Month: March 2022

IELTS Speaking Task # Cue Card

Describe something useful you borrowed from another person

You should say:
• What it was?
• When it was?
• Who you borrowed it from?
• Why you borrowed it?

And explain how you felt about borrowing the item.

SAMPLE ANSWER 1-

To be honest, I avoid borrowing as much as I can. However, sometimes it becomes the need of the hour. Today, I’d like to talk about one such incident. I work as a senior tour executive in a multinational travel company. Meeting clients and providing information about our top tourist attractions are my primary responsibilities. We have a large customer base and this keeps me very busy on most of the days.

Normally, the workload is manageable but it increases considerably during the peak seasons. I can vividly recall a day when four 1-hour presentations were scheduled in the first half of the day. Fortunately, three of them went smoothly without any problem. But, in the last one, my laptop stopped working. Its screen became blue and no key seemed to work. It was a helpless situation at a client site, for a moment I felt embarrassed. Without thinking too much, I asked the audience if I could borrow a laptop from someone. A gentleman came forward and gave his laptop to me.

Luckily, I had a pen drive with all the required details. Setting up the borrowed laptop and combining the data didn’t take long and I could finish the remaining presentation without any more hiccups. In the end, I apologized the organizers for the inconvenience caused and thanked everyone for their co-operation.

From the piece I just narrated, one can tell I didn’t give the action much consideration. Although looking back now, I see how this could have easily flustered me, had this occurred earlier on in my career; back when I considered relying on others to be a weakness. Now though, I didn’t feel any shame in asking for help via borrowing of that laptop, working in a team helped me understand that giving and borrowing is a big part of any team’s success.

Follow-up questions

Q1: What are the most common things people borrow?

Ans: I think money tops the list of most commonly borrowed items. Stationery, books, Cycle, Motorcycle, games are some other popular things which people tend to borrow.

Q2: Why do some people borrow things instead of buying them?

Ans: In my view, there are two main reasons why this happens. Firstly, there is a lack of money to buy something and secondly, the duration for which it is needed is considerably short. I’d like to give an example. Suppose someone needs a book just for reviewing or reading and there are financial constraints, for them borrowing the book tends to be a far better alternative than buying.

Q3: Do you think borrowing money is good?

Ans: It’s a hard question. Borrowing some money in case of any emergency is acceptable to me. This is because difficult times are a part of life. But, we should never develop the habit of borrowing money. It can make our life miserable.

Q4: What kinds of problems are associated with borrowing things?

Ans: Borrowing common things like books or two-wheeler generally doesn’t cause big problems. But, a large amount of money borrowed can wreak havoc on almost everything, be it the relationship or the quality of life. I know it’s easier said than done but we should think twice before deciding to take a big sum from anyone, otherwise it can have far-reaching implications.

Q5:What would you do if someone didn’t return the money they borrowed from you?

Ans:It depends on the amount of money I had lent. If the amount was small, I’d ignore it. For a large sum, I would’ve to think about a way to get it back.

Another Similar Cue Card

Describe a thing that you borrowed from someone that was very useful.

• What was it?
• Who you borrowed it from?
• Why you borrowed it?

And explain why it was useful.

SAMPLE ANSWER Two-

Borrowing things is way better than buying when it comes to living an economical way. I can recall many situations when I borrowed or lent things to my closed ones at the time of need.  At this point, I would like to talk about a time when I lend a market space to commence a startup business with my college friend.

It was the time when I completed my University and had an innovative idea of starting a bakery with a friend. At that point, my parents did not support me with this idea as they wanted me to go for a more stable profession. Then, I approached my paternal uncle hoping that he could provide us with some assistance. He turned out to be so benevolent that he offered to lend me his commercial space for the bakery.

As I mentioned earlier, my friend and I had planned to open a joint bakery in our hometown. And when my uncle offered us his place, we decided to decorate the interiors to attract more customers.

This commercial space proved to be a pragmatic choice for our business startup. As my uncle did not pressurized us much with the rent, we were able to run this place at our own pace. I’m indebted to him for his help and support. Today our patisserie is quite well known in my hometown and is running profitably.

(233 words)

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Who does not loves restaurant? Well, I would agree that nothing can compare to the food we eat at home and going to restaurants regularly is not only difficult in our pockets but also not the best choice for our health. But, occasionally, going to those fancy restaurants and eating the fancy food, getting served, it is all so beautiful. But, what if, what if you are not served well. Imagine going to a restaurant and waiting for long minutes before you get water and then hours before you get your order. Or for that matter, getting stale food or cold food! The worst of all are the managers who do not try to rectify their mistakes or the service people who behave rudely. This time in our cue card we are talking about the time when instead of bad, you received a really good service.

Describe a time when you received a good service. You should say –

• What was the service?
• When and where did you receive the service?
• Whom were you together with?

also, explain why did you like it?

SAMPLE ANSWER

Buying clothes for me has been the toughest thing to do. Not because it is something that bores me but growing up in an environment where I got them from others, I never knew how to buy clothes for myself. The first time I came to a new place for my job, I had to buy clothes and that to all alone. That was a terrible thing to do and when I went to the shopping mall, I felt irritation. The people around came asking if there is something they can help me with, giving me options and I would just go and check them.

I scrolled through the entire mall for about 2 hours checking clothes there and finally picking a set of clothes. Only to realize after a few minutes, that I wanted something else. The cashier there was very kind to me. He asked me to buy those clothes and get them changed the next day if I wished to. And I did exactly the same. The next day I went to the shop asking for a change.

This time, the cashier and his team helped me find the right clothes for me. They were very patient and understood that it is indeed the first time I am buying clothes and it is freaking me out. After hours of trying, I came back finally to the first set of clothes that I bought for myself and fell in love with the shop. The people there were more patient with me than most others. They waited patiently even giving me suggestions on what looks good to me and what does not. While leaving one of them said, “It probably was your first time and therefore was tough. But, keep doing things that you find scary or have never done before.”

That advice has been with me for a life.

SAMPLE ANSWER

The only thing that makes me visit a place again is the service of it and that is true for almost everyone. A few weeks ago along with my mother, I visited a local market in Pipli, a place near Bhubaneswar. The town is one of the most celebrated places in Orissa as people there sell handmade products. Most houses there have shops inside of their homes and earn a livelihood from selling their items.

We reached the place at around 5 and after roaming about and buying different things landed ourselves into a very small shop. But, what looked like to us like just a small shop turned out to the best experience we had in Pipli. The man had a house from where he sold his products. He asked us to move with him and on doing so, we found their entire family telling us all about their articles.

The entire process of buying was no longer about what looked best, but what actually was best. They all told us about how they made it, the colors they used and what time it took. The history of handmade products in Orissa and how it is exported to the entire country. The ways in which they make their lives and the difficulties.

I loved shopping at Pipli because when buying it was not about what I was buying but more about why I was doing it.

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