Lesson 6. Writing
Different predictions
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
Why did Tanaka write this email?

Why does Tanaka think Tokyo will be a more liveable city?

What makes Tokyo an unsafe place to live in according to Tanaka?

What does Tanaka want to know?
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
Why did Tanaka write this email?
To answer Hung`s question about Tokyo in the future.
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
Why does Tanaka think Tokyo will be a more liveable city?
Because the government will use advanced technology to deal with the transport problem and make people`s life easier and more comfortable.
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
What makes Tokyo an unsafe place to live in according to Tanaka?
Tokyo is threatened by nuclear and radiation accidents and natural disasters (earthquakes and tsunamis).
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
What does Tanaka want to know?
Tanaka wants to know Hung`s viewpoint on Viet Nam`s capital city in the future.
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
Dear Hung,
I received your email last week, but I couldn’t answer your question right away. You asked me what Tokyo would look like forty years from now. What a difficult question! To tell you the truth, I have had to think very hard and have finally come up with two predictions.
If I take an optimistic viewpoint, I think Tokyo will be a more liveable city. Now it has quite a good public transport system. But people still complain about overcrowded trains during the rush hour. That’s why I believe the government will use advanced technology to build faster trains and make people’s life more comfortable. What’s more, robots will be used to help with the housework. Thus, people will have more time for relaxation.
But if I take the pessimistic viewpoint, Tokyo won’t be a safe place to live in. Nuclear and radiation accidents have always scared me. People’s lives will also continue to be threatened because of the continuous risk of earthquakes and tsunamis here.
Well, Hung, I hope you are satisfied with my answer. And here is my question: What will Viet Nam’s capital city look like in the future? I’m looking forward to your reply.
With best wishes,
Tanaka.
To: Hung Le
Tokyo of the future
c. Salutation
d. Closing
e. Sender`s name
f. Sender`s predictions and explanations
g. Recipient
b. Reasons for writing
a. Subject of the email
Optimistic viewpoint
(NYC – an eco city)
promote self-driving electric taxis
⇒ to deal with crowded public transport; use city’s building roofs for gardens fertilised with compost
⇒ to recycle rubbish and reduce pollution; build offshore wind farms
⇒ to replace ageing electricity network
Pessimistic viewpoint
(NYC – an unsafe place)
failure to control the use of guns
⇒ high crime rates; natural disasters
(floods, storms) and effects of global warming
⇒ flooding and damaged infrastructure
NEW YORK CITY in 2050
Dear ….
I received your email last week, in which you asked me about my city New York in 2050. There are different ideas about this question. I thought about it a lot, and now I can give you two predictions.
Let`s take an optimistic viewpoint. In 2050 New York will become a more liveable city? than ever before for lots of reasons. The city authorities have made a very careful plan la promote self-driving electric taxis to deal with crowded public transport. In addition, the city dwellers are encouraged to use the city`s building roofs for gardens fertilised with compost in order to recycle rubbish and reduce pollution. The government will also build offshore windfarms to replace ageing electricity network.
On the other hand, pessimistic people think that the city life won`t be a safe place to live in because the government cannot control the use of guns, and therefore the crime rate; will be higher. People`s lives will also continue to be threatened because of natural disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes. The effects of global warming have grea: impacts on the city dwellers.
That`s all about my answer to your question. I hope you will be satisfied with it, Nam.
Best wishes,
….
To: ….
New York in 2050
Dear …
I received your email last week, in which you asked me about my city Ha Noi in 2050. There are different ideas about this question. I thought about it a lot, and now I can give you two predictions.
Let`s take an optimistic viewpoint. In 2050 Ha Noi will become a more liveable city for lots of reasons. The city authorities have made a very careful plan to promote advanced technology to make greener motorbikes to deal with air pollution. In addition, the city dwellers are encouraged to use public transport system to reduce traffic jam. The government will also grow more trees and encourage people to use solar panels.
On the other hand, pessimistic people think that city life won`t be a safe place to live in because the government cannot control the use of private cars. People`s lives will also continue to be threatened because of pollution such as air pollution, noise pollution. The effects of global warming have great impacts on the city dwellers.
That`s all about my answer to your question. I hope you will be satisfied with it, Peter.
Best wishes,
….
To: ….
Viet Nam of the future