People and relationships: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Warm-up: close to home

1. Cause and effect

   Why do you think it can be difficult to keep friendships over many years?

   2
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   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

   1. Main cause→
   2. Another cause→
   3. Effect

   The main reason is that people's lives move in different directions, so friends end up in different cities, jobs and stages of life without anyone intending to drift apart. Time is another factor, because once work and family responsibilities pile up, keeping in touch tends to be the first thing that gets squeezed out. As a result, many friendships quietly fade rather than ending with any kind of argument, and people often only realise how much they've lost when they bump into an old friend by chance.

   drift apart

   gradually become less close

   gets squeezed out

   is pushed aside because there isn't enough time

   bump into an old friend

   meet an old friend unexpectedly

   87 words · about 38 seconds spoken

Development: society

1. Pros and cons

   Are people more influenced by their family or by their friends?

   3
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   There's a strong case for family, since parents shape our values, our manners and even our political views long before we're old enough to question them. The catch is that during adolescence friends often take over, and teenagers will adopt their peers' tastes, slang and attitudes almost wholesale, sometimes in open rebellion against home. My sense is that family lays the foundations while friends influence what's built on top, which is why many people gravitate back towards their parents' outlook as they get older.

   almost wholesale

   nearly completely, without choosing carefully

   in open rebellion against

   openly resisting or rejecting

   lays the foundations

   provides the base on which things develop

   84 words · about 37 seconds spoken

2. Compare

   How have relationships between people changed because of technology?

   4
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   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

   1. Then→
   2. Now→
   3. Why it changed

   In the past, staying close to someone meant seeing them regularly or at least picking up the phone, so friendships were largely limited to people nearby. Nowadays we can keep up with dozens of people across the world through messages and photos, although a lot of that contact is fairly shallow. Smartphones have made communication instant and almost effortless, and when staying in contact costs so little, we tend to swap long conversations for quick reactions, which can leave people feeling oddly lonely despite being constantly connected.

   picking up the phone

   calling someone

   fairly shallow

   not deep or meaningful

   despite being constantly connected

   even though always in contact online

   87 words · about 38 seconds spoken

3. Opinion

   Do you think it is easy to make genuine friends as an adult?

   5
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   Honestly, it's much harder than it is at school or university, though certainly not impossible. As a student you're surrounded by people your own age with time on their hands, whereas adults tend to have fixed routines and fewer chances for the kind of unplanned conversations that turn acquaintances into friends. Someone who moves to a new city for work might chat to colleagues every day for a year and still have nobody to call at the weekend. On the other hand, adult friendships, when they do form, are often built on shared values rather than convenience, so they can be remarkably solid.

   time on their hands

   free time available

   turn acquaintances into friends

   make casual contacts into close friends

   built on shared values

   based on beliefs both people hold

   103 words · about 45 seconds spoken

4. Opinion

   What makes someone a good role model for others?

   6
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   For me, the key thing is consistency, meaning someone whose actions match what they say, rather than someone who's simply famous or successful. Young people in particular are quick to spot hypocrisy, so a role model only has real influence if they live by the standards they promote. A good example would be a teacher who admits when they've made a mistake and then puts it right, because that shows pupils it's fine to be imperfect. Admittedly, nobody is consistent all the time, and it's probably unrealistic to expect role models to be flawless, otherwise every slip becomes a scandal.

   quick to spot hypocrisy

   fast to notice people not following their own advice

   live by the standards they promote

   follow the rules they tell others to follow

   every slip becomes a scandal

   each small mistake is treated as a disgrace

   100 words · about 43 seconds spoken

5. Pros and cons

   Is it possible to have too many friends?

   7
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   Having a wide circle can be a real asset, because you're exposed to different perspectives and there's always someone to turn to for advice or a job lead. The trouble is that everyone has limited time and emotional energy, so if you spread yourself across too many people, those friendships inevitably become thinner. Realistically, you can have plenty of acquaintances but only a handful of close friends, and the risk lies in treating them as interchangeable, because the people who'd stand by you in a crisis need far more of your attention.

   a real asset

   something very useful or valuable

   spread yourself across too many people

   divide your time between too many people

   stand by you in a crisis

   support you when things go badly wrong

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. The future

   How might the way people form relationships change in the future?

   8
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   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   I'd expect even more relationships to begin online, not just romantic ones but friendships too, through apps that match people by interests or personality. Busy, mobile lives leave less room for meeting people by chance, and algorithms are getting better at predicting who we're likely to get on with. There may well be a backlash, though, as people grow tired of curated profiles and start valuing clubs, volunteering and face-to-face communities that let friendships develop more naturally.

   get on with

   have a friendly relationship with

   There may well be a backlash

   a strong reaction against it is quite possible

   grow tired of

   gradually become bored or annoyed with

   77 words · about 33 seconds spoken

2. What if

   If people never disagreed, would relationships be stronger?

   9
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   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

   1. If so→
   2. Result→
   3. Wider effect

   If nobody ever disagreed, relationships might seem calmer on the surface, but I doubt they'd actually be stronger. Without the occasional clash, people would never learn how their partner or friend really thinks, and resentments would probably build up quietly instead of being aired and resolved. On a larger scale, a society with no disagreement would struggle to make progress, since new ideas usually emerge when someone challenges the accepted view, so a bit of friction is actually healthy.

   on the surface

   when you only look at the outside

   aired and resolved

   discussed openly and then settled

   a bit of friction

   some mild conflict or disagreement

   79 words · about 34 seconds spoken