Sunday, July 13, 2014
TOPIC: Some people believe that secondary school children should study international news as a subject. Others say that this is wasting time. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
It
is claimed that international news should be added into the curriculums of
secondary schools. While some people advocate this, I hold a contrary opinion
on this matter.
There
are some people who are in favour of making international news a compulsory
subject in the curriculum of secondary schools. As the world becomes more open,
it would be more necessary than ever before for children to know about what is
happening in the world. However, the effectiveness of this practice should be
carefully considered because secondary students are often too young to
understand news, and they tend to forget the information once the exam is over.
On
the other hand, teaching secondary school children about world news would mean
that they have less time to learn about core subjects such as Maths and
Physics, which are proved to be more important to their education. Furthermore,
international news could be soon out of date, even before curriculums are
completed. Therefore, news that children learn is actually stale, and this can
be viewed as a waste of time.
Of
course, I do not imply that teenagers should be isolated from international
news. On the contrary, I suggest that secondary school children can access a
great source of information through the internet and television, provided that
they find it helpful. However, this does not mean that educators should include
international news in the school curriculums.
In
conclusion, I tend to believe that international news should not be considered
to be a subject at the level of secondary education.
(255
words)
TOPIC: People in big cities prefer to live alone or in small family units instead of large family groups. Do you think this is positive or negative trend?
It
is true that urban citizens now tend to live individually or in nuclear
families. Personally, I believe that this trend has many positive impacts on
our lives, and thus should be advocated.
Living
alone will give people freedom to do what they want without annoying other
family members. In the modern world, the gaps between generations are gradually
widening, so it would be a bad idea for several generations to live in the same
house. For example, while the young prefer eating fast food for their
convenience, their parents and grandparents would like the whole family to have
traditional meals together. When it comes to entertaining demands, youngsters
are apt to listen to various types of modern music, ranging from pop to rock,
which can cause some disturbances to their elder family members.
Furthermore,
living in nuclear families offers great benefits to all family members.
Firstly, parents have more time to care for the family and thus better raise
their children. For example, instead of spending time caring for a large family
that is full of potential conflicts between family members, parents can focus
on teaching children how to behave properly, or encouraging them to study.
Secondly, fewer members means less household expenditure, and this will relieve
some financial burdens on working adults. Then, money can be used to spend on
better nutrition and facilities which can lead to a higher standard of living.
In
conclusion, I firmly hold the view that living individually or in small family
units has many benefits for all family members.
(257
words)
TOPIC: As a part of education, students should spend a period of time living in another country to learn its language and culture. Do you agree or disagree?
Sample:
It
is argued that students should experience overseas life to learn the language
and culture of the host country. Personally, I would completely agree with this
for the following reasons.
To
begin with, living in a foreign nation is always advantageous to experience a
different culture even for a short period of time. One day abroad is one day
learnt. Hence, students living abroad usually have better and more thorough
understanding of the outside world than those students who do not have these
experiences; they also tend to have more open minds to differences in culture
and so become more tolerant to other groups of people. Compared to those who
learn the cultural values of foreign countries from books and media, students
who have overseas living experience can have a broader perspective of the world
we live in.
Furthermore,
having first-hand exposure to the local language is the best way to learn it.
The truth is, no matter how much students excel in foreign language courses,
they do not usually master the language completely. For example, there are
never enough English native speakers in schools to provide a real English
speaking community, which may result in students knowing English very well in
terms of grammar or reading, but speaking and dialogue comprehension is a big
obstacle for them. In contrast, living in the foreign environment gradually
improves the learner’s accent in speaking and allows them to learn
collocations that native speakers normally use in daily conversations.
In
conclusion, I firmly hold the view that living in another country for education
purposes is advantageous both culture-wise and language-wise.
(267
words)
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Women and man are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses
Women and man are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses. Is it right to exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender?
There may indeed be good arguments for allowing certain posts to remain predominantly male or female.
Where all-male or all-female groups exist, there may be a need for related posts to be held by men and women respectively. Patients in all-female hospital wards, for example. would probably appreciate having female nurses to look after them. It could also be argued that certain jobs requiring a great deal of physical strength, coal mining or loggingI for example. should continue to be done mainly by men.
However, in the vast majority of situations, making occupations more open to both genders has distinct
advantages. Men and women can bring slightty different perspectives and approaches to a job. Female police officers, for example. may have a greater understanding of domestic violence and a better range of strategies for dealing with this problem. Male primary school teachers probably have a better understanding ofthe needs of young boys and can serve as good role models for them.
The changes that result from allowing men into female-dominated occupations and vice versa may be subtle.
but they are far-reaching. However, to benefit the most from this development, it is important not to expect
males and fernates to appmach work in identical ways.
Model answer:
There have always been differences in the types of work men and women have done. However. the trend in modern times has been for both men and women to have greater freedom of choice in terms of employment. Some people might say that there is no need to go further. However. in my view, wherever possible, gender equality should be encouraged. There may indeed be good arguments for allowing certain posts to remain predominantly male or female.
Where all-male or all-female groups exist, there may be a need for related posts to be held by men and women respectively. Patients in all-female hospital wards, for example. would probably appreciate having female nurses to look after them. It could also be argued that certain jobs requiring a great deal of physical strength, coal mining or loggingI for example. should continue to be done mainly by men.
However, in the vast majority of situations, making occupations more open to both genders has distinct
advantages. Men and women can bring slightty different perspectives and approaches to a job. Female police officers, for example. may have a greater understanding of domestic violence and a better range of strategies for dealing with this problem. Male primary school teachers probably have a better understanding ofthe needs of young boys and can serve as good role models for them.
The changes that result from allowing men into female-dominated occupations and vice versa may be subtle.
but they are far-reaching. However, to benefit the most from this development, it is important not to expect
males and fernates to appmach work in identical ways.
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