Part 2 cue cardChildhood and memories

Describe a happy memory from your childhood

This card wants one moment, not a happy period, told with the past continuous for the background and the past simple for what happened. The marks are in the last bullet: name the detail that made it stick, something you can still see, hear or taste.

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a happy memory from your childhood.

You should say:

what the memory is
when it happened
who was involved
and explain why you remember it so well

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what the memory ispower cut night, all on the roof
when it happenedJune, aged nine, load-shedding
who was involvedparents, sisters, grandparents, Chacha Faraz
and explain why you remember it so wellkulfi, ghost stories, stars; Dad stayed

Sample answers

233 words · about 2:02 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I want to talk about a memory from my childhood when I was nine years old. It was a summer night in Lahore and there was a long power cut. In that time we had load-shedding nearly every day, and in June it was very hot in the house without fan.

That night the electricity went at ten o'clock and it didn't come back for many hours. Usually we just complain, but my father said everybody will sleep on the roof. So we took our charpais, they are beds made from rope, up to the roof.

All my family was there, my parents, my two little sisters, my grandparents and my uncle Faraz, he came from Karachi for visiting us. My uncle was very funny. He told us ghost stories and my small sister was so afraid that she was holding my arm all night. Then he went outside and he bought kulfi for everyone from a man in the street, at midnight.

I remember this night so well because everybody was together and there was nothing to disturb us, no TV, no mobile. My father was always working until late, but this time he was laying next to me and he showed me the stars. When I think about it I can still taste the kulfi. We always hated the power cuts, but this one was the most happiest night for me.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

In that time should be At that time
without fan should be without the fans
the electricity went at ten o'clock should be the electricity went off at ten o'clock
Usually we just complain should be Usually we would just complain
said everybody will sleep should be said everybody would sleep
for visiting us should be to visit us
he was laying next to me should be he was lying next to me
the most happiest night should be the happiest night

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to tell the whole story and covers every bullet, using simple time links ("That night", "So", "Then"). Not Band 7 because the most memorable details, the ghost stories and the kulfi, are told quickly in a line each, and the explanation of why it stuck is short.
Vocabulary: Enough everyday vocabulary to tell it clearly ("power cut", "load-shedding", "ghost stories"), with some inaccurate choices: "the electricity went" misses a particle, and "laying next to me" confuses lie and lay. Band 7 would need some less common, more precise words.
Grammar: Mixes simple and complex sentences but makes frequent errors in the harder parts: reported speech in "said everybody will sleep", the purpose in "for visiting us", and a double superlative in "the most happiest night". This is typical of Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

269 words · about 2:04 spoken at a Band 7 pace

I'd like to talk about a night when I was about nine years old, when we had a long power cut in Lahore. At that time we had load-shedding almost every day, and in June the heat inside the house was terrible without the fans.

That night the electricity went off at about ten o'clock and it obviously wasn't coming back soon. Normally everyone would just complain, but my father decided we should all sleep on the roof, so we carried our charpais, which are traditional rope beds, up the stairs and set them up under the sky.

The whole family was there: my parents, my two younger sisters, my grandparents and my uncle Faraz, who was visiting us from Karachi. He was the one who made it so much fun. He told us ghost stories until my little sister was too scared to sleep, and later he managed to find a kulfi seller who was still walking around the neighbourhood, so we had ice cream at midnight, which felt incredibly naughty.

The reason I remember it so clearly is that we were all together without any distractions. There was no TV or anything, and my father, who usually came home late from the work, was lying beside me trying to show me the stars, even though he didn't know their names. I can still picture the kulfi melting in my hand and hear the call to prayer early in the morning when we woke up. It's funny, because we always hated power cuts, but that one turned out to be one of the best nights of my childhood.

The slips

from the work should be from work

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort and moves from setting to people to reason in a natural order ("That night", "The reason I remember it so clearly", "It's funny, because"). Not Band 8 because the story is told steadily rather than built up, with fewer vivid moments.
Vocabulary: Some less common and expressive items ("incredibly naughty", "without any distractions", "turned out to be") and a clear gloss of charpais. Band 8 would sustain more idiomatic and precise language across the whole turn.
Grammar: Frequent error-free complex sentences: "would" for a past habit, several relative clauses, a concession with "even though". One slip, "from the work", where the noun takes no article in this phrase.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

283 words · about 1:57 spoken at a Band 8 pace

Funnily enough, one of my happiest childhood memories began with a power cut. In Lahore when I was growing up, load-shedding was part of everyday life, and on summer nights the house would turn into an oven within minutes of the fans stopping.

This particular night was in June, when I was about nine. The electricity went off at around ten, the heat was unbearable, and instead of complaining as usual, my father announced that we were all sleeping on the roof. So we dragged the charpais, those woven rope beds, up the stairs, and my mother brought up a jug of lemonade.

It was the whole family: my parents, my two little sisters, my grandparents, and my father's younger brother, Chacha Faraz, who was staying with us from Karachi. He was the star of the evening. He told ghost stories so convincingly that my youngest sister refused to let go of my arm, and then, around midnight, he went down to the street and came back with kulfi from a man who was still pushing his cart around in the dark.

I think the reason it's stayed with me so vividly is that it was the one night nothing competed for anyone's attention. There was no television, no phones worth mentioning, and my father, who normally worked until late, was lying next to me pointing out stars he only half knew the names of. I can still remember the taste of pistachio kulfi melting faster than I could eat it, and waking up at dawn to the call to prayer and the pigeons. It's strange: we spent years resenting those power cuts, and yet that's the one I'd happily live through again.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and fully coherent, opening with a hook ("Funnily enough") and closing on a reflection that answers the last bullet. Short of Band 9 only because the middle section follows a fairly predictable who-was-there pattern.
Vocabulary: Wide, precise and idiomatic: "the house would turn into an oven", "the star of the evening", "nothing competed for anyone's attention", "resenting those power cuts". Band 9 would keep this level in every sentence, including the plainer ones about who was there.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: a participle clause ("melting faster than I could eat it"), a past continuous for background, a relative clause inside a longer sentence, a concession with "and yet". No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe structure.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Why do people remember their childhood so clearly?: Partly because everything was new, so it felt important, and partly because we retell those stories at family gatherings. Every time my uncle mentions that night, it gets a little more vivid, and probably a little less accurate.
Are children today as happy as in the past?: In some ways they're better off, with more comfort and more opportunities. But they seem to have less freedom and more pressure at school, so I'm not convinced they're happier than we were, sitting on a hot roof eating kulfi.