2 VIEWS

Some people believe that the only purpose of films is to entertain. Others say films should have educational value. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

The purposes of films have been a heated topic of controversy in modern society. Some people hold a common belief that movies are considered as source of entertainment with no other additional values, while others argue that there are educational benefits of them. Both views will be elaborated in the following essay before forming an opinion.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that films, regardless of genre, are a means of entertainment for people, which allows audiences to have more chances to widen their mind and have great hilarious moment with their dear ones. To be more specific, seeing a movie means people can temporarily escape from their daily life, which encourages them to relieve their stress and be mentally healthier. Evidence reveals that some specific genres of movies such as comedy can make people laugh, escape from their stressful times and become elated after a overloaded working period. Therefore, the more relaxing time spent on watching movies, the more chances that people could recharge themselves, which as a result, boosts their productivity.

On the other hand, it is totally convincing to suggest that movies should feature educational factors. In the past, when the movie industry has not been developed yet, hardly could audiences have chances to cultivate new knowledge, and nurture their mindset. However, due to the recent development of this industry in recent years, film viewers have more precious opportunities to watch not only local, but also foreign ones, which is a great way to enrich their mind towards new languages and cultures. Some others have, furthermore, watched films to learn about what happened in the past, allowing film watchers to gain deep understanding about different ethnics. An excellent example of this is the documentary "Vietnam War", from which people may learn about the reasons and meaning of the war of Vietnamese people in the past and how they influenced the global community to have victory after hundreds of years, which could educate younger generations about sacrifices of their ancestors and patriotism.

In conclusion, although movies can truly serve as ways to entertain people, it also simultaneously provides them with great educational benefits, such as learning a new culture or things happened in the past. Therefore, it is predicted that more people will consider films as essential learning materials in the foreseeable future due to both entertaining and meaning purposes.

AGREE DISAGREE

Some people claim that public museums and art galleries will not be needed because people can see historical objects and works of art by using a computer. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

In the era of the digital technology development, it is now possible for viewers to see historical artefacts and artistic works on computers. Although this renders museums and art halls obsolete from the perspective of some people, there are more compelling reasons as to why these are still the best venues to view the aforementioned objects.

On the one hand, convenience is the major reason why many prefer to have these items displayed by a computer. First and foremost, this can be beneficial in art and history lessons at school, where teachers can easily show students an artwork or artefact using a projector connected to a school workstation. By learning about the items exhibited anywhere in the world without having to travel a long distance, being stimulated the imagination through videos, 3D models, it would encourage students to progress better in studying process. For instance, instead of travelling to Louvre Museum to see eye to eye the masterpiece Mona Lisa, students from Vietnam could log on the information of online museums by DVD and cultivate new knowledge about the time painted, the meaning behind the mysterious smile or some robbery cases happened. Art and history enthusiasts, in addition to this, may use their laptop computers to store the images and videos of their favorite objects as multimedia files, which eliminates the need for travelling and large storage places. On a larger scale, they may even conveniently play these files wherever and whenever they want or share information with other counterparts, boosting the productivity in collaboration and researches.

The statement that museums and art centres are unnecessary in today's world, nevertheless, is an exaggeration because they have a pivotal role to play in the development of our society. One possible reason is that some objects displayed in these places are available not only for viewing but also for touching and sometimes even trying, which cannot be performed when seeing an object on a computer screen. An excellent example of this is the interactive artistic toys which can perform tricks, currently exhibited at Art and Science Museum in Singapore, a kind of museum for contemporary art, in which children might enrich their knowledge by guessing the puzzle and the meaning behind the games when taking part in the tour. Another significant reason is that time for viewing artistic and historical objects might be great opportunities for family members, friends, and teachers to tighten the relationship through team-working and shared-activities. In the modern era, when people have a tendency to isolate themselves in their own world, having educational and entertaining open spaces might heighten not only intellectual skills but also provide people with satisfaction and sense of belonging.

In conclusion, despite the ease in showing and viewing artworks and relics with the assistance of computers, the role of museums and galleries of art is indispensable, in a sense that those who visit these venues may enjoy art and history in such a way that cannot be replicated by digital devices. It is predicted that these places will continue to attract visitors in the foreseeable future and from personal perspective, only by having investment from the authorities can these places be maintained in the long run.

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

It is expected that there will be a higher proportion of older people than that of young people in many countries in the future. Do you think it is a positive or negative development? (50-50)

An ageing population has long been considered as a major topic of concern in many nations. Although there are some negative aspects of the majority of citizens having a longer life, there are compelling reasons as to why this is overall a desirable trend.

On the one hand, the expected increase in life expectancy may be conducive to several social consequences. The first problem that derives from a greying population is that governmental spending on elderly benefits is likely to rise, which places a financial burden onto the state budget. If this happens in countries with limited financial resources such as Vietnam, the government may have to raise tax to compensate this spending, which put constant burdens and pressures onto taxpayers. The economy, in addition to this, will suffer from a shortage of human resources as soon as senior employees retire from their jobs and there are not enough young workers to replace them. In other words, the anticipated rise in the proportion of elder citizens is likely to threaten the operations of thousands of companies.

The benefits of such a development, however, are of greater significance. A major advantage is that once the elderly represent a large part of the population, longevity will enable them to contribute more to society. Evidence reveals that in recent years, with the development of medical systems, senior citizens are expected to live longer life than in the past, and the more time they could contribute to the nation, the more benefits the society could achieve mainly because elderly people are wiser and more experience, which could help younger generations to make more suitable decisions in life. In the past, when many great inventors, scientists and mathematical geniuses such as Blaise Pascal lived a relatively short life, their counterparts today may stay healthy and work until they are in their seventies, eighties and sometimes even nineties. The great theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, for example, published his last paper in 2018 when he was 76, a few months before he died of ALS, meaning that old people could sustainably contribute to the life as long as they are healthy and wise enough.

In conclusion, although the projected growth of the elderly population is likely to cause social issues, such as the scarcity of labour. There are, nevertheless, more significant advantages to this, including the chance for more old citizens to contribute more to the world. It is predicted that this trend, together with its profits, will be prevalent in most countries in the world in the next three or four decades.

More and more people want to buy clothes, cars and other items with famous brands. What are the reasons? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

The trend of purchasing items with a well-known label is a major topic of concern in today's society. This happens because people often associate a famous brand with quality, and sometimes because most of their peers are using the same products. As far as this is concerned, the positive aspects are more significant than the negative ones.

Popular brand names often attract a great number of customers due to several main reasons. This is primarily because products with major brands are often of great quality and reliability for a long-time establishment. In fashion world, especially in haute couture field, customers usually spend thousand of dollars for some luxurious items like Rolex watches, Hermes bags or Lamborghini cars mainly because they place their trust on product’s quality and the company’s reputation, which encourages them to win admiration from others when owning these commodities. Some people purchase items with a well-known name because they want to be a member of the society of people using that product. Apple, for example, has successfully built a community of hundreds of millions of users of the iOS operating system. The consequence of this is that new smartphone users are likely to choose an Apple one so that they have access to the Apple community, which means they can communicate and interact with other Apple product users effectively.

Overall, this trend brings more benefits than drawbacks to society. The only disadvantage that since human greed is seemingly endless, the race for wealth often gives rise to unethical moneymaking behaviors. Therefore, they are fearful that the society may be filled with materialistic, which might morally decay individuals. In truth, when finding it hard to satisfy their needs, individuals might sometimes get involved in illegal activities like tricking people out of money to attain material goods that they could not afford through legitimate means. For instant, lots of young middle-class people in Viet Nam spend a great deal of money into latest smartphones and fashion accessories, while they are not mature enough to earn money by their abilities, resulting in criminal activities like robbing or cheating. This may cause some risks in the security of society in the future since the consumerism and materialistic are formed in next generation’s mindset.

In conclusion, the two most prominent reasons as to why people purchase products from famous companies are product quality assurance and the desire to be a part of a community owning and using the same range of items. This development is positive to the economy at large, however, the drawback might overshadow the positive ones, which might find it hard to have cost-effective answers and leave undesirable consequences on future generations. I predict that this trend will continue into the future, and consumers may thrive in a society where the quality of every single product is standardized, which is guaranteed by its brand name.

2 QUESTIONS

In most successful organizations, some people believe that communications between managers and workers is important, other people said that other factors are more important. What is your opinion?

In the field of human resource management, it is believed that effective communication between the high and low hierarchical levels is of great importance. There are, in addition to this, other more considerable factors that determine the success of a company, including recruitment and strategic planning, which would be elaborated in the following essay.

It is important that managers can communicate their ideas to lower-level employees and vice versa. From manager’s perspective, successful communication guarantees that procedures established by the management level are well upheld by junior employees. If a procedure is not clearly explained to employees, there will be a chance of them not following the working process properly, which may eventually result in faulty products or lower productivity. On the other hand, workers should give feedback to their superiors about the management decisions made by them. This is significantly convincing because employees are those who have hands-on experience, which could recognize invaluable suggestions to the decision-making process of managers, allowing their bosses to have better procedures in the long term.

In order for a business to achieve success, there are several matters that play greater significance, including recruiting process and developing an effective strategy. Prior to communication between different hierarchical levels, the owners of the business have to recruit staff members who are suitable for the company culture. This is supported by a contemporary human resource management theory that effective communication may naturally be instilled when workers of the same working culture are arranged into a group. Another critical criterion of a successful company is that a proper strategy is well-devised by the management board. This ensures that each step the organization takes is properly planned, which enables it to develop sustainably.

In conclusion, internal communication between different levels of the hierarchy in a company is an element that may lead to business success. There are, nevertheless, more significant factors for an organization to thrive in today's market, including staff recruitment and planning a sound business strategy. It is recommended that the board of managers should first design the organizational plan and choose the suitable subordinates before thinking of promoting communication between workers of the high and low levels.