10 Most important Solved Cue-card Topics for JUNE-JULY 2020

A poisonous plant you know

Which is the plant and how do you know about it

What is the shape of that plant?

Have you ever seen that plant?

India is rich in flora and fauna. There are millions of species of plants that a person can spend his/her entire life counting them all. I know about a handful of plants that are harmful or poisonous. The one which I am going to talk about today is Wild Carrot.

It is one of the most poisonous plants that are found in my country. This plant was first found in temperate regions of Europe and Southwest Asia. This plant can also be found in some areas of North America and Australia.

I came to know about this plant when I was in school. I had participated in a botanical exhibition where schools from all over my hometown had come there to participate in that exhibition. Our teacher selected me and one of my friends for my class to participate in the exhibition.

Our teacher told us the details of the plant and the school administration arranged it for us. That plant doesn’t look so big. It is only a foot tall over of the ground. The leaves of the wild carrot are very thin and spiky.

The leaves are of light green colour and has small flowers on it. The colour of the flowers is white and pale yellow. It has a solid but thin stem that supports hairy like leaves at the top. The leaves are very thin and curved at the edges. The leaves are in the shape of a needle. Thick at the bottom and it becomes thin at the top.

This plant blooms in summers and just before the winters start. Its leaves are also allergic and can cause irritation to the skin when held in hand. This plant is very rare, and people can also mistake it for the real carrot that we eat. The plant is similar in size, but the carrot’s texture and colour are different.

I had never seen such a plant in my life before. We handled that plant with care and explained the features to everyone in the exhibition. We used surgical gloves to touch the plant as it might have caused allergy to us.

(Note: You can also search and speak about Tobacco – as the poisonous plant)

A poisonous flower you know

How do you know that flower?

How is that flower poisonous

Is that flower useful

I am not a botanist, but I know one flower that is very poisonous and can be deadly if not handled with care or misused. I am talking about the Opium flower. It is a widely known flower in the world that is used to produce drugs and medicines.

It is also known as Poppy pod or Poppy flower. The flower is of light green colour and is spherical in shape. It mostly grows in cold areas of the world. The main areas where the Opium grows is Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Laos, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and China. Its origin is possibly Asia, Spain or some argue that it originated in France.

The usual Opium flower is around 100 grams in weight and of the size of a fist of an adult person. Opium flower grows on a lush green plant. The leaves are broad and curly. The stems shoot up from the middle of the plant that supports the opium flower at the top. The stem is around two centimetres thick. The top of the Opium flowers has rounded spikes that resembles a crown on the head.

The flower contains latex which is a thick white liquid. The flower is cut or slit to get the Latex. The latex is used to produce heroin chemically. It is one of the most expensive flowers in the world. The average cost of an Opium flower per kilo is US$ 20,000 approximately. It is the most smuggled flower in the world. A drug called morphine is extracted from the latex of the Opium and is converted into heroin which is a very strong drug and is banned in many countries.

People in the past have been collecting Opium. Some researchers say that people have been using it as a medicine since 3400 BCE or prehistoric times. In some societies, Opium has also religious significance. Some societies have known to worship Opium.

A poisonous fruit you know

Is that fruit common in your country

Have you seen that fruit?

Can that fruit be used for something

I have seen many fruits on internet that are known to have poisonous properties. There are rare fruits that are poisonous and dangerous for humans to eat. I came to know about one fruit that can be poisonous and fatal for humans if they consume it.

The name of the fruit is Star fruit. The reason it is called a star fruit is that it has 5 or 6 ridges along its sides and when the fruit is cut in cross section, it resembles a star. The colour of this fruit is yellow. This fruit is consumed by many people across Southeast Asia, the south pacific, Micronesia and parts of East Asia.

Some people eat it raw and some cook it to make certain dishes. According to some people the star fruit is tasty and has few health benefits. Star fruit is low in calories, high in fibre, and loaded with vitamin C. it is sweet and sour in taste and the skin of the fruit is also edible.

However, star fruit contains high number of Oxalates that can cause poison in the body. Unfortunately, anyone with weak kidneys can die after eating this fruit. Even a health person can face kidney failure and death in case of excessive consumption of star fruit.

This fruit can also interact with certain kinds of medicines. Despite that some people eat this fruit but it is not recommended by the experts. Apart from eating it for leisure there are no health benefits associated with this flower.

I have never seen this flower in my life as it is not grown in India. But I read about this fruit in a general knowledge book. Even if I get this fruit in my hand, I will never eat it.

Talk about a time when you visited somewhere and lost your important thing there

Where you went

What you lost

How did you lose that thing?

I have lost a couple of things in my life. Today I would like to tell you about a thing that was very dear to me, but I lost it in a wedding and I still regret it. I went to my cousin’s wedding in Delhi last year and lost one of my most precious possessions.

I lost my smart watch and I was so upset when I was not able to find that. I will tell you the whole story that why and when I might have lost that watch. That watch was given to me by my sister on my birthday. I was so attached to that watch that I would never give it to anyone.

That day I was wearing that watch on my left wrist. I wear that watch even when I sleep because it tracks my sleep as well as activities for the whole day. It also shows me that how many calories I have burnt and how many steps I have taken in a day.

That watch also shows me notifications for calls and the messages. I remember when I reached at the wedding I was sitting at a corner with my relatives. We were having some snacks and light conversation. At that time, I remember that I was still wearing the watch.

After some time, we all decided to go on the dance floor and show some moves. We started dancing and I felt a bit irritated by the watch. The watch was clinging on my jacket. So, to get rid of that I opened the watch and kept it in my jacket.

I thought of wearing the watch after the wedding. To my surprise when I came back from the wedding, I couldn’t find my watch. I was so worried and started searching it in my jacket and other pockets. I felt so sad when I was not able to find my watch. I called my cousins to ask them whether they have seen my watch or not. But I couldn’t find it after that.

I was so angry with me and blamed myself for my loss. I wouldn’t have lost it if I was still wearing it. It was an expensive watch and I had never lost something that costly before that. I felt so embarrassed that day, but my family consoled me after that incident.

Describe a person who apologized to you

How is the person related to you?

Why did he/she apologize

Did you forgive or not?

There have been few instances in my life when people have apologized to me for certain things. On some occasions people were faulty but on the other occasions their actions were unintentional. Today I would like to tell you one incident in my life when a person sought an apology from me.

The name of that person is Rajiv and he is one of my old friends. This happened when I was in my 10^th standard. Me and Rajiv went along well. We used to sit together in class and shared a lot of things and secrets with each other.

One day we both were playing a game in which we had to tell about one of our secrets. We promised each other not to reveal those secrets to other friends. While playing the game I was asked to tell one of my secrets. I told him about one of my pet names kept by my friends in my colony. The name was very funny, but I knew that Rajiv won’t tell it to anyone in school as we had promised each other.

But what came to my surprise that everyone in the school was teasing me with that pet name that I had told Rajiv. I was very upset and angry with him. He kept on telling me that he hasn’t done it, but I knew that this secret can only be leaked by Rajiv as no other student knew about it.

I changed my bench with another student and stopped talking to Rajiv for what he did with me. I could see from his face that he was apologetic and feeling guilty. Afterall we were good friends before that incident.

One day he came to me quietly and said sorry for what he did. He admitted that he was the one who told my pet name to one of his friends, who leaked it like a wildfire. I accepted his apology and told him to not repeat such behavior with anyone. I told him that if you keep a promise then fulfil it no matter what the situation is.

After that we became friends again but from that day onwards, I never shared any secrets of mine with him.

Talk about a time when you unexpectedly met someone

Who do you meet?

 

Why was it unexpected

 

What did you do?

 

There have been a lot of instances in my life when I met people unexpectedly. Once I was totally surprised by meeting one of my childhood friends after 10 years.

 

I was astonished because I was meeting my classmate after so many years and I could hardly recognise him from his appearance. This happened when I was travelling in a train to New Delhi. I boarded an express train which takes three hours to Delhi from Chandigarh.

 

I was sitting on the window side and on the next stop, one person came and quietly sat on my adjacent seat. He introduced himself as Harman. After every two minutes he was looking at me and I was doing the same. The reason I was looking at him again and again was that I thought that he and his name resembles my childhood friend from school.

 

After a while I asked him about his primary schooling. I was surprised to hear that he was the same person whom I was thinking about. I told him my name and after a few seconds he recognised me as well. We shook our hands tightly and laughed for a while.

 

I never expected to meet him in a train in India. The reason is that he studied with me till the class 4. After that he moved to United States of America with his family. I was stunned to meet him after so many years in a train journey.

 

I asked him about his life and shared a lot of things with him. He told me that he had come to India after 5 years and was now going back to USA. He had to catch a flight from New Delhi Airport. I really enjoyed my time with him in the train.

 

We chatted on length about our childhood and school. We talked a lot about or colleagues and teachers. Soon the journey was about to get over. So, he asked me to give him my contact details. We exchanged our numbers and addresses. I also connected with him on social networking sites.

 

In the end we said goodbye to each other at the New Delhi railway station. Even now I am in touch with him on the internet.

 

Talk about a performance you gave at school or college

 

Did you often participate at school?

 

What was the performance about?

 

Did it go well

 

I was not someone who gave a lot of performances in my school time. However, I gave a few that I am going to share with you today. Once I participated in a skit that was performed on the annual day function of our school.

 

Me and four of my other friends from my class were the part of that act. The performance included different characters of animals and sea creatures that would demonstrate the effect of plastic waste on animals.

 

Many people are not aware about the fact that thousands of animal species die due to pollution from plastic in the ocean and on land. So, our teachers decided to do this skit with five of us. First, they took a screening test and then finalized five students from our class.

 

The function was held in our school’s auditorium. It was a big hall with a seating capacity of over 500 people. I was feeling nervous at the start but slowly gained confidence as the skit went on. Everyone had to perform for about a minute and lecture about the cause.

 

We all had to dress up like different animals and mammals. One of our friends became a Penguin and told the audience about the deadly effects of plastic straws on Penguins. He told that the Penguins eats straws thinking that it is food and chokes themselves to death in the ocean.

 

I was dressed as cow and told the spectators that throwing away plastic or polyethene bags are deadly for the cows. There are thousands of stray cows in India. They graze plastic with their feed that is stuck in their internal organs or the throat. This cause severe problems and most of the cows die because of that.

 

One by one we came at the centre of the stage and gave our one-minute speech. The audience were looking very interested in the information and applauded loudly after our performance was over. The act went very well. We all were very happy. We also got recognition from the principal for bringing up such an awareness.

 

Describe an important journey that was delayed

 

Why that journey was important

 

Where were you going

 

Why the delay happened

 

In the given topic I am reminded of a situation that occurred in my life and I learned a great deal of things from that incident. I am talking about a journey that I had to make early in the morning and reach Jaipur for an important scholarship exam.

 

This exam was held by the Rajasthan government and students who would score good in the exams would be handed over scholarships to study in top Rajasthan universities for free of cost. I came to know about the exam on the internet.

 

I filled the form and took my father’s consent to go there. I started preparing for the exam as it was still a month away. I was getting ready for my exam and packing for the trip a couple of days in advance. Jaipur is located 500 kilometres away from Chandigarh.

 

I booked a flight ticket that takes one and a half hours to reach Jaipur. I was very excited for the journey, but one silly error would have cost me a lot. My exam was on Sunday at 10 AM and I booked the flight for Saturday. I was scheduled to reach on Saturday. For that I had also booked a hotel.

 

The time of my flight was 7 in the morning, but I had mistaken it for 7 in the evening. When we reached the airport, I came to know that the flight had already left in the morning. I was dejected as I had prepared for the exam so hard and I was ready to give it. I started weeping but my father quickly sorted the issue by giving me an idea.

 

He booked a taxi on the phone and decided to go with me to Jaipur. It took us 10 hours to reach Jaipur and another hour to find the exam centre. I reached at the venue just in time and gave the exam. My exam didn’t go well as I was so tired after the journey. But my father supported me and told me to learn a lesson from this mistake.

 

From that day I learned to check the departure and arrival times of the railway journeys and flights. I couldn’t clear the exam but learnt a great lesson that day.

 

Describe your dream workplace

 

Why is it your ideal workplace

 

Do you wish to work there one day?

 

Are most people able to work in their dream workplace?

 

My ideal working place would be a Travel Vlogger. The reason behind this is that I love to travel, and I like to see new places. I get very happy when I see new people and interact with them. My ideal working place would be all over the world.

 

I wish to work as a travel vlogger every day of my life. I know that it is not an easy job. One needs to be highly motivated if he/she wishes to work in such an industry. A Travel vlogger needs to be travel fit and should be open to any kind of challenge that a person can face while travelling.

 

There are many famous Travel Vloggers in the world like Drew Binsky and Renata Perrera. I am a huge fan of these vloggers and I never miss a chance to see their videos. They make superb quality travel videos and engage their viewers in a very interesting manner.

 

I wish to work as a Travel Vlogger for my YouTube channel. I would like to travel the world and visit the most exotic and charming places. I will tell people about that country, culture and region I visit. In my travel vlogs I will give information on how to travel new places and what are the things to keep in mind while travelling. What are the places to eat and where to do shopping?

 

In my travelling vlog, I plan to visit every country in the world. It will take a lot of money and efforts, but I am making plans for that. After doing a job or business for a period of 5 years, I will work as a full-time Travel Vlogger. I will also look for sponsors for my channel.

 

In my opinion most people are not able to work in their dream places. I think the main reason behind that is money. People these days run after money rather than passion. I am lucky enough to have parents who support me in any decision I make.

 

Describe a company which employs many people in your hometown

 

What that company is about

 

Have you ever visited that company?

 

Tell about that company in detail

 

There are two or three huge companies that employ a lot of people in my hometown. There are companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys. But I would like to speak about Reliance Industries. Reliance is one of the companies that employs most people across our country.

 

There are many subsidiaries of Reliance Industries. The company is one of the largest brands in India. The name of the owner of Reliance Industries is Mr. Mukesh Ambani. They provide hundreds of services to people in our country.

 

One of the newly launched service is JIO. This provides fast speed internet and satellite channels at a low cost. They have employed thousands of people in this field over the past few years. I have met a lot of people who are working with Reliance Industries in my hometown.

 

Apart from this, Reliance has thousands of clothing and groceries stores all over the country and my hometown. You can find their store in literally every city of India. Not only this, Reliance employs thousands of people in petroleum and yarn industries.

 

There are Reliance digital stores in my hometown that deal in electronic gadgets. There is a huge Reliance Mart near my house that sells groceries on a wholesale rate. There are many stores and offices of Reliance industries in my hometown.

 

I have been to most of their stores in my hometown. They have one store that opened recently by the name of Trends. It sells latest clothes and garments.  I went there last week and bought a pair of jeans. Moreover, Reliance has myriad of retail stores of groceries around the town.

 

They have certainly employed millions of people across India and thousands in my hometown alone.