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Describe a useful thing that you once borrowed. v.1

Describe a useful thing that you once borrowed. v. 1
Describe a useful thing that you once borrowed. You should say: what was it who you borrowed it from why you borrowed it and explain why it was important for you to borrow it. [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: Well, this candidate task card reminds me of several occasions when I had to borrow something useful and important from others. I would, however, go with my first instinct and talk about the event that came first in my mind. It was a recent event when I borrowed a thermometer from a neighbour. Though a thermometer is a small tool and is required only a few times, in particular, when someone suffers from fever, it is quite useful in my opinion.    It was almost midnight and all of a sudden my younger brother, Sam, started feeling ill. He was complaining about feeling very cold and that was a symptom of getting caught by the seasonal flu. I rang one of my doctor friends and he told me not to worry too much unless Sam's body temperature was really high. He also advised me some medicines and assured me that he would visit our home in case things get worse. It was at the beginning of the last month and my younger brother suffered from the fever for about 5 days. Luckily he recovered sooner than many others I know about, who were caught by the same viral flu. Speaking of that night, after I finished talking to my doctor friend, Rick, I searched for the thermometer to check Sam's temperature. I assumed we would have at least two thermometers at our house, one in my desk and another one is in the fast-aid box that my father had. To my surprise, I could not find a single one! I searched everywhere and after 30 minutes of ceaseless searching, I quit and decided to borrow it from Paula, who was one of our closest neighbours.   I called her and she was luckily awake. I explained her Sam's condition and that I needed to borrow a thermometer from her. In 10 minutes she rushed to our house with the thermometer and talked to Same for a couple of minutes. She also brought some vitamin C enriched fruits with her and advised me to stay awake for a couple of hours to accompany Sam. She also talked with my parents and after an hour she left. She is still a caring and tender-hearted women who we consider our family friend. The thermometer I borrowed from Paula was really needed at that time. We had to check Sam's body temperature in every 30 minutes. In the next morning, I bought three thermometers and gave my father one to keep it in his fast-aid box. I returned Paula's thermometer after a couple of days and thanked her for her support and care for us.   Cue Card Answer 2: This is a nice topic for me to discuss as I have a great reputation (! ) for forgetting things and I often need to borrow from my surroundings for this characteristic or nature. Last month, I had borrowed the laptop from my cousin to complete a university project. In fact, I forgot to change the battery of my laptop as it was having an extremely poor power backup. It is my insincerity that did not allow me to get the battery in due time and gradually the last week of the project submission appeared. Five days before the project submission, I had to borrow a laptop from my cousin. Though he delivered some angry words for my negligence, he rescued me from a negative situation I was supposed to get involved. The project was quite important as it carried more than 30% marks of the entire course. I borrowed the laptop from my cousin, Henry. He is a freelancer and works online from home. When I was a kid, my parents asked me to follow him on his unique virtues and actually, they wanted me to shape up like Henry. He is five years older than me and looks quite smart with his curly hair and broad cheek. His eyes are dark with a bluish shade. He lives in the opposite direction of our house and my parents are fond of him for his extraordinary qualities. He has turned like an idol for me and I also try to follow some of his qualities. Unfortunately, few of my bad habits are the greatest impediments in following him. I make delay in everything and this is one of my bad habits. I have suffered a lot for the habit and still suffering in some points. I had to borrow the laptop for the same reason. In fact, I forgot to buy the laptop battery that I have been planning to buy for the past few months. Whenever I attempt to use the laptop, it makes me remember that it needs its battery. At the same time, if I do not complete the project and present the incomplete version to the class and the teachers, I might be unable to get promoted in the next semester. It was a crucial individual assignment for me. If it was a teamwork, I could have crossed the barriers easily with support from my teammates. Borrowing the laptop was a major issue for me. After completion of the project, the students were to present the ideas and other details to the audiences at the auditorium. Actually, that was not a problem as I proudly own a Dell laptop. The trouble was about its charging issues and the newly built auditorium had no external charging facilities for laptops and other electronic devices. My laptop needed continuous charging to run and whenever the charger was detached, it ran less than ten minutes. As Henry owned three laptops with high configuration, I sought his support in this case. He got angry initially when he heard that my project was quite important and I am yet to finish it. He was familiar with my nature and often advised me to change that. Finally, he extended a hand for unconditional support to me. I am truly grateful to him. By the way, I got B+ in my project and the laptop actually saved me from a disastrous situation. More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic: Topic: Describe a useful thing that you once borrowed. 1. Reading is my hobby and often I borrow books from people. So, in last week, I borrowed a book from Peter about the space science. I borrowed the book because I did not get it on the local book stall here in California and it was Peter who owned the book on my network. Actually, I cannot stop my curiosity once it begins and after reading the blurb, it appeared that I need the book. Since I cannot manage that, I borrowed it. 2. I borrowed a video game CD from a friend of mine. I borrowed it from Anderson. I wanted to play the GTA V. This is the latest version of the series but did not get that on the internet. By the same time, I could not find it in the local stores here in Brussels. So, I needed to borrow that. I love to play video games and the GTA series is my favourite. I have played the former versions of the game and wanted to play the latest one. But being unable to collect the CD, I borrowed it and installed on my computer. 3. My carpet became too dirty last week due to the weekend party. So, I needed to clean it and thus borrowed the carpet cleaner from my neighbour Mr Moriarty. He is a professor of mathematics at a local university here in England. As I do not own any carpet cleaner, I needed to borrow that. All my relatives gathered at my place marking the birthday of my younger daughter and I allowed everyone with their shoes. So, the carpet got too much dirty with various types of unwanted objects. It needed a proper cleaning. 4. Attending an interview requires formal outfits that I do not have. In fact, as a student of graduate level, I am unable to bear the cost of a suit. So, I borrowed a suit from my friend, Robin. He is also a foreign student like me at the University of Tokyo. I borrowed the suit to attend an interview for a job. In fact, this was the very first interview for me and a local corporation asked to appear with all necessary documents and a formal look at the interview date. 5. I wanted to spend a week at the Utah National Park but I did not have a portable stove to cook for me and my fiancé.   So, I borrowed the stove from a friend of mine named Julia. Actually, I decided to camp for the first time and did not have the knowledge what might need to pass a night in out. When I completed the list, I found that the stove to cook is missing and so, I needed to borrow that. If I failed to manage the stove, I had to take some canned foods. Do you think this is wise to have canned foods in a camping at such a nice place? So, I borrowed the stove and it was highly important.
Describe
a
useful
thing that you once
borrowed
. You should say: what was it
who
you
borrowed
it from why you
borrowed
it and
explain
why it was
important
for you to
borrow
it. [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:

Well
, this candidate task card reminds me of several occasions when I had to
borrow
something
useful
and
important
from others. I would,
however
,
go with
my
first
instinct and talk about the
event
that came
first
in my mind. It was a recent
event
when I
borrowed
a
thermometer
from a
neighbour
. Though a
thermometer
is a
small
tool and
is required
only
a few
times
,
in particular
, when someone suffers from fever, it is
quite
useful
in my opinion.
  
It was almost midnight and all of a sudden my younger brother, Sam,
started
feeling ill. He was complaining about feeling
very
cold
and that was a symptom of getting caught by the seasonal flu. I rang one of my doctor
friends and
he
told
me not to worry too much unless Sam's body temperature was
really
high. He
also
advised me
some
medicines and assured me that he would visit our home in case things
get
worse. It was at the beginning of the last month and my younger brother suffered from the fever for about 5 days. Luckily he recovered sooner than
many
others I know about,
who
were caught
by the same viral flu. Speaking of that night, after I finished talking to my doctor
friend
, Rick, I searched for the
thermometer
to
check
Sam's temperature. I assumed we would have at least two
thermometers
at our
house
, one in my desk and another one is in the
fast
-aid box that my father had. To my surprise, I could not find a single one! I searched everywhere and after 30 minutes of ceaseless searching, I
quit
and decided to
borrow
it from Paula,
who
was one of our closest
neighbours
.
 
I called her and she was luckily awake.
I
explained
her Sam's condition and that I
needed
to
borrow
a
thermometer
from her. In 10 minutes she rushed to our
house
with the
thermometer
and talked to Same for a couple of minutes. She
also
brought
some
vitamin C enriched fruits with her and advised me to stay awake for a couple of hours to accompany Sam. She
also
talked with my parents and after an hour she
left
.
She
is
still
a caring and tender-hearted women
who
we consider our family
friend
. The
thermometer
I
borrowed
from Paula was
really
needed
at that
time
. We had to
check
Sam's body temperature in every 30 minutes. In the
next
morning, I
bought
three
thermometers
and gave my father one to
keep
it in his
fast
-aid box. I returned Paula's
thermometer
after a couple of days and thanked her for her
support
and care for us.
 
Cue Card Answer 2:

This is a nice
topic
for me to discuss as I have a great reputation (!
)
for forgetting things and I
often
need
to
borrow
from my surroundings for this characteristic or nature. Last month, I had
borrowed
the
laptop
from my cousin to complete a university project.

In
fact
, I forgot to
change
the battery of my
laptop
as it was having an
extremely
poor power backup. It is my insincerity that did not
allow
me to
get
the battery in due
time
and
gradually
the last
week
of the
project
submission appeared. Five days
before
the
project
submission, I had to
borrow
a
laptop
from my cousin. Though he delivered
some
angry words for my negligence, he rescued me from a
negative
situation I
was supposed
to
get
involved. The
project
was
quite
important
as it carried more than 30% marks of the entire course.

I
borrowed
the
laptop
from my cousin, Henry. He is a freelancer and works online from home. When I was a kid, my parents asked me to follow him on his unique virtues and
actually
, they
wanted
me to shape up like Henry. He is five years older than me and looks
quite
smart with his curly hair and broad cheek. His eyes are dark with a bluish shade. He
lives
in the opposite direction of our
house
and my parents are fond of him for his extraordinary qualities. He has turned like an idol for me and I
also
try to follow
some
of his qualities. Unfortunately, few of my
bad
habits are the greatest impediments in following him.

I
make
delay in everything and this is one of my
bad
habits. I have suffered a lot for the habit and
still
suffering in
some
points.
I
had to
borrow
the
laptop
for the same reason. In
fact
, I forgot to
buy
the
laptop
battery that I have been planning to
buy
for the past few months. Whenever I attempt to
use
the
laptop
, it
makes
me remember that it
needs
its battery. At the same
time
, if I do not complete the
project
and present the incomplete version to the
class
and the teachers, I might be unable to
get
promoted in the
next
semester. It was a crucial individual assignment for me. If it was a teamwork, I could have crossed the barriers
easily
with
support
from my teammates.

Borrowing the
laptop
was a major issue for me. After completion of the
project
, the students were to present the
ideas
and
other
details
to the audiences at the auditorium.
Actually
, that was not a problem as I
proudly
own
a Dell
laptop
. The trouble was about its charging issues and the
newly
built auditorium had no external charging facilities for
laptops
and
other
electronic devices. My
laptop
needed
continuous charging to run and whenever the charger
was detached
, it ran less than ten minutes. As Henry
owned
three
laptops
with high configuration, I sought his
support
in this case
. He
got
angry
initially
when he heard that my
project
was
quite
important and
I am
yet
to finish it. He was familiar with my nature and
often
advised me to
change
that.
Finally
, he extended a hand for unconditional
support
to me. I am
truly
grateful to him. By the way, I
got
B+ in my
project
and the
laptop
actually
saved me from a disastrous situation. More
Ideas
to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card
topic
:
Topic
:
Describe
a
useful
thing that you once
borrowed
. 1. Reading is my hobby and
often
I
borrow
books
from
people
.
So
, in last
week
, I
borrowed
a
book
from Peter about the space science. I
borrowed
the
book
because
I did not
get
it on the
local
book
stall here in California and it was Peter
who
owned
the
book
on my network.
Actually
, I cannot
stop
my curiosity once it
begins
and after reading the blurb, it appeared that I
need
the
book
. Since I cannot manage that, I
borrowed
it.

2. I
borrowed
a video game CD from a
friend
of mine. I
borrowed
it from Anderson.
I
wanted
to play the GTA V. This is the latest version of the series
but
did not
get
that on the internet. By the same
time
, I could not find it in the
local
stores here in Brussels.
So
, I
needed
to
borrow
that. I
love
to play video games and the GTA series is my
favourite
. I have played the former versions of the game and
wanted
to play the latest one.
But
being unable to collect the CD, I
borrowed
it and installed on my computer.

3. My
carpet
became too dirty last
week
due to the weekend party.
So
, I
needed
to clean it and
thus
borrowed
the
carpet
cleaner from my
neighbour
Mr Moriarty. He is a professor of mathematics at a
local
university here in England. As I do not
own
any
carpet
cleaner, I
needed
to
borrow
that. All my relatives gathered at my place marking the birthday of my younger daughter and I
allowed
everyone with their shoes.
So
, the
carpet
got
too much dirty with various types of unwanted objects. It
needed
a proper cleaning.

4. Attending an
interview
requires formal outfits that I do not have. In
fact
, as a student of graduate level, I am unable to bear the cost of a suit.
So
, I
borrowed
a suit from my
friend
, Robin. He is
also
a foreign student like me at the University of Tokyo. I
borrowed
the suit to attend an
interview
for a job. In
fact
, this was the
very
first
interview
for me and a
local
corporation asked to appear with all necessary documents and a formal look at the
interview
date.

5. I
wanted
to spend a
week
at the Utah National Park
but
I did not have a portable
stove
to cook for me and my fiancé.
 
So
, I
borrowed
the
stove
from a
friend
of mine named Julia.
Actually
, I decided to camp for the
first
time
and did not have the knowledge what might
need
to pass a night in out. When I completed the list, I found that the
stove
to cook is missing and
so
, I
needed
to
borrow
that. If I failed to manage the
stove
, I had to take
some
canned foods. Do you
think
this is wise to have canned foods in a camping at such a nice place?
So
, I
borrowed
the
stove
and it was
highly
important
.
19Linking words, meeting the goal of 7 or more
152Repeated words, meeting the goal of 3 or fewer
16Mistakes
Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.
Sarah Caldwell

IELTS speaking Describe a useful thing that you once borrowed. v. 1

Speaking
  American English
11 paragraphs
1613 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
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