[Monthly TOEFL Essay] Future Amusement Park

The 21st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring? Use examples and details in your answer. 

            Amusement park is one of the most attractive places in the world. People of all ages and both sexes can enjoy the exciting atmosphere there. You can enjoy thrilling rides, beautiful scenery, delicious foods, or fun games. As numerous people love to go there, it never seems that the amusement park will be disappeared. Instead, companies are continually trying to develop new rides for their customers. Then how will the amusement park in 2080 be like?

             Amusement parks that present now take too large space for big rides. For this reason, they could not be founded at any place. In Korea, only a few number of amusement parks can exist. During the holidays, too many people are crowded in the popular amusement parks. They complain about expensive tickets comparing to the rides they can enjoy in limited time. To solve this inefficiency, there would be an “amusement building” in 2080. Actually, someone already contrived it in Las Vegas but it is not that developed and popularized. After more years, everyone could find the amusement buildings anywhere. To be specific to its design, there would be a merry-go-round on the top of the building. Now, merry-go-round is no more than a toy ride for children. However, if it rounds up in the air, how people feel would be completely different. In the middle of the building, a Ferris wheel and a Viking would be dangling in the air. Also, you can try bungee jumping looking down the city. At the low floors, there will normally be entertaining facilities such as restaurants or game stations.

             Ticket systems of amusement parks would be totally changed. People should show their tickets whenever they take the rides. To minimize the inconvenience, one amusement park in Korea adopted the ticket that can be put on the wrist. Yet, it is not easy to recognize the ticket because it has various colors for each different kind of tickets, such as ones for children or adults, ones for daytime or nighttime. Plus, it is annoying to roll up the shirt sleeves to show their tickets whenever they use the rides. The ticket in 2080 has a micro chip inside. It includes information of visitor’s information, its kind, and a bar code that is recognized at the entrance of each amusement ride. Additionally, it would be easy to find a lost child.

             A rollercoaster in 2080 would be quite different than that of now. Inventors might try hard to think out more and more thrilling and fascinating roller coasters. One of the ways to make people exhilarate is a transparent safety belt. When you ride a rollercoaster, you have to depend on a big safety bar on a seat. You feel that it becomes the only thing that can fasten you on a train. However, imagine that you cannot see the belt inside your sight. You certainly feel the pressure of the belt but it is invisible. During the travel, you would experience a perfect fall from the top of the rail.

             Not many people will imagine about a future amusement park, but there would be an endless development on entertainment in the future. An amusement building with a shivering rollercoaster and a convenient ticket system would make people’s lives more full of pleasure.

EARTHLINGS Review

I’ve never heard someone saying about Earthlings, “The Greatest Film I’ve ever seen on Earth.” Most people who watched it got shocked and lots of them say that they felt like vomiting for its brutality. Actually, I did not feel sick while watching the film. Even though I had known the contents and how it looks before I saw, I felt remorse for not feeling queasy; I was like becoming a person who is shameless and cold-hearted. Yet, I was eager to shut down my laptop throughout the whole video. At the moment I finished about one-third of it, I didn’t want to look on it anymore. I don’t know whether I was avoiding the reality or simply was unbearable to see such cruel scenes. Tears came into my eyes. It is uncertain whether it was a tear of self-blaming or just a tear of a pity. On just now, I don’t want to eat meat. However, the reason why I cannot promise to be a vegetarian is that I don’t have the courage to control my appetite in front of delicious looking steak. I am a ‘weak’ person.

Before I watch the film, I had skeptical thoughts about it. I had a doubt that why the author made it and persuade people to watch it though there would be no change without an instant shock. Only a few people become vegetarians. Most people do not stop eating meat even after knowing it is a cruel, shocking, and impersonal behavior. The author might not want everyone to stop eating meat also. Indeed, the most difficult thing for human beings is to restrain their instinct. The instinct is the fundamental desire to eat, sleep, and be free. Is it wrong to live depending on instinct? Is it wrong to hunt and eat animals for your desire? Is it wrong to follow your desires?

Actually, it is totally groundless if you say you’re going to be a vegetarian with a love toward animals. At the moment you determine not to eat meat, how about eggs? Then how about plants? It makes a conclusion that you shouldn’t eat anything that has a life. What comes meaningful when you simply stop eating meat? It won’t help to make a better world. Slaughterers would continually kill animals brutally as before because that brings them money. The motive for slaughterer is people’s consumption. Their goal is to make more consumption and more money. Then, it comes different in purpose between the slaughterers and the normal people. Attitudes toward animals are different. Meat is a way to earn money for the slaughterers while it is a way to satisfy desires for the normal people.

I had these kinds of thoughts before I watched the film. However, after I watched it, it was unable for me to say those words again. It was a SHOCK in a real sense of the word. I realized that there are serious ethical problems in the process. Eating food which is processed through ethically wrong methods makes person a puppet. People always want to regard themselves as moral men. They behave hypocritically. Look at the people who volunteer or donate for others. Do all of them do such things with sincere mind to help other people? What is different between ‘to love people’ and ‘to love animals’? No matter how humans are selfish, if someone wants to love and help other beings, knowing what condition they have for the first is the right order. It is an irony to put a chunk of meat into your mouth with an illusion that you are a moral person who can think of other beings.

            

“Animals have same desires as human do; food, shelter, companionship, freedom of behavior, avoidance of pain.”

I have two puppies in my house. When the first one was little, I raised him in the cage for convenience. However, what really made me sorry was that he scratched the cage and moved round and round to get out from it. Eventually, it was to take him out. When I brought my second puppy, I didn’t even take out the cage. But what happen to most animals right before slaughtered? They scratch the cage and move round and round, as my puppy did, and they even suffer a stroke with a desire to be free. And they slowly go to death. The slaughtered animals are no different from my puppies. Yet, why is it unendurable for me to watch my puppies suffering while it’s not toward animals that I take in.

Meanwhile, there are some methods the author used to effectively send his messages. He tried to convince people by adopting striking structure and background. If the structure of the film was focused on showing the reason why we have no choice but to eat meat, people would justify killing animals. If the background music was jazz instead of ‘documentaric’ music, the film would not be a critical documentary but a fun play instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RR6gFMlRgfQ

My attitudes toward 'Earthlings' totally changed after I watched it. At first, I was not sensible about slaughtering animals, but now I became cynical about it and I even feel uncomfortable about eating meat. However, I'm not sure that this feeling will remain for a long time. I'm afraid that I may find myself eating a piece of pork tomorrow. Yes, I'm a weak person. Yet, I don’t think that eating meat itself should be blamed. It's because most people around the world don’t know how the meats they eat come to their dining tables. However, the task we should accomplish is to let more people know and criticize the fact. Then, there would be changes in social attitudes and furthermore, there would be changes in treatment toward animals. Perhaps, this might be the purpose of the author making the documentary. Though not everyone can be a vegetarian, it is acquired to make a world wave considering the author’s purpose.

My Most Embarrassing Day in my Life!

Hello. The story I’m gonna talk to you today is about the episodes in Seattle when I was 7 years old. I have two episodes and both of them happened because of my poor English skill.

In the summer of 2002, my family went to America. We traveled Seattle, Los Angeles, Las vegas, San diego, and some other places. But it was Seattle where problems happened. On the first day in Seattle, my mom, dad, brother and I went to Madison Beach which is one of the popular swimming beaches in Seattle. My brother and I didn’t know how to swim so we enjoyed a raft, and my dad was swimming around the raft. While we were lying on the raft enjoying sunbathing, the raft was drifting out to the sea little by little. And suddenly, there wasn’t my father within my sight. I was so surprised and tried to find where he was. But I could never find him. I became panicked and started to shout toward the security guard on the beach. Because I didn’t know how to ask for help in English, I just shouted “Hello!” to the security guards. I repeated “hello” again and again crying. But the guards just answered me by shaking hands and saying hello back to me. But oh my god, at that time, my father was enjoying diving under the sea. He rose to the surface of the water as he heard my voice. I was so surprised and so embarrassed that I burst out tears.

In the night of that day, we stayed at hotel in Seattle. We were so tired and especially I was very hungry after hanging on the beach. I found 컵라면 that my mother had taken from Korea. My dad was already sleeping and my mom was taking a shower. So, I decided to eat 컵라면 alone. As I was only 7 years old, it was the first time I have 컵라면 alone. I tried to remember how my mother did when she made it. First, I knew that I should boil the water, and I found something looks like kettle in the room. However, I didn’t know that it is an electric kettle. I actually cannot remember how I used that device now. But suddenly, as I used it, it made a fire. The fire bell rang loudly, and I was surprised and shouted out loud to call my mom and dad. My dad woke up hearing me yelling and as he saw the fire, he took the bedclothes and covered the fire with it. The fire stopped as soon as he did it, but other people who were staying in the hotel came to see what happened. And the most serious problem happened after a few minutes left. It is that the firemen arrived at the hotel with a big red fire engine to help us. Because the fire was stopped, the firemen investigated my family to record what and how the accident had happened. One of the firemen asked me “who made a fire?” with a hand gesture directing at my father. I didn’t know what he meant but I understood that he was asking me “who is he?” so I just answered “my father.” He looked little bit angry and he approached my father and explained about something. My dad said to me that it was about the way to use electric kettle. I was sorry for my parents and it was the most embarrassing day in life.