I think the best pet is a dog because it is both domestic and friendly. First of all, dogs like to play with you. For instance, they love to go on walks and they like to play with a ball. In addition, a dog can be the best friend to humans. To illustrate, dogs can help blind people go outside. In conclusion, I believe that dog is a great animal to hold.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is the most highly regarded and widely accepted test in the world. More than 11,000 colleges, universities, and agencies in over 150 countries accept TOEFL scores. Upwards of 30 million people have taken the test since it began in 1964. My test was in January 2020. In this article, I will write about my experience from the TOEFL.

To begin with the reading, it had four passages and each included ten questions. My time was an hour and fifteen minutes. The questions were from vocabulary, factual information, negative fact, inference, reference, author purpose, and sentence simplification. One interesting point that the last two questions of each passage were SUMMARY and INSERT TEXT. Unlike the practice tests that involved “Fill in a Table” questions as well. In other words, my work was easy because I focused only on the two types and did not mind the “Filling” questions. I remember my last passage that was about the sentinel behavior of the Meerkats. The essay suggested some hypotheses about why the Meerkats behave as sentinels to provide the chance for other members of the group to eat in the ground and alarm them when a predator attacks. I finished the reading in 70 minutes and spent the remaining 5 minutes reviewing my answers. As a result, my highest score among all skills was in the reading.

To come to the listening, it was divided into two parts. The first part had one conversation and two lectures. My time was 10 minutes just to answer the questions. I mean the timer started when I saw the questions but stopped when I listened to the lecture, dialogue, or to the questions. The second part had one talk with one long speech. My time was 6 minutes to finish off this part and I finished in the last seconds. I had noticed that in the first part the speakers talked at a slow or medium speed. I could easily understand what they said. On the other hand, the speakers were faster in the second part but it was understandable. I solely needed more concentration. My score in this section was somehow like the reading. After ten minutes break, I came back to my seat to continue the war.😁

The speaking was challenging for me. I tried a lot to put on the strategies, yet I made some mistakes. In the independent task, I completely developed my response but in the second task, I forgot the second reason because I did not stay active while listening to that point. The third task was about enlightened self-interest. I did not conclude this one because I ran out of time. The last task was about regulation in the size of plants through competition and natural events. I answered this question completely. Accordingly, my lowest score was in speaking.

The writing was easy. The integrated task displayed with a short paragraph concerning an issue that New Guinea flatworms spread to Europe. The statement proposed biological, chemical, and hot water solution to prevent the growth of tapeworms. Then, the lecturer refuted the solutions based on arguments. The independent task mentioned that today’s advertising is less honest. The consequence is that businesses made it difficult for people to choose which product they should buy. I wrote 304 words for the first task and 314 words for the second task. My score in this section was satisfactory.

The environment of the test was excellent. The participants were not in the same section because they started at different times so I was not concerned about the noise in speaking. Furthermore, there was no one except the test-takers in the building so I did not worried about the crowd or disturbance too. I had no problems with the noise and if anybody really worries about the hullabaloo, I suggest putting on the headsets from the beginning up to the end, this will help you concentrate. The behavior of the staff was great. I felt purely comfortable.

In the end, TOEFL was a valuable stand for me. I received my results six days after the test date and it made me very happy. My overall score was 92 out of 120. I will use this score to apply for some scholarships and hope I get one and start my Master’s degree abroad.

Stay Home, Stay Positive ♥️♥️♥️

Own Experience

The University Debate Club is a powerful club across the country. We have more than a hundred debaters that achieved valuable prizes in national tournaments. Not only in nationwide competitions but also we have had several online debates with debaters from China, India, and the United States. I am the President of the club. Despite the activities of the club inside the University, we do not own an official position toward the University headship. As a leader, I realized that this is a big problem. The best solution to get rid of this issue was having a conversation with the University chancellor.

There are many concerns between debaters about the future of the club. Some debaters are going to graduate this semester and they are worried about the sustainability of the club. To illustrate, we arrange ”Debate Training Sessions” for new students but when we graduate, there will be no one to continue this action because we do not have an official office inside the University to coordinate with graduate students who are experts in debating and to invite them to train new debaters. As a result, the club will fall down in a short time and there will be no debater to participate in tournaments as the representatives of the University. That is why most of the debaters were disappointed about the future of the club.

To solve this problem, it was my challenge to find a rational remedy for this issue. As a leader, I recognized that I should speak directly to the chairman of the University. Before that, I arranged a meeting with the members of the club to hear their suggestions. Most of them agreed with me that we should talk to the chancellor. I asked the best debaters to come with me and bring their trophies with them to attain the attention of the University chairman because he will not help us just by saying that we are debaters and we need an office, funds, or support. We have to prove ourselves that we achieved precious awards for the University. In the meeting, I was speaking to the chancellor as the representative of the team and it was difficult to deal with him to get support and funds. The chancellor disagreed with our proposal and he said where you before were? All of the students were disappointed because they believed that was the end of our club. After two days, I received a call from the secretary of the chancellor that my presentation was great and the chancellor agreed to support the club. There, I believed that I did my responsibility toward the club and my colleagues.

To sum up, the problem of having an official debate club supporting by the University was a headache for the debaters. As a leader, it was my responsibility to find a solution and lead my team in the right way. By offering a great proposal and a powerful presentation to the University headship, I succeed to make the University support us and to make the effort in debaters for participating in tournaments stronger than before.

Compare-Contrast Passage

Every day we have to make decisions. We have to ask ourselves what is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing to do. But how do we make these decisions? How do we know what is right and wrong? The study of ethics can give us some answers. I would like to write about two different approaches. Two different ways to make ethical decisions; the rights approach and the utilitarian approach.

First, we use the idea of rights to talk about many ethical problems. The idea of rights comes originally from the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (German philosopher in the eighteenth century). The principal says that each individual has the freedom to make choices and that other people must respect those choices. Let’s take the right to free speech as an example. Freedom of speech means two things: First that I have the right to say whatever I want and second that other people must respect my right to speak. According to the rights approach, an ethical action must respect an individual’s choices. The power of the individual to make his/her own decisions. To decide if an action is ethical using the rights approach, we must always ask how this action does affects the individuals’ freedom to make choices.

Second, the utilitarian approach was made popular in the nineteenth century by British philosopher John Stuart Mill. In this approach, the most important thing is not individual rights. The most important thing is making the world a better place. Here an ethical action is one that creates the greatest amount of good. Let’s take for example paying taxes. The government collects taxes from individual people. Most people do not like paying taxes because they have less money to spend on other things. However, taxes help the community as a whole. Paying for things like; hospitals, roads, schools, parks, and things that benefit everyone. Even though paying taxes is bad for some people individually, it is good for the majority and for most people in the community. To decide if an action is ethical following the utilitarian approach, we must ask what action will cause the greatest good for the most people.

Let’s take a real-world example and look at how to make a decision using these two approaches that is the rights approach and the utilitarian approach. Let’s look at the question of public smoking. Starting in the late 1990s, this became an issue in many places when smoking was banned in office buildings, schools, restaurants, and so on. The question is how do we make a decision about whether to ban smoking or not? When you look at the problem from the rights approach, we have to ask how does smoking in public affect individual rights and we have to look at the rights of two groups of people; smokers and nonsmokers. First, let’s look at the rights of smokers. Smokers will say that they should be free to smoke wherever they want and other people should respect that right even if they do not like it. What about nonsmokers? Nonsmokers say that they should be free to breathe clean air and that smokers should respect that right. Smokers should not force people to breathe the smoke of their cigarettes. This shows us one of the problems of using the rights approach because when you have two groups, how do you decide whose rights are more important; smokers or nonsmokers? From another point of view following the utilitarian approach, we have to ask what creates the greatest amount of good; allowing smoking in public places or banning it. What is good about allowing smoking in public places? Well! Smokers will be happy but it causes a lot of harm. Overall you can argue that the ethical choice is to impose a ban on smoking in public places because it creates the greater good. Public places will be healthier and we will save money on health costs because fewer people will get sick.

As a result, through this example, we can see the differences between looking at an ethical problem from the rights approach and from the utilitarian approach.

Problem-Solution Essay

Every time you need to resolve a problem or reach an agreement with other people, you need to be able to negotiate. We need to negotiate every day with our co-workers, our boss, and people from other businesses. Negotiating is a skill that you will use often as a professional and knowing how to negotiate effective will help ensure your success in business. The problem is that many people are not very good negotiators. That is because many people pursue only two approaches to negotiation; the hard approach and the soft approach.

If you are a hard negotiator, you are concerned with winning and with reaching the decision that is best for you. You are not very concerned about the other person or your relationship with that person. Hard negotiators will concentrate on getting the decision they want. They will not stop until the other person agrees. In the end, hard negotiators may get what they want but they may hurt their relationship with the other person and that person may not want to work with them in the future. In contrast, soft negotiators are more concerned with avoiding conflict. They do not want to have a conflict with the other person. This approach to negotiation is not good because soft negotiators often agree to decisions that are bad for them or bad for their business. Subsequently, they might be unhappy or disappointed because they believe they have lost the negotiation.

Instead of a hard or soft approach, successful negotiators; like myself, take a win-win approach. In the win-win approach, negotiators try to confer on a decision and to agree on something that benefits both sides involved. They also try to keep a good working relationship with each other so they can continue to work together in the future. How can you negotiate a solution that is a win-win for both people? There are two important techniques that will help you to do this. The first technique is to listen and to understand each other. The second technique is to work together to reach a solution. A solution that is good for both people. Let’s look at an example: imagine you work for a company that makes clothing and to make your clothing you need to buy fabric from another company. Let’s say you like to buy fabric from the EAST DANE because this company makes good fabric and sale at a fair price. But recently, you have had a problem. The problem is that the EAST DANE company has been laid sending you the fabric that you need. This is causing you problems because your company cannot make your clothing on time. So, what should you do? The first thing you need to do is to make sure you understand each side of the problem. To do that you need to listen carefully to each other. First, you should listen carefully to the EAST DANE side of the problem. The EAST DANE might say: Oh! We are having problems with the output because the machines at my company are so old and so on. Do not interrupt him or talk about your side of the problem. Instead, just listen and make sure you understand him. After you have heard and understood the other person, you should explain your circumstances. When you do this, do not blame the other person for the problem. If you blame the person, they may get angry and may not want to talk to you anymore. One way to avoid blaming someone is to use “I” statements. That means you start sentences with the word “I” instead of “You”. Do not say to the EAST DANE that you are causing us problems. That might make the EAST DANE angry. Instead, you could say: I am worried because the fabric is laid and we cannot make our clothing. This way you are explaining how you feel and how the problem affects you.

Now that you both listened and explained your sides of the problem, you are ready to find a solution together. This step can be difficult because each person may want a different solution but instead of arguing for your solution, you should talk about all the possible solutions and then agree on one that is good for both of you. For example, both you and the EAST DANE might agree that you will buy some fabric from another company now and some fabric from the EAST DANE company later.

As a result, in this solution you both win because you get the fabric you need now and the EAST DANE can continue to sell you fabric in the future. As you can see if both people in a negotiation try to understand each other and work together then both of them can win and feel happy with the solution.

Persuasive Paragraph

In my point of view, sugar is the worst food in the world because it causes both diabetes and nutritional displacement. First of all, sugar is the No. 1 driver of diabetes. For instance, meta-analysis shows that excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome including obesity in adults and children. In addition, sugar occurs nutritional displacement. To illustrate, the empty calories argument states that a diet high in added sugar will reduce the consumption of foods that contain essential nutrients. This nutrient displacement occurs if sugar makes up more than 25% of daily energy intake. Displacement may occur at lower levels of consumption. All in all, sugar damages the body. Sugar causes weight gain and includes poor nutritional qualities. For these reasons, I would like to call sugar as the devil of foods.

Narrative Paragraph

By 2017, I experienced the first flight that I overcame my fear of the airplane. Before the flight, I felt too scared. I was excited about flying but at the same time, I was worried. When the steward asked to attach your seatbelts and off your mobile phones, my hands were shaking and I was disappointed. Then, the airplane started moving and accelerated gradually. I griped on my chair and finally, I closed my eyes. After a minute, I opened my eyes and everything was in its place. I looked nervous and sweaty. With a smile, the woman sitting beside me; said: “Everything is OK.” After that, I was no longer afraid of the flight.

The only way to overcome your fear is by doing what you fear.

My heart just keeps thanking you and thanking you. I can never thank you enough. But this is a start. Thank you so much!

Comparison – Contrast Essay

Technology facilitates our life considerably. If we see around, we witness so many changes in our day-to-day activities. For example, before the advent of the internet, we used to go to libraries or buy different books so as to collect information and prepare ourselves for a speech or presentation. Also, before the invention of smartphones, it took months and years to see your family members who lived overseas or you had to buy a calculator just to count numbers. Today, these facilities are gathered into one rectangle device that is called a smartphone. According to the statistics, almost half of the population of the world own a smartphone. A survey in the United States shows that an individual checks his/her smartphone every 6.5 minutes. Now, these inventions made the world a global village. After I bought my first smartphone, my life changed completely and positively. I am able to see my loved ones easily via video call, do my office activities from home, and take quality pictures.

Before I bought my first smartphone, I had a lot of difficulties contacting people I really cared about. For example, I had to go to an internet club to establish contact with them. I had to spend so much on the internet and wait for hours to my turn in order to sit at a desk and go online to see them. Now that I have a smartphone, I feel very relaxed. I can see them anytime I want. What I really like about my smartphone is that there is a lot of privacy. I feel secure and be in touch with them everywhere.

Prior to my smartphone, it was quite burdensome to do office tasks when I was offered to carry out some undertakings, especially on the day I was off. I had to go to the office and sit at my desktop in order to do the work. Also, what I did not like about going to the office on my holidays was the communication with clients which occupied most of the time. However, when I bought my smartphone, it really helped me save my time. Moreover, the advantage of the smartphone which I really thankful about is that I could do my office activities via internet from anywhere I wanted. That is how a smartphone made the office activities interesting to me.

Just as smartphone helped me see my loved ones and do my office activities, but it also gave a colorful light to my life. For instance, when I used to go to sightseeing with my friends, we were supposed to go to a photo studio to rent a camera so as to take pictures in spots where we wanted. In addition to rent, the camera could sometimes leave us stranded. It could cause some technical issues due to which we were not able to capture pictures in the most beautiful places. But as my smartphone arrived, it made possible to take quality pictures. Furthermore, the benefit of a smartphone which I can never ignore is that I could share the pictures with my family, friend, and colleagues the moment I took them.

To sum up, I am so overwhelmed and grateful to my smartphone for the great convenience that brought into my life which really made it easy to do anything I longed for. I had so many problems before I owned my smartphone. Doing things needed so much and I was always due on assignments which were immensely significant. Now, I am thanking my smartphone which is not only like a good friend but also the source of information and ease. As a result, smartphones brought a big revolution in the field of connections.

Problem – Solution Essay

Air pollution is a mix of particles and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors. Soot, smoke, mold, pollen, methane, and carbon dioxide are just a few examples of common pollutants. Air pollution can be classified into 2 sections: Visible and invisible. Poor air quality kills people worldwide. In Asia and Africa, it is more visible than other places in the world. Pakistan and Qatar are two countries with the most polluted urban areas. Air pollution causes long term and short term diseases. Long term problems are higher rates of cancer, heart diseases, stroke, and respiratory diseases such as asthma. Short term impacts; such as sneezing and coughing, eye irritation, headaches, and dizziness. All these effects can be seen worldwide and people really worrying about this issue which depends on their life and health. To solve this problem, both governments and people have to use renewable fuels and clean energy productions.

There are many concerns about air pollution that created terrible problems for our societies. First, the most important threat is the combustion of fossil fuels, like coal and oil for electricity and road transport, producing air pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur dioxide. Also, emissions from industries and factories releasing a large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, chemicals, and organic compounds into the air. Consequently, these actions made the earth a muggy place.

To solve this problem, the best way is by using renewable fuels and clean energy productions. The basic remedy for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, replacing them with alternative energies like solar, wind, and geothermal. To illustrate, Afghanistan has 300 sunny days during the year so using solar panels is a possible way to produce power and reduce pollutants that spread by using coal and natural gases. Furthermore, people must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their governments and try not to use fossil fuels, for example, Chinese people use bicycles instead of cars in order to decrease carbon dioxide in the environment.

Finally, air pollution is a serious issue, so what we should do is to cooperate with municipalities in terms of collecting rubbish, planting trees, and trying to use fewer fossil fuels. Otherwise, the pollution will kill us gradually and we will just watch it. Therefore, we must prevent the problem before the problem prevents us.