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

Describe a time when you trusted a stranger.

You should say:

• when it was
• who this stranger was
• why you had to trust this person

and explain what happened then.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
In an ideal world, nobody should really be strangers to us because we all share pretty much the same goals, feelings, sadness and happiness in our life. But, unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world where our limitation as humans and fear of the unknown force us to be sceptical about trusting a stranger. Needless to say, I am not immune from this scepticism either.

But, I still needed to trust a stranger about 5 years ago when my father had to go through a critical by-pass heart surgery. By the way, my father was already a 70 years old person back then, and he had suffered from a massive heart attack a few days earlier. Luckily, we were in the hand of a very expert heart surgeon, who assured us that his team would have no problem in having a successful operation on my father by the grace of almighty. Having said that, however, he also warned us at the same time that my father was also in risk of losing too much blood at the time of surgery since he was a rather old man. Anyway, the doctor also gave us an idea as to how many bags of blood would be required to keep my father in a stable condition.

So, we started to talk to all of my family members and relatives, but unfortunately, we were still short of one blood bag. So, we decided to contact some professional blood donors even though we heard a lot of negative comments about them earlier. But, since, we had no other options because my father had a rather rare blood group, we decided to accept his blood after running some regular tests on his health condition.

Luckily, the blood transfusion into the body of my father, who had just gone through some serious surgery, was successful without any reaction or complication. I and my entire family thanked the blood donor from the bottom of our hearts. In response, he simply said that he was happy to have been able to help.

Model Answer 2:
Interesting topic indeed and thank you for allowing me to talk about an event when I trusted a stranger! We sometimes have to trust people we do not know. The outcome of this faith and trust varies and trusting a complete stranger is not always a bad idea. However, our intuition and experience tell us not to rely on a complete outsider. Despite this, I believed people on different occasions and many times they were completely unknown to me.

One day, I was on my way to my hometown and our bus got delayed. To add more misery, on the route, the bus suddenly stopped working in a desolate area. The driver told us that the brake of the bus was not working and he had to stop the car to avoid any risk. Some of the passengers took alternative buses but the rest of us were stuck there. At least 4-5 hours were needed to repair the bus and waiting that long was not a good idea especially in this strange place.

All of a sudden a stranger approached us and told me that we should hire a private car and reach our destination. I noticed that he had already managed three other passengers who had accepted his proposition. However, when this person told me that the nearest car hire service was two miles away and we would need to give him $30 per person so that he can pay the money to the company and bring the car, my gut feeling told me not to trust him. I asked him to call the car rental company to pick us, and he replied that he had already done so and the car rental company would not send the car this far without the advance payment. The stranger I am talking about was around 35 years old and as I recall his name was Stephen.

As per a conversation I had with him, he was a banker. I trusted this stranger, gave him 30 dollars and waited dubiously for an hour for him to return. At a time during my waiting, I thought he would not show up at all. Nevertheless, after approximately 2 hours, he came back with a hired car and a driver. It was a great relief to me. I laughed silently for distrusting this person initially. However, it turned out that trusting him was a good idea.

I reached home just before the darkness settled in and thanked this stranger, whose name was Stephen, for his initiative to hire a car and reach home before the night. His plan, stamina, leadership quality and timely decision saved us from the possible danger of being stuck in an unknown place. When the car dropped me near my home, the stranger had already dropped off the car. Nonetheless, I thanked him again, this time silently without him noticing my gratitude for his timely decision and action.

Sample Answer 3:
Recently my journey to Australia from Vietnam was a bit difficult. During that time, I had to rely on a stranger. I would like to talk about this event when I trusted this unknown person.

I am a journalist and my office had recently sent me to Vietnam to cover some news articles. So, after completing the tasks in Vietnam, I had to return to Australia. On the way back home, I met this person. When I entered the Ho Chi Minh City Airport, I needed help, and the man lent a helping hand to me. In fact, without his support, it was almost impossible for me to get rid of the customs and immigration troubles.

The man, Jacob Abraham was an Australian as well. He was a scriptwriter (that I came to know later) for television commercials. He also travelled in Vietnam and was returning on the same day as I was. He is on the view that if someone is in trouble, it is our moral responsibility to help this person - this is what he told me when I thanked him for his support.

I guess I trusted him because he appeared to be a complete gentleman to me. Some people, if not all, can give an impression that you can rely on them and he was one such person, I guess. I was having trouble explaining to one of the customs officers that my stay was extended by the immigration authority but he was not convinced. I had a few bags and luggage and it was tough for me to carry them all with me as I needed to visit different rooms in the immigration section. Jacob Abraham, the person I am talking about came to my rescue. I requested him to look after my baggage and he did so for about an hour -a great help for me considering the situation.

Actually, I had no options left rather than relying on him. It was not possible for me to carry the heavy suitcases and bags with me to clear the bureaucratic issues related to immigration. I think he did a great job for me. If it was not for me him, I had to leave the luggage unattended! I profoundly thanked him for his selfless help. We departed at a time but he made my day and I would always remember his support.

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

Topic: Describe a time when you trusted a stranger.

1. You know how difficult it is to get a bus during the rush hours in New York City and I was literally running to get on the bus a few days ago.  So, I had to rely on a complete stranger. I asked him to hold my backpack when the bus started to move. Later, I came to know that he was Mr Alex and works a few blocks away from my office. I had to trust him because it was difficult for me to ride on the bus with the backpack.

2. I love to travel and often need to trust outsiders in different places. But meeting with a stranger in Mumbai was completely different. I could not get the name of this young boy. I had to trust him because I wanted to get a picture of me and my wife at a tourist spot in India. After clicking a few shots, the boys asked for money. It was surprising to me though I paid a five-dollar bill to that boy. In fact, I had no idea that someone could demand money for only clicking some pictures.

3. Honestly, I do not trust unknown people and my experiences are bitter. But this time, I had to trust a man named Joseph. Actually, I wanted to get a ticket for a football match in Barcelona and failed to get in the queue of the ticket booth. So, I sought help from this person. And this gentle and kind man got tickets for me as he was in the front row. If I went to the queue, I could not have managed tickets for that match. Thanks to that good fellow.

4. Recently, I went to Berlin and took supports from a stranger. I lost my purse accidentally. So, a woman named Alberta came to my help. I had to trust her because I had no other options left. I stood alone at the station and tried to get help from someone to get back home. Finally, Alberta approached me. I shared a ride with her and trusted her from the very beginning.

5. A few days ago, I had to trust a stranger. The man helped me to avoid some unwanted troubles. I could not identify the man but he was cooperative. Without any reason, some youths were teasing me on the road. I was returning home from my university and then this man came to my help. I trusted him and he saved me from a bad situation. He shouted at the boys and escorted me to my home. I thanked him for his courage and support for me at a crucial moment.

If you can talk about 'Describe a time when you trusted a stranger', you are supposed to be able to answer the following topics:

1. Describe a time when someone helped you.
2. Describe a time when you helped someone.
3. Talk about an event when someone came at your rescue.
4. Describe an event when you sought help from someone you did not know.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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