IELTS Cue Card Archives - Page 21 of 27

IELTS Speaking Cue Card: A plan that did not work

January 24, 2021 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking Cue Card: A plan that did not work

Describe a plan you made but it did not work.

You should say:

what the plan was

when you made it

why it did not work

and explain how you felt when your plan did not work

Sample Answer

Planning is the essence of life. If plans are made carefully and comprehensively, in most cases they work but it’s not necessary that every plan we make will be successful. Today, I’m going to talk about a plan that failed.

I am a science student. Last year I passed my 12^th class with excellent grades, A+ in all subjects. After completion of my final exams, my father contacted an overseas education consultant to discuss the courses for my higher education. Since my academic performance was very good, the counsellor gave us many options like Batchelor’s in Science or Business Administration or Computer Applications in Canada, Australia and Europe. It was a difficult task to choose from such a wide range of options. I and my parents thought about all of them. The final decision was to go to Canada for Bachelor’s in Computer Applications, commonly known as BCA.

I received a letter of acceptance for a 4-year course in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. It was an achievement for me. At that time I didn’t know this happiness was short-lived and my dream will shatter like a vase. To my surprise, it was an expensive course. We were expected to arrange about two million rupees for my tuition fees, accommodation and other expenses. My father applied for an education loan in a local bank in my hometown. Initially, the bank manager seemed quite willing to approve the loan but later on he kept on delaying the process. Sadly, my parents couldn’t arrange enough funds for my fees and we missed the deadline of fee submission.

You can imagine how I felt when I lost this opportunity. I was heartbroken and helpless. Had our loan been approved on time, I’d have become a graduate of one of the most renowned universities in the world. My parents supported me a lot and helped me come out of this painful experience. Now, I’m pursuing BCA in India. May be I could go abroad for a Master’s in Computer Science. This time I’ll make sure that I have sufficient funds before applying to any college or university.

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

email: info at ieltsband7.com

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Cue Card Describe a place full of colour

December 22, 2020 IELTS Research

IELTS Cue Card Describe a place full of colour

Describe a place full of colour. You should say

What the place it was?

Why you went there?

What you did there?

Explain why you think it was full of colour.

Cue Card Describe a place full of colour

Sample Answer

Travelling and exploring new places always add to our knowledge apart from creating beautiful experiences. I like to travel a lot and ensure that I go on vacation to a new destination every year during summers. On one such occasion, I went to Singapore with my friend last year in April. Early morning, the cool breeze brushing our cheeks was a surprise welcome as we disembarked at Changi International Airport, Singapore. It was a much-needed relief from the hot weather back in Delhi from where we had boarded our flight.
We headed straight to our hotel from the airport and after a quick shower called in at the Reception for a recommendation for the most popular tourist attraction around. The staff at the reception informed us that Jurong Bird Park an aviary and tourist place was a must-visit. A day trip to the Park always leaves an everlasting experience. It is a world-famous bird zoo, where there are specimens of magnificent bird life from around the world, including a large flock of flamingos.
Since we had reached Singapore early morning and were ready by 10 am we decided to visit the Bird Park. We took a taxi and reached there in about an hour. The entrance to the Bird Park was absolutely mesmerizing. Colourful bird sculptors left us awestruck. We immediately took out our camera and clicked a few pictures of each other with those beautiful king-sized sculptors in the background. As we moved inside the Park, we came across large, central walk-in aviaries and peripheral aviaries housing innumerable delicate and territorial birds chirping around. The aviaries had placards at the entrance explaining the history and demography of the species inhabiting those aviaries. We were amazed to see and learn about infinite birds of various colours and sizes. The territorial species were kept in large cages, while species that can coexist with each other were left to roam freely in the aviary.
The highlight of the Bird Park was a thunderstorm which was simulated at noon, followed by a cool, light drizzle. As the drizzle ended the birds put up a spectacular show along with their trainers amidst the backdrop of an artificial rainbow. We clicked pictures and made videos of the whole event. At the end of our trip, we even got pictures clicked with a huge colourful bird sitting on our fist.
It was one of my most memorable trips and someday I would like to visit the Jurong Bird Park again to experience the myriad colours created by nature.

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

email: info at ieltsband7.com

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Cue Card # Talk about the weather in your country

December 21, 2020 IELTS Research

IELTS Cue Card Talk about the weather in your country

Talk about the weather in your country

You should say

What the weather is usually like?

How often does it change?

How do you feel about the weather?

And describe what you do in different weathers.

Weather CUE CARD

Sample Answer

India is located in such a manner as to cross the tropic of cancer midway. This means that it is a tropical country with highly unusual weather patterns.

During the Autumn months, we experience Monsoon season, wherein it tends to rain for months on end depending on where you live in the country. Mangoes are abundant in that season and agriculture, in general, is hugely dependent on sufficient rainfall. However, further down south tornadoes and flooding are a real concern every year.

During the summer seasons, it is ludicrously hot and humid, or hot and dry, again depending on where you reside. Due to this, heatstrokes are common and it is advised to stay indoors and remain hydrated during the peak hours of the day. I myself do not like to nap in the middle of the day, but a majority of the public does.

The spring months are far more forgiving in terms of weather fluctuations, the heat is manageable and it is the best time of year in my opinion, as everything is in bloom. It is also the best time to go travelling, yet this year I have not been able to go out much in light of the global pandemic.

Lastly, the cold season. We have dry winters in India, not much rain but a lot of fluctuating temperatures, the middle of the days are again very hot due to the cloudless skies, the nights reach freezing temperatures, quite the contrasting combination. Snow is practically unheard of unless you live in the Himalayas.

So overall, India is home to some fascinating climate phenomenons, which makes it especially hard to accurately predict the weather before time, the topography and wind patterns with atmospheric pressures have a huge role to play in the cycle of the elements here.

(300 words)

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

email: info at ieltsband7.com

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IELTS BAND 7 Home page

Cue Card Talk about a boring meeting

May 24, 2020 IELTS Research

IELTS Cue Card Talk about a boring meeting you had with other people

Talk about a boring meeting you had with other people

You should say

When was this meeting?

Who were the other people?

What did you converse about?

And explain why you found this meeting boring.

Sample Answer

Boredom is the word used to describe a task or situation when the human mind finds a task dull and uninteresting, something mundane oftentimes a repetitive task that becomes monotone. To alleviate our boredom we can do a lot of things, but sometimes it is just better to suffer.

Take last year for example. I had gone to a family reunion because our twice removed uncle had built a new house, thus everyone in the extended family was invited to the house warming. Since it would be unspeakably rude to deny such an invitation, I was forced to leave my weekend plans and drive a good four hours form the city all the way to my ancestral village.

Once there I had to pretend to recognize distant relatives who might just as well be strangers for all I knew them. We took a trip to the temple, it was a hot sweltering day, I was wearing a large Indian traditional gown and on top of that I am an atheist. Needless to say, I was finding this expedition more and more cumbersome by the minute; it all looked to be a giant waste of time. When we arrived at the house, we had another three-hour long ritual of chanting while sitting around a fire. I was very fed up by the time everything began to wrap up. As if that wasn’t enough, my aunt proceeded to drag me into the most boring and futile conversation I have ever had in my life.

Generally, I am a great conversationalist and I love to listen, asking questions at the appropriate moments and really getting to know the other person. But this was truly beyond me. The village ladies had all sat in a circle and were bragging to each other about how much milk their cows gave, how much money their husbands made, and how many marks their four-year-old got in their latest test. Every single sentence was repeated what felt like dozens of times, the conversations were simply shallow and intrusive. How one could live a life that revolves around envy I will never understand. I am one for self-development; if you try hard enough you can learn anything. Why then discuss the mundanity of life when you have the miracles of possibility, of learning, and of development to talk of?

I felt extremely tired after that taxing day, I am aware this is not a nice thing to say but, oh my!! Relatives are indeed simply tiresome! Even when you are bored you cannot say anything for fear of making your family feel unwanted. It is a delicate balance of wanting to love them and see them dearly but not having the courage to converse for more than a minute. That was my story of a tedious meeting I had to attend.

Useful words and their meanings
Boredom	the state of being bored
Oftentimes	on many occasions
Shallow	not showing serious or careful thought
Intrusive	affecting someone in a way that annoys them and makes them feel uncomfortable
Mundanity	the fact of being very ordinary and therefore not interesting