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[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Telephoning:
Q. How often do you make telephone calls? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: I make at least 5-6 phone calls every day, but the number of calls can certainly go up, depending on my activities and location. I have to make these calls as I live far away from my friends and family. Besides, I also have to make phone calls to my co-workers since my job involves a lot of travelling both inside and outside of the city where I live in.
Q. Who do you spend the most time talking to on the telephone? [Why?]
Answer: I spend most of the time talking with my family members while talking on the phone mainly because I live far away from my family in a different city, and also because I have made it a priority of my life to remain in touch with my parents and siblings under any circumstances in order to let them know that I am safe and fine.
Q. When do you think you’ll next make a telephone call? [Why?]
Answer: I will make the next phone call to my parents’ house right after finishing this IELTS test in order to let them know how I did in the test.
Q. Do you sometimes prefer to send a text message instead of telephoning? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, I do prefer to send text messages sometimes instead of telephoning because I am either caught among a crowd with a lot of noise around me to talk clearly or I am just too tired or busy to talk.
[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]
Describe a journey [e.g. by car, plane, boat] that you remember well.
You should say:
and explain why you remember this journey so well.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
[Examiner: All right? Remember you have one to two minutes for this, so don’t worry if I stop you. I’ll tell you when the time is up. Can you start speaking now, please?]
Model Answer 1:
I have been lucky to have a number of memorable journeys over the years. So, thank you very much for offering me this great opportunity to share the experience of one of those journeys which I probably would never forget.
This journey, one of the most memorable ones of my life, took place when I just started my university, and I needed to visit my youngest uncle at a city, far away from my hometown, where he just had started his first job. So, naturally, I was quite excited. The excitement grew even bigger when one of my elder cousins, who also was travelling with me, informed me that we were actually going to make the journey with a high-speed train which just had started operating from my home town only a few weeks ago.
We were told that it was going to be a 6 to 7 hours journey and that train would travel, nonstop, at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. So, it was a whole new experience for me, and I just couldn’t wait to board the train as soon as I arrived at the station. By the way, my cousin very smartly had selected a couple of window seats at the front of the brand new train, so we both knew that it was going to be a great experience, and it indeed was as the train started to run like a bullet with a whistle within seconds of starting our journey. The objects outside the train felt like they were just coming at our sight and vanishing like some ghosts within a fraction of a second.
Anyway, I remember every minute of this journey so well, mainly because I never really travelled on a train that ran so fast and furiously. I remember it also because the service on that train was awesome. Finally, I also tried some of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten, and that too at an affordable price!
Model Answer 2:
I went to the USA last month to attend a conference arranged for health journalists. It was an interesting journey and most importantly, my first flight out of my country, Greece. I was amazed by the journey and the experience will be memorable always. This cue card appears exciting and I will describe the event in brief now.
I travelled by aeroplane and also used some other local transports in the USA. But the journey by aeroplane was the most impressive one in my life. It took around 11 hours to reach the USA from Greece. I reached the airport in my private car and then boarded in the aeroplane. I was too excited that I could not sleep the entire time. Initially, I felt a bit of uncomfortable as it was my first air ride too. But gradually I coped with the situation. I had to visit the country for some official purposes. I am a senior reporter of health in a national newspaper of Greece. A conference of the journalists dealing with health issues was supposed to take place in the USA. My office authority selected me to join the conference. I was chosen for my extraordinary performance in reporting about the health issues of the country.
I can recall every detail of the journey. In fact, I was really happy to have the chance to visit America and the flight was really enjoyable. I joined at the conference and presented a paper as well which was appreciated heavily by the other participants at the conference. Moreover, I also received a prestigious certificate for participating in this international conference. I had visited in different parts of New York, where the conference took place. Considering everything, it was a great trip in my life and I will never forget my experience from this trip.
More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:
Topic: Describe a journey that you remember well.
1. I will always remember the boat journey I made on the Ganges in India. The journey took us to another ghat (port) which is a few kilometers away from where we started. And some of my friends accompanied me on this trip. It was an aimless journey on a moonlit night. But most of us wanted to enjoy the moon from the Ganges. The memories are still bright and I can see the bright moon after closing my eyes.
2. The last train journey to Moscow from Saint Petersburg was a wonderful one. I travelled by train and the journey was highly comfortable one. I had to visit Moscow for some official purposes. I attended a couple of meetings on the same day. I can remember the journey very well for some reasons. I took my seat beside a window and enjoyed the natural views. Moreover, I had some talks with co-passengers and has spent a good time with them.
3. I could not believe that a business class journey was so comfortable. I made it last month on a local bus. I went to Edinburg from London. It was a solo trip and solely intended to enjoy a bus ride. In fact, I had made a plan long ago to make the journey and completed last weekend. The entire journey was thrilling and filled with joy. I rode on the bus in time and reached at the exact time. I also met some people during the ride who sat beside me on the bus. Overall, it was a memorable journey.
4. I went on a trip with my family in Singapore. It was not a long journey. And we landed in Singapore earlier than we e4xpected. All the family members were present during the journey. We all wanted to have a vacation in Singapore and also meet some relatives there. The journey was memorable as we all had great fun. The entire vacation was filled with joy and delight. I felt sad while returning back to Hong Kong.
5. Group journeys are not always interesting as people of different classes and mentality get together. But I am lucky in that sense. We went to visit Mount Fuji and it was a mixed journey. The group has used different types of vehicles and even walked on feet. I wanted to see the mountain from a close distance and so, I became a part of the group. It was an interesting journey and an advantageous experience for me.
Discussion topics:
Reasons for daily travel:
Q. Why do people need to travel every day?
Answer: People need to travel every day mostly because of their job or work. Everyday travel is also necessary when attending schools or universities. Besides, if we need to see some important family members of ours, living within a reasonable travel distance, because they “require” our daily attendances for some reasons, such as sickness, we would also need to travel on a daily basis.
Q. What problems can people have when they are on their daily journey, for example, to work or school? Why is this?
Answer: People can face a number of problems when travelling on a daily basis. They can get stuck at traffics for a long period of time and become late for their schools or works. They can also be forced to become ‘involved’ in an unfortunate accident when trying to hurry in their private vehicles or hurrying in order to board a bus or train. Sometimes, people may also lose something valuable because of their carelessness when travelling on a daily basis. Besides, some people can fall asleep also and miss their destination if they are stuck in traffics for too long.
Q. Some people say that daily journeys like these will not be so common in the future. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Answer: I agree that the daily journeys like these will not be so common in the future because things are changing so rapidly in this world that while some of these kinds of daily travels may not be so common for certain purposes, such as works or schools.
However, in the future, we won’t be surprised if we find that there are suddenly some other reasons for which we would need to travel every day. For example, a group of people, like students, can certainly take courses online, courtesy to the internet and information technology, without ever needing to travel anywhere, but the chances are that another group of people, like network engineers, travelling somewhere else every day to actually ensure that the students receive those services uninterrupted every day.
Benefits of international travel:
Q. What do you think people can learn from travelling to other countries? Why?
Answer: Today, we live in a world, which is like a global village, where we are in need of connecting with each other more than ever before because of economic and cultural reasons. So, when we travel to other countries, we develop a better understanding of their traditions, cultures and lifestyles. And the better understanding we have about others, the easier will it get for us to connect with each other in some common interests. Travelling to other countries opens our hearts and eyes to respect others’ values and opinions which are absolutely important in order to free our world from ignorance, hatred and animosities.
Q. Can travel make a positive difference to the economy of a country? How?
Answer: Yes, travel can make a positive difference to the economy of a country by encouraging and developing the tourism industry of that particular country. As more and more tourists will visit a particular country in order to learn and enjoy its culture and national heritage, the more foreign remittance, businesses and employment opportunities they would usually bring for the host country by diversifying its economy. Besides, tourism also helps build positive images for a country. And, the more positive image a country has, the more large scale investment it attracts from economic superpowers of the world in order to improve its overall economy.
Q. Do you think a society can benefit if its members have experience of travelling to other countries? In what ways?
Answer: Travelling to other countries will almost inevitably open up the doors of new ideas and opportunities. So, I do think that a society can benefit if its members have experience of travelling other countries as they can pretty much act like some connecting “bridges” between their cultures and those of others in order to help each other understand and appreciate even better. Besides, society members with travelling experience can always learn new ways of thinking and doing things, whenever applicable, from other countries so that they can implement those same things in their own country also in order to improve the lives of their fellow citizens.
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