You should say:
- What the place is
- Where it is located
- What is the historical meaning of the place
and describe your experience of the place.
Follow-up Questions:
- What do you think of the future trend of historic places?
- Will government strengthen its protection toward historic places?
- What are the changes brought about by the historic place in local economy, people, etc?
- What is the effect of tourists on the place?
Model Answer 1: **
I have a special interest on visiting famous places and on my list historical places always get preferences. I have visited many historical places like Machu Picchu in Peru, The Pyramids at Giza, Taj Mahal, Parthenon in Greece and many more. The historical significance and the site attractions sometimes mesmerized me. The historical place that I would like to talk about today is Colosseum (also known as Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre) which is situated in Rome, Italy. It is basically an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy which is the largest amphitheatre in the world and is made of concrete and stone. The construction of Colosseum began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 AD and was completed under Titus in 80 AD.The Colosseum could hold approximately 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles etc. The Colosseum was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 and was also included among the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is 189 meters long, and 156 meters wide, with a base area of 6 acres .The height of the outer wall is 48 meters. The Colosseum nowadays is one of the major tourist attractions in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena. I have heard and seen of this famous place a lot and when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless. The huge architect, the overwhelming interior and exterior decoration was beyond appreciation. The place kept reminding me the classical mythological and historical facts I have read and heard about.
**Sample Answer 2: **
I am going to talk about an amazing historical place that I know about, even though I’ve never visited it. I’ll tell you what it is, where it is and as much as I can about the historical meaning of the place and finally my own reactions/ experiences regarding it.
I want to tell you about Stonehenge. This is an ancient set of standing stones, arranged in a circle. It is located in Wiltshire, in England, but I think it would be fair to say the image of it would be recognised worldwide, as it is possibly one of the most famous historic sites in the world.
In terms of the meaning of the place it’s really impossible to say. It is so very old, even archaeologists aren’t sure exactly when it was built, estimates go back to as long ago as 3000 BC, which is mind boggling to me! It is certainly accurate to describe it as a prehistoric monument. Some people think it might have started as a burial mound and be even more ancient that 5,000 years. The colossal slabs are arranged like huge door frames, no-one really knows how they were erected without the technology of modern times, but everyone agrees it was an incredible feat of engineering and showed foresight and tenacity in spaces! However, it is certain that they were somehow aligned so that at key stages of the lunar (moon) and solar (sun) cycles, the way the light strikes the stones is of some significance. Apparently it was deliberately constructed so that the rising sun only reached the middle of the stones for just one day of the year.
Lots of people like to try and imagine what sort of ceremonies and importance the stones might have had for the people who built it, but the truth is we can’t say. Even today, modern day druids have for many years gathered at the stones for the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and winter solstice (shortest day of the year) to watch the sun rise and mark the event with their own celebrations.
For me I think this is the ultimate historical place, even though I have yet to visit it. It is just so remarkable to think it was constructed all those thousands of years ago just by physical labour. Even the stones themselves – the largest of which are up to 30 feet and weigh about 25 tons, had to be brought to the site from about 20 miles away, how on earth was that possible? For me the stones prove that with determination, tenacity and working together it is sometimes possible to achieve what seems impossible. At the same time, the way they have endured over time, gives perspective on our place in the world. Time passes, people and generations pass too, but they can leave a legacy behind even if it only one of many unanswered questions for future people to ponder over!
[ Written by - Lucy Marris | Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam) ]
Tips for answering this cue card topic:
This cue card is different from the cue card 'describe a historic place you have visited'. For the later one you should pick a historic place which is usually located in your country and you have visited. In this case you need to say when you visited and what you enjoyed there. But for the cue card 'describe a historic place that you know about', you can talk about any historic place located at anywhere in the world. Not necessarily you need to visit a place to know about it.
Do not pick a place which has very little historic significance or the places that store historic evidences but not itself is a historic place. For instance, you can learn a lot about history from museum but the museum is not a historic place.
A historic place can be part of national history or international history. For instance, some places in your country may be the part of the history of your country but not known in world history. In your IELTS you can pick such nationally recognized historic places.
There is a subtle difference between a famous place and the historic place. To be a historic place, the place itself has to be qualified and registered for the historic place.
Don't pick a broad area or a whole city as a historic place, rather pick the particular place. Like, there are lots of historic places in Rome like: Colosseum, The Pantheon, St Peter's Basilica etc. and if you pick Rome as the historic place, you won't be able to cover all the historic significance of this city. Alternatively, picking only Colosseum or The Pantheon would give you a better option to describe it.
With your ability to answer this cue card topic, you should be able to answer following cue cards as well:
- Describe a place you recently visited.
- Describe a worth visiting famous place.
- Talk about a place you would recommend others to visit.
- Describe a famous place in your locality.
- Talk about a place you have planned to visit in the future.
