Details

Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe a piece of local news that was interesting to you.

You should say:

• what it was about
• when you heard/ read about it
• what the story was

and explain why it was interesting to you.

[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:
In this age of information and media, we are bombarded with all kinds of news every day even though they just might not have the news value as we would have preferred. But, the news here, I am about to share, is certainly interesting as far as its news value is concerned.

Anyway, this piece of local news was aired on one of our national TV channels just a few weeks ago. This local news was related to the tough life of an old lady, in her early 70’s, who earns her living by selling local newspapers in my very hometown. By the way, I have seen this lady, in her old clothes, in my home town myself on a number of occasions but never really felt the need to talk to her or buy any newspaper from her. Instead, I have just thought of her as a mentally ill person who could use our help.

Ironically enough though, it is her steel-strong determination of not seeking any help from anybody to survive, as the TV news had described, that brought her story in the light. Of course, many people had tried to help her, but she has refused to accept their help, apparently because she thought that it was a disgrace to accept other peoples’ help and that she was very happy living like that for over the last 30 years. On top of that, it is her who have helped many helpless and poor people from the very insignificant amount of money that she earns by selling newspapers.

Mainly, I found the piece of news to be interesting because it made me realize that even though we don’t value many people in our society because of their “purposeless life”, ironically, it seems that these are the people who seem to have a greater sense of self-respect. Besides, the news also had taught me that it doesn’t really take much money to help others but it is the heart of a person which is needed the most to heal and help others.

Sample Answer 2:
Ahh! an interesting topic indeed. For this cue card topic, I would like to talk about a piece of interesting and captivating local news that I read in a newspaper. It would be more than 5 years ago, I assume, when I read this news in a local newspaper called (...say a newspaper name common in your country…).  

In a fine morning, I opened the newspaper, like any other usual day, and found a news story that caught my eyes. It was about a giant animal that people had seen on the streets after midnight and many of them believed that it was a ghost and could change its shape. The story even included some local people's interviews who told the reporter that they saw this mysterious animal and shape-shifter with their own eyes. The length of the news and its coverage with pictures were evidence that it was getting some attention, at least to local people who like to gossip and believe strange stories. The reporter also gave a hint that some recent crimes that the policemen were still struggling to solve might have been connected with this unknown animal!  

I am not a person who can be easily convinced with such baseless stories. However, I must give the reporter some credit to be able to present the news very interestingly. The report did not mention a single time that such ghost story is mostly fabricated and exaggerated. Rather it tried to convince the readers that there was some solid ground of this news and people should be careful at night. However, the reporter also reported his doubt about the authenticity of people's opinion. Clever indeed, to attract both type of readers - believers and non-believer of ghosts!  

The report also included that some people have informed the nearby police station that a child was missing and they saw a giant beast around the house of this child. However, the reporter cleverly avoided the fact that it was some hearsay, not confirmed by the police. The story that I read ended with mystery and uncertainty. I would say it was quite engaging and this was mostly because of how it was presented to the readers rather than the facts of the story.  

Before I end, I would like to tell you about the findings of this ghost story that was published at least 3 weeks later. The giant animal was a big panther who was sick and fled from a nearby zoo. The authority caught it in a week. The missing child was found after 2 days and this was a common missing-child case. Finally, the people who fabricated the story somehow got busy with other such cock-and-bull stories.  

Sample Answer 3:
Batticaloa is a city with less interesting events but the recent event of saving lives by a teenage boy, Kushal, had created great excitement among the local citizens. In fact, this is really interesting news for me and for most others in our city.
 
Due to the simplicity and ordinary living style of the local people, exciting events are very few here and so, whenever there are some excitements, the events turn exclusive. The event took place last Thursday when Kushal was able to stop a bus immediately before an accident. The accident might have caused some serious detrimental impacts on the passengers and the bystanders. In fact, the bus driver was unable to identify the newly dug holes on the roads which were unmarked by the workers.

I heard the news on the local television channel on the evening of the same day. The television channel publicised it as a special report periodically and described thoroughly from the beginning to the last. The reporter also praised highly of the ready wit, smartness and bravery of Kushal. Generally, the drivers stop their vehicles when they see a red signal and sensing the accident, the boy arranged for a piece of red cloth to stop the bus. The news was telecasted around the day but I was unable to know about it in the daytime for my class. After returning home, I sat before the TV to enjoy a special reality show, and it was then when I came to know about this particular event.  

The news presenter began the news with an exciting tone that a highly interesting event took place on the day. Then he gradually described the courage of the boy and how he managed to stop a tourist bus on a sideways in the city. Actually, the bus driver was a novice in his job and was assigned to make a tour of the city with foreign guests. Being unskilled, he was unable to trace the holes on the road which were meant for the road extension. The workers were on a break as it was the breakfast hour and so they did not put any mark beside the holes. So, the bus driver moved towards the hole while Kushal noticed that. So, he managed a red cloth from somewhere and stood in front of the extension zones, waved the red cloth and the speedy bus stopped just before him.

The event was really interesting as it contained some excitements. Despite being a major city of Sri Lanka, the events in the city are dull and boring. The citizens are bored with the local news of export, import and other agricultural issues. In fact, we lead a routine-bound life which has made life tiring. So, whenever there is something exciting, we become excited. The bravery of Kushal was the same for us, especially his heroic stance to stop the bus was praiseworthy. He stood before a speedy bus which could have hit him and resulting in his death or any other serious injury. The entire event has thrilled us all and so it was interesting to me.
 

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Describe a piece of local news that was interesting to you.

1. The news was about the survival of a lady with a banana in a week.  And I was amazed at the news. I came to know about the news in a local newspaper here in Uttar Pradesh in India. The story described a woman who eats a banana in a week. She eats nothing else and has been living in this way for the past few years. The news was interesting to me because I cannot even think of adopting such a living style. And she is fit and well with a single banana in her old age.

2. I could not stop thrilling when I came to know that a teenager can turn his head to a 180 degree to look directly backside of him. I read the news on an online web portal while browsing it. The story was about a teenage boy in Pakistan. The boy was able to turn his head a 180 degree. By this turning, he could look his backward. The news was interesting because I have not seen such a thing in my entire life. And I tried to do so. All my attempts turned into a failure.

3. To get fame, people do bizarre things and a similar event took place recently. I came to know about an internet prankster who cemented his head in a microwave oven. I read the news on the internet and was astonished. The news read that a prankster wanted to amaze his audience and thus he cemented his head inside a microwave oven. But the prank went serious and it took about one hour for firefighters to rescue him from the situation. It was interesting as I came to know about the foolishness of people.

4. The matter of showing off is prevalent everywhere and the rising stars often do the same. I came to know about such an issue in Russia that some of the rising stars hire an aeroplane and take some photos. Later, they post the photos on different platforms to create an illusion of their wealthy living. But in reality, they are not so much wealthy at all. The news appeared interesting because it exposed the reality behind the show off of the stars.

5. A recent news in Italy arrested m attention. A couple of Italian bank robbers used a mask resembling Donald Trump, the USA President. I heard the news a couple of days ago. The news presenter described that a couple of bank robbers have used the mask during the heist. The police have recovered the masks and I laughed out loud. In fact, it appeared a kind hatred towards the USA President that even the bank robbers are also disliking him. So, the news was interesting to me.    

• IELTS Cue Card
• Candidate Task Card

• Prev
• Next