Writing Test 38

Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didn't realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.

New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher and other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced herself, and two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didn't seem to be embarrassed about not knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease.

Because a hostel is a place where cultures clash. It is like a hub, where people from all over the world meet, get to know each other, and make friends. During your first two days in a hostel, you can meet more new people than you did throughout your whole last year of office work. People in hostels are usually friendly and relaxed, often ready to share their stories, food, and experience with you, and expecting the same from you. Usually, on the third day in a hostel, you already start hanging out with a couple of interesting people. If you are more of an introverted type of personality, you might dislike dormitory rooms, but you will spend about 90% of your time out of a hostel anyways, so this should not be a big problem.

Prices are another huge advantage of any hostel. Even those located right in the center of a city still offer democratic and more than reasonable prices for their services: beds, laundry, shower and bathroom, wifi, kitchen, security (the majority of hostels are equipped with video cameras), travelling assistance, and so on. In fact, a hostel is a dormitory, so it does not provide as exquisite services as hotels usually do, and you have to share your personal space with other people. This is probably why a night in a hostel will cost you on average two-three times cheaper than if you would stay in a hotel.

In the past 1,300 years, the earth has not experienced such a warming trend as we are having now (NASA, 2016). In fact, the World Meteorological Organisation has stated that the global temperature is 1.2C above pre-industrial levels and for three years in a row, it has been the hottest year on record (Carrington, 2016). Though the scientific evidence seems overwhelming in favor of global warming, there are those, for various reasons, who believe that global warming is a hoax or not empirically verified. This is disappointing, as the future of our planet is at stake, and the last thing we should do in this critical time is argue whether or not our world is being destroyed. In order to enlighten those who believe global warming is not currently happening, I will present evidence that will show that global warming is real due to sea levels rising, global temperatures rising, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, declining Arctic sea ice, glacial retreat, extreme temperature events, ocean acidification, and decreased snow cover. In turn, I will also discuss counterarguments and their refutations.

The world over, sea levels are rising at an unprecedented rate. Two reasons why sea levels are rising is because of the warming of sea water (water expands when it warms) and the melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets. According to scientists John Church and Neil White, the global sea level rose 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century. Furthermore, the rate in this last decade has been nearly double compared to the last century (Church & White, 2006). So, if we compare the sea levels from this century to the last, it is obvious that sea levels are taking an unexpected turnand the global rise in temperature has much to do with this.

A global rise in temperature has been obvious for some years now. T.C. Peterson et.al., in their analysis for the Special Supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found most of the warming happened in the past 35 years, with 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occurring from 2001. In addition, 2015 was the first time the global average temperatures were 1 degree Celsius or more above the 1880-1899 average (T.C. Peterson et.al, 2016). This clearly demonstrates that global warming is a recent phenomenon, and should be considered especially dangerous if it continues at its current rate.

For many young people, college is mostly a way to get the education they need for further professional activity. Some students study eagerly, others drudge through it, but all of them understand that without graduating from a college or university, future perspectives are rather dim. Anyways, many students after completing higher education and getting employed in a company or starting their own business tend to think that attending an educational institution was the last time they had to study. What such people do not realize is that studying is, in fact, one of the biggest services one can do for oneself.

A certain set of skills obtained during the years in a college or university implies that a person continues working in the same field for years. This person may become highly proficient in their area of work, and may change companies he or she works in or climb the career ladder and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if this person feels fed up with what they are doing, and would want to realize themselves in a completely new field, there is a drawback: a minimal amount of education obtained during ones student years might not be suitable for this. For example, a person who studied journalism and worked as a journalist in a news agency feels that he or she cannot continue working there anymore; what he or she wants now is to become a designer. There are two options for such a person: either to keep dreaming about the desired job while continuing to work in a position he or she hatesbecause of the fear or unwillingness to start studying again, or because they think it would take too much effortor to look for a design school and learn whatever is needed to become a designer and finally change their job.