IELTS Listening: Bitcoin

November 9, 2017 by 31 Comments

A short listening exercise which focused on filling in the gaps in a passage. You need to read the passage first before listening the the recording. Make a note of key words in the passage and predict the types of answers that will come (nouns / verbs etc). This audio is on a cloud so you will need stable internet connection to stream it.

Tip: Answers will come in order of the question numbers. To keep your place in the recording and not get list, you need to focus on key words in the passage below and not get lost in the extra detail in the recording.

Post your answers below and I’ll post the answers tomorrow.

Listening: What is bitcoin?

Complete the summary using no more than two words and/or a number.

A new currency recently established is the bitcoin which allows (1) …………. transactions. It is not limited geographically and is not controlled by a (2) ………………………… The idea behind it is that money is any object or (3)……… which is accepted as payment. The benefits of bitcoins is that they can easily used online and transactions are (4)…………. but the downside is that they are (5)……………

 

 

Answers:

Click below to see the answers

Answers to Bitcoin Listening

 

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Essay Ideas about Salaries

March 5, 2015 by 21 Comments

The essay question below is currently being used in IELTS writing task 2 and was reported last weekend.

In many countries in the world, some people earn extremely high salaries. Some people think that this good for a country. Others think that the government should not allow salaries above a certain level. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Why some people earning high salaries is good for a country:

  • people who are highly skilled and talented should be rewarded with high salaries.
  • high salaries are an incentive for others to work harder.
  • high salaries are important to entice people to do dangerous or unpleasant work.
  • having high salaries is a sign of a country’s wealth.
  • high salaries is a way for a country to express their gratitude for a person’s experience or expertise.
  • high salaries deter skilled or talented people leaving a country.

Why the government should not allow salaries above a certain level:

  • the government should ensure that wealth is evenly distributed throughout a country.
  • limiting high salaries would bring more equality.
  • it can be disheartening for some to receive a low salary while others receive a high salary without much justification.
  • capping high salaries will prevent the rich from gaining unfair control over certain aspects of society.
  • limiting high salaries will mean more funding for public services which will benefit all people in society.

See all writing task 2 lessons, tips and model essays: IELTS Writing Task 2

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IELTS Direct Question Essay: Success of a Business

February 1, 2015 by 6 Comments

Sample essay about judging success in business. This essay question  asks two direct questions which you must answer about the way success in business can be measured. The essay below was written by a student but as one major flaw – can you find it.

Essay Question

Some people think that the only way to judge someone’s success in business is by the amount of money they make.

Is money a true indicator of the success of a business?

In what other ways could success in a business be measured?

Student’s Essay

It is argued in the statement that achievement and success in business can only be judged by the amount earned by the people. From my perspective, money is a true and most valuable criterion to mark success of a business. There are different other ways to measure business success which will be taken into account prior to reaching an informed conclusion.

Money is considered as a correct and reliable index to predict the strength of a successful business. For example, families of victorious business owners are rolling in money just because they earn a lot to fulfil the needs and demands of their dependents. It is clearly evident from the given example that the amount of money directly correlates with the huge productivity and outcome of a trade. So, it is only possible for someone to deal with all the life affairs very coherently with an ample amount of earning.

There are many other potential ways in which the peak of running business can be measured easily. Firstly, different deals and standard packages are only offered by the leading multinational companies. Secondly, a power of occupation can also be judged by the remarkable number of clients. Thirdly, an organization can also become successful with happy clerks and working staff. Finally, a success of a business can be related to the amount of taxes paid by its owners, as increased income will lead to more tax payments.

To conclude, although money is the most important way to determine the effectiveness of a business but other methods are also very important to tackle multiple problems in running a business. By following the above mentioned protocols, economy would have a bright future internationally.

Assessing the Essay Above

  1. Should the thesis statement begin with “From my prospective, …”
  2. Does the thesis statement provide answers to the questions?
  3. Does the first body paragraph answer the first question?
  4. Does the second body paragraph answer the second question?
  5. Does the topic sentence ( the first sentence) for each paragraph contain the main point?
  6. Are linking devices used well?
  7. What other comments can you make about this essay?

Answers

  1. It is better to start with “In my opinion”. See this lesson about how to give your opinion in an IELTS essay.
  2. Yes, each question should be answered in the introduction.
  3. Yes.
  4. Some of the points are off topic. Some ideas about how a company can become successful instead of how success is measured.
  5. The topic sentence for BP1 is fine and provides a clear answer. However, the topic sentence for BP2 is not clear because it doesn’t mention about measuring success of a business but about measuring the running of a business  (which is not the same thing).
  6. Yes, they are used well.
  7. More time needs to be spent planning ideas to make sure they are on topic. Here are some tips on planning an IELTS essay.

 

IELTS Model Essays Band Score 9, click to open

 

 

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