IELTS Cue Card Question 157 with Model Answer:
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
Waiting is always unpleasant but we cannot avoid it. Sometimes we are to wait even we do not want to. In last week, I also had to wait for a friend who came to my place for attending my elder sister’s marriage ceremony.
Though I invited few of my college friends to attend the ceremony, all of them could not attend due to their private business and send me their regrets for their absence. But, Stephen Robert, one of my closest friends attended the ceremony and I went to the Amaravati railways station in Maharashtra. Robert came from Delhi where he lives with his family in India. Mostly his family belongs to Britain and since his parents are working at the local British embassy, he is to stay with them. Both Robert and I are in the same college and share a deep friendship. So, he arrived finally after keeping me waited for about two and a half hour.
Right before the day of the marriage ceremony, he arrived at Maharashtra. Since he is unfamiliar with the locality, he asked me to go to the Amaravati station to bring him at my home. Accordingly, I reached the station about 20 minutes before of the train’s arrival. But I had to wait long (2.5 hours) as the train missed the schedule. The train made late due to an accident that derailed another train filled with cargo. So, the train could not move until the distressed waggons and locomotive were removed. I wanted to get back home but Robert asked me to wait. He was a bit afraid as this was his first solo travel. So, I had to wait for him.
Waiting was not that much unsatisfactory as I read books on the platform. There were many small benches attached to the ground. I took my seat at a corner and started reading a thriller. At the same time, I was listening songs from my iPod. I also took some snacks from a nearby store. However, the waiting period was not that much pleasant as the station is a crowded place. Trains from different stations are arriving here while some of the passengers are boarding and the rest other are descending. Porters are moving here and there in search of work. The entire station turns lively when a train arrives and becomes calm when the train leaves the station. I have found that some of the people were there to see off their relations. It was truly painful to see someone cry.
I, in fact, waited for Robert for some specific reasons. Firstly, he is a stranger in my locality. The second issue is that he was travelling a long distance. It took over 24 hours for him to reach Maharashtra from Delhi. When he asked me to stay at the station, I replied him that I will. But I did not have the idea that train will be late. But I waited for the long hours on my moral ground. After all, he is my invited guest and I must be there to receive him. I could have sent someone else to the station but he said that he would be happier to see me there. Considering all the issues, I went to the station and waited until he reached.
Model Answer 2:
Recently, I had to wait for one of my teachers in the university. I had to wait for long three hours continuously to meet him. It was an interesting experience to me. Thank you for asking such a nice question and I will explain the entire issue here.
I had to wait to meet Mr Rokuro Nori, a professor of history at Kyoto University. In fact, he was my mentor and supervisor for my thesis in the ancient history of Japan. I had to submit the thesis report to him for final checking before the submission to the department. He asked me to meet him in the morning but he himself made late to arrive at the university. Later he expressed his regrets for the unwanted delay. In fact, he really made a great delay. Some other students also had to wait like me before his chamber in the university compound.
As per our conversation on the telephone, Mr Nori told me to be in his chamber at around 9.00 am. Accordingly, I reached the university before it was 9.00 am. I took my breakfast at the university eatery as I could not take it at home for making a rush. When I reached his office, I found it was locked and he did not arrive. When I made a phone call to him, it was unattended. The other students present there also tried to reach him but he did not respond to any of the approaches. He finally came to the university when it was almost noon. He explained the reasons behind the late and not responding to the phone calls. Actually, he was in a bit trouble with his wife and had hospitalised her immediately for the abdominal disorder. He had to be too busy to handle the situations and thus he was unable to respond. So, there was late, he explained.
There are some sitting arrangements before each of the teachers’ room. The arrangements are done so that the students could wait before meeting the teachers. I took a seat and waited for the hours. Suddenly, I found that the seats were filled up by many other students and there was some noise. So, later, to avoid the noise, I started walking in the adjacent corridor. When I came back to sit again, I found my seat was occupied by another student. So, I could not find any other place to sit and waited on foot. After one and half hour, I went out to have some light snacks. I took some snacks and went back to the corridor again. It appeared that the time has been slowed down. The moments appeared longer than they usually are. At last, it was over when the teacher came.
I had to wait for Mr Nori for some specific reasons. He was my thesis supervisor. In fact, without his help, it was impossible for me to complete the thesis course. So, I needed his support badly. Besides, he was the mentor for me and I have learnt a good number of issues from him. This was the final meeting and he told me that he will approve the draft if there are no revisions needed. Earlier, I revised the thesis paper for seven consecutive times and now have completed the draft. He approved the thesis paper and asked me to submit it to the department following the standard submission process (bookbinding). Following his directives, I submitted the thesis and passed the course. If I could not meet him on that day, I might have to suffer a semester loss.
2. Placing an online order and receiving the product is not always a swift process in New Delhi. I ordered for an electronic toy car to be presented at the birthday of my nephew and unfortunately, I ordered the product in the morning of the birthday of my nephew. I had to wait to get the delivery at my home. And I waited around half a day to get the ordered item. I had to wait as I had no other options left. I did not want to wish my nephew a happy birthday without a gift for him, so I waited patiently for almost six hours.
3. Mr Xinhu is my mentor for the thesis I completed a few months ago. On one occasion, I had to wait for him at the University of Tokyo. I had waited for over two hours at his office. I went to his office as scheduled and he told me to wait for him till his returns from an emergency meeting. So, I waited in his office. The office was nicely decorated and I passed the moments by reading a book I took with me. I had to wait for him as he was supposed to check my draft thesis paper and without his approval, I am unable to submit the paper; so, I waited.
4. When a train is late to reach the station and take passengers, the experience is not palatable for all? Last Monday, this happened to me. I was bound to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. I do not know why the train was late that day. Usually, the trains arrive and depart in time. But unfortunately, I had to wait on that day for over 45 minutes. I needed to wait at the station as my visit to Penang was important. My office had sent me there to supervise the project works and to assign some newer duties to the office staff. Since the office manager was in a sudden leave, I was assigned to do the tasks. The train was late for almost one and a half hour and I mostly strolled in the station during this time.
If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a time when you waited for something or someone." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue card topics as well:
Describe a time when you waited for something or someone.
You should say:- who or what you waited for
- when and how long you waited for the person or thing
- where you waited
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
Though I invited few of my college friends to attend the ceremony, all of them could not attend due to their private business and send me their regrets for their absence. But, Stephen Robert, one of my closest friends attended the ceremony and I went to the Amaravati railways station in Maharashtra. Robert came from Delhi where he lives with his family in India. Mostly his family belongs to Britain and since his parents are working at the local British embassy, he is to stay with them. Both Robert and I are in the same college and share a deep friendship. So, he arrived finally after keeping me waited for about two and a half hour.
Right before the day of the marriage ceremony, he arrived at Maharashtra. Since he is unfamiliar with the locality, he asked me to go to the Amaravati station to bring him at my home. Accordingly, I reached the station about 20 minutes before of the train’s arrival. But I had to wait long (2.5 hours) as the train missed the schedule. The train made late due to an accident that derailed another train filled with cargo. So, the train could not move until the distressed waggons and locomotive were removed. I wanted to get back home but Robert asked me to wait. He was a bit afraid as this was his first solo travel. So, I had to wait for him.
Waiting was not that much unsatisfactory as I read books on the platform. There were many small benches attached to the ground. I took my seat at a corner and started reading a thriller. At the same time, I was listening songs from my iPod. I also took some snacks from a nearby store. However, the waiting period was not that much pleasant as the station is a crowded place. Trains from different stations are arriving here while some of the passengers are boarding and the rest other are descending. Porters are moving here and there in search of work. The entire station turns lively when a train arrives and becomes calm when the train leaves the station. I have found that some of the people were there to see off their relations. It was truly painful to see someone cry.
I, in fact, waited for Robert for some specific reasons. Firstly, he is a stranger in my locality. The second issue is that he was travelling a long distance. It took over 24 hours for him to reach Maharashtra from Delhi. When he asked me to stay at the station, I replied him that I will. But I did not have the idea that train will be late. But I waited for the long hours on my moral ground. After all, he is my invited guest and I must be there to receive him. I could have sent someone else to the station but he said that he would be happier to see me there. Considering all the issues, I went to the station and waited until he reached.
Model Answer 2:
Recently, I had to wait for one of my teachers in the university. I had to wait for long three hours continuously to meet him. It was an interesting experience to me. Thank you for asking such a nice question and I will explain the entire issue here.
I had to wait to meet Mr Rokuro Nori, a professor of history at Kyoto University. In fact, he was my mentor and supervisor for my thesis in the ancient history of Japan. I had to submit the thesis report to him for final checking before the submission to the department. He asked me to meet him in the morning but he himself made late to arrive at the university. Later he expressed his regrets for the unwanted delay. In fact, he really made a great delay. Some other students also had to wait like me before his chamber in the university compound.
As per our conversation on the telephone, Mr Nori told me to be in his chamber at around 9.00 am. Accordingly, I reached the university before it was 9.00 am. I took my breakfast at the university eatery as I could not take it at home for making a rush. When I reached his office, I found it was locked and he did not arrive. When I made a phone call to him, it was unattended. The other students present there also tried to reach him but he did not respond to any of the approaches. He finally came to the university when it was almost noon. He explained the reasons behind the late and not responding to the phone calls. Actually, he was in a bit trouble with his wife and had hospitalised her immediately for the abdominal disorder. He had to be too busy to handle the situations and thus he was unable to respond. So, there was late, he explained.
There are some sitting arrangements before each of the teachers’ room. The arrangements are done so that the students could wait before meeting the teachers. I took a seat and waited for the hours. Suddenly, I found that the seats were filled up by many other students and there was some noise. So, later, to avoid the noise, I started walking in the adjacent corridor. When I came back to sit again, I found my seat was occupied by another student. So, I could not find any other place to sit and waited on foot. After one and half hour, I went out to have some light snacks. I took some snacks and went back to the corridor again. It appeared that the time has been slowed down. The moments appeared longer than they usually are. At last, it was over when the teacher came.
I had to wait for Mr Nori for some specific reasons. He was my thesis supervisor. In fact, without his help, it was impossible for me to complete the thesis course. So, I needed his support badly. Besides, he was the mentor for me and I have learnt a good number of issues from him. This was the final meeting and he told me that he will approve the draft if there are no revisions needed. Earlier, I revised the thesis paper for seven consecutive times and now have completed the draft. He approved the thesis paper and asked me to submit it to the department following the standard submission process (bookbinding). Following his directives, I submitted the thesis and passed the course. If I could not meet him on that day, I might have to suffer a semester loss.
Idea Generation for this Cue Card Topic:
1. Meeting friends is interesting but waiting for them is not! I had to wait for Anny for over two and a half hours last Monday. She is notorious for keeping people waiting but that day it was too much. Luckily, the meeting was set at the university campus here in New York. I waited inside the library. It was an important meeting and we were supposed to finalise our plans to celebrate the upcoming birthday of one of our close friends. Therefore, I had to wait for her on the premise and interestingly, almost finished reading a book while waiting.2. Placing an online order and receiving the product is not always a swift process in New Delhi. I ordered for an electronic toy car to be presented at the birthday of my nephew and unfortunately, I ordered the product in the morning of the birthday of my nephew. I had to wait to get the delivery at my home. And I waited around half a day to get the ordered item. I had to wait as I had no other options left. I did not want to wish my nephew a happy birthday without a gift for him, so I waited patiently for almost six hours.
3. Mr Xinhu is my mentor for the thesis I completed a few months ago. On one occasion, I had to wait for him at the University of Tokyo. I had waited for over two hours at his office. I went to his office as scheduled and he told me to wait for him till his returns from an emergency meeting. So, I waited in his office. The office was nicely decorated and I passed the moments by reading a book I took with me. I had to wait for him as he was supposed to check my draft thesis paper and without his approval, I am unable to submit the paper; so, I waited.
4. When a train is late to reach the station and take passengers, the experience is not palatable for all? Last Monday, this happened to me. I was bound to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. I do not know why the train was late that day. Usually, the trains arrive and depart in time. But unfortunately, I had to wait on that day for over 45 minutes. I needed to wait at the station as my visit to Penang was important. My office had sent me there to supervise the project works and to assign some newer duties to the office staff. Since the office manager was in a sudden leave, I was assigned to do the tasks. The train was late for almost one and a half hour and I mostly strolled in the station during this time.
If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a time when you waited for something or someone." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue card topics as well:
- Talk about an event when you had to wait for a long.
- Describe a situation when had to wait for someone.
- Describe a moment when you got irritated.