雅思口语素材

IELTS SPEAKING

Part 2:

Describe a time that you were late

You should say:

When it was

What time you arrived

Why you were late

How you felt

Model Answer:

The city I live in has a severe traffic jam problem and due to that, we often don’t arrive on time to our destination. One such event when I was late in a big exam was a frustrating experience for me. It was 2 years ago when I was still a student in the university. I will have an exam at 8.30 am which I thought would be at 9.30 am. I did this mistake because I noted the time wrongly in my notebook. I prepared for the exam well and left home at 8.15 am as my usual journey to my university takes around 40 minutes. According to the schedule, I should have reached at least 30 minutes before the exam time.

I already had the wrong idea about the examination time and I found that it was pouring outside and there were only a few transportation available on the road. I had to wait at the bus stop for more than 30 minutes before I actually got into a bus. To my surprise, the traffic on the road was very bad. The buses were moving very slowly because of the unavoidable traffic jam. I was hoping desperately to reach the university in time. But that was not my day! I reached at the exam hall at 10.15 am and I was shocked to learn that the exam would end only in 15 minutes. I was so worried and anxious that I could not think clearly what to do.

I felt helpless at that time and asked the teacher what can I do now. He asked me to come after the exam ends. I followed him as soon as he left the exam room. I noticed that some of my classmates were also looking at me with surprise and were probably thinking how careless I was to miss such an important exam.

After I reach the coordinator’s room, he took me to our advising tutor and asked me to give a good reason why I was late. I told everything that has happened and the coordinator arranged an exam in his room. As a penalty, he deducted 20 minutes from the exam time and asked me to finish the exam and leave the answer sheet to him. I was kind of worried and felt a bit relieved as well. As my preparation was good, I had been able to answer all the questions in the due time. Thus, the situation was handled and I was not in a big trouble for the late I made unintentionally.

Tips for answering the cue card topic:

When it was?

two years ago / last year / last week / a month ago

What time you arrived?

one hour after the exam / thirty minutes after the meeting / an hour after the party had started / ten minutes after class

Why you were late?

heavy traffic jam / got caught in an accident / lost the way to the venue / wake up late

How you felt?

I felt annoyed / I felt scared / I felt anxious / I felt nervous

Keywords:

traffic jam= a line of road traffic at or near a standstill because of road construction, an accident, or heavy congestion

destination= the place to which someone or something is going or being sent.

frustrating= cause (someone) to feel upset or annoyed, typically as a result of being unable to change or achieve something

noted the time= to schedule an activity or plan

journey= an act of traveling from one place to another

transportation= the action of transporting someone or something or the process of being transported

bus stop= a place where a bus regularly stops, typically marked by a sign

got into= to ride/

unavoidable= not able to be avoided, prevented, or ignored; inevitable

desperately= in a way that shows despair

not my day= unlucky day

anxious= experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

helpless= unable to defend oneself or to act without help

careless= (of an action or its result) showing or caused by a lack of attention

to miss= fail to get what one wants

due time= at the appropriate time

trouble= difficulty or problems

unintentionally= not on purpose

While talking about a time you were late:

Two years ago: If you choose to talk about a certain year wherein you were late for something very important like a final exam you had missed, then you can talk about what happened and why you got late for that exam. “This situation happened two years ago when I was in my sophomore year that I was late for a final exam in Philosophy.” You can use this in the beginning of your paragraph. You can also add ideas like how you deal with it and if you were still able to take the exam despite being late.

Last year: Last year you had an important meeting with one of your client to discuss a business proposal however you had an accident on your way to the meeting place. You can describe what happened during that time. You may also include ideas about calling the client and explain what happened and having the meeting re-scheduled.

A week ago: A week ago you were invited by a friend to a party held in another city but you were late because you lost your way to the venue. You may describe what kind of party that is and what happened during the party. You may add ideas like despite that you were late you were still able to attend and enjoy the party.

A month ago: Last month you were late in your first subject in the morning which is Math because you woke up late. You may include the feelings you had that time and how you explained yourself to your strict Math teacher for being late. You may add ideas like what your teacher told you and what were you told to do for being late in class.

Similar Cue Card Topics

Your ability to talk about this Cue Card would enable you to talk about the following Cue Cards as well:

1. Describe a situation when you were late for an important appointment

2. Describe an awkward experience you have

3. Describe a time when you were embarrassed

4. Describe a traffic jam that made you late for office / college

轻快教育介绍视频：

01:50