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

Describe a typical day in your life when you were a child.

You should say:

• who was/were around you
• what you ate and did
• who took care of you

and say what you most enjoyed doing on your childhood days.

[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:
If I remember correctly, my life as a child was full of “troubles”, "fun" and "happiness".  In fact, my neighbours would find it more suitable to call me a “trouble maker” because I just wasn’t able to find any fun and adventure in my restless life without creating troubles!

Anyway, my day started with an argument with my mother as to why my favourite breakfast was not made and ended with some other arguments like my bed was not comfortable enough to sleep and that I would feel better sleeping on the roof of our old two-storey building. In fact, calling my bed “uncomfortable” was just an excuse for me because I just loved to sleep on the room of our home, especially, during the summertime in order to enjoy the view of a clear sky and stars.

By the way, I never really enjoyed going to the school except on those days when it served delicious Tiffin like cakes, boiled eggs and fresh fruits instead of just some stale bread and jelly. Of course, back home, the story was different because my mother used to cook different kinds of food items every day including chicken biriyani, delicious hotch-potch, egg noodles, as well as fried fish and beef/mutton curry along with rice, among other things. By the way, I always used to have several other children around me. I think that they used to hang out with me only because they could cause a lot of mischief under my “guidance and shelter”.

And as far as the question of who used to take care of me, it was only my father and strong-willed elder sister because my dear mother was too busy and too soft-hearted and gentle of a person to control an unruly child like me.

Anyway, as a child, I enjoyed doing a lot of things, but the best among them was to run in an open field with my bicycle and displaying my cycle riding skills with different stances. I also enjoyed chasing beautiful little birds at a nearby garden because I wanted to catch them and play with them.

Sample Answer 2:
I was born in a nuclear family in Milan, Italy and thus did not have the chance to see and meet intimately with the other relatives or family members of my family. I just saw my parents and siblings with me. But they were really careful about me and I enjoyed a huge number of benefits from them in my childhood. This is a nice cue card task for me. I would love to answer the remaining questions.

I took the usual foods in my childhood. I loved the breakfast and lunch but was reluctant to have my dinner. In the breakfast, used to take a juice or milk and some cookies. Sometimes, I used to eat cakes as well instead of cookies. But the routine was different in the holidays. Taking pasta during lunch was my habit. Sometimes, it was altered by roasted potatoes and meat. I never liked fish. But mom used to force me into having the fishes for supper. Sometimes, I took pizza instead of fishes.

It was a small family. There were no external members to look after me. But my elder siblings were kind to me and they helped me greatly. In fact, my elder sister was the representative of my mom in her absence. She used to take care of me. She prepared me for the school, often fed me in supper and did many other activities that I will remember always.  

Outing with my family members on the weekends in the attractive spots of Milan was the most enjoyable thing for me. In those evening, I used to take part in various types of activities. Besides, watching cartoon shows was another important and enjoyable task for me. Alas! the days are gone and I miss my childhood.

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

Topic: Describe a  typical day in your life when you were a child.

1. I used to spend most of my time with my pet, Tom when I was a child. It was a nice looking cat. But during the meal hours, I used to move to my mom or the maidservant. I took some simple foods in the meal and preferred milk. In fact, my mom was highly busy with her own activities. So, Merry took care of me. I enjoyed playing with my pet most in my childhood.

2. My siblings were around me when I was a child. Actually, I was the youngest of them and thus they took great care of me. My elder sister fed me and I loved to take the chicken. The habit is still going on. But I got most of the care from my elder brother. He used to take me out of the home. I also used to play with toys. And had gathered a remarkable number of toys.

3. I have spent my childhood in Japan and mostly was surrounded by relatives. I loved taking noodles at all time of the day. My mother was a housewife and she took great care of me. I cannot forget the childhood days because I enjoyed riding my dad’s bicycle most. He used to take me to different places and I sat behind him. I also learned to ride the bicycle from my dad in my childhood.

4. My parents lived in a remote place in Sri Lanka and I spent most of the time of a day with them. I loved eating the fish curry more than any other curries with plain rice. A maid used to help my mom and she also took care of me. She helped me in bathing, getting prepared for school etc. But I enjoyed playing in the school ground most. We played various types of outdoor sports there.    

5. Admission at a boarding school is tough but spending the entire childhood there is extremely undesirable. I spent my childhood with my teachers and friends. I had to take regular meals provided by the school authority. The school was located in the southwest corner of Jakarta – far away from my residence. So, the attendants from the school took care of mine. But bunking the classes was highly thrilling to me.

6. My parents were with me in my childhood. In fact, I was their only daughter and they loved me much. I loved taking foods made from vegetables and still, the habit is on. In day times, mom used to take care of me and even accompanied me to school. I enjoyed different things in my childhood and reading comic books was the most notable one. I had a huge collection of comic books.

Your preparation for the cue card topic - "Describe a  typical day in your life when you were a child." would help you to talk about the following topics as well:

1. Describe something memorable from your childhood days.
2. Talk about how you passed a typical childhood day.
3. Describe a childhood memory.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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