IELTS Preparation Series 2, Episode 18: Outback Tourism
(Bấm vào đây để xem/nghe bài kế tiếp)
Xem lời thoại bên dưới:
0:00
Hello. I'm Margot Politis. Welcome to Study English, IELTS preparation.
0:19
Today we're going to look at a story about trees in Melbourne. Trees have certain functions.
0:25
They provide shade and shelter, they give scale to the tall buildings and they demonstrate
0:31
the changing seasons.
0:33
English is no different! It has a range of functions, or purposes. When you reach a certain
0:40
stage in your language development, you'll need to focus more on the meaning and functions
0:45
of English at the sentence level, and also how to connect sentences. With practice, your
0:51
fluency and competence in both spoken and written English will develop.
0:58
John Hawker, who is a horticulturalist with Heritage Victoria, is concerned that the old
1:04
trees planted in Melbourne in the 1850s are nearing the end of their lives. Listen to
1:10
John discussing the problem of managing trees in urban areas.
1:17
Trees are very much a part of our urban fabric. People enjoy them for their size, variety
1:22
and colour and form, so we'd just be left with nothing, which would be disastrous.
1:28
There's a need to assess the health and the condition of these trees and embark upon a
1:35
removal and a replacement program.
1:37
We'll be helping the City of Melbourne doing that assessment and we'll be identifying where,
1:42
what trees should be replanted.
1:44
John is discussing the problems of old trees in Melbourne.
1:49
He begins with a statement of fact:
1:52
People enjoy trees for their size, variety, colour and form.
1:58
He follows this statement with an opinion:
2:01
To allow these old trees to die and not replace them would be disastrous.
2:08
Can you see the purpose or function of these two sentences? John is building a persuasive
2:15
argument about trees. He begins with a fact, and then adds an opinion.
2:22
Now he goes on to list some of the problems faced by these trees. The function of this
2:28
sentence will be to support his argument with reasons.
2:32
Listen to the causes of the problem.
2:35
Well, there are quite a few problems with some of the trees.
2:39
Firstly, the trees, some are very old and nearing the end of their life. That's been
2:45
hastened to some extent by recent very dry conditions in Melbourne and other environmental
2:51
factors.
2:53
John begins by identifying the reasons for the problem.
2:57
The trees are old and nearing the end of their life. This natural ageing process has been
3:04
made worse by recent dry conditions in Melbourne, and other environmental factors.
3:11
His argument is more convincing because he explains the reasons for the problem. This
3:17
is one of the important functions of English you'll need to learn - to order your thoughts
3:22
in a logical pattern, and support them with reasons and examples.
3:27
So to make a good, persuasive argument, John has given the facts of the problem and given
3:34
us opinions, reasons and examples. Then John explains a solution to the problem.
3:43
There's a need to assess the health and the condition of these trees and embark upon a
3:47
removal and a replacement program.
3:50
We'll be helping the City of Melbourne doing that assessment and we'll be identifying where,
3:54
what trees should be replanted.
3:56
John's solution is to assess the trees, and then remove older trees and replace them with
4:04
younger trees.
4:06
The argument is further developed by another tree expert, Ian Shears, who works for the
4:12
City of Melbourne.
4:13
With replacement of elms, such as in St Kilda Road, for example, we want to be putting in
4:18
trees which are of a significant size. So if you do it on a short term basis, you just
4:24
can't go out to a nursery and get something of any stature at all.
4:28
Ian makes a suggestion - to plant large size elm trees.
4:34
He adds the fact that large trees are not available from nurseries in the short term.
4:41
His un-stated conclusion is so strong we understand it implicitly: we must plan long term for
4:49
this to succeed.
4:55
So you can see how both trees and English have certain functions. Like the different
5:00
parts of a tree all help to make it complete, English sentences have different functions
5:06
that combine to make effective communication.
5:11
Sentences serve several purposes or functions. These can be:
5:16
stating a fact
5:19
giving an opinion
5:21
making a suggestion
5:23
giving an example
5:25
stating a reason
5:26
or giving a cause
5:30
See if you can identify different functions.
5:35
The world's population is increasing. Is that an opinion, a fact, or a solution?
5:44
It's a fact.
5:47
Fines for drink driving are unacceptable. Is that an opinion, a suggestion, or a cause?
5:55
It's an opinion.
6:00
Poverty is rising due to unemployment rising. Is that an example, a suggestion, or a cause?
6:10
It's a cause.
6:13
In an essay, opinions and arguments are supported by:
6:18
reasons and explanations
6:20
causes and examples
6:23
facts and statements
6:25
proposals and predictions
6:28
results and solutions
6:32
Let's construct a short paragraph. Note how it is constructed, beginning with a topic
6:38
sentence, followed by a series of supporting and developing sentences with different functions.
6:45
Music has many benefits. fact
6:49
It provides a common language benefit
6:54
which breaks down barriers explanation
6:59
The Beatles are popular around the world. example
7:05
Music helps people relax. benefit
7:07
Dance music is used for exercise fact
7:13
because it promotes movement. reason
7:18
Some people prefer reggae. fact
7:21
They seem very relaxed. opinion
7:24
Listen to John Hawker again construct his argument.
7:30
Trees are very much a part of our urban fabric. People enjoy them for their size, variety
7:35
and colour and form, so we'd just be left with nothing, which would be disastrous.
7:43
There's a need to assess the health and the condition of these trees and embark upon a
7:48
removal and a replacement program.
7:50
We'll be helping the City of Melbourne doing that assessment and we'll be identifying where,
7:54
what trees should be replanted.
7:56
Well, there are quite a few problems with some of the trees. Firstly, the trees, some
8:01
are very old and nearing the end of their life. That's been hastened to some extent
8:07
by recent very dry conditions in Melbourne and other environmental factors.
8:13
To stay with our tree analogy, you can see how the argument is steadily built up with
8:19
different functions: the opening topic sentence is like the seedling. Once the idea is planted,
8:27
it grows through benefits and facts, is strengthened with reason, coloured with opinion, and develops
8:34
interesting offshoots with suggestions and proposals. Explanations and examples fill
8:41
out the foliage, and the end result is a beautiful and original creation!
8:46
So now that we understand the functions of sentences, let's construct an argument paragraph.
8:54
Trees are lovely. opinion
8:57
They make oxygen fact
9:02
which is necessary for life. benefit
9:07
We should all plant one. suggestion
9:11
It could change cities prediction
9:15
by providing more shade. benefit
9:17
Melbourne is planting trees example
9:23
to replace its old ones. reason
9:27
And that's all for Study English today. We've looked at a variety of different functions
9:33
in a text. You can find out more about the different functions of sentences by going
9:38
to our Study English website.
9:41
I'll see you next time on Study English. Bye bye.