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IELTS challenge #7 | Natural Resources & Fuels | IELTS Skills Building Exercises

IELTS Challenge #7


Today’s IELTS topic | Natural Resources & Alternative Fuels


1. Brainstorm as many verbs, adjectives, phrases and other vocabulary related to natural resources and alternative fuels as you can in 2 minutes.

2. Can you name 4 fossil fuels? Can you name 7 natural energy resources?

Choose two of the examples you thought of and list the advantages and possible problems associated with each.

3. Road traffic is considered to be one of the biggest contributors to environmental pollution. Why? What is the name of the substance that is produced by cars, buses, trucks and other methods of transport which use fossil fuels?

4. How can we reduce the amount of this substance being produced?
Can you think of any examples of schems in your country to try and reduce these emissions? What is involved? How are they organised? Are they successful? Why/why not?

5. Give examples of actions individuals can take to change the way they use energy at home/at work.
What should the government do to encourage the use of alternative energy sources?

Can you identify some of the problems associated with trying to persuade the public to make these changes.

6. Use modal verbs of probability to describe some changes that might occur in the future related to the way we use energy.

7. Can you identify which word is the odd one out in each group? Why is it different?

    wind power – solar energy – nuclear energy – electricity
    emission – efficient, effective - economical
    retain - release - discharge - emit
    drastic - deplete - diminish - dwindle

8. Rewrite the following sentences, without changing the meaning, in as many different ways as you can in 5 minutes.

    Many people waste a lot of energy needlessly at home.
    Using public transport is still not as popular as using a private car to travel to work or for regular trips.
    Some people do not feel very optimistic for the future when it comes to energy.

9. Complete the following ‘cause and effect’ sentences related to natural resources and energy.

Adverb clauses: because, as long as, since, as, due to the fact that

    TIP: When an adverb clause begins the sentence, use a comma to separate the two parts of the sentence. When the adverb clause ends the sentence you do not need to use a comma.
    Biofuels are not as common as they could be due to the fact that ...
    As long as we continue to use fossil fuels, ...
    We must investigate using more renewable energy sources since ...
    As we have begun to reduce our use of fossil fuels, ...
    Because it’s unlikely we will be able to eliminate all petrol driven cars soon, ...

10. Can you write down the opposites of these words/phrases in less than 1 minute?
    save energy
    eco-friendly
    renewable
    limited
    deplete
    commercially viable
    traditional sources of energy
    widespread adoption of alternative energy

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