IELTS Speaking Lesson about Cities
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Table of Contents
Introduction
How well can you talk about cities in IELTS Speaking? If you want to expand your vocabulary and get some good ideas to answer common questions, read on!Â
In this IELTS Speaking lesson on the topic of Cities, you will learn how to talk about your city and the problems of living in cities.
Describing cities in IELTS Speaking
When describing cities in IELTS Speaking, you may want to talk about the following, Â
- Location / Size Â
- History Â
- Industry Â
- Interesting places Â
- Weather Â
Here are some useful phrases to talk about some these different aspects.Â
Industry   Â
If asked about the products that are produced in your city, or what kind of work people do there, you can talk about different kinds of industries, as below…Â
Primary industries (dealing with raw materials)Â
- AgricultureÂ
- Mining Â
- Farming Â
- Fishing Â
- Oil and Gas Â
The manufacturing industry Â
The service industryÂ
- TourismÂ
- Hospitality Â
- Recreation Â
- Food and beverage Â
The finance industryÂ
The IT industryÂ
The entertainment industry  Â
My hometown relies mainly on tourism / the service industry Â
It’s famous for tourism/ the service industry Â
Its main source of revenue comes from tourism/ the service industry Â
The economy depends mainly on tourism/ the service industry Â
Collocations to describe cities
Here are some collocations to describe the city where I live, Santander, in Spain.   Â
- Bustling center
- Urban living
- Reliable public transport
- Long opening hours (shops and restaurants)
- Upmarket shops
- Pricey /overpriced restaurants(expensive)
- Lively bars
- Fashionable clubs
- High-rise flats
Adjectives to describe cities ​
For good points of cities you could use the following adjectives:Â
- picturesque
- historic
- spacious
- elegant
- magnificent
- livelyÂ
The comfortable suburbs (the suburb is just outside the city center)
For the negative points of cities you could use the following adjectives:Â
- deserted( no one on the street at night) city
- packed (very crowded)Â
- filthy (very dirty)/
- run-down ( in a very bad condition)Â
- sprawling city
- a shanty town (=houses made of discarded materials, e.g.tin cardboard, plastic)
Bustling (=with lots of movement) can be positive or negativeÂ
Cities and their problems​
Urban wasteland (in bad condition)
No-go areas (with the high crime)
Run-down buildings (falling apart)
Deprived areas (without necessary things, e.g. enough money, good living conditions)
- Bumper-to-bumper traffic all day long
- The volume of traffic (amount)
- Exhaust fumes
- The incessant roar of trucks and buses (very loud noise)
Describe the city where you live​
Here is a description of the city where I peresently live: Santander, in Spain.
It has rather dreary weather = dull weather Â
Mild climate = not hot or cold Â
Overcast (adj).= cloudy Â
As for the weather, it’s often overcast in my city. Â
The city looks over the bay  Â
Holiday-makers = people on holiday Â
People like to nibble snacks in the bars = to eat in small bites (usually snacks)Â Â
Local people love going for a stroll in the afternoon = go for a short walk  Â
Big attraction = popular attraction  Â
There is a lot of heavy rainÂ
It often throws it down = it often rains heavily Â
Play Video about Describe your city
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