WRITINGTASK1范文

WRITING TASK 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The table below gives information about past and projected population

figures in various countries for different years.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features,

and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Population (millions)

The table indicates population figures in four different countries, namely Australia,

Canada, New Zealand and the United States both in the past (the year 1990, 1993 and

2000) and the future (the year 2020 and 2050).

It is immediately apparent that population in all these countries grew and will

continue to climb into the future. The United States accounted for the largest

population of all four countries in all the five years, increasing from 249.9 million in

1990 to 258.2 in 1993, and 275.1 in 2000. In contrast, the country with the fewest

people was New Zealand, at a mere 3.4 million in 1900. This figure only rose slightly

during the decade to 3.8 million in 2000. Australia and Canada experienced moderate

increase in their population, from 17.1 and 26.6 million in 1990 respectively, to 19.2

and 31 million in 2000.

In accordance with the past trends, population in all countries is predicated to edge up

further into the future. In the USA, the two decade following 2000 witnessed an

increase of roughly 45 million, compared with an additional rise of only 29 million

predicated for the three decade between 2020 and 2050. It is predicated that

population will reach 26 and 39 million for Australia and Canada respectively. There

will still only be 4.7 million people living in New Zealand in 2050.

In conclusion, population growth dominated and will continue such domination for all

the years and in all the countries. However, the rate of increase will slow down after

2020. 252 1990 1993 2000 2020 2050

Australia 17.1 17.7 19.2 22.7 26.0

Canada 26.6 28.5 31.0 36.9 39.0

New Zealand 3.4 3.5 3.8 4.3 4.7

United States 249.9 258.2 275.1 320.6 349.0

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some individuals feel that working from home, while of benefit to employees,

is actually a drawback for employers.

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.

In contemporary society, information technology is enabling us to telecommute, doing

all the work while staying at home. In the meantime, some people fear that this

development, though beneficial to workers, may be perceived as a drawback for the

employers. As I see it, this view is only partly true.

Admittedly, telecommuting undermines companies’ interest. To start with, working

face-to-face in an office setting brings about high productivity. Thus, if employees

communicate with each other only through indirect means, such as telephones and

video conferencing, they may create less value for their employers. In addition,

employers may have only very limited control on what their employees do at home.

The lack of scrutiny and discipline may lead to many problems, with low productivity

being the least serious outcome. However, many researchers in the field of

management have refuted such claims as ill-founded. Self-discipline and motivation

are likely to counterbalance the negative sides of telecommuting.

On the other hand, telecommuting has many benefits, for individuals, their company,

as well as society as a whole. First of all, working from home save employers time

spent travelling to and from work. This, in turn, helps to ease traffic congestion and

alleviate air pollution caused by traffic. Second, if employees are able to work at

home, they are likely to feel more relax and happy. A good mood is not only

beneficial to their health, but also conducive to higher productivity. Finally, thanks to

telecommuting, employers now can tap into a larger labour pool, since people who are

previously out of the work force due to fixed working schedules and commuting

difficulties can now work from home. For example, many mothers can now work

part-time from their home offices without leaving their kids to baby-sitters. Disabled

people are also a case in point.