IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
A TIME WHEN YOU GOT
BORED
WITH OTHERS
Describe a time when you got bored when you were with others
You should say:
- When it was
- What you did
- Who you were with
And explain why you got bored
A N S W E R
There was this one unforgettable experience of mine where I was bored to death and got so annoyed with the situation I was in. That was four years ago, back when I was still a high school student.
We had an excursion to a local historical and science museum in our town. In that museum, we could see some artifacts, skeletons of some animals, well-preserved birds, and reptiles among others. Honestly, I visited that museum innumerable times ever since I was a primary schooler so I already knew what was inside that museum. I could even memorize each display. What’s worse was our house is just a few blocks from that museum, so it’s part of my everyday life to pass and see that museum. There was nothing new to me – you could imagine how terribly bored I was on that field trip visiting a place that I could always see every single day of my life.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Bored to death [idiom] – completely bored
Annoyed [adj.] – irritated
Back when [expression] – in the past
Excursion [noun] – a short journey or trip
Artifacts [noun] – things or objects made by humans with cultural and historical interest
Innumerable [adj.] – too many to be counted
Well, that happened before we had our summer break. If my memory serves me right, our teacher wanted to spend time with us through a short trip before we could wrap up the school year. She created a poll of which place we could visit. She gave us two choices – a museum or a botanical garden. Most of my classmates chose a museum which happened to be my choice too.
However, we didn’t know which museum we would visit because our teacher did not tell us in the first place. To cut a long story short, on the day of our field trip, I was taken aback when our teacher took us to the museum in our town. I got so upset and some of my classmates felt the same way as I did because we thought we could visit a museum that we had never visited before. If we had known, we wouldn’t have joined that excursion. Actually, that was a dead boring experience that me and my classmates would never want to talk about every time we had a reunion.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
If my memory serves me right [expression] – If I remember it correctly
Wrap up [phrasal verb] – to finish or complete
Poll [noun] – election
To cut a long story short [phrase] – is used to end an account of events of the story and focus on the important details
Taken aback [phrase] – to be surprised or shocked
Upset [adj.] – unhappy
PART 3
Why do people get bored?
I believe it is human nature to become bored, boredom strikes us at some point in our lives. We are all humans capable of experiencing different kinds of feelings and being bored is one of those. Perhaps we just vary in terms of boredom threshold. There are some people who have a low boredom threshold that they cannot help themselves but easily get bored when they are not occupied, when they wait for someone even for a few minutes, or when they are in a queue.
These people are just impatient and there is nothing wrong with them, that is just the initial reaction to the unwanted situation that occurs in their life. Well, I speak from experience.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Human nature [noun] – the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits regarded as shared by all humans
Strike [verb] – hit
Boredom threshold [phrase] – the tendency to get bored very quickly
Occupied [adj.] – busy or active
Queue [noun] – a line or sequence of people waiting for their turn to be attended
Speak from experience [idiom] – to talk about something from a particular condition, position, a status that lends credibility to one’s words
TIP
i.) The speaker answered the question by acknowledging that feeling bored was normal to everyone and that’s just human nature. He explained that that’s just a part of being human. Then, he extended his answer by saying that people just differed in terms of boredom threshold and then gave some particular examples of situations that made them bored. Finally, he ended his answer by confirming that he too experienced those things. The speaker gave a very well-explained answer, coupled with examples. Also, the use of good expressions made him sound logical and natural. Always make sure to deliver a clear answer to avoid confusing the examiner.
Why are some people less interested in reading books nowadays?
Well, it is no secret that people in this generation, especially the millennials are so engrossed with the use of internet technology. The internet offers a wide array of entertainment such as social media, online games, and video channels – to name a few that distracts them from cultivating an interest in reading books.
This is a common issue that this generation is facing and it is a saddening truth because some people nowadays are becoming less and less sensible. I believe parents should encourage their children to read books at an early age so that when they become grown-ups, their love of reading remains and they will not be distracted very easily by the other forms of entertainment that do not add value to their lives.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Millennials [noun] – people reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century
Engrossed [adj.] – so involved or interested in something
Array [noun] – a range of particular types of thing
To name a few [phrase] – giving only these examples even though more could be cited
Cultivate [verb] – to develop
Sensible [adj.] – based on good judgment and practical ideas or understanding
Grown-ups [noun] – adults
TIP
i.) The speaker stated his opinion about the excessive use of internet technology as the main reason why people have no interest in reading books these days. He talked about the different forms of entertainment as the main culprit. He then ended his answer by sharing his reflection on parents’ responsibility in making their children read books at a young age. Notice how the development of the speaker’s answer – the first paragraph focused on the main issue or reason plus he cited some examples of entertainment that distracted people from reading. The second paragraph concentrated on talking about the current issue and his reflection on it. It is a very well-organized answer! Make sure your answers in Part 3 are organized to achieve Coherence.
Why do some people choose boring jobs?
I believe they are left with no other choice but to take those kinds of jobs in order to survive. Some people can never be selective in terms of jobs because they have families to feed. It is a do-or-die situation for them, and as a result, they do tedious jobs. Take, for instance, the people living in third world countries, they barely have better job opportunities and for them to feed their hungry stomachs they take jobs which we perceive as boring however for them those kinds of jobs are a blessing.
So, the next time we see someone having a monotonous or boring job, we have to think that there is a big reason behind why he is doing that job.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Selective [adj.] – choosy
Do or die [expression] – used to describe a situation in which you have to do something or you will fail
Tedious [adj.] – monotonous; boring
Third world country [phrase] – refers to a country that is developing
Barely [adv.] – almost not; only just
TIP
i.) The speaker gave a very direct to the point answer talking about people having no other choices in life. He provided a clear explanation and mentioned a realistic example that would support his argument best. Then, he ended his answer with a reminder that there’s always one good reason why people take some boring jobs.
The speaker explained his answer very well – he was able to relate the question to the situation in some parts of the world. And that made his answer a well-explained or well-thought-out answer. Reading some current issues always pays off!
Do you think all the boring jobs are going to be done by robots in the future?
First, let me tell you what jobs I consider as boring because every one of us has our own biases in terms of labeling jobs that are tedious. For me, factory jobs, road maintenance jobs such as cleaning and paving, and typing jobs are boring to some extent. So, I believe these kinds of jobs can all be done by Artificial Intelligence or robots in the near future.
Well, actually, some factory jobs such as packing some foods are already done by robots. Factory owners prefer robots because of their preciseness, not to mention they can save so much from labor. So because of the advancement of technology, it will not be a surprise for us if one of these days all those aforementioned boring jobs will be done completely by robots.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Bias [noun] – prejudice; unfairness
In terms of [phrase] – with regard to
Tedious [adj.] – monotonous
Pave [verb] – to cover or lay a road with concrete
Artificial intelligence [noun] – the ability of a computer program or a machine to think, learn and perform
Preciseness [noun] – being accurate
Not to mention [phrase] – in addition to
Aforementioned [adj.] – denoting a thing or person previously mentioned
TIP
i.) The speaker answered the question in a more specific way as the question was a bit vague about “all boring jobs”, he instead expressed his own thoughts about the jobs that he thought as boring. In that way, he could focus on talking about why those kinds of jobs needed to be done by robots. Identifying what boring jobs are could help him explain his answer more spontaneously than not identifying them. The speaker answered the question in a more strategic way and achieved coherence.
Learn how to answer the recent IELTS Speaking PART 1 Topic
about BOREDOM.
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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