Topic :-1 Describe a historic place that you know about.
Sample Answer:
I am going to talk about an amazing historic place that I know about, even though I’ve never visited it. I’ll tell you what it is, where it is, about the historical meaning of the place as much as I can and finally my own experience and reactions regarding it.
I want to tell you about Stonehenge. This is an ancient set of standing stones, arranged in a circle. It is located in Wiltshire, in England, but I think it would be fair to say the image of it would be recognized worldwide, as it is possibly one of the most famous historic sites in the world.
In terms of the meaning of the place, it’s really impossible to say. It is so very old, even archaeologists aren’t sure exactly when it was built, estimates go back to as long ago as 3000 BC, which is mind-boggling to me! It is certainly accurate to describe it as a prehistoric monument. Some people think it might have started as a burial mound and be even more ancient than 5,000 years. The colossal slabs are arranged like huge door frames, no-one really knows how they were erected without the technology of modern times, but everyone agrees it was an incredible feat of engineering and showed foresight and tenacity in spaces! However, it is certain that they were somehow aligned so that at key stages of the lunar (moon) and solar (sun) cycles, the way the light strikes the stones is of some significance. Apparently, it was deliberately constructed so that the rising sun only reached the middle of the stones for just one day of the year.
Lots of people like to try and imagine what sort of ceremonies and importance the stones might have had for the people who built it, but the truth is we can’t say. Even today, modern-day druids have for many years gathered at the stones for the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and winter solstice (shortest day of the year) to watch the sunrise and mark the event with their own celebrations.
For me, I think this is the ultimate historical place, even though I have yet to visit it. It is just so remarkable to think it was constructed all those thousands of years ago just by physical labour. Even the stones themselves – the largest of which are up to 30 feet and weigh about 25 tons, had to be brought to the site from about 20 miles away, how on earth was that possible? For me, the stones prove that with determination, tenacity and working together it is sometimes possible to achieve what seems impossible. At the same time, the way they have endured over time gives perspective on our place in the world. Time passes, people and generations pass too, but they can leave a legacy behind even if it only one of many unanswered questions for future people to ponder over!
Topic:-2 Describe a museum that you have visited.
Sample Answer:
I have visited more than ten museums in total in different countries and enjoyed visiting the (tell a museum name you know about) in (say the country name) the most. I went to the museum almost two years ago while we had been in (…the city name…). Visiting the museum was not a part of our original tour plan, but we went there as it was prominently expressing its presence to us when we visited the area for a different reason. I went there with two of my friends and a cousin who accompanied me during the tour. My cousin and one of my friends were not interested to visit the museum as they had other plans. I insisted them to go there and convinced them by saying that if you do not enjoy it, I would pay for the dinner!
After we bought our tickets, we entered the museum and the colossal front of the museum and the stunning garden in front of it mesmerized us. At that very time, I realized that the inside would be more astonishing.
Once inside, we realized that the place was far larger than we initially thought it would be. There were five floors in the museum and the interior of the building reminded us of the imperial age. We could see the ceiling of the building from the ground floor. People from different age groups and nationalities were closely observing the museum and I had a feeling that most of them were enjoying it. Taking photos was prohibited and yet I was sometimes lured to take some snaps especially when I saw the colossal dinosaur fossil and the alien ship!
The first floor of the museum had some artworks from a few famous artists around the world and sculptures from different epochs in history. The first floor gave us the impression of visiting a theatre or an art gallery rather than a museum. We came to know that some of the arts were so expensive that one could buy an island by selling it! Then we ascended to the second floor which was filled with the Second World War memoirs. Guns, tanks, documents, and other war materials from 1945 WW II had been on display there. A video documentary was showing some of the real events from the World War ||.
When we reached the third floor, it’s been already 2 and a half hours. We found that many costumes and traditional items from different parts of the world have been placed there. One can easily learn about the customs of different ages and countries just by visiting this floor. The next floor had more adventure and surprises waiting for us. It has placed all the major inventions of different ages. I was overwhelmed when I saw the first computer ever built, speedboat, the wheel, motor engine and a few famous inventions of history on this floor. I was so much dying to touch the first four-wheeler that had been placed there!
We spent almost the whole day inside this museum. We were so enthralled to visit the place that we literally forgot to have our lunch. The overall experience was fantastic and I learned so many things in a few hours. As soon as I left the place, I planned to revisit it someday.
Topic:-3 Describe one of your childhood memories.
Sample Answer:
Childhood memories are strange things because sometimes you can’t quite be sure if you really remember something, or if you just think you do because others have told you about it, or you have seen a photo of the event later on. I’m going to talk to you about a memory that I’m very confident is real. I’ll tell you what it is, when it happened, how it affected me and why I still remember it. Thank you for this great cue card topic.
The memory is the earliest one I have of me and my Dad. I was very small indeed, I’m not exactly sure how old, but I’d guess about three years old, maybe even younger. My Dad was not a particularly tall or strong man, but I was small enough, and by comparison, he was big enough then for me to stand with both my feet on one of his and to reach up with my arms and cling onto his leg. I would then hang on and laugh delightedly as he tried to go about his daily business, walking around the house with me gripping on tightly refusing to be budged. It was a favourite game.
I don’t know that I can honestly say it affected me in my life. These days our family members don’t live particularly close to one another; so see each other rather infrequently. I suppose the way the incident affected me was by making me at a subconscious level feel close to my dad even years later as we had shared that happy play time together when I was tiny.
I didn’t know I had held onto this memory until quite recently. Sadly my dad died, he had been very ill for a long time, so it wasn’t unexpected, but of course, it was very sad. I wanted to say something about him at his funeral, and I wanted to pick a memory that was personal just to him and to me. For some reason that image of me tiny and laughing and him solemnly ‘pretending’ that he hadn’t noticed I was there came into my mind and it seemed very appropriate somehow to share that one. It was a happy memory, but also an intimate one. I think he would have been really pleased that I could recall it so many decades later.
So why can I remember it? I’m not sure, but I like to think the memory was there dormant all the time just waiting for the moment when I needed to retrieve it. It is a comforting thing to recall. The human mind is an amazing thing and so is our childhood!
Topic:-4 A speech that somebody delivered and you heard.
Sample Answer:
I have heard numerous speeches, lectures, commentaries on various topics and issues throughout different stages of my life and among them the speech that was given by our primary school teacher on our farewell day is the most influential one and I still vividly recall it. The teacher who gave the speech was Mr. Mark Augustine and he was in his late forties at that time. As fifth-grade school going kids, we did not comprehend quite clearly what was the school farewell all about. We knew that this is going to be our last day at our primary school and we would start our new school soon. Mr. Mark was already a revered teacher for his teaching style, good manner, humour and honesty. Rumor had that, he was much more qualified to be a college professor rather than being a primary school teacher.
On the day, we had our parents present in school and we had been enjoying everything. As part of the farewell speech, Mr. Mark approached to the stage and started mentioning what funny things we had done in the last 5 years. We as well as our parents started laughing on the things he mentioned. He mentioned how a kid started screaming at the sight of a cockroach, how a kid of class two expressed his friendship to a girl, how we tried to play amid of the class and many more interesting and funny events.
He then moved on topics that I still hear in my mind. He told how studying is our primary responsibility, how we should listen to our parents, how have we achieved our liberation as a nation, how to respect the Mother Nature and all the honesty and bravery we should possess in our heart. The topics and his way of presenting them vibrated us heavily. I can still remember how the advice came back to my life time to time. As a kid, those advice and moralities were probably way to heavy to grasp but I still believe that the speech had a great impact in my life as well as the lives of the other kids who were present there.
Topic:-5 Describe a happy event of your life.
Sample Answer:
There are numerous happy events in my life that I can recall and among those, I would like to talk about the day that I was blessed with a little sister. This was an event that I still recall vividly. I was then only 7-8 years old and when I saw a little angel was crying on my mother’s lap, I became the happiest man in the world. I was the only son of my parents and when I heard that I will have another sibling, I got very excited and I was counting days when this brother/ sister of mine will come. I speculated and imagined lots of things I would do with my sibling. The day that my sister came into the world was one of the happiest days of my life.
For the first time, I felt a strong urge to kiss this little fairy child. She was so beautiful and adorable that I thanked God for the gift. My mother asked me to hold her and kiss her but I was afraid to touch her as I thought that might hurt her. I felt like I was flying on that day. My mother gave birth of the baby in a hospital and I was so happy and attached to the event that I denied returning home at night. I stayed in the hospital cabin for about 4-5 days till my mother and sister came home. I came back home with the most precious gift of the world.
Topic:-6 Describe a sporting event you attended.
Sample Answer:
I attended the Asia Cup final cricket tournament that was held at Dhaka Stadium in the year 2002 or 2003. We went to Dhaka to watch the game and stayed at a hotel during this time. I had 3-4 friends and a cousin with me from the very beginning. We had had our ticket almost 3 months before the game started. On the day we left the hotel early morning and took a taxi to reach near the stadium. We found a huge crowd there; in fact, the crowd was much more than we anticipated and expected. I found one of my friends wearing the jersey of a team and others whistles. The crowd and their patience in the line gave the impression how much popular this game over here.
I had a flag with me of the team I supported. We had to stay in the line for about 45 minutes before we finally entered the stadium. I simply became overwhelmed with the sheer number of spectators and their festivity and support for the game.
The game started at 10.00 am and the people were enjoying it very much. The game was really enjoyable and I found supporters for both of the team. The crowd, the music, the competition, the excitement of the game, and the liveliness and spontaneous actions of the spectators were noteworthy. After the first team ended their innings, we went outside and were looking for a hotel to eat. But people were everywhere and there was no seat in the hotel. Finally, we got an empty hotel after walking almost 20 minutes and sat there to have our lunch. We returned to the stadium in 35 minutes and the second innings started. Several TV channels were broadcasting the live game and the number of people watching this very game in the world would not be less that 70 million.
The first team scored 280 and that was a good fighting score at that time. The second team started hammering the bowls from the very beginning. It seemed to me that they would not need more than 30 overs to win the game. But they started losing wickets and in 20 overs they lost 3 wickets. The spirit and excitement of the spectators looked like a waving sea. The team I was supporting started doing really good. In the evening the game started turning in favour of the first team and became very close. Cricket is a game of uncertainty and this game became even more competitive and uncertain. Both teams had the chance to win and the game was changing in every 10 minutes. The last 30 minutes were breathless and extremely exciting and finally the team I was supporting won the match.
This event takes place once in every two years and the schedule and venue are selected and maintained by the ICC. This was my first experience to visit Dhaka as well as watching such an exciting match. I have watched few other cricket matches in the stadium, but none of them was as exciting as this one was. The crowd, the enthusiasm of the people and the superb weather made it an interesting one.