Cue Cards Samples with band 8 answers
Describe a crowded place you have been to - Cue Card # 709
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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.
[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand over to you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]
Describe a crowded place you have been to.
You should say:
- where the place is (or, was)
- when you went there
- with whom you went there
and explain how you felt about this crowded place.
[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 1:
I live in a country which is one of the biggest in the world and has a comparatively fair distribution of population in major cities and towns. This is why I scarcely experience overcrowding in most of the places I go to. However, a few months ago I went to watch a football match at the largest stadium in our city, and it was packed with thousands of people, and at a time I felt like I had never seen so many people in a single place in my life.
It was a major football competition in our country which happened to take place last November and I decided to watch the semifinal of the tournament with two of my friends. As planned, we went to the stadium three hours before the match and were surprised to see the wave of people and long lines at the ticket counter. We had to move like ants in the line and I believe, it took us more than an hour just to enter the stadium due to the crowd and long queue.
I was even more surprised when I entered the stadium as I could see people all around me of all ages. It was a friendly crowd but overwhelming for me. We had to shout to talk to each other as the noise was all around us. I felt good to be there and experienced a really thrilling semifinal which was quite entertaining and suspenseful till the end.
Model Answer 2:
One of the most bustling places I've ever been to is Times Square in New York City, a vibrant and iconic location known for its electrifying energy and a constant stream of people. It was so crowded that at one time I thought that I should leave the place without spending much time there. For this topic, I'd like to share this experience with you.
Times Square is situated in the heart of Manhattan, in the USA, and it's renowned for its massive digital billboards and theatres. It is a major commercial intersection visited by millions of people every month.
I visited Times Square during a family trip to New York City a couple of summers ago. We deliberately planned our visit in the evening to witness the dazzling lights that make the square come alive.
Accompanied by my parents and siblings, we navigated through the bustling streets, taking in the lively atmosphere and the kaleidoscope of colours emanating from the towering billboards.
Being in Times Square was an exhilarating yet overwhelming experience. The sheer volume of people, each engrossed in their own agendas, created a dynamic and energetic ambience. The noise, the myriad of languages, and the constant movement of both locals and tourists contributed to the sensory overload. It was both exciting and a bit chaotic, like being at the epicentre of a global celebration.
As I stood there, surrounded by the luminous advertisements and the sea of people, I felt a sense of awe. The collective energy of the crowd was infectious, and despite the density, there was an odd sense of unity in diversity. At a time I did not feel good due to the extreme overcrowding. But I got used to it in a while. While it was challenging to navigate through the throngs of people, the experience left an indelible mark, showcasing the vivid tapestry of urban life. It was a snapshot of the world converging in one spot, creating a memory that vividly illustrates the dynamic nature of bustling metropolises.
Idea generation for this Candidate Task Card / Cue Card topic:
Below are some examples of crowded places that people commonly visit. Each idea includes specific details to help you answer all parts of the cue card question clearly and effectively.
1. A local traditional market:
I visited a traditional market in my hometown during the Tết holiday. I went there with my mother to buy food and decorations. The market was packed with people, making it hard to move around. I felt both excited and slightly overwhelmed by the noise and energy.
2. A public concert or music festival:
I attended a large outdoor concert in Hanoi with a few close friends. It was during the summer, and the place was filled with thousands of music lovers. Although the crowd made it difficult to find a good spot, the energy of the audience made the experience unforgettable.
3. A shopping mall on a weekend:
Last December, I went to a big shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City with my cousin. It was the weekend before Christmas, so the place was extremely crowded with shoppers. While I felt a little claustrophobic, I also enjoyed the festive decorations and upbeat atmosphere.
4. A night market:
During a trip to Da Nang, I visited a popular night market with some friends. It was packed with tourists and local vendors. Despite the crowd, the street food and live music performances made it a highly enjoyable evening.
5. A temple or pagoda during a festival:
I visited a well-known pagoda during a religious festival with my family. The place was overflowing with worshippers and tourists. It was hard to find space to sit or pray, but I was touched by the spiritual energy and cultural richness of the event.
6. A bus or train station during a holiday:
Before Tết, I had to travel back to my hometown and went to the central bus station in Hanoi. The station was full of travellers trying to go home. It was chaotic and tiring, but I understood everyone was eager to be with their families.
7. A popular beach during peak season:
I went to Vũng Tàu Beach with some college friends during the summer break. The beach was packed with tourists, and we had a hard time finding a good spot. Still, we had a great time swimming, sunbathing, and enjoying the local seafood.
8. A football stadium during a big match:
I attended a live football match in a stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The crowd was massive, and the cheering was non-stop. Although it was a bit noisy, the excitement and energy were incredible.
9. An international airport:
When I travelled abroad for the first time, I had to go through Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The place was packed with passengers, especially during check-in and security. It was a little stressful, but I was thrilled to be flying internationally.
10. A New Year’s Eve celebration:
I joined a New Year countdown event in a public square in Hanoi with friends. Thousands of people were gathered to watch the fireworks and performances. It was crowded and loud, but the shared excitement made it an unforgettable night.
Model Answer 3:
Introduction:
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about this interesting topic. For this topic, I'm going to describe a particularly crowded place that I once visited in Vietnam - the country where I live in.
Where the place is/was:
The crowded place I'd like to talk about is Bến Thành Market, which is right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It's one of the most famous traditional markets in Vietnam and is always buzzing with tourists and locals alike.
When you went there:
I visited this market around six months ago, during the Lunar New Year holidays. This period is known locally as Tết, and as you might imagine, the market was incredibly busy due to holiday shoppers.
With whom you went there:
I went there with a few of my close friends from university. We decided to spend the afternoon together, shopping for some gifts, souvenirs, and decorations for our homes to celebrate Tết in style.
Explain how you felt about this crowded place:
At first, I felt slightly overwhelmed because the market was packed with people. Everywhere we turned, there were stalls filled with vibrant clothes, handcrafted items, flowers, and mouthwatering street food. It was challenging to move through the narrow aisles without bumping into other shoppers. At times, I even lost sight of my friends and had to call them on the phone to find each other again!
However, despite the initial discomfort, I found the market to be full of charm and excitement. The vibrant atmosphere, lively bargaining, and cheerful spirit of the people actually made the experience unforgettable. The noise, colours, scents, and the energetic buzz of activity created a uniquely Vietnamese experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Sample Answer 4:
I don’t really like to visit a crowded place unless I have a very valid reason to do so. But, I still needed to visit one such congested place, a livestock buying and selling place that is, about a few years ago because I needed to buy a goat from there in order to sacrifice it during one of our major Muslim religious festivals.
The crowded place, I visited, was one of the biggest in my region, but I didn’t really feel like going there, mainly because it was too big of a place, with so many people and domestic animals from different parts of my country, which had very little or almost no order in place.
By the way, it was a very popular street market because people from all over my country would visit it once a year in order to buy designated animals for the purpose of sacrificing them during a major Muslim religious festival called “Eid-ul-Azha”. As much as I loved the idea of visiting the market to buy an animal in order to sacrifice it, I wasn’t really very comfortable going there alone because it would be quite a challenge for me to bring the animal home all by myself. So, I requested one of my cousins to visit the market with me, and he gladly obliged. Anyway, after visiting the animal “hut”, I became very overwhelmed to see so many selected animals, ready to be sold to their new owners, while both the sellers and buyers, including me, were busy getting the best bargaining deals for their animals.
Well, I had a mixed feeling about visiting this crowded place because on the one hand, people there, especially the buyers, were very excited to choose and buy their favourite animals, but, on the other hand, the sellers seemed to have very little or no respect for individual taste and preferences of the buyers. Besides, the place was so crowded that I actually had to wait about 15 minutes just to decide how I would get out of the market without getting lost.
Vocabulary for this Candidate Task Card / Cue Card topic:
Describing a crowded place involves expressing physical surroundings, personal emotions, types of events, and the overall experience. Below is a list of useful and moderately advanced vocabulary and phrases that can help you speak more fluently and precisely on this topic:
Bustling – Full of activity and noise.
Overcrowded – Too full of people or things.
Shoulder to shoulder – Very close together, especially in a crowd.
Claustrophobic – Feeling uncomfortable due to being in a small or crowded space.
Lively atmosphere – An energetic and animated environment.
Elbow through the crowd – To push your way through a large group of people.
Throngs of people – Large groups or crowds of people gathered together.
Hustle and bustle – Busy and noisy activity.
Noisy chatter – Loud conversation in a crowded place.
Swarming with people – Completely filled with people moving around.
Queue up – To wait in a line of people.
Navigate through the crowd – To move carefully and slowly through a crowd.
Festive vibe – A cheerful and celebratory feeling in the environment.
Wall-to-wall people – Packed with people with barely any space.
Public gathering – An event or occasion where many people come together in a public space.
Sensory overload – A feeling of being overwhelmed due to too much stimulation (e.g., noise, people, lights).
Chaotic – Completely disordered or confusing, often due to too many people.
Buzzing with energy – Filled with excitement and activity. Drained – Feeling physically or mentally exhausted.
Stimulated – Feeling mentally or emotionally excited or alert.
Overwhelmed – Feeling like the experience was too much to handle.
On edge – Feeling nervous or tense.
Excited yet uneasy – A mix of enjoyment and discomfort.
Energised – Feeling full of energy from the crowd’s atmosphere.
Intrigued – Feeling curious or fascinated by the environment or people.
Disconnected – Feeling like you don’t belong or are distant in a crowd.
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