| Describe something special you want to buy in the future . You should say:
and explain why you want to buy it. |
Follow-up questions
- What makes things to be special to you?
- What makes a brand trustworthy?
- What are some of the famous costume brands in your country?
- What electronic devices are more common in your city?
Possible answer 1 for the above speaking cue cards
So, I’ve been asked to talk about ‘something special that I’d like to buy in the future’, it’s quite tricky to know how to respond to this topic. Should I pick something that I’d love to buy, but isn’t realistic (like a rainbow); something that I’d love to buy as a gift for someone else (treat my mum to afternoon tea at a posh hotel) or something practical for me (I could really do with a new pair of winter shoes)? In fact, I’m going to go with the first thing that popped into my head when you told me the theme – I’m going to talk about something that I would really really like to buy, but haven’t quite got around to yet.
I’m going to tell you what it is, what is like, when I intend to buy it and why it is I’d like this particular item so much.
The special thing I have in mind is a photo book. You can get them on the internet I think. You select a range of digital photos that are special or meaningful to you and then arrange them electronically with captions and dates and so on. Then there are specialist companies that will put them together in a traditionally bound physical book.
The idea is quite a simple one, but genius. In this age of digital cameras, it’s easy to take lots and lots of photographs, some are good, some are funny, and some are indifferent. Many are bizarre; others are hilarious; and some are just terrible, but all of them are quite literally snapshots of memories. However, because now photographs are everywhere, I think we take them a bit for granted and don’t appreciate them as much as we should. The really great photographs get lost in the multitude of average or terrible ones. There are so many files of photos on my computer, that I can’t even remember what they contain, let alone where the most important ones are stored anymore. So what I’d love to do, is take the time to pick out a selection that is really important to me, and have them brought together in an album that I can treasure and look back on, and share with others. Honestly, nobody really wants to look at 1000 pictures of your holiday/ family/ pet, but they might like to look at half a dozen of each that had been carefully chosen to tell a particular story, and it’s fun to share such memories.
When do I intend to do this? Well, interestingly, I have a ‘to-do’ list on my desk. One of the items that have been on it for some years is ‘sort through my photos’. I never get around to it. Maybe now I’ve been made to reflect on it, I should prioritise this task. Just because it has never felt urgent (that is, something I need to do immediately) this activity never makes it to the top of my list. However, it is important, I need to make time for it. Maybe next week – I should give myself a deadline!
I hope you can see already why I’d like to buy this so much. But if I need to explain more, it is because I think by making a selection of really important pictures, I can pick out special memories. By putting these together in a physical book I think they will endure longer and be valued more than if they are lost in the millions and millions of images that fill the internet. Even today, I have on my shelves books that are over a hundred years old, they have pages that have slightly yellowed with age, but are perfectly useable and readable. On the other hand, I have a pile of floppy discs, I have no idea what is on them anymore, and I no longer have a computer that I could read them on, effectively, those contents are lost forever. Despite how clever we are in this digital age, I have a suspicion that it is our books that will outlast us all, not pixels in cyberspace! What do you think?
Possible answer 2 for the above speaking cue cards
I have a personal list (wish list you can say) that has many things that I want to buy in future. One such special thing that I want to buy in near future is a personal car. I mostly use public transportation to move from one place to another and to visit my hometown which is very inconvenient. Owning a car would be a great advantage for me as I would be able to freely move and visit my hometown more frequently.
The car I want to buy is the Fusion Hybrid car by Ford. This is a stylish looking car which is also fuel efficient. My preference would be the white colour. I intend to buy it after 2-3 years as it would allow me to save the money and apply for the car loan I need to purchase it.
There are so many advantages of owning a car especially in the city I live in. Maintaining the perfect timing is pretty tough if you travel in a public bus. You would need to wait for the bus, stay in the long queue for a long. And the frequency of the public buses and the number of people do not allow one to maintain the timing one needs to keep. If I own my own car I’d be able to avoid the usual bad traffic and take the alternatives roads. Travelling in a public bus is inconvenient and you do not have any privacy in it. With my own car, I’d be able to go to my hometown and visit my parents more frequently than I do now.
How to answer this cue card?
This cue card should be an easy one for you to talk about as it gives you several options to pick from. You can pick almost anything you want to buy in the future. Just highlight the facts that you want to buy it because:
It would be very helpful for you…
You had a passion on that and you want to buy it….
It would be very useful for you and for your family…
It would bring you some opportunities…
It is a luxury item that you wanted to own for a long time… etc.
Some of the things you can mention which you want to buy in the future:
- A cell phone/ mobile phone
- A Laptop
- A personal Car
- A Book by a favorite Author
- An electronic device like the refrigerator, television, washing machine etc.
- A house/ apartment/ flat
- A bicycle
- A household appliance
- A musical instrument
- A sports instruments.
- A share of a company
- A machinery device for business use
- A paint or portrait.
- A rare antique item etc.
If you can answer this cue card, you should also be able to answer the following cue cards:
- Describe something you recently bought.
- Describe something you want to purchase.
- Talk about a luxury item you want to buy.
- Talk about a household appliance you want to buy.
- Describe what you would buy if you have a lot of money.
Related IELTS Resources
Take a practice test to find out what is your current weakness in terms of IELTS scale and allow more time to improve your weak spots. The following IELTS resources will help you to develop your skills faster: