Describe a place that has been affected by pollution

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card 412 with Model Answer:

Describe a place you visited that has been affected by pollution.

You should say:

• where it was
  
• when you visited this place
• what kind of pollution you saw there
  

and explain how this place was affected by pollution.

[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.]

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Model Answer:

Pollution is a serious threat to the environment that our world is facing today. In fact, there is hardly any place in this world that has not been affected by pollution in one way or another. Today, I would like to talk about one such place which is perhaps one of the most seriously polluted regions in the world.

The place, I am talking about, is Indonesia, which I visited about a year ago to meet a friend. Located between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, Indonesia could easily be considered as one of the few most beautiful countries in the world because of its mesmerizing island and beaches. In fact, when I visited a couple of its pristine beaches and dived into them, my mind was just blown away by their astonishing underwater scenery. But, beneath this visible beautiful picture of Indonesian sea beaches hides a rather unpleasant sight, and that unpleasant sight is called “marine pollution”.

And this marine pollution is taking place in the form of millions of tons of plastic trash that are either probably local or coming from as far away as the pacific ocean. Apart from the plastics, uncountable debris can also be found, sitting just about everywhere on some of those sea beaches. Besides, the water masses, caused by rains and irrigation systems overflow, bring trash in bulk which doesn’t only include plastic trash but also other domestic waste. As if the marine pollution was not enough, I also found the same kind of debris and plastic, lying on the side roads, not too far from the sea beaches and the rice fields, to make the situation unbearable for the environment.

After visiting Indonesia, I found that this great country has been seriously affected by pollution which not only is damaging their environment, both in their sea beaches and beyond, but also the health of the living organisms, some of which are even dying, under the sea as well as the economic structures all over the country. The pollution is getting out of control and if people and the authority don't act immediately, it will be far more devastating than we can imagine.