Question

[Trần Minh Nghĩa]

Describe the countryside you have lived or visited

Answer 1

[Thảo Phương]

The village has always been known to be a place of peace and quiet. The scattered houses among hundreds of plants and trees at once indicate the lack of activity in the village.

The workers in the village leave their homes early in the morning to work in the plantations or towns nearby. Some have their own plantations, and some make certain articles in their homes to sell them in the towns. A few of the villagers, including women, go out to catch fish in the streams and rivers found in the village. Though the people of the village do not usually earn much, yet they seem to be contented.

In the afternoon, most of the villagers are at home. Some of them take a nap after lunch; some work in their small gardens, and some visit the small shops in the village. In various parts of the village children may be seen playing the popular games of the village. Occasionally, a cyclist passes by.

Then, in the evening, the villagers meet one another. Some play cards and other types of games peculiar to the village. Some talk about the day's incidents in the village, and those whose minds go beyond the village discuss world events.

In almost every village there is a headman whose duty is to settle quarrels among the villagers and maintain peace in the village. Whenever there is a dispute, the villagers go to the headman who is held in such esteem that his word has the force 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.

Answer 2

[Nguyễn Hương]

I like living in the countryside because of some reasons. Environmentally speaking, it is a peaceful place. The air is fresh. The space is quiet. We can enjoy healthy natural conditions without worrying much about environmental pollution.As for social security, the countryside is a safer place than a city. While urban security situation is always complicated with all kinds of crimes, rural areas are much more secure because most of countrymen are friendly and ready to help one another.Moreover, rural life is also easier that in cities. People in cities are easy to get stressed because of pollution, job pressures, competitions, etc ... On the contrary, those bad things are very rare in the countryside. To sum up, except income matters, the countryside is a better residence than cities.