145.

Some students like classes where teachers lecture (do all of the talking) in
class. Other students prefer classes where the students do some of the talking.
Which type of class do you prefer? i!e specific reasons and details to support
your choice.
In my country, the lecture system is the most common system. It is the one I prefer for
three reasons: I am used t the lecture system; it is an efficient system; I am too shy to
talk in class.
All my life, I have listened to teachers. They come into the room, open their books,
and start to lecture. We students sit quietly at our desks and take notes. We never ask
questions because we dont want to seem stupid. At the end of the course, we are
!iven a test. If we can repeat on the test what the teacher said in class, we will !et a
!ood !rade.
The lecture system is an efficient one. Te teacher is the one who knows the sub"ect,
not the students. It is a waste of time listenin! to a students ideas. What !ood will
that does me# Time is short. I want the teacher to !ive me as much information as he
or she can durin! the class period.
$ven if we could talk in class, I would never open my mouth. I am much too shy. I
would be afraid the other students would lau!h at me and make fun of my ideas. I
prefer to listen to the teacher and memori%e the teachers ideas.
I hope I can always study in a school where they use the lecture system. I think it is
better to continue with what one is used to. I also think that there is a lot of
information that I must learn in the most efficient manner possible. I wouldnt want to
interrupt a teacher with my foolish questions.
14". #olidays honor people or e!ents. $f you could create a new holiday% what
person or e!ent would it honor and how would you want people to cele&rate it?
'se specific reasons and details to support your answer.
&ctober '( is )nion *ations +ay. This day is noted in the calendars, but not observed
as a holiday around the world. I want the entire world to celebrate the birth of the
)nited *ations because of its attempts to promote peace, education, and health around
the world.
,eace is the most important thin! that we can have today. The sooner that we can stop
war the sooner we can all have better lives. There are countries around the world that
have been at war for !enerations. In some of these countries, )* ,eacekeepers have
temporarily stopped the violence so people can !o about their lives. If this peace
could be made lastin!, the lives of these citi%ens would be much richer.
The )* actively works to promote education. )niversal literacy is one of its
important !oals. $very child in the world deserves to know how to read and write.
The )* is also involved in "ob trainin! for adults. The a!e of information technolo!y
demands new "ob skills. The )* works with continuin! education pro!rams around
the world so workers are not left out of the "ob market.
The )* has played an instrumental role in the eradication of smallpo-. ,olio vaccines
and AI+./awareness pro!rams have also helped reduce the incidence of these
diseases. There is a lot to be done in these areas.
0uch of the work of the )* is unknown and underappreciated. If we want to live in a
peaceful world, where every child can attend school and where every citi%en has
access to health care, we need to support the work of the )*. We need to reco!ni%e its
importance and celebrate its birthday.
14(. ) friend of yours has recei!ed some money and plans to use all of it either
* to go on a !acation
* to &uy a car.
+our friend has asked you for ad!ice. ,ompare your friend-s two choices and
e.plain which one you think your friend should choose. 'se specific reasons and
details to support your choice.
Tryin! to decide how to use your money is always tou!h. .hould you use your money
to buy a car or !o on a vacation# 1oth afford lastin! pleasure, but of a very different
kind. 2rom a vacation you !et the pleasure of doin! wonderful thin!s and of totally
rela-in! and en"oyin! yourself. The memories you brin! home with you can !ive you
that same pleasure a!ain every time you think of them.
A car also !ives you pleasure, every time you drive it. Theres the pleasure of not
havin! to depend on public transportation. 3ou can !o places off the beaten track,
where public transportation doesnt !o. There is also the pleasure of bein!
independent. 3ou are able to !o anywhere your car can take you, without dependin!
on others.
A vacation !ives you the opportunity to learn new thin!s and meet new and
interestin! people. 4owever, its only for a short period of time. A car !ives you the
same opportunities on a smaller level, but on a more re!ular basis. With a car, you can
!o someplace new every weekend. 3ou can also "oin a car pool. That way you can
share travel e-penses with the new people you meet.
.ome people mi!ht say that spendin! your money on a vacation instead of on a car is
bein! impractical. 1ut nothin! is as satisfyin! as a really !ood vacation. Its mentally
and physically healthy. It !ives you a chance to !et away from all that is familiar to
you and see the world from a new perspective. It lets you do nothin! but play, the way
you did when you were a child. 1ein! able to play, even for a short period of time, is
absolutely necessary for everyones mental health. I would choose the vacation,
because we all deserve to indul!e ourselves sometime.
14/. 0he 11st century has &egun. What changes do you think this new century
will &ring? 'se e.amples and details in your answer.
*ow that we are in a new millennium, we can assume there will be chan!es in the
world. I predict that the chan!es will be in the areas of information dissemination,
!lobal alliances, and family structure.
In the past decades, the computer was responsible for chan!in! the way information
was or!ani%ed. *ow, the computer plus the Internet is chan!in! the way information
is spread. Information will now be universally available to anyone with a computer.
3ou will not have to !o to libraries to do research; you will not have to travel to visit
scholars; you will not have to !o to a bookstore to buy a book. 3ou can do all of this
from your home on the computer.
In the past decades, the nations of the world ali!ned themselves with the )nited
.tates, the former .oviet )nion, or with one another in a loose alliance. In the future
these alliances will be more fluid. .ome countries will ali!n politically with one
country, but economically with another. .ome countries will share technolo!y and
other information, but will not trade to!ether. .ome countries, which have lon! been
enemies, will ali!n militarily for re!ional security.
The family structure will not be based on a mother5father5child pattern. .in!le parent
families will be more common and often the child will not be a biolo!ical child of the
sin!le parent, but will be adopted. &ther family structures like domestic partnerships
will become more accepted.
Whatever the chan!es may be, whether in the way we receive information, the way
nations ali!n with one another, or the way family units are defined, you can be sure
that there will be more chan!e. 6han!e is a constant.
142. What are some of the 3ualities of a good parent. 'se specific details and
e.amples to e.plain your answer.
I am fortunate to have !ood parents so it is easy for me to identify the qualities that
make them !ood. These qualities are unconditional love, trust, and respect for me and
my brothers and sisters.
All mothers and fathers love their children. They nurture them and keep them from
harm. 1ut not all love is unconditional. .ome parents would not love their children if
they married someone of a different reli!ion or from a different ethnic !roup. .ome
parents would not love their children if they were of a different se-ual orientation. 0y
parents wont. 0y parents would love us re!ardless of whom we married or whom we
chose to love.
,art of unconditional love is trust. 0y parents trust us to do what is ri!ht. They know
we would never do anythin! to hurt them or to dis!race them. They trust us so we
trust them. We are confident that they would never do anythin! to hurt us.
1ecause our parents love us, they also respect us. They treat us as individuals. They
accept our differences. They do not e-pect us to be like them. They want us to be our
own persons. They want us to make our own way in the world, not follow in their
footsteps.
Without their love, I would not be as confident as I am. Without their trust, I would
not be free to do what I want. Without their respect, I would not feel comfortable
bein! on my own. All children should have such wonderful parents.
154. 5o!ies are popular all o!er the world. 6.plain why mo!ies are so popular.
'se reasons and specific e.amples to support your answer.
0ovies are popular because people are !reat watchers. They like to watch other
peoples lives. They like to live vicariously. 1y !oin! to movies, we can escape our
own lives, share other emotions, and ima!ine ourselves as someone else.
0any of our lives are not as adventurous or !lamorous as the lives in movies. We do
not battle evil all day lon! and then !o back to our lu-urious penthouse apartment. We
"ust !o to school, do our homework, et, talk to our friends, and sleep. We need a little
e-citement in our lives and we find e-citement at the movies.
4umans are very emotional people. We all like to cry and lau!h. 2ortunately, there is
not much to cry about in my life so I like to !o to sad movies where my heart strin!s
can be tu!!ed. I also like to !o to comedies so I can lau!h. I tend to cry and lau!h
more in a dark movie theater than I do in broad dayli!ht.
*ow I am a student, but I know someday I will be a scientist or a politician or a
famous model. When I !o to the movies, I can see my role models. I see how they act,
what they wear, how they talk. I can prepare myself for the day when I will be like
them.
$ven thou!h my life is quiet, I can !o to the movies and watch someone elses life. I
can share their emotions and their everyday life. I wonder if they would like to share
mine.