There has been endless discuss over whether young people should live independently or stay with their parents. In my opinion, there are no clear answers which idea is better as this varies from person to person and depends greatly on the maturity of each individual.

 For young people who are still immature, living away from their parents seems not like a wise idea. Time and money management are two of the difficulties they may cope with. Those people can no longer count on their mom and dad and have to do all the chores themselves. Living away from home means that they can do whatever they want to, like sleeping, watching TV, playing games, etc. This kind of freedom can lead to some serious consequences of their jobs or studying. They also need to spend money reasonably, not just for things like parties or traveling but also for household expense such as electronic, water and gas.

 On the other hand, for grown-ups who can manage their lives rather well, living independently is a good chance to prove themselves to others. The world we are living is highly competitive and it is really important for being self-sufficient. Those who can take independent decision and work confidently are often success in their lives. More than that, people who are living away seem to have more responsibilities than others, as they have to rely on their own efforts to solve problems and have no one to blame for their failures.

Living without parents is definitely not an easy task. Therefore, a person should seriously consider when is the most suitable time to move away from their parent’s house.

People work because they need money to live. What are some other reasons that people work?

Working has become an important part of our life. Students always try their best at school in order to have a better job in the future. But what is the real purpose of working? Is it simply because of the money? In my opinion, apart from money, people also go to work to prove themselves, to help others and to pursue their passion.

To begin with, some people work for recognition. In my country, it is believed that if you have nothing to do, you will end up doing bad things. Therefore, most of people work in order to avoid being seen as useless. They want to show their self-responsibility and independence from their family. A good illustration of this is that nowadays, many teenagers work part time, not only to gain money, but also to show friends their maturity.

Another reason for working is the willing to help others. Nowadays, a lot of people work for non-profit organization like Oxfam or the Red Cross to help people living in under-developed countries or surviving catastrophes. Other people, who do not work in charity, find another way to support by donating a large amount of their income. Indeed, working is not always for people's own sake, but also for making the world a better place.

Finally, people also work because of their hobby. They are passionate about one particular field and want to gain more knowledge about it. One of them is Isaac Newton. Since Newton was little, he showed a great interest in math and later on, he became one of the greatest mathematicians in the world. It seems to me, that these people often succeed in their job as they greatly enjoy doing it.

In conclusion, there are obviously many reasons for working. Since most of us spend nearly half of our life working, it is advisable to truly understand the motivation behind going to work.

Agree or disagree: The most important aspect of a job is the money a person earns.

When a person chooses a job, he or she must consider many aspects very carefully.

Lots of people think of high salary as the most essential part of their job. However, I firmly believe that passion for career and working time is much more important than money.

In my opinion, passion, not money, is the most important aspect of people's job. One of the reasons of performing badly at work is that many people do not enjoy their job. They think of it as boring and terrible. Consequently, those people lack motivation for working and have few chances of promotion. This is probably the reason why most career counselor advice students to choose a future career based on their hobbies, so that they would be more satisfied with their job.

Another factor of job that affect people's lives greatly is working time. Firstly, long hours of working may give people little time with their family and friends, which is one of the main causes of divorce in the modern world. According to the newspapers, half of the lawyers of the United States get divorce due to overworking. Secondly, people will not have time to rest or pursue their interest if they work too much.  Lack of time for relaxing can result in the decrease of healthiness. Nowadays, many workaholics have health problems such as stress, tiredness and sleeplessness. As we can see, working too much can influence people negatively, both mentally and physically.

In conclusion, money is apparently not the most essential feature of job. Therefore, other elements, including passion and managing working time also need taking into consideration.

When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the new country

When people move to another country, some of them decide to follow the customs of the new country. Others prefer to keep their own customs. Compare these two choices. Which one do you prefer?

In recent years, many people have moved to other countries for living, working and studying. When living abroad, some people still maintain their country’s customs and speak their mother tongue. Others prefer to adapt to the host country’s customs. After considering both sides, I believe following the new customs is a better option as it will help us adjust to the new society.

For those who want to keep their own custom, perhaps the strongest reason is that they are afraid of losing their own country’s traditions. It means that by following the local custom which may be completely different, people may forget their country’s culture. For example, my uncle moved to Britain to live with his son, and felt shock that his grand children could not speak Vietnamese and knew nothing about Vietnam. Therefore, he refused to speak English and follow Britain’s custom. “Tradition is part of who we are and it is our responsibility to preserve it,” he said. It seems to me that there are more old people keeping their own tradition than the young, as they have followed those customs for a long time.

However, in my opinion, in order to adjust to the new society, we should follow the local’s custom. By learning the new country’s custom, people can avoid many problems.  For instance, body language causes some troubles as its meaning varies from one country to another. Unlike in Western countries, in Vietnam, hugging and kissing in public places are considered extremely impolite. Another example is that in America, making eye contacts when talking is a sign of respect, while in Japan, this is thought of as rude and disrespectful. If visitors do not follow the host country’s customs, they are likely to be misunderstood by local people. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the customs of the new country.In addition, people can still maintain their traditional customs at the same time they adapt to the new ones. Some of my friends, who are studying in America, celebrate the New Year Eve with local people on 1^st January, and a few months later, they organize a Lunar New Year party and give each other the lucky money (which is one of Vietnam traditions.)

  In conclusion, it seems to me that there are no reasons why we should not follow the host country’s customs as we could gain a lot of advantages from it.

TELEVISION PROGRAMMES

 Despite an increased competition from other media such as newspapers and the Internet, television remains the dominant source of entertainment. According to statistics, Americans watch an average of 4 hours of television per day. This immense popularity of TV can be explained by its extremely diverse types of programmes. Two of the most successful TV programmes are talent show and makeover show.

Talent show is perhaps the most popular television programs. This can be explained by its high competitiveness and life-changing opportunity. Every year, despite that there can be only one winner, thousands of people audition for such shows like American Idol, the X-factor or Got To Dance, wishing for their dreams to come true. After the shows, not only is the champion’s inborn talent discovered and nurtured, but they also become extremely famous. A well-known example of this is Kelly Clarkson – winner of American Idol season 1 and two Grammy Music Awards. If Kelly had not won the show, she would still be an unknown, poor waitress from Texas.

Another successful television programme is makeover show or self-improvement show. The target of the show is to help its candidates overcome their problems or fears, and therefore, improve their lives. For example, The Biggest Loser show aims at helping obese people lose weight and raising people’s awareness of obesity. This programme is so popular that it has been adapt in over 28 countries.  Generally speaking, self-improvement show is highly praised by the contestants’ motivating stories and inspiring successes.

Despite TV’s disadvantages, it is still an undeniable fact that there are still many good quality television programmes. Not only do those TV shows motivate people to pursue their dreams, but they also contribute to a healthy and well-informed society.

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Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed by human activity

   Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed by human activity. Others feel that human activity make the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

   Human, without any doubt, is the dominant animal living in the Earth. Some people believe that thanks to human activities, the Earth has become a better place. However, there are those who say that that these activities have created several problems to the planet. After considering these two opinions, I totally agree with the latter as the Earth’s environment has been severely damaged by human activities.

    To begin with, nowadays, almost all countries have to face with water pollution. The main cause of this is that every year, a large amount of garbage is thrown into lakes, rivers, and seas. This irresponsible behavior has resulted in some serious consequences, one of which is the death of many sea creatures and wild animals. It is because not only do they drink the contaminated water but also mistake the poisonous waste as their food. A good example of this is that every year, a considerable number of birds is poisoned as they have eaten plastic bottle caps that were floating on the water. As water is one of the basic needs of every creature, if human do not stop polluting the water, many animal will become extinct in the very near future.

   Another environmental problems caused by human activities is air pollution. This is mainly caused by gas released from factories or motor vehicles such as cars, trains or airplanes. In my city, air pollution is so severe that people have to wear a mask whenever they go out. This pollution is also known as one of the contributor to global warming. It is because the more greenhouse gases are emitted from factories, the more the sun’s heat are kept near the Earth surface. This has led to the rise of the Earth temperature, which is also known as global warming.

   I personally believe that human are responsible for all kinds of contamination happening now, including water and air pollution. Those pollutions are extremely dangerous as it not only affect seriously the current generation’s lives, but also the future generation of our planet. 

Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions.

 "Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion"

Top successful athletes are among the richest people in the world with high income and luxurious gifts from their sponsors. While many people think of this as unfair, I firmly believe that those athletes deserve the money they are paid.

For those who say that professional sport players are being overpaid, perhaps the strongest reason is that compared to their income, the salary of a doctor or a police officer is much lower. Sports like football, basketball or golf are just for entertainment and not as important as saving people’s lives or preventing crime. Another compelling reason is that despite being role models for young children, many top athletes often cause some shocking scandals such as gambling, taking drugs or soliciting sex with a prostitute. These reckless lifestyles prove that they do not deserve their huge salary.

There are, however, equally strong arguments against the above opinion. To be successful in the sport industry, an athlete needs to be well-trained and extremely skilled, just like a surgeon or a scientist in their own fields. Also, the players are often under high pressure as they represent their city or even the whole country in such international tournaments like World Cup or Olympic. Therefore, the money they receive is not only for what they do but also for the honor they bring to their country. Another related argument is that the sporting career does not last long. A professional football player often retires at the age of thirty. Thus, it is not relevant to compare the income of the athlete to that of the doctor or the police officer, who can do their job for sixty years.

My personal view is that as long as people work hard in order to become an expert in their fields, they always deserve the money they earn.