IELTS Speaking Part 2: Topic CoronaVirus (Covid-19)

Describe the article on health you read on magazine or the Internet

Sample Answer:

I am going to talk about a health article that I have recently read. It was an article about the new coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV) and basic protective measures against it.

The first part of the article was the general description of the epidemic. The 2019 novel coronavirus is a new form of the coronavirus family that causes pneumonia in humans. It originated in China in December 2019 after a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Although the first cases had been recorded in December 2019, not until January 2020 was it revealed to the general public, petrifying the whole world with its highly contagious nature. Shortly thereafter quarantines and travel banswere implemented around the world, many schools are closed, and people start wearing masks when going outside.

From the article, I was informed that the symptoms of the disease include coughing, fever, difficulty breathing, and possible lesions on both lungs. Some pieces of advice on how to protect ourselves from the virus were also provided. Those include washing hands frequently with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub, maintain social distancing and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Believe it or not, the article also stated that wearing masks is generally ineffective for those who have yet to show symptoms!

Highlight Vocabulary

• outbreak  /ˈaʊtbreɪk/
• protective measures /prəˈtektɪv  ˈmeʒə/
• epidemic /epəˈdemɪk/
• pneumonia /njuːˈməʊniə/
• cluster /ˈklʌstə/
• petrifying /ˈpɛtrɪfaɪɪŋ/
• quarantine /ˈkwɒrəntiːn/
• symptom /ˈsɪmptəm/
• lesion /ˈliːʒ(ə)n/
• social distancing /ˈsəʊʃəl ˈdɪstənsɪŋ/
• ineffective /ˌɪnɪˈfektɪv/