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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 Einsteins mother and Forest Gumps 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.404 words4. 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 thats 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 individuals 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 Learners 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.377 Words7. How do movies or television influence peoples 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.431 Words8. 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.419 words9. 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. Its 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, therere 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, childrens 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.392 Words17. 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 isnt 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 havent been. It doesnt 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 doesnt have adequate information. We again need experts. In learning, its 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.400 Words21. In general, people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Among various factors that contribute to todays 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 peoples 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 peoples 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. Todays 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.274 Words24. 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, Beijings 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 didnt 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 wont 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,
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