CUE CARDS

(MAY-AUGUST 2021)
With Topic Vocabulary,
Collocations, and Interactive
Sample Monologues

Personally prepared by:

Julius Malaza, Band 9.0 Achiever, One-time taker
ieltsDragon Founder
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A LAW ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ---------------------------------------------------- 3

SOMETHING INTERESTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA ---------------------------------------------- 5
A PIECE OF ART OR CRAFT ACTIVITY YOU HAD IN SCHOOL ---------------------------- 8
IMPORTANT EQUIPMENT IN YOUR HOUSE --------------------------------------------------- 10
YOU TRIED DOING SOMETHING BUT NOT SUCCESSFUL -------------------------------- 12
SOMETHING YOU BOUGHT FROM THE SUPERMARKET --------------------------------- 15
MOVIE YOU LIKE / FAVORITE MOVIE --------------------------------------------------------- 17
COMPANY THAT EMPLOYS A LOT OF PEOPLE --------------------------------------------- 20
A QUIET PLACE YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR TIME IN ------------------------------------ 22
OLDER THAN YOU THAT YOU ADMIRE ------------------------------------------------------ 24
YOU HELPED YOUR FRIEND ------------------------------------------------------------------- 27
LEISURE ACTIVITY THAT'S DONE NEAR/IN THE SEA ------------------------------------ 29
SHARING SOMETHING -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31
ARGUMENT THAT YOUR FRIENDS HAD --------------------------------------------------- 34
FAVORITE ACTOR OR SINGER ---------------------------------------------------------------- 36
PLAN IN YOUR LIFE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38
HEALTH ARTICLE YOU READ ---------------------------------------------------------------- 40
CITY OR TOWN YOU ENJOY SPENDING TIME IN --------------------------------------- 43
MANY PEOPLE WERE SMILING ------------------------------------------------------------- 45
A TALL BUILDING IN YOUR CITY ----------------------------------------------------------- 48
NATURAL TALENT YOU WANT TO IMPROVE -------------------------------------------- 51
LOCAL NEWS THAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN ----------------------------------- 54
TOWN OR CITY YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE IN ---------------------------------------- 56
PUZZLE YOU HAVE PLAYED --------------------------------------------------------------- 58
NOT ALLOWED TO USE YOUR PHONE -------------------------------------------------- 61
20. A TALL BUILDING IN YOUR CITY

Describe a tall building in your city you like or dislike

You should say:

Where it is
What it is used for
What it looks like
And explain why you like or dislike it

What are the disadvantages of living in tall buildings?

Do you think there will be more tall buildings in the future?
Why aren't there many tall buildings in the countryside?
Why do some people like to live in tall buildings these days?

When talking about buildings, you need to know some categories of buildings first.
Are they industrial, commercial, or residential? When you categorize buildings, you
will be able to focus more easily on what type of building you are going to talk
about. When describing a tall building, make sure that your examiner can visualize
how tall it is. What’s that building made of? How tall is it? What’s the function of
that building then?

CATEGORIES OF BUILDINGS

Industrial
a. Heavy Industrial Buildings or Manufacturing Facilities = used to manufacture
construction materials like cement, steel, and the like. Also, used by car
manufacturing companies
b. Cold Storage Buildings = for storing a large amount of foods and keep them
refrigerated
c. Warehouses = used by companies for storing their goods

Commercial
a. Hotel & Lodging
b. Shopping Malls/Centers
 c. Office Buildings

Residential
a. Condominium / Apartment
b. Luxury Home or Estate

ADJ for BUILDINGS:

High-rise, large, tall

Impressive, towering, attractive
Derelict (in poor condition & neglected), dilapidated (in a state of disrepair)
Modern, State-of-the-art, Ancient, Prehistoric

VERB for BUILDINGS:

Erect, build, put up

TYPES OF BUILDING MATERIALS:

Aluminum, Brick, Concrete, Fiber cement, Glass, Steel,

INTERACTIVE SAMPLE MONOLOGUE

There’s one high-rise building that’s recently erected in our city, which attracts a lot
of visitors because of its unique design, it’s called TOWER 101. It’s actually a
condominium and if I’m correct, there are 3,000 residential units all in all. I reckon
its height is 250 meters and that’s actually half the height of the Taipei 101 building
in Taiwan.

Well, what I like about this building is its design, it’s minimalistic, there are only two
colors - black and grey. The right side of the building is black and the left side is
grey and the walls are made of glass. From afar, it looks like there are two buildings
standing next to each other, but when you come closer you will realize that it’s only
one building standing. The grey color creates an illusion, people from a distance
think that there are two vertical buildings standing next to each other but actually,
there’s only one building standing. Well, I first knew about this building just a
couple of weeks ago because this building was heavily advertised on local TV. I was
intrigued by its advertisement so I decided to pay a visit.

When I got there, I talked to one of the real estate agents and I learned that that
building is actually the tallest building not just in our city but in the entire state. I
was very surprised to know that. She also said that the materials were imported
from Europe.

Not only that, she assured me that the building is earthquake-resistant, it wouldn’t
collapse even if the magnitude of the earthquake is really strong because she said
that the building is equipped with some modern technology from Japan. Learning
that made me like that building even more because you know safety is a priority.

But you know what, what made me more surprised was when I learned that one of
the designers of this building was my former classmate in high school. I was at a
loss for words when I knew that. I just couldn’t believe it.

(NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN! Make your own monologue. Get ideas from the sample
monologue and add your creativity. Or, if you want to add something more in
that sample monologue, what else can you add?)
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