Event cue cards (a wedding, a festival, a competition, a first day) are ideal for showing past tenses. Cultural events like a wedding or Navruz are interesting for the examiner and easy for you to talk about.
The cue card
Describe a memorable event in your life.
You should say:
what the event was
when and where it happened
who was there
and explain why it was memorable.
One-minute notes
- what: my brother's wedding, last August
- where: Samarkand, wedding hall, 400 guests
- who: whole family, relatives from Russia
- why: my speech, grandfather cried, family together after years
Model answer (about 2 minutes)
I'd like to describe my older brother's wedding, which took place last August in Samarkand. Uzbek weddings are famous for being huge, and this one was no exception: there were around four hundred guests.
The main celebration was held in a wedding hall in the evening, but the day actually started at six in the morning with the traditional morning plov, which the men of the family serve to guests. I'd barely slept the night before, because we'd been decorating the house until late.
Pretty much our whole extended family was there, including some relatives from Russia whom I hadn't seen for almost ten years. Seeing everyone in one place was quite emotional in itself.
What made it truly memorable for me, though, was that my brother asked me to give a short speech. I was terrified, because I'm not used to speaking in front of crowds, and while I was waiting for my turn my hands were shaking. But once I started, I just told a few funny stories from our childhood, and people laughed in the right places. At the end my grandfather came up and hugged me, and I noticed he had tears in his eyes.
I think I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life.
Useful words and phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no exception | no exception |
| take place | take place |
| extended family | extended family |
| emotional | emotional |
| terrified | terrified |
| not used to | not used to |
| social pressure | social pressure |
| take on debt | take on debt |
How to answer
- Build the story in time order: morning, day, evening.
- Use the past continuous and past perfect: "while I was waiting...", "I'd barely slept...".
- Explain cultural terms: "morning plov, which the men serve to guests".
- Describe the high point precisely: who did what, and how you felt.
Practise this topic now
The AI examiner asks you these questions, listens to your answers and shows your mistakes.
Part 3: follow-up discussion questions
Why do people spend so much money on weddings?
Partly tradition and partly social pressure, I think. In Uzbekistan a wedding is seen as the family's celebration, not just the couple's, so families feel they have to invite everyone they know, even if it means taking on debt.
Are traditional celebrations becoming less important?
Not really, in my experience. The way they're celebrated is changing, with smaller guest lists in cities, for example, but the core traditions like Navruz are still extremely important to most families.
How do people celebrate important events in your country?
Is it better to have a big celebration or a small one?
Part 2 strategy: the cue card guide. Next step: the Part 3 guide.
Practise this topic now
The AI examiner asks you these questions, listens to your answers and shows your mistakes.
