IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Describe a time when you missed a bus/ train/ aeroplane

: You should say

when it happened
where you were supposed to go
how you missed it
and explain what you did after you missed it

: Sample Answer

Well, it is an interesting topic and I would love to talk about my experience when I missed my train once. I have missed my bus several times and train only once. However, despite my travel on an aeroplane a few times, I have never missed my flight. For this cue card topic, I would like to talk about my experience when I missed my train from (…tell a train station name…) to (…another train station name

It was 2010 and I was around 21 years old at that time. We were invited to one of my cousins’ wedding ceremony and my father asked me to attend that wedding party. My parents could not arrange their leaves from their offices and I did not have my class at that time. The wedding ceremony was arranged at my uncle’s house in (…a city name…) which was almost 600 kilometres away from our living place

I booked my train ticket online and paid it through my online bank account. My train was supposed to leave at 9.00 am. and I reached the train station at around 8.30 am. My father dropped me off and I had a luggage and a small bag with me. To my dismay, the train did not arrive on time and my father had to leave me due to his office. I got frustrated at 11.30 am. as the train was yet to come! I contacted the train master several times and he could not give any definitive answer. Whenever I saw a train at the station, I ran into it only to find that it was not my train. This was probably the most disappointing experience till then. Several other passengers were stuck at the station like I was and some of them were very angry for the delay of the train

I called my mother at around 1.00 pm and she was very anxious about me. I heard from an officer of the train station that there was a minor accident and that is the reason our train was delayed. I was hungry already and took my baggage with me and went to a nearby restaurant to have my lunch. After that, I went to a shopping mall to purchase some items I needed and to kill some time. The fate must have been against me! When I returned to the train station, I heard that my train arrived 20 minutes ago and had already left! I felt like I was hit by a thunderbolt. I hardly spent 40 minutes to finish my lunch and shopping and during this time, I missed my train

I immediately contacted the train master and he advised me to take another train that will leave at 3.00 pm. As I heard that it would not directly go to the (…destination train station’s name…), I discarded this advice. I went home and took a bus next day. There was no hiccup on my bus journey but the previous day’s event, when I missed my train, became a memorable event as this was the first time I missed my train. From that event, I have never left the bus of train station whenever I had to wait at the station and always