task2model

[model 7:1]
The relative importance of natural talent and training is a frequent topic of discussion when prople try to explain different levels of ability in, for example, sport, art or music.

Obviously, education systems are based on the belief that all children can effectively be taught to acquire dofferent skills, including those associated with sport, art or music. So from our own school experience, we can find plenty of evidence to support the view that a child can acquire these skills with continued teaching and guided practice.

However, some people believe that innate talent is what differentiates a person who has been trained to play a sport or an instrument, from thos who become good players. In other words, there is more to the skill than a learned technique, and this extra talent cannot be taught, no matter how good the teacher or how frequently a child practices.

I personally think that some people do not have talents that are probable inherited via genes. Such talents can give individuals a facility for certain skills that allow them to excel, while more hard-working students never manage to reach comparable level. But, as with all questions of nature versus nurture, they are not mutually exclusive. Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports stars have probably succeeded because of both good training and natural talent. Without the natural talent, continuous training would be neither attractive nor productive, and without the training, the child would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent.

In conclusion, I agree that any child can be taught particular skills, but to be really good in areas such as music, art or sport, then some natural talent is required.

[band7.5 7:2]
Fixing punishments for each type of crime has been a debatable issue. There are many arguments supporting both views, those for and those against punishments.

On the one handm fixed punishments will have a deterring effect on society. Individuals knowing that they will be subject to a certain punishment if they are convicted with a given crime, will reconsider comiiting this act in the first place.

The deterring effect also leads to social stability and security, through minimising the number of crime committed.

If people knew they would be able to convince the court or the jury of a reason for having committed the crime they are accused of, penal decisiion would be largely arbitary. This would result into criminals getting away with their crimes and into a high level of injustice caused be the subjective approach of different courts.

On the other hand, taking the circumstances of a crime and its motivation into consideration is a prerequisite for establishing and ensuring justice and equity.

A person killing in self-defense cannot be compared to a serial killer, moving from one victim to the next. In my opinion an intermediary position between both solutions is the perfect way to establish and ensure justice and equity.

There have to be fixed punishments for all crimes. However, criminal laws have to provide for a mininmum and a maximum for the punishment and the laws also have to foresee certain cases of exemptions.

An example for setting a minimum and maximum penalties is Competition Law where a person being held liable of a crime under this law will be convicted to pay a fine, according to the harm caused by the violation and the profit gained by the violator through committing the crime.

As for the exemptions, in some countries the law exempts thiefs stealing food during a period of famine taking into consideration the distress and hunger.

Also, a person killing in self-defense will be exempted from punishment.

[model 7:3]
Nowadays many adults have full-time jobs and the proportion of their lives spent doing such jobs is very high. So feelings about one's job must reflect how an individual feels about his or her life as a whole, and because of this, job satisfaction is indeed very important for the wellbeing of that person.

Employees get job satisfaction in a number of ways. Firstly, a person needs to feel that they are doing valued and valuable work, so positive feedback from superiors is very important in this respect. A sense of fulfilment is also encouraged if a worker feels the job is worth doing because it contributes to the society or the economy as a whole. Secondly, when someone feels they are improving or developing their skills through training opportunities, for example, then there is a sense of progression and purpose that rewards a worker. The sense of belonging to a team or a working community also contributes to job satisfaction because colleagues help each other to enjoy their working lives. Satisfaction is also increased by a sense of resposibility for and loyalty to a team.

Of course not everyone enjoys their work. Hard economic realities mean that many people have little choice in the kind of job they can get. In some cases an employee is working in a job that suits neither their skills nor their personality. Some jobs are repetitive and boring, and labour relations may be poor and lead to resentment and insecurity rather than to job satisfaction.

However, even though it is unlikely that all workers do feel happy in their work, I think it is not unrealistic to promote more job satisfaction in any job. If the factors identified above are implemented, then any job can be improved and more workers can feel greater degrees of job satisfaction.

[model 8:1]
A child's education has never been about learning information and basic skills only. It has always included teaching the next generation how to be good members of society. Therefore, this cannot be the responsibility of the parents alone.

In order to be a good member of any society the individual must respect and obey the rules of their community and share their values. Educating children to understand the need to obey rules and respect other always begins in the home and is widely thought to be the responsibility of parents. They will certainly be the first to help children learn what is important in life, how they are expected to behave and what role they will play in their world.

However, learning to understand and share the value system of a whole society cannot be achieve just in the home. Once a child goes to school, they are entering a wider community where teachers and peers will have just as much influence as their parents do at home. At school, children will experience working and living with prople from a whole variety of backgrounds from the wider society. This experience should teach them how to co-operate with each other and how to contribute to the life of their community.

But to be a valuable member of any community is not like learning a simple skill. It is something that an individual goes on learning throughout life and it is the responsibility of every member  of a society to take responsibility for helping the younger generation to become active and able memebers of that society.

[model 8:3]
There is no doubt that traffic and pollution from vehicles become huge problems, both in cities and on motorways everywhere. Solving these problems is likely to need more than a simple rise in the price of petrol.

While it is undeniable that private car use is one of the main causes of the increase in traffic and pollution, higher fuel costs are unlikely to limit the number of drivers for long. As the policy would also affect the cost of public transport, it would be very unpopular wirh everyone who needs to travel on the roads. But there are various other measures that could be implemented that would have a huge effect on these problems.

I think to tackle the problem of pollution, cleaner fuels need to be developed. the technology is already available to produce electric cars that would be both quieter and cleaner to use. Persuading manufacturers and travellers to adopt this new technology would be a more effective strategy for improving air quality, especially in cities.

Howeverm traffic congestion will not be solved by changing the type of private vehicle people can use. To do this, we need to improve the choice of public transport services available to travellers. For example, if sufficient sky trains and underground train systems were built and effectively maintained in our major cities, then traffic on the roads would be dramatically reduced. Long-distance train and coach services should be made attractive and affordable alternatives to driving your own car for long journeys.

In conclusion, I think that long-term traffic and pollution reductions would depend on educating the public to use public transport more, and on governments using public money to construct and run efficient systems.

[model 9:1]
Traditionally, children have begun studying foreign languages at secondary school, but introducing them ealier is recommended by some educationalists. This policy has been adopted by some educational authorities or individual schools, with both positive and negative outcomes.

The obvious argument in this favour is that young children pick up language much more easily than teenagers. their brains are still programmed to acquire their mother tongue, which facilitates learning another language, and unlike adolescents, they are not inhibited by self-consciousness.

The greater flexibility of the primary timetable allows more frequent, shorter sessions and for a play-centered approach, thus maintaining learners' enthusiasm and progress. Their command of languages i later life will benefit from this early exposure, while learning other languages subsequently will be easier for them. They may also gain a better understanding of other cultures.

There are, however, some disadventages. Primary school teachers are generalists, and maynot have the necessary language skills themselves. If specialists have to be brought in to deliver these sessions, the flexibility referred to above is diminished. If primary language teaching is not standardised, secondary school could be faced with a great variety of levels in different language within their intake, resulting in a  classroom experience which undoes the earlier gains. There is no advantage if enthusiastic primary pupils become demotivated as soon as they change schools. Howeverm these issues can be addressed strategically within the policy adopted.

Anything which encourages language learning benefits society culturally and economically, and early exposure to language learning contributes to this. Young children's innate abilities should be harnessed to make these benefits more achievable.

[band8 9:2]
It has been suggested that high school students should be involved in unpaid community services as a compulsory part of high school programmes. most of the colleges are already providing opportunities to gain work experience, however these are not compulsory. In my opinion, sending students to work in community services is a good idea as it can provide them with many lots of valuable skills.

Life skills are very important and by doing voluntary work, students can learn how to communicate with others and work in a team but also how to manage their time and improve their organisational skills. Nowadays, unfortunately, teenagers do not have many after-school activities. After-school clubs are no longer that popular and students mostly go home and sit in fromt of the TV, browse internet or play videogames.

By giving them compulsory work activities with charitable or community organisations, they will be encouraged to do something more creative. Skill gained through compulsory work will not only be an asset on their CV but also increase their employability. Students will also gain more respect towards work and money as they will realise that it is not that easy to earn them and hopefully will learn to spend them in a more practical way.

Healthy life balance and exercise are strongly promoted by the NHS, and therefore any kind of spare time charity work will prevent them from sitting and doing nothing. It could also possibly reduce crime level in the high school age group. If students have activities to do, they will not be bored and come up with silly ideas which can be dangerous for them or their surroundings.

In conclusion, i think this is a very good idea, and I hope this programme will be put into action for high schools/colleges shortly.

[model 9:3]
A problem of modern societies is the declining level of health in the general population, with conflicting view on how to tackle this worrying trend. One possible solution is to provide more sports facilities to encourage a more active lifestyle.

Advocates of this believe that today's sedentary lifestyle and stressful working conditions mean that physical activity is no longer part of either our work or our leisure time. If there were easy-to-reach local sports centres, we eould be more likely to make exercise a regular part of our lives, rather than just collapsing in front of a screen every evening. The variety of sports that could be offered would caterfor all ages, levels of fitness and interests: those with painful memories of PE at school might be happier in the swimming pool than on the football pitch.

However, there may be better ways of tackling this problem. Interest in sport is not universal, and additional facilities might simply attract the already fit, not those who most need them. Physical activity could be encouraged relatively cheaply, for example by installing exercise equipment in parks, as my local council has done. This has the added benefit that parents and children often use them together just for fun, which develops a positive attitude to exercise at an early age.

As well as physical activity, high tax penalties could be imposed on high-fat food products, tobacco and alcohol, as excessive consumption of any of these contributes to poor health. Even improving public transport would help: it takes longer to walk to the bus stop than to the car.

In my opinionm focusing on sport facilities is too narrow an approach and would not have the desired results. People should be encouraged not only to be more physically active but also adopt a healhier lifestyle in general.

[model 10:2]
One important stage in a child's growth is certainly the development of a conscience, which is link to the ability to telll right from wrong. This skill comes with time and good parenting, and my firm conviction is that punishment does not have much of a role to play in this. therefore I have to disagree almost entirely with the given statement.

To some extent the question depends on the age of child. To punish a very young child us both wrong and foolish, as an infant will not understand what is happenning or why he or she is being punished. Once the age od reason is reached however, a child can be rewarded for good behaviour and discouraged from bad. This kind but firm approach will achieve more than harsh punishments, which might entail many negatie consequences unintended by the parents.

To help a child learn the different between right and wrong, teachers and parents should firstly provide good role modelling in their own behaviour. After that, if sanctions are needed, the punishment should not be of a physical nature, as that marely sends the massage that it is acceptable for larger people to hit smaller ones -- an outcome which may well result in the shild starting bully others. Nor should the punishment be in any way cruel.

Rather, teachers and parents canuse a variety of methods to discipline their young charges, such as detention, withdrawal of privileges, and time-out (making the punishment fit the crime is a useful notion), which would see children being made to pick up rubbish they have dropped, clean up graffiti they have drawn, or apologise to someone they have hurt. in these ways responsibility is developed in the child, which leads to much better future behaviour than does punishment.

[model 10:3]
It is said that countries are becoming similar to each other because of the global spread of the same products, which are now available for purchase almost anywhere. I strongly believe that this modern development is largely detrimental to culture and tranditions worldwide.

A country's history, language and ethos are all inextricably bound up in its manufactured artefacts. If the relentless advance of international brands into every corner of the world continues, these bland packages might one day completely oust the traditional objects of a nation, which would be a loss of richness and diversity in the world, as well as the sad disappearance of the manifestations of a place's character. What would a Japanese tea ceremony be without its specially crafted teapot, or a Fijian kava ritual without its bowl made from a certain type of tree bark?

Let us not forget either that traditional products, whether these be medicines, cosmetics, toys, clothes, utensils or food, provide employment for local people. The spread of multinational products can often bring in its wake a loss of jobs, as prople turn to buying the new brand, perhaps thinking it more glamorous than the one they are used to. This eventually puts old-school craftpeople out of work.

Finally, tourism numbers may also be affected, as travellers become disillusioned with finding every place just the same as the one they visited previously. To see the same products in shops the world over is boring, and does not impel visitors to open their wallet in the same way that trinkets or souvenirs unique to the particular area do.

Some may argue that all people are entitled to have access to the same products, but I say that local objects suit local conditions best, and that faceless uniformity worldwide is an unwelcome and dreary prospect.

[band7 11:3]
Many may say, and I agree, that today's society has almost erased all its boarders and soon will become limitless in what concerns travelling for both work and pleasure. therefore, if this is to happen, then learning a new language is necessary.

Nowadays, learning a new language for the purpose of working in other countries seens to become more and more popular. Adults in need of money or, why not, recognision are trying to pursue their happiness far away from home. Also, the hey days of employers looking only for capable people have gone. It seems that today's employers are looking not only for multi-skilled employees, but they also want people who know more than their mother tongue. Sooner ot laterm those who omitted learning more are prone to become jobless.

However, to my mind, a new language shouldn't be learned just for travelling or working in a foreign country. A foreign language should help the learner broaden his mind. by this I mean that the new language shoulf and will allow us to understand more about the world itself, and maybe our ancestors' ways of thinking and acting. Needless to say, knowing another language will help us when it comes to understanding the human race, because language is the first poem of a country.

All of this being said, I believe that learning a different language should be not only satisfying our physical needs, like money, but also our moral needs, because never before had such a big thirst for knowledge been displayed.

[band7 practice3]
Great changes have taken place in our life along wih development of society. As far as I am concerned, the Internet plays a big part in this.

First of all, with the opportunity of surfing internet or playing computer and video games, people have a more sedentary lifestyle. Children no longer play games outside and get exercise but they spend time on the computer. this has bad effect on their health and can cause problem such as obesity.

Another problem is the negative effect on their relationship with their family. internet access fills most young people's time, and even their leisure time, so this is the cause of their disconnection with their family and ultimately can have an effect on their social behaviour.

A third problem is that not all internet sites are useful. Information is often not accurate and some sites are not suitable for children. Some internet sites like chat rooms can even be dangerous because you do not know who is the other person.

As regarding children's use of the Internet, the first solution must be with the parents. They need to limit hours that children spend on the computer and encourage them to have other hobbies and pastimes. There is an important need for them to spend more time to speak with their family than electronic connectuib. Parents should also encourage children to use other means of information in addition to internet.

To conclude, I would say that the internet has brought many benefits and it will not disappear, therefore it is very improtant that we learnt to use it well so that we can reap the benefits and not the disadventages.

[band8 practice6]
There is no doubt that the number if visitors and businessmen and women who are travelling abroad has been increasing markedly in recent years. however, not surprisingly, understanding the culture of local people can brings many benefits to all types of visitors as well as problems for those who do not understand a new culture.

First of all, no sensible person can deny the importance of breaking down barriers between countries. By this I mean, people from differennt lands can socialize effectively and relate emotionally regardless of  their race and religion, if they take time to learn languages and find out about where they are going before they travel. As a results, the tension between people from different backgrounds would be melted.

Another important adventage that needs to be taken into account is that travellers can broaden their horizons by travelling. In other words, people who travel for business or tourism definitely would gain a lot of information from their host society. Knowing how to behave can help businessmen make lots of money for themselves and for their companies. undoubtedly business and tourism play a pivotal role in employing of people and reviving the local economy in their own countries and when they travel.

On the other hand lack of understanding of the culture and traditions of people may lead to misunderstanding and even increased tension between different communities, simply because the background of any society can act as a mirror to reflect the nature personality and behaviour of people. Certainly, when we know these vital things we can oversome many difficulties.

[band7 practice7]
The question wheter money could be more usefully applied to takle the crisis around the world rather than spent it on space research is a very controversial issue and it is now a matter of considerablr public concern. There are, therfore, people on both sides of the argument who have feelings either for or against.

Many people believe that money should be spent to solve food crisis in Africa and South Asia. Drought, for example, left Africa with famine. Every 30 seconds an African child dies of hunger and about 45% of children in South Asia suffer from malnutrition. Similarly, the global issue is the conflict of AIDS in Africa. Although, there are numerous factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS, it is largely recognized as a disease of poverty. Medicines, for instance, are very expensive and the government in poor countries cannot afford to treat the disease, therefore millions are dying while in rich countries people are living longer.

Having said that, however, some people oppose the fromer argument. They claim that space research has brought enormous benefits to mankind. Recently, NASA has launched Satellites for weather and climate, which will give the scientists a unique view of earth's atmosphere, helping them to improve abilities to focast weather and predict climate change.

From what has been discussed above we may draw the conclusion that both points of view have their merits. Although, human life has priority in our societies, advance research should be carried out to find another source of energy, water on other planet, and to understand the planets and its' effect on earth for the benefit of all.

[band7 practice8]
Many people are mmoving out of big cities into the countryside to live to escape from city problems. This is causing problems because most the jobs that are available are in the cities so people have to travel back into the cities again to work. The trasport system cannot cope so people are using their own cars and the countryside is affected by the traffic jams.

One solution to encourage people to stay in cities is to improve the quality of life there. more money could be spent reducing crime, as this is one of the main reasons why people leave cites. For example, more policemen can be employed for city centres, which happened in New York and is happening here in UK. As well as safe places to work and live city centres could be made more friendly and welcoming. The enviroment can be made cleaners and more agreeable to live and work in. This way prople might be encouraged to stay rather than moving out.

A very different way to tackle the problem would be to move some of the jobs out of city to smaller cities or towns. People could then still live in the countryside and enjoy it and only have to travel short distances to work. Another step is to encourage workers to spend part of their worrking week at home, perhaps two days and then to go into work in the other days. This is happpening more and more in many parts of the world.

There are other ways to overcome the situation but these are the most important.

[band8 practice10]
There is a little doubt that governments and large institutions implement many innovations into our society. However, from my point of view, they are only able to do so with the help od ideas from individual citizens.

For a start, every part of society, including government and large institutions, consist of individual menbers. Government have the rights to further use of the new ideas and in fact should always listen to them. For example, a Ukrainian engineer call Platon introduced the idea of building a bridge across the river in Kiev. Seeing the strategic importance of this bridge the government provide funds to build it. And now the whole of society benefits from the use of one man's idea.

Furthermore in London, the Mayor, Mr Livinstone, announced a competition which can be entered by individuals to find a new way to provide air conditioning for the underground system. This is yet another example of how governments and large institutions rely on the creativity of individuals to be inventive and bring about change.

Some people might say that governments have the streangth, power and money to realise and introduce new ideas on their own. In the case of institutions they possess up to date equipment and massive facilities. however I would say that they are not enough to allow them to contribute to society as a whole. This is where creativity and outstanding ideas come in. So if an individual's efforts are combined with the governments' power and money, there would be many changes that could benefit everyone.

In conclusion, both individuals and large organisation, including governments need to work in partnership to bring about any beneficial change.