Task 1

The pie chart presents the data on the percentage of women in

poverty by household composition in the USA in 2008, and the bar
chart compares the poverty rates by gender and age. Overall, single
women with no dependent children made up the largest group in
poverty. Besides, the rate of poverty was higher for children and
women.
With regard to the pie chart, single women with no dependent
children accounted for the largest proportion of the total number of
poor women (54%). This was followed by single women with
dependent children (26%), married women with dependent children
(12%) and then married women with no dependent children (8%).
Turning to the bar chart, it shows that the poverty rate was highest
for children under five years old, with above 20% for both genders.
The proportion of poverty was decreased when people got older,
and rose again during their retirement. What is more, there was not
a big difference between the poverty rate for males and females
who were under seventeen years old; however, the gap would be
larger as their age increased. Interestingly, the percentage of poor
women almost doubled that of men in poverty in their late
retirement, with 14% and 7% respectively.
Task 2
Smoking not only harms the smokers, but also those who
are nearby. Therefore, smoking should be banned in public
places.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
In recent years, smoking has become one of the major concerns due
to its negative effects on public health. Some people argue that
smoking should be prohibited in public areas in order to maintain a
healthy atmosphere for everybody. I strongly agree that the ban is
the most appropriate course of action.
First of all, banning smoking in public places can help to protect the
health of general public. There are always a great number of nonsmokers, who have to suffer from sharing the harmful smoke with
other smokers. This will potentially affect their long-term health.
According to a recent body of research, the rate of cancer is proven
to be higher for children and women, who breathe the cigarette
smoke from other family members. Besides, there is a higher
proportion of people, who smoke, will get lung cancer, memory
reduction and other dangerous disease during their lifetime. As the
example shows, the prohibition of public smoking can help to
maintain a clear and healthy environment for the community,
especially women and future generations.

Another argument for the imposition of such a ban is that smoking

areas are made available in most places so people can freely smoke
without polluting common atmosphere. For example, in most
buildings nowadays, it is not hard to find a smoking hall for smokers
to smoke and expand their social network. The construction of those
areas not only satisfies the need of smokers but also brings joy to
surrounding people because they can be free from dangerous
smoke. Hence, the general health of non-smokers will be improved
and smokers can make a choice to smoke whenever they want.
In conclusion, the imposition of public smoking ban will benefit the
society. It not only helps to maintain a healthy atmosphere for
people, but also limit the diseases caused by smoking. Therefore,
that development should be desirable.