Describe someone older than you whom you admire.
You should say:
- who this person is
- what he/she does
- what he/she is like
and explain why you admire this person so much.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
I try to admire all kinds of people, regardless of their age, if they deserve to be admired. So, I would like to thank you for this great cue card topic before describing a person, who is older than me and who I also happen to admire.
Ahh! the person, I admire and would like to talk about, is one of my former college teachers. I saw and met this great teacher, known as Mr Paul, of mine in my English class about 10 years ago. Initially, I didn’t really make much of him except that he was a good English teacher, and he liked to wear his dark colour sunglasses almost all the times. But, as more and more time passed, I discovered him to be one of the most talented persons I had ever seen.
In fact, soon after graduating from college, I came to know that he was a multi-lingual person with a great level of fluency in Arabic, French, and Japanese, in addition to English. Then, I also came to know that he had written a number of good books on the history of languages.
By the way, both I and Mr Paul live in the same city, and I still see him (now old and retired) walking at a local park or visiting a grocery shop to buy groceries. As a man of very little words, he doesn’t really like to engage in unnecessary talks, but he never forgets to remind me that he is very much happy to be alive and still learning at his old age when he is asked about his health. And talking about health, Mr Paul is very serious about his health as he always likes to follow a strict diet.
Why do I admire him? Well, I admire this great former college teacher of mine mainly because he never gives up on learning new things – academically or otherwise. I admire him also because he has a very good personality and is very respectful to other people around him, whether they are old or young.
Sample Answer 2:
This is an interesting topic and I thank you for the opportunity to talk about someone older than me whom I admire. This would be without any doubt my brother, John, who is five years senior to me. He is my idol, a person I admire from the bottom of my heart and a great friend of mine.
John is an architect and he has been working in a large design and development company for more than 3 years. His academic records are excellent and he is planning to move to Canada next year to further enhance his career. I have got only one brother and that is John.
He will be 30 in this coming November and has shown a great promise throughout his academic life. My parents and John’s teachers have always been optimistic about his becoming a great person in life. I am proud of being his younger brother. Last year John had been a team member of a historically important monument design in our country and a news article described all about the project and people behind this. When I saw John’s picture in the newspaper, I was quite happy and excited. He is quite handsome and has got the look of my mother. He is fond of different outdoor sports and I often play football and volleyball with him.
John has always been there for me. In my early childhood, he was my best buddy and other children knew that John would always protect me no matter what. In several occasions, John fought for me and I was happy for having such a great brother in my life. Furthermore, he has always been a great mentor and adviser for me. He helped me complete my homework, taught me how to play different indoor and outdoor games and always treated me very kindly. He is a good-mannered and a punctual person and he has tried to instil so many moralities and good habits in me that only a good mentor would do.
My parents were both busy in their professional life and yet they tried to spend their time with us whenever possible. Despite that, I often missed them and it was John who supported me all the time. Without him, my life would have been much difficult and full of loneliness.
I like and admire him for his well-manner, respect for others, great talent and the unparalleled support he has in my life. I consider him a great person who would help a thousand others through his words and works. I personally feel that having a brother like him is indeed a matter of great pride.
Sample Answer 3:
I am a student of journalism at Murdoch University in Australia. This is really difficult to describe a single person whom I admire but I think Mr Henry Robinson will be the perfect match here.
Mr Henry Robinson, the middle-aged person, is a teacher of mine, and he takes the course on investigative journalism. In his career, he was a reputed journalist in his days. Now he teaches journalism at this university. But I adore him for some other reasons. The first and most important thing is that he is able to focus on the deep of any issues and brings out the solution within a short time. Moreover, he is smart enough to deal with unfavourable situations in real-life. He behaves gently with his students and really loves to teach.
Presently, Mr Robinson is attached with teaching and before entering into this profession, he used to be a journalist. He has worked for a remarkable number of newspaper and news agencies home and abroad. Most of the times, he was in many other countries as a residential correspondent for the newspapers. He left the job in 2010 and been engaged in teaching as he is unwilling to carry the hard and fast duties of journalism anymore. Besides, there were some other hidden issues that triggered his early retirement from journalism which he does not like to share with everyone. Now he is happy with the students and instructs them how to have investigative journalism. We are happy that he makes the lessons clear with his real-life examples.
In his personal life, this well-behaved man is very simple. But he is proud of his large curly hairs and bigger eyes. He looks dashing when he comes to lecture on the class even in his middle age. He is a bit different from the other teacher at my university and loves teaching without books. As a result, the complex issues are made simpler with discussion and participation of the students. Besides, his approach to students is completely different and he speaks in a very lucid and clear voice. Actually, he is able to enchant the audience with his magical voice. Sometimes he also takes part in television commercials and performs as a voice artist.
I admire him so much because of some particular reasons. He is a great man so far I have ever met in every term. He loves teaching and also inspires his students to learn. He never follows the conventional modes of teaching rather he has his own distinctive style. He helps us to understand lessons instead of memorization. There are some teachers in the university who are unable to create a simple relation with the students and bind them in restrictions. But Mr Robinson is quite opposite in this case. His door is always open for any of the students and he loves advising them even on their real-life problems. Consequently, he has gained popularity among all the batches of journalism. So, it is almost impossible to dislike him for all such reasons.
More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:
Topic: Describe someone older than you whom you admire.
1. I work for a daily newspaper in Greece and admire Mr Andy most for his daunting activities. He is the editor of the newspaper I work in. He looks nice with his moderate moustache and the bald head. And the look changes when he comes with his favourite blue suit. His average height has brought a sense of aristocracy in him. I admire him because he always reveals the truth and does not negotiate with someone while publishing a piece of news or information on the newspaper.
2. Mr Robins is my neighbour and older than me. He is a teacher of Mathematics in a local school here in New York City. He is a smart gentleman and looks like a movie hero just came out of the poster. I admire him because of his extraordinary intellect. He is able to socialize with everyone and never behaves rudely with anyone. Moreover, he also loves to spend time in chess which is also my favourite. Based on all the grounds, I admire him most.
3. John is my senior in college and has achieved my admiration. He is a basketball player in the college team and also undergoing the last semester at the university. He is a smart fellow with a tall figure. His regularly takes physical exercises and so has got a fit body. I admire John for reasons like he has amicable behaviour with everyone. He also teaches me how to play basketball and make the scores. Besides, whenever I am in trouble with my academic issues, he extends his unconditional support to me. So, he is admirable to me.
4. Ms Samantha is my boss in the office and she is an intelligent lady. She knows how to deal with situations and complete the works. She is in charge of the office that has many other branches across Spain and Italy. She looks fit with a moderate height. The dark blue eyes have added a different dimension to her personality. I admire the lady for her outstanding personality. She is not afraid of telling the truth and even the governing body also cares here for her outspoken nature.
5. Uncle Richard is my dad’s friend and he is a private detective here in Qatar. He owns a private detective agency and been doing well in the business. He is around six feet in height with a perfect body shape to undertake all the risky tasks. I admire him for his inquisitive nature. He is also able to bring out the hidden truth even from a clueless situation. And in some cases, he beats the law enforcers as well. In fact, he is an admirable man indeed for his outstanding smartness and intellect.