Summary
China’s manufacturing activity shrank for the first time in seven months in December.
The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index was down from a final reading of 50 in November. The most recent data showed the slowing Chinese economy. New factory orders shrank for the first time since April. In November, China’s central bank cut interest rates to 2.75% for the first time since 2012 in an attempt to revive the economy.
Opinion
China is the second of the greatest economic powers in the world and its influence becomes lager than before. However, Chinese economy has some problems such as slowing economy as this news imply. Today I would like to explain about another problem; rising the cost of labor and prices of commodities and land.
China has been called “factory of the world”. There are a few reasons. First is a big amount of labor, second is a large land, third is a cheap labor and cheap the prices, but the final factors have been changing from a little while ago because of rapid economic growth. Prices of commodities and land have been increasing year by year, these prices grow by several times in a one or two decades. The rising these prices has an influence to the cost of labor and the cost has been also rising quickly. In the not far future, the cost will be increased more and an advantage of the cheap cost will be lost.
For this reason, the name “factory of the world” will move to other developing countries in the future.
Nowadays, importance of education is rising increasingly. I will tell you about education. I have two themes; essence of education and change in education.
Firstly I have two opinions about essence of education. One is education should give children and youth clues for life. Another one is education should create wide variety of people.
I think education should give hints to students. People live in society and school is a small size of society. Children learn how to get along with others and youth learn logic of things. These things cannot divide into ordinary subjects like math arts science and so on, but they are very important when they become adults because they need communicate with many people, sometimes suppress their emotions, persuade others by concrete logic. Moreover, these things can only learn in school because a lot of kinds of people for example age-matched students, elder students, younger students, teachers, they are in school so they can learn how to deal with others. Well, so education should give a lot of useful information and hints for living in society and it is the best education.
Next, current education creates many types of people who like politics, economics, science and so on besides these people have different characters and the makings. A large variety is important for all creatures including humans. By the way, Mr. Robinson said children lost their creativity through education because of avoiding failure. A number of creative people are small and many people say creativity is most important thing. It is sure creativity invents new ideas and improves society. However, a situation which all people are creative is not good because those people tend to be self-assertive and collide with each other so people who are obedience or not creative are also need as creative people. Moreover, to avoid failure is not always unnecessary if anything it is usually crucial factors because to be able to avoid failure makes benefit at least.
However, of course I didn’t mean creativity is bad. I have two opinions in second theme; change in education too. I agree with Mr. Robinson’s opinion arts, music, dance these subjects are also important same as math and languages and focus on both brain and body. So school education should increase a number of those classes and regard them more important and teach children importance of arts, music, dance because they develop students’ creativity, personality, and diversity. In addition to when children become adults, knowledge of them makes their life richer.
Finally, I heard a very interesting system which students have a few years between graduating from senior high school and entering university in Scandinavia. I think school education should give students time before entering university. Because it makes students seek their end of life by thinking, reading, talking, traveling abroad, then students could grow up to be men or women. It is certain some students will be idle, but such students are lazy in any situation. I recommend this system especially in Japan. The reason is Japanese students tend to have few time to think about what they want to do or become before entrance into university. Besides, in university life, a lot of students focus on study, part-time job, play, sports, club activities, so they don’t have time neither after entrance nor before entrance.
In conclusion, I think essence of education should be clues for life, development of human personality. And school education should import more number of classes of arts, music, dance and a few years of free time before entering university.(593 words)
Little geckos can climb walls and much research has been trying to clarify how they climb, yet results of those investigations has proven that using gecko adhesion to work at larger scales without any loss of performance was difficult. However, Stanford University’s team invented hand-sized silicone pads which were inspired from geckos. People who weigh 70kg can climb vertical glass wall when they use the silicone pads. The pads will be used for soldiers when they need climb up without ropes and ladders.
Opinion
This new technology will be helpful and useful for soldiers, workers, toy companies, and kids in many situations. Firstly, it is very useful when soldiers need climb up silently or there is nowhere ropes can hang. And they can carry out their duty with less baggage. Secondly, especially for steeplejack, it can improve their safety when they work at bad scaffolds or high places. Finally, maybe new toys will be made and toy companies can profit by them and kids can play new style games in the open.
Summary
Mosquitoes bite the human and they bring many diseases for example, chikungunya and malaria. We want to wipe mosquitoes out for protecting from many diseases that mosquitoes carry, but we cannot remove mosquitoes easily because they have important roles in ecosystem. There are some ways to control the number of mosquitoes such as insecticides. According to Prof Hilary Ranson, an evidence base is need for getting rid of mosquitoes. The parasites which are brought by mosquitoes take about 10days to develop in human body. The mosquito’s lifespan is only three weeks so it needs to pick up the pathogen early in its life to pass it on. It will be effective to reduce the daily survival rate.
Opinion
For me, mosquitoes are only harmful insects because if I was bitten by them I feel really itchy and it is possible to suffer from some diseases. However, I know that such mosquitoes have important roles in the environment. So we should heed that the number of mosquitoes decrease too much.
I think that we should equip some items which give out ultrasonic waves or special odors which mosquitoes dislike and avoid. The method can achieve to protect from mosquitoes without killing them. It can be not only prevent from biting by them, but also need not decrease the number.
I believe doing your best on that you face with and never give up is important. I belong fencing club and my aim is to participate in the World Students Games. I will continue to Keio graduate school so I will achieve this goal till the graduation. Now, I will tell you about my fencing life and lessons from this.
The reason why I started fencing was very poor. I entered Keio Syonan Fujisawa Junior and Senior high school and belonged Japanese Chess club because I had loved it. However, when I moved up to the second year of Junior High School, members of the chess club became only 2 because of upperclassmen’s graduation from the Senior High School so I was bored about club activity. I looked for a sports club which allowed to belong two clubs because I thought I wanted to continue Japanese chess and I might need to lose my weight. And that was the fencing club by chance, yet firstly I had no motivation for fencing since I had Osgood-Schlatter disease which made me have pain in my left leg, besides I like Japanese chess more than fencing at that time.
However, a turning point of my fencing life came when I continued to the Senior High School because fencing club’s manager was changed. He has been very aggressive and passionate man. He taught me the fun of fencing, the importance of having a passion, and concentrating on things what you did. The final lecture was especially shocking for me and my value has turned upside down. From the day, I have devoted my time and energy to fencing, study and a few other things like a different person. My fencing skills have been improving and I succeeded to participate in Kanto Senior high school students’ fencing competition. Moreover, my record in school turned better and found fun of study.
Never give up is also important. I repeated failures in fencing after I exerted myself of it. I have got tired of fencing many times, yet I have decided to continue to do my best whenever I was about to stop hard working for fencing For this, epee team which I have made a specialty of from university achieved to promote to the First grade league from the Second grade league in 26 years at last month. I competed in the game and succeeded in it.
Now, my goal which is to participate in the World Students Competition is very difficult, but I will do my best and whenever I face with severe troubles I will never give up.
You should do your best if you have to do things which you don’t like. Because doing things without passion is wasting your time and doing your best for everything gives you useful lessons and new discoveries. And you will have hard time, but you should continue to make an effort, because it gives you something precious.
Summary
Our group discussed the survival of Africa’s elephants. More than 20,000 Africa’s elephants were poached in 2013 and the levels were far above the elephant birth rate. Transnational organized crime appeared to be involved in the trade. However, the trade of ivory has decreased because of Cites’ regulation of the international trade of plants and animals and there is the rise in China for legal mammoth ivory. Regardless of this good news, in some countries, elephants were still endangered species.
Opinion
I think that Cites had good influence to the decrease of trade of the ivory, but they or other institution need new solution for poaching and illegally trading. Cites regulate illegally trading of plants and animals, but protection of plants and animals which are poached is not enough to save those species. Protecting them has three types, punishing, establishing zoos, and stimulating interest in them.
Firstly, punishing poachers has good influence to the protection to a certain extent, yet too severe punishment may cause hard resistance so appropriate punishment is need.
Secondly, establishing zoos is difficult, but it is very useful and can be a long-period solution. The foundation needs a large amounts of money and many specialists about plants and animals. However, it makes the easy protection of them for a long time.
Finally, stimulating interest is a world-wide solution. If it succeed, many institutions are founded and they act themselves for the protection. It means that particular countries need not to spent money and all institutions cooperate each other for the protection.
In conclusion, the constitution of low, foundation of zoos, and a stimulus of the interest are effective for protection of plants and animals.
Our group talked about immigration problems in Britain. The Britain government talked tough on immigration but 15,000 migrants were entering Britain illegally through France every year. Britain is a magnet for illegal immigrants because those illegal immigrants can work on the black market in Britain. 40 migrants were getting through to the UK every night despite the efforts of the UK and French border agencies to stop them. France took more account of the burden than Britain. The morale of the Border Force has been at rock bottom and they did not function so the Border Force needs increases in productivity and flexibility of workforce.
Reaction
I think we should introduce immigration carefully. The allowing immigration has not only good points but also bad points. I think immigration has good influence to economy, national finance and variety of culture, yet it has bad influence to stability of politics and safety.
Firstly, immigration has good effects to economy and national finance because migrants make and buy many goods same as nation, and also pay their taxes. However, we need to pay attention to one problem. There is a possibility migrants took works from nation so immigration need the lack of labor population.
Secondly, immigration promotes cultural exchange. Migrants have many varieties of backgrounds so it can change nation’s exclusive and single sense of value.
Finally, immigration threatens stability of politics and safety. Illegally migrants tend to disturb peace and order. Moreover, even ordinary migrants disturb safety because of collisions of sense of value and culture. Politicians will need to concern circumstances of migrants. This means politics will be influenced by migrants.
In conclusion, we should be cautious of immigration and spend much time on the introduction.