Some people think that new houses should be built in the same style as

other houses in the area. Others think that the local councils should
allow people to build houses in any style they want.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

It is a controversial issue as to whether newly-built houses should be built in

the same style as existing homes in the same area; or whether the residents
should have permission to construct their houses in their own style. My view is
that people should be given the permission to build their houses in their own
design, as long as these designs satisfy the safety requirements.

On the one hand, there are some reasons why all buildings in a particular
area should have the same style. Firstly, when houses look similar it will
enhance a sense of community and equality in a residential area. This is
because a house often reflects the wealth and social status of its owner. If a
house looks older, smaller, and less attractive than others, the people living
there may feel inferior and less confident when socialising with their
neighbours. In contrast, a house which stands out in the neighbourhood would
make its owner the target of gossip and burglary. Secondly, when houses
share a common design, it will be easier for the local government to supervise
the process of constructing, and to make sure that these buildings are safe for
both the inhabitants and the neighbours.

On the other hand, it should be the people’s right to build their own house in
their own style. A good building should satisfy all three principles of durability,
utility, and beauty. It should not only be strong in design and be built to last a
long time, but also inspire the people that live there by its aesthetic design. If
each house in an area is built in a unique style, it will greatly contribute to the
diverse image of the town and lift the spirit of the locals. Only when a person
is satisfied and comfortable in their own house, can they feel the same
outside.

In conclusion, even though there are certain justifications for houses in an

area to be constructed in the same style, I am of the opinion that the state
should give people the permission to build their houses according to their own
ideas.

Word count: 352

The diagram illustrates the operating mechanics of a digital Single – Lens
Reflex camera. In short, the camera works by moving a mirror up and
down through the press of a button known as the shutter.
When the shutter is untouched, light travels through a series of lenses to
reach a mirror that blocks the CMOS sensor behind it. The light is then
reflected perpendicularly upwards to a penta-mirror and got redirected to
an opening at the back. Through this opening, the image reaches the
photographer’s eyes, enabling the camera holder to view the exact picture
that is going to be taken.
Once the shutter is released, the reflect mirror swings up, lying flat. The
light can now reach the digital sensor to be processed, and the captured
data is subsequently processed in the CPU.   The final photographed data
is displayed on a screen and got stored in the memory card. (150 Words)
Nowadays, sports is a big business with high earnings for professional
sports people and companies involved both financially and other ways.
Is this a positive or negative development for sports?

These days, professional athletes can earn a great deal of money as sports
have become a lucrative business. Furthermore, this business is supported
by many companies in various ways, including sponsorships and so forth.
From my perspective, this is more of a positive development.

To begin with, paying a big amount of money to sports people can be

considered beneficial to sports. When these people find their career rewarding
enough in terms of earnings, they are more
likely to have greater motivation to devote hard work and time to their
training. As a result, these athletes are able
to enhance their performance in competition and gain more medals for
themselves or for their own country. In Brazil, sports have become an industry
that receives huge investments from companies like Wilkes and Banco.
Brazilian footballers are paid millions of dollars a year just to bring victory to
their country, explaining why this nation has won so many championships. 

It is also advantageous for sports when businesses pour a lot of money and

support into the industry. Since HAGL, a prosperous business group in
Vietnam, allocated billions of Vietnam Dong to the construction of a sports
institute to provide young football players with professional training, the
Vietnamese national football team has become much stronger. Being well-
trained, they now have a better chance of winning more championships and
awards than their predecessors. Other companies in Vietnam also use
images of popular sports idols in advertisements on social media for another
purpose. Aiming at all walks of life, they inspire people to have a
greater passion for sports, potentially increasing the number of talented
athletes.

In conclusion, sport can benefit a great deal from becoming a business as it

will help to improve the popularity of playing sport and leading a healthy
lifestyle, while professional athletes will have more financial incentives to
improve their performance.
Some people think sending criminals to prison is not an effective way
to deal with them. Education and training are better. To what extent
do you agree or disagree?
Incarceration is one of the primary  forms of punishment for the
commission of felony, but many have questioned its effectiveness. Others
believe that providing education and training is a better way. Both sides
have their merits, and I think how we should deal
with lawbreakers largely depends upon the age and the type of offense.

Education and training are more suitable options for offenders who are
young or when the crimes are misdemeanors because such actions will
give them a chance to be productive members of society. If people who
commit crimes in their teens or their twenties are sent to jail, they will be
out mostly by their thirties, the prime working age. With years of training
lost due to prison time, ex-convicts have limited unemployment options
and become a drag to the community. In addition, misdemeanors happen
mostly because of a lack of general knowledge. There are not
many compulsory legal courses in schools and universities.
By enlightening them through proper teaching methodologies, society
can lower the chance of future reoffences.

However, certain crimes must result in prison sentences to protect the

well-being of society. Cases involving homicides or aggravated
assaults are best dealt with by locking up the  perpetrators in confined
spaces to prevent further life losses. They might get some education and
training, but still must be kept away from the community.  Drug
traffickers and arms dealers are even more dangerous. These people
are beyond redemption and should serve the maximum sentences,
including capital punishment. Another class of criminals that are often
overlooked is the white-collar offenders, smart people that use their
minds to cheat and dupe the market. Examples include tax evasion,
insider trading, or Ponzi schemes. There is no use in trying to educate and
train this group. Prison is the best deterrent for their actions.

In conclusion, the ultimate purpose of any law is to create a better society,

so for each crime, we should strive to find the most appropriate action
that reduces any future harm. Opportunities should be given to the young
and the inexperienced while organized and white-collar crimes should be
heavily punished .
People often think about creating an ideal society, but most of the times
fail in making this happen. What is your opinion about an ideal society?
How can we create an ideal society?
Each person holds a different view on how an ideal society should be. In my
opinion, an ideal society is the society where everyone who lives in it behaves
with pure altruism. To achieve such a thing, we have to pay more attention to
the education that young children receive both at home and at school.

We are facing many crises, be it severe environmental degradation and

widespread poverty, and unfortunately most of them arise due to our
selfishness. When we truly care about the livelihood of our future generation,
there will be less damage done to the environment to justify economic
progress. Or when we are aware of the suffering of those who are living
in poor, unsanitary conditions on our doorstep and genuinely want to offer
help, there will be more charity and less poverty. We can deal with our own
problems and build an ideal society if our actions are driven by pure altruism.

It is, in fact, extremely difficult, if not impossible, to create a society where

everyone behaves with true selflessness. However, we can make a paradigm
change to our today’s society through innovating children’s early education. A
sense of altruism emerges during childhood and can be developed through
years of schooling. Parents can nurture altruism in their children at an early
age by educating them about sharing and giving. This may greatly affect the
trajectory of a child’s personality development which can later be reinforced by
education at school. As a result, that child is likely to become an altruistic
individual when he reaches adulthood.

In conclusion, I believe the most important element of an ideal society is

altruism and we have to focus on nurturing our children’s altruistic
behavior from an early age if we wish to build such society.

Some people think the money spent in developing the technology for
space exploration is not justified. There are more beneficial ways to
spend this money. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
With the current pace of technological progress, space exploration has
been gaining more and more traction in many countries. However, some
people view this development only as money squandering. From my
standpoint, while space exploration plays a certain part in humankind’s
development, it should not take precedence over other domains that are
more integral to our daily life.
On the one hand, investments in space exploration can be justified
because it holds the ultimate key to the human race’s long-term existence.
This problem arises from the fact that the Earth’s living conditions have
constantly been under acute threats from the ever-increasing global
population and the non-stop tempo of socio-economic growth.
Consequently, the Earth’s natural conditions will be too harsh for human
life, which necessitates the need to seek for other planets to live in.
However, terraforming a planet requires tremendous research,
experimenting and prior infrastructure construction to  lay the
groundwork for life on a new planet. Therefore, spending money in space
exploration early will equip humankind with sufficient preparation in terms
of both knowledge and willpower for living on a different planet.
On the other hand, I still contend that there are other more urgent fields
that require huge financial support. While space exploration is more about
the long-term value, current alarming issues right now such as education,
epidemics or climate change should also receive  meticulous attention so
that human life can sustain long enough until a suitable planet is
successfully detected. To be more specific, governments should
allocate subsidies to education in order to build up high-quality human
resources for sustainable future development, even for the sphere of
space exploration. Another field in need of  pecuniary resources is
healthcare as the recent COVID-19 epidemic has  corroborated public
healthcare as a matter of survival for the long-run economic progression.
In conclusion, my stance is that although expenditures on space
exploration are still for a good cause, the priority should be current
problems facing humankind on the Earth namely education and
healthcare. Therefore, the government needs to be  in concert with the
citizens to achieve the optimal money distribution between space
exploration and other urgent sectors.

The world of work is rapidly changing and employees cannot depend

on having the same work or the same work conditions for life.
Discuss the possible causes and suggest ways to prepare for people
to work in the future.
As the nature of businesses evolves at an ever-increasing pace, many
jobs have gradually become obsolete, and workers are no longer
guaranteed any lifetime or sustainable employment career. The main
reasons behind this shift in the paradigm are globalization and
technology growth. To overcome this challenge, people need to  upgrade
their skills and have a change mindset.

Increasing globalization and technological developments

have disrupted many traditional industries leading to the loss of many
jobs. When companies operate more internationally, their workforce will
likely optimize for cost efficiencies. Specific jobs, such as call centers or
manufacturing, are outsourced to developing countries such as India or
China and no longer available in developed countries. Other work,
especially tenacious and repetitive ones such as bank tellers or
accountants, are being replaced by artificial intelligence. In the not
so distant future, machines will be able to do even more complex
tasks like drawing or driving. No job is safe.

Knowing that these changes in the world of work are  inevitable,

employees should actively increase their competitiveness, avoid
any complacency, and be willing to take on more risks. Learning multiple
languages is an excellent way to start any career change as it instantly
doubles or triples your work market. Other trending skills such as I.T and
social marketing, will also allow one to be  highly regarded in the eyes of
head hunters. But more importantly, people should not be afraid to make
different career moves and always be mentally ready for new
opportunities.

In conclusion, most work will be replaced by either cheaper third-world

labour or advanced machinery. The best way to adapt to this new world is
always to stay ahead of the learning curve and be open to any change.