Part 2 cue cardPeople and relationships

Describe a pleasant surprise you had

The bullets come in an unusual order, with "when it happened" third, so a strictly chronological story gets out of step. Set the scene briefly, save the reveal for its moment, and spend the time on how you felt, which needs more than "surprised and happy".

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

Describe a pleasant surprise you had.

You should say:

what the surprise was
who was involved
when it happened
and explain how you felt about it

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 surprise wasbrother flew home secretly for my graduation
who was involvedWei Jie, my parents, Aisyah filming
when it happenedconvocation day, Penang, last August
and explain how you felt about itdisbelief, tears, how much I'd missed him

Sample answers

222 words · about 1:56 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I want to talk about a surprise which happened at my graduation. My older brother, Wei Jie, he works as a nurse in Melbourne, and he told me many times that he couldn't come back to Malaysia for my graduation, because he didn't have enough leave. I was disappointed but I understood.

Actually, many people was involved in the surprise. My parents knew about it from the beginning, and also my best friend Aisyah, who was the one who filmed everything with her phone. My brother bought the ticket three months before and they all kept the secret, which is quite amazing for my mother, because normally she cannot keep any secret.

It happened last August, on my convocation day at the university in Penang. After the ceremony I came out of the hall wearing my gown, and my parents told me to wait near a big pillar for taking photos. Suddenly my brother walked from behind the pillar with a big bunch of flowers.

At first I didn't believe on my eyes, I thought it was someone looked like him. Then I started crying in front of everybody, which was a bit embarrassed. I felt very happy and also very touched, because I knew how expensive is the flight. I didn't realise how much I miss him until I saw him.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

My older brother, Wei Jie, he works should be My older brother, Wei Jie, works
many people was involved should be many people were involved
for taking photos should be to take photos
didn't believe on my eyes should be didn't believe my eyes
someone looked like him should be someone who looked like him
which was a bit embarrassed should be which was a bit embarrassing
how expensive is the flight should be how expensive the flight is
how much I miss him should be how much I'd missed him

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to extend, and the key moment is told clearly ("Suddenly my brother walked from behind the pillar"). It stays at Band 6 because linking is basic ("Actually", "and also", "Then"), and the feelings at the end are listed rather than developed.
Vocabulary: Adequate for the story ("convocation day", "gown", "a big bunch of flowers"), but with slips in form and idiom: "a bit embarrassed" describes the person rather than the situation, and "didn't believe on my eyes" adds a preposition the idiom does not have. Band 7 would describe the feelings more precisely than "very happy".
Grammar: A mix of simple and complex sentences with frequent errors in the harder ones: "how expensive is the flight" keeps question order inside a clause, "someone looked like him" drops the relative pronoun, and "how much I miss him until I saw him" needs a past perfect. That density is Band 6.

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

255 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The nicest surprise I've ever had was at my graduation, when my older brother turned up even though he'd sworn he couldn't make it. Wei Jie works as a nurse in Melbourne, and for weeks he kept telling me he hadn't been able to get time off, so I'd more or less made my peace with him watching the livestream.

It turned out quite a few people were in on it. My parents had known for months, and my best friend Aisyah was given the job of filming my reaction. What amazes me is that my mum managed to keep it quiet, because she's usually hopeless with secrets; she even pretended to be upset on the phone with him while I was in the room.

It happened last August, on convocation day at my university in Penang. After the ceremony I came out of the hall in my gown, and my dad steered me towards a pillar, saying the light was better there for photos. The next thing I knew, my brother stepped out from behind it holding an enormous bouquet of sunflowers.

For a couple of seconds I honestly thought I was imagining it. Then I burst into tears in front of half my faculty, which was mortifying, though I didn't care at the time. More than anything I felt overwhelmed, both because I knew what long-haul flight costs on a nurse's salary and because I hadn't let myself admit how much I'd missed him until he was standing right in front of me.

The slips

what long-haul flight costs should be what a long-haul flight costs

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length without effort and saves the reveal for its moment ("The next thing I knew"), even with the card's unusual bullet order. Not Band 8 because the feelings arrive as a summary ("More than anything I felt overwhelmed") rather than through the moment itself.
Vocabulary: Less common and idiomatic items: "in on it", "made my peace with", "hopeless with secrets", "burst into tears", "mortifying". Band 8 would sustain this precision; the opening, "The nicest surprise I've ever had", is a fairly safe choice.
Grammar: A good range used mostly accurately: the past perfect ("he'd sworn he couldn't make it", "My parents had known for months"), a passive ("was given the job of filming"), a cleft ("What amazes me is that"). One slip, "what long-haul flight costs", where the noun needs an article; that is Band 7.

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

267 words · about 1:50 spoken at a Band 8 pace

The surprise that tops the list happened on my graduation day, and it involved my older brother, Wei Jie, appearing out of nowhere when he was supposed to be six thousand kilometres away. He's a nurse in Melbourne, and for weeks he'd been apologising, saying his ward was short-staffed and there was no chance of getting leave. I'd resigned myself to waving at him through a livestream.

As it turned out, he'd booked his flights months earlier, and virtually everyone around me was complicit. My parents were in on it from the start, and my best friend Aisyah had been recruited to film my reaction. The real feat was my mother's: she's famously incapable of keeping anything to herself, yet she'd been staging little sighs of disappointment whenever his name came up.

It was last August, on convocation day at my university in Penang. As I came out of the great hall, still fumbling with my mortarboard, my father ushered me towards a pillar on the pretext of getting a photo in the shade, and my brother simply stepped out from behind it with an armful of sunflowers.

My first reaction was disbelief; I genuinely thought it was someone who happened to look like him. Then I dissolved into tears in front of my entire cohort, which in hindsight was mortifying. What I felt most, though, was something closer to gratitude than excitement. I knew exactly what that ticket meant on a nurse's salary, and seeing him there made me admit how much I'd been missing him, something I'd been carefully not thinking about for two years.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent; the answer follows the card's order without losing the build-up, and it ends on a precise distinction ("closer to gratitude than excitement"). Short of Band 9 because "What I felt most, though" is a familiar way into the final bullet.
Vocabulary: Wide and idiomatic: "resigned myself to", "virtually everyone around me was complicit", "on the pretext of", "dissolved into tears", "in hindsight". Band 9 would sustain this in every sentence; "The real feat" is the only slightly forced choice.
Grammar: Flexible and accurate: past perfect continuous ("he'd been apologising", "she'd been staging little sighs"), a passive ("had been recruited"), a relative clause with happen to, and a participle phrase ("still fumbling with my mortarboard"). No errors.

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

Rounding-off questions

Do people like surprises?: Most people like pleasant ones, but not everyone enjoys being the centre of attention. My brother, for instance, would hate a surprise party. I think it depends on personality more than on the surprise itself.
Is it better to plan things or to be spontaneous?: For anything important or expensive, planning is safer. But some of my best memories came from last-minute decisions, so I try to leave a bit of room in my plans for things to change.