Sample Essays For toefl

 
40) Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you 
agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. 
 
(a) Can knowledge of the past be beneficial for those of us living in the present? Some 
people think this information is useless, others believe it's significant. The former consider 
it obsolete. Although significant portion of the past knowledge can't be directly applied to 
the present day, learning about the past creates opportunities for scientific discoveries, 
prevents from repeating mistakes of the past, and contributes to the understanding of the 
purpose of our existence. 
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Technological progress is induced by new scientific discoveries that would never occur 
without knowledge of prior achievements in the certain scientific field. Major innovations 
occurring in the industry are based on new scientific theories put into practice. Discovery 
of micro particles - electrons, protons and neutrons- in Physics revealed the possibility of 
creating the flow of electrons under the influence of the magnetic field. Every production 
process today is based on this latter discovery of electric current, which wouldn't be made 
without past knowledge of electrons existence. 
Besides providing knowledge of fundamental discoveries, past experience helps prevent 
reoccurrence of negative events in the history of our civilization. School children learn 
about world wars cited in the history textbooks so that when they grow up they don't repeat 
mistakes of their predecessors. One of the brightest examples is atomic bomb dropped on 
Japan during World War the Second. Knowledge of such negative experiences is 
necessary for humanity to continue its existence. 
Moreover, learning about the past helps satisfy people's desire to understand who they are 
and why they exist. History and Religion are necessary for a discussion of these main 
philosophical questions. If people haven't been learning about the past, Bible texts, which 
give answers to these questions, would never be preserved till the present day. In the same 
time Bible is the main guide for majority of the world population today.
Consequently, it's imperative to learn about the past, because this knowledge is valuable 
for the development of our civilization. Technological progress, avoidance of past 
mistakes, and contribution to understanding of the purpose of existence can only be 
achieved through understanding of our predecessors' lives and deeds. 
(b) Students in every part of the world pass some courses in history when they are in high 
school. Some of the students like such courses and some don't. The people who don't like 
to study history always argue that it is the story of the past and doesn't add any value for 
their present and future life. On the contrary, I think they are wrong. I believe that studying 
and learning about past will help us in future decisions in our life. 
First of all, consider the example of different wars in the history, which has happened 
between different countries. What were the main reasons for first and second world war? 
How did it end? Now if we compare the advantage and disadvantage of such wars we will 
see that some thing was very common. Some one who had been in power becomes so 
proud of his power that suddenly acts like a blind and doesn't see other facts around him. 
This has resulted several disasters in our history. People can learn to be open and 
negotiable when they know that 90% of the wars ended in loss for either side of the 
countries fighting.