Online Class Notes (Jesse)

Vocabulary

mock test

Being a good members of society is not only the cornerstone of individual lives and careers, but also an essential ingredient of social stability. However, some people think that parents should teach children how to be good members of society, while others believe that school is the place to learn this. Since it is not a simple problem to tackle, I believe both sides should work together for children during the process of growth.

There is a saying which goes, “Parents are the first teachers of their children”. In other words, children tend to copy what they hear and see, especially when they are at the early ages. For example, children who see their parents often do voluntary work for communities are more likely to follow and care about old people. By contrast, if their parents often laugh at and look down upon disabilities, it’s almost impossible for children to give them a hand / it’s almost impossible for children to end up respecting them. Therefore, Parents’ behavior and attitude to work, friends and family influence children deeply.

On the other hand, school is definitely a place to learn how to be a good member of society. Every student needs to follow strict rules in school. For instance, they can neither be late for class nor talk with others in class in a disruptive manner. They must put their hand up / raise their hand when they want to answer the questions and they have to finish their homework on time. Although these rules are simple and easy to follow, but it is the first step for children to discipline themselves. Besides, school is also a small society. Teachers teach students common knowledge including mathematics, languages, science, but more than these. They also teach students how to work together in team sports, and groups, as well as how to help their classmates who may not be good at studying, and how to keep the classroom tidy. All these qualities are important elements of social stability.

To conclude, both parents and schools are important in shaping children to be good members of societies. We can not simply rely on one side.

With the development of technology, great changes have taken place in our lives. The table compares the modes of travel in England between 1985 and 2000 / over a 15 year period at the end of the 20th century / from 1985 / ending in the year 2000.

Overall, the past fifteen years between 1985 and 2000 have seen an significant increase in the average distance in miles traveled per person per year. (At the beginning of the study the total distance traveled ….. was 4740 however at the conclusion / end / finish point of the study ….. ) It starts at 4740 miles in 1985 and reaches 6470 miles in 2000. The methods of travel vary as the distance traveled becomes longer / increases / grows. English people / The English walk, cycle, and take local buses less in 2000. By contrast, they are more likely to arrive at the destination by car, long distance bus, train and taxi. To be specific, on average the distance that the people studied were traveling was–4740miles in 1985, with 3199miles being traveled by car, 429m by local bus and 289m by train. Noticeably, the distance traveled by taxi and long distance bus increases significantly from 13miles per person per year to 42 and from 54 to 124 respectively over the 15 years. The distance traveled by walking and bicycle drops slightly while the use of local bus declines sharply over the period studied.

In conclusion, driving a car is the most popular choice for English people / for those traveling in England over the period of time which was measured in the survey. With the improvement of economy, people walk and take a bicycle less than before.

Over the measured period, it is clear that people traveling in England became increasingly reliant on traveling by car, and in contrast, their usage of local bus as a means of transport, decreased by a similar percentage / overall proportion.

Their use of cars increased by roughly 80% over the 15 year period, whereas / however, the people traveling in England relied less on local bus travel by roughly a four fifths.

Out of / From / Considering the categories measured in the study, blabla ranks the highest in terms of spending. 

Consumer expenditure varied in different parts and different countries. The table shows consumer expenditure percentages in / across / for three categories(including food/drinks/tobacco, clothing/footwear, and leisure/education) in five countries(i.e. Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Turkey) in 2002 / in a single year, being 2002.

As can be seen from the table, the total national consumer expenditure of Turkey in the three categories is the highest, followed by Ireland and Italy. By contrast, Sweden has the lowest consumer expenditure in 2002. To be specific, Turkey has the highest percentage in the categories of food/drinks/tobacco(32.14%) and leisure/education(4.35%). The proportions for Ireland and Spain in food/drinks/tobacco are 28.91% and 18.80% respectively, followed by Spain(18.80%) and Sweden(15.77%). Noticeably, the cost of clothing/footwear in Turkey is the largest, reaching 9.00%. Other four counties share similar figures around 6% in this part. Turkey is the only country which has over 4% consumer expenditure in leisure/education while Spain accounts for the lowest percentage(1.98%). Turkey’s expenditure in food etc is more than double that of Sweden, and close to double the spending in this category in Italy. 

In conclusion, people in these countries are more likely to spend money on food/drinks/tobacco.