Normal Flashcards
Now, I will use academic vocab in REAL LIFE, naturally and repeatedly. See the word “naturally” and “repeatedly”? These are vitally important (1) for the success of learning vocabulary in a short period of time. Therefore, do not take them lightly (2). HAHA.Okay, have you noticed what’s going on right now?
These two above phrases are the very first two academic phrases that you are gonna learn. You will see them every so often (3) as you go through the book. Why do you have to see them again? Remember repetition? It’s key. It’s vitally important (1). That’s why you will have to see them over and over again, coupled with (4) new phrases. This will, of course, produce desirable learning outcomes (5) since you will familiarize yourself (6) with a myriad of (7) useful vocab that you will finally have a chance to use in formal writing. In conclusion of this page, you have already learned seven vitally important phrases that cannot be taken lightly in IELTS writing. You will see more vitally important ones later on because this is what this book is all about. Just by reading, you will succeed.
(1) Very important
(2) Take them seriously
(3) from time to time, often
(4) beside
(5) give good results
(6) get familiar with
(7) a lot of/many
Do you like talking to me?
Hmm… You don’t say anything so I take it as a YES. In this book, it’s like you are talking to me. Oh, I’m sorry, I’m talking to you directly. We will have a chat about anything you can think of. The environment, food and beverages, animals, the universe, movies, music, you name it. This book is interesting, making normal stuff academic. An unprecedented (8) book about learning vocabulary just for you, my friend. I hope you don’t take it lightly as this is all my expertise (9) dedicated to (10) creating the best learning experience so you can enjoy and have fun.
You will see a myriad of topics that I will do my best to simplify (11) and at the same time utilize (12) as many academic words as possible so you can easily familiarize yourself with them as well as you ever dream of.
(8) Never done or known before
(9) expert knowledge in a particular field
(10) devote time and effort to
(11) make it simple and easy to understand
(12) use
What do you think? Should students wear uniform?
This is such a classic essay question, not unprecedented at all. It’s so basic that everyone wants to take it as an example to illustrate their point (13) in essay writing. The answer to that question can be yes or no depending on what view you want to take. Whether students should wear uniform or not does not have anything to do with (14) our current lives. Remember our job is to choose a viewpoint and answer that and then move on with life. Nobody cares so you don’t need to worry about any essay questions from now on. Just answer and that’s it. No right or wrong answer.
Okay, I guess you may have a myriad of ideas in your mind right now as this is an extremely easy topic. To me, the answer to that is NO. I don’t think students should wear uniform because
- That will compromise (15) their individuality (16).
- Not every student likes it
- Uniforms are not usually of good quality (17)
Or I can say YES if I agree if I want to. Either way, I don’t care and neither should you. No one cares if they wear uniform or not, you can control that. The same goes for other topics (18), don’t be scared, any idea is a good idea. The choice is all yours.
13) prove their point, or use as example
(14) Does not have any relation with, does not affect
(15) ~lose
(16) uniqueness of character
(17) ~This shirt is of high quality = The quality of this shirt is high
(18) Other topics as well, no difference
This is the quick grammar section where I show you some…of course, quick grammar notes you might need to bear in mind (19) as they are vitally important to your success in writing. You cannot take them lightly. You have to familiarize yourself with all of them because every so often you may make mistakes that can be detrimental (20) to your IELTS grade.
Remember:
Nobody, no one, somebody, someone, everyone, everybody, anyone are NOT plural. They are singular.Therefore, it’s must be like
Everyone IS, everyone DOES, everyone takes
Somebody IS, somebody DOES, somebody takeS
Anyone IS, anyone DOES, anyone takeS.
Every animal IS nice, every job IS, every love IS
Don’t compromise your grade by not knowing them. This is so fundamental, vitally important and has a lot to do with your grades. So now you know it. How cool!
(19) remember/ keep in mind
(20) bad, negative
Reading this book can also create a by-product (21). Your primary purpose of reading this book is to grasp as many vocabulary as you can in your head. But you also start to think in English more and better. Why? Because the way I use language, coupled with how interesting I am, makes it possible (22) for you to do that.
Writing easy language like what I am doing right now is not as easy as it sounds (23). It still involves a lot of underlying principles (24) in psychology and advertising. Many people refuse to do that and they end up compromising reader’s engagement. That’s one of many reasons why you don’t like reading books although books are good to read. Right? Let’s be honest. You don’t like reading books, why do you read my books? Get the idea? Many people don’t even have a clue about how to engage readers. That’s why they fail and still stay ignorant. That also explains (25) why my book is meant to just read.
Thinking in English is vitally important and you should not take it lightly. I know I am overusing these orange-colored phrases. That’s done for a reason and you already know why. Haha. So please don’t ask me to paraphrase to avoid repetition. Because repetition is, hands down, the backbone (26) of memorization
(21) a secondary product
(22) allows/enables
(23) easy as people think
(24) Basic principles you behind anything
(25) This is a very good linking phrase
(26) The essense, The basics, The fundamentals
Some people mistakenly think terminologies are academic vocabulary and vice versa. Yes, they are
similar to some degree (27) but not entirely the same. ‘Bond convexity’ is a term in finance. ‘Nasal disease’ is a medical term. ‘Self-fulfiling prophecy’ is a term is psychology. They are not really academic vocab. They belong to the field itself and stay there permanently. You almost cannot use them too extensively. You can only use them when talking about a specific topic. In IELTS writing, you are not required to know all of these technical terms. But you definitely have to know and use fluently academic vocab that constitute (28) any essays, irrespective of (29) topics. Get it?
Okay, just like the phrase “irrespective of” I used above. It is quite an academic vocab and you have to know it no matter what if you really want to write successfully.
Another clear difference, terminologies help show off your knowledge. Academic vocab help show off your language skill. IELTS is all about language skill. So I place more significant emphasis (30) on academic vocab than terminologies. But it’s also not wrong if you know terminologies. Academic vocab and terminologies complement (31) each other and ultimately (32) constitute the strength of your overall intelligence.
(27) To some extent
(28) Create, build, be a part of the whole thing
(29) regardless of, no matter
(30) stress, take it more seriously
(31) support each other
(32) at the end
Previously, you saw I used the phrase “to some degree” and you’ve probably seen a lot of people use “to some extent”.
To some extent, to some degree, in some way, at some point.
What do they even mean? They just simply mean something is PARTLY true or not always applicable.
Examples:
I agree at some point. (I partly agree)
Learning English is good to some degree (not always good)
Bear in mind that although there is a word ‘some’, this is not an indication of (33) plurality. So please don’t add any ‘s’ at the end of any following word like “to some extents” or “at some points”. That’s not gramatically correct and may compromise your grade if you don’t pay enough attention.
(33) it’s not an indication of = it doesn’t mean (that)
What is your thought on that?
All too often, people think marketing is evil and deceptive. But that is not necessarily true (34). Marketing links products of value (35) with those who are not aware of its existence (36). Most products you buy on a daily basis (37) are facilitated (38) by a myriad of marketing activities. And you like these products. If Apple did not do marketing well, nobody would buy their products, irrespective of how high value they are of. Therefore, marketing is not only good but vitally important and we should not take it lightly.
Without the existence of (39) marketing, it would be detrimental to the economy because products would not match customers’ needs. Businesses would suffer losses (40) and customers would lose the chance (41) to improve their life by using these products. We, therefore, could imply (42) that the health of any economy relies heavily (43) on marketing activities.
All in all, marketing should be perceived (44) as good if not highly beneficial (45). We should do more and more marketing to facilitate our economy.
(34) it’s not all true
(35) have value
(36) know it
(37) every day
(38) help, assist, support
(39) without it
(40) too easy
(41) lose the opportunity
(42) suggest that
(43) too easy, u know it
(44) understood, viewed
(45) too easy, u know it
Okay, let’s be honest. This is one of the IELTS essay question. But don’t let the word ‘IELTS’ fool you. It’s just a simple question, with the brand ‘IELTS’ attached.
What’s your thought on this?
Some might say tourism is not good as he or she has trouble seeing any economic activities involved. That is why it is not necessarily true. Tourism is highly beneficial to the economy, irrespective of its kind. A country with a high degree of (46) tourism facilitates economic activities as people are motivated (47) to work hard to serve foreigners and make money from catering food (48) and rendering services (49). These activities are vitally important to create more value to the society (50) they are being a part of.
Just like when you are beautiful, people are more likely to (51) associate with (52) you can greatly benefit from that (53). The same goes for a country, if a country is beautiful enough to attract tourists, they will make money and as they make more money, they can spend and invest the money. Spending and investing facilitate the growth of a country and that cannot be taken lightly.
Therefore, even though tourism may not be as highly beneficial as it appears, it is vitally important for everyone.
46) high level of
(47) too easy, but important
(48) serving food
(49) perform services (like legal services etc)
(50) too easy, but important
(51) has higher chance to
(52) connect with
(53) easy but important
What is your thought on that?
By the way, I don’t even have a TV. My laptop has almost everything. The same might go with you. But should we watch TV?
TV has been around (54) for decades and it seems to continue its aggressive evolvement as technology comes in. There are a myriad of companies selling TV of great value and great efficiency on the market. In fact, TV were even a necessity (55) when we were kids. But let’s face it, in today fast-paced life (56), who would have time to watch TV? Retired people would. Young people may not. Watching TV may take a great amount time but does not necessarily create the equivalent value for our lives.
We, as young students or workers, may only have maximum two to three hours to watch TV and it’s already a waste. We also don’t use TV as much as we think we do when we were in the store. The ‘nice’ salesperson has probably already used his or her savvy (57) sales skills to get you buying.
Therefore, it much depends on your age. If you are young, you shouldn’t buy and watch TV. If you are retired, TV might be of great value for your entertainment purposes.
(54) has been there, has been existing
(55) a very very important thing (water is a necessity)
(56) fast life
(57) very skilful, very good
I bet if you are at band 6-7, you may have already recognized many green-colored words I have been writing. However, recognizing and really knowing are two distinct notions (58). You recognize the phrases because every so often you might have seen them somewhere. But that is not an indication of you having mastered them. To really master them you need to use them on a daily basis like your daily language. You need to get into the habit of (59) using them, just like your mother-tongue. That way (60), you will not only recognize the words but also truly understand their meanings and be able to use them properly.
What I am doing now is to impart (61) the meanings of academic phrases so you will get accustomed to (62) those naturally and effectively. So now you two distinct notions of recognizing and really knowing has been unraveled (63). Just remember, when you see a word, you might not know it, you may just recognize it. In order to really know it, reading this book is key and you cannot take it lightly.
(58) two totally different things
(59) make it a habit
(60) by doing so
(61) communicate, make something known
(62) get used to/ get familiar with
(63) solved, explained
You and I may have downloaded movies, music and books online without paying a single penny. What it’s called in academic language is copyright infringement (64), which indicates we are violating the copyright law. Movies, music and books are called intellectual property (65) and if we use them without the express permission (66) from the creators. We can be fined and even imprisoned for that.
However, it is safe to say (67) the likelihood of you getting caught is very slim (68). That is why people are abusing it and download other’s intellectual property without even considering any ethical issues (69). That’s why corporations are trying to impart strong morals to Internet citizens and make them aware and thus pay their money. Without the existence of profits, they would not be motivated to create and invent. You and I, as a result (70), would not have any awesome movies to entertain or amazing books to read. Ultimately, the society as we know it would inevitably (71) come to an end. That’s serious, isn’t it?
But don’t worry. It would never happen in any period of time down the road (72). Just a message for you to consider your morals before you embark on (73) downloading any intellectual property. You might never get caught. But is it ethically acceptable (74) to do? It’s all up to you to decide, my friend.
(64) violate copyright law
(65) Music, movies, books of others
(66) open permission
(67) ~easy but important
(68) the chance of getting caught is small
(69) issue on ethics
(70) ~ easy but important
(71) will happen no matter what
(72) in the future
(73) Start to do something
(74) Ethical
We hear about global warming on a daily basis. Let’s face it, our comfort has a lot to do with the temperature. There is sufficient evidence to infer that (75) those living in a country with hot temperature are more likely to express anger than those living in cooler regions. But is global warming a real issue? Surprisingly enough, some says it is, I bet you do. But many people do not believe in the concept of global warming. Yes, believe it or not, a lot of people refuse to believe in that. They are skeptics (76). It’s hard to convince a skeptic. They are not easy to believe in anything.
There are many reasons behind the skepticism. It might be personal experience. You don’t believe in climate change because you don’t feel any change yet. It might be you think news and reports nowadays are biased (77) so cannot be trusted. It might simply be you don’t care whether or not it’s real because you don’t have control anyway.
Statistically speaking (78), global warming or climate change is a real phenomenon (79) and should not be taken lightly. Learning about it is vitally important to our daily lives since they are closely related (80). We, as modern citizens, can simply take steps to create a healthier living environment by growing trees, saving energy, and educating other people to reduce skepticism.
(75) we should conclude that
(76) people who are hard to be convinced
(77) unfairly prejudiced
(78) based on statistics or numbers
(80) easy but important
There is also a side benefit of reading this book. I’m not only incorporating useful academic vocab to my writing, but also actually teaching you some killer tips you can apply to your IELTS. Here’s the tip.
Every writing can involve ‘the governments’ and ‘the environment’. Whether you get to write about food, the universe, tourism or puppies, there is always room for (82) the governments and the environment.
Whenever you are stuck, don’t forget the governments and the environment. Give me any examples. Should smoking be banned? Okay, too easy. Another one. Should history course be mandatory (83)? The governments will decide if it’s mandatory or not. So it involves the governments. The environment is affected because we can acknowledge (84) the climate change over time and act accordingly (85) for the future. As can be observed (86), the likelihood that they will appear in your writing is quite high so you can clearly take advantage of (87) them, irrespective of topics, without compromising the mark. Time is scarce (88) and this simple hack will save you a great deal of time wandering around to find ideas.
When it comes to (89) essay, just remember the governments and the environment are our best
friends.
(82) easy and you know it
(83) required, compulsory
(84) accept, understand and admit
(85) act as a result of something
(86) easy and you know it
(87) use , take chance to use it
(88) good phrase to know
(89) when talking about
Why? I’m glad you ask. Because it implies your knowledgeability. When it comes to ‘the governments’, there are a myriad of government bodies (90) administering (91) a variety of (92) economic and societal activities (93). Okay, vitally important activities. Are you happy? LOL.
In Canada, there are three levels of governments, which are federal, provincial and municipal (94). They carry out different policies (95) and render different services that are closely related to the citizens.
There are also government agencies (96) from the U.S. such as the FBI, CIA, IRS, NSA, NASA and so on. They serve their own distinct and specialized functions (97). To be able to work there, you need to reach a certain level (98) of intelligence and expertise because the job requirement is excessively demanding (99). But that doesn’t mean you can’t if you really want to because the likelihood of getting a job there is just slim, not zero. Therefore, if you want to, you should embark on studying English now because it’s definitely a necessity for your success, irrespective of what field you are pursuing.
So now you know the governments are not as simple as it sounds. It’s actually much broader than one can expect (100).
(90) government ‘organization’ in general
(91) manage/take care of
(92) many /different
(93) easy but important
(94) related to city
(95) implement policies
(96) specific organizations
belong to the governments
(97) do their job
(98) get to a level
(99) very tough
(100) than you think
Do you like to pay taxes? No, of course. But do you like to receive social welfare (101)? The answer is Yes.
But where does social welfare come from? It comes from your money, and mine as well. Yeah, nothing is FREE, I know. Taxes are levied (or) imposed (102) on each and every one of us if we earn income, known as personal income tax. Taxes are also levied on corporations, known as corporate income tax. There are also sales taxes (or VAT in Vietnam). It means, we as customers have to pay extra money as sales tax (or VAT) when we purchase certain classes of goods and/or services (103) in the marketplace.
Theoretically speaking (104), without the existence of taxes, we cannot enjoy social welfare such as social benefits, health care, public transit (105), police, military & defense, etc. Taxation is a complicated matter (106) for ordinary citizens (107) like us. You only need to understand that the governments impose different tax rates to different income groups. People with higher income are imposed with higher tax and vice versa. Does it make sense to you?
You can avoid tax but do not evade tax. Tax avoidance (108) is a legal way to reduce tax liability (109). Tax evasion (110) is a crime, which means you don’t pay the amount of taxes that you are supposed to pay.
(102) required, forced to pay
(103) goods and services - they go together like a couple
(104) in theory
(105) public transportation
(106) a complicated thing
(107) normal people
(108) techniques to reduce tax
(109) the amount of tax you have to pay
(110) Like you hide the money away to trick the governments so you pay
If you have reach this far, then congratulations! You have learned 110th academic vocab in this book. But you might be wondering how to better remember all these?
I would recommend against (111) using vocab list or note taking. Why? Because they don’t have any context associated with these vocabulary. Vocab list is so arbitrary (112). I would recommend that you read the book over and over again. That way, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the vocab and the context associated with it. This method will further implant firmly (113) all the meanings into your mind so they all make sense to you and you can actually understand it and use it. From now on, you should get into habit of doing that so I can do the impartation job more easily.
I’m not excessively demanding but I wish you would come out and say you are happy 100% with this book. HAHA. My goal is to maximize customer satisfaction (114). You’re satisfied. I’m satisfied. I’m trying to create value to the society and I hope you can greatly benefit from that. This is definitely an indication of a healthy relationship (115).
Believe it or not, my level of enthusiasm heavily relies on your demand and your love for my products. I love you for everything you do and say to me. Paper is scarce. See you next round.
(111) don’t recommend
(112) random, aimless
(113) embed, put strongly onto
(114) maximize customer happiness this phrase is useful
(115) good relationship
What an expensive question!
Yet, very entertaining! The first word comes to my head when it comes to pet is always companionship (116). Pets like dogs are companion animals, bestowing a lot of benefits (117) up on their owners and also causing a myriad of problems. Raising a pet might look easy at first but it actually involves a great deal of responsibility (118). But statistically speaking, it seems people having pets are more likely to be happier than those who do not. Based on this fact (119), I guess you might consider adopting a pet (120) for your own. However, you may need to think twice (121) because as I mentioned, coupled with benefits lie hidden problems (122).
Pet accessories (123) and food may cost more than one can expect. Also of importance (124), hygienic care (125) and cleaning need to be taken into account. Of course, if you have money but no time, dog grooming service (126) might be an ideal solution (127). When it comes to food, raw or undercooked pet food might pose potential health risks (128) to your pet so should not be taken lightly.
Overall, pets can give you great love and affection (129) by their playful personalities (130), which make you happy. Just be aware that problems won’t automatically go away when the time comes.
116) friendship (commonly associated with pets
(117) offers benefit
(118) important phrase
(119) important phrase
(120) buy a pet
(121) think carefully
(122) fancy phrase
(123) things that can be added to pets
(124) Also importantly
(125) Cleaning and stuff
(126) service making dogs look more beautiful
(127) good solution
(128) bring some risks
(129) useful when you use with pet-related topics
(130) same as above
In today fast-paced life, are you aware of what you eat everyday? If you are, then good for you. If you aren’t, then shame on you. HAHA.
In fact, the good news is following a healthy eating habit is not as difficult as it sounds. There is a misconception that eating healthy compromises the taste, significantly. However, it is not necessarily true since we get accustomed to the taste over time.
Salt and sugar are always the enemies of any healthy dietary plans (131). Salt increases the risk (132) of a myriad of diseases, such as high blood pressure. Sugar is linked to (133) heart diseases, obesity and diabetes. Too much salt and sugar can put your health in jeopardy (134) and even cause death. Therefore, it is vitally important that we need to track our sugar or salt consumption (135) to ensure it is at the acceptable levels.
Whole food (136), such as vegetables, meats, eggs, beans, seeds, milk are favored by nutritional scientists compared to processed food (137) like canned food, burgers or donuts. Nutrient-dense food like nuts, seeds or herbs are believed to guard against (138) many diseases. These are also considered meat alternatives (139) because of the richness in protein.
All in all, healthy eating is the backbone of a good life. Whenever you do the grocery shopping (140), don’t forget to read food labels (141)
(131) eating plan
(132) very useful phrase
(133) has a connection with
(134) put your health in danger
(135) good phrase
(136) good phrase, it means food that has only 1 ingredient
(137) the opposite of whole food, this is food that has been processed with a bunch of ingredients
(138) prevent
(139) food that has similar characteristics as meat
(140) shop for groceries
(141) common phrase
What do you think about globalization? You might have heard enough about all the great things of globalization. But there’s lousy aspects as well, more on that later. This topic will focus on why globalization is worth it.
First, globalization has a lot to do with promoting (150) cultural intermingling (142). That is, people from different parts of the world mingle (143) together, creating what it’s called, cultural diversity (144). Thanks to (145) globalization, we can live in a society where anyone of us can have opportunities to learn more about other cultures without traveling aboard. By mingling with one another, we tend to tolerate each other’s differences (146) and thereby form an egalitarian society (147) where all people are treated equally.
Also of importance, globalization faciliates communication worldwide, thereby increasing the flows of information. This helps businesses operate in a much efficient manner as they are fed with timely information to make less arbitrary decisions (148).
In addition, globalization facilitates competition between countries and as a result reduces prices. Needless to say, lower prices greatly benefit consumers including us. Low-income people (149) will finally have access to goods and services that would not have been available to them without the existence of globalization.
(150) encourage, ~develop
(142) different cultures mix together
(143) mix together
(144) a range of different culture
(145) ~because of globalization
(146) accept differences
(147) a society where all people are treated equally
(148) make informed decisions
(149) Academic phrase implying ‘poor people’
Although the benefits of globalization appear very pronounced (150), not everyone agrees globalization offers net positive benefit (151). In the eyes of opponents, globalization can also be fraught with pitfalls (152).
First, a number of developed countries have witnessed job loss oversea (153), also known as offshore outsourcing (154). This real phenomenon can be explained by looking at the wide discrepancy (155) in wages between developed and developing nations. For example, corporations like Apple have shifted millions of jobs oversea in an attempt to (156) reduce costs of production, making millions of American workers suffer.
Opponents also believe globalization largely contributes (157) to income inequality (158), whereby the rich get much richer and the poor can’t get ahead. This discrepancy in income poses many potential problems (160) to the economy. A myriad of policies have been carried out to narrow the gap (159) but they do not seem to work as well as expected thus far.
Globalization can also pose problems (160) like spreading infectious diseases (161) as traveling is now a lot more frequent than before. In addition, corporations have opportunities to get around rules and regulations (162) as they can choose which countries to operate in. (not enough paper to write the conclusion. HAHA)
(150) big, serious, impactful
(151) benefits greater than disadvantages
(152) full of disadvantages
(153) useful phrase
(154) same meaning as 153
(155) a big difference
(156) in hopes of, in trying to
(157) ~cause (not exact meaning but yeah)
(158) big difference in income between different classes of society
(160) create problems
(159) make the gap less wide
(161) good phrase to know
(162) bend rules, try to not follow the rules in a legal way
Welcome back to Quick Grammar section, whereby you can get your grammar fixed before you embark yourself on real IELTS exam. Here’s the fix.
Always use the short form of relative clause if you’re able to.
For example.
The boy who stands in front of me is gay => this is not wrong but doesn’t sound very good
You should instead use the short form. =>The boy standing in front of me is gay.
The girl who I likes just got married => The girl I likes just got married
It doesn’t seem like a big change but think about it though. Very complex and long essays are packed with (163) information while they are expected to remain concise. If you don’t use short form, there will be a myriad of unnecessary redundancy. Therefore, the use of short form is imperative (164)
(163) contains a lot of
(164) very important very crucial
Whether drugs should be legalized remains a highly controversial issue. Do you think drug legalization will offer net positive benefit if it comes into play (173)?
It should be acknowledged that drug trafficking (174) is one of the most lucrative underground businesses (178) in the world. Best of all, drug traffickers don’t have to pay a single penny of taxes to the governments. How amazing! Therefore, it becomes clear (175) if drug legalization comes into play, the governments could collect a huge amount of money in tax revenue.
But what’s in it for us? Drug legalization would also be fraught with pitfalls. People under the influence of drugs, especially certain substances involving psychoactive drugs (176), are significantly more likely to commit crimes as they lack capacity to control their behavior. Obviously, drug consumption is linked to crime rates so this cannot be taken lightly.
Another inevitable pitfall of drug is that it decreases work productivity in the long run. Drug consumption will inevitably leads to drug addiction (177). Once addicted, without the consumption of drugs, the addict cannot work and think properly as usual.
How the governments can strike the balance between benefits and drawbacks has remained a long-debated topic. Time will tell if drug legalization results in net positive benefit to the society as a whole.
(173) come into effect come into action
(174) drug trade
(178) illegal businesses that make a lot of money
(175)
(176) drugs that affect the mind
(177)
Mainstream media (178) and alternative media (179) are both media but in two different forms. More on alternative media later, this topic will focus your attention on mainstream media.
We are fed with the information (180) from various sources on a daily basis. One of the major source is mainstream media including traditional television or news. VnExpress, DanTri, Kenh14, and VTV are prime examples (181) of mainstream media. Yes, they feed readers and audience with a great deal of information about events happening around us. Nevertheless, whether the information is highly credible (182), reflecting the true reality, remains questionable in the eyes of many media skeptics, myself included.
Skeptics never trust anything, I know. But the media nowadays is highly manipulative (183). Mainstream media is able to control the sentiments (184) of the entire society by disseminating information (185) it crafts for various hidden purposes. In any societies, whoever controls the media, which also means controls the information, has the most power. In other words, news providing companies are more powerful than one can expect. You may be laughing at your Chinese fellows as they are controlled by the government-owned media. But look at us, look at all sorts of people around us. Aren’t we thinking and acting basically the same way?
Therefore, one should keep a skeptical mindset (186) as when it comes to information from mainstream media, it’s likely not free of bias.
(178) traditional and offcial media as we’ve seen on TV or official news companies
(179) media that don’t come from official sources (180) provided with the info
(181) a very good example
(182) very trustful
(183) have the intention to control your thoughts
(184) the positive or negative view about anything
(185) spread or distribute the information
(186) don’t easily believe in anything
Do you believe in life beyond our solar system? Extraterrestrial life (194). Although we haven’t had any solid evidence (195) about their existence, many still believe extraterrestrial life actually exist. Let’s discuss further.
One thing that needs to be taken into consideration (196) is that the distances between stars and galaxies are so vast. Even if there’s extraterrestrial civilizations (197), the likelihood that they will contact us is extremely slim. The nearest star to our sun is 4 light years away. It doesn’t sound like a lot but let’s say we travel at the speed of Voyager I - the fastest spacecraft ever created by humans, it would still take a whopping 40,000 years to reach it. If you read the news, there have been many exoplanets (198) that are believed to have favorable conditions (199) to harbor lives (200) just like Earth. The nearest one is 20 light years away. Oh, just 20 years. No big deal. But again, if we travel at the fastest speed there is, it would take more than 300,000 years to reach it.
I’m sorry to spill the beans, but given the brief lifespan (201) of the human race and vast distances between stars and galaxies, we’re not likely to meet our extraterrestrial friends anytime soon. So if you are a strong believer (202) in extraterestrial life, watching sci-fi movies could be an ideal solution to satiate your curiosity (203).
(194) alien life
(195) very convincing evidence
(196) take a look or take into account or consider
(197) civilizations that are not originated from Earth
(198) planets that are outside of our solar system
(199) good conditions
(200) have lives
(201) short life
(202) if you really believe
(203) satisfy your curiosity
But that is not the end of it. Chances are you might have heard about some anomalies (204) in the news, either from mainstream or alternative media. There are things that have not been deciphered (205) yet by science. Conspiracy theorists (206) are those who fill the gap by saying these anomalies are created by extraterrestrial civilizations visiting us.
Crop circles are a prime example of these anomalies that we can actually see by eyes. Although there is not enough evidence to conclude that crop circles are a form of extraterrestrial message to us, the precision and complexity of these crop circles are far beyond human’s comprehension (207). There are hundreds if not thousands of them appearing in crops around the world and we still don’t know why and how.
Many people claimed they have come into contact (208) with aliens. Some even said they were kidnapped by ones. Whether these stories are fictious (209) or not remains a highly controverial issue.
Now it’s your part. Do you think these anomolies are simply hoaxes (210) created pranksters? Or do you think these actually involve extraterrestrial life forms who want to send us a message?
If the latter is true. I think the alien message would be decoded as ‘please study hard to pass the IELTS exam’ HAHAHAHA
(204) things that are not normal (very strange)
(205) Solved, explained
(206) those who propose theories on unexplained events
(207) We fail to understand
(208) meet with or deal with
(209) fake
(210) pranks or deceptions created by humans to trick other people
This might be a good topic for you. But beware, abortion is a very controversial topic given the number of perspectives involved. So what? Let’s jump right in.
Whenever you discuss abortion with anyone, there are two diverging views (223) you need to know: Prolife and pro-choice (211). Pro-life people support the life of the unborn (212), also known as human fetus (213). They maintain that human fetus has the right to live just like a human being. Abortion is therefore considered malevolent (214) just like murder, which is the key argument (215) of pro-life to propose legal restrictions against (216) abortion.
Pro-choice, on the other hand, favor the reproduction rights (217) of the mothers. They maintain that it is inevitable for women to have unintended pregnancies (219). In addition, human fetus lacks the basis (223) to be treated as a human being. They believe it should be considered part of a woman’s body and therefore, she should have full legal rights to make her own maternal choices (220)
There is no exact answer to the question whether or not abortion is legal or ethical since the arguments from two sides are both valid to some degree. Prochoice favor the right of the living person whereas pro-life uphold the reverence (221) for any human life, including the unborn. Lawmakers (222) will be the ones who make the final decision regarding the legality of abortion.
(223) two opposite views
(211) pro-life -> support the life of the unborn Pro-choice -> support the choices of the mothers
(212) = (213) = the unborn child
(214) evil and bad
(215) main argument
(216) limit by law against
(217) the choices of the mothers on whether they want to give birth
(219) easy but important
(223) is not qualified for OR lack the basic criteria
(220) the choices of the mothers
(221) deeply respect
(222) good noun to know
Do you feel like I’m getting more and more serious over time?. From school uniforms to death penalty, from drug legalization to extraterrestrial life. And now nuclear power. But aren’t those what you paid for? Sorry, let me rephrase that. Aren’t those what you happily paid for? HAHA.
When it comes to nuclear power, the word ‘nuclear’ itself carries some negative connotations (224). Much is due to media portrayals (225). However, in the eyes of scientists, the word ‘nuclear’ carries both negative and positive connotations, mainly positive. So it appears there are two diverging views regarding the nuclear power issue.
According to scientists, nuclear power is one of the most sustainable energy sources (226)in the planet that significantly reduces carbon emissions (227), the primary cause (228) of the greenhouse effect. Nuclear power is believed to be highly beneficial if used for civilian purposes (229), but highly detrimental if used for military ones.
Based on my observation, Western nations are the ones who use nuclear power primarily for civilian purposes. Countries like Iran or North Korea are well known for its use of nuclear power for military purpose such as nuclear weapon proliferation (230), posing imminent threats to national security (231).
The risk of radioactive waste (235) to the environment also needs to be taken into consideration, given the deleterious effects (232) it has on the ecological community (233) inhabiting (234) near the affected regions.
(224) negative feeling on a particular idea
(225) how the media tells the story and wants you to believe their ways
(226) energy sources that can be used without worring about the future
(227) the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the environment (228) main cause
(229) not for military purpose
(230) the making of nuclear weapon
(231) good phrase
(232) very bad effects
(233) species (plants or animals)
(234) living
(235) nuclear waste
