54)Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? One should never judge a person by external appearances. Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

Most people are worried about their appearance and how other people see them. While it is true that we can sometimes tell something about people by looking at their external appearance, it is not the best measurement. I believe that people should not judge others by external appearances. This is because it is unfair to make assumptions about a person’s character based on outward appearance and because people change their appearance to fit different situations.

To begin with, someone’s external appearance is not a mirror of his or her inner self. I can relate an example from my own life. I came from a very poor family that was unable to put me through university, so throughout my academic career it was required that I work part-time in order to pay for my tuition each semester. During the summer, I was covered in sweat and dirt from working for a lawn care service, but when people saw me in that condition, they assumed I was uneducated and not very intelligent. In reality, I was a straight A student with a good academic reputation on campus and among my professors. Customers I worked for could not see this, and my co-workers were also surprised to see me reading textbooks during breaks. Judging a book by its cover can often lead to mistaken assumptions.

Moreover, external appearances can change with location. For example, think of an evening at the opera where formal clothes are required. In the audience of an opera hall, you can see men in tuxedoes and women in evening gowns. Everyone is dressed the same, so there is no real way to determine what everyone does in their everyday lives. The man sitting next to the doctor may be a gas station attendant, and the women next to the lawyer may be a housewife. In certain settings, looks can be deceiving and there is no telling what is under the wrapper. That is because clothing, hairstyles and other factors of external appearance can be adjusted to fit any situation. A gas station attendant might love opera and a company CEO might like to bowl on the weekends.

To make people do it, it is almost never safe to make an assumption about people based only on external appearances. It is not accurate to judge a personal trait based on outward appearance. Furthermore, people can change their appearance to fit occasions where their true selves do not show through. For these reasons, it is important to get to know someone before making a judgment.

53)Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The most important aspect of a job is the money a person earns. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Although many people may not agree with me, I personally believe that there are several aspects in a job that are more important than the money I can earn doing it. Working in a good environment, having enough free time to enjoy my private life and liking what I do are some of these characteristics.

Working in a good environment is important. Everyday, in my job, I come in contact with my colleagues and my manager. Since I have to interact with them, it is very important that they are friendly and cooperative. It will help me to work better. A bad colleague could make my life at work impossible, and would push me to hate my job.

Having a work that gives me enough free time is important. It is useless to have a job that allows me to earn a lot of money, but that doesn’t give me the time to enjoy it. I prefer to receive a smaller salary, but to be able to see my friends at night, or to pass the weekends at home with my family, instead of working all the time.

Liking my job is important. I have to do it not just for a day, but for years, if not for the rest of my life. If I don’t love what I do, I won’t feel satisfied with myself and realized, no matter how much money I will earn. I will probably feel frustrated and depressed. I don’t know how many will agree but, to me, the quality of my life is priceless.

It is important that your job gives you a good salary. However, it is more important to have a job that you like, and that allows you to enjoy your private life. There is no doubt that money is useful, but you can sacrifice the quality of your life to it.

51)Some people believe that success in life comes from taking risks or chances. Others believe that success results from careful planning. In your opinion, what does success come from? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

There are various way to achieve success in life. Some people believe that the road to success comes from taking risks and chances. On the other hand, others believe that success is the end result of careful planning. From my perspective, though there can be exceptions, I believe that success comes from careful planning because through this method, people can predict problems, which allows them to better prepare, and goals can be made more clearly defined.

One reason is that careful planning is a better method of achieving success because through this method, people can foresee some of the difficulties that they may run up against during the course of their work, and minimize the risk of failure. By being able to predict these problems, they will be better prepared to deal with them. For example, if I am planning to expand my own business, it is beneficial for me to sit down and consider what kinds of problems I may face and how to solve these problems ahead. By carefully planning the new plan, it is more likely to be a successful experience. Therefore, when people make a detailed map for success, they can minimize the risk of failure and have more control of their future.

Another reason why careful planning is a better way to go is that clear goals can be established by that way. A lot of people have dreams of success in their lives, but they go about trying to reach their goals as if their eyes are closed, and they do not know which direction they are going. After some time they lose hope, which causes them to lose motivation towards reaching their goals. However, if people have a clear idea of what to do in order to reach their goals, they will be better motivated because they will expect setbacks and difficulties, but know that they can still achieve success. Without sufficient motivation, goals are reached more slowly, if at all.

In conclusion, people can achieve success through taking risks and chances, but it is not recommended. I believe that careful planning is a better way to go because through careful planning can make allowances for problems before they come up, and they can establish a clear road to success, which will keep them motivated.

50)Some people like to do only what they already do well. Other people prefer to try new things and take risks. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Different people have different personalities in that there are those that seek new challenges and those who prefer security. Some people enjoy trying new things and taking risks while other people are more comfortable with sticking to what they know for the sake of feeling secure. Personally, I prefer trying new things and taking risks because by doing so, I am able to make beneficial changes in my life, and something new usually makes life more interesting.

First of all, trying new things enables me to make beneficial changes in my life. If we look around at our world, we can readily see developments and innovations that sprang from someone’s desire to try something new. If we did not have the drive to try new things, we would live as if we are stuck in time. Take transportation for example. If people had been content with walking or riding horses, they would have never developed the various modes of convenient transportation such as subways, cars, and airplanes. By having the desire and willingness to try something new in spite of the risks involved, people have been able to make improvements in the way that they live, work and play.

Moreover, I like to try new things and take risks because it makes life more interesting. I cannot imagine living life without taking risks and trying new things. My grandfather is the opposite and has done very few risky or new activities during his life. For that reason, he does not really have any interesting stories to tell about his experiences. His life has been very dull and routine. Though I am much younger than he is, I have taken more risks in the form of traveling, sports and dangerous activities, like scuba diving. I have also tried many kinds of foods and gotten to know a variety of people from all over the world. Therefore, I believe that my life is much more interesting than my grandfather’s.

In conclusion, while there are some merits involved in not trying new things or taking risks, such as comfort and security, I prefer to try new and risky things instead of just sticking to what I already know. By doing so, I am able to make my life more interesting as well as make improvements in my life. I recommend that everyone take risks and try new things for the benefits that I described above.

49)Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Face-to-face communication is better than other types of communication, such as letters, email, or telephone calls. Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

With the increasingly large amount of information available to society , the methods of communication have also advanced. Various people have different ideas about the best form of communication. While some believe that face-to-face communication is superior than other forms of communication, others believe that other forms are better. I believe that letters, email and telephone calls are superior to face-to-face communication because they are more convenient and allow people to avoid embarrassing situations.

First, letters, email and telephone calls are more convenient than face-to-face communication. E-mail and the telephone allows business people and students are able to ask for, send or convey information almost instantly. A businessman needing to send a report to his boss in another country can conveniently give his boss a call. If he was required to meet his boss face-to-face, it could delay a report or information for days or even weeks. An essential element of increasingly global business is time. Information must be relayed in a convenient and timely fashion, something that face-to-face communication does not always allow. Students are also able to exchange information for projects from home without having to waste time scheduling a meeting at the library or school. This saves the students from having to carry around books or other study materials.

Second, telephones and e-mail allow people to avoid the embarrassment of face-to-face situations. For example, a student not understanding a topic in class may feel too awkward to ask questions about a topic their classmates seem to understand immediately. By asking questions in class, the student may be subject to ridicule or torment from their classmates. Students may also feel distracted and bored as the teacher answers any questions. However, by using e-mail students will be free to ask any questions without being overheard or their classmates knowing. This method of communication enables them to get the information without fear of embarrassment. The threat of embarrassment will often hinder students in their studies. Through e-mail and the telephone, higher academic performance can be achieved easier because of the ability to avoid embarrassment.

In conclusion, while face-to-face communication offers some advantages, I believe that the telephone, email and letters are a far better form. Using these methods people gain additional convenience in their personal and academic lives. People can avoid embarrassing situations that are associated with face-to-face communication.

48)People work because they need money to live. What are some other reasons that people work? Discuss one or more of these reasons.Use specific examples and details to support your answer.

When talking about working, some people always complain a lot about it. They regard working as affliction which means hardship, vapidity and low earnings. They may even dream that they can also live a happy life without working. But as we all know, that won't come true. Everyone needs to work for many different reasons. I believe the three most common reasons is to acquire knowledge, to seek fame and to enjoy life.

In the first place, we work to practice our skills and we have to learn many aspects of knowledge to solve the problems and to overcome difficulties. So working makes us skillful and effortless. The experiences we learn from working are the most important wealth. They are the major sources of wisdom. If we don't work, how can we improve our intelligence and then how can we create wonderful lives?

In the second place, we work to realize our value by producing large amount of goods and serving the others. Farmer is not a farmer until he plant corps, teacher is not a teacher until she instruct classes. They all have their responsibility and they also receive our respects because of their contributions to the society.That's the meaning of the life, which gives us courage and confidence to exert our powers to build happy home.

In addition , we work to keep us healthy. We can communicate with each other during work. Meanwhile,we are helpd and encouraged all together. However, If we don't work, we will become torpid and fat. We have to work to relieve our pressure. When you do something you are very competent to, you will view it as a kind of entertainment. You even find joy from them. In conclusion, I believe working is a tool by with we can make a key to the gate of knowledge, it is a road which leads to tomorrow, and it is a drug which can keep us fit. All in all, working provides us so much that I love work

47)Some people prefer to work for a large company. Others prefer to work for a small company. Which would you prefer? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

No doubt, I choose to work for a small company because there are too many benefits that outnumber its disadvantages not to choose. But working for a large company has advantages no more than its disadvantages.

The most important benefit of working for a small company is that I will have many chances to develop. In gerneral, a small company is a developing enterprise and it is not easy to absorb many excellent employees. If I enter this small company, I think that the boss will appreciate me and give me many opportunities to reveal my abilities. Only I let the job do well, I am sure that I will rise very rapidly.

On contrary to this, a large company is already a high developed institutions. There are many prominent talent working for it. A good position will absorb hundreds of opponents. It will take me a lot of time and vigor to get this position. Maybe I have no chance to win this competition at all.

Another benefit of working for a small company , which working for a large company almost cannot achieve, is that I can learn more skills in a small company than in a large company. As shown above, a small company is a developing enteprise. This means that it have no a great deal of money to employ many persons . So, I can do all kinds of jobs at the same time. I think that this will be useful to compete in the society. But in a large company, maybe I only engage a monotonous job over a long period of time . I believe that this will be helpless to improve my capacity.

Of course, choosing to work for a large company also has advantages to some extent. For example, it will afford handsome salary and will be not easy to fail in business competition. But from my own development, I still want to work in a small company. In addition, I believe that every large company originates from a small company. Maybe I will become an important person when the small company in which I work become a large company.

46)What are the important qualities of a good son or daughter? Have these qualities changed or remained the same over time in your culture? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

No child is born good or bad; it is the qualities he adopts with the passage of time that determine whether he is called good or bad. Goodness is a social norm and an indication of refined behaviors and a peaceful family set up for the children. The qualities of a good son or daughter have not changed over time. They are: caring, responsibility and respect for parents.
[Since this is your major theme, you should state it prominently]

First of all, good children are caring. They must be considerate of the needs and feelings of others. For example, if children see a beggar in the street, they should feel sorry and try to do something to help him.
[Really? Is this normal in your country? How often do children stop and help beggars? Wouldn't it be impossible to stop and become a social worker every time you walked past a beggar? Are discretion and a sense of priority also a characteristic of goodness?]
　
Secondly, good children must be responsible. They must learn to do things on their own: tie their shoes and dress them selves. Moreover, responsible children do not make excuses for their actions or blame others when things go wrong. They think things through and use good judgment before they take action. They behave in ways that make others trust them.

Last of all, good children must be respectful of their parents. Children may sometimes be disobedient if they really want to do something but are not allowed to. However, they must be respectful to their parents, who bring them up with both care and love.
[What about children who are not brought up with love and care? What about children who are sold into prostitution, etc. Should they respect their parents?] If children learn to respect others from an early age, they will also be respected. This quality is especially important to them in their later life and needs to be formed when children are young enough to learn and benefit.

Cultures can always be changed but the qualities of a good son or daughter have remained. Any parent ["Most parents/Almost all parents". It's always a mistake to universalize like this.] will tell you that, like their ancestors, they expect these qualities from their children. However, they do not always get what they expect from their children.

45)Some people prefer to get up early in the morning and start the day’s work. Others prefer to get up later in the day and work until late at night.Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Some people prefer to get up early in the morning and start the day's work. Others, however, prefer to get up later in the day and work until late at night. As far as I am concerned, getting up early is a good habit because it is good for health and is easy to take care of everyday works.

In the first place, everyone knows that getting up early is a very good habit for our health. You can enjoy the fresh air in the early morning, and also you can get a good night sleep during the quiet midnight time. Moreover, if you get up early, before go to work, you still have enough time to do some exercises, such as walking, running and riding the bike. Without doubt, all of the exercises do help your health.

In the second place, it is a little bit easy to take care of everyday works if people get up early. For example, if everyone in the family gets up early, wife will have enough time to prepare the breakfast for the whole family, children will have enough time to catch the school bus, husband will never forget to change his dirty shirt. Everything is on the order.

Admittedly, some people who work until midnight and get up later in the day claim that working in the midnight is more efficient and can concentrate the work without distraction. However, the advantages of getting up early carry more weight than those of getting up later.

To sum up, from what I have discussed above, we can safely draw a conclusion that getting up early can benefit not only because it is good for ours health but also it is easy for us to take care of everyday works. Therefore, I prefer to get up early in the morning and start the day's work.

44)Some people like to travel with a companion. Other people prefer to travel alone. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Traveling is a common hobby for people around the world these days. While there are some people who like to travel with a companion, there are other people who prefer to travel alone. There are definitely pros and cons associated with each preference. As for me, I prefer to travel with another person because sometimes traveling can be lonely, and it is also safer if I am traveling with a companion.

One reason why I prefer to travel with one or more people is that sometimes traveling alone can get lonely. However, if I am traveling with someone, I can ease that lonely feeling. For example, if I am touring around Europe visiting museums and looking at famous sites, I might want to share that experience and talk about what I am looking at. If I am visiting a museum with a companion, we can discuss the art and share opinions about what we are seeing, but if I am alone, there will be no one to talk to. Traveling with a companion also makes eating, flying, shopping and other activities more interesting because sharing in the experience is part of the fun.

Another reason is that traveling with a friend or in a group is much safer than traveling alone. For instance, what if I am hiking on a mountain alone in a foreign land and I get injured? If I am traveling alone, probably no one will come along to help me, but if I am traveling with a companion, that person can go for help. In addition, in every country there are thieves and other types of bad people that take advantage of tourists. Criminals would be more reluctant to bother two people traveling together than they would one person on their own. This is an especially important point for female travelers or for people traveling in an unstable environment.

Sometimes, it is nice to travel alone and it is okay to do that, but if I had to choose between traveling alone and traveling with a companion, I would be most likely to choose traveling with a companion. I prefer that way because it is very lonely traveling alone with no one to talk to and it is safer to travel with a companion in case of an emergency. I am sure that most people would agree with those two points.

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

Have you experienced the fear of bungee jumping? Have you ever enjoyed the excitement of car racing? Nowadays, more and more people are attracted to such dangerous activities, especially the young people. Wondering why? After thinking about the lifestyle of those people, the reason goes as follows.

While the world is becoming more and more competitive, the task on each person's shoulder becomes heavier and heavier. People's activity everyday is very intense and they get more and more burdened after days of hard work. So everyone wants a release and the best way to relax and get relieved is to do the dangerous activities, because while you are doing something dangerous, you have to be concentrated on it, and you can't think about anything else. Hence you relieved all the unhappiness and the troubles you had in daily work.

In addition, to take risks and try out new things is one of human being's basic instincts. People always like to do something new, especially when something is popular as well. According to some stastistics, the dangerous activities are becoming extremely popular among young people. If you don't try some dangerous activities, people will think that you are a coward and afraid of doing it. So it's reasonable enough for them to do dangerous activities to show their braveness.

However, I don't like dangerous activities and I believe the phenomenon that people are attracted to dangerous activities is just a whim. After realizing countless disadvantages of them, people will reconsider about them. Some safer activities to help people to get relieved will be developed afterwards.

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

Upon the question that what is the very important skill a person should learn in the world today, different people have different opinions. In my point of view, I prefer to think that communication is the most important skill for almost every person. There are many reasons to support my view.

Firstly, communication is a bridge between people. Nobody is omnipotent; people depend on one another in their daily lives. We all hope we can be become the person who masters every skills and can complete every kind work by ourselves. However the real world tells us that this just is a dream. Therefore, people are interdependent, no can can say that he does not need other people's help. The society requires cooperation among people. Communication is the link. Communication is the first step of successful cooperation among people. By communication, we exchange of thoughts and information, and get other people understand our needs and ideas. For example, in a company, big or small, a manager always has to communicate with his boss, colleagues and subordinates.

Secondly, communication can help us keep friendship and make new friends. Friends need to communicate to each other, so that they know each other's needs and feelings. Indeed, the most important qualities of a friend is communication and understanding. If you are a good communicator, it is very easy for you to keep your friendship and make new friends. If you do not communicate with your friends, you will not only feel lonely, but also can eventually loss your friends.

From all above, I think that communication is the most important skill for people to survive in this society. I hope everybody works hard to get the skill.

41)Some people think that human needs for farmland, housing, and industry are more important than saving land for endangered animals. Do you agree or disagree with this point of view? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

In the past, there have been many endangered animals. Now they are extinct. Does it matter? Has our environment been affected by their absence? Has the quality of our own life been changed? The answer to these questions is "Yes."

It does matter if we destroy an endangered species habitat to develop more farmland, housing or industrial parks. There is a delicate balance of nature. If one small part is removed, it will affect all the other parts. For example, if certain trees are cut down, bats will have no place to roost. If they cannot roost, they cannot breed. If there are no bats, there will be no animal, or bird to eat certain insects that plague our crops.
Our environment has been affected by the absence of certain animals. Certain flowers are pollinated by butterflies which migrate from Canada to Mexico. Some of the breeding grounds of these butterflies were destroyed. Now these flowers are disappearing from certain areas. We will no longer be able to enjoy their beauty.

The quality of our life has been changed. America used to be covered with giant trees. Now we have to visit them in one small park. Rainforests around the world are being cut down to make room for humans. We will never be able to see or study this fragile ecosystem.
I would encourage us humans to look for other alternatives for our farmlands, housing, and industries. We have alternatives; the animals do not.

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

"Never, never give up" means to keep trying and never stop working for your goals. I think it's a very good piece of advice for all of us.Never stop working for your goals doesn't mean you must be successful; it doesn't even mean that you must achieve your goal, but it's very important to keep it in your mind. You want to be a great basketball player, but you are 1,60m tall; you want to be a great pianist, but what you have studied in the university was physics; you want to establish your own company, but you are just a clerk in a small company. These examples are very common in our real lives.

There are enough unfavorable conditions which make our lives difficult, but what important for us is to make efforts towards your goal or your dream. If you have given your best for your goal or your dream, whether you succeed or not, at least you won't leave any regret in your life. What's more, who knows, what will happen in the next 10 years?

You might not be a famous basketball player, but you could become a good player in the basketball-team of your school. You might not be a great pianist, but you play the piano very well and enjoy yourself after the heavy work every day. You might not be able to establish your own company yet, but you are just collecting experience and knowledge as a good manager, and maybe in 10 years, you will become the boss of your own company.

Few of us have perfect lives, what I want to say is, don't give up working for your goal or your dream. If you succeed, you will taste great joy in your life. If you don't succeed, you won't have regret in your life because you have given your best. Besides, in trying to achieve your goals, you might find out that perhaps your goals are not correct or not practical at all, then you can improve them and make your life more beautiful.

39)Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? With the help of technology, students nowadays can learn more information and learn it more quickly. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Technology has greatly improved the way we get information. Students can now get more information, get it more quickly, and get it more conveniently.

The Internet and the World Wide Web has opened every major library and database to students around the world. Information comes not only in print form, but also in multimedia. You can get audio and video data. You can get information about events in the past as well as events that unfold as you watch your computer monitor.
Information comes at the speed of the Internet which is to say in nanoseconds. You can type in a few key words in your search engine, and the engine will search the entire WWW to find information on your topic. You don't have to spend hours pouring over card catalogs in the library and looking at the shelves. This research is done for you instantly on the Web.

It is certainly more convenient to sit at home and do research on your computer. Your computer is open 24-hours a day, unlike a library or office which has limited hours and limited resources. You can do research in your pajamas while you eat breakfast. What could be more convenient? Technology, especially the Internet, has certainly changed the quantity and quality of the information we get. The speed and convenience of a computer helps students learn more, more quickly.