IELTS speaking part 2: Describe an occasion when you were scared

Topic cue card:

Describe an occasion when you were scared.

You should say:

When and where it happened?

Who you were with?

Why you were scared?

and explain how you felt about it?

Answer:

Thank you for the interesting topic. This reminds me of an experience I can never forget.

The incident happened in the summer of my 7th grade. I went with my family to Nha Trang for the holiday. One morning, we went to the beach where it was breathtakingly beautiful. The water was so clear that you could see the pebbles in the seabed and also the fish swimming around. I got really excited to see the colorful sea creatures and started to chase after them. At that time I totally forgot about my mother’s words telling me not to go too far from the seashore and wandered off into deep water with only a ring buoy at hand.

Suddenly a strong wave came up and hit me hard, and my hand slipped off the life buoy. The buoy drifted away from my reach in another strong wave. Because I did not know how to swim, I immediately got panic and tried to move my hands and feet frantically so that I would not sink, but my reaction only made it worse – I sunk faster into the water. I drunk a lot of sea water, so salty and bitter I can never forget about it. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was the blurry vision of somebody swimming towards me.

I woke up to my mother’s teary face. She said I passed out and did not breath when I was brought to the shore. The lifeguard had to perform CPR to push out all the water in my lungs and stomach.

That time when I almost drowned was the most scary moment in my life. After that I had a better understanding of the wonder of being alive, and I tried to live my life to the fullest so that I would not regret leaving it. I also learned to swim so that I could protect myself from danger and save other people if needed. Of course I am not very confident with my swimming skill, but I think I will try my best to help when I can.