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Traffic
learning to drive; buying a new car; driving; having an accident; road safety; traffic
control; cycle lanes; public transport; speeding; double parking; speeding; speed limita;
Housing
buying/selling/building a house; mortgages; moving home; problems with neighbours;
DIY
Neighbourhood conversation questions
Do you still live in the neighbourhood you were born and brought up in? If not, have you
ever been back to visit it? Why/why not?
In what way is your neighbourhood different from others?
ow much has it changed over the years? What things have changed for the better and
what for the worse?
Were there more shops in your neighbourhood than there are now? !re there any that
you remember from your childhood that are still open? !re they still run by the same
people?
ow near the city centre do you live? What are the pros and cons of living in a city
centre?
!re there any parks or playgrounds near where you live?
ow near is the library/cultural centre to where you live?
What sort of sports facilities does your neighbourhood have?
ow trendy is your neighbourhood? !re there any posh restaurants or shops there?
Does your neighbourhood have a grotty part which looks dirty and is very old?
Is there a dodgy area of your neighbourhood where you wouldn"t walk after dark?
What"s the traffic like in your neighbourhood? ow difficult is it to park?
Houses
#hink of four advantages of living in a town as opposed to living in the country$
#hink of four advantages of living in the country as opposed to living in a town$
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a house or a flat?
ow many different homes have you lived in? Which did you prefer?
Would there be more houses available if everybody only had one house?
What do you think about people keeping big dogs in flats?
Which would you rather spend your money on % a wonderful house or wonderful
holidays?
Do you think that old buildings are more beautiful than new ones? Why?
What city&s architecture has impressed you the most?
What is your relationship with your neighbours?
Getting a house
Which do you think is best' renting a house or buying one? Why?
Which of these factors would you consider to be the most important when buying a new
house$ (ut them in order of importance' )umber of bedrooms, *ocation, )ice +iews,
,unny, !ge, )ear to public transport, -ondition, .arden, -entral heating, ,i/e of living
room, ,eparate dining room, (rice$
Which of the following is the best to buy and why? ! second hand house$ ! new house$
! house which hasn&t been built yet$
If you could have a house anywhere in the world, where would it be?
ave you, your friends or your parents ever bought a house? What was the e0perience
like?
ave you ever moved house? Describe the e0perience$
House improvements
ouses use a lot of energy$ What things could be done to make houses more energy
efficient?
1urglary is always a worry for home owners$ What kinds of things can be done to make
houses more secure?
Do you normally try to make improvements to your home with your own hands or do
you usually pay professionals? What are the advantages and disadvantages in each case?
Does your home have a garden? What is your opinion of gardening?
Local area
What is the most e0clusive area in your city? What is good about it?
Which local buildings would you recommend that tourists visit?
Describe a building you dislike$ Why do you dislike it?
What is your general feeling about the architecture in your local area?
Cars and the environment
,hould cars be banned from city centres
BrE
/downtowns
AmE
? What do you think the
effects of such a ban would be?
ow much more would you be prepared to pay for an environmentally%friendly car?
Would you like to own a hybrid or electric car?
Car security
What are your feelings about car alarms? Which annoys you most' car thieves or car
alarms?
What is the best security device you can fit to your car?
Do you have a remote locking device? ,ome people claim they are easy to hi2ack %
what do you think?
ave you ever had your car stolen? What happened?
Car safety
Do you always wear seat belts? Why/why not?
,hould people be re3uired to wear seat belts in the back seat? Do you ever wear a seat
belt in the back seat? In a ta0i?
What"s the correct action to take if your car begins to skid? as your car ever entered a
skid? Did you manage to control it?
ave you ever been in a car accident, or seen one happen?
ave you ever had a blowout?
What should you do if your car starts to a3uaplane?
,hould people speak on mobile phones while driving? !re hands free systems really
4hands free4?
ow often do you see people driving and talking on the mobile?
What do you think of the practice of smoking whilst driving?
What do you think the punishment should be for drink driving?
Do you think that motorbikes are more dangerous than cars? Why?
Which do you think is safer' travelling by plane or by car?
Do you think 505 vehicles are safer than others? ,afer for whom?
Driving
,hould you slam on the brakes if you see black ice?
Do you ever overtake on the wrong side 6undertake7 on motorways? What is your
opinion of this manoeuvre?
What do you listen to when you are driving? What do you think of the idea of practising
8nglish while driving?
If you are a passenger, how do you keep yourself occupied on long road trips?
Do you always obey the speed limits? Why/why not?
,hould there be more speed cameras on motorways? Why/why not?
ave you ever been in a car race? Would you like to take part in one? Why/why not?
ave you ever suffered from or seen e0amples of 9road rage:? What happened?
Car insurance
ow did you decide what type of insurance to take out?
ave you ever had to make any type of insurance claim? What was the procedure?
Was it simple or easy?
If you damaged another vehicle while parking would you leave a note with your details?
ave you ever done this?
-ar insurance can be e0pensive and in some countries the number of drivers without
insurance is considerable$ What do you think the penalties should be for driving without
valid insurance?
Car accidents
ave you ever had an accident? Was it a minor one or was it serious? What happened?
What should you do if you have an accident? What steps should you follow?
What should you do if a motorist is in2ured inside a vehicle after a car accident? What if
the car was on fire?
Future cars
-onsider the following possible improvements and classify them as follows' !$ !lready available
and/or technologically possible; 1$ (ossible and desirable; -$ (ossible but not desirable; and D$
Impossible to implement$ .ive reasons$
-ars fitted with an 9alco%lock: which will not start if the driver is over the legal limit$
-ars fitted with .(, technology to identify speeding cars and either slow them down or
automatically fine the driver$
+entilation in car boots which would ensure that anyone trapped in the boot would have
enough air to breathe$
,atellite and chip technology which would find and remotely 2am the engines of stolen
cars$
-ars which would read road markings to correct alignment if the car drifts into the wrong
lane$
#echnology which ensures the driver keeps a safe distance from the vehicle in front$
-hanges to car design which would reduce the top speed at which a car could be
driven$
,pecially designed animal seatbelts to restrain dogs and cats carried in cars$
#he introduction of 4black bo04%style information recorders that could be used in crash
investigations$ #hese would record things such as what signals the driver had given, how
long he had been on the road and what speed he had been driving$
#echnology which would ensure that a car could not be driven if the motorist were not
insured or the vehicle were not ta0ed$
8mergency e2ector seats which the motorist could use to escape in an e0treme
emergency$
#echnology which would immobilise the car if any of the passengers were not wearing
seatbelts$
Driving
What are the 3ualities of a good driver?
What are the 3ualities of a bad driver?
ave you ever been in a car accident? What happened?
Do you always stop at a /ebra crossing / crosswalk if somebody is waiting to cross?
In your opinion, who has priority at a /ebra crossing / crosswalk?
What are the main causes of accidents on the roads? ow could the number of
accidents be reduced?
If a traffic light is amber, do you stop or speed up? What does the law say?
Does a good driver always obey the speed limits?
Do you think you are a good driver?
What do your friends say about your driving?
(ublic transport conversation 3uestions
;any people, when they think of public transport, have in mind mainly buses and trains$ 1ut
there are many other means of public transport, including ta0is, trams, ferries, coaches and
planes$ !ccording to the <==> figures for the 8uropean ?nion passenger transport market, road
accounts for @AB, air for CB and rail for DB$ En the other hand, between >A@= and <=== the
number of cars in the 8uropean ?nion almost trebled, from D<$C million to nearly >@C million,
F>G
while passenger traffic by rail increased from <>@ billion to <A= billion passenger/kilometres
over similar period$
F>G
ow often do you use public transport, i$e$ one of the above?
What are the pros and cons of using public transport?
!re there any advantages regarding distances? -ost? -omfort?
What are the pros and cons of using your own vehicle/cycling/walking?
Do you only use public transport for moving around where you live? #o go to
school/work/shopping?
Do you use public transport for travelling on holiday? #o visit other cities/regions?
If you have to make a short 2ourney within your city/where you live, what would be the
3uickest way of getting there?
If you have to travel to another part of the country, what would be the 3uickest way of
getting there?
-an you think of any advantages of using public transport as opposed to using your
own vehicle, walking or cycling?
!s 8urope"s population is ageing, there will soon be a greater need for public transport$
Why do you think this is?
#here are many economic and ecological arguments in favour of public transport$ -an
you think of any?
Which of the following aspects do you think are important'
#raffic management
8nvironmental impact
(rices
8nergy efficiency
!ccessibility
,afety
,ustainable energy
!re there travel passes in your country/city?
Hor students?
Hor senior citi/ens?
Hor tourists?
Do you have one? Is there much of a discount?
Do you think having a travel pass encourages you to use public transport more?
#ravel
ow many times have you got lost whilst travelling? What happened?
!re you good at reading maps? If you get lost do you usually try to find out where you
are by yourself or do you ask for help?
It is fre3uently claimed that men and women have different strategies associated with
map reading and asking the way$ What do you think?
What is your opinion of hitch%hiking? ow often have you done it? Do you think it&s
safe?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of travelling alone or in a group?
ow often have you been camping? Describe your e0perience$
Do you like to go to places where there are lots of other people or to more isolated
places? Why?
Do you think all public transport should be free? What would the advantages and
disadvantages be?
ave you ever had an accident while travelling? What happened?
If you compare the train, bus and airport systems in your country I which is the
cheapest? Which is the most efficient? Which is the safest in terms of accidents?
What is the 9greenest: or most ecological way of getting around? ow would you
calculate the most ecological? ow would the number of passengers in the transportation
system change the calculation?
What method of transport do you use most often?
If you are travelling through a country, what is the best way to see the countryside?
What unusual method of transport would you most like to try out?
The road
!t what age does the average person obtain a driver"s license in your country? What do
you need to do to pass the test?
-an you ride a motorcycle? Do you think that they are safe?
In some countries mopeds are very noisy % why is this?
Do you have a bicycle? Do you think they are safer or less safe than motorbikes?
Why/why not?
ave you received many parking tickets in your life? What do you do with them?
What is your opinion of horse riding? If you have never ridden one would you like to?
Why/why not?
(arking is a problem in many cities$ ow could parking in your city be improved?
What annoys you most when you are driving?
What is your favourite make of car? Why? ave you driven many different makes?
What is the penalty for speeding in your country?
Hotels
What do you like or dislike about staying at hotels?
Where are the best hotels in your area? What"s so good about them?
Where are the cheapest hotels in your area? Why are they cheap?
What differences would you e0pect between a four%star and a two%star hotel?
Do hotels usually have a high staff turnover? Why should this be?
Do people generally prefer to eat in hotels or in restaurants? Why?
Global
What )!#?J!* wonders could you see in the following continents or sub%continents?
!frica, !sia, India, !ustralia, )orth !merica, ,outh !merica, 8urope, !ntarctica$
Which are the most interesting cities in the following continents or sub%continents?
!frica, !sia, India, !ustralia, )orth !merica, ,outh !merica, 8urope$
ow many ways of travelling around the world can you think of? Which would be the
most rela0ing? Which would you prefer?
If you were travelling round the world, which three destinations would be 9must sees:?
!ny reason why?
If you were travelling round the world, are there any places you would definitely wish to
avoid? Why?
Do you usually try to bring back interesting souvenirs from your holidays? What sort of
things have you brought back?
When you are in another country, do you usually buy a phrase book to attempt to speak
the local language? Why/why not?
What would the advantages and disadvantages of living permanently in another
country?
,tandards of living conversation 3uestions
Which of the following items do you consider are key factors in measuring a country"s
standard of living? Discuss'
,alary/wages
!ccess to health care 6private/public7
,ocial services
(overty rate
*Ife e0pectancy
#ransport 6private/public7
!ccess to education 6private/public7
*iteracy rates
#a0es 6direct/indirect7
(ublic services' police, fire brigades, civil protection, etc$
-ivil rights
uman rights
)ational levels of corruption
8mployment 6working hours, fle0ibility, paid holidays, etc$7
JKD
-ulture
ousing
(olitical 6form of government, etc$7
(olitical and religious freedom
8conomics 6inflation rate, .D(7
Infrastucture 6road/railway networks, airports, etc$7
8nvironmental 3uality/climate
Ethers 6which?7
Which of the above items do you think could be improved in your country?
as your standard of living changed over the years? Hor the better/worse?
In what ways?
as it been due to a change in your own, personal standard of living or has there
been a nationwide change?