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Describe an old friend you got in contact with again

Sample IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card

Describe an old friend you got in contact with again. You should say:

  • Who he or she is?
  • What he or she is like?
  • How you got in contact?
  • And explain how you felt about it?

Model Answer: Describe an old friend you got in contact with again.

It’s strange you’ve asked me to talk about this topic because I’m so bad at keeping in touch with people, so it was a surprise even to myself when I got back in touch a while ago with an old friend from my college days.  

His name is Alan and we studied in the same town although he was studying to be a teacher, an Art teacher in fact, and I was doing Mechanical Engineering at the university. Right, you’re thinking, what on earth would we have in common? Well, I guess it was our love of music. We were both into jazz, modern jazz, you know, Miles Davis and that kind of stuff and that’s why we hit it off right from the word go. We became great friends and what I most liked about him was the fact that he was very direct, very open. He would just tell you straight to your face what he thought and for me, coming from a background where I was brought up to never show my feelings, I found that quite incredible. What else? Well, in keeping with being an Art student, he was quite scruffy. He used to wear old jeans and a grey sweater that had one or two holes and I never remember him combing his hair!

Anyway, when we graduated, we went our separate ways. He went off to take up a teaching job somewhere and I stayed on to do postgraduate studies. We exchanged a few emails but as time went by, they got far and few between and I guess that was largely down to me as I hate writing and I don’t use social media. 

And then, a few months ago, I was just reading the newspaper and by chance, I came across his name. It was in the Arts and Culture section that I quite often look at for any good films or concerts or whatever and there he was, photo and all, still just as scruffy! There was going to be an exhibition of work by young artists, the article said, including Alan. I told my girlfriend and she insisted that I get in touch with him. In fact, it was she who tracked down his email and even his mobile number. Don’t ask me how she did it. I sent him a text and he replied immediately. The following weekend he came to stay with us. 

It was so good to see him again. As I told you, we hadn’t met in ages, almost ten years in fact, but once we got talking, it was like starting out where we left off. I think what we both felt was that our friendship was as strong as ever. Of course, we talked about the old days as well as catching up and filling in the gap and the music we’ve both been listening to over the years. It’s good that my girlfriend also likes jazz. 

Listen to the full tutorial here: Ex-examiner answers IELTS Part 2 cue cards

See the full list of vocabulary here: IELTS Speaking Vocabulary – Friends and Family

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