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Johnson zhang wrote:Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sport or other dangerous activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Ans.

In recent years, extreme sports have been reaching new heights of popularity thanks to sponsors and video sharing websites. There are a number of reasons why people pursue extreme sports. This essay will elaborate on two possible reasons.

Firstly, it is agreed that that extreme sports are tremendously thrilling for some. For example, in early 2014, a man who was sponsored by Redbull and GoPro jumped from space and achieved a new record for the longest time spent in free-fall. It is clear that the gravity-defying experience and the making of history overwhelmed concerns for the safety of the stunt. This is not an isolated case, as people routinely look for challenges across a range of activities and feel compelled to do something extraordinary with their lives. For them, the sense of achievement, the fun and the thrill prevail over the risks involved in extreme sports, which explains why people participate in dangerous activities.

Secondly, participating in an extreme sport can be a great weekend trip. For the many, escaping from work and relieving stress is the goal of a weekend, and they often tone down the levels of extreme sports to suit their purposes. For example, one of my spanish friends works as a restaurant manager and gets hyped up about snow-boarding trips. He is not a hard-core fan and avoids doing high-level stunts so he can lower the risks of getting injured. Not just him; many people have been seeking ways to diversify their life experience. Sometimes this means testing and enjoying exciting sports that may go awry in an unfortunate incident.

In conclusion, it is clear people engage extreme sports for thrilling experiences and as a counter to the stresses of routine. I strongly believe that the popularity of these extreme activities will continue to increase into the foreseeable future.

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Johnson zhang wrote:Q. Some people prefer to work for a large company. Others prefer to work for a small company. Which would you prefer? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Answer,

Most people need a job and its income. Their employers may come in any size. It is interesting to see people's various choices over an employment contract based on the scale of a business. Personally, I would prefer a job contract with a well-respected company. This essay will discuss possible reasons why people choose to work for companies of different sizes.

Firstly, some have chosen to work for a small company with justifiable reasons. Convenience is one. For instance, when big companies do not offer local jobs, relocation is often required which will be difficult especially when an entire family is involved. Thus, for those who wish to stay in their homeland or hometown, the obvious choice is to accept a job offer from a small but local business. Another reason could be that some people simply do not like working for a large corporation. Due to the nature of a large company and its multi-level management, having some sort of resentment towards a gigantic business is not unusual. Therefore, working for a smallish group that offers far more flexibility and better co-worker connection can be a wise choice in some cases.

However, working for a powerful company is a life-time opportunity and widely believed to have advanced many popular professionals' careers. For example, I have been consistently looking for a chance to prove myself at a reputable company, as I believe honing one's professional skills is best done at a mature and often decent-sized company. Not just me; elite professionals are more likely to snatch a job contract from an industry-leading player in hope of benefiting from its image and influence. For example, Mr. Ive is now recognised worldwide for his work of brilliance after he joined the tech company, Apple, as an industrial designer.

In conclusion, all aspects of a job offer are put through some sort of scrutiny. The size of a company is important since size is often seen correlated to influence in any industry. Depending on personal circumstances and vision, the choice is both personal and professional.

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Johnson zhang wrote:Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: With the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Ans.

Many dream of making the learning process as easy as loading a computer program. Although this may be years away from reality, the use of computers to compliment education is a practice that is currently gaining steam. I agree that nowadays students are learning more and at an accelerated rate because of the availability of technology. The reasons for this are manifold.

Firstly, students are now able to learn more because of the convenience coming from the fact that most of society's knowledge is available in digital form. For example, students attending university today have unprecedented digital access to lecture materials, tutorials and global resources via the Internet. In other words, educational resources are tremendously easier to access compared to how they were decades ago. Hence, most students today can acquire as much knowledge as they desire to.

Secondly, students are now progressing much faster with their learning because of the improvement in information technology. An example can be drawn from my final year of engineering study. My team of four remotely collaborated on a project through video conferencing and instant file sharing over a network. The astounding result was that we conquered the tasks of the assignment weeks before the deadline. This instance proves that the majority of students with access to modern technologies are learning and progressing faster than previous generations.

In conclusion, technology is a broad term and much of its advancement is, in my opinion, causing positive trends in education. That is, students nowadays are able to access more information at a faster pace than in the past, thanks to affordable personal computers, the Internet and many other devices.

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Johnson zhang wrote:With all the problems in the world today, spending money on space exploration is a complete waste. The money could be better spent on other causes. To what extent, do you agree or disagree


answers

Many countries are facing a number of problems they seem to be struggling to deal with. Funding is always an issue when it comes to problem-solving. Getting an adequate amount of financial support is no easy task. Therefore, when projects like space programs are burning through tremendous amounts of money, people start to question the purpose of all that spending. It is agreed that funds that were available to space projects may have been excessive in the past, however their impact has been profound.

On the one hand, space exploration has benefited several industries as of today. As space exploration is standing on the frontier of engineering and science, their findings often resultin some ground-breaking applications in commercial-grade products. For example, there have been quite a number of companies boasting their relationship with space engineering and have claimed that their products are arguably the most advanced on the market. Therefore, it can be seen that investing in space exploration has its purposes, and one of them is to lead general engineering advancement.

However, space exploration has seen several major failures and has hemorrhaged incredible amounts of money. This certainly does not alleviate the fact that society today needs to solve some dire issues ranging from global warming to economic recovery. That money can mean a world of difference to numerous projects that are on-going and suffering from a lack of funding as well as attention. For example, education in many developing countries needs newer facilities to increase students' chance of success in the future. However, many kids simply have no access to a computer let alone the Internet. Clearly, those children would have Internet access and thus become connected with the rest of the world if enough money was provided. Therefore, It can be argued that space programs may have spoiled such opportunities or at least postponed the delivery date for those kids.

In conclusion, space programs' experiments and findings so far have benefited many industries such as engineering, science and maybe others but other problems we face today are desperate for some financial support. I strongly believe that a smarter and more transparent management of space projects would reduce some expenditure while still being able to achieve their goals.



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Johnson zhang wrote:Many of the medical problems that people are experiencing in today's world are due to the fact that we have a very sedentary lifestyle.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?


Answer

Today, many people have a heavy reliance on computers and technological gadgets. As a result, their lifestyles tend to be excessively inactive which has been argued to be a culprit of numerous health problems. I agree that some medical issues can be linked to sedentary lifestyles. However, the link is not unbreakable.

Firstly, a poor commitment to fitness is likely to cause some well known health issues. People who commit poorly to fitness often have a sedentary lifestyle that is filled with office work, TV time, playing games and Internet surfing. It would not be a surprise if they started to gain weight and put more pressure on their health systems from the increased stress on the heart and other organs. Hence, it is clear that a sedentary lifestyle has a direct effect on our health, causing several medical issues.

Nevertheless, it is possible to stay fit in a modern life that seemingly forces us to be stationary. In Sydney, more and more commuters are adapting to active ways of travelling such as cycling, jogging or running. Admirably, their efforts should bring about some incremental changes that are expected to re-tune their biological system. This example argues that, although sedentary lifestyles are hindering the motivation of a workout for many people, the barrier is not holding back those who can commit to their fitness goals. It is unanimously agreed that staying fit is a key to staying healthy. Thus, sedentary lifestyles are not a permanent ground to breed health issues as some people have argued.

In summary, people who are overly busy with sedentary types of jobs and unwilling to get involved in physical activities will most likely face various consequences on their health systems.


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Johnson zhang wrote:In many countries today insufficient respect is shown to older people. What do you think may be the reasons for this? What problems might this cause in society?

Ans.

Showing enough respect to older people is widely considered a valuable virtue. However, this act is increasingly losing its support among younger people. I see this phenomenon as a threat to society's social harmony. This essay will look into the reasons and the outcomes.

Firstly, younger people are increasingly becoming disinterested in elderly people which greatly affects the amount of respect their elders are receiving. Their lack of interestmay be understood if one could see the vast difference in the background of their upbringings. For example, many elderly people grew up through war or post-war eras during which many of them suffered, and a time in which the technological revolution had not taken off. Very likely, these differences have driven youngsters away from their elders. Consequently, generations are drifting apart and because of this, many aged ones are receiving less respect than they were even just one generation ago.

The consequences could be very ugly. It is already being pointed out that age gaps are worsening and causing clashes between different social groups. If respect for older people continues to fall, this will clearly add some severity to the matter. One possible result is that many essential groups consisting of people with vast age differences could collapse because of a common disrespect. For example, in Australia, several unions are falling apart due to the strong disagreement and rudeness from their younger members.

In conclusion, it can be argued that people's indifferent attitudes towards their elders are causing some concerns and leading to the diminishing of respect for society's elderly people. Personally, I think being respectable to all regardless of difference is very important. The benefits of being respectable are always worthwhile.


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Johnson zhang wrote:Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programs (for example working for a charity, improving the neighborhood or teaching sports to younger children). To what extent do you agree or disagree?


Many high school students take part in community service to help other people. Often, they receive little or no cash reward. There are many reasons why some students have participated community service. I agree that serving and assisting other communities should be a mandatory part of the high school experience. This essay will suggest two reasons.

Firstly, students’ voluntary community service can make a world of difference in the lives of many people, especially those who are stuck in disadvantageous positions in society. For example, elderly people without family support are often in need of attention, care and generous love. For them, a visit even by a stranger is well appreciated. Therefore, having students as part of the centre service for aged ones can greatly improve many elderly people’s lives with extra support and love. This example clearly shows why school students should get involved in community service and why schools should organise compulsory activities to make it happen.

Secondly, students themselves can benefit from unpaid work tremendously. For one, having some community service work done and presented in a resume is highly regarded by many employers, particularly those who strongly prefer some work experience from candidates. On top of this, the fact that this person was willing to work for free implies a positive attitude. Furthermore, undertaking community service work is widely believed to teach a student to not take good things in life for granted. These three examples are strong arguments for why our pupils must gain some experience in community service work.

In conclusion, if more students offer their time and effort to their community, those communities can receive a great deal of help and students can diversify their life experience and solidify some useful skills.


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Johnson zhang wrote:You have a problem with a roommate.
Write a letter to your roommate. In your letter
• describe the problem
• explain why you feel strongly about this issue • request your roommate improve the problem

Dear Tom,

The reason I’m writing this letter is to address the amount of noise you've been making late at night. Please allow me to explain.

I am in the last stage of my studies. Getting enough sleep is very important to me. However, my sleep time at night has suffered because when you come back from visiting your girlfriend, you slam the door and walk around making noise. As I am not a heavy sleeper, I’m constantly being woken up and then struggle to fall asleep again. To make matters worse, you often make phone calls to your girlfriend chatting with her for another hour or so. As a result, sleeping hasn't been easy for me. Also, I feel uncomfortable overhearing your conversations as it feels like I am invading your privacy. I believe you can empathise with my situation here.

Please show some consideration by keeping things quiet when you come back. If you feel the need to call you girlfriend, please do so from the corridor.

Thanks in advance.
Your friend and roommate,
Johnson


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Johnson zhang wrote: • describe a problem you’ve experienced in the city
• suggest a way the city can eliminate this problem
• explain how this will improve life in the city

Dear Mayor,

You recently asked for citizens’ thoughts on how to improve our city. I would like to address an issue I have encountered, and suggest a solution.

My opinion is that the current road rules in the city need to see some changes in order to improve them. Currently, our city is experiencing moderate to heavy delays in transit services that have been stagnating the city traffic. As a result, a large portion of commuters have been affected by the extended commuting times.

To address this, I suggest parking needs to be temporarily banned in certain streets across the metro area during the peak hours. The reason for this is that private cars often park on the street and effectively take out one lane. If we had an extra lane available to all vehicles, the traffic would flow better and buses would arrive on time more often. As you can see, this simple change could significantly reduce traffic delays and road rage, leading to a faster and more pleasant commute for everybody. Hence, people in this city could save time and their lives would be a bit easier.

I will be grateful if you would consider my proposal to improve this city.

Yours sincerely,
Johnson Zhang.


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Johnson zhang wrote:


This table illustrates the consumption of fast food among Australian teenagers from 1975 to 2000. Both pizza and hamburgers have become more popular among teenagers, whereas fish and chips have steadily decreased in popularity over the same period.

According to this graph, in 1975, fish and chips were consumed nearly 100 times a year by teenagers in Australia. That number was significantly higher than the number of pizzas and hamburgers, which were well under 20. However, despite of a short-lived come-back between 1980 and 1985, the consumption of fish and chips decreased steadily and bottomed out by 2000, only being eaten 40 times a year.

In sharp contrast to this, Australian teenagers welcomed the culture of eating pizza and hamburgers. As a result, their consumption started to gain momentum from 1975. It is worth noting that both of them hit a plateau period of growth in 1995. Furthermore, although the increase in the number of hamburgers consumed slowed in 1985 and slowed again in 1995, hamburgers were more popular than pizza, at 100 and 82 eaten each year respectively.

In conclusion, hamburgers are the most popular choice of the three and might continue to be so. Sadly, the ‘old school’ fish and chips lost its crown of popularity among Australian teenagers.

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