Topic 15 Qualities of a good neighbor

It seems, among so many qualities such as reliability, honesty, helpfulness, and patience, very difficult to prefer one to another because each of them has its unique advantages. Yet that does not mean that they are of the same weight to me. To be frank, I would prefer reliability and helpfulness.

Why I vote for reliability? I stand behind it (Я стою за это) because I can trust my neighbors only if they are reliable people. That makes me feel safe to associate with them. Imagine if your neighbor is not reliable, will you put your worries to rest to let your neighbor look after your children even when she offers to do so? Do you dare leave your key to your neighbor when she says she will keep it for you? Will you lend your car to her when your neighbor promises that she will return it within two hours? Obviously, reliability is not only a quality of a good neighbor, but also a quality of a good person, and it is the foundation of a good relationship.

Being helpful is another quality that I have chosen to illustrate here. A neighbor should be kind and helpful, because they live close to you, and you never know when you might need help. For example, when you go for a vocation, your neighbor can help you water the plants, and pick up the mail. It is always good when you know that if something happens, your neighbor is there to help.

Of course, other qualities such as honesty and patience are also important to some extent, but everybody has his or her own preferences. I chose reliability and helpfulness as the qualities of a good neighbor because reliability helps us develop a good relationship and helpfulness keeps the relationship remaining for a long time.

Topic 16 Should a new restaurant be built in your neighborhood?

What do you think if there will be a restaurant built near your neighborhood? People may have different opinions. Some people will be against it because of too much noise, potential pollution, etc. Other people, however, will welcome it very much. As far as I am concerned, I like to have a restaurant built in my neighborhood.

Let's eat out tonight, I'm too tired to cook. - Давай сегодня пойдём в какой-нибудь ресторан, я слишком устала, чтобы готовить.

In the first place, a restaurant will make my daily life more convenient. As we know, cooking is a very important thing in people's life and it is also very timeconsuming. When I come home from work and feel tired, I normally want to eat out (питаться вне дома). If a restaurant is very far away from my house, I have to give up that idea because I do not want to waste my time and energy on the road. As a result, I have to cook myself. What a pain! If there is a restaurant nearby, it will make a difference. What I need to do is to take a leisure walk to the restaurant, sit down, make an order, enjoy my dinner and then, the most important thing, and leave without cleaning the mess.

In the second place, I have another good place to meet my friends. Sometimes, meeting friends at home is tedious (утомительно), especially meeting some friends that I am not very familiar with. If there is a restaurant nearby, I can invite them to go to the restaurant. While drinking and eating, we will have more topics to talk about. And the beautiful environment of the restaurant will make the talk more pleasant.

In addition, I can make more friends in the restaurant. A restaurant the best place to meet new people if you are not shy. If the restaurant is just within walking distance of my home, I will be there more frequently and have more chances to know more people.

In conclusion, I will support the plan of building a restaurant near my home not only because a restaurant can make my life more convenient, but also because it can be a ideal place to meet friends.