IELTS Speaking Part 2 – Topic: Describe a time when you were very busy

Today I’m going to talk about a time when I was extremely busy. Well, that was when my husband went on a business trip to India, so he was absent from home for about a fortnight. I found myself totally overloaded with work then because I had to do a lot of things on my own during that time. For instance, I had to take the kids to school and pick them up to take them home in the evening, prepare the meals and do the washing-up. What’s more, I still had to work for 8 hours as an accountant and could not leave the office until 5p.m. These things seemed to be impossible tasks for me.

So, I decided to seek help from my family and friends. I asked my mother to pick up the kids and look after them until I came back. Luckily it didn’t matter to my mother. She always gave me unconditional love and help, and the kids were also happy to be with their grandmother. My friends introduced me to a part-time home help who was really nice and trustworthy to do the housework in the evening.

Thanks to that, in spite of being busy when my husband was away, I was not exhausted and everything went well. As the saying goes: “A friend in need is a friend indeed”, experiencing that hectic time made me realise that, besides my family, there are so many friends around who are willing to help me, so I am not alone.

– Extremely: (adv) an intensifier, like very, highly, to a high degree or extent
Example: She behaved extremely badly.

– Absent from (adj): not in the place, not present
Example: I was absent from work yesterday, because I had to see my doctor.

– A fortnight (noun) two weeks.
Example: We will spend a fortnight in Thailand next month.

– Overloaded with work: having an excessive amount of work, the amount of work to be done is too heavy
Example: He complained that he was overloaded with work because his boss had given him a lot of extra jobs to do.

– On my own: alone, by myself, without any help or support
Example: She lives alone, so she always has to do many things on her own.

– Pick them up (home): take somebody home after work or school
Example: Can you pick me up at 6? Because I leave work at 6 and have no motorbike.

– Do the washing-up: to wash, clean the dishes, saucepans, knives, or anything related to the meal preparation.
Example: After a very delicious dinner, she helped her mother to do the washing-up.

– Look after: to keep an eye on something/somebody, pay attention to somebody/something with care
Example: She asked her husband to look after the kids in the garden.

– Unconditional (adj)/: without condition, not limited by condition. Unconditional love means that you will love someone no matter what he does, or no matter what happens, your love will continue.
Example: The mother’s love for her child is unconditional.

– Home help (noun) a person whose job it is to help with housework.
Example: When I started to work full-time, I employed a home help to keep the house clean and tidy.

– Trustworthy (adj): reliable, honest. A trustworthy person is someone you can trust, and who never tells lies.
Example: My assistant is a trustworthy person and so he looks after my business when I am away.

– Exhausted (adj) extremely tired, having no energy or strength to do something
Example: Because he had worked without a break for 12 hours, he was finally exhausted.