TOPIC: PEOPLE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE (This material is collected by Smartcom, and used in the free of charge IELTS Speaking mini course) During the IELTS Speaking exam you may want to talk about what people look like. This might involve describing their physical appearance or the type of clothes they like to wear. Questions: Part 1: - Do you look like any other people in your family? - Tell me about your family. - What does your best friend look like? Part 2: Describe a person whose appearance you like. You should say who this person is what their relationship is to you what they look like and say what it is about their appearance you like. Part 3: - Is it important to dress well whenever we go out? - Do people worry too much about their appearance as they get older? - Is attractiveness a quality worthwhile aiming for? SAMPLE ANSWER (BAND 7.5+) Part 1: Examiner: Do you look like any other people in your family? Carlo: No not at all take my brother for example he has short cropped hair and has quite a pointed face he s also quite fair-skinned compared to me Examiner: Tell me about your family. Andrea: My father s getting on a bit he s in his 60s but he looks very young for his age he still does lots of exercise and is quite well-built Examiner: What does your best friend look like? Mandy: She s the same age as me she has shoulder-length hair fair hair she has a slim figure and is medium height 1 5 P a g e S M A R T C O M S I E L T S P R E P A R A T I O N S E R I E S
Part 2: Describe a person whose appearance you like. You should say who this person is what their relationship is to you what they look like and say what it is about their appearance you like. Monique: OK I d like to talk about my aunt her name s Marta and she s quite a character she s middle-aged but has a very youthful appearance she s a little overweight I suppose but not too much she has a friendly round face framed by thick blonde hair she has a lovely complexion and she s always well-turned out she actually always looks like she s going out for the evening to somewhere special there s never a hair out of place I ve always thought she bears a striking resemblance to someone on TV I can t remember the name now she wears glasses and always seems to have a different pair on every time I see her I like the way she looks because she wears clothes that are right for her age and manages to look glamorous without it looking like she s too done up yes I ll be happy if I look like her when I m her age Part 3 Examiner: Is it important to dress well whenever we go out? Mark: It depends where you re going I know some people get done up just to go to the shops but I don t see the point you shouldn t go out looking scruffy with disheveled hair but I really don t see the point in getting dressed up to the nines unless you re going somewhere special Examiner: Do people worry too much about their appearance as they get older? Mira: I m sure they do yes but it happens to all of us doesn t it we all go grey eventually and get hard of hearing we start to lose our figure that s why plastic surgery is so popular personally I think we just need to grow old gracefully and not worry too much about how we look Examiner: Is attractiveness a quality worthwhile aiming for? Phoebe: I d like to say no it shouldn t matter what we look like in terms of our physical appearance but unfortunately it seems women especially are taken more seriously if they aregood looking with a slender figure with perfect make up and so on 2 5 P a g e S M A R T C O M S I E L T S P R E P A R A T I O N S E R I E S
Useful phrases 1. to bear a striking resemblance: to look very similar to 2. cropped hair: very short hair 3. disheveled hair: untidy hair 4. to dress up to the nines: to dress very smartly or glamorously 5. fair hair: light-coloured hair 6. to be fair-skinned: light skinned 7. to get done up: to dress smartly 8. to be getting on a bit: to be getting old 9. to go grey: to have hair that is turning grey 10. to be good looking: to be attractive 11. to grow old gracefully: to act in a way that embraces the fact you are getting older 12. to be hard of hearing: to find it difficult to hear 13. in his/her 30s/40s: to be 20/30 something 14. scruffy: dressed untidily 15. to look young for your age: to look younger than you are 16. to lose one s figure: to have a figure that has lost its toned shape 17. complexion: natural skin colour and texture 18. make up: cosmetics 19. medium height: average height 20. middle-aged: approximately between 45-65 21. to never have a hair out of place: perfectly styled hair 22. to be overweight: to weigh more than is regarded as healthy 23. pointed face: the opposite of a round face 24. shoulder-length hair: hair that comes down to the shoulders and no further 25. slender figure: a figue that is tall and slim 26. slim figure: attractively thin 27. thick hair: a lot of hair 28. to wear glasses: to use spectacles 29. to be well-built: to be muscular 30. to be well-turned out: to look smart 31. youthful appearance: to look young 3 5 P a g e S M A R T C O M S I E L T S P R E P A R A T I O N S E R I E S
DESCRIBING HOW PEOPLE LOOK 1. Ages - Newborn /ˈ nuː bɔː rn/ (n): Sơ sinh - Baby /ˈ beɪbi/ (n): Trẻ em - Toddler /ˈ tɑː dlɚ/ (n): (Trẻ) Chập chững đi - Teenager /ˈ tiː nˌ eɪdʒɚ/ (n): Thiếu niên - Adult /əˈ dʌlt/ (n): Người trưởng thành - Adolescence /ˌ ædəˈ lesənts/ (n): Thanh thiếu niên - Old /oʊld/ (n): Người cao tuổi - Middle-aged /ˌ mɪdl ˈ eɪdʒd/ (adj): Trung tuổi - (In sb s) twenties /ˈ twentiz/ (n): Ở tuổi 20 - Thirties /ˈ θɝː t iz/ (n): Ở tuổi 30 - Forties /ˈ fɔː rt iz/ (n): Ở tuổi 40 Có một vài cách khác nhau để miêu tả về độ tuổi của một người nào đó. Nếu bạn biết chính xác tuổi của người đó, bạn có thể nói, ví dụ, He is 22 years old (Anh ấy 22 tuổi). Nếu bạn không chắc chắn, bạn có thể nói He s about 20 (Anh ấy khoảng 20) hoặc He s in his early twenties (Anh ấy bắt đầu sang tuổi 20). Trong những trường hợp thân thiện hơn, bạn có thể nói He looks twentyish (Anh ấy trông khoảng 20 tuổi). Đừng nói He is ten years. Hãy nói He is ten hoặc He is ten years old. The following idioms are all about getting old. Complete them using these words: getting dog over wrong a. You can t teach an old new tricks. b. She s the side of 40. c. He s the hill. d. He s on a bit now. Now use these above idioms, changing the grammar if necessary to complete these sentences: a. John will never change the way he does things. You b. In professional football, you re at 35. c. I think I ll have to start taking life a bit easier. I am, you know! d. Sheila looks great for her age. You d never guess she s of 50! 2. Appearance - Tall /tɑː l/ (adj): Cao vs Short /ʃɔːrt/ (adj): Thấp - Stocky /ˈ stɑː ki/ (adj): Tròn trĩnh - Slim /slɪm/ (adj): Gầy - Well-built /ˌ welˈ bɪlt/ (adj): Cân đối - Overweight /ˌ oʊvɚˈ weɪt/ (adj): Thừa cân - Enormous /ɪˈ nɔː rməs/ (adj): To bự - Thin /θɪn/ (adj): Gầy gò vs Fat /fæt/ (adj): Mập - Bald /bɑː ld/ (n): Hói đầu - Muscular /ˈ mʌs.kjʊ.l ɚ/: cơ bắp - Skinny /ˈ skɪni/ (adj): Gầy gò - Good-looking /ˌ gʊdˈ lʊkɪŋ/ (adj): Ưa nhìn - Handsome /ˈ hænsəm/ (adj): Đẹp trai - Pretty /ˈ prɪti/ (adj): Xinh đẹp - Moustache /ˈ mʌstæʃ / (n): Ria mép 4 5 P a g e S M A R T C O M S I E L T S P R E P A R A T I O N S E R I E S
SMARTCOM S MINI COURSE FOR IELTS SPEAKING TEST Bạn có thể miêu tả một người bằng cách nói she/ he has brown hair/ blue eyes Một cách khác để miêu tả đó là sử dụng với giới từ with, ví dụ: a man with brown hair hoặc a girl with blue eyes. Khi viết miêu tả, bạn có thể sử dụng cụm tính từ như là dark-haired hoặc brown-eyed, đi kèm với miêu tả về độ tuổi, ví dụ: a dark-haired man in his late 30s (Người đàn ông tóc đen ở độ tuổi cuối 30) Đừng sử dụng quá nhiều các câu ngắn. Ví dụ, đừng viết những câu như He is tall. He has dark hair and bright blue eyes. He has a small moustache (Ông ấy cao. Ông có mái tóc đen và đôi mắt màu xanh sáng. Ông có bộ ria nhỏ). Câu văn sẽ trở nên tự nhiên hơn hẳn khi bạn liên kết các miêu tả lại thành một câu dài hơn: He is tall, with dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a small moustache. (Ông ấy cao, với mái tóc màu đen, đôi mắt xanh sáng, và bộ ria nhỏ) Không nói She has dark/long hairs. Hãy nói She has long dark hair Không nói He has black eyes. Hãy nói He has dark brown eyes Trong tiếng Anh giao của người Anh, người ta thường nói has got thay vì nói has/ have, ví dụ: You ve got beautiful eyes (Bạn có đôi mắt đẹp) Trong văn viết miêu tả, người ta lại thường sử dụng has/ have. Chú ý: khi nói hoặc viết về thời điểm quá khứ, bạn luôn phải sử dụng từ had, mà không phải là had got. 3. Clothes - Shirt /ʃɝː t/ (n): Áo sơ mi - Jeans /dʒiː nz/ (n): Quần jean, quần bò - Blouse /blaʊs/ (n): Áo tay bồng - Skirt /skɝː t/ (n): Chân váy - Dress /dres/ (n): Váy - Tie /taɪ/ (n): Cà vát - Shorts /ʃɔː rts/ (n): Quần sóoc - Sweater /ˈ swetɚ/ (n): Áo len - Jacket /ˈ dʒækɪ t/ (n): Áo khoác - Coat /koʊt/ (n): Áo khoác - Hat /hæt/ (n): Mũ - Scarf /skɑː rf/ (n): Khăn - Sandals /ˈ sændəl/ (n): Xăng đan - High heels /haɪ hiː lz/ (n): Giầy cao gót - Shoes /ˈʃuː z/ (n): Giầy - Belt /belt/ (n): Thắt lưng - Cotton /ˈ kɑː tən/ (n): Chất cốt-tông - Wool /wʊl/ (n): Len - Silk /sɪlk/ (n): Lụa - Denim /ˈ denɪm/ (n): Vải giả bò (jean) - Leather /ˈ leðɚ/ (n): Da - Fur /fɝː / (n): Lông (thú) - Gloves /glʌvz/ (n): Găng tay - Khi miêu tả trang phục của một ai đấy, bạn có thể nói She/ He is wearing a black jacket and denim skirt, hoặc She/ He is dressed in a black jacket and denim skirt. Bạn cũng có thể sử dụng một cách khác bằng cách dùng với giới từ in, ví dụ: a man in a black jacket. Trong những trường hợp thân thiện, người ta thường nói She/ He has something on, ví dụ: She had a black jacket and a denim skirt on hoặc She had on a long green dress. 5 5 P a g e S M A R T C O M S I E L T S P R E P A R A T I O N S E R I E S