第七讲 大作文

Unit one 科技影响类

E.g. computer science and internet technology; the use of pesticide and fertilizer; gene and clone technology

2009.10

Sample answer:

With the help of technology, human beings are living much easier lives than ever before. A wide range of technologies available to individuals are making a difference in their everyday lives. For example, information technology has brought drastic change in the way people view the world. Some people convinced that the technology available to individuals is enlarging the difference between the poor and the rich. But I believe that this gap is not determined by technology. On the contrary, it is dependent on the policies of the government. If the government levies higher taxes on the rich and use that money to offer financial aid to the poor, the disparity will be lessened. So the increasing gap between the poor and the rich is unassociated with technology.

However, those who hold that technology reduces the financial difference between rich and poor might argue that some technologies such as communication or networking give poor people a chance to learn earn a better living. Today, we are frequently hear legends about people who used to live in poverty becoming millionaires or billionaires by taking advantage of the internet. If society keeps developing in this way, the gap between the poor and rich will possibly be diminished.

My view is that technology itself cannot decide whether individuals will be poor or rich, let alone what will happen to the gap between the poor and the rich. It is government‘s policies that decide the outcome.

Homework:

2009.1.17

Are computers an essential feature of modern education? What subjects can be better taught using computers? Are there aspects of good education can not be taught using computer?

Unit two 青少年话题

E.g. financial dependent, simple and na?ve minds, external effect, undertake the responsibility of building up the society in the future, draw attention from the society as a whole.

2009.1.15

Sample answer:

It is common said that alternative sources for learning are important in rising a student‘s learning efficiency. For example, online curriculum can help students who hope to gain more knowledge increase their range of study.

Some of the people take the view that grade-school students can learn more from lessons taught by teachers than from other sources, and I agree because most students at that age are not good at teaching themselves but require the guidance of a teacher. In other words, lessons given by teachers are able to offer effective knowledge to those students. Even if these students entertain themselves with the internet or television after school, they can still perform well in school. For example, my cousin spends 2 hours on the internet playing computer games and chatting every day, and I have never seen him use those sources for studying. But luckily, his school record is impeccable because he studies carefully and his teachers are very responsible.

On the other hand, there are those who believe that university students, like grade-school students, can gain much more from lectures with professors than alternative source. However, I cast doubt on this opinion because most university students prefer to think independently of and combat problems and they think that lectures are just an introduction to a topic. If they want to learn more, they will turn to other sources, such as libraries and the internet to gain additional information and second-hand experience.

Personally, I believe that students in school or university should use whatever learning sources they can have access to know to use those resources and combine information gained from them to increase their knowledge as best they can.

Homework:

2009.9.5

Some people think young people should go to university to further their education while other think they should be encouraged to work as a car mechanics or builders etc. discuss both view and give your own opinion.

Unit three 文化教育类

E.g. extensive knowledge, learning ways academic skills, further career development effectiveness and efficiency

2009.1.30

Sample answer:

It is true that universities in almost every country try to offer students, young or old, many opportunities in different fields. Lately, hundreds of universities in Beijing have enrolled more and more students from different parts of china in fields as disparate as science, art, medicine, law, and engineering,

I tend to agree that government, which is responsible for the overall quality of life of its people, should be encouraged to help universities give more chances to young people by means of financial aid or scholarship. Y oung people are very important in the development of a country. This means that a country will be more prosperous if a large proportion of its young people are highly educated. University education is what both the country and its youth need. So, to increase the number of spots at the university level is a worthy investment for any country.

On the other hand, there are probably some dangers in government encouraging universities to give more spots to young people. University education includes not only teaching facilities, which can be quickly built on the government?s sterling pounds, but also the number and quality of professors and lecturers, which is not so easily increased. This means that government should think twice before increasing the proportion of students who can attend college.

Personally, I think that university spots should be reasonably offered to those students who have a strong desire for academic study. At the same time, government ought to fund lagging universities in order to help them attract better professors and lecturers as well as allowing them to renovate or build new teaching facilities.

Homework:

2009.10.8

A family has great influence in children‘s development, the outside the home plays a bigger part in child‘s life, disagree or agree?

Unit four 国际问题类

E.g. the problem between poor country and rich country, cultural shock, culture acceptance, 能源，环境污染需要国际化合作等方面的

2009.2.7

Sample answer:

It is quite common for rich countries like the United Kingdom and Australia to offer a wide range of aid to help poor countries that are lacking in moneys or re sources. For example, the Australian government offered Laos as many as 10,000 boxes of medicine last year.

There is a view held by some people that wealthy countries should offer aid in alternative forms such as education or technology instead of strictly financial support because they believe that financial aid given to poor countries does nothing to alleviate poverty. However, I disagree with this view because most poor countries rely on direct financial support to relieve the pressures of poverty. The citizens of such countries will suffer from hunger anger and illness if financial aid is withdrawn. In the other words, no other forms of aid are more effective or immediate than the financial.

On the other hand, offering alternative forms of aid is more effective when what a country urgently needs is not money. Take Iraq for example. Iraq is a country which has abundant crude oil resources, which means it owns a great of wealth. But what Iraq needs most is military training and equipment such as missiles, tanks, jets, and so on to strengthen its policy force and maintain stability. This suggests that sometimes other kinds of aids are more effective than just plain money.

Personally, I think that as long as rich countries help poor ones, any form of aid is acceptable. As a result, the gap between rich and poor countries at the world levels will shrink, which play an essential role in creating global development and world peace.

Homework:

2009.2.7

Rich countries provide financial aids to poor countries but this aids have little effect, there for rich countries should provide other types of help. To what extend do you agree with this statement?

Unit five 人与自然类

E.g. environmental protection, animal abuse, global warming, earth quake, volcanic eruption, destroy rainforest, make pollution, plant green belt, decrease the car use

2009.2.21

Sample answer

Environmentally, the earth is currently in a horrible situation. The damage done to the environment is beginning to cause a decline in people‘s quality of life in some areas and endangering human development in others. For example, air pollution is threatening people‘s lunges, while global warming is causing a gradual rise in the sea level, which will swallow the homes of many fishermen living along the coast.

Some people are convinced that environmental issues are too large to be solved by individuals. However, the range of environmental issues includes minor problems as well. For example, some people often litter or spit on the street, which spoils our surroundings. If those individuals realize that this behavior is wrong and change their ways and correct their mistakes, these will completely be out of trouble. As a result, individuals can absolutely make a big contribution to solving some minor environmental problems.

On the other hand, some believe that any environmental problem, big or small, can be solved by individual efforts. However, environmental problems such as global warming, water pollution and desertification are very complex, and although many people have great efforts to solve them, the results are not quite satisfying. So, one can hardly argue that individuals can do everything effective to eradicate these large environmental problem.

My feeling is that closer attention should be paid to all environmental problems. Some minor ones, such as the tossing of cigarette under the regulation of laws, but major ones can only be improved with assistance of scientists and experts and government funding.

Homework:

2009.10.10

An increase in production of consumer goods results in damage of the natural environment. What are the causes and possible solution?

Unit six 健康安全类

E.g. public health, physical health, psychological health, mental health, a good social system, advance medical facilities and service, national physical health, gym or stadium, increase the welfare in medicine

2009.2.28

Sample answer

As individuals play closer attention to their physical and mental health, their governments are making every effort to promote the health at the public levels. Nowadays, public health has become one of the responsibilities of governments around the world. Recently, the Chinese government, for example, has spent money renovating and building new community clinics with newer and on-the –edge medical equipment.

Some think that one way to improve public health is to build more sports facilities to promote sports, fitness, and exercise. Today, the number of community sports centers seems fewer, especially when compared with the increasing number of citizens who want to improve personal fitness through regular gyms, stadiums, and machines, which will allow citizens to work out and make them more active and much healthier.

On the other hand, some may argue that the effect of increasing the number of sports facilities is limited and to improve public health there needs to be additional measures. Not all people like to do outdoor or indoor activities to keep fit, so an increase in the number of sports facilities will only benefit a minority of people. In addition to this, mental and psychological healths have become important factors for judging a person‘s wellbeing, but these cannot always be improved by a simple workout. So, other services such as psychological treatment or prescription drugs that treat mental illness should be offered to citizens.

In a word, public health should be improved in any possible way, and reasonable investment in sports facilities is one way to do so, but we must not forget to also offer alternative ways for people to improve their personal wellbeing.

Homework:

2009.3.21

Some people think it is more important for government to spend public money on promoting healthy lifestyle in order to prevent illness than to spend it on the treatment of people who are already ill. To what extend do you agree or disagree?

Unit seven 媒体影响类

E.g. the popularity of a media particular

2009.3.5

Sample answer

Reading the newspaper is a habit for almost everyone. For example, my parents spend at least one hour a day reading about home and international news in the newspaper and learning about experts‘ opinions on heated topic. As a result, their ideas about some issues are dramatically affected by what they read in the newspaper. I think this might be common for most people.

Newspapers impact us for two reasons. One, they frequently include expert opinions on particular issues, and most readers who do not have knowledge in those fields tend to accept the ideas of the expert. For instance, my mom had the notion that the financial crisis was serious in china, but actually, she had little relevant knowledge about the situation. She told me later that she had gotten the idea after reading some articles in the newspaper. The second reason why newspapers are influential is most people tend to have confidence in what newspapers say.

There are positive and negative effects to reading the newspaper. For example, those who would like to understand other viewpoints about particular problems can do so because there are many newspapers presenting many different ideas. However, some young people who have little social experience will easily believe what mentioned in the newspaper which may be partial or do not include a fair report of a particular issue. Obviously, believing such ideas may be harmful.

My view is that the enormous impact of newspaper on people ideas should be encouraged, although some young people should be taught how to think independently about issues rather than blindly accept what they read.

Homework:

2009.8.22

News media has become influential to our lives, and some people think there is a negative development. To what extend do you agree or disagree?

Unit eight 抽象名词类

E.g. 对happiness的定义，现在和未来的比较，mental attitude vs. physical strength—举例2009.3.7

Sample answer

For most of modern people, young or old, music is one of the most popular forms of entertainment, and going to concerts has become an important part of their lives. It is probably because today‘s people have more nonmaterial wants than ever before, and music is one way to satisfy this need.

It is widely accepted that music is an essential part of people‘s everyday lives. Music creates a bridge that connects the composer to the audiences who appreciate his work. Music can also create a bridge between two people who like the same genre or band. Perhaps music has become so popular and ubiquitous because it is such an effective way of facilitating communication and understanding between people. Today, music has become a multi-billion dollar industry, generating profits for countries, businesses, and people all over the world. So from a financial perspective alone, music impacts the whole of society, and modern society can not live without music.

On the other hand, some argue that music is nothing, but a form of entertainment. As a matter of fact, many people listen to or make music to unwind and get over unpleasant things, but the social impact of music is more far-reaching. Artists in the domains such as painters, writers, and directors can be influenced by music. It is said that a famous novelist once finished one of his best-sellers after he had listened to an old folk song. So the role of music in our lives is multi-faceted.

My feeling is that people should be encouraged to appreciate music in whichever way they choose. Perhaps, we can allow our children to not only enjoy pop music or rap music for entertainment but also to experience other genres such as classical or orchestral music, which might improve their artistic sensibility.

Homework:

Y our character is strongly influenced by the place where you grew up. Write in what ways can grow up in a city or growing up in the countryside influence people‘s character.

Unit nine 政府决策类

E.g.雅思考题喜欢涉及一些政府投资和决策优劣化的问题

2009.3.21

Sample answer

Health is essential to a person‘s quality of life, and the amount of money spent by individuals or countries to promote healthy living is soaring. For example, in most Chinese households, the amount of money spent on healthy foods and medicines is higher than ever before. The government is also investing an increasingly higher proportion of its income to build sports facilities to help citizens increase physical fitness.

I think it is justified to spend public money on encouraging healthy lifestyle habits to prevent illness rather than spending it on the treatment of illness. If more facilities promoting health are built and well run, the average citizen will be stronger, healthier, and more resistant to disease, thus saving the government money in the long run because people who spend time doing physical exercise are less likely to suffer from illness than those who do not. If citizens are healthier, then the government would not have to build as many hospitals or employ as many doctors and citizens would save more on hospital bills and medicine.

On the other hand, I believe the government should pay for the treatment of people who suffer from diseases which do not have a simple cure because the government has a duty to those people as well. After all, the government‘s income came from their tax money. Thus, when the government decides how to invest its money, the interests of those people should be carefully considered and perhaps given priority.

Personally, I think it is much wiser to put funds into improving public health rather than spending it all on treatment because that will not solve the ultimate problem. However, I don not believe that spending nothing on treating illness is viable either. A balance must be created.

Homework:

2009.7.4

Money for postgraduate research is limited. Some people, therefore, think that financial support from the government should be only provided for scientific research rather than research for less useful subject. To what extend do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Unit ten 社会问题

E.g. road condition, housing, crime, food safety, consumption, adult and kids

2009.4.4

Sample answer

As it is, the decreasing price of consumer goods is greatly impacting the lives of ordinary people. In recent years, the price of consumer goods has dropped with the spread of trade and technology. In this essay, I would like to take a closer look at the boons and banes of such a trend. This trend brings about many advantages. Above all, the declining price of consumer goods relatively improves the living standard of most people, particularly the financial needy. Y ears ago in china, television sets, washing machines, or microwaves ovens could rarely be seen in poor households, but these days they have access to these time-and-labor-saving machines, productivity will increase as a result, benefitting the country and its people.

But as the old saying goes, ―no garden is without its weeds.‖ The trend of decreasing prices has negative impacts as well. Sometimes, the reason why the price of goods decreases may not be due to the advancement of technology or a more efficient assembly line, but rather because some business are corners on materials and producing low-quality or even counterfeit goods. Saving costs in this way is unfair to the consumer and could potentially be dangerous if the goods are unsafe. But overall, as a result of constant media attention and efforts made by government departments, such as events have been largely prevented.

All in all, if the quality of consumer goods is stable, ordinary people will get more benefit from those goods being cheaper. In fact, it is natural for prices to drop as technology becomes more advanced and more common. But inevitably, with prices dropping, some businesses will go bankrupt. So, how to balance theses two conflicting effects is a difficult problem.

Homework:

2009.12.19

Crime is a global problem. We can do nothing to prevent it. To what extend do you agree or disagree?