1 In Parts 1 and 3 of the Speaking Module, you may be asked questions that require you to compare things, or to discuss the relative advantages or disadvantages of different things.
a Look at the question below.
- Would you prefer to live in a city or a village? Why?
b Think of three advantages of each type of place. You can use phrases with adjectives (e.g. quieter) or nouns (e.g. fewer cars) or adverbs (e.g. live more comfortably).
| City | Village |
| more interesting | quieter |
c Now think of three disadvantages of each type of place.
| City | Village |
| less peaceful | fewer shops |
2 a Listen to a student answering question 1 above and tick the comparative expressions he uses from the list below.
b Look at the words the speaker used to organise his response. What order did he say them in?
3 a Make notes on these questions, similar to the ones you made in Exercise I.
- Do you think it’s better to live in a modern flat or an old house? Why?
- Would you rather live in a modern town or a historic city? Why?
- Would you prefer to live in the city centre or in the suburbs? Why?
4 In Part 3, you may be asked to compare a current situation with a past situation. You need to be careful with tenses in order to describe past and present habits and situations.
Read the question, then listen to a student’s response and fill the gaps with words that you hear.
- Do you think modern homes are different from homes your grandparents had?
5 The speaker in Exercise 4 doesn’t just say ‘homes are different now’ He says they are ‘completely different’. When speaking, it is very natural to stress the difference by using modifying expressions.
a Look at the phrases below and cross out the incorrect modifying expression in each one.
1 Are city buildings very different from those in your grandparents’ day?
2 Do you think modern homes arc different from homes your grandparents had?
3 Do you think cities are the same today as they were 50 years ago?
4 Do you think people know more or less about the world than they did in the past?