IELTS Cue Card Sample Question # Historical Event
History is not just about dates or the name of the rulers. There is so much more that an individual learns from history, the reason for the present and more importantly, the predictions for the future. This time we are looking a cue card aimed at history.
Describe a historical event that you find interesting:
You should say –
- when it took place
- what historic connection it has
- and how it impacted the history
and explain why you find it interesting.
SAMPLE ANSWERS 1
There have been so many events in the past century, that shaped our present. On a worldwide level, the rise of Hitler was the most interesting event I can think of. He was the one person who single handedly changed the course of the world history.
After Germany lost World war I and was forced to sign the treaty of Versallies, there was nothing much left with Germany. But, under the leadership of Hitler, it rose again and fought back. People followed him even in acts that were cruel and it takes great leadership skills to do that.
May be there won’t have been any Second World War, if it was not for Hitler. Countries like Russia and USA rose to power only when they won the Second World War. Before that it was only Britain ruling the world.
The one thing that I really find captivating here is that one man, not even an army, one dictator could go against the entire world and shake them from their roots. Sometimes I wonder if only he was a positive leader, the world could have been a better place to live in.
SAMPLE ANSWERS 2
I remember one particular event that I read in my History textbook about the rat war in Indo-China. When French invaded Vietnammese, they tried to rebuilt things. So, Hanoi city was built with beautiful Canals but the dilemma was that the canals built for the hygeine became the perfect breeding ground for rats causing plague.
To stop the spread of plague, a rat hunt was started in 1902. Vietnamese workers were hired for the task and were paid for each rat being caught. People began to catch rats in thousands. The payment was done when a tail of a rat was shown as a proof that a rat had been killed. Many people began just clipping the tails and collecting the bounty. Many people even began to raise rat to earn more.
The reason I really find this interesting is because it showed that at some juncture even the superior power of a colonial master fails and even the weak can assume a very strong bargaining position.