CPE exam 2016 Essay writing practice

Submitted by Julia Angás 
#Words: 280

Task


From the book: Certificate of Proficiency in English 5 (Cambridge)

Essay on computers: friends or foes?

 
Computers changed the world we live in a long time ago. But was the change for good? The two texts contrast different views on computers and discuss what we have gained and lost because of them.



The first extract argues that an enormous amount of information is now at our fingertips. Anytime, anywhere now, a person can, within a few seconds, find out what the biggest fish in the Amazon river is called, or which the highest tree is in his home country. Anything can be researched and found out straight away. Not only are we now able to access tons of information, but we can also contact people who might be on the other side of the planet.

The author of the second passage puts forward the negative aspects of our computer-based society. For example, that many people nowadays seem to be too absorbed by their computer to notice the people around them or even to get up from their chair. One current phenomenon is online shopping; people no longer need to go to the shop to buy anything, since it will be brought to them with a few clicks of the mouse. The writer suggests that soon we won't even have to think at all, as every answer will be there on the screen, for the taking.

All things considered, I am of the opinion that computers have the power to make our lives marvelously easy. We just need to be careful not to let ourselves be absorbed by them. At the end of the day, they represent progress, and a tool that we can use to help us shape a better future.






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