English Recordings

Why am I still hungry after eating pasta?

My four-year-old nephew loves pasta.

Open the door!
Who's there?
This is Max!
Chase?
Who?
Jazz!
Rock 'n roll! What is up?
Sky's the limit!
Pins, paint, pint, binned, pinned, bind, bland, blind, king, band.

Topic: Many people work long hours, leaving very little time for leisure activities. Does this situation have more advantages or more disadvantages?

Model answer:

Nowadays many people work long hours, leaving them little time for leisure activities. There are some advantages in this situation, but personally I feel there are more disadvantages.

The advantages include the possibility of earning more money, if the employer pays overtime for extra hours worked. This can be a real bonus if someone is saving with a particular goal in mind: a holiday, for example, or saving to buy a house or flat. Another advantage might be that more time spent at work enables a more thorough knowledge and understanding of the job. Some professions such as law and accountancy require familiarity with a wide range of rules and requirements and these cannot all be learned through study; they have to be learned on the job. For younger people there is also the sheer stimulus of being involved in something they enjoy, so that they do not object to, or count, the hours they spend at work.

Unfortunately, if people do not have enough time to relax, there are quite major risks associated with this. Health often suffers, either physically or mentally, and sometimes both. Taking time out for physical leisure activities has positive effects on health through the release of chemicals that make us feel better both physically and mentally. Other leisure activities may involve spending time with a group of people, activating skills other than those used at work and thus encouraging supportive social networks.

Friendships can also be weakened because of not making enough time to stay in touch, but using only a little of your free time to have a meal or go to the cinema with someone helps to maintain that friendship. Listening to your friend’s problems, or talking through your own, reinforces your relationship with them, as well as allowing you to switch off mentally from the things that have been happening at work. This ‘distancing’ from work helps you to get things back into perspective and can sometimes help you to find solutions to matters that have been bothering you.

Within a family situation a partner may feel neglected if the other one spends long hours away at work, or a child may feel neglected because mummy/daddy is never around for birthdays, school performances or a vital sports match. This lack of involvement is a major contributor to family breakdown, which in turn has wider repercussions in our society.

Work is a major part of our lives and it is to be hoped that many find it enjoyable, challenging and stimulating, but it is important to recognise the need for a work-life balance and to ensure that this is put into practice.

Topic: Some people say that the main environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals. Others say that there are more important environmental problems. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Model answer:

Some people consider that the loss of individual species of plants and animals is the main environmental problem of our time. Attempts to preserve rare or dying species are carried out in zoos or other specialist plant and animal facilities, through breeding programmes, preservation orders and other forms of protection and there was genuine sadness among many when the last surviving white rhino died earlier this year.

Survival of the fittest is nature’s way of ruthlessly allowing weaker specimens to die out, although mankind has also contributed to falling animal numbers through hunting and poaching. However, whether saving individual species should be the main focus of environmental protection is debatable. Climate change and excessive use of plastic are just two other major problems that deserve our attention.

The evidence of climate change is there for us all to see: rising sea levels and associated flooding with the loss of homes at low land levels are becoming more frequent. Many countries and island communities are now calling for urgent action to delay, halt or even reverse the process, although if we believe the experts, reversal is impossible. Habitable areas are gradually shrinking, often for some of the poorest groups of people, but there seems to be little obvious action taking place. If the major contributors to climate change will not support the reduction of greenhouse gases, there is little hope for the future.

Naturalists have also begun to expose the serious problems arising from discarded plastic waste. Birds and animals can die gruesome deaths through being trapped or caught up in plastic bags or ropes, while the long process required for these plastics to decay means that they remain a threat for many years to come. Worse, there is now beginning to be evidence of sea creatures ingesting smaller globules of disintegrating plastic, which harms them and all the other creatures in their particular food chain.

The loss of particular species, both flora and fauna, is cause for regret, but I do not agree that they are the most important environmental problems these days. If climate change and damage from plastic continue, there will be less land and less food for everyone, including plants and animals.

Topic: Some parents buy their children a large number of toys to play with. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the child of having a large number of toys?

Model answer:

It is true that many parents purchase a multitude of playthings for their offspring. Whether or not this is a good thing for the child, is a moot point. On the face of it the advantages seem most apparent, but could there be a downside to this phenomenon of devoted parenting as well?

Most people would consider children who have many toys to be the fortunate ones. Interesting things to play with stimulate many positives in the young boy or girl, such as optimum brain development, hand-eye coordination and colour recognition, apart from the simple joy of playing. Modern toys are designed to be educational as well as fun, and concerned parents carefully select products which might speed their child’s acquisition of numbers or the alphabet.

Is it possible that owning multiple toys could be in any way detrimental to a child? This is an unusual question, but there are some hidden pitfalls. For one, wealthy parents might spoil their son or daughter by showering him/her with toys, resulting in a negative effect on the child’s character. For another, a growing child’s concentration span may suffer if they are constantly surrounded by too many tempting objects, so that they become unable to focus on any one game for a decent length of time before being distracted. On the social side, older children may become targets of envy from classmates, if they are perceived as having far more possessions than their peers. Finally, the majority of toys today are made of plastic which commonly contains the chemical BPA, proven to be dangerous for infants to suck on or ingest.

It is clear then that this situation is not as straightforward as it first appears. It would seem that one of the many duties of parents is to make an informed choice about how many toys they buy for their young ones.

Topic: Countries are becoming more and more similar because people are able to buy the same products anywhere in the world. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

Model answer:

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 traditions 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 people turn to buying the new brand, perhaps thinking it more glamorous than the one they are used to. This eventually puts old-school craftspeople 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 wallets 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.

Topic: It is important for children to learn the difference between right and wrong at an early age. Punishment is necessary to help them learn this distinction. To what extent do you agree and disagree with this opinion? What sort of punishment should parents and teachers be allowed to use to teach good behaviour to children?

Model answer:

One important stage in a child’s growth is certainly the development of a conscience, which is linked to the ability to tell 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 the child. To punish a very young child is both wrong and foolish, as an infant will not understand what is happening or why he or she is being punished. Once the age of 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 negative consequences unintended by the parents.

To help a child learn the difference 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 merely sends the message that it is acceptable for larger people to hit smaller ones – an outcome which may well result in the child starting to bully others. Nor should the punishment be in any way cruel.

Rather, teachers and parents can use 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, cleaned 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.

Topic: Some people think that the teenage years are the happiest times of most people’s lives. Others think that adult life brings more happiness, in spite of greater responsibilities. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Model answer:

What’s the happiest time in people’s lives: youth or old age; school, career or retirement? All of these have been suggested, but teenage years and adulthood both have many supporters.

Those who believe teenagers are the happiest people cite their lack of responsibilities as a significant factor. They are supported financially and emotionally by their parents, and although they may be included in family decisions, they’re not ultimately responsible. However, adolescents are on the threshold of adult life: they’re old enough to get a part-time job, so they can enjoy their first taste of financial independence, and their future study and career lie ahead.

Away from these serious concerns, young people have an active social life with their friends, often simply by hanging out with them. And of course, there’s the excitement of first love and first heartbreak. With all this to experience, teenagers see their parents’ lives as boring and stressful.

However, the reverse is also true. Adults see anxious, self-dramatising adolescents, and appreciate the joys of maturity. These may include a contented family life, long-lasting friendships and a career. Long-term relationships may not have the fireworks of adolescence, but are stronger for it, because of the wealth of shared experience. At work, many of us are challenged and stimulated by the increasing professional skills we acquire, which ensures that our jobs remain interesting.

The greatest benefit, though, is that maturity gives you greater confidence in your own judgement, in all areas of life. You’re not afraid to express your opinion when others disagree and, unlike a teenager, you know when to let things go.

Both these periods can be happy times, but I look back at my own teenage years with no desire to go back. Adult life may be less dramatic, but fireworks don’t keep you warm.

Topic: Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of sports faculties. Others, however, say that this would have little effect on public health and that other measures are required. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Model answer:

A problem of modern societies is the declining level of health in the general population, with conflicting views 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 would 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 cater for 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 opinion, focusing on sports 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 to adopt a healthier lifestyle in general.