剑桥雅思 4

Test 1

Writing task 1

Topic request

The table below shows the proportion of different categories of families living in poverty in Australia in 1999.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 

 

Model answer

The table gives a breakdown of the different types of families who were living in poverty in Australia in 1999.

 

On average, 11% of all households, comprising almost two million people, were in this position. However, those consisting of only one parent or a single adult had almost double this proportion of poor people, with 21% and 19% respectively.

 

Couples generally tended to be better off, with lower poverty levels for couples without children (7%) than those with children (12%). It is noticeable that for both types of households with children, a higher than average proportion were living in poverty at this time.

 

Overall the table suggests that households of single adults and those with children were more likely to be living in poverty than those consisting of couples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

剑桥雅思 4

Test 2

Writing task 2

Topic request

Happiness is considered very important in life.

Why is it difficult to define?

What factors are important in achieving happiness?

 

 

Model answer

Happiness is very difficult to define, because it means so many different things to different people. While some people link happiness to wealth and material success, others think it lies in emotions and loving personal relationships. Yet others think that spiritual paths, rather than either the material world or relationships with people, are the only way to true happiness.

 

Because people interpret happiness for themselves in so many different ways, it is difficult to give any definition that is true for everyone. However, if there are different kinds of happiness for different individuals then the first step in achieving it would be to have a degree of self-knowledge. A person needs to know who he or she is before being able to know what it is that makes him or her happy.

 

Of course, factors such as loving relationships, good health, the skills to earn a living and a peaceful environment all contribute to our happiness, too. But this does not mean that people without these conditions cannot be happy.

 

Overall, I think an ability to keep clear perspectives in life is a more essential factor in achieving happiness. By that I mean an ability to have a clear sense of what is important in our lives (the welfare of our families, the quality of our relationships, making other people happy, ect.) and what is not (a problem at work, getting annoyed about trivial things, etc.).

 

Like self-awareness, this is also very difficult to achieve, but I think these are the two factors that may be the most important for achieving happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

剑桥雅思 4

Test 3

Writing task 1

Topic request

The chart below shows the different levels of post-school qualifications in Australia and the proportion of men and women who held them in 1999.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 

 

Model answer

The chart gives information about post-school qualifications in terms of the different levels of further education reached by men and women in Australia in 1999.

 

We can see immediately that there were substantial differences in the proportion of men and women at different levels. The biggest gender difference is at the lowest post-school level, where 90% of those who held a skilled vocational diploma were men, compared with only 10% of women. By contrast, more women held undergraduate diplomas (70%) and marginally more women reached degree level (55%).

 

At the higher levels of education, men with postgraduate diplomas clearly outnumbered their female counterparts (70% and 30%, respectively), and also constituted 60% of Master’s graduates.

 

Thus we can see that more men than women hold qualifications at the lower and higher levels of education, while more women reach undergraduate diploma level than men. The gender difference is smallest at the level of Bachelor’s degree, however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

剑桥雅思 4

Test 4

Writing task 2

Topic request

In many countries schools have severe problems with student behavior.

What do you think are the causes of this?

What solutions can you suggest?

 

 

Model answer

Poor student behavior seems to be an increasingly widespread problem and I think that modern lifestyles are probably responsible for this.

 

In many countries, the birth rate is decreasing so that families are smaller with fewer children. These children are often spoilt, not in terms of love and attention because working parents do not have the time for this, but in more material ways. They are allowed to have whatever they want, regardless of price, and to behave as they please. This means that the children grow up without consideration for others and without any understanding of where their standard of living comes from.

 

When they get to school age they have not learnt any self control or discipline. They have less respect for their teachers and refuse to obey school rules in the way that their parents did.

 

Teachers continually complain about this problem and measures should be taken to combat the situation. But I think the solution to the problem lies with the families, who need to be more aware of the future consequences of spoiling their children. If they could raise them to be considerate of others and to be social, responsible individuals, the whole community would benefit.

 

Perhaps parenting classes are needed to help them to do this, and high quality nursery schools could be established that would support families more in terms of raising the next generation. The government should fund this kind of parental support, because this is no longer a problem for individual families, but for society as a whole.