the extreme heat of summer, but do you
1. Which country are you from? know what I disliked more? A humid weather; at least in
the summer you could sweat off the heat, but in a humid
- I am from the Philippines, an archipelagic country that environment, the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the
is comprised by many islands. The country has 7,107 body is reduced by reducing the rate of evaporation of
islands and that is why people who live there have a moisture from the skin.
diverse set of culture and languages.
6. Would you prefer to live in a hot or cold country?
2. Where is this country located? -I was born in a tropical country, my body had adapted to
it. Well, at least in a hot country, I could enjoy eating ice
- The Philippines is located in Southeast Asia situated cream.
in the Western Pacific Ocean.
7. What is the best/worst weather for travelling in?
3. Which part of the country do most people live in?

-I The bulk of the country’s population is in Metro -In my opinion, the best weather to travel is in a slight
Manila, a region which houses the primary business rainy season. Why? Because it is the off season, less
centers and the seat of government. traffic jam, lower prices for tickets and food and you don’t
have to compete with other tourists in terms of time by
4. What are the main industries in your country? falling in line on order to enjoy a tourist site.
The worst weather to travel in is of course the typhoon
- The Philippines is traditionally an agricultural season. Because it is safe to stay indoors and to avoid
country, but the economy has been transitioning into flooded areas, establishments are closed and flights get
industries that emphasizes on services and cancelled.
manufacturing.

5. What kind of weather do you dislike?

[Link]
 PART 2

Describe an environmental problem that has If there is an environmental problem that I would like to
occurred in your country. You should say: talk about, it would be the excessive pollution of
waterways, rivers and canals. It was caused by the
§ The cause of the problem irresponsible disposal of wastes by the factories,
§ What effect it has had on your country industries and the people who live near the bodies of
§ The steps, if any, that have been taken to solve water.
this
§ Explain why you think this problem is so The pollution of the rivers was the effect of prolonged
important to solve. abuse and neglect. The rivers were considered
biologically dead, which means no fish left to catch and
less food to eat. Boats could not travel because of the
density of the debris of floating plastic wastes; the
rivers emit a foul stench and the waters are toxic which
house a number of bacteria that could cause different
diseases.

In the 90’s, the government started to create a

rehabilitation program for the rivers and waterways,
unfortunately they failed to displace the main polluters-
the illegal settlers near the river, simply because they
have their “human rights”.

The problem is important to solve simply because

water is life. It is the circulatory system of the world,
water enabled life forms to survive and we need other
life forms in order to survive.

[Link]
 PART 3

1. Do you think it is the responsibility of governments alone to protect the environment?

Of course not! I think it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the environment. Sure, the government has the power
to enact laws and craft policies but how good is the law if nobody respects it.
We simply could not go on with our lives throwing our wastes irresponsibly and expect the government to just clean
it up. There is nothing left to clean up in the first place if only we dispose things properly, it wastes both time and
resources.

2. What measures can individuals take to protect the environment?

There are a lot of ways on how individuals can do to protect the environment some of them are:
o Turn off appliances when you are not using them.
o Recycle and segregate your biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste or better yet avoid creating trash by
avoiding disposable products.
o Minimize your water and electricity consumption.
o Use a fuel-efficient car or if you are traveling in short distances, take a walk or ride a bicycle.
These are just small things we can do to change our lifestyles, imagine millions of other people doing the same
thing. It can gradually make a difference.

3. Do you think large companies and business organizations should be more environmentally friendly? Why?
How?

Development is good; sometimes it is a necessity to survive in today’s world. Businesses need profit, but they
should not do so at the expense of the environment. Sustainable development is the key, the needs of the present
has to be met without compromising the ability of future generations to sustain life in this planet.

[Link]
 2. KEY VOCABULARY
to use objects or matrerials again It is possible to recycle cardboard into lower grade
to recycle after processing by converting materials, such as paper
waste into reusable material

to make something poisonous as The incentives strongly encourage oil companies to

to contaminate a result of adding waste or not contaminate the water supply
chemical

put (someone or something) at It is a criminal offence to endanger the lives of the

to endanger risk or in danger public by allowing the introduction of a contaminate
into the mains supply.

bad air quality that usually caused According to a recent study, air pollution in Russia
air pollution be harmful gases causes the death of approximately 4000 citizens per
day or 1.6 million people per year

the presence of toxic chemicals Plastics do contribute to soil pollution

soil pollution or man made waste in soil

is the presence of harmful Water pollution causes marine life to die.

water pollution materials in water, such as
dissolved metals, waste from
farms

[Link]
 keep safe from harm or injury For more than 15 years, the nonprofit volunteer-run
to protect center has worked to educate the community to
protect wildlife and their habitats

The protection of a natural I've decided to dedicate the rest of my life to

conservation resource, usually by planned environmental conservation
management, to prevent its
depletion or destruction

waste products that are All of the military activity has left it a toxic waste
Toxic waste hazardous to the environment, hazard
people, animals

a gas that contributes to the Here is a list of habits each one of us can form to
greenhouse gas greenhouse effect by trapping help reduce greenhouse gase missions
heat above the Earth

a person whose lifestyle, political Environmentalists often encourage us to buy our

environmentalists etc choices are designed to foods from local sources. They say it is good for the
minimise human impact on the environment.
natural environment

reduction in the number or Ground water depletion is a real and serious

depletion quantity of something problem in many regions
Ozone depletion is associated with the destruction of
ozone molecules within the air

The complete disappearance of a Indeed the most dramatic example of

extinction species of plant or animal from mass extinction known to biology has been caused
the planet. by the introduction of an alien species .

[Link]
 a natural fuel such as coal or oil, Fossil fuels are at zero risk of running out in any
fossil fuels formed in the geological past from timescale we care about
the remains of living organisms.

gas produced by cars and The highest per capita carbon emission country is
carbon emission factories that burn carbon and Qatar
cause air pollution

have a strong effect on someone The project will impact the lives of young people in
to impact or something Shepway, between the ages of 10 and 20

the gases in the stratosphere that The ozone layer is continuously created by solar
ozone layer protect earth from ultraviolet light radiation impacting O2 in the upper atmosphere
through absorbsion most of the
ultraviolet radiation reaching the
earth from the sun

to kill in large numbers, to destroy The business eventually collapsed due to the
wipe out something completely myxomatosis which virtually wiped out the rabbit
population

a person who works for social or The only real requirement for an animal rights
animal rights activist political change in order to protect activist is being vegan
animals and make people treat
animals well

mate and produce off spring Other seabirds also breed there in moderate
to breed numbers .

[Link]
 A living organism such as an The dormouse is one of our most secretive
creature animal, fish, or insect (not a plant) wild creatures

to do something that produces an The same events can affect people very differently
to affect effect or change

relatining to the sea. Mackerel belong to the large family of marine fishes
marine known as the Scombridae.

weak and defenceless; easily hurt Trada is the only Zoo in New Zealand breeding this
vulnerable vulnerable animal to help safeguard them against
extinction

to take in liquid, gas For plants to photosynthesise and produce sugars in

absorb their leaf cells , they need to absorb large amounts
of carbon dioxide .

[Link]
 [Link] FORMATION
noun The combined effects of overpopulation, resource
depletion depletion, and environmental degradation will cause
great economic losses

verb The clearance of trees and vegetation depletes the soil ,

to deplete resulting in decreasing agricultural yields

noun There is no danger of long-term contamination

contamination
verb The incentives strongly encourage oil companies to not
to contaminate contaminate the water supply

adjective He is ill as a result of eating contaminated food

contaminated

adjective There are a few different ways that helping endangered

endangered species can be profitable

verb It is a criminal offence to endanger the lives of the public

to endanger by allowing the introduction of a contaminate into the
mains supply.

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 verb It is possible to recycle cardboard into lower grade
to recycle materials, such as paper

noun Recycling is not only good for environment but it also

recycling creates so many jobs across many levels

adjective Most businesses generate more recyclable waste then

recyclable residual waste.

noun Drastic carbon emission reductions would undoubtedly

emission be better for the atmosphere and climate

verb The new car emits less than 160g/km CO2

to emit

noun More and more farmers move to the city as deforestation

degradation and agricultural degradation become ever more
widespread .

verb Freshwater ecosystems have already been

to degrade severely degraded.

adjective Most plastic is not biodegradable

biodegradable
adjective Even the degradable plastics may break into fragments
degradable that litter the soil.

noun Water pollution causes marine life to die.

pollution

[Link]
 verb Intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers
to pollute seriously pollutes water, soil and air.

adjective People are becoming more and more aware of the

polluted detrimental effects of living in heavily polluted areas

noun Energy conservations important for many reasons

conservation
verb Our aim is to minimise energy consumption
to conserve and conserve natural resources.

noun
disposal
verb The best way to dispose of the cell phone battery is to
to dispose recycle it.

adjective Disposable razor blades get dull from water corrosion

disposable
noun One of the most widespread natural hazards is flooding
hazard
adjective Hazardous waste disposal can be a complicated process
hazardous
noun This could save the world from one of its biggest
threat environmental threats

verb Always look for hazards that threaten the environment

to threaten

[Link]
 noun Environmental sustainability is not an option - it is a
sustainability necessity.

adjective Cities offer a far more sustainable lifestyle than suburban

sustainable or rural areas

[Link]
 [Link]
ozone layer
toxic waste

endangered species
genetically modified
breeding in captivity
organic farming
fossil fuels
solar power
natural resources
wildlife conservation

global warming
conservation program

to get serious about climate change

[Link]
 genetic engineering
rain forests
observe natural behaviour
keep animals in captivity
animal rights activists
environmentally friendly
sustainable energy sources
one way to tackle the problem
fossil fuels
carbon emissions
land degradation

easily adverb+ recyclable

completely
potentially

air adverb+ pollution

environmental
marine
water
industrial
nuclear
nitrate

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 noise
vehicle
soil
cause verb+ pollution
avoid
prevent
combat
control
fight verb+ pollution
tackle
cut
limit
minimize
reduce
monitor
level pollution+noun pollution
control
prevention
reduction
standards
a risk of pollution phrase pollution
a source of pollution
preserve verb+ environment
protect
safeguard
save
damage

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 harm
pollute
policy environment+noun environment
protection
issues
conservation of the environment +of the+environment environment
protection of the environment
damage to the environment
harmful to the environment
pollution of the environment phrase environment
have an impact on environment
dangerous adjective+ waste
harmful
hazardous
poisonous
toxic
non-toxic adjective+ waste
recyclable
industrial
domestic
household
nuclear
produce verb+ waste
dispose of
dump
get rid of

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 bury
process
recycle verb+ waste
reprocess deal with
handle
manage
cut down on
reduce
disposal waste+noun waste
processing
recycling
reprocessing
treatment
management
minimization
reduction

[Link]
 5. USEFUL RESOURCES
THIS TOPIC ON IELTS BLOGS  BBSRadi
oUK–Chi
na'
sWat
erRev
olut
i
on

[
bbc.
co.
uk]
 I
ELTSSpeaki
ngPar
t2:envi
ronmentpr
obl
em

[
i
elt
s-si
mon.
com]
ARTICLES
 I
ELTSSPEAKI
NG par
t1,2and3sampl
e

ques
ti
ons[
i
passi
el
ts.
com]  QUORA-Isittoolateforustodoanythingaboutglobal
 I
ELTSEnvi
ronmentv
ocabul
ary c
li
mat
echange?

[
i
elt
sspeaki
ng.
co.
uk]  Hu/ngtonPost-EverydayThingsYouAren't
Recy
cli
ng,ButShoul
dBe
PODCASTS
 St
arTal
kRadi
o-Pr
otect
i
ngOurEnvi
ronment
,wi
t
h VIDEOS
Gi
naMcCar
thy[
Soundcl
oud]  J
ohanRoc
kst
r
om:
Let
theen
vir
onment
gui
deour

 Yal
eUni
ver
sit
y–OnTheEnvi
ronment de
vel
opment
[TEDT
ALKS]

[
Soundcl
oud]  JamesHansen:WhyImustspeakoutaboutclimate
 BBSRadi
oUK-Br
it
ain'
sEnvi
ronment
:The c
hange[
TEDT
ALKS]

Debat
e[BBCWebsi
t
e]

t
het
est
tak
er.
com
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