Fill in the gap with ONE word
1. Jane has no ________. She is an ______ child.
2. I live in a _____________ neighbourhood, far from the city.
Click the arrow to see the answers
I am an only child
I live in a remote neighbourhood out in the sticks
This is a respectable, residential neighbourhood in a smart part of town
I live in a quiet, nondescript neighbourhood in the suburbs.
How is the weather in your neck of the woods?
The following all mean ‘to come together’ around a particular place.
We used to gather round the table and play cards
We used to huddle round the table and drink tea
We would gather round the table and tell jokes
We would get together around the fire and tell stories
I was raised in Manchester
I was brought up in Manchester by my grandmother
I grew up in Manchester
I was born and bred in Manchester
I had a strict upbringing
I had a traditional upbringing
I was well educated
Oh, my family home back in the village was really special. It was a simple, traditional house, but really warm and cosy.Â
Without a doubt, my favourite room was the dining room.Â
There was a massive fireplace, and we’d huddle around the fire on dark winter nights.Â
I remember my Dad was one for storytelling and he used to tell us incredible tales of our ancestors.Â
I was never sure if he made up the stories or they were true, but that upbringing and the love of telling a good story is something that actually helped me build our business to the success it is today. Â
I’d like to tell you about a wedding ceremony I recently attended. It was in a small village, out in the sticks, where my friend Li grew up. Li was the groom and he married his childhood sweetheart from the same village. Â
The wedding took place in their village and the whole place was decorated with red lanterns and flowers, which symbolise love and prosperity.Â
One of the highlights was the tea ceremony. So the bride (=woman getting married) and groom (=man getting married) dressed up in traditional outfits, and served tea to their parents and grandparents. Basically, it’s a way of showing respect and gratitude to their elders.Â
The funniest part was the games that are a traditional part of Chinese weddings. We call them ‘chuangmen’ which I guess in English you could say ‘door games’!Â
So traditionally, the groom has to kind of fight for or maybe earn his bride by doing some difficult tasks. So the bridesmaids made Li sing a love song at the top of his lungs (=loudly) before letting him in and he also had to wear silly pink slippers as well!Â
It was all in good fun, of course. The day was a nice mix of laughter, tradition, and family values.
If you liked this lesson, leave a comment below!
There are more lessons you can follow in the links below too.
GEOGRAPHY in IELTS Speaking. Useful collocations and vocabulary to help you discuss about geography.
FOOD in IELTS Speaking Vocabulary and collocations to talk about food, healthy food and cooking.
MOVIES in IELTS Speaking. Learn the essential vocabulary for this topic, as well as how to talk about the different types of film.
ADVERTISEMENTS in IELTS Speaking. Idioms and vocabulary to learn how to talk about advertisements.
SPORTSÂ in IELTS Speaking Vocabulary you need to talk about doing and watching sports, as well as idioms related to this topic.