Inthepast,buildingsoftenreflectedthecultureofasocietybuttoday allmodern
buildingslookalikeandcitiesthroughouttheworldarebecoming
moreandmoresimilar.
Whatdo youthinkisthereasonforthis, andisita goodthing orabadthing?
Youshouldwriteatleast 250
words.Youshouldspendabout 40 minutes onthistask.Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupport
yourargumentswithexamplesandrelevantevidence.modelanswer:
Everycity hasitsarchitecturalcharacter, butthesimilaritiesbetweencitiesaremore
obviousthesedaysthaninthepast.Inmy opinion, onereasonforthisisthe high price
ofland.
Inmostlargecities,landisscarceand
consequentlyitisvery valuable.Thishasledtotheconstruction oftallbuildingswhich
occupy onlyasmallareaoflandwhileprovidinglotsoffloorspacewhere peoplecan
liveorwork.Buildingsofthistypearemadeofconcreteandsteelandcan bebuilt
comparatively quickly using prefabricatedmaterials.They do notuselocalmaterials,
suchasstone,timberor brick,which usedto givecitiestheir
individualcharacter.Inconsequencemanycities. nowlook verymuchthesameand you
mightnotknowwhetheryouwereinBrisbane,Bangkok orBerlinwhen youare onthe
street.
WhileIrealisethatwecannotstandintheway ofprogress,Ibelievethatcitiesshould
tryto keepsomeindividuality.Forexample,inParisitisprohibitedto build
verytallbuildingsinthecentreofthecity,
asthiswouldspoiltheoverallappearance oftheskyline.Othercitieshavechosento
design uniquebuildingstoensuretheylook different.ThetwintowersinKualaLumpur
ortheOperaHouseinSydneyareexamplesofthisapproach,andIagreewiththiskind
ofinitiative.
Allinall,althoughitisregrettablethatmodemcitieslooksimilar,Itendtofeelthatthis
isunavoidable.However,itcan bearguedthat,evenifthebuildingsaresimilar,cities
willmaintaintheirowncharacterasaresultofculturaldiversity,theterrainandthe
climate,which ultimately determinehowpeoplelive.
Sample 142
PopulareventslikethefootballWorld