Buổi 43: Thi thử giữa khóa – Writing (Task 1 + Task 2, 60 phút)

The line graph compares the number of people who visited three science attractions in City S between 2010 and 2025.

Overall, the Science Museum was the most popular attraction for most of the period, but its visitor numbers declined, while both the Planetarium and the Nature Centre became more popular. By 2025, the Planetarium had overtaken the Science Museum.

In 2010, the Science Museum attracted 180,000 visitors, far more than the other two attractions. However, this figure fell steadily to 150,000 in 2019 and dropped more sharply to 120,000 in 2022, before recovering slightly to 130,000 in 2025.

The Planetarium began the period with 60,000 visitors, and this number rose gradually to 100,000 in 2019. After a small dip in 2022, it jumped to 140,000 in 2025, making it the most visited attraction. The Nature Centre was the least popular attraction throughout. Its visitor numbers grew slowly from 40,000 to 55,000 between 2010 and 2019, then rose sharply to 85,000 in 2022 and reached 110,000 by the end of the period, double its 2019 figure.

Dear Sam,

I'm so glad to hear that you're finally coming to visit with Lucy and the kids! I've been thinking about where you should go, and I'd definitely recommend the new Science and Nature Centre on the west side of the city.

I think the children would love it. There's a huge room where they can do simple experiments themselves, like making a small volcano or building a paper bridge, and the staff explain everything in English. There's also a garden with a butterfly house – my daughter didn't want to leave last time we went!

A few practical tips: try to arrive early, because it gets very crowded after ten o'clock at weekends. It's best to book tickets online, as they're a bit cheaper. The café inside is quite expensive, so you might want to bring some snacks. It's about twenty minutes from the city centre by taxi.

Let me know which day you're going – if I'm free, I'd love to come with you.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Best wishes, Trang

Scientific research is essential for progress, but people disagree about who should pay for it. While some argue that governments should provide most of the funding, others believe that this responsibility should belong to private companies. In my view, both have a role to play, but governments should fund the research that matters most to society as a whole.

On the one hand, there are good reasons for private companies to fund research. Businesses such as technology and pharmaceutical firms often have large budgets, and they are able to turn discoveries into useful products quickly. Because they want to make a profit, they also have a strong motivation to use money efficiently. For example, many of the devices and apps that people use every day were developed by companies investing in their own research.

On the other hand, I believe governments should remain the main source of funding for research that benefits the public. Companies naturally focus on projects that are likely to be profitable in the near future, so important areas may be ignored. Research into rare diseases, climate change or basic science, for instance, may not produce profits for many years, if ever, but it can be extremely valuable for society. In addition, publicly funded research is more likely to be shared openly, rather than kept secret for commercial reasons.

In conclusion, although private companies make an important contribution to research, especially in developing new products, I believe that governments should take the main responsibility for funding research that serves the public interest.