IELTS Speaking Part 2 Sample Answer - Interesting Old Person

This is a high-scoring sample answer for the following IELTS Speaking Part 2 question: Describe a story or novel you have read that you found interesting. Read them to understand what you need to talk about and the kind of answers you need to score well in your IELTS speaking test. For advice, strategies and tips on the best ways to answer (because 2 minutes is very long), this article will help.

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IELTS Speaking Part 2 Quiz: It Doesn’t Need to be Hell!

IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe an Interesting Old Person You Met

You should say:
Who this person is
When/where you met this person
What you did
And explain why you think this person is interesting

Sample Answer

Text

I’d like to tell you about a friend of my dad’s. My dad died when I was quite young and so his friends used to come round, used to visit, shall we say, now and again. Not very often, but now and again. And so as I grew older, I got to know some of them, some of them well, some of them not so well. And so, the old person I’d like to tell you about is one of my dad’s friends, and this guy was, he was with my dad during the war. My dad was in the Navy and they had a team in the Navy and what they did was they fitted radar to the ships as they were sailing. For example, when a convoy left Canada to take supplies to Russia, my dad and his team were on the ships fitting the radar while they were being attacked by German submarines and so on. And so hearing all these old stories from my dad’s friend was very, very interesting. Some of them were very funny and some of them not. Another story, for example, is about when they were, later in the war, they were in the Pacific and the boat they were working on actually got called out to fight while they were still on the boat, which they weren’t very keen on. But you know, if it hadn’t been for him telling me these stories, then I wouldn’t know so much about my dad.

Audio

Less Common and Idiomatic Vocabulary

to come around- to visit someone’s house
now and again – from time to time
Navy – usually referring to long stories cut into three parts (usually books or movies)
radar – a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects
convoy – a group of ships or vehicles travelling together
supplies – the provisions and equipment necessary for an army or for people
fitting – installing
submarines – a warship with a streamlined hull designed to operate completely submerged in the sea for long periods
called out – to be put into action quickly and urgently
weren’t very keen on – not very interested or excited by something