A wedding you have been to.

 Cue Card-18 

A wedding you have been to.

1. When this happened?

- Recently 

- a month ago 

2. Whose wedding?

- First cousin brother’s wedding 

3. Who was with you?

- My whole family

4. Explain why you feel happy about it.

- Togetherness 

- Celebration 

- New beginning 

- New family member 

1. I attended a happy event about a month ago.

2. It was the marriage of my cousin.

3. My whole family was with me to celebrate this event. 

4. I felt very happy because we all of us were together in the grand celebration and a new member was added to the family and it was a new beginning for my cousin. 

Being a Punjabi Indian, I have the previlege of being invited to many big, fat punjabi wedding. In my culture, the union of two souls is celebrated with a lot of mirth and jubilation. Attending a wedding excites me and I plan my clothes and jewellery well in advance. I attended my first cousin’s wedding about a month ago. This was an awaited family event because all the others including the elders of the family were eagerly waiting for my cousin to find a match. When he finally found the right girl after a long wait, the entire household was ready to celebrate the beginning of another phase of his life. The marriage lasted for about five to six days with all small functions at home in which there was a small gathering and all grand ones in banquets. It was a destination wedding in Jaipur and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly in the pink city. Each One of us was dresses in extravagant beautiful attires looking happy and ready for the occasion. We kept singing traditional songs and danced enjoying every moment to the fullest. Every person present there enjoyed every aspect of the wedding ranging from food and decoration to photography. Some unique concepts were used in the marriage, a book was placed at the entrance for everyone to write messages for the couple and their photographs were being flashed on the screen. This whole event was full of life and bliss. The event justified its classification as a big, fat punjabi wedding and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am now looking forward to even greater fun at the wedding of my younger cousin which is coming soon. 

Follow ups:

1. How would you define happiness? (In my opinion, happiness is a state of mind in which an individual feels content with what the situation he is in.)

2. What kind of things make Indian people feel happy? (Marriages, birthdays, shopping, promotions etcetera are some of the many things which make Indians happy.)

3. Do you think people would be happy when they become richer? (I do not think that money can buy happiness, so according to me becoming richer may not make anyone happy.)

4. Why do some people say happiness never lasts long? (Some people think that happiness never lasts long because life is an alternating share of joy and pain and like all other things, happiness is also temporary.)

5. What kinds of things make people unhappy? (People can be unhappy due to many reasons. Some of them are bad health, failure in achieving desired objectives, deadlines, financial problems and problems in personal life.)

Related Question: Recent happy event. 

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

 Cue Card-17 

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

1. Where is it?

- Agra

2. When you visited 

- A year ago

3. What kind of pollution you saw there?

- Air pollution 

4. Explain how this place was affected?

- Marble was flaking 

1. I visited Agra which is affected by pollution.

2. I had gone there a year ago.

3. The pollution that I observed was air pollution.

4. The Mathura gas refinery which is near the Taj Mahal is causing discoloration of the Taj. 

Pollution refers to the addition of unwanted substances to the environment which degrade its quality. There are several kinds of pollution and due to the increased interference of man in nature, the level of pollution all over the globe is rising. The city that is a home to one of the wonders of the world is affected by air pollution. The fanous city of Agra, where the beautiful Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal is now bearing a burnt of man’s activities. The monument which is an attraction to tourists from every part of the world was built by Shah Jahan in pure white marble and is acclaimed for its lusture and grandeur. Sadly, due to the emissions from the Mathura gas refinery, which is at a distance of 50 km from the Taj, its is getting dirty white. The air of the surrounding areas is polluted by the smoke emitted by this oil refinery. The marble of the Taj is also flaking slowly and this is a matter of great concern as we cannot afford to let this historical monument, deteriorate. It is a proof of our rich, royal and beautiful past. Though the government is taking some steps towards saving this wonder but there is very little that can be done. Only the effect of pollution can be reduced but it cannot be eliminated. I feel that it is high time for us get some serious about various kinds of pollution and its effects so that preventive measures can be taken to curb it. 

Follow ups:

1. What kinds of pollution are serious in your country? (In my country, all kinds of pollution are present but air and water pollution have become the concerns.)

2. What can individuals do to protect our environment? (Individuals can do a lot to protect the environment. They can plant trees, ensure proper waste disposal and usage of eco- friendly products to protect the environment.)

3. Do you think individuals should be held responsible for pollution? (Yes, I believe that individuals are responsible for pollution because certain measures can only be taken by the authorities and individuals may not be effective in cases where legislations for environmental protection needs to be passed and enforced.)

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

Describe a program/application in your computer/phone.

 Cue Card-16 

Describe a program/application in your computer/phone. 

1. What the app is?

- WhatsApp 

2. When you started using it?

- 6 to 7 years ago

3. How you use it?

- On my phone

- Internet Connection

4. How you feel about it?

- Made life easy

- Better communication 

- Addictive

1. My favourite app is WhatsApp.

2. I started using it 6 to 7 years ago.

3. I use it daily on my phone with the help of an internet connection.

4. I feel it has made life a lot easier, allowed better communication but it is addictive. 

These days, science and technology are progressing by leaps and bounds and there are hundreds and thousands of applications which are the brainchild of computer experts. I also use many different applications like Facebook, Flipkart, Instagram, Wynk etcetera but my favourite will always be WhatsApp. It is a blessing and I think we all feel handicapped without it in our phones. It initially allowed chatting and exchanging pictures. However, with the passage of time many additions are being made. One can now send pictures with captions and even make audio calls. The option of video calling is yet to come. I think WhatsApp is the most commonly used application and is found in the phone of every individual. It helps people to connect with their loved ones, carry out businesses, people make groups to share ideas, beliefs, or send important information of common interest. I find this a marvelous creation and I will always use it. 

Follow ups: 

1. What kinds of apps do you have on your phone ?

- I have social networking, photo editing, shopping, music and banking apps on my phone. 

2. What are the drawbacks of having too many apps on your phone?

- There are several drawbacks of having too many apps like the phone can get hanged, too much memory gets used and many updates have to be done from time to time.

3. How much time do you spend on these apps everyday?

- I spend almost two hours on these apps each day and on days that I have holidays, I spend even more time. 

4. Do you like to look for new apps or do you just keep using old ones?

- I am not very fond of looking for new apps but if someone suggests an app to me and I feel it is of my use then I download it. 

Related Question: An app that you have recently started using. 

A time when the weather changed your plan cue card

 Cue Card-15 

A time when the weather changed your plan.

• When this happened?

• What kind of weather was it?

• Explain why you could not finish the planned activity?

• What you did at the end? 

1. On my younger cousin’s birthday weather changed my plan.

2. At about 10am it started raining very heavily.

3. Our picnic got canccelled because the rain did not show any mercy. 

4. Finally, we celebrated her birthday by ordering food, requesting our neighbours to join us and playing indoor games.

Due to the increased interference of man in nature, the patterns of weather are undergoing an erratic change. Unexpected and unsystematic season cycles are have become common. A recent plan that I had with my cousins was a fiasco. It was the birthday of my younger cousin when we decided to go for a picnic and celebrate it. We got everything ready the previous night. Everyone was so thrilled that the lengthy discussions about what we would do the following day carried on till late night. At about 10am we decided to leave for the fun filled day we had planned, when we were getting ready to leave the heavens opened up. We thought that it will stop raining in sometime but Mother Nature had other plans in store and the downpour only got heavier. Everyone was disappointed so we decided to celebrate the birthday at home with the same enthusiasm. We prepared some snacks, called some of our neighbours, played board games, cards and watched a movie on television. Though we were upset intially but later, it turned out to be a fulfilled day and probably we enjoyed more than what we may had enjoyed at the picnic, the neighbours who joined us added to the fun. It was a memorable day and the birthday girl was also very happy. 

Follow ups:

1. Where can people get weather reports?(People can get weather reports from newspapers, applications on mobile phones, websites and television news.)

2. How do weather reports affect people’s life? (Weather reports affect people’s holidays, travel plans. They also affect everyday decisions like washing clothes etc.)

3. What do people do on rainy days and sunny days? (On sunny days people generally wear light cotton clothes, use sunglasses, hats etcetera to protect themselves against the sun’s heat but on rainy days they use raincoats, colourful umbrellas. On rainy days people prefer to remain confined to their homes and on sunny days people don’t hesitate to venture out.)

4. Has climate affected your country? (Like every other part of the world, my country too has been affected by unexpected climate changes. Human interferences with the balance of nature is the primary reason for erratic climatic conditions.)

5. Does weather affect your mood? (Yes weather affect my mood, on sunny days, I feel lively and energetic on cloudy days, I feel sad and gloomy.) 

A time when the weather changed your plan.