IELTS SPEAKING PART 1
HEALTH AND
CORONAVIRUS
Vocabulary
lockdown Quarantine – In isolation
unprecedented times
Hand sanitiser Social distancing PPE
Vocabulary rapid test, contact tracing
Hoard/ panic shopping outbreak Community transfer
A new strain
assymptom
Altruism
altruistic
Do you think health
is important? Why?
• Health is extremely important. Without
it we are unable to work, unable to earn
a living, unable to socialise and we
become completely dependant on
others.
• Health is one of the few things that we
can’t buy, but we can take steps to
improve and protect our health. By
protecting our health, we are protecting
our future.
What types of activities
do you think help people
stay healthy?
• There are many kinds of activities that can help
us maintain good health. Cardiovascular
exercise such as jogging, tennis and football are
really beneficial.
• But many people prefer doing more gentle
exercise like yoga or taichi that help us with our
physical and mental health. Personally, I think a
balanced approach of different types of
exercises is best combined with a healthy life
style and diet.
What is the difference
between physical health
and mental health?
• Physical health is about our physical bodies:
our muscles, our blood circulation, our internal
organs and about keeping our immune systems
and other bodily systems working well.
• Mental health, on the other hand, is concerned
with how healthy our thoughts are and our
perspectives. It affects our ability to cope with
situations in life.
What difficulties did some
people face with social
distancing and lockdown
at the time of the
Coronavirus outbreak?
• I think some people had a lot to cope
with during lockdown. Some people
struggled with the isolation, some
people worried about their income
and others struggled with being
trapped in a building unable to go out.
• Most of the problems were
psychological, but some also had
practical problems. Some people were
unable to get to supermarkets due to
vulnerability and struggled to get
food. It was a really challenging time.
• exceed
What did some people do to
stay positive at that time?
• People used different methods to keep
their chins up when they were in
lockdown. I think some of them went
online to either work or socialise.
Others turned to indoor exercise and
art projects.
• Nature projects like planting indoor
plants and watching live videos of
wildlife were also really popular. It was
surprising how enterprising and
creative people were ideas.
What useful technology helped us combat the Coronavirus?
What useful technology helped us combat
the Coronavirus?
• That’s a really interesting question. Let me see … I guess some of the
most important pieces of technology were things like ventilators
which kept people breathing when they had severe Coronavirus and
the technology behind the contact tracing and testing which was used
quite effectively in many countries to suppress the spread of the virus.
• Looking ahead at new technology coming out, new apps are being
designed to allow people to trace where they have been and if they
have come into contact with the virus at any time. I think this will
really help us control the virus better.
During the Coronavirus crisis, some
people did courageous deeds. Can you
give an example of one from your
country?
• There was more than one example of courage in the
face of possible illness or death in my country during
the Coronavirus pandemic.
• All doctors, nurses, hospital staff, care home
workers, social workers and other frontline workers
all selflessly went to work knowing the risks they
were facing. Some of them lost their lives as a result.
• Each day, they showed courage and determination
to save lives. They were indeed brave and without
them many more people would have died.
• Infected , frontline medical workers
What do you think could have been done
better to deal with the Coronavirus
outbreak?
• It’s hard to say. Each country had their own approach based on what was happening in their own
country and decisions were led by the science.
• With hindsight some countries should have done more rigorous contact tracing and testing at the
start of the pandemic to prevent the disease spreading so widely.
• Also some of them ought to have gone into lockdown sooner before the virus had spread so far.
We will see how things progress from this point onward.
Phrases of Covid-19
• the COVID-19 pandemic: đại dịch COVID-19
• to be fully vaccinated: được tiêm chủng đầy đủ
• confirmed COVID-19 cases: các trường hợp mắc Covid 19 đã được ghi nhận
• to present an unprecedented challenge to …: đặt ra thách thức chưa từng có đối với …
• to be at risk of falling into extreme poverty: có nguy cơ rơi vào cảnh nghèo khó cùng cực
• to face an existential threat: đối mặt với một mối đe dọa tới sự tồn tại của con người
• to earn an income during lockdowns: kiếm thu nhập trong thời gian phong tỏa
• a lack of hospital beds: thiếu giường bệnh
• to experience financial hardship: gặp khó khăn về tài chính
• The Delta variant: Biến thể Delta
• to be life-threatening: đe dọa tính mạng
• to spread rapidly around the world: lây lan nhanh chóng trên toàn thế giới
• to develop severe breathing problems: tiến triển các vấn đề về hô hấp nghiêm trọng
• underlying medical conditions: bệnh nền
• to cause a wide range of illnesses: gây ra nhiều loại bệnh
• a global health crisis: một cuộc khủng hoảng sức khỏe toàn cầu
• to halt the spread of the virus: ngăn chặn sự lây lan của vi rút
• to impose tighter restrictions on movement: áp đặt những hạn chế chặt chẽ hơn đối với việc di chuyển/đi lại
Effect of Covid-19
• to tip … back into extreme poverty: đưa … trở về sự nghèo khó cùng
cực
• loss of trade and tourism: tổn thất thương mại và du lịch
• to negatively affect global economic growth: ảnh hưởng tiêu cực đến
tăng trưởng kinh tế toàn cầu
• significant disruptions to education: gián đoạn đáng kể đối với giáo
dục
Idioms about health
• to be under the weather = feel slightly ill: cảm thấy không được khỏe
• on your last legs = A person who is on their last legs is very tired or near to death: suy yếu cùng cực
• to be out of sort = to be slightly ill: cảm thấy khó chịu trong người
• you’re not your usual/normal self = you’re not looking or bahaving as you usually do: không bình thường như mọi ngày
• off-colour = looking or feeling ill: có vẻ ốm yếu
• feel/look like death warmed up = feel or look very ill or tired: nhìn rất mệt mỏi, nhợt nhạt
• throw up = vomit: nôn mửa
• keel over = fall over, especially when you feel ill: ngất đi
• pass out = faint; lost consciousness for a short time: đột ngột bất tỉnh
• wear off = (of a pain, feeling, or effect) gradually disappear or stop: (cơn đau, …) dần tan biến
• com/go down with something = get one of the common illness: bị bệnh gì
• go round = spread from person to person: lây lan
• pick something up = catch an infectious illness: nhiễm bệnh …
• take things/it easy = relax and avoid working hard or doing too much: nghỉ ngơi
