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909.  An Interesting Person You Would Like to Meet  (Sep 2018)  (Probably no longer used)

The examiner might use easier-to-understand language and several questions to ask this.\For example, "Are students usually eager to welcome a new student to their class or school?" and,  "What can be done to make the new student feel comfortable at the new place?"  

The question is basically asking what people can do to welcome a newcomer.

Note 2

The general meaning of, "to complain" is to express dissatisfaction to another person about a thing or a situation. For example, a student might complain to someone about the amount of homework he has to do; a person might complain to someone else about the traffic jam he or she is stuck in; someone might complain about a product he bought recently that suddenly stopped working.

Then there are the complaints that people make to shops or other businesses when they believe the quality of product or service from that business is not satisfactory. In this case, the person making the complaint usually expects the problem to be resolved, such as having a defective product replaced, (or fixed) or getting a refund on what they paid.

Note 3

Most examples of "protecting the environment" are either, a) avoiding pollution of the air, water or soil or, b) preserving the natural environment, especially the native forests.

Some examples of helping to protect the environment:

• putting recyclable garbage into recycling garbage bins

• not using plastic bags

• avoiding buying products that come with unnecessary packing

• avoiding buying plastic products when wooden or other materials are available

• (in Asia) buying plastic or steel chopsticks instead of wooden (or bamboo) ones in order to avoid the unnecessary usage of wood or bamboo. (Of course, a lot of this wood or bamboo comes from plantations, not from natural forests.)

• using washing powder, detergent and other chemical products that are easily broken down into harmless compounds

• going to places such as beaches, river banks etc. and picking up garbage. In some parts of the world, groups of people periodically do this, especially where pollution from garbage is a serious problem

• not using petrol that contain added lead, since lead in the air can cause health problems. (This might not be possible in some places.)

• travelling by subway, walking or cycling in order to reduce the consumption of the diesoline that is used to power buses (and trucks). Diesoline produces a lot of particulates in the air, which can contribute to lung disease.

• not using aerosols or CFCs (such as the chemicals in some refrigerators and air conditioners). This is intended to protect the ozone layer in the atmosphere. Most countries have outlawed the production of these CFCs but they are still produced in some countries.

• disposing of batteries in special battery disposal facilities

• disposing of electronic devices in special disposal facilities

• buying, eating or growing "organic" vegetables, i.e., vegetables that are not grown using man-made pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Some of these chemicals are harmful to the environment. For example, fertilizer run-off from farms adds to the growth of algae in rivers and in the ocean. The algae consume the oxygen in the water, resulting in the death of fishes and other marine life.

• being an active member of an environment protection activist group or organization

• using toilet paper on both sides and edges (in order to preserve the forests).  Joke

Note: There are some people, especially in the English-speaking countries, who believe that doing things that reduce their personal contribution to man-made carbon dioxide, CO2, (= their "carbon footprint"), is helping to protect the environment. However, there is considerable scientific disagreement about whether man-made CO2 or even naturally produced CO2 is a "pollutant". Carbon dioxide is, after all, "food for plants". This is related to the topic of "man-made climate change" or "man-made global warming". The main examples of what these people do are: avoiding travel in cars and planes in order to reduce the production of CO2 from the burning of petroleum products; and reducing their personal consumption of electricity because most electricity is produced by burning coal, which results in more CO2 being added to the atmosphere. Installing a solar power or wind power system for a house, and insulating one's house are other examples of reducing electricity usage from the public electricity system. Another example is not eating meat because beef cattle and other animals produce methane, another greenhouse gas.

Some people are active in groups that plant trees in places where trees used to exist (possibly hundreds or thousands of years ago) but do not exist there now. This includes deserts. This is more a case of "restoring the environment" rather than protecting it. However, some people who believe in the "carbon footprint" idea also do this because trees consume some of the CO2 in the atmosphere, as well as produce oxygen, O2. This example would be suitable to use in Part 2 here.

Note: Avoiding the use of, or purchase of protected animal products, such as ivory from elephants, is a question of protecting the ecology, rather than protecting the environment. The two are not exactly the same thing, although some examiners would probably accept it as a suitable example of protecting the environment, especially if you say it is protecting the, "natural balance of that part of the environment that involves the living things" (= the ecological balance).

Note 4

In addition to your example from Part 2, what are some other things that can be done to protect the environment?

If the examiner uses words such as, "other things that can be done to protect the environment" then your answer can, and should include things that governments and companies can do, as well as what individuals can do. On the other hand, if the examiner uses words such as, "other things that people can do to protect the environment" then your answer should focus on what individuals can do.

Note 5

Teaching about this topic in schools does not mean having a whole subject for this topic, like the subjects of mathematics, history etc. It could be done in just one or a few lessons within the science class, or social studies class, for example.

Note 6

Which do you think is more creative, making a product by machine (or, in a factory), or making it by hand?

"Creativity" refers to creating ideas (in your mind), not simply producing or making something. These might be ideas for solving a problem, in which case no product or piece of art is made.

It is rare for people to make anything by hand without using any tools at all. For example, a needle (in "needle and thread") is a tool. So whether a machine (a type of tool) is used or not is not relevant. However, it is a fact that when products are made in a factory they are usually mass produced using machines, which means they are all copies of the same model or template. When something is handmade, it is usually unique and inspired by the ideas that the maker created in his or her mind.

On the other hand, it is theoretically possible for someone to mass produce something by hand, i.e., make identical copies. of the same thing. And it is theoretically possible for someone to use creative ideas to produce different variations of a product in a factory, using a machine. But these are exceptions to the rule.