1、1. C6-2 Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.As a result of constant media attention, sports professio
2、nals in my country have become stars and celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant lifestyles with huge houses and cars.Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of top surgeons or res
3、earch scientists, or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the public popularity of sp
4、ort in general and the level of public support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of fairness is not the issue.Those who feel that sports stars salaries are justified might argue that the number of professionals with real talent are very few, and the money is recognition of the skills
5、 and dedication a person needs to be successful. Competition is constant and a player is tested every time they perform in their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of the spot light. So all of these factors may justify the huge earnings.Pe
6、rsonally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on sport than on more essential professions and achievements.2. Some experts believe that it is better for
7、children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?Traditionally, children have begun studying foreign languages at secondary school, but introducing them earlier is recommended by some educationalists. T
8、his policy has been adopted by some educational authorities or individual schools, with both positive and negative outcomes.The obvious argument in its favour is that young children pick up languages much more easily than teenagers. Their brains are still programmed to acquire their mother tongue, w
9、hich facilitates learning another language, and unlike adolescents, they are not inhibited by self-consciousness.The greater flexibility of the primary timetable allows for more frequent, shorter sessions and for a play-centred approach, thus maintaining learners enthusiasm and progress. Their comma
10、nd of the language in later life will benefit from this early exposure, while learning other languages subsequently will be easier for them. They may also gain a better understanding of other cultures.There are, however, some disadvantages. Primary school teachers are generalists, and may not have t
11、he necessary language skills themselves. If specialists have to be brought in to deliver these sessions, the flexibility referred to above is diminished. If primary language teaching is not standardised, secondary schools could be faced with a great variety of levels in different languages within th
12、eir intake, resulting in a classroom experience which undoes the earlier gains. There is no advantage if enthusiastic primary pupils become demotivated as soon as they change schools. However, these issues can be addressed strategically within the policy adopted. Anything which encourages language l
13、earning benefits society culturally and economically, and early exposure to language learning contributes to this. Young childrens innate abilities should be harnessed to make these benefits more achievable. 3. Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of
14、 sports facilities. Others, however, say that this would have little effect on public health and that other measures are required. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.A problem of modern societies is the declining level of health in the general population, with conflicting views on ho
15、w to tackle this worrying trend. One possible solution is to provide more sports facilities to encourage a more active lifestyle.Advocates of this believe that todays sedentary lifestyle and stressful working conditions mean that physical activity is no longer part of either our work or our leisure
16、time. If there were easy-to-reach local sports centres, we would be more likely to make exercise a regular part of our lives, rather than just collapsing in front of a screen every evening. The variety of sports that could be offered would cater for all ages, levels of fitness and interests; those w
17、ith painful memories of PE at school might be happier in the swimming pool than on the football pitch. However, there may be better ways of tackling this problem. Interest in sport is not universal, and additional facilities might simply attract the already fit, not those who most need them. Physica
18、l activity could be encouraged relatively cheaply, for example by installing exercise equipment in parks, as my local council has done. This has the added benefit that parents and children often use them together just for fun, which develops a positive attitude to exercise at an early age. As well a
19、s physical activity, high tax penalties could be imposed on high-fat food products, tobacco and alcohol, as excessive consumption of any of these contributes to poor health. Even improving public transport would help: it takes longer to walk to the bus stop than to the car. In my opinion, focusing o
20、n sports facilities is too narrow an approach and would not have the desired results. People should be encouraged not only to be more physically active but also to adopt a healthier lifestyle in general. 4. It is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents, for instance for spo
21、rt or music, and others are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician.Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.The relative importance of natural talent and training is a frequent topic of discussion when people try to exp
22、lain different levels of ability in, for example, sport, art or music.Obviously, education systems are based on the belief that all children can effectively be taught to acquire different skills, including those associated with sport, art or music. So from our won school experience, we can find plen
23、ty of evidence to support the view that a child can acquire these skills with continued teaching and guided practice. However, some people believe that innate talent is what differentiates a person who has been trained to play a sport or an instrument, from those who become good players. In other wo
24、rds, there is more to the skill than a good learned technique, and this extra talent cannot be taught, no matter how good the teacher or how frequently a child practices. I personally think that some people do have talents that are probably inherited via their genes. Such talents can give individual
25、s a facility for certain skills that allow them to excel, while more hard-working students never manage to reach a comparable level. But, as with all questions of nature versus nurture, they are not mutually exclusive. Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports stars have probably succeeded be
26、cause of both good training and natural talent. Without the natural talent, continuous training would be neither attractive nor productive, and without the training, the children would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent. In conclusion, I agree that any child can be taught particular s
27、kills, but to be really good in areas such as music, art or sport, then some natural talent is required.5. It is generally acknowledged that families are now not as close as they used to be. What are the possible reasons for this and what can be done to reverse the trend?With the speeding of modern
28、life, family closeness has been reduced to a historic low in the last decades. This essay will discuss the causes of this phenomenon and how it can be reversed.The reasons for this may involve three major aspects. First of all, working parents spend the vast majority of their time in their offices o
29、r even work overtime at home, since they want to ensure an advantageous position in the fierce competition. Consequently, they have little time for communication with other family members, which possibly results in the increasing alienation in the family. A similar case happens to children, who are
30、often sent to boarding school and back home once a week, even once a month.Even if some other young children stay at home with their parents, most of them would be induced to watch TV or play some exciting computer games or chat with faraway friends online instead of sitting around a table to start
31、an intimate talk with other family members. So the overuse of modern technological devices is also contributing to the increasing family indifference these days.To solve this problem, I think, the crucial point is to ensure sufficient time spent together and enhance the communication between differe
32、nt family members. Parents should spare more time from their work, which can be devoted to a short journey if it is longed for, or an exhibition or some other activities that can be enjoyed together. Moreover, some traditional values about family closeness should be imparted to the younger generatio
33、n whether at home or school in their early age, when it is easier to shape a correct attitude towards family. 6. C8-3 Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What other measures do you think might be eff
34、ective?There is no doubt that traffic and pollution from vehicle have become huge problems, both in cities and on motorways everywhere. Solving these problems is likely to need more than a simple rise in the price of petrol.While it is undeniable that private car use is one of the main causes of the
35、 increase in traffic and pollution, higher fuel costs are unlikely to limit the number of drivers for long. As this policy would also affect the cost of public transport, it would be very unpopular with everyone who needs to travel on the roads. But there are various other measures that could be imp
36、lemented that would have a huge effect on these problems.I think to tackle the problem of pollution, cleaner fuels need to be developed. The technology is already available to produce electric cars that would be both quieter and cleaner to use. Persuading manufacturers and travelers to adopt this ne
37、w technology would be a more effective strategy for improving air quality, especially in cities.However, traffic congestion will not be solved by changing the type of private vehicle people can use. To do this, we need to improve the choice of public transport services available to travellers. For e
38、xample, if sufficient sky trains and underground train systems were built and effectively maintained in our major cities, then traffic on the roads would be dramatically reduced. Long-distance train and coach services should be made attractive and affordable alternatives to driving your own car for
39、long journeys.In conclusion, I think that long-term traffic and pollution reductions would depend on educating the public to use public transport more, and on governments using public money to construct and run efficient systems.7. C8-1 Some people think that parents should teach children how to be
40、good members of society. Others, however, believe that school is the place to learn this. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.A childs education has never been about learning information and basic skills only. It has always included teaching the next generation how to be good members
41、of society. Therefore, this cannot be the responsibility of the parents alone.In order to be a good member of any society the individual must respect and obey the rules of their community and share their values. Educating children to understand the need to obey rules and respect others always begins
42、 in the home and is widely thought to be the responsibility of parents. They will certainly be the first to help children learn what is important in life, how they are expected to behave and what role they will play in their world.However, learning to understand and share the value system of a whole
43、 society cannot be achieved just in the home. Once a child goes to school, they are entering a wider community where teachers and peers will have just as much influence as their parents do at home. At school, children will experience working and living with people from a whole variety of backgrounds
44、 from the wider society. This experience should teach them how to co-operate with each other and how to contribute to the life of their community.But to be a valuable member of any community is not life learning a simple skill. It is something that an individual goes on learning throughout life and
45、it is the responsibility of every member of a society to take responsibility for helping the younger generation to become active and able members of that society.8. In many countries schools have severe problems with student behaviour. What do you think are the cause of this?What solutions can you s
46、uggest?Poor student behaviour seems to be increasingly widespread problem and I think that modern lifestyles are probably responsible for this.In many countries, the birth is decreasing so that families are smaller with fewer children. These children are often spoilt, not in terms of love and attent
47、ion because working parents do not have the time for this, but in more material ways. They are allowed to have whatever they want, regardless of price, and to behave as they please. This means that the children grow up without consideration for others and without any understanding of where their sta
48、ndard of living comes from.When they get to school age they have not learnt any self control or discipline. They have less respect for their teachers and refuse to obey school rules in the way that their parents did. Teachers continually complain about this problem and measures should be taken to co
49、mbat the situation. But I think the solution to the problem lies with the families, who need to be more aware of the future consequences of spoiling their children. If they could raise them to be considerate of others and to be social, responsible individuals, the whole community would benefit.Perhaps parenting classes are needed to help them to do this, and high quality nursery schools could be established that would support families more in terms of raising the next generation. The government should fund this kind of parental support, because this is no longer a problem for individu
