In today's podcast, ex-IELTS examiner Cambridge David guides you through some great ways that you can boost your IELTS Speaking score, by replacing common words with higher value expressions used by native speakers.
For more help preparing for your IELTS exam, book a lesson with Cambridge David today.  

IELTS with Cambridge David

Great IELTS expressions to replace simple, common words

常见的家用电器：
电视机 （diàn         shì             jī）
吊扇 ( diào            shàn)
电风扇 (diàn         fēng        shàn)
电冰箱 ( diàn         bīng       xiāng)
电烤箱 ( diàn          kǎo        xiāng )
微波炉 (wēi               bō           lú)
洗衣机 (xǐ              yī              jī  )
吸尘机 (xī            chén           jī)
电饭锅 (diàn         fàn           guō)
抽油烟机 ( chōu    yóu     yān        jī)
吹风机 (chuī        fēng           jī )

中文小课堂

家用电器

HOTEL RECEPTIONIST: Hi, there. How can I help you?
CLAIRE: Well, I’m in town visiting for a few days, and I 
need to get some things done while I’m here.
HOTEL RECEPTIONIST: Sure. What do you need?
CLAIRE: I need to get my hair cut. I also need to have my
new pants hemmed.
HOTEL RECEPTIONIST: OK. Here’s a map of the city. There’s a good hair 
salon here, which is just a block away. And there’s 
a tailor right here. Is there anything else?
CLAIRE: Yes. I’ll need to have my car serviced before my
long drive home!
HOTEL RECEPTIONIST: No problem. There’s a good mechanic a few 
blocks away.


LANGUAGE NOTES
• Hi, there. Notice the intonation in this greeting. It rises after “Hi” and falls after “there.”
• Sure is a friendly expression to mean “OK.”
• Get my hair cut / have my new pants hemmed / have my car serviced. Notice get/
have + object + participle. This structure is used to describe actions that someone else 
does for us. “Get” and “have” are interchangeable here.
• Is there anything else? here means “Do you need more information?”
• Before my long drive home! Notice the emphasis and intonation on “home.” The 
speaker wants to show humor here. If she doesn’t get her car checked, she might not get 
home! She wants to be friendly and light with the receptionist.
• No problem here means “Don’t worry.” Notice the stress on “No.” The receptionist 
laughs first, then puts emphasis on “No” by lengthening the word. This shows that she 
understands the car could break down if it doesn’t get serviced

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 15: Running errands 

みなさんはもう夏休みを取りましたか？私は9月2日から9月19日まで夏休みを取って、パートナーとイタリアに行きます。海で泳いだり、おいしいものを食べるのが楽しみです。
ちなみに学生は「休みを取る」とあまり言いません。なぜなら「休みを取る」とは自分でいつ休むかを決めた場合に使うからです。
「休みを取る」と「休む」は少し意味が違います。

何かの理由があって学校や会社に行けないときは「休む」を使います。
「体調が悪いので学校を休みます」「今日は風邪で仕事を休みました」と言います。
また、自分以外の誰かが休んでいる時は
「今日、先生は休みです」「彼は今日休みだよ」と言います。
また、お店が閉まっている時にも
「今日あのお店は休みだよ」と言います。

休むには「休憩する」という意味もあります。
「疲れたからちょっと休みましょう」と言われたら、「疲れたから少し休憩しましょう」という意味です。

みなさんは「ズル休み」をしたことがありますか？「ズル休み」とは休む理由がないのに、休むことです。
雨が降っている時やとても寒い時は外に出るのが、面倒でズル休みしたくなりますよね。

みなさんは夏休みどこに行きましたか？そこで何をしましたか？
よかったら私のレッスンに来て教えてください。


体調が悪い：たいちょうがわるい　I don’t feel good, I feel sick
休憩する：きゅうけいする　take rest
面倒だ：めんどうだ　I can’t be bothered
理由：りゆう　reason

Nihongo Short Story by Noriko

休みを取る-Today’s Word

A：张老师星期六也不休息啊？
B：是啊，他这几天很忙，没有时间休息。
A：那会很累吧？
B：他每天回来都很累。


HSK Standard Course Level 2 Audio of the textbook

Lesson 2 text 4

Full transcript: https://japanesemayuna.com/

はい、こんにちは。今回はポッドキャストの27回目です。毎日暑いですね。私は先週、夏服をオンラインで注文しました。私は相変わらず家にいることが多いので、外に出た時はなるべく遠くに行くようにしています。今までは近所のコンビニでコーヒーを買っていましたが、歩いて１５分ぐらいの店に行くことにしました。コーヒーは店によって全然味が違いますね。そこのコーヒーは少し高いですが、コンビニより美味しいです。

Hello. This is episode 27 of my podcast. It's hot every day. I ordered my summer clothes online last week. I am still at home most of the time, so when I go out I try to go as far as possible. I used to buy coffee at a local convenience store, but I decided to go to a shop about 15 minutes' walk away. Coffee tastes totally different depending on the shop. The coffee there is a bit more expensive, but it tastes better than at the convenience store.

最近、会話を練習している生徒さんが増えています。文法を覚えても、リスニングとスピーキングに自信がないと、実際に言葉を使うのは難しいですよね。発音は、大人になってから勉強するのは無理だと考えている人が多いですが、実は違います。母音の種類やイントネーション、母国語との違いを勉強で理解して、練習を繰り返せば、大人でもかなり自然な発音になります。発音についてもっと詳しく教えることができるように、今朝、本屋に行きました。

More and more students are practising conversation these days. Even if you learn grammar, it is difficult to actually use the language if you are not confident in your listening and speaking skills. Many people think that pronunciation is impossible to learn as an adult, but it is not. If you understand the different types of vowels, intonation and differences from your native language through study and repeated practice, even adults can pronounce words quite naturally. I went to the bookshop this morning so that I could teach more about pronunciation.

私の家の近くにはジュンク堂という本屋があります。ジュンク堂は、日本で一番大きい本屋チェーンの一つです。どの店舗も広くて、大量の本があります。立ち読みもできるので、東京に住んでいた時からよく利用していました。立ち読みとは、売っている本を買う前に読むことです。本屋に行ったのは昼前でしたが、たくさん人がいました。会社員も在宅勤務をするようになったので、決まった時間に働いていない人が多いです。



Japanese Lessons with Mayuna

27. 本屋に行く

This podcast offers a comprehensive guide to understanding and using idioms, focusing on their characteristics, usage, and relationship with other figures of speech.   It distinguishes between idioms, metaphors, and similes, noting that while metaphors involve a direct or implied comparison and similes use "like" or "as," pure idioms are opaque and non-comparative, acting as traditional, fixed phrases that must be memorised. Overall, this episode serves as educational material explaining the nuances and classifications necessary for accurate comprehension of these linguistic components.

The importance of figurative language for Business Communication

idioms, metaphors and similes - what and when to use

In this lesson or podcast, you will learn how to pronounce letters (alphabet) in Indonesian. Selamat belajar dan semangat!

BAHASA INDONESIA WITH DIANA 

HURUF DAN ABJAD IN BAHASA INDONESIA

Anyone visiting Paris for this summer's Olympic Games may have to pay a little more than usual for hotels, trains and food and drink.

But here's one thing that won't cost them anything: a ride in a flying taxi.

That's right: it might sound like the most expensive way to get around, but it has been announced that visitors will be able to take new electric-powered flying taxis without paying.

They're called flying taxis, but if you're hoping for a car with wings you might be disappointed! They look like small helicopters, but with a "loop" on top with 18 small rotors instead of one large set of blades.

In Paris, they can land on a special "vertiport" — a place for vertical takeoff and landing — on the River Seine.

Made by a German company called Volocopter, the taxis can take one person at a time from the Seine, close to Austerlitz train station, to four places around Paris, including two airports.

The trips are free because the flights are being called "demonstrations" — since the taxis have not yet been certified by the European Union's Aviation Safety Agency.

There is also a limit of two flights per hour between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m, and a limit of 900 flights over the whole year.

This has been called a "trial period" for the taxis, but some people in Paris are unhappy that they're coming at all.

They're worried about the taxis' environmental impact, and the noise they might make.

Volocopter says its taxis are much quieter than normal helicopters, as well as being very safe and better for the planet. In future, the company hopes to make larger taxis that could also be used as flying ambulances.