English Questions

Which was more important to Arthur; making money, or speaking the truth?

John says that the tribal society in Africa is breaking down. In his opinion, what else is,too?

What is mined in the mines outside Johannesburg?

Why does Kumalo say "the tribe is broken and can be mended no more?"

I find the idea of a healthy diet to be more convincing, when it comes to maintaining good health. Firstly, while exercise is undoubtedly important, for overall health what you put into your body every day is far more important. If you ate fast food every day, for example, but did exercise every day, you might be able to stay thin, but you would still clog up your arteries and possibly develop diabetes. It's also important to watch what you eat because the body needs lots of different vitamins and nutrients in order to function optimally, whereas even the laziest of people gets some exercise every day. You can exercise your body just by walking to the shop, but you can't get vitamin C incidentally.

Well, for me personally I believe both are important. I don't mind paying more for a product if I know that it's made of much higher quality materials. However, there are limits to that where you might have two products where one is twice the price of the other, but it's only slightly higher in quality. In that case, it is more practical to make do with the cheaper product than to pay double for a similar product. This is why most people don't buy the most expensive, luxury goods, because the price is far higher relative to the quality of the product. The only people who buy such things are people who aren't worried about costs but care more about quality and brand names than anything else. So, I think it's ultimately about value, and balancing the quality of a product in relation to its price.

From my point of view, I do believe that having fun is absolutely essential when we are practicing some physical activity. I remember I used to be extremely competitive when I was a teenager. I constantly compared myself with my friends, trying to catch up with them in all activities, be it swimming, baseball, running or even chess and, in addition, I tried to excel myself too. Nowadays I think that a physical activity must be accompanied by the pleasure of doing it. That is the reason why I try to do it every day. For example, instead of looking at the timer when I am running in the park, I just close my eyes and feel my own breath or I watch the beautiful scenery and this is extremely exciting for me.

I definitely prefer to stay in bed for as long as possible in the morning and there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, if I don't get enough sleep then I am really tired and it's just a lot harder for my brain to function properly during the day. Secondly, I think waking up too early means that people are too stressed and don't appreciate the importance of relaxation. People I know who wake up early aren't able to kick back and put their feet up for even a second. They always have to be doing something. Of course, if you have young children, then maybe you don't have much choice about when you're going to wake up! Personally, I think that the more you sleep, the more refreshed and ready you'll feel.

In order to show that you have understood the subject, it is always good to quickly summarize what the lecture is about. In the sample answer, the student gives a short definition of what is a developing country in his introduction. Then you are being asked to describe the existing disparities that exist between those nations. Because you are about to enumerate different things, you can use sequencers (first, then, next, finally). Using sequencers is a very simple trick that will improve your speaking because it helps organize your ideas. Please note the use of both the present perfect (have made) and the simple past (experienced, were concentrated) in the sample answer. In order to practice, you can read short news articles and then summarize them. Don't forget to set the timer!

I believe that failure is an important step in learning how to truly succeed. If you experience a failure, you can learn from your mistakes and will be better equipped to tackle future difficulties. It may not be easy to recognize the benefits of failure in the moment, but in many cases, you can manage to achieve far greater things if you rise to the challenge and take advantage of the situation. For example, the world-famous author J.K. Rowling was poor and jobless before she became the well-known writer of the Harry Potter series. In the moment, she must have felt lost and helpless, but she used the time without a job to finally pursue her love of writing. Little did she know that this time of epic failure would help her achieve her greatest success.

When we are born, our first few years on Earth are filled almost solely with failing, we fail to use a knife and fork, we fail to walk, we fail to form words, until, one day, we stop failing, and we start doing. The fact that you and I are able to walk now is because we fell down thousands of times when we were young, and we learnt from those failures. That is why I consider the idea that failure is not only the most important factor in success; it is its catalyst.Someone that has never failed in their professional life, may consider themselves successful, but it is almost certain that they have stuck to what they know all their life, and never grown or been challenged, to me this is the opposite of success, it's failure at life.

If I had the choice, I'd much rather get away to somewhere really sunny for a winter holiday. Firstly, long days with the warmth of the sunshine on my skin help me unwind and de-stress. Spending lovely balmy evenings outside rather than being cooped inside is a special treat. One Christmas holiday I was lucky enough to spend 3 wonderful weeks in Kawaii, the Emerald Isle in Hawaii. It was a great escape from the stresses of everyday life, and I felt totally rejuvenated when I got back! In addition, being in sunnier climes at that time of the year means you can enjoy lots of outdoor activities that you wouldn't be able to do normally. For instance, I've never forgotten how amazing it was to go cycling and horse riding under blue skies during my first winter break in Spain when I was 19.

It goes without saying that it is a very controversial subject and I believe that there is no easy answer. I would say that it depends on the child's age and the type of game because people are usually concerned about violent games. I think that parents should make sure that their kids are playing games suitable for their age group and that they limit the time spent playing games on smartphones, tablets, and other screens. Speaking personally, I would keep the video game console in a common area of the house, so that I can catch any inappropriate content in the games. That being said, I have read that video games can help develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, two skills that are highly useful in life.

In my opinion it's definitely worth getting to know your workmates socially rather than being closed to opportunities for making new friends. Firstly, if you get on well with colleagues, you're more likely to enjoy what you're doing and be more productive. When I worked in the City of London, I often used to go out with the others at lunchtime and we organised many great social events. It meant I looked forward to going to work. Secondly, it's not always easy to make new friends, for example, if you move to a totally new area like I did when I was younger. As I'd just got my first flat and started a new job, I didn't know anyone when I arrived. My new workmates were really welcoming and included me in their social circle, so I never felt lonely.

Well, personally speaking, I would say that listening is preferable to speaking in discussion. Nowadays, most people just wait for their turn to speak rather than actually paying attention to what others say. Some people are of course more extroverted than others and will converse more, but it is possible to take this too far where it becomes a sign of selfishness and arrogance. I mean what is the point of having a conversation with someone who doesn't care about what you say? I think ultimately if you listen and make an attempt to understand others, then you'll naturally be invited to speak because people will value what you say more. Where I'm from, listening is a sign of wisdom. It shows respect, a humility about yourself and a willingness to learn.

The woman is of the opinion that the language course should be something students have to pay for, and that in any case it will be very difficult to get on. She cites the popularity of Spanish to back up her opinion, as well as the preferences given in the article, which say that students working in close proximity to exchange students will be chosen first. She also goes on to say that, since the course is free, many students won't take it seriously and might not even show up to half of the classes.

Although I wholeheartedly believe in vaccines, I also think that the state has no business in my body. This inevitably leads into a controversial discussion of whether protecting an individual from disease outweighs the power of personal choice. Even if vaccines were to be mandatory and given automatically when people go to hospitals, then anti-vaxxers will simply stop visiting hospitals which would be more damaging to their health than not being vaccinated. Furthermore, those who refuse to be vaccinated will still be vulnerable to viruses. However, they will be unable to spread them to people who had the vaccine and I would expect that the sole danger culminated by these unvaccinated individuals will be to themselves. Therefore, I do not agree that vaccines should be mandatory.

Personally, I think that in general, it's more beneficial to raise children. Firstly, a person's career can be either worthwhile, or not; some people work as doctors or important scientists, for instance, which are undoubtedly beneficial to us as a whole. However, most people's careers are not notable for anything except their ability to provide for their families. Secondly, children have almost unlimited potential, so while you yourself might not change the world, your offspring might. A good example would be Albert Einstein. His parents were clever and talented, but if they had only pursued their careers, the world's understanding of the universe would have suffered a lot as a result.

He / still/anymore / to make a profit / ? / (present simple)

He / still/anymore / to manage the department / ? / (present simple)