Monologue: Have you done any time a diet? How should be a balanced diet? What problems can result from a diet?

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about diets and the consequences they can cause in your health.

To start with, the word diet has two different meanings:

- In the first is when one person eats a small or limited quantity of food in order to become thinner. This can be combined with miracle products whose goal is to help in the process of reducing your weight.

- The second one is the food that a person usually eats. From this point of view everybody follows a diet and the eaten food depends on your living style and your culture. That's why nutritionists usually talk about mediterranean diet, fast food and so on.

Fortunately I've never been on a diet to become thinner. I consider this type of diet dangerous for health and nobody should follow a diet without the advice of a specialised doctor.

Medical institutions consider that a healthy diet should include all type of food. Also, It has to be based in fruits, vegetables and legumes. On the contrary it has to cut down salt and sugar. Besides it has to limit the calories intake from saturate fat.

On the other hand, the diet should be combined with Physical activity and resting 8 or 9 hours a day.

As to the consequences, they are usually good if people follow the advices of a doctor when being on a diet. People reduce their weight and keep their health.

However there are lots of problems when people follow a diet they have seen on tv, or in a magazine. The problems can be physical: heart attack, malfunction of different organs of your body like the kidney, you can lose the vision and so on. And  they can be emotional because you can suffer depression.

Besides, they can be worsened by the use of miracle products because they are not controlled by authorities and thereby the can include any toxic substance in their composition.

In conclusion if you put on a diet, you should follow the advices of a doctor and adopt healthy lifestyle.

Monologue: How have the families changed over the last decades? What kind of families appear on tv and advertisements?

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the evolution of the  kind of families and how they are presented on tv and advertisement.

To start with, family is where we all belong to and from where our identity comes. Everybody has a family and it can be better or worst but family will be with us all the way. So, all things related to the family are very important for the society.

The current family is far different from it was in the past. The traditional family had very specific features:

- It consisted of a man and a woman married and the children they had in common.
- The member of the family that was in charge of the incomes was the father.
- The women were dedicated to the care of the children and very few times worked outside of the home.
- Usually it was the man who made the important decisions in the family. The woman was subjected to man.

In contrast, current family is very different:

- It can consist of a man and woman married like in the past, but it also can consist of two men or two women, or only a woman or only a man.
- There may be children in the family, but the goal of the family is not having them.
- The roles of each member of the family aren't as clearly defined as in the past and the decisions are taken in a more democratic way.

As I have told above the evolution has been radical, and so the meaning of the word family has changed. From my point of view these changes have improved our society making it more fair and happy.

Regarding the family which appears on tv and advertisements. It is a model of family that can exist but it isn't the more common in our society. This model of family is made up by a man and a woman married and one or two children. Besides they don't have any economic problem and are handsome. At least the woman has a job outside of the home.

If all families were like the ones which appear on tv, the society would be better, but also poor and very uniform. In the mass should appear the families that really exist because it would help to understand and respect all the familiar models.

Monologue: Different qualities you need to achieve a job, experience and qualifications...

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the needed qualities to achieve a job.

Finding a job it's a challenge here in Spain. Due to the economic crisis there are lots of people seeking for a job but there are few available jobs. As a result the companies have become more and more demanding when choosing a new employee.

There are many things that can be taken into account when evaluating an applicant:

- Formal qualifications like  degrees, languages and so on.
- Experience in similar jobs to the one which is offered by the company.
- Ability to take an active role as part of a team.
- Intelligence.
- Good skills in communication.
- Aptitude to adapt and learn quickly.
- Others: honesty, hard working, discipline, punctuality, and so on.

It is often believed that applicants who have an academic degree and experience should be hired before than others who lack formal qualification because they are considered more competent to cope with workload. It is thought they are good at making decisions, hard-working people, good team player and so on.

However, many human resources departments consider that they should pay more attention to the potential employees' abilities like the intelligence or their communication skills which could be important when occupying managerial jobs for instance. Or to their physical strength if the job is work is manual.

To sum up, for these companies formal qualifications do not prove capability whereas personal skills do.

In my view, when choosing a new worker, a company should evaluate different aspects depending on the features of the offered job. Besides in the assessment of the applicants, formal qualifications, experience, personality and abilities should be considered in order to hire the best candidate.

Monologue: How new technologies have affected our lives in the last 20 years?

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about how technology has changed our lives in the past 20 years.

To start with, the words "new technologies" refer to technologies related to information and communication. But technology is not only that. Technology is something inherent to the human being. It has been with mankind since the beginning of the history, because technology are all the things built by human beings in order to improve their lives.

However it is obvious that in the last 20 years technology has progressed dramatically, and these new technologies particularly have changed the way of living of the society in general. That's why many people wonder if this change has improved their lives.

In my view, the main pros of new technologies are:

- It has allowed us to connect with other people in a easier and cheaper way. Today we can communicate with everyone in real time using smartphones, computers, tablets and so on.

- Technology has simplified and speeded up  the access to the necessary information in all the areas we can think of: education, medicine, industry and so on. This has supposed a revolution in the society because the productivity has risen steeply.

On the other hand, there have been negative effects:

- People who don't have access to new technologies are in worst condition to compete for a well paid job. There is a wide necessity for education in these areas.

- Technology has weakened social relationships, even inside the families. Busy with diverse technological devices people don't have the same personal interactions as they used to in the past.

From my point of view in spite of having inconvenients, I am sure that it is impossible for most of us to imagine our lives without new technologies. And it is likely that our society would collapse right away, if they didn't work out for any reason.

In conclusion the benefits clearly get over the drawbacks.That's why is really important to extend the new technologies to the whole world.

Monologue: Different Kinds of holidays.

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the different kinds of holidays.

I am sure you will agree holidays are a very important period during the year. These periods are important for relaxation, they provide us relief of monotony of your daily routine. Besides, vacation are important for our mental and well-being health.

Taking that into account, I am going to evaluate the pros and cons of the different types of vacation.

- Package holidays. They are holidays arranged by a travel company. Their main advantage is that include many services at a reasonable price: meals, accommodation, entertainment, flights and so on are included in the price. Moreover the drawbacks are: you spend most time in the hotel resort and so you can miss the attractions of the place you are visiting,  You haven't freedom to do what you want during your holidays.

- Adventure holidays. It is also an organized holiday in which people do a new and exciting things like a trek or a safari for instance. The main benefit is the excitement you get doing something different than usual. On the contrary they use to be expensive and dependind on the adventure they can be dangerous.

- Activity holidays. In this type you spend your holidays doing a particular activity like painting, walking, singing, and so on. What makes this vacation pleasant is that you are doing something that you like. On the contrary you can not travel with your friends or your family if they don't have the same hobbies as you.

- Beach holidays. The point of these holidays is to travel to coastal destination and spend your time in the beach. Lots of package holidays can be considered beach holidays. The main pros are that you can travel with your family, friend and so on, they are usually cheap and they may be a relaxed vacations. On the other hand you have to choose very well the beach destination because it can be noisy and crowded.

There are other types of vacations: nature watching, hunting, self-catering holiday and so on.

Eventually, my favorite kinds of vacation are city breaks. I love to visit cities like New York, Paris, etc, and go to museums and monuments. But during the last years I've been doing beach holidays, the main cause is that I have two little children and they like the beach.

Monologue: Three pictures: Modern city with tall buildings, houses at sea level and country cottages. Advantages and disadvantages. In what place of the world would you like to live?

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the pros and cons of living in different types of places which are shown in three different pictures. In the first picture we can see a modern city with tall buildings, in the second there are houses close to the sea and in the last one we can see country cottages.

To start with, living in a big city can mean many advantages:

- You have the chance of getting a better education for you and your family. That is because there are better schools and universities.
- There is a big offer to spend free time: you may attend to the cinema, theatre, cultural events and so on.
- It is easier to get a good job with bigger salary.

On the other hand the disadvantages are:

- Cities are very crowded, and the traffic is very heavy.
- The air is more polluted.
- The pace of life is stressful. People are always in a hurry.

Regarding living close to the sea or in the mountain, the advantages or disadvantages are the same. The difference between these locations depends on if someone enjoys more close the sea or in the mountain. The benefits why people prefer to live in these areas are:

- Low crime rates.
- Privacy and tranquility.
- Slow pace for living.
- Feeling closer to nature and clean air.

Moreover the drawbacks:

- Good jobs are located in big cities.
- It is more difficult to get a good education.
- You can feel isolated and the cultural events are almost inexistent.

From my point of view and to sum up  both city and rural areas may be good places to live. Your choice depends on your circumstances and your personal preferences.

In my case I would like to live until I retire in the city taking advantage of the better jobs and then I would move to the countryside looking for a good place to rest.

Monologue: Awkward situations and your reaction: a fly in the soup, your pants down and appering in a party with the same dress that another person.

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about three different awkward situation and explain what I would do.

It is obvious that we all experience awkward situations and they may be unpleasant at the time, but it is always smart to look back and laugh at them. In that case we can even learn something about them.

Having said this:

- Fly in your soup. This event could happen in many different places. For instance if I am in a restaurant I just would ask the waiter to change my plate. And then I would review my new soup looking for flies inside it until I were absolutely sure that there wasn't any. However If this situation happened in my mother-in-law's house, I would move away the fly and I would continue eating the soup.

- Your pants down. In this case my reaction like in the previous one would depend on the situation. What I am sure is that I would blush to some extent. For instance if this happened in a social event like a marriage, I would blush a lot and leave the party quickly. Moreover the same situation in a party with close friends,  I would blush less and I just would pull up the pants. Then the party would go on.

- To appear in a party with the same dress that another person. In my case I don't have any problem with this situation. It is not significant for me and even I feel good. If I met my dress mate, I would congratulate him for his outstanding good taste. 

To conclude, I would like to say that I would react in that way if I was on vacation, or if I had had a good working week and so on. It is likely that I would respond in a very different way after having a bad day at work, for instance.

Monologue: Social issues that concern today and possible solutions.

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about social issues that concern today and how they can be solved.

To start with, I would like to say that there are lots of social problems in my country and it is a little bit difficult to choose the one that can be considered the most important. Besides it is difficult to provide appropriate solutions, they are really complex issues. In any case I'll try to complete the task.

In my view the most significant social issues in Spain are: the large number of people without job, the ageing of the society and the environmental pollution.

As to the unemployed people is a difficult problem to solve. In the long term the government should establish economic policies to get over the crisis, which is the cause of this situation. On the other hand, in the short term is important to avoid that unemployed people become poor and so, the government should subsidize to the people who has lost their job.

Regarding the ageing of the population the most significant point is that every day there are less and less workers available to pay the pensions of the increasing number of retired people. There are two ways to solve this. The first one is let foreign workers enter the country and,  the second one is to delay the retirement age of the current workers.

Eventually, the environmental pollution is a very serious problem. It has many different aspects, but one of the most urgent is the air pollution. It is caused mainly because our means of transport are based in the consumption of fossil fuels. So the cars, planes, trucks and so on are responsible for the pollution of the air. To sort out this is important to use more the public transport and change current cars by electric cars.

In conclusion, there are solutions to our social issues but all of them are very controversial.

Monologue: Pictures with different cultural events. What is your favourite one? What kind of cultural activities do you practise? And cultural activities in your city.

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about different cultural activities and which ones take place in my city.

To start with I'm going to describe the pictures. In the first picture we can see a person looking at a painting. I only perceive the back of this person and the image he or she is looking at seems to be a modern painting. I may say that this person is in a museum or in a gallery.

In the second picture there is a couple dancing. I think they are doing and exhibition of modern dancing because I can see they are on a stage and they both are wearing black clothes which is typically used in this type of dance.

And eventually in the third image I can see two people, one who is playing an electrical guitar and the other who is holding a microphone and it is likely that he is singing because he has his mouth open. As in the second picture, they both are on the stage, a small one. That's why I think they are offering a gig to a friends or a small audience.

As to my preferences within these cultural activities, my favourite one is the gig. When I was a student I used to attend to this type of premises with small stage and I really loved them. But now unfortunately I don't attend to any gig. I've recently been a proud parent of two little children and all my leisure time is absorbed by them. 

Another activity I miss a lot is to go to cinema. I love all type of movies, even though my favourite ones are science fiction movies. 

On the other hand and regarding cultural events in my city, I live in a small town in the south of Spain. We can't enjoy as many cultural events as if we lived in a big city. The most important event takes place in August, and it is held in honor of our Lady "Virgen del Mar". This is a general event which includes other minor events, like parades, speeches and so on. Another significant event is a film festival dedicated to western movies. Besides we have cinemas a small number of museums.

Monologue: Pictures about social relationships

Good afternoon. I've been  asked to talk about three different pictures, which represent different relationships.

In the right picture we can see two young girls, one with black hair and the another with blonde hair. The one with black hair is in the foreground of the image and is rubbing her cheek with a handkerchief because she is crying. The blonde girl is close to the back of the black hair girl, patting her, and she has the left hand over the left shoulder of the other girl.

By their attitude we may think that the blonde girl is comforting the other girl because this one has had an emotional problem with her boyfriend, her mother, we really don't know. Besides it is likely they both have been long standing friends because in my view you don't tell something private to someone if this person isn't important in your life.

Continuing with the central pic we can see two young people, a woman and a man. They both are sitting up over the floor and wearing casual clothes. The woman is in the foreground and the man is close to her but in the background. Besides we can appreciate they both are smiling and looking at each other. 

In that case the attitude of this two people in the picture make me think that they are a couple, they seem happy of being together.

Eventually  on the right photo there are two young people and, like in the previous picture, they are a man and a woman and wear casual clothes too. The man is located on the left, he is standing but with a slight  lean over the woman and seems to be angry. On the other hand, the woman is in front of him on the right side of the picture and is yelling. Besides she is menacing the man with a clenched fist. 

Unlike the other two images we can't deduce of their attitude what their relationship is. It is obvious that they have some kind of relation, but we don't have enough information to know if they are neighbors, an item, friends or another thing we can think of. But I am sure that they are arguing.      

To conclude these three pictures are connected because they show us a variety of ways of relationship. 

Monologue: Importance of speaking languages in a globalized world

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the necessity of speaking more than a language in a globalized world. 

It is a very well-known fact that current companies are operating increasingly in global market and this process of globalization is happening faster than ever. However there are many different languages in the world and therefore is very important for them that their staff to know more than one language. 

It is obvious that knowing the language of the country with which you are seeking to do business can give you advantages over competitors. That's why companies want to hire people with knowledge of more than a language. These people can help them to conquer new markets. 

As I have told, knowing different languages serves to help improve the communication and in addition to this it also drives cultural awareness, something that will grow in importance in business.

To sum up learning a new language provides some advantages:

- International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than a language.

- Knowing one or more foreign languages may give you an edge when you are competing for important position.

- Being able to communicate with people in their language also demonstrates that you have some respect regarding the culture and rituals of those people.

Furthermore there can be other advantages. For instance the process of learning can be funny and uplifting for you, it can help open your mind, also it helps you increase your understanding of your own language and so on.

On the other hand and from my point of view English is the business language. It should be your first learning option if you want to progress in your career. Besides Spanish is a good election because is the second language in the world. Even Chinese is one of the better options due to the increasing importance of china in international business and because it is the most spoken language in the world.

Monologue Punishments: Capital punishment, prison setence, death row. What do you think? Are they useful?

Good afternoon. I've been asked to give my view about different punishments: community services, prison and death penalty.

Nowadays providing security to people is one the most concerning issues for the governments. There are different options to get this goal, and one of the most used is to punish lawbreakers.

Most legal systems have a variety of options to punish offenders. That's why there are heated debates about which are the more appropriate punishments for every crime.

In my view community services should be used mainly with first-time offenders and young people who have committed minor crimes. The reasons to do that are:

- Prison is usually a great place for beginners to become criminal experts. We need to prevent this.
- It is important to give people the opportunity to rehabilitate.
- Jails are crowded.

On the other hand, prison sentence should be used with major crimes and with criminals who are second offenders. It is obvious that the penalty for every crime should be proportional to the offence. Moreover people who are second offenders haven't learnt anything useful about the consequences of their crimes for the society and so, they don't deserve to be helped.

Regarding death penalty is a very controversial issue. Although many countries have stopped using it, capital punishment has been implemented by some countries for many years. Besides many nations are currently considering whether to legislate that punishment or not.

From my point of view it shouldn't be implemented in any case because I feel really scared about the chance of innocent people may be executed. In that case there is no turning back for these people. Moreover this punishment is uncivilized.

To conclude I would like to say that society should be aware of the punishments if they break the law because it would act as deterrent of crime.

Monologue: Religions, role of them today and in the future, role of them in developed and underdeveloped countries

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the role of the religions in our current world and in the future.

To start with, Religion is a cultural phenomenon that shapes the society of which it forms part. That is, religion is an important factor in the development of the society. That's why if we want to know how a society is, we should study to what extent religion influences on it.

Up to the 18th century, religion was an essential part of life in the countries now considered developed. At that time there were big changes in the society and the industrial revolution took place. One of the most significant consequences was that science adopted a more prominent role in the community and church began to miss influence.

Moreover a process of secularization that has lasted until now started. The social impact of this process on developed countries was really intense, among other things, the family begun to lose its importance as core of the society, women abandoned their traditional role and started to focus on their professional life, religion became in something private and so on.

On the other hand, these changes haven't happened in underdeveloped countries. The church keeps leading positions in social life and besides people is becoming more and more fanatical about religion. That's why these societies are impervious to change and they haven't advanced in many social aspects. In the last decades they even justify war in name of God.

Eventually, it is obvious it is very difficult to foresee that will happen in the future. In my view, what is going to happen with religion in the future depends on two factors: economic performance and education of the people and if the country is or not developed doesn't matter.

So if these two factors improve, religion will cut down its importance in the society and the secularization and even the atheism will raise. On the contrary if these factors don't improve religion will be in better position even though it means a reduction of quality of life.

In conclusion it's an emergency to invest in improving education and economy in underdeveloped countries.

Testimonial for conversinginenglish.com

Dear readers, that is the testimonial I wrote for www.conversinginenglish.com. The staff of this company has helped me a lot with my speaking skills:

"I have been improving my speaking skills for more than a year now. I hope this will go on in the future, first because I have to learn a lot more and second "Conversing in English" is one of the better and pleasant ways of doing it. 

I met Bruno and his team thanks to a friend of my wife’s (She is always recommending CIE to anyone who wants to listen to her). I was studying English but I felt downhearted because I didn't manage to advance with my oral skills. I did a trial lesson with Bruno and right away I knew it was what I needed. 

I have reached my goal, I feel more confident when I have to speak in English because I am more fluent and they have given me the tools I need to face this task with success. Since then I am constantly getting better and soon I expect to pass the B2 level exams. 

I am a very busy person, but CiE is very flexible, I don't have any excuse not to practice. Even, I have to admit that sometimes I am waiting for my English classes because I do really enjoy with them.

If you have problems with your spoken English, I strongly advice you to take classes with them. I am sure that Bruno and his team will get the better of you.

Thanks to CiE for their invaluable help!!!"

Monologue: advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss.

To start with, I have to say that working is an essential activity and consumes most part in our adult life. I'm sure that almost every employee at some point of their career feels the desire to be their own boss.

It is a very well-known fact that making a decision upon a career is one of the biggest in our life. A small miscalculation can have fatal consequences in terms of money, time and satisfaction. That's why you have to assess your entrepreneurial skills previously and you have to be conscious about the pros and cons of this adventure.

In my view the main advantages of being your own boss are:

- You can make your own rules about your work and there won't be anyone to question your decisions.

- This situation gives you the opportunity to do what you love to do. Besides you are free to choose whom you want to work with and whom not.

- If you want to go for a vacation then you no longer need to ask for permission to anyone.

- You can not be hit by unemployment and what is better you can choose your own work conditions and your work place.


On the other hand, the disadvantages are:

- Your incomes will be irregulars and depend on your success.

- Probably the working hours will be longer  and you will be responsible for everything: finances, providers, production and son on.

-  If your venture fails, you must be ready to take the fall.  

In conclusion being your own boss can be exciting and satisfying but you have to be prepared to assume the risk of failure.

Monologue: Celebrities, advantages and disadvantages and how they live.

Good afternoon. I've been asked to talk about the way that celebrities live and the advantages and disadvantages of being a celebrity.

To start with, I have to say that it it is a pretty difficult subject because obviously I am not a celeb and besides I believe that how someone lives a social situation depends on the person he or she is.

I think that it would be interesting to define what we think a famous person is. A celeb is a very well known person by the society who appears often in media mass not only for achievements at work, sports, science and so on, but events in private life like relationships, marriages, divorces and so on.

A famous person has an special relationship with the media. They are famous because they appear in them and they use them to get money and to become more famous. On the other hand the media need famous people to sell more and to hire more publicity. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who love to learn everything about private life of celebrities.

The main advantages of being a celeb in my view are:

- Getting money without working. You only need to trade with your privacy.
- Their attendance is required in important social events both in your country and around the world.
- Making an incredible network of contacts. They probably know people whom most of us would like to know.

Moreover, the disadvantages are:

- You have to be careful with your relationships, because it is likely that you meet people whose only interest in you is that you are a famous person.
- You have to adapt to live being pursued by journalists or paparazzis. You can't go out anywhere in an anonymous way.
- Your privacy is known for everybody.

In conclusion there are positive and negative aspects of being a celeb. In any case life for them is not as pink as we might think.