During the Covid-19 pandemic, the world came to a standstill as strict lockdowns were enforced everywhere. With nowhere to go, time, weekdays, and routines became an abstract alien concept to the majority of us. To keep myself preoccupied and to prevent myself from wasting this precious time, I set a few goals.
My goals were as follows: getting up early, every single day consistently; continue a modified version of my workout even at home; and to learn a new skill.
The first two goals were easy enough to implement once I got used to. I made sure to keep my favourite song as an alarm tone. Rather than keeping my phone next to me while sleeping, I started keeping it in the kitchen which was all the way across the apartment. Once in the kitchen, I had a glass of water and began my day with a big smile.
I soon noticed that getting up became easier every day, my moods got a whole lot better, and I just felt generally more productive. I managed to do variations of indoor yoga six days a week, for I gave myself a pass on Sundays. That’s another thing I did, I made sure not to lose track of the weekdays, I treated every day like a work vacation; a day to get the most out of.
Now as for my last goal, it was to learn a new skill to keep me focused. The skill I chose to learn was animation. It was slow, time-consuming work; reading from the manuals and online free tutorials I could get my hands on. But lo and behold, two weeks later I finished my very first simple animation of a 90-frame loop of a walking bird. I was very proud of my creation.
The lockdown in my city lasted for months but I am proud to say that I achieved the goals I set for my self development. I even look forward to achieving them tomorrow, and every day that is to come in the future. The main thing I learned along this journey is realizing as an adult how much our choices reflect in our lifestyle. How little things change our day, how improvement actually feels, and how easy it is to take that first step into the unknown.
Useful words and their meanings
Lockdown
an emergency situation in which people are not allowed to freely enter, leave, or move around in a building or area because of danger
Standstill
a condition in which all movement or activity has stopped
lo and behold (a phrase)
something that you say when you tell someone about something surprising that happened
International Experienced Teacher Best Training By CELTA Trainer. Best Results
Easily Get Required Score
IELTS Exam Dates Available, Small Batch Size with Flexible Time, Professional.
Easily Get Required Score
I am interested in IELTS
Pass with Confidence, Dehradun
Small Batch Size with Flexible Time, professional faculty.
Learn From Experienced Teacher
Best IELTS Coaching Dehradun
Best IELTS in Dehradun Uttarakhand
GMS Road
BEST coaching in dehradun
Apply for Class Courses Today
Good Results. Small Batch Size, Flexible Time and Professional IELTS Teacher
Best IELTS coaching classes
IDP certified British Council trained and CELTA certified experienced trainer.
Easily Get Required Score
Tel:8439000086
Tel:8439000087
Tel:7055710003
Tel:7055710004
Tel:7055710009
IELTS Speaking Cue card: a piece of furniture you have in your house
Describe a piece of furniture you have in your home.
You should say:
• What kind it is and what you use it for
• What materials it is made of
• How the piece of furniture was chosen for your home
• And explain how you feel about this piece of furniture.
Sample Answer
It is said that a home is the reflection of its inhabitants. In the quest of keeping it as beautiful and comfortable as possible, we all keep collecting showpieces, furniture and furnishings etc. Although, there are many things which are dear to me, I’d like to talk about my dining table which I purchased from Kashmir, a north Indian state known for its wood carving.
It is a four-seater rectangular dining table made of walnut wood. The entire table top is carved intricately by hand. The motifs are primarily composed of maple leaves which signify the maple trees of Kashmir. It is a masterpiece of brilliant craftsmanship as everything is painstakingly made by hand. What makes it unique is that not even an inch of the table surface is left without carving. The whole surface is polished in natural wood color after which it has been varnished to impart it a shine. We have covered it by a glass top which besides enhancing its beauty also protects it from dust. The table has four matching dining chairs which make it perfect for our family of four members.
I am extremely fond of this dining table as it reminds me of the lovely time we spent in the most splendid Kashmir valley. Also, it is a unique piece of furniture which is not commonly available everywhere.
(Download CUE Card)
Sample Answer Two by Pooja
My house is fully equipped with indoor and outdoor furniture. Today, I’m going to talk about my study table.
This table is in my bedroom. It’s a brand new piece of furniture and is probably very expensive. It’s a large table with two shelves to keep books. It has a separate drawer for keeping a laptop and small electronic devices. It even incorporates an inbuilt LED bulb for late night reading. I don’t exactly know what material it is made of but I think it’s made of oak.
I received it as a present from my parents on my last birthday. My mum is very selective. She must have visited many furniture showrooms before buying this modern, unique piece of furniture for my room.
I love the design of this table. It’s just perfect. It has transformed the appearance of my room. In fact, this table has made me more organized. Everyone who visits me appreciates the table for its brilliant quality. They even ask about the place from where it was bought. At this point of time, I can say that I’ll keep this table for my life. Even if I move to a new place, I’ll get it transported carefully.
In today’s world internet has made it easier for people to try different cuisines of the world. I have a passion for cooking and in fact internet has also helped me to learn about different recipes from around the globe. Cooking is my favourite leisure activity and I do it whenever I feel down as it helps me boost, my creativity as well as helps me satiate my cravings. Today I would like to discuss about one interesting Dish that I really like. The dish is Som Tam. It is a Thai cuisine salad. I first ate it an Asian restaurant in my city “Kylin”. I really loved the flavour of this salad so last Sunday, I also tried making it at home. I was really surprised that it turned out to be as authentic and tasty as I experienced it in the restaurant. It is super healthy as it is made of raw papaya and that is the only made ingredient which is used. Because of one ingredient it gets effortlessly easy to prepare. I just added some crushed chilies, garlic and peanuts. The dressing is really easy to prepare as one has to just add few sauces and the mouthwatering flavour is ready. Everyone in my house like it and praised my cooking skills. Now I make it almost every other day and have it during snack time. It has helped me to do healthy snacking. Moreover, it’s really beneficial for our gut health. Som Tam has proved to be particularly healthy for me as it is good for women’s health, specially in curing PCOD/ PCOS. Therefore, I suggest it to every woman around me who is suffering from any such disorders.
FOLLOW UP Questions:
Q1: Should advertisements for unhealthy food be banned? Why or why not?
Answer: Definitely, advertisements for unhealthy food must be banned as they are harming the masses on a large scale. People today are inclined towards consuming such unhealthy foods because they are advertised widely with the false narrative.
Q2: Do you think films and TV-series should promote healthy eating?
Answer: Nowadays youth is influenced by celebrities and they in fact follow them religiously. People try to imitate their favourite celebrities’ lifestyle as well as their food habits so that they can look as beautiful and flawless like the celebrities. TV series and films are the best way of promoting healthy habits.
Describe an app you use in your mobile phone. (Describe a mobile application that you use.) You should say:
what it is?
how you use it?
what benefits do you get from it?
and explain why this mobile app is important to you.
Sample Answer1:
My smart phone has many pre-installed applications in it and some that I installed and I love using them all. However, if I had to choose one, I will definitely go for WhatsApp. I think it is one of the best applications made in the history of mankind making it so easy for us to be in touch with people we care about and then it doesn’t matter where we are in the world. It is affordable, user-friendly and easily accessible. We can not only talk, send text messages, but we can share videos, audios and photos with anyone. What an amazing thing to do!
One is free to do whatever they want to. We can form groups and be connected with so many people together, it is almost like talking to so many people together and having fun. Not only for friends and family, I have even found WhatsApp very important for my workplace. It is a one step solution for sharing documents, discussions and follow-ups with clients. The best part is that we do not have to worry about the hefty bills and roaming charges.
The reason this application is very important for me is because I have a job which requires me to travel a lot and then I have got family and friends back home. It is with WhatsApp that I am able to share my whereabouts with my loved ones and the amazing life that I have.
Sample Answer2:
There are several applications that I have downloaded on my smartphone but I think the one application that is very important for me and I cannot barely live without is definitely YouTube. The best part about the application is that I can put the videos that I like in offline mode and watch them anytime I want to and even more, the videos don’t take up my phone’s memory but are stored in some server making space for more things that I can do on my phone.
I have made my account on Google using which I use the YouTube application. This application was pre-installed in my smartphone and I remember watching a lot of videos on it, before doing a video offline. It has been almost more than four years since I have been using this application whenever I need to find out something. It could be a lecture on a course that I am taking or may be a song that I want to listen. Also, almost all movies upload their trailers on this site, which can be accessed using this application. It is more like that friend you need when there is no one around.
I remember learning DBMS, a course important for my job taking from this application and doing a great job. The reason this app is so important for me is because using it I can learn so much and be updated about the social life and then get updated about the latest news or songs or everything that is happening in this world. It is so easy and yet so powerful.
Sample Answer3:
I believe we are living in the world of applications, I mean there are so many apps out there and so much that can be done. But, the one app that is very important for me is blogger. Being a blogger it is more like God for me. There used to be times when I wanted to write down things and those were the times which were haphazard and I just didn’t knew where to write. Because writing it on phone memo, meant when I am actually putting it down, I need to re type it again which took away the creativity of it.
But, with blogger it is so much more easy. I can just write down memos into it, make some drafts and then put them into proper format when I feel like or when I go down to typing in the laptop. Even better I can very easily edit any of my own posts and get to know the people visiting the blog. And for doing all of it, neither do I require any laptop nor any specific requirements. A simple smart phone and that is it.
The reason it is important for me is because, no matter the final blog I put out is from my laptop but the drafts, I make them mostly using this application. Also, it is so much more easier to do things, be creative and enjoy writing just at my fingertips.
