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IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 26: Giving Advice


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Xem lời thoại bên dưới:

0:12

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

0:18

What should you do to stay healthy? This is a possible question in IELTS. How might you

0:24

reply to such a question - what language choices do you have?

0:29

The language function required is "giving advice". Today we'll look at language choices

0:34

in English for giving advice.

0:36

First, let's listen to someone giving advice about health:

0:42

Having good health is something we all want. There are several things we should do to keep

0:47

fit and healthy - eat well, exercise and get plenty of rest. If we have a good diet, lead

0:54

an active life and get enough sleep, then we should stay healthy. If we get sick, then

1:00

we need to manage our recovery. There is prevention, and there is cure - but prevention is better

1:06

than cure.

1:07

"Prevention is better than cure". This is a common saying that means it's better to

1:13

avoid getting sick than trying to cure the sickness later.

1:18

So what does our advisor recommend we do to prevent getting ill?

1:23

There are several things we should do to keep fit and healthy - eat well, exercise and get

1:29

plenty of rest. If we have a good diet, lead an active life and get enough sleep, then

1:35

we should stay healthy.

1:38

What sort of language does she use for giving advice?

1:42

First she uses the modal verb 'should'. Listen again:

1:47

There are several things we should do to keep fit and healthy - eat well, exercise and get

1:53

plenty of rest.

1:55

The word 'should' is used in a number of ways. Here it indicates advisability - there are

2:02

several things we should do to keep fit.

2:05

Listen to another use of should with this meaning:

2:09

You should try to walk a couple of kilometres every day.

2:12

The negative form "shouldn't" is often used to give advice about what not to do.

2:18

There are three things that you shouldn't do. You shouldn't smoke, you shouldn't eat

2:23

too much junk food and you shouldn't drink too much alcohol.

2:27

There is another modal verb that is used in the same way as should, but is a more formal

2:32

choice, ought.

2:35

It's used by this man in an interview about immigration to Australia and its impact on

2:40

the environment:

2:41

It's an open question whether people are applying more strain on the environment if they're

2:46

living in a flood plain in Bangladesh than if they're living in Australia. Secondly,

2:52

I think that if you're worried about the environmental sustainability of the pattern of economic

2:57

growth in Australia - and there are good reasons why you might be - then you ought to be looking

3:02

at policies to reduce, say, carbon dioxide emissions, water usage, regardless of how

3:08

many foreigners you let in or don't let in.

3:11

"You ought to be looking at policies". You could also say you should be looking at policies.

3:18

Advice is suggesting choices, so you don't use the word must. There is no choice when

3:25

you say must - it's an obligation or something you have to do.

3:29

Sometimes you need to suggest choices in a way that doesn't upset the person you are

3:36

advising.

3:37

Instead of saying 'You shouldn't smoke', you can express it as a question:

3:43

Shouldn't you give up smoking?

3:44

A more formal way of saying this uses the word oughtn't:

3:50

Oughtn't you give up smoking?

3:52

In the next clip, listen to another way of using should:

4:00

If we have a good diet, lead an active life and get enough sleep then we should stay healthy.

4:07

Here, should expresses the idea that this is likely to happen if the condition - having