May 2020 IELTS Speaking Topic: Colours

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Colours is a topic currently being used in IELTS Speaking Part 2 and Part 3. Below you will find the cue card being used with a model answer and some Part 3 questions that might follow. This topic will probably run from May – August 2020. I’ll update more topics as they are reported. Meanwhile, make sure you prepare from previous topics which will no doubt be recycled this month. Click here: IELTS Speaking Topics so far in 2020.

Below you will find:

  1. IELTS Speaking Cue Card “Colourful Place” with Model Answer
  2. Review Questions & Tips
  3. Speaking Part 3 Questions
  4. Speaking Part 1 Questions
  5. Vocabulary for Colours
  6. Thank you message from Liz

1) Colours: IELTS Speaking Part 2

Below you will find a cue card and model answer for the Speaking Part 2 Topic: A Colourful Place. This topic frequently appears in IELTS Speaking.

Cue Card: Describe a colourful place that you have visited.

  • where it was
  • when you went there
  • what you did there
  • why you thought it was colourful

Model Answer for “A Colourful Place”

The model answer below is a band 9. Answer:

It isn’t easy to decide on just one colourful place to talk about because I have been to so many. But I’d like to talk about somewhere in Vietnam where the colour is a type of beauty beyond anything I have seen before. It’s a place that I will never forget.

The name of the place is Hoi An. It’s a small town located in central Vietnam not far from the sea. It is a UNESCO heritage site known for it’s stunning buildings, which were mainly one or two storey high, and it’s amazing colours. The first time I went there was about 8 years ago when I was travelling through Vietnam on vacation on my own. Since then, I’ve visited a number of times and I’m sure I’ll return again one day.

From the moment I arrived I was struck by the incredible colour of the traditional houses. They were nearly all painted a soft pastel yellow with tropical flowers and plants growing around them. In the daylight it was stunning but as evening came, the glow from the setting sun turning everything golden. The colours were almost ethereal. I’m really not surprised it’s a UNESCO heritage site and extremely popular with photographers. When I was there, I only had a basic camera. But if I had known how lovely it was, I would have taken my best camera with me.

I can’t say I did very much there. It was possible to get clothes made by tailors, travel down the river to the sea, take a cookery course to learn Vietnamese cuisine and learn about lantern making. However, all I wanted to do was mainly soak in the sites and the gentle, inspiring colours. I admit I did enjoy the food in the local restaurants and the seafood was the most delicious I’ve had. I can’t remember ever having eaten any squid as tender or any mackerel as tasty. 

The whole atmosphere made me feel lucky to be alive. Even now when I’m stuck at home, I can recall those sites and I remember the wonderful feeling I had at that time. It helps me remember that we live in a remarkably colourful world.

2) Review Questions & Tips

Questions about Language Content

This cue card is a past tense topic about a place you have been to before. Staying true to the past tense is important. You need to show the examiner you can speak in the past tense for 2 mins. However, it is also very important to showcase other tenses and grammar features.

  1. Can you spot a third conditional statement?
  2. Can you spot a future tense?
  3. Can you spot a present perfect?
  4. Can you spot a present simple?
  5. Can you spot a superlative?
  6. Can you spot any useful descriptive language?
  7. Can you spot any particular language about colour?

Using first, second and third conditional statements is a great way to showcase your grammar skills and boost your score. Part 2 is the best time to use conditional statements because you have 1 mins to plan what to include in your talk. Showcasing a range of grammar tenses and showing the ability to change from one tense to another is essential for a high score. Description is also something you need to think about and plan in part 2.

Cue Card Tips

  • Use your 1 min planning time to plan not only ideas, but also language you wish to showcase.
  • Use the prompts. They will help you build a structure to your talk.
  • Go beyond the prompts. Add rich description – paint a picture.
  • Even if all you did was “walk around”, talk about what other options of activities there were. Add more. Showcase your English. You can mention both what you did and what you didn’t do.
  • Showcase a range of grammar tenses and other features as explained above.
  • Keep talking. You can also add recommendations, suggestions, opinions, other people’s opinions etc.
  • Don’t worry about time, the examiner will control the time and stop you when 2 mins is up.
  • You do not need to conclude your talk.

What else could you talk about with the topic “colourful place”?

  • someone’s house
  • a garden or a park
  • a street, town or city
  • a market (for clothes, food or spices)
  • an art gallery

Similar Cue Cards about Colour:

  1. Describe your favourite colour
  2. Describe a colourful event you have attended

3) Colours: IELTS Speaking Part 3 Questions

  1. Do colours affect our mood? In what way?
  2. Do you think the colours a person chooses to wear illustrates something about their character? OR – Are certain colours connected to particular character traits?
  3. Do you think men and women like to wear similar colours?
  4. How are colours used in advertising? OR – Do you think colour plays an important role in marketing and advertising?
  5. Do you think colour is important for company uniforms?
  6. Is there any particular colour that is symbolic in your country?
  7. Are there any colours that are connected to festivals in your country?
  8. Are there any specific colours used to decorate homes in your country?
  9. Are there any colours in your country that are considered lucky or unlucky?
  10. Do you think colour is important in text books?
  11. Do you think children should be given colourful storybooks to read?

4) Speaking Part 1 Colours

Although this topic isn’t being used as a part 1 topic at the moment, it can appear in part 1. As you will see below, some questions overlap with Speaking Part 3. However, in part 1, you are expected to give shorter answers.

  1. What is your favourite colour?
  2. Are there any colours you dislike?
  3. Is there any colour you would never wear?
  4. Do you prefer dark or light colours?
  5. What colours do you have in your home or on the walls of your home?
  6. Were colours important to you when you were a child?
  7. Do you think the colour people like changes as they grow older?
  8. Do you think colour shows us things about people’s character?
  9. Do you think men and women like different colours?
  10. Are there any popular colours in your country?

5) Vocabulary for Colours

  • vivid
  • bright
  • deep
  • rich
  • soft
  • pastel
  • harsh (this can be used to describe very bright, unpleasant colours)
  • loud (to describe very bright colours that you can’t ignore)
  • neutral
  • multicoloured
  • vibrant

Don’t just say “it was blue” – describe the blue:

  • deep blue, sky blue, soft blue, pastel blue, navy blue, aquamarine, midnight blue
  • If you can’t remember the exact words, paraphrase – it was a blue that reminded me of a gentle summer’s day / the blue was darker than the sky just before nightfall. 

6) Thank you from Liz

I just want to say thank you to all of you who responded to my post last week called “My Story”. I have posted a message to you all back on the original page at the end of my story. Needless to say, I was deeply touched by your comments. To read my thank you message and return to My Story Page, click here: Liz’s Personal Story

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Determination and Success – My Story (by Liz)

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Hi guys,

This is my personal story. I am sharing it with you to show how keeping positive, using time effectively and staying determined can change your life regardless of how difficult your situation might be right now. I hope my story will inspire you to be proactive and keep strong during the Coronavirus situation. Make a cup of tea, sit back and read about success through adversity 🙂

In 2013, my health collapsed. I became very seriously sick. I lost my job. I lost most of my money. I lost my friends. I lost my apartment. I lost my independence and even my freedom too. I was too sick to go outside. I was locked in. I struggled to walk around the house and all basic actions (even washing my hair) were very difficult. At times, just sitting in a chair was incredibly painful and I had to return to my bed to lie in isolation, darkness and silence. I couldn’t get food for myself. I struggled to speak easily. I was sick and seriously disabled.

The doctors told me there was nothing they could do to help me. They said I would probably be sick for quite a long time, but they couldn’t say how long or even if I would ever recover. My situation was similar to the uncertain situation many of you face today with Coronavirus. Feeling you have no control over your lives or your future. Watching all your dreams and plans disappearing and there’s nothing you can do. Feeling worried and alone. The feeling of isolation from the world became normal for me when I was sick. But I wasn’t facing months without work, without income, without health, without friends, without freedom – I was facing years or decades.

It took about a year of suffering for my health to improve enough for me to be able to sit on a sofa and use a laptop for 30 mins or 1 hour a day. I wanted to do something positive with my little bit of time. I started making plans for a website to give people free lessons for IELTS. But I was still so sick. It was all very difficult. I had no idea how to make a website, I wasn’t tech minded, but very slowly I learned. Typing was hard because I struggled to use my arms. My thinking was sluggish and difficult as well. I kept making mistakes, many mistakes, and getting stuck. After 6 months, I was well enough to make video lessons in a spare bedroom. I also didn’t know how to make or present videos, so that was another thing to learn. With each new thing I learned, I felt happy. My website and videos were all made entirely by myself while sick. By 2015 both my website and videos started to become popular.

I believe that each situation we face is a challenge. And many challenges have to be fought psychologically. Each day I woke up and decided – what single thing can I do today? I had little strength. But I did have determination, a strategic approach and a positive mindset to improve my life in small ways. My tips are:

  1. Never wake up and compare your life today to what you had before or what you don’t have anymore or what other people have.
  2. Try. Just because your dream seems distant or impossible right now, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. The more you try, the more doors open. You might just discover you have hidden gifts that you didn’t know about  🙂
  3. Always find the positive in what you choose to do or what you must do. Your perspective matters. Smile and enjoy – it makes everything easier.
  4. Don’t listen to negative voices in your head or from others. If you are surrounded by negativity, drown it out by filling your mind and life with positive thoughts. It isn’t easy. It’s a challenge, but you can do it. 
  5. If things get hard for you, reach out to someone or find a solution. The very strongest and most success people are often those who have struggled or suffered. Make wise choices at tough times.
  6. Don’t delay. None of us know what is round the corner. Use the uncertainty you find yourself in to remind yourself that time matters.
  7. Life is a gift. Appreciate it. Like many gifts, there may be surprises inside 🙂 But don’t presume life is just a box to open, it is an opportunity and you are responsible to make the most of it!

To continue with my story, in 2015 it looked like my life was going to get better at last. A successful website and improved health. It felt exciting. But on December 25th, 2015, my health collapsed again for a second time. This was the hardest time for me. I had already been fighting for 2.5 years and now I had to face more years in sickness and pain. I felt deep despair at this time. What little support I got from family then failed. I ended up living completely alone while still being sick, disabled, unable to walk outside and often scared of collapsing.

I have been living in almost total isolation since 2016. For these years, I have rarely breathed the outside air or had conversation. There have been times when I have struggled, both physically and emotionally from the strain of my situation and illness. Worse still, during these years, I have not received loving messages from any friends or family to stay strong or keep me positive. Both neglect and abuse have played a role in my life both past and present.

When you face such situations on your own, I believe you must find strength, love and positivity within yourself. If other people don’t give you love, give it to yourself. If they treat you as worthless, make sure you remind yourself of your value. If others are not a source of strength for you, find that strength within yourself or read about inspirational people past and present. If you feel alone, connect to something within yourself that links us all together and nourishes us. Surround yourself and give yourself internally what you need to survive. You will cry, you will feel pain, but keep going. Never let fear or doubt stand in your way. Never let judgemental people affect you. Survive, you are worth it! And through this you will know your true self, the deep part of you that most people don’t even realise they have. That is special.

The concept of “seize the day” is well known, but how many of us actually live this way? While I was sick, I wasn’t able to “seize the day” because I was unwell most of the day. But I did seize 15 mins, 30 mins, or one hour when possible. With little strength and little time, I achieved great success by working in small steps. Small steps are no less valuable than big steps. They all lead somewhere, sometimes to success. But many of us delay too long or give up too soon. Be patient. Persevere. Approach your aims with integrity, respect for others and honesty about who you are – it shines through, people will see it. Don’t just aim for success, take those small steps because you love life and you love what you do. Your perspective changes everything.

I became successful by staying positive no matter what life threw at me. My website is now one of the biggest worldwide for IELTS preparation. My Youtube channel has now reached over 2 million subscribers. I have over 1,000 high band score results shared by successful IELTS candidates (Results Page) which encourage me to continue my work. Knowing that I help people reach their future goals is a wonderful way to live – I love it. See what can be achieved from your sofa, alone and sick?

I hope my story and my perspectives of how I created a bright future while in isolation, uncertainty and sickness will help you at this difficult time. Even if your life right now is not the life you want, things can change, but you must encourage life to change – either through your thoughts or actions.

Your life is not at a stand still because you are in lockdown. If you continue developing, being proactive each day, your life will be moving forward regardless of your geography.

Keep Positive! Stay Focused! Continue taking those Small Steps 🙂

I am thinking of you all at this time.

All the best

Liz (Elizabeth Ferguson)

Please feel free to share your own positive stories or thoughts in the comments box below 🙂

Thank you message from Liz: I would like to thank you all for your kind responses to my story. I apologise for not being able to answer each of your comments individually. However, I read each one carefully and was touched by them all. Your instinctive insight really affected me. Much gratitude and love to you.

Update 2025: While still living in isolation, alone, and fighting to safely access the outside world, I am confident things will turn around this year. Hopefully I might get a free video lesson made this year. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Behind a smile may be a painful past. Behind tears, a strong hero. Never be too quick to judge.

Thank you all for your kindness and support. All the best, Liz

FREE IELTS Lessons: This website contains hundreds of pages of free lessons, tips, model answers, topics etc. Go to the HOME page to access them.

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IELTS Speaking Part 3 Health & Coronavirus Answers & Questions

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To prepare for the predicted topic of Health & Coronavirus in IELTS Speaking Part 3, you will find below questions, model answers and useful vocabulary with an audio for pronunciation. This is a current world issue and as you know IELTS are guided by world issues for their choice of topics in IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing.

Questions & Model Answers: IELTS Speaking Health & Coronavirus Part 3

See the questions and model answers below. Remember, the examiner is not testing your knowledge. Each question is an opportunity for you to showcase your English language. The examiner might ask you to explain more, or interrupt you or challenge you. Be prepared in part 3 for a discussion rather than question/answer.

Do you think health is important? Why?

Health is extremely important. Without it we are unable to work, unable to earn a living, unable to socialise and we become completely dependant on others. Health is one of the few things that we can’t buy, but we can take steps to improve and protect our health. By protecting our health, we are protecting our future.

What types of activities do you think help people stay healthy?

There are many kinds of activities that can help us maintain good health. Cardiovascular exercise such as jogging, tennis and football are really beneficial. But many people prefer doing more gentle exercise like yoga or taichi that help us with our physical and mental health. Personally, I think a balanced approach of different types of exercises is best combined with a healthy life style and diet.

What is the difference between physical health and mental health?

Physical health is about our physical bodies: our muscles, our blood circulation, our internal organs and about keeping our immune systems and other bodily systems working well. Mental health, on the other hand, is concerned with how healthy our thoughts are and our perspectives. It affects our ability to cope with situations in life.

What difficulties did some people face with social distancing and lockdown at the time of the Coronavirus outbreak?

I think some people had a lot to cope with during lockdown. Some people struggled with the isolation, some people worried about their income and others struggled with being trapped in a building unable to go out. Most of the problems were psychological, but some also had practical problems. Some people were unable to get to supermarkets due to vulnerability and struggled to get food. It was a really challenging time.

What did some people do to stay positive at that time?

People used different methods to keep their chins up when they were in lockdown. I think some of them went online to either work or socialise. Others turned to indoor exercise and art projects. Nature projects like planting indoor plants and watching live videos of wildlife were also really popular. It was surprising how enterprising and creative people were ideas.

What useful technology helped us combat the Coronavirus?

That’s a really interesting question. Let me see … I guess some of the most important pieces of technology were things like ventilators which kept people breathing when they had severe Coronavirus and the technology behind the contact tracing and testing which was used quite effectively in many countries to suppress the spread of the virus. Looking ahead at new technology coming out, new apps are being designed to allow people to trace where they have been and if they have come into contact with the virus at any time. I think this will really help us control the virus better.

During the Coronavirus crisis, some people did courageous deeds. Can you give an example of one from your country?

There was more than one example of courage in the face of possible illness or death in my country during the Coronavirus pandemic. All doctors, nurses, hospital staff, care home workers, social workers and other frontline workers all selflessly went to work knowing the risks they were facing. Some of them lost their lives as a result. Each day, they showed courage and determination to save lives. They were indeed brave and without them many more people would have died.

What do you think could have been done better to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak?

It’s hard to say. Each country had their own approach based on what was happening in their own country and decisions were led by the science. With hindsight some countries should have done more rigorous contact tracing and testing at the start of the pandemic to prevent the disease spreading so widely. Also some of them ought to have gone into lockdown sooner before the virus had spread so far. We will see how things progress from this point onward.

Note: “It’s hard to say” is an expression which means “This isn’t a simple thing to discuss – it’s complicated.”

Useful Language & Pronunciation

To learn the pronunciation of the following vocabulary, click the audio below this word list.

  • cardiovascular
  • muscles
  • aerobic
  • brisk walking
  • vigorous exercise
  • blood circulation
  • internal organs
  • immune system
  • taichi / yoga
  • mental health
  • psychological well-being
  • perspectives
  • struggle with isolation
  • feeling trapped in a building
  • socialise
  • nature or art projects
  • a creative outlet
  • to be enterprising and creative
  • ventilators
  • rigorous contact tracing and testing
  • pandemic
  • frontline workers
  • to be led by the science
  • hindsight

Audio

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I hope you found this useful 🙂

All the best and stay safe!

Liz

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Filed Under: IELTS Speaking

Spot the Mistakes Grammar Practice Lesson

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This lesson will test your grammar accuracy with ARTICLES (a / the ). Look at the sentences and decide which use of articles is correct. This is a great way to practise both grammar and proofreading skills.

Warning: The correct use of articles is not easy. Many people make mistakes with articles in their IELTS writing test which lowers their score. Give this exercise a try and see how you get on. My answers tomorrow will help you understand more.

Spot the Mistakes Exercise: Articles

Decide which options are correct.

  1. The reason for most first-time offenders committing crimes again, once they have been released from prison / the prison, is due to lack of / the lack of rehabilitation.
  2. Repeat offending is also owing to the difficult that people / the people with a criminal record have of finding employment / the employment.
  3. Ensuring that people serving prison sentence / a prison sentence learn useful skills will help them find jobs / the jobs when they are released.
  4. When offenders are released from prison / the prison and can find employment / the employment, it helps them reintegrate back into society / the society.
  5. Harsh prison sentences deter people / the people from considering crime / the crime.

Answers

Answers are now available for this lesson.

CLICK HERE: ANSWERS AND EXPLANATION

All the best,

Liz

Coming Soon – Grammar E-book

A Grammar E-book to take your English to a higher level and maximise your Writing Task 2 score.

Download Preview: Grammar E-book PREVIEW

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Listening Practice Lesson: Sponsored Walk

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This listening practice lessons focuses on two types of questions: short answer questions and gap fill questions (sentence completions questions). The topic is based on an inspiring story of one person’s efforts to raise money to support doctors and nurses as well as patients in the UK during this coronavirus situation.

Listening Practice: Tom’s Sponsored Walk

Questions 1 – 8

  • Only one word or number for your answer.
  • Answers might come quickly, so be prepared to make notes rather than writing down full answers while you listen.
  • Read the questions very carefully before listening to the recording.
  • Note that some questions are short answer questions and others are gap fills.
  1. Does Tom currently serve in the army?
  2. How much did he hope to raise?
  3. Where was his sponsored walk to take place?
  4. Tom eventually raised a …………….. £21 million.
  5. Many hope that Tom will be …………….. for his efforts.
  6. Tom’s aims to support the NHS have struck a ………….. with many people in the UK.
  7. Tom has shown how a single person can …..….. the nation.
  8. Every ……….. helps.

Audio Recording

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Answers

The answers are now available.

CLICK HERE: ANSWERS TO THIS LESSON

All the best, Liz

Sir Tom Moore

2021 Update: Unfortunately Captain Sir Tom Moore died this year after eventually raising a total of £33 million. 

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IELTS Reading Practice: The History of Pasta

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IELTS Reading Practice Lesson: Matching Headings

Matching headings questions are common in the IELTS reading test. Many people find this type of question lengthy and difficult to answer. It is important that you do not try to match words. The headings are a title for the paragraph. This means you need to think about the aim of the paragraph and decide which heading summarises this best. You might feel that some paragraphs have two possible headings so always remember to think about the aim rather than just synonyms.

Skim read the headings. Pay attention to keywords in the headings. Note any headings that are similar and headings that might be unique. For your answers remember that each heading can be used only once.

Questions 1-4: Choose the best heading for each section.

Headings:

i) A theory dismissed

ii) Marco Polo in China

iii) Is pasta really Italian?

iv) China is the origin of pasta

v) The real origins of pasta

vi) How Arabs cooked pasta

vii) The common belief of the origins of pasta

Download list of headings: List of Matching Headings

Reading Passage: The History of Pasta 

A) Worldwide, pasta has become synonymous with Italian cuisine. Italian immigrants themselves brought pasta everywhere they went. While it is true that the most famous varieties and recipes of cooking pasta really do come from Italy, surprisingly, the actual origin of pasta lies elsewhere!

B) One of the more popular theories of the arrival of pasta in Italy was published in the ‘Macaroni Journal’ by the Association of Food Industries. It states that pasta was brought to Italy by Marco Polo via China. Polo ventured to China in the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and the Chinese had been consuming noodles as early as 3000 B.C. in the Qinghai province. There is even some evidence there of 4,000-year-old noodles made from foxtail and broomcorn millet.

C) Unfortunately, there are problems with this theory, least of which is that the noodles they were making in China aren’t technically considered pasta. Polo also described Chinese noodles as being like “lagana”, which implies he was possibly already familiar with a pasta-like food before going to China. Further, in 1279, there was a Genoese soldier that listed in the inventory of his estate a basket of dried pasta. Polo did not come back from China until 1295. For those who don’t know, Genoa is a sea port in Italy. Further, the modern pasta like we know it was first described in 1154 by an Arab geographer, Idrisi, as being common in Sicily. So Marco Polo could not have brought pasta to Italy via China. It was already in Italy at that time.

D) Most food historians believe that Arabs (specifically from Libya) are to be credited for bringing pasta, along with spinach, eggplant and sugar cane, to the Mediterranean. In the Talmud, written in Aramaic in the 5th century AD, there is a reference to pasta being cooked by boiling. It is thought, then, that pasta was introduced to Italy during the Arab conquests of Sicily in the 9th century AD, which had the interesting side effect of drastically influencing the region’s cuisine. It also known that by the 12th century, the Italians had learned from the Arabs methods for drying pasta to preserve it while traveling. Further support for this theory can be found by the fact that, in many old Sicilian pasta recipes, there are Arab gastronomic introductions.

Source: Passage was adapted from: todayIfoundout.com.

Answers

Click below to open the answers:

CLICK HERE: Answers Explained

All the best and stay safe!!

Liz

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Reading Practice: 3D Printer in Space

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This practice reading lesson focuses on Sentence Completion questions which means filling in a gap to complete a sentence. These are common questions in IELTS and also in English language exercise books.

The level is not high, so it is suitable for GT candidates and also a good easy practice for Academic candidates. Remember, the academic reading passages are usually a bit more difficult. Even so, this lesson will help you focus on skills.

Sentence completion questions in IELTS reading require you to choose one or more words from the passage to complete the sentence. This involves skim reading the passage, identifying the type of word missing from the sentences and then scanning the passage to locate the missing word. Always check how many words you can have for the answer.

Reading Passage: Space Technology

Made-in-Space

Astronauts on the International Space Station have used their 3-D printer to make a wrench from instructions sent up in an email. It is the first time hardware has been “emailed” to space. Nasa was responding to a request by ISS commander Barry Wilmore for a ratcheting socket wrench. Previously, if astronauts requested a specific item they could have waited months for it to be flown up on one of the regular supply flights. Nasa says the capability will help astronauts be more self-reliant on future long duration space missions. This will also have a positive impact on the sustainability of space travel. Furthermore, it makes ships lighter and reduces launching costs. Mike Chen added: “The socket wrench we just manufactured is the first object we designed on the ground and sent digitally to space, on the fly. It also marks the end of our first experiment—a sequence of 21 prints that together make up the first tools and objects ever manufactured off the surface of the Earth.” The other 21 objects were designed before the 3D printer was shipped to the space station in September on a SpaceX Dragon supply flight.

Questions 1-7

Complete the sentences below using no more than two words and/or a number.

  1.  A ……………….. was made using a 3-D printer on the International Space Station.
  2. The tool was essentially …………… to space.
  3. This new technology provides instant access to tools which would have taken …………… before.
  4. Consequently, astronauts will be ……………… to a much greater extent.
  5. Creating tools in space as needed means crafts will weigh less and therefore have lower ………………
  6. The tool was the ……………… that had been designed on Earth yet physically created in space.
  7. Vocabulary question to you all – can you paraphrase the term “on the fly”? 

Answers

Click here to see answers: Answers to 3D Printer Reading.

All the best and stay safe,

Liz

 

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It’s a Hard Nut to Crack Idiom

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Idioms for IELTS: Tough Nut to Crack

“It’s a hard nut to crack”  or “it’s a tough nut to crack” is a great expression. This is used in two different situations:

  1. talking about a problem that is difficult to solve
  2. talking about a person who is difficult to understand

tough nut to crack

Model Sentences with Idiom

See the examples below for how this expression can be used:

  1. The problem of turning the failing health system around is a tough nut to crack.
  2. IELTS is a really hard nut to crack. There’s so much to learn and so many challenges to face in the test.
  3. He’s not the most forth-coming of people and can be quite secretive. He’s been described as a tough nut to crack and I’d have to agree.
  4. I can’t find any reasonable solution for the problem. It certainly is a tough nut to crack. I think everyone would agree.
  5. She’s been working here for over 5 years now but still doesn’t really socialise with anyone or even talk to anyone much for that matter. She’s a hard nut to crack.

Can you add any other model sentences with this idiom? Post them in the comments box below.

Note: This expression is an idiom and should not be used in academic writing. However, it’s very good to use it in your IELTS speaking test.

Tip: In sentence 2 above, the words “many challenges to face” are also idiomatic. You don’t have to use actual idioms to use idiomatic language. So, don’t over load your answers with idioms – just use the odd one or two in a natural way.

All the best

Liz

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