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Describe an invention that has changed how people live

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Describe an invention that has changed how people live.

You should say:

  • what it is
  • how it has changed people’s lives
  • what benefits did it bring
  • explain if it is more important for younger or older people

Sample Answer

Well, there are so many inventions to choose from but I have taken the Smartphone as my example, mainly because it has turned communication on its head.  

For someone of my generation, who grew up in a society where having what we now call a landline was the exception and not the rule, meaning that public phones were the only way to call someone, even in emergencies, the thought of having a phone that you can carry around with you, is almost out of this world. 

But, should we be calling it a phone at all?  It´s obviously so much more than that.  Today’s smartphones provide all the services and apps we’ve come to expect, from email to YouTube to social media, not forgetting games and browsers to keep up with the latest news from wherever. 

If you just stop and think for a moment, the idea of say, watching a football game on TV, online or on my phone while at the same time chat about the game with family or friends who are watching it halfway around the world, would have been the stuff of science fiction only a generation ago. 

The downside is that every time new software comes along, our phones become outdated and we have to buy a new one!

So, that’s one reason why they are not all good news. Also, they may be incredible communicative tools as well as sources of entertainment but we’ve all seen people with their heads buried in their phones, ignoring those around them. It has certainly had an adverse effect on face–to–face interaction though I guess you see how that has had an impact on social behaviour among the young people rather than older people. Well, for anyone, say, under the age of 30, Smartphones are just a fact of life because they’ve always been around in some shape or other. Older people probably use them more as phones or for texting and social media and for news while younger users might play more games, listen to music and go for TikTok rather than Facebook. Whatever the age, whatever the use, these devices are here to stay.

Listen to the full tutorial here: IELTS Speaking Cue Cards answered by an Ex-examiner Part 2

See the full list of vocabulary here: IELTS Vocabulary about Technology

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