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Describe a friend of your family you remember from your childhood. v.1

Describe a friend of your family you remember from your childhood. v. 1
Describe a friend of your family you remember from your childhood. You should say: who this person was how you & your family knew this person how often this person visited your house and explain why you remember this person. [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. ] Sample Answer 1: Hmm, an interesting question. When I was growing up various friends of the family came and went, local shop-keepers were friendly but perhaps not truly ‘friends’ in the real sense of the word; neighbours were good fun but then moved away. The person I can think was around throughout my childhood, albeit intermittently. I’m going to try and explain to you who this person was as well as how it was we came to know them. The question about how often they visited our house is a bit tricky, but doesn’t make them less of a friend, and finally, I’ll explain why it is this person made such a strong impression on me I remember them still. When I was growing up, I lived in a fairly suburban area. Once a year, for two weeks of the summer holidays, we’d all pile into the family car and drive for what seemed to me like an eternity to the English countryside of the far north – Northumberland. We always stayed in the same holiday cottage which was self-catering. It was on a mixed sheep/ cattle and arable farm, and our cottage was attached to the shepherd’s permanent home. He lived there with his wife and kept chickens at the end of his garden. The person who I want to tell you about is the shepherd. His name was Ronnie Shipley and to me, as a child, he was a magical figure.   Because we holidayed there every year throughout my childhood, he got to know me and my whole family really well. His own children had long ago grown up and left home, and I think he liked having enthusiastic youngsters around who idolised him and were interested in his work. He would take us with him to feed the hens, show us where we could find the secretive diamond-backed adders in his garden. These are beautiful snakes, and the only venomous ones in the UK, but they are incredibly timid and difficult to spot. He would let us ‘help’ with the sheep, (I don’t think we were very helpful at all) but we swung on gates and cheerfully ran around herding them. He had a sheepdog that actually did all the work, but when I was very little I was none the wiser. When we were older he plonked us on to the back of the old farm pony and let us ride around the farm. On one memorable occasion, he even sat me on the back of a wonderfully tame but enormous Hereford bull. They are actually incredibly docile cattle, but I was still very impressed that I was able to do this. Because he lived in Northumberland, and we lived down in the south of England just outside London hundreds of miles away, in fact, he never did visit our house. That seems a shame now I look back, but he loved his home in the north, and couldn’t see the point in visiting anywhere else. Also, I now realise that he was actually pretty old even then, way past usual retirement years, but carrying on doing the job he loved for as long as he could. I think a long journey by train would have been quite difficult for him. As to why I remember this person, well he was such a wonderful magical figure from my childhood. It was as if he inhabited a parallel universe. He taught me to appreciate the countryside and the great outdoors. He was patient and kind with his time.   I remember him pointing out stars in the night sky – things that I could never see at home because of the light pollution from the urban area I lived in. He also looked very distinctive. He had a weather-beaten wrinkled face from working outdoors year-round for decades. He wore a flat cap and an old weathered tweed jacket, and always carried a shepherd's stick with him (which he’d made himself) and was accompanied by a collie dog to help him in his work. He must have taken a bit of a shine to our family, as he always welcomed us with warmth and genuine affection. We’d pop round for endless tea and coffee and shriek delightedly at the discoveries he revealed. In return, sometimes he’d come with us when we went off on a family outing to the seaside or some special place, trips out both he and his wife Annie much enjoyed. Now I’m long grown up and those holidays are a distant memory. Ronnie himself died years ago. However, I still have two sticks which he made just for me. One is a thumb stick – a very distinctive walking stick that you cut to the right length according to your own height and then walk with your thumb resting in the crook of a V formed where the stick has naturally divided. Mine was specially picked out by him for me. The other is a more traditional British shepherd’s crook. It is a hazel stick, with a sheep’s horn on the end. On the horn, he has carved my initials ‘L. M. ’ together with the date 1978, so I know that I was 13 years old when he gave it to me. What a special treasure that is. It’s funny, I was incredibly fond of Mr Shipley as I was growing up, but I took his attention and generosity a bit for granted, I think that’s easy to do when you are small. Now I’m older and wiser (hopefully) I think he is even more remarkable. We were just one of many families he must have met over the years and yet he always made us feel special.   He was a remarkable man, and a great friend to all our family. I feel really blessed to have met him, and his legacy endures in very real ways. There is even a gooseberry bush in the garden of my parent’s house that is from a cutting he gave to them decades ago. I wonder if he had any idea how special he was, and how much his friendship meant to us all. I think above all else he gave us his time, and shared his stories, for me that was the best gift ever, as with it, he stimulated my imagination and gave me happy memories, those can endure almost forever! [ Written by - Lucy Marris (2016):   Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]
Describe
a
friend
of your
family
you
remember
from your childhood. You should say:
who
this
person
was how you
&amp
; your
family
knew this
person
how
often
this
person
visited your
house
and
explain
why you
remember
this
person
. [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.
]
Sample Answer 1:

Hmm, an interesting question. When I was growing up various
friends
of the
family
came and went, local shop-keepers were friendly
but
perhaps not
truly
‘friends’
in the real sense of the word;
neighbours
were
good
fun
but
then
moved
away. The
person
I can
think
was
around
throughout my childhood, albeit
intermittently
. I’m going to
try and
explain
to you
who
this
person
was as
well
as how it was we came to know them. The question about how
often
they visited our
house
is a bit tricky,
but
doesn’t
make
them less of a
friend
, and
finally
, I’ll
explain
why it is this
person
made such a strong impression on me I
remember
them
still
. When I was growing up, I
lived
in a
fairly
suburban area. Once a
year
, for two weeks of the summer holidays, we’d all pile into the
family
car and drive for what seemed to me like an eternity to the English countryside of the far north
Northumberland. We always stayed in the same holiday cottage which was self-catering. It was on a mixed sheep/ cattle and arable farm, and our cottage
was attached
to the shepherd’s permanent home. He
lived
there with his wife and
kept
chickens at the
end
of his garden. The
person
who
I want to
tell
you about is the shepherd. His name was Ronnie
Shipley
and to me, as a child, he was a magical figure.
 
Because
we holidayed there every
year
throughout my childhood, he
got
to know me and my whole
family
really
well
. His
own
children had
long
ago grown up and
left
home, and I
think
he liked having enthusiastic youngsters
around
who
idolised
him and
were interested
in his work. He would take us with him to feed the hens,
show
us where we could find the secretive diamond-backed adders in his garden. These are
beautiful
snakes, and the
only
venomous ones in the UK,
but
they are
incredibly
timid and difficult to spot. He would
let
us ‘
help
’ with the sheep, (I don’t
think
we were
very
helpful at all)
but
we swung on gates and
cheerfully
ran
around
herding them. He had a sheepdog that
actually
did all the work,
but
when I was
very
little
I was none the wiser. When we were older he plonked us on to the back of the
old
farm pony and
let
us ride
around
the farm. On one memorable occasion, he even sat me on the back of a
wonderfully
tame
but
enormous Hereford bull. They are
actually
incredibly
docile cattle,
but
I was
still
very
impressed that I was able to do this.
Because
he
lived
in Northumberland, and we
lived
down in the south of England
just
outside London hundreds of miles away, in fact, he never did visit our
house
. That seems a shame
now
I look back,
but
he
loved
his home in the north, and couldn’t
see
the point in visiting anywhere else.
Also
, I
now
realise
that he was
actually
pretty
old
even then, way past usual retirement years,
but
carrying on doing the job he
loved
for as
long
as he could. I
think
a
long
journey by train would have been quite difficult for him. As to why I
remember
this
person
,
well
he was such a wonderful magical figure from my childhood. It was as if he inhabited a parallel universe. He taught me to appreciate the countryside and the great outdoors. He was patient and
kind with
his time.
 
I
remember
him pointing out stars in the night sky
things that I could never
see
at home
because
of the light pollution from the urban area I
lived
in. He
also
looked
very
distinctive. He had a weather-beaten wrinkled face from working outdoors year-round for decades.
He
wore a flat cap and an
old
weathered tweed jacket, and always carried a shepherd's
stick
with him (which he’d made himself) and
was accompanied
by a collie dog to
help
him in his work.
He
must
have taken a bit of a shine to our
family
, as he always welcomed us with warmth and genuine affection. We’d pop round for endless tea and coffee and shriek
delightedly
at the discoveries he revealed. In return,
sometimes
he’d
come
with us when we went off on a
family
outing to the seaside or
some
special
place, trips out both he and his wife Annie much enjoyed.
Now
I’m
long
grown up and those holidays are a distant memory. Ronnie himself
died
years ago.
However
, I
still
have two
sticks
which he made
just
for me. One is a thumb
stick
a
very
distinctive walking
stick
that you
cut
to the
right
length according to your
own
height and then walk with your thumb resting in the crook of a V formed where the
stick
has
naturally
divided. Mine was
specially
picked out by him for me. The other is a more traditional British shepherd’s crook. It is a hazel
stick
, with a sheep’s horn on the
end
. On the horn, he has carved my initials ‘L. M.
together with the date 1978,
so
I know that I was 13 years
old
when he
gave
it to me. What a
special
treasure
that is
. It’s
funny
, I was
incredibly
fond of Mr
Shipley
as I was growing up,
but
I took his attention and generosity a bit for granted, I
think
that’s easy to do when you are
small
.
Now
I’m
older and wiser
(
hopefully
) I
think
he is even more remarkable. We were
just
one of
many
families
he
must
have met over the
years and
yet
he always made us feel
special
.
 
He was a remarkable
man
, and a great
friend
to all our
family
. I feel
really
blessed to have met him, and his legacy endures in
very
real ways. There is even a gooseberry bush in the garden of my parent’s
house
that is
from a cutting he
gave
to them decades ago. I wonder if he had any
idea
how
special
he was, and how much his friendship meant to us all. I
think
above all
else he
gave
us his time, and shared his stories, for me that was the best gift ever, as with it, he stimulated my imagination and
gave
me happy memories,
those can
endure almost forever!
[
Written by
-
Lucy
Marris
(2016):
 
Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam)
]
13Linking words, meeting the goal of 7 or more
81Repeated words, meeting the goal of 3 or fewer
25Mistakes

IELTS speaking Describe a friend of your family you remember from your childhood. v. 1

Speaking
  American English
2 paragraphs
1160 words
5.5
Overall Band Score
Coherence and Cohesion: 5.5
  • Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
  • ?
    One main idea per paragraph
  • ?
    Include an introduction and conclusion
  • ?
    Support main points with an explanation and then an example
  • Use cohesive linking words accurately and appropriately
  • ?
    Vary your linking phrases using synonyms
Lexical Resource: 5.0
  • Try to vary your vocabulary using accurate synonyms
  • Use less common question specific words that accurately convey meaning
  • Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
Grammatical Range: 5.5
  • Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
  • Check your writing for errors
Task Achievement: 5.0
  • Answer all parts of the question
  • ?
    Present relevant ideas
  • Fully explain these ideas
  • ?
    Support ideas with relevant, specific examples
Labels Descriptions
  • ?
    Currently is not available
  • Meet the criteria
  • Doesn't meet the criteria