Money
A number of
people believe that pocket money teaches teenagers to be
responsible. Others say that teenagers are too young to deal
with money and that their parents should just buy them what they
need.
Many parents wonder whether to give pocket money to their
children and how much to give. Most Moms and Dads think that
pocket money helps the child learn to handle money sensibly.
However, pocket money may become a battleground if not handled
correctly from the very start.
Personally, I think that by giving pocket money parents help
children learn to manage money while they are young. It also
helps them make choices and feel that they are important members
of the family. Even a small amount can give a child the feeling
of responsibility and independence. Parents can suggest the
child keeping a little book in their money box to record ins and
outs. This will help with their mathematics and will encourage
them to save money.
But in some families children are given what they ask for and do
not get pocket money. Some parents think that pocket money can
cause a number of problems. For example, if children have a lot
less than their friends they may feel depressed and may be
tempted to steal. On the other hand, when they have much more it
can cause envy and resentment amongst their friends. Besides, I
believe that parents should never give pocket money to their
children as compensation for not spending enough time with them
and as a reward for helping around the house.
To conclude, I think it is up to parents to decide whether to
give children pocket money or not. Anyway, parents should
explain their sons and daughters that lots of money cannot buy
love and happiness.
Some people
think they can be happy only being rich, while others don't care
too much about money.
It is rather difficult to imagine our lives without money.
People consider money to be part and parcel of their everyday
lives. They buy and sell different things, receive a fee, a
pension or a subsidy, exchange currency and what not. People's
attitude to money can be quite different: for some of them money
is the most important thing in the world, while other people
don't care much about money.
In my opinion, the life of rich people is not only luxurious. It
is also dangerous. There are quite a lot of people who want to
deceive the rich. Millionaires have to spend much money on
security, but sometimes even such measures don't help. Rich
people are often robbed, kidnapped and killed. Besides, they
have to work much and that is why they spend very little time
with their families and they often feel stressed.
But in spite of all dangers and difficulties, many people are
sure that money and happiness are synonyms. They believe that
money can make them powerful and independent. They dream of
expensive cars and luxurious mansions. Some people think that we
live in the world where almost everything can be bought and
sold. They even make friends and marry for money. To my mind,
money becomes a kind of addiction for such people.
To sum up, money is very useful as a medium of exchange, a unit
of account and a store of value. But it becomes "the root of all
evil" when it makes people take bribes, betray their partners or
commit crimes. I think that "money is a good servant but a bad
master."
A lot of
people say that it is very important for everybody to own
property. However, others are not so sure that property can make
our lives better.
Everyone has some possessions. People own cars, buildings,
land, money, bonds, stocks and so on. We are used to consuming,
selling, renting, mortgaging, transferring or exchanging our
property. But sometimes people attach too much importance to
their possessions.
Personally, I believe that property is not the most important
thing in our lives. It may arouse other people's envy and it is
difficult to say whether people surrounding you are your real
friends or they just like your possessions and want to make use
of them. I strongly feel that having friends, parents,
relatives, spouses and children who love and understand you is
better than possessing money, houses or securities.
However, there are people whose desire to own things
predominates over all other feelings. They often become "slaves
of property". They usually try to make a commercial use of
everything and the main aim of their lives is accumulation of
their capital. They sometimes buy beautiful pictures and
sculptures not because they admire works of art or drive
inspiration from them, but because it is a way of investing
money. But to my mind, a person who values only property is
miserable because inanimate objects like cars, pictures or
precious stones can't make you happy.
To conclude, I think that possessing property is not a sin, but
one should remember the proverb: "Money can't buy happiness".
Some people
say that making money with the Internet is reality, while others
think it is a myth.
The Internet is not only a source of information and
entertainment for many people. It can also help them make money
from home. At the same time the Internet business may be hard to
break into.
To my mind, the Internet gives people a great number of
opportunities to make money. Some of them earn money building
websites for different companies, organizations or businessmen.
Many people use websites to sell different goods or services.
Thanks to the Internet, e-learning industry which is estimated
to be worth billions of dollars has developed. People also earn
money by sending spam, creating computer viruses, putting
advertisements on a web page and so on.
However, those who believe that the Internet can help them make
millions in a few days may be disappointed. Even hard work does
not always result in success. People usually have to invest some
money to develop their online business. What is more, there is
usually great competition on the Internet when thousands of
other people are trying to sell similar goods or services. So if
you want to succeed, you should be original in order to stand
out from the crowd.
To sum up, the Internet may motivate people to earn money. I
strongly feel that if you are not afraid of difficulties, if you
are hard-working, energetic and persistent, the Internet
business will help you become richer.
Some people
say that high social status is very important for everybody.
Others are convinced that it is better to have a high income.
In modern societies, a person's social status depends on
many factors including their income, education, occupation,
inherited wealth and position, ownerships, personal skills,
abilities and efforts. Some people achieve high social status
through education, occupation, and marital status. But statuses
can also be inherited through family.
To my mind, it is difficult to say which is more important: high
social status or a high income. Sometimes an individual's social
positions have both positive and negative influence on their
social status. For example, a teacher has a positive societal
image which increases his status but may earn little money,
which simultaneously decreases it. In contrast, a drug dealer,
may have low social position though have a high income. There
are a lot of professions that are not prestigious, but well-paid
and vice versa. Personally, I would prefer having high social
status to being rich.
Some people say that they would rather have low social status
but earn much money. They are convinced that money can make them
powerful and independent. Such people also say that we live in
the world where almost everything can be bought and sold, even
high social status. But I think that a person must be respected
only for his or her individual merits and achievements.
To sum up, both a person's income and social status depend on
him or her and may be changed in the course of his or her life.
So if you want to be wealthy, respected and successful, you must
work hard to achieve this goal.
Из учебного пособия
"Открывая
мир с английским языком. 150 эссе для ЕГЭ. Готовимся к ЕГЭ" Юнёва С.А. 2011г.
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