29 AD Do you agree or disagree with the followingstatement? Television, newspapers, magazines, andother media pay too much attention to the personal livesof famous people such as public figures and celebrities. Use specific reasons and details to explain your opinion.

I think the media pay too much attention to the private lives offamous people. Television, newspaper magazines and web sitesdig up all kinds of past bad actions. They say that these are true reflections of a person's character. This may be true if they occurred only a few years before, but some of these are things people didas teenagers. People in their forties are expected to explain something they did when they werefifteen. If they killed someone, obviously that's more than a youthful mistake. Usually, though, these incidents involve experiments with drugs or being reckless in a car. They're not somethingthat the public needs to know.

The media love to say that the public has a right to know. That's not true. We don't need to knowif a movie star or politician has had an extramarital affair. That is something of concern only to thepeople involved. We do need to know if someone we're electing to public office has been involvedin shady business deals, but we don't need to know if he or she defaulted on a loan twenty yearsago.

It seems the media dig up these facts without giving thoughtful consideration to what mighthappen. It has an effect on the celebrity's family, especially the children. A celebrity's good nameand credibility may be ruined before he or she can prove that rumors are false. If a case goes tocourt, paying a lawyer can use up all their money. Even if it doesn't come to that, they may findtheir career ruined.

When are we, the public, going to make it clear to the media that we're tired of having to watchthis kind of thing on the news? Wouldn't it be better if they would concentrate on more importantissues?

30 PR Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed(damaged) by humanactivity. Others that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is youropinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

The quality of human life has improved greatly over the past few centuries, but Earth is beingharmed more and more by human activity. As we develop our technology, we demand more fromour planet. Eventually, this will harm people as well.

Our planet gives us everything we need, but natural resources are not endless. Strip miningdevastates whole regions, leaving bare and useless ground. Deforestation removes old growthtrees that can't be replaced. Too much fishing may harm fish populations to the point where theycan't recover. We are too careless in taking what we want without giving anything back.

There are more people than ever, living longer that ever. So is it any surprise that many areassuffer from too much development? Anyone living in or near a city has experienced "urbansprawl". There is a new shopping area on every corner and new houses, townhouses andapartments everywhere. Traffic gets worse and worse because planners can't keep up withgrowth. Keeping up with human demand is hard enough. Environmental concerns come in last.

With growth comes pollution. Companies and communities dump waste into water. Landfills are fullof trash. Emissions from factories pollute the air. Barrels of industrial waste and worse, radioactivewaste, have no safe place to go. If we're not careful, we can harm
 
our planet beyond repair.

People need to respect the Earth and try to preserve it. If we don't, what kind of future will wehave?