The table below illustrates how much money a single person and a couple in
Australia need for a comfortable lifestyle after they retire.
Write at least 150 words.
WRITING TASK 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task
Write about the following topic:
Environmental protection should be the responsibility of politicians, not individuals as individuals can do too little.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
WRITING TASK 1
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.
(183 words – Band 8.0)
WRITING TASK 2
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.
(335 words – Band 8.5)