TEST 1:

 Speaking: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Advances in technology have made the world a better place
Nowadays, with the rapid development of the technology, it becomes an important part of humans’
life. Some people think that technology has made the world a better place to live, but some people
do not agree with this idea. I, however, think that technology has made the world a higher quality
place to live because it improves our transportation, it is convenient and it is comfortable.
Firstly, with the modern technology, people can have many kinds of transportations. At the past,
people had to go by bicycle or on foot; it is really difficult for people to move far away. So in the
early 19 century, people with some technology had made the first motorbike to remove that
problem. Furthermore, today we have many airplanes, cars, ships, vessels to help us to travel easily.
Secondly, technology is extremely convenient for people, especially for many people who live far
from their family. For example, my uncle has lived and worked in America for 15 years, but my
grandmother and my family are living in Vietnam so that it is very difficult to contact with him face
to face. In spite of that, we can contact him through email or telephone calls. Furthermore, it is
extremely helpful when you have to face up to an emergency situation. For instance, a few days
ago, I need to bring my research for my literature class and I had left if at home. So I was totally
worried because it is the deadline of the research. If I did not hand in the paper, I would have gotten
a worse score. Then, in this case, I had to call my father to bring it to me. Thus, it is highly
convenient for many people.
Finally, I assume that technology is really comfortable. It is the summer in Vietnam now, it is
extremely hot. However, sitting in the air-conditioned room, people do not have to suffer from the
hot weather anymore. Thank for the modern technology, today, people do not need to be in the
trouble with the hot weather or cold weather.
In conclusion, I believe that technology has made the world a greater position to live because it
improves our transportation, it is convenient and it is comfortable.
 Writing:
Many companies have always required employees to dress professionaaly for instance in a business
suit. Some of these companies now allow their employees to come to work once a week in more
casual clothing.
Many companies strictly require their workers to wear formal suits in their workplaces. One
possible reason for doing that is employers want their workers to look more professional. However,
it does not seem a good idea to always force employees to dress formally. There are some reasons
why I believe like this.
To begin with, employees have a freedom of choice to wear what they want in their workplace.
Whether dressing professionally or not is a matter of personal choice. No one has the right to force
others to decide about what to wear. There is not relevant regulation by a law whatsoever. Thus
companies should respect a personal choice of what they wear in their workplace.
Next, this kind of compulsory rule could lower workers' morale and work-efficiency. If they are
forced to dress formal everyday, they may feel very uncomfortable with their clothes while
working-especially on rainy days or stormy days. They should feel free to wear the clothes that
make them feel better at their work. In other words, their work-efficiency will boost if they choose
to wear the clothes that is the most suitable for them.
Finally, what a person is wearing merely has nothing to do with company's own sake. Clothes are
not an important matter in workplaces. Looking professionally is by no means actually doing
professionally. In order to make workers perform better in their workplace, employees should
encourage workers to do whatever they want. That is, creating open atmosphere is far more
important than just making them look formal.
To sum up, advantages in giving workers a choice of what to wear outweigh ones in requiring them
to dress professionally. The latter is definitely a violation of the right of personal choice. Also, by
allowing them to wear anything they feel comfortable with, their work-efficiency will significantly
increase. Moreover, what a parson is wearing has nothing to do with company's own profits.
Therefore, the requirement of dressing formally in workplace should be withdrawn. (330)
TEST 2:
 Speaking:
Do you think it’s easier to work on a project by yourself or with a group of people?
There are two types of working. One of them is working with a group, another one is working
individually. Although some people prefer to work alone, I believe it is much better to work in
teams. If we compare these two working types, the benefits of team work are more than those of
working alone. The advantages of working with a group can be found below.
Firstly, I prefer working in a team because team work allows a person to work according to his or
her strength. Since the group members apply their strong sides to the work, the completion time will
be faster. For instance, I was involved in a car design project several years ago. One person made
engineering calculations to understand which parts are critical for our design, I made the drawings
of the car components, and another friend of mine made the presentation of our project to the
professor. He gave us a good response and additional points since we completed our work before
the due date. To be more precise, we did a good job, because we divided the work according to our
strong sides.
Another reason why I prefer to work with a group is that I think that this type of work establishes a
better relationship between the team members. As humans, socialization is important for us and
working with a team gives us a chance to improve our relationship. When people are in a team, they
have to communicate with each other at each step of the process. For example, in our last year
elective course, I made new friends because we were involved in a team project together. Thanks to
the project, we did build a good relationship among each other, and we are still in touch.
Lastly, team work improves the sense of responsibility. All group members are aware that their
performance affects the group, so all group members try to do their best and work hard to get better
results. For example, a few years ago, some of my friends and I participated in a competition which
was related to optimization. Since there were a lot of things to do, we divided the topics among each
other. We did not have enough information about one of the shared parts. However, a person who
got that subject made a lot of effort to learn the topic well. He attended online courses and read
books related to that field. Eventually, he accomplished a great job. What I am trying to say is that
in a group working, even if a person does not have enough information related to his or her working
area, he or she may learn the things with his or her effort because he or she knows that a mistake
will cause negative outcomes.
In conclusion, working with a team makes the things easier and helps the people work more
happily. If we take into account all these factors, we may reach the conclusion that working in a
group has more advantages than working alone.
 Writing:
Some jobs require employees to get up early in the morning to start the day’s work. Other jobs
require employees to get up later in the day and work until late last night. Which working style do
you think is better? Why? Give reasons or examples to support your opinion.
In spite of the fact that early morning sleep is incredibly delightful, in my opinion, the people who
prefer to get up early in the morning can entirely enjoy every moment of the day. There are several
clear reasons to demonstrate why getting up early in the morning surpasses the former one. Better
time management, nicer moods, and good impacts on health are the major reasons that I, personally,
prefer getting up early.
time management:
These days, everybody believes that “time is money;” even I believe that time is worth more than
money. One who gets up early in the morning can do his or her work on time and can use the best
part of the day too. Most of the works begin early in the morning, and it brings opportunities to gain
these wide ranges of jobs only for the people who can get up early every morning. A person who
knows the value of the early rising can enjoy the advantages of it, like having plenty of practical
time on a day. Early birds have a suitable time from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to perform their official work
in the banks, governmental offices, and companies which are open only in the morning. A person
who gets up late cannot perform these tasks on time, and even he or she should spend several days
doing a simple errand because the offices will be closed when he or she has “got up”. Concerning
this, there is a proverb that says, “The early bird catches the worm,” which tells us the importance
of the time by getting up in the morning. Being early rising surely brings us an incredible discipline
in life, which can help us to have time management and a daily program. On the other hand, other
people who are not early birds cannot use their time in the same way and have quite a bit of wasted
time. They get up late and probably go to bed late, but, during the time at which they are awake,
they cannot perform any work because they missed the golden time, morning, of the day. In this
regard, they waste their time because they are not able to do some of their work in the evening or at
night.
Statistics demonstrate that early birds generally have better moods and are calmer than others.
Scientifically, the best biological clock in humans offers a time of sleep between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m., which is 8 hours a day. Making adjustments based on the biological clock help us to be fresh
when we get up in the morning. By doing so, a person can have a better mood and will behave
kindly toward other people because on-time sleeping makes him or her calm and fresh all of the
day. If one gets up late, for example at 12 o'clock, he or she probably feels sleepy and bored during
the day. Early birds are healthier than others because they act based on their nature and biological
clock. By so doing, they have enough time to exercise in the morning to keep their bodies fit. They
breathe the fresh air of the morning in their lungs too.
In sum, there are many reasons to prove that getting up early in the morning is better than doing so
late. Proper using of time and improving health are the major advantages of this habit. Early risers
have a great deal of time to use, especially in the best time of the day, that is, in the morning. ( 529)