Theme 1 – Identity and Culture

What is your ideal family?

An ideal family is the one in which every member has very good understanding with each other. They
live life without any disputes, spend time with each other, talk to each other every day, and always help
each other.

What do you like doing with your family?

We like to travel together. Our most recent trip was living in a lake house near Lake Tahoe and then a
farmhouse in Pacific Northwest with a sprinkling of Vancouver and Seattle. Before that we visited
Rome and Copenhagen. And before that, Flagstaff and Grand Canyon. Mexico City is next.

What have you done with your friends recently?

We went carting for 3 hours and it was so competitive and we had loads of fun. After that, we went to a
restaurant for lunch, and then went to challenge each other to see who is a better Fifa player. We ended
our day with 3 billiard matches and a race back to our homes.

How do you use social media to keep in contact with your friends?
Through Blogging—A great way to share longer, detailed descriptions of my experiences abroad. I
provide friends and family with the link to my blog prior to departure and try and update it as often as
possible.

What are the best uses for mobile technology?

The major advantages to having a mobile phone is that it is easier to express oneself through
communication and creativity, to access entertainment, to be safe, and to connect to the internet.
Communicating with loved ones, colleagues, friends, and more has never been simpler.

How does music enrich the lives of people?

It is a shared feature across cultures world-wide and throughout the generations, proving that humans
have an intrinsic affinity towards music. Music can enrich your life in a variety of ways: providing an
outlet for emotions, affecting mood, increasing creativity, and connecting you with other people.

What is the best film you have seen at the cinema? Why?
The Road (2009). Set in a post nuclear-war world, this movie is a tale of a father and his kid
wandering through the wasteland, that once used to be a developed civilization, in search of food and
shelter to keep them alive. It's heart-wrenching to see the fear and helplessness of the father for his son
and the extent to which he would go to protect him. You need a strong heart to see the misery inflicted
by people upon themselves. However, for me, the takeaway from the story is this - If there is hope, there
is life.

Why do you think so many people like to play sport?

Sports bring out the best in us. Sports make us courageous, confident, and strong. They teach us about
perseverance, hard work, and the value of both winning and losing. We love sports because we love
development and growth. Sports provide a sense of belonging, a connection to a wider world.

How do you celebrate your birthday?

 A year ago I celebrated my birthday on October 26th. I was so excited that that evening, I dressed up in a
white, elegant dress, with flowers on my head, and my parents bought a candle, a very special one that
upon burning opens like a flower.

I invited my friends, and they came, surprised as they saw a birthday they have never seen before. Lights
everywhere and they saw me sitting on the sofa, looking like a princess. We sat together, and we sang
Happy Birthday, and at the same time we lighted both candles: the original and the flower. I was
shocked on how elegant the flower one was, and as I blew the candles I was too amazed on the flower
candle that it took me 6 seconds just to blow it out!

We talked, danced, sang, and had too much fun. It lasted for 5 HOURS! From 7 p.m to midnight.

Why is it important to continue local customs?

They help form the structure and foundation of our families and our society. ... It brings families
together and enables people to reconnect with friends. Tradition reinforces values such as freedom, faith,
integrity, a good education, personal responsibility, a strong work ethic, and the value of being selfless.

Theme 2- Local, national, international and global areas of interest

What is there for young people to do in the area where you live?
Young people in my area help decorate the streets in any event or festival. Moreover, they are really
helpful in making the area clean. They help arrange events and competitions to make the area lively.
These competitions bring in many people from other places which as a result improve the sales and trade
in the area.

How have you helped a neighbor in the past?

Well, my nearest neighbour is an old lady living with her son. One day in the morning, I met her in the
shop who just bought a bag of rice and was ready to take the heavy bag home. I walked straightly to her,
and told that I could help her take the bag home. She was very thankful and agreed to accept my
kindness. I could feel that she really hope someone could stand out and do her a favour at that moment.

Which charity do you think most deserves support? Why?

I suppose I would go for an international charity that either deals in providing much needed medical care
to developing countries or a charity that champions human rights on a global scale such as Amnesty
International. These types of charities are able to help so many people around the world and for me it
would be rewarding to think that my money has helped so many. Also these charities deal in the
fundamental needs of life, which I think everyone is entitled to, so I would certainly choose them.

What are the best ways to keep fit and healthy?

Lifestyle plays a major role in our health. We must care for our own health. There are a lot of things we
can do to stay fit and healthy. For example, being conscious about our food intake and exercising
regularly must be practiced. Discipline is very important. We must be always try to avoid unhealthy
practices and vices.

Why is it important that people eat healthily?

Your food choices each day affect your health — how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future. ...
Combined with physical activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce
your risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote your overall health.

What are the main problems faced by homeless people?

The challenges faced by the homeless people can include mental illness, economic loss, substance
abuse, and deteriorating physical health and lack of access to health care and hospitals. Those who are
experiencing homelessness do not have a place to call home. The lack of shelter, coupled with food
insecurity (not knowing where the next meal is coming from), only makes it more difficult for them to
get back on their feet.

What are the effects of global warming?

Global warming is projected to have a number of effects on the oceans. Ongoing effects include rising
sea levels due to thermal expansion and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and warming of the ocean
surface, leading to increased temperature stratification.

Why do you think so many people like to visit other countries?

People love to travel to other countries to explore the new places in them and meet new people. They
can visit the famous places in these countries and learn from their cultures, languages or even religions
and beliefs.

Where have you been on holiday?

 I remember going to Nainital with my father few months back. It was an amazing trip. The weather was
great that day and we were on our bike, driving at a very slow speed, enjoying the journey and boating
and eating corn and drinking tea. It was surely one of a great day.

What is your ideal holiday? Why?

For me, the perfect holiday would be one spent with my parents, because I now live in a different city
and we don't get to see each other very often. I really miss spending time with them, and that's why
whenever we get the chance, we go on family holidays. For us, the perfect holiday would be a relaxing
beach holiday. Even though the summer tends to be the busiest tourist season, we would most probably
go to a beach resort to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. We much prefer hot weather, because my
parents live in a city in the north part of China where the weather is much colder than most regions in
the country.

Theme 3- Current and future study and employment

Which subject do you most enjoy? Why?
Economics has been one of my favourite subjects since I was at school and was first introduced to this
subject when I was in the 8th Standard. I was lucky enough to have the best teacher who taught me
economics as she always had a manner of making it interesting. She never taught it like a normal
subject, but made it exciting by relating it to current situations and gave examples to explain the theory.

Tell me about something that you have enjoyed at school.

School is an awesome place to make friends, especially if you can’t go out much or don’t like going
outside. I enjoyed school mostly because I got to talk to so many different people and get to know them,
and see situations from so many different points of view. It also taught me so many valuable lessons that
I don’t think you could learn outside of school.

Explain why it is important to learn other languages.

Learning languages, especially English, allows us to be able to communicate with others. It also helps us
study more effectively, since we can search for almost everything on the Internet in English. Not only
English, but also other languages will help you out more in difficult situations were a different language
is needed.

What could be done to improve your life at school/college?

If you’re achieving lower scores than you’d hoped for on timed tests or mock exams, it could be because
you’re not allowing enough time for revising for them. This may be because you know it’s not ‘the real
thing’, but practice exams are just as important as real ones. They show you which areas you need to
spend more time on, and achieving good grades in them will give you a confidence boost. Treat them as
seriously as you would a real exam, allowing yourself plenty of time to revising for them. Better still,
revise everything you learn as you go along, so that you learn it properly first time round and have less
need for revision.

In your opinion, what makes a good teacher?

Great teachers are warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring. Teachers with these qualities are known to
stay after school and make themselves available to students and parents who need them. They are
involved in school-wide committees and activities, and they demonstrate a commitment to the school.

What do you plan to study next year?

I'd really like to study wildlife biology. As long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by animals; wild
and domesticated alike. In fact, one of my favorite classes in school was biology. I did fairly well in it
and found the topics very intriguing.

What could be the advantages of going to university?

University education exposes students to new research and technology. Studying at university
encourages creative and independent thought. Students are given the chance to travel and experience life
overseas through study abroad programs. University life exposes students to other cultures and
backgrounds.

Would you like to work in England? Why/why not?

UK attracts migrants from across the globe – more than any other country; this is thanks to its strong
economy, high standard of living and great working surroundings. Longer paid holidays, free healthcare
and a good minimum wage means the standard of living across the UK has increased over the past
century

Why is it important to have a good job?

Job is an important factor and without work life is impossible. With job we can do everything, either
fulfill our desires or family needs but the important one is we eventually attain confidence, self-respect
& social status which makes us feel the part of society.

Describe your ideal job.

My ideal job would involve training others on best practices in auditing. In my current job, I've had the
opportunity to spend time training others in our office on the latest updates in GAAP. In this past year
I've also had the opportunity to travel to other offices in our region to train their new hires. It was quite
an honor to be selected in the central region to do this training, since it has been only the elite auditors at
our company who have been selected for this role. So being able to leverage my skills to help develop
others around me would be part of my ideal job.