IELTS Cue Card 99: Describe An Enjoyable Family Event
IELTS Speaking Cue Card with Sample Answer. Describe An Enjoyable Family Event. IELTS Speaking Part 2 With Model Answer. Also Sample answer for Part 3 discussion.
Describe An Enjoyable Family Event
You should say:
- where and when this event took place
- what you did
- who was there at this event
and explain why this event was enjoyable.
Model Answer:
One thing our family does every year is to all come together in my grandmother’s town just after Christmas and celebrate the festive season together.
Last year we had a huge meal which everyone helped to cook. We sat around our dinner table eating delicious food and catching up on all our news. We also went for a long walk in the countryside. By the end I was so tired I was falling asleep on my feet but it was good fun.
The whole clan was there. That is, my entire extended family including my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. We go to my grandmother‘s house because she’s old and finds it difficult to travel very far, so it’s easier if we come to her. Every year I see my young cousins grow a little bit older and become a little bit bigger. One of them is now even bigger than me! I also saw my Uncle Bertie who’s really funny. He can tell some side-Splitting jokes.
I love these big get-togethers because it‘s the only time I get to see some of my relatives. We live all over the country so without family events like this one we might not see each other at all. I like the way everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves and not thinking about the pressures of their normal lives back home. It’s great for everyone to catch up and come together as a family. We also played games together and generally had fun. It‘s a shame we had to go back home again so soon.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 Question and Sample Answer:
Have you ever been to a wedding celebration?
I’ve only been to one wedding in my life, and I was very young so I can’t remember it very well. It’s for my Uncle Nicholas and Auntie Nina, who were finally tying the knot after dating for nine whole years. I doubt either of them had cold feet seeing as they had already been together for so long. I remember having to get dressed into some very formal and uncomfortable clothes. They itched a lot and I felt very trussed-up. I also had to kiss all the bridesmaids which was horrible for a young boy as I was then. Afterwards there was a big party called a “reception” where everyone ate a nice meal, gave speeches and drank a lot of wine.
What happens at a wedding celebration in China?
In the traditional Chinese wedding, a band of musicians with gongs and flute-like instruments accompanies the bride parade to the groom’s home. Similar music is also played at the wedding banquet. Depending on the region that the bride hails from, Chinese weddings will have different traditions such as tea ceremony or the use of a wedding emcee. When the bride arrives at the groom‘s house, she can’t walk out of the sedan chair; the old matchmaker lady has to piggyback her all the way to the living room and drop her there in front of the groom’s parents, and during the whole wedding she has the red clothes covering her head. The couple will have three kowtow, to the earth and sky, to the parents. and to each other. And the red color is being used a lot, as a symbol of good luck, but in modern times, Chinese couples get to know western weddings via media, so the lady sometimes dresses up in white, and they go to church to have the wedding and also will go to photo studios to take “glamour shots” posing in multiple gowns and various backgrounds.
Why do many people spend a lot of money on wedding celebrations?
I think the main reason people tend to push the boat out for their weddings is that it’s a unique event that will only happen once in their lives. They want to make it Special and something to remember. Another factor at work here is the desire to impress all your friends and relatives who will come to the wedding. Not only do you want them to have fun and enjoy the occasion but you also want to show-off a bit. It‘s not unusual for some couples to spend ridiculous amounts of money on weddings. There’s a lot of pressure and expectation that a wedding has to be “perfect” so people tend to splash out and spend a lot of money.
Do you know of any differences between weddings in China and those in the West?
For western couples, during the wedding the bride walks into the church herself, which is called the bridal march. But during the traditional Chinese wedding, the bride doesn’t walk herself. Instead, a matchmaker lady has to piggyback her to the living room. Also, in western weddings, people always dress up in white, as a symbol of purity, but in a Chinese wedding, the bride dresses up in red as a symbol of good luck. During the western wedding, the groom uncovers the face mask by his hands and kisses the bride in front of the guests, whereas in a traditional Chinese wedding the groom will carry the bride to their room and then uncover her face mask using a long red stick. As you can see, there are quite a few differences between the two types of wedding.