1、劍91-2Someexpertsbelievethatitisbetterforchildrentobeginlearningaforeignlanguageatprimaryschoolratherthansecondaryschool.Dotheadvantagesofthisoutweighthedisadvantages?Traditionallychildrenhavebegunstudyingforeignlanguagesatsecondaryschool,butintroducingthemearlierisrecommendedbysomeeducationalists.Th

2、ispolicyhasbeenadoptedbysomeeducationalauthoritiesorindividualschools,withbothpositiveandnegativeoutcomes.Theobviousargumentinitsfavouristhatyoungchildrenpickuplanguagesmuchmoreeasilythanteenagers.Theirbrainsarestillprogrammedtoacquiretheirmothertongue,whichfacilitatesleaninganotherlanguage,andunlik

3、eadolescents,theyarenotinhibitedbyself-consciousness.Thegreaterflexibilityoftheprimarytimetableallowsformorefrequent,shortersessionsandforaplay-centredapproach,thusmaintaininglearnersenthusiasmandprogress.Theircommandofthelanguageinlatelifewillbenefitfromthisearlyexposure,whilelearningotherlanguages

4、subsequentlywillbeeasierforthem.Theymayalsogainabetterunderstandingofothercultures.Thereare,however,somedisadvantages.Primaryschoolteachersaregeneralists,andmaynothavethenecessarylanguageskillsthemselves.Ifspecialistshavetobebroughtintodeliverthesesessions,theflexibilityreferredtoaboveisdiminished,i

5、fprimarylanguageteachingisnotstandardised,secondaryschoolscouldbefacedwithagreatvarietyoflevelsindifferentlanguageswithintheirintake,resultinginaclassroomexperiencewhichundoestheearliergains.Thereisnoadvantageifenthusiasticprimary01950195199fi109719981&9S200020012002pupilsbecomedemotivatedassoonasth

6、eychangeschool.However,theseissuescanbeaddressedstrategicallywithinthepolicyadopted.Anythingwhichencouragelanguagelearningbenefitssocietyculturallyandeconomically,andearlyexposuretolanguagelearningcontributestothis.Youngchildreninnateabilitiesshouldbeharnessedtomakethesebenefitsmoreachievable.劍92-1T

7、hechartbelowshowsthetotalnumberofminutes(inbillions)oftelephonecallsintheUK,dividedintothreecategories,from1995-2002.Summarisetheinformationbyselectingandreportingthemainfeatures,andmakecomparisonswhererelevantUKtelephonecalls,bycategory,1995-2002Calltype:爾Local-fixedline闕Nationalandinternational-fi

8、xedlineMobiles(ahcalls)100906070100906070605040302010ThechartshowsthetimespentbyUKresidentsondifferenttypeoftelephonecallsbetween1995and2002.Localfixedlinecallswerethehighestthroughouttheperiod,risingfrom72billionminutesin1995tojustunder90billionin1998.Afterpeakingat90billionthefollowingyear,theseca

9、llshadfallenbacktothe1995figureby2002.Nationalandinternationalfixedlinecallsgrewsteadilyfrom38billionto61billionattheendoftheperiodinquestion,thoughthegrowthslowedoverthelasttwoyears.Therewasadramaticincreaseinmobilecallsfrom2billionto46billionminutes.Thisrisewasparticularlynoticeablebetween1999and2

10、002,duringwhichtimetheuseofmobilephonetripled.Tosumup,althoughlocalfixedlinecallwerestillthemostpopularin2002,thegapbetweenthethreecategorieshadnarrowedconsiderablyoverthesecondhalfoftheperiodinquestion.劍93-2Somepeoplesaythatthebestwaytoimprovepublichealthisbyincreasingthenumberofsportsfacilities.Ot

11、hers,however,saythatthiswouldhavelittleeffectonpublichealthandthatothermeasuresarerequired.Discussboththeseviewsandgiveyourownopinion.Aproblemofmodernsocietiesisthedeclininglevelofhealthinthegeneralpopulation,withconflictingviewsonhowtotacklethisworryingtrend.Onepossiblesolutionistoprovidemoresports

12、facilitiestoencourageamoreactivelifestyle.Advocatesofthisbelievethattodayssedentarylifestyleandstressfulworkingconditionsmeanthatphysicalactivityisnolongerpartofeitherourworkorourleisuretime.Iftherewereeasy-to-reachlocalsportscentres,wewouldbemorelikelytomakeexercisearegularpartofourlives,ratherthan

13、justcollapsinginfrontofascreeneveryevening.Thevarietyofsportsthatcouldbeofferedwouldcaterforallages,levelsoffitnessandinterests;thosewithpainfulmemoriesofPEatschoolmightbehappierintheswimmingpoolthanonthefootballpitch.However,theremaybebetterwaysoftacklingthisproblem.Interestinsportisnotuniversal,an

14、dadditionalfacilitiesmightsimplyattractthealreadyfit,notthosewhomostneedthem.Physicalactivitycouldbeencouragedrelativelycheaply,forexamplebyinstallingexerciseequipmentinparks,asmylocalcouncilhasdone.Thishastheaddedbenefitthatparentsandchildrenoftenusethemtogetherjustforfun,whichdevelopsapositiveatti

15、tudetoexerciseatanearlyage.Aswellasphysicalactivity,hightaxpenaltiescouldbeimposedonhigh-fatfoodproducts,tobaccoandalcohol,asexcessiveconsumptionofanyofthesecontributestopoorhealth.Evenimprovingpublictransportwouldhelp:ittakeslongertowalktothebusstopthantothecar.Inmyopinion,focusingonsportsfacilitie

16、sistoonarrowanapproachandwouldnothavethedesiredresults.Peopleshouldbeencouragednotonlytobemorephysicallyactivebutalsotoadoptahealthierlifestyleingeneral.劍94-1Thegraphbelowgivesinformationfroma2008reportaboutconsumptionofenergyintheUSAsince1980withprojectionsuntil2030.Summarisetheinformationbyselecti

17、ngandreportingthemainfeatures,andmakecomparisonswhererelevantUSEnergyConsumptionbyFuel(1980-2030)ThegraphshowsenergyconsumptionintheUSfrom1980to2012,andprojectedconsumptionto2030.Petrolandoilarethedominantfuelsourcesthroughoutthisperiod,with35quadrillion(35q)unitsusedin1980,risingto42qin2012.Despite

18、someinitialfluctuation.From1995therewasasteadyincrease.Thisisexpectedtocontinue,reaching47qin2030.Consumptionofenergyderivedfromnaturalgasandcoalissimilarovertheperiod.From20qand15qrespectivelyin1980,gasshowedaninitialfallandcoalagradualincrease,withthetwofuelsequalbetween1985and1990.Consumptionhasfluctuatedsince1990butbothnowprovide24q.Coalispredictedtoincreasesteadilyto31qin2030,whereasafter2014,gaswillremainstableat25q.In1980,energyfromnuclear,hydro-andsolar/windpowerwasequalatonly4q.N