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The Force of HabitsHabits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. The more we do a thing, the more we tend to like doing it; and if we do not continue to do it, we feel uncomfortable. This is called the force of habits, and the force of habits should be fought against.This applies even to such good things as work or rest. Some people form a bad habit of working too much, and others of idling too much. Bad habits, once formed, are difficult to get rid of.The wise man always remembers to check any bad habit. He warns himself “I am now becoming idle” or “I like too many sweets” or “I smoke too much”. And then adds, “I will get myself out of this bad habit at once.” The Way to Achieve SuccessMany people say that they owe much of it to the cultivation of certain good habits in early life. In forming good habits, I think we should pay attention to four things, that is honesty, industry, enthusiasm and thrift.“Honesty is the best policy.” This is a proverb to which we must pay attention. There are so many temptations in society that through a little carelessness we may go astray. But when we are honest, people will not be dishonest to us.Industry gives every man and woman, every boy and girl, proper work to do. To do nothing is going to ruin oneself.Enthusiasm is a great force. Ones soul will expand if one devotes oneself to a noble cause. The difficulties in our way are tremendous, but what can we not accomplish, if with enthusiasm? There are many proverbs, which set forth the advantages of thrift. Since we live in the world in which money is a very powerful thing, we should always try to save a portion of our earnings for future use.These are the four things to which we must pay attention. It is only by this way that we can achieve success. TV - A Blessing or a Curse?As TV enters more and more families, people begin to wonder about its advantages and disadvantages. Some believe it is a blessing, others hold that it is a curse to society.TV, as a mass media, can bring to people new information on economies, culture, arts, and many other fields. People can enjoy their favorite programs at home. In some countries, some TV stations provide such programs as looking for dangerous criminals and lost children, helping to find an ideal lover, and others which are quite beneficial to society, some TV stations provide various useful seminars for people of various ages and social status. But on the other hand, TV may exert bad influence on people. Some programs are full of violence. As a result, people, especially juveniles, are led to commit crimes. An increasing number of people are so indulged in TV programs that some even neglect their duties.In my opinion, the attitude towards TV all depends on oneself. People should choose those programs, which are useful, and can bring to them the sense of beauty.On Test and Test TakingThe purpose of a test is to check how much we students have learned about a subject. It not only helps make our newly acquired knowledge permanent, but also enables us to find out what needs to spend more time improving.But some students do not deal with test correctly. Some of them are afraid of failing in a test. They cheat even at the risk of being caught on exams. Though cheating might give one “better grades”, it adds nothing to ones knowledge. This dishonest behavior will do one more harm than good.I think that we go to college in order to have our further studies, and prepare us to be qualified for the future job. Therefore, we should take a correct attitude towards test. As long as we study diligently and review our lessons regularly, we are sure to be used to serve its real purpose. The DictionaryThe dictionary is a living teacher. Whenever you come across a new word, just consult it and you will get a clear definition. Every student, whether attending school or self-taught, should always have a dictionary at hand. As a study aid, it is convenient, inexpensive and almost omniscient (all-knowing).Language skills will develop with your constant use of various dictionaries. The more you use them, the more familiar you will become with them. Sooner or later, you will be quite skilled in finding the page, scanning the entries and locating the exact meanings of the new words. But you should have one thing in mind. As a language student, you can never become too much attached to dictionaries; basic language skills do not come from dictionaries, but from your practice. Expose yourself to the language by listening, speaking, reading and writing more, and that is the only way to the mastery of a language. On LearningLearning is ones own business, which cannot rely on others. As we know, learning is a process of accumulating knowledge. It is ones life-long task, which cannot be accomplished in one move. A successful learner is an independent one who has both an indomitable (unyielding) will and amazing endurance. He will try to discover his own way of learning. Instead of waiting for the teachers help, he will make efforts to create favorable conditions on his own initiative. It will certainly be of great help, if there is good environment, sufficient books and equipment, as well as instructions from teacher and beneficial friends. But even if one has got all these favorable conditions, one cannot be sure to succeed in learning.So the most important factor in learning consists in ones own effort. To learn is rather a painstaking and persevering business. Many a man is a failure because he cannot bear such indispensable hardships. Unremitting (never stopping) efforts can compensate for the lack of talents and thus enable one to get considerable progress in learning. Is Failure a Bad Thing?Failure is a common occurrence (happening) in our daily life. Whatever we do, there are always two possible results: success or failure. Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries, sometimes failure cant be avoided.Different people hold different attitudes towards failure. When faced with it, some can stand up to it, draw a useful lesson from it and try their best to fulfill what they are determined to do. Others, however, lose heart and give in. They do nothing but complain about themselves and objective conditions.As a popular saying goes, “Failure teaches success.” In my opinion, what really counts is not the failure itself, but the proper attitude we should take after it. I trust that as long as we keep to what is right and correct what is wrong, that is to say, learn a lesson from failure, we will be certain to succeed. So I am of the opinion that failure is not a bad thing. RecreationIt is impossible to keep in good health unless we take sufficient (enough) recreation. The mind, too, requires change to make it acute (sharp) and vigorous. There is much truth in the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”There are many games for people to indulge (enjoy) after their work of study. Among them are football, tennis, and kite-flying. Other forms of recreation are boating, fishing, gardening, cycling, walking, chess-playing, and reading. Those who spend most of their time in the open air and have constant muscular employment, should adopt reading or some other quiet forms of recreation. Persons who sit much at their business should take a kind of recreation that will supply their muscles with exercise.Recreation provides people with the kind of rest and relaxation. It makes people feel happy, energetic and confident, meanwhile it prepares people to do much better than ever in their daily work. On Todays EducationI think one of the main problems with todays education is that too much emphasis is placed on test score. It has become the most important criterion (standard) for college enrollment. A student, however creative and intelligent, will not be admitted into a college for his total scores are just one point less than required. It is also on of the crucial (decisive) factors either in job assignment or in employment competitions.The competition for high scores among students becomes intense. Students find themselves concentrating more on strategies to achieve high scores than on acquiring the knowledge. They will play truant (stay away from) of some subsidiary (less important) courses and skip over the substance, which will not be tested on.Teachers are apt to give their students high scores. As their job is judged mainly by the students performance in terms of scores, some teachers tend to set easy papers to test their students on or narrow down the scope of the exam, even give them the hints to exams, or favor their students with higher scores.As a result, the competition for high scores becomes so intense that it actually affects our education results.WeekendWeekends are important. They provide people with the kind of rest and relaxation that are essential to a happy and healthy life. Im one of those who know how to enjoy their leisure on the weekend. A good sleep at Saturday night usually helps me to recover from the hard labor of the week. A delight Sunday trip to the suburbs makes me fresh and free from any tension.If I stay at home, I usually do some light reading or practice Chinese calligraphy - a traditional writing skill which has an extraordinary calming effect. Sometimes mother invites me to help her cook and I am always happy to accept her invitation.A good rest on the weekend always makes me feel happy, energetic, confident and ready to all the hard work ahead of me. You cannot work happily and efficiently until you learn how to rest and relax on the weekend.My View on Job-HoppingSome people tend to stick to their positions all the time, as they think the longer one works in a particular field, the more skillful one will be at it. Some have been teachers all their lives. Some devote their life energy to scientific research. Such people love their work and turn out to be specialists in their own field. They are usually high achievers.Some are different. They are in the habit of job-hopping, for they always pursue (follow) what is new and stimulating (interesting). They never seem content with their present situation. Some like to meet more people, make more money and new acquaintances, so they hop from job to job.As far as I am concerned, I want to be professionally strong. I am not in favor of constant job-hopping, as the saying goes “Jack of all trades, master of none”. But I want to cooperate and communicate with someone else so as to be more creative and less partial. Attending College at Ones Own ExpenseNowadays, colleges and universities tend to accept more and more candidates with a score close to the required by charging a portion of their tuition. Moreover, the percentage of the students attending college this way will be increasing year by year. Owing to this practice, college candidates have much freedom in choosing the major they mostly interested in. In addition, those who did not perform well on the College Entrance Exam are able to attend college to have further studies. It is reported that most of these students work harder than their classmates. Certainly this practice has some disadvantages. For example, those candidates who cannot afford the tuition might have fewer opportunities to receive higher education.In my opinion, the advantages of this practice weigh more than its disadvantages. So I am in favor of it and I believe people will be more willing to accept it as time goes by. School-aged Children Drop OutIts reported that in China about one million school-aged children drop out of school each year and 80% of the drop-outs are from the families which are too poor to keep their children at school.To tackle the problem, the government has launched the Hope Project. It has helped thousands of children go back to school. But in my opinion, this is far from enough. In order to change this situation completely, the government should set aside an adequate amount of money for education, especially for elementary education. And also, the government should establish laws to ensure that no children should drop out of school as elementary school education is compulsory in China, and local governments should aid the poor families so that they can send their children to school.To sum up, so long as our central and local governments and the whole society pay enough attention to this problem and take effective action, this situation will be changed. Knowledge and PowerKnowledge and power are the two things most desired by man. There is close connection between these two things. The man, having done his best in acquiring knowledge, will easily get a high position and perform it successfully.Power depends on knowledge. Knowledge to power is just like a compass to a ship, by which her sailing is made safely across an unknown ocean. A great statesman or a learned scholar can render (give) his good services to his country just because he has perfect and profound knowledge.Power only follows knowledge. A man cannot do anything well unless he has some information as how to do it well. A man will sometimes lose his way in a strange land; an apprentice cannot produce any delicate work. Why are these so? Because they are in want of knowledge. If the apprentice wishes to produce good work, he must pay attention to his instructors advice.We are all the future masters of our country. Our country needs our services. How can we fulfill our future tasks? To get more knowledge is the only answer. BreakfastWe get the energy for our movements from food. Human beings are just like machines. For us to work properly, we must be well energized. The energy, of course, comes from the three meals a day, that is, breakfast, lunch and dinner.Breakfast is more important than any other meal in a day. For one thing, after a nights sleep, most of the energy stored in the human body has been consumed. Breakfast serves the purpose of replenishing (fill up again) energy, thus making us energetic again. For another, in the course of a day, morning is the period of time in which we work with most efficiency. Without breakfast, the efficiency would be lost. Finally, the constant lack of breakfast can contribute to stomach troubles.Therefore, to keep fit, we must have breakfast every day. It can be a cup of mild with some bread, or a bowl of porridge with some steamed bread, or anything else of the similar kind. Anyway, we must eat our fill (eat as much as we can), because a good breakfast can not only ensure our good health but also make a good beginning for a new day.Ability and Gook LooksOld people usually tell the young, “Dont judge a person by his appearance.” Meaning ability is more important than appearance. Indeed, weve seen so many brilliant but not at all good-looking people. In the film Mozart, an opera singer reiterates (repeat) this view by saying, “For a woman of taste, it is not the looks, but the talent that interests me.” For her, the preference shows ones taste.However, nowadays, with more and more interviewers putting much emphasis on the looks, the appearance of the job-applicants, a lot of people come to the conclusion that appearance is more important than ability because many beautiful girls acquire very good positions although they dont have much talent.In my opinion, ability is definitely much more important than good looks, because it demonstrates ones own self-cultivation. It bespeaks (show) the efforts and the glory of acquiring something through ones hard work whereas a good look bespeaks no struggle of the individual. Good looks are pleasant, but I like the ability because it really shows something of my own self. Life Is StruggleEverything in the world is in constant struggle. Struggle is in a sense of the competition in natural selection among organisms.Animals and plants struggle for their existence. Nature provides them with weapons for that struggle. Lions have claws; fish have scales; roses have thorns. They use these weapons for the unavoidable war of existence. Nature also orders us to struggle; when we obey the nature, we win our existence.The result of struggle is the evolution of a better society. In order to surpass the others, one has to devote himself to what he does. If every individual does so, the society will make progress.Struggle is inevitable. But we should struggle with sportsmanship, not to stand in the way of others in order to achieve our own success. It is only by struggling in such a way, mankind will see a world getting more glorious day by day.Can Computer Replace Human BrainComputers are working faster than human brain. But is it possible that some day the computer will replace human brain and control the human being?It is quite impossible. Computers are designed and developed by human brain. They are used to speed up the calculation. Computers are working according to the orders designed by human being. The running of computer is a group of integrated circuit run by a set of programmes. Without programmes, the computers will not know what to do.It is true people are relying more and more on computers. If people dont know how to control computers, they may be replaced by computers and lose their jobs.SuccessSuccess is a lousy (very bad) teacher. It seduces (tempt) smart people into thinking they cant lose. And its an unreliable guide to the future. What seems the perfect business plan or latest technology today may soon be out-of-date.Usually winning lottery (彩票) is thought to be ones luck. Many people like to try their luck.One of the lotterys new millionaires gave an interview on television. When he was asked by the reporter how he had picked his winning numbers, he said that while “two of the six numbers he just pulled for no particular reason.” As for the other four numbers, he used family birth dates. “ So, you see,” he boasted（自夸）, “Winning the lottery is not all just luck.”The Car and PollutionMost Americans would find it hard to think what life would look like without a car. However, some have realized the serious problem of the air pollution caused by the car. The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute. Thats what several of the large factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something. Now inventors are working on steam cars as well as electric cars. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a useful model that pleases men.To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to reduce the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and to work by bicycle. It is thought to help man to keep the air clean.But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers might find themselves without jobs if a car factory closed. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.Although cars have led us to better life, they have also brought us new problems.12
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