An interesting old person you have met - Cue Card # 668
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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
Describe an interesting old person you have met.
You should say:
- who that person is
- how you have met that person
- where you met him/her
and explain why you think he/she was interesting.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer:
Each person, young or old, is “unique” and “interesting” in his/her own rights since we all are different from each other in the ways we think, we talk, we feel and we behave. However, I try to avoid using the word “old” in isolation at all costs if it is not followed by some fine “adjectives” such as “interesting”, “intriguing” or “versatile”, since it could end up in meaning something derogative. Anyway, thank you for offering me the opportunity to talk about an interesting old person whom I met in a waiting room while waiting to catch my train at a railway station, about a year ago.
He was probably in his early 70’s. I didn’t really feel like talking to him or anybody, even though I was sitting very close to him because I was really exhausted after finishing a long and tiring day at work. All I needed was some quiet and relaxing time. But, unfortunately, that was not supposed to happen because I needed to go out in order to grab some snacks to please my “growling” stomach. I was very hungry. So, I requested the “aged” gentleman, sitting next to me, to watch my luggage just for a little while I was gone for buying something to eat. In response, he opened his little bag and offered me some cookies that were kept in it. I chose to oblige because I wasn’t really in a mood to talk or argue with anybody.
Eating cookies and thinking if I would make another attempt to go out because those cookies were just not enough for me, and just then he asked me for how long I was starving. I said “not more than 10 hours” in response. He smiled and then asked me again, “do you know how many people go to bed hungry every night?” I said that I had no idea. He said, “Almost 10% of the world population goes to bed hungry every night without knowing what they are going to eat the next day.” He also told me that he hardly ate more than twice a day, and his rather “thin” shape bears testimony to his “limited food consumption”. Suddenly, the train arrived, and we were ready to go. So, we just parted after greeting each other.
The conversation was brief, and I never really met that senior citizen before. But what was really interesting that I felt like he had some “authority” on me, and that I needed to listen to him even if I was not really in a mood to follow. In fact, up until I met that interesting senior gentleman, I had no idea that a person could be so passionate about learning the plights of other people in this world. But, the most fascinating thing about that “aged” person was he actually thought that he could make a difference in the world at his “not-so-young” age, and he surely proved it in his action by trying to feed a hungry person like me even though I didn’t ask for it.
