“Childhood is the best period of one’s life.” Do you agree?
1. Describe briefly how many people treasure their childhood.
2. Describe why childhood is the best period of one’s life.
It is filled with fun and play.
The child has no responsibilities or worries.
3. Describe why childhood may not be the best period of one’s life.
This is true of children who are abused or exploited.
There are also children who live in extreme poverty and who have to shoulder the responsibilities of adults.
4. Briefly conclude that any period of one’s life can be good if it is approached with the right attitude.
Many a time, I have longed for my childhood days. This is especially true at times when I would like to escape from the torture of examinations and homework. Furthermore, my childhood was filled with countless memorable moments that I would love to relive. Many, who have happy childhood memories, would also, I am sure, feel the same.
Childhood is a period which is associated with fun and play. The child hardly cares or knows what the adult thinks of him. He frolics with his childhood playmates in the sand, mud or water. Through his mother may chide him for his pranks, she may, secretly in her heart, wish that she too could be as carefree and happy as her child.
Children normally do not have any major responsibilities to shoulder. Political, economic, social and family problems do not disturb them. They may be confused because they can not comprehend the problem, but most of them will not go through heartbreaking moments over them.
However, the above beautifully painted childhood phase is not true in the case of all children. There are children who are abused and exploited and who suffer from dire poverty. In Ethiopia and other poor countries, children are afflicted with many diseases and continually suffer the pangs of hunger. They have to shoulder the responsibilities of adults, looking for food and taking care of their younger siblings.
These cases, however, may be considered as exceptions. Many still feel that the average child’s life is much merrier. Adult life is filled with responsibilities. Yet, responsibilities need not be viewed negatively. There are many joys that come with responsibilities. For example, I always experience great joy and satisfaction when I do well in my exam after studying hard for it.
Therefore, in my view, childhood can be looked back upon as one of the best periods in one’s life. With a positive attitude, a person can experience happiness in any period of his life.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
An incident when you were faced with a difficult problem.
Narrate an incident in your life when you were faced with a difficult family problem.
1. Describe how your grandmother discovered that you had run away from home.
2. Describe how your parents quarreled and how upset you felt.
3. Describe how you finally ran away to your grandmother’s house to avoid facing the family problem.
4. Describe how your Grandma took you back to your home, and how you slowly learnt to face the problem.
“What is the meaning of this?” Grandma questioned in a frightened whisper as she thrust the newspaper at me. I took it from her tremulous hands. A picture of me stared back and my parents’ plea for my return was stated in bold print. Now, I had to tell my grandmother the truth.
For weeks, my parents had been bickering. I never understood what started the quarrels and neither of my parents explained the problem to me. When the bickering finally stopped, it was only to be replaced by a cold war between them. They were no longer on speaking terms and they made me relay messages from one to the other.
I was very confused. My performance at school was affected and my teachers thought that I was becoming lazy. This compounded my problems. Finally, I decided to run away from home.
One morning, instead of going to school, I went to Johore Bahru where my grandmother lived. I told her that it was my term break and I had decided to spend the holidays with her. I fabricated a tale about my parents going on a business trip to Australia, as the reason for their not being able to accompany me. However, since my disappearance from home had come to light, I confessed everything to my grandmother. She put her arms round me and comforted me. That afternoon, she took me back home.
My parents were relieved and happy to see me. Before they could question me, my grandmother took them aside and they talked for several hours.
That night, as I prepared to go to bed, my mother quietly came and satisfaction by my side. She apologized to me for not having been sensitive to my needs. She told me that there were irreconcilable differences between her and my father and that they had filed for a divorce. She also said that I was to live with her. She hoped that I would try to be strong as we went through our crisis together. Her soft and soothing voice made the news easier to bear. I now know that running away from a problem will never solve anything.
1. Describe how your grandmother discovered that you had run away from home.
2. Describe how your parents quarreled and how upset you felt.
3. Describe how you finally ran away to your grandmother’s house to avoid facing the family problem.
4. Describe how your Grandma took you back to your home, and how you slowly learnt to face the problem.
“What is the meaning of this?” Grandma questioned in a frightened whisper as she thrust the newspaper at me. I took it from her tremulous hands. A picture of me stared back and my parents’ plea for my return was stated in bold print. Now, I had to tell my grandmother the truth.
For weeks, my parents had been bickering. I never understood what started the quarrels and neither of my parents explained the problem to me. When the bickering finally stopped, it was only to be replaced by a cold war between them. They were no longer on speaking terms and they made me relay messages from one to the other.
I was very confused. My performance at school was affected and my teachers thought that I was becoming lazy. This compounded my problems. Finally, I decided to run away from home.
One morning, instead of going to school, I went to Johore Bahru where my grandmother lived. I told her that it was my term break and I had decided to spend the holidays with her. I fabricated a tale about my parents going on a business trip to Australia, as the reason for their not being able to accompany me. However, since my disappearance from home had come to light, I confessed everything to my grandmother. She put her arms round me and comforted me. That afternoon, she took me back home.
My parents were relieved and happy to see me. Before they could question me, my grandmother took them aside and they talked for several hours.
That night, as I prepared to go to bed, my mother quietly came and satisfaction by my side. She apologized to me for not having been sensitive to my needs. She told me that there were irreconcilable differences between her and my father and that they had filed for a divorce. She also said that I was to live with her. She hoped that I would try to be strong as we went through our crisis together. Her soft and soothing voice made the news easier to bear. I now know that running away from a problem will never solve anything.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The rising cost of living
The rising cost of living
Older people like my parents are always complaining about the rising cost of living. At first I did not understand what they were talking about until they explained to me what the cost of living was.
My father says that he used to be able to get a bowl of noodles for 20 sen. That is hardly believable considering that a bowl today costs more than a ringgit. Then my grandmother says that a bowl of noodles cost half a sen before World War II. That is even more unbelievable! Now I understand what the cost of living means. It simply means how much it costs to buy things we need.
The cost of living seems to be always rising. The first car my father bought cost less than six thousand ringgit brand new. Nowadays a second hand car costs more than that. Apples used to cost 20 sen each, as my mother says. Now they cost almost a ringgit each.
My grandfather used to earn 5 ringgit a month and that was enough to feed his family of five comfortably. I marvel at that because 5 ringgit today is hardly enough for a meal at a fast food center. Things have certainly become more and more expensive and there is no indication that they will cost less in the future. Compared to my grandfather, my father earned a princely sum of a thousand ringgit a month. That is two hundred times what my grandfather earned. However I know it is hardly sufficient for my father to meet the family expenses. Fortunately my mother earns a bit as a part-time seamstress to help ease the burden. Otherwise he can hardly cope.
Things a few decades ago were much cheaper than today. Besides that there were fewer things to want. Today, the prices of goods shoot up partly because of increased demand and partly because of advertising expenses. There was hardly any advertisement in the days when my grandfather was young. Today advertisements govern every facet of modern living. We are bombarded by them from every angle, via newspapers, magazines, radio and television. No wonder we have to pay more for what we buy.
Also in those days of old, radios were rare and television were unheard of. The people have less to want. So they do not have to spend much. They spend only on everyday necessities. Today there are so many things to want. Some are unnecessary but we still buy them, thus adding to our expenses.
Anyhow bygone days cannot be recovered. The cost of living will keep rising. I hear that in Japan, most of people cannot even afford to buy a house, even though they earn much more than people here. That goes to show how the cost of living can rise to crazy levels. My father says that his Japanese friend told him that my father’s monthly salary cannot even pay for a night’s stay in one of Tokyo’s hotel. That is an example of how high the cost of living has become.
I suppose the cost of living will continue to rise. When I have children of my own in the future, I may have to tell them how cheap things were in my youth. Things will probably cost much more than today and I will have to earn much more than my father in order to cope. Anyhow, when the time comes, I will know what to do. I will have to pay whatever the cost of living requires.
Older people like my parents are always complaining about the rising cost of living. At first I did not understand what they were talking about until they explained to me what the cost of living was.
My father says that he used to be able to get a bowl of noodles for 20 sen. That is hardly believable considering that a bowl today costs more than a ringgit. Then my grandmother says that a bowl of noodles cost half a sen before World War II. That is even more unbelievable! Now I understand what the cost of living means. It simply means how much it costs to buy things we need.
The cost of living seems to be always rising. The first car my father bought cost less than six thousand ringgit brand new. Nowadays a second hand car costs more than that. Apples used to cost 20 sen each, as my mother says. Now they cost almost a ringgit each.
My grandfather used to earn 5 ringgit a month and that was enough to feed his family of five comfortably. I marvel at that because 5 ringgit today is hardly enough for a meal at a fast food center. Things have certainly become more and more expensive and there is no indication that they will cost less in the future. Compared to my grandfather, my father earned a princely sum of a thousand ringgit a month. That is two hundred times what my grandfather earned. However I know it is hardly sufficient for my father to meet the family expenses. Fortunately my mother earns a bit as a part-time seamstress to help ease the burden. Otherwise he can hardly cope.
Things a few decades ago were much cheaper than today. Besides that there were fewer things to want. Today, the prices of goods shoot up partly because of increased demand and partly because of advertising expenses. There was hardly any advertisement in the days when my grandfather was young. Today advertisements govern every facet of modern living. We are bombarded by them from every angle, via newspapers, magazines, radio and television. No wonder we have to pay more for what we buy.
Also in those days of old, radios were rare and television were unheard of. The people have less to want. So they do not have to spend much. They spend only on everyday necessities. Today there are so many things to want. Some are unnecessary but we still buy them, thus adding to our expenses.
Anyhow bygone days cannot be recovered. The cost of living will keep rising. I hear that in Japan, most of people cannot even afford to buy a house, even though they earn much more than people here. That goes to show how the cost of living can rise to crazy levels. My father says that his Japanese friend told him that my father’s monthly salary cannot even pay for a night’s stay in one of Tokyo’s hotel. That is an example of how high the cost of living has become.
I suppose the cost of living will continue to rise. When I have children of my own in the future, I may have to tell them how cheap things were in my youth. Things will probably cost much more than today and I will have to earn much more than my father in order to cope. Anyhow, when the time comes, I will know what to do. I will have to pay whatever the cost of living requires.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Women between career and family life
Women between career and family life
Many decades ago, women rarely went to work outside their house. Instead, they usually stayed at home and did the housework. Nowadays, women still play the role of a housewife but more and more women, especially the young ones, attend a school, get some training and become a member of the national work force. There is no doubt that it is not easy for any of them to have ‘two jobs’ at the same time – one at work and one at home. In other words, it is almost impossible for them to be an ideal wife, s devoted mother and a competent employee at the same time. Therefore, it is quite often that they have to choose between their career and their family life. The paper/this essay is about the problems facing today’s women. These problems are not easy to solve at all.
The women of the first type I would like to mention here usually stay single. In other words, they may be successful at work and earn enough money to support themselves and even their relatives; however, they are considered as the ones who lose, not win at all, in the battles for love, for marriage and for the so-called ‘common’ life. They lead an unusual life – the life of ‘a spinster’. Their society accepts them for humanitarian reasons; but, to tell the truth, these ‘never-married’ women have never been accepted emotionally. And this is my own destiny.
Those of the second type face their own problems: they have to depend on their husband financially, and almost certainly they suffer from the lack of up-to-date pieces of information on social life, competition at work, recent changes and reforms in community, etc. All of these prevent them from being a hearty friend, an attractive lover or a reliable comrade. In other words, in spite of their devotion to bringing up their children, taking great care of their husband and doing almost all of the housework, these ideal housewives are still in danger of failing to go along with their husband and of being betrayed emotionally and even sexually. Some of my former friends at high school are nothing but the second-class citizens both in the society and right in their household.
The women of the third type are both lucky and unlucky in their own ways. On the one hand, they are lucky enough to get married and to be able to give birth to at least one child. In addition, they do not belong to the ‘unemployed’ or the so-called ‘housekeepers’. Together with their husband and child(ren), they can build up a common life that all human beings have ever been aiming at and dreaming of. On the other hand, they suffer from doing two jobs simultaneously. It is extremely painful for any woman to combine her successful married life to her established professional career. My elder sister is a typical example of the third type of women. She has almost no time even to sleep! And sometimes I wonder whether it is worth it.
The eighth of March is famous as a day for all the women in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. That special day contributes to reminding anybody of the real problems facing today’s women. Although we, as women, have been trying our best with what we have in life, we do need some more help and great sympathy form you – those who belong to ‘the fraternal world.’
Many decades ago, women rarely went to work outside their house. Instead, they usually stayed at home and did the housework. Nowadays, women still play the role of a housewife but more and more women, especially the young ones, attend a school, get some training and become a member of the national work force. There is no doubt that it is not easy for any of them to have ‘two jobs’ at the same time – one at work and one at home. In other words, it is almost impossible for them to be an ideal wife, s devoted mother and a competent employee at the same time. Therefore, it is quite often that they have to choose between their career and their family life. The paper/this essay is about the problems facing today’s women. These problems are not easy to solve at all.
The women of the first type I would like to mention here usually stay single. In other words, they may be successful at work and earn enough money to support themselves and even their relatives; however, they are considered as the ones who lose, not win at all, in the battles for love, for marriage and for the so-called ‘common’ life. They lead an unusual life – the life of ‘a spinster’. Their society accepts them for humanitarian reasons; but, to tell the truth, these ‘never-married’ women have never been accepted emotionally. And this is my own destiny.
Those of the second type face their own problems: they have to depend on their husband financially, and almost certainly they suffer from the lack of up-to-date pieces of information on social life, competition at work, recent changes and reforms in community, etc. All of these prevent them from being a hearty friend, an attractive lover or a reliable comrade. In other words, in spite of their devotion to bringing up their children, taking great care of their husband and doing almost all of the housework, these ideal housewives are still in danger of failing to go along with their husband and of being betrayed emotionally and even sexually. Some of my former friends at high school are nothing but the second-class citizens both in the society and right in their household.
The women of the third type are both lucky and unlucky in their own ways. On the one hand, they are lucky enough to get married and to be able to give birth to at least one child. In addition, they do not belong to the ‘unemployed’ or the so-called ‘housekeepers’. Together with their husband and child(ren), they can build up a common life that all human beings have ever been aiming at and dreaming of. On the other hand, they suffer from doing two jobs simultaneously. It is extremely painful for any woman to combine her successful married life to her established professional career. My elder sister is a typical example of the third type of women. She has almost no time even to sleep! And sometimes I wonder whether it is worth it.
The eighth of March is famous as a day for all the women in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. That special day contributes to reminding anybody of the real problems facing today’s women. Although we, as women, have been trying our best with what we have in life, we do need some more help and great sympathy form you – those who belong to ‘the fraternal world.’
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