Task 1
The charts show the percentage of boys and girls aged 5-14 taking part in cultural activities and sports in Australia in 2003.
Sample Answer:
The given bar charts illustrate the proportions of Australian boys and girls aged 5 to 14 years-old who participated in sports and different cultural activities in 2003.
In general, it can be seen that while dancing was the most popular cultural activity for girls, boys had a strong tendency for playing musical instruments. With regards to sports, a higher percentage of boys participated in sports activities compared to girls in the same age group.
In 2003, 5% of girls aged 5 to 14 participated in drama and singing activities, which was approximately 2% higher than the figure for boys in the same activities. Meanwhile, 25% of girls took part in dancing activities, compared to only 2% of boys. In contrast, the proportion of girls that played a musical instrument was only 10%, which was only two-thirds of the figure for boys in the same category.
When it came to playing sport, there was a participation rate of about 70% of 5 to 14 year-old boys, which was around 20% higher than that of girls, at just over 50%.
Task 2
Today food travels from thousands of miles from the farm to the consumer. Some people say that it would be better for the economy & environment if people ate food produced from local farmers.
Would the advantages of this idea outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Answer:
Nowadays, food travels long distances before reaching consumers, and it is therefore believed that consuming locally grown food would bring about a number of economic and environmental benefits. Despite some advantages, I believe that the disadvantages of this idea would be more significant.
Consuming locally grown food is advantageous in several ways. First, when produce is purchased and consumed locally, the local economy greatly benefits. More income will be generated for those involved in the food’s production, including farmers and growers, which will, in turn, enhance their standards of living. Eating locally grown food can also play a role in helping to protect the environment. The transportation of food around the world greatly contributes to global warming due to the large amount of carbon emissions produced during the process. Eating locally grown produce will help to reduce the distance that food travels, helping to reduce the negative effects of carbon emissions which are released from vehicles during transport.
In spite of the aforementioned benefits, I personally feel that the drawbacks need to be considered more carefully. For example, if non-locally grown foods are purchased less often on the market, local people will therefore have fewer opportunities to experience specialties and healthy products from other regions. Furthermore, if local foods become the more dominant products, price manipulation by local merchants can occur. Several food sellers will make use of this opportunity to increase prices to control the market in the long term. It will be difficult for people, especially lower income households, to buy essential foods for themselves, causing adverse impacts on their health.
In conclusion, I hold the belief that local food consumption, despite having economic and environmental merits, does more harm than good to people’s culinary experiences and local markets.
