TOPIC TIENG ANH

Essay topic: Do you think that homework should be abolished? Discuss its value Bài tập nhà có nên bỏ hay không? Thảo luận giá trị nó! Homework is a bitter pill for many students Teachers always give homework They are given to help students to revise what has been done in the class and also the finish task set in school which the pupil could not finish on time Education and mastery of knowledge, is a matter of skill so the more practice one has the better skill There are skill subjects and knowledge subjects Both these categories require drill and repetition The teacher, to some extend, drill the student in the class but each individual student cannot be expected to the same amount as skills of students vary from each other Homework need not necessarily be repeating what has been done in the class, it may be more study The student goes through references and acquires more and better knowledge The world of knowledge is so wide that the class alone cannot bring everything into the grasp of the student So the student must take up some initiative of his own This is one of the purposes of homework The school also must see that the students are overburdened homework The teachers must see to it that the homework is distributed evenly throughout the week Still there are subjects like mathematics or transcription in the lower classes which require daily attention There are other aspects of school work which can be attended to during the weekend, for example, map making and drawing diagrams Simply because some boys find homework too much to cope up with, it cannot be abolished The school should provide some facilities, so that the boys can conveniently attend to their home work and the teachers can come willingly forward to help such boys Essay topic: My family My family consists of four people There are my parents, my sister and me My father is an engineer working for a government office My mother is a housewife My sisteris a primary school teacher, and I am a high school student We get up at o’clock every morning After breakfast, my father and my sister go to work, my mother does the housework and I go to school We have lunch at noon and dinner at p.m In the evening after dinner, we sit together in the living-room talking or watching television for about an hour Then my sister and I go to our own rooms to prepare the lessons for the coming week My family is a very happy one We love each other very much and expect to live together under the same roof forever Essay topic: Your most frightening experience My worst experience happened on an airplane a long time ago After graduating from High-School in Hue, I was quite happy when my parents allowed me to continue my study in Saigon Living far from my family, I longed for an opportunity to see my dear people again and at that time the best way to travel to Hue was to use DC2 or DC4 planes It took me only one and a half hours to fly from Tan Son Nhat airport to Phu Bai Airport I often enjoyed comfortable and pleasant flights, but one day during my air trip to Hue I experienced the most frightening incident I have ever had in my life It was in the winter when I received a letter from my parents informing me off my sister’s approaching wedding ceremony I hurried to Vietnam Airline Office to buy a return-ticket to Hue I boarded a DC4 plane that morning When I was flying over Nha Trang city, it began to rain Looking out of the window, I saw Nha Trang surrounded in a dense veil of rain We were making good time; but when we flew to Da Nang the weather suddenly got worse It was raining heavily and the wind was blowing furiously I was a little nervous The plane was all right for about 30 minutes I was listening to the music on the plane’s radio Other passengers were talking The stewardesses were serving drinks and food to the passengers Looking out of the window, I saw masses of dense black clouds flying past and Hai Van pass was veiled in a curtain of heavy rain, dimly winding below Suddenly lightning struck one of the engines The plane dropped rapidly Some people were screaming and the stewardesses were falling down From the cabin the co-pilot’s voice was heard to advise passengers to fasten their seatbelts and keep calm Looking around, I notice some nuns taking out their rosaries and starting to say prayers Their faces were as pale as death Though I was a hardened traveler and I got used to remaining calm, I felt quite frightened too My heart was beating very fast and I was trembling with fear I thought I was going to die But my fear did not last long After about minutes, the pilot started the engine again Everybody on board heaved a deep sigh of relief We landed safely at last I had to cancel my return to Saigon by plane and took a sea voyage and from that time on I have never traveled by air when the weather is bad Essay topic: Talk about a frightening experience I am not one who is frightened easily; but I must admit that one night I saw a figure that struck terror into my heart I remembered a moon-lit night when I was walking home on foot I had to go on foot a few miles from a town It was the first night of my whole life that I was alone in such a late time There were often few people in the road at night On that day, it seemed quieter in my consideration Even during the day, the road was used by only some who worked in the rubber and banana plantations While I was walking, I could hear some noises made by squirrels, insects and owls They are creatures that love the night world In the dark, I could see bats There were hundreds of them in the shadows I had a stick in my hand and moved really fast towards home It was partly because I was hungry I therefore moved rapidly for a dinner All of a sudden, I caught a sight of an old lady in a short distance away Her head was covered with a white cloth She was waving to me, I think I was a bit curious I wanted to know why she was there at that time of the late night I stopped walking for a while As I stood there, vague memories of stories about ghosts began to come back to my mind one after another I was soon gripped with fear and took to my heels I ran as fast as I could, and when I reached home I could hardly speak On the next day, however, I visited that place again to make sure that the woman was indeed a real person and not a ghost But I could find no footprints there Only a banana plant stood there with its leaves moving in the breeze I realized then that it was the banana plant with its leaves moving in the breeze that looked like a woman waving her hand I had indeed made a fool of myself; but after the previous night’s experience, this discovery was small relief to me Essay topic: Your favorite hobby Everybody has his or her own hobby For me, my favorite hobby is reading books My father was not only a writer but a researcher as well He had a great collection of books on many fields: literature, science, art, fiction and non-fiction After his death, I inherited the most valuable treasure which has been preserved carefully up to now As I have a large collection of books of my own now, I usually spend hours reading and thinking about facts described in each kind of books Sitting comfortably in an arm-chair in the library with a book open on my knee, I recall my father who was absorbed in his reading, perusing the poems of John Keats, William Words Worth, Chateaubriand and Lamartine I still hear his sonorous voice reciting rhythmical lines of poems in Kim Van Kieu’s story while his face was radiant with ecstasy and raptures Through books I see many countries rise and fall Kings and Presidents pass before my eyes and I can follow the history of nations Each book has a story to tell me of remote countries and strange people I am greatly indebted to books indeed For me a good book is not only a true companion but also a well-experienced teacher guiding me through my life It has the miracle to relieve my suffering and my hardship and reveal to me strange and new horizons Reading books broadens my mind and improves my knowledge Instead of indulging myself in futile entertainments, I am often keen on reading books which are always a source of comfort and relief to me and I am determined to preserve my father’s valuable treasure for my posterity In a few words, the reading of books contributes to the moral and intellectual formation of a man’s personality Essay topic: Describe a visit to an interesting exhibition Last week an exhibition of paintings by famous artists was organized by the cultural and Artistic Association at The Art Gallery on Nguyen Hue street Being very fond of paintings, I myself went there early in the morning When I arrived, the Art Gallery had been packed with people Groups by groups of people were entering the exhibition halls, their faces were radiant with joy On the walls, different patterns of modern paintings were hung: charcoal drawings, pencil drawings and oil paintings were on display Most of them reflect daily activities and some of them bring us into a world of imagination and dreams As I strolled through the exhibition halls, I heard the voices of lecturers who were telling the visitors about the artists and their works An oil painting by Lu Tong Dao, one of the most famous artists in HCM city, portraying a scene at twilight in the country attracted my attention best: on a long and lonely road, a buffalo tender, sitting astride on his animal, is leisurely playing a flute on his way home Gorgeous glows of the twilight are spreading on the golden rice fields, turning them into yellow velvet carpets From afar, in the blue sky, a flock of storks are stretching their white wings, gently flying towards their warm nests The painting did remind me of my happy boyhood in my native village where I lived my happiest days in my life Being rather tired after hours of walking I sat down on a bench and talked to others about the exhibition The exhibition offered me precious minutes of relaxation and enriched my imagination It brought me back into my happy and peaceful past, full of love and tenderness, among my dear ones Before leaving the exhibition halls, I bought the postcards of my favorite paintings to keep as souvenirs or to send to friends abroad Essay topic: Describe your best friend and tell why you like him or her In our daily activities we often get in touch with the others and from these relations we meet some people whose interests, characteristics and behaviors are similar to ours and we choose them as our friends To me, one of my best friends is Nam Nam is only over eighteen but he is well developed; so he is thought to be twenty or more He has black hair, a broad forehead, a straight nose and bright eyes He is very good-looking He has a kind heart and is easy to get on with everybody We have been friends for a very long time The deeper our mutual understanding becomes the more we feel closely attached to each other “Birds of a feather flock together”, Nam and I are keen on learning We are the best pupils in our class Nam is always at the top He is good at every subject, but he never shows pride in his abilities and always tries to learn harder Nam’s family is not rich enough His parents are retired workers Realizing the hardships of his parents, although he is absorbed in his study, he often spends most of his spare time doing useful things to help his parents in their old age He gets up early in the morning to have enough time to deliver newspapers to subscribers before going to school After school in the afternoon, he repairs bicycles and motorbikes Therefore the money he gets from his manual job is sufficient for his school fees and for his parents’ presents I like Nam very much because of his honesty and straight forwardness He is always ready to help his weak friends in their study; as a result, lots of friends, thanks to his whole-hearted help, have become good ones In my relation with Nam, I have got precious experience: thirst for learning, patience to overcome difficulties, helpfulness and filial piety Essay topic: Describe your schoolmates and whom you like best I have many schoolmates, but Tom is the one I like best of all He is the biggest boy in class He is about fourteen years old, his shoulders are broad He is good as one can see when he smiles I already know several of my classmates Another one I like too is named George He wears chocolate-colored trousers and a catkin cap He is always jolly There is little John, a poor hunchback, a weak boy with a thin face Near him is Edwin who is very well-dressed On the bench in front of me, there is a boy who is called Jake His face is as round with a small nose He possesses a special talent; he knows how to make a hare’s face and they all get him to it and then they laugh And there is another curious fellow – my neighbor on the left Jack – small and thick set, with no neck, a gruff fellow, who speaks to no one, and doesn’t seem to understand much but stands watching the master without winking, his brow lined with wrinkles, and his teeth set and if he is questioned when the master is speaking, he make no reply the first and the third time he gives a kick And beside him there is a bold, cunning face belonging to a boy named Peter, who has already been expelled from another school There are, in addition, two brothers who are dressed exactly alike who resemble each other to a hair But the most handsome of all, the one who has the most talent, who will surely be the head this year also, is Edward Truly I like Edward, the son of the blacksmith, the one with the long jacket who seems sickly and pitiful It is said that his father often beats him so he is very timid and every time that he addresses or touches someone, he says “Excuse me” and gazes them with his kind, sad eyes But Tom the biggest is the best of all, I think Essay topic: Express your opinion on the importance of studying Geography Geography is a fascinating subject It reveals all the wonderful changes and activities that have been going on in the world since the beginning of time By reading geography we learn not only about our own country but also about countries beyond the seas We also learn about the mountains, oceans, islands, lakes, volcanoes, the winds and a number of other interesting things about the world and the universe Among the important things that we learn in Geography are the infinite varieties of creatures, plants, birds and land features that exist in the world We know that there are millions of creatures, small and large, of various kinds in all parts of the earth We also know that many of the early creatures have now become extinct, while many of them have changed from their original forms Reading about all these is indeed very interesting We also learn about the various types of plants and birds that exist throughout the world The plants and birds in the cold lands are not the same as those in warmer lands In the same way, the land forms in the cold regions are different from those in other regions In the equatorial regions, for example, plant and animal life is luxuriant, while in the poles the land is covered with snow, and animal and plant life is less abundant In equatorial regions abundant rain has produced large rivers and lakes, while in areas where little rain falls there are large deserts without many rivers and lakes As the climate and vegetation of one place are not the same as those of another, the habits and activities of the people of different regions are also different Even their religious convictions and languages are different from those of other parts of the world Thus, Geography is a very important subject, and because of its width and variety it is one of the most interesting subjects to read Essay topic: Talk about the importance of rivers Rivers have been very useful to men in all parts of the earth since very early times They provide water to slake the thirst of men, to fertilize their lands and to provide a means of communication for the goods that transport from place to place Early civilization began on the banks of the great rivers of the world, such as the Nile and the Indus These rivers provided the water, the people on their banks needed for all their purposes As people in those early days did not have the transport facilities that we have today, they had to live close to the rivers to transport their goods to places along the rivers and to draw the water that they needed Rivers not only provided water for their domestic needs and agricultural purposes but also enabled the people to move from place to place among their banks Boats or rafts were used to travel from one end of a river to another In the same way, goods were also transported With the transport of goods and the contacts of people between different parts of the same river, there were also many cultural exchanges Thus, rivers helped to spread civilization It is true, however, that rivers have also caused much misery and unhappiness to millions of people throughout history They have caused floods and destroyed lives and property in all parts of the earth For example, the Hwang Ho in China has been described as “the sorrow of China” because of the destruction that it had caused in the past But it should be realized that floods occur once in several years Therefore, the damage that rivers cause is not so great as the benefits that they confer on humanity Today, rivers continue to be used not only as a source of water for drinking and fertilizing the lands or as a means of transport but also as a source of electricity which has revolutionized society The importance of rivers is therefore not difficult to appreciate Essay topic: Talk about the importance of water Since the beginning of time, water has continued to be an important thing to all living things Without water nothing could live We may change our food according to the climate of a place but we may find no substitute for water Man has always looked for pure fresh water to slake his thirst Water not only quenches our thirst but it is also a source of food to us From the sea we catch large quantities of fish and other creatures We use water to irrigate our lands to produce crops Many parts of the world are dry and barren because there is no water there People in such places lead a very hard life Even the plants and animals find it a real struggle to survive They can obtain water only by some means of ingenuity Water also helps to increase the fertility of the land in several parts of the world The alluvium that is brought down by rivers is very fertile Even electricity, which has changed our lives completely, is produced by water-power in many countries Further, water is an important means of communication We use waterways to carry our goods or trade Water transport is cheaper than land transport and in many remote regions, rivers are the only means of communication In many countries rivers are used to bring down timber from the hilly regions to the lower regions where the timber mills are In this way much money is saved It is true, however, that water has also caused much destruction to life and property throughout human history Heavy rainfall, swollen rivers and the angry waves of the sea have killed thousands of people and destroyed homes and crops Yet, water is indispensable to life, and people everywhere are trying their best to bring water to places where it is scarce, to control its flow in times of floods and to make greater use of it Essay topic: How you spent your last holiday (Describe my last holiday) During my last school holidays, I spent a few days at my cousin’s house at Morib, a wellknown sea resort I shall never forget that visit On the day I arrived at Morib, my cousin told me that he would to make my stay there a very interesting one He said that he would make a raft to use it in the sea Then he would buy fishing net to catch some fish in the shallow water near the coast When I heard all this, I was very delighted because it was one of the reasons that I had decided to visit my cousin We then walked up to the beach which is near his house While we were there, sometime in the evening, the sea looked extremely beautiful I saw the islands and hills in the distance, the birds in the air, and a few boys and girls playing on the beach I also saw some fishermen coming out of the water with their catch All this was indeed very interesting to look at On the next day, my cousin and I collected some tree trunks from the forest nearby As my cousin’s house is close to the sea, we decided to make the raft on the beach itself It took us almost the whole morning to make the raft We then had our lunch and went to Banting, the nearest town, to buy fishing net After that we returned to my cousin’s house In the evening we put the raft on the sea The water was still high, but the raft floated quite well My cousin and I sat on it and began to row it by using the oars that we had made ourselves We felt very happy indeed and continued to row it We remained on it for a long time, but as it was already getting dark we did not go far We returned to the shore and tied the raft to a tree On the next day, we went out to catch some crabs and fish We used the net that we had bought and caught a lot of fish Then, we had our lunch and went out again on the raft We continued to row it as far as we could It was really a pleasure to be away from the shore The sea was calm and we could row with ease My cousin told me many interesting things about Morib We then returned to the shore In this way, I spent my holidays happily at Morib, a place I shall never forget Essay Topic: Talk about the importance of newspaper The newspaper, today, plays a vital role in human affairs Its importance has not been diminished by the appearance of the radio or the television Men no longer have travel to get information The newspaper has become the main source of information The newspaper has become the main source of information about local and foreign affairs Though the radio and television convey important news and messages quicker than the newspaper, they seldom give the details of an incident The newspaper, on the other hand, gives not only more detail about a particular incident but it also contains more new items This is greatly important today when political changes occur with rapidity unknown before Besides, the newspaper is easier to carry and it could be read at any time during the day Further, the permanence of the printed word helps one to refresh one’s memory of certain facts and incidents reported in the past The importance of newspaper has been increased greatly by the spread of education Education sharpens one’s curiosity about events in distant lands and also makes one conscious of the necessity to maintain one’s reading habits In both respects the newspaper appeals most, especially if one finds little time to read books The newspaper should, however, be read with caution, for its capacity to harm is great Most people believe everything that is reported by the newspaper As a result, the newspaper exerts a profound influence on the minds of reader Therefore, when some news is reported wrongly either by mistake or design, it may cause a lot of harm One the other hand, if the policy of the newspaper is to promote the welfare of the people, it could a lot of good For example, it could exercise its influence to persuade the government of a country to many things for the benefit of the people In a country like Malaysia, where there are many races of people, the newspaper could also use its influence to promote good-will and harmony among the people It is therefore important to know the policy of the newspaper that one reads In general, however, the newspaper tries to report as accurately as possible, for there are various magazines and periodicals competing with the newspaper to provide accurate information on world developments, and it is the newspaper that links us with the outside world Essay topic: A picnic I enjoyed The outline: When? Where? Who went along? How much I enjoyed The end One day, a few of my friends and I went on a picnic to Minyak Beku, a small interesting place on the coast of Malaya Minyak Beku is about five miles from Batu Pahat, a well known town in the state of Johore in Malaya There is a small ancient fort at the entrance to Minyak Beku The beach at Minyak Beku is beautiful, and there is an iron mine near by We arrived at that place in the morning After getting out of the bus, we separated into different groups and looked for shady places to spend the day Soon, most of us went swimming While in the water, we were playing a few interesting games Those who were on the beach were playing other games Some of them even sang songs and danced There were still others who were interested in nothing, except picking shells In short, everyone enjoyed the trip In the evening, we returned home in our bus, thinking of the fun we had had at that place I enjoyed the trip so much Essay topic: The importance of reading newspaper As the name suggests newspapers are a source of news and information In several respects they are also a medium of communication among the peoples of the world Today there are hundreds of newspapers all over the world Everywhere there is a keen desire to learn more and more about the affairs of the world This is partly the result of the spread of education which sharpens one’s curiosity to learn about distant lands As a source of news, the newspaper is almost indispensable to those whose thirst for knowledge is insatiable They contain news on events in distant corners of the earth Information about such events arrives almost immediately As a result, people everywhere are informed about the most important event in the world very quickly and almost at the same time For example, if a war breaks out in one part of the world today, the people in the other parts will certainly come to know about it tomorrow As a result, all the countries of the world are able to something quickly to help those who have suffered because of the war or to persuade the countries at war to cease fighting Newspaper also play an important part in keeping the people of the world informed about the troubles that might arise in the future, if nothing is done to prevent them from happening For example, if a dispute arises between the two countries for any reason, the newspapers can keep the people of the world informed about what might happen if nothing is done to persuade the two countries to resolve their differences peacefully In this way many wars have been avoided because of the intervention of some countries in the disputes of many countries which were given prominence in newspapers When all this is considered, we feel that there is some silent communication among countries through the medium of newspapers for the common benefit of the countries of the world Further, constant reading of newspapers improves one’s outlook on life and makes one a more reasonable person The importance of the newspaper is therefore obvious Essay topic: What in your opinion are the qualities of a good judge? The judiciary, especially in a democratic state, is well known for its impartiality In numerous cases it has taken decisions even against the state for the achievement of the ends of justice This impartiality of the judicial system in a democratic state can be attributed to the good qualities of judges who have always asserted their independence from executive control The qualities of a good judge include patience, wisdom, courage, firmness, alertness, incorruptibility and the gifts of sympathy and insight In a democracy, a judge is accorded great respect by the state as well as its citizens He is not only permitted to assert his freedom and impartiality but also expected to use all his forensic skill to protect the rights of the individual against arbitrariness Though such a state of affairs makes it easy for the judge to exercise his functions, he still requires many qualities to perform his duties effectively In the execution of his functions, a judge has to exercise patience and alertness so that he can hear all the arguments of the contending parties to a dispute and arrive at a wise decision An impatient judge can hardly act with reason, however wise he may be Patience and alertness are therefore essential qualities of a good judge The decisions of a judge sometimes provoke the anger of certain individuals and he becomes the victim of revenge In condemning a person to death, for example, a judge might cause the relatives of the condemned man to nurse feelings of revenge against him The life of the judge is thus exposed to danger, sometimes even after his retirement from judicial service Therefore, a good judge is also a man of courage, who is incorruptible and prepared to accept the consequences of his decisions A pusillanimous and corruptible judge is no bulwark of justice A good judge is, however, not destitute of sympathy He considers the feelings of all parties with sympathy and understanding His knowledge of the law and human affairs is so extensive that he experiences little difficulty in grasping the main issues of the dispute quickly His insight into human nature enables him to detect the criminal almost immediately; yet he is prepared, at times to set the accused free if the charge against him is not framed properly by the police This proves his impartiality, an attribute that inspires the confidence of the citizens in his ability and sense of justice These arguments point to the conclusion that a good judge is a person of many qualities Essay topic: My hobbies Almost everybody has some kind of hobby My hobbies are listening to music and watching television I am very fond of music When I am free, I often listen to my favorite songs from an old cassette recorder At weekends, I usually go to music shops in the downtown areas to buy good CDs Of the famous pop singers, I prefer Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Madona and Paul MC Cartney I also spend an hour after dinner watching news and documentary programmes I particularly enjoy the program "The World Here and There" because it broadens my knowledge of nature and human civilizations I think that my hobbies are very useful They widen my knowledge, relax my mind, and make me feel better about myself Essay topic: talk about the country you would like to visit I have heard much about the beauty of the East as well as the West, about the wonderful islands in the Pacific and also in the Atlantic In short, the whole world seems to be full of beautiful places The country that I would like to visit, however, is the United States of America My knowledge of the United States of America is derived from the geography and history books that I have read, the films that I have seen and the stories that I have heard from people who have visited this country The United States of America is a vast country with a mixed population People from many different lands have come and settled here This mixture of different races of people with different customs, religions, cultures and abilities have created a nation unique in history Although this country has a very short history compared with that of the other large countries in the world, it is an example to the world of how people of different races could live together in peace and harmony The exchange of ideas among the people of so many racial origins here has contributed greatly to the progress and prosperity of the nation There are world famous scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers and politicians whose original homes were in many different lands The work of such men has made this country a wonderful land indeed The roads, buildings and cinemas here may be said to be the best in the world There are many places and things of interest such as Hollywood, the United Nations building, Niagara Falls and the sky-scrapers Even the natural vegetation and features are rich in variety If one travels across the land, one will find different kinds of scenery in different places Further, as the people here still follow their original customs and traditions, one will also have the feeling that one is passing through many different countries The people of the United States are proud of their country, for it was their country that gave the modern world ideas of freedom The name of Abraham Lincoln will always be remembered by those who believe in the freedom of men It was the United States, again, who saved the world from destruction in two world wars Such a country must be a wonderful land, and it is for this reason that I would like to visit this country some day Essay Topic: Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the cinema Revised The influence that the cinema exerts on the minds of those who visit it is at once beneficial and harmful Today, there is a cinema in almost every town The cinema provides so much entertainment that few people fail to visit it One of the reasons for the popularity of the cinema is that it entertains all types or people, young and old, literate and illiterate Because it is so popular, it must exercise some influence on those whom it attracts The films shown in the cinema are often very instructive and informative Almost every film shows something about the activities and customs of the people in other lands By seeing such films, one learns a lot about human activities One also gains a better understanding of people of the world Further, some films show the battles that were fought in the past They also sometimes show very vividly how man has struggled through the centuries to remove discomfort from his life In this way, some films have given many people an insight into the past Even illiterate people have benefited from such films What they cannot acquire from books owing to their inability to read, they can acquire from films School students, too, often benefit from a visit to the cinema What they see and hear in the cinema makes a better impression on their minds than only the spoken words of their teachers For example, a teacher of history can hardly describe a battle scene to his students as vividly as a film does For all these reasons, the cinema is often regarded as an important means of spreading knowledge It must be admitted, however, that some films have exerted an evil influence on many people Films which show the activities of criminals have encouraged many youths to commit acts of crime Other films, too, such as those dealing with sex and other natural weaknesses of man, have corrupted the morals of many people As a result, the governments of many countries have been compelled to interfere in the display and production of certain films Yet, the cinema continues to retain its popularity Topic: Give a comment about the uses of the hobby An activity in which we take an interest outside our regular work becomes a hobby Some students make drawing or painting a hobby, for others collection of stamps or gardening Shell collecting on the beach is the hobby of some children Hobby benefits bring individuals For example, a person who collects stamps of various countries of the world takes a special interest in the study of the subject of the stamp as well as the country where it is used He may spend a lot of money to buy rare stamps for his album and takes a great pride in owning them Hobby also teaches a person the value of things or activity he is interested in As for me I have had a few hobbies at different stages in my life My earliest hobby was stamp collecting Then it was keeping pets I had two pet dogs and a parrot Presently my hobby is gardening I plant flowers and vegetables in my house compound and water them everyday I nurse the plants by weeding or putting manures at times Very often I sell my flowers to florists and get a small income Essay topic: The advantages and disadvantages of money Everybody knows the value of money Nothing is more powerful than money Why does any person go through the hazards of an adventure? It is because of their psychological needs We see it in children They explore and get into difficult places because they like excitement This sort of thing is quite common among school children Their mischief and frolic have got them into trouble The youth does dangerous things because they have the elements of adventure in them While there is attendant self satisfaction, it also ensures public recognition One climbs mountains where others have never gone; one jumps long distances for the sake of recognition To get the excitement of standing on the victory stand and getting the applause of the crowd one goes through months and months of hard training What an excitement we get seeing the star artist in the circus on the trapeze! Crossing the Channel or climbing Mount Everest has its own excitement Climbing Everest and crossing the Channel have been done by successive generations of adventurers Nobody now looks upon these as a challenge; so too with space The news that man had landed on the moon was exciting in those days but now it is taken for grated Man’s desire to try the impossible challenge and win is at the bottom of so many success stories If these adventurers had not taken the challenge there would not have been any human progress, whether it is in the field of sports, science or medicine It is not foolish or childish to look for adventures Then only can one cross the uncharted seas and happy as Ulysses Only the weakling will look upon anything calling for excitement and danger, as foolish Essay topic: In your opinion, should there be school for pupils during weekends as well? The weekend or holiday is a concept which came up with the observation of Sabbath as a holiday by Christians who regard it as God’s Day The idea is kept true to from and so the weekend has come to stay with all nations and countries with the exception of the Islamic countries There Friday is the weekend instead of Sunday Whatever the idea may be schools and other institutions observe Sunday as a holiday Whether there should or should not be school on Sunday is a matter of opinion Let us first see the case for the school working on Sunday Most of the parents may be for it For parents, children at home on Sunday make life a hell They neither revise nor their home work They make a lot of noise and there is no end to their mischief The parents find it difficult to concentrate on their work because children come in the way Hence for all these reasons they feel that the school should work even on Sundays Since education is a continuous process there need not be a Sunday Just as our organs work continuously, the process of education must also be continuous The break upsets the course since very often no useful work is done and when they come to school there is the feeling of Monday blues Rest does not mean break from work Very few children will be bent on any serious work during holiday There is a lot of idleness Rest period in the middle work is desirable rather than a day long of rest The stiffness of the limbs which goes with the long rest can be seen with the stiffness of learning process after a Sunday Hence people argue schools should not work even on Sunday But there are people who insist on the weekend because people need rest after an arduous and tiring week The rest will refresh them, and some freedom from the frame of time tables and discipline It is desirable for the young minds Teachers need the weekend off to serious preparation for the coming week They also need some time to attend to their personal needs They may even engage themselves in leisure activities in which even pupils may take part Since parents are also having a holiday they would like to spend some time with their children It will help them to look into the books and notebooks of the child or perhaps help the child to some holiday homework For instance, there is the weekend washing It may be worthwhile to visit places or friends that day Hence the weekend is necessity Topic: Tell about a camping night you remember best It was nearly dark when my two brothers and I arrived at the Ranger Station in the Shenandoah National park As the ranger was issuing us our camping permit, he warned us to be careful of bears After we had put on our hiking boots and adjusted our backpacks, we set off down the nearest trail with only a flashlight to guide us While we were tramping through the forest, we heard many strange noises As soon as we arrived at a small clearing up, we began to set up camp I held the flashlight while my brothers were setting up the tent I noticed that the light was getting dimmer and dimmer; apparently the batteries were going dead Soon I could hear my brothers snoring and I could see the faint shadows of the forest as the moon began to rise Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a strange scratching noise outside I suddenly remembered the ranger’s warning about bears I woke my brothers up My oldest brother grabbed the flashlight, but the batteries then had gone dead Suddenly we heard a loud grunt Upon hearing this awful sound, we all scrambled out of the tent and took off running as fast as we could, screaming for help Exhausted, we finally reached our car near the station, jumped in, and took off We never did return for our great In fact, after that scary experience, I have never gone camping again, and I not think I ever will Essay topic: You have been away from home on some occasion Tell your feelings on leaving Deep down in every of us there is an adventurer, and eternally youthful spirit that hungers for new and strange places, for new and wondrous experiences It is a deeply human feeling, this desire to travel and visit unknown places, this desire to increase one’s knowledge of the world It is an ancient longing, far more ancient than the first man who looked up at the hawk and with a cry of pain wished that he could fly, too Therefore, two sorts of feelings can be experienced on leaving home for some time First we are anxious to know the place where we intend to go and we eagerly look forward to making the acquaintance of new friends in a new surrounding; then we shall be able to draw comparisons between the old place and the new one Yet our joy is not unmitigated, because on leaving an old place, memories of all sorts come back to our mind We remember the pleasant hours we spent there with our family and friends, and the happy events that place was a witness of On such an occasion even sorry remembrances are gently cared for, since they are some more links connecting us to that place and thus making it all the dearer to us Then we easily understand why, most of the time, any departure causes such opposite feelings, the source of moral torment for fear we should deprived of all that made our life sweet before Before leaving of abroad I had only seen things so common, but everything seemed beautiful to me now I shut my eyes so as to see the faces of my dear mother and my innocent sister again Topic: What you think of football scholarship? Giving football scholarships is really just a wise investment on the part of the university What the university really needs, wants if money in the form of football ticket sales, contributions, and endowments from alumni, and allotments and grants from the state legislature By giving football scholarships, many smaller, struggling universities, Notre Dame, for example, can attract talented, sought-after football players These players build a winning football team and the university builds are reputation The university’s football games may be on television and the team may be asked to play in a bowl game With this publicity, fans and alumni are eager to attend the games, thus boosting ticket sakes Rich alumni, who are proud of their school, give endowments and grants And for state schools, the congressmen and representatives at the state capital pleased with the publicity the school, and thus the state, receives As a result, the state’s coffers are a little more open and the money flows, enabling the university to pay its faculty, build new building, and keep up the quality of its teaching Yes, the football scholarship is a small investment from which the university hopes to reap big gains Topic: “A switch in time saves nine” Discuss this sentence This is an old proverb Though the saying is old, yet its wisdom always holds good Most of us is familiar with other proverbs like, “Time and tide wait for no man” We must not postpone doing something for tomorrow which can possibly be done today History has many examples of persons who, having once lost an opportunity, had no repent it throughout the rest of their lives “Today is ours, tomorrow belongs to the enemy” In our own life whether private or public, we will realize sooner or later the truth of the proverb Let us take some good examples The people of France were in discontent for ages Many poor people were starving while the rich were enjoying The peasants were forced to pay high taxes The outcome was the French Revolution If only the French King had had foresight and something to satisfy the people, the Revolution could have been avoided They are many historical examples of such great national disasters because proper action was not taken to satisfy the people Essay topic: What you think of the defense? Everyone makes excuses Who hasn’t said, “Oh, it’s so hot I just can’t go outside and wash the car,” or “he made me it,” or “I had a terrible headache” It seems as we all, at one time or another, a person feel the need to explain why something happened or didn’t happen, to assign blame Because we all it, making excuses may seem innocent enough Certain excuses, sometimes called “little white lies”, perform a social function of smoothing over a potentially disagreeable situation No one is truly deceived and perhaps no harm is done Most excuses are not so innocent They are intended to deceive While it may seem we intend to deceive others, it is really ourselves that we are deceiving Making excuses is a way of not taking responsibility for our actions It is a way of assigning blame to something else, someone else, or even our mental or physical state so that we not have to look at ourselves We can escape blame by pointing the finger at forces or circumstances outside ourselves You may say, “I couldn’t possibly write a good essay It was forty degrees in the room There was no air conditioning It was just too hot” Since you have no control over the heat, you are exonerated It’s not your fault Perhaps you’ve heard someone say to the teacher, “I’m sorry I missed class today, my car ran out of gas on the freeway” The person is not responsible Right? There are forces outside our control that intervene and prevent us from doing something These might be valid reasons for why something was or was not accomplished They might not be excuses The important thing is to look at the circumstances and determine our own attitude and reaction Are we blaming a force outside for our own inability? If so, we are making an excuse We can blame other people This type of excuse lets you of the hook because you are not responsible: someone else is Typical examples include: “Well, it wasn’t my idea to cheat on the test Bill suggested it and I just went along with him.”, “I got a bad grade in that course because the teacher didn’t make it interesting.”, “I didn’t get a raise because my boss is so stingy” and “I know my child is naughty but his mother spoils him so” The person making the excuse is not taking his or her responsibility Passing the buck is a special kind This kind of excuse making often occurs in large companies and government bureaucracies Let’s say a company loses a million dollars because of a bad investment The president of the company blames the vice-president who advised him The vice-president passes the buck to one of her analysts who had done the research The blame gets passed from person to person and maybe to the computer, with no one over taking responsibility for the error It is easier to look outside ourselves and assign blame than to look at ourselves and our true capabilities Excuses closest to home are those in which we blame our own mental or physical state, but at the same time not accept responsibility for them It is as if our body and mind are separate from us and can be blamed Here you have the psychosomatic excuses: “I had such a headache I couldn’t write my report” At times we are truly sick The problem is in determining when we use our physical state as a way of avoiding something we consider unpleasant We blame our inaction or inability on our mental state “I was so depressed about my family I didn’t study for the exam.” “I wasn’t in the mood to go to that party and see all those strangers.” “I was so excited I just didn’t think about the consequences.” Excuses allow us to avoid looking at ourselves and the problems that we face We all make excuses They are not necessarily healthy for us When we look at ourselves, at circumstances, or at our own physical and mental state, we not have to look at ourselves and see something unpleasant We not take responsibility for ourselves and our actions Our physical and mental health depends on our ability to solve problems If we are to solve the problems that confront us, we must look through our excuses and see ourselves Essay topic: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Discuss this proverb This proverb just means that there is nothing like a pressing and urgent need for setting people to work to find a way of meeting it If we could get all we want from nature we should not bother to invent anything; as we can’t, we are forced to find out ways and means to satisfy our needs In the early days of mankind, the necessity of communicating with one another led men to the invention of languages Later, the necessity of keeping some record of what they did or said led to the invention of writing Later still, the necessity of spreading news and knowledge led to the invention of printing These are only few illustrations to prove that from the very beginning of the human life that man has been making inventions and discoveries out of sheer necessity Hence we recognize “necessity” for the progress of the human race Essay topic: Talk about your impression on roaches I am not sure when this fear started As far as I can remember, I have never had a desire to touch a roach The first thing I think of when a person says the word “roach” is its horrible looks Their prehistoric appearance makes me cringe The dark brown color reminds me of something dirty and gives me a feeling of disgust, which is exactly what a roach is disgusting, with its long, skinny, black feelers protruding from its head, always moving and twitching in an erratic away, no matter if it is squatting still or scurrying away beneath your feet This is certainly an immediate cause of my fear Maybe the fear stems from the fact that they will eat anything, including the dead body of another, human not excluded This fact makes them seem disease ridden Every disease ever known to man or imagined by man can be caught from a roach, or so it seems Granted, some of the fear I have for these parasites might be learned from my mother You would think you could call good old Mom to the rescue when you spot a big two-inch roach on the wall and count on her to take care of it for you, but this is not so with my mother Oh, she may come when you call her all right, but when she spots the two-incher on the wall she hands me the can of Raid and runs for cover Another thing about roaches is that they are nocturnal insects This may be an indirect cause of my fear of them, but maybe not A psychotherapist might evaluate it this way Roaches are nocturnal creatures People are afraid of the night and associate it with evil things Therefore, I, ultimately, am afraid of roaches Now, I not know how valid this is, for I am not afraid of roaches because of the night It is more like I am afraid of the night because of roaches I not know why, but roaches seem to be scarier at night Anyway, it all comes down to this This nightmare I recounted earlier is just an example of the many bad dreams I have had as a kid, and still have, occasionally These dreams are a direct result of my fear of roaches I imagine them crawling on my bed and over me These dreams leave me wide awake, scared to the death, and unable to go back to sleep I can’t walk into a dark room without some trepidation I could not stand to touch one of these things This would leave me a mental case The only way kill a roach is with Raid This kind of apprehension makes life very difficult for me when I am roughing it or camping out I’ll lie there in my sleeping bag in my tent and I will not budge, with my can of Raid by my side and a light on, of course An actual encounter with a roach, and I lose my sense of logic, I become unable to function in a controlled manner In a controlled situation, such as that of a classroom, I am mentally as well as physically agonized I saw a roach in a class once, about a chair ahead of me I did not want to make a scene and started screaming, especially since the roach was not that big My mind was telling me to get up calmly and casually stroll away However, my body wanted to jump up and run It was a terrible strain on me I did manage to walk a far enough distance back without making a scene There is one way and only one way to overcome this fear And that is to walk up boldly to the biggest blackest roach I can find and grasp it with both hands, and hold it firmly It would only take a minute Then, all the bad dreams would stop I would have confidence when I entered a dark room And my mental and physical state of being would bear no strain Essay topic: “Slow and steady wins the race” Comment this sentence The best illustration of this proverb is the old fable of Aesop about the hare and the tortoise A tortoise, which moves very slowly, challenged a hare, one of the swiftest of the animals, to a race The hare took it as a joke; and after running a certain distance, lay down under a bush and went to sleep, thinking he had plenty of time to beat his slow competitor The tortoise, however, plodded on steadily, without pausing He passed the sleeping hare, and had nearly reached the goal before the hare woke up The hare, seeing his rival so far ahead, set off at full speed; but he had delayed too long, and before he could reach it, the tortoise had passed the winning post and won the race The proverb and the fable are a warning to erratic and lazy geniuses, and an encouragement to the ordinary man of average ability Even a man of brilliant gifts cannot achieve much without steady work and perseverance; and there have been many men of talent, and even genius, who have failed, or at any rate not achieved the success they might have achieved, owing to laziness, or over-confidence in their natural ability The English poet Coleridge is a good example; he undoubtedly had high poetic genius, but partly owing to a natural inability to persevere and partly owing to the habit he got into of taking opium, he did very little perfect or finished work “The Ancient Mariner” is his only great finished poem; most of the rest are uncompleted fragments He began many things, but completed very little An average man of very mediocre gifts is tempted to think that it is no use to accomplish anything great So he attempts nothing And yet many quite ordinary people have achieved solid success in life by perseverance, steady application and hard work Compared with a brilliant genius, they are like the tortoise to the hare; and yet, as the tortoise won the race by plodding on bravely with unrelaxed perseverance, so a steady worker wins through in the end At school, it is not always the cleverest the boy that takes the prizes; a steady plodder of average intelligence is often the winner The proverb therefore means that success in life may be achieved by even ordinary people having perseverance and steady application Essay topic: What is a gentleman? A gentleman is a gentle man In this connection, the word “gentle” means “noble”, as it does in the phrase “of gentle birth” So, originally, a gentleman was one who, by birth and training, belonged to the upper classes He was of noble blood Then, because the social manners of the upper classes were refined, as compared with those of the lower classes, anyone who knew how to behave in polite society came to be called a gentleman So gentlemanliness came to refer to outward behavior A man who behaved like a gentleman was a gentle man In his description of a gentleman, Cardinal Newman goes much deeper than this His definition of a gentleman is, “One who never inflicts pain” “This description”, he says, “is both refined and, so far as it goes, accurate” “The true gentleman”, he goes on, “carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt to the others – all class of opinions, or collision of feelings, restraints, or suspicion, or gloom, or resentment; his great concern is to make everyone at ease and at home He has eyes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant, and merciful towards the absurd… He makes light of favor while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring He is patient, forbearing and resigned” Good manners, the manners of a gentleman, may be superficial, and sometimes they may be a little insincere; but they are as necessary to the continuance of society as oil to the smooth working of a machine And with people who have naturally kindly hearts, politeness is neither insincere nor artificial For the essence of good manners is consideration for the feelings of others, surely this is a virtue Someone has called good manners “surface morals”, because the essence of true morals is unselfishness A true gentleman, then, is a fine character His politeness and courtesy go far deeper than mere outward behavior They spring from goodness of heart He instinctively thinks of the feelings, the comfort and happiness of others before his own And so there are true gentlemen, nature’s gentlemen, to be found even among the poor and ignorant, who, though they have never had the chance of learning the rules of etiquette in polite society, have kind hearts These are God’s own gentlemen Essay topic: “He alone can command who knows how to obey” Explain this sentence The success of a society depends on the coordination between the various components which make up that society This involves some command from some which has to be carried by some or many As the saying goes no man is an island, nor is everyone having the same talent in the same way It is the nature’s order, a few could think and plan while others must execute Then society can be stable and function for long It is a question of leadership There are very few leaders but most of them are developed Accidents find them in positions where they could develop into leader But those positions they should learn from others until in their own day they could bloom in to leaders Great men of industry, great doctors and great lawyers have come up the hard way Usually they all apprenticed to a big one from whom they learn the art of their respective trade They may have the basic knowledge and they may know all the fundamentals but these not make them leaders They have to work under a senior and gradually they evolve This apprenticeship calls for humility, hard work, sustained interest and above all obedience Obedience is to obey So the apprentice has to obey his master Juniors under as lawyers plod long hours so that they can master the intricacies of law Young doctors have to sweat and labor in an operation theatre such that they may succeed as soon as they wear the uniforms, and for them obedience is the first and the last word There is no profession like that of a soldier where unquestioned and unstinted obedience is called for The great generals then and now ought to have learned the value of obedience the harder way Leadership needs discipline and dedication These people know the value of obedience They know how thing may go wrong if obedience is lacking It was said of a business magnate that he insisted on all those who worked under him to be punctual If anyone was late he used to fine them If he himself was not punctual, he would pay the fine from his pocket and thus he was able to set an example It is clear from the above that those who would command must know how to obey before they can expect others to obey Essay topic: What responsibility societies have for the poor? It is obvious that in our present society there are two different classes: the rich and the poor This is the inevitable result of a long war torn country The poor have to suffer a lot hardship and insufficiency Therefore many organizations in our society are endeavoring to implement the following policies to relieve their sufferings For poor people still having labor power but having no capital, the government gives them priority to borrow capital at a low interest rate For old poor people lacking in labor power, the government mobilizes societies to help them and supply them with food, clothes and money For poor and homeless people, they are allowed to live in hired apartments and in case they cannot afford to pay rental, they can be exempt from any charges Homes for the aged were built in HCM city and in Thu Duc District to give them lodging and support in their old age On the occasion of big ceremonies such as: May Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, many societies and organizations make collections to provide them with food, money and many other essentials Many business companies have volunteered to contribute money to Charity Funds for the poor Living in poverty all their life, the poor and the wretched will feel less distressed if their sufferings are shared by their compatriots “A morsel when hungry is worth a parcel when full” The rich living in comforts should not remain indifferent to their fellowmen’s misfortunes We also wish that citizens, regardless of their class and function, would contribute something to the Relief Funds to relieve the sufferings of these unlucky people Essay topic: Unemployment, especially among young people, is a serious problem in many countries today What can be done about it? What you think about job-creation projects currently run in Vietnam? Leaders off all countries in the world are confronting a serious problem – unemployment Unemployment leads to social degeneration In less developed countries, unemployment becomes increasingly crucial In Vietnam, our government are trying to solve unemployment which has increased in recent years The following measures have been applied Young jobless people from 18-35 are taught certain careers suitable to their ability and their liking People whose knowledge is weak are sent to evening continuation classes After learning a career, they will be introduced to some companies in the city Up till now a number of unemployed people have been able to get jobs Moreover a great number of young people were sent abroad to learn different careers After the course, they will return to their country and will be qualified for some jobs offered to them The job-creation projects currently run in Vietnam can, to some extent, reduce unemployment, however, there are still lots of young people who are out of work and have to make a rather precarious living and therefore social evils cannot be avoidable “Idleness is the mother of all vices” To reduce unemployment in our country, the government should pay close attention to the following matters: - For young people weak at knowledge: Open more career schools or encourage them to move to new economic zones where conditions of living should be favorable to them from the outset - The training plan should be effective from the beginning to the end, that is to say, each student, upon graduating, must have a post - The training program should be planned to the letter, not on a large scale but to an extent previously scheduled - The vocational training program should be introduced in the High School curriculum The pupils should be taught knowledge and skills at the same time so that after leaving school they are able to find a job suited to their ability and capacity - Young engineers, doctors, scientists, specialists, teachers should be given preferential conditions to find jobs from any government offices or be introduced to foreign companies in Vietnam - Excellent students should be granted scholarship I hope that once these proper measures are strictly applied, the number of unemployment people will probably diminish and that the government will no longer worry about social evils which destroy human dignity Topic: Suppose you are a lazy boy Your father advises you to study hard Tell about what he talks Yes, study comes hard to you, my dear son You don’t set out for school with that resolute mind and that smiling face which I should like But listen; reflect a little! How poor and pitiable your days would be if you did not go to school! Everybody studies now My child, think of the workmen who go to school in the evening after having toiled all the day; think of the women, of the girls, of the people, who go to school on Sunday, after having worked all the week; of the soldiers who turn to their books and copy-books when they return exhausted from their drill! The dumb and the blind study nevertheless; and last of all, the prisoners also learn to read and write Reflect in the morning, when you set out, that at the same moment, in your own city, thirty thousand other boys are going, like yourself, to shut themselves in classrooms for three hours of study Think of all the boys who, at nearly this precise hour, are going to school in all countries of the world Behold them with your imagination, going through the lanes of quiet villages, through the streets of noisy towns, beneath the burning sun or amid fogs, on the far-reaching plains, millions and millions, all going to learn the same things in different forms of languages Imagine this vast throng of boys of different races, this immense movement in which you take part, and remember if this movement were to cease, humanity would fall back into barbarism; this movement is the progress, the hope, the glory of the world Courage, then, little soldier of the immense army! Your books are your weapons, your class is your squadron, the field of battle is the whole earth, and the victory is human civilization Go ahead! Be not a cowardly soldier, my dear son Essay topic: In your opinion, what are the lessons learned from school life? Whether one’s school-days are happy or the reverse, depends a good deal on the character of the school in which one’s lot in cast; for schools are of all kinds good, bad and indifferent But most schools nowadays are respectable, and some are very good; and most of us look back upon our school life as, on the whole, a happy time Of course, a small boy who first goes to school (especially if it is a boarding-school) does not at the beginning feel very happy He is surrounded by unfamiliar faces and the life is very different from what he was used to at home, and he feels lost and homesick, and badly wants his mother But he soon settles down; and when he gets used to the new conditions, he will feel comfortable and happy enough Of course, there are draw backs, and even dangers in school life There are always back sheep in every flock A boy sometimes gets led away into bad habits by vicious companions And when the discipline is over-strict and the masters unsympathetic, a sensitive boy may suffer much But on the whole the influences of school life are healthy and good For one thing, the strict discipline of a school has a healthy effect upon growing boys At home a boy is too often coddled and allowed too much of his own way; but at school he has to obey And there he learns the good old useful virtues of punctuality, regular method, the best use of time, diligence, and prompt obedience Boys may not like these; but they are thankful for the lessons afterwards, when they become men Then a boy cannot live in a community of boys without, as we say, getting the rough angles knocked off Boys in their social life out of class and in the hostels discipline each other A schoolboy soon gets such faults as conceit, priggishness, cowardice, meanness, and unsportsmanlike behavior, knocked out of him by the ridicule, criticism, and even rough treatment of his companions It is often at school that life-friendship are made Boys soon get to know one another, and form fast friendship, that in after life are a great joy and source of strength to them The school games also develop a lad’s manly qualities, and not only make him physically strong, but also teach him “esprit-de-corps” and the true spirit of sportsmanship So when school-days are over, a boy feels miserable and really regrets as he has to leave the school he joined Essay topic: How does the gambling affect the society? Gambling is properly playing games of chance, such as cards, pitch-and-toss, etc… for money But it also includes betting, which is staking money on an uncertain future event, such as a horse-race The essential feature of gambling and betting is the risking of money on a chance, in the hope of winning a large sum Moralists always denounce gambling as wrong, and yet at first sight it is not easy to show why it is wrong It is true that in a game of chance or a bet, one of the parties must lose his money, but the gain of the other cannot be called robbery, because both parties willingly agree together to run the risk You might say that if two sensible men agree to risk the loss of their money in a game of chance, it is their own business, and no one has any right to interfere with them Perhaps a comparison of gambling and dueling will help us to see why gambling is an evil In a duel, as in a game of chance, both parties willingly agree to run a risk In gambling they risk the loss of their money; in a duel the loss of their lives But in most modern civilized countries, dueling is a crime in the eye of the law, and is punishable with heavy penalties Why? If two men agree to try to kill each other, that is their own private affair Why should the law stop them? The answer is that it is not their own private affair It is a public affair; because, if every citizen can take the law into his own hands and avenge an injury himself, all law and order in the state will go to pieces And gambling is condemned for the same reason; because the effect of gambling is injurious, not only to the individuals, but to public social life The evils of gambling may be summarized as follows First, it discourages steady habits of industry by holding out before men the hope of getting rich quickly and easily Secondly, gambling often becomes a habit, as strong as the drink craving, which a man cannot break; and frequently it leads not only to his ruin, but to the misery of his family that depends on him Thirdly, it produces an unhealthy and restless excitement in men’s minds Lastly, it often ends in theft and embezzlement, and even crimes of violence Judged by its effort, it is therefore an evil Essay topic: Talk about a kidnap One evening, I was alone at home, when a smartly dressed couple knocked on my door The woman smiled and asked me if she could see my parents I told her that they had gone out but would be back soon I invited them into the house I was surprised when they suddenly grabbed me They tied up my hands, gagged my mouth and blindfolded me I was huddled into a car and driven off to an unknown destination I was too frightened to anything After driving for about two hours the car came to a stop They dragged me out of the car and pushed me into a corner When my blindfold was removed, I found myself in a dark hut I slowly moved towards the locked door and I heard them saying that they were going to ask a ransom of $20,000 from my father in exchange for my return When I heard this, I was very frightened Finally I decided that I had to escape from these kidnappers I looked around the dark room There was no means of escape except for a small window, which was locked I waited till the kidnappers had fallen asleep before I tried to open the window I managed to prize open the window with my penknife, which I carried in my pocket Quietly I slipped out of the house and ran as fast as my legs could carry me Since it was very dark, I stumbled and fell a couple times Finally I reached the main road I saw a car approaching I waved and stopped the car I told the driver what had happened He took me to the nearest police station, and made a report Then I led the police to the place where I was held captive earlier The kidnappers were arrested My parents were happy to see me safe and sound The police officer praised me for my courageous deed Topic: How should people protect and preserve the natural resources? Conservation concerns men’s safeguarding and preservation of natural resources and his responsibility for improving the environmental conditions in which he lives An important task of conservation is the prevention of waste – waste of forests, soil, minerals, wildlife and human life Trees help to preserve land because their roots bind the soil and retain water Without trees, heavy rains will cause soil erosion and the remaining land becomes poor and worthless Terrible floods often occur in the areas where trees are cut down in great quantity Forest conservation also means the prevention of bush fires and the attention to planting and looking after new, young trees Not only should man preserve forests but he should also realize the importance of wildlife protection Unless governments have a good system of control or pass laws restricting the hunting, fishing and eradicating of rare animals and plants, they slowly disappear Natural resources such as coal, gas and mineral ores are limited but the need for them is growing day by day As they may not last for a century, man should use them widely on the one hand, and look for alternative fuels on the other hand Another serious problem threatening human life is the dirtying and poisoning of air and water This pollution is mainly caused by the fumes, chemicals and wastes from automobiles, industries and homes It is hoped that for his own benefit, man can soon find a solution to these problems Essay topic: Flood in a town Notes: Sudden rain – Continued for days – Floods – Many homes washed away – Many people made homeless – Some drowned – School closed – Hospital full – Much suffering – Rain stopped – Sunshine again – People happy After a long period of dry weather in my town, it suddenly began to rain one day The people were happy The rain continued for days The people then became worried Soon there were floods everywhere, which caused much damage and suffering Many houses were washed away by the flood water, and hundreds of people were made homeless Some were also drowned Schools were closed to provide shelter to those who were affected by the floods The hospital was filled with sick people Fortunately, the rain stopped to prevent further damage and suffering to the people There was sunshine again and the people were happy Essay topic: How you spend your time after school? As I am now preparing for an important examination which will be held at the end of this year, I spend most of my time reading books There are, however, a few other things that I sometimes during my leisure As soon as I reach home everyday after school, I have lunch quickly in order to have as much time as possible to read books Eating quickly is not good for health but I have to to pass my examination Therefore, the more I am able to read the more certain I can be of passing my examination It is for this reason that I read books for about two hours after lunch everyday After reading in the afternoon, I have a bath and then a cup of tea Having done these things, I go out to my friend’s house near by and discuss our lessons for about an hour Sometimes we go for a walk and as we so, we talk mainly about our lessons My friend is a good student She explains many of the things that I not understand clearly in school Sometimes, however, I remain at home to help my mother in the kitchen, especially when we expect some visitors I must admit that I enjoy doing the cooking, for it helps me to learn how to prepare a good meal I have already learned how to make some delicious cakes from helping my mother Then, I spend some of my time working in our vegetable garden My parents have planted many kinds of vegetables I help them to water the plants so that they can grow well Further, I also spend some time decorating my house when I feel that things in my house have become too dull to look at At night, I study my lesson again, and go to bed late after dinner I can say that my time after school is spent in a variety of ways Essay topic: Talk about your favorite author My favorite author is William Shakespeare, a man who has written enough for immortality Though a few hundred years have elapsed since the death of Shakespeare and volumes have been written on the life and work of this great writer, his early life still remains a subject for speculation and conjecture It is generally believed that Shakespeare had very little schooling Yet his keen intellect and mastery of language have earned for him the appreciation and applause of the literary world Shakespeare’s fame originates from his ability to identify his readers with the characters in his stories In most of his stories we find Shakespeare had an insight into human nature and the problems of life His tragedies such as “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” clearly show his deep knowledge of the human mind Man’s ambition, desperation, sorrows, frustrations and hopes are dealt in these tragedies with such skill where the readers themselves experience all the mental conflicts and emotions Thus they get better ideas about human nature With equal skill, Shakespeare deals with man’s joys and pleasures in all his comedies His comedies, like “Twelfth Night” and “As You Like It”, are a delight to read Through the characters in his stories Shakespeare conveys his views on life and the world Most of his characters, such as Hamlet, are vehicles for moral instruction Man’s nature is the theme of all his writings By a skilful combination of words and situations, he reveals the worst as well as the best in man His choice of words is masterly and many of his phrases are literary gems As man’s nature is his theme, what he wrote years ago remains true even today It will remain so till the end of time It is for all these reasons that I enjoy reading Shakespeare I enjoy reading the works of other writers too, such as those of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen However, they not give the satisfaction that Shakespeare does I find Shakespeare’s stories so interesting that I have read the same stories several times in last few years Once I read the same story, I learn something new about human nature Shakespeare was indeed a genius Essay topic: Talk about what you hope to achieve in adult life It is worthwhile and proper that one should plan for one’s future early Everyone is given with certain talents and one should make full use of them for the future welfare and happiness Some people desire to make money; some want to make a name and some would like to be useful to society I have decided to become a social worker to serve the poor, the suffering and the needy The idea of becoming a social worker has not come to me all of a sudden In a way it has been the result of reading the lives of great men and women who dedicated their lives to the service to the suffering From Gautama the Buddha to Mother Therasa I have studied something about their lives and how they suffered and worked for others Gautama the prince became the Buddha after seeing the sufferings of his people Then there is Mother Therasa who got the coveted Nobel Prize for peace for her service to the sick, the suffering and the dying in the streets of Calcutta The more I read about them the more I thought of them As a result, I was interested in becoming a social worker After all what is the point of being a human if one cannot serve his fellow beings True, good people for the dedication are rare; but there is nothing wrong in a person trying to become one To this is not easy at all One must be prepared and get mentally the necessary training for it As the saying goes “charity begins at home”, I started helping my people at home in every possible way I have helped mother in the kitchen, my father in polishing his shoes; I have washed and ironed the family clothes I also started helping my neighbors by running errands for them I began loving the old people, visiting the slum areas and talking to people about their difficulties I once went around collecting my old clothes and distributing them to the poor It was not exactly what I did but how I reacted I can be ready to serve once I have erased the selfishness inside It have been recognized that, as a social worker I am not on the look out for any personal gain Whatever I do, it must come from the need of someone To become a social worker, I have studied some books on sociology Theory is not enough; therefore, I have got in with several societies doing social work, for example the Red Cross Society doing both in peace and war There are of course difficulties on the way My parents never approve because the career as a social worker did not bring any money or fame Life itself may be hard Until one’s work is recognized, one may not be regarded as genuine and is appreciated Even friends may scoff at the notion and even the society itself may be suspicious till one’s bona fides are proved However, after taking all these into consideration, I have made up my mind to become a social worker Essay topic: An incident I shall never forget The outline: When it happened Where I was What happened The end One day, last year, I was alone in my house, when something terrible happened I can still when something terrible happened I can still remember the incident very clearly My parents were out that day to meet some of their friends My brothers and sisters had gone to the cinema All of them returned very late in the night As I had some school work to do, I stayed at home alone I was reading my lessons in a room at the back of our house It was now very dark Suddenly, I heard a strange cry outside the house It frightened me at once I heard the cry again, but this time it was not so loud I now felt certain that a child had been attacked by some person or an animal I opened the door at the back of the house to find out what it was As soon as I did so, I saw a small girl with a lot of blood all over her body, lying on the floor She was still alive; however, I then took her into our house and telephoned to the hospital near by Soon an ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital I did not know what happened after that When my parents returned, I told them all that had happened The thought of this incident frightens me even today Essay topic: Is patriotism outmoded today? Discuss Patriotism is a loyal feeling which one has about his own country In the words of Scott when he said “this is my own, my native land”, he must have a deep and passionately loyal feeling for his country According to this a man without this feeling dies unsung and unhonored This feeling had kindly many former nations into actions It has made people fight against tyrants and deposed them It has shaken the very roots of empires In very nation and in very language the bards have sung about the greatness of Patriotism and they have called upon Patriotism to brook no delay in throwing out the conqueror One must take pride in the culture and beauty of one’s own country The rivers, mountains, hills, valleys and dales much inspire his Patriotic feeling He must fight against the forces that tarnish the fair name of his country Given a chance, he should encourage the art and trade of his country He must support his country as his duty He will never anything that would bring down the fair name and image of his country One must live for his country and even be prepared to sacrifice all for the sake of his country Nationalism is a phenomenon mostly seen today in many countries These people become militant and are against foreigners who had come and settled in one’s country There may be legitimate fear warranting such action as in the case of “The White Australian Policy” This is Patriotism laced with self-interest This is the cause of much misunderstanding and bickering among nations In the present context of the world, narrow Patriotism is really outmoded No country today, however, powerful or rich can stand alone The world is shrinking with the coming of faster modes of communication and no country depending on one another This interdependence cannot be overlooked Self contained condition is only a thing of the past So there is no meaning in narrow nationalism It is said to conclude that fanatic Patriotism is bad though loving one’s own country and contributing for its betterment and good ideals is a noble act This is discuss of English that we must study : Life in the city Life in the city is full of activity Early in the morning hundreds of people rush out of their homes in the manner ants when their nest is broken Soon the streets are full of traffic Shops and offices open, students flock to their schools and the day’s work begins The city now throb with activity, and it is full of noise Hundreds of sight-seers, tourist and others visit many places of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrives to transact business Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close Many of the shops too close There is now a rush for buses and other means of transport Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach home As a result of this rush, many accidents occur One who has not been to the city before finds it hard to move about at this time Soon, however, there is almost no activity in several parts of city These parts are usually the business centres With the coming of night, another kind of activity begins The streets are now full of colourful lights The air is cooler and life becomes more leisurely People now seek entertainment Many visit the cinemas, parks and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listen to the radio Some visit friends and relatives and some spend their time reading books and magazines Those who are interested in politics discuss the latest political developments At the same time, hundreds of crimes are committed Thieves and robbers who wait for the coming of night become active, and misfortune descends upon many For the greed of a few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear To bring criminals to justice, the officers of the law are always on the move Workers and others who seek advancement in their careers attend educational institutions which are open till late in the night Hundreds of them sit for various examinations every year The facilities and opportunities that the people in the city have to further their studies and uncrease their knowledge of human affairs are indeed many As a result, the people in the city are usually better informed than those of the village, where even a newspaper is sometimes difficult to get The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity Here, the drama of life is every day is full of activity Early in the morning hundreds of people rush out of their homes in the manner ants when their nest is broken Soon the streets are full of traffic Shops and offices open, students flock to their schools and the day’s work begins The city now throb with activity, and it is full of noise Hundreds of sight-seers, tourist and others visit many places of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrives to transact business Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close Many of the shops too close There is now a rush for buses and other means of transport Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach home As a result of this rush, many accidents occur One who has not been to the city before finds it hard to move about at this time Soon, however, there is almost no activity in several parts of city These parts are usually the business centres With the coming of night, another kind of activity begins The streets are now full of colourful lights The air is cooler and life becomes more leisurely People now seek entertainment Many visit the cinemas, parks and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listen to the radio Some visit friends and relatives and some spend their time reading books and magazines Those who are interested in politics discuss the latest political developments At the same time, hundreds of crimes are committed Thieves and robbers who wait for the coming of night become active, and misfortune descends upon many For the greed of a few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear To bring criminals to justice, the officers of the law are always on the move Workers and others who seek advancement in their careers attend educational institutions which are open till late in the night Hundreds of them sit for various examinations every year The facilities and opportunities that the people in the city have to further their studies and uncrease their knowledge of human affairs are indeed many As a result, the people in the city are usually better informed than those of the village, where even a newspaper is sometimes difficult to get The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity Here, the drama of life is every day ... took a sea voyage and from that time on I have never traveled by air when the weather is bad Essay topic: Talk about a frightening experience I am not one who is frightened easily; but I must admit... myself; but after the previous night’s experience, this discovery was small relief to me Essay topic: Your favorite hobby Everybody has his or her own hobby For me, my favorite hobby is reading... reading of books contributes to the moral and intellectual formation of a man’s personality Essay topic: Describe a visit to an interesting exhibition Last week an exhibition of paintings by famous