Prime Time 6, Coursebook mit Audio-CD und DVD

Example question You have come across a copy of Teen Health , an international youth magazine focusing on teenage health issues, in your school library. They are running an essay competition asking if smoking regulations in your country should become stricter or not. You decide to take part. In your opinion essay you should: • analyse the positive or negative sides of smoking (depending on your opinions) • outline the effects of smoking on our social lives • discuss the consequences of smoking on our health Give your opinion essay a title . Write around 400 words . Example answer Listen to your lungs! “British star encourages teens to say “no” to smoking”, “Smoking forbidden at more and more outdoor seating”, “Are e-cigarettes dangerous?”: ese are recent headlines that show that smoking is a constant topic in the news. Nobody lights up like Eastern Europe, where the average annual consumption is 2,000 cigarettes per person. e highest rate is in Serbia with 2,861 cigarettes per person per year. Statistics show that especially teenage Austrians are among the heaviest smokers in Europe in comparison to Scandinavian countries where the numbers are low. Some people smoke because it relieves stress, others want to control their weight. Others smoke as a social habit and to ght boredom. But whatever reason smokers name, smoking should de nitely be strictly forbidden in public places and smoking regulations, like selling cigarettes or tobacco advertising rules, should become stricter. First of all, smoking is really disgusting. You waste your money on something that does not even taste good and your breath smells awful. Surprisingly, very few smokers seem to realise how strongly the smell of cigarette smoke clings to them, and how unpleasant it is to many non-smokers. So, smoking will not really boost your social status – at all. It can clearly stigmatise people, so that smokers sometimes even retreat from public life. Additionally, smoking can clearly cause problems in families and other relationships. If a smoker lives in an apartment with a non-smoker or a smoker smokes in the workplace with non-smokers around, huge problems might come up. Someone will back down in the end, and this could even end close relationships. Breathing in any amount of smoke is dangerous, so the one best way to protect your family and friends from secondhand smoke is to quit smoking. However, the most important reason why smoking should be banned in public places is that it harms your health massively. People smoking one to 14 cigarettes a day are eight times more likely than non-smokers to get lung cancer, while in smokers of more than 25 a day, the gure is a 25 times higher risk. Smoking is addictive, which means that you cannot stop even if you want to. Smoking and secondhand smoke is especially dangerous for pregnant women, babies and children. Pregnant women who smoke or breathe in passive smoke over time are more likely to lose their babies or have babies who get ill more o en. So, smoking de nitely has numerous negative e ects on people’s health. Concluding, smoking is absolutely gross, has negative e ects on our social lives and can make you and others around you really sick. It is a hard habit to break: It’s our society’s duty, however, to protect children and young people from more harm caused by active and passive smoking. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 Useful language 1 Ordering firstly • then • so far • secondly • in the end • next • finally • afterwards • subsequently • thirdly Giving reasons thus • so • as a result • because • as • hence • therefore • since • despite this • consequently • accordingly • on the contrary Giving examples for example • for instance • such as • take the case of • thus • as (evidence) • as revealed by • as shown 165 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv