Describe a time when you helped a friend.
You should say:
- when it happened
- how you helped this person
- what the result was
- and explain how you felt about it.
MODEL ANSWER:
I would like to talk about an occasion when I tried to lend a helping hand to my best friend, Anna, during my college years. Anna came from an economically deprived area of Vietnam where she witnessed many violent storms.
Last year, she was one of many people whose lives were thrown into disarray after a devastating typhoon. Her house was demolished, and her parents had no ability to rebuild it, not to mention paying her tuition fees. Her family ran into financial difficulties and had to get help. I went to my class and told the whole story to my three close friends. Afterwards, we discussed the suffering of my friend’s family with our class teacher. Finally, our teacher permitted us to spend a day raising some money. I was so glad to have received her permission. Following that, I tried my utmost to point out the financial problem that Anna was confronted with to other students and teachers. Fortunately, I raised a considerable amount of money which exceeded my expectation. I gave Anna this money and then bought some food and clothes for her. She said she was grateful for the support and started crying.
When it comes to my feelings, well, I was over the moon when I helped my friend surmount financial difficulties. This was the first time I realised how fulfilling and satisfying it was to help someone. In fact, the emotions experienced by being able to help someone in need are something we can only feel and words cannot describe.
COLLOCATIONS & USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
- lend a helping hand to sb (idiom) = help sb
- an economically deprived area: một khu vực bị thiếu thốn về kinh tế
- be thrown into disarray (idiom): bị xáo trộn
- a devastating typhoon: cơn bão tàn phá mạnh
- demolish (v): phá hủy
- not to mention sth: chưa kể tới (việc gì)
- run into financial difficulties: trải qua khó khăn về tài chính
- try my utmost: cố gắng hết sức mình
- (sb) be confronted with problem: (ai đó) phải đối mặt, đương đầu với vấn đề
- exceed my expectation: vượt qua sự mong đợi của tôi
- be over the moon (idiom) = very happy
- surmount financial difficulties: khắc phục, vượt qua được khó khăn về tài chính
Tags: ielts, IELTS SPEAKING PART 2
