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TOP SCORE VOCABULARY FOR THE SPEAKING TEST

Usingoccasional,idiomaticorphrasalexpressionsinyourIELTSinterviewcanenrichvocabulary.However,they

needtobeusednaturallyandonlyoccasionally.

Soundingnaturalisreallyimportantwhentryingtoachieveahigherscore. Itmeansbeingfluentandusing

languageinawaythatmakesthelistenerfeeltheyaretalkingtosomeonewhocouldbelongtothesame

languagecommunity.

Belowisalistofexpressions,eachwithameaningandanexampleofpossibleuseintheSpeakingtest.Asterisk

(*)showsthemostflexible,andperhapsfrequentlyusedexpressions.

Expression Meaning How to use in a Speaking test

*adropinthe

ocean

averysmallamount

comparedtotheamountneeded

Assessor:

You:

Doyougivemoneytocharity?

NoIdont,mainlybecauseIfeelthatmy$50donationwouldonlybeadropintheocean.

alostsoul withoutdirectionor

purpose

Assessor:

You:

DoyoufeelyoubelonginAustralia

now?

Insomeways,yes,butdeepdown

Imstillabitofalostsoul.

arealcanof

worms

uncoveringarangeof

complexproblems

Assessor:

You:

Haveyoueverhadtosolveatricky

problematwork?

Yes,Ioncefoundoutthatsomeoneat

workhadacriminalrecordanditwasarealcanof

wormswhenItriedtosackhim.

a

straight

talker

someonewho

talks

directlyandopenlyAssessor:

You:What

can

you

tell

me

about

your

best

friend?

Mybestfriend,Paul,isareallystraighttalker;he

neverjusttriestosaywhatIwouldliketohear.

allatsea veryconfused Assessor:

You:

Doyouadaptwellinnewsituations?

Yes,eventually,butItendtobeallat

seaatfirst,untilthingssettledown.

*attheendofthe

day

finally/intheend Assessor:

You:

Overallthen,whichismoreimportanttoyou love

orrespect?

Attheendoftheday,italldependsonyour

prioritiesatdifferenttimes.

dropdead

gorgeous

veryattractive Assessor:

You:

Doyouknowapersonwhoisveryattractive?

Yes,afriendofmine.Shesabeauty;Imeansheis

drop

dead

gorgeous.

fullofbeans hasalotofenergy Assessor:

You:

Isittruethatchildrenhavemoreenergythanadults?

Ohyes,myson,forexample,isalways

fullofbeans.

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IELTS Success Formula :: Academic IELTS Speaking Top Score Vocabulary

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lifeinthefast

lane

toseekmanycolourful

experiencesinorderto

chasesuccessorself

improvement

Assessor:

You:

Doyouenjoytakingrisks?

Well,youonlyliveonce,dontyou,andIve

alwayslikedlifeinthefastlane.

lifeintheslow

lane

lifewithoutany

excitementordanger

Assessor:

You:

Howdoyoufeelaboutextremesports?

Well,somepeoplegoforthem,buttheyrenotfor

me Ipreferlifeintheslowlane.

nothingtowrite

homeabout

mediocre/notasgoodas

expected

Assessor:

You:

Haveyouseenanynewmovieslately?

Yes,IsawthenewSpielbergmovie,butitwas

nothingtowritehomeabout.

*overthetop excessive Assessor:

You:

DoyouthinkaCEOcanruinacompany?

Toblameonepersonforthecollapseofthewhole

companyseemstobeabitoverthetop.

qualitytime timespentwithsomeone

withoutdistractions

Assessor:

You:

Ifyoucouldchangesomethingaboutyourlife,

whatwoulditbe?

Iwouldworklessandinsteadspendmorequalitytimewithmychildren.

*thebottomline thefinaloutcome Assessor:

You:

Childrenthesedaysoftenarguethatlearningina

classroomshouldbereplacedwithonlinestudies,

doyouagree?

Themethodsmayvary,butthebottomlineisthey

stillneedtogotoschool.

*thetipofthe

iceberg

thevisiblepartof

somethingbutthemain

partishidden

Assessor:

You:

Isthereanycorruptioninyourcountry?

Yes,oneofourgovernmentministerswasarrested

recentlyforstealingpublicmoneyandImpretty

sureitsonlythetipoftheiceberg.

tough

love

helpingsomeone

to

changetheirbehaviorby

treatingtheminavery

severeway

Assessor:You:

Doyou

believe

in

strong

discipline?

Wellmydadwasreallystrict,butIthinkhisbrand

oftoughlovehelpedmetobecomemore

responsible.

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Expression

verbal)

Meaning How to use in a Speaking test

*Ifancya

(something)

Iwouldlikea(something) Assessor:

You:

Doyouhaveafavouritecaforrestaurant?

Definitely,thereisalittlecafethatIalwaysgoto

whenIfancyacoffee,andalsothecupcakesthey

serveareheavenly.

*tobeadisaster toendverybadly Assessor:

You:

Areyougoodatbuildingrelationships?

No,ImafraidImnot.Mylastrelationshipwasa

(complete)disaster.

*tobeajoke toberidiculous,or

ineffective

Assessor:

You:

Doyouthinkthegovernmentshoulddomoreto

protecttheenvironment?

Withallduerespecttothegovernmentofmy

country,theircurrentattemptstoprotectthe

environmentareajoke.

tobeawasteof

space

tobeuseless Assessor:

You:

Ifyouhadaproblem,wouldyouaskyourneighbour

forhelp?

Myneighbourisa

waste

of

space;Iwouldntevenbother.

tobeanoutsider tobeastranger,newto

something

Assessor:

You:

Haveyougotmanyfriendsintheplacewhereyou

live?

Imstillabitofanoutsiderinmytown,even10

yearsaftermovingthere.

*tobeputout tobeoffended/annoyed Assessor:

You:

Howdidyoufeelwhenyoudidntgetthatjob?

Iwasabitputoutwhentheysentmetherejection

letter.

*tobeupagainst

it

toexperiencedifficulties

createdbyasituationor

agroupofpeople

Assessor:

You:

Haveyoueverbeeninadifficultsituation?

Yes,whenIhadtoapplyformyvisaandsawallthe

paperworkinvolved,IrealizedthatIwasreallyup

againstit.

tobeupon

(something)

havegood,uptodate

knowledgeof(something)

Assessor:

You:

Whatareyourinterests?

Ilikesports,especiallyfootball.Imreallyuponthe

PremierLeagueintheUK;Iknowalltheteams.

tobitethebullet totakeanunpleasant

actionordecision

Assessor:

You:

Haveyoueverhadtomakeanunpleasantdecision?

Yes,Ioncehadtoquitawellpaidjob.Itwasnta

goodcareermovebutIjusthadtobitethebullet.

tocometogether tohappenina

satisfactoryway,without

problems

Assessor:

You:

Howdidyoufeelwhenyoufoundanewjob?

Likemylifewasfinallystartingtocometogether.

todo

(something)upto

make

improvements

Assessor:You:

Whatwould

you

like

to

change

about

your

house?

Everything!Thewholeplaceneedsdoingup.

todrinklikeafish todrinklargeamountsof

alcoholregularly

Assessor:

You:

Doyouthinkthatdrinkingalcoholcanbe

dangerous?

Well,Isupposeifyoudrinklikeafish,youhaveto

expecthealthproblems.