Today's topics: Cats, Maps, Health Care in the US, Johnny Cash, Song Lyrics, Use of "as if," Getting Your Ya-Yas.

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The flow chart illustrates how hydroelectric power station works.

Clearly, the process of generating electricity using hydro power has two clear sets of stages. While in the first the nature plays a part, in the second one the use of specialized equipment is needed. Throughout the process, the only raw material utilized is water.

Focusing firstly on the natural stages, the sun causes the water to evaporate and form clouds. These clouds then fall in the form of rain, filling the reservoir with water. To keep water, and control the inflow and outflow of it from the reservoir, a dam is used, underneath of which there is a valve serving the purpose of a gate. The water from the dam powers the turbine before it is returned back to the dam with a pump.

The steps that require sophisticated equipment now begin. The powered turbine generates electricity, which is then sent to a transformer station via high-voltage cables. This is where the electricity is normalized to be consumed. Finally, the power is ready to be used, and it is delivered to end-users like households, industries, hospitals and schools through underground cables.

192 words. ~20 minutes. Comments?

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Write your overviews on this diagram. I will share mine a bit later.

The flow chart illustrates how honey is produced on a small-scale honey farm.

An overall of about 8 steps are involved in producing honey that are divided into two distinct sets of stages: the bee phase and the human phase. Also, a range of specialized equipment and tools are needed to obtain honey.

Looking at the bee phase initially, bees gather nectar from flowers, which they then deposit in their hives. Following this, the bees dry the stored honey and keep their cells clean by fanning with their wings.

The human phase commences with bees sealing cells with wax before collecting honey combs. At the next stage in the process, these combs are pressed with a special device which squeezes honey out of them. This obtained substance is poured into a sump tank to which heat (45-50 degrees centigrade) is applied. Before pouring the end-product into jars, the honey needs to be cleaned from impurities in a sieve tank and settled for 2-4 days. Finally, the ready-to-consume honey is sold.

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⚡️ @alisherposts ⚡️

The flow chart illustrates the production of sugar. A total of 7 distinct stages are involved in the process, ranging from growing sugar canes to drying and cooling. To manufacture sugar, a range of specialized equipment and human labor are required.

At the first step in the process, sugar canes – the only raw material – are grown which takes about 1-1.5 years. These sugar canes are then harvested either by hand or a combine harvester. Following this, the sugar canes are crushed with a special device that turns them into juice. Next, the liquid passes through a limestone filter with the use of which any impurities are removed. The cleaned substance is heated to evaporate water. As a result, the juice becomes syrup, and the centrifuge in the subsequent procedure separates sugar crystals from it. Finally, having collected sugar crystals, these are then dried and cooled readying the product for consumption.

<20 min. 150 words.

#task1

⚡️@alisherposts ⚡️

Nowadays people are living longer after they retire. What are the problems caused by this? What measures can be taken to address such problems?

People are having a longer life following the retirement these days. Although there are two major problems that stem from this phenomenon, the government can take a number of measures to resolve them.

The most serious issue as a result of having a longer lifespan, perhaps, is a burden on healthcare. It is true that when a person ages, they tend to experience many health issues ranging from diabetes, arthritis to high blood pressure. If the number of such senior citizens is high, the chances are that private clinics, hospitals and other medical institutions will be full and incapable of curing all. Another concern that is a direct result of a rise in the number of retired people is associated with finance. It is a common practice in many developing countries, particularly in Asian ones, to pay pensions to these elderly people. If their number increases, the government and the tax-paying layer of society will face difficulties to meet this social need.

Turning to possible solutions, the government plays an essential part in dealing with the problems stated above. First and foremost, the government can increase the age of retirement or, at least, reform the system in a way that takes people's physical health into consideration before allowing them to retire. Such solution works because we see examples of the elderly in many countries who are healthy, active and able to work even if they are 65 or older. To address the issue of burden on healthcare, the state needs to build more hospitals, train nurses and doctors who will work there, and invest in them satisfactorily however difficult it might be. This is because healthcare is one of the most essential basic needs of humans, and not satisfying it, especially in the case of the elderly, might be viewed as exploitation since these are the very people who have worked their entire life and contributed to their organizations and countries.

In conclusion, the healthcare-related and financial issues resulting from a growth in the number of the retired people can be solved by government initiatives on considering the retirement procedure as well as by funding and improving the healthcare industry.

360 words. 9:33—10:08 —> ~31 min.

#task2

⚡️@alisherposts ⚡️

Children can learn efficiently by watching television, so they should be encouraged to watch television regularly both at home and in school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

By watching TV, children can acquire knowledge in an efficient way. It is therefore suggested that they ought to be encouraged to watch television both at home and in school on a usual basis. While I agree that watching TV at home is an effective means to learn, I disagree that this practice is useful in schools.

There are two main reasons why watching TV at home should be supported. With regard to the former, the principal objective of TV programs aimed at children is to improve children’s cognitive skills, creativity and open a world of knowledge to them in a colorful and interesting way, unlike traditional schooling where the lessons are conducted with the use of primarily text-based materials. When young learners watch TV channels like National Geographic and Discovery, for instance, they tend to enhance their knowledge of geography, biology, science and technology. As for the latter, most children these days are reluctant to do their homework and complete school assignments on time, so exposure to TV programs could be an excellent motivation of knowledge acquisition and its application if it was made compulsory considering that children spend a large amount of time watching useless content anyway.

Nevertheless, I believe that TV-watching should not be encouraged in schools. This is because conducting lessons becomes extremely difficult due to the addictive nature of TV programs. Being exposed to screens for an extended period, children might fail to understand that lessons are not solely composed of watching TV; they include group work, QA sessions and peer evaluation exercises, all of which are done with the help of a teacher. In my country, for example, each lesson in schools lasts for 45 minutes, and incorporating TV-watching might mean compromising such useful activities as homework checking, a revision of the last topic and asking questions from teachers.

In conclusion, schools are the places of gaining real knowledge with teachers and practicing essential teaching methods mentioned above, and TVs have to be assistants in this process. Hence, they should only help students learn in a visually entertaining way at home, but not in schools.

How you like it?

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The flow chart illustrates the production of ethanol fuel from corn. Overall, about 9 different stages are involved in the producing ethanol fuel from corn starting with harvesting corn and finishing with transporting the end-product- ethanol fuel. It is also clear that a number of raw materials and specialized equipment are required in the procedure.

At the first stage in the process, corn – the main raw material – is yielded and then it is stored. After that, this stored corn is milled before it is cooked at the next stage which takes about 4 hours. It is in this stage when water is added to the substance. The following step involves fermenting the milled and cooked corn, and it lasts for 2 days and nights, thereafter which separating takes place producing either a solid by-product or liquid. It is the liquid that is further processed for 5 hours resulting in purified ethanol. In the subsequent step, it is stored prior to, finally, transporting it for consumption.

164 words.

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Todays topics: Television in the US, Spelling Bees in Schools, Policy versus Politics, Pronunciation in Minnesota.

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Many young people today will never be able to afford to buy a house.

What has led to this situation? What can be done to remedy it?

A house is an expensive asset and buying one has become an unaffordable option for some young people. I believe that rising housing prices, rural migration, and consumer culture to be the underlying reasons for this issue, and there are some suggestions I will be making below to help mitigate the problem.

To start, several reasons can be cited as the main causes to explain why young adults today cannot afford a house. One such obvious reason is that housing prices in general have risen much over the last years. This was mainly caused by price surges in space cost and higher taxes. In my hometown, for instance, the cost of one-square-meter space has gone up by 12% since last year whereas the average salary one makes remained virtually the same. Another significant factor at work is rural migration. As more and more people move from the countryside in search of jobs and better living standards, there is now greater demand for housing than ever, which also leads to increases in real-estate prices. Finally, due to shift towards consumerism in today’s culture and the need to maintain good living standards, it is becoming less possible to save up money to buy a house.

Possible solutions to deal with this socio-economic problem require both state and individual effort. Government intervention might be required to help young individuals to receive loans from profitable banks in the area at very low or, if possible, no interest rates. Having received initial financial support from the state and banks, these people would be more confident and in a better position to make the choice of purchasing a house. Quite recently, the Uzbek government in cooperation with commercial banks launched a project to aid young couples to get interest-free mortgages to buy a newly-built apartment. Furthermore, as individuals, young people should also make conscious efforts to avoid frivolous spending so that they can save funds to buy a house later in the future.

In conclusion, there are a number of reasons why young people may not be able to buy a house, and I believe that state help and more frugality on the young individual’s part would be expected to go about this situation.

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Differences between countries are becoming less evident. Nowadays, all around the world, we use same brands, fashion, TV channels, advertisements. To what extent the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Today's Task 2 exam question.

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Topics today: Charles Dickens, Night, Dr. Phil, Sundance Film Festival, Donald Trump, Very vs. Really, Pretty vs. Quite.

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The flow chart illustrates how hydroelectric power station operates. Generating electricity from hydropower is a cyclical process consisting of a number of stages. It is also manifest that sophisticated equipment and structures are used in the procedure.

Looking at the picture in more detail, initially, a river flows into the high-level reservoir, the water of which is kept by a man-made dam. Underneath the dam, there is a valve, serving the purpose of a gate that opens during the day and closes at night, controlling the intake of water. The water is then pumped down to the power station, through reversible turbines, into the low-level reservoir. These turbines, as a result, power the generator that produces electricity that is sent to a national grid via power lines for consumption. At night, the reversible turbines work in an opposite direction pumping the used water from the low-level reservoir back to the high-level one.

152 words.

#task1

⚡️@alisherposts ⚡️

The pie charts compare the percentages of spending on five different categories in Japan and Malaysia.

Overall, the shares of spending on food, housing and other goods and services are similar in both countries. It is also clear that whereas the highest proportion of expenditure in Japan is on other goods and services, it is housing in Malaysia. Healthcare, by contrast, account for the least of both countries' expenses.

Focusing on housing, food and other goods and services first, Malaysia spends just over a third of its budget on housing, the highest figure. However, in Japan it goes on other goods and services, at just under 29%. Interestingly, food ranks second in terms of the proportions of expenditure in both Japan and Malaysia, at 24 and 27% respectively.

As for health care and transport categories, Japan’s proportions of spending on these two areas (6% and 20%) are two times as high as the figures for Malaysia (3% and 10%).

160 words.

#task1

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