August 13, 2021 - IELTS BAND7

IELTS Cue Card: Talk with a stranger

August 13, 2021 IELTS Research

Describe a situation when you had a talk with a stranger.

You should say:

who the person was

where you met him/her

what the conversation was about

and explain why you found the conversation exciting.

Sample Answer:

I enjoy meeting new people. Today I’m going to talk about a time when I met a stranger and had an interesting conversation with him.
On weekends I go to Rishikesh for learning yoga. I normally travel by bus as the buses are quite regular and comfortable. But, on last Sunday, bus drivers were on a one day strike. So, I had to drive in the morning. This time there were many foreigners in the yoga centre. All of us did yoga for about 2 hours. Thereafter, we went to the dining hall for breakfast. Naturally, I started interacting with the person sitting next to me. He was from Scotland and had come to India to complete a 120-hour yoga course. His name was Thomson.
Somehow, the focus of our conversation went to festivals and celebrations in our respective countries. He shared some interesting information about the New Year’s Eve Celebrations in Scotland. It’s called Hogmanay. The origins of this word are unclear but it’s the biggest Scottish celebration.

Many traditions like cleaning the house and singing etc. are observed on this auspicious day. The most important of them is first-footing, where families wait for the first person to visit their homes at midnight. Surprisingly, the first foot must be a man or a boy with dark hair, not a woman. It’s believed that the first foot brings fortune to the family for the New Year. If you are the first foot, you should carry three things: food, coal and something to drink.

I found this conversation very exciting because I didn’t know anything about Hogmanay. The way we celebrate the New Year is very different from how it is celebrated in Scotland. This conversation gave me a glimpse of the Scottish culture. Altogether, the novelty of this information and his friendliness made it a memorable interaction.