The graph below shows US consumers' average annual
expenditures on cell phone and residential phone services between 2001 and 2010.
The line graph compares average yearly spending by Americans on mobile and landline phone services from 2001 to 2010.
It is clear that spending on
landline phones fell steadily over the 10-year period, while mobile phone expenditure rose quickly.
The year 2006 marks the point at
which expenditure on mobile services overtook that
for residential phone services.
In 2001, US consumers spent an
average of nearly $700 on residential
phone services, compared to only around
$200 on cell phone services.
Over the following five years,
average yearly spending on landlines
dropped by nearly $200.
By contrast, expenditure on mobiles
rose by approximately $300.
In the year 2006, the average
American paid out the same amount
of money on both types of phone
service, spending just over $500 on each.
By 2010, expenditure on mobile
phones had reached around $750, while the figure for spending on residential
services had fallen to just over
half this amount.
Sample #36
Some
people believe that childrens leisure activities must be educational, otherwise
they are a complete waste of time. Do you agree or disagree?
model answer:
Today, education has become a priority for
many parents seeking to secure a good future for their children in this rapidly
changing world.
They believe that if their children apply
themselves and work hard at school, then they will increase their opportunities
for going to higher education and eventually getting a good job.
Of course they are right, and as access to the
best education and best jobs is becoming more competitive, then it is true that
children have to make the best of their study time when they are young.
However, the parents who do not allow their
children sufficient free time for leisure activities outside school hours, are
misguided.
Such activities are far from being a waste of
time for the children simply because they are not academic.
It is important to remember that children need
to develop skills other than intellectual ones, and the best way to do this is
through activities such as sports, games and playing with other kids.
If they cannot play make-believe games, how
can they develop their imagination?
How can they learn physical co-ordination or
learn important social lessons about winning and losing if they do not practise
any sports?
Many children form strong, personal
relationships with the friends they play with, and without the opportunity to
do this, they could grow up emotionally immature or unformed.
Finally, I think it is also important to
remember that children need to relax as well as work.
If everything they do must have some
educational or academic relevance, then they will soon get tired of studying
altogether, which is the last thing parents would want.
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