Direction: Write an essay based on the chart below. In your essay, you should
1) describe and interpret the chart, and
2) give your comments.
Write your answer in about 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET. (15 points)
健康素养（health literacy）是指个人获取和理解基本健康信息和服务，并运用这些信息和服务做出正确决策，以维护和促进自身健康的能力。健康素养水平指具备基本健康素养的人在总人群（15-69岁城乡居民）中所占的比例。
【参考范文】
The line graph above clearly shows data about the degree of health literacy among Chinese individuals from 2012 to 2021. The share of health literacy increased slightly from 8.8% to 11.58% from 2012 to 2016, as the graph amply demonstrates. Between 2016 and 2021, the ratio significantly rose, rising from 11.58% to 25.4%.
According to me, a number of reasons may easily be identified to explain the phenomenon. I’d like to specifically mention the following three ones. First of all, it is generally agreed that the relevant health agencies have made greater efforts to motivate the people to pay attention to their physical and mental health. Furthermore, there is no doubting that an increasing number of residents are able to access more health advice online due to the quick development of social media like short videos. Last but not least, the COVID-19 epidemic in 2019 served as a wake-up call for many people, who started focusing on eating well and exercising, which is another important component that should not be overlooked.
We may reasonably conclude that the current trend will last for a while in the near future after taking all these variables into account.
