■ DirectionYou have 20 minutes to plan and write your response. Your response will be judged on the basis of The quality of writing and on how well your response presents the points in the lecture and the relationship to the reading passage. Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words.■ QuestionSummarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on the points made in the reading

Topic ▼

People should only concentrate on a single skill for life because it is the best way to succeed. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? 

Your Answer ▼

It is a common belief that it is more advantageous to focus on learning a single skill rather than various skills. However, personally in my opinion, the individuals who have numerous abilities have a higher chance of being successful in their life. This is because they are able to interact with wider range of people as well as adapt to the rapid conversion of the society. 

To begin with,  specialising in only one skill will reduce social communication with others. In general, relationship with people are formed by helping others continuously or having similar mutual interests. Psychologically, people tend to isolate the ones who cannot be helpful in many situations. A research conducted in China over a decade, proves that students with a variety of abilities had more friends than the individuals who did not. 

On top of that, a single skill cannot be utilized for a long period of time. In this ever-changing world, citizens in one society should adopt to changes easily in order to survive. Eventually, people who are left out will always be trapped in the thought that they are no use and may lead to serious depression. For instance, a survey done in Japan to senior citizens had significantly lower self-esteem than the other age group. This was due to the reason that they cannot perform anything in this modernised world as they only learnt basic skills. 

To sum up, acquiring a wider range of skills can improve interpersonal relations and also keep up with modernisation. For these reasons, it is essential to have more skills for long-term benefits.