CPE ARTICLE A NOSTALGIC TRIP TO BA

I arrived in the nick of time and managed not to miss my flight connection to Buenos Aires, the city of tango. I got my usual seat on the plane between the crying toddler and the overweight man, but I did not care, nothing was going to spoil my trip. There I was on my way to my favourite destination in the whole world. I could already smell the welcoming lunch with spit-roasted-pig and a bottle of fernet- the Argentinian´s national drink.

But no sooner had I landed that I started to feel nostalgic. Ezeiza airport had not changed a bit, everything was as I remembered. I changed some dollars into pesos, the local currency, and headed for the bus stop to catch the "colectivo", which is a kind of minivan that you can share with other travellers to save some money and enjoy a light-hearted conversation in Spanish.

On the way to my 5-star rented flat in Recoleta, one of the most beckoning areas in town, I went through the city centre, where the sight of the traditional buildings made me travel back in time. I was caught in a memory of me as a teenager visiting BA for the first time, registering in a derelict old youth hostel, but eager to go out and enjoy the city life.

As I got out of the van I was greeted by the friends I had not seen in years. I´m not the type of person who says that men don´t cry, so I did shed a tear, maybe two. I hugged and was hugged by my missed ones. I had just arrived but I was missing them already, and I promised not to leave for such a long time again.

Gustavo Albarracín 

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CPE Letter to the editor

(start with a polite greeting)
Dear editor  

(P1- state clearly why you write/ give your point of view)

I am writing in reply to the article about dangerous sports which was published in your newspaper on Sunday 8th July. I would definitely agree with the idea that such sports put people at risk and that it would be infinitely preferable for the government to ban them. 

(P2- support your point of view with arguments)

Having said that, it is also true that taking regular exercise is vitally important. For example, yoga, tai-chi and other forms of gentle exercise can do wonders for our health. As for more strenuous exercise, such as weight lifting and athletism, I believe they can be practised at gyms and other special places where people can be supervised by trainers and experts.

(P3- support your point of view with more arguments)

The main problem with dangerous sports -yatch races, for instance- is that they happen outdoor in remote areas where no control or supervision can be provided. Tragedies like what happened to that yatch in Hobart not only put the participants´ lives at risk, but also the ones of the people in the rescue teams. It is also important to mention that the operation to save the injured cost the state a fortune, which might as well have been used to do some social work in favour of  Hobart´s community. If we banned extreme sports we would avoid both of these problems.

(P4- same as 3)

Of course there will be sportmen who will complain when the ban is established. They will probably claim that their freedom to choose their leisure activities is being restricted, but surely you must understand that we would be doing it for their own safety. Others will probably state that we need not to worry about the cost of rescues as they can be assumed by insurance companies, but this is not necessarily true. As far as I am concerned such companies will only take responsibility of fifty per cent of the cost of rescue operations.

(P5- conclude/ state your opinion clearly -same as P1)

To sum up, I think that it is urgent for the government to take action and ban extreme sports now and for all. There is plenty of evidence that they are not only dangerous, but they cost us taxpayers a big amount of money, which could be better used to improve the quality of life of people in our city.

(polite closing)

Yours faithfully

Gustavo Albarracín

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Proposal sample

Proposal on how to attract more members

to theEnglish-language society

Introduction

The aim of this proposal is to give recommendations on what new events to organise in order to attract more people to join our society. It also suggests varied ways in which we can make our current activities more appealing.

The current situation

There are a number of cultural activities that we offer in our society such as the book club, which meets on Saturday afternoons to discuss a classic book, and the cinema group, in which a black and white film is projected once a month. While both events have proved to be popular among older people, mainly middle-aged women, there are very few young people showing interest in participating. As a result of this, the society has failed to grow and in fact our statistics show that we are actually losing members little by little.

How to attract new members

I suggest that we create events aimed at people in their early and mid-twenties. For example we can organize pop concerts, inviting the local bands who perform English covers, or fan clubs, where members can meet to talk about their favourite British actors or actresses.

We should also try to attract more males to our society and one way to do this is through sport. I recommend forming a football or tennis club. We can get together to watch the EuroCup matches or the Wimbledon games and then talk about them.

Regarding our current events, the book club and the cinema group, I think we should keep them but I suggest discussing modern books and passing premier films from time to time to wider our range of participants.

Conclusion

There should be no delay in creating appealing activities to attract new members, such as the suggested pop concerts, fan clubs and sport groups. We should also maintain the book club and the cinema group, which have proved to be successful in the past, but including the discussion and projection of some modern books and films which may be interesting to young people. 

Gustavo Albarracín
#words: 350 

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CPE Summary writing: A men´s club

The text illustrates how male prejudice has made it really difficult for women to participate in modern science. Whether accused of being evil o regarded as too weak to grasp the arcana of real knowledge, females have had to struggle to write their names in the history of science.

Nevertheless there are women whose talent we must not forget, such as Caroline Herschel and mathematician Ada Lovelace.