IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 17: Talking about Festivals & Celebrations

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Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.

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A common topic in the IELTS Test is Festivals and Celebrations.

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It's a good idea to be prepared to talk about a major festival in your country or the way

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weddings and birthdays are celebrated.

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By festivals, we mean things such as Chinese New Year or Christmas or the Water Festival.

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How does our speaker talk about the Water Festival?

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The Water Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Cambodia. There are about 430

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boats from all over the country. Each boat carries between 40 to 70 people. They just

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pack into these little canoes. There are quite a few aspects to the Water Festival.

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It's best to introduce a topic so the listener knows what to expect. This is called the orientation.

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The opening statement should tell us what to expect - here it is a description of the

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Water Festival in Cambodia and some aspects of this festival.

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What exactly are these aspects?

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There are quite a few aspects to the Water Festival. It is celebrated every year and

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its history is that the King would use the Water Festival to find the strongest men to

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join the marine force to look after the country. I would say every Cambodian would consider

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water the most important thing in their life.

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There are two aspects. There's the history of the festival and the significance of the

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festival to people now. It's a good idea to think of a major festival in your country

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and then think of ways to expand your answer, like this:

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I would say every Cambodian would consider water the most important thing in their life.

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The majority of Cambodians live in the countryside and the rural population rely on water, you

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know, to farm. So they basically almost worship water. And Cambodia's Water Festival coincides

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with the full moon, a good omen that promises a bountiful harvest.

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Notice that when you talk about customs you are talking about facts and so you would need