1. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay

9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? All students should be required to study art and music in secondary school. Use specific reasons to support your answer.

The issue about whether all students should be required to study art and music in secondary school is the one that is open for debate. Some people believe that students should take these classes. However, others think that it must be up to a student. In this essay I will analyze both these positions and present my opinion in favor of the people who think that studying art and music should not be required in secondary school.

From the one side, studying art and music brings many benefits to the students. First of all, it extends their range of interests. Second of all, studying art and music helps to reveal hidden talents and possibilities. In addition to these benefits, it helps a growing child develop his or her perception of the real world.

However, from the other side, studying art and music also has some negative aspects. Personally, I think that a person who is interested in mathematics should not spend his or her precious time taking classes in art or music. For example, when I was a student a couple years ago I did not like to attend some of the art classes because it was too boring for me. I wasted my time and money because I was required to pay for these classes and attend them. So, my point is that students should have the right to make a decision for themselves whether they should take classes in art and music or they should not. For instance, there were a couple of optional classes in music in my university. Many students took those classes and every one was satisfied.

To sum up, I think that studying art and music is very essential for a person. However, I think that classes in art and music must be optional, because if a student is dreaming about a career of dentist and spends all his spare time reading about the new technologies and inventions in this field I think it is not fair to make him attend classes when he does not want to. It is like making a person sing when he is good at swimming.

10. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? With the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

From my everyday experience and observation I can state several factors, which defend the statement that with the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly.

First of all, the latest inventions of humankind dramatically improved our life. Nowadays we can move from one place to another more quickly, we do not spend much time cooking, we have many different recourses of information and means of communication. So, our life now is more dynamic and changeable. During our day we receive a huge amount of information and process it. Students at the same time have more resources to get information they need. They can go to a library, the nearest bookstore, or borrow it from a friend or even download it from an Internet. I think It is great. Instead of waiting for one's turn to get a book in a library, one can print it from a file downloaded earlier. The great thing about it that one can print only those pages he is interested in and also make marks on the pages to mark important ideas.

Another important aspect of this is the advantages of using computer the greatest invention of the last century. Students do not have to spend their time by writing and re-writing many papers. It is really time-consuming. They just type information in and may use many useful features such as "copy", "past", "delete", "save", etc. Also, sometimes students do not have to write down lectures because they already have them on their computers.

Internet plays an important role in our life now. We can communicate with the people who are on another part of the planet. We also can get the latest news very quickly. People can ask for a piece of advice or find different kinds of information on the Internet. Students can get their degree on-line, register for classes, communicate with professors, take tests and even listen to a lecture.

I think the great part in it that students may more effectively arrange their time. They can get their task by e-mail and stay home to do it. It really saves time and make studying more fun especially if a person has to work in order to pay his or her tuition.

To summarize, I think that many last inventions improved students' life and allowed them to concentrate more on studying.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The table below give information about Favorite Pastimes in different countries.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.