Band 8.0 Sample Answers for 10 IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Cards (2016)

Check out the Sample Answers for 10 IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Cards (2016)

Describe a time you missed an appointment for something

I missed my first job interview two years ago because of my carelessness. I regret it even today.

At that time, as a fresh graduate, an interview appointment is valuable. I applied for Unilever as Sales executive, one of the best global companies with a dynamic work environment and good benefits. I waited for about two months after attending the IQ written test. I received an email announcing that I was one the ten applicants who successfully passed the test. I was overjoyed when they asked me to join at the formal interview. However, I lost that chance.

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The appointment was at sharply 14:00 which I thought would be at 4 pm. Thus, I planned to celebrate my friend’s birthday around 2 pm and leave her house around 3 pm for the interview because the journey would take around 45 minutes.

I prepared for the interview carefully and left my friend’s house a little bit early as the city I live in has several serious problems of traffic jam. Unfortunately, it started to rain and the bus came late around 3.15 pm. The traffic was very bad so the bus was moving very slowly due to the unavoidable traffic jam under heavy rain. At that time, I received a call from the company. With an angry voice, the authority informed that I missed the appointment and lost the opportunity to work at Unilever. Initially, I felt that my luck is not favoring me and felt a deep sense of anger because I thought it was not my fault but the traffic congestion. However, when I checked email again, I felt pity for myself as I could not go to the appointment in time.

It becomes my invaluable experience. Since then, I always read emails and note down carefully the schedule.

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Describe a sport stadium that’s important in your city

The My Dinh National Stadium is one of the biggest stadiums in Vietnam which plays an important role not only for domestic sport events but also international ones. Therefore, as Hanoi people, I am so proud of this stadium.

I still remember back to 2003, the My Dinh National Stadium was the main venue for the Southeast Asian Games and was a hosting place for the opening and closing ceremony. The My Dinh National Stadium has a capacity of more than 40,000 seats; therefore, at that time, thousands of Vietnamese and visitors from different countries were there. It was gorgeous with fireworks and the whole stadium was filled with colorful light and music.

It is a multi-functional stadium with a football pitch, athletic competitions combined with curve run, straight line running, jump pitches, throw pitch, etc. Besides, there are training facilities for the teams with two convenient football training grounds next to the stadium.

My Dinh Stadium is also a place hosted AFF Suzuki Cup, AFC Champions League, V-League or VFF Cup. Most significantly, in 2013 and 2015, the stadium held an international friendly football match between Vietnam and Arsenal and another match between Vietnam and Manchester City, respectively. Therefore, My Dinh Stadium becomes more and more important in Vietnam.

Describe an area of subject that you are interested in

Biology is my favorite subject. Thanks for learning biology, I have a deep insight about living life around me from a tiny baterium to a complex human. Among different organisms, I love to elucidate the intricate mechanisms in plants.

Why am I interested in plant biology? Well, it’s hard to explain. Plants, even though they are unable to move and speak, they are living things. They have their own language and have a wonderful life. Have you ever asked yourself that why plants are the only organism that have upground part and ground part? It is because carbon dioxide, light and water are the main sources for plants to grow. Water is obtained from soil through a complex root system. Roots keep a plant anchored tightly to the soil as well. Water moves up the plant’s stem to the leaves. Sunlight and carbon dioxide are taken by leaves. Therefore, plants use water, light energy and carbon dioxide to make glucose, a kind of sugar and this is the food for plant to grow.

You see? Just a very simple example, plants are worth to study about. That’s also a reason why I choose Plant Biotechnology as my major. By using molecular technology, I can learn more inside of plant cells and discover the mechanisms in plants. Thanks for understanding of plant biology, it is applicable to manipulate and improve crop yield. It pours more and more passion to me for my future career.

Also check : 

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Describe a famous person in your country

The celebrity whom I would like to talk about is definitely Phan Anh, a famous host of many TV shows such as Miss Vietnam, Vietnam Idol, The Voice Vietnam, etc. He also acted in some advertisements and movies. In general, he is considered as a successful man.

It seems like normal for a person working in entertainment field; however, what he has done is beyond his career. Recently, in Vietnam, there have been a number of social issues such as tons of fishes died and affected seriously the whole mid-Vietnam, food security, and other environment problems. Phan Anh is the pioneer who made a short video. In the video, he talked about what will happen for the next generations if we continue destroying the environment by continuing unaware actions. That video has a strong impact on young people and raises a voice of responsibility for our generation.

Moreover, he is the very first one in Vietnamese showbiz that encouraged people donate for victims of a serious flood in Mid-Vietnam. Only 24 hours, he could collected 8 billion Vietnamese dong. He, himself, with his friends, other singers and dancers, went to flooded areas in Ha Tinh and gave essential things and foods for people. He did not mind of doing community service.

He thinks out of the box even though he is a celebrity in entertainment, which increase his image and impact on the audience.

Describe something you ate for the first time

Malaysia is known as a multi-cultural country with fifteen tribes; therefore, their cuisine is very diverse and wonderful.

My very first dish in Malaysia is roti canai, a flatbread aspiring to be part-pancake, part-crepe served with curry. I tried roti canai at a mamak in Kualar Lumpur. Mamak is a Indian Muslim food store which usually opens 24/7. As Vietnamese, most of us don’t really like curry because of its strong taste and smell. I was not an exception. So I was a little bit cautious, and took a small piece of cake, deep in curry and tried. Surprisingly, it was so awesome. The cake was light, soft and buttery on the inside but flakey and slightly crunchy on the outside. I enjoyed the cake while my friend explained to me that “roti”simply means bread and “canai” means “to knead”. Therefore, roti canai’s correct meaning is to stretch or push something pliable or elastic.

After that, my friend also introduced me that there were plenty types of roti such as roti telur (roti with egg fried to death inside), roti boom (roti with syrup) or roti banjir (a pyramid-shaped roti soaked in gravy). My local friend ordered for me a roti pisang, chock-full of creamily melted bananas. The sweetness from banana mixed with the soft bread was unforgettable.

Roti canai is the number one recommended food in Malaysia and I wish I could have a chance to try it again.

Describe something that you had to share with other people, such as food or accommodation

My parents teach me that sharing what we have for others is a kind of showing love to them. Actions can speak louder than words even though it’s hard to be done. I learn this lesson when I share my room with one of my cousins, Linh, for a week.

My family is living in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the biggest and the most dynamic cities in Vietnam where many people would like to visit, study, have a career or even settle their lives. My parents are hospitable so they are willing to welcome all of them. Therefore, our friends or relatives from other provinces, occasionally, come to our house to stay some days whenever they travel to Ho Chi Minh City.

I remember it was summer vacation when I was around 15 years old. At that time, we were still living in our old house, which was not too big to have a guest room. Thus, when Linh visited us, I had to share my room with her.

“For a week and more than that?” – I shouted when I heard from my mom about Linh’s situation. I told her that I didn’t want to because my room is not big and I didn’t like to share my personal space with anyone. Moreover, Linh came from a very poor province that she had an awful smell which I really hated. My mom tried to convince me and explained that Linh’s family had financial problem so she came here to find a job. She also reminded me about the love that we should share with others in our life. At the very beginning, I still kept a little bit unendurable with her presence. However, after talking with her about our grandparents, other cousins, her works and future plans, we got closer and closer. Linh is a very nice and kind girl.

After a week, she left our home to stay in a dorm of a factory nearby. Since then, we still keep in touch and whenever she visits our house, I share my room with her and have so many fun events together.

Describe a piece of good news that you received

Being a doctor is my dream. Unfortunately, like a song named “I never had a dream comes true”, I could not be a doctor. I failed the entrance exam to Medical University three times. However, thanks for this chance, I have a new chapter of my life.

I decided to apply for Biotechnology course in International University, Vietnam National University as my second option when I knew that I failed medical course. It was a tough decision because at that time, my family and I had no idea about Biotechnology. Other than that, there were only 10 slots left and nearly 50 candidates applied. I was so nervous. In the meantime, my parents suggested me to apply for a nurse course in Philippines because they thought it could bring a brighter future for me compared to biotechnology, which was too academic and hard to find a job. I remember that I put every effort to persuade my parents because I was not ready to live far away from my family but they felt so insecured.

One day, when I was searching for some nurse courses, the bell rang. I was heavily walking to the front door and opened it. The postman was waiting for me. He gave me an envelop and asked me to sign. I thought it was my parents’ mail so I placed the mail on table without anymore notice. After two days, my mom arranged the table and saw that envelop from the university. She gave me and we read the letter together. You know how much I was happy when I knew that I was officially a student at International University. I cried happily and could not stop thanks God for this good news.

I still remember that nice memories even though I graduated. That good news brought a new chapter for my life, to be a scientist.

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Describe a leader you admire

Life would be chaos without leaders. Leaders offer guidance to all members of a team to reach the aim successfully. Furthermore, leaders are the one who encourage and inspire members to have a can-do attitude. Those qualities remind me about Steven, one of my leader in high school.

That time, our school had a singing contest and every class must have at least one performance. After voting, our class decided to choir a song named “We are the world”. The class committee planned to have three-week practice and asked all of the classmates to stay a bit late after school. However, as usual, forty different people had forty different schedule. There was a tense argument between classmates and the class committee, especially Steven, our current leader. Some of my friends criticized angrily that the contest was just for fun and it was not necessary to spend lots of time for practicing.

Steven, with his calm face, stood in front of the crowd and explained that because our class were divided into three groups: orchestra, choir and dancers, it was difficult to practice together. He admitted that he was a perfectionist and wanted everything going well without planning carefully. However, he asked us to practice properly to set a tone for a whole class. It was true that we did not need to get the highest prize but “hard work always pays off”.

He executed a survey among classmates and together with the class committee, he planned again. Finally, the first two weeks, different groups practiced separately with a co-leader and the last week, we combined all three groups together. In the end, our class got the first prize in the singing contest and had good compliments from the judges.

Now he is a successful businessman. His leading skill is not put people under pressure but lift them up from the pressure. He understands every situation and has a vision for every project. That makes me admire him.

Describe a big company you are interested in

Unilever is a global company with a multinational business operating in more than 100 countries all over the world. Everyday, nearly 2 billion people are using more than 400 brands of great products of Unilever.

What makes Unilever different from other company is  they have different brands for one type of products. For example, Dove, Clear and Lifebuoy are three common brands for shampoos. According to young customers, they prefer Dove and Clear due to their specific functions for different types of hair while housewives, Lifebuoy shampoo is suitable for all family members. Another example is is Surf and Omo, two brands for clothes washing detergent. For this strategy, personally I think it is undeniable that Unilever could reach a wide range of customers and satisfy all of their demands.

Another point that makes me feel interested in Unilever is their working environment. That is a dynamic,innovative and fair workplace that opens for every staff an equal opportunity to improve themselves and work effectively. The company provides for employees a multiple culture and an inspiring lifestyle by recruiting people from different nations. Other than that, the company also has social programs and team building which can get closer to people in any country they are operating.

In short, I am interested in Unilever because of not only their sustainable business but also their positive social impact.

Describe an interesting public place that you like to visit

When you visit Ho Chi Minh City, you cannot forget an interesting public place, Independence Palace. This is a symbol of the victory, the independence, and the territorial integrity of Vietnam.

I visited Reunification Palace, another name of Independence Palace last summer with my Indonesian friend. Even though I live in Ho Chi Minh City, that is my first time visiting this wonderful place. It is built on the site of the former Norodom Palace which symbolizes the traditional philosophy. The total area is around 120,000 meter square. The front yard surrounded by a large park with a number of different species of forest trees brings the mellow and peaceful feelings for tourists when they walk through the entrances.

As Vietnamese, I was actually proud of the whole building architecture, which was entirely built by Vietnamese people. Most importantly, the palace was designed by Ngo Viet Thu – the first Vietnamese architect, who won the First Grand Prize of Rome in 1955. This was the home and workplace of the Presidents of South Vietnam during Vietnam War with meeting rooms and banquet rooms in the first floor, workplace for the Presidents in the second floor, entertainment rooms in the third floor and a ballroom for parties in the fourth floor. Interestingly, the ground floor was reinforced with special materials and modern equipment to control the war at that time.

Independence Palace welcomes hundreds to a thousand of visitors everyday. This is one of the most attractive sights in Ho Chi Minh City.

Bonus cue card for practice: Describe a vocation useful to society.