Can one Part 2 story fit two different cue cards?

Yes, when the two cards share a conflict and a consequence. Put their final explain questions side by side and try to answer each with the same events in a different order. A journey card and a lateness card usually pass, because one asks what the travel was like and the other asks how you handled the result. A card about a person you admire will not pass, because the events say almost nothing about that person. The test is about the questions, not the topic labels.

A quick test decides whether two cards can share one story. Ask first whether the card wants an event or a thing: cards about a person, an object or a favourite place usually need material the story does not contain. Then read the final explain question aloud; if the story cannot answer it with a cause and a result, the fit is forced. Finally check that you hold two or three true details that are not on the card, because the examiner may ask one follow-up. If two of the three checks fail, keep the story for the card it was built for and prepare a second event in note form only: four words for the sequence, one detail, one consequence. Two half-prepared stories cover more cards than one rehearsed script.

IELTS Speaking Part 2: Adapting One Story to Three Different Cue Cards →