Nissan promotes a new brainwave-reading car.

I read a news article about a new car concept released by Nissan, a Japanese car manufacturer, which uses driver's brainwaves to assist driving operations, called the Brain to Vehicle technology, or B2V tech.

According to the article, the new technology includes a unique skullcap that can read the driver's brainwaves and send its interpretation to another device in the car. And then, the B2V equipment predicts the driver's next action and supports his or her operations in less than 0.5 seconds earlier than the driver's actions.

When I read it, I was impressed with the exciting innovation, but personally, I would not like to use it. I have never felt that I need such that kind of assistance when I drive my car since I got a driver's license at the age of 21. I have been enjoying the driving operations such as shifting gears, stepping on the gas pedal and moving the steering wheel. So I am afraid that this state-of-the-art technology takes my pleasure away and makes the driving boring.

On the other hand, I admitted that the B2V tech would be worth helping senior people drive their cars safely. It is true that our response to unpredictable events will become slow and clumsy as we are getting older. Even when we are doing a regular procedure, we sometimes make mistakes. For instance, I heard that a senior guy, 75 or older, shifted the gear into reverse position instead of low gear when starting his car at a carpark slot. And then he accidentally smashed the back of his car into a convenience store, which injured some customers inside.

Thinking about my 85-year-old dad who needs to drive his car for his daily life activities such as shopping, going to see his doctor every week and getting his monthly pension at the bank, I would like car makers to keep developing innovative technologies to support seniors. But I have a request to the manufacturers. Please make it look more beautiful because I am sure that my dad will reject putting a skullcap on his forehead and say to me, "It's not cool!!"

Notice:
The photo here is copied from the article on the following website: 
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/03/nissan-brain-to-vehicle-tech/

You can watch an official video of Nissan on YouTube at https://youtu.be/oCi6taII6Yo

IELTS writing practice: task1

These two bar charts compared the weight measurements of people in Charlestown from in 1995 to 2015. Overall, it can be seen that the proportion of being overweight and obese has been increasing in each generation for these 60 years.
In 1955, only less than 25% of people living in Charlestown had been regarded as overweight or obese and the proportions of being an ideal weight or underweight were assessed by more than 70% in each generation. Especially, people aged 20-29, who were estimated as overweight, were only 3% out of the total.
However, coming into 2015, there can be seen a boost in the population who are categorized as obese. Surprisingly, there are tragedy increases of being obese among those who are over 50 years old. Also, more than 40% of people are regarded as being overweight or obese in generations of people aged 30-49.
Accordingly, there is a dramatic translation of the tendency regarding weight assessment of inhabitation in Charlestown through these 60 years. Most inhabitants had kept their weight as healthy in 1955, however, in 2015 they began to gain weight especially this transition was significant among people aged 50 and over.
(Reference: https://www.ielts-exam.net/academic_writing_samples_task_1/1005/)

Enoshima Shrine, One of the most popular spots near Tokyo: Part 1

Enoshima Shrine on Enoshima Island in Kanakaga prefecture consists of three shrines: Hetsu No Miya, Nakatsu No Miya and Okutsu No Miya.

After walking through a busy shopping street, Benzaiten Nakamise Dori Street, you can find a red gate standing in front of steep steps up to the first Shinden, a religious house for Japanese diety. The gate is generally called Torii which literally means a place for birds. You can find that it looks like a perch, yet there are many derivations regarding the origin of this expression. 

My friend and I paid respect to the deity by donating some pocket money and praying in a traditional manner, which consists of bowing twice, clapping your hand twice and then bowing once again.

If you want to make this experience memorable, I would like to recommend for you to go to the shrine office just next to the Shinden and ask for Goshuin, which are red stamps and calligraphic writings. It is a kind of certificate that you receive when you pay respect to the deity.