2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Obviously, the earliest teachers we have in our lives in most cases are our parents, and they are generally the most involved in the development and education of their children. Yet neither are all parents good teachers nor are those good parents the best teachers.

First of all, not all parents are good teachers. As normal individuals, some parents more or less have bad habits. Even though parents almost instinctively devote themselves to cultivating their offspring, the outcome might turn out to be disappointment, for all children tend to unconsciously or subconsciously copy every thing from their parents. Another deficiency of parents as teachers is the fact that most parents are lack of common senses of education. All too often we observe some parents tend to pursue their cherished but failed dream by forcing their children to develop in a prearranged direction. Ironically, if their children did not follow the instructions, the children would be regarded as disobedient or allegedly rebellious. In fact, it is parents rather than their children that virtually disobey common senses.

Moreover, some parents are qualified as good teachers, but not all of them are the best ones. When children are in the preliminary school, it is not surprising that parents are capable of teaching their children almost every subject even better than professional teachers in the school. But the situation will not last long. We live in a world where knowledge is accumulated by multiplying and at the same time becomes more and more specialized. Therefore, to be a professional in a certain field today takes much longer time than ever before. No parent is able to be professional in all fields, though they might be experts in one or more fields. Wise parents often release rather than charge their children as early as possible.  They are aware of the possibility outside the family.

Parents may, nevertheless, help their children much more than do good teachers. Most parts of children education are virtually beyond teachers' reaches.  It is parents that supplement. Psychology studies have shown us that parents' love sometimes has astonishingly magic power to their children. Albert Einstein's mother and Forest Gump's mother are both good examples. On the other hand, parents might do their children harm more than do bad teachers as well. The natures of those children whose parents have divorced are often severely distorted. In a word, it is rather superficial to simply say that parents are the best teachers.

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4. It has been said, "Not everything that is learned is contained in books." Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why?

Both experiences and books are very essential resources, and both of them have relevant merits.

Experiences are the most direct resources we ever have. Almost our every basic skill came from experiences, such as walking, articulating, reading even thinking. Without experiences, some natural born abilities even might lose. Studies have shown that a baby who was robbed by animals into forest for 12 years lost his ability to talk in human language. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that each and every skill develops by experiences, and that's why people always say practice makes perfect.

Books are valuable when knowledge is beyond the scope of our experiences. Perhaps the most obvious examples are those fluent writers. They write various stories, the scopes of which are far beyond any individual's experiences. Take Joyce Carol Oates for example, her productivity has been prodigious, accumulating in less than two decades to nearly thirty titles, including novels, collections of short stories and verse, plays and literary criticism. Although some of them appear to come from her own direct observations, her dreams, and her fears, much more is clearly from the experiences of others. Her fictive world remains strikingly akin to that real one reflected in the daily newspapers, the television news and talk shows, and the popular magazines of our day.

Yet either experiences or books may give us wrong information. Our direct observations always are subject to our beliefs, hopes, fears, expectations, and our bias, which might make observations unreliable. People vary in their powers of observation, and the reliability of our observations is no better than the reliability of our memories, which as we know can be deceptive. Information printed in papers sometimes is unreliable either, it may be misprinted, or even deliberately distorted. For example, Definitions such as Marxism, Capitalism, Zionism are totally different in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Current English between the original edition and the sanctioned Russian edition.

In conclusion, both sources are important. Sometimes one is more important than the other in accordance with specific circumstances. For example, when we make a general survey about a certain subject, we may prefer rich references in library. On the other hand, if we want to know more specific details, we had better refer to experiences such as results of carefully designed experiments.

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7. How do movies or television influence people's behavior? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

The impact that modern mass media such as movies or televisions has had on our daily life, and society in general, is undeniable. No doubt it will become even greater as the scope of mass media continues to grow, and as the relevant technologies become more and more sophisticated, and so fascinating that virtually nobody will be able to escape. Already, it can be seen how western movies are exercising influence on our youth generation: they grow long-hair regardless of their sex, commonly part of which are dyed in gold; they wear jeans in each and every season, usually knees of which are deliberately tattered; boys are fond of earrings or other odd pendants; and girls are keen on Marlboros and weird coarse languages.

The major means that mass media influence the public is by creating topics of discussion in the society. Mass media offers people (the consumers) issues to talk and think about. Titanic had brought a worldwide uproar by its extolling and of fascinating immortal love; Prime Color and Wag the dog met the national debate on right and duty of the president of the United States. Antiwar movies such as Tears of the Sun and All Quiet On The Western Front among numerous others have been raising the question that is any war really to uphold justice or is it really worthy that an individual makes sacrifices to his country and at the same time ignores his own family or his personal values?

Mass media also shapes our understanding of what is important and what is not important (to know). The "important" issues are to be found on the first pages of the newspaper (/in the beginning of a television program). The "not important" stories are the ones that are not being told at all. The "not very important" stories are probably very short and hidden in the last pages. In fact censorships present all mass media including its distributing means such as the Internet. By prearranging public issue, the mass media makes decisions for us. Even though there are critical thinking individuals in any society, they are definite minority; the public in whole in deed lack skills of critical thinking, and therefore they are often led by the media.

In brief, mass media, by offering topics and affecting the ways in which we discuss “the important issues”, has a strong influence on our perception of the truth, of the world or of the structure of our society, we have to admit that it has a role in our lives as a source of information, experiences, entertainment, amusement and relaxation.

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8. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Television has destroyed communication among friends and family. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

While television has been somewhat harmful in its effects, it has hardly "destroyed" communication among friends and family, although for some people, the assertion that television has destroyed communication among friends and family seems true.

Television, invented in last century, with its wide availability, increasingly prosperous programs, becomes one of the most powerful means of communication in the history, and is more and more difficult to ignore. Television is as much a part of our lives as are our meals, work, or school; studies consistently show that the average American child spends almost as much time watching television as does she in school. We all have only 24 hours a day and it is clear that the more time one spends on watching television, the less time one does with his or her family and friends. Hence we see the passage in the newspaper or magazine titled "Television took my husband away from me."

Tempting as such claim might be, it is hardly true. It is not television took her husband away from her, but the increasing pressures of modern life did it. We have no definite evidence to say people nowadays endure more pressures than did their counterparts in the past, but it is absolutely true that people nowadays undergo great pressures that come from various directions, including work, school, economy, and so forth. Investigations show that people who earn more than 50, 000 yuan annually spend at least 60 hours on work per week, much more than those who earn 20,000 yuan annually. Today a bachelor degree may no longer guarantee a well paid job, more and more companies post their want ads claiming that applicants must have at least master degrees, which take two or three years longer.

In a word, people nowadays have very little time for anything; television is merely among many other factors that affect communication, and is definitely not the main cause of degradation. It seems that the more one is educated, the more one is aware of the deleterious effects that excessive television causes, and either deliberately avoid it or actually do not enjoy it. On the other hand, there really are many people addictive to television. But the fact is, were television not existent, surely these people would have found other escapes, such as alcohol or gambling, for example. In other words, people always find a way to do what they want to do. Therefore, I do not agree that television has destroyed communication among friends and family.

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9. Some people prefer to live in a small town. Others prefer to live in a big city. Which place would you prefer to live in? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

People seldom agree with each other even in such trivial issues as preference between a big city and a small town. It’s a little bit haste to say that it is better to live in a big city than to live in a small town, or vice versus.

Living in a big city has several benefits. First, there’re more job opportunities readily available in big cities than in a small town. Furthermore, not merely there are more job positions in big cities, the qualities of the position are much higher as well. In addition, the pay is more decent. Second, children are supposed to be able to receive an education with a higher quality compared with their counterparts who live in a small town. For families, children’s education is always put in the first place. Finally, living in a big city has a superior overall living standard to that in a small town. There are more commodities and services in city markets; there are more public utilities available in big cities; there are even much more television channels in big cities.

However, living in a small town also has some advantages. People who live in a small town often have a much comfortable life style. Most of them are immune from suffering of high working stress. Although the average pay is much less than that of big cities, the price of daily necessities, such as vegetables or meat, is usually more inexpensive. Instead of suffering loneliness which is prevalent in big cities, children might grow up more healthily because of harmonious relationship among residents in small town.  People in a small town do not have to get up so early in the morning because there has been no traffic jam, and no body drive so fast in a small town as to cause accidents. They might have fewer channels in television, but they have more friends readily available to chat or entertain with.

According to my current situation, although I am longing for the cozy atmosphere and relationship among neighbors and friends which almost only exist in big cities, I have chosen to live in one of the biggest cities in my country --- Beijing, since I have found a pretty good job here, and a decent pay. I think I would prefer living a small town when I get retired one day.

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17. Some people think that they can learn better by themselves than with a teacher. Others think that it is always better to have a teacher. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons to develop your essay.

Whether we need a teacher or not depends on circumstances. The relationship between a teacher and a new subject is somewhat similar to that between a tour guide and an unknown city.

When we come to an unknown city for the first time, we definitely need a tour guide. We might have a detailed map, but it is unlikely functional – it isn't surprised that we can hardly interpret those mysterious symbols. Likewise, when we are beginners, it is wise to learn with teachers. They can tell us where to begin with, what we should do, and which reference we should choose. When we confront difficulties, we can ask them for help, and their advices will always be tremendously helpful. With teachers' assistance, we might learn easier, faster, and more interestingly.

After a period of time, we have learned a lot. We now know the city pretty well, even though there still are many places we haven't been. It doesn't matter. Now that we are able to recognize those mysterious symbols on the map, what we need perhaps is not a tour guide but a more detailed map. Similarly, we need richer references for learning. Yes, there are still many fields unexplored; they are, nevertheless, no longer puzzling. The task is simple: we will explore them one by one, little by little. If we are working on a certain skill, practice more; if we are preparing a test, practice more; whatever we are learning, just remember, like people always say, practice makes perfect.

After another period of time, we might have become others' tour guide, but we still want to know more. We want to know which restaurant is the most decent, which bookstore is the most professional, which coffee shop is the most classical. Even the most comprehensive map doesn't have adequate information. We again need experts. In learning, it's much the same. We need experts to consult for specific problems. Furthermore, the most beneficial merit of consulting experts is that we can not merely refer to them but even discuss with them in depth. As is often the case, a solution for a complex matter is not waiting for us right there and then, sometimes it comes out of inspirations of discussion.

In short, having a good teacher is always better than having none, but the importance of a teacher varies from period to period, from stage to stage.

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21. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon.

Among various factors that contribute to today's longevity of people are three most obvious ones: the improvement of food conditions, the development of modern medical technology, and finally current stability of economy in our country.

Food conditions are better than before and are still being developed with a rapid pace. First of all, foods are more hygienic. People today drink untainted mineral water, sterilized skim milk, which are cheaply supplied in supermarkets.  Furthermore, foods are more nutrient. Not to mention various carefully designed nutrient products, people can just ignore the possibility of being dystrophic, in that they can keep nutrient balance by simply taking a cheap pill of vitamin compound every day.

Another essential improvement that contributes to people's longevity is swiftly developing medical technology. Development of modern technology has always been amazing. Certain diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and dysentery are now easy to remedy with low expenses, but in the past, they are all probably lethal ones. The dental technology seems developed little except its exorbitantly charged bill, yet the simplest technology contributes to people's longevity most. It is not difficult to imagine that if an individual who lived in the past got a toothache, without certain dental care which is common today, he was certainly in an awful prospect: he might even die of a toothache!

Current societal and economic stabilization is also a very indispensable factor. People have less pressure in a more stable society, the less pressure they suffer, the healthier they are. Today's ideal stabilization even provides people an opportunity to secure their future – buy insurances. Various types of insurances are readily available, which make people feel safe, and have to a large extent reduced people' anxieties, and therefore indirectly contribute significantly to longevity of people.

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24. A person you know is planning to move to your town or city. What do you think this person would like and dislike about living in your town or city? Why.

If my friend Joey wants to move to Beijing, I think she will definitely like this greatest city in our country, even though she might find something she dislikes.

The weather might be one thing that she dislikes. The weather in Beijing is characterized by dry climate and it is much windy and dusty than that of Guangzhou city. Joey is very sensitive about her skin, so she will definitely hate dusty winds in Beijing. Moreover, Beijing's winter is far too much colder than that of Guangzhou, it might take Joey, as many other people came from the South, a very long time to get accustomed to. Nevertheless, she might well enjoy winter in the North, since she has never seen snowflakes in reality. I remembered the shining of yearning and eager in her eyes when I once told her what winters in the North look like.

She might be always irritated by heavy traffic in Beijing, though taxis in Beijing cost much less than in Guangzhou. When I was in Guangzhou, seldom was I trapped by traffic jams. It must be ridiculous for her to have spent more than two hours and still didn't arrive at the destination which is merely 10-kilometer away. And the most ludicrous thing is, even if you possess a private car, it is more likely to be useless, for parking lots are always crowded, which means more time is to be wasted. One good news for her is that the bus system and subway system in Beijing are well developed and more convenient, and an even more delight one is that she won't have to bear that odor of bromhidrosis owing to burning weather as she once experienced in buses of Guangzhou.

What she will definitely love is the cultural ethos of the city. Beijing has a history probably longer than any other big city in China. To visit all historical landscapes in Beijing, she will need at least three years, no kidding! Beijing has the most famous and excellent universities, the largest libraries, the richest museums, yet most important of all, her best friend! Amazingly, in this aged city, people are sometimes more international. Joey is especially fond of art, and Beijing is the right place for her, which is much frequented for concerts of international singers or other musicians, and she will even be able to attend CuiJian's private concert in a coffee shop on a rainy autumn weekend.

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27. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

We live in a world in which every one wants to be successful. Nothing is wrong about the desire to be No. 1, and there is no doubt that being successful is enjoyable. There really is something wrong, nevertheless, to think we could be finally successful by only doing things that we do enjoy doing. People often are amazed by the glorious appearance of a skyscraper, at the same time, they should be conscious of the fact that the skyscraper had taken a long time to construct, maybe much longer time to design, and possibly even several workers' lives during the constructing process!

We may categorize things into two groups, the enjoyable and the unenjoyable; at the same time, another category can be made: the necessary and the unnecessary. The point is, things that are necessary are not always enjoyable and things that are enjoyable sometimes may be unnecessary. Doing things that are necessary rather than those that are merely enjoyable is not only helpful but it might also be indispensable for individual success. We all admire even envy those who now have attained great achievements, such those famous stars as, Jacky Chen, Jet Li, for example. We should, however, be aware of the exorbitant prices they have paid for their present glories. Jacky Chen once told that when he was still a teenager, he and his partners were required to practice more than 12 hours a day; and it was said that Jet Li was sent to be an apprentice when he was hardly four years old! Apparently, those seemingly cruel hardships had turned out to be the best gifts years later. But for yesterday's struggle, today's glories could not exist.

Things that are both enjoyable and necessary or both unenjoyable and unnecessary seldom exist. We may dislike some curriculums in university, such as mathematics or history, but they are necessary; we may prefer leisure times to work days, but the latter are necessary. The list will go on and may be an endless one. Pursuing a successful life is nothing more than making wise decisions, by “wise” we mean the choice of doing the necessary first.

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33. You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy?

It seems not a difficult decision for me. But if I was given the gift of money in different time, I would have different answers.

If I was given the money when I was in my high school, I will buy a ticket to a concert. I had been longing for attending concerts of famous artists to enjoy those transcendent pieces such as saxophone of Kenny G., rock and roll of Cuijian, and romantic songs of Luo Dayou. Unfortunately I just was not able to afford those exorbitant prices. The money I was given should be better if enough for several tickets, for that means I could take along my best friends, whose situations were much similar to mine.

If I was given the money when I was in the university, I will buy a fine piece of jewelry, and give it to my girl friend as a casual present, for we might enjoy a certain concert, but hardly could it be permanently impressive. Memories are always not reliable. We tend to simply forget any thing – at least memories are somewhat distorted – if time past long enough. But if I bought my girl friend a piece of jewelry, not costly though it might be, it would be a perfect reminder, being never changed.

If I was given the money recently, it would only make me feel funny. I don't want to go to concerts anymore, because I became more and more reluctant to present in crowd public places, besides I have bought a super Hi-Fi which always brings me identical pleasure. And I don't want to buy any jewelry, for it is meaningless for a man who is now solitary. Nevertheless, if I was forced to accept some money as a gift – it hardly happens – I might buy some books, after all, reading always makes me relaxed and amazed.

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40. The expression "Never, never give up" means to keep trying and never stop working for your goals. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Near in the end of the Second World War, Churchill delivered his famous and the shortest speech: Never, Never Give Up. British as well as people in many other countries were tremendously encouraged, and finally went through the hardest period in human history.

To never give up, represents a strong and positive attitude of the life. Some people are readily to quit when they feel they cannot endure the difficulties of some work or they think they cannot find a way to finish the required task. Such people usually become upset and disappointed of failure and lose their self-confidence, although they virtually can do every thing well. In case of acquiring second language, most people failed simply because they had given up. Acquiring second language might be the easiest task among diverse academic curriculums, because one can be successful only by plain repetition, though it is pains-taking and time-consuming.

Never give up. Such strong belief often gives us the second chance. The fact that we failed somewhere does not mean we are going to fail every where, and especially it does not necessarily mean that we are deprived of opportunities to win there. There probably even always is a second chance. Many successful people did fail before. Yu MinHong, the founder of New Oriental School, was able to study in Peking University only after three years' attempts. He wasn't reckoned as successful after graduation, among many signs is the fact that almost all his classmates went abroad while he was each and every time refused by officials in visa-granting office for unexplained reasons. Yet he never gives up, which makes his later success inevitable.

Psychology teaches us that we do get what we want, if we know exactly what we want and want the right thing. First of all, we must make sure that our clearly defined goals are achievable, and that our carefully designed means are practicable. A superficial claim like I wanna be a millionaire! brings nothing. And an unrealistic goal like inventing a perpetual motion machine is absolutely meaningless. But if we want to acquire a second language, it is either realistic or meaningful. By careful planning, and relevant persistence we have no reason to fail. And numerous examples tell us that even if the methods are problematic, many still finally attain great achievements. Therefore, in most cases, 'Never, never give up' is really something that we should always bear in mind.

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42. What is a very important skill a person should learn in order to be successful in the world today? Choose one skill and use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

People succeed not merely because they have one or more certain skills. However, if I have to choose one skill which is supposed to be useful to success, I think it should be the ability to convince or persuade others.

By convincing or persuading we get what we want from others. When we were children, we always managed to persuade our parents to buy us sugar candies; when we were in the high school, we had to persuade our classmates to play with us; when we applied for a job after graduation, we had better be able to successfully convince the employer that we are qualified employees. Besides, some day, we will all have to convince a person whom we love that we are in deed outstanding husbands or excellent wives.

By convincing or persuading we become more and more sturdy and powerful. Nobody is capable of doing every thing perfect. By persuading others to cooperate with us, we can achieve much more than we could only by ourselves. Mr. Yu Min Hong, president of New Oriental School, had successful convincing his alumni including Mr. Wang Qiang and Mr. Xu XiaoPing to strive after an ideal – to build a most influential private university in China, and today, they have been so close. Mr. Yu, while answering a journalist, said that he once persuaded Chinese students to go abroad, his current work is to convince those students to return to their homeland with their enhanced intelligences.

Ironically, it is ourselves who need us to persuade and convince most. We by nature are weak, yet have to be stronger to face up to tough surroundings. All too often we need encouraging. Amazingly, it is ourselves who can in deed encourage. When we are in trouble, we need convince ourselves not to give up, when we are in plain sailing, we need persuade ourselves no to be negligent. By convincing ourselves, we become more and more independent, and more and more robust, both of which are characteristics essential to success.

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43. Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Among various motives that spur people to perform dangerous activities are money, pleasure, and ironically, nescience.

Perhaps the most direct drive might come from money, which every one would need in this world. People have enough wit to balance their certain choices, especially when they face with danger and money. Those stunt men or women in Hollywood movies, photographers who shoot sharks or crocodiles, or those who participate in stock car racing, are always sophisticated enough to calculate. If they are willing to take the risk, they must have evaluated well. They know exactly the rule: the more risks they take, the more they might get.

There also is another kind of people in this world. Money is of almost no importance to them. They perform dangerous activities just for their own pleasure. Perhaps the most appropriate example is sports. Actually every kind of sports is dangerous, and even can be deadly. Danger always exists, but people tend to simply ignore it. Take parachuting for example, who can refuse the fascination of flying in the sky like a bird? On the other hand, it seems that danger itself makes the activity so fascinating. To conquer is the very nature of human being from the very beginning. Pheidippides said seconds before dropping dead two thousand years ago, "Rejoice, we conquer!" And it seems perfectly logical for some people that celebration follows conquer.

Ironically, sometimes blind brave comes out of nescience. Sometimes people simply don't know the activity is hazardous or how perilous it exactly is. It can be exemplified by a recent incident. Five students (among them three are master degree) lost their lives in a mountaineering expedition. Reporters say those students didn't make an adequate preparation before expedition, which made the tragedy ineluctable. People always praise alpinists with words such as strong, brave, courageous, but in this case none of these words is appropriate. Those young students traded their springtime with blind brave, and died in vain.

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69. If you could study a subject that you have never had the opportunity to study, what would you choose? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details.

Students graduating from colleges today are not fully prepared to deal with the "real world." It is my belief that college students need to be taught more skills and information to enable them to meet the challenges that face everyone in daily life. The areas in which student need training are playing the credit game, planning their personal financial strategy, and consumer awareness.

Learning how to obtain and use credit is probably the most valuable knowledge a young person can have. Credit is a dangerous tool that can be of tremendous help if it is handled with caution. Having credit can enable people to obtain material necessities before they have the money to purchase them outright. But unfortunately, many, many young people get carried away with their handy plastic credit cards and awake one day to find they are in serious financial debt. Learning how to use credit properly can be a very difficult and painful lesson indeed.

Of equal importance is learning how to plan a personal budget. People have to know how to control money, otherwise, it can control them. Students should leave college knowing how to allocate their money for living expenses, insurance, savings, and so forth in order to avoid the "Oh, no! I'm flat broke and I don't get paid again for two weeks!" anxiety syndrome.

Along with learning about credit and personal financial planning, graduating college students should be trained as consumers. The consumer market today is flooded with a variety of products and services of varying quality and prices. A young person entering the "real world" is suddenly faced with difficult decisions about which product to buy or whose services to engage. He is usually unaware of such things as return policies, guarantees, or repair procedures, information of this sort is vital knowledge to everyday living.

For a newly graduated college student, the "real world" can be a scary place to be when he or she is faced with such issues as handling credit, planning a budget, or knowing what to look for, when making a purchase and whom to purchase it from. Entering this "real world" could be made less painful if persons were educated in dealing with these areas of daily life. What better place to accomplish this than in college?

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77. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Boys and girls should attend separate schools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

In my country, China, people live in a culture where young boys and girls should never say love to each other. Moreover, it is absolutely a shame that such affairs happen in campus. To avoid alleged shames, some people assert that boys and girls should attend separate schools.

The point is, is there anything wrong when a little boy says 'I love you' to a little girl? Gone are the days when 'love' was a forbidden word in our culture, it has now, nevertheless, actually quite different connotations from that of the word in western society. People in Hollywood movies often say 'I love you' to almost every one naturally, readily and easily, including friends, family members, partners in work, even an unknown taxi driver! But in China, not surprisingly, many people have never said 'I love you' to their parents, even seldom to their mates or children. 'Love', in Chinese word, does today carry subtle connotations related to immoral affairs. It seems not a question of is there anything wrong, but a question of there must be something wrong if a teenager dares to say anything about 'love!'

Even if there must be something wrong when a teenager falls into love, is it something that so appalling even evil that we adults have to prevent or even fight? Did we ever discover any prudent evidence which clearly prove it really is something bad? Hardly. It is in fact quite natural that a little boy admires a beautiful girl or a little girl feels a smart boy appealing. And such emotions do not harm anything. Alleged 'premature love' simply is a nonexistent concept invented by ignorance. Girls and boys actually do not even know what love is! Perhaps they merely imitate behaviors of adults around them. What we adults should do is not to make them believe 'love' is evil, but is to teach them what true love really means. Regrettably, those adults never realize that they actually fail to assume their responsibility, but presumptuously believe they are capable of eliminating love among boys and girls by separating them into different school. It will never work.

Separate school once was an evil sign of discrimination of women, but today reemerges to prevent 'love affairs' among teenagers – a high school in Beijing recently announced that it has already separated girls from boys into different classes. I can hardly imagine any benefit that such a scheme could produce except for further distortions of teenagers' natures.

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78. Is it more important to be able to work with a group of people on a team or to work independently? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

While some people emphasize great importance of cooperation, others argue that the significance of individual competition should not be rejected or neglected. To examine whether one is more important than the other, we have to look carefully into further details.

There are circumstances where the ability to work with group is much more important than that to work independently. More often than not, in most fields, a team can achieve much more extensive scope than an individual can, because one has less strength than many. In team-played sports, such as foot-ball, basket-ball; volley-ball etc., teamwork is often highly valued and is of essence. To get a goal or make a point, team members have to cooperate with each other, nobody could achieve without other’s help. Although individual competence is a must, too much accent on his personal ability will lead him even the whole team to a disaster.

On the other hand, there also are inverse circumstances. In vital decision making, for example, one have to make a final choice with his own judgment. Let’s consider the same situation mentioned above, on the very same sports ground, each opposite team has only one and should have only one coach, who must work independently to make important decisions, including which player should be replaced, which player should present on what kind of special circumstances, and so many other critical choices. The coach, like the commanders in the war, stands on a position where he has to be competitive, and his only rival is the coach of the other side. Even if he at the same time has to consult with others, it is him who takes the final step, and he essentially has no choice but to have an excellent ability to work independently.

There seldom exists a circumstance where cooperation and competition do not coexist. The point is that emphasis on cooperation doesn’t mean competition should be neglected or rejected, and vice versa. Therefore, it hasn't gone too far to say that both the ability of working with group and that of working independently are equally important.

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103. In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic (for example, honesty, intelligence, a sense of humor) that a person can have to be successful in life? When you write your answer, you are not limited to the examples listed in the question.

To be successful in life, one needs the ability to think critically. By critical thinking, one is capable of analyzing insightfully, concentrating on the right target, thereby making a wise decision.

Thinking critically can make one analyze problems insightfully. We live in a world where controversial issues are often simply taken for granted. For example, most people are reluctant to think carefully about issues like whether boys and girls should take separate classes. Recently a high school in Beijing announced that their students from then on take separate classes. Many parents support such ridiculous decision without careful consideration. They are poor thinkers. Critical thinking is but to ask some simple yet essential questions, which always brings amazing outcomes. Is such a scheme capable of eliminating underage sexual behaviors among adolescents? Does such a scheme guarantee boys and girls against negative effects? The question left unanswered, but the decision had been made.

Thinking critically can help one concentrate on right targets. We all have only and exactly 24 hours a day, but we often have mountainous work to do in hands, along with which many personal affairs seem equally urgent. Concentrating on right targets is probably the only way to overcome such dilemmas. For example, ETS has recently announced that GRE examination will be transformed back to paper based test. Grumbles are all around, and complains are posted almost every BBS on the internet. But if students think critically, however, they will find out the simple fact that even if ETS had made an awkward decision, they should concentrate on the right target – preparing test as prudently as possible, and at the same time, grumbling never helps.

Only by thinking critically can one make decisions wise and prudent. Sound decision making is essential to success. Decisions such as which movie theater we should go tonight are simple enough to make by tossing a coin, but decisions such as which university or which major we should choose are complicated enough so that we need careful comparisons. A comparison sheet will help a lot, simply by listing several relevant questions such as Am I really interested in this major?, or Are there more opportunities in the city where the university locates? By analyzing insightfully and concentrating on the right targets, wise decisions are not hard to reach at all.

Therefore, among various characteristics that may contribute to one's success in life, being capable of thinking critically is probably the most important.

[402 Words]

104. It is generally agreed that society benefits from the work of its members. Compare the contributions of artists to society with the contributions of scientists to society. Which type of contribution do you think is valued more by your society? Give specific reasons to support your answer.

Art and science are essentially a strange coupling. More often than not, they are considered as divergent rather than consistent with each other. The Artist employs image and metaphor; the scientist uses number and equation. By casual juxtaposition, these two fields seem to have little in common: There are few if any references to art in any standard textbook of science; art historians rarely interpret an artist's work in light of the conceptual framework of science. Despite what appear to be irreconcilable differences, however, they do have at least one thing in common --- both of them have significant contribution to the society, either through probably distinctive way.

The development of science and technology has always accompanied the progress of the society. The invention of the steam engine brought a new era of thrift of world economy; the employment electricity has multiplied the productivity and virtually reproduced limited resources on the Earth; the innovation of computer technologies has made the Earth a little village and connected distant countries as a single market. While sometimes the progress of science and technology, for example, technology of human cloning, cause troubles or originate dilemmas, it seems always undeniable that in a broad sense, the development of science has provided people a much higher standard of living than that of their counterparts in any phrase of the history. 

Science has been developed by continuous modification, and at the same time always reflects the progress of the society. Visualization and fascination have been the major power of any form of art. For example, any religion in this world cannot exist without music, which helps realize the faith of the church to an astonishing extent. Each and every revolution on this earth was accompanied by numerous corresponding art productions, because the artists sense the circumstances, and then reflect their sensations with sophisticated techniques in their production, which can be easily perceived by the public through powerful empathy. Nobody could evaluate art with correct or not standard, needless to say the public, they simply feel it is good or not, therefore art has always had magic influence on the public, and society in general.

However, it’s been said that there is no science without fancy and no art without facts. Science fictions have long been the functioning as a major vehicle for the public dissemination of science; scientists share parallel view of space, time and light etc. with artists. Not only are art and science interrelated with each other but they also contribute to each other in various way. Therefore, it is hard to compare the contributions of art and science, it is simply partial to say that either one contributes more to the society than another does.

[451 Words]

119. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People behave differently when they wear different clothes. Do you agree that different clothes influence the way people behave? Use specific examples to support your answer.

It seems that people do sometimes behave differently when they wear different clothes. For example, a well-dressed man seldom spits at random, a woman in glorious dresses is more likely to talk in a gentle tone, and a clean dressed child seems quiet than others. It might be explained that different dresses give people different self-images, and most people subconsciously behave according to their own self-images. Equally sensible is another factor, that is, all too often people regard a person differently according to her dresses. Therefore, people might behave differently when they wear different clothes because they are treated differently.

Also, appropriate dresses do help a lot in certain circumstances. It is not difficult to imagine that a doctor with a casual suit instead of his formal one will certainly make her patients nervous, for doctors in working hours are always supposed to be in white suits. An applicant in her first interview will be naturally accompanied with great mental tension. If she was well-dressed, by “well” we do not mean expensively or gloriously, we mean “neatly”, she would appear more self-confident and or even be self-confident in deed. 

Yet merely a suit itself can contribute little. In fact, people’s behaviors inevitably reflect their very nature. A poor gentleman dressed in rags is still a gentleman. He knows the essential principles that a civilized individual must observe, he knows fundamental moral disciplines which an educated individual must follow. A parvenu on the other hand, will finally find out the fact that his exorbitantly dear dresses is of no use to make him a gentleman, and he even eventually fail to make him look like a gentleman. Maybe those are right who said it takes at least three generations to cultivate a gentleman.

In a word, I do not believe that clothes can essentially make people different, even though they might sometimes seemingly do.

[301 Words]

133. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A person's childhood years (the time from birth to twelve years of age) are the most important years of a person's life. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

It is generally accepted that a person's childhood years are very important years of a person's life, but it is hardly appropriate to say those years are the most important.

We do not reject the importance of childhood years. Actually it is rather important for later part of a person's life. Our lives, to a large extent are subject to our recognition of our surroundings. Our world views have been structured from very early stage of our childhood, mainly through our daily experiences. Every one therefore actually has his/her own world different from those of others, because even though we all live in a single world, each and every one of us in fact live in distinctive worlds which are determined by distinctive perceptions that vary widely from individual to individual. Hence, we should not be surprised by the extent to which a person's life is influenced by one's childhood.

Childhood, however, is only part of one's life, and it is merely one of several determinatives that shape one's later life. Among various determinatives is one's learning ability. Human beings are superior to any other animals on the Earth simply because of their vigorous ability to learn. Psychology teaches us that training and self-training can dramatically alter our characteristics and even the ability to learn itself, which may eventually alter our lives. Furthermore, learning is a life long process, which means every part of one's life could be an essential crucial period, and could play an indispensable role in one's life. Examples are available every where. Einstein was taken for an idiot by his teacher when he was a child. Even though he knew exactly that doesn't necessarily mean he was really an idiot, the awkward altitude of his stupid teacher absolutely made Einstein's childhood an awful one. Nevertheless, Einstein did lead a wonderful life.

Most parents nowadays seem to believe the statement that childhood is the most important phase of one's life, and therefore often force their children to learn those alleged essential skills for the sake of the future. The fact is, such behavior is rather presumptuous, because there still are many other important factors that affect one's life.

[360 Words]

135. Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is better?

While in most present day high schools it is controversial that whether students should wear uniforms, most elementary schools have adopted uniform policy with wide support. Uniforms serve students benefits in several ways. First of all, uniforms act as social equalizers. Children often feel less social pressure when everyone in the school dresses the same way. Students who can not be fashionable due to limited family finances are made to feel more comfortable among their peers. Moreover, the wearing of uniforms affects students’ perceptions of school climate. Students are made to feel as if they are a part of a team by wearing a uniform. School climate is improved considerably because kids perceive that they fit in because they look like everybody else. In addition, school uniforms would assist students and parents in other ways. Students would learn to appreciate the elimination of so many choices when getting dressed for a school day. Students would not be tardy for school as often because of the indecision about what to wear in the mornings.

However, when the issue comes to high school situation, further details should be carefully examined. Students in high schools are in a much different situation from students in elementary schools or middle schools. High school students are sometimes called young adults, by which people are expecting their maturity, at least to some extent.  It’s moderate that schools are expected to operate a well-disciplined, structured environment that is conducive to learning. But uniform is not the right answer to various difficulties and problems that the high school education is confronting. For example, while proponents address the safety that uniform policy would bring, opponents are aware of the fact that campus violence would not be reduced because of uniforms. Having grown up already, most students no longer feel that uniforms help them become a part of the school. Furthermore, Uniforms may not save parents as much money as many people would like to believe. Uniforms do not eliminate the need for clothing needed for outside school. Students many times wear their school clothing the rest of the day once they are home from school. Sneakers, jackets, boots, casual clothing, and more will still be needed. What may first appear to be economical, may not in reality, be accurate.

It has been said that a controversy can not exist without a fundamental dispute, and it seems that the answer to the school uniform debate is not a simple yes or no answer. There is no clear consensus as to the benefits of school uniforms. However, as to high schools, uniform policy will eventually be adapted or reconsidered as many other regulations which have already eliminated including “Boys’ hair should not touch collar”, or “Girls’ skirts must be longer than knees.”

[460 Words]

139. What do you consider to be the most important room in a house? Why is this room more important to you than any other room?

Whereas others might feel ridiculous, I reckon the bathroom as the most important room in my house, even though other rooms such as reading room or sitting room are probably equally important.

First of all, the bathroom is the most important because it is highly visible to guests. We may be able to close off the bedroom to indicate that the room is "off-limits," but we cannot deny our visitors access to the bathroom. The most overlooked in general though it might be, the bathroom is a room demands attention as much as impossible. For example, it is absolutely an ugly design if the toilet is placed directly opposite the door, all too often the embarrassment happens when the door is accidentally unlocked. And it is the host to be blame if the bathroom is dirty, smelly, or even scattered about in a mess.

The bathroom is very important because every family member will inevitably use that room, in which the most important part of family sanitations is located. Personal health of family member is no doubt superior to any other concerns. It should be spacious, bright, tidy, and above all, hygienic, and deserve frequent cleaning – in fact, the room we cannot clean too much, specifically, the toilet seat. Moreover, more than one bathroom are virtually needed, if possible. It is not only embarrass or inconvenient but also absurd and irritating if someone knocks the door when we are using the lavatory.

Another reason I put special emphasis upon bathroom came from my experiences. According to my conception, bathroom is not only for toileting, washing, and showering, but for reading as well. Don't be surprise, I have a very spacious and bright bathroom in my house, in which, an arm away from the stool, there is a small bookshelf, a little bit highly located on the wall for preventing books and newspapers from getting wet. I already discovered that I have to spend more than 30 minutes a day in the bathroom, and that moment is so ideally quiet that helps concentrating. Believe it or not, I learnt a computer programming language –Delphi – while I was sitting on the stool!

[360 Words]

170. Groups or organizations are an important part of some people's lives. Why are groups or organizations important to people?

It was said that human beings are social animals. Some might argue human beings should be not called animals, but it’s true that human beings are social. Therefore, it’s of no surprise that groups or organizations are almost an indispensable part of most people’s lives.

Most people are afraid of being alone, and for them, being with others is one of the most natural needs. Being a member of a group is comfortable. If an individual has gone so far as to being considered isolated, rumors arise. Others might ponder: what is the matter with that solitary individual? No one would like to be wondered in that way. Being a member of a group is also interesting. Every one has his own special means to pursue of happiness, for example, he might be keen on music concerts, or be fond of stamps collecting. By join a special interest group on his pet topic, he can easily find many people whose interests are similar to his, and can share his pleasure with those who can really appreciate it in proper way.

Many people find group or organizations are essential because they know a simple and never-changed fact that every single individuals on this Earth has only limited resources. Groups or organizations are always the best choice for an individual to emancipate himself from limitation. By joining a group, an individual is able share his limited resource with others, and share others’ resources in turn, therefore is virtually able to reach a much larger amount of resources. The most popular resource-sharing activities exist in the Internet. There are numerous BBS on almost every particular topic on various websites, which always makes copious valuable materials readily reachable. No matter what a person is interested in, for example, music, movie, books, or whatever, he will find a right group to join on the internet.

In fact, any individual in a sense exists in a certain group: either he is a member of some groups, or he is a leader of a group. Either way, the group is critical to him. He cannot achieve greatness solely by himself, regardless of his status in the group; he needs others, for help, for support, and many other things, since nobody but God, should he be alive, is entirely independent and omnipotent.

[384 Words]

175. Some students like classes where teachers lecture (do all of the talking) in class. Other students prefer classes where the students do some of the talking. Which type of class do you prefer? Give specific reasons and details to support your choice.

There basically two types of classes in universities, classes where teachers lecture and that where the students do some of the talking. Both teaching and learning approaches are valuable and have relative merits.

Classes that are dominated by teachers’ lectures may benefits students in several ways. First of all, lectures can communicate the intrinsic interest of the subject matter. The speaker can convey personal enthusiasm in a way that no book or other media can. Enthusiasm stimulates interest, and interested, stimulated people tend to learn more. Moreover, lectures in university settings can provide students with role models of scholars in action. The professor's way of approaching knowledge can be demonstrated for students to emulate. Furthermore, lectures can organize material in a special way. They may provide a faster, simpler method of presenting information to an audience with its own special needs. Lectures are particularly useful for students who read poorly or who are unable to organize print material.

On the other hand, lecture approaches also have some relevant weaknesses. For example, the lecture often puts students in a passive rather than an active role. As is often the case, passivity can hinder learning. At the same time, most lectures assume that all students are learning at the same pace and at the same level of understanding, which is hardly ever true. Especially, Lectures place the burden of organizing and synthesizing content solely on the lecturer. They are not well suited to higher levels of learning such as application, analysis, and synthesis. Lectures require an effective speaker who can vary tone, pitch, and pace of delivery. Lecturers must be verbally fluent, a skill that is not stressed nor learned in many PhD programs and is, in general, distributed unevenly among people. Lectures are therefore sometimes not well suited to complex, detailed, or abstract material.

In summary, Lecturing is probably the oldest teaching method and remains the most common form of instruction, despite the fact that some research has shown that lecturing is ineffective, especially if not combined with some alternative style of teaching. In fact, Lecturing is very appropriate for some goals and very inappropriate for others. And at the same time, the counterpart --- the approach that allows students to participate discussions is equally non-universal.  Therefore, I can hardly simply say that I prefer either approach, I think the choice should depend on circumstances including various influents such as the subject that is to learn, the depth that needs to explore, the quality that the lecturer or the discussing group have.

[421 Words]

180. Movies are popular all over the world. Explain why movies are so popular. Use specific reasons and example to support your answer.

One of the most popular pastimes today is movie-going. With what started as moving-picture shows has dramatically developed into an industry that spends millions upon millions of dollars while still turning a gigantic profit.

Movies are so popular because they are the most fascinating and easiest escape means from increasing pressure, which comes from family, school, work, society, and so many other directions. Combined with acoustic and visual effect, movies are definitely more appealing for audiences who have exhausted themselves in the real world than are those printed novels. It must have been much easier to see a movie than to read a novel, since all the audience should do is simple to sit there in a soft chair in the dark about 150 minutes. Captured, involved, the audience in a movie theater will forget everything but the story in action on the screen.

Movies have magic power to let people immerse themselves in fiction. The point is that almost everyone long for the power of snapping his fingers and seeing his wishes and dreams instantly granted. Everyone long for eternity of love, many idealize about it but now in the theater it’s time to ‘feel’ it. Every move the character makes, every breath the character takes, all seem to happen around, and clearly sensible. On the screen, no entire life needed, movies illustrate all aspects of love we can imagine: all aspects of love, from the mushy warm and fuzzy feelings we feel with our children and companion animals, to platonic love we have with friends and acquaintances, to the romantic soul-mate kind of love, to the agape kind of unconditional love, it’s the full gamut. Dramas are created in order for us to play out different sides of ourselves.

In short, movies are so popular because many can escape into the world of fantasy and live vicariously through the characters and in doing so, work out different feelings and emotions that they may not have the opportunity to do in their ‘normal’ lives.

[335 Words]

181. In your country, is there more need for land to be left in its natural condition or is there more need for land to be developed for housing and industry?

With a population accounting nearly for one quarter of the world population, my country, China, has been suffering from serious loss of arable land, which now hardly accounts for 7% of overall arable land of the world. Yet some people simply did not realize that land loss is so crucial that we one day might incapable of averting that catastrophe if we now close our eyes to it.

Industrial development without careful consideration regarding land preservation has caused problems more serious than people can ever imagine. Take the great Sanxia dam for example, which will be put into operation next year. While the country benefits from gargantuan potential of electricity generation, we have to face up to various environmental conservation issues concerning geological and ecological environment along both river sides and whole upper reaches. The professional designers of the great dam now have to work out a practical way to prevent and remedy pollution effectively, which has already been the focus of world attention.

After the entrance of the WTO, industry development is more and more important for our country, yet we should be careful about the pollution which is inevitably caused by industry. Recent surveys have shown that refuse treatment engineering is not well financed in China, while attentions are drawn to those much more obvious achievements. Industrial pollution accidents occur far more frequently in our still developing country than in other more advanced countries. Urban population also produce astoundingly large amount of pollution. Today the alleged white pollution is creeping all over the country – people throw plastic bags, films everywhere, never feeling anything wrong.

We no doubt need land either for natural condition or for industry, and it seems we need more if possible. Nevertheless, we live in a world where everything has its cost, and some day in the future, I believe, we will inescapably pay for what we have ignored.

[314 Words]