1.

Relationships & family

Answer the following questions. How many good friends do you have? What do you look for in a good friend (what type of character)? How important are family relationships to you? Are they more important than friends? Is family a strong institution in your country? What about in other cultures? What do you think about elderly people staying in an old people's home? Women with young children (1 to 5 years old) shouldn't go out to work. Give your opinion. Grandparents still have a role to play in families. Give your opinion.

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2. Sports (health)

Answer the following questions. What is your favourite sport and why? Playing sports VS. watching sports. What are the good points and the bad points? What are the objectives in the Olympic Games? What sports participate? Spanish society wouldn't survive if football didn't exist on Sunday afternoons. Give your opinion. Romans thought: Mens sana in corpore sano (A healthy mind in a healthy body). Is this still true in our society?

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3. Food & eating habits (health)

Answer the following questions. What is your favourite food? What ingredients does it contain and how do you cook it? Do you read the nutritional information at the back of the products? Why? What is the strangest food you've ever tried? Is Mediterranean cuisine the same as Asian cuisine or USA cuisine? What are the main differences? (ingredients, ways of cooking, etc.) What is your attitude towards doing physical exercise daily? What should we do to keep fit and healthy? What sort of exercise do you do and why do you practise it? Is it also necessary to follow a balanced diet? Do you do it? Have you ever been on a diet? What kind of diet was it?

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4. Communication & technology

Answer the following questions. How do you communicate regularly with the people at work? And with your friends? Has communication changed over the last century? Why? Which of the following has made the most valuable contribution to communications: the fax, the postal service, the mobile phone, road, rail and air transport, the world wide web (internet) the e-mail? Why? What technological developments in the home do you think there will be over the next twenty or thirty years? Think of some housework that is easier now to do with new technology. Electrical goods and innovations we use at home make us lazy. Give your opinion.

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5. Leisure & free time (festivals, holidays, shopping...)

Answer the following questions. Do you have free time? How do you spend this time: with family, doing sports, studying, etc? What do you prefer: cinema, theatre, pubs, discos, restaurants, etc? Why? Do you go out often? Have you ever been to a wax museum? What type of museums do you prefer? Do you regard going shopping as housework or pleasure? What do you prefer for your daily shopping: markets, supermarkets or small local shops? Why? Do you have a favourite shop? What is special about it? Have you ever bought in a second-hand shop (clothes, furniture, antiques, etc)?

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6. Work & jobs

Answer the following questions. What is your job? What are the strong and weak points of it? What qualities or skills do you need? What are the three most important things in a job? What was your first job? Was it for money? Describe it. If you could change your job, what would you be? Why? Who in your family or friends has the most interesting job in your opinion? Why? Describe it. What job, in your opinion, should be most well-paid in our society and why? A good job is not connected to a having a good education (degree and specialized training). Give your opinion.

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7. Trips and holidays

Answer the following questions. What is your favourite city? Can you describe it? What do you like about it? What makes it different from other cities you have visited? What transport do you prefer when you travel? Why? Do you hate any transport? What problems do you think it has? Do you prefer summer or winter holidays? How active do you like to be on a holiday? What should you do before setting out on a journey? Think about your last trip. What did you do? What three things make a holiday unforgettable in your opinion? Tourism in Majorca has damaged its charm or Tourism has made from Majorca a powerful and wealthy community. Give your opinion.

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8. Homes

Answer the following questions. Where do you live? In a flat or in a house? Describe it. Do you like it? Why? What was your parent's house like? What do you liked most of it? And least? What does the word home mean to you? Do homes tell about the people who live there? Does your house tell about your personality? How? How would your ideal house be, if you could chose it without worrying about money? There is a song that says: Home is where your heart is. What does it mean?

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9. Culture (books, films, theatre...)

Answer the following questions. Do you consider reading books or watching films a hobby? Why? What type of genre do you like most (poetry, drama, novels, comics, etc.)? Why? Buying books VS. borrowing them from a library? Why? If you get 20 euros free, how would you spend them: cinema or book? Why? Is culture expensive nowadays? Do you believe there are enough free cultural activities on the island at the moment? Do you know any Majorcan writer? What kind of genre sells best in book shops nowadays? Children should read more and watch less TV. Give your opinion.

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10. Style & fashion

Answer the following questions. What are you wearing at the moment? What are your favourite winter clothes? What about summer clothes? Do you worry about your physical appearance? Are you a fashion victim or addict? Does society in general worry about style? How often do you go shopping? What is your favourite shop? Why? Have you ever bought clothes or accessories in a second-hand shop? Can we measure beauty? What is it for you? Beauty opens doors. Do you agree? We should accept ourselves as we are. Explain it. Cosmetic surgery can give people more confidence and happiness in their lives. Give your opinion.

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11. Public transport and facilities

Answer the following questions. What do you think of public transport in Majorca? Do you ever use it? Why? Do you usually use public transport when you visit new cities? Do you recommend it? Why? What do you think of using old railways tracks as green cycle lanes? Would you like to go on a cycling trip? Why? What facilities does your village or town have? Do you think they are enough or ok? Compare your village or town with a big city. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Hardly anyone uses public transport nowadays, although its cheaper than using your own car. Give your opinion.

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12. Education

Answer the following questions. What are the different stages of compulsory education in Spain? And about the optional education offered? What kind of school did you go to? Did you have a good time there? What do you remember? What do you think of exams? Are they necessary? Can we learn without exams? What is your opinion about continuous assessment? What are the aims of schools nowadays? Do students achieve them? Investing in education is investing in your future. Explain it.

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13. The media & press

Answer the following questions. Do you like being informed about worldwide events? How can we get informed about what happens around the world? What means of communication do you prefer? Why? Are newspapers in your country biased or objective? Can you give any example? What is your opinion about free newspapers? What about their quality? Has new technology reshaped media nowadays? Does internet have an important role? What are the benefits?

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14. Medicine and health

Answer the following questions. Are you physically fit? What ways do you know to improve your health condition? What is your opinion about doctors? Are they always right or can they sometimes be wrong? Which is better in your opinion, public or private health services? Why? Have you had any bad experience? What do you think about the national health service in your country? Does it work well? Would you try traditional or alternative medicine in these situations: backache, stress, depression, insomnia? Why? According to doctors' high responsibility in their work, they should earn more than politicians, judges or university professors. Give your opinion. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Explain it.

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