The importance of good roads in a country
Good roads are essential for the development of a country. The
Romans realised this centuries ago, and wherever they
established themselves, , they tried to improve the roads there.
Today, the governments of all countries in the world are
building more and more roads to gain access to the remotest
regions of their countries.
Roads link towns and villages and enable the people of one
place to communicate with the people of another place. When
food is scarce in one place, it can be brought from another place
without much difficulty. Even things which cannot be produced
in one region can be brought from another region where they are
produced in abundance. The invention of motor-vehicles has
made it easy to transport goods from place to place. But these
vehicles require good roads to travel quickly, and the better the
roads the more goods can be transported from one place to
another in a very short time. Thus, trade is improved.
Further, good roads help people to travel easily to places where
they can work and develop their lands and industries. In
Malaysia, for example, the improvement of roads has made it
easy for skilled workers from the towns to work in remote
villages. The people of the villages, on the other hand, have
been able to learn much from the towns. As a result, there has
been a lot of improvement in this country in all spheres of
activity.
Finally, in times of war good roads help armies to move about
without difficulty. Sometimes, a country is defeated because its
army is not able to reach a place in good time owing to bad
roads. Even the police may not be able to reach a place where
there is some trouble if the roads are bad. For all these reasons:
it is always necessary for a country to have good roads.

or law. In this way the villagers have developed their own
simple laws, and the crimes of cities are almost unknown to the
people of the village.
During a festival, the whole village is alive with activities.
Everyone is in a happy mood and plays his part to make the
festival a success. This is the time for the men, women and
children of the village to wear their best clothes and the village
is full of colour. These simple ways of life in the village,
however, must soon change. Progress in science and education
has already begun to affect the outlook of the people in the
village, and hundreds are leaving the village to seek their
fortunes in the towns and cities.
New words:
1. scattered (adj): lác đác, lưa thưa, rải rác
2. article (n): hàng, vật phẩm, đồ đạc
3. contented (adj): thoả mãn, mãn nguyện
4. nap (n): giấc ngủ trưa
take a nap after lunch: ngủ một giấc sau bữa ăn trưa
5. cyclist (n): người đi xe đạp
5. headman (n): trưởng làng, già làng, tù trưởng
7. dispute (n): cuộc bàn cãi, cuộc tranh luận
8. esteem (n): sự kính mến, sự quý trọng
9. mood (adj): tâm trạng, tính khí, tâm tính
10. fortune (n): vận may
My favourite author
My favourite author is William Shakespeare, a man who has
written enough for immortality.
Though a few hundred years have elapsed since the death of
Shakespeare and volumes have been written on the life and
work of this great writer, his early life still remains a subject for

times in last few years; and, every time I read the same story, I
learn something new about human nature. Shakespeare was
indeed a genius.
New words:
1 favourite (adj): được mến chuộng nhất được ưa thích nhất
2. immortality (n): bất tử bất diệt, bất hủ, danh tiếng muôn thuở
3. elapse (v): (nói về thời gian) trôi qua
4. speculation (n): sự nghiên cứu, sự suy xét
5. conjecture (n): sự phỏng đoán
6. applause (n): sự hoan nghênh, sự tán thưởng
7. ambition (n): hoài bão, tham vọng
8. frustration (n): sự làm thất bại, tâm trạng vỡ mộng
9. conflict (n): sự xung đột, cuộc xung đột
10. theme (n): đề tài, chủ đề
11. combination (n): sự kết hợp, sự phôí hợp
12. reveal (v): bộc lộ, biểu lộ, khám phá
13. masterly (adj): rất giỏi, bậc thầy, tài tình
14. gem (n): đá quý, viên ngọc
15. genius (n): người thiên tài, người anh tài, bậc kỳ tài
A frightening experience
I am not one who is frightened easily; but I must admit that one
night I saw a figure that struck terror into my heart.
It was a moonlit-night. I was returning home on foot from a
town a few miles away. That was the first night in my life that I
was out alone. The road along which I was walking was not
used much at night. Even during the day, it was used only by
those who worked in the rubber and banana plantations long that
road. As I was walking, I could hear the noises made by
squirrels, insects and owls. Creatures that love the night world
such as bats were very active, and there were hundreds of

education institutions are therefore being opened in all parts of
the world to provide higher education.
In almost every country today, there is a lot of unemployment.
Only those who have received a high standard of education are
able to secure high positions in society and in the various
professions. It has therefore become necessary for many people
to attend institutions or higher learning to improve their
prospects of employment.
Higher education confers many other benefits. It broadens the
mind and increases one's powers of thinking, reasoning and
imagination. Further, it makes one more sympathetic towards
others. It helps us to understand the problems and weaknesses of
man, and we become less suspicious of strangers and others. We
also become more thoughtful of the feelings and needs of others.
As a result, we are able to mix better with people. Besides,
higher education helps us greatly in deciding what is right and
what is wrong, what is true and what is false. Therefore, people
can hardly deceive or mislead us. Higher education also teaches
us how to spend our leisure moments. We learn to make the best
use of our spare time. Even during old age we know how to
keep ourselves occupied. Again, higher education develops self-
confidence. We learn to have faith in our own abilities. As a
result, we are able to meet and talk with people anywhere. All
these qualities, acquired through higher education, combine to
make one a leader among men. One is able to live a better life in
society.
The benefits of education are therefore many, and everyone
should try his best to acquire the highest of education, either by
attendance at an educational institution or by private studies.
New words: