Lifestyle: Present and Past
杨振礼
>TOEFL Independence Writing Topic:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Because the world is changing quickly, people are now less happy or less satisfied with their lives than people were in the past.
Use specific reasons and examples or details to support your answer.
(Similar Question: Do modern people enjoy a better lifestyle than people in the past did?)
>TOEFL Example Essay by Jeenn Lee Hsieh:
The human lifestyle has been changing mostly for the better in the past 100 or more years. It can be argued that today's people are happier and more satisfied, thanks in particular to the rapid development of modern conveniences from health care to information technology. It is interesting to discuss also the conflicting opinions about the extent to which the more recent progress has provided positive as well as negative effects.
The present age is perhaps the best of time for those who welcome the good things that modern conveniences have to offer. On the one hand, modern medicine has made leaps in preventing infectious diseases partly due to improved water and sewage treatment. This can be seen in the remarkable rise in life expectancy. On the other hand, introduction of mobile computing, for example, dramatically improves efficiency in workplaces and connectivity among individuals and their families. One obvious advantage is labor-saving, which allows for greater leisure and comfort. Not to mention other examples, these are evidence enough that modern people are faced with a better lifestyle and appear to be happier than did people in the past.
However, there are also some negative effects which may indicate that this is the worst of time. Even though modern conveniences have brought plenty of advantages, there are some drawbacks. To begin with, the result of advancements in chemical technology in the food, for instance, can illustrate that progress is not always good. Whereas the labor-saving devices may mean that people nowadays spend more time sitting, eat fast food in greater abundance, even breathe machine-generated air, actually these activities can cause high blood pressure, obesity, and stress. Further, the greater reliance on processed food is an alarming sign that cafe-free eggs and grass-fed beef might soon become history. No wonder, there remains a romantic sense of "good old times".
Although there are negative factors that affect the human lifestyle, today's people certainly enjoy more benefits than did people in the preceding generations. Because of the development of modern conveniences, people of the present lead better lives and are expected to live longer, and more happily. As such, few or none would choose to go back to the era as recently as before the Industrial Revolution, let alone to the Stone Age or the Iron Age. (购买谢振礼写作讲义人民币60元 Jeenn Lee Hsieh ielts360toefl@hotmail.com )
