IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
Describe a healthy lifestyle that you know
You should say:
- What it is
- How you know it
- When you do it
And explain why you think it is healthy
A N S W E R
For the longest time, I was never health-conscious. I was never picky in terms of what I ate. To be honest, I could eat anything like a horse. I ate like there’s no tomorrow that I became overweight and, more often than not, my friends made fun of my appearance, but I never made a fuss about it.
Until one shocking incident happened in our family – my aunt succumbed to death because of cardiac arrest. Just like me, she was overweight. I was really terrified of her passing since it was beyond our imagination.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Health-conscious [adj.] – being concerned about how healthy one’s diet and lifestyle
Picky [adj.] – choosy; fussy
Eat like a horse [idiom] – to eat like a horse
(Eat) Like there’s no tomorrow [expression] – as much or as fast as possible
More often than not [phrase] – usually
Make fun of [phrase] – tease, or laugh at
Make a fuss [phrase] – make angry and complain
Succumb (to) [verb] – to die
Passing [noun] – death
Beyond imagination [idiom] – far from the reality or possibility
Because of my aunt’s death, I made up my mind to change my unhealthy lifestyle. I gave up eating greasy or fatty foods and decided to eat more vegetables and lean meat. Also, I’ve been drinking vegetable smoothies to detoxify my body from toxins. I have been disciplining myself so hard not to overeat and to just eat right.
Apart from that, I went back doing my first love which is cycling, that I quit doing for so long. To be honest, giving up my previous lifestyle was no joke, I really did struggle so hard at first, but I kept on telling myself that I wanted to live longer – I didn’t want to end up having the same fate as my aunt. So these days, I have been educating myself on how to live healthily – I have bought some Health Magazines, and have devoured reading some articles about the benefits of eating the right way and the importance of exercising.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Make up one’s mind [phrase] – to make a decision
Greasy [adj.] – oily
Lean meat [noun] – meat with a very low fat content
Smoothie [noun] – a thick and smooth drink of fresh fruit or vegetable
Detoxify [verb] – to remove toxic substances
Toxins [noun] – small molecules, peptides, or proteins that can cause disease
Apart from that [phrase] – in addition to
No joke [phrase] – if you describe something as no joke, it means it is very difficult
Devour [verb] – read quickly and eagerly
Well, I know that it’s still a long way to go to achieve my normal weight and to be completely physically fit, however, I can feel that I’m getting healthier now than before. Nowadays, I can sustain walking for an hour unlike in the past when even for only 10 minutes, I was already catching my breath. I’m more than elated to see positive results of my sacrifice and I will surely continue living healthily.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
(A) Long way to go [expression] – a lot of work to do
Physically fit [expression] – to be healthy
Sustain [verb] – endure
Elated [adj.] – to be very happy
TIPS
i.) In this part, the speaker ended his story by talking about the results that he could see for starting to live a healthy life. This is the answer to the last key point in the cue card. EXTRA INFORMATION Ideas About Healthy Lifestyle:
- Eating right (diet) – Balanced Diet
- Doing physical activity and exercise.
- Avoiding tobacco use.
- Avoiding excessive alcohol consumption.
- Avoiding high-risk sexual behaviors.
PART 3
What should schools do to improve children’s health?
In my opinion, schools should expose or make their students engaged in physical activities such as playing sports, dancing, or exercising. As we know, these activities require students to move their body as a result they become more physically active, and for sure these make them healthy. In addition, educating school children and their parents about the importance of eating nutritious food surely plays an important role in achieving good health.
As the school is the second place after homes where children can learn the importance of having good health, each school must have a curriculum that requires children to participate in physical education activities and learn the value of eating right.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Expose [verb] – to submit or make accessible
In addition [phrase] – additionally; besides
Nutritious [adj.] – nourishing; healthful
Curriculum [noun] – course of study; syllabus; program of study
TIPS
i.) The speaker provided two answers to the question asked – engaging in physical activity and education. Each of them was thoroughly explained for better understanding. The second answer about education was not only focused on children but also the parents since basically, it’s the parents who actually prepared food for their children. The speaker was able to discuss these arguments well. ii.) The speaker ended his answer by reiterating the importance of those actions that the schools should take to improve the health of the children. The last paragraph concluded his answer.
What should employers do to improve the health of their employees?
There are several ways how employers can help their workers keep fit. First, an annual medical examination should be done on all employees in order for the company to monitor the health condition of the employees. By doing this, the company will be able to help workers swiftly if medical attention is needed. Second, if the company is big enough, it should provide a gym facility for free to all of its workers so that they can spare some time exercising. Also, as much as possible, employers must ensure that work-life balance is practiced as their workers are not robots that can operate 24/7. For me, employers should invest more in the health of their employees as they are the lifeblood of the company.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Several [determiner; pronoun] – more than two but not many
Keep fit [expression] – to keep in good health
Annual [adj.] – yearly
Spare [verb] – give Assure [verb] – to make something happen
Lifeblood [noun] – the indispensable factor
TIPS
i.) The speaker started answering by acknowledging that there are ‘several’ ways. Take note when using ‘several’, you have to provide at least three ways not two as the meaning of several is more than two but not many. A lot of students miss this point.
ii.) The speaker presented three ways and explained them one by one and ended his answer by giving his personal view on why employers should take good care of their employees. A very well-ended answer!
Do people in your country spend time exercising?
I am not sure if all my fellow men spare time exercising, that never comes to mind. However, I can only speak about the people in our community since I have witnessed how the people in our town become health conscious.
Well, our mayor launched a wellness program a few years ago that encourages citizens to live healthily through exercising and dancing. He built a gym that the residents can access for free any time of the day. In addition, every Saturday dance classes for all age groups are held at the public park to make people engage in exercising through dancing. I can say that this program is really beneficial as it does help improving people’s health. I actually have high hopes that other towns or cities will imitate our program so that they can enjoy the benefits of exercising.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Fellow men [noun] – people generally
Come to mind [idiom] – to suddenly occur or materialize in one’s mind
Launch [verb] – start; begin
Wellness [noun] – the state of being in good health
High hopes [noun] – to have a strong feeling that something good will happen
Imitate [verb] – copy
Aside from exercising, what are other practices that make people healthy?
Eating right and meditation are the other ways on how people become healthy. The benefits of eating nutritious foods cannot be taken for granted. The food that people eat has so much impact on their overall health, so as much as possible, they have to train themselves to eat nothing but just the right foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, non-greasy foods, and lean meat.
Aside from that, meditation is a must-to-do practice. It is really powerful as it helps reduce stress, controls anxiety, and promotes emotional health among others. Meditation sounds cliche but we all should not underestimate the advantages of meditating. These are the other feasible ways that can surely improve people’s health especially those who are not into exercising.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Take for granted [phrase] – fail to appreciate
Non-greasy [adj.] – not oily
Aside from that [phrase] – apart from; besides
Cliche [noun] – an expression or idea that is overused
Underestimate [verb] – to be less important than actually is
Feasible [adj.] – possible to do
Be into (Are into) [phrase] – be interested
TIP
i.) The speaker immediately gave his answer and discussed them one by one. You don’t always need to paraphrase – giving a direct answer is also good as you sound so natural. Just make sure that you can provide a good explanation for your answer.
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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