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1 Money is the instrument of exchange, helping in buying and selling and also in fixing a value on things and commodities It may be in metal or in paper With the market getting more and more complicated, there are other negotiable instruments which are as good as the minted coins or the printed notes Money gives purchasing power but this power is not absolute as it is on various factors In such a case it is termed currency and according to their purchasing power they are termed hard, soft and weak Though coins and notes are issued by the Government of the country, there is a limit to their minting Let us see why money is needed It is simply because it helps the processor to buy things The days of battering are gone though it is indirectly resorted to at international level Money is helpful as a standard of price Money helps the owner to have power not only in buying things but also in influencing many human activities Money is used for good things such as using it to build a temple, a church or a museum Great educational institutions can be built Students can be helped by providing them with scholarships in furthering their studies The Nobel Prize would not have been there but for the huge sum of money earned by Alfred Nobel Money can buy men as it does things Thus money plays an important role in fighting and winning elections Money mars men’s and women’s morals It is the evil influence in corrupting people “Sell out” is the new term used for bribery There are people who could anything for the sake of money Moneyed people can buy many things which the poor cannot With the power of money, individuals as well as states can dictate terms The Middle East countries have found new wealth because of their oil deposits and they have become a very powerful group This kind of power should not go to one’s head One should remember that the money coming into him was by chance He must not use it for evil purposes But wherever there is evil there is usually money involved Other motivating forces for evil action are jealousy, vengeance, hatred and so on Money is normally the fruit of labour The question is how one spends that money Great thinkers have suggested that one who has money enough and enough to spare must look upon himself as the trustee of the money and see to it that it is spent in a wise and useful way There is nothing good or evil about money It depends on how one puts it to The same money which could help bring relief to the suffering million, can be used to build up armaments The hope of getting money spurs one into action The power decides how to spend the money Money can be used morally or immorally A morally strong man may not use money in evil ways and vice versa The statement assumes that when a man is educated it alienates him from his people Let us look at how well educated he is Education is not merely getting certain diplomas and degrees Education is to civilize the man and to draw the best in him It must result on an all rounded personality, physically, mentally, intellectually, morally and spiritually He is humble, able to look after himself and others, LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    1  can act as the occasion demands, morally upright and can be useful to himself and to others What we see today? The so-called educated class displays their snobbery They form a class apart from others They think they know too much and they should not be found in ordinary man The so called educated is good at quoting from books and papers he has read His morals are only superficial The fruit of his knowledge does not normally filter to the ordinary level So the fruits of his knowledge are no more fruits since they not reach the common man for further propagation This snobbery is seen even among the members of a family especially when the son educated in a collage begins to look down upon his own parents and their ways of life The life in a hostel does not normally improve the character of a student Hostel is after all a place where one pays for the services and having enjoyed certain conveniences the educated boy or girl returns home only to find things very different He cannot adjust himself to the common surroundings since he has had a taste of the artificial world outside Thus the educated man is an alien in his own home and familiar surroundings In most countries the type of education given is only to fit the student for a particular job; very rarely is education given to fit him for life outside Very often a student going to a western country tries to ape the habits, way of life and puts on artificial ways of talking In order to overcome this lopsided development, educationists from Rousseau downwards have recommended methods where the child will learn in a natural atmosphere instead of being pulled out of it The glamor of studying abroad is always attractive There is a need for change in the philosophy of education so that the life’s purpose may be made clear and the objectives or goals are reached Describe a sports-meeting Sports lovers here always look forward to the month of August or September because of the Inter School Sports-meeting These occasions used to be very colorful and attractive Just like the previous years, this year’s sports-meeting was enjoyable It was held in the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh city The stadium was cheerfully decorated for that purpose The bitumen tracks were neatly marked with white paint The sports officials were in their official badges and the whole day they were busy with preparations At about p.m that day, there was a march past by athletes in their respective school colors and flags The chief Education Officer took the salute With the singing of the Nation Anthem and the hoisting of the National Flag, he declared the meeting open There were many interesting events There were also separate events for boys and girls The competitors were tense and serious They were in excellent physical fitness Some new records were set in the 100, 200 and 400 meter races The hurdles and relays were some of the interesting track events The girls’ events added some color and mirth to the spectators Of the girls’ items, the tug-ofwar was a never ending source of merriment Throughout the events, our school band was in attendance After the meeting was over, the Chief Education Officer gave the trophies and certificates to the winners He complimented the athletes on their performance The Secretary of the Inter School Sports Council thanked the distinguished guests for their presence With the singing of the Nation Anthem, LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    2  the meeting came to a grand close On that particular day, we shared the atmosphere of real joy and gladness It is one of the most enjoyable days in our academic life Advertising is a way to draw the attention of the public Discuss Advertisement is highly developed nowadays To some extent nature itself advertises her wares; for instance, the color and smell of flowers is nothing but advertisement to attract the attention of insects and birds and the promise of honey is the gift Advertising is one of the media to draw the attention of the public and to educate them regarding a particular product This is called the psychology of persuasion in converting people to a way of life or thinking For example, to introduce a new drink, it is not enough if the product is good; the public should be made to realize its existence The manufacturer adopts subtle ways to advertising It must appeal visually Since advertisement has become very important and the methods used are many, it has become a very professional trade today In fact, advertising agencies good business Since they employ specialists like artists and script writers, the advertiser can have expert service at a price There are hundreds of ways of advertising Generally they may have visual, audio and audiovisual appeal Leaflets and brochures are produced describing a colorful product Free samples are given, so that new customers may be found Calendars are quite common and there are very plain ones to picturesque ones Calendar manufacturing during the end of the year is a big business Perhaps one of the most popular medium of advertisement is the newspaper, since they reach a very wide section of public Some products are advertised throughout the year and they generate a source of income for the newspaper Here the picture and the script play a very important part Nowadays small gifts like key chains, purses, table wares and so on are used to advertise If the same advertisements are issued for too long they become boring The advertiser knows this, so he changes the mode of advertisement from time to time Either the pictures may be changed or the script Sometimes subtle sex appeal is thrown in by advertising agencies Whether this is ethically correct is a debatable point Any advertisement cannot be useless It has got a purpose An advertiser can use a ton of paper for printing his advertisement and distributing it to various houses to get the message of his product across Throwing to the public just like throwing some mud on the wall, some of it is sure to stick Advertisement then brings the prospective buyer and the product man nearer With a complex market where there are dozens of products competing, advertisement is one of the ways of winning the market Of course there are advertisements which are really misleading Some medicines that are advertised claim to be panacea for all bodily ill but very few products claimed that honor Some of the products are not that high quality as claim by the advertisement We can conclude that in spite of its limitations, advertisement is a powerful media that has come to LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    3  stay Click here to invite your friends to visit our site Should women carry out the combat duty? Discuss Women should not be drafted for combat duty It is not practical The army would need to set up two facilities for everything It would need to set up two sleeping quarters, two sets of showers and two latrines The actual amount of work and supplies involves in setting up camp would double More supplies and equipment in the field would slow down troop movement considerably Our troops would lose any advantage they would have for surprise attack We need an incredible amount of backup support for men It is not practical to double that in wartime Women are not strong enough emotionally Women are not strong enough physically It takes a lot of strength and courage to be in actual physical combat You need to be strong enough to kill people without pangs of regret Women could be strong Women are sheltered They are not taught to be strong Men are taught to be strong Women could not stand to see their best friend get hit by a shell and die in front of their eyes Women are not strong enough to handle killing and dying Maybe they could be strong enough emotionally They are not strong enough physically Most women could not throw ninety-pound ammunition cases into a struck all day Most women could not win in close handto-hand combat against a man Women not have the strength for combat duty The things I dislike the most The outline: What things? Description of each item Why I dislike them the end There are many things that I dislike; but the ones I dislike the most are noise, crowds and laziness Noise disturbs me greatly This is why I hate to live in a city In a city, vehicles run to and fro dawn till midnight This makes the city very noisy indeed The voices of thousands of people living close to one another also add to the noises caused by the vehicles Besides, there are noises from the factories in a city I also dislike crowds Crowds make movement difficult If a place is crowded, it is not easy to move about or to any work quickly If we are in a hurry to go somewhere, a crowd can delay our progress Finally, I hate laziness because a lazy boy is a problem not only to his parents but also to others By refusing to any work, he compels others to for him Sometimes a weak and poor person has to work hard to bring food for a strong and healthy person who is lazy Such a person is really bad and ill-mannered As long as he gets what he needs and wants, he does not care what others think of him I hate to see such a person, even if he is my own brother or father LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    4  I hate all the three things I have mentioned Word-meaning: Compel = force Delay = make slow Finally = lastly Hate = dislike strongly Mentioned = named, told Progress = moving forward Refusing = not doing what one is told to The person I like most The outline: Who? What kind of person Why I like him or her Is there any other person like him or her? The end Of all the people in the world, I like my dear mother the most Everyone knows that mother’s love is the greatest in the world When I see how my mother behaves towards my father, brothers, sisters and me, I am filled with pride In everything that she does, there is a touch of love Even when she washes the dishes, she makes sure that they are clean so that no one in her family will become ill Though she sometimes scolds me, I know that she does so not because she is bad but because she is tired, working all day for the happiness of the family So I keep quiet while she expresses her anger, so that she may feel a little relieved The she loves her family is proved every day When my youngest brother is very hungry late in the night and cries for milk, she wakes up at once to make for him, even if she is tired or ill In the same way, she wakes up before all the others and goes to bed last, so that everyone in the family can receive her care If anyone in the family is ill, she is the one who is the most worried Such care and love no one in the world can give to me For these reasons my mother will always the dearest person to me Word-meaning: Express = make known by words, looks or actions Relieved = lessening of pain LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    5  10 How I learned to swim The Outline: Is swimming exciting or not? Why I wanted to learn how to swim Who taught me? How happy I feel after learning it Swimming is one of the best pastimes that people have Learning how to swim is indeed very exciting It was my sister who taught me how to swim Every day, for about a week, she took me to the swimming pool in the park in my town and spent about three hours teaching me how to swim However, the first lesson that I had in swimming was very unpleasant I sank several times and not only drank a lot of water but also let some to enter my nose At times I felt as though I was drowning My sister did not seem to be very helpful I blamed her every time I had some difficulty in the water She always responded it by laughing and irritating me more On the next day I was not keen to go to the pool I did not wish to learn how to swim any longer My sister then told me that she was not trying to be cruel to me So I followed her to the pool for the second time That day I was able to keep my nose above the water My sister was more helpful She allowed me to use a rubber tube whenever I felt tired I began to like her lessons Finally, after about a week, I could swim without the tube I was delighted and thanked my sister profusely 11 The use of television The outline: A wonderful invention Why it is popular Why it is useful The end Television enables us to see things in distant places It is indeed one of the most wonderful things that man has ever invented Television not only entertains people but also teaches people a variety of important things Through this wonderful invention we learn about people and events thousands of miles away Pictures taken in all parts of the world are also shown on television for entertainment as well as for instruction Short films based on popular stories are often shown which entertain millions of people all over the world LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    6  In some countries television is used to teach pupils and students many useful lessons Students who cannot go to school because of transport or other problems are taught all their lessons at home through television As television appeals to the eye instead of the ear, people enjoy watching more than listening to the radio Listening requires knowledge of many things, but what we see with our eyes explains that itself For all these reasons, there is no doubt that television will continue to be popular for a long time Word-meaning: Appeals to = attracts Entertain = to interest Distant = far away Invented = made for the first time Enable = make able Requires = needs 13 The advantages and disadvantages of money Everybody knows the value of money Nothing is more powerful than money In fact, if we have no money, we cannot buy goods, clothes and other necessaries we need Without money, we cannot go to the movies, theaters or other amusements places How can we spend our free time pleasantly on rainy evenings without a color television in front of us? Music from a new hi-fi can relax us quickly after a hard day of work But how can we satisfy our needs, our desires and our pleasures when we cannot afford to buy them? Thanks to money we can improve our spiritual activities easily We can go to any schools, any universities we like to further our knowledge If our parents are wealthy and powerful we may be sent abroad to study Moreover, we can enjoy pure happiness by contributing our money to Charity funds to help the poor, the wretched and the victims of other disasters But money not only brings us the good but the bad as well This accounts for much of the wickedness in the world The rich often depend on it to oppress the poor and millionaires sometimes treat their servants with great cruelty Many young people, being purse proud of their parent’s wealth and richness, neglect their school activities, always play truant and indulge themselves in alcohol, gambling and debaucheries They often commit suicide after playing ducks and drakes with all their parents’ fortune Money, in this way, is the root of all evils To sum up, happiness does not depend on the quantity of money but on the way how we use it We LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    7  should use our money properly The right use of money may bring us a comfortable life and a cheerful heart 14 Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the cinema 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 15 The advantages and disadvantages of television Nowadays many people all over the world spent most of their free time watching television; but since its appearance, television has brought to man many advantages as well as disadvantages First, television plays an important role in our daily activities: it keeps us informed of all current affairs in the world Events through television are more vivid than those through books and magazines Second, television helps us enrich our spiritual lives Our knowledge is broadened in many ways LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    8  Through language teaching programs, we can learn the language we like such as: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and so on We can become skilful and clever at doing jobs, making cakes or arranging flowers through practical courses taught on television Finally, television is a source of recreation Humorous stories and funny films bring us minutes of relaxation after a hard day’s work For me, sitting comfortably in an arm-chair to watch an international football match on television is more interesting than having to queue for tickets at a crowded stadium Apart from its advantages, however, television also brings lots of disadvantages to viewers too First, television viewers gradually become passive in their action Television may be a splendid media of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other or with the outer world The world seen through television is only the restricted one: It separates us from the real world Second, television, with its fascinating power, makes people of all ages sink into oblivion: whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly Pupils and students are so absorbed in television that they neglect their school activities Food is left uneaten, homework undone and lessons unprepared Housewives are so keen on watching television that they neglect their duties toward their husbands and their children Instead of watching television, we may use the time for a real family hour Without the distraction of television, we may sit around together after dinner and actually talk to one another to know and like each other better Finally, the evil influence of television on the young generation is inevitable; it encourages them to commit crimes Spectacles of sadism and violence on television lead them to robbery, theft, rape and murder In a nutshell, television is useful to us when we know how to use it: Be careful not to overindulge ourselves in it and use it in a discerning manner 16 The advantages and disadvantages in teaching English to Adult Learners in the Current Situation in Vietnam A brief look at the current English language teaching and learning context in Vietnam will show that the demand for English learning is very great This is clearly seen in the multitude of institutions and centers that offer English courses as well as in the great number of learners who go to English classes Among these learners adult learners form a big special group Due to some of their characteristics the teaching of English to this group of adult learners has some advantages and disadvantages as follows The first advantage is that adult learners have some degree of extrinsic motivation They may study English for a variety of reasons but they all so because they want to or need to For some students, the motivation may be in the form of integrative motivation because they wish to integrate themselves into the culture of an English-speaking country like Britain, America, Canada or Australia For others, the motivation is instrumental in the sense that the mastery of the English language is seen as an instrument that can bring them a better job or position When these adult students go to class with some motivation they are easier to LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    9  teach than those who bring no motivation to the classroom The second advantage is that adult students can transfer those study skills and learning strategies they have acquired in their first language to their study of English Unlike children and adolescents, adults are autonomous in some way They have finished their studies or have undertaken at least some in their own language, so they must have gained some basic skills like reading, summarizing, identifying and applying formulae and information and such critical thinking skills as analyzing, synthesizing, hypothesizing, speculating, etc Moreover, they may also have some well-established strategies for learning Therefore, the English language teacher can make his job easier by creating conditions for adult students to reactivate these study skills and learning strategies and apply them to their study of a new language One more advantage is that adult learners can make use of whatever kind of knowledge they have accumulated in their own language Again this advantage cannot be seen in other groups of learners like children and adolescents First, adult learners have extensive experience of using a language, which is their mother tongue Now that they start learning English, they can remember the new langue system better by making use of what they know about their own language It is not uncommon to see learners comparing and contrasting their first language with the foreign language they are learning to find out areas in which the two languages are different or similar so that they can learn the new language more quickly Second, adult students’ life experience, world knowledge and specialist knowledge can contribute much to their learning a foreign language It can help them a lot when they have to read about or discuss complex or controversial topics in English So the English teacher can engage adult learners more easily if he knows how to tap the knowledge they have gained over time 17 Is it true that one who is good at English grammar can write well in English? (Acquisition of good writing skills requires more than Mastery of English Grammar) In the English language teaching writing is called a productive skill because it is concerned with the production of the language The teaching and learning of this specific skill has provoked much discussion about the question of how to write well in English Some people may think that a good knowledge of English grammar is sufficient to enable them to achieve a high level of competence in written English However, this is a somewhat simplistic view As will be analyzed below, the acquisition of good writing skills requires not just a good command of the grammatical system of English but a wide lexical knowledge, a thorough understanding of the topic given and a repertoire of organizational skills Apart from a good knowledge of English grammar, one needs to demonstrate a broad lexical knowledge in a good piece of writing There is an element of truth in the fact that grammar rules help to generate sentences However, if the writer has no real understanding of the lexis of the English language and just applies the grammatical rules mechanically, he will run the risk of producing grammatically correct but semantically inappropriate or anomalous sentences To use the English language with clarity and precision, he needs to know what words mean literally and figuratively, what words can collocate and how words, though synonymous, are different form each other in subtle LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    0  ways Therefore, the writer’s ability to manipulate structures and his word choice are both needed for the appropriate use of language For example, while one can write ‘Sorry, I can’t make it’ in response to a friend’s invitation he must formulate his refusal to a business partner more formally ‘I apologize I will not be able to be there.’ In other words, structural accuracy is just as important as vocabulary selection in effective writing Next, one needs to rely on one’s general and/or specialist knowledge to develop the topic given in depth to produce an original piece of writing If one’s mastery of English grammar can partly help shape the form of a piece of writing, it is the ideas presented that decide the content A good writer does not write merely to reach the word limit (within the time limit); he must write to achieve his purpose, whether to narrate a story, to describe someone or something, to discuss a topic, to inform or to persuade the reader The best way for him to this is to ensure that the content of his paper is excellent He is therefore expected to exploit whatever kind of knowledge he has acquired, be it his general knowledge, his knowledge of current affairs or his specialist knowledge to come up with brilliant ideas that can attract and maintain readers’ attention As the writer is not in direct contact with readers and cannot therefore get direct feedback from them, he cannot afford to be vague He has to elaborate his ideas or explanations to get his message across, leaving no scope for misunderstanding or interpretation of any type This makes an enormous demand on the writer indeed So in his treatment of the subject assigned, the writer has to draw on the above mentioned areas of his knowledge, which are by nature different from his knowledge of English grammar, to search for worthwhile ideas and arguments 18 The difficulties in learning English and how to overcome them The difficulties in learning English and how to overcome them Beginners of foreign language always meet difficulties from the outset For me, I had to overcome these problems when I started learning English English pronunciation is my first obstacle The pronunciation in English puzzles me a lot because the same letter has different sounds For example the letter “a” in “bath” is not pronounced in the same way of that in “bathe” The “ou” in “South” is also different from “ou” in “Southern” Generally verbs and nouns are pronounced differently although they are written the same Record is a good example to illustrate it In order to solve this puzzling question I carefully study The A.P.A (The International Phonetic Alphabets) which helps me pronounce English words correctly In order to have an accent just like the native speakers, I often listen to tapes and repeat after them, trying to imitate them Moreover, my everyday conversation with the foreigners I meet in the street will enable me to acquire a proper accent Compared with French, English grammar is much easier However, this does not mean that learners meet no difficulties in learning it It took me a long time to learn how to master the tenses in English grammar, to endeavor to as many grammar exercises as possible and read various grammar books In writing English, English language has its own style In order to drill writing skills, I have LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    1  tried to read famous novels of distinguished America and English writers I enjoy the humorous style of writing in Mark Twain’s masterpieces, the elaborate and polished style of George Eliot and the sentimental and lyrical style of John Keats After long and hard years of English study, how pleased I feel when I am able to read English and American authors without any obstacles and difficulties at all 19 What difficulties are you facing in choosing a career? Almost every school leaver is confronted with a very important question that is nearly impossible to answer: The question of what to next As for me, I was bugged by my plans for the future from the very moment I finished my last examinations In addition, there is also the question of passing time during the few months of waiting for my results During this time, I had a choice of enjoying myself or looking for a temporary job or even taking up an interesting course, I did all three of them Unfortunately I was not successful in getting to a university, so I had to enter the job market I had always desired to take up teaching as a career First of all I love children Secondly I believe teachers are important people as they groom the citizens of tomorrow As I grew older my exposure to the outside world has made me believe that there are many other careers that could interest me I believe that I am facing the problem or psychological changes that any teenager would be facing during the period from childhood to adulthood I tried relief teaching during my holidays in search of the teaching career The experience I had was valuable as I managed to grasp the duties, responsibilities and challenges of a teacher I discovered my lack of working experience Since I gathered quite a lot of information from the short period of teaching, I decided that I could choose any career by working on a temporary basis The successful stories of how some people started off doing only odd jobs in beginning spurred me on However this does not seem possible in the present gloomy economic situation I also face of another problem where employers are not too keen in employing job hoppers like me My third problem concerns professional skills For instance a secretary or computer programmer requires a certain level of knowledge in the field of typing, filing, shorthand and computer programming These prerequisites can only be achieved through comprehensive courses My concern is over which I should acquire and discover the abilities inherent in me These are the problems I face in choosing a career like other school leavers I believe parents play an important role in choosing a career by allowing the children to expose themselves to part-time jobs This way they can narrow down their career choices more easily Seminars, talks or discussions on careers can also help   LANGMASTER.EDU.VN    2