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Today, the Earth is often called 'a world village'. Indeed, it cannot be denied that we live in the age of globalization, and the international contacts between different countries are growing nowadays. In this increasingly connected world, foreign language proficiency is more important then ever. I believe that today it's vital for almost everyone to speak at least one foreign language. From my point of view, learning another language has many cognitive, academic and social benefits.
It goes without saying that the most popular foreign language today is English. Following the extensive influence of the British Impire in the past and the USA in present, it has become the leading language for politics, business, art, science and technology. English has become a compulsory school subject, and many people go so far as to assert that children should study it even in a kindergarten, as learning a second language is claimed to be able to improve child's mental development.
In general, being able to speak a foreign language is vital for employment and successful career. Because of that, for me learning English is, first of all, an investment. But sure it's not only a necessity, but also a great pleasure, as I really enjoy it. I realize that this is a great opportunity for me to broaden my horizons and explore new culture through the language; witch is certainly the most important part of cultural identity. I also appreciate the opportunity to watch films and to read books in original and experience them first hand, without an imperfect translation getting on the way.
Overall, I believe knowledge of a foreign language is essential nowadays, and it gives people an opportunity to communicate, make friends and share ideas with people from all over the world.
It is absolutely clear that he use of SMS is on the increase today, and its popularity is rising especially among the teenagers. Texting has developed its own language of abbreviations, often incomparable to adults. Adt texters aren't limited with words, as today they can use graphics or even photos as well.
Texting is fast and usually to send a short message is much cheaper then to have a call. Despite of all the conveniences of text messages, I've read that medical experts say texting boom could lead to finger injuries from repetetively pushing the tiny buttons on mobile phones. Besides, some people go so far as to assert that texting is preventing young people from writing properly, and there’re certainly different points of view on this controversial issue.
On the one hand, the literacy skills of young people may be affected if they use text for everything, because texting is fast and users have to be brief. That means that good grammar, spelling and sentence structure is forgotten. As a result, many young people cannot write correctly in their native language. Some teachers even want to ban the use of mobile phones in school.
On the other hand, other teachers say that young people should be allowed to express themselves. Students claim those who want to ban it to be old-fashioned and to have technophobia. Indeed, texting is just a modern means of communication, and we need to be able to communicate in a range of ways.
From my point of view, new technologies always bring changes and new additions to the language. However, I believe that text language should be used for texting. If people keep using it in a real life, it'll seriosly affects on their spelling and, moreover, creat problems with those who don't understand it.
Certainly, it's not so sure to master English, and to become fluent you should work a lot.
Many students find it boring to learn grammar rules and to to memorize lots of new words. Indeed, rote learning is a waste of time, I believe. From my point of view, reading foreign books and watching films in original is the most effective way of studying any language, because it can help you to improve your listening skills and to learn lots of new vocabulary. Very soon you'll start to read without using dictionary so much and, what's more, have a chance to experience a book or a film first hand, without an imperfect translation getting on the way.
Besides, it seems important for me to have a lot of practice, so travelling to an English speaking country may help you to become more fluent and confident when speaking, as well as to improve your accent. Nowadays, there are a lot of Language schools all over the world, and they are extremely popular, especially among the young.
Moreover, today it's possible to attend foreign language courses. If the tutor is good and all aspects of the language – speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary - are covered, they say it's possible to pick up the basics of any foreign language in several months.
To sum up, today there's a wide range of different ways of studying foreign languages, and everyone could choose something that is suitable for him.
There are more than 6 thousand living languages in the world, and at leat half of those are in danger. In every part of the world, the languages are disappearing.
It goes without saying that we live in the age of globalization, and in this increasingly connected world, foreign language proficiency is more important then ever. But certainly it's extremely hard to become fluent in any foreign language. Because of that many people go so far as to assert that the world would be a better place if eventually there as just one language. Obviously, their could be great benefits if everyone in the world spoke the same language. Some industries have already reflects this, with English essential for pilots.
Today, governments play a role in the extinction of languages. The need to establish official language for country to educate its children and carry out its business has a disastrous effect on many small languages.
However, I believe it's essential to protect languages, because the language is the most important part of cultural identity or every nation. Indeed, they say that if you grow up not speaking your language, you won't know who you are.
The disappearance of languages is rather like what has happened to so many species of animals. Their extinction has made our world a less interesting and various place today. As the languages are lost without living any trace, the hole ways of life and knowledge may be lost along with them.
To my mind, we cannot allow so many languages to die out, and it would be disastrous if eventually there would be just one language.
ADVERTISING
As far as I know, most advertising in ancient times was word-of-mouth. Besides, people used to advertise by putting inscriptions on walls, for example to display political slogans and to offer household goods for sale. It was also common to use papyrus to advertise things people had lost or found. Many traces of these advertisements have been found in the ruins of ancient cities.
Printing, which developed in the 16th century, increased the forms of advertising. Handbills became common, and by the 17th century advertisements started appearing in weakly newspapers.
Finally, the 1960s were a key period in the development of advertising. Advertisements became more creative and more interesting, attention-grabbing, powerful and sometimes shocking. Besides, they begun to draw attention to the unique selling points of products.
These days, advertisers come up with new ways of promoting their products. For instance, product placement has become common.
In general, TV commercials are very effective medium for advertisers because of the coverage of the audience, I suppose. However, they are extremely expensive.
Perhaps the most interesting development is the use of famous personalities to endorse the product. Endorsements certainly increase product's sales, especially if the personality has a positive image in the eyes of the public.
To sum up, today there are various forms of advertising, and some people believe ads help to keep the consumers informed about the products available in the market and help them to make their choice. But the main aim of ads is to encourage people to buy something, so sometimes they are not trustworthy at all.
We live in the heyday of advertising. While some people believe that ads help to keep the consumers informed about the products available in the market and help them to make their choice, the main aim of advertisements is to encourage people to buy something by making them want things we don't need.
Children have become an attractive target for the advertisers. Indeed, if adults may resist their doubtful claims, a child simply hasn't yet learned how to do that. Advertisers usually show their ads many times during school holidays, or sponsor programmes and show TV commercials just before the programme begins. Most advertisements aimed at young children are short, bright and imaginative. Advertisers usually use gimmicky packaging and create interactive web-sites to attract children's attention.
As children are less critical than adults, they don't usually realize that advertisements have a persuasive message. Psychologists say that advertising strongly influences their behavour.
From my point of view, advertising aimed at young children should be banned, as it's totally unacceptable to take advantage from children.
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I'd like to present you the best holiays in the world with our exclusive resorts in the Carribien, Medditerranien and Indian ocean. I think the suitable name for the company could be 'Out of this world', and the slogan I like the most is 'Book now for an out of this world experience'. I think it's catchy.
We organize travel to and from the resorts and deal with any problems, so our clients don't have to worry about anything. All our resorts are full of fun, and we have tennis, golf, sailing, water skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving, as well as extreme sports like parachuting and hang-gliding. And we give free, professional tuition. It is possible to chose from a wide range of accommodation, from standard rooms to our luxurious suits. And our guests can eat anywhere they want from a simple bar to a five-star restaurant.
Moving on to the ways of advertising, I think we can sponsor sport programmes on TV and show TV commercials just before the programme begins, so that people who're keen on sports may become interested. Sure, our ads should be original, creative and attention-grabbing. Furthermore, I think we should print a brochure with all the information about our company, as well as bright and colorful posters. We can put them on the windows of our central office. In addition, it seems also vital for me to advertise our company in the most popular magazines and on the Net, so we need to create an interactive website with lots of beautiful photos to attract people's attention.
Our hotel stuff should give everyone a warm welcome and make everyone's holidays memorable, but I think that young, active and energetic people may enjoy spending holidays in our resorts the most.
BUSINESS
They say that to suceed in business, you should value your staff and pay employees high wages, believe that the customer is always right, invest in local community and, certainly, never break the law. In fact, it seems to me that there cannot be just one key to success. However, if a person wants to set up his own business, I think that it's essential to him to write a business plan, because it may help to run the business.
First of all, it is necessary to include business description. You should think of the name of the company, and make sure that it's not used by another business. Besides, the structure of the business (whether it's a partnership or self-employed) should be also mentioned.
Secondly, a company founder should include business objectives in the plan and find the sources of funding his business. It's widely believed, that the higher the capital invested, the higher the volume of the income is.
Furthermore, it is vital to carry out the research into the market in order to identify industry trends and the market leaders, who are your main competitors.
According to this, finance director should think of the right pricing policy and make profit and loss forecast, as well as capital expenditure forecast for the first few years. As I've mentioned before, finance is a great important factor in running a successful business, so your company's finance direcrtor should be a very good specialist. In spite of that, it's said that it pays to be ready to make a loss for at least the first year.
They say, that some people failed because the market had moved on, and the business was left behind. The second reason is over-dependence one one main customer, and other reasons are poor planning, cash flow problems, bad debts and not dealing with taxes properly.
That means that writing a business plan plays an extremely important role in the success of your company.
To be honest, today I do not need to negotiate a lot (only with my father about whether to watch a new film or a football match). However, I know that to be successful in sales and business, you should know a lot of negotiations tactics and I've read that there are a lot of tips, which can be very useful.
First of all, it is extremelly important to listen to other people carefully, because this is a way to show your respect and interest. Indeed, there is a common saying 'a good speaker is a good listener'. It can be also useful to ask some questions, but only relevant ones.
At the same time you should have have a clear aim, be strong and do your best to win. You shouldn't hesitate and change your plan when you negotiate, as it can be a symbol of your weakness. Because of that I suppose it's essential to be self-confident, stay calm and not to be too emotional. A good communicator should have exellent people skills, always be very friendly and polite, but at the same time ambitious and assertive.
And sure it's important to give a lot of different reasons for what you want, because you should explain clearly what you want and why, so probably it pays to make a list of them before.
In addition, during negotiations, your appearance should be neat and tidy, as it is vital to make a good impression. Moreover, they say that good-looking people are usually more succesfull.
If you follow this tips, the negotiations will be a piece of cake for you.
Unfortunatelly, it is almost impossible today to pick up any newspaper and avoid reading an article dealing with the unethical and possibly even illegal conduct of those who run our businesses. Whether it is insider stock manipulation, off balance sheet partnerships, questionable accounting practices, dumping of environmental contaminants, the stories continue to appear.
In general, unethical conduct is nothing new to the business environment. Employees usually face some difficult situations, which are called business dilemmas. For example, you can have a collegue who is not honest, or a company that gave you an expensive present is trying to become a supplier for your company, or you may find out information which can damage the company you work for.
I've heard that many businesses even have ethics codes to follow if an ethical dilemma occurs. However, people's behaviour mainly depends on their dignity and moral principles, and for many people the reason they work is just a question of money, so they want to earn as much as possible and are really afraid of loosing a job. Because of that sometimes they act in totally unacceptable ways. For example, I've read about ashop assistant who took some things from time to time to make up for their rotten bonuses.
So, it's all about money, I believe. But while some people claim that possessing vast sums of money makes as happier, I strongly believe that happines is determined by such factors as love and friendship. As for me, I'd better accepted living porely than stealing money from other people or doing dishonest things to achieve my goals.
But I've always looked up Gabrielle Coco Chanel, who proved that a difficult childhood can help to become a very successful person in future.
Indeed, she revolutionised the fashion industry with her innovative designs and elegant simplicity. Her themes included simple suits and dresses, trousers for women and costume jewellery, but she is probably most famous for her perfumes.
Gabrielle was born in a small city in France. Her mother died when she was just six. Then, she was abandoned by her father and brought up in poverty by relatives.
When became older, Chanel set up a shop in Paris selling ladies' hats. In a couple of years, she'd expanded her business to include clothing and introduced a perfume, Chanel #5, which has become one of the company's most phenomenonly profitable products. Another instant success of Chanel was suit, and certainly little black dress, which could be worn during the day and evenig, was also made popular by Coco. It looks really fashionable nowadays, too.
As far as I remember, at the end of her life Chanel moved to Switherland, where she died at the age of 87.
To sum up, to my mind, Chanel was the most influential fashion designer in history. She was creative, talanted, hard-working and self-confident, and probably one of the greatest examples of an outstanding busineswomen.
EDUCATION
There are certainly absolutely different approaches to teaching, and it's widely discussed which one is the best.
Some teachers believe that the best way to teach is by taking on the role of the dictator in the classroom. These kinds of teachers are usually extremelly strict and believe that once the information is presented, it is the students' own responsibility to comprehend the material. Learning, in the eyes of these teachers, means reading, memorizing, and being able to repeat any information.
By contrast, I think that today all kinds of information are readily available online, and students need to learn how to interpret and to apply the knowledge, so rote learning is just a waste of time. Indeed, to my mind, children are unique individuals which should develop at their own pace and study without being criticised or restricted. As far asI know, some teachers want to free children's minds, to open students' eyes to the wonders around them so that they would learn by doing and experimenting. It is also important for pupils to develop social life based on cooperation rather than competition.
To sum up, it seems to me obvious that if children enjoy learning, this makes them happy and gives them confidence, and the most successful teaching technique is one that involves a variety of different methods in order to accommodate every student's unique learning style.
Today, universities all over the world provide a variety of programmes for those who want to get a degree in a certain field. However, a lot of people question the value of a higher education nowadays, and there are certainly different points of view on this controversial issue.
On the one hand, studying in the University is a great opportunity to broaden your horizones, gain sufficient knowledge, meet new people and get communicational skills, which are essential for everyone. Besides, even though in most western countries students contribute to the cost of going to university, most of them accept that they should pay something towards the benefits they receive from a university education. These benefits include the opportunity to get good and interesting jobs in their future, and this leads to a higher salary and a more comfortable lifestyle.
On the other hand, almost everyone seems to have a dimploma nowadays, so when students graduate from university, they can't be sure that they'll find a well-paid job. Indeed, many graduates today have to accept posotions which are not challenging enough or well-paid.
Lots of students have to depend on their parents to finance their education, and high university fees can descourage them from going to university because they simply cannot afford it. Moreover, university graduates may get better jobs, but this clearly means they will pay higher taxes, which contribute to the economy of the whole country. That's why people claim that charging fees means asking students to pay twice, and this is unfair and may result in them getting heavily into debt.
In conclusion, even though it's really hard to find a good job and many people claim higher education to be a waste of time, to my mind graduates still have an edge over those who don't have university diploma, as they have uncomparable experience of studying, working hard and meeting deadlines.
Today, there are a lot of Universities which offer exellent opportunities for studying, interesting facilities and plesant atmosphere for young people who want to get a degree in a certain field. But in fact my friends say that in their universities they have to deal with lots of problems
For example, libraries aren't well stocked, and there are very few journals and videos. What's more, materials are usually not in the correct place when you look for them. Because of that, students waste a lot of time and sometimes cannot do their assignments properly and therefore receive low grades from lecturers.
Besides, ss far as I know, the computer laboratories are not state-of-the-art in many universities, and the computers aren't modern and frequently break down, which is really annoying.
Finally, my friends claimed some tutorials to be really dull and just a waste of time and were really dissatisfied with the standart of lecturing.
By contrast, I'm absolutely satisfied with my studies. Most of all, I appreciate our outstanding teaching staff, because all of my lecturers are experienced teachers and, moreover, they all have very interesting an charismatic personalities, so it's a great pleasure to communicate with them. They incourage us to study their subjects, to read extra literature and solve hard problems.
In addition, I really like the location of the University building, as it's not far from my home and I don't have to commute for hours, which is always very time-consuming and tiring.
Finally, I really enjoy the atmosphere here in the building, and my groupmates are great, so we usually have a lot of fun together. Because of that, I can say that I'm really happy about entering this University.
The job of a teacher isn't an easy one, as it requires posessing certain skillsIn my school, we had an outatanding teaching stuff. All our teachers were really good and experienced, and I loved all of them, but the person I've always looked up is my
She is rather strict and always wanted us to work hard during her classes, so we used to have a lot of literature homework. But at the same time, her teaching method is to keep pupils interested in her subject, so that they can learn by self-studying and self-correction. She strongly believed that children are unique individuals who need to develop at their own pace and to learn without being criticised or restricted, and her aim is to free students' minds and to open their eyes to the wonders around them.
Besides, she realises that rote learning is a waste of time for today's studets, as all kinds of information are readily available online, so that students need to learn how to apply and interpret the knowledge. I remember, that we always had uncomperably interesting disccussions in every lessons, and this halped us to develop a social life based on cooperation rather then competition.
Finally, I admire her because she has a really strong personality. She is extremelly honest and always tells what she really thinks. She helps her students to become good members of our society, those, who are assertive, strong-willed, well-educated and have strong moral principles. She taught us to realise the great responsibility for our actions and to make the world better and kinder.
To my mind, my schoolteacher is a great example for everyone. She has inspiration and really loves her job, and because of that she always does it perfectly.
ENGENEERING
Engineers find solutions to the problems which are important to the society. They control and prevent pollution, develop new medcines, create advanced technologies and help explore new worlds. They make the world a greener, safer, healthier place by inventing, building and improving all sorts of things.
There is a variety of engineerinf fields, such as aerospace, biomedical, civil, mechanical and computer engineering.
Today, it seems that human mind has achieved everything by the power of imagination. The life expanditure has increased for the last 50 years, and many scientists believe that this trend is going to continue in future. The main reason for it are, without doubt, the advancements in biomedical technology.
By learning more about a disease and offering more treatment options, more lives can be save and the quality of life can be improved for many people. Biomedical advancements provide a variety of opportunities for people to improve their lives and help them to become healthier. For example, with a help of modern technologies, the isolating of specific genes that cause health problems has become possible nowadays, and this is certainly an uncomparable breakthrough in medcine. Furthermore, new, more personalised, more accurate and more rapid diagnostic techniques are being devised, as well as new treatments.
Sure, when it somes to sicknesses, there’s no way to tell whether there will eventually be a cure for all disease, or whether there will always be something that humanity can’t control.
It is often said that today we live in an information-based society, as all kinds of information are readily available online, and thousands of libraries all over the world store great numbers of books. The introduction of printing in the middle of the 15th century was, without doubt, the very beginning of this information revolution, and that's why I suppose that the invention of a printing press made by Gutenberg in Germany is probably one of the most important inventions in history.
Indeed, it is measured that before the introduction of printing the number of books in Europe could be counted in thousands, but by 1500, after only 50 years of printing, there were over 9 millions of books in Europeans libraries.
Printing prevented the further corruption of text through hand copying and helped to preserve knowledge in a standart form. What's more, books became cheaper and, as a result, everyone could afford it. This made it worthwhile for an ordinary man to learn hoe to read. Such middle-class readers gained sufficient knowledge from books and very soon began to apply it to geography, history and various science subjects. That is whu the 16th century became the period of great inventions.
In conclusion, they say that Gutenberg's invention is called 'a great German contribution to the society'. It cannot be denied that it came to have a deep and lasting influence on our culture and history, stimulated literacy and changed many people's lifestyle.
Today, we can find hundreds of men-made marvels on the Earth. They range from world-famous icons of architecture, such as Taj Mahal in India or the Winter Palace in St. Peterburg, to newer, less well-known, but sometimes even more amazing skyskapers, sculptures and other constructions which show the full range of men's technical abilities. But I can't say that I'm familiar with modern architecture.
For me, the most impressive place I've ever visited is, without doubt, Neushwainstein Castle is Bavaria, buolt by Lui II, also knows as Mad King Ludwig.
The castle is situated on a rugged hill just against the backdrop of a picturesque mountain scenery, so the view is breathtaking in every direction. You can see the castle from miles away and when you get closer what strikes you is not only its size, but also the beauty of its architecture. I remember that when I saw this turret-bedecked, theatrically-ornate castle it seemed to me that I was in a fairy-tale.
The entire facade of the building is covered with slubs of limestone, and the supporting walls are made of brick.
What surprised me is that the castle was equipped with all kinds of technological advances which were very modern, if not saying revolutionary at that time, such as electricity, running water and air heating system.
Inside, there is a plenty to see. The staterooms aand halls are magnificent, full of luxuries and fantastically beautiful paintings on the walls. By contrast, king's bedroom is really tiny and seemed to me to be extremely bare for such an important person.
In conclude, I think this castle impressed me so much because it represent the architectural glory of all European countries. Moreover, it reflects the way people used to live many years ago.
TRENDS
MASS MEDIA
In the past, it used to be extremely difficult for people to learn about the world around them, but todayThey say that today we live in the age of mass culture.
Some people read newspapers for entertainment; others are interested in political and sports news. There're special editions for women, young people, businessmen, those who are fond of sports or those who enjoys gardening, for instance.
Young people often prefer magazines to newspapers. Teen magazines are extremely popular among teenagers, although they are criticised by their parents.
Tabloids usually provide gossip about film stars and pop singers and may give information about parties, discos and clubs, while broadsheetsanalise the latest trends in world's policy and economy.
The film that touched me deeply and made me think was 'Ameli', directed by Jena-Paul Jeunet. It had it first showing in 2001 and it stars Audrey Tatou.
Ameli is a young women who lives in Paris. One day, she comes across the box full of things which belonged to her appartments' previous tenant. Ameli decides to find the man who owns the box and give it back to him. Throughout the film, she spends a lot of time trying to make other people happy but in the end discovers that she has to take care of her own happiness first.
The film deals with problems such as loneliness in a city and the conflict between dreams and the real world. It also raises a moral issue: how much we can influence other people's lives. Most importantly, to my mind, it's a film about human kindness and being good to other people. The film is neither a romantic comedy nor a fairy tale. It's just a modern story with a happy ending, filmed in strong, warm colours with brilliant music.
To sum up, enen though 'Amelie' is not a big Hollywood production, I believe it could speak more intimately to each of us about truth and beauty. I'd recommend it to enuone who enjoys artistic films.
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