1. Neighbours:
- How well do you know the people who live next door to you?
I would say I know most of my neighbours. We live in a suburban area where people spend their times with their friends and neighbours and I know quite well the people who live next door. - How often do you see them? Why?
I see them very often, almost twice a week. They often come to visit us and play indoor games. They also invite us to visit them and we often have parties and celebration together. - What kinds of problems do people sometimes have with their neighbours?
While good neighbours can make our life easier and happy, a bad neighbour can cause lots of troubles. The usual issues that someone might face from a neighbour include loud noise, quarrel, complaints, disturbance from loud music and issues with children, gardening and garbage. - How do you think neighbours can help each other?
In many ways, neighbours are most important to us. They live near us and thus they are even more important than our relatives in many cases. They can have good conversations with us, help us in any danger and support us mentally and financially. For example, if someone gets ill and need to be taken to a hospital, a good neighbour would be there. Neighbours also have parties and celebrations together and can make us happy. We often share our distress and problems with them and they advise us and help us to a great extent. Finally, neighbours become good friends and would share their sufferings and joys like family members.
2. Communication & Transportation:
- How do you usually contact your friends? Why?
Well, I usually call my friends on their cell phones or visit them personally to keep in touch with them. Social media like Facebook and Twitter has also changed the way I communicate my friends. There are many friends who stay far away and social media is the only way to communicate them for me. - Do you prefer to contact different people in different ways? Why?
Yes, as a general rule of thumb, people have their own preferences on how they would like to be contacted or communicated. For instance, my office colleagues prefer to be emailed while my friends’ preference is a cell phone. My parents also prefer cell phone communication while my younger cousins love to do that via Facebook. I usually try to contact people based on their preferences for communication. To contact someone new, I prefer email or text message. - Do you find it easy to keep in contact with friends and family? Why? Why not?
I try to maintain a balance between my professional and personal life. I often meet my friends or call them to get their updates and try to spend my days off with my family. This is not easy as I often struggle to maintain that due to work pressure and personal preferences of reading books or updating my blog. Sometimes a family member complains that I spend too much time with my friends while friends have similar complaints as well. Thus I would say it’s really tough to keep a perfect balance. However, I try my best always. - In your country, did people in the past keep in contact in the same ways as they do today? Why/ Why not?
Not really. Postal mail, telephone and personal visit were the most three prominent ways of contacting and communicating people in the past. With the invention of computers and the internet, the scenario has completely changed. The easy access and lower call rate of mobile phones have also contributed to a frequent and instant communication among my countrymen. - How often do you make telephone calls? Why? Why not?
Well, I own a cell phone and I usually call my parents every day whenever I am outside. I also need to call my offshore colleagues for job-related issues. Apart from that, I often call my relatives and cousins who stay far away from our hometown. - Who do you spend the most time talking to on the telephone? Why?
Well, my mother is the person I talk to on the phone most of the time. This is mostly because she gets anxious whenever I take a longer time to call her. I am very close to her and I love the way she cares for me. Because of that, I love to talk to her. She is a good listener and a great mentor and that’s why I call her for many advises as well. - When do you think you will next make a telephone call? Why?
Umm, after I leave this exam hall, I will call my mother. She must be waiting eagerly to know how I performed in my speaking test. So she would be the person I will call in 20 minutes on her cell phone. - Do you sometimes prefer to send a text message instead of telephoning? Why? Why not?
Definitely, there are times when text messages offer a better way of communication than telephone calls. For instance, if I think that someone might be in his office or in an important meeting, I would send him a text message instead of calling on his cell phone. To congratulate someone or to wish him a birthday, I would prefer text messages than phone calls. Finally, when I need to reach a friend or a relative at night, I send them a text message instead of taking the risk to call them and wake them up.
Text messages are concise and convey the exact information. They could be read over and over again and hence addresses and contact information are more secure to be sent in text formats. Calling might interrupt someone while SMS gives does not. - How popular bicycle in your hometown? Why?
It is quite popular in my hometown. You only need to visit our hometown for a while or obverse the office or schools to find out how popular they really are.
People in my hometown prefer bicycle mostly because it is environment-friendly, less expensive, easy to garage it, and good for their health. - How often do you ride a bicycle? Why? Why not?
I used to ride a bicycle quite often in the past but these days I can’t do that. I use my office bus to reach my office and to get back home. My family owns a car and I often use it. I do not feel that much passionate about riding a bicycle as I used to do in my teenage. - Do you think those bicycles are suitable for all ages? Why? Why not?
Bicycle, common in our hometown, are suitable for most of the people no matter how old they are. I think this transportation should be promoted and widely used for the health and environmental benefits. - What are the advantages of a bicycle compared to a car? Why?
Bicycles are eco-friendly and require less hassle to maintain and park. The global warming is a treat to our very existence and thus reliance on bicycles could be a great solution to address this pressing problem. Apart from that, people from all economic classes can afford it and can contribute to solving the traffic problem on the roads. - What are some common transportations in your hometown?
Public bus, metro rail, private car, CNG-driven auto-rickshaw, taxi and bicycle are some common and popular transportation type in my hometown. Students and workers mostly use bicycle while business people and other executives use their personal cars. Metro rail and public buses are very popular among mass people. - What changes in transportation have taken place in the past five years in your country? Why?
Well, the metro rails were introduced 3-4 years ago and this transportation system gained a huge popularity in the last few years. The number of private cars running on the roads has increased significantly and more people are using bicycles than they did ever before.
Many new roads, buses and flyovers have been introduced to make the commuting easier. Old public transportation has been banned and strict traffic rules have been imposed to reduce the congestion. However, the number of people in the city areas has increased dramatically in the last five years and so has the number of transportation.
