VIP Class Notes (JJ)

Task 1:

The bar chart shows the proportion of four different waste disposals in four European countries. Overall, landfill was the most popular method in Italy, Spain and UK while it is the least popular method in Netherland. UK did not adopt the biologically treated method and the most commonly used one for them was recycling in these four countries.

The landfill was the highest adoption rate in Italy, Spain and UK, at nearly 5.5-6 percentage while the lowest proportion in Netherlands is about 1.5%. Another worthy mentioned point is that UK absolutely doesn’t use biological treatment, and the proportion of other countries using this method was nearly at approximately 2%. Netherlands is the country which burns garbage disposals the most, at the rate of 4 %. This way used in Italy and Spain is only a half of that used in Netherland and is one quarter in UK. Finally, the rate of recycling used was the most similar all four countries, at 3.4-4.7%.

Task 2: Today, many people spend less and less time in their homes. what’ s the reason for it? What’s the effects of this trend on individuals and society?

Nowadays, more and more people do not stay at home for a long time. I would like to talk about the reasons and effects of this on individuals and society in this essay.

This phenomenon is mainly caused by people’s busy work schedules and heavy workloads as there is more competition among companies and employees. People have to work hard to earn higher salaries and to gain improvement so that they can pursue a better life. It means that they will often work overtime and will have to network with colleagues after work. Another reason is that there are various forms/types of entertainment in our lives. People have more choices, such as visiting an art exhibition and enjoying a play at the theatres instead of watching TV at home. Meanwhile, for those youngsters who do not live with their families, they usually feel lonely and bored if they go home directly at the end of the day. They would rather plan some activities with friends in their leisure time.

There are both positive and negative impact on individuals and society. On the one hand, it leads to the weakening of bonds between family members for individuals. Because/Given that the youngsters/younger generations now spend less time with their family members, their parents might experience the lack of emotional support and communication and feel distance between them. On the other hand, for the society, more social activities outside of home would benefit the economy as a whole. Increased consumption would improve many industries’ income. For example, increasing the frequency of travels would stimulate the sustainable flourish of the tourism industry.

In conclusion, there are several factors contributing to the shrinkage of family time. Although it is harmful to the fundamental well-being of families, it is conductive to the development of social economy.

Vocabulary

stay at home

caused by

result from

generated by

gain improvement

earn salary/money/income

to socialize: 社交(一般的）

to network: 工作有关的社交

to attend: 出席某个活动（比较正式的，大规模的，不是朋友聚餐的）

would rather: 宁愿。。。

influence: 人与人之间的影响

impact: 大规模的影响

Write about what you know of the BCI movement, what are the pros and cons for China and what is your personal opinion in this regard.