Part of the ielts speaking Test Yourself 13 Reading Your Family 14

2. At what times of day do you like to listen to music
？
Usually I put my earphones in when I go to school in the morning
．
I take the bus
every single day. I prefer listening to my own music rather than the bus radio
．
I often listen to
music after school too, on my way back, and sometimes in my room at night after doing my
homework. Music can help me relax.
3. Do you prefer to listen to recordings or live performances?
I guess I don’t really have a preference
．
It depends on who is playing
．
Usually
recordings are much clearer, the voices are better, and if the song is in English, it’s much
easier for me to understand the lyrics
．
However
，
live performances are very exciting,
especially after the song, when the artist talks to the audience, and everyone cheers and
claps
．
It can create some pretty cool feelings.
4. What types of music are popular in your country?
Well, Chinese pop music is huge here. this is the type of music you can hear if you go to
karaoke, or if you turn on your TV around 7 pm at night. In addition, there are quite a few rock
bands in my country, and they are very trendy (=fashionable).Nowadays many young people like
foreign pop groups like Linkin Park and Daft Punk. Of course traditional instrumental music has
always been well-appreciated, and some young singers, like Jay Chou, mix ancient instruments like
the pipa, erhu or guzheng, with electric guitars and modern tunes. It
’
s an interesting combination
that many people like.
11 Music

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5. Do all children in your country study music at school?
Yes, definitely. Music is a compulsory subject at school in China. Usually teachers
teach students how to sing, and how to recognize the musical notes
：
do, re, mi. You know,
there are so many students per class, so teachers cannot teach everyone how to play an
instrument. It’s easier to make everyone sing.