IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
A TIME WHEN YOU’RE
SURPRISED TO MEET A
FRIEND
Describe a time when you were surprised to meet a friend
You should say:
When it was
Who you met
Where it was
And explain why you were surprised to meet him or her
A N S W E R
A few days ago, I visited the popular camera shop in our town since I needed to buy a high-resolution web camera for my laptop because my built-in camera was just terrible. Recently I’ve been having lots of conference calls with my manager and teammates. As you know, working from home has become the new normal for most of us these days. Because of that, I decided to get a very good web camera from that shop for me to look more decent or professional the next time I had to attend a Zoom conference call.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
High-resolution [adj.] – showing a large amount of detail for photos or videos
Built-in [adj.] – fixed; integrated
Work from home [idiom] – telecommuting
Decent [adj.] – satisfactory
TIP
i.) The speaker developed his introductory story by not immediately talking about the friend whom he met that made him surprised. Instead, he talked about the place he visited and his purpose of visiting that place. That served as his background story. Having a background story is necessary to achieve a smooth flow of ideas.
While I was talking to a shop clerk, I could sense that someone was staring and smiling at me in the corner but I didn’t pay attention to him since I was busy explaining things to the clerk about the specifications of the webcam that I wanted to buy. When the clerk left me so he could find the web-camera that I wanted, I heard someone calling my name. To my surprise, I saw my closest friend at work who’s also my teammate. I was glad to see him since we didn’t see each other in person for about five months, I could only see him virtually during our conferences. Actually, we normally greet each other with a fist bump but because of social distancing rules, we had to give it a miss.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Sense [verb] – notice
Specification [noun] – a detailed description
Virtually [adv.] – using a computer to do or see something
Fist bump [noun] – a gesture of greeting in which two people tap each other’s clenched fist
Give it a miss [phrase] – avoid
TIP
i.) The speaker then talked about what exactly happened inside the shop. He detailed how he met his friend and how both of them were surprised to meet each other unexpectedly. He provided a lot of descriptions of their unexpected meetup and talked about the current life situation they’re both in. His way of delivering the story was realistic and organized. Always make sure to organize the details of your story so the examiner won’t get confused.
He said that he really wanted to tap my back while I was talking to the clerk but he had to hold back or else he would be fined for not obeying the social distancing restriction. Funnily enough, both of us felt that we’re close yet we were apart since we’re talking 2 meters away from each other. We did feel strange about the setting because we realized life had dramatically changed. It’s impossible to do the usual things that we did in the past like having a conversation closely to the person.
To cut a long story short, we’re elated to see each other, have a small conversation, and bid goodbye. That unexpected meeting made me feel like I was living in a strange world like in fictional films. However, deep down inside, I’m more than hopeful, that this, too, shall pass.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Tap [verb] – to hit something gently
Hold back [phrasal verb] – stop oneself
Fine [verb] – to make someone pay
Funnily enough [phrase] – strangely in a way that’s surprising
To cut a long story short [phrase] – to indicate that you’re going to state the final result of an event and not give more details
Elated [adj.] – very happy
Bid goodbye [phrase] – to say goodbye
Deep down inside [idiom] – to mean that something is true even if it’s not said or shown
This too shall pass [proverb] – these troubles are temporary; be patient and things will work out
TIPS
i.) The speaker continued to add more description to his story, so the examiner would be able to understand his monologue even better. He added some good topic vocabulary words and collocations that helped him express himself better.
ii.) In this part, the speaker simply ended his story by stating his realization about the life that he currently had. In addition, he talked about his big hope that life would be better in the future. It’s a very good way to wrap up his story.
PART 3
Do you think it is necessary for friends to arrange a meetup once in a while?
Yes, I do believe so, most especially these days when people are occupied with so many things like work, study, family and the like that meeting often is impossible. Arranging a meet-up with friends at the most convenient time is just necessary so each one of them could catch up and continue to build a healthy relationship.
I really think that spending time seeing friends once in a while helps save the friendship from dying. So as much as possible and no matter how busy we are, we should spare some time meeting our friends.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Occupy [verb] – to keep busy and active
Meet up [noun] – gathering
Catch up [phrasal verb] – to talk with someone you know in order to exchange news or information
Spare [verb] – have it available
TIP
i.) The speaker gave a direct positive answer to the question and talked about the real situation of most people these days being busy. He emphasized the most important purpose of meeting up and talked about it more. It’s a realistic and reasonable answer.
What kind of meet-ups require preparation?
I guess business-related meetups especially when there is an involvement of negotiation. In those situations, you really need to come prepared so you will not be tricked or persuaded very easily. You must study carefully what you really want and predict what the other person wants so that you can give a counterargument if the offer is not reasonable or when you get a no answer during the negotiation. Other than that, I think there is no need to bother ourselves with preparing things for meetups.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Tricked [adj.] – being deceived; making someone believe something that’s not true
Persuade [verb] – convince
Predict [verb] – foresee
Other than [conjunction] – except; but
TIP
i.) The speaker gave a specific answer to the question at once. Then provided a thorough explanation about his answer. He just delivered a brief answer which is equipped with topic vocabulary words and collocations that helped him develop a better answer.
Why do some people like surprises?
Oh, that’s hard, I dunno because that really depends on the person, but I suppose they just enjoy the sensation of being astonished. Well, I myself love surprises and what I love about it is the best and most commendable effort that my friends or family put in just to surprise me. That alone signifies love, care, and thoughtfulness. So I guess that’s also what those people like surprises love about being surprised.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Sensation [noun] – something very exciting that causes great excitement or interest
Astonished [adj.] – amazed; greatly impressed
Commendable [adj.] – admirable; praiseworthy
Signify [verb] – mean; be an indication of
TIP
i.) As the speaker doesn’t know how to answer a very general question, he just expressed his honesty saying ‘it’s a hard question’. In order for him to speak at length, he just simply based his answer on his experience and ended his answer by talking about the important values that he got from people who gave him surprises. That’s being strategic! If you don’t know how to answer a very general answer, do what the speaker did.
How do you think people react to unexpected things?
Well, that depends, if it is something negative like the death of a loved one, then for sure the family and friends will be in a state of utter disbelief. That’s certainly the initial reaction which is understandable since that is the hardest and the most painful thing to deal with in life. However, if it is something positive, people will either jump for joy or shed a tear. For example, winning a lottery, getting engaged, passing a licensure exam, and the like. We human beings are capable of expressing different kinds of emotions but we all share the same feelings when something bad or good happens to us.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Utter [adj.] – complete; absolute
Disbelief [noun] – refusal to accept that something that is true
Jump for joy [phrase] – to be very happy
Shed a tear [idiom] – to cry
Licensure [noun] – the granting of a license in order to carry out a profession
TIP
i.) The speaker gave two kinds of answers by talking about the bad reaction to something that’s negative and the good reaction from people to something that’s positive. That’s being rational as each unexpected thing can be both positive and negative. He gave examples in order for him to elaborate his answer better. When you get this kind of question, be more realistic with your answer as it’s easy for you to explain your argument.
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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