Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jbyrne]

Do you think America is the number one country in world?

Why or why not?
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Jay

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[knowledge2006]

[ClarissaMach]

Number one in terms of what?
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Stormy Weather.

[flying_pig319]

[Bob S.]

Clarissa's right. In terms of what?

In terms of "Ease of Doing Business", the World Bank ranks New Zealand as #1 (the U.S. is down at #3).
In terms of Life Expectancy, the itty bitty principality of Andora ranks #1 (the U.S. is only #48 ).
How about GDP? Nope, not the U.S. Try the tax shelter of Bermuda.
And let's not even get into functional literacy. The U.S. always ranks bad on comparative test scores.
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper

[ltp-008]

It seems to me that the images of America have worsen in recent years.Is it because of its overturning the islamic extremist regime of Afghanistan,or is it because of its overthrowing the tyranny regime of Sadom in Iraq?Of coursre I think it is not ture.Overthrowing these two regimes is better for the broader Middle East peace in the long run.

However, why are so many people in the world unsatisfied with America?

I think that the main reason is that the States wants to advance deomcracy and freedom to the world,some people don't want to change their ideology in which they like to be ruled as slaves or something like that.Al-Quada wants Islamic countries ruled by their extremist islamic rules,they don't want people to listen to music ,dance and so forth,they oppressed women for not allowing them to wear beautiful clothes and receive education,their ideology is conter-social progress,they cann't be successful.

In fact,the States has many problem herself,but that doesn't mean that the States isn't the one of most poweful nations in the world,in terms of military,economy and political influence and advanced technologies,she actually is the number one nation in the world although she isn't number one nation in other aspects.

Remembering,after WWII the States helped defeated Germany and Japan recover from the ruins of the war,now these two nations have become one of most prosperous countries in the world.

Remembering,the States is one of the most democratic and free countries in the world,their people enjoy freedom ,liberty and prosperity at the same time some people at other countries such as Cuba,North Korean and China suffer from oppressing,lack of liberty and policing rule.

We don't need to agree with everything,but freedom ,liberty and democracy is universal value which every human being has the right to achieve and enjoy them.

[ieltsinsider]

If I had to make a choice, I'd go for one of the Scandinavian countries. Finland has a really good education system and hi-tech industries. Sweden and Norway are well known for their humanitarian projects.

They all have great social welfare systems and market economies, but their citizens have to be prepared to pay through the nose for them.

With almost 200 countries in the world, I'd put the USA in the top 50.

[Anuradha Chepur]

How about Canada and Australia. Besides being developed, they are also lucky to be free from controversies and disputes.

[ieltsinsider]

... and both Canada and Australia have been mentioned by Osama Bin Laden as countries that must be destroyed (after the USA and Britain).

I'd still put them both in my personal top ten countries though.

[flying_pig319]

[ClarissaMach]

Strange thing: if I was to tell you which countries I believe are the best ones to live (in terms of quality of life, education and so on), I would do the same choice Ieltsinsider and Anuradha Chepur would: Scandinavian countries, or Canada and Australia; but to be honest with you, I'd rather not have to choose.

Maybe I'm too parochial, but I think I could not to bear staying away from Rio for more than one year. I know I might sound egocentric, but the thruth is that I can't help thinking we "cariocas" have the most beautiful sky in the whole world. The idea of living in a freezing country makes me sad!

No sun? No way!
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Stormy Weather.

[ClarissaMach]

Bob S.

What is "functional literacy"? Would it be the capacity one has of reading and understanding what one has just read?

In Portuguese there's an expression to refer to people unable to understand what they read: "analfabeto funcional". Does exist something similar in English ("functional analphabet"?).
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Stormy Weather.

[Bob S.]

[flying_pig319]

[ClarissaMach]