Aging of Population

      According to Taiwan News. By 2026, Taiwan will become a super-aged society where at least 20 percent of the population are 65 or older, the National Development Council said in 2019.

      We cannot deny that it is exhausting to take care of elderly people, especially if they cannot take care of themselves. They are also vulnerable to loneliness, which can adversely affect their mental health. Providing them with services such as delivering meals, helping with household chores, giving them company, would address their practical and emotional needs. Through such services, we would be able to contribute to society and make a difference. 

      I consider that three types of services should be provided. First, meals should be delivered to those elderly people who cannot cook themselves.  If they cannot cook themselves, they might resort to fast food, which is not good for their health. The delivery of meals would ensure that they eat at regular times and follow a healthy diet. Secondly, volunteers should be mobilized to clean up their homes at regular intervals. They are not physically strong enough to keep their homes clean, which might increase the risk of contracting diseases. Thirdly, they should be engaged through various activities so that they do not feel lonely. The activities need not be too fancy. Sometimes a visit is what they enjoy and look forward to. They can share their interesting stories in life whereas the volunteers can talk about what they usually do, for example, on campus. Such exchange and company would spice up their lives.

      As the aging population has posed a range of challenges for society, it is important for everyone to show concern for the elderly and provide them with appropriate assistance. Through the activities proposed above, we would be able to help the elderly in need.

Which Do You Enjoy More, City life or Country Life?

   

      I prefer city life to country life. We all know that living in the country comes with fresher air and wider space than living in the city, but the latter affords us much convenience, which explains why I enjoy city life more.

  The public transportation system in the city comes to my mind right away. Wherever I want to go, I can take a bus or the MRT easily. In addition, shopping is easy with a variety of stores, ranging from corner ones to huge shopping malls. I need to mention convenience stores, which are ubiquitous in Taiwan. The hospitals in the city are equipped with a great deal of medical resources, which ensure that patients, especially those suffering from serious illnesses, receive comprehensive treatment. It is common for a cancer patient living in the country to be transferred to a hospital in the city for treatment. 

      Last but not least, the city is better than the country in terms of other resources such as schools, infrastructure, and social services. Schools in the city tend to provide better education for students. There are also more and bigger libraries, museums, and bookstores, which makes it easier for students and members of the public to broaden their horizons. For the above reasons, I would rather live in the city than in the country.

The Novel Coronavirus

   

        As the epidemic is getting worse, we are all worried about the future. What we can do now is to obey the government's directives, avoid going to public places, wash hands with soap, and pay much attention to personal hygiene.

        Last year, I bought a flight ticket for a trip to Osaka, Japan in February this year. In January, it was widely reported that the epidemic had spread to various countries. At that time, I was still hesitant to cancel the trip. In a few days’ time, the epidemic gradually turned into a pandemic. This prompted me to cancel the ticket, even though it was a non-refundable/irrevocable ticket! Although I was a little regretful about the lack of a refund, I now think that this has been a right decision. Taiwan is my home. I have a responsibility to protect myself and others. I don't want to increase the burden on medical staff. I firmly believe that it is a waste of social resources if the number of infected cases rises because the rules such as social distancing are not followed.

A Strange Dream

        Yesterday I went to bed and everything was calm. I fell asleep but felt dizzy suddenly. After that, as if the time was stopped, l floated in an unreal space. The darkness surrounded me and I didn't know how to leave this space. Suddenly, a beam of light landed on my eyes; I floated towards the light, guessing it was an exit. To my surprise, after I went through the light, I dropped into an ocean from the sky. Theoretically, nobody could breathe in the ocean, but I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Neither did I feel that the clothes on my body were wet.  In other words, I wandered in the ocean with no diving gear.

        While I took in the beautiful view of the ocean, a school of sharks swam to me at a high speed. What a scaring sight!  I swam as soon as I could, but was still devoured by a shark.  The shark's mouth was so stinky that I could hardly bear it. I tried to leave, but the mouth was closing. Apparently, I didn't know what to do next as I sat on the shark's tongue. Suddenly, the tongue moved, pushing me into the stomach. Just as I thought I would be killed, I was awakened by the alarm. Fortunately, it was just a strange dream.

Saving Our Environment

Saving our environment is a responsibility for those who live on Earth. Only by keeping our environment clean can we have a sustainable environment to live in. In addition, the creatures living on Earth can reproduce, thereby boosting biodiversity. The survival of human beings and other creatures hinges on how successful we are in sustainable development.

When it comes to saving our environment, both governments and citizens have an important role to play. First, governments around the world should pass laws to punish polluters. Secondly, they should promote the importance of what can be done to protect the environment through the media. Finally, citizens should minimize the pollution of oceans or the atmosphere through international cooperation. With this multi-pronged approach, we and particularly our future generations will be able to survive on Earth.

Friends

   

       Nobody goes through life without making friends, which is beneficial. For one thing, friends make our life colorful: chatting, sharing fun stories, or simply being a good listener. We also cooperate with them in winning a game or completing a project. Without them, our life would have been monotonous or boring.

 Moreover, friends will cheer us up when we are upset or even depressed. Their words of consolation are always what is needed for us to recover and regain the power in us.

        Given the importance of friendship, we should be careful in choosing our friends. Generally speaking, we tend to make friends with someone whose personality is similar to ours. His/her character is also an important consideration. Many of our actions are influenced by our friends. They can make us grow and make progress; they can also make us go astray. We should stay away from someone with a bad character. We should treasure friendship with a good friend and invest in building a closer and rewarding relationship with him/her, which will no doubt enrich our life with fond memories and unforgettable experiences.

        My friends fall into three categories. Those in the first category always tell me the truth and make me confront reality. The process can be unpleasant as some truths can be cruel. That said, I become more aware of my weaknesses so that I can work on them. Friends in the second category are tolerant of my faults. No one is perfect, and I always appreciate my friends’ acceptance of who I am. Friends in the third category are knowledgeable as I love learning and I learn so much from them.

       To conclude, I cannot live without my friends, who play different roles in my life, be it telling me the truth, accepting who I am, and being a good source of knowledge.

My Favorite Hobby

  

     My favorite hobby is solving the Rubik’s Cube. When I was in junior high, my classmates started to play with them, and as a result, we competed against each other every day. As our desire to become the fastest Rubik’s Cube solver grew stronger, we became more and more competitive. However, it became increasingly difficult to beat the newest record. Therefore, most of my classmates gave up on this challenge, but I continued playing it after graduating from junior high since I really enjoyed the game, particularly the feeling of stress and the sense of accomplishment. At that time, it took me around 25 seconds on average to solve the cube, and I was proud of myself, but I knew my time was not good enough for an official competition.

      As I wanted to join one, I started to practice solving the cube more frequently: day or night, and even during classes and breaks. Unfortunately, my efforts were to no avail because I cut short my time by 5 seconds only. Worse still, my grades and health were both adversely affected.

      I recognized these problems and knew it was time to give up my dream of becoming a professional player. It was a hard decision to make; after all, it was my favorite hobby. However, I had no choice but to take care of my grades and health.

      Consequently, my life went back to normal, and I decided not to invest so much time in solving the Rubik’s Cube. However, when I have spare time, I will solve the Rubik’s Cube, but only as a form of entertainment. Even though I can’t solve it as fast as I used to, I am always content when I look at a completed Rubik’s Cube!

Smart Phone

      In today’s high-tech society, smart phones play an important role in our daily lives, and they offer many benefits. First of all, they provide access to a great amount of information. I always use smart phones to search for information whenever I need to do my assignments. Secondly, the purpose I use smart phone is for entertainment. There are various games and music video online, and I often play games and relax by listening to music.

      

      However, there are also many drawbacks. Spending too much time surfing the Internet without rest does harm to our eyes. Additionally, children may become addicted to online games and put their schoolwork aside. Even worse, while children are still growing, wrong sitting postures could bring about spinal disorders, which will cause them to have difficulty standing or walking. Therefore, when we enjoy the convenience and joy smartphones offer, we should also be aware of the harm they do to us. 

Money

Everybody knows that money plays an important role in our life. With money, we can do lots of things for ourselves and society. For example, on the one hand, I can buy any commodity I want, such as delicious food, electronic devices, or fancy clothes. On the other hand, I can donate money to whoever needs help, thereby helping society. In addition, if something unfortunate happened, it could be used to cope with it.

However, money has its limitations. Take time as an example.  Even if you are the richest man in the world, you can’t recover the time that is already gone. True love and companionship cannot be bought, either.  Last but not least, money can certainly buy you the best health care, but not health which you hold dear.

All in all, money may bring you lots of advantages, but when it comes to time and health, it can be useless. 

看影片學寫作(WWYD: Man insults restaurant customer who has Down syndrome)

        This video was an experiment to see the customers’ reaction. The waitress was helping the Down syndrome customer, Peter, to order. Mike was being rude to the waitress, asking her to have his order first. Being impatient, he claimed that he had waited for fifteen minutes. Additionally, he thought Peter should have had a guardian with him. On witnessing this, first madam, who was a teacher that used to teach mentally challenged children, stopped Mike’s contemptuous behavior. Her number one motto: Treat everybody that the way you would like to be treated. This is the golden rule. The second and third man lashed out at Mike. They said that Mike should relax and be patient. Eventually, with a little emotion, they told Mike to get out and find another restaurant instead. Meanwhile, the producer of the experiment will approach the customers and explain their goal and appreciate their help.

        Obviously, Peter required more time to order. However, Mike used some insulting words to humiliate Peter. For example, stupid, retarded and so on. His discrimination against a disable person was disrespectful. Mike can call another waiter to have his order or say it in a tactful way. Degrading others is the worst thing that we shouldn’t do. To sum up, we should bear a kind heart to help those in need, after all, helping others is a virtue.

Romantic Love Key to Happy Marriage

I firmly believe that romantic love is necessary for a happy marriage.  Indeed the former is key to the latter.

In marriage, two persons decide to commit themselves to each other and live together through good and bad times.  The decision can hardly be taken lightly for its significant implications for not only the couple themselves, but also their family and friends.  A failed marriage invariably gives rise to disastrous consequences, ranging from the emotional stress and distress the couple have to go through and cope with, to the need to sort out the financial arrangements as part of the divorce process, which is made more complicated if kids are involved as the matter might be taken to court for a resolution as to the custody of and access rights to the kids.

Romantic love plays a key role from courtship to marriage.  Without romantic love, no two persons take the first step of dating.  Without romantic love, they will not decide to be joined through marriage.  The journey begins when they have some sense of liking towards each other.  Unsure if this sense of liking is mutual, they are eager to take advantage of all possible opportunities to be with each other, even in the company of friends.  This is then followed by dating in which one party decides to impress the other – celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and so on, sending chocolate and flowers at Valentine’s Days, going on trips – and see more of each other.  With the aid of romantic love, the couple decides to live their lives together in marriage, with shared rights and responsibilities as protected in law.

It follows that romantic love continues to play a key role throughout marriage, particularly when it comes to a happy one.  It does not make sense that once into marriage, the couple can dispense with romantic love which is what have brought them together.  It is true that romantic love might evolve into a less direct form.  More reliance is placed on affectionate facial expressions and the intimate care and thoughts shown, than on explicit terms of endearment, often used in the courtship stage.  The different form taken by romantic love does not downplay its importance in marriage; it just contributes to a happy marriage in a different way.

It is also true that romantic love might diminish in intensity, compared with that of romantic love that triggers the desire to see each other at the beginning.  This might be the result of a combination of factors, including the busy lifestyle, the daily chores of life, the pressures from pursuing career aspirations, and the need to take care of kids and their future.  This is why for a marriage to be a happy one, there must be romantic love and it takes time and effort to sustain romantic love, which in turn sustains a happy marriage.  Anecdotic evidence suggests that a marriage premised on fame and fortune only is not a happy one.  Such marriage stands a high risk of heading towards divorce.

To conclude, a happy marriage is always underpinned by romantic love, which plays a key role from courtship to marriage and then through marriage. Romantic love is an ingredient which not only holds the marriage together, but also contributes to happiness in marriage.

看影片學寫作(WWYD: A Rude Waiter to a Deaf Man)

      This experiment aimed to find out how people would react if they witnessed a scenario in a restaurant where a waiter named Tyler was rudely treating a hearing-impaired customer who wanted to order.

     The first person was a professor teaching communication. She told Tyler not to be rude to the customer.Tyler retorted that it wasn’t part of his job.

     The second person passed a pen to the customer for him to write down his order. Again, Tyler continued to mistreat the customer.

     Both the first and second persons hit the roof and lodged a complaint with the restaurant manager.  The third person, on the other hand, appreciated that Tyler was busy serving other customers, but she thought that the customer should have used a pen to write down his order, and Tyler should have been more polite. 

     To sum up, we should not discriminate against others under any circumstances.  We should be compassionate toward those in need.  The hearing-impaired should be prepared to minimize inconvenience caused to others.  The restaurant manager should put in place arrangements for coping with this situation.

     We should always remember the old saying: “When you’re good to others, you are best to yourself.”