It has been said, Not everything that is learned is contained in books.

Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why? People are learning and practicing through their entire life. I believe that life experience and practice are the basic reasons of the humankind's evolution. However, in my opinion, knowledge gained from books plays a very important role in the modern life. The most obviously important advantage of books is that they hold all knowledge gained by previous generations. People write books about their discoveries and inventions, which are gained through practice and experience. This knowledge is accumulated in books that are passed from generation to generation. So, basically, people get all knowledge about the previous achievements from books, analyze it and then, according to their experience and new data, write new books. In this case, books are the holders of humankind's experience. For example, at old times people thought that the Earth was flat. It was concluded from observations and studying. However, the next generations, using the experience of their ancestors, proved that the Earth was round. Personally, I think that books are very important because they are able to give people the basic and fundamental knowledge. Books store history, the important events and discoveries. Without them it is difficult and sometimes impossible to move forward, make new discoveries and inventions. To summarize, I think a person should take basic knowledge from books because it will help him to make his own inventions, conclusions and discoveries. Only using both books and ones experience one can move forward. It is sometimes said that borrowing money from a friend can harm or damage the friendship. Do you agree? Why or why not? Use reasons and specific examples to explain your answer. I think that borrowing money from a friend has some negative aspects and can harm or damage the friendship in some cases. For example, a person borrowed some money from his or her friend and did not return it. However, I believe that borrowing money from a friend and returning it on time cannot harm friendship. Moreover, it even can strengthen the relationships between them. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think borrowing money from a friend and returning it do not damage the friendship. I think that borrowing money from a person who is close to one is normal. Imagine that someone needs help and no doubt that his or her friends will offer it. For example, when my friend asks me to baby-sit her child while she is taking her classes I agree because I know that she desperately needs my help in order to finish her degree and save some money. Furthermore, I am sure that she will be there for me if I need help. The same thing is with the money, sometimes we borrow money from each other but we always return it to each other. I think it is very important to return money borrowed from a friend. I am glad that I can lend her some money when she needs it because I am sure that she will return it as soon as possible. In addition, I believe that when friends lend and borrow money from each other it means that they trust each other. However, I cannot disagree with the fact that money often can cause the end of the friendship. For example, a person, who borrowed money from his or her friend and did not return it, will try to avoid any contacts with the second person. At the same time, a person who lent the money to his or her friend and did not get it back will have more likely an unpleasant feeling about the situation too. As a result friends will fall apart. In conclusion, I think that borrowing money and returning it will help to keep friends together.

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What are some important qualities of a good supervisor (boss)? Use specific details and examples to explain why these qualities are important. Many people have to work under somebody's supervision. In most cases an employee does not choose his or her boss, unless a supervisor is elected. In the following paragraphs I will list the most important qualities of my "ideal boss". First of all, he must be impartial. I believe that it is very important to make a technical decision, think about somebody's promotion, etc. impartially. For instance, my friend is a supervisor on a dairy mill. It is his family's business so a lot of his relatives work there. But he never promotes someone because he or she is his family. I think it is a good quality for a boss. Second of all, my "ideal boss" must be honest, patient and attentive. He should pay attention to people's feelings, encourage them by increasing their salary, listen to their suggestions about improving labor conditions and productivity. For instance, if he does not satisfied with the result he should understand the origin of the problem and explain people how to fix it. In addition, he must know how to solve conflicts that can arise between employees.Another important quality of a boss is the ability to choose the right decisions and to learn on somebody's mistakes. Finally, I think a good boss must value his or her employees because the profit directly depends on the people who work there. In conclusion, I think a good boss should be able to make his people enjoy the work they are doing and encourage their diligence. The government has announced that it plans to build a new university. Some people think that your community would be a good place to locate the university. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a new university in your community. Use specific details in your discussion. I think it is a great idea to build a new university in my community. However, I think it is a controversial question whether the building of a new university will bring only benefits to our community. In this essay I will analyze advantages and disadvantages of this issue and present my view in favor of establishing a new university in my community. From the one side, establishing a new university in my community brings many benefits. First of all, a new construction means more job opportunities. I think it would be good for my community because many people have to spend much time driving to their work day in and day out because they could not find a job in our neighborhood. Second of all, a new university is a good chance to meet new people and I like this opportunity. Many students will live in our community. Finally, if a new university is built in my community there is a big chance that I will be willing to enroll in it. I think it is great because it is not far from my place and I do not have to move to another part of the city. Another important aspect of this is that people from my community will have a chance to use new libraries and facilities of a new university. For example some people can take courses and classes there. From the other side, building a new university can bring some disadvantages. A new construction means noise, traffic jams and different kinds of pollution. In addition to these disadvantages, many young people in our community can cause more noise especially in the evenings. To sum up, I think that I would support the decision of the government of establishing a new university in my community despite a few disadvantages that could follow this construction. I believe that a new university will increase a chance of many young people to get a higher education, gain more knowledge and experience, which will help them to succeed in todays world.

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A company has announced that it wishes to build a large factory near your community. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new influence on your community. Do you support or oppose the factory? Explain your position. I am from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. I believe that building a large factory near my community has advantages as well as disadvantages. In the following paragraphs I will list basic benefits and losses that will be brought by a new factory. For several reasons, I think that a new factory will not be a good addition to my neighborhood. First of all, factories often bring pollution. They are prone to contaminating the local air and water. Second of all, factories make noise. Another important aspect of building a new factory nearby is that it will make the local traffic heavy. As a result of this, the amount of traffic congestions will increase, as well as contamination of the air. So, all these obviously will not make one's life happier and healthier in my community. From the other side, I believe that a new factory will bring some advantages to my community. First of all, it will bring new job opportunities. Many specialists will be required to work there. Second of all, I think many local community facilities will have to be renovated to obtain reliable supply of water and electricity. So, some old pipes may be changed. Another important benefit of this is that the local roads in order tomanage the increasing traffic will be rebuilt and widened. However, I do not think that listed above benefits are worth all these troubles including watercontamination and the constant pollution of air. From my point of view all factories must be built far fromthe people communities because they can be really harmful for people's health. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Businesses should do anything they canto make a profit. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position. I do not agree with the statement that businesses should do anything they can to make a profit. I state myopinion on the following points. First of all, every company must have its moral code. It means that a company should treat its clients properly and respect their rights. Of cause a company may lose a part of its profit but security of its clientsmust be on the first place. Otherwise, clients will switch to another company and never be back. Forinstance, a few years ago "Jonson&Jonson" produced a new type of painkillers. Unfortunately, thisproduct was not tested properly. As a result of this many people died and received injures. The presidentof the company made a crucial decision to call back all painkillers from all distributors and pay to allinjured customers for their treatment. It cost a lot of money for the company but it saved its image andclients. It was a very difficult decision, but the president of the company understood that it would cost himeven more in the future because he would not be able to return clients' respect. Losing customersmeans for a company losing its profit. Second of all, in order to succeed in the modern world companies have to compete with each other. Manycompanies lose their profit decreasing prices on their products. They do not aspire for extra profit but forclients' satisfaction. Companies do it because they want their products sold and their customers satisfied.They offer discounts, free delivery, free service, free Internet access, good return service, etc. All theseare done to make their old customers happy and attract new clients. To sum up, I think a company, which the only goal is profit will not succeed nowadays. Otherwise,companies that respect their clients and want to see them satisfied will make a fortune.

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Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives tostay the same, and they do not change their usual habits. Compare these two approaches to life.Which approach do you prefer? Explain why. Some people like to live in the same house, have the same job and habits all their lives. However, othersaspire to changes and new experience. Personally, for the several reasons, which I will explain bellow, Iprefer the first approach to life. First of all, changes in one's life bring many benefits. One tries new things, gains new knowledge andexperience. I think it is great because without changes life becomes boring. I always try to make changesin my life. Moreover, when I feel that my life is boring I do not feel well about it. I feel like I spent thosedays for nothing. I did not do anything exiting, I learnt nothing interesting and I just wasted my time.Second of all, people need changes. Furthermore, we need obstacles to overcome and reach our goals. Ibelieve that changes make us stronger, more persistent, more self-confident, and more patient. Also, Ifeel that all people who succeeded in life like changes and new experience because it is impossible to bethe best at some field without perfecting the present knowledge and gain new experience. People catchevery opportunity to learn more and change their life for the best. From the other side, people who like their lives to stay the same are very permanent. They have thesame job all their life, the same habits, the same week-ends and even the same years in years out. I thinkit is boring. What will they tell their children about their lives? What kind of contribution will they make forthe society? I think such people are just afraid of changes. I think curiosity and aspiration to the new experience are two of the main reasons of human evolution.People always wanted to break limits and gain more knowledge and experience. So, people who enjoychange are the engine of human development. Some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age andshould spend most of their time on school studies. Others believe that young children shouldspend most of their time playing. Compare these two views. Which view do you agree with? Why? People learn through their entire lives. Curiosity was always the basic characteristic of a human being.We always want to break limits and learn more. At this point some people think that children should begintheir formal education at a very early age and spend most of their time on school studies. This will helpthem to succeed in the future. However, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I think thatchildren should not study at a very early age. Of cause, children who begin to study at a very early age have more chances to succeed in the future.They gain more knowledge and experience which are priceless and valuable. In addition, studying morenow they will give them the opportunity to perfect their knowledge in the future and become betterprofessionals. However, I think that every child must have his or her childhood. Children should learn through playingand communication with their friends and parents. I think that such basic qualities as kindness, self-confidence and just a good sense of humor cannot be gained from studying. Children should more timespend with their family, playing and learning with their parents. Imagine that a child instead of playing withhis friends does his homework and feel exhausted and tired. Another important aspect of this is thatchildren at their early ages need more exercise because at this age the development of their body is avery essential aspect. Children first of all must be healthy. To sum up, I think that children should have their careless childhood with no responsibilities. Moreover, Iam sure that playing helps them develop not only their bones and muscles but their ability to makedecisions, analyze things, make conclusions, which is very good for their future.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Watching television is bad for children.Use specific details and examples to support your answer. Some parents believe that watching television is bad for their children. So, they try to restrict their childrenfrom watching TV. However, other parents think that there is nothing bad in watching TV. Personally, Ithink that watching TV brings children only benefits unless they spend in front of TV set less than acouple of hours daily. For the following reasons, which I will mention bellow, I believe that television playsan essential role in child's development. First of all, television helps a child to extent his or her range of interests. Children can find out many newthings and make many exiting discoveries for themselves. In addition to these practical benefits televisionimproves children's vocabulary, their memory and gives them the opportunity to gain more knowledge. Ithink it is very essential for a child. Of cause, someone can say that there are plenty of different recoursesof information such as books and teachers. But, I think, in our modern world children must learn fasterand use all contemporary technology in order to succeed. Second of all, watching cognitive programs helps children to learn more about wild life, our environmentand about the importance of preserving our forest and wild animals that live there.Scientists say that a child should not watch TV more than 40 minutes successively. For example, mymother always made us have a break after watching TV more than half an hour and let our eyes rest forseveral minutes before turning on the TV again. I think it is the best solution. To sum up, I believe that television gives children and all people the opportunity to learn what cannot belearn from books. Television and movies in particular allow people to feel the reality and see what theywill most likely not be able to see in their lives. Personally, when I was a child I liked to watch cognitiveprograms about wild animals. Unfortunately, my family had only one TV, but these programs were theonly ones we all wanted to watch. So, we gathered in our living room and watched them in completesilence and I always remember those moments with a smile on my face. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should begin learning a foreignlanguage as soon as they start school. Use specific reasons and examples to support yourposition. Language is the best means of communication. In the modern globalization era it is not enough to be ableto speak one language to communicate with the outside world. I strongly support the idea that childrenshould begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school. They faster become familiar with astrange language, improve their hearing ability to understand new words as time goes by and learn newwords. In the following paragraphs I will list some reasons to support my position. First of all, if one wants to see outcome soon, one must start sooner. So, the early children begin to learnnew language the better will be the result. Scientists say that a child does not confuse two differentlanguages but learns them more effectively. Second of all, adults are often afraid to make mistakes when they are speaking in a new language. Thisfear is one of the biggest barriers for a person in his efforts to speak freely. Otherwise, children do notafraid of making grammatical mistakes because basically they just repeat words and sentences in theway they hear them. Also, children have a better chance to get rid of an accent. They faster get used tothe right pronunciation and better feel the melody of a language. To sum up, I think that it is very essential for children to begin learning a foreign language in their earlyages. It is brings many benefits such as great pronunciation. Also, it help a child develop and gain moreknowledge which is good for a long run.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? High schools should allow students tostudy the courses that students want to study. Use specific reasons and examples to supportyour opinion. The question whether high school should allow students to study the courses that students want to studyis the one that is open for debate. Some people believe that students in high school should have the rightto study the courses they like. However, other people disagree and stand that teenagers can not totallybe sure what they like and what they need to know at their age. In this essay I will analyze these pointsand present my view in favor of people who believe that some courses must be required to study bystudents. From the one side, having a chance to choose what one likes to study can bring many benefits. First ofall, a student can be better prepared for the career he likes because he can spend more time studyingwhat he is interested in. Second of all, students will learn with more enthusiasm because they will learnwhat they like. From the other side, teenagers often cannot completely understand what they want to do in the future.So, given a chance to choose, they can choose classes, which are easy to learn and do not take muchtime to study. As a result of this after graduation many students can be unprepared to enroll inuniversities and, of cause, make careers. Personally, I think that some courses such as mathematics, Literature, writing English must be required for studying by students. This will helps them to gain moreknowledge and experience, develop ability to think logically, improve writing skills, etc. So, students willbe better prepared for the real world and independence life. To sum up, I think that high school should have required courses because it is essential for a student tohave a good base for the future life. Required courses as a rule are more complicated but they give theopportunity for students to extend their range of interests and help them to develop many importantcharacteristics such as selfconfident, persistent, patience, etc. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Classmates are a more importantinfluence than parents on a childs success in school. Use specific reasons and examples tosupport your answer. I cannot completely agree with the statement that classmates are a more important influence thanparents on a child's success in school. In this essay I will first focus on the reasons why I agree with thisstatement and then list a few points why from my opinion in some cases is not true. From the one side, classmates have a significant influence on child's behavior and his or her success inschool. First of all, children spend much time at school. Classmates have many things in common such asage, interests, homework and classes after all. So, they discuss their impressions about a new teacher,solve problems together, learn their homework, gain new knowledge and experience and even make theirown discoveries. Sharing all these makes them closer. Some of them become friends and they spendafter-school time together. In addition friends tend to copy each other's habits and manners. For instance,my little sister became friends with the girl who did not have good grades at school at that time. It doesnot mean she could not have better grades; she just had many friends who did not care about theirgrades. So, when they started to spend their time together and share their interests, girl's gradesimproved. They did their homework together, shared their dreams and exciting moments. From this point Imust agree that classmates can change childs attitude towards school. From the other side, parents have a great influence on children' success in school too. For example ifparents show an interest in their child's progress and talk to him or her about the importance of learning Ithink their child will listen to them and do his or her best. Personally, I believe that relationships between parents and a child play an essential role in child'ssuccess in school. If these relationships are close and wholehearted I am sure that parents should not beafraid of bad influence from the outside.

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We all work or will work in our jobs with many different kinds of people. In your opinion, what aresome important characteristics of a co-worker (someone you work closely with)? Use reasons andspecific examples to explain why these characteristics are important. A large number of people spend most of their time at work. Our life is divided into three equal parts: 8hours sleep, 8 hours - work, 8 hours - family time. So, in the most cases, one's co-worker plays animportant role in one's life. From my opinion, the essential characteristics of a co-worker are the following. First of all, a person who works closely with me must like his job. I think it is very important for a person tofeel satisfaction with his job. My husband is a software developer. He is fond of his job and people enjoyworking with him because they see how many energy he puts into his job. Second of all, my co-worker must be persistent and never give up. I like when people who came across aproblem try to solve it, find a good decision instead of looking for another person to hand it over. Anotherimportant aspect of this is that a good worker should always ask himself "What can be improved?" andsuggests new solutions. In addition, he must be a good team player. In the modern world good communication skills and the abilityto work in a team are among the common position requirements. Personally, I think it is great to helpeach other, share new ideas, develop new solutions, etc. It helps to create a team spirit and improve alabor productivity. Finally, my co-worker must be punctual. He or she should finish the job on time I think that It isunacceptable to make the rest of a team wait while a person finishes his or her job. Also, my "idealco-worker" should always be ready to offer his or her help and be supportive. To summarize, I think if a co-worker possesses all of these qualities mentioned above he can make work with him really enjoyable and productive.

Some movies are serious, designed to make the audience think. Other movies are designedprimarily to amuse and entertain. Which type of movie do you prefer? Use specific reasons andexamples to support your answer. Different people like different types of movies. Some people like to watch a movie that makes them think.They prefer movies with a murder investigation or some kind of intricate plot. Other people prefer moviesthat make them laugh. Personally, I like more comedies, but sometimes my husband insists on watchinga fantastic or a scary movie just to diversify our repertory. Comedies make one laugh. People can just relax, buy a bottle of coda and some popcorn and enjoythose moments. It is a means of eliminating stress and tension. Usually, we go to the movie theatre oncea month because in this case we always find new comedies to watch. I like those moments when it isdark and one just can enjoys the actions from a large screen. I do not want to say that I do not like movies that make me think. Sometimes I really like the plot orperformance. For example, "Traffic", a movie about drugs and young people, is very touching and topical. From my point of view, every family should watch this movie together and discuss the important aspectsof it. One more example of this kind of movies is "Mister G". It is about a little boy who needed a surgeryto live. His heart did not work properly, so a boy needed another one to survive. Basically, the movie isabout a family that faces many difficulties and obstacles, trying to save their only child. I think thathumankind needs such movies. First of all, they help people enjoy their life and be grateful. Second of all,they help people realize that they are a big family. In summary, I think that every movie must teach us be kind, strong and grateful. Page 7 of 63

When people need to complain about a product or poor service, some prefer to complain inwriting and others prefer to complain in person. Which way do you prefer? Use specific reasonsand examples to support your answer. It is rather difficult for me to answer the question how I prefer to complain: in writing or in person becausesometimes I just do not have a choice. For example, if I order a product using the Internet from anotherstate or even country I will more likely have the opportunity to speak to a representative of a company inperson. So, in some cases I choose to speak in person and in others I prefer to complain in writing.However, I believe that every option has its advantages. From the one side, complaining in writing brings many benefits. First of all, one does not have to spendhisprecious time driving, waiting for his turn and talking with a representative. He can just send mail oremail and get all explanation he needs. Second of all, I think it is the best way to avoid an unpleasantconversation. Personally, I do not like to complain about anything especially, in person. Finally,sometimes it is impossible to have a face-to-face conversation because a company which provided apoor product or service is too far away. From the other side, complaining in person has some benefits too. First, this type of complaining providesan immediate feedback. So, if I have some complains about company's products I will receive allinformation and explanation right away. However, sending a company a letter and getting a feedback cantake more than a month. Second, face-to-face conversation is often more effective. People talk to eachother, see each other facial gestures and body movements, which can tell a lot about a person. Inaddition to these practical benefits, in the case if one cannot receive creditable explanation from onerepresentative he always can require to talk to another person. For instance, my husband recently hadsome extra withdraws from his account by his bank and he was not aware of it. So, he went to the bankand explained to the bank's representative the situation and they together found the solution and that money was given back to my husband's account. I think, in this case face-to-face conversation is the bestway to complain and get feedback fast. In conclusion, I think that if I have to complain about a product or poor service I will do it in person.However, if face-to-face conversation is impossible I think I have nothing left but to send a letter or writean e-mail there. Some people say that computers have made life easier and more convenient. Other people saythat computers have made life more complex and stressful. What is your opinion? Use specificreasons and examples to support your answer. Some people say that the invention of computers is one of the greatest humankind's inventions. However,other people think that computers make their life more stressful. I agree with those people who think thatcomputers brought many benefits and play a very important role in our modern life. First of all, every company nowadays uses a computer to store its data and make different kinds ofoperations. It is very difficult to imagine life without computers. A company would have to store millions ofpapers and documents. Moreover, a customer would have to wait hours to check his balance or get apiece of information about his transactions at his bank, while an employee was looking through thosepapers. Another important aspect of this is that people are able to type all their information, makecorrections, print or send documents using computers. It makes life much easier. One can spend the restof the time watching TV with his family or working on something new.We use computers every day sometimes even not knowing it. When we go to a store and use our creditcards many computers process our information and perform transactions. When we need to get somecash we use money access machines that are computerized too. Second of all, computers provided a great means of communication - the Internet. I think it is the easiest and cheapest way to get in touch with relatives, friends, business colleagues, etc. Nowadays theworld becomes smaller and smaller. When I was a little girl, I could not imagine that it would be possibleto communicate with people from all around the world in so easy way. A person can get latest news,become friends with someone from another country, find his old friends, ask for a piece of advice, etc. Finally, in addition to these practical benefits people can shop without leaving their house. They justuse an Internet access, a computer and their cards to make a payment. It is kind of difficult to imaginethat a few years ago people had to spend their time in lines buying tickets. Now, a person can choose adestination, company, date and time and get tickets delivered to his door. I think it is amazing. Page 8 of 63

To sum up, I believe that computers made our lives easier. They change our attitude towards life. I thinkwith the invention of computers people became closer and friendlier.

It is generally agreed that society benefits from the work of its members. Compare thecontributions of artists to society with the contributions of scientists to society. Which type ofcontribution do you think is valued more by your society? Give specific reasons to support youranswer. From my everyday experience and observation I think that artists as well as scientists bring manybenefits to society. It is a controversial question whether the contributions of artists are more or less thenthe contributions of scientists to the society. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think thatboth types are valuable, priceless and irreplaceable for every society. The contributions of artists to the society are very essential. Art forms people's spiritual sense their viewsand personalities. People learn history, the traditions of their country through the art. We also watchmovies that entertain and at the same time extend our range of interests. Another important aspect ofthis is that art is an ancient means of communication. In old times people depicted the herds ofmammoths on the walls of their caves. They performed different rituals around the fireplace asking theirgods for health, good harvest and weather. Our language is a result of people's need to communicate. From the other side, the contribution of scientists is could not be exaggerated. All humankind is indebtedto the scientists because of their work and achievements. Scientists make our life easier. We have carsand airplanes to move fast from one place to another. We have microwaves and a bunch of preprocessedfood to make the cooking much easier. We have different devices that simplify all we do. Finally,scientists are making great achievements in medicine that make our life longer and happier. Nowadayspeople have a great opportunity to do many things faster by use of computers. To sup up, I believe that artists nourish our souls when scientists and technology feed our minds. So, we cannot eliminate or underestimate one of them.

Holidays honor people or events. If you could create a new holiday, what person or event would ithonor and how would you want people to celebrate it? Use specific reasons and details to supportyour answer. Every country has holidays. If I could create a new holiday it would be "Day of Health". I believe that manycountries already have this day, but I think that my day will be more beneficial because it will becelebrated at the beginning of every month. In this essay I will give the reasons and outline the benefits ofthis holiday. First of all, to celebrate this day people do not have to go to a restaurant or to a movie, but they will go tothe nearest park and celebrate it by walking, jogging, line-skating or bicycling. Some people will go to afitness center or a pool. Smoking will be prohibited everywhere on this day. Also this will be a day ofhealthy food, fresh squeezed juice and a lot of smiling faces. This day will inspire people with energy forthe rest of the month. Second of all, people will be called to use their car as less as possible in order to prevent the airpollution and to keep air fresh. Every car has a large impact on the environment. People often drive theircar to the nearest store to buy food when they can spend 5 minutes more and get there by foot or bicycle.Finally, "Day of Health" will help people to relax, to slow down the pace of their life. Life is very stressfulthese days. People are competing for better job, companies and countries are competing for a marketand business. So, this day will help people to enjoy the moments of their life, to leave their troublesbehind and appreciate all they have. In summary, I belief my holiday would make people friendlier, healthier and happier.

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Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt.Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples. In our modern stressful world we often forget about our customs and traditions. However, I think thatpeople should keep their traditions because they help to remember our forefathers and value the beautifulmoments we have in our lives. In my country we have a great custom called "Maslenica". It is a holiday, which is celebrated at the end ofthe winter. Many people gather on the biggest square of the city and see of the winter. They say to thewinter goodbye and ask the spring to change the winter. They celebrate the beginning of the life wheneverything starts to grow. People at this holiday bake pancakes and treat each other with them. Also, many people gathered on thesquare play different games. For example, the most well-known game "pulling a rope" subsists in that twoteams pull a rope. The winner is the team, which has a longer rope. Others people craw on the ice pole. People have fun at this holiday even if they just observe those games and do not participate. In conclusion, I am sure that "Maslenica" would benefit many countries all over the world. People havethe opportunity to relax, leave their troubles and worries behind and have fun. Also, this holiday helpspeople to find out more about each other, communicate and meet new people. In addition to thosepractical benefits, "Maslenica" helps people to slow down their life pace and enjoy the present momentsthat are irreplaceable and beautiful.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Dancing plays an important role in aculture. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Dancing is one of the ancient means of communication. People of every country have their own nationalmusic and dances. In old times people perform special rituals to make bad spirits go away and ask godsfor fertile soil, good harvest, health and good weather. So, dancing plays an important role in a culture.Moreover, dancing of a particular country reflects its traditions, customs and history. In the followingparagraphs I will give my reasons to support my answer. First of all the reason why dancing of a particular country is so unique because, many art forms puttogether. People need music, costumes, singers to perform, players and of cause dancers. Each of theseart forms is unique and singular for every country. In old times people gathered to celebrate or mourn andevery occasion had itsown music and costumes. For example, ancient tribes painted their faces with uglyand strange patterns, put on colorful clothes and make strange movements around the fireplace. Second of all, dancing is a combination of body movements that are peculiar for every nation. People ofdifferent nations have different bodily movements because dancing is one of the first means ofcommunication. People differently express their feelings such as happiness, sadness, joy and sorrowthough movements of their bodies.To sum up, I think that dancing keeps people's traditions alive through the ages.

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Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous activities?Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Nowadays many people attracted to dangerous sports and other dangerous activities. From my everydayexperience and observation I think it is a result of dramatic changes in people's life. Just imagine at old times men had to hunt for food, fight, face many challenges and obstacles. Now ourdays are quite ordinary with a cup of coffee, donut, computer, desk table and TV. Basically, we do nothave to straggle every day for our life and we have nutritious meal without any efforts. So, all we have todo is to contemplate out life. However, I must confess it can be boring. All improvements created for thepast centuries made our life easier. Nowadays people look for adventure. They want to face a challenge,prove themselves something, conquer the world, etc. Personally, I think that every person sees different goals in doing dangerous activities. Some people want to add some stress and tension to their lives. From the other side, other people want to eliminate stressand tension gained from their everyday lives. They can forget about all troubles and leave them behind. Ibelieve that dangerous activities give one freedom, happiness, feeling of independence and tone . To sum up, I think that dangerous sports and activities are irreplaceable in our life. Without them out lifewould be miserable and boring. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents or other adult relatives shouldmake important decisions for their (15 to 18 year-old) teenage children. Use specific reasons andexamples to support your opinion. Parents are in most cases our first teachers and friends. From my everyday experience I have to agreewith the statement that important decisions should be made by our parents or adult relatives. In thefollowing paragraphs I will give my reasons to support this statement. First of all, teenage children have the tendency to live in their own fantasies. They do not clearlyunderstand the rules of a real life. When I was 18 years old I thought that the world was perfect andeverything seemed to be simple. Teenagers are basically inexperienced; they aspire for independenceand try to make their first steps towards freedom. I think that it is like starting to walk when a baby needsits parents for support. An independent life is a big and significant part in a person's life. So, my point isthat it is very important to make this step right. Second of all, I think that parents have right to interfere in their children's lives. They need to know whatkind of friends their children have and how children spend their spare time. For example I had aneighteen years old friend who got really angry with his parents when they prohibited him to be friends witha young man. Somehow his parents found out that that young man was occasionally taking drugs. Thatman was dead in a year because of drug abuse. After that accident my friend thanked his parents for thatinterference. Finally, I think teenage children should be more open-minded with their parents. It will help them to makethe right choice and avoid many mistakes.To sum up, I believe that young people should trust their parents because they wish their children onlythe best.

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Some people believe that a college or university education should be available to all students.Others believe that higher education should be available only to good students. Discuss theseviews. Which view do you agree with? Explain why. People learn through their entire lives. They constantly improve their knowledge and develop. I think thata college or university education should be available to all students because every person has the right tochoose the way to self-perfection. Bellow I will give some of my reasons to support my position.First of all, every person should have the chance to get a higher degree, gain new knowledge andexperience. However, some people believe that higher education should be available only to goodstudents. I think it is silly. It is like to make unavailable traveling for one who does not have IQ highenough. Second of all, some young people do not do well at school but they have great personality and ability tolearn. They are self-confident, persistent and patient. With these qualities they can get higher grades thentheir classmates who are talented but lazy. Imagine for example situation when a teenager gets highgrades because his or her parents constantly make him or her study and help to do most of thehomework. In this case a child does very good at school but I think a college can show the oppositeresults. Finally, it is a discrimination against students to make available higher education only for good ones. So, if a student does poor and gets low grades he/she should be sent down. But if person was nevergiven a chance to try himself/herself at the college, what to do in this case? To sum up, I think that all young people should have the chance to get a higher education. To take or notthis chance must be up to them. People recognize a difference between children and adults. What events (experiences orceremonies) make a person an adult? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. I think the question what events make a person an adult is the one that is open for debate. Some peoplethink that the graduation of high school makes a person an adult. Others think that the age of 21 is theage when childhood is replaced by adulthood. However, from my everyday experience and observation Ican stand three major events that make a person an adult. The first event that makes a person an adult is getting a job. The ability to earn his own money gives aperson the opportunity to live independently from his parents. Personally, I think the first job is a veryimportant experience in person's life and it has a great impact on his personality. He learns how tomanage his expenses and how to save money for the more important things. In addition to those benefits,one learns how to arrange his time in order to have all done on time. The second event, which from my opinion deserves an attention, is the graduation from a college oruniversity. I think it is a very essential step in one's life because this means the beginning of a new lifewith more responsibilities. Finally, I believe that marriage has a great impact on person's life. Marriage means an independent lifefrom one's parents with a new person. It is a very great experience. Two persons create a new family andthey face new difficulties and responsibilities. In conclusion, I think that the list of events that make a person an adult can be continued. For example,getting a driving license has sometimes a very great impact on person's life. Another important event in aperson's life is the army. I know many young men who served in the Army that changed them very much.They became more serious, self-confident and independent people. So, my point is that every person hasdifferent events that influenced his life and make him an adult.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Most experiences in our lives that seemeddifficult at the time become valuable lessons for the future. Use reasons and specific examples tosupport your answer. From my everyday experience and observation I have to agree with the statement that our presentexperiences become valuable lessons for the future. Someone said that today's problems will be the bestexperience in the future. Below I will give some examples to support my position. First of all, I want to say that obstacles make people stronger. By overcoming difficulties people gainpriceless and essential knowledge and experience. If one has to struggle with a disease he becomesstronger may be not in a physical way but in a mental way. A person becomes more patient, moreself-confident and more attentive. These qualities will help him to win his disease. Success has nothing to do with luck. People have to work hard in order to reach their goals. They facechallenges and failures and often they lose. However, people do not give up. They use their previousexperience and knowledge to try again and again. I think that difficulties teach us very valuable lessons.Only a man who understands this fact and knows how to use it in the future can succeed. Failures bringus wisdom and new experience. Personally, I always try to analyze my mistakes and make conclusions. IfI am not succeeded I know that next time I will avoid these mistakes and do my best. To sum up, I think that human evolution and development are a result of constant efforts based onprevious experience and knowledge.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Face-to-face communication is better thanother types of communication, such as letters, email, or telephone calls. Use specific reasons anddetails to support your answer. Humankind, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when people communicatedonly face-to-face to nowadays when a person has in use many types of communication means. Somepeople still prefer to use face-to-face communication despite many other sometimes more convenientones such as phone, mail, e-mail and fax. I think to continue this essay it is essential to clarify what kindof conversation we are talking about. For example, if people are negotiating it is very important to have a face-to-face communication. It is veryimportant to see during a negotiation how one's opponent is moving, is he nervous or relaxed, what he isdoing, etc. Scientists say that the body language and facial gestures can say many things about a person,his strong and weak sides, his traits, manners and even habits. To know what kind of man one is dealingwith is very essential aspect in negotiation. Many managers prefer to have with the future employees face-to-face conversation. So, in this case they see how a person behaves. From the other side, if I need to notify my bank that I am going to close an account I do not want to spendmy time driving there, waiting for my turn and talking with a representative. It is easier for me just to callor e-mail them. It saves my time and my bank's too. To summarize, from my opinion all important issues better be discussed in face-to-face conversation. Itwill eliminate many farther misunderstandings and bring only benefits to both sides.

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Some famous athletes and entertainers earn millions of dollars every year. Do you think thesepeople deserve such high salaries? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Some people think that famous athletes and entertainers have too high salaries for their work. However,others believe that these people deserve such high salary. Personally, I think that it is a controversialquestion and it is open for debate. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that famousathletes and entertainers have a great impact on our social life and make a big contribution to our societyand, hence, deserve high salary. The first reason why I think that such high salary is deserved by famous athletes and entertainersbecause we all need them. Entertainment plays an essential role in our everyday s life. We need to relax,watching TV with our favorite TV stars or favorite football players. Entertainment is one of the best waysto eliminate stress and tension and leave all troubles behind. For example, I cannot stay home all daylong without watching TV. So, basically, I believe that famous athletes and entertainers have such highsalaries because we need them. They like doctors for our minds and souls. Scientists say that peopleusually spend the same amount of money for their food and entertainment. I think this fact tells a lot. The second reason for this is that famous athletes have to work hard in order to get good results. I amsure that achievements they make is the result of hard work, persistence and pain. They sometimes risktheir lives and health. For example, I am a big fun of L. Armstrong, the most famous cyclist in world'shistory. He faced probably, the most challenging difficulty in his life, cancer. He was very young for thisdisease. Armstrong was in his early twenties when he found out about it. I read a book about his life, andwhat impressed me were his words after his victory in France. He said: "Cancer was the best thing thatever happened to me ".He defeated the disease only because he believed in himself and did not give up. I think such person deserves to have a high salary and be loved by many people throughout the world.In conclusions, I want to say that if people get high salaries it means they are needed and theircontribution to the society is huge. Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live?Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes, from a period when he hunted for food to thepresent time, when he buys preprocessed food in the shop centers. Some people say that the fact ourfood are easier to prepare these days has definitely improved our life. However, other people belief thatthis change has some negative aspects. In this essay I will least some advantages and disadvantages ofsuch a change. First of all, when people use a preprocessed food it definitely saves time. One does not have to spend much time in the kitchen washing, peeling, cutting and cooking vegetables, etc. All one has to do is just touse a microwave or a stove to warm up a ready for use food. Frankly, I think it is a very good benefit.People can more enjoy things they like to do like spending time with the loved ones, exercising, watchingTV or walking with a dog. Second of all, if one has a good salary he can allow himself to go to a restaurant every day. It is a greatopportunity to have a fresh cooked meal with excellent service, meet friends and new people. One morereason to have dinner at a restaurant, because one can taste different and delicious food from all over theworld from Chinese to Mexican. However, some people think that a preprocessed food has negative aspects. Unfortunately,preprocessed food has less vitamins and minerals than fresh cooked food. Besides, it has morepreservatives and unnatural ingredient that can not be good for man's health. In addition, the number ofdiseases such as obesity, fatigue, reflux disease etc. is rising. Cooking is a great tradition. It is a means of eliminating stress and tension. Personally, I believe thatpeople should not forget this tradition and do not abuse fast food. Page 14 of 63

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Games are as important for adults as theyare for children. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Games as the ultimate form of mental and physical relief are important for adults as they are for children.People learn how to behave, control their emotions, follow the rules. The most obviously essential aspectof this is that people realize that our life is a big game with its own rules. In the next paragraphs I will givethe reasons to support my answer. Basically, there are two types of games. The first type is mental games that help us to upgrade ourmental abilities. The second type is the games that involve physical activities. They keep people fit andhealthy.Mental games for adults play a significant role. Adults learn co-operation, discipline, team work,self-confidence. Scientists say that the brain cells of grown up people can grow with the help of mindexercising. The simplest way to exercise one's mind is through mental games. For example, playingchess makes people think, try to predict events, follow the strategy of an opponent. From the other side, physical games help adults to stay in a good shape, relax, eliminate stress andtension. Also, it is a perfect way to lose weight.Mental games for children also play an important role. They help children to understand the real worldmore quickly and adapt to the reality. In addition to those practical benefits mental games teach childrenhow to behave, be supportive and patient. Physical games from the other hand, strengthening children's bones, health and teach discipline. To sum up, I am sure that people need games and it is not important how old one is. Some people think that governments should spend as much money as possible on developing orbuying computer technology. Other people disagree and think that this money should be spent onmore basic needs. Which one of these opinions do you agree with? Use specific reasons anddetails to support your answer. Man, through the ages has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted a herd ofmammoths on the walls of a cave to nowadays when he can chart with anyone across the sea by use ofmodern means of communication. Some people think that in today's world government should spendmore money on computers. However, others think that it is inappropriate and government should spendmore money on food and shelters for poor people, medicine, education, etc. These two options are verydifferent and controversial. But I think that developing computer technology brings people moreadvantages then they think it does. First of all, humankind nowadays more and more depends on computers. We often do not suspect thepresence of computers around us. For example, when we withdraw money from cash machines, getsome gasoline on the gas station and pay with our credit cards in the stores. So, nowadays computertechnology plays an essential role in our everyday life. Second of all, computer technology brings morejob opportunities. For a country computer technology means power, knowledge and constantdevelopment. In addition to those practical benefits, the development of computer technology brings a lotof money to the country. From the other side, government should not forget about poor people, who can not afford computers butneed food and shelters. However, I think that computers help people gain more knowledge andexperience and find a job to provide food and home for his family. So, basically, computers give peoplethe opportunity to reach their goals and be innovative. To sum up, I think that computer technology gives people many benefits including the opportunity toimprove one's knowledge and be more self-confident, persistent and experienced in this world.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students tolearn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion From my everyday experience and observation I can stand that grades are very good indicators ofknowledge. For several reasons that I will mention bellow I believe that grades encourage students tolearn. First of all, grades show students' knowledge. If a person gets a high grade on an exam it means that heunderstands that subject very well. Otherwise, if a student gets a low grade on an exam it means that hedoes not understand it completely. Personally, when I get a lower grade on an exam then I expected Iknow that I could be better prepared. So, next time I will spend more time and efforts to fix my lack ofknowledge and do my best on the exam. In this case low grades encourage me to learn more. I try toanalyze my mistakes and avoid them next time. Also, I try to arrange my time more effectively. I knowexactly that I can do better than that, so I collect all my strength and focus on the incoming exam. It is likea new goal or obstacle that one should overcome in order to continue his path. When finally I get a highergrade on an exam I feel satisfaction and I am proud of myself. I think it is a great feeling. I feel stronger,more self-confident and patient. I think these qualities are essential for a person who wants to achievesomething and succeed in the future. Second of all, students have some kind of competition among each other for higher grades. When astudent gets a higher grade then another one, the second student asks himself: "Why do not I have thisgrade? Is it something wrong with me? Is he better then me? ". I think every student at least one timeasked himself this question. To sum up, I think there is no doubt that grades encourage students to learn, gain more experience,knowledge, be more self-confident and persistent. Moreover, I am sure that these small victories will helpstudents to win and succeed in the future. Groups or organizations are an important part of some peoples lives. Why are groups ororganizations important to people? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he lived in the caves tonowadays when he lives in a comfortable apartment. But one thing that remains the same is that peoplealways lived in groups and organizations such as families, the smallest group, and tribes, the biggergroup. I think that the reason why people live in groups is because we need communication and what ismore important we need support to survive. So, from old times to nowadays people merged in groupsbecause it made them stronger and helped to overcome many obstacles and difficulties. In the followingparagraphs I will give my reasons and examples to support my answer. First of all, people need to communicate with each other. We need to share out ideas and thoughts witheach other. I think it is very important to know that someone think the same way one does and supportsone. In addition, communication is one of the features of reasonable animals. All animals that cancommunicate with each other live in herds and support each other when one of them is in need. The second reason, why I think groups and organization are important to people is because they make usstronger. For example, football team plays better then one player. Another example is the ancienthunters. At old times people gathered in order to get food and survive in severe conditions. It wasimpossible for one man to kill a big animal, but when people gathered in groups their chances increased.Scientists say that people survived because they lived together and supported each other. For the reasons, which I mentioned above, I believe groups and organizations play an essential role inour life. Moreover, people's evolution would not be possible without them.

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It is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to develop your essay. Some people believe that it is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city. However,other people think that a big city gives more opportunities and it is good for the long run. Personally, forseveral reasons I think that it is better for children's health to grow up in the country.First of all, it is very important for a child to grow up in a healthy environment. Children need fresh air, notpolluted by the huge amount of cars and factories of the modern city. In the country they can spend moretime exercising and walking with their friends. Scientists say that now children spend the same amount oftime watching TV as they do at school. Probably, the possibility to join their friends for a play will changethis proportion. Another important aspect of this is that parents will have more time to spend with theirchildren as a result of eliminating traffic jams and decreasing driving time as a whole. From the other side, children have some advantages living in a big city. For example, they have moreopportunities to choose from what they want to do. They can choose to attend ballet school, school of art,gymnastics, etc. For the long run, it is good for them. They will be better prepared for a live in a "realworld" and they will have more chances to make a good career and succeed. Moreover, a big city usuallyhas many entertaining centers with movie theatres and play stations. When I was a child I liked to go tothe movie theatre with my parents to watch a premiere. One more reason to choose a big city for a child is that a city provides better live conditions and servicessuch as medical, dental, etc. My friend lived in the country for a while and one time he and his family hadto drive a couple of hours to the nearest medical center when his child got a heavy cough. To summarize, I agree with those people who want to raise their children in a city. The plenty ofopportunities offered by a city helps children to find what they really like and be the best at it. Moreover,despite the air pollution, children get a better medical service that is good for their health. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should be required to help withhousehold tasks as soon as they are able to do so. Use specific reasons and examples to supportyour answer. The issue about whether children should help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so isopen for debate. Some people say that children should devote more time for playing with their friends,watching TV and studying. However, other people believe that children should help their parents withhousehold tasks. Personally, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I adhere to the latter point ofview. First of all, I think that every child should have his or her own responsibilities. When I was a child myparents taught me how to make breakfast in the morning. So, I woke up, went to the kitchen and prepareda couple of toasts for breakfast. It was easy and I enjoyed doing it because I liked the way my parentsthanked me and I felt that they were proud of me. Also, my mom always wanted me to know how to cook,clean and iron my cloth. Thanks to the learning, nowadays, when my maid cannot come to my house Ihandle all household tasks myself. Second of all, performing household tasks teaches children to value the job of people who did it. When Iwas a child I did not imagine that cleaning house could be so time and energy consuming. So, when Ibegan to do some of the household tasks by myself I began to respect the job of others and tried tocollect all my toys after my playing with them. Finally, doing household tasks teaches children to arrange their time. In addition to those practicalbenefits, help from children allows parents to have more spare time for their personal lives and for thechildren. A family can have more time to spend with each other talking, watching movies or just enjoyingthe beautiful moments. To sum up, I think that children should help their parents with household tasks. Doing household taskshelps them to grow into independent, self-confident, and attentive persons who respect their parents. Page 17 of 63

Should governments spend more money on improving roads and highways, or shouldgovernments spend more money on improving public transportation (buses, trains, subways)?Why? Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay. Many people believe that governments should spend more money on improving roads and highways.However, other people think that more money should be spent on improving public transportation.Personally, I think that both of these opinions have their advantages and disadvantages. The first reason for improving public transportation is overpopulation. The amount of cars is risingdramatically. As a result of this fact the contemplation of air is increasing that leads to irreversibleaftereffects such as the presence of acid rains and different kinds of human diseases. So, the improvingof public transportation will reduce pollution. The second reason for this is the possibility to decrease the amount of traffic jams that also have a hugeinfluence on air pollution. Moreover, it will save time and people's money. One does not have to pay forgas for his car, car insurance, repair, oil change and etc. The third reason for this is a sharp decrease in the level of car accidents. People will feel more secure inthis case.However, despite all these advantages this decision has a few disadvantages. First of all, publictransportation means the presence of schedule and working hours. So, one has to wait for a bus or for atrain in a subway or call for a taxi in order to get somewhere. Second of all, it is a big chance that one hasto spend some time getting to the nearest bus stop or subway entrance. As for roads and highways, I think it is a very important and topical issue. A personal car in this modernworld is an essential vehicle. It gives one freedom and independence. Improving roads and highwaysgovernments will decrease the number of car accidents and traffic jams. I believe that in several years airpollution can be dramatically reduced by using sun energy to refuel our cars. Finally, I think that governments should spend money on improving public transportation as well as onroads and highways because it will benefit all people. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for students to studyhistory and literature than it is for them to study science and mathematics. Use specific reasonsand examples to support your opinion. Some people believe that students should study more history and literature. However, other people thinkthat studying science and mathematics is more important. From my experience and observation I thinkthat students should study both science and history. Bellow I will outline some basic reasons to supportmy opinion. First of all, I believe that studying history and literature is important for the range of interests of studentsand people on the whole. It extends the range of interests and teach people to analyze their history.Every person should know the history of the country where he or she was born. Knowledge of one's rootsand origins gives the opportunity to understand many things that are around. Second of all, I think thatthis kind of knowledge is essential for students who are going to be lawyers, newspapermen, politicalfigures, etc. One more reason to study history is that it helps one to analyze mistakes made by ancestorsor learn from their wise decisions. From the other side, I think that it is also important for students to study science. Personally, I likestudding mathematics because for me it is very interesting to work with figures, analyze them, developdifferent ways to solve the problem. It teaches one to think logically and improves one's ability to thinknon-typically. I think it is great. Studying of science allows people to improve their life conditions, make discoveries, develop innovations,etc. Scientists work on new vaccines and pills to make our life longer and happier. They make researchesin different fields from medicine to space. Because of this kind of knowledge humankind has opportunitiesto watch TV, fly, using jet airplanes, surf an Internet, play computer games, watch movies, drive cars, etc. In conclusion, I think that students must study many things including science and literature in order tosucceed in the modern world. Page 18 of 63

Many teachers assign homework to students every day. Do you think that daily homework isnecessary for students? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. Homework helps students to understand material more deeply. However, some people believe thathomework does not bring any benefits. Personally, I think that this issue has some advantages anddisadvantages. In this essay first I will focus on the reasons why I support this idea about daily homeworkand then I will move on to analyzing its disadvantages. From the one side, daily homework brings many benefits. As I already mentioned, it helps studentsunderstand subjects more deeply. Also, young people learn how to arrange their time to have all thingsdone on time. In addition to those practical benefits daily homework teaches students how to make theirown research if something is not clear. Curiosity is one of the main reasons that leads a person to asuccess. Students learn to make their research, work with different kinds of informational resources suchas an Internet, books, magazines, journals and newspapers. I think it is a great experience and it is verygood for a long run. From the other side, daily homework can bring many disadvantages. For instance, if a person has nointerest in biology, but has a huge interest in music he has to spend his precious time doing hishomework and reading uninteresting books instead of spending this time practicing new melodies.Another important aspect of this that is a student can have no time for his physical activities. So, basically,doing daily homework will not keep him in a good shape. To sum up, I think that an intermediate position can be taken. For example, a student will have to do hisdaily homework if he is going to specialize in this field in the future.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A person should never make an importantdecision alone. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. From my everyday experience and observation I can claim that discussion of an important decision withother people bring many benefits. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to defend thisstatement. First of all, different people have different opinions. In order to make the right choice people shoulddiscuss every possible decision and its consequences. Making an important decision alone can bringmany negative aspects. For instance, a person can reveal his selfishness or impatience and theconsequences of that decision can affect many people in the future. I think that a good and wise decisioncan be born only in discussion because people can share their knowledge and experiences a look at theproblem from different sides and aspects. Second of all, I think that making decision alone is unacceptable especially for a company. Imagine that achief makes the decision about increasing a production line without discussing it with his employees. Inthis case a part of company's profit will be spend on extended purchase of raw materials. So, shareholders will be left without dividends. This decision may lead to getting rid of company's shares and as aresult of this declining the value of a company as a whole. To sum up, I think that a person should always consult his relatives or colleges when making an importantdecision to avoid possible mistakes.

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Plants can provide food, shelter, clothing, or medicine. What is one kind of plant that is importantto you or the people in your country? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice. Plants play a very important role in our everyday life. They give us oxygen, provide with medicine,clothing and food. Every country has its own staple food that dominates in the diet of dwellers of thatcountry. For example, the staple food for Japan and Korea is rice. As for me, I am from Russia. I believethat our staple plants are potato and wheat. Some people believe that wheat is the most important plant because it provides full and nutritious meal.People bake bread and cookies, cook kasha and soup. At old times people in Russia raised wheat andprayed for the good harvest in order to survive. Millet has a good storage time so it gives the opportunityto consume it a whole year. However, nowadays bread is no longer of that importance. A person has more products to choose from.Besides, some people tend to exclude bread from their diet in order to decrease the amount of dailycalories and lose some weight. Personally, I think that potato is more important plant then wheat.Virtually, every Russian has potato every day at least once. One can boil, fry, bake or mash it. My favoritemeal is baked potato with cheese and a glass of milk. I think it is delicious and it does not take much timeto cook it. Moreover, potato is easier to raise and store. To summarize, I think that potato by far is the most important plant in Russia. What are the important qualities of a good son or daughter? Have these qualities changed orremained the same over time in your culture? Use specific reasons and examples to support youranswer. I am from Russia. I think that qualities of a good son and daughter almost have not changed for the pastseveral centuries. However, I believe that some qualities have changed. I will give the following reasonsto support my answer. Parents always expect from their children love, respect and help. I think these qualities remainunchanged. However, at old times parents expected from their daughter to be a good and practicalwoman because in this case she can marry a good and perspective man. Nowadays, I think parents'expectations from their daughter have changed. Now a woman has the same rights and opportunities tomake a great career, make money and be successful at equal terms with a man. It means that nowparents are not so worried about a future perspective husband. They know that their daughter can takecare of herself and be happy. Nowadays parents teach their daughter to believe in herself, be motivatedand strong. They want to be proud of her.As for a son, I think expectations remain the same. Parents see their son as a clever, motivated andsuccessful man. To sum up, parents wish their children be more successful then themselves, achieve more goals. So,they with great patience pass down their knowledge and experience to their children. They teach themonly good things and expect respect and love in return. Also, parents try to teach their children how toavoid mistakes they have made in their lives. I think the main quality of a good son or daughter is to maketheir parents proud.

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What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room moreimportant to you than any other room? Use specific reasons and examples to support youropinion. My husband and I live in an apartment, which include a bedroom, living room, bath room and kitchen. Wedo not have children yet, so our apartment is pretty small but it is cheap and cozy. If I would have tochoose the most important room in a house I think it would be living room. In the following paragraphs Iwill present my reasons to support my answer. First of all, living room is the place where we take our guests. It is the main and the biggest room in ourapartment and we try to keep it clean and cozy. For example, my husband vacuums it every other dayespecially when it is wet outside and our dog makes dirty sports on the carpet with its paws after a walk.Second of all, I think that living room is the most important room in our house because we spend most ofour time there watching TV, having our dinner and just talking with each other. Finally, our living room is a place where we study. Since our apartment is rather small we do not have aroom for studying, so I have my table with the computer on it in our living room. I like to study therebecause the room is perfectly light with the large windows and the beautiful view from them.My parents have a much bigger house with six rooms, large kitchen and two floors. However, I think thatmy mother would agree with me that their living room is the most important room in the house. When wevisit them we always gather there, lay the table, and have a long talk. My mother makes delicious cakesand aromatic tea. I like those moments. To sum up, I think many people will agree with me that living room is the most important room in a housebecause it is the room where people spend most of there time at home. You have decided to give several hours of your time each month to improve the community whereyou live. What is one thing you will do to improve your community? Why? Use specific reasonsand details to explain your choice. I think the question what would I do if I had a chance to improve my community is difficult. I have in mymind many things, the improvement of which will make our community better place to live but they allrequire the participation of many people and, moreover, they require investments, which I can notprovide. For example, my community is quite noisy. We have the huge mall just in front of our community,so traffic jams are very common for this place. I think that the construction of a few pass-by roads willbenefit all people who live here as well as people who drive by every day. Unfortunately, the question is what I can do for my community giving a few hours of my time every month.I think I can not do much, but I still can help someone in my community. For example, I can baby-sit. Iknow a couple of families with little children, who can not afford to spend much money on the baby-sitter.One of these families is a single mom with a little girl. Julia, this is her name, is a waitress in a restaurant.She is a great person and we became close friends. So, sometimes I offer her help with her child whenshe has to work in the evenings. Another family has two funny little twins. One time their parents askedme to baby-sit their children because they had to attend an unexpected presentation. I think this kind of help brings many benefits to my community. First of all, people become friendlier. Forexample, those families, which I mentioned above, became friends after I introduced them to each other.Second of all, people get to know each other and feel more secure in their houses and apartments.Finally, I am ready to help those people because I am sure that they will help me too. One time I lost thekeys from my car and Julia offered me her car for a while. To sum up, I believe that baby-sitting is a great way to help my community in many aspects.

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Some people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Others thinkaccess to so much information creates problems. Which view do you agree with? Use specificreasons and examples to support your opinion. There is no doubt that the Internet is one of the greatest humankind's inventions of the last century. It isfast and easy way to get a lot of valuable information. However, some people believe that the Internetcreates many problems. From my point of view I think that the Internet brings us advantages as well asdisadvantages. First of all, I think that the Internet brings us many benefits. People can have access to the latest news,weather, traffic, bid-and-asked quotations, etc. Another important benefit is that the Internet is a greatmeans of communication. A few years ago it was rather difficult to imagine that it would be possible tocommunicate with people from all around the world. Students have the opportunity to speak to theprofessors from prestigious universities, ask their opinions and extend their range of interests. Peoplehave the opportunity to communicate with the people from other countries, find out their customs,traditions and even visit each other. I think that the Internet makes our world smaller and friendlier. We have got the chance to learn more about the world's history, our forefathers and gain more knowledge. From the other hand, many questions and difficulties arose with the appearance of the Internet. Forexample, children got the easy access to the information they are not supposed to read. Also, people'ssecurity and privacy are often violated through steeling and gathering information about people and thenselling it. Many banks had to increase their Internet security because of hacking. However, I believe that Internet gave us more advantages and opportunities than disadvantages andproblems. Which would you choose: a high-paying job with long hours that would give you little time withfamily and friends or a lower-paying job with shorter hours that would give you more time withfamily and friends? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details. If I was asked to make a choice between a high-paying job with long hours and a lower-paying job withshorter hours I would hesitate to answer. I did not decide for my self yet what I want in my life more myfamily or my career. I think that these options are very different ones and one needs time to make a rightdecision. From the one side, a high-paying job with long hours gives one more opportunities to make a great careerand succeed in life. Another important aspect of this is that one can earn more money for his family. Inaddition to these practical benefits, a person can get satisfaction and self-realization that are veryimportant in one's life. I think that it is a very great and essential feeling to be a part of progress, makedifference and be satisfied with the job. However, a high-paying job with long hours brings manydisadvantages too. For example, a person will have less time for his family and friends. Secondly, the jobwill be more stressful and bring more responsibilities. A person will have to sacrifice many things to hisjob. From the other side, lower-paying job with shorter hours can bring many benefits. One can spend moretime with his family and have many pleasant and beautiful moments together. Also, a job will be lessstressful and not require to sacrifice one's spare time to get it done. However, a person most likely will notbe able to make a career and make much money. Moreover, one's salary may be not enough to pay forhis children's education. To sum up, I think that every person at least one time in his life realize this and make a decision whetherhe or she wants a career or great family. And I did not make this decision yet.

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Some people trust their first impressions about a persons character because they believe thesejudgments are generally correct. Other people do not judge a persons character quickly becausethey believe first impressions are often wrong. Compare these two attitudes. Which attitude doyou agree with? Support your choice with specific examples. Some people think that first impression about a person is the most correct. However, other peopledisagree and believe that first impression is often wrong. From my everyday experience and observationI can stand that the first impression about a person is very often incorrect. In the following paragraphs Iwill list my reasons to support my answer. First of all, when people meet for the first time they often do not have time to get to know each other oreven have a conversation. So, sometimes all they remember is how they looked. Personally, I oftenmyself judge a person by his or her external appearance. Fortunately, I many times made sure of theincorrectness of my judgments. For example, when I met my future husband for the first time he made animpression of frown and not talkative person and, frankly speaking, I did not like him at all. We did nothave a chance to talk, but his cloth and manners gave me that impression. However, after we wereintroduced to each other and had a long talk I changed my opinion about him. He happened to be a verysensitive and kind person. Second of all, I believe that the true impression about a person can be made only after people spent atleast a few weeks with each other and were in different situations including extreme and danger ones. Ithink that a person shows his or her internal characteristics when in danger. Moreover, some people,especially celebrities, tend to hide their weaknesses and not attractive sides in order to please anaudience. In conclusion, I believe that first impression is very often wrong. I must confess that I unconsciously judgea person by his or her first appearance but I tell my self that this is subject to change and try to keep myopinion with me.

You need to travel from your home to a place 40 miles (64 kilometers) away. Compare the differentkinds of transportation you could use. Tell which method of travel you would choose. Givespecific reasons for your choice. If I had to travel 40 miles away from my home I would be considering the following means oftransportations: a car, bicycle and bus. Every of this methods of transportation has advantages as well asdisadvantages. In this essay I will analyze all of them and present my view in favor of traveling by a car. Traveling by bus brings many benefits. First of all, one does not have to drive. So, I can just relax andenjoy the view from my window. Second of all, it is cheaper. I will not have to buy gasoline or pay for thecar insurance. However, traveling by bus has a few disadvantages as well. For example, I will have tofollow the bus schedule. Another important aspect, I will not be able to arrange the speed or make a stopwhen I need to. From the other hand, traveling by bicycle is a great exercise. Secondly, it is pollution free. However, It cantake too much time and at the end of my trip I will be tired and exhausted. In addition, I will most likelyneed a shower and some rest. In contrast, traveling by car brings many advantages. First of all, I can arrange my speed as I want to. If Iam in a hurry I will speed up a little. Otherwise, if I am not in a hurry, I can make some stops and enjoythe surroundings or have a lunch in the nearest bar. Second of all, I do not depend on a schedule likewith traveling by bus. So, I can start my trip when and where I want to. In addition to those practicalbenefits, traveling by car is the fastest way. Another important aspect of this if I am traveling with myfriends, we can talk, listen to the radio we like and discuss everything we want. A car can give us privacy.Of cause, I will have to pay for gasoline and traveling by car is not as save as traveling by bicycle or busbut I think it cannot change my mind. To sum up, I think that I would choose to travel by car. It is more convenient and offers a great amount ofadvantages. Page 23 of 63

In your country, is there more need for land to be left in its natural condition or is there more needfor land to be developed for housing and industry? Use specific reasons and examples to supportyour answer. I am from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. I think that the question about whether land should be left in it isnatural condition or there more need for land to be developed for housing and industry is the one that isopen for debate. Personally, I believe that it is a controversial question, because every option has itsadvantages. However, in this situation an intermediate position can be taken. In the following paragraphsI will give my reasons to support the answer. From the one side, saving land in its natural condition brings many benefits. First of all, many wild animalswill thrive in our forests. Unfortunately, nowadays many wild animals are endangered because they donot have place to live and there are not enough food for them. Second of all, our children will be able tolearn about animals not only from books but also from observing them in their natural environment. Inaddition to those benefits our air will be cleaner because many forests will clean it from pollution andmake it fresher. From the other side, deforesting our land and building many new constructions can have a few positiveaspects. For example, building new industrial buildings may have a positive impact on the country'seconomy. Many new companies will have the opportunity to produce more goods and as the result of thisthe country will receive more money from abroad and this will lead to the improvement of the economy onthe whole. To sum up all mentioned above, I think that we need to be more careful with the natural resources weconsume and, moreover, we can do something to preserve them. For example, companies that producelumber can also resume the resources of wood by planting new trees there. This way we can preserveour land and save it from defrosting. I must agree that it is difficult for Russia at this moment not todevelop land for housing and industry because the country needs money and strong economy, but Ibelieve that many new factories can replace the old ones without developing new land. So, my point isthat we must extend the production of new goods but not at the expense of the wild animals and theirland.

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 examples to support your choice. The issue whether working for a large company is better than working for a small company is acontroversial one. From my everyday experience and observation I think that every option has itsadvantages and disadvantages. I base my opinion on the following points. From the one side working for a large company brings many benefits. First of all, one has better medicalinsurance, higher salary. Often employees of a large company has less responsibilities. Moreover, theyfeel more secure because their company has more clients and this means better chance to survive on themodern market. However, one working for a large company has less chance to be promoted becauseone's manager does not want to lose his or her job unless she or he is promoted too. Also, from myobservation, managers of a large company do not pay much attention to one's solutions and suggestions. From the other side working for a small company has many advantages too. Firstly, one has betterchance to be promoted. Secondly, one can talk to the owner of the company about any improvementsthat can be done in order to get more profit. Another important aspect of working for a small company isthe opportunities to find out more about how company works. As a result of this one can gain moreexperience and get better recommendations. However, this also has some disadvantages. For instance,one can get less salary, worse medical benefits, etc. To sum up, I think that every person chooses for himself what he or she wants. If one wants better careerand more responsibilities then a small company is better choice. Otherwise, working for a large companymay be a good option too. Page 24 of 63

Films can tell us a lot about the country where they were made. What have you learned about acountry from watching its movies? Use specific examples and details to support your response. Movies were always very popular and there are many reasons for this. First of all, movies are one of themain resources of entertainment. A movie is a perfect way to relax after stressful day or week. Anotherimportant reason why movies are so popular is because they are the easiest way to learn. For example,when people watch a movie that was made in another country they unconsciously learn about country'straditions, customs, people, language, nature and even climate. In the following paragraphs I will give acouple of examples to support my answer. I am from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. When I was a little girl and watched movies about Texas I had animpression that Texas was a large and arid desert with big cactuses and hot-tempered cowboys. So,when my husband was invited to work here in Texas two years ago I was absolutely sure that we wouldlive in the desert. However, when I first arrived in Austin I was impressed and nicely surprised because Idid not expect to see such beautiful nature with dense forests and blue lakes. It was a real discovery forme that Texas has such beautiful and green places. This is an example how people learn about climatefrom watching movies. Also, people learn from movies about customs and traditions of another country. For example, living inRussia I learned many things about USA from its movies. I found out about the holidays such asHalloween and Thanksgiving Day, which are celebrated by the Americans. I learnt about many historyevents such as Civil War and the War of Independence watching "Gone with the wind" and "Patriot". In conclusion, I think that not everything that is learnt from movies is true about the country. Many moviemakers tend to exaggerate and even make up many facts about the country in order to please theaudience. So, my point is that people should learn about the country from different resources such asbooks and magazines as well as from movies. Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you agree ordisagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes, from the times when he depicted a herd ofmammoth on a wall of a cave to nowadays when he drives a car, watches TV and surfs an Internet. Ibelieve that all achievements that were made by humankind are possible only because people alwayslearnt from their past. In fact, the definition of learning includes the idea of accumulation of experiencesfrom the past with present knowledge. So, I must totally disagree with the statement above that learningabout the past has no value. The first reason for this is that human evolution was possible only because people accumulated theirexperience and knowledge of ancestors and it helped them to make a step forward. Second of all, theyanalyzed their mistakes and tried to avoid them next time. People tried to improve their life by learningfrom the past. Just imagine that everyone would have to discover by himself that 2 + 2 = 4 or that fire canbe harmful. Furthermore, all knowledge that we have now is a result of the constant work of ourancestors. Another important aspect of the fact that our past is essential is that past makes us doubt. Take forexample the fact that a few centuries ago people were sure that the Earth was flat. Next generations withtheir new experience proved that the Earth was round. I believe that it happened not because scientistsdid not know about previous achievements in this area but because their new observations made themdoubt about the well-known fact and they developed the new theory. In addition, if follow the statement that our past has no value for us, then we should not take experienceand any advices from our parents. Imagine that we learn by ourselves how to speak, walk, drive car,cook, read, etc. To summarize, I think that learning from the past is even more important than our own experience. One Cannot move forward if he does not realize why and where he is now.

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Some people believe that the best way of learning about life is by listening to the advice of familyand friends. Other people believe that the best way of learning about life is through personalexperience. Compare the advantages of these two different ways of learning about life. Which doyou think is preferable? Use specific examples to support your preference. From my everyday experience and observation I can stand that the best way of learning about life isthrough personal experience. However, some people think that it is wiser to learn about life throughlistening to the advice of family and friends. It does not mean I totally disagree with this way of learning. Moreover, I think that it is wise for a person to take an intermediate position because each of these wayshas its own advantages. Bellow I will give my reasons to support my point of view. From the one side, learning through one's personal experience brings many benefits. First of all,scientists say that personal experience has greater impact on a person. I have to agree with this. Take forexample children. They will not believe their parents that something can hurt them until they try it andmake sure in it. Furthermore, most likely they will remember this experience longer. Second of all, peoplelearn how to analyze their mistakes, make conclusions and next time try to avoid them. So, I think it is agreat experience that makes people stronger, more self-confident and persistent. They gain moreknowledge and experience that will be very helpful and valuable in the future. From the other side, listening to the advice of family and friends brings many benefits too. Parents withgreat patience pass down their knowledge and experience to their children. They teach them all theyknow and they want their children do not make the same mistakes. In addition to those practical benefits,learning from someone's advice is painless. For example, parents nowadays very often talk to theirchildren about drugs. I think it is a great example when one should not try drugs in order to gain newexperience. I think it is a case when children must trust their parents. To sum up, I think it is wise to combine both of these ways to learn and try to analyze personal mistakesas well as not personal. I think together they can greatly simplify one's life and make the way to successshorter. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Universities should give the same amountof money to their students sports activities as they give to their university libraries. Use specificreasons and examples to support your opinion. Some people believe that universities should give more money for the sports activities. They claim thatimportance of libraries and sports are the same. I cannot completely agree with this statement. In thefollowing paragraphs I will give some basic reasons why I think that way. I am a former student and I know all advantages that can be given by libraries. First for all, it is thecheapest way to prepare for the incoming lecture, to do the homework, to make a research and just toread some books. From my point of view, it is very important to supply the libraries with the new books,magazines, journals and newspaper. Second of all, libraries are the places where students can spend afew hours reading between lectures if their schedule does not allow them to go home. So, libraries mustbe light and large enough, have comfortable chairs and tables. A third reason, why a good library is sosignificant for a student, is that it is a free access to computers and an Internet. If a student cannot allowto buy himself a computer or an access to the Internet he can use it there. I like libraries because it is agood place to meet and communicate with each other, surf the Internet looking for the last news, readsome books that you do not want to buy and just relax to the accompaniment of the pages. As for sports activities, I think it must be up to a person. First of all, he or she goes to a university to gainknowledge, not lose some weight or work out. Second of all, a student must arrange his or her time inorder to have time to exercise. However, I must say that every university should have a few playing-fields,a pool and a fitness center where students may have a rest after strained days. One more reason to have really good libraries is that it can save not only money but time for students. Aperson has not to drive to the bookstore to get materials he or she is looking for. So, a library can savetime that then can be spent on a sport. To summarize, I think libraries must stay the main resource of knowledge. So, if a university has someextra money they should be spent on the new books, new software and new equipment for the libraries. Page 26 of 63

Some people believe that students should be given one long vacation each year. Others believethat students should have several short vacations throughout the year. Which viewpoint do youagree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. The issue whether students should be given one long vacation each year or they should have severalvacations throughout the year is the one that is open for debate. Some people believe that studentsshould have a few short vacations. However, others believe that one long vacation each year have morebenefits for students. Personally, I think that every position has advantages as well as disadvantages. Inthe following paragraphs I will analyze these opinions and present my view which is that students shouldhave one short vacation and one long vacation every year. From the one side, one long vacation every year can bring many benefits to the students. First of all,students will have the opportunity to work full time during this vacation. They will be able to earn somepocket money or even money to cover the cost of their education. I think it is a great experience. Moreover, students will be able to be more independent, they will learn how to earn money and how tospend them more carefully. I am from Russia. Unfortunately, I do not have any experience in the USA inthis field, but in my country students can barely combine their education with their jobs. So, basically,students in Russia have the opportunity to earn some money only during long vacation. Second of all,one long vocation gives students a great opportunity to travel, to learn more about other countries, theirtraditions and customs, gain more knowledge and experience. From the other side, several short vocations bring a few benefits too. First of all, students have theopportunity to have a rest throughout the year. They can spend more time exercising, muster theirstrength for another term and then get higher grades. Second of all, during short vocations studentsusually have better opportunity to prepare for the incoming exams. Finally, usually a long vocation has anegative aspect: from my own experience students tend to forget many subjects they studied earlier. So,a couple of first weeks is usually spent on reviewing an old material. To sum up, I think that in this case an intermediate position can be taken. Students should have one longvocation in summer and one short vocation in winter. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Modern technology is creating a singleworld culture. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted a herd ofmammoths on the walls of the cave to these days when he can chart with someone on the other side ofthe globe. Modern technology is rapidly changing the world's living standards that results in creating asingle world culture. New technologies including Internet, television, electronic media, means oftransportation, etc has a great impact on creating a similar culture all around the globe. Bellow I will listmy reasons to support my opinion. First of all, Internet and e-mail have changed the way people communicate to each other. Internet broughtmany benefits. It is a new means of communication, a fast access to information and news. Peoplecommunicate with each other, share their ideas, happiness and difficulties. We have a great opportunityto find out more about countries and their history. Second of all, the modern means of transportation allows people to move from one place to another veryquickly. A few centuries ago it was impossible to imagine waking up in one country and falling asleep inanother. Finally, as a result of all mentioned above the boundaries between countries, their traditions and customsare erased. Many people migrate during their lives. Some of them are looking for a better place to live,others want to get new experience and knowledge or just pleasure. So, many families are createdbetween people from different countries. Traditions fuse and evolve into other ones or just vanish. To sum up, modern technology has a great impact on the way people live now. It is creating a new singleworld culture where traditions and distances are no longer of that importance. Page 27 of 63

How do movies influence peoples behavior? I believe that television and especially movies are one of the major and outstanding achievements ofhumankind. I like movies. They help you leave your troubles behind, relax and enjoy your life. I mustconfess that most of all I like comedies and historical films. Comedies make me laugh and if I am not in agood mood they help me to cheer up. As for historical movies because it is interesting to find out moreabout some historical events. Every movie makes an impression on people. How big this impression depends on a person, hischaracteristic features, his weak and strong sides. For instance, my sister likes serial Friends and she isa fan of Chandler. I cannot say she looks like him after all she is female but they have a lot in common.She is smart and resilient. She makes faces just like he does. She has a similar sense of humor and shetries to imitate his habits. It is like she has a very close friend who is on the other side of the screen.As far as I am concerned, I am terribly afraid of dark. Last time my husband and I were watching a scaryfilm called Spiders. It is a horror movie with the large spiders creeping around and killing people in thedark. The only light in our apartment was the dim light of the TV screen. So when the movie was over Icould not fall asleep. I heard rustling of dry leaf and it seemed to me that millions of spiders were crawlingtowards my bed. I felt tingles down my spine. For several days I was afraid of every shadow and everyrustle reminded me of that disgusting noise. In conclusion I want to point that movies have great influence on peoples behavior and it is not alwayspositive. People listen to music for different reasons and at different times. Why is music important tomany people? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Music plays an essential role in our everyday life. We listen to music every day and even sometimes donot realize it. There are many resources where we can listen to music. We listen to the radio while drivingour cars. We turn on the TV and watch movies where music influences our mind and makes people'stremble at the fear. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I believe that music is important tohumankind. First of all, music is one of the best way to relax after stressful day. Many people prefer to listen to musicin the evenings. For example, my cousin likes to listen to the classic music. He has a great collection ofCD disks with many famous musical compositions. In old days people gathered around a fireplace andplayed and listened to music. Second of all, music often helps people to cheer up. Personally, when something is bothering me I preferto turn on my radio and listen to some of my favorite songs. It helps me to feel better about everything,leave my troubles behind and enjoy my life. I am sure that many people will agree with me on this issue.Finally, music plays an essential role in different ceremonies. For example, I think it is rather difficult toimagine a wedding without solemn music or the Olympic Games without anthems. In conclusion, I think that music is the unique language, which is understood by everyone all over theplanet. Music is a great way of communication and people all over the world listen to the music of othernations and understand what an author wanted to tell by it.

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Neighbors are the people who live near us. In your opinion, what are the qualities of a goodneighbor? Use specific details and examples in your answer. I think that my neighbor at least must be friendly. In the morning when I meet my neighbor he or sheshould greet me and wish me to have a great day. Also, it would be great if he did not smoke. I do notsmoke and I do not like to smell a smoke from cigarettes in the morning in my bedroom if I leave thewindows opened. A few years ago I lived in a small community. One of my neighbors smoked everymorning in front of my windows while his dog was trampling down a beautiful lawn. It was really a terribleexperience, because I did not need my alarm clock to awake any more. I was awake exactly in a fewseconds after my neighbor began to smoke. From my point of view, the ideal neighbor must always be ready to offer help. For instance, If I need to gosomewhere he would offer me to baby-sit my children and borrow his car. One more thing, I think it wouldbe great if he picked up my mail and watered my plants while I was on vocation.Finally, I think that good neighbors are those who become friends.From my opinion it is sufficient. However, if talk about my "ideal" neighbor I can add some extra qualities. First of all, he should allow meto listen to loud music. I think it would be great if he did not call a police if I decided to turn on my radiofully in the late evening or in the early morning. Second of all, my "ideal" neighbor should allow me to usehis backyard for my party. I understand that it is almost impossible to find such a good neighbor, but if atleast half of my requirements are satisfied I will appreciate it. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? One should never judge a person byexternal appearances. Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. I believe that one should not judge a person by external appearances while he does not know a personwell. When we meet a person for the first time we unconsciously make a first impression about him.Some people believe that the first impression about a person is the right one. However, from my everydayexperience and observation I can stand that external appearances are often illusive. I can give severalreasons to support my opinion. First of all, different people have different opinions about an importance of person's appearance. Somepeople dress, behave themselves, wear haircuts to make an impression, feel better about themselvesand even to make self-realization. But this does not make them kinder, clever and more experienced.Unfortunately, people tend to associate these qualities with external appearances. However, other people do not care much about their appearances. Personally, I do not care about myclothes as long as they are clean, knit and comfortable. But, to tell the truth, I often judge a person by hisexternal appearances. I cannot say it is wrong. I think that it is normal as long as it is just the firstimpression. I think that people should remember that a first impression can be replaced by another onevery quickly, which is not always the better one. When people begin to communicate and get to know each other, the first impression is replaced by thedeeper one. One begins to see the bad and good sides of a person under his clothes, make up, and evenmanners. To sum up, I believe that one should not judge a person before one gets to know him well.

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Every generation of people is different in important ways. How is your generation different fromyour parents generation? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time he depicted a herd of mammoths onthe walls of his cave to these days when he can use personal computers to create a new pattern for hiscarpet, send e-mail to his friend and even make him a cup of coffee without leaving his chair. There is nodoubt that every generation is different in many ways from the old ones. In the following paragraphs I willlist some differences, which I believe exist between my generation and my parents' generation. First of all, I think that my generation is more familiar with the modern technology then my parents'generation. For example, my mother learnt from me about the Internet. I was the first person whoexplained my parents what the Internet is and how to use it. Second of all, people of my generation have different interests and different opinions about many things.For example, my parents and I have different views about decision made by the government. My motherthinks that more money should be spend on books and libraries for the children, and I think that moremoney should be spend on computer technologies. Finally, I think that people of my generation tend to forget many traditions and customs of the country theywere born in. We often forget about the meaning of the holidays our parents celebrate. I cannot say that itis wrong I just think it is normal when recent historical events are celebrated with more enthusiasm.However, I believe that all people should remember their history and pass it down to the next generationbecause this knowledge is irreplaceable and priceless for every person. To sum up, there is no doubt that next generation is always better prepared for the future than the oldone, and this means that our children will also be more experienced than we do now. And I think it is forthe best.

A university plans to develop a new research center in your country. Some people want a centerfor business research. Other people want a center for research in agriculture (farming). Which ofthese two kinds of research centers do you recommend for your country? Use specific reasons inyour recommendation. In my country, Russia, I think that the question about whether to establish a new research center inbusiness or in agriculture is a controversial one. First of all, because I think that both these centers must work together and cooperate. For example, abusiness research center can collect information about what kind of cereal people prefer more and howmuch of it they consume every year. Then this information can be used by an agriculture researchcenter, which in its turn will provide the company engaged in farming with essential information. Second of all, it is rather difficult to decide which research center will bring more benefits to my country.From the one side, business research center can make very interesting and essential research for theeconomy of the country. It can gather information about the small business in the country, aboutconsumer's preferences and what can be done to decrease the state debt. When I was in my third year inthe university we (I and my classmates) make research regarding how many people use urbantransportation every day and how much they spend on it monthly. I was really an amazing experience.We calculated numbers, learnt how to make conclusions and suggestions. From the other side, anagriculture research center can be very helpful in studying the conditions, under which the harvest ofwheat or potato can be better or the quality of vegetables can be improved. The increased harvest ofwheat will bring more money to the companies engaged in farming. With regard to mention above, I think that if I would have to choose what research center will be moreuseful for my country it would be an agriculture research center. Because, nowadays I tend to think thatgood harvest is more important for people of my country than knowing how advertising influence thepeople's behavior. Page 30 of 63

A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this visitor go on thatday? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice. Traveling is a good way to find out more about different countries with different traditions and customs.Some travelers prefer to spend in one country just a few days or one day and then leave for anothercountry. This way of traveling allows people to visit more countries in less days. Unfortunately, in thiscase such travelers have to hurry in order to visit more places. I am from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. So, if a foreign visitor has only one day to spend in my country I thinkI would advise him to visit the "Hermitage" - the most well-known and amazing museum in Russia. The"Hermitage" has 3 floors and more than 100 halls. It is really amazing to visit that place. Many peoplefrom all over the world every day enter its walls. Some of the rooms devoted to the history of othercountries. Others devoted to the art of a famous painter and the history of his life. However, most of thehalls conclude many things such as paintings, royal belongings, sculptures from Russian history. Some people say that it is impossible to feel deeply and see all these amazing historical values for onevisit. I have to completely agree with this statement. When I first visited the "Hermitage" I was 14 yearsold. It impressed me so much that I was back next day to see what I had not been able to see the daybefore.The "Hermitage" is an impressive and beautiful museum. I think it is worth to spend there a whole dayand I believe that after that a foreign visitor can claim with a proud that he or she saw Russia. Some people think governments should spend as much money as possible exploring outer space(for example, traveling to the Moon and to other planets). Other people disagree and thinkgovernments should spend this money for our basic needs on Earth. Which of these two opinionsdo you agree with? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. Curiosity is one of the great qualities of a human being. A man always wanted to break the limits andlearn more. Curiosity cased many inventions and discoveries made by man. Nowadays a huge amount ofmoney is spent on exploring outer space. Some people think that governments should spend as muchmoney as possible on space researches. However, others disagree and think that this money should bebetter spent on people's basic needs. Personally, I think that this question is a controversial one. Forseveral reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that an intermediate position can be taken:governments should continue invests money in space research but this money should not be spent verycarefully. At the same time, governments should spend more money on uplifting the living standards,improving facilities, developing the modern technology and helping people in need. Exploring outer space without any doubts will bring important results in the future. But nowadays we donot move much forward. Humankind made a huge step in exploring the space a half of the century ago.So, my point is that money should be spent very carefully. From the other side, I think that nowadays the Earth and people need more attention then ever. Peoplebreath polluted air and drink contaminated water. Many animals are at danger of disappearance. Peoplesuffer from hunger, diseases and poverty. I think that governments should pay more attention to theseproblems, mentioned above. They need to create programs for saving the environment and animals.Another important aspect of this that governments should sponsor more programs connected with theimproving educational system. To sum up, I believe that we should not stop exploring outer space but we need to make our Earthhealthier.

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People work because they need money to live. What are some other reasons that people work?Discuss one or more of these reasons. Use specific examples and details to support your answer. I think there are two types of people. The first type is people who work for money; another type is peoplewho work for self-realization. I state my position on the following points. First of all, people who work for self-realization like their job. Money is not important for them, they needsatisfaction. I believe that this kind of people makes our evolution and history. They aspire after newinventions and discoveries overcoming all obstacles on their ways. I think that these people are veryinteresting because they know a lot, read many books and have their own life experience. Of course theyneed money for some essential needs such as food and cloth, but they do not need them for luxuryhouses or expensive furnishings. Many scientists are people who devote their lives to new knowledgeand discoveries. Second of all, I believe that people need self-realization. It gives them opportunity to contribute in world'shistory and share their knowledge and experience with other people. I think it helps them to realize thatthey are needed by humankind and will not be forgotten. This is priceless. To sum up, I think that people's aspiration after self-realization is the main reason why we have now goodmedicine, different means of communications, many devices to make our lives easier, etc. People remember special gifts or presents that they have received. Why? Use specific reasonsand examples to support your answer. Receiving gifts is always very exciting. I think that all people like to receive presents from their relatives,friends, co-workers, etc. Personally, I am sure that a person does not remember all gifts he has receivedbecause it is impossible. However, I know that all people remember a few gifts that were special. Whypeople remember those special gifts? First of all, I believe that people remember special gifts because they were from very close and dearpeople. For example, I remember my parents presented me a ring when I was sixteen years old. It wasnot an expensive ring but it was very valuable for me and when I left my home and moved to another cityI often looked at that ring and felt like my parents were somewhere near me. I felt their support andunderstanding. It is like people who are close to us give their small parts of their sole with that gift. Theywant us to remember them and they want to make us happy. These gifts are very valuable for people ofall countries and nationalities. Another reason why people remember special gifts because they were exactly what people wanted tohave for a long time, but for some reasons, for example, they just could not afford those things, they didnot buy them. So, when they receive those things as gifts it makes them very happy and they rememberthose moments for a long time. When I was a child my mother could not buy me a bicycle because we didnot have enough money at that time. So, when my grandfather bought me my first bicycle it was thehappiest moment in my life. Moreover, he personally taught me how to ride and I spent all my spare timeafter that event cycling. To sum up, I think that people remember special gifts because they presented with love

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? With the help of technology, studentsnowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly. Use specific reasons andexamples to support your answer. From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statementthat with the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.First of all, the latest inventions of humankind dramatically improved our life. Nowadays we can movefrom one place to another more quickly, we do not spend much time cooking, we have many differentrecourses of information and means of communication. So, our life now is more dynamic and changeable. During our day we receive a huge amount of information and process it. Students at the same time havemore resources to get information they need. They can go to a library, the nearest bookstore, or borrow itfrom a friend or even download it from an Internet. I think It is great. Instead of waiting for one's turn to geta book in a library, one can print it from a file downloaded earlier. The great thing about it that one canprint only those pages he is interested in and also make marks on the pages to mark important ideas. Another important aspect of this is the advantages of using computer the greatest invention of the lastcentury. Students do not have to spend their time by writing and re-writing many papers. It is reallytime-consuming. They just type information in and may use many useful features such as "copy", "past","delete", "save", etc. Also, sometimes students do not have to write down lectures because they alreadyhave them on their computers.Internet plays an important role in our life now. We can communicate with the people who are on anotherpart of the planet. We also can get the latest news very quickly. People can ask for a piece of advice orfind different kinds of information on the Internet. Students can get their degree on-line, register forclasses, communicate with professors, take tests and even listen to a lecture. I think the great part in it that students may more effectively arrange their time. They can get their task bye-mail and stay home to do it. It really saves time and make studying more fun especially if a person hasto work in order to pay his or her tuition. To summarize, I think that many last inventions improved students' life and allowed them to concentratemore on studying. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? There is nothing that young people canteach older people. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position. I have to totally disagree with the statement that there is nothing that young people can teach olderpeople. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that young people can teach older peoplemany things. First of all, young people intend to learn new things faster. They faster learn new technologies. Second ofall, young people are more motivated. They aspire to succeed and make a good career, which requiresgood knowledge and experience. So, they try to get more knowledge and experience from differentsources like Internet, books, newspaper, magazines and of cause from conversations with other people. In addition to this young people bring many fresh ideas to the team they are working in. For example,when my friend was hired as a software developer he surprised everybody with his energy, a bunch ofnew and fresh ideas about what could be done to improve the process. He was the youngest person inthe team but everybody listened to him and it was like a fresh air, an impulse, which made everyone workharder. Finally, young people often know more about new technologies. For example, my husband is 26 years oldand he is a good professional in software development. So, he is often asked to read a lecture fordifferent companies and audience. Needless to say, the majority of people who attend those lectures areolder than my husband. To sum up, I think that young people have many things to teach older people. Moreover, I think thatpeople from every generation have something to learn from each other. People learn through their entirelives from books that hold the experience and the history of previous generations as well as from theirown experience and experience of the younger people.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A zoo has no useful purpose. Use specificreasons and examples to explain your answer. I think that the question about whether a zoo has no useful purpose is the one that is open for debate. It isa topical question nowadays. Some people believe that a zoo has an essential and cognitive purpose.However, other people believe that a zoo has no useful purpose and people should observe wild animalsin their nature. Personally, I think that both options have their advantages. In the following paragraphs Iwill analyze these points and present my own view in favor of people who think that animals should not bekept in a zoo. From the one side, a zoo has many benefits for people. First of all, children can learn about animals notonly from books and TV programs but from actually watching them alive. They can see animals, touchthem and even feed them. I think it is an amazing experience for a child. He gains more knowledge andexperience from this "communication" with an animal. Second of all, a zoo is a perfect place for adults tosee many animals that people are not able to see in their lives. However, from the other side, I keep asking myself "What kind of benefits wild animals have from azoo?". Unfortunately, I can not find any of them. I think that wild animals should live in their natureenvironment. Moreover, I think that we should observe them through TV programs sitting in our favoritechairs, or people who like danger should try to observe them in the native environment. I think thatanimals are not toys. I know that most zoos try to keep their animals in the environment which is close totheir native, but they can not give them as much freedom as animals want to. To sum up, I think that wild animals should not be kept in a zoo. Personally, I enjoy more watching"Discovery Channel" then watching a black bear who does not know where to hide from the scorching sunin a Texas zoo. The 21st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring? Useexamples and details in your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted a herd ofmammoths on the walls of his cave to these days when he can create beautiful pictures and even makecoffee by use of computer technologies without leaving his favorite chair. The 20th century made hugesteps in developing computer technologies and reached many goals that made our life much easier. Whatshould we expect in the 21st century? First of all, I think that the pace of our life will speed up: we will move faster from one place to another,from one continent to another using high speed jet airplanes. Second of all, I believe that we will be ableto do many things that take much time now without leaving our house. Computers will be everywhereincluding out clothes. Many people will have chips and mini computers inserted in their heads to holdhuge amount of information and have a quick access to it. But what will be the most amazing thing in the 21st century is the flights to the outer space and Mars thatwill be available to all people. Scientists say that Mars has many things similar to the Earth's. Moreover,they say that with the help of modern technology people can artificially create conditions that will allowpeople to live there on the constant basis. To sum up, I am sure that many amazing changes will be brought by the 21st century. Furthermore, Ithink that with the help of the contemporary technologies people can do many things that were evendifficult to imagine a century ago. So, nowadays it is rather difficult and even impossible to imagine allchanges that will happen in the next decades.

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Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need. Others saythat advertisements tell us about new products that may improve our lives. Which viewpoint doyou agree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. I think that everyone can divide all advertising products and services into useless ones and useful ones. Itis like looking through an information desk when you pay attention to those messages that interest you.Take me for example. I do not like jewelry. It does not mean I do not have it at all, I have a couple of inexpensive rings as giftsfrom my parents. I just think, people pay too much attention to this stuff. I believe it is the result of massadvertising. Every day when I am watching TV, listening to the radio or reading the paper I notice manyads about getting an expensive ring, chain, necklace or ear-rings. From my point of view these kinds ofadvertising contaminate people's minds. In this case you are encouraged to buy things you do not reallyneed. They make you believe you need such products in order to succeed or be happy. From the other side, I think that advertisements of the new detergents with up-to-date formulas to helpyou maintain your cloth in perfect conditions, the new cars with some extra futures that make yourtraveling more comfortable and sports goods that make your life healthier may help you to improve yourlife. Recently my husband and I saw an ad on the Internet about a very interesting and inexpensive vocationto Japan for a week. Is not it awesome? We like traveling. So now we are planning to find out more aboutit and, may be, make reservations. I believe that without advertisements we would be unaware about plentyof opportunities that may make your life happier, easier and less stressful. My point is that every person has his own scale of values. So if he is vegetarian he will consider an adabout meat products useless for him.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising can tell you a lot about acountry. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Every country has its own culture and traditions. There is no doubt that an advertising campaignconducted in Russia will not have the same affect here in the United States. Let us take for exampleadvertisement of food and restaurants. A huge amount of fast food stands suggest their services for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper here inHouston. The competition is very strong. Every week you get in your mail-box an envelope with differenttypes of discounts in exchange for visiting them or ordering pizza. Watching TV you are also from time totime invited to visit a restaurant in order to taste some delicious food. It is not because it is easy to makemoney cooking but because the demand for such service is high. First of all, people like to go outsometimes to have dinner with friends. Second of all, it is often impossible to drive home for lunch. It canbe time consuming. As for Russia, it is a great tradition to have dinner at home with the family and go to the restaurant for bigholidays. Additionally fast food is not popular in Russia. So you will see advertisements of yogurts, coffee,dairy products and juice instead of restaurants and fast food stands. In conclusion I would like to add that in order to succeed in advertising campaign especially on theinternational market company must know traditions, language and history of the country.

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A gift (such as a camera, a soccer ball, or an animal) can contribute to a childs development.What gift would you give to help a child develop? Why? Use reasons and specific examples tosupport your choice. People learn and develop throughout their entire lives. I think that in our modern world it is very essentialto be familiar with computer technology. So, if I had a chance to give a child a gift it would be a computer.I think that computers play an essential role in our lives and they bring many benefits to our society.Moreover, children can learn by use of computers. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons tosupport my answer. First of all, by use of computers children can play many games, which help to improve children's ability tothink logically, think about their next step, etc. Moreover, playing games develop many important qualitiessuch as attention, patience, persistent, etc. Second of all, computers help children to learn more aboutanything by use of Internet. They can find new friends even from another country. Children will improvetheir communication skills, gain more knowledge and experience. Also, children have a great opportunityto learn more about other countries, their history, traditions and customs. Finally, computer skills can helpa child to find his or her first job. A child can find an ad in the Internet about a job offer or he or she canmake a resume and place it in the Internet. Personally, I think it is a great experience and big stepforward towards a future career. In addition to those practical benefits, computer technology helps children to do their homework faster.They can type their data into the computer, easily check the grammar, correct mistakes and then print itout. Moreover, there are plenty different kinds of educational programs that can help children learn how toread, write, draw and even how to behave and speak a foreign language. To sum up, I believe that children should learn how to use computer because this knowledge will helpthem in the future to be more self-confident and enterprising. Furthermore, computers can greatlyimprove and simplify their lives if children know how to use them. Would you prefer to live in a traditional house or in a modern apartment building? Use specificreasons and details to support your choice. If I was asked where I would I prefer to live in a traditional house or in a modern apartment building, Ithink, I would hesitate to answer. This question, from my point of view, is a controversial one. In thefollowing paragraphs I will analyze both these options and present my view. From the one side, living in a modern apartment building brings many benefits. First of all, it is cheaperthen living in a traditional house and paying different kinds of fees I am not familiar with. For instance,my friend, who recently bought a new house for his family, said me that it is much easier to live in anapartment and I tend to believe him when I see his bills. So, living in an apartment will definitely help meto save some money. Second of all, since I live alone I do not need a big house with many rooms. I justneed a bedroom and a living room where I can take my guests and have my work place. Anotherimportant benefit of living in an apartment is that I will not have to buy much cumbersome furniture inorder to furnish all rooms. However, living in a modern apartment building can have a few disadvantages too. Firstly, it can be noisyand, secondly, I will not have any privacy outside my apartment, for example, in a pool or gym.From the other side, living in a traditional house has some advantages too. For example, I can have myown pool, gym and a garden where I can relax and be alone. However, living in a house is usually moreexpensive and requires more time to maintain a house. For instance, I will most likely have to hiresomeone to mow my lawn and clean my pool not to mention all household tasks inside the house. In conclusion, I think at this moment I would prefer to live in an apartment. It can help me save somemoney and allows me to spend more time studying because I will not have to do many household tasks.

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Some people prefer to work for themselves or own a business. Others prefer to work for anemployer. Would you rather be self-employed, work for someone else, or own a business? Usespecific reasons to explain your choice. Basically, people work for money and self-realization. However, some people prefer to be self-employedand others prefer to work for an employer. These two options are very different ones and I did not makemy choice yet. I think that each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Working as an employee brings many benefits. First of all, one can spend more time with his familyhelping his child do his homework, fishing with the whole family, etc. Second of all, one has fewer responsibilities. He just does his job and does not care about the market, competitors and expected profit.One taking a vocation can forget about all troubles, relax and not worry about who does his job during hisabsence. Finally, an employee can always find a more interesting job with a higher salary. From the other side, be self-employed have many benefits too. First of all, one knows the more he worksthe more he gets. Another important reason of being self-employed is independence. One does not haveto report to anyone except one's self. However, in addition to these practical benefits one gets moreresponsibilities to take care of. To sum up, I think that be self-employed is not as easy as it may seem. A person must be self-confident,strong, and patient. He must know exactly what he wants and be ready to sacrifice all his spare time to it. Ihave a family and at this moment I am not sure that I am ready to sacrifice my time to the job. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Usespecific reasons and examples to support your answer. Obviously, the first teachers we have in our lives in most cases are our parents. They teach us to speak,walk, ride a bike, behave ourselves etc. From my everyday experience and observation I can totally agreewith the statement that parents are the best teachers. In the following paragraphs I will try to support myanswer with some reasons and examples. First of all, I would say that parents are our very first teachers. They with great patience pass down theessential knowledge that we need in order to join "the real world". Children often copy their parents' habitsand traits because children are sure that parents do only right things. Often children's first wish is to belike their mother of father. Parents are the best teachers because they wish their children a success andthey do not teach them bad things. However in order to succeed in todays world children need more than just to know good manners and beable to read and write. They need real teachers who would teach them logic, mathematics, literature,foreign language, management etc. Moreover, they need to communicate with the children of the sameage. Adolescence is a period when children learn more from their friends then from their parents. At thisage many young people reject their parents' advices and warnings. They begin to learn from their ownexperience, make conclusions and analyze their first mistakes. It is very important for parents in thisperiod to be supportive and patient. Children may slam door and refuse to do some things because theywant to feel independence. Another important aspect of this is that parents are the first people who must worn their children about thedanger of drugs and cigarettes and how to avoid and say "No" when they need to. In the modern worldparents must talk with their children about everything because it can save their life and make themhappier. So, the role of parents is really important because it gives the strength and understanding thereal world. In conclusion, I think that parents are the best teachers because they give their knowledge that can notbe taken from books when it needs to be known by children.

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When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the newcountry. Others prefer to keep their own customs. Compare these two choices. Which one do youprefer? Support your answer with specific details. People may choose to keep their old traditions from their native country or to accept new ones. Keepingthe old customs will help one to overcome the cultural shock and the change of the environment. Fromthe other side, accepting the new traditions will help one to adapt and make new friends with residents. Inthis essay I will give different reasons why people decide to follow the customs of the new country or tokeep their own customs.If one is from the country with strong and old traditions, I think it will be rather difficult for him to adapt tothe new customs and moreover to reject his own. That is why some people from the same country try tolive together and to create their own community where the old traditions are kept. They can not break thecustoms that were created by their ancestors. For example, some nations are restricted in certain kinds offood by their traditions. So, they do not go to the restaurants unless their traditional food is served there. Some nations according to their customs have to wear certain types of cloth because their religion tellsthem to do so. From the other side, if one is from the country with traditions similar to ones of the new country it will beeasy for him to adopt and to follow the customs of the new place. He will not feel much difference.Probably, the most difficult part of his relocation will be to accustom to the new climate.I think that people of the new country are friendlier when they see that foreigner follows their customs. Ibelief that traditions of every country deserve respect, especially, when one lives there. In summary, Ithink that every country has its own beauty and if one wants to find out more about it he will love it. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon.Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay. Statistics shows that people are living longer now. There are several reasons for this. I will point out afew of them below. First of all, a few hundred years ago mankind suffered from many different kinds of diseases which arevery well cured now. The achievements of contemporary medicine allow people to live with artificial arms,hands, legs and even hearts. Recently I read a few articles in the magazines about a man with animplanted artificial heart and a woman who had an implanted chipset in her head to make her happier.Additionally, many viruses are defeated nowadays with the modern vaccines and many pills help us torelief pain. Second of all, the conditions of live are greatly improved. A man chiefly does not have to sleep on the wetand cold ground, defense himself from predators in the wild forests and fight for his life. The wideextension of fast food stands, buffets and restaurants gives people the opportunity to have full andnutritious meal whenever they need to.Many entertaining centers offer a wide variety of services where you can leave your troubles behind andjust relax. All of these things mentioned above allow people to maintain healthy life, spend more time with his familyand friends and make their life longer and happier.

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Do you agree with the following statement? People are never satisfied with what they have; theyalways want something more or something different. Use specific reasons to support youranswer. "People are never satisfied with what they have, they always want something more or somethingdifferent". I would have to agree with this statement entirely. Our life would not be so full and exitingwithout goals. In this essay I will give different reasons why I agree with the above statement. The dissatisfaction needs and want start in a very young age. A child is never satisfied with his toys, healways want more new ones. Scientists say that if one gives a child a familiar toy, he will play it for a whileand forget about it. In the case one gives a child a new toy, he will become more enthusiastic and play ittwo days.Ones we grow older our goals became less material. A son or a daughter wants to get mother'sapproval of fathers pride. He or she may achieve this by getting high marks at school or by helping them. Ones we grow old enough to take care of ourselves our goals change. First of all, we want to be happyand succeed.. Secondly, we want our parents to be proud of us.Some people think that rich people have everything they need and they have nothing to wish for. I think itis not true. The more money one has, the more one wants and can afford. Besides, there are some thingsno one can buy like love, friendship and health. So, a rich person may want to lose some weight andlooks like some guy from a cover of the magazine or he wants to go out with a girl who is not interested inhim and his money. In my opinion life would not be worth living without goals. If people would be satisfied with all they had weprobably would have to live in caves. So, it does not matter how many goals were achieved we will findnew ones in order to accomplish them all over again. Some people think that they can learn better by themselves than with a teacher. Others think thatit is always better to have a teacher. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons to develop youressay. People are learning through their entire life. Our first teachers in most cases are our parents. They teachus to walk, speak, behave ourselves, etc. They with great patience pass down their knowledge andexperience to their children. There is no doubt that we need our parents to learn essential things. Parentsgiving their knowledge prepare children to join the "real world". So, at this point we need teachers to learnsome basic things.When children go to a school or college they have there many teachers who help them study moredifficult and complicated things. Personally, I think that young people need teachers because in mostcases they basically do not understand yet the importance of learning some "uninteresting things" such aslogic, literature, grammatics, etc. So, teachers keep children on track and sometimes make them learn. Ithink, at adolescence young people need teachers because they help them develop and improvethemselves in order to succeed in life. However, I believe that when a person is no longer a child and he has a job and lives an independent lifehe can choose how he is going to study. As for me, my choice between studding by myself or withsomebody's help depends on a teacher. If a teacher has very interesting lectures and gives manyexamples from different resources I will attend his or her classes with great pleasure. However, if ateacher has dry and boring lectures and does not try to make them interesting I will get some books andstudy this subject by myself. It saves me time and probably some money if I take books in a library. So, basically, some teachers can give their students so much in a short period of time that it is worth tospend one's time attending lectures. At the same time, from my point of view, other teachers can not giveme the knowledge I need at my pace.

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Businesses should hire employees for their entire lives. Do you agree or disagree? Use specificreasons and examples to support your answer. I would have to completely disagree with the statement above. In the following paragraphs I will outlinethe basic concepts of my position. First of all, I will least the major disadvantages for employers. On the today's market a company must bevery flexible in order to compete with other firms. So, imagine the situation when a company can not fireits employees to stay on the market. It will lead to loosing not only a profit, but the clients, market shareand competitive ability. Now, imagine the situation when a company is growing fast, everything is goodand the next few years are going to be excellent. So, employers need more people to extend theproduction. However, nobody can tell what will happen in a few years. In this case, employers will beafraid to hire new people and extend their business because they will not be able to fire them if somethinggoes wrong. Another important aspect of this is that a company cannot have the best employees. It cannot hire the better one without dismissing another employee. What kind of disadvantages will have an employee in exchange for this kind of job security? First of all, itwill be very difficult to find a job if one is not the best, because an employer does not want to spendmoney on one's education. Besides, employer will not have a chance to fire one if he does not do his jobwell. Second of all, employees with this kind of security tend not to perfect themselves because afterthey are hired they can not lose their job. In conclusion, I would like to add that this statement has some positive aspects too such as constancy, astrong spirit of the company, etc. This system takes place in Japan and some companies succeeded init. But I think that the reason of it subsists in the Japanese traditions, the particular cultural features,habits and customs. However, on today's market here in the United States a company cannot afford tohire employees for their entire life. People learn in different ways. Some people learn by doing things; other people learn by readingabout things; others learn by listening to people talk about things. Which of these methods oflearning is best for you? Use specific examples to support your choice. People learn through their entire lives. Some people prefer to read many books and gain knowledge fromthem. Others prefer to learn from their own experience. Also, there are people who prefer to learn fromothers by listening to their advice and analyzing their mistakes. For several reasons, which I will mentionbellow, I think that each of these ways to learn new things has many advantages. Personally, I think thatthe combination of these ways is the best way to learn and gain more knowledge and experience. Undoubtedly, learning by doing things is the best way to learn. First of all, one can gain his ownexperience, which is priceless and valuable. Moreover, some things are impossible to learn withoutpracticing. For example, when children learn how to read they cannot perfect in it without everydaypractice. Or when a student learn how to type on a computer. He cannot just listen to someone or readbooks about it and then type very quickly. Many things in our life require practice and own experience. Personally, I think that mostly I learn how to do things by doing them not by reading about them.However, there are some things that are impossible to be learnt by doing them. For example, studentslearn many things from the books and other different recourses like Internet, magazines, newspapers andeven through conversations. Take for example our history or space exploration. People learn about themfrom books and TV programs. We cannot get back in time and experience different historical eventsexcept that we do it in our imagination. In conclusion, I think that the combination of these ways will give the best results. However, there is nodoubt that personal experience is priceless and irreplaceable, because it gives the great opportunity toanalyze one's mistakes, make conclusions and avoid them next time. So, in my case I try to learn thing bydoing them if it is possible and if it is not then I use other ways to lean them. Some people prefer to eat at food stands or restaurants. Other people prefer to prepare and eatfood at home. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Page 40 of 63

Man, through the ages, has undergone any changes from the time when he had to haunt for food to thesedays when he has to buy it. Some people prefer to buy fresh vegetables, meat and fruits and preparefood at home. However, other people prefer to skip that step with cooking and have dinner at arestaurant. I think that both of these choices have some advantages and disadvantages. Bellow I will givesome reasons to support my answer. Personally, I do not like fast food. So, my choice is always between a restaurant and my home. First of all,I would like to say that cooking is a great tradition. It helps people to relax, reflect on some pleasantmoments while peeling or cutting the vegetables. It is a means of eliminating one's stress and tension. Second of all, sometimes I do not want to have something too complicated for my dinner. I just want tohave light food like a salad and a glass of milk. So, one of the reasons why I like to eat at home isbecause I can have what I want at this moment. One greaterthing about eating at home is that I cansit in front of the TV and watch an interesting program or a movie. Finally, having dinner at home allows a family communicates with each other, be closer and share some good and bad moments that happenedearlier that day. Besides, eating at home is a great way to save some money. As for restaurants, I see some positive aspects about eating there too. First of all, I sometimes get tiredfrom peeling, cutting, washing, frying, etc. It does not mean I do it a lot. Sometimes I just use themicrowave and a preprocessed food that I bought earlier. I want to have something more delicious than Ihave in my refrigerator, something that is time-consuming to prepare at home. So, for me it is a goodreason to go to a restaurant. There one may meet old friends or just has a great time listening to musicand tasting some delicious meats.Also, restaurants are a good place to celebrate something. One does not have to prepare food for allfriend who are coming, wash dish, put in order all that mess after the party, etc. In conclusion, I think that it does not important where one has one's dinner. What important is that it mustbe full and nutritious. Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. Others choose not to makeany plans at all for their free time. Compare the benefits of planning free-time activities with thebenefits of not making plans. Which do you prefer - planning or not planning for your leisuretime? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your choice. Nowadays people have so many things to do that they almost always do not have enough time for it.When we go to bed we carefully think and plan our next day and it continues day in and day out. Wewake up, recollect our checklist with things to do and in a few minutes we are already in a car on our wayto the office. Often people do not have time for themselves. So, when people have some spare time theywant to use it wisely. Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. However,others prefer not to make any plans. In this essay I will analyze both cases and present my view in favorof planning free-time activities. From the one side, not making any plans and just letting the time pass by for some time have somebenefits. First of all, a person can just relax, enjoy the beautiful moments, spend his or her time with lovedones, watch a movie, listen to relaxing music, observe the flowers in bloom from the window, contemplateabout his or her life and just slow down the pace of life. I think it is a very good way to eliminate one'sstress and tension and just leave all troubles and worries behind. From the other side, careful planning can bring many benefits too. First of all, one can travel. However,traveling requires some planning to be made. For example, one most likely will need a hotel room. So, thereservation should be made beforehand. Also, it is wise to check one's car to avoid breakdowns and havean uninterrupted worry-free trip. Second of all, planning one's activities allows spending one's free time theway he/she likes. For instance, if I want to play tennis on incoming week-end I will certainly make areservation for a court because in this case I will not be disappointed with the waste of my time. Personally, I prefer to make plans for my free time because it allows me to spend my vacation orweek-ends the way I want it. To sum up, I think careful planning allows people to derive maximum benefits from their free time.However, I must confess sometimes I allow myself just to stay at home with my friends and family andnot make any plans.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Playing a game is fun only when you win.Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Playing games is one of the most effective ways to eliminate stress, tension and to learn many things.However, I know some people who like to play only when they win. Personally, I agree with those peoplewho play games in order not to win but to have fun. So, for several reasons, which I will mention bellow, Ihave to totally disagree with the statement above that playing a game is fun only for one who wins. First of all, I think that people should understand the main reason of playing a game. In old times peoplegathered and played different games. It was a great way to find out more about each other, tocommunicate and learn new. Nowadays, I think that the reason why people play games is the same.Second of all, in addition to the mentioned above benefit playing games is a perfect way to gain moreknowledge and experience. It is not important who wins but it is important that everyone makesconclusions and learns to analyze one's mistakes and tries to avoid them next time. Finally, mental and physical games help to develop brain and body. Mental games improve one's ability tothink logically, make conclusions and analyze. Also, it improves one's memory. From the other side,physical games help to strengthen one's bones, develop muscles and improve one's health.Of cause, I must confess that it is fun to win and feel the victory. However, I think that the participation ina game is more important then the victory itself. People play games to relax, to eliminate stress and leavetheir troubles behind and gain more knowledge. One more reason why people play games is thatavoiding games or playing them only when one is sure that he is a winner does not make one better. Onlywhen people see their mistakes they can work on them and reach their goals.

Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or cleanwater. Choose one resource that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved. Usespecific reasons and examples to support your opinion. As human's population is dramatically rising every year, people's requirements are increasing too. Weneed more food, more fresh water, more place to live. As a result of this many parts of the world arelosing essential and sometimes irreplaceable resources, such as forest, animals, or fresh water. In thisessay I will focus on the threat of disappearing many wild animals. The reason why I think that animals should be preserved is that all living creatures on this planet areconnected with each other. So, the disappearance of only one species can cause dramatic changes inthe planet and even death of many other living creatures. For example, the disappearance of bats willcause the huge increasing of insect population and this will reflect on all animals and plants. Anotherexample is that if the population of bats increases, the population of insects will decrease significantly,and this will cause the disappearance of many plants because insects are the main pollinators. So, I thinkit is very important to preserve all species on our planet and live in harmony with our environment. Another important reason why I think that animals should be saved is that I, personally, do not want mychild to learn about different animals from books and not be able to see them alive. I think it is shamefulfor humankind to explain our children that we are the reason why those animals disappeared. In conclusion, I would like to say that the issue about losing important natural resources is topical andopen for debate nowadays. I believe that together people can make a difference. From my point of view,the first problem we should find a solution for is human's overpopulation. As I mentioned above people'sdemands are growing and this means we consume more and more natural resources. The secondquestion, which is on the list of most important issues, is pollution including the air pollution, waterpollution, etc.

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Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them withmodern buildings? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Some people think that old, historic buildings are no need for the city and they should be destroyed andreplaced with modern ones. However, other people believe that historic buildings must be preserved inorder to know and remember our past. For several reasons that I will mention bellow I agree with thosepeople who want to preserve old, historical buildings. First of all, by preserving historical buildings we pass our history to our future generations. I think that outchildren should know their history, learn from it and respect it. People need to know their traditions andcustoms, which are priceless and irreplaceable. Our history is our knowledge and power. From myopinion we need to preserve and restore historical buildings. By destroying them we show our disrespectto our forefathers and their traditions. Second of all, by preserving historical buildings a city can attract many travelers. Welcoming tourists acity can get many benefits including money, which can be spent on preserving historical buildings as wellas on improving roads and facilities.Also, many tourists mean a lot of new business opportunities. Another important aspect of this is thatbusinessmen will be willing to build new recreational centers, hotels, movie theaters, shopping centers tomake a city more attractive for travelers. In addition to those practical benefits, many people will havethe opportunity to get a job. All this is good for the economy of the city. To sum up, I believe that preserving old, historical buildings can bring only benefits to a city and allhumankind. When students move to a new school, they sometimes face problems. How can schools helpthese students with their problems? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. When a student moves to a new school he or she can face some problems. I think that almost all peoplehad to move from one place to another in their lives and I am not an exception. My family moved twiceduring my childhood. My father is an architect, so, my family had to move from one place to another whenthe old construction was over and my father was offered to develop a new project. Two major problems Ihad to face in a new school were "no friends" and "a huge amount of new people". In the followingparagraphs I will analyze these problems and make suggestions about how a school can help a studentin this situation. The first difficulty I had to face in a new school was a huge amount of new people such as teachers andclassmates, who have no idea who I am. It was easy with the teachers; I usually stayed after the class,introduced myself to him or her and asked about their curriculum. However, with my new classmates itwas a little more difficult. I had to stand up for myself a few times because this is the way students get toknow each other. However, I believe that there is a better way to get to know each other. I think thatschools should participate in this process. For example, they can organize some kind of welcome class,where new students will have the opportunity to meet their new classmates and introduce themselves. The second problem I had to face in a new school was that I had no friends. I could not meet my oldfriends because they were too far away and I did not have a chance to make new friends. Nowadays, Ithink it is much easier, because almost every student has an Internet access, so, he can chart with his oldfriends. Unfortunately, I did not have such an opportunity when I was a student. I believe that schools canhelp newcomers by helping them to merge faster with their new classes. For example, a school canattach someone to a newcomer and the first one will help a new student to accustom himself to a newenvironment. In conclusion, I would like to add, that moving from one school to another brings not only problems butalso many benefits. For example, I learnt how to make new friends fast and how to overcome obstacles. Ithink that it made me stronger as a person and I am glad that I had this experience in my life.

Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good? Page 43 of 63

The main idea of progress is perfection. A man who is making progress in studying, a child who isspeaking his/her first words, a scientist who has made a discovery, or an economy of some country ismaking progress, all of them are aspects of huge human progress. There is no doubt that progress isgood for the humanity as a whole but whether it is good for the world. For example, being anxious for success mankind often forgets about the environment. Every country hasnumerous fabrics with smoke rising from them. Needless to say, the amount of cars is increasing everyday. World economy is making progress in creating different types of machines, vehicles that make easierour conditions of life. As a result we have many devices that make our life easier and at the same time wehave acid rains, polluted lakes and rivers, our food does not have as many important vitamins as it usedto, but it has nitrates, preservatives and unnatural components and ingredients. As a result of human progress, now humanity has to deal with the problem of overpopulation.It is my opinion that now it is time for humanity to think more about the making progress in solving theproblems of air pollution, overpopulation and water contamination. Many students have to live with roommates while going to school or university. What are some ofthe important qualities of a good roommate? Use specific reasons and examples to explain whythese qualities are important. When I was a student at a Russian University I lived with my friend Tonia. Frankly speaking, she was notmy friend at first. I mean that we meat when we were in our first year at university. She was looking for aplace to live and I offered her to stay at my place because I lived alone and it was quite expensive for meat that time. I must confess that I never felt regret about my decision because Tonia turned out to be agreat roommate. Moreover, we became friends and now after two years from my graduation we still calleach other, care about each other and chart through the Internet. Unfortunately, now we live in differentcities even in different countries, but I hope our friendship will continue. In this essay I will list the main qualities of a good roommate which from my point of view are essential.Furthermore, I must inform that Tonia possesses all these qualities and I am proud to have such a greatfriend. First of all, a roommate must be kind and generous. It is easier to deal with a person who is kind andready to offer a hand. For example, kindness and understanding are very essential qualities if one ofthem got ill. Second of all, roommates must have common interests because it will help them to find moresubjects to discuss. I think that when people have nothing to talk about they should not live togetherbecause it will be difficult for both of them. In addition, a roommate must be funny but at the same timeshe or he must be attentive and understanding. Selfishness is not a good quality for a roommate becausepeople who live together should be attentive to each other's feelings and be ready to sacrifice their time toeach other. In short, I think that roommates must be friends because friendship means understanding and sympathy.

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If you could ask a famous person one question, what would you ask? Why? Use specific reasonsand details to support your answer. Many people like to know different things about the celebrities. For example, what pets do they have,what is their favorite meal or color and how did they lose some weight, etc. However, I think that thesetypes of questions do not allow people to learn more about a famous person, his or her personality. Ibelieve that if I would be given a chance to ask a famous person one question I would ask him or herabout the meaning of life. Some people live without thinking about why they are here. Others contemplate about the life and thinkabout the meaning of it. I think that the answer to the question about the meaning of life for a famousperson would satisfy people more than just his or her pets and habits. First of all, famous people oftenare not honest about their private lives and only want to look good in front of the audience. However, thesingle question about the meaning of the live could give the audience more things to think of and revealmore about the speaker's personality. Second of all, in addition to those benefits, mentioned above, from the answer to this question people canlearn about the speaker's points of view, his or her attitude towards life. I think that this information couldhelp many people to reconsider their attitudes and be more positive about their present and future. To sum up, I think that the answer to the question "Why am I here and what the meaning of my life" canreveal many interesting thoughts to share with the audience. Also, people would be less material. I meanthat from my position it is not important how many carats a famous person has in his/her watch, or what are his or her preferences in food. What important is what he or she think about her/his destiny and themeaning of life. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Reading fiction (such as novels and shortstories) is more enjoyable than watching movies. Use specific reasons and examples to explainyour position. Some people prefer to read fiction. However, others like to watch movies. Personally, I think that thequestion whether reading fiction is more enjoyable than watching movies is a controversial one. Forseveral reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think each of these options has its advantages. From the one side, reading fiction brings many benefits. First of all, a book can be taken anywhere onegoes. For example, while traveling or just taking a bus one can read a book. When I was a student acouple years ago I used to read books while taking a boring lecture. Second of all, reading extends one'svocabulary, improves reading and even writing skills. Reading is essential for children. It extends theirrange of interests, improves their imagination and helps them gain more knowledge and experiencethrough books. When I was a child my mom always made me read a lot of books. Thanks to her I did nothave a problem with writing different kind of essay in the school and I got only high grades. From the other side, watching movies has many benefits too. Firstly, movies usually have more influenceon people, their behavior and mood. In addition, watching a movie in a movie theatre gives manyadvantages such as sound effects, a large screen, etc. Secondly, it is a good way to relax with one'sfriends, eliminate stress and tension and just have a good time. My husband and I like to watch a movieon Sunday evenings. We drink coffee, eat grapes or apples and make comments while watching themovie. In addition to these benefits, watching movie usually takes less time than reading the whole book. In conclusion, I think that there is no doubt that watching a movie is more enjoyable and impressive thenreading a book. However, reading a book brings more benefits for people in general. Moreover, childrenshould spend more time reading books then watching different kinds of movies because scientists saythat watching movies has much less use for the growing child.

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Many people have a close relationship with their pets. These people treat their birds, cats, or otheranimals as members of their family. In your opinion, are such relationships good? Why or whynot? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Some people do not have any pets in their house, except for unwanted ones such as a raccoon ormouse. These people think that there is no place for animals in their places. However, other people haveanimals such as dogs, cats, and birds in their families and they have a close relationship with their pets.Personally, I belong to the people who treat their pets as members of their family. For several reasons,which I will mention bellow, I think that such relationships between a man and an animal bring manybenefits. First of all, when people treat their pets as members of their families it means that they feelresponsibilities for their little ones. As a result of this people care about their pets' health, their diet andshape, and I think both sides benefit from this kind of relationships. People do not feel alone and pets arein good hands. Personally, I think that pets give people a great opportunity to feel they are needed bythese little but at the same time very courageous animals. Second of all, pets teach people, especiallychildren, kindness and devotion. Children grow up kinder, more attentive and friendlier. Finally, often petsare the closest and most devoted friends of people and I am sure that we return them the same feelings. Ithink it is great and makes everyone a little bit happier. For example, when I was a child my family had abeautiful cat named "Nikola". We loved him very much and treat him as a member of our family. So, whenhe died we could not get used to the fact that he was not home. It was the feeling like we lost some of ourfamily. Since then we did not have the cat. Now my parents have a bird and a couple of golden fish. In conclusion, I think that pets play a very important role in our everyday life. There are plenty ofexamples when animals saved people's lives and helped us in our fight with evil such as drugs andviolence. So, I believe that our pets deserve the best we can offer them our love and devotion. Some people think that human needs for farmland, housing, and industry are moreimportant than saving land for endangered animals. Do you agree or disagree with this point ofview? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. As human population is significantly rising every year, people's requirements are increasing too. We needmore food, more machines, more place to live. As a result of this people need more land to satisfy theirrequirements. We cultivate and irrigate more and more land to plant vegetables, build new buildings,airports, roads, etc. I think sometimes we forget that we are not alone on this planet. I have to disagreewith those people who think that human needs are more important than saving land for endangeredanimals. I base my opinion on the following points. First of all, as I already mentioned, we are not alone on this planet. A few centuries ago we were the partof wild nature. I think we need to remember this fact and respect all creatures around us. Second of all, I believe that we all need to think of the problem of overpopulation. The human populationis dramatically increasing and we have to do something about it. From my opinion, every family shouldhave no more than two children. It will help to stop the growth of population, decrease human needs forfarmland, housing and industry. In conclusion, I think it is a very topical question nowadays. My point is that all people should answer thisquestion and find the solution.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Boys and girls should attend separateschools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Whether boys and girls should attend separate schools is a controversial issue. Some people believe thatit brings many benefits. However, others believe that it is not good for the future of our children. I agreewith those people who think that children should attend the same schools. In the following paragraphs Iwill give my reasons to support my opinion. First of all, children from the very beginning should learn how to communicate with each other. They needto learn social skills, be supportive and understand each other. Second of all, I believe that now womenand men should be treated in the same way. A woman nowadays has the same rights as a man. She alsowants to make a good career and succeed. So, it is essential in the modern world to understand thatknowledge has nothing to do with a sex. Everyone has the same access to the knowledge andexperience and it is only up to a person how hard he or she wants to work to reach his or her goals. Another important aspect of this is that if children attend separate schools they do not have commoninterests. They do not know what a person of an opposite sex likes, how he or she spends her or hisspare time, etc. I think that it is not good for a long run. Some of them will create a family someday andthey most likely will not have anything to share. They will not have common interests. They will havedifferent friends and opinions about things. We had such experience a few centuries ago. Women growup their children and men worked and gathered in the men' clubs in the evenings. I think it is not the wayit should be. A family has many beautiful moments to share together. To sum up, I think that children should attend the same schools because it will help them to becomegreat, attentive and kind persons. Moreover, they will learn how to respect each other's interests.

Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permitstudents to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think isbetter? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. I think that the issue about whether all students must be required to wear school uniform is the one that isopen for debate. Some people think that all students must wear the school uniform. However, others thinkthat students should decide what to wear to school themselves. Personally, I believe that students shouldwear what they like. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that school uniforms shouldnot be required to wear at high school. First of all, if students do not have school uniforms they can wear what they like to school. Personally, Ilike to wear cloth that is comfortable. Also, I am a female and I like to wear jeans and shorts, and as faras I know girls must wear skirts as a part of their uniform. I think many female students will agree with methat jeans much more comfortable then skirts. Second of all, I believe that school uniforms must not cause any discomfort. For example, someinternational students will find unacceptable wearing some of the uniform's parts.I am from Russia. When I was a student of the elementary school I was required to wear the schooluniform that included a dark blue skirt and a white or light blue shirt. I did not like it very much, because Idid not like the fact that all students were dressed in the same color. We dressed the same way and wewere permitted to wear any adornments. Personally, I did not like the fact that girls always had to wearskirts and it was not convenient especially in cold weather. In short, I think that students should wear to school what they want. Otherwise, if a high school requiresstudents to wear school uniforms, I think that uniforms must be comfortable for all students.

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What is a very important skill a person should learn in order to be successful in the world today?Choose one skill and use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Some people believe that in order to succeed in today's world one needs luck. However, I agree withthose people who think that luck has nothing to do with the success, only hard work and belief in one'sself can get one through all obstacles and overcome difficulties. There is a word for such a skill it ispersistent. I believe that people who are persistent can do everything they want because cannot give upand go with the tide. Of cause, there is a bunch of different skills that people need to succeed. However, my point is thatpersistent is the most obviously important characteristic of successful persons. Take for example afamous actress W. Goldberg. She had many refusals at the beginning of her career. But she alwaysbelieved in herself and did not stop looking for the new opportunities. Now she is one of highly paidactress in the movie business.Or take for example Disney. I do not remember his first name. He was a poor guy who liked to draw fairyheroes. Before his success he got through many failures but did not stop doing what he liked andenjoyed. His success came with a little mouse called Mikky. I belief that people who overcame many obstacles become stronger and wiser. So, basically, persistentteach people believe in themselves, analyze their previous mistakes and learn to avoid them next time,be patient, curious and optimistic. In some countries, people are no longer allowed to smoke in many public places and officebuildings. Do you think this is a good rule or a bad rule? Use specific reasons and details tosupport your position. The question about whether people should be allowed to smoke in public places is the one that is openfor debate. All people can be divided on two groups: smokers and not smokers. Smokers agree that theydo not benefit the society by smoking, but think that they should have some special places in officebuildings or public places where they can smoke. However, others believe that smokers should not beallowed to smoke in any places except their own apartments. Personally, I completely agree with the lastopinion. For the following reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that smokers should notcontaminate the air other people breathe. The first reason for this is that smokers not only damage their own health but actually cause damage tothe health of others. Scientists say that people who do not smoke, but regularly breathe in the smoke ofcigarettes, so-called "passive smokers", poison their health more than smokers themselves. For example,when I was a student I lived with the roommate who was a chain smoker. First I did not know what to do, Ismelled that smoke everywhere and I could not breathe freely, but in a few weeks I got used to it. Now Ithink that I was a real smoker because of the fact that I regularly breathed in so much smoke. Second of all, I think that people should not be allowed to smoke in public places and in office buildingsbecause this rule will force them to quit. Smokers will have to quit smoking or at least will do it less oftenand these benefits all people smokers as well as not smokers. Finally, smoking in public places contributes to the growth of number of smokers because many peopleseeing smokers may feel a desire to take a cigarette and join them. The advertisement of cigarettes isalready prohibited by the law and I think it is a good sign because many people become smokers onlybecause they see other people do it. In conclusion, I think that this rule will benefit the society of every country and our world on the whole.

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Your city has decided to build a statue or monument to honor a famous person in your country.Who would you choose? Use reasons and specific examples to support your choice. I am from Ekaterinburg, Russia. Recently, my city has decided to build a statue to honor a famous doctorMichailBelui. I totally support this idea. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support myanswer. First of all, MichailBelui was a great surgeon. He saved many people during his life. During the WorldWar II he was one of the most famous surgeons. After 25 years from his death many people still bring alot of flowers to the place where he was buried. I think he was a great man who liked his job andsacrificed everything to it. MichailBelui had many sleepless nights because the stream of woundedsoldiers was endless. He did not care about himself, he cared about people and always was ready tohelp. Also, he was a great father. He had two sons who inherited his talent for surgery and became greatdoctors. Second of all, MichailBelui was a very kind and attentive person. My grandma remembers him as astrong, tall and charming man who had a very good sense of humor.I am sure that our modern generation has many things to learn from this man. Moreover, I believe that ourcountry needs to remember such great people and be proud of them. To sum up, I think that humankind must know its history and pass down all its knowledge and experienceto the next generations. A statue or monument is a simple and good way to remember and value ourhistory and people who played an essential role in it. In some countries, teenagers have jobs while they are still students. Do you think this is a goodidea? Support your opinion by using specific reasons and details. Some people think that teenagers need to work while they are students. However, Other people believethat young people should not combine their education with a job. These two options are controversialones. In my opinion, they both have disadvantages and advantages. I base my opinion on the followingpoints. From one side, a working student has many benefits. First of all, a person learns how to arrange time tobe able to combine his studding and earning money. Personally, I think it is a very important benefit aperson can get from this. Second of all, a student learns how to save money and keep his budget. Aperson gains new experience and knowledge working with the new people. He feels more independentlyand spends his or her money more careful. From the other side, a person can have not enough time to meet his or her course requirements.Sometimes it may result in a failure on an exam and a waste of money and time. From my everydayexperience and observation some people require more time to study new materials and prepare for anexam. Others, at the same, can easy understand new materials. So, my point is that a person shoulddecide for himself whether he will be able to combine his studding and his working. Another important aspect of getting a job is that a student most likely will have no time for parties, moviesand his friends. I think that he or she should understand this fact. To summarize, I believe that a working experience will give a student more benefits in the future than ittakes from him or her in the present.

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Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others believethat going to classes should be optional for students. Which point of view do you agree with? Usespecific reasons and details to explain your answer. There are two points of view to this question. Some people believe that students are adults and they havetheir own responsibilities. So, they should have freedom in arranging their time. Other people think thatoptional attendance has a corruption effect on the educational system as a whole. Personally, I think thatthis question is more complicated. First of all, many students have already children. So, they sometimes have to skip a class or two in orderto perform their responsibilities. Second of all, many students do not have enough money for their needsand they have to work more than other students. In this case, optional attendance is well-taken.Another important aspect of this subject that sometimes lectures of a particular teacher may be dry anduninteresting. I believe that it is reasonably to skip those classes and learn all by one's self. It can savetime, so a person can spend it on a research or preparation for a coming test. From the other side, I think that some students who do not have any responsibilities may skip classeswithout any reason. They can have more time to attend clubs and parties. It has a negative effect on theirgrades. So, it can result in a waste of money and time. Students may take the same classes more thanone time to meet the requirements of their program. It is a waste of money for both a government and afamily. A government will lose money because they are spent on education and it means they are taxfree. At the same time, parents will have to pay for education of their child one more time. Anotherimportant aspect of this that students will not learn how to arrange their time in order to have all thingsdone on time. To summarize, I think that students must attend classes. However, some students with children or whohave excellent grades and already work in the field of their major should be allowed to skip a particularamount of classes. Students at universities often have a choice of places to live. They may choose to live inuniversity dormitories, or they may choose to live in apartments in the community. Compare theadvantages of living in university housing with the advantages of living in an apartment in thecommunity. Where would you prefer to live? Give reasons for your preference. Some students prefer to live in university dormitories. However, other students choose to live inapartments in the community. I think both of these options have advantages. Bellow I will give myreasons to support my answer. From the one side, living in a dormitory has many benefits. First of all, for a foreign student it is a goodchance to improve his or her communication skills and find new friends. Second of all, a dormitory hasmany useful facilities such as libraries, a canteen, Internet access, etc. In addition to these practicalbenefits living in a dormitory is often cheaper. So, it helps students save some money what is important atthe beginning of their independent life. Finally, living in a dormitory gives students the opportunity to askfor help each other if something was not clear on the lecture presented in a class. This, in its turn, lead tohigher grades. Also, students have many common subject and interests to discuss with each other. So, basically, living in a dormitory helps students to become more sociable and good team-players and gainnew knowledge and experience by use of libraries and group discussion. From the other side, living in apartments in the community also have a few benefits. Students can havemore privacy and, also, they can choose a community according to its convenience and location. It issometimes may be an essential because of a person's job. In conclusion, I think that living in a dormitory brings students more benefits then it does living in acommunity. Students learn to get along with each other, be ready to help and make friends.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? All students should be required to studyart and music in secondary school. Use specific reasons to support your answer. The issue about whether all students should be required to study art and music in secondary school is theone that is open for debate. Some people believe that students should take these classes. However,others think that it must be up to a student. In this essay I will analyze both these positions and presentmy opinion in favor of the people who think that studying art and music should not be required insecondary school. From the one side, studying art and music brings many benefits to the students. First of all, it extendstheir range of interests. Second of all, studying art and music helps to reveal hidden talents andpossibilities. In addition to these benefits, it helps a growing child develop his or her perception of the realworld. However, from the other side, studying art and music also has some negative aspects. Personally, I thinkthat a person who is interested in mathematics should not spend his or her precious time taking classesin art or music. For example, when I was a student a couple years ago I did not like to attend some of theart classes because it was too boring for me. I wasted my time and money because I was required to payfor these classes and attend them. So, my point is that students should have the right to make a decisionfor themselves whether they should take classes in art and music or they should not. For instance, therewere a couple of optional classes in music in my university. Many students took those classes and everyone was satisfied. To sum up, I think that studying art and music is very essential for a person. However, I think that classesin art and music must be optional, because if a student is dreaming about a career of dentist and spendsall his spare time reading about the new technologies and inventions in this field I think it is not fair tomake him attend classes when he does not want to. It is like making a person sing when he is good atswimming. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Only people who earn a lot of money aresuccessful. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. I think that the question whether money is a main indicator of people's success is a controversialone. Some people believe that only one who earns a lot of money is successful. However, otherpeople think one who does not earn a lot of money can be successful too. For several reasons,which I will list below, I agree with those people who think that money is an indicator ofsuccess. First of all, if a person earns a lot of money it means he or she has unique knowledge andexperience and people want to pay for these. For example, a good lawyer is often paid a veryhigh salary, because he or she has won many cases and people are ready to pay big money for hisknowledge. A second example is that a salary of a surgeon simpliciter depends on his experience and knowledge and on how many surgeries he has completed successfully. In this case surgeon'ssalary simpliciter depends on surgeon's success. Second of all, a high salary is in an indicator of a prosperous career and profession. Peoplechange their jobs, move from one place to another looking for a more interesting and better paidjob. Of cause, some people do not care about salary as long as they like their job, but from myeveryday experience and observation I can state that the majority of people who are not satisfiedwith their revenue would exchange their current job for another one with higher salary. Finally, money plays, may be unfortunately, a very essential role in our modern life. So, peoplewho earn a lot of money by working hard are considered to be successful.May be it sounds a little mercenary but I think that success must be encouraged financiallyotherwise it is not a success.

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Some people believe that success in life comes from taking risks or chances. Others believe thatsuccess results from careful planning. In your opinion, what does success come from? Usespecific reasons and examples to support your answer. Some people think that taking risks and chances will lead them to success. From my everyday experienceand observation I believe that success results from careful planning. I base my position on the followingpoints. First of all, I believe that careful planning helps a person to analyze his goal more deeply and makerealistic goals. He knows exactly what he wants. Taking chances, from the other hand, does not give theopportunity to clearly understand a goal. A person just wants to do something to move forward and hetakes risk when there is no need in it. Second of all, careful planning teaches people to arrange their time more carefully in order to reach theirgoals. They become more patient and calm. They plan every step. This allows people to find easier wayto reach their goals and faster move forward. From the other hand, people who prefer to take riskswithout planning may spend more time without any improvements waiting for a chance to take. Takesportsmen for example. They exercise a lot before their performance to be in shape, do all their best andimprove their previous results. Finally, careful planning teaches them not to give up, try to find other ways to reach their goals in the caseof failure. To sum up, personally, I think that all people who succeeded in life would agree with me that theirsuccess came with the hard work and careful planning.

A company is going to give some money either to support the arts or to protect the environment.Which do you think the company should choose? Use specific reasons and examples to supportyour answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted a herd ofmammoths on the walls of the cave to nowadays when the arts are more complicated. Our attitudetowards the environment is changed too. A few centuries ago people did not care about pollution, erosion,animal extinction, etc. However, nowadays people again and again talk about this and try to make adifference. I think that money donation for environment protection must take priority over the support ofthe arts. Bellow I will give my reasons to support my answer. The invention of the automobile is undoubtedly one of the humankind's greatest inventions. However, theautomobile brought us many disadvantages as well. The air nowadays is polluted by millions of carsevery day. Every day clouds of exhaust are rising from the ground contaminating all around. So, I thinkthat money from a company can be used to make our air fresher and cleaner. Another important aspect of this is the contamination of water. Water is an essential recourse of all livingcreatures. Nothing will survive without it. Unfortunately, we spend fresh water sometimes very carelessly.Also, many factories wash away their used resources in the nearest river poisoning everything alive there.I think that money donations would be helpful for cleaning our water resources from oil, garbage andchemical matters. Finally, I think that now humankind faced the problem of overpopulation. The population is dramaticallyrising. We need more food, shelters, clothes, construction materials and space. So, many animals areextinguishing. So, I believe that this money could be spent on conducting a campaign againstoverpopulation. To sum up, I think that in order to make our children happy we should be more careful with theresources that we take from the nature and if it is possible restore them.

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Schools should ask students to evaluate their teachers. Do you agree or disagree? Use specificreasons and examples to support your answer. I think the idea about evaluation teachers by their students is very good. This kind of evaluation can bringmany benefits to teachers, students as well as to school. In the following paragraphs O will give myreasons to support my answer. First of all, teachers have the opportunity to find out from this kind of test how good and clearly theirstudents understand the lectures. It will help them to improve and perfect their knowledge andexperience. Also, teachers who get high grades must be rewarded financially or otherwise. On the otherhand, the teachers who receive low grades must be sanctioned, for example by lowing their salary. So,this can help to uplift the level of professionalism among the teachers. Second of all, students will more often attend lectures because they will be asked to evaluate theirteachers. Students will have the opportunity to choose the best teachers because if a teacher gets a lowgrade he or she may be fired and replaced with the better one. Finally, the quality of education will increase dramatically. Students will be getting more interesting andprofessional lectures. Also, they will constantly attend classes in order to listen to an amazing lecture andmake an evaluation of the current teacher. In addition to those practical benefits, a school will be betterfunded by it is sponsors and appreciated in the community. This, in its turn, will attract more studentsbecause it will be an honor to study in such a school. To sum up, I think that evaluation of teachers by their students will bring many benefits and allow studentsas well as teachers to gain more knowledge and experience.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Teachers should be paid according tohow much their students learn. Give specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. I think that I have to disagree with the statement above that teachers should be paid according to howmuch their students learn. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support my opinion. First of all, all people are different and they have different abilities to learn and understand the givensubjects. Some students have to spend many hours studding a subject. At the same time, other studentsneed half an hour to deeply understand the given lecture. Second of all, we all have different goals inattending schools. Some students want to gain more knowledge and experience that will help them in thefuture to succeed and make a great career. Others are forced to go to a school by their parents, so,basically, they do not care about their grades and studding. I think that lowing or rewarding teachers depending on how much their students have learned is not fair.However, I believe that evaluation of teachers by their students is making sense. Teachers who get highgrades from their students deserve to be rewarded financially or otherwise. Otherwise, teachers who getlow grades must be sanctioned. This will forced teachers to constantly improve their knowledge to gethigher salary and simultaneously will improve the learning process. Students will have the opportunity tohave the best teachers and get more interesting and comprehensive lectures. To sum up, I think that teachers should be paid according to the quantity of hours given and the gradesreceived from the students. From my everyday experience and observation the quality of the lecturesgiven by the teacher often does not reflect how much a student learn or wants to learn.

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Is the ability to read and write more important today than in the past? Why or why not? Usespecific reasons and examples to support your answer. Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes from the time when he depicted mammoth herdson the walls of a cave to nowadays when he works on a computer with a large amount of information.From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statementthat the ability to read and write is very important today. At old times people did not depend on information that much. They did not have to fill out manyapplication forms, write a lot, read news from a newspaper about an economic situation, etc. Nowsituation has changed. Knowledge and the ability to analyze information are more important now thanman's physical strength. First of all, it is essential for a person to be literate in Informational Age. Every day one needs to withdrawmoney from cash machines, to pay a bill, to write out a check, to fill some forms, to read instructions, ads,job requirements and applications. It is almost impossible to survive in modern society without these basicabilities. Almost every job requires these important skills. Imagine that one does not have them and onehas a family to care about. So, one's first step is to find a job. One can do it either through newspapers orasking for help from one's friends. One cannot read, so one chooses the second way. Second step is topass a job interview and fill out some forms. Moreover, one has to sign a job contract - an importantdocument that concludes all one's rights and terms. So, basically, it is almost impossible to get a job for aliterate person in modern world especially in developed countries. Second of all, the amount of jobs that do not require the ability to read and write, is dramaticallydecreasing. Almost every employer wants to have an employee with basic communication and computerskills. In fact, more jobs on the labor market are for literate persons. A lot of primitive jobs are done bymachines nowadays. So, it is a very good chance for illiterate people to be constantly on unemploymentlists. In conclusion, I think that every country must have strong programs against illiteracy. It has recently been announced that a new movie theater may be built in your neighborhood. Doyou support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. I live in a small community. From my everyday experience and observation I can say that the idea aboutbuilding a new theatre in my neighborhood has some advantages as well as disadvantages. In this essayI will first focus on the reasons why I support this idea and then move on to analyzing why I oppose it. First of all, I like movies and my husband and I sometimes go to the movie theatre to watch premieres.Unfortunately, it is time-consuming for us. We have to drive about 50 minutes to the nearest moviestheatre. So, the idea of having a movie theatre in our neighborhood seems very attractive. It would saveus an hour just to get there and another hour to get back home. Another important aspect of it is that inthis case we will be able to get to the movie theatre by foot. I must to confess that we always haveparking troubles in the parking space near the movie theatre. Second of all, new movie theatre is a very good place for students who want to earn some money. Myhusband and I live near a student community, so I think it would be a great news for them. In addition tothis practical benefit students will be able to watch all movies free of charge. I suppose it is a great way tosave some money. Finally, there are usually many restaurants and entertaining centers around a movie theatre. Therepeople can have dinner or play game machines. In contrast, I think that the building of a new movie theatre will destroy the silence and beauty of outcommunity. Such entertaining centers are often noisy. Moreover, traffic jams will probably be the result ofit. In conclusion, I think that if the question was about building a new movie theatre in the next neighborhood I would completely agree. Page 54 of 63

What discovery in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country? Usespecific reasons and examples to support your choice. I am from Russia. From my opinion the most beneficial discovery for people in our country has been thediscovery of the outer space. Russia is the first country that launched a spacecraft with a man on theboard into the space. This event was a big step towards the new discoveries and brought many benefitsnot only for people in my country. Bellow I will give my reasons to support my answer. First of all, all humankind made a huge step towards the mystery of our creation. Scientists had theopportunity to do the new research and experiments. Many new discoveries were made on the boards ofthe space crafts in the outer space. People from all over the world watched these events. Many books withreal colorful photos were written about the beginning of the space exploration. Nowadays we have a bigstation called "Mir" in the outer space created on the base of collaboration USA and Russia. Manypeople work there doing amazing experiments. Second of all, the world became "smaller". People learnt how to exchange information very quickly by useof satellites. Television is broadcasted all over the world by use of satellites. Here in Houston I can watchRussian programs. People got the opportunity to exchange news very quickly. To sum up, I believe that space exploration will bring much more benefits in the future and someday wewill learn what is beyond our current galaxy. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things thatthey do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. I absolutely agree with the statement that sometimes people should do things they do not enjoy doing.Take me for example. I hate to get up early. It is so relaxing to wake up without the help of an alarm clock and to lie fifteenminutes more recalling your dreams. Nevertheless I get up at 6 o'clock every morning, put on my T-shirtand shorts and go jogging. Sometimes when I hear the sound of my alarm clock I have a strong wish toput my head under the pillow and fall asleep. Now and then I wake up at night and look at my wrist watchto check how many hours I have left. And I am the happiest person in the whole world because I have afew more hours to sleep. You may ask me "Why do I do it every morning?". Because more than I hate toget up early I love to feel freshness of the morning air. I love to feel a little bit tired and at the same time tobe so full of energy. It helps me to feel better all day long. Moreover, I hate shopping. It is my opinion that shopping takes too much time which I can spend doingthings I enjoy doing. Nevertheless every week I go to the nearest supermarket because otherwise myrefrigerator will be empty and I cannot afford to have dinner at the restaurant every day. Besides I like tocook. So, a few hours spent on shopping makes me happy for the whole week. Is not it great? From my point of view when a man has to do things he does not like to he becomes stronger, moreresponsible and can enjoy life.

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Choose one of the following transportation vehicles and explain why you think it has changedpeoples lives. Automobiles, bicycles, airplanes. Use specific reasons and examples to supportyour answer. The invention of the automobile is undoubtedly one of the humankind's greatest inventions. It had a greatimpact on people's lives. For several reasons that will be mentioned bellow I think that the invention of theautomobile dramatically changed the way people lived before. First of all, automobile allowed people to move faster from one place to another. This in one's turndramatically increased people's life pace. Distance was no longer of that importance. It was a new meansof communication. Second of all, nowadays it is rather difficult to imagine life without a car. People cannot do virtuallyanything without a car. Just imagine for a moment that one does not have a car. One needs to go anoffice, get a haircut, buy some food, watch a movie, meet one's friend, etc. To get all these done he usesa car to move fast from one place to another. In addition, people can travel using their own vehicle. It is great because one can travel independently, without any train schedules. Finally, I think that the invention of the automobile was inescapable. People could not continue usingtrains and horses to meet their life requirements. Moreover, just imagine for a moment how many horsespeople would need nowadays. I think we would talk about horse overpopulation as well as humanoverpopulation. Unfortunately, the invention of the automobile has some negative aspects. The most obvious aspect ofthis is road accident. Many people every day suffer from different injuries. Also, with the invention of theautomobile humankind came across with a problem of air pollution. A huge amount of cars every daythrow out many poisonous matters in the air. I believe that soon we all will be able to exchange our carsfor those, which use sun energy instead of fuel. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The best way to travel is in a group led bya tour guide. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Traveling is the best way to relax, leave one's troubles behind and enjoy the beautiful moments. Somepeople prefer to travel alone. However, other people prefer to take a tour. I think that these options havetheir own benefits. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support my answer. First of all, traveling in a group led by a tour guide gives one the opportunity to meet new people,communicate, and have a great time in the company. Second of all, one does not have to spend his timelooking for historical places that he wants to visit. A professional guide leads group from one place toanother. Also, it is very interesting to hear from a guide about historical events that took places there. Inaddition to these benefits a group led by a tour guide does not feel uncomfortable because of a foreignlanguage. All the tourists need they can ask their tour guide. So, this allows avoiding difficulties tocommunicate with dwellers of that country. From the other hand, sometimes people like to explore countries without the help of a guide. They like tomake their own discoveries, be independent, feel freedom and stay in one town as long as they need.Personally, I think it is a great feeling. Sometimes I want to be alone to contemplate about my life, toforget all troubles that bother me and just relax. To sum up, I believe that it is really up to a person how he or she prefers to travel. Some people even liketo alternate traveling alone with traveling in a group led by a tour guide.

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Some people like to travel with a companion. Other people prefer to travel alone. Which do youprefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Some people prefer to travel with a companion. However, other people like to travel alone. Personally, Ithink these two options have their advantages and disadvantages. I state my opinion on the followingpoints. From the one side, traveling with a companion can bring many benefits. First of all, traveling with acompanion is safer for several reasons. If travelers got lost in a strange city it is easier to find a way back.They can support and help each other if something happened and one of them is hurt. As for me I preferto travel with a companion if we travel by car. I think it is very dangerous to be on a strange road by one'sself. One more reason to have a companion in a car is that they can change each other if one of them istired. Second of all, traveling with a companion is more exciting and interesting. They can share allbeautiful moments and new experiences. Finally, it helps to save some money because companions canshare all expenses on gas, hotels, etc. From the other side, traveling alone can bring many benefits too. For example, one does not have to dothings he does not want to. If one is tired he does not have to go to a bar with his friend only because hedoes not want to leave him alone. Moreover, sometimes I personally want to be alone and enjoy allbeauty around me. I can relax and contemplate about my life sitting on a beautiful cliff. To sum up, I think traveling with a companion is better. However, sometimes I prefer to be alone by myself in a strange city. It gives me the feeling of adventure and I like that. Some people like to do only what they already do well. Other people prefer to try new things andtake risks. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. Form my everyday experience and observation I think that all people who succeeded in life had to workhard and gain more knowledge and experience in order to reach their goals. From the other hand, peoplewho all their life do things they already do well and do not improve their knowledge do not move forward. Ibase my statement on the following points. First of all, people who want to succeed must constantly improve their knowledge and gain moreexperience. Moreover, they must be the best at their profession. So, they need to try new things, take risks sometimes and work hard. Second of all, it is impossible to live without trying new things. Imagine one wants to learn how to drive.He will never be able to do it without learning new things such as driving rules.Personally, I think that it is very interesting to learn new, to gain more experience, to make new goals andreach them. Life is too short to stay on one place. People need changes because they make our livesmore beautiful and exiting. We find out new things, learn new things and dream to know other things.People need challenges because while overcoming obstacles we make new discoveries, becomestronger, perfect ourselves and move forward. To sum up, I believe that people's aspiration for learning new things is the main reason the way we livenow. People make many discoveries and inventions that make our lives easier, happier and longer.

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Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Television has destroyed communicationamong friends and family. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. The invention of television is undoubtedly one of humankind's greatest inventions. It is a way ofcommunication among people of one country and different countries and nations. People watch TV to findout about the latest news, weather, sports, etc. It is a great way to learn new and extend one's range ofinterests. Scientists say that children spend the same amount of hours in front of TV as they do inschool. I think that this can be said about many grown people too. Also, television is a great means ofeliminating stress and tension. One can relax and leave one's troubles behind lying on one's favorite sofaand watching a comedy. However, some people believe that television has destroyed communicationamong friends and family. Personally, I do not agree with this statement. A couple centuries ago people spent their time gambling,reading, gossiping or playing chess. I do not think that television is a cause of destroyed communicationamong family members and friends. First of all, if members of a family have common interests and theywant to make each other happy they will always find many ways to spend their time together and beclose. Otherwise, if people avoid each other and they do not have anything to share with each other theywill find television a great way to escape from this miserable existence. I believe that many people chosefamily and their friends over some soap operas or a movie. Second of all, I think that television can be a great resource of subjects to discuss. Many people watchdifferent educational programs to find out more about their environment, nature, wild life animals,economic situations, etc. So, when they gather with their friends they discuss important issues and argue with each other in looking for the truth. My husband and I often watch the news channel to keep abreast of the latest news. After that we alwaysdiscuss some issues we concerned about. Also, we like to watch a TV show "the funniest animals". Welike this program because it makes us laugh. I cannot imagine how these programs can prevent ourcommunication and be harmful to our relations. To summarize, I would like to add that if people want to communicate with each other they will find a wayto do it. Otherwise, if television were not existent, people would find other escapes and reasons not to bewith each other such as drugs, gambling, etc. Some people prefer to spend time with one or two close friends. Others choose to spend time witha large number of friends. Compare the advantages of each choice. Which of these two ways ofspending time do you prefer? Use specific reasons to support your answer. Friends are people who support us through our lives. Some people prefer to have one or two closefriends. However, others prefer to spend their time with many friends. I think that the number of friendsdepends on one's personality. Personally, I prefer to have a couple of close friends. In this essay I willanalyze both cases and present my view in favor of having a few close friends. First of all, a person can establish closer relationships with a few friends. They can spend their timetogether, relax, and watch a movie in a silence that does not feel awkward. Second of all, close friends havemore familiar atmosphere. They can share many beautiful moments and thoughts. For example, I haveonly two close friends my husband and my class-mate. I can share my worries and great news and cantell everything to them. From the other side, having many friends can be hard and stressful. One has to spend his or her timewith each of them. I think it is not healthy because a person does not have time to relax and contemplateabout his/her own life. I know this type of people. They like to be in the center of everyone's attention.They talk a lot, make jokes, and tell stories and rumors. Unfortunately, they basically do not have true friends.They just play and pretend to be friends with other people. There is no doubt they succeed in it, but theyspend so much time listening to other's worries and troubles and entertaining them that they practically donot have time for themselves. In addition, it is difficult and almost impossible to relax, discuss interestingissues and just be oneself. To sum up, I am totally agreed with the statement that "a friend in need is a friend indeed". I am sure thatmy close friends will always help me and never betray or turn me down. However, a large number offriends do not allow establishing close and deep relationships.

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Some universities require students to take classes in many subjects. Other universities requirestudents to specialize in one subject. Which is better? Use specific reasons and examples tosupport your answer. I think the issue about what is better to specialize in many subjects or choose the one is a controversialone. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some people prefer to specialize in onesubject and know it very well. However, others prefer to extend their range of interests and specialize inmany subjects but not in detail. Bellow I will give reasons to support my position. From the one side, learning something in detail brings many benefits. First of all, people gain moreknowledge and experience in this area. So, after graduation they are well prepared for their further careerin this field. Second of all, they do not spend their precious time on other subjects. This gives them theopportunity to focus on one subject. From the other side, people who specialize in many subjects have more options to choose from. Forexample, if a person does not make a decision about what he is going to do after graduation it is a verygood chance for him to try many fields of study and make the right decision. In addition to this practicalbenefit a person have the opportunity to extend his range of interests, his communication skills and havebetter conceptions of things around. Also, a person has a better chance to choose what he really likes todo and make self-realization. To sum up, I think that every person should have a chance to choose. Does he want to specialize in onesubject or he wants to take classes in many subjects. You have the opportunity to visit a foreign country for two weeks. Which country would you like tovisit? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice. I am a person who likes to travel. I think traveling is a great opportunity to meet new people, gain moreknowledge and experience, and learn new customs and traditions. I did not travel a lot yet, but I am sure I willhave a chance to do it. So, if I had the opportunity to visit a foreign country I would visit Egypt. I think it isa great and very interesting country with marvelous history. In the following paragraphs I will give somereasons to support my choice. First of all, I always dreamed to visit Egypt pyramids. My aunt visited Egypt a few years ago. She wasvery excited after that trip and said that she would return there one more time at any cost. She said thatEgypt had impressed her very much with its glorious pyramids and ancient buildings. Second of all, I thinkthat in that country one can touch history, feel the hard breath of workers building a pyramid under theparching sun, see the chain of camels walking in the desert with the huge trunks full of presents forCleopatra on their humps. Finally, I want to see a real dessert and ride the camel. All my friends who rodethe camel say that it is an unforgettable experience. I believe that I will have a chance to visit this beautiful country someday. Unfortunately, now I have plentyof plans and things to do, so, I am afraid that I will not be able to travel for the next two years. I want tofinish my education and then find a job, and these things have higher priority then traveling. My husbandwants to visit this country too and we made an agreement to make our trip to Egypt on our five yearsanniversary which is in two years. In conclusion, I want to add that after my trip to Egypt I will definitely visit Australia. This country is thesecond one on my list the most wanted to see.

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A person you know is planning to move to your town or city. What do you think this person wouldlike and dislike about living in your town or city? Why? Use specific reasons and details todevelop your essay. I am from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. It is a very beautiful city that attracts many people every year. Myclose friend is going to move here after her graduation. She already found a job and she asked me tohelp her with an apartment. Knowing her very well I think I can enumerate the majority of things she willlike and dislike about my city. First of all, I believe she will like a huge amount of museums, theatres, movie theatres, etc. My friend isfrom a small town, so, she cannot enjoy all these benefits at her native town. Second of all, it seems tome that she will like the way people live here. The pace of life is much faster here than in a small town.People are always in a hurry, they try to catch a bus, then they run to the nearest subway station, go toan office, meet new people, etc. Also, I think my friend will like people here. They are very friendly andready to offer a help to those in need.Unfortunately, my friend will not surely like some things. As a result of a huge amount of cars andfactories the air is polluted here. One more thing she will definitely not like is the weather. It is quite humidhere. However, I think she will also like the public transport here. The bus service is run by the Governmentand it is quite regular. If one in a hurry he can take a taxi, which also is quite cheap and provide a goodtransport. In conclusion, I believe that in spite of all mentioned above disadvantages she will like this city. People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences,career preparation, and increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university?Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. College is a place where people go to increase their knowledge, to prepare for a future career, to get anew experience, to meet new people. Of cause, different people have different reasons to attend college,but all of them want to change their life for better. In this essay I will give the basic reasons and explainwhy people go to college. First of all, every person wants to improve his or her life. So, college is one of the places that help oneget more from his life, to meet more opportunities. Knowledge is a power that can be gotten throughstudding. After graduation people may get better job and completely change their career and life. Second of all, people go to a college to get a new life experience, which is very important becausestudents learn to take care of themselves. Many of them work during their college years and earn theirfirst money. It is really great and exiting. They learn how to save money and keep house, how to arrangetheir time in order to get all things done etc. Additionally, students learn how to co-operate and communicate with each other. Many of them have tolive with a roommate. From the first sight, it may seem difficult to live with a completely strange person,but it helps one to be friendlier, more supportive and it helps you save some money. In summary, I would like to add that graduation is one of the major goals people try to accomplish in theirlife, because after that many beautiful, exciting changes will happen. That changes will make a personproud of himself.

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Some people spend their entire lives in one place. Others move a number of times throughouttheir lives, looking for a better job, house, community, or even climate. Which do you prefer:staying in one place or moving in search of another place? Use reasons and specific examples tosupport your opinion. It seems like world is becoming smaller and smaller almost by the minutes. When I was a child I could notimagine meeting someone from another part of the planet. However, now I have a few friends from Africa,I can meet many Chinese people on the streets, have dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and buy some deliciouscookies at a cafe run by the French. It is really wonderful and amazing to see people from all over theworld, communicate and work with them. I agree with those people who move a number of timesthroughout their lives. However, I believe that people who spend their entire lives in one place have manyadvantages too. First of all, I will focus on the reasons why I support the idea about moving and then I willmove on to analyzing the opportunities that people have staying at one place. Personally, I think that the first and most obvious reason to move from one place to another is to see theworld. Of cause, this can be obtained by traveling. Nevertheless, traveling does not give the opportunityto immerse into traditions, customs and just the way of life of the country. It is like seeing beautifullooking boots on a showwindow and does not try them on to see if they are comfortable. The second reason for moving is the opportunity to gain new experience and knowledge. One can meetnew people and new friends, extend one's range on interests. Also, one can find a better job, lifeconditions and even climate. For example, my husband likes warm and sunny weather. So his dream is tolive here in Texas a half of the year and move to Australia for another half of the year to catch warmmonths. One more example, my aunt does not feel good in sultry and humid weather. So she had tomove several times to find a place where she feels comfortable. From the other side, this way of life has some disadvantages. For instance, it is difficult to make a goodcareer if one is constantly moving. Of cause, it does not concern celebrities on their tours. Also, it is notgood for children because they will have to change their schools a few times.Staying in one place has a plenty of advantages too. I must confess that I am closer to the people who donot move much. I prefer to have a permanent home with my old and favorite things, have a dog and abeautiful view from the window. In conclusion, I think that every person is always looking for something better than he already has. So, ifpeople live in one place through their entire lives it means that they are looking for something else. People work because they need money to live. What are some other reasons that people work?Discuss one or more of these reasons. Use specific examples and details to support your answer. I think there are two types of people. The first type is people who work for money; another type is peoplewho work for self-realization. I state my position on the following points. First of all, people who work for self-realization like their job. Money is not important for them, they needsatisfaction. I believe that this kind of people makes our evolution and history. They aspire after newinventions and discoveries overcoming all obstacles on their ways. I think that these people are veryinteresting because they know a lot, read many books and have their own life experience. Of course theyneed money for some essential needs such as food and cloth, but they do not need them for luxuryhouses or expensive furnishings. Many scientists are people who devote their lives to new knowledgeand discoveries. Second of all, I believe that people need self-realization. It gives them opportunity to contribute in world'shistory and share their knowledge and experience with other people. I think it helps them to realize thatthey are needed by humankind and will not be forgotten. This is priceless. To sum up, I think that people's aspiration after self-realization is the main reason why we have now goodmedicine, different means of communications, many devices to make our lives easier, etc.

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People remember special gifts or presents that they have received. Why? Use specific reasonsand examples to support your answer. Receiving gifts is always very exciting. I think that all people like to receive presents from their relatives,friends, co-workers, etc. Personally, I am sure that a person does not remember all gifts he has receivedbecause it is impossible. However, I know that all people remember a few gifts that were special. Whypeople remember those special gifts? First of all, I believe that people remember special gifts because they were from very close and dearpeople. For example, I remember my parents presented me a ring when I was sixteen years old. It wasnot an expensive ring but it was very valuable for me and when I left my home and moved to another cityI often looked at that ring and felt like my parents were somewhere near me. I felt their support andunderstanding. It is like people who are close to us give their small parts of their sole with that gift. Theywant us to remember them and they want to make us happy. These gifts are very valuable for people ofall countries and nationalities. Another reason why people remember special gifts because they were exactly what people wanted tohave for a long time, but for some reasons, for example, they just could not afford those things, they didnot buy them. So, when they receive those things as gifts it makes them very happy and they rememberthose moments for a long time. When I was a child my mother could not buy me a bicycle because we didnot have enough money at that time. So, when my grandfather bought me my first bicycle it was thehappiest moment in my life. Moreover, he personally taught me how to ride and I spent all my spare timeafter that event cycling. To sum up, I think that people remember special gifts because they presented with love Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? With the help of technology, studentsnowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly. Use specific reasons andexamples to support your answer. From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statementthat with the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.First of all, the latest inventions of humankind dramatically improved our life. Nowadays we can movefrom one place to another more quickly, we do not spend much time cooking, we have many differentrecourses of information and means of communication. So, our life now is more dynamic and changeable. During our day we receive a huge amount of information and process it. Students at the same time havemore resources to get information they need. They can go to a library, the nearest bookstore, or borrow itfrom a friend or even download it from an Internet. I think It is great. Instead of waiting for one's turn to geta book in a library, one can print it from a file downloaded earlier. The great thing about it that one canprint only those pages he is interested in and also make marks on the pages to mark important ideas. Another important aspect of this is the advantages of using computer the greatest invention of the lastcentury. Students do not have to spend their time by writing and re-writing many papers. It is reallytime-consuming. They just type information in and may use many useful features such as "copy", "past","delete", "save", etc. Also, sometimes students do not have to write down lectures because they alreadyhave them on their computers.Internet plays an important role in our life now. We can communicate with the people who are on anotherpart of the planet. We also can get the latest news very quickly. People can ask for a piece of advice orfind different kinds of information on the Internet. Students can get their degree on-line, register forclasses, communicate with professors, take tests and even listen to a lecture. I think the great part in it that students may more effectively arrange their time. They can get their task bye-mail and stay home to do it. It really saves time and make studying more fun especially if a person hasto work in order to pay his or her tuition. To summarize, I think that many last inventions improved students' life and allowed them to concentratemore on studying. Page 62 of 63

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? There is nothing that young people canteach older people. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position. I have to totally disagree with the statement that there is nothing that young people can teach olderpeople. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that young people can teach older peoplemany things. First of all, young people intend to learn new things faster. They faster learn new technologies. Second ofall, young people are more motivated. They aspire to succeed and make a good career, which requiresgood knowledge and experience. So, they try to get more knowledge and experience from differentsources like Internet, books, newspaper, magazines and of cause from conversations with other people.In addition to this young people bring many fresh ideas to the team they are working in. For example,when my friend was hired as a software developer he surprised everybody with his energy, a bunch ofnew and fresh ideas about what could be done to improve the process. He was the youngest person inthe team but everybody listened to him and it was like a fresh air, an impulse, which made everyone workharder. Finally, young people often know more about new technologies. For example, my husband is 26 years oldand he is a good professional in software development. So, he is often asked to read a lecture fordifferent companies and audience. Needless to say, the majority of people who attend those lectures areolder than my husband. To sum up, I think that young people have many things to teach older people. Moreover, I think thatpeople from every generation have something to learn from each other. People learn through their entirelives from books that hold the experience and the history of previous generations as well as from theirown experience and experience of the younger people. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A zoo has no useful purpose. Use specificreasons and examples to explain your answer. I think that the question about whether a zoo has no useful purpose is the one that is open for debate. It isa topical question nowadays. Some people believe that a zoo has an essential and cognitive purpose.However, other people believe that a zoo has no useful purpose and people should observe wild animalsin their nature. Personally, I think that both options have their advantages. In the following paragraphs Iwill analyze these points and present my own view in favor of people who think that animals should not bekept in a zoo. From the one side, a zoo has many benefits for people. First of all, children can learn about animals notonly from books and TV programs but from actually watching them alive. They can see animals, touchthem and even feed them. I think it is an amazing experience for a child. He gains more knowledge andexperience from this "communication" with an animal. Second of all, a zoo is a perfect place for adults tosee many animals that people are not able to see in their lives. However, from the other side, I keep asking myself "What kind of benefits wild animals have from azoo?". Unfortunately, I cannot find any of them. I think that wild animals should live in their natureenvironment. Moreover, I think that we should observe them through TV programs sitting in our favoritechairs, or people who like danger should try to observe them in the native environment. I think thatanimals are not toys. I know that most zoos try to keep their animals in the environment which is close totheir native, but they cannot give them as much freedom as animals want to. To sum up, I think that wild animals should not be kept in a zoo. Personally, I enjoy more watching"Discovery Channel" then watching a black bear who does not know where to hide from the scorching sunin a Texas zoo.

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