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Prompt: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A person should never make an important decision alone. People make a significant amount of important decisions during their lives. In my opinion, a person ought to take into consideration different factors, including valuable advice, when it comes to make a life-changing decision. I feel this way for two reasons, which I will explore in the following essay. To begin with, human beings have never been isolated individuals. Throughout our life, we feel like we are part of different groups such as family, friends or colleagues. This is because we get the opportunity to coexist with a lot of people in each of the places we usually develop. Each person we meet has an impact on our life. When making an important decision, people often are influenced by their surroundings. My own experience is a good example of this. Whenever I need to make a critical decision, I often seek for advice. My first option is to ask someone who has gone through a similar situation in the past. At the moment, I am deciding where to study a master program abroad. An important person who is helping me decide is a teacher, because he completed his master degree in Denmark and also applied to different programs in Canada before. He has enough expertise in applying to foreign universities and is walking me through the entire process. A person with more knowledge in the topic can always provide valuable advice. Secondly, it is fundamental to make decisions based on how it will impact people that are really close to us. This does not mean that we have to think of all the people around us to take a decision, only those who can be affected by the situation. For instance, since I was a child I had always moved from one city to another because of my father´s job until four years ago when I started high school. His job has always been very demanding, so we needed to live in different cities every once in a while. However, when I started high school he managed to stay only in one city because he considered that at that time I was not ready to live on my own. Thanks to that decision, he did not affect my studies or development. In conclusion, I strongly believe that it is better for people to make important decisions based on valuable advice and their influence on how it might affect people close to them, rather than making decisions on their own.

Please check my response and let me know where i can do improvement. In the lecture, the narrator suggests that reducing workload from 5 days to 4 days won't affect the economy, which is contradictory to the reading passage. According to the narrator to hire new Employees needs more money for training, medical benefits, more computers and more office space. which will cut down on company profits and this may cost more money than retaining the same no of employees for 5 days work. Besides, reading states that shortened weekend will increase company profits as their employee feel more rested and relaxed so they will likely to make less error in their work but narrator thinks that company may ask their 4-day employees to work overtime to complete the 5-day work in 4-days. this will make the current job more unpleasant and this won't create additional jobs too. In the end, the reading passage states that 4 days employees will have more free time in exchange for their lower salary this could improve their quality of life by spending more time with family members, pursuing private interests and enjoying leisure activities but narrator says that 4-days employee would risk their job stability and also advancement in their career path because they may lose their jobs in economic downturn . They may also be passed over promotion too because the company will prefer 5-day employee for the management position as they can give more time for consistent supervision.

Reading Passage: Reading Time: 3 minutes In the United States, employees typically work five days a week for eight hours each day. However, many employees want to work a four-day week and are willing to accept less pay in order to do so. A mandatory policy requiring companies to offer their employees the option of working a four-day workweek for four-fifths (80 percent) of their normal pay would benefit the economy as a whole as well as the individual companies and the employees who decided to take the option. The shortened workweek would increase company profits because employees would feel more rested and alert, and as a result, they would make fewer costly errors in their work. Hiring more staff to ensure that the same amount of work would be accomplished would not result in additional payroll costs because four-day employees would only be paid 80 percent of the normal rate. In the end, companies would have fewer overworked and error-prone employees for the same money, which would increase company profits. For the country as a whole, one of the primary benefits of offering this option to employees is that it would reduce unemployment rates. If many full-time employees started working fewer hours, some of their workload would have to be shifted to others. Thus, for every four employees who went on an 80 percent week, a new employee could be hired at the 80 percent rate. Finally, the option of a four-day workweek would be better for individual employees. Employees who could afford a lower salary in exchange for more free time could improve the quality of their lives by spending the extra time with their families, pursuing private interests, or enjoying leisure activities. Narrator: Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about. Professor: Offering employees the option of a four-day workweek won’t affect company profits, economic conditions, or the lives of employees in the ways the reading suggests. First, offering a four-day workweek will probably force companies to spend more— possibly a lot more. Adding new workers means putting much more money into providing training and medical benefits; remember … the costs of things like health benefits can be the same whether an employee works four days or five. And having more employees also requires more office space and more computers. These additional costs would quickly cut into company profits. Second, with respect to overall employment, it doesn’t follow that once some employees choose a four-day workweek, many more jobs will become available. Hiring new workers is costly, as I argued a moment ago. And companies have other options: they might just choose to ask their employees to work overtime to make up the difference. Worse, companies might raise expectations … they might start to expect that their four-day employees can do the same amount of work they used to do in five days. If this happens, then no additional jobs will be created and current jobs will become more unpleasant. Finally, while a four-day workweek offers employees more free time to invest in their personal lives, it also presents some risks that could end up reducing their quality of life. Working a shorter week can decrease employees’ job stability and harm their chances for advancing their careers. Four-day employees are likely to be the first to lose their jobs during an economic downturn. They may also be passed over for promotions because companies might prefer to have five-day employees in management positions to ensure continuous coverage and consistent supervision for the entire workweek. Narrator: Summarize the points made in the lecture, be sure to explain how they cast doubt on specific points made in the reading passage. Here is My Response: Please check my response and let me know where i can do improvement. In the lecture, the narrator suggests that reducing workload from 5 days to 4 days won't affect the economy, which is contradictory to the reading passage. According to the narrator to hire new Employees needs more money for training, medical benefits, more computers and more office space. which will cut down on company profits and this may cost more money than retaining the same no of employees for 5 days work. Besides, reading states that shortened weekend will increase company profits as their employee feel more rested and relaxed so they will likely to make less error in their work but narrator thinks that company may ask their 4-day employees to work overtime to complete the 5-day work in 4-days. this will make the current job more unpleasant and this won't create additional jobs too. In the end, the reading passage states that 4 days employees will have more free time in exchange for their lower salary this could improve their quality of life by spending more time with family members, pursuing private interests and enjoying leisure activities but narrator says that 4-days employee would risk their job stability and also advancement in their career path because they may lose their jobs in economic downturn . They may also be passed over promotion too because the company will prefer 5-day employee for the management position as they can give more time for consistent supervision.

Hey guys! Today I've started practicing my writing for the toefl exam. I would like you to correct and rate my essay. Also, I would really appreciatte if you could give me some advices. My Essay (it's from a integrated question) The reading and the lecture talk about the decrease of sea otters in the Alaskan coast.The author of the passage believes that this problem is most likely happening because of water polluiton. However, the lecturer contradicts the theory claimed by the passage saying that predation is the only plausible reason for this to happen. First, the passage mentions that the rise level of pollution sources as oil rigs and other high level of chemicals are affecting the otters immune system, who are becoming weaker by the day. This point is challenged by the speaker who points out the lack of dead sea otters bodies by the coast, which confirms that these animals are being eaten by predators. Secondly, the author states that not only otters, but a large number of other sea mammals are being affected by water pollution. The passage declines the idea that orcas can cause the same effect by stating that these animals usually search for bigger species to eat. The lecture rebuts this argument by suggesting that orcas options of food decreased once whales started being hunted by humans. Therefore, orcas are huntting other small animals which causes sea otters to become one of their menu options. Finally, the passage mentions that water pollution also explains the unstable pattern of otter decline in the area. The author notes that this can be caused by ocean currents. But, once again, the speaker disagrees with the passage idea stating that all of this has to do with acessibility. The lecture puts forth that some regions are more dificult to access, as for exemple, shallow rocky locations, which makes harder for orcas to pass through and consequently wil be easier to find a considerable number of otters there.

A lot of people smoke nowadays. While some smoke to stifle their grief, others do so just for enjoyment. Whatever reason of smoking might be not everyone likes when someone is smoking near him or her. For this reason ban on smoking in public places may be considered a great solution to avoid discomfort of others. In most societies smoking in public is forbidden for many different reasons. The priority reason for prohibition of smoking in public stems from harmfulness of smoke to nonsmokers’ health. Smoking destroys person’s lungs and leads to cancer. A Cancer is an illness which is very hard to be cured. In most cases people who have cancer die. Cigarettes contain a nicotine an element that has a destructive effect on human organism. Nicotine may cause some malfulctions in our organs especially in brain. Nicotine is also noticed as influential factor for making an addiction to smoking. If you smoke continuously for one month it is likely to develop this bad habit. Since smoke emitted from cigarettes affect not just smokers but also nonsmokers, they may also start smoking. Additionally beacause of influence smoke bears to both sides risk of nonsmokers to develop lethal diseases increase. Another reason for ban on smoking in crowded places is the unpleasant long-lasting smell of cigarette smoke. Most of people are irritated by this smell. Once I went to bar where smoking was allowed. I chatted with my friend in a room full of smoke and left room an hour later. Even though I left room after one hour the displeasing odor of smoke did not seize. I washed clothes I have worn that day several times with high quality detergent and dryed them outside in cold weather for one day . However it vanished just in three days. Final reason for forbiding smoking is the potential detrimental effect it has on children. Children are extremely prone to external influence from elders. If you had a little brother or sister you probably have already observed this. So imagine if a child saw you smoking, next time he or she finds a cigarette she would repeat or try to smoke. This is the bad sign because smoking would break healthy development of a child, and probably endanger his or her future life. Smoking in public is not allowed for different reasons. It damages public health resulting in incurable ilnesses like cancer. It is the reason for repulsive odor in public. Moreover smoking in public harms the psychology of children. Taking everything mentioned into account smoking in public places mustn’t be permitted. A lot of people smoke nowadays. While some smoke to stifle their grief, others do so just for enjoyment. Whatever reason of smoking might be not everyone likes when someone is smoking near him or her. For this reason ban on smoking in public places may be considered a great solution to avoid discomfort of others. In most societies smoking in public is forbidden for many different reasons. The priority reason for prohibition of smoking in public stems from harmfulness of smoke to nonsmokers’ health. Smoking destroys person’s lungs and leads to cancer. A Cancer is an illness which is very hard to be cured. In most cases people who have cancer die. Cigarettes contain a nicotine an element that has a destructive effect on human organism. Nicotine may cause some malfulctions in our organs especially in brain. Nicotine is also noticed as influential factor for making an addiction to smoking. If you smoke continuously for one month it is likely to develop this bad habit. Since smoke emitted from cigarettes affect not just smokers but also nonsmokers, they may also start smoking. Additionally beacause of influence smoke bears to both sides risk of nonsmokers to develop lethal diseases increase. Another reason for ban on smoking in crowded places is the unpleasant long-lasting smell of cigarette smoke. Most of people are irritated by this smell. Once I went to bar where smoking was allowed. I chatted with my friend in a room full of smoke and left room an hour later. Even though I left room after one hour the displeasing odor of smoke did not seize. I washed clothes I have worn that day several times with high quality detergent and dryed them outside in cold weather for one day . However it vanished just in three days. Final reason for forbiding smoking is the potential detrimental effect it has on children. Children are extremely prone to external influence from elders. If you had a little brother or sister you probably have already observed this. So imagine if a child saw you smoking, next time he or she finds a cigarette she would repeat or try to smoke. This is the bad sign because smoking would break healthy development of a child, and probably endanger his or her future life. Smoking in public is not allowed for different reasons. It damages public health resulting in incurable ilnesses like cancer. It is the reason for repulsive odor in public. Moreover smoking in public harms the psychology of children. Taking everything mentioned into account smoking in public places mustn’t be permitted.

Hi. I am trying to improve my writing skill in order to get my TOEFL score higher. But, one of biggest problems is I do not have people who can feed my writing back around me. Could you comment for my writing?? Question is "Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed (damaged) by human activity. Others feel that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer." My writing is The earth we are living is only a place we can live now. It is where we can contact and develop relationship with others. If technology were not to develop up to recent level, some people I am sure would believe that condition of the earth does not became harmful; others would oppose this idea. In my view, development of technology is positive advancement for our life for two reasons. The main reason is that communication tools enable us to contact with others. Now a days, when people are going to contact with others, they use communication tools, such as email. tell-phone, skype and so on. This means that development of technology make us to contact with others. For example, I remembered that when I was in university, I joined summer program of Rice University called Innovate 2010. In this summer program, I visited some Taiwanese and Chinese companies and discussed students from Rice University. This opportunity for discussing with them made me to develop good friendship with one of student, John. After program was finished, I continued to contact with John by E-mail and Skype. These tools enable me to be friend with him. As you can see that if development of technology were made, I would not be able to continue contacting with my friend living in foreign country. Another reason is that methods of transportation enable us to visit everywhere. In order to visit a place where is far from my hometown, we need to take train, taxi, airplane and so on. Thus, it could be said that transportation methods are necessary for us to visit out of our hometown. For instance, when I was in graduate school, I decided to travel Germany by myself. It was my first time to travel alone, so I was afraid of my trip. However, when I arrived at airport and got it out, there are many taxies. These taxies enable me to achieve hotel I booked and place where I want to visit. That is why I did not feel any anxious of my trip and could enjoy me trip. This experience taught me that development of transportation methods is essential for our life. In sum, though some people would disagree with the idea, development of technology is important for our life. Not only enabling to contact with others and visit every where would help to enjoy our life. Every people should try to advance our technology much further. Thank you.