Banning on Smoking in all public area [8]

On the 1st January 2007 the Hong Kong government introduced the no smoking ban in public places which include bars and restaurants. Many people in Hong Kong agree with the ban but some people disagree. Do you agree with the no smoking ban?
The South China Morning Post has written to you asking for a report on the no smoking ban. They want to know exactly how you feel and if you think the Hong Kong government has made the correct decisions.

Terrific! Mr. Cigarette is gone!

The no-smoking ban in public areas includes bars and restaurants, it came into effect in January 2007.

Smoking has been banned in shopping centres, cinemas, TV games centres, supermarkets, department stores and banks since 1998. Also, restaurants with more than 200 seats were also required to designate one-third of the seats as no-smoking areas. The government introduced an amendment bill the legislative year to ban smoking in all indoor workplaces. Bars will be exempt from the ban until 2009 and massage parlors, nightclubs and mahjong parlors will not need to restrict smoking until 2011.

The professor of community Medicine at Hong Kong University, Mr. Lam claimed that more than 5500 Hong Kong people die of smoking-related diseases every year, and about 1300 of those are non-smokers killed by secondhand smoke. There is no doubt that smoking causes a lot of health problems. Bronchitis, complications in pregnancy, heart disease, lung cancers and many respiratory diseases are the common smoking-related diseases. Peter Wong, a cancer patient and anti-smoking spokesman, was diagnosed with lung cancer in August. He said his medical bill over five months has reached almost $500000. Mr. Lam said that it is a harsh cost for the patient and he asked for a universal ban as soon as possible, as millions of Hong Kong people are breathing in toxins.

A liberal party member, Mr. Cheung maintains that the smoking ban will affect restaurants, pubs, hotels and karaoke rooms adversely. As the economy was only starting to recover, the government should not push the ‘controversial amendment bill’ forward. Cheung also suggested that although there are $900 million annual public expenses of smoke-related illness, the government should not forget the $3 billion annual revenue received from tobacco sales. A counterpart which against the smoking ban contended that citizens have the human rights to choose smoking or not, it is a shame that citizens lose the right to smoke in a democratic city.

In my opinion, smoking will surely affect our health and it is not worthy to bear such a huge number of medical expenses. Although smokers have the right to smoke, non-smokers also have the right to breathe in some fresh air. As everyone know that secondhand smoke kills more than 1400 people and exposes many others to the risk of cancer every year. All of the secondhand smokers are innocent. The smoking ban will not only protect non-smokers, but also help smokers to quit. I feel we should all agree to the smoking ban.

All in all, smoking is certainly hazardous to out health and it is essential to educate the public on this issue. The smoking ban would help to create a better working environment for restaurant employees and a much more pleasant eating environment for the public. Through a mass media publicity campaign, I am hoping that smokers will refrain from smoking indoor for the benefits of other people and themselves.

Comment: This is an informative and fluent report.

2000 Q.2 [8]

What are you for, Mr. Mobile Telephone?

The utilization of mobile telephones is so prevalent in Hong Kong, a well-developed city, that numerous citizens possess one or even more. Having the viewpoint that the mobile telephone is the most brilliant invention ever, the citizens worship it and are utterly proud of it. Nevertheless, from my point of view, this electronic device is the most annoying, unnecessary and time-wasting device ever invented, and I am going to demonstrate the reasons.

Imagine that you are watching a fabulous movie in a cinema and you are totally immersed in the plot. Suddenly, the mobile phone of the person sitting next to you rings. How will you feel? I’m sure you will be irritated and disturbed. Indeed, similar phenomena can happen anytime and anywhere. No matter whether you are having your lessons in a tutorial centre, listening to a concert, traveling on a bus or even walking on the street, it is not uncommon for you to be annoyed or interrupted by the ringing tones of mobile phones. The most displeasing thing is, you have no where to hide from the sound emitted as it is unrealistic to put on earphones to shut your ears all the time. Thus, you would have no choice but to endure such irritation.

Why are mobile time-wasting? As a matter of fact, many people talk on their beloved mobile phones usually without any meaningful purposes, and precious time is thus wasted. They talk on the phones many times just to use up the minutes provided by the telecommunication companies as they think that it is a loss if they don’t use most of the minutes provided. Then, whenever they get the time, such as when they are traveling on the MTR or waiting for a friend, they just aimlessly search for a number to dial and start talking gossip when the line is connected. Actually, they can do lots of other things which are more substantial, such as reading novels or newspapers, which can enrich their knowledge. Also, those who are being called are wasting their time, too. As it is rather impudent to refuse a conversation, they have to spend time chatting reluctantly. Doubtless, such an embarrassing situation arises from the features of mobile telephones that enable people to be accessible to others anytime and anywhere within the reception coverage, leading to the waste of valuable time on coping with such purposeless calls.

Furthermore, despite the fact that mobile phones possess a multitude of functions, namely surfing the net, dialing calls, sending messages, playing music, taking photos and playing games, they are actually not necessary. Mobile telephones are indeed flashy electronic devices that we can live without. Just before the introduction of mobile phones to the world, the electronic devices serving similar purposes were more than enough. Phones with fixed net as well as pagers are very useful and helpful, enabling us to come into contact with others, and the former have even provided us with connections which are much more stable that that of mobile phones. In addition, mp3 players, digital cameras and computers already possess the functions of playing music, taking pictures and sending messages respectively and they work even better than mobile phones owing to the specialization in certain functions. Then, it is not unreasonable to say that a mobile telephone is just a ostentatious device that possess diverse functions but it is not essential to us at all.

From what has been discussed above, it is not groundless to say that the mobile phone causes troubles and problems in our lives, as opposed to boosting our living standards. It destroys the tranquility and peace that we are blessed to enjoy; It claims our valuable time while it is not worthwhile as it is of no indispensable utilization. Thefore, why do we still stick to it? Let’s throw it away and enjoy a simpler and more tranquil life!

Comment: Good langugage skills and smooth development of ideas are demonstrated.

June’s topic 5 [8]

Dear Jessica,

How are you? I am glad that you have entered a university. It proves that it was worthwhile for you to spend much effort in preparing the exam over the past two years. However, I am surprised that you are in a dilemma now. Nevertheless, I am convinced that you will know how to choose your own way after I have shared with you my opinion.

It is time for you to taste the fruit. Do you remember the tremendous and intense stress caused by the public exams? During the past two years, you sacrifice lots of your leisure and entertainment and study in the self-study room from day to night. On weekends, you still tried your best to recite all the learning materials. The only reason for your hard work is to achieve your dream, entering university and enjoying university life. Now you succeed. Do you want to let your efforts to be in vain? In fact, there are many students who cannot achieve their dream each year. A university degree is something for which most Hong Kong students are now fighting. So you should seize this precious opportunity to enjoy the fruit you have sowed.

Nothing is impossible. I know you and your lover are very sweet now. He loves you very much. But it may be possible that the love between you and your husband will worsen or even disappear one day. I am not saying something to buffet your love. In my opinion, you should think completely before giving up tertiary education and getting married. If your marriage ended in divorce one day, you must return to society and find a job in order to earn a living. If that was the case, you might be in a weaker position when compared to other job seekers as you have not finished the tertiary education. In nowadays society, a university degree is a basic requirement for finding a normal job. Without such requirement, you may be able to find some low-paid jobs only. So I think you should finish tertiary education before marrying with your lover in order to provide a guarantee for your future if any unpredictable factors occur.

I think you should stand on your parents’ side to think about the issue. All parents want their children to be one who has both talent and virtue. In their mind, the only way to achieve this purpose is by university education. Besides, parents also want their daughters to have good marriages. You may say that you can fulfil the second one if you get married. Yes, you are right. But how about the first one? If you get married after finishing the tertiary education, the two goals can be achieved concurrently.

In fact, marriage brings responsibility. It may be too romantic to you now. But when you get involved in it, it may be the opposite. It is easy to marry, but it is hard to deal with the responsibilities and problems caused by marriage. So it is wise for you to wait for three year so that you can equip yourself to be mature and prepared for marriage.

Yours sincerely
June

Comment: Your points are persuasive and fluently expressed.

Hot issue: Chan Yik-hei [8]

The special admission policy

‘It’s unfair!’ one of my classmates cried out. She then passed me with a piece of news. It was about Chan Yik-hei, the young inventor, who was admitted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology without accessing normal university entry requirements. ‘His C.E. Exam result is far from the minimum requirement—too far!’ Though she said all these in an angry tone, I could see her envy and the hope of being Chan through her eyes. Yes, Chan’s admission seems to be unfair to those endeavors to get good results in open examinations. But such an admission scheme might have its both positive and negative sides.

Hong Kong education system is the one that highly, if not absolutely, focuses on academic results. The better open exam results you have, the higher possibility you could become a university student. It is because most of the degree programs, especially programs in Art and Science faculties, admit students by solely counting the open exam results. Some of the programs would count points on interview performance. Yet, most of them counted interview performance by less than 30%. Frankly speaking, no sound academic result, no sound degree.

However, Chan’s admission shows the public that not all universities in Hong Kong are points-thirsty. Getting 12 points in the open exam only, Chan, who is endowed with talent and potential to be a great inventor, is a university student now. The flexible admission scheme could be regarded as redeem measure of the points-driven education system. At the same time, it could encourage students to be an all-rounder instead of a bookworm since the admission shows that other achievements would certainly be considered. Students might more willing to put effort on scientific experiments or exploring the world but not just sitting in the classroom and waiting for the exam. So many people think that the special admission system suits the new rationale emphasized by the Education Department- ‘To study is not to score.’

The flexible admission system could be the driving force of some students while it could be an excuse for not to study hard. Some students might claim themselves with talent and not to study. The other might be discouraged to study as the scheme is unfair. Fairness is always the first thing that pops up in students’ mind. They argued that it is unfair to the normal students who study so hard for the open exams but end up with studying with a young boy who just know how to invent robots and little tricks only. More important is that, there are no common standard for talents who are worth seats in the university. There are loopholes in the admission system for those who are famous but not actually gifted to get a seat since the system is not open enough and defining talents is a subjective work. Besides, now we have self-recommendation scheme and Principal-nomination scheme for outstanding students with or without good grades in the open exam. So, is it necessary to adopt such an unclear admission policy?

Personally, I do not utterly object the admission system as my classmate does excepted for the extreme case like Chan’s. Failing in English in the open exam, it was not surprised that Chan nearly could not understand a word of the vice-chancellor’s speech to freshmen. The system could be a less controversial one if minimum requirements were set. At least, passing English in the open exam must be required. All of us should learn step by step. Poor language skill would definitely affects one’s learning schedule since most lectures are taught in English. Universities could be graveyard of talents if talents could not learn much and stagnate at there. As a  whole, I agree with the special admission policy as it encourages us to diversify our learning. But we should bear in mind that the policy could be harmful in some ways.

Comment: Your essay breaks away from the commonplace discussion on the issue, with creative presentation and novel ideas.

2000 Q.1 [8]

Ways of Using English Outside School

Have you ever joined any speech festival, drama festival or English debating competition in the school? How do you feel about these activities? They all aim to provide good environment for us to learn English. English is a universal language. It is vitally important for us to write and speak English well in order to be well-equipped for work in the future. It is obviously insufficient to just learn and use English inside school. Therefore, taking the initiative to expose ourselves to English outside school is essential. There are several ways to fulfill the goal.

Talking with native speakers can allow us to use more English. It is of course strange to stop some native speakers and talk with them, but we can actively get involved in occasions that give us opportunities to speak English. For instance, we can participate in the exchange programmes organized by our school or other institution, like AFS. We can go to some foreign countries, like the USA or Australia, where most of the people consider English as their mother language. As a result, we will have plenty of time to get in touch with the foreigners and be exposed to English. This can let us learn from their intonation and boost our English listening ability. Most importantly, our confidence in speaking English will no doubt be enhanced. Having courage to speak English is crucial to improve our English since we can perceive our strengths and weaknesses, thus learning from our mistakes. Better still, we may develop friendship with the people overseas. We may write them letters or emails after returning Hong Kong.

Another way is writing responses to the English newspapers or magazine, like The South China Morning Post. There are often sharing sessions that invite readers’ opinions. All people are welcomed to express their view freely. Our written English can be improved since writing more can certainly help us present our ideas in English clearly and comprehensibly. Through writing letters to the Editor, we can practice our English writing skills, such as how to use good grammar, vocabulary items and correct tenses. These are all the important elements of a piece of good English essay.

Some may think it is quite boring to write responses to the newspapers. Writing blogs in the Internet will seem more interesting to the adolescents. You are not confined to argue or discuss the current issues happen around the world. On the contrary, blogs provide us a platform to share our daily lives and express our feelings. We can write whatever we like on the blogs. We can write English diaries instead of the Cantonese ones, so we can have more practice in English. If one really takes up this habit, as time goes by, one will find it easier to express ideas in English.

Apart from the three ways suggested above, you may find out some other interesting and effective methods to use English outside school. Everyone should bear in mind that practice makes perfect. Learning English does not have any short routes. Grasping every opportunity to use English is an important clue to improve our English.

Comment: Your suggestions are practical.