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IELTS Preparation Series 2, Episode 16: Glass Artist

Ban Điều Hành

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Xem lời thoại bên dưới:

0:13

Hello. I'm Margot Politis. Welcome to Study English, IELTS preparation.

0:18

Today we're going to look at how English users indicate negative meanings. One of the ways

0:24

we can do that is with the word not.

0:28

And we're going to hear a glass artist talk about his craft. The ancient art of hot glassblowing

0:35

dates back 5,000 years to the Egyptians. Listen to Mark Douglass, the artist, talking about

0:42

glassblowing today.

0:43

I think people are fascinated about glass, in a sense, I know my grandmother had a beautiful

0:52

glass vase on her dressing table or whatever, and it was always, "Don't break the vase,"

0:56

you know, it's this precious thing.

0:59

The techniques I use for glassmaking aren't that dissimilar than what has been around

1:05

for, like, centuries.

1:08

When English speakers want to give something a negative meaning, they use negative words

1:14

such as:

1:15

not - She's not coming

1:17

no - There's no music

1:23

nobody - Nobody saw the crash

1:26

nothing - There's nothing to eat

1:30

nowhere - He's nowhere to be seen.

1:34

All these sentences have only one negative. When constructing negative sentences, English

1:40

only allows one negative.

1:44

Using two negative words, such as 'nobody' and 'not' together in a sentence, can give

1:51

the opposite meaning to the one intended.

1:53

So, for example:

1:56

I did not see nobody.

1:59

With this double negative, this literally means:

2:02

I saw somebody.

2:05

However, watch Mark Douglass again, and see how he uses a double negative to give a positive

2:11

meaning.

2:13

The techniques I use for glassmaking aren't that dissimilar than what has been around

2:19

for, like, centuries.

2:20

Mark says:

2:23

The techniques aren't dissimilar.

2:26

Aren't is a contraction of are and not.

2:31

So he uses the negative word form not.

2:34

Dissimilar is made up of the negative prefix dis- and the word similar.

2:42

So he uses not and dis-, both negatives, in one phrase.

2:49

These cancel each other's effect, giving a positive meaning:

2:55

Look what happens when we leave them both out.

2:58

The techniques are not dissimilar.

3:03

The techniques are similar.

3:06

By saying the techniques are not dissimilar, he is drawing attention to the fact that this

3:12

may be surprising, and not what you might expect.

3:16

He's saying that it's surprising that the techniques used today are similar to ancient

3:22

techniques.

3:24

This idea is reinforced by Mark using the negative word unchanged when talking about

3:30

the techniques.

3:32

Listen to how he uses unchanged.

3:36

So the basic techniques of gathering, blowing glass, putting a bubble into some glass, shaping

3:43

it, pretty much have been unchanged for a long time.

3:48

Mark says the basic techniques of blowing glass have been unchanged for a long time.

3:56

He does not say the techniques are the same. He chooses a negative to draw attention or

4:03

emphasise that something has not changed.

4:07

Let's try another example:

4:10

The student was not unhappy with her test score.

4:15

Cancel out the negatives not and un- and you have:

4:19

The student was happy with her test score.

4:23

The two negatives cancel each other out, leaving a positive statement.

4:28

However, not unhappy is not the same as happy.

4:34

The student may not have received an excellent score, but she didn't receive a bad one either.

4:41

The student is not happy, but not unhappy either.

4:44

So this sentence expresses a subtly different perspective and attitude than the simple positive

4:52

statement:

4:53

The student was happy.

4:56

You can practise this construction by adding the prefix dis- or un- to many words:

5:04

not disloyal

5:06

not dishonest

5:09

not uncommon

5:11

not uncomfortable

5:14

not unkind

5:17

Before you know it, it will 'not' be 'unusual' for you to use negative expressions!

5:27

In part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test you'll be discussing something linked to the topic

5:33

you spoke about earlier in the interview.

5:36

Let's focus on the features of a good response to part 3.

5:40

You'll be expected to use more complex language because of the diverse tasks.

5:47

You could be:

5:48

describing something

5:49

speculating

5:51

suggesting

5:52

stating an opinion

5:54

comparing

5:56

contrasting or explaining

5:58

Let's imagine Mark Douglass is participating in the third part of the interview.

6:06

Earlier we heard Mark talking about glassblowing as an art form. As a follow-on question from

6:13

Part 2, the examiner could ask, for example:

6:17

Do you think some countries value glass art differently?

6:21

Let's listen to how Mark answers this question.

6:23

I think Australians' perception of glass is a lot different than European or American.

6:30

Like, Europeans, because they've had you know Venetian glass around for a long time, they

6:35

tend to appreciate how hard it is to make glass or the value of it. Australian people

6:41

tend to look at whether it's mass-produced, then sit it next to a piece of art glass and

6:46

can't really see the difference in it that much.

6:48

It's not as if it's sort of the money of it, I think it's just a psyche of collecting,

6:53

which, I don't think Australian people have that passion as much as European or American

6:57

people.

6:58

In response to this type of question, you'd be expected to state your opinion about people's

7:05

perception and appreciation of glass art.

7:10

Did you notice the words he uses when giving his opinion? He says:

7:15

I think Australians' perception of glass is a lot different.

7:20

I think it's just a psyche of collecting.

7:24

I don't think Australian people have that passion.

7:29

Europeans tend to appreciate how hard it is.

7:33

Australians tend to look at whether it's mass produced.

7:37

It is clear from his word choices that he is expressing his own views.

7:44

You would also be expected to make comparisons, like Mark does when he says:

7:49

Australians' perceptions are a lot different than Europeans'.

7:56

It's important to vary your sentence structure. Mark uses a variety of sentence structures

8:02

that are grammatically correct.

8:05

He makes complex sentences - sentences that have more than one clause.

8:11

He uses the subordinate conjunction because:

8:16

I think Australians' perception of glass is a lot different than European because they've

8:22

had Venetian glass around for a long time.

8:26

He also uses the coordinate conjunction or:

8:32

They tend to appreciate how hard it is to make glass or the value of it.

8:37

Mark's speech flows smoothly because he uses contractions. He says:

8:45

they've had Venetian glass

8:48

it's mass-produced

8:50

can't really see the difference and

8:55

it's just a psyche of collecting

8:58

How would you assess Mark's response to the question? I think his answer was relevant

9:05

and effective.

9:07

He demonstrated good grammatical range and accuracy. He spoke at a good pace, and he

9:15

used clear pronunciation.

9:16

These are all goals you should aim for too!

9:21

To find more information and tips for your IELTS test, just visit our website at abcasiapacific.com/studyenglish.

9:32

That's all for today. I'll see you next time on Study English. Bye bye.

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