IELTS Speaking Cue Cards - September 2016

Describe a mistake that you have made in the past and learnt from. Please say

– What was the mistake?

– How bad was it?

– How did you correct it?

I would like to talk about something that I did 3 years ago. I was quite fancied with the idea of investing in share markets like big time investors do, and I felt convinced I can earn profits because I was good with numbers. So, I thought of investing small amounts of money from my savings; I had initially planned to save money to buy a nice cell phone, but I got tempted by the thought of doubling it and buying an even more expensive cell phone. I invested a quarter of my savings and started trading safely, and earned nominal profits, and in a months’ time, I increased the invested amount by 35%. So, I became more confident now and invested half of my savings, certain that I can increase them by 50%. However, as fate would have it, I incurred a loss and was down by 10%. In order to recover that, I invested the remainder of my savings, not realizing that I was being sucked deeper into the pit. Again, my whole savings got wiped out in a matter of days and now I was supposed to go back to square one and start saving all over again not to mention the humiliation of using a now malfunctioning cell phone (my current one I mean). I had to tell my parents about this little stunt and bore their wrath too, feeling even more ashamed. I swore from that day onwards to not meddle with things out of my control and even if I do invest I would play it safe. Talking about correcting the mistake, I’d say the realization was correction enough as I could not risk investing more in an attempt to recover it all back.

Describe something that you shared with someone. Please say

– What was it?

– Who and why did you share it with?

– How did you feel about it?

I have shared my room with a cousin who had come to my city to pursue her Bachelors in Commerce. She is my paternal aunt’s daughter and is very close to me. She belongs to a very small town around 150 kms away from my city so to study further she had to move to my city. We shared my room for 3 years during which time she completed her studies and returned to her hometown after that. All her belongings were placed appropriately in my room like my mother had cleared out half of my wardrobe to make space for her stuff and we also bought a small cabinet for her to keep her things for everyday use. My family tried to make her feel at home as much as possible because it was the first time she had stayed away from her house for so long and we didn’t want her to feel homesick. I was quite happy with her coming here as I liked her very much and we shared a great rapport. To be truthful, we did sometimes have arguments on petty things like misplacing each other’s stuff and borrowing things like hair clips or t-shirts and not returning after use. But overall it was a really memorable experience, and it felt like having a sister of my own! Now that she’s gone, I miss our times together, and whenever we meet, we reminisce those days.

Talk about your favourite part of your city/town. Please say

– Where is it?

– How often and with whom do you go?

– Why is it your favourite?
I live in Ahmedabad and my favourite part of the city is a locality called Anandnagar Road, which is a very posh locality towards the outskirts of my city. It has only recently developed, around 5 years back and it is laden with fancy corporate parks and building, big posh hotels and almost around 100 restaurants. I am very fond of eating out so naturally this place becomes a hub for me whenever I go out to eat. All cuisines imaginable are available in the restaurants on this road, therefore, this road attracts quite a lot of crowd. It is also a great stretch for cruising in your car, as the road is wide and long, and there are no unnecessary vehicles parked on the sides congesting it. It is almost like driving on a freeway. There are also a lot of superstores like Pantaloons located on this road, so we may come to shop in the evening and later on sit in any of the restaurants for dinner. I often come here with my friends and family members, mostly after 9.30 pm, and enjoy late night drives. The locality is also comparatively less noisy, and very clean, as the people staying here are very civilized and cordial. I think these are reasons enough why I like Anandnagar Road so much.

Talk about your favorite artist. Please say

– Who is he/she?

– What is he/she doing?

– Why do you like him/her?

(Note: You may talk about any musician/singer/actor/stage performer, if only the questions asked in the Personal question section are not related to a particular topic. For example, since the student was asked about museums and art galleries before the Cue Card, I will be writing about a painter here.)
I would like to talk about the most famous painter in the world, Leonardo Da Vinci, who had many other skills to his name, apart from painting the world-renowned masterpiece, The Mona Lisa. I actually read about him only after reading about The Mona Lisa in one of my school textbooks. Since not much information was given on the painter, I searched for him on Wikipedia. Many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the "Universal Genius" or "Renaissance Man", an individual of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". This description is what I found the most intriguing about him. His ideas for building bridges and equipment for daily use were way ahead of his time! His areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, history, and the list can go on and on. Even though he received an informal education in his childhood, his curiosity for all these subjects made him work and learn more about them, eventually making him so much more valued than any other professional in these fields, that even the kings were said to be asking for his views on many topics. Today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.

Talk about an interesting tradition or custom in your country. Please say

– What is it?

– How old is it?
– Why is it interesting in your opinion?

I would like to talk about a tradition that we follow during the festival of Navratri. It is originally a Gujarati festival, so naturally the traditions are followed more rigidly in Gujarat. It is a very old tradition, probably been going on for a 100 years, I’m sorry I’m not too sure. Basically, the festival goes on for 9 days and nights and it is celebrated in order to worship the Hindu goddess Amba, and her defeating the Asuras, portraying the idea of victory of good over evil. People fast over these nine days, and in the nights a very glamorous tradition of dancing the folk dance form of Garba is carried out. People get arranged in a big circle in open grounds and go round in that arrangement for hours performing the dance steps. It is very interesting to watch people this way. People wear traditional Gujarati outfits, women wear colourful flowing skirts and crop tops embroidered with mirrors, beads or shells, and men wear loose traditional shirts adorned with cultural designs. There is a huge interest in Garba among the youth. Garba songs typically revolve around the subjects of Lord Krishna also along with the nine forms of goddess Amba. With the passing of time, garba styles have also evolved and modern style music is also being fused into the Garba tracks.

Describe a day when you had to change your plans because of the weather. Please say

– When and where was it?

– What did you do instead?

– How did you feel about it?
This happened last year in the summers. It was a friend’s birthday and we had decided to meet for lunch. I was in-charge of getting the cake, but unfortunately my car broke down the previous day and had to be sent for repairs. So I was left with the option of going in a rickshaw or on my two-wheeler. As the day was a little cloudy, I decided to go on my own vehicle only and collect the cake on the way. A few minutes on the way and it started to drizzle. I was very surprised at the possibility of even a drizzle in the month of April. But a couple of minutes later big fat raindrops started falling down and I panicked. I immediately stopped on the side of the road under a big tree. It wasn’t doing much good though and I was more worried about being late, but the rain didn’t seem to relent. Eventually, after waiting for 15 minutes and getting partially drenched, I called one of my friends to inform him that I would be getting late and that he should collect the cake or get someone else to do it. I was feeling really bad but I couldn’t help it. By then I was really tired and frustrated and I decided to go back home and not attend the lunch at all. I made my home through the rain and then dropped a message to my friend whose birthday there was, apologising for cancelling out. I really felt annoyed and frustrated about the entire affair.

Describe an interesting animal that you saw for the first time recently. Please say

– What is it?

– Where and when did you see it?

– Why do you find it interesting?
I would like to talk about a Dalmatian dog that I saw recently in my neighbourhood. It is one of the many breeds of dogs and is very uncommon to find in my country. I had only seen a Dalmatian in a cartoon movie called 101 Dalmatians that I had seen in my childhood, but seeing it in real life was an amazing experience. It is a large dog, compared to the Indian dog sizes and it is originally from some part of Europe. I saw it a week back in the street of my apartment building. I got to know later that the dog’s owners had just moved into our neighbourhood. I was going for a morning walk at 6 am and I saw someone walking this dog in my street. I immediately asked him the dog’s name, which was Rodney, and started petting the dog. Just seeing the black dots on the shiny white coat was really very fascinating! Its owner told me that it is a delight having Rodney as a pet as he is very outgoing, playful and energetic. I read on Wikipedia that Dalmatians are also a very intelligent and sensitive breed. I regularly meet Rodney whenever I go for a walk in the mornings, and now that he recognises me, he greets me by wagging his tail, which is extremely endearing. Knowing all this about the dog and seeing it in real life was a very enjoyable and happy experience for me.