题目：

　　In many cities an increasing number of people do not know their neighbours and there is a lack of a sense of community. What are the causes of this problem? How can it be solved?

　　9分范文：

　　One disturbing trend nowadays is the weakened sense of community in our cities. The two principal causes of this are in my view how our schools and shopping habits have changed. In this essay I discuss these problems and also how they might be solved to ensure we once again know our neighbours.

　　There is a clear connection between education and community. In the past people got to know their neighbours through their children and formed close bonds watching them play sport together or just helping out with childcare. Unfortunately, this connection has been broken in cities by allowing children to go any school and not the one in the neighbourhood with the effect that local children do not necessarily go to the same school. The easy solution to this problem would simply be to make sure that children in cities went to the local school in their district.

　　The change in shopping habits has also had a profound effect on community relations in cities. In the past people would shop at their local market or main street, but now they increasingly use supermarkets that are located on the edge of cities. This means that people no longer meet people who live in their neighbourhood as they go shopping and it has also led to a loss in community identity. The best way to solve this problem would be for the government to raise taxation on the large supermarkets and to reduce it for local businesses in order to bring back local markets and shops.

　　In conclusion I believe that the best way for governments to address the problem of loss of community spirit in cities would be to introduce measures that encouraged people to educate their children locally and to help more local businesses and shops to flourish.