1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. ~a,'
你是否同意或不同意以下声明?家长是最好的老师。使用具体原因和例子来支持你的答案。 ON!G{=7
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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. 4^9_E&Fa
显然,我们最早的老师,在大多数情况下,我们的生活是我们的父母,他们是最普遍的发展和子女教育工作。然而,也不是所有家长好老师,也不是那些好父母最好的老师。 eT
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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. J~`%Nj
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首先,并非所有家长都好老师。作为正常人,一些家长或多或少有坏习惯。尽管父母几乎本能地致力于培养他们的后代,其结果可能会变成失望而归,往往所有儿童都能自觉或不自觉从他们的父母复制每一件事。另一个家长缺乏的是,大部分家长对教育的共同感觉,缺乏教师。我们常常看到一些父母往往追求,迫使其子女在预先安排的发展方向,他们所珍惜的,但未能梦想。具有讽刺意味的,如果子女没有遵循指示,孩子就被视为不听话或据称反叛。事实上,这是家长,而不是他们的孩子, OvG |=
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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. )f&]H}
此外,一些家长有资格好老师,但不是所有这些都是最好的。当他们在初步学校的,这并不奇怪,父母是孩子的教学,几乎每一个问题甚至比在学校专业教师做得更好。但情况不会持续太久。我们在那里知识的增多,同时积累了生活的世界变得越来越专业化。因此,是在某一领域的专业今日需时较长的时间比以往任何时候。家长们能在所有领域的专业,虽然他们可能在一个或多个领域的专家。明智的家长往往释放,而不是他们的孩子负责尽早。他们都明白了家庭以外的可能性。 _
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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. glIIJ5d|,
家长仍可以帮助他们的孩子更比好老师。大部分地区的儿童教育几乎超出教师达到。这是家长的补充。心理学研究告诉我们,父母的爱,有时有惊人的神奇力量给子女。爱因斯坦的母亲和阿甘正传的母亲都是很好的例子。另一方面,家长可以做他们的孩子受到伤害比也差的教师。那些其父母已离婚儿童的性质往往严重扭曲。总之,这是十分肤浅的简单地说,家长是最好的老师。 8Y'"=!3
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2. 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? W4Q]<<6&
有人说,“并不是所有的教训是在书本中。”比较和对比中取得的经验与知识,从书本上获得的经验。在您看来,这是更重要的来源?为什么? =_3qUcOP
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Both experiences and books are very essential resources, and both of them have relevant merits. W}3vY]
双方的经验和书籍是非常重要的资源,他们都有相关的优点。 oPZ4}>uV
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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. (Ad!hyE(
经验是最直接的资源的时候都完备。几乎我们每个基本技能来自经验,如散步,阐明,阅读甚至思维。如果没有经验,有些天生的能力,甚至可能会丧失。研究表明,婴儿谁是动物抢劫到12年,森林失去了说话的能力,在人类语言。此外,人们普遍认为,每一个技术发展的经验,这就是为什么人们总是说熟能生巧。 4+bsG6i
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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. Fowh3go
书是有价值的当知识超出了我们的经验范围。或许最明显的例子是那些流利的作家。他们写远远超过任何个人的经历的各种故事,其中的范围中。为例乔伊斯卡罗尔欧茨,她已经惊人的生产力,积累了不到20年的近30冠军,其中包括小说,短篇故事和诗歌,戏剧和文学批评的集合。虽然其中一些看起来是来自她自己的直接观察,她的梦想,她的恐惧,更是清楚地从别人的经验。她虚构的世界仍然惊人地类似,真正的一个反映在报纸,电视新闻和访谈节目,和我们时代的流行杂志。
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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. pQ8+T|0x
然而,无论经验或书籍,可以给我们错误的信息。我们直接观察总是受到我们的信仰,希望,恐惧,期望和我们的偏见,这可能使意见不可靠。不同的人在观察他们的权力,和我们的意见的可靠性并不比我们的记忆,作为我们知道是有欺骗性的可靠性。信息印在文件或者有时是不可靠的,它可能是错体,甚至故意歪曲。举例来说,如马克思主义,资本主义,犹太复国主义的定义,完全在牛津学习的英语词典不同的原版和俄文版的制裁。 KR0
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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. :"]ei@
最后,这两个来源是重要的。有时,一个更重要的是比具体情况为根据其他。例如,当我们做一个关于某一议题的一般性调查,我们可能更喜欢在图书馆丰富的参考资料。另一方面,如果我们想了解更多的具体细节,我们有更好的参考经验,如精心设计的实验结果。 k=_@1b-
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3. How do movies or television influence people's behavior? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer. :B~
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如何将电影或电视影响人们的行为?使用原因和具体的例子来支持你的答案。 nrBitu,
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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. W^f#xrq>
在这样的电影或电视现代传媒已经在我们的日常生活产生的影响,和整个社会,是不可否认的。毫无疑问,它将成为甚至作为大众传媒的范围更大的继续增长,随着相关技术越来越先进,因此迷人,几乎没有人能够逃脱。已经,可以看到西方电影如何行使对青少年一代的影响:他们长大长头发,无论其性别,通常,其中一部分黄金染色,他们穿在每一个季节,通常是膝盖的牛仔裤故意褴褛,男孩的耳环吊坠或其他多喜欢和女孩的万宝路,怪诞的粗语言激烈。 ?f&I"\y
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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? Z
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大众媒体的公众影响力的主要手段,是创造了社会讨论的议题。大众媒体提供人(消费者)问题讨论和思考。泰坦尼克号带来了其迷人的赞美和不朽的爱全世界一片哗然,总理颜色和摇尾狗符合有关的权利和对美国总统职责的全国性辩论。如太阳泪和其他许多在西线无战事反战电影已经提出的问题是任何战争的真正的正义,还是很值得,个人作出的牺牲,他的国家,同时忽略他的家人或他的个人价值? ZbUf|#GTB
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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. P_U-R%f
大众媒体也影响我们对什么是重要的理解,什么是不重要的(知道)。 “重要”的问题,必须对报纸的(/在一个电视节目的开始)第一页找到。 “不重大”的故事是那些不被告知所有的。在“不太重要”的故事可能很短,在过去的页面隐藏。事实上,目前包括censorships分发所有大众媒体,互联网等手段。由prearranging公共问题,大众传播媒体对我们的决定。即使是批判性思维在任何社会中的个人,他们是明确的少数人的批判性思维的言行缺乏技能整体上市,因此,他们往往被媒体领导。 TZg7BLfy
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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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4. 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. 5,C,q%2
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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. wG
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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." tS$Ne7yk e
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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. MXb(Z9)]kw
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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. -bwl~3ZTi
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5. 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. ;Peyo1
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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. y.zQ `
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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. DI_mF#5q
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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. Fr~xN!
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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. Ot?rsr
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6. 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. _PIk,!<
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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. ;>~iCFk]?
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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. R`c5-0A
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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. sdb#K?l
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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. rZLMYM
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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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7. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. ^#nAS2w7U
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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. Pu=YQ
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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. -{dwLl_
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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! Y9ru~&/o$
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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. CGQ`i
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8. 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. xT%CY(:9X
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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. -0Ps.B
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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. ]'hz+V31%
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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. Hd
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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. W_%Dg]l
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9. 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. ,#nyEE
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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! *5u0`k
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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. A2..gs/
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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. l4RZ!K*X_"
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10. 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? W|4:3c4
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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. F P3{Rp
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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. 1N,</<"
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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. n86LU Sj5
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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. B 1jeIk,
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11. 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. 7H.3.j(L
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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. {.eo?dQ
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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. R"W5R-
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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. S#kYPe
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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. z^vfha
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12. 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. P?p]sLrP
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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. G 9|2
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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. %_."JT$v{
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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. yIhPB8QL
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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. `JO>g=,4
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13. Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. To}eJ$8*5
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Among various motives that spur people to perform dangerous activities are money, pleasure, and ironically, nescience. d(|q&b:
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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. +j{(NwsX
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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. %cLS*=MO
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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. 7mq&]4-G
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14. 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. +l^tT&s;f
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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. 4^uSW&`;/
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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. g:z<CSIq/
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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. 8'u9R~})
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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. +9w[/n ^,G
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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? k?Z:=.YW
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15. 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. S[1<Qrv]
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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. R3~,&ab
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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!' f^FFn3
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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. {1)A"lQu
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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. xj3qOx$
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16. 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.
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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. A`n>9|R
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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. &
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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. C^L+R7
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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. XOvJlaY)'.
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17. 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. 8K,X3a9
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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. $aV62uNf
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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. gXxi; g
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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. o{PG&
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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. o701RG~)
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Therefore, among various characteristics that may contribute to one's success in life, being capable of thinking critically is probably the most important. /6')B !&
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18. 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. #_DpiiS,.Q
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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. uj8saNu
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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. &W45.2
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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. C~ &E7w