Question set 11: Two-way discussion
This is indeed a good question to answer. Usually, I ride a bicycle to keep myself fit. As I have to stay longer hours at my office, I do not have much time to take other forms of physical exercise. Thereby, with the advice of my family doctor, I have bought a bicycle. I use it to reach my office and come back home again in the dusk or night. I work for an IT company and assigned to different responsibilities. So, when I am at the office, there are no scopes to return home early. As a result, I do not have chances to join with any physical exercises. But at the same time, I have to keep myself fit at any cost. So, riding the bicycle was a good idea and now I am experiencing the benefits of the ride. Earlier, I developed some unnecessary fats on my body but since I am riding the bicycle for past six months, the fats are gone. Moreover, I have developed some muscles which are in great shape and make me look better than before.
• Are you good at sport?
Yes, I am very good at sport. In my early days, sports were the most common form of entertainment and many of the kids like me were fond of sports. So, most of us have gained skills in different sports and now can boast with the skills they gained in the childhood as the kids of the current days do not have such chances to be an expert in sports and other physical competitions. When I was a teen, I used to participate in almost all the sports completion in my school and college. Though I could not be the top, I won several prizes for the participation. Tennis was my favourite sports and I still like it most. In my college days, I stood the second in inter-college lawn tennis championship competition. Besides, I also like to participate in other sports as well which are held in outdoors.
• What sports do you play?
Usually, I love playing tennis. I can play both the form of tennis, naming the lawn tennis and the table tennis. But I am more skilled in lawn tennis than the shorter version on the table. Besides, I like to participate in martial arts, golf, football, cricket, hunting and hockey. I like to participate in cricket most as a notable number of players are included in the sport. Besides, if one of the team loses, there are no chances to feel ashamed as this is a team sport. But when you are playing individually, like when I participate in martial arts, the defeats are all mine and if I am the winner, I have none to share the joy with. Whatever the victory or defeat is, participation is the big issue for me.
• What is the most popular sport in your country?
Vietnam is one of the important countries that play football most in association with the other sports and games. Football is considered as the most popular sport in the country and cricket is in the second position of the favourite list. Vietnam has a strong team both for football and cricket but the teams need more improvement to shine in the international events. Besides, some other games are also uprising in the country and Rugby is one of those. Vietnam has a good history of tennis, running, badminton and athletics. Chess is considered as one of the most important intellectual sport for the country and most of the time the country wins in different international chess competitions. Martial art has also a notable berth on the national sports list.
• What are the best ways to keep fit?
Well, there are several ways to keep fit. The first way is running in the morning or in the evening hours. Running has some positive impacts on the human body. It helps to strengthen the muscles and gives them a shape. Besides, walking is the other form of exercise and it is preferable for all ages of people irrespective of gender. People can walk an hour in a day which will help to keep them fit for all ages. Besides, cycling is another good way to remain fit. Unfortunately, most of the people in the current age have become lazy and thus they are getting inactive within the first half of their lifecycle. If they used to do hard labour in their daily life, they could have been active for more days. But now some of the people have become health conscious and get out of the bed early for some physical activities in the morning.
• What is the most popular form of exercise in your country?
Walking is the most popular form of exercise in Vietnam. People usually get up early in the morning and go out for a morning walk. The walk lasts for around an hour and mostly the people walk in the parks while some of the people walk on the empty streets. But I think parks are the best places for walking in the morning because there are trees in the parks which provide the fresh oxygen to the morning walkers. If they are on the streets, there are some chances of accidents as some of the vehicles are seen running speedily on the street in morning hours as there are less traffics. People walk for different benefits and doctors are on the view that walking helps to prevent different diseases. Walking is also considered as an effective exercise for the heart. So, I think, walking has become the most important and popular exercise in my country.
• Do you think people in your country are less healthy than they used to be?
No, I disagree with the point. People in my country are healthy enough and they do not need to be anymore. They are having proper and nutritious diets, having the required exercises and the required rests. The lifestyle they are leading is also healthy and keeps them happy always. So, when it is judging about their health, the entire health conditions should be kept in consideration. So, I cannot agree with the statement about their health. Most of the Vietnamese people are healthy and stout in terms of their physical and mental health. The number of patients is reduced to a great extent and the average lifespan has also been increased.
• How can we encourage young people to stay healthy?
There are some young people who follow unhealthy lifestyles and finally turn to a victim of different diseases. They do not know how to lead a happy and healthy life. So, they should be inspired on health and sanitation issues. The first thing is that they lack awareness. So, if proper awareness raising activities could be adapted to make them sensitised over the health issues, I think that could result in some positive impacts. Motivational activities should be undertaken and the youths should be involved with the activities. Besides, the youths should be kept active over the health-related issues in their real life. If the health issues could be made with fun, I believe that the participation of the youths will be increased to a great extent.
• Should governments intervene to force people to be healthier?
Umm! I think it should not be wise for the government to force people to be healthier. In fact, it varies from individual to individual whether they want to be healthy or not. It is a private issue and the government does not have right to intervene on such issue. Rather, the government could take some alternative measures so that the importance of health is comprehended among the citizens of the country.
People, in Australia, like to socialise and they have several formal occasions to meet and greet each other. But they also prefer to arrange some informal or family parties marking different events. Since the lifestyle is highly busy and most of the people are to be occupied with professional engagement round the year, a majority of them miss those events and hence emerge the idea of family or private parties. Family parties are held marking mostly the private occasions like celebrating one’s birthday, marriage anniversary, baby shower or to celebrate different international Days like Father’s or Mother’s Day etc. Besides, people arrange family parties when they have some good news like achieving any professional goal, gaining a desired career and more other issues. They usually have more fun in those events. In the past days, the bonding between the families was very intimate and with the gradual development of the world and emergence of necessity, people started becoming scattered and family parties help to bring them together for few hours. It is a kind of reunion of all the members and they could interact better with the members. The family parties are also organised to remove the generation gaps between the senior and youngest member of the family. When they meet each other, they share lots of things which help to remove the gap and strengthen the family bond.
• In some places, people spend a lot of money on parties that celebrate special family events. Is this ever true in your country? Do you think this is a good trend or a bad trend?
Yes, some of the people love to spend money on different family events and this is true for my country as well. The family is the place where the soul of a man lives. So, spending after the family is a very usual phenomenon in my country. It may have some arguments both the advantage and disadvantage but I think the advantages are more than the negative impacts. If we consider the harmful impacts, many of the people will judge the expenses as wastage of money. They are with the point that when you are inviting people, you need to entertain them with foods and drinks and that will cost you a smart figure. Okay. The logic is right, but the pleasure and benefits you will receive will be priceless. When your relatives or friends will come to the party, your residence will turn into a gathering place. They will remember the olden days and discuss different issues. Moreover, some important decisions are also taken in such parties. It helps to refine the relations. Attending in family parties also help the members to share their joys and sorrows. So, regularly arranging the parties help the family members to be in close connection and you cannot buy such happiness with money, indeed. So, I think arranging family parties is a good trend.
• Are there many differences between family parties and parties given by friends? Why do you think this is?
Ummm, definitely there are differences between the parties arranged by family and by friends. But I believe the differences are all about the situations and the formalities. When you will be with your family, you are in a formal situation. A number of guests will come visiting you and your parents or relatives. So, initially, the environment is ceremonial and often you have to maintain the formality around the event. On the contrary, when you are with your friends, you do not need to be so formal. You can say or do whatever you want (definitely inside a bracket). The entire situation is under your control. So, there is none to forbid you from doing specific things or participating in any funny activities. Regarding speaking with the guests, you are to be more polite than usual at the family parties and very often you cannot point out the wrong thing to the invited people lest they fell insulted. But when you are having a party with your friends, you can express your feelings to any particular matter that you do not like to have or experience. You are your own boss here and can easily decide what to do or not to do. Whatever the differences are, both the parties are enjoyable. But to be more specific, I think the young people enjoy parties with friends as they can enjoy themselves without any bar on their activities while the adult people love the family parties as they love to spend moments where they will be surrounded in a formal environment.
• What kinds of national celebrations do you have in your country?
Well, thank you for asking such an important issue. There are several national celebrations in Australia. Some of the notable events are Chinese New Year, Easter in Australia, Sorry Day and the Stolen Generations, Reconciliation, Melbourne Cup, Remembrance Day, Eureka Stockade, Christmas etc. Each of the events are celebrated in different parts of the year, for instance, the Chinese New Year is usually celebrated in February, the Easter is celebrated in April and sometimes in March, Sorry Day is on May, Reconciliation is celebrated on 3rd of June each year, while the Melbourne Cup is celebrated on November and Christmas Day is on December, each year. People usually make fun of these celebrations and sometimes offer presents to each other. Most of the times, particularly during the Christmas Eve, the present selling stores offer a good number of discounts on every product. Consequently, the celebrations become more enjoyable to the citizens. It is also the day for enjoyment and peace. It is the children who enjoy most in this day.
• Who tends to enjoy national celebrations more: young people or old people? Why?
Australia is the land where a large number of people live together peacefully. The number of youths and old people is balanced. I have seen during different national celebrations that generally people get divided into their respective groups. When it is about any national celebration, people are seen on the streets and most of the cases they get involved in discussing different issues when they meet during the celebrations. One of the important factors about the celebrations, I believe, is that people love to enjoy by themselves regardless of age groups. Both the adults and young people enjoy the celebrations and it is important that they pick their own companies. Usually, the adult people want their companions to be adults during the celebrations while the young people seek for young partners or groups. Besides, celebrating with groups is another important factor here. Groups are usually made in a combination of old and young people and they often make more fun than the individuals do.
• Why do you think some people think that national celebrations are a waste of government money? Would you agree or disagree with this view? Why?
Well, there are different views about the celebrations while thinking that all of the views will support the events is unwise. There are some opposite views regarding the celebrations and a section of people argue that the national celebrations are wastage of public money. I, in fact, disagree with such types of views. The national celebrations are done to observe some national days, and such celebrations make people aware of their nationalism. It is true that the government needs to spend money on arranging the celebrations. The spectacular the event, the more it costs the government. But, in exchange for the costs, the government is trying to send some sort of message to us. It is making us aware of our national days, past histories and people who were after the events. So, it is a duty for all to know about the national days and why those are celebrated. But if anybody wants to know alone (by themselves), they may not get the right information or may be misguided. If the government arranges for national day celebrations, it prioritises the national issues and histories so that the commoners could get the right idea and if it needs costs, I will argue to pay the necessary costs.
Well, I, in fact, cannot agree with the statement. To me, education has a different meaning. It does not mean that I should only memorise the idea and pour them into the exam scripts. I firmly believe that mere reading is not the way to learn or be educated. It should be comprehended by heart. There are some people who are of the view that they should memorise the past events and the true education refers to reply the questions on the viva board. But I think this is a misconception about education. Have you ever thought that the memorised texts or ideas about past will be of any use in your life after passing the course? Simply the answer is 'NO'. You cannot use the memorised ideas in your practical life. Let’s take a simple example. When you memorise something, you do it to get an immediate result and in most of the cases, it is all about passing the exam and you forget the ideas when the exam is over. But there are some past ideas or past event which we cannot forget until our death. Why? Because we do not memorise them, we remember the events and take them to our heart. Simply, if I ask you to quote from a rhyme that you memorised in your childhood, it would be nearly impossible for you to instantly reply because you need to remember the poem and it may happen that you are unable to remember the entire lines. So, how it happened? It happened for the memorization. The fact is similar to memorising past ideas. You cannot expect to remember the past ideas when they are not necessary. But if you learn those by heart, you will never forget them. Thereby, I think this is better to learn anything from the heart. Memorization is the way to destroy the intelligence. It is, thus, highly imperative to avoid memorization of ideas, events or texts.
• Should education encourage students to develop and share their own ideas?
Hmm! It should be the top priority for education to inspire students to share their respective ideas about any specific things or issues. Education, I think and believe, is a participatory process. When the teachers will offer lectures on the classes, they intend the students should learn from the lectures. With due respect, I would like to say that the teachers most of the times actually do not investigate if the students have learned the lessons or not. In such circumstances, a large portion of the students remains unaware of the lessons and topics discussed in the class. In a class, the types of students are not the same and intelligence level of them also differs. So, they should be allowed to express their own ideas and feelings over any specific issue. The texts should not be imposed on them. If imposed, they will start cramming before the examination. It is my private opinion that education should encourage the students to express their own imaginations or ideas. Accordingly, amendments should be made. As they are young, naturally their ideas and imaginations may contain loopholes and it is the responsibility of education to amend the weakness and make the ideas perfect. Unless the ideas are allowed to be expressed, the students will be unable to shine in their practical life.
• How do you think teachers could help students to develop and share their own ideas?
Well, teachers are considered as the maker of a nation. They are enriched with knowledge and skills and without them, not a single student can shine in life. So, it is a duty for the teachers to help the students in developing newer ideas. Most of the cases, the educational institutions disallow student to interfere during a lecture. But it should not be done. When the students interfere during the lecture, it should be understood that s/he want to share or express something important. So, I think asking during the lecture should be encouraged. The teachers can play the greatest role here. When they will answer the queries, it will create a path to spread the knowledge among the students. To be more practical with the issue, the teachers could also ask them to write their own ideas and share those with the class. When the sharing will be done, some newer aspects will be discovered which may appear helpful for the students. Besides, when the sharing will be done regularly, the remaining students will try to express their own ideas as well with the class to get some positive feedback. So, gradually when the entire class will start sharing their ideas, feelings and feedback, the ideas will be stronger and it will help the students to move ahead with a fresh vigour.
• Should employers encourage their workers to have new ideas about improving the company? Why?
Yes, I will agree here as well about the idea exercising issue. Often it appears that there are some ideas which are too usual but have never been seen before as those were not implemented. So, the ideas make us amazed. But if there were chances to exercise about ideas, we could have seen more and more unique and special ideas in every sector. Usually, in the workplaces, the employees are not allowed to express their ideas and opinions on any issues when the boss is present. In general, they are to abide by the orders from the higher authority or from the boss. So, they do not have the option to express their ideas which could be the better one than the authorised idea. So, the employers should encourage their employees more to share the ideas about any specific product. By this way, two positive events will take place. Firstly, the authority will have some better ideas and secondly, the employees will start owning the organisation which will be effective for the advancement of the authority. Besides, the consumers will also start enjoying some newer products by dint of the innovative ideas of the employees. So, it appears that everyone related to the organisation directly or indirectly is benefitted from several aspects. Often the ideas become unique and thus the organisations do not need to hire any external consult over the issue which saves a huge cost. For all those reasons, I think the employers should allow their employees to share their ideas and thoughts about the company’s development.
• Do you think people sometimes dislike ideas just because they are new? Why?
Well, it is very difficult to go deep into the human psychology. Often it is seen that some of the people dislike your ideas though the idea is far better than theirs. Why do such events happen? The question is simple but the answer is too complex to comprehend. When people see that someone is performing better from them in many aspects, they feel a sense of jealousy. Consequently, they start disliking the ideas. Sometimes they show excuses that the ideas are now, but it necessarily does not mean that the ideas would not shine. If we consider past events and history, we will find that a good number of inventions have been made based on new ideas. Many people have gained name and fame based on the implementation of the ideas. So, it is entirely unexpected to ignore the new ideas with the thought that they are ineffective. Rather in some cases, the newer ideas could bring revolution. If we consider the use of the internet, can we remember how it began? It was the initiative to connect a few universities for internal communication and the idea was newer at that age. But gradually, the internet has occupied everything and we cannot do without a single moment.
• What is more difficult: having new ideas or putting them into practice? Which is more important for a successful company?
Uhh! It is, in fact, difficult to put the new ideas into practice. Yes, it is tough to invent new ideas and a lot of labour is required to develop the idea. The idea-makers need to concentrate on the issue and especially focus on the problems and bring out the solutions. But, the real troubles begin when the ideas are to be materialised. When it is about to materialise the ideas, the harsh realities appear before us. Many unwanted events take place and sometimes it becomes difficult to implement the ideas. Among the many unexpected events, people commonly experience the issues like resource limitations, failure to meet deadlines or fear of being rejected by the targeted people etc. When people start putting the ideas into practice, often it is tougher to adjust with. The practices seem unusual in the beginning and when once the people are habituated, everything becomes as usual. But the adjustment process takes time. Besides, when people are to practice newer things, they, in fact, cannot keep pace with the change, start disliking that and finally reject the ideas. But, if the ideas could be presented in some tricky and useful manners, I think that will sustain. The hands which are behind making the ideas into practice, usually work their best so that the idea could be established. Therefore, inventing ideas is tough but I think implementing the ideas in real life is tougher.
Well, there are lots of machines for home use in the current days and those have made life easier for us. In Pakistan, people usually apply a wide number of machines for their domestic needs. One of the most important machines is the air conditioner. This is used for keeping the temperature cool inside the house. Since the average temperature of Pakistan is almost unbearable, the use of air conditioner is notable here. The microwave oven is another important machine for the country and frequently used in homes. The use of flat irons should also be considered on the list. Ironing is done on clothes to make them look better. The refrigerator is another important machine that is used to store foods. Almost all of the houses in the country own a refrigerator and this is one of the commonly used machines across Pakistan. People who cannot afford air conditioner use electric fans. The fans are consisted of three or four blades and run with electricity.
• How have these machines benefited people? Are there any negative effects of using them?
The use of machines has benefitted people greatly. When there were no such machines, the lives of people were miserable. The machines have lessened the human efforts and made the impossible to possible. Earlier, foods got rotten as those could not be preserved but now the scenario is entirely the opposite. With the use of refrigerator, people now store foods and other foods stuff for a longer time and there are no changes in tastes of the stored products. Besides, the use of air conditioning or electric fans has greatly helped people to get relief from the heat. They are made to keep the temperature in a tolerable state.
But there are some negative impacts of the use of these machines also. Many of the machines use some chemicals and gases which are harmful to the environment. The emission of CFCs from refrigerator helps to damage the ozone layer. Besides, as most of the machines run with electricity, frequently use of those machines consumes more power which refers that you are to pay more bills for the power consumption.
• Do you think all new homes will be equipped with household machines in the future? Why?
Umm … there are possibilities that the household in future will depend on machines more than ever. There are several chances to be so as the science is advancing fast and numerous household tools and equipment have been invented for regular use. I think people will start using robots and other electronic gadgets for their household activities and humanitarian efforts will be of no use at all. Besides, it is anticipated that if the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is invented, they will replace many of the tasks we perform in our household. For instance, these days people cook their meals by them and when the Artificial Intelligence will be used in robots, the robots will cook food for us. The regular household chores will be done with the help of the robots and human life would be more comfortable than ever. So, there are more chances that machines will replace the household activities which are performed by humans today.
• What kinds of equipment do most workers need to use in offices today?
An office is a working place and requires a good number of machines. The most usual office machines include computers, printers, scanners, laminating machines, copiers, fax, typewriters, calculators, telephones, stationery items, overhead projectors etc. Most of the equipment have different tasks. The computers are the most important office equipment in the context of current days for their versatile use. Computers are used for analysing and processing data, making presentations, animations, word processing, printing documents, designing documents, entertainment and many other purposes. Overhead projectors are mostly used for presentations. The presentations are prepared with the help of computers and the ideas are described in the multimedia mode with the projectors. Since the working types are different in offices, it should be considered that all types of office equipment may not suit all the offices.
• How have developments in technology affected employment in your country?
The developments in technology have affected employment in two ways, positive impacts and negative impacts. The positive impacts are that the production level has increased to a great point. Time consumption on some specific activities has been reduced as well. Earlier, the workers had to struggle with their tasks and had to invest manual labour to perform the tasks. But now with the help of technology, the tasks have been made easier. For instance, the workers in a shoe factory had to use their hands to process the leathers but now they could do this with machines and the leather finishing is considered as the finest ones. However, the machines are replacing the human efforts and thus the industries are using more machines instead of humans. As a direct result, many of the workers are becoming unemployed which is a great concern for all.
• Some people think that technology has brought more stress than benefits to employed people nowadays. Would you agree or disagree? Why?
Umm … I actually do not agree with the statement. In fact, I do not find any stress in using machines. Machines have made the tasks easier. Isn’t it better to use a machine instead of investing manual labour? Moreover, a machine helps to perform a task in 10 minutes while it takes around an hour for the same task. Take a real-life example; you are to count the monthly salary of an office made of 70 employees of different levels. If you want to calculate the salary amounts by hand, it would take about nearly a week. But if you input the data into a computer, you will get the results by less than a second. So, I completely disagree with the aforesaid statement about the use of technology in the office. There are no stresses at all in the use of technology to the employed people.
This is an interesting question for me as I am a school teacher. I think most of the time the teachers use different techniques to hold the attention of the students. Sometimes competitions are also arranged as part of the technique to attract the students in their studies. The most important cause of the completion is to inspire the students to learn their own lessons. It is natural that the students lack maturity and cannot determine the good or evil things for them. So, when they see someone is moving ahead they try to follow the student want to be like him or her. It helps to grow a competitive mentality among the other students. When the competition begins, all of the students try to beat the others in a healthy environment. Moreover, I think competitions make the studies easier for the students and they set a goal to be achieved.
• Do you think it is a good idea to give prizes to children who do well at school? Why?
Umm … I actually do not agree with this idea of giving prizes at school for a better result of the children. Education is the process of being enlightened through some formal procedures and passing the examination with the highest grades should not be the aim of true education. When a boy or girl receives an award for a good result in the study, definitely this is encouraging for them. But if the trend goes on, the students will study for passing the exam with higher marks than others so that they could win the prizes. Besides, there are chances that they could follow unfair means in the exams to have a better result than the others and unfortunately, the number of such events is not few. So, I do not believe that providing prizes only for a good result is never a good idea rather the prize could be awarded by evaluating their overall real-life performances in different situations.
• Would you say that schools for young children have become more or less competitive since you were that age? Why?
Well, the competition was one of the key elements for our inspiration when we were kids but now I do not see any competition among the students. Most of the students come to school as it is a part of their daily routine. They are mostly involved in their virtual world and study is like a bitter medication for them. They just want to pass the courses and get out of the school boundary. The absence of competition has not appeared overnight rather it took several years to appear. This is the age of modernism and the kids are getting involved with the virtual world even before they pass their primary level. They love to chat on the social networking websites instead of studying and even some of them use the networking sites during the class hours. Moreover, due to the digital education system, most of the academic contents are available on the internet and they do not get in touch with the books as they have alternative reading materials. In my days, we had to study books and had a competition over reading different books. There are no such competitions found at all. For all these reasons, I think the competitions have been reduced since my early days.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of intensive training for young sportspeople?
There is a saying that when something is young, you can shape that after your needs. So, when it is about training the young sportspeople, definitely there are some advantages. The first and important advantage of intensive training is that they would be able to undergo any difficult situations during their respective sporting events. Additionally, an intensive training is able to remove nearly all the weakness of the young sportspeople. Often the young sportspeople suffer injuries for some minor issues and if they have intensive training, they will be able to overcome the injuries. It helps to make them more prepared and also raises their reflex which is one of the important features of their success. It greatly improves the psychology of the young sportspeople, boosts up the tolerance limit and finally the chances for their success increases. But there are some disadvantages of intensive training on them. Firstly, often they are unable to undergo such a huge level of stress and may feel health disorders. The other disadvantage is that they do not want to continue the training for difficulties and once they start the training, try escaping the sessions which bear detrimental impacts on their career.
• Some people think that competition leads to a better performance from sports stars. Others think that it just makes players feel insecure. What is your opinion?
Umm … both the views appear correct to me. When a player or team wins, they are inspired to get in the competition again. On the other side, the loser team becomes disheartened. History is always written by the winners and thus we see the reflection of their team spirit and better performance. But most of the time, the losing team emotions are hidden from us. Since they have lost the game, a sense of insecurity prevails on their mind which cast a negative effect on their psychology. As a result, they fail in the other competitions. On the other hand, the winning team or the sports star is inspired from different quarters and usually performs better in the following competitions. It appears a kind of inequality to me. I think both the parties should be inspired by a competition. This is quite natural that a team or sports start may not perform the best always for many reasons. But it should not be considered that the sports star or the team has lost its competence. Thereby, both the winning and defeated parties should be encouraged equally so that neither none of them could feel insecure or overjoyed.
• Do you think that it is possible to become too competitive in sports? In what way?
Well, this is impossible to be too competitive in sports. There are quite a lot of reasons for not being too competitive. The first and the most top most important thing, in this case, is that if you want to be too competitive in sports, you are to lose your humanity. You have to be unkind to others, especially to your opposition. You have to behave heartless to the other competitors. But this is not possible for everyone to be inhumane with others. Moreover, it will cast a detrimental impact on your image. Your acceptance as a player will be limited. Competitions are held in a healthy sporting event and if you win, you are to be considerate to others or if you are the loser, you must have to accept that calmly. Negative reactions are undesired here. So, I do not think that there are chances to be too competitive in sports.
Discussion Topic - Sports and Fitness:
• What do you do to keep fit?This is indeed a good question to answer. Usually, I ride a bicycle to keep myself fit. As I have to stay longer hours at my office, I do not have much time to take other forms of physical exercise. Thereby, with the advice of my family doctor, I have bought a bicycle. I use it to reach my office and come back home again in the dusk or night. I work for an IT company and assigned to different responsibilities. So, when I am at the office, there are no scopes to return home early. As a result, I do not have chances to join with any physical exercises. But at the same time, I have to keep myself fit at any cost. So, riding the bicycle was a good idea and now I am experiencing the benefits of the ride. Earlier, I developed some unnecessary fats on my body but since I am riding the bicycle for past six months, the fats are gone. Moreover, I have developed some muscles which are in great shape and make me look better than before.
• Are you good at sport?
Yes, I am very good at sport. In my early days, sports were the most common form of entertainment and many of the kids like me were fond of sports. So, most of us have gained skills in different sports and now can boast with the skills they gained in the childhood as the kids of the current days do not have such chances to be an expert in sports and other physical competitions. When I was a teen, I used to participate in almost all the sports completion in my school and college. Though I could not be the top, I won several prizes for the participation. Tennis was my favourite sports and I still like it most. In my college days, I stood the second in inter-college lawn tennis championship competition. Besides, I also like to participate in other sports as well which are held in outdoors.
• What sports do you play?
Usually, I love playing tennis. I can play both the form of tennis, naming the lawn tennis and the table tennis. But I am more skilled in lawn tennis than the shorter version on the table. Besides, I like to participate in martial arts, golf, football, cricket, hunting and hockey. I like to participate in cricket most as a notable number of players are included in the sport. Besides, if one of the team loses, there are no chances to feel ashamed as this is a team sport. But when you are playing individually, like when I participate in martial arts, the defeats are all mine and if I am the winner, I have none to share the joy with. Whatever the victory or defeat is, participation is the big issue for me.
• What is the most popular sport in your country?
Vietnam is one of the important countries that play football most in association with the other sports and games. Football is considered as the most popular sport in the country and cricket is in the second position of the favourite list. Vietnam has a strong team both for football and cricket but the teams need more improvement to shine in the international events. Besides, some other games are also uprising in the country and Rugby is one of those. Vietnam has a good history of tennis, running, badminton and athletics. Chess is considered as one of the most important intellectual sport for the country and most of the time the country wins in different international chess competitions. Martial art has also a notable berth on the national sports list.
• What are the best ways to keep fit?
Well, there are several ways to keep fit. The first way is running in the morning or in the evening hours. Running has some positive impacts on the human body. It helps to strengthen the muscles and gives them a shape. Besides, walking is the other form of exercise and it is preferable for all ages of people irrespective of gender. People can walk an hour in a day which will help to keep them fit for all ages. Besides, cycling is another good way to remain fit. Unfortunately, most of the people in the current age have become lazy and thus they are getting inactive within the first half of their lifecycle. If they used to do hard labour in their daily life, they could have been active for more days. But now some of the people have become health conscious and get out of the bed early for some physical activities in the morning.
• What is the most popular form of exercise in your country?
Walking is the most popular form of exercise in Vietnam. People usually get up early in the morning and go out for a morning walk. The walk lasts for around an hour and mostly the people walk in the parks while some of the people walk on the empty streets. But I think parks are the best places for walking in the morning because there are trees in the parks which provide the fresh oxygen to the morning walkers. If they are on the streets, there are some chances of accidents as some of the vehicles are seen running speedily on the street in morning hours as there are less traffics. People walk for different benefits and doctors are on the view that walking helps to prevent different diseases. Walking is also considered as an effective exercise for the heart. So, I think, walking has become the most important and popular exercise in my country.
• Do you think people in your country are less healthy than they used to be?
No, I disagree with the point. People in my country are healthy enough and they do not need to be anymore. They are having proper and nutritious diets, having the required exercises and the required rests. The lifestyle they are leading is also healthy and keeps them happy always. So, when it is judging about their health, the entire health conditions should be kept in consideration. So, I cannot agree with the statement about their health. Most of the Vietnamese people are healthy and stout in terms of their physical and mental health. The number of patients is reduced to a great extent and the average lifespan has also been increased.
• How can we encourage young people to stay healthy?
There are some young people who follow unhealthy lifestyles and finally turn to a victim of different diseases. They do not know how to lead a happy and healthy life. So, they should be inspired on health and sanitation issues. The first thing is that they lack awareness. So, if proper awareness raising activities could be adapted to make them sensitised over the health issues, I think that could result in some positive impacts. Motivational activities should be undertaken and the youths should be involved with the activities. Besides, the youths should be kept active over the health-related issues in their real life. If the health issues could be made with fun, I believe that the participation of the youths will be increased to a great extent.
• Should governments intervene to force people to be healthier?
Umm! I think it should not be wise for the government to force people to be healthier. In fact, it varies from individual to individual whether they want to be healthy or not. It is a private issue and the government does not have right to intervene on such issue. Rather, the government could take some alternative measures so that the importance of health is comprehended among the citizens of the country.
Discussion Topic - Party & Celebration:
• What are the main reasons people organise family parties in your country?People, in Australia, like to socialise and they have several formal occasions to meet and greet each other. But they also prefer to arrange some informal or family parties marking different events. Since the lifestyle is highly busy and most of the people are to be occupied with professional engagement round the year, a majority of them miss those events and hence emerge the idea of family or private parties. Family parties are held marking mostly the private occasions like celebrating one’s birthday, marriage anniversary, baby shower or to celebrate different international Days like Father’s or Mother’s Day etc. Besides, people arrange family parties when they have some good news like achieving any professional goal, gaining a desired career and more other issues. They usually have more fun in those events. In the past days, the bonding between the families was very intimate and with the gradual development of the world and emergence of necessity, people started becoming scattered and family parties help to bring them together for few hours. It is a kind of reunion of all the members and they could interact better with the members. The family parties are also organised to remove the generation gaps between the senior and youngest member of the family. When they meet each other, they share lots of things which help to remove the gap and strengthen the family bond.
• In some places, people spend a lot of money on parties that celebrate special family events. Is this ever true in your country? Do you think this is a good trend or a bad trend?
Yes, some of the people love to spend money on different family events and this is true for my country as well. The family is the place where the soul of a man lives. So, spending after the family is a very usual phenomenon in my country. It may have some arguments both the advantage and disadvantage but I think the advantages are more than the negative impacts. If we consider the harmful impacts, many of the people will judge the expenses as wastage of money. They are with the point that when you are inviting people, you need to entertain them with foods and drinks and that will cost you a smart figure. Okay. The logic is right, but the pleasure and benefits you will receive will be priceless. When your relatives or friends will come to the party, your residence will turn into a gathering place. They will remember the olden days and discuss different issues. Moreover, some important decisions are also taken in such parties. It helps to refine the relations. Attending in family parties also help the members to share their joys and sorrows. So, regularly arranging the parties help the family members to be in close connection and you cannot buy such happiness with money, indeed. So, I think arranging family parties is a good trend.
• Are there many differences between family parties and parties given by friends? Why do you think this is?
Ummm, definitely there are differences between the parties arranged by family and by friends. But I believe the differences are all about the situations and the formalities. When you will be with your family, you are in a formal situation. A number of guests will come visiting you and your parents or relatives. So, initially, the environment is ceremonial and often you have to maintain the formality around the event. On the contrary, when you are with your friends, you do not need to be so formal. You can say or do whatever you want (definitely inside a bracket). The entire situation is under your control. So, there is none to forbid you from doing specific things or participating in any funny activities. Regarding speaking with the guests, you are to be more polite than usual at the family parties and very often you cannot point out the wrong thing to the invited people lest they fell insulted. But when you are having a party with your friends, you can express your feelings to any particular matter that you do not like to have or experience. You are your own boss here and can easily decide what to do or not to do. Whatever the differences are, both the parties are enjoyable. But to be more specific, I think the young people enjoy parties with friends as they can enjoy themselves without any bar on their activities while the adult people love the family parties as they love to spend moments where they will be surrounded in a formal environment.
• What kinds of national celebrations do you have in your country?
Well, thank you for asking such an important issue. There are several national celebrations in Australia. Some of the notable events are Chinese New Year, Easter in Australia, Sorry Day and the Stolen Generations, Reconciliation, Melbourne Cup, Remembrance Day, Eureka Stockade, Christmas etc. Each of the events are celebrated in different parts of the year, for instance, the Chinese New Year is usually celebrated in February, the Easter is celebrated in April and sometimes in March, Sorry Day is on May, Reconciliation is celebrated on 3rd of June each year, while the Melbourne Cup is celebrated on November and Christmas Day is on December, each year. People usually make fun of these celebrations and sometimes offer presents to each other. Most of the times, particularly during the Christmas Eve, the present selling stores offer a good number of discounts on every product. Consequently, the celebrations become more enjoyable to the citizens. It is also the day for enjoyment and peace. It is the children who enjoy most in this day.
• Who tends to enjoy national celebrations more: young people or old people? Why?
Australia is the land where a large number of people live together peacefully. The number of youths and old people is balanced. I have seen during different national celebrations that generally people get divided into their respective groups. When it is about any national celebration, people are seen on the streets and most of the cases they get involved in discussing different issues when they meet during the celebrations. One of the important factors about the celebrations, I believe, is that people love to enjoy by themselves regardless of age groups. Both the adults and young people enjoy the celebrations and it is important that they pick their own companies. Usually, the adult people want their companions to be adults during the celebrations while the young people seek for young partners or groups. Besides, celebrating with groups is another important factor here. Groups are usually made in a combination of old and young people and they often make more fun than the individuals do.
• Why do you think some people think that national celebrations are a waste of government money? Would you agree or disagree with this view? Why?
Well, there are different views about the celebrations while thinking that all of the views will support the events is unwise. There are some opposite views regarding the celebrations and a section of people argue that the national celebrations are wastage of public money. I, in fact, disagree with such types of views. The national celebrations are done to observe some national days, and such celebrations make people aware of their nationalism. It is true that the government needs to spend money on arranging the celebrations. The spectacular the event, the more it costs the government. But, in exchange for the costs, the government is trying to send some sort of message to us. It is making us aware of our national days, past histories and people who were after the events. So, it is a duty for all to know about the national days and why those are celebrated. But if anybody wants to know alone (by themselves), they may not get the right information or may be misguided. If the government arranges for national day celebrations, it prioritises the national issues and histories so that the commoners could get the right idea and if it needs costs, I will argue to pay the necessary costs.
Discussion Topic - Education & Ideas:
• Some people think that education should be about memorising the important ideas of the past. Do you agree or disagree? Why?Well, I, in fact, cannot agree with the statement. To me, education has a different meaning. It does not mean that I should only memorise the idea and pour them into the exam scripts. I firmly believe that mere reading is not the way to learn or be educated. It should be comprehended by heart. There are some people who are of the view that they should memorise the past events and the true education refers to reply the questions on the viva board. But I think this is a misconception about education. Have you ever thought that the memorised texts or ideas about past will be of any use in your life after passing the course? Simply the answer is 'NO'. You cannot use the memorised ideas in your practical life. Let’s take a simple example. When you memorise something, you do it to get an immediate result and in most of the cases, it is all about passing the exam and you forget the ideas when the exam is over. But there are some past ideas or past event which we cannot forget until our death. Why? Because we do not memorise them, we remember the events and take them to our heart. Simply, if I ask you to quote from a rhyme that you memorised in your childhood, it would be nearly impossible for you to instantly reply because you need to remember the poem and it may happen that you are unable to remember the entire lines. So, how it happened? It happened for the memorization. The fact is similar to memorising past ideas. You cannot expect to remember the past ideas when they are not necessary. But if you learn those by heart, you will never forget them. Thereby, I think this is better to learn anything from the heart. Memorization is the way to destroy the intelligence. It is, thus, highly imperative to avoid memorization of ideas, events or texts.
• Should education encourage students to develop and share their own ideas?
Hmm! It should be the top priority for education to inspire students to share their respective ideas about any specific things or issues. Education, I think and believe, is a participatory process. When the teachers will offer lectures on the classes, they intend the students should learn from the lectures. With due respect, I would like to say that the teachers most of the times actually do not investigate if the students have learned the lessons or not. In such circumstances, a large portion of the students remains unaware of the lessons and topics discussed in the class. In a class, the types of students are not the same and intelligence level of them also differs. So, they should be allowed to express their own ideas and feelings over any specific issue. The texts should not be imposed on them. If imposed, they will start cramming before the examination. It is my private opinion that education should encourage the students to express their own imaginations or ideas. Accordingly, amendments should be made. As they are young, naturally their ideas and imaginations may contain loopholes and it is the responsibility of education to amend the weakness and make the ideas perfect. Unless the ideas are allowed to be expressed, the students will be unable to shine in their practical life.
• How do you think teachers could help students to develop and share their own ideas?
Well, teachers are considered as the maker of a nation. They are enriched with knowledge and skills and without them, not a single student can shine in life. So, it is a duty for the teachers to help the students in developing newer ideas. Most of the cases, the educational institutions disallow student to interfere during a lecture. But it should not be done. When the students interfere during the lecture, it should be understood that s/he want to share or express something important. So, I think asking during the lecture should be encouraged. The teachers can play the greatest role here. When they will answer the queries, it will create a path to spread the knowledge among the students. To be more practical with the issue, the teachers could also ask them to write their own ideas and share those with the class. When the sharing will be done, some newer aspects will be discovered which may appear helpful for the students. Besides, when the sharing will be done regularly, the remaining students will try to express their own ideas as well with the class to get some positive feedback. So, gradually when the entire class will start sharing their ideas, feelings and feedback, the ideas will be stronger and it will help the students to move ahead with a fresh vigour.
• Should employers encourage their workers to have new ideas about improving the company? Why?
Yes, I will agree here as well about the idea exercising issue. Often it appears that there are some ideas which are too usual but have never been seen before as those were not implemented. So, the ideas make us amazed. But if there were chances to exercise about ideas, we could have seen more and more unique and special ideas in every sector. Usually, in the workplaces, the employees are not allowed to express their ideas and opinions on any issues when the boss is present. In general, they are to abide by the orders from the higher authority or from the boss. So, they do not have the option to express their ideas which could be the better one than the authorised idea. So, the employers should encourage their employees more to share the ideas about any specific product. By this way, two positive events will take place. Firstly, the authority will have some better ideas and secondly, the employees will start owning the organisation which will be effective for the advancement of the authority. Besides, the consumers will also start enjoying some newer products by dint of the innovative ideas of the employees. So, it appears that everyone related to the organisation directly or indirectly is benefitted from several aspects. Often the ideas become unique and thus the organisations do not need to hire any external consult over the issue which saves a huge cost. For all those reasons, I think the employers should allow their employees to share their ideas and thoughts about the company’s development.
• Do you think people sometimes dislike ideas just because they are new? Why?
Well, it is very difficult to go deep into the human psychology. Often it is seen that some of the people dislike your ideas though the idea is far better than theirs. Why do such events happen? The question is simple but the answer is too complex to comprehend. When people see that someone is performing better from them in many aspects, they feel a sense of jealousy. Consequently, they start disliking the ideas. Sometimes they show excuses that the ideas are now, but it necessarily does not mean that the ideas would not shine. If we consider past events and history, we will find that a good number of inventions have been made based on new ideas. Many people have gained name and fame based on the implementation of the ideas. So, it is entirely unexpected to ignore the new ideas with the thought that they are ineffective. Rather in some cases, the newer ideas could bring revolution. If we consider the use of the internet, can we remember how it began? It was the initiative to connect a few universities for internal communication and the idea was newer at that age. But gradually, the internet has occupied everything and we cannot do without a single moment.
• What is more difficult: having new ideas or putting them into practice? Which is more important for a successful company?
Uhh! It is, in fact, difficult to put the new ideas into practice. Yes, it is tough to invent new ideas and a lot of labour is required to develop the idea. The idea-makers need to concentrate on the issue and especially focus on the problems and bring out the solutions. But, the real troubles begin when the ideas are to be materialised. When it is about to materialise the ideas, the harsh realities appear before us. Many unwanted events take place and sometimes it becomes difficult to implement the ideas. Among the many unexpected events, people commonly experience the issues like resource limitations, failure to meet deadlines or fear of being rejected by the targeted people etc. When people start putting the ideas into practice, often it is tougher to adjust with. The practices seem unusual in the beginning and when once the people are habituated, everything becomes as usual. But the adjustment process takes time. Besides, when people are to practice newer things, they, in fact, cannot keep pace with the change, start disliking that and finally reject the ideas. But, if the ideas could be presented in some tricky and useful manners, I think that will sustain. The hands which are behind making the ideas into practice, usually work their best so that the idea could be established. Therefore, inventing ideas is tough but I think implementing the ideas in real life is tougher.
Discussion Topic - Use of household machinery:
• What kinds of machines are used for housework in modern homes in your country?Well, there are lots of machines for home use in the current days and those have made life easier for us. In Pakistan, people usually apply a wide number of machines for their domestic needs. One of the most important machines is the air conditioner. This is used for keeping the temperature cool inside the house. Since the average temperature of Pakistan is almost unbearable, the use of air conditioner is notable here. The microwave oven is another important machine for the country and frequently used in homes. The use of flat irons should also be considered on the list. Ironing is done on clothes to make them look better. The refrigerator is another important machine that is used to store foods. Almost all of the houses in the country own a refrigerator and this is one of the commonly used machines across Pakistan. People who cannot afford air conditioner use electric fans. The fans are consisted of three or four blades and run with electricity.
• How have these machines benefited people? Are there any negative effects of using them?
The use of machines has benefitted people greatly. When there were no such machines, the lives of people were miserable. The machines have lessened the human efforts and made the impossible to possible. Earlier, foods got rotten as those could not be preserved but now the scenario is entirely the opposite. With the use of refrigerator, people now store foods and other foods stuff for a longer time and there are no changes in tastes of the stored products. Besides, the use of air conditioning or electric fans has greatly helped people to get relief from the heat. They are made to keep the temperature in a tolerable state.
But there are some negative impacts of the use of these machines also. Many of the machines use some chemicals and gases which are harmful to the environment. The emission of CFCs from refrigerator helps to damage the ozone layer. Besides, as most of the machines run with electricity, frequently use of those machines consumes more power which refers that you are to pay more bills for the power consumption.
• Do you think all new homes will be equipped with household machines in the future? Why?
Umm … there are possibilities that the household in future will depend on machines more than ever. There are several chances to be so as the science is advancing fast and numerous household tools and equipment have been invented for regular use. I think people will start using robots and other electronic gadgets for their household activities and humanitarian efforts will be of no use at all. Besides, it is anticipated that if the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is invented, they will replace many of the tasks we perform in our household. For instance, these days people cook their meals by them and when the Artificial Intelligence will be used in robots, the robots will cook food for us. The regular household chores will be done with the help of the robots and human life would be more comfortable than ever. So, there are more chances that machines will replace the household activities which are performed by humans today.
• What kinds of equipment do most workers need to use in offices today?
An office is a working place and requires a good number of machines. The most usual office machines include computers, printers, scanners, laminating machines, copiers, fax, typewriters, calculators, telephones, stationery items, overhead projectors etc. Most of the equipment have different tasks. The computers are the most important office equipment in the context of current days for their versatile use. Computers are used for analysing and processing data, making presentations, animations, word processing, printing documents, designing documents, entertainment and many other purposes. Overhead projectors are mostly used for presentations. The presentations are prepared with the help of computers and the ideas are described in the multimedia mode with the projectors. Since the working types are different in offices, it should be considered that all types of office equipment may not suit all the offices.
• How have developments in technology affected employment in your country?
The developments in technology have affected employment in two ways, positive impacts and negative impacts. The positive impacts are that the production level has increased to a great point. Time consumption on some specific activities has been reduced as well. Earlier, the workers had to struggle with their tasks and had to invest manual labour to perform the tasks. But now with the help of technology, the tasks have been made easier. For instance, the workers in a shoe factory had to use their hands to process the leathers but now they could do this with machines and the leather finishing is considered as the finest ones. However, the machines are replacing the human efforts and thus the industries are using more machines instead of humans. As a direct result, many of the workers are becoming unemployed which is a great concern for all.
• Some people think that technology has brought more stress than benefits to employed people nowadays. Would you agree or disagree? Why?
Umm … I actually do not agree with the statement. In fact, I do not find any stress in using machines. Machines have made the tasks easier. Isn’t it better to use a machine instead of investing manual labour? Moreover, a machine helps to perform a task in 10 minutes while it takes around an hour for the same task. Take a real-life example; you are to count the monthly salary of an office made of 70 employees of different levels. If you want to calculate the salary amounts by hand, it would take about nearly a week. But if you input the data into a computer, you will get the results by less than a second. So, I completely disagree with the aforesaid statement about the use of technology in the office. There are no stresses at all in the use of technology to the employed people.
Discussion Topic - Education and Competition:
• Why do you think some school teachers use competitions as class activities?This is an interesting question for me as I am a school teacher. I think most of the time the teachers use different techniques to hold the attention of the students. Sometimes competitions are also arranged as part of the technique to attract the students in their studies. The most important cause of the completion is to inspire the students to learn their own lessons. It is natural that the students lack maturity and cannot determine the good or evil things for them. So, when they see someone is moving ahead they try to follow the student want to be like him or her. It helps to grow a competitive mentality among the other students. When the competition begins, all of the students try to beat the others in a healthy environment. Moreover, I think competitions make the studies easier for the students and they set a goal to be achieved.
• Do you think it is a good idea to give prizes to children who do well at school? Why?
Umm … I actually do not agree with this idea of giving prizes at school for a better result of the children. Education is the process of being enlightened through some formal procedures and passing the examination with the highest grades should not be the aim of true education. When a boy or girl receives an award for a good result in the study, definitely this is encouraging for them. But if the trend goes on, the students will study for passing the exam with higher marks than others so that they could win the prizes. Besides, there are chances that they could follow unfair means in the exams to have a better result than the others and unfortunately, the number of such events is not few. So, I do not believe that providing prizes only for a good result is never a good idea rather the prize could be awarded by evaluating their overall real-life performances in different situations.
• Would you say that schools for young children have become more or less competitive since you were that age? Why?
Well, the competition was one of the key elements for our inspiration when we were kids but now I do not see any competition among the students. Most of the students come to school as it is a part of their daily routine. They are mostly involved in their virtual world and study is like a bitter medication for them. They just want to pass the courses and get out of the school boundary. The absence of competition has not appeared overnight rather it took several years to appear. This is the age of modernism and the kids are getting involved with the virtual world even before they pass their primary level. They love to chat on the social networking websites instead of studying and even some of them use the networking sites during the class hours. Moreover, due to the digital education system, most of the academic contents are available on the internet and they do not get in touch with the books as they have alternative reading materials. In my days, we had to study books and had a competition over reading different books. There are no such competitions found at all. For all these reasons, I think the competitions have been reduced since my early days.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of intensive training for young sportspeople?
There is a saying that when something is young, you can shape that after your needs. So, when it is about training the young sportspeople, definitely there are some advantages. The first and important advantage of intensive training is that they would be able to undergo any difficult situations during their respective sporting events. Additionally, an intensive training is able to remove nearly all the weakness of the young sportspeople. Often the young sportspeople suffer injuries for some minor issues and if they have intensive training, they will be able to overcome the injuries. It helps to make them more prepared and also raises their reflex which is one of the important features of their success. It greatly improves the psychology of the young sportspeople, boosts up the tolerance limit and finally the chances for their success increases. But there are some disadvantages of intensive training on them. Firstly, often they are unable to undergo such a huge level of stress and may feel health disorders. The other disadvantage is that they do not want to continue the training for difficulties and once they start the training, try escaping the sessions which bear detrimental impacts on their career.
• Some people think that competition leads to a better performance from sports stars. Others think that it just makes players feel insecure. What is your opinion?
Umm … both the views appear correct to me. When a player or team wins, they are inspired to get in the competition again. On the other side, the loser team becomes disheartened. History is always written by the winners and thus we see the reflection of their team spirit and better performance. But most of the time, the losing team emotions are hidden from us. Since they have lost the game, a sense of insecurity prevails on their mind which cast a negative effect on their psychology. As a result, they fail in the other competitions. On the other hand, the winning team or the sports star is inspired from different quarters and usually performs better in the following competitions. It appears a kind of inequality to me. I think both the parties should be inspired by a competition. This is quite natural that a team or sports start may not perform the best always for many reasons. But it should not be considered that the sports star or the team has lost its competence. Thereby, both the winning and defeated parties should be encouraged equally so that neither none of them could feel insecure or overjoyed.
• Do you think that it is possible to become too competitive in sports? In what way?
Well, this is impossible to be too competitive in sports. There are quite a lot of reasons for not being too competitive. The first and the most top most important thing, in this case, is that if you want to be too competitive in sports, you are to lose your humanity. You have to be unkind to others, especially to your opposition. You have to behave heartless to the other competitors. But this is not possible for everyone to be inhumane with others. Moreover, it will cast a detrimental impact on your image. Your acceptance as a player will be limited. Competitions are held in a healthy sporting event and if you win, you are to be considerate to others or if you are the loser, you must have to accept that calmly. Negative reactions are undesired here. So, I do not think that there are chances to be too competitive in sports.
Discussion Topic - Relationship with Parents:
• What kind of parent do you intend to be?
I want to be a father who will have a friendly relation with the kids. They will share everything with me and ask for my suggestions.
• Why do people in your country traditionally want to have a son?
Well, this is a bit complex question. Actually, the point of view varies in families. Some of the families want to have a son so that they have the candle-bearer of the family. Besides, there are some other views that if there is a son in the family, the boy would be helpful to them and share the family income. There are some other people who believe that sons are the blessings of the Almighty and thus they want to have sons.
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