Task 1
The table below illustrates how much money a single person and a couple in Australia need for a comfortable lifestyle after they retire.
| Expense | A retired single person | A retired couple |
| Housing | $184 | $194 |
| Leisure | $140 | $202 |
| Health | $122 | $177 |
| Transport | $107 | $108 |
| Clothing | $44 | $80 |
| Food | $50 | $100 |
| Others | $37 | $70 |
| Total | $684 | $931 |
Sample Answer:
The table compares the budgets needed for retired singles and couples to live a comfortable lifestyle in Australia.
Overall, the average budget of a retired single person is much lower than that of a couple. In addition, while housing is the biggest expenditure for single retirees, retired couples need more money for leisure activities.
The expenditure for housing of retired single people is $184, which is $10 lower than that of couples. Meanwhile, singles retirees spend $140 on leisure activities, while couples spend $60 more. Regarding healthcare, couples spend $177, which is $50 higher than the expenditure of a single retired person.
In terms of transport, couples and singles need roughly the same amount of money, at $108 and $107 respectively. When it comes to clothing, food, and other things, the figure for an individual is almost half that of a couple. A single person spends $44, $50 and $37 respectively on these categories, while a couple spends $80, $100 and $70. In general, the total amount of money spent by an individual is $684, whereas the figure for a couple is $931.
Task 2
Environmental protection should be the responsibility of politicians, not individuals as individuals can do too little.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Sample Answer:
Some people think that politicians should be responsible for protecting the environment as there is nothing much that individuals can do about this problem. In my opinion, the responsibility to protect the environment should not fall upon politicians alone because ordinary citizens can make a significant contribution.
Firstly, politicians can urge the government to impose new laws against actions that damage the environment. For instance, one of the major factors leading to environmental pollution is the overuse of plastic products, like bottles and bags, and this can be stopped if the government issues an official ban on all companies from using plastic packaging. In addition, the rate of deforestation can also be reduced if high-ranking bureaucrats agree to impose strict punishments, such as long-term imprisonment and heavy fines, on those who cut down trees illegally. However, besides introducing and enforcing new laws and regulations, I doubt that there is any further action that politicians can take to protect the environment.
On the other hand, I believe that ordinary people, through small, everyday actions, can also greatly contribute to protecting the environment. First, citizens in many countries, like the Netherlands, have now shifted towards using bicycles and subway trains for their daily travel instead of cars, which has so far helped reduce a tremendous amount of CO2 released into the air, and improved air quality. Second, the problem of polluted oceans has also been tackled in many places thanks to groups of young people who voluntarily spend their time cleaning up beaches, or even diving into water to pick up trash. For example, many students in Nha Trang, a coastal city of Vietnam, spent nearly their whole summer holiday in 2018 keeping the beaches of their hometown clean by collecting all the trash from tourists, and even banned Chinese people from entering certain areas to prevent them from littering.
In conclusion, I hold the view that politicians alone cannot deal with all environmental problems, and therefore individuals should also make a contribution to protecting our environment.
