【MUET】Past Year Essay (2008)- "People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy."

MUET PAST YEAR ESSAY 2008

People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy. What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words.

Many people have the mindset that everything revolves around money. It is, after all, a fact that having a large amount of money means greater spending power. One is more easily able to satisfy one’s hedonistic impulses if one is rich. This idea has influenced many people nowadays to aspire to great riches in order to be able to buy whatever they want. In my opinion, being materialistic can drive us to improve our lives and make us more able to contribute to society.

Being materialistic can drive people to work harder to earn more, which can lead to a better and more luxurious lifestyle for them and their families. There are many rags-to-riches stories of how children of labourers, hawkers and other menial workers have made their way up in the world through sheer determination. The drive and motivation necessary to pave their way to the top has led many successful people to where they are today.

The spirit of materialism can also positively impact the industrial and manufacturing sectors. As people’s lifestyles improve, they seek things and experiences to lavish money on. Some would never settle for anything less than the best in the market. This willingness to spend and insistence on quality products has pushed the retail sector to come up with innovative, creative ideas and trendy products to capture the interest of their customers. Hence, industries and the economy benefits from the constant development of new and better items.

People who are less fortunate can also benefit from someone else’s materialism. A person who has achieved his monetary goals and lifestyle is free to turn his thoughts and energy towards helping others in need. There are many cases where these people have come forward to readily donate large sums of money to those in need. They sponsor charity events, scholarships, establish foundations for the less fortunate and take up other worthy causes. They give others an opportunity to rise above difficult situations.

There is nothing wrong in being materialistic. Materialism does not necessarily turn a person into a heartless beast. For some people, being materialistic is a way of achieving a comfortable life. What matters is how a person has achieved his financial goals and what he does with the results. If criminal means were deployed, and lives were destroyed in pursuit of one person’s materialism, then that is a sin. If someone has earned a lot of money through his own hard work, determination and talent, I think that is perfectly acceptable.

Vocabulary:

hedonistic (adj) - living and behaving in ways that mean you have as much pleasure as possible, according to the belief that the most important thing in life is to enjoy yourself (享乐主义)

materialistic (adj) - believing that having money and possessions is the most important thing in life (唯物主义的)

sheer (adj) - used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except (完全的，彻底的)

monetary (adj) - relating to the money in a country (货币的，金融的)

sin (n) - the offence of breaking, or the breaking of, a religious or moral law (违反宗教戒律或道德规范的罪，罪过)