11. Do you agree or disagree with the followingstatement? Universities should give the same amount ofmoney to their students' sports activities as they give totheir university libraries. Use specific reasons andexamples to support your opinion.

I disagree strongly with the idea that the same amount ofmoney should go to university sports activities as to universitylibraries. Although playing sports is a wonderful way to learn about teamwork, strategy andreaching your goals, it should not be the principal focus of a university education.

Students need the most up-to-date library facilities available to get the best education. Many ofthose facilities are very expensive to buy and maintain. These include computerized programs andaccess to internet research databases that students can use to find information all around theworld. If a university is only offering its students resources of a decade ago, it’s depriving thosestudents of a tremendous amount of information.

Even the book and magazine budget of universities has gone up tremendously in last decade. More is being published on every subject, and every university wants to have this informationavailable to its students.

It also costs money for universities to keep their libraries open. Students need to have access to allthe libraries' research tools as much of time as possible. Because students are young and can stayup all night studying, many universities are starting to leave their libraries open all night duringexam periods. This costs money, because the staff has to be paid extra to be there. It also costsmoney to run the building (electricity, heat) during that time.

Students at universities are only going to benefit from their education if they can get to all the toolsthey need to learn. Sports are secondary to the resources that students need from universitylibraries. For this reason, libraries should always be better funded than sport activities.

12 Many people visit museums when they travel to new places. Why do you thinkpeople visit museums? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

People love to visit museums when traveling to new places. I think this is because museums tellthem a lot about the culture of those places. Museums are also fun. It’s almost impossible to getbored in a museum. Every museum will have at least one thing of interest to somebody.

When visiting someplace new, you can find out about the culture of that place in many ways. Youcan go to a movie or a place of worship or a nightclub. Another option is to sit in the park andlisten to the people around you. The easiest way to learn about a place's culture, though, is byvisiting its museums. Museums will show you the history of the place you're visiting. They’ll showyou what art the locals think is important.

If there aren't any museums, that tells you something, too.

Museums are fun. Even if you're not interested in art or history, there is always something to getyour attention. Many museums now have what they call "hands-on" exhibits. These were originallydesigned to keep children occupied while their parents were looking at exhibits. However, museumshave found that adults enjoy hands-on opportunities just as much as children. These exhibits haveactivities like pushing a button to hear more about what you're looking at, creating your own workof art, or trying on clothes like those on the models in the museum.

People also enjoy visiting museums about unusual subjects. For instance, in my hometown there'sa museum devoted to the potato. This museum has art made out of potatoes. It also tells all aboutthe history of the potato, and sells potato mementos like key chains and potato dolls.

People enjoy visiting this museum because it's different. It’s not something they'd find in theirhometown and the museum's curator enjoy talking about the Great Potato.

Museums are popular because they are about us. They reflect our creations, our values, and ourdreams. No matter who you are or what you like, somewhere there is a museum that will amazeand interest you.