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