Sample Essays For toefl

 
152) Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, 
animals, or clean water. Choose one resource that is disappearing and explain why it 
needs to be saved. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. 
 
(a) Plants are vital to the survival of all life on Earth--plants transform the light of the sun 
into energy that is usable to other life on Earth. Without plants, animals would not be able 
to use the energy of the Sun that reaches the Earth. The removal of one plant from the 
ecosystem can cause many unforeseen changes, sometimes irreversibly damaging an 
ecosystem. However, some plants are more important than others, either for biological or 
cultural reasons. In my country, Korea, I would say that the grass that produces rice has 
come to be the most important plant, not just because rice is a staple food, but also for 
other cultural reasons.
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Virtually every Korean eats rice at least twice a day. I, for example, had rice at breakfast, 
lunch, and dinner yesterday. For most Koreans, rice is an integral part of a meal, as 
expected in a meal as ink is to a pen or wheels are to a car--a meal without rice is not a 
meal. In fact, if I have dinner with my American friends and do not eat rice, I actually feel 
hungry even if I have filled myself with potatoes or other food while eating with them. 
Many of my friends have made similar comments to me. So, I believe that rice is as much 
a part of our daily lives as work or talking on the telephone is. 
However, rice is much more than just a staple food to most Koreans--it represents the very 
sustenance of much of our culture. Our history teachers tell us that the development of rice 
as an agricultural product was largely responsible for the advancement of Korean culture--
since rice was portable and had a long storage time, people had more freedom to move and 
were less susceptible to changes in the weather. In many ways, rice has come to be 
considered the perfect food, so ingrained is it in the minds of many Koreans, and many 
Asians for that matter, as food that we often say, "have you had your rice" instead of 
saying " have you had your meal." In fact, I have made this translation error many times 
while I have been in the United States. I have wanted to ask my American friends whether 
they have eaten, and I ask, "Have you eaten your rice?" Naturally, they often respond "no," 
leading to much miscommunication. For me, then, rice is more than just food--it is the 
very sustenance of most Koreans. 
In short, rice is by far the most important plant in Korea. Were it removed from Korean 
society, Korea would change drastically; perhaps even have a famine much like the Irish 
Potato Famine of the 1800's. Rice is the very lifeblood of Korea.