剑桥雅思 18 学术类写作

The line graph illustrates the proportion of urban citizens in Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between 1970 and 2020, with the expected population in 2030 and 2040.

Overall, it can be easily seen that all four countries has a dramatic rise in population, starting at the lowest point in 1970 and being projected to reach the peak in 2040.

Malaysia and Indonesia saw a slightly rise in population, respectively from 30 to about 45 and around 12 to over 20 percent from 1970 to 1990. After that, both countries has climbed rapidly until now before being predicted to continue increasing for the next 20 years.

After almost remaining in the 70s, Philippines percentage increased dramatically to reach about 47 percent on 1990 and dropped to 40% in 2010. Then, this country faced slightly rise in 2020.

Meanwhile, Thailand reached approximate 30% in 1990 and saw not much changes until 2020. Both two countries are projected to increase in population in 2030 and 2040.

Scientific developments are occurring at a great rate but some of them do not seem to be of help to people. In fact, sometimes scientific innovations are regretted by those who invented them. This essay will argue that science should never harm people but scientists should aim to further their understanding as much as to improve people's lives.

On one hand, there is a strong argument that the public good should be the top priority for scientists. They are the ones who have the potential to make discoveries and invent things that can change the world. Electricity, modern medicine, telecommunications and the internet are just some of the scientific innovations that have changed lives for the better.

On the other hand, sometimes scientists do research just in the hope of adding to their knowledge. While they should make absolutely sure that their experiments do no harm, they may not know until they have finished how their findings will be used and whether they will improve people's lives. The scientist Nobel invented dynamite to help with mining, not knowing that it would one day be used in weapons, and the scientist who discovered the life-saving drug penicillin did so quite by chance.

Overall, it seems that science should improve the lives of people and that ought to be one of its aims. However, knowledge and discovery are aims in themselves and are just as important for scientists. Sometimes scientists do not know how their scientific breakthroughs will be used until their work is done.

The graph illustrats the data of different levels of annual wage of families in the united states in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

As far as the number of families whose annual income was less than $25,000, it began with around >5 million in 2007, then increased to approximately 27 million in 2011, but decreased by 2 million 4 years later. Similarly, those of families that earned $25,000 to $49,999 were about 25 million in 2007, after that it rose to nearly 30 million in 2011. Finally it decreased to around 27 million in 2015.

By contrast, the groups of families which have high income, including $75,000 to $99.999 and $100,000 or more, experienced a drop in 2011, but their data went up in 2015.

Interesting things could be seen in the group of middle income, the data remain the same in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Students attend university to improve their prospects and find suitable employment after graduation. For this reason, some feel that they should focus all their energy on their main subjects to gain a relevant qualification. Others want a more well-rounded education, so they try to learn about additional subjects.

It is perfectly reasonable for students to enter university with a strong sense of curiosity and a desire to learn as much as possible. Unfortunately, we tend to put subjects into artificial boxes, suggesting that business, art and science are not connected. If students become too focused on a single area, it may stifle their initial curiosity, limiting their potential. They could also graduate with a very narrow skill set that doesn't translate well to the current job market, which often favours those who have taken a multidisciplinary approach to their studies.

Despite this, caution is certainly needed. The more we learn about a subject, the more complex it becomes. Gaining an in-depth, specialist knowledge of a subject requires a certain level of focus and dedication over a long period. If we try to learn about too many things at once, our knowledge may lack the depth required to obtain a qualification. If they are not careful, young people could begin to lose interest in their main subjects, which would be detrimental to their studies.

While learning about other subjects is not necessarily a bad thing, I believe university students should ensure that their main subjects remain the priority so that they do not lose sight of their objective: gaining a qualification. Then they can calculate how much time, energy and headspace they have left for learning about other topics.

The diagrams show Central Library before and after changes were made to its layout.

Clearly, the library has been updated to include dedicated spaces for events and now has an open space in the centre.

Twenty years ago, to the left of the entrance there was a reading room with newspapers and magazines and to the right there was an enquiry desk. Now there’s a computer room on the left and a café where the information desk once was. Adult fiction has moved to the right-hand side of the room and all reference books are now on the left. There is a smaller information desk with self-service machines in what once was the adult non-fiction section.

There was a room at the back left-hand corner that had computer games, CDs and videos that has since been enlarged and houses children’s fiction. It has a space with two sofas where storytelling events are held. There is a lecture room in the back right-hand corner where children’s books used to be.

Statistics show that the world’s population is increasing rapidly. It is expected that most of us will be living in cities within the next few decades. The question of whether urbanisation is a positive or negative development remains controversial.

A rapid influx of people moving from rural to urban areas is bound to cause problems. Firstly, pressure on resources such as housing and transportation intensifies. It is becoming difficult for many people to afford adequate housing in cities. A by-product of this is the creation of slums causing low-income families to group together in neglected parts of the city. These people often become trapped in a cycle of poverty that is difficult to escape.

As mentioned above, the growth of urban areas can also lead to severe traffic congestion because more and more vehicles travel into the city from the suburbs. This has many knock-on effects, such as problems with air quality. It also leads many city dwellers to experience mental health issues because travelling across large cities is tiring and stressful.

All of this being said, I don't believe that urbanisation is a wholly negative development. There are advantages to living in large cities that are well managed. For example, there are more schools which means more education opportunities. Access to higher-quality health care is often better in cities. Some cities have also introduced ride-sharing, e-bikes and park and ride services that reduce environmental problems.

My opinion is that many of the problems associated with urbanisation are avoidable but dealing with increasing populations in cities is a formidable challenge. How governments, businesses and society respond to this challenge will dramatically affect the future of our world.

From the line graph, we can see the average monthly rise or fall in how much copper, nickel and zinc cost throughout 2014.

Overall, nickel started with the highest percentage change of the three but ended with the lowest. Zinc started with the smallest change and ended with the highest, and copper prices fluctuated. Prices for all three metals dipped in June.

In January the price of nickel was up six per cent, but this dropped to negative three percent in June, ending the year with a one percent increase in both November and December. Copper began the year with an increase of two percent and by May, the price was dropping (by slightly less than one per cent). It rose again, increasing by a percentage point in July, August and September. Zinc saw its most dramatic increase in February, with three per cent and the price fell in June (a one percent decrease). The change was negative until October/November when it began to rise.

The population in most parts of the world is ageing; people are living longer and there are fewer younger people in many places as birth rates fall. This phenomenon has pros and cons, but this essay will contend that, on balance, the advantages of having an older population outweigh the negatives.

The first issue that occurs to many people when considering the ageing population is the expense. If people live longer, they may have more than 30 years of retirement and may need to be supported financially by the government or their families. If they experience age-related illness, this impacts the health system and takes up resources needed by other people in society. What’s more, when older people are financially independent, it might be hard for younger people if they have to compete to get a foot in the door of the housing market or gain employment.

That being said, older people have a lot to contribute in terms of wisdom, experience and skills. Many people are active and productive for longer than their counterparts were 50 years ago and are an asset to the economy and society well into their old age. They are able to work for longer and after retirement they contribute in many ways too, such as by doing charitable work, spending money as consumers and supporting their families. Grandparents often care for their young grandchildren, making it easier for both parents to work.

While it is true that an ageing population poses challenges for governments, it is clear that these are outweighed by the significant benefits that elderly people bring to society.