Describe a Journey You Made in the Past that You Remember Well
IELTS Speaking Test
Do you work or study?
I’m still studying at the moment - studying for my degree in International Business and Marketing. At the moment, I’m in my final year and will graduate in the summer.
Tell me about your hometown.
Well, it’s quite a small town really – the population is around 300,000 people. It’s not far from the capital city but it’s a lot quieter, in fact some people might say it’s a sleepy kind of place.
Nothing much happens and it’s a very popular place for young families.
Would you like to live in the countryside?
Maybe someday in the future, if I ever get married and have a family, or possibly when I’m old and retired, but at the moment I don’t think I would enjoy it so much.
I like to have things to do and a different places to visit and do things. I would actually prefer to live in a larger city.
After graduating I’m planning to go to Australia and study for two years and I would love to live in a big city there like Melbourne or Sydney.
Do you like swimming?
Yes, I suppose so. I don’t go swimming very often but I enjoy it when I do. It’s not like my favorite activity or anything – but it’s fun if you go with a group of friends, and especially if you go to the beach for the day.
Do you prefer to swim in the pool or the ocean?
Definitely in the ocean – it’s so much more fun. The whole experience is different as opposed to swimming in a pool, but then it’s often easier to go to a pool than visit the coast to swim in the ocean.
How important is it to learn to swim in your country?
It’s not very important, but most people learn to swim when they’re children.
Most schools have swimming classes and so by the time you graduate from high school there are very few people who can’t swim.
It’s just one of those activities like riding a bike that most people do when they’re a kid – it’s something normal.
IELTS Speaking Test Part 2
Describe a long car journey that you remember well
You should say:- When was it?
- Where did you go?
- Who did you go there with?
And explain why you remember this particular journey well.
Sample Answer
It was the last day of school. My friends and I had planned this road trip for months, so we were all excited about it. We woke up at 8 am sharp to get ready for the trip.
My mom told me that it would be a long drive. "Just don't fall asleep," she said jokingly as she said goodbye. I laughed at that comment - how could I ever fall asleep when on an adventure like this? Before long, we were on our way towards Monterrey.
It was a journey I'll always remember because I went with my good friends and we were all new to this type of exploration, and we had no one to guide us.
We arrived late in the day, and we prepared for a two-night stay under the stars on top of the mountains. There was some concern about animals such as wild pigs, bears, or even coyotes.
When darkness gathered around us, I had already set up my tent near the fire ring, and I took watch duty that first night.
All was quiet within until out of nowhere appeared a large and somewhat ferocious-looking rodent. It was a horrible cross between a wild boar and a rat.
It stared me down, grunted like an old man with sleep apnea, and then roamed on into the darkness beyond my campfire light. I didn't get much sleep that night, but it probably wasn't the best idea to be sleeping out in the open in the first place!
The next day, we got off to a late start and were forced to make up time by rushing our project to hike to the top of Mound Cahokia. We went up, saw what we had come for, took pictures, and gathered samples, but we didn't spend more time there than necessary.
The star attraction is The Black Hills Institute, a privately run museum dedicated entirely to the study of dinosaurs and their remains. You can find fossils ranging from small insects up to mint condition Tyrannosaurus Rex's here. Many lesser-known types of Animorphs are on display within the walls, as well as skulls of Giganotosaurus.
After spending some time musing over the exhibits, we carried on driving until we arrived at the town of Woodburn, Oregon.
From there, we went north into Washington state, where we stayed for a short while in a small roadside hotel.
After checking into our rooms and eating dinner, I decided to try my hand at hunting for fossils in a nearby riverbed with little luck in finding anything substantial.
After day three was over, we packed up and hit the road again, heading south, this time stopping off at Fossil Creek Park outside of Brigham City Utah, late in the afternoon. We had covered over 500 miles that day, including side trips to see some of the local rock art and ruins of the Fremont Indians.
Fossil Creek is a small park on the outskirts of Brigham City with several walking trails that head deep into a narrow canyon carved by an old stream long since dried up.
The easiest access to the creek bed is via the fossil trail, which winds itself downstream along the banks while revealing occasional glimpses of fossils poking out from between some of the rocks here and there.
After taking some more pictures and speaking to some locals, we decided it was time to call it a day. It was the final stop on our trip, and now it was time to set off for home.
The drive home seemed quick, and I was ready for a good sleep by the time we returned to my house.
IELTS Speaking Test Part 3
How did you feel at the end of the journey?
I would have to say – exhilarated and excited – it was like nothing I had ever done before so it’s something I’ll always remember.
And in fact my friends and I still talk about it whenever we get together, you know we’re always saying things like… “you remember when we did (activity) on our trip”, or “it’s just like that (object) we saw when we were driving through (place)”.
What is your opinion about the car industry nowadays?
My opinion? … Well, it’s a big industry and employs a lot of people which is a good thing.
But then a lot of people see it as a negative thing because cars are being blamed a lot for causing pollution.
But then again, if you actually do some research a lot of commonly held ebeliefs appear to be untrue.
For example, rather than trying to reduce pollution by producing more efficient cars – we should consider the amount of energy and pollution created during the manufacture of all these new cars that auto companies are always trying to get us to buy.
The energy required to build a new car is about one third of the energy the car will use in its entire lifetime – that’s a lot - so if we all kept our cars for longer, we could effectively reduce energy consumption, and hence pollution.
So I guess you could say the car industry is misunderstood by a lot of people.
What do you think about new technology development in the car industry?
Now that’s an interesting development – for example driverless cars are now a reality, but they haven’t been perfected sufficiently for them to become mainstream yet, but it’s going to happen soon.
There’s been a lot of progress in terms of making cars cleaner and more efficient, and then there’s the emergence of electric cars which show a lot of promise for the future if the charging infrastructure can be developed to allow people to use them like they use their cars at the moment.
I think in the future we’ll also see a lot more ‘smart car’ functions just like we see now on our mobile devices, where our cars become more personalized and we interface with them through technology such as through a link with our phone, using your phone as the key and for car security, not to mention other personalized options.
So expect to see further technology advances in safety, efficiency and features related to driverless cars and how we interact with our cars when we no longer have to actually drive them ourselves.
Are there any environmental issues related to the global car industry?
Of course, just like with any industry, there are always environmental issues. The car industry isn’t unique, the oil and gas industry has issues relating to the environment also, and so does the airline industry.
But specifically in terms of the auto industry on a worldwide scale – most people would say that pollution caused by cars is the number one issue.
But in recent years, due to a lot of pressure from governments, emissions have been drastically reduced and new cars are now cleaner and more fuel efficient than ever before.
Personally, I would say pollution caused by cars is not really a car industry problem – it’s a problem caused by car users.
On the other hand, the use of natural resources in auto production could definitely be said to be an issue for the auto industry.
The proportion of recycled material used, the massive amounts of energy required to produce every new car, and then transport them to the dealerships; this normally involves maritime shipping which causes a lot of pollution, in fact more than actually using the cars.
Now, that’s a huge problem, and nobody talks about it.
How can these issues be resolved?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? There are always solutions – but the issue is that they may not be popular with certain interested parties.
For example, electric cars seem like an almost perfect solution to the problem of emissions caused by fossil fuels such as gasoline, don’t they?
So why have electric cars not been introduced all over the world. Simply because most countries have developed economies based on oil and petroleum, and if you suddenly change all cars to electric ones – the oil and petroleum industries will crash very quickly.
So while people protest loudly about saving the planet, and we now have the technology to do it; the oil companies are extremely powerful and have a lot of influence over politics and so the introduction of alternative fuel driven vehicles will be a long and slow process.
As for the issue I mentioned earlier, about maritime pollution. We could solve, or at least reduce, the problem by consuming fewer cars.
By that I mean that if every car owner kept their car for twice as long as they do now, say ten years instead of five years, we would effectively reduce by 50% the need to produce and ship new cars.
Now that would have a real effect on transport pollution and the energy used in auto production.
Unfortunately, marketing and social norms have convinced many people that ‘the newest’ or ‘latest version’ of something is always better – and it’s the same with cars.
But that’s not always the case if you look at the bigger picture. In many cases, the solutions are simple, stop buying so many new cars.
IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card
Describe a journey that you remember well.
You should say:- Where you went
- How you travelled
- Who you went with
And explain why you remember this journey well.
Model Answer
I'd like to talk about an unforgettable journey I embarked on a couple of years ago. It was a road trip to the mountains with my close childhood friends, a truly exhilarating experience that has etched vivid memories in my mind.
We decided to go on this adventure during our university break, to take a breather from our hectic routines. The destination was a mountain range approximately a few hours away from our city. We travelled in our own car, an old but reliable automobile that one of my friends had. The decision to take the car instead of public transport brought a sense of freedom and control that enhanced the whole experience.
The early morning departure time added to the excitement of the trip. We loaded our car with necessary items, food for the journey, and our favourite music to keep us entertained during the long drive. There were four of us on this trip. We took turns driving, which gave each of us a chance to enjoy the scenic beauty we passed through.
This journey stands out because of the awe-inspiring vistas we encountered on the way. The route was brimming with natural beauty. We passed through lush green fields, crossed meandering rivers, and drove through dense forests. As we ascended the mountains, the view from our car window was simply breathtaking. The mountains enveloped in a misty veil, the sun peeking through the clouds, and the serenity that surrounded us were an absolute visual treat.
But what truly made this journey memorable was the sense of camaraderie and the fun we had together. We played our favourite tunes, shared stories, laughed over old memories, and enjoyed delicious homemade sandwiches. It was an immense joy to be in the company of good friends, away from the pressures of academic life.
In essence, this journey was not just about reaching a destination, but more about enjoying the ride, the company, and the beautiful surroundings. Even today, when we meet, we often look back at this road trip and remember with fondness the great time we had.
IELTS Cue Card
Describe a memorable train journey you've taken.
You should say:- Where you were going
- Who was with you
- What you did during this journey
And explain why it was a memorable journey.
Sample Answer
Well, I have been on several train journeys, but one particular journey stands out in my mind. It was a long journey from my local train station to the countryside. I was with my family members, and we embarked on this interesting journey in the summer.
The train started on time, which was happy news for all of us. As soon as the journey started, we all settled comfortably in our seats. Friends decided to join us along the way, which added to the excitement. There was great fun as we played card games, shared stories and laughed a lot.
We also visited the train cafeteria. The aroma of hot coffee wafted through the air, making a positive difference to our journey. The food was surprisingly good for a train, adding another exciting memory to our interesting journey.
But what made this train journey a truly memorable one was the scenery outside. The green fields, winding rivers and the setting sun painted a picture that was hard to forget. We clicked numerous pictures, creating great memories.
Finally, when the long journey ended, we all agreed that it had been a great trip. Not just because we enjoyed the company, but because of the joy and peace we found in the journey. Even though it maybe wasn't the most exciting journey I've ever been on, it was one of the most memorable journeys of my life.
How would you answer these IELTS speaking test questions about a long car journey, the global car industry, technology in the car industry, and environmental issues and the car industry?