Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0+: POVERTY AND SOCIAL ISSUES (Part 1)

Our society at large is plagued by poverty and social issues. Being aware of IELTS Vocabulary related to poverty and social issues is crucial for exam discussion and to score an IELTS band score 7+. So, Poverty and Social Issues (Part 1) contains some practice exercises designed to enhance your understanding of poverty and social issues vocabulary. Refer to the next parts for more similar exercises that make learning these words fun.

Poverty And Social Issues (Part 1): Vocabulary For IELTS

Let’s check out the exercises related to poverty and social issues with the answer keys at the end.

Homelessness

(A) Use the verbs from the box below to fill the gaps in sentences 1-18. Use each verb once only. Change the form if necessary.

1. The loss of both her parents at such an early age ____________ its toll on her mentally and she became disturbed during her adolescent years.
2. Those living on the streets are at their most vulnerable during the cold winter months when they are ____________ to the elements.
3. Society as a whole is ____________ to protect the most vulnerable within our midst; young people who find themselves  ____________ out onto the streets are in particular need of our help and care.
4. The temptation to ____________ a blind eye to the plight of the homeless is ever-present, but we must not let ourselves forget the most vulnerable and needy.
5. Many of the homeless have been ____________ roughshod over by the unscrupulous elements within our society, people prepared to  ____________ them for their own immoral ends and  ____________ them down the path to a life of crime.
6. Often, young people who run away from home and escape from an abusive environment mistakenly believe that they have ____________ the worst of the storm; that is, until they realise what awaits them in their life on the streets.
7. Emotional instability is only worsened when the affected individual attempts to ____________ everything up inside; eventually, their issues will explode forth and the consequences may be very far-reaching.
8. We cannot yet seriously consider our society a civilised place in which to live when we are content to pass by the anonymous street-folk on our daily sojourn to work and stand by idly ignoring the squalor in which they ____________ .
9. Those ____________ to make ends meet are but one missed mortgage or rent payment away from being thrown out onto the streets and  ____________ into a life of dire poverty.
10. It is always the most vulnerable who are ____________ upon, but the predatory tendencies have seldom come from such an alarming source as the government; however, the announcement that the minimum wage is to be cut in the next budget is nothing short of an attack on those on the very margins of society.
11. People who ____________ their noses up at the homeless as they walk past them on the street would do well to reconsider; after all, given the right combination of calamitous circumstances, it could very well be any one of us In their position. To so scornfully ignore their plight is to surely only  ____________ them further into the pits of despair.
12. Some of the young people who make up the majority of the homelesss on the streets of our city look as though they ____________ the weight of the world on their shoulders.
13. The homeless are ____________ out for help, but no one is listening to their pleas.
14. They are effectively ____________ from hand to mouth, unable to think about tomorrow because they are constantly having to worry about just making it through today.
15. A homeless man came up to me and tried to ____________ a cigarette; I told him I don’t smoke…
16. Many of the homeless do not qualify for dole payments, so the accusation that they are ____________ off the government is fallacious at best.
17. When his wife and children left him, he ____________ rock bottom and turned to drink; he has been  ____________ now for the best part of a decade and it has  ____________ his life apart.
18. He was caught ____________ sweets from a local shop.

(B) Match the phrase in Column A to its meaning in Column B. You will not need all the Column B options.

Answer Key for Poverty and Social Issues (Part 1)

Now that you’ve taken some exercises to test your vocabulary knowledge related to the poverty and social issues, it’s time to check your score and see if you can use them effectively in IELTS Writing and IELTS Speaking.

Homelessness

(A)

(B)

a. viii   b. iii     c. ii      d. iv     e. i

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