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Describe the best gift or present you have received

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 260 with Model Answer:

Describe the best gift or present you have received.

You should say:
  • what the gift was
  • who gave it to you
  • when you received it
and explain why it was the best gift/ present you have ever received.

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

Model Answer 1:
Last week I turned 19 and my parents celebrated my birthday. I got some of the best gifts of my life on this birthday and I think the books were the best of the bests.

I have received two books by my maternal uncle naming – ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier and ‘Life As We Knew It’ by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Both the writers have beautifully illustrated some of the issues on the books which were unknown to me before reading them. In fact, the books have opened my eyes and I have learnt to think in some newer perspective.

Mr Chinh is my maternal uncle and in fact, he is the elder brother of my mother. He is also our neighbour in the apartment block we are living in now. In his youth, he was too much desperate and did many adventures. Even in the current days, my dad frequently meets him before taking any decision about his business as uncle Chinh is considered as the wise man in the family. He also takes care of the other members of the family and often arranges for getting together in his residence. He is single and did not marry showing some personal excuses, but so far it is known that a lady rejected him in his olden days. Now he is his middle age and involved with his own travelling business.

Last week, I turned 19 and since this is the last birthday of my teenage, my parents wanted to have a blast on the day. Accordingly, they arranged for a large birthday party and invited almost all the family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Unfortunately, some of the invited guests could not attend the event as they could not manage time on the day. However, a majority of them arrived in time and presented me different gifts. After the event, I opened the gifts one after another and was amazed at the selection of the presents for me. It was really amazing to have so many attractive gifts but the books appeared the best to me.

I love to read books but the habit only a few chosen people are aware of this. The other people think me of a traditional Vietnamese young girl who loves to pass moments with friends by gossiping round the day or by shopping on the streets. But, I am not like them rather in some cases, I am restricted to perform certain acts. Hence, I have made book reading as my hobby and have a large collection of books written by both local and international writers. But due to my academic pressure, I could not manage time to get some new books and uncle Chinh has done that for me. Being a book lover, I always prefer books than any other things and thus the presented books have turned best to me.



Cue Card Answer 2: 
My dad promised me to present me something special if I could attain the desired grades in the year ending exam of my college. Accordingly, I received the present and this is the best gift so far for me.

I was presented with a laptop and it was the greatest gift for me. It was a MacBook Pro for me which really was exceptional. I was extremely glad about the present and remembered the hard struggling days before the exam. In fact, I was not a very good student and the results were average. So, the present was planned for me as a surprise from my parents for my success in the year ending exam of the college.

My dad bought the laptop for me. I was expecting something different, in fact, I was dreaming of a smartphone of a renowned brand. But I was surprised when I saw the MacBook box on my reading table. I am the only daughter of my parents and they were very happy with my special success. I got the highest score among the other students in the college. Before the exam, my dad advised me to study hard so that I could bring an unexpected result. I followed his advice and studied hard indeed. Usually, students do not follow any schedule before the exam, but I was a bit different. I followed the daily routine strictly and attended the exam. The success was mine.

I received the laptop in the middle of the year, immediately after the first year ending exam in my college here in Pakistan. It was a surprise for me. My father is a businessman and remains always busy with his factory that produces ceiling fans. Initially, I thought that my father had forgotten about the present when the result was published. He promised me for the present but he was almost inactive to bring the present at home. Moreover, I was unaware of the present that what it would be. At night I returned to my room after supper and found an intact box of MacBook Pro lying on my reading table. I realised that my parents did not say anything about the present to surprise me. I was too happy and hugged my parents with extreme excitement.

I have been brought up in restriction. Pakistan being a Muslim majority country follows the rules of Islam strictly. So, the scope of a liberal life, particularly for girls, is a bit unusual than the other countries. But I have no issues with those restrictions and I follow the rules and regulations perfectly. But, I have never received such valuable gifts before. Usually, people receive presents on different occasions, but we have fewer chances to observe such occasions like birthdays or any other anniversaries. As a result, there are no such attractive gifts for us. So, when I got the MacBook Pro, it was really bewildering for me. In fact, I have never received such a huge gift in my life. Hence I think it was the best gift of my life.

If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe the best gift or present you have received." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue cards as well: 
  • Describe a gift or present that someone gave to you. 
  • Describe a present you gave someone. 
  • Describe a gift item that was important to you. 
  • Describe something you gave to a friend recently. 
  • Describe a gift item that took you a lot to buy. 
  • Describe something valuable you own. 

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