Talk About an Old Friend You Got in Contact With Again- IELTS Cue Card

Sample Answer

Friends are the people who one can totally count on. The bonding of friendship is beyond the ambit of selfishness, astuteness, shrewdness and duplicity. Hence, finding or bumping into an old friend is nothing but bliss. Last week, I encountered one of my old school friends in a mall when shopping for clothes. His name is Michael and he used to be my best friend till primary school. However, we moved apart after I changed schools after being promoted to middle school.

Micahel used to be a gem of a person and was one of the sharpest minds of our entire class who used to be looked up to by all of our classmates. Consequently, he was an apple of the eyes of all of our teachers. Regardless, I befriended him because of his genteel and sincerity and his behaviour with all others. To my surprise, Michael was still the same even after so many years with the same smile, composure and that identical calmness, as if nothing had changed.

I was selecting some of the outfits and was discussing the price of the same with the shop attendant when Michael called my name. Upon looking at the caller, at first, I ignored him as I couldn’t gauge that he was an old pal of mine. When he called my name twice, I realised that he indeed was Michael. Thereafter, we laughed and guffawed galore, all the while till the time we looked at our watches. Finally, we shared contacts and planned to catch up again soon.

It was a pleasant surprise and an incredible experience. I rejoiced in our past and enacted every silly antic that we used to perform back in the day. To meet someone again from our childhood and that too when you least anticipated it is nothing less than a boon and I am glad we came in contact with each other again.

Vocabulary

• Ambit

Meaning: scope
Eg.: This case was beyond my ambit, so I shared it with my seniors.

• Astuteness

Meaning: sharpness/cleverness
Eg.: His astuteness and discernment made him the head of the staff.

• Shrewdness

Meaning: cunningness
Eg.: Shrewdness is considered one of the essential qualities of a businessman, which is not correct.

• Duplicity

Meaning: bluff; insincerity
Eg.: Duplicity in his words raised the finger of suspicion at him.

• Gauge

Meaning: evaluate
Eg.: I couldn’t gauge the loss before finally facing it.

Part 3 Questions

What is the influence of social media on friendships?

Social media has attenuated the spaces and gaps that are created when we move apart from our friends and kins and has played a significant role in glueing the old pals together. However, it has also curbed the intensity of the friendship to a great extent as it can never dislodge the essence of real meetups and hangouts.

Why do people lose contact with each other after graduation?

One has to go to pursue one’s endeavour and in order to follow higher education or seek a job that suits one’s education and intent, one has to move out of one’s comfort zone. Due to this, we have to distance ourselves from the place we met our friends or used to gad around during our college years.

Do you think old friends are more important to the old and young generations?

Well, honestly, it is not about the timeline or the number of years that decide the essence of real or true friendship. Frankly, it’s the quality of friendship and congeniality that one shares with people irrespective of the time.

Does friendship influence you in your personal life?

Yes, it does to a great extent. Friendship, by itself, is a significant part of one’s personal life. At most times, we discuss and chat around for hours with our friends to know their opinions on the matters that are going on in our lives.

What is the best way, in your opinion, to keep the connection among friends intact?

Well, for any relationship, regardless of its nature, the one thing that keeps the equation riveting and intact is honesty. Especially when we talk about an exclusive relationship such as friendship, there is no room for pretence, connivance and masquerade. Hence, I believe that staying true to each other is a vital attribute.

Vocabulary

• Attenuating

Meaning: mitigating
Eg.: This device is made for attenuating all of our problems.

• Gad around

Meaning: to travel across
Eg.: I used to gad around with my friends when I was in school.

• Pals

Meaning: friends
Eg.: I was talking to old pals of mine when I should have studied for the next day’s exam.

• Connivance

Meaning: conspiracy
Eg.: This whole plan of connivance was cooked by your brother.

• Attribute

Meaning: quality
Eg.: The attributes of a good student are not at all congruent with the qualities you have.