|
 Essay
Topic:
Is the 921 Earthquake a Blessing or Disaster?
Outline:
(Opening) 921 earth is a blessing in disguise
What a tragedy?
People have become materialistic
People rediscovered how to give and love
stricter enforcement of construction laws
(closing) if we can learn something from this lesson, it is a
blessing
921
Earthquake is a Blessing rather than a Disaster
by Jessica (my student)
On
Sep. 21st 1998 at 1.47am, a tremendous earthquake rocked
Taiwan. All
the people in
Taiwan were rudely awaken from their sweet dream and totally
in shock.
The earthquake occurred in central Taiwan and reached a
magnitude of (ML) 7.3, which as weather bureau said, is one of the biggest
earthquakes in decades. Many
people became homeless, lost their love ones,
or even got killed (more
than 200 peoples) in this tragedy.
At that time, many
people thought that Taiwan might have been
cursed. Even though this
violent
earthquake not only destroyed our beautiful land but also took
away so many
people's lives, I still think it is a blessing rather
than a disaster for Taiwan.
After
decades of efforts, Taiwan has become a rich country.
People on this
island have become used to leading a luxurious
life-style. Expenditure on
food,
clothing and other unnecessary items are just more than what is
actually
needed. This
society has become too materialistic.
Besides, for most of
people here, "success" means to
have more money and more wealth to show
off.
Competition consists not only between colleagues but also among
friends,
even very close friends. People
became distant and remote.
After
the big earthquake occurred, food, cloth and other necessities poured
into the worst hit areas from around the island.
People expressed their
strong concerns over those who lost not
only wealth but also family. Some
of
them donated money to buy bread, vegetable, meat, rice, tissue paper...
etc.
what is needed for everyday life.
Moreover, they even came voluntarily to
comfort and help the
wounded and homeless. At a
time like this, people started
to "give" and show their warmth and
love to others, no longer as selfish as they
used to be. When a society
knows how to give and love, then it will be a warm
and lovely place to
stay.
Furthermore,
the tragedy has forced the government to look more seriously
about enforcing construction laws. Many
buildings collapsed during this
earthquake. As many investigator found later, most buildings collapsed
because of construction company's improper designs.
So, the government has
its obligation to strictly regulate the
construction industry. Thus,
it will help the
people have a safer place to live.
Even
though this Big One not only ruined many families but also took away
so many people's lives, it still brought some lessons to us .
This event
showed us the cruelty of death, but it also
demonstrated to us the bright side
of life. Through this tragedy, we found love and learn to cherish what we
already
have. We started to think seriously about life and not take
everything for granted.
If we could learn something from this natural disaster, then it would be a
blessing rather than a disaster.
If
you want to write essays this good or better, you certainly need to
follow the
steps outlined in issue
28. Don't doubt how effective brainstorming and
outlining is. Jessica has since this 921 article written two other essays
for me
and each have show significant improvement. I've asked her
how she improved
her written so much so quickly. She mentioned
that is was because of my
lessons and the steps I outlined for her.
P.S.
Jessica is a professional accountant who never studied abroad. It
has
been my pleasure to teach her for the last three months. Her
goal is to improve
her English writing and conversation. She is
also looking forward to writing
English poetry and taking the TOFEL test
for fun. She is a good person and
an excellent student overall.
-
- JacksonFive
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