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Describe a time when you were very afraid

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 253 with Model Answer:

Describe a time that you can remember when you were very afraid.


You should say:
  • what happened
  • where you were then
  • who was with you
and explain why you were so afraid.

[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:
When I was a child, I was afraid of some supernatural entities as I experienced something unusual. When I encountered the unusual thing, I was afraid for next few days. I am going to share the event here now.

Currently, I am a college student in Rajasthan in India. My family has been living here for long years and the house we live in was established by great-grandfather. In fact, we are native to the locality and been carrying the tradition for over hundred years. The house we live in is filled with trees and foliage of different categories and I was afraid as I saw something unnatural inside the garden before the house. One day, I was playing with my cousins in the garden at night and suddenly saw something supernatural. A large white and unidentified object appeared before me and started chasing me. Then I shouted out loud. Everyone came to my rescue and I described them that I saw a ghost or something like that.

The elder people of my family maintained a tradition that they did not allow the kids to play in the garden after the sunset. There were numerous rumours about the garden that some supernatural beings have been seen often while some others are on the view that the garden is cursed as a good number of killings have taken place before my ancestors built their house here. But I was unaware of the facts then and unfortunately our parents were unaware that we had been playing there for so long. If they had known about that we are still in the garden, they would have asked us to return home. The garden is located on the backside of the house and I was playing some local games and sports with my cousins. All of us were around 9 or 10 years old and we actually had no idea about the rumours. Even none of the family members made us aware of the fact. But they did not allow us to play in the garden after the sunset.

Usually, I am accompanied by my cousins who are my friends as well. Fortunately, all of us are in the same college now and been brought up together since the early childhood. Before my birth, my parents were in Delhi and in fact they got married in Delhi and returned to Rajasthan after a few months later. My father started his own business in line with his brothers. Since then, they started living in Rajasthan. As a result, I got a cordial and genuine familial environment there. So, all of my cousins were together always and I also accompanied them. A sense of deep friendship was built among us. We used to move together always and even today we do the things together. When it is about going to college, all of us go together on a motorbike and stay united there. When I got afraid in the garden in my childhood, at that moment they were with me. In fact, we were playing hide and seek together. I was responsible to seek them from their hidden places. When I started seeking them, I went to a little bit distant place in the garden.

I was too afraid on that day as I had never seen such things in my life. The object that chased me was covered with a long white piece of cloth. I can still remember that the object appeared to me suddenly and since I was a little kid, I could not do anything. I just shouted loud to help me. Hearing my shout, my relatives and parents came out running off the house and find out me sitting in a corner of the garden. I was trembling with terror and told them that a white shadow like object chased me. I also told them that when they came, the object disappeared in a moment. Then the elderly people were talking to themselves and I came to know that they were talking about the rumours in the village. For all such reasons, I was afraid on that day and could not attend school for fever. My parents took some preventive measures against the situation.



Cue Card Answer 2: 
This is a good topic to discuss. Travelling appears adventurous to me but I was very afraid on my last trip in India that I made alone. The events are still vivid in my memory.

Visiting India from Thailand is not a big deal and anyone can do it, alone. I made the trip alone to prove my worth to my parents and friends. But I have not thought that events will turn so worse. I met with a group of snatchers on a street in New Delhi. The snatchers took away my belongings and I returned to the hotel in empty hand. Fortunately, I did not take all the money, credit cards and other valuables with me on that night. The snatching took place when I was returning from a night show of Indian movie by a famous Bollywood superstar.

As a foreigner in India, all the streets are unknown to me. But I think the event could not have happened in daylight and the attackers took advantage of the late night. The movie show began at 9.00pm and ended at 12.00am. it was quite dark outside. I was not afraid of the dark rather started for my hotel after exiting the theatre hall. I was unable to manage vehicles to reach the hotel and hence started walking. After walking for sometimes, I noticed that I was being followed by a group of teenagers. But I did not bother on the issue as many of such teenagers wanted to meet me and had some pictures with me as well. I could not understand their intention and finally got a victim of the situation. I was robbed.

Initially, there were some people with me when we all got out of the theatre hall but after some moments they disappeared in several directions. Actually, they started for their respective destinations leaving me alone. So, I decided to walk. I made several mistakes here while the biggest mistake was to be alone in this unknown city. I could have asked for help in the hotel to send someone for guiding me back at the hotel with a vehicle. Secondly, I went to the people though with a friendly gesture and wrongly interpreted their intentions. As it was after the midnight, there were no police or any other people who could have come forward to save me from the snatchers. I had to give away my wallet and my iPhone 6s plus. One of the snatchers showed me the direction to my hotel and advised me to get accompanied during the night-movements.

I was afraid for several reasons. My heart was beating faster like a drum. In fact, I was afraid if they cause any harm to me or stab me with the knives they exposed. In my life, I had never experienced such situations. So, I thought it is better to save my life. I obeyed all of their orders and gave away my belongings without any second thought. Actually, I was trembling in fear of being injured by them. It was an awful night for me indeed.

If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a time that you can remember when you were very afraid." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue cards topics as well: 

  • Describe a frightening experience you have.
  • Talk about something that made you afraid. 
  • Describe a negative experience you have in your life. 
  • Describe a strange event you can recall. 
  • Describe a memorable event in your life.  

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