Cue Card # 216: When you moved into a new home

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 216

Describe a time when you had to change your opinion.

You should say:

• when it was
• why you moved into a new home
• what was the new home like

and explain how you felt about it.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer:

I grew up in the house of my grandparents. In fact, I lived there til my late teen years with my uncles and cousins. But, unfortunately, after the death of my grandparents in quick succession, we had no option but to leave that house because my uncles wanted to sell it for a very good price.

Now, I am not too sure if my father ever made an effort back then, about a decade ago, to stick at that old house, but as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t really very thrilled about selling it. In fact, I even tried to convince my uncles not to sell the house, but I guess that meeting their financial needs was more important to them at that point in time than trying to save a 50-year-old home.

Yes, it was an old home but never out of shape or look as my grandfather tried to maintain it as best as he could. On the other hand, the new home, to which we moved, certainly looked a bit out of shape, with dust and patches of dark spots all over it, to me at that time. Besides, it also had some wear and tear inside that certainly could use some repair work before one could live in it. Of course, it was a lot bigger place than our old house and could receive much more sunlight from all directions because of plenty of empty space around it.

So, I was definitely taken aback by our newly-bought home when I entered it for the first time. In fact, initially, I even felt for a second that it was a perfect “hideout” of the evil ghosts because the home was left unused for a long period of time. But then, when I found out that bright sunshine and fresh air could enter it from all directions and at any time of the day, I didn’t really feel so bad, after all. All our new home needed was some minor repair work and human care to turn it into an oasis of peace and happiness.