CONTENTS

Sample answers

Sample questions and answers  from speaking part 1, 2 and  3

Key vocabulary

Words and terms frequently used  when talking about work

Word formation

Learn how to use  wide variety of parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives

Collocations

Find out groups of words that usually used together by native speakers

Useful resources

References to teaching and authentic materials related to this topic: IELTS blogs, podcasts, videos and articles

Downloads

Download this article in PDF.

 
 

 

HEALTH ielts VOCABULARY thetesttaker

Health and Healthcare: Sample questions and answers for IELTS speaking exam

 

Part 1

  1. In what ways do you try to stay healthy?

-I try to have a balanced diet as often as I can. I also exercise regularly.

  1. Is it easy to keep fit where you live?

-To be honest, no, it is not. Fast foods are always tempting. People around me can be bad influence when it comes to being fit especially when choosing healthy foods and doing some exercises.

 

  1. What part of your lifestyle would you most like to make healthier?

– Well, I would say, my sleeping habits. I can hardly get enough rest at night. I usually lack sleep.

  1. Are you careful about what you eat?

-Not really. But, I try though. It’s just that, it’s difficult to choose what to eat.

  1. How important is a healthy lifestyle for you?

-I think it is very important. It helps us to be more effective and productive with our everyday activities.

 

  1. Do you eat much junk food??

-No. I rarely eat junk food. I just eat them when other people who are with me are eating them, and I only eat a small amount.

 

 

 


Part 2

Describe a time when you were ill. You should say:

    • when this was
    • what your symptoms were
    • how long the illness lasted

and say how it affected your life at the time

I will talk about a terrible experience when I got ill. It happened a few months ago when I had flu coupled with sore throat. A week before it happened, I was so stressed with work. I had stayed late nights in the office to meet several deadlines. I lack sleep and I couldn’t also eat on time.

My body started to feel weak; I started to have slight fever and colds. I knew it was going to be bad because I was having headaches, and severe muscle and body aches. I also started to have dry cough and my throat hurts.

It lasted for about a week. I went to see a doctor so I can get the right prescription. I was advised to have bed rest for a few days.

I was not able to report for work for a week. Luckily, I have already finished all my deadlines before it happened. But, it had still affected my life because I failed to do my daily routine. I also asked my mom to take care of me since I lived alone. When I came back to work, there’s a huge pile of paper work waiting on my desk.

 

Part 3

  1. What is the role of the government in promoting healthcare

I believe that the government plays a major role in promoting healthcare. The government should educate the people about health and guide them about having healthy lifestyles. It must create more programs and activities that would disseminate appropriate and accurate information about health. I also believe that the government should improve the health sector to make it more accessible for the people. .

  1. What more do you think could be done to promote healthy living in your country?

 

I think that the government should have more initiatives and implement strict policies when it comes to activities that affect people’s health. For example, the banning of smoking in public places would not just benefit the smokers, but the none-smokers as well. People must also be educated about the advantages of having a healthy lifestyle. I also think that putting up more establishments for people to engage in sports or exercises must be encouraged.

 

  1. How can individuals take more responsibility for their own health?

 

Lifestyle plays a major role in our health. We must care for our own health. There are a lot of things we can do to stay fit and healthy. For example, being conscious about our food intake and exercising regularly must be practiced. Discipline is very important. We must be always try to avoid unhealthy practices and vices.

 

 

Key vocabulary: Definitions and examples

 


 WORD

 

DEFINITION

 

EXAMPLE


 

balanced diet

range of food that is arranged in good proportions

 

If you eat a well balanced and healthy diet, and take a reasonable amount of exercise, the occasional junk food meal certainly won’t harm you .

 

exercise

physical activity done to improve health

 

Obesity and lack of exercise tend to lead to insulin resistance.

 

to be fit

to be in good physical shape

 

Allan hasn’t been fit enough for full-time professional football.

 

healthy foods

food that helps to stay physically strong and resilient

 

Choosing the right healthy food depends on one’s perceptions.

 

sleeping habits

a settled or regular tendency or practice, related to sleep, especially one that is hard to give up

 

I suffer from insomnia and at times it is very hard to level out my sleeping habits.

 

to lack sleep

be deficient in sleep

 

I usually lack sleep.

 

to be productive

to be efficient, achieving useful results

 

What do you need to be productive?

 

 

organic food

food that is produced without using harmful chemicals

 

Organic food is much too expensive.

 

vegetarian food

food that does not contain meat

 

I’m a strict vegetarian right from my birth and I don’t even know the taste of non vegetarian food.

 

processed food

food that has chemicals in it to make it last a long time

 

The term ‘processed food‘ applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state

 

junk food

food that is full of sugar or fat, and is bad for your health

 

The less junk food you eat, the less you want.

 

fast food

food such as hamburgers, which is prepared quickly and which you can take away with you to eat

 

For one month, I ate nothing but fast food

 

banning of smoking

prohibiting of smoking

 

The primary reason the government has not already banned smoking is because of the very large tax revenue they receive for the sale of tobacco.

 

disseminate information

spread information

 

It is not illegal to disseminate information on how to make a bomb.

 

initiative

an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situationr

 

There is a new initiative against highly processed food.

 

to implement policies

to put into effect a plan or principle of action adopted by a government, organization or individual

 

What are the best implemented Australian government policies of the last 50 years?

 

healthy lifestyle

the way in which a person or group lives that helps to stay

 

All you need to do to have a healthy lifestyle is follow 3 simple things.

 

engage in sports

participate or become involved in sports

 

If you engage yourself in sports that does not mean that your weight will decrease.

 

to encourage

give support, confidence

 

I do not encourage diets, eating less or limiting the amount of food one eats.

 

to be conscious

to be aware of something, aware that something is important

 

Being health conscious is to know what are healthy and unhealthy practices.

 

discipline

controlled or self-controlled behavior

 

When you are disciplined, healthy and good at something people will come into your life

 

to avoid vices

keep away from a bad habit

 

Dieting and avoiding vices are useful to stay healthy.

 

intense workout

vigorous session of physical exercise

 

An intense workout varies from person to person. Intense workout for me would mean pushing myself beyond limits.

 

to limit sugar intake

to restrict the amount of sugar taken into body

 

Get lots of exercise, eat a balanced diet, limit sugar intake, don’t smoke day.

 

to stay active

to remain filled with activity

 

It is important to stay active to keep from gaining weigh.

 

to hit the gym

to arrive at a gym

 

This week I hit the gym twice.

 

to lose weight

to slim down

 

If you want to lose weight, you need to eat less and exercise more. You need to burn more calories than you take in.

 

to hold yourself accountable

to say or decide that you should accept the responsibility for something

 

Hold yourself accountable: set goals and set deadlines. Keep up with them

 

healthy habit

something that you do regularly or usually, often without thinking about and that helps you to stay physically strong and resilient

 

There is 1 thing to help you create healthy habits. Know why you’re changing the habit in the first place.

 

prescription

an instruction written by a medical practitioner that authorizes a patient to be provided a medicine or treatment

 

I went to see a doctor so I can get the right prescription.

 

to get sick

become ill

 

At the last minute, I got sick and couldn’t go.

 

to cough

to suddenly push air out of your throat with a short sound, often repeatedly

 

The man paused and coughed nervously before continuing.

 

fever

an illness or a medical condition in which you have a very high temperature

 

If your child has a fever when teething , it ‘s best to contact your physician

 

sore throat

a condition marked by pain in the throat – the passage from the back of your mouth to the top of the tubes that go down to your lungsand stomach

 

A sore throat is a symptom of the common cold

 

runny nose

A condition of discharge of mucus (a slimy substance) from the nose, often a symptom of the common cold

 

Turmeric is an efficient solution for how to get rid of a runny nose and cold as well.

 

headache

a continuous pain in the head

 

Computer headaches are common these days. In fact, computers may be one of the main causes of chronic daily headaches in today’s world.

 

chills

an unpleasant feeling of coldness in the atmosphere, one’s surroundings, or the body

 

Chill is the feeling of cold and shivering that comes with or without fever. Chills may also occur when exposed to a cold environment.

 

flu

a viral infection similar to a cold but more serious and with a high temperature and weak, aching muscles

 

Debbie had really bad flu.

 

disease prevention

when disease (ilness) is stopped from happening

 

Disease prevention companies should be spending money on disease prevention research.

 

health benefits

an advantage gained from something that helped to stay physically strong and resilient

 

Coriander is also known as the miracle herb. That is used widely across the world with a lot of health benefits.

 

early diagnosis

the identification of the nature of an illness done before the usual or expected time [fat]

 

Preventative care, early diagnosis, and general wellness care are relatively inexpensive to provide, and they can help promote healthy behaviors both in general and specific to any health risks that a person might have.


treatment

medical care

 

Medical treatment will not cure the disease but will remedy the symptoms.


lifestyle related diseases

A disease associated with the way a person or group of people lives. Lifestyle diseases include atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke; obesity

 

Diabetes is a lifestyle related disease.


dentist

a person qualified to treat the diseases and conditions that affect the teeth and gums

 

Ten out of 23 ( 43 per cent ) children and adolescents had not seen a dentist since their last review .


pharmacy

a shop preparing and dispensing medicinal drugs

 

Pharmacies will no longer provide the abortifacient morning-after pill to girls under the age of 16.


 

Word Formation

 


WORD

PART OF SPEECH

EXAMPLE

 

health

noun

Lifestyle plays a major role in our health.

healthy

adjective

Choosing the right healthy food depends on one’s perceptions


 

discipline

noun

Discipline is very important. We must be always try to avoid unhealthy practices and vices.

disciplined

adjective

it is a lot easier than you think to become more disciplined.


accountable

adjective

Hold yourself accountable: set goals and set deadlines. Keep up with them.

accountability

noun

There is a substantial difference between the meanings of accountability and responsibility.


 

cough

noun

I also started to have dry cough and my throat hurts.

to cough 

verb

The man paused and coughed nervously before continuing.


 

diet

noun

Undeniably, fresh fruit is an important part of our diet.

dietary

adjective

Only in more recent years have our dietary habits changed.y

to diet 

verb

Doctors diagnosed a rare and fatal liver disease.

 


Collocations

 


excellent

full

good

perfect

bad

poor

declining

adverb+

health

 

have

look after

maintain

promote

damage

harm

ruin

risk

verb+

health

 

care

authority

issue

needs

problem

hazard risk

education

centre

health+noun

health

 

eat

have

live on

survive on

verb+

diet

 

strict

slimming

weight-loss

weight-reducing

low-calorie

restricted

special

gluten-free

high/low-fibre

high/low-protein

low-fat

salt-free

adjective+

diet

 

dietary

drinking

eating

adjective

habit

 

 

acquire

develop

form

get into

make

break

change

verb+

habit

 

emergency

hospital

specialist

dental, medical

surgical

dietary

nutritionale

adjective+

treatment

 

get

have

receive

need

require

seek

advise

prescribe

recommend

suggest

verb+

treatment

 

common

obscure, rare

chronic

infectious

non-communicable

insect-borne

water-borne

occupational

adjective+

disease

 

have

catch

get

carry

pass on

spread

diagnose

treat

cure

prevent

verb+

disease

 

suffer from disease

the risk of disease

the spread of (a) disease

the symptoms of a disease, the treatment for/of a disease

phrase

disease

 

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