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Speaking

Entertainment

Entertainment

PART 1

Let’s talk about going out

When do you usually like to go out?

What kinds of things do you like to do when you go out?

Do you spend a lot of money on going out every month?

What kinds of things would you like to do, in the future, when you go out?

 

Let’s move on to talk about entertainment at home

Do you like entertaining friends in your home?

Have you ever had a large party in your home?

Do you like going to other people’s homes for entertainment?

Do you like to bring a gift when you visit someone’s home?

 

Let’s talk about online entertainment

What is your favourite type of online entertainment?

How much time do you spend on online entertainment?

Do you ever feel you spend too much time online?

Are there any new online activities would you like to try in the future?

  

Part 2: Model Answer

 

Describe a fun indoor game you played as a teenager.

You should say:

What the name of the game was

What the aim of the game was

Who you played with

And explain why it was such fun for you.

 

Alright. I’d like to talk about a fun indoor game I often played with some of my classmates in junior high school.  It was compulsory to participate in an extra-curricular activity on Friday nights and you could choose from activities like karate to debating to playing musical instruments. I chose to join the chess club because I thought it would be absorbing and practicing it regularly may even help me become a bit smarter.

Chess is a well-known board game played by millions of people around the world. Each chess board has 64 squares and each opponent has 16 pieces, comprising of a ‘king’, a ‘queen’, two ‘rooks’, two ‘knights’, two ‘bishops’ as well as 8 pawns. One opponent has black pieces and the other white. The aim of the game is to ‘checkmate’ your opponent by cornering his or her king.

Chess is a game of strategy that involves a lot of patience and critical thinking. As a player, you get a great thrill out of outsmarting your opponent. Chess is also an infinite game. After each player has moved just one piece, there are more than 400 possible moves the players can make. After four moves apiece there are over 288 billion possible positions the players can move into, so you have to think very carefully before you make a move and think many moves ahead of just your next move.

After a lot of practice I became quite adept at chess and even though I was never able to beat the smartest kid in our class I came to love chess. In fact, I think I became a little bit addicted to it. I first became fascinated with chess when I saw a documentary on TV about Bobby Fisher, an American chess grandmaster at the time who went on to become an eleven-time world champion. I was astounded at just how skilfully he could outmanoeuvre and eventually demoralize his opponents, some of whom were past world champions. In fact, in the nineteen eighties he even beat IBM’s ‘Big Blue’ supercomputer. I knew I could never be like Bobby Fisher, but I was really in my element at out-smarting some of my own albeit, much weaker opponents.

 

Part 2: Vocabulary

NOUNS

critical thinking: The process of conceptualizing, analysing, applying or evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.

enjoyment: pleasure, fun, amusement, entertainment, recreation, relaxation, diversion

opponent: challenger, contender.

patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, suffering or trouble without getting upset. Tolerance, restraint.

strategy: action plan, game plan, master plan

ADJECTIVES

absorbing: intensely interesting, engrossing.

addicted: physically or mentally dependant on something. Fixated, obsessed, passionate, devoted or fanatical about something

adept: expert, skilful, talented, accomplished, proficient, masterly, consummate.

compulsory: necessary, mandatory, obligatory.

infinite: limitless, unlimited, never-ending, boundless.

VERBS

astound: amaze, astonish, shock, surprise, confound, stagger, stun.

comprise: consist of, be made up of, constitute, form, compose.

corner: trap, surround, enclose, close in on.

demoralize: cause someone to lose hope. Dishearten, dispirit, daunt, unnerve, dismay.

fascinated: Interested, captivated, engrossed or mesmerized by something.

outmanoeuvre / outmanoeuvring ( gerund ): outwit, outplay or outthink someone by using clever cunning tactics to defeat them.

outsmart / outsmarting ( gerund ): outwit, outplay or outthink someone by using clever cunning tactics to defeat them.

participate: take part in, get involved in, join in.

practice/practicing (gerund): train for, rehearse, go over, apply, run through, repeat.

ADVERBS

apiece: each, respectively, individually.

regularly: occurring commonly, frequently, habitually, normally, routinely

skilfully: good, talented, expert, proficient, accomplished, masterly, adept, consummate.

PHRASES

extracurricular activities: after school activities.

CONJUNCTIONS

albeit: even though, although, even if, notwithstanding.

IDIOMS

chill out: to do something to help you calm down and relax after a period of hard work, nervous tension or stress.

in one’s element: when you are ‘in your element’ you are doing something you do well and are enjoying yourself.

 

PART 3: Questions and Ideas

Let’s now discuss entertainment in your country

Are there a lot of places in your country for young people to go out?

No, Australia would have to be one of the world’s most boring countries because there is not much variety nightlife. The only choice is to go get drunk in the pub really.

Yes, compared to other countries around the world Australia is a surprisingly lively place with lots of choices for indoor and outdoor entertainment.

What kinds of live entertainment are popular in your country?

-You can always see people like street performers, buskers and artists, especially in the big cities.

– Young people enjoy going to rock concerts

– Older people like to see the performances at the Sydney Opera house such as the symphony orchestra

What places would you recommend a tourist go to, for entertainment, in your country?

– I would recommend going to King’s Cross in Sydney because it is the biggest nightclub scene in all of Australia.

– They should also go to places that most tourists don’t go to like Barossa valley in  Adelaide to visit the amazing wineries there.

 

Let’s now talk about technology and entertainment

What forms of online entertainment have become popular these days?

– Things like online shopping, online dating and gaming have become very popular.

– These days new kinds of social games have become popular like Pokémon Go.

– Most people these days spend their time on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

What are the dangers of spending too much time on online entertainment?

– No doubt things like addiction and social withdrawal are some of the most common dangers.

– There are no real dangers. It’s just the media beating up another story.

– The biggest danger is befriending the wrong people online.

Is entertainment these days better than in the past because of technology?

– No, life was great back then. You didn’t need an app to meet people. You just went out and met them. Simple.

-Yes, we have a plethora of choices today on the internet that brightens our lives. [Plethora = huge number]

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3 thoughts on “Entertainment”

  1. I wonder Is entertainment these days better than that in the past because of technology? you miss “that”
    a app or an app?

    Reply
    • 1. “that” is not needed GOOGLE gave me 60 million hits on “better than in the past” and only 1 for “better than that in the past”

      2. an app is correct and I have changed my original version to this. Thanks.

      Reply

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