Describe a time you were late for something

這張題卡的準備方式

這張題卡（cue card）的題目有點尷尬，要自嘲一下，考的是敘述的先後順序。這也正是它很適合用在口說測驗的原因：大多數考生都有真實的故事，不需要編造太多。考官想聽的是清楚的原因、清楚的後果和誠實的反思，而不是戲劇性的藉口。

最容易的切入點是普通的事：錯過公車、考試前睡過頭、重要會議前低估了路上的車流。不要想把事情編得比實際發生的更刺激，因為具體而平凡的細節，例如睡過了哪個鬧鐘、哪條街被封閉，聽起來比含糊或過度複雜的藉口有說服力得多。

開頭先說明你遲到的是什麼場合、大約什麼時候；中段一步一步具體說明為什麼會這樣；結尾說明後果和你的感受。這段反思正是「and explain」那一行要你發揮的，通常也是尷尬和鬆一口氣的心情自然流露的地方。

讓回答更出色的詞彙

這些片語比一直重複說「late」更自然地描述遲到和事後的情況。

1分鐘準備計畫

在1分鐘的準備時間裡，可以寫下：

• what: job interview, city centre, 9am
• why: slept through alarm, phone on silent
• outcome: 20 minutes late, interviewer understanding, still got second round
• feelings: panic, embarrassment, relief afterward

範例回答

以下是這張題卡完整回答的一種寫法，用來示範結構和程度，不是要你照背。

I want to talk about the time I was badly late for a job interview in the city centre, which was scheduled for nine in the morning. The night before, I had accidentally left my phone on silent while charging it, so none of my three alarms actually went off, and I woke up naturally at around half past eight, already running behind before I had even got out of bed. I remember genuinely panicking, throwing on whatever clothes were nearest, and leaving the house in a mad rush without even having breakfast. To make things worse, I then got held up by roadworks on the way, so by the time I actually arrived, I was about twenty minutes late, completely out of breath and, frankly, mortified. I called ahead once I realised how late I would be, which I think helped, because the interviewer turned out to be quite understanding about it, joking that the office itself is famously hard to find. I beat myself up about it for the rest of that day, convinced I had ruined my chances, but I was actually invited back for a second round a week later, which was a huge relief. Looking back, it was a genuine wake-up call, and I have set two separate alarms on two separate devices ever since, just to be safe.

這張題卡的常見錯誤

• 編造過於戲劇性的遲到原因，而不是可信的普通原因。
• 只描述遲到時的慌張，卻跳過題卡明確要求的後果。
• 敘述事件經過時，在過去式和現在式之間跳來跳去。
• 突然結束，沒有反思自己的感受，而這正是「and explain」那一行所要求的。