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(Essay ID: 233 )

Topic: 78

Some people like to work independently, while others would prefer to work in a team. Is it more important to be able to work with a group of people on a team or to work independently? Depending on different personal traits and working environments, people will have different answer to this question. I think being able to work in a team is more important for me.

First, modern society and industry is a complicated system which requires team work, communication and cooperation between companies and individuals. Take a computer system for example, it comprises of hardware, operating system and software, which are manufactured separately by different companies. Not one single company can accomplish a computer system without using products and technologies from other companies. Similarly, in a company, communication and teamwork is more and more important because I can not do my work properly without interacting with my supervisor and my colleagues.

Second, there are many advantages of working in a group than working alone. Teamwork provides me with a cooperative, friendly and enjoyable work environment. The team can also be helpful with my questions and problems, therefore increase the efficiency of my work. Teamwork can challenge my abilities and I can learn valuable experiences from it. From teamwork, I can also made valuable contacts with other professionals, which is quite helpful to my future career.

Third, the ability of working independently does not contradict with the ability to work in a team. For example, in a team environment, I enjoyed being a major contributor to my team. The fact that others depended on my work made me feel like I was doing worthwhile things. For example, I was in charge of the front end for the GUI for the new test manager. This was very valuable, because I know how important working on a team is.

Inclusion, I think the most important quality for me in my work environment is the ability to work with others in a team.

(Essay ID: 166 )

Topic: 79

The answer to this question depends on your own experience and life style. In my point view, if we should build a statue or monument to honor someone important to our city, this person is no one else but people in our city. Among countless factors which influence the choice, these are three conspicuous aspects as follows.

The main reason for my propensity for building a monument for people is that people are the greatest resources of our city. (……)

Another reason can be seen by every person is that people are productive forces. (……)

Furthermore, many works in the city can never fully be automated by computers and machines. Although we can use the latest technologies, we never forget that there is no substitute for human skill and creativity.

In short, the most important and honorable person in this city is not a single person, it is the people. People are heroes. For our city to survive and thrive, it is essential that the city update its

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approach to managing its most important asset - the people.

(Essay ID: 168 )

Topic: 80

The answer to this question depends on your own experience and the country you were brought up. In my point view, the most important custom from my country that I would like people from other countries to adopt is filial piety.

According to Chinese tradition, filial piety is the primary duty of all Chinese. Being a filial son means show respect to one's parents during their lifetime and--as they grew older--taking the best possible care of them.

A story can best illustrate the concept of filial pity. During the Chin Dynasty (4th-5th Century CE), a boy named Wu Meng was already serving his parents in exemplary filial piety although he was just eight years old. The family was so poor that they could not even afford a gauze net against the mosquitoes. Therefore every night in the summer swarms of mosquitoes would come and bite them. Wu Meng let them all feast on his naked stomach. Even though there were so many, he did not drive them away. He feared that the mosquitoes, having left him, would instead bite his parents. His heart was truly filled with love for his parents.

Filial piety is a good virtual of Chinese people, and people from other countries should also learn from it. Parents gave us birth and nurtured us, therefore we have the obligation to respect them and to take care of them when they can no longer take care of themselves. Western countries have complete social welfare systems to support people financially after they retire, but older people often face loneliness; they long for somebody to talk to them, especially their children and grand-children. We should try our best to spend more time with them, talk to them, and take them to family gatherings and trips to the nature.

Filial piety can benefit our society. It can make our family tie stronger, and children can learn a lot from our attitude to our parents and from their grand parents. They can realize how important a family is to a person, and develop a strong sense of responsibility to their families and friends. For example, when it is necessary to stand out to defend our families and even the nation for danger, we will not hesitate to do so, because we know how important our families and our country is to us.

In short, the most important custom from my country that I would like people from other countries to adopt is to be good to their parents. It is not only ensure that our parents can be taken good care of when they are getting old, but also help our children to develop good virtues and spirits.

(Essay ID: 169 . Sample essay provided by Erin Billy of www.TestMagic.com)

Topic: 81

These are several viewpoints on the implications of technological change and advancement and such schools of thought which considerably vary have their respective validity. Technological change has its advantages and disadvantages. For one, it is true that it partly solves problems and makes life better. At the same time, technological changes may likely create new problems thereby threatening or damaging quality of life. In the developing economies, for instance, technological advantages has both its merits and demerits. The introduction and seeming acceptability and usefulness of computers have somehow helped increase the efficiency of several

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firms. It is not only in the industrial sector that technological change proven to be very effective. In the agricultural sector, for example, the introduction of new technologies in increasing production has been very effective in expanding agricultural produce. These are just a few examples to illustrate the advantages of technological advancement.

On the other hand, countries should be more careful on their choice of technology since it must be noted that while certain types of technology are adaptable to developed economies the same type of technology may not fit the environment of developing countries due to differing economic, social, cultural, and political factors. For example, infrastructure improvements such as a construction of irrigation dam in the mountains of the Philippines where several natives reside may likely be resisted by the population due to cultural factors. They may prefer not to have such improvements in view of traditional values. Another example is the pollution impact of some technological improvements particularly in the industrial sectors.

The choice and adaptability of new technology should therefore be carefully studied. The short, medium, and long term impact of such technology is very important particularly for developing economies. The benefits should always be greater than the costs.

I am inclined to support both positions because both views have their own validity. However, I am more convinced that technological advancement is beneficial to countries so long as they are aware of the disadvantages of such technology.

(Essay ID: 170 . Sample essay provided by Erin Billy of www.TestMagic.com)

Topic: 81

Nowadays,we are in an age of technological revolutions. Many conveniences have been brought to us by technology and science. I agree with the statement that technology has made the world a better place to live. The reasons and examples are chiefly as follows:

The developments of compudters and internet have improved our life styles dramatically. Computers have changed our traditional ways of reading and writing, which bring us great convenience. The combanation of computers and internet has made our living quite different from before. Elecotronic mail is a useful example: computer users can communicate with one another across the globe. Electronic mail is particularly beneficial for language students. Learners can enjoy language exchange with native speakers through electronic mail.

Another good example is the invention of automobiles. Actually automobiles have been an integral part of every industrial economy. Many people use an automobile to get to work, many others - trademan, salesman, taxi drivers, police men - use automobiles as part of their work. On a larger scale, car production is possibly the most important element of national industrial performance. All in all, it is incrediable to imagine a mordern world will be like without anutomobiles.

Likewise, international jet transport has had some revolutioanry effects on our lifestyles. Beacause the high speed and relatively low costs of this type of travel, it has changed the way people look at the world. Today the world is much smaller than it was in the past.

Adimittedly, technological advances also caused so unpleasant effects such as pollution of automobile exhaust fumes, and noise of transport vechiels. But as people have realized those problems and are trying to find ways to solve them, on the whole, I believe thatn thechnology has made the world a better place to live.

(Essay ID: 346 )

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Topic: 81

Standing at the turn of the new century, we observe the twentieth century as a great advance in technology. With those advances, human lives have changed dramatically. In some ways, life is worse, but mostly, it is better. So personaly speaking, I am, and probably will always be, one of those who agree with the idea that technology has made the world a better place to live.

First of all, technology has brought with it a more comfortable life. Not only do we use aircondition and heating system during the summer and winter, but also do we take many changes in food preparation methods to make so delicious food. Due to the development of architecture and so on, living conditions are greatly improved nowadays.

Besides, the world is now more convenient to live. We can travel around by aeroplane and railway network. We can talk to each other faraway by telephone. Several score years ago, it was even daydreaming that we could today obtain information as well as commodities via Internet.

The last but not the least, through the process of technology improvement, people begin to realize the fact that only reconciling with the nature can we keep a continuous development. That is why we today pay so much attention to environmental protection. Many factories have achieved economic growth without pollution under certain new technology. These cities are beginning to be very beautiful places to live in.

Instances of the same sort can be multiplied indefinitely. When taking into account all these merits we may safely arrive at the conclusion that advantages of technology outweigh any disadvantage it may bring to our lives. Though I must admit that people sometimes invent some things that threaten the lives of themselves, no one can ignore the additional convenience and satisfaction offered by technology, and just with such experience the human being forge ahead swiftly to the future.

(Essay ID: 518 )

Topic: 81

With the development of technology, there have been a lot of changes to our life. Admittedly, some of these changes are bad, causing many environmental and social problems. However, most of these changes contribute to making our life more convenient, more comfortable and more wonderful.

First of all, due to the improvement of technology, people can enjoy more convenience than ever. For example, it only takes travelers or businessmen several hours to go to other countries by jet plane, which makes the world seem to be much smaller. With the help of Internet, people at different corners of the world can communicate with significantly high speed and low cost. It is technology that has cleared away the barriers that once prevented people from leading a convenient life.

Secondly, technology has made our life as comfortable as we can imagine. Sitting in airconditioned rooms, people do not have to suffer the extremely cold or hot weather any more. Whatever vegetable or fruit we want to eat, we can always find it in a supermarket without worrying about the season. We can also go to work in a place far away from our homes by using automobiles or public transportation tools.

In addition, technology provides us many choices to spend our spare time. Listening to music by

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using an MD, MP3 or walkman, surfing the internet or watching digital movies, all of these entertainments make our life wonderful. In conclusion, although technology has brought about some problems, such as air pollution caused by increasing automobiles, ethnic problems caused by cloning human beings, the benefits of technology far outweigh its bad influences. So it is safe to say that technology has made the world a better place to live.

(Essay ID: 470 )

Topic: 81

Whether technology has made the world a better place to live is a prevalent topic undergoing serioius debate. After pondering it from several aspects, I totally agree it is true that technology has made the world a better place to live. This I support with the following reasons

As we know, firstly technology can help people to live a longer life. A small example can give some light to this point. At the stone age, our ancestors’ average age is about 25. Due to the development of medical technology, now people’s average age is two or three times of that time.

Another reason why I prefer to this choice lies in the fact that technology ameliorate the environment in which people living in. for example, thousand of yeas ago people lived in caves, which are cold in winter and hot in summer. With using Architectural technology, people build up houses, skyscrapers. Living in them, people enjoy the comfortable lives without worrying about the whether it is hot,cold or rainy outside.

Finally I want to mention that technology has bring our lives more and more convenience. For instance, many people like music, classic music or pop music. At the beginning, people must go to the theater whenever he wanted to hear a song..Today, by using great technologies, walkman and discman are supplied for the music fans. Then they can enjoy their favorite songs anywhere and anytime.

From what has been discussed above, we can safely draw the conclusion that technology has made the world a better place to live.

(Essay ID: 508. This is a 5 point essay)

Topic: 82

Nowadays some may hold the opinion that advertising can tell you a lot about a country. As far as I am concerned, I agree with this statement. My arguments for this point are listed as follows.

One of the primary causes is that advertising is always a reflection of a country’s culture and customs. Advertising varies from country to country, depending on the country's particular conventions. For example, a Japanese advertisement may feature a Japanese lady with traditional kimono, while an American advertisement may feature a western cowboy with a hat and ride a horse. Through advertisement, we can have a general understanding of what people from other countries look like, what they wear during their daily life, what they eat, what kind of transportation they use, and what they do during their spare times. We can always learn different cultures of different countries through these culture specific advertisements.

A further more subtle point we must consider is that we can understand a country by its products. When we see a Toyota or a SONY advertisement on TV, we realize that Japanese people see quality as a vital aspect of their products, and we know that how these people are always trying their best in high technology development, and ensure the best quality in their products. When we

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have gained a deeper understanding of a product, we can also gain a deeper understanding of that country and people.

What is more, when we become curious about the culture and customs of a country through advertisement, we are willing to spend more time on reading about the country, explore more deeply about it, and even someday travel to a country we like to visit. All these might have started with a small advertisement on TV! Is that amazing?

In short, advertising can really tell you a lot about a country's culture and customs.

(Essay ID: 171 )

Topic: 83

I strongly agree with the statement that modern technology is creating a single world culture. Modern technology like computer and internet is bringing people together, and making the world getting smaller.

First of all, with the development of modern technologies such as computers, English is becoming the most important language in the world, and the importance of other languages is getting weaker and weaker. Admit or not, the most common language used today on the internet is English, this makes English becomes the one and only most important language in the world. On the other hand, computers can cross the barrier of human language. No matter where people are, and no matter which language people speak, they always use computers the same way, and basicly they are using the same kind of software packages, like Windows Operating Systems and word proccessing software packages. Computer language is also a universal language. Programmers from different part of the world can work in the Silicon Vally. Although they might have difficulties in communication in English, they have no problem at all writing programs with Java, or C++.

Besides, the development of the internet is uniformizing people's life style. Internet is being used in almost every corner the world. People are doing almost everything with the internet, like getting all sorts of information, shopping online, paying for their bills and checking their balances in the online bank. Over 90 per cent of people in the world use the same kind of internet browser - MS Internet Explorer, and almost every internet page looks like the same, although they use different language and design. People from all over the world are doing the same thing each day on the internet, and their living habit is becoming closer and closer with each passing day.

In addition, modern technolgy has facilitated the communications among people from all over the world, and therefore result a single world culture. For instance, people can chat with a friend or a stranger who lives abroad on the phone, internet, and they can also see and listen to him/her through a camera and a microphone just like face to face. This helps one culture learns from other culture, and bring the world together. Before people can see each other through TV, they used to wear their local costumes; nowadays T-shirt and blue jeans have become a universal custom for people. This is a concreate example that modern development is creating a single world culture.

Based on the points discussed above, we can see why I agree with that modern technology is creating a single world culture.

(Essay ID: 360 )

Topic: 83

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In modern society, technology has brought us amazing surprises everyday. Someone claims that modern technology is creating a single world culture. I completely disagree with this statement. I will list some of my reasons here.

Firstly, I believe that modern technology has improved multi-culturalism and the communication between cultures. With modern communication technology such as TVs and phones, we can see what people at the other end of the world is doing, and with a modern airplane, we can travel to every corner of the world. This will greatly help us understand the cultural diversity of this world, and we will learn to appreciate the cultural difference of people from different part of the earth.

Secondly, modern technology increases the communication between cultures. Eastern people can learn good virtual from western culture such as politeness and self-cultivation; and western people can also learn a great deal of good virtual from eastern culture such as modesty and filial pity of one’s parents. By communication, one culture can learn from other culture and evolve.

Thirdly, modern technology helps us to preserve our cultural relics and world treasures, and discover our culture in the past. We can also explore and discover more about our past, and have a better understanding of now and the future. For instance, Xi’an is famous for its figures of warriors and horses buried in the emperor’s tombs. In the modern world, we explore some of these tombs so that we would understand the remote and longstanding culture of Qin Dynasty in China’s history.

Indeed, modern technology has shorten the distance between cultures, and made this world smaller. But we cannot say that it is creating a single world culture. On the contrary, with the help of modern technology, we find this world more and more diversify and colorful.

(Essay ID: 172 . Sample essay provided by Erin Billy of www.TestMagic.com)

Topic: 84

What things can be widely used in education, business, government, family and almost all the other fields all over the world? One answer is the Internet, which is a great communication tool in the 21st century. Some people claim that the 21st century could not exist without the Internet. Therefore, children and young adults should use the Internet freely everywhere. Personally, I have the impression that there are some flaws in this seemingly indisputable proposition. Children and young adults should not use the Internet freely for three reasons, and some safe programs and filters are indeed needed in the Internet.

For one thing, the children and young adults that use the Internet freely might get the wrong information by chance. Children and young adults can be influenced easily by many new things. The Internet is so wide that it includes some wrong information such as violence and pornography. That information can cause many bad effects on the children and young adults, which are bad for them are growing. For example, there is some violence information in the Internet. After the children and young adults watch that by chance, they might follow the violence way from the Internet to solve the problems. Consequently, we have to use some kinds of software to block this kind of information. This highly technical software has already been developed well. Parents can just trust this kind of software in order to prevent children from accessing the blocked websites, which includes the wrong information.

For another thing, the children and young adults using the Internet freely might cause some computer problems. As the Internet is used on the computers, it is related to the computers closely. The computer is a highly technical machine that sometimes is hard to control. As a result, some bad things may have loopholes to get into the computer such as the computer viruses. If the

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children and young adults use the Internet freely without some safe programs their computers will probably be infected with computer viruses. For example, many years ago, I used my computer on the Internet without any safe programs. One day, I found my computer was abnormal and called a computer expert to look over it. He said my computer must be infected with computer viruses from the Internet and suggested I use the safe program to prevent the viruses. Since then, I have used the Internet with the safe program every time and never get the computer viruses any more. In addition, there are also some computer hackers on the Internet who always attack others’ computers or steal the data from others’ computers, which is a serious problem for the computer users. Therefore, a safe program is really needed for the computer users to prevent the viruses and hackers while they are using the Internet.

Furthermore, by using some filters we can save a lot of time to distinguish the useful and unnecessary information. Most people use the Internet to find and get information. There are so great quantities of information on the Internet that we usually have to spend quite a long time to find the useful information. Whereas, if we use some filters, we can distinguish the useful and unnecessary information easily. For example, my E-mail box always receives some pornographic junk mail, which are very disagreeable. After I use the filters to block those mails’ senders, that mail cannot get into my E-mail box any more. However, the Internet is such an interesting thing that people who enjoy it may keep on surfing on the net. People who have little ability of self control will lose themselves in the information highway spending a long time in front of the screen, which is absolutely bad for their health. Thus, the filters are quite useful when we use the Internet.

Some people hold that children and young adults use the Internet freely can widen their eyes of the world. However, I think using the Internet with the filters can also get the information much enough to widen their eyes. Most parents do not use the filters because they do not know how useful the filters are. The filters are so good now that we can choose the different ways to get the different kinds of information. Using the filters can make the limit to help the children and young adults kown more about the things that are useful for them. If the children and young adults use the Internet freely, they may lose their directions. As a result, they might not only widen their eyes, but also waste a lot of time. The filters can help us to prevent getting into the websites that we will never use them anyway so that we could widen our eyes of the world by using the filters.

As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the way of using Internet will also become more and more advanced. Consequently, children and young adults should use the Internet with some new advanced programs to get the information easily. They should try to learn the better way to use the Internet such as by the safe programs and filters. As a result, the Internet will be really good for them.

(Essay ID: 452 )

Topic: 84

The Internet Provides people with a lot of information, but is this information valuable, or so much information create problems for us? In my point of view, every thing has its two sides, and the value of the Internet far outweighs the disadvantages it brings to us.

The Internet has been beneficial to people around the globe. My view is a commonsense one, based on the fact that the Web is a vast storehouse of information and opinion, which can be scientific, literary, political, sporting or sexual. Anyone with access to a computer and a dialup connection can unlock the door and trawl through its offerings.

The Internet can be used as a broad base of knowledge that contributes to the educational system. Students and teachers benefit from the use of the Internet, as well as administrators and others

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outside of formal education. Students benefit because the Internet provides a resource to supplemental information for any subject. Educators benefit because the Internet provides a vast knowledge base to prepare for topics. People are not only learning from the Internet, they are contributing and sharing knowledge through networked communities. The Internet is the advancement of education for all its users.

Internet can deliver better customer services to people. The Internet is changing the way we do business. Using Internet broadcasting, we are able to target the right audience, prepare and present a technical presentation on a popular topic, interact with new customers, and collect hundreds of highly qualified leads. As Internet companies continue to find innovative ways to leverage the capabilities of the Internet for businesses, the more we will learn how to provide optimal solutions for customers. Which in turn, will greatly benefit people.

The Internet today is a way to transfer and share information. On the whole, it is a benefit to individuals of all kinds. We do have problems surrounding the Internet that need to be solved, but as with all new technologies there are debates and opinions. Since the Internet technology is spreading, it will soon become as popular as all other forms of communication. If you have not tried it, do so.

(Essay ID: 173 )

Topic: 85

If you attend a conference in China, and would like to take a one-day-visit on site seeing and shopping, there are three factors you might consider: this place must have special tourist features which can represent China, and this place must be close to the place where the meeting is held, therefore you do not have to spend too much time on traveling.

If you are in northern part of China, the best place that you should visit is the city of Beijing, although spending one day in Beijing is too short of a period to fully explore the splendors of the city. Nevertheless, for those of you without the luxury of time, make sure you don't miss a few key points of interest--the Summer Palace, the Forbidden Palace, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall of China.

The Summer Palace is a royal retreat located on the bank of a large lake. Visitors can walk along a waterfront promenade that leads to a concrete ship docked at the far end of the walk. At the concrete ship, you can take a ferry back to the entrance of the palace. Something you may want to do while at the Summer Palace is go into the gift shop, get dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, and pose for a souvenir photograph.

The Forbidden Palace is absolutely breathtaking. There are a series of gates that lead to the main palace grounds. Pay particular attention to the stairwells in the palace courtyards. There are slabs carved with intricate dragon designs, which the emperor was suspended over in a caravan whenever he left the palace grounds. It would be a good idea to get a local guide to lead you around the palace and explain the significance of various buildings.

Finally, don't miss the Great Wall. It's located outside of the city and it takes up most of the day, but it's well worth it. When you ascend the Great Wall, there are two paths--one veering to the left and the one veering to the right. The path on the right is less steep and an easier climb. However, if you take the path to the left, you can see the remains of the original wall, and there is a cable car you can take down to the parking area.

Shopping in Beijing is becoming more convenient by the day. The Silk Market at Xiushui Jie is

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favorites among tourists, experts and locals alike. There you can bargain with the shop owners and buy good quality cloths with a very low price, you can even see plenty of pirated softwareironically, within sight of the US Embassy.

So, there you have it. I encourage anyone to spend at least a few days in Beijing, because there are so much to see.

(Essay ID: 174 )

Topic: 85

If a foreign visitor has only one day to spend in my country - China, I will recommend him to live in an average Chinese family for that special day. There is no denying that the one-day experience with a average Chinese family will be invaluable for his life and future career, if given a chance to work or live in China in the foreseeable future!

As is known to all, to live with an average Chinese family for only one day, the foreign visitor could not get an overall picture of the average Chinese's life style and their culture; but in another way, even at the very beginning of being enthusiastically welcomed at the threshold of the house, he must be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm delivered by Chinese people who are famous for their hospitality; so that he is given a vivid lesson about the characteristics of the Chinese people. Of course, hospitality is merely one of the virtues Chinese people possess, but it is of vital importance to get familiar with the natives, to read the thoughts of the natives through their manners, or even their gestures, and finally be emerged into the life of the native Chinese more harmoniously than those who do not have such an experience!

Besides, to live with an average Chinese family, a foreigner will get first-hand information about the situation of the common Chinese people's the life quality, their main expenses, and their hobbies in their spare time and so on. This first-hand information is of preliminary importance if he wants to get an insider’s view of this country.

The third reason is that it is the best way for a foreigner to confirm whether he has read or heard in his own country is true or not is to look into the average Chinese people's life in person. If a foreigner is also a well-informed person, he must be buried with bulks of information all shouting about the so-called "insider's view" about the circumstances of the life of the Chinese people in today's China; and if he is a critical reader, he should not swallow all that without even asking "is that true?" Accordingly, I would say to the foreigner that to live with an average Chinese family will deserve all your endeavour and it is the perfect way to spend your one-day tour in China!

(Essay ID: 405 )

Topic: 86

Back to January 19th,2002

Till now, there is only one thing that makes me feel repentant of. My girlfriend died in Japan, and at that time I was doing my TOEFL test. If I could go back to some time and place in the past, I choose to go back to January 19th 2002...

I will use a story to show the reasons for choosing this time in the past. My girlfriend's was Christina. Her father is Japanese, and her mother is Chinese. That is why she looks as beautiful as an angel. Last winter vacation, I was preparing for the TOEFL test. Of course, I did not pay enough time for her as usual. I only saw her for twice a month. The night before the TOEFL test,

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