一．给定观点型

1． Why Is a Sense of Humor Important?

A sense of humor, God’s greatest gift to mankind, is universally considered the most valuable personality asset. It is born within everyone’s heart, but has to be cultivated. A person without humor is just like a spring without flowers, a dish without seasoning.

The sense of humor may be singled out as man’s most important quality because it is associated with laughter. And laughter, in turn, is associated with happiness. If happiness is one of the great goals of life, then it is the sense of humor that provides the key.

Humor can enhance physical as well as mental well-being. It helps us bear our burdens and ease our tension. With the cracking of a joke, all our worries, sadness and tiredness disperse like mist and smoke, and we are full of vim and vigor once again.

A sense of humor is a part of one’s EQ. Humor helps us live in harmony with others. It is unavoidable to have misunderstandings and conflicts with others during work or study. But humor can, as a “pacifier”, inject a light note into the touchy situation to alleviate these problems quicker rather than having fights. With it you can always keep on good terms with others.

The importance of the sense of humor cannot be overestimated. It gives zest to life to make it worth living.

2. The Harmfulness of Fake Products

Nowadays, China is suffering from a boom in fake commodities. Fake products are so widespread in our market that almost everybody has frustrating experience of buying them. Then, what harm do they do to us?

On the one hand, fake products do harm to individual consumers. They can bring about great loss in both properties and lives. For example, bad seeds result in bankruptcy of farms. And another case in point is that if a consumer buys some fake medicine, the medicine won't cure him of his illness but will probably kill him instead. On the other hand, the production of fake commodities is a great danger to our society as well as individual consumers in many ways. Firstly, the good reputation of the well-known product may be ruined overnight by an easily made fake one. Secondly, fake products, usually associated with organized crime and backed up by powerful multilayered corrupted bureaucrats, may cause chaos and ruin our society.

Since fake products do great harm to individual consumers and the society, it is high time we did something to avoid being the victim of fake goods. Every one of us has the duty to fight against fake products for the sake of our society and ourselves. 3 Violent TV Programs Cause More Crimes

Nowadays, it seems that violent programs enjoy great popularity among people, especially among teenagers. Some people assert that violent TV programs cause violence in real life. As far as I am concerned, the disgraceful violent TV programs are largely responsible for the rising crime rate in modern cities.

In the first place, violent TV programs tend to obscure the difference between good and evil, harming the social morals and values. As we all know, even an adult sometimes cannot distinguish them, needless to say a teenager. Consider the case of a boy who imitates the violent acts on TV just out of curiosity without knowing that he is doing something that he would regret for the rest of his life.

In the second place, violent TV programs can gradually change people’s behaviour, leading them to believe that violence is the most effective way to resolve conflicts. Nowadays, as soon as

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you turn on your TV, violence is vividly presented to you, with the success of the criminals encouraging you, the luxurious booty tempting you, and the stupidity of the police cheering you.

We may draw the conclusion that violent TV programs have in a large sense caused crime rate to rise not only because of their destructive influence on people’s morality, but also because of their negative effect on people’s behaviour.

二．对比选择型

4． Student-Centered Classes Are My Favourite

Although classes often seem outwardly the same because there is always a teacher and some students in a classroom, the differences between teacher-centered classes and student-centered classes, however, are enormous. I prefer student-centered classes because they are more natural and more interesting ways of acquiring knowledge.

In teacher-centered classes, the teacher usually dominates the class. He lectures, puts outlines and language points on the blackboard, gives solutions to problems, and stuffs the students with information. The students only sit, listen and take notes passively at their desks. In student- centered classes, on the contrary, the teacher tries to stimulate the students to learn on their own by asking thought-provoking questions, by exposing the students to problems, and most importantly, by being a participant himself or herself. Students in these classes are more actively involved in the thinking learning process. In class, they ask questions and search for the answers themselves and then discuss what they have found.

To sum up, student-centered classes not only make learning active and enjoyable, but also enable the students to learn how to find and solve problems themselves. But in my view, to realize completely student-centered classes, China still has a long way to go . 5. Will Computers Replace Teachers?

The information and computer technologies have boosted the efficiency and convenience of people’s work and study. Their application in school education has provided teachers and students with new approaches to knowledge and information. But however useful computers are, they are still integrated into the teaching curriculum as instrumental teaching aid. They have to follow instructions designed by man and cannot play the role of human brain. So it is impossible for computers to replace teachers.

I admit that computers benefit students in many ways. Students can do their assignments with the help of appropriate software. Computers can help them access the Internet for research and entertainment purposes. But as Spencer said, “education has for its object the formation of character.” This is also the essence of the quality-oriented education advocated by our government. It aims to produce well-rounded students. We need graduates who can think creatively, not those who are only good at cutting and pasting from online encyclopedia. We need graduates who can communicate face-to-face with others confidently, not those who always hide behind e-mails. These are the very aspects of education where teachers can provide help and guidance.

So, teachers needn’t fear that they would be replaced by computers. Instead, they should be aware that if they did not adopt new technology, they would become outdated. Faced with the challenge of modern technology, what they should do is to change their attitude toward their role. By learning and using this progressive approach, they can make their teaching more interactive and effective.

6. Should University Courses Be Geared to the Economic Needs of Society?

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A common ground has been reached that there should be a reform of the existing university course system in order to better serve the economic needs of society. But opinions differ as to how to conduct this reform. Some insist that all the courses offered should be practical enough to enable graduates to find good jobs. Some argue that we should add some up-to-date courses and reserve those basic courses at the same time. I cannot agree more with the latter opinion.

To begin with, products of university education should pertain to the development of society. Higher education aims at helping students develop into graduates with the skills required by our society. For students to survive in this competitive world, universities should consider offering courses that are in high demand in society, such as those on business administration, computer technology and language training. So we need add new courses and cut some obsolete ones as soon as possible.

On the other hand, we should by no means undermine the learning of basic courses, e.g. physics, mathematics and geography, because teaching these courses is providing a basis for an economy to go further. So, universities should not be so short-sighted as to abandon all the basic courses only for producing instantly-needed professionals rather than preparing for a manpower reserve for the sustainable development of our country.

All in all, university education should strike a proper balance between short-term requirements and long-term requirements. In my view, this is the only correct way to carry out the reform of the existing university course system.

7. Class Attendance: Compulsory or Optional?

There is no doubt that students should take their studies seriously. This means not only doing required work, but also actively pursuing every opportunity to learn. So they should attend their classes to receive the maximum benefit. Even so, I do not believe that there is a need to make class attendance mandatory at the university level.

By the time they reach the university level, students are no longer children. They are young adults and should be responsible for their actions. Attending classes is of benefit to them; while it may be tempting to skip them once in a while, it is not a responsible choice. Adults must be able to manage their time on their own and to make their own decisions. If students miss too many classes and do poorly in a course, they will have to accept the consequences of their own actions. Finally, optional class attendance may not only promote self-improvement of students but also teaching. Of course professors like to see full attendance at their classes. If students choose to skip classes, the professors should ask themselves why. Perhaps the students do not understand the relevance of the lectures to their academic development.

In conclusion, I believe that class attendance should not be required for university students. Students should learn to make the right decisions for themselves, and this is one way to encourage independence and help them to acquire a sense of responsibility. 8. Is Progress Always Good?

Is progress always good? Scientific progress brings us many conveniences and advanced machines, such as computers and automobiles. Progress seems to have made life simpler and more comfortable. But if we analyze it carefully, we will find that progress is not always good.

Modern industry brings us a more convenient life. But at the same time, some problems arise.

For example, the greenhouse effect is so serious a problem that scientists are trying hard to solve it effectively. Because of the greenhouse effect, the earth’s temperature is continually increasing, resulting in the melting of icebergs and the consequential rise in sea level. Maybe someday the sea

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water will swallow some big coastal cities.

Progress enhances the speed at which products can be made, but it also results in pollution.

Pollution has become so serious that the ecological balance is damaged and many animals and plants lose their living habitats and eventually become extinct. The polluted air is bad for people’s health. People in many countries are now facing a serious lack of clean drinking water. Progress makes the tempo of life faster and faster due to our using faster and more efficient machines. People have to work faster than before and many people now no longer have time for recreation; this makes them nervous and anxious. More and more physical and psychological problems come about as a result of this quicker life pace.

From the above statements, it can be concluded that progress is not always good. It may

have negative influences on our lives. Maybe those problems can be solved by more progress, or maybe we should revert back to a more peaceful life less reliant on machines and computers. 9. Work for a Large Company or a Small Company?

We all know that we must work to sustain ourselves and most of us agree that work gives us pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of achievement and fulfillment. But when it comes to the choice of workplace, some people prefer to work for a large company while others prefer to work for a small company. I prefer to work for a large company because working in a large company gives me more opportunities to learn and grow both professionally and personally. Working in a large organization also results in monetary benefits.

One of my friends is currently working in a multinational company that is a world leader in education and training. While working there for the last five years, he has been given innumerable opportunities to learn while working. He has received several types of training that have helped him grow and develop into someone who knows a lot about the way technology works. What’s more, he gets paid while studying full time at universities . In my opinion, this is a wonderful way to learn and still be able to make a living.

A large organization focuses on new ventures to expand their business scope. Hence, in large organizations, one can be given many opportunities to grow and develop. The more you learn and apply your knowledge, the more opportunities you get to improve yourself. A large organization consists of different divisions, such as Sales, Marketing, Media, Research & Development. According to one’s personal interests and expertise in an area, one can pursue their career while learning and developing professionally.

Another major reason for my opting to work in a large organization is job security. A large organization is well established in its field of business. Employees in such organizations do not have to worry about the organization going bankrupt or shutting down. Job security is one of the most important things to have in this quickly changing business world.

For the above-stated reasons, a large organization that focuses on the expansion of business and gives its employees opportunities to grow and learn is the most desirable workplace. In order to constantly be able to learn new things in my area of interest, I prefer to work in a well-known organization. In addition to these obvious benefits, having such a job will give me a sense of achievement.

10. Live in a Dormitory or in an Apartment?

Being a new student at a university is exciting. Choosing whether to live on campus in a dormitory or off campus in an apartment is, in fact, quite a big decision. Both of these options have their relative benefits.

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