ESSAY INFORMATION:
Written by: Xuân Phi, 07/06/2021
Supported by: Ex-BC Examiner, 08/06/2021
Question: Some people think that governments should ban dangerous sports. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
(IELTS Academic – 05/06/2021)
ANSWER:
Extreme sports such as rock climbing or cave diving have gained an increasing popularity in recent years. Despite legitimate potential benefits they might offer, I am completely for a ban of these sports considering historic damages to both players and state budget.
The main disadvantage for participants is that it puts their health at risk. Although protective equipment and training courses have improved in recent years to support extreme athletes, a high number of cases of severe injuries and deaths are reported every year relative to other sports. According to a report by the Joint Hamalyan Committee, there have been about a hundred climbers and eight thousand others who have lost their lives on Mount Everest and at base camps respectively over the last 10 years, and thousands of other risk-takers have lost extremities such as fingers and toes due to extreme cold and shortage of food supplies during snowstorms.
At a social level, national governments must bear the financial burden of large-scale rescues. Clear evidence of this comes from the costly operation to save twelve members of a junior Thai football team who were trapped in an underground cave in 2016 while participating in a cave diving competition. During the operation, the Thai government had to seek the assistance of not only Thai professional scuba divers but also deep sea diving experts from France and Australia who were equipped with cutting-edge rescue technology. Though the team was successfully rescued, it cost the Thai government up to three million dollars to cover the expenses of such renowned personnel and expensive equipment. This cost could have been saved and spent on building schools or hospitals if dangerous cave diving had been previously banned in the country.
In conclusion, due to the detrimental effects on the athletes and governments that extreme sports can cause, a complete ban of these games should be introduced. In my opinion, governments should immediately close all such sites and prohibit all adventure game organisers from operations.
Word count: 329
WORD LIST:
| ENGLISH | TIẾNG VIỆT |
| extreme sports/action sports | thể thao mạo hiểm |
| legitimate potential benefits | lợi ích tiềm năng và hợp pháp |
| extremities | tay chân/tứ chi |
| shortage of supply | sự thiếu hụt nguồn thức ăn |
| large-scale rescue | cuộc giải cứu quy mô lớn |
| renowned personnel | nhân sự/nhân lực có danh tiếng |
| prohibition | cấm (theo luật pháp) |
| adventure games | trò chơi mạo hiểm |
| high fatality rate | tỷ lệ tử vong cao |
| exhilarating experience | trải nghiệm phấn khởi, hồi hộp |
| have the right/liberty/freedom to do sth | có quyền/quyền tự do làm điều gì đó |
