Language and Indirect Speech (Listening)

The following talk by psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker is quite similar to IELTS Listening Section 4.(This lecture does contain references to sex and dating, which are not likely to appear on the IELTS exam!)

The specific topic of the lecture is indirect language. He explains why people often avoid making commands or asking directly for something. It is partly due to politeness, but also due to the speaker's wish to avoid embarrassment and awkwardness.

Watching this video may help you to understand English-speakers better!

Before listening, look at the vocabulary words below. If necessary use an English to English Dictionary to find their meanings.


hostage        proffer        bribe       euphemism        infer

veiled         threat         literal     metaphorical     ethos

ubiquity       dominance      altruism    anomalous        cheeky

awkwardness    reciprocity    naive       innuendo    deniability


Now read the fill-in-the-blank questions below the video and look for key words. Make a guess about what word might logically complete each sentence. Then listen as many times as necessary to complete the exercise. Some words will appear within the video, so you'll have an advantage if you're a quick reader. It's ok if you don't understand everything! 

Complete the sentences below with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

1. Language is a ______________ into social relations.

2. A kidnapper has a hostage tied up in the back seat of a car and, inconveniently, is ______________ by the police because he's missing ______________.

3. So the puzzle is why are bribes, ______________, seductions,solicitations and threats so often veiled when both parties presumably know _________________ they mean?

4. Behaviour that is acceptable in one ________________ type can be anomalous in another.

5. You wouldn't go up to your boss and ________________ to a prawn off his plate because what you can get away with in a communality relationship you can't get away with in a ________________ relationship.

6. One remaining ________________, which is why we resort to indirectness even when there is no ________________.

7. What is the psychological status of an overture that ________________ to be out there or on the record that makes it feel so much more ________________ than a veiled overture that is conveyed indirectly?

8. When a little boy said the emperor is ________________ he was not telling anyone anything that they did not already know and even if they could not see with their ________________.

9. Once again, that gave them the collective power to _______________ the dominance of the emperor through their  _______________. 

10. The moral of the story is that explicit language is an ________________ of creating mutual knowledge.

To read a transcript of the talk, and to check your answers, CLICK HERE.

How To End Poverty (Task 2 Writing) (Listening)

One issue that is closely connected with globalization in the modern world is the issue of poverty. This blog has previously drawn attention to the issues raised by this Task 2 Writing question:

Although developing countries receive a great deal of financial aid from elsewhere in the world, they continue to have issues with poverty. Do you think that developed countries should give more help or a different kind of help? Or do you think that developing countries must find their own solutions to poverty?

To properly address this question, we need to examine several issues.

First of all, why do developed countries give financial aid to poor countries and why hasn't this aid led to significant reductions in poverty?

Secondly, what kind of help should rich countries give to poor countries instead of money?

Finally, how can poor people living in developing nations find their own solutions to poverty? Should rich countries simply ignore the problems of poverty overseas?

Many of these questions are answered in the following 20 minute talk. It gives information about a program that was used to help individuals donate money to poor families in Kenya, and the results of this program. Look up the following vocabulary words and read the questions for key words. Then, listen to the talk and answer the questions below.


Reluctant       Labourer       Misuse       Drunkard       

Dowry       Thatched Roof      Eligible     Heifer

Exotic       Macroeconomics    Charity      Anecdote

Geeks         Evidence       Intervention   From Scratch (idiom)

Click Here To Listen

1. Why were aid organisations reluctant to give cash to poor people? (Several reasons are given.) 

2. Why were people initially unwilling to accept cash?

3. What are some challenges related to giving money to poor people? How did mobile phones help to alleviate some of these problems?

4. What is the meaning of the quote, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."

5. When people were given $1000, what did they generally buy with the money?

6. Did most people use the money well or waste it?

7. What were some of the disadvantages experienced by people who received money? What about the people who did not receive money?

8. How does "Give Directly" decide who they give money to?

9. Compare the methods used by "Give Directly" to those used by "Heifer International."

10. Which giving method do you think is better, based on the information in this programme?

If you're interested in learning more about Heifer International, Click Here:

Heifer International Website

Five Historical Robots (Listening)

IELTS Listening Part 4 often contains detailed lectures on a wide range of topics. These tend to be on topics such as the environment, technology, business, and history.

Below you will find a radio programme which incorporates two of these topics - it provides a short history of robotics.

Here are a few vocabulary words and idioms you might need:

automaton      mind-blowing      insight     anatomy

mechanism      discharge         revolutionise     

conceal        elite             clockwork

The recording is approximately 21 minutes long. There is no reason to listen past minute 22:00.

CLICK HERE 

and press play to hear the listening.

In which country and in which century was the first robot reportedly built?

Which well-known artist created a mechanical lion?

What kind of animal did Jacques de Vaucanson build? What kinds of things could this animal do?

What other robotic creations did Vaucanson build?

Why was the robot called "The Writer" built by Jaquet-droz a significant development in robotic technology?

What every day fashionable item did Jaquet-droz become famous for?