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

Describe an old person you admire.

You should say:

• who this person is
• how long you have known him/ her
• what qualities he/she has

and explain why you admire him/ her so much.

Model Answer 1:
This is an easy topic for me as I know exactly who I want to tell you about!  I’ll say who she is, how long I have known her, a bit about her special qualities and why I admire her so much.

I don’t think of this person as old, but I suppose she is because she will be 90 next year, and that’s certainly a good age.  She is a distant cousin of mine, she now lives in a residential nursing home, which makes me sad, but she has had a full and interesting life and done many amazing, brave and brilliant things.

I think I have known her about twenty-one years, but the story of how we came to be friends is a little strange.  I was about to go travelling to Australia and was staying with my parents in London overnight before catching a plane from Heathrow the following day.  Whilst I was there my parents told me about this distant cousin who had been in a road accident and was in a hospital.  She was/is a very well educated woman with many academic and cultural interests, and they were wondering what to take her to read during her stay.  I offered some of my collection of short storybooks.  I wasn’t sure they would be to her taste, they dealt with political issues and were not by any means what I would have expected an elderly sick relative to be interested in.  The volumes were by Alice Walker, Susan Hill and other such writers.

My cousin loved them!  She wrote to me whilst I was in Australia to tell me, and also mentioned that she herself had worked in Australia for many years. She had a very illustrious career as a paediatric pathologist, but also did research on things like mammalian hearts which took her all over the world.  She asked me to lookup an old friend of hers whilst I was there, which I did with some reluctance as I wasn’t sure what I’d find.  I met another amazing woman who lived in the middle of a beautiful rainforest and was passionate about conservation.  When I came back to England a year later, I visited my cousin to tell her all about my travels, and that was the beginning of an ongoing friendship. We have always corresponded with one another and I find her wise and a great role model.  We have shared interests and I think our personalities are also rather alike – for better or worse!  Opinionated and stubborn at times, but also caring very much about the world and those around us and constantly curious and restless.  Endlessly wanting to go and explore and experience new things.  We share a wanderlust at least!

My cousin is intelligent, well-travelled and very independent.  She has insight and great skill in academic writing.  Over the years I’ve shared with her my own writing efforts, looked to her for advice on what to do when facing certain decisions, and gained inspiration from her lifestyle.  She is very good at setting herself goals and getting on with things – it would be fair to say she doesn’t suffer fools gladly, so she is certainly someone who will put you straight on things.  I think of her as a ‘critical friend’ I know she cares about me a lot, as I do her, but that doesn’t mean she’ll indulge me at all if she feels I’m being foolish in any way.  She never married, and I too am on my own, so I think we sort of understand one another, and we both like our own space, which can be confusing for some people at times.

I admire her hugely, her health is frail now, and that makes me sad, but she has achieved so much in her career, life and network of friends.  If I can do half as well in the time I have I’ll be very content with that!

[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]

Model Answer 2:
I don’t think that too many persons, especially the young generation, these days are really that familiar with the idea of admiring old persons. But, there are many things to admire about old persons because of the unique characteristics they carry with them. Today, I would like to talk about one such old person who I admire so much.

This person is nobody else other than my own old grandfather. Interestingly enough, though, he doesn’t really like it that much when we refer him as an “old” person. Rather, he still likes to introduce himself as a 75 years “young” person! Having known my old grandfather since last 30 years, after learning to recognize and identify a person from the age of 3 or 4 years old, I think that I am in a perfect position to describe my grandfather as a loving and caring person for the most part. Of course, he can also get cranky from time to time if he doesn’t get enough sleep. He also seems to be a more active person than other old people of his age as he still likes to get involved in taking care of some house choirs, like doing grocery shopping and taking out trashes, from time to time. He loves to eat an apple every day, and he also likes to eat fried chicken with his 3 years old grandchild.

My grandfather is a retired government serviceman, so he still has an ‘aura’ of authority around him, but he doesn’t mind cracking occasional jokes to his grandchildren. Finally, I also think that he is a fairly learned and knowledgeable person, as I have seen him reading many books, but I have seldom seen him arguing with other people.

Anyway, I admire my grandfather, mainly because I have found him to be carrying himself really well even at his old age. I also admire him because of the fact that he still has a “young” heart, which motivates him to still enjoy the little things in life, like enjoying a cup of fresh coffee at a café or feeding birds in a lake.

Sample Answer 3:
The aged person whom I really admire and like is my grandmother. From my childhood, she has always been a caring person and loved me very much. Till now she is a good friend of mine with whom I share so many of my personal information. She is a benevolent and good person who possesses a good heart. She tries to help others with her highest efforts. I know her from my childhood as she has been living with us for a long and we have lots of happy memories together. 

She is a successful mother of 4, including my father. She has devoted her entire life for the betterment of her kids and made them educated and helped them greatly to be established. She possesses a nice and charming personality that always pleases people around her. She is a kind and wise woman.

I love and admire her for many different reasons. The most important reason is that of her unconditional love and affection for me. She is a good mentor who can show me positive ways and guide me in my distressing time. Talking to her is a soothing experience and the stories she tells are always attractive and full of morality. I have learned many positive attitudes and good thinking from her. For all those reasons and strong bonding between us, I admire her very much.  

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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