1、【题目】Todayconsumersarefacinganincreasingamountofadvertisingfromcompetingcompanies.Towhatextentdoyouthinkconsumersareinfluencedbyadvertisements?Whatmeasurescanbetakentoprotectthem?

答案：

The extent to which people are influenced by advertisements can be measured in terms of the high sales of popular consumer goods, many of them being unnecessary or completely useless. Mainly through the media, advertisements on products and services are able to penetrate the public mind with half truth and half lying. In many cases, consumers are becoming so greedy that they are not only buying things they really do not need but also spending the money they do not have.

Although advertising gives people a chance as consumers, actually most advertisements tend to cause them to desire for something worthless. Under such circumstances, it is easy to change people's need into greed. So much so, they are constantly encouraged to want things--want this and want that. This human behavior is haunted by the media from all fronts: on radio, on television, and online, not to mention printed circulations such as newspapers and magazines. Obviously, a great number of "impulsive" buyers are persuaded under the illusion that new products or services could make a difference in their lives. Despite all the benefits of the free market economy, the effects of unreliable advertising are particularly negative in that the power of advertising does not reflect the real needs of the society in which products and services are sold.

Worse still, many consumers are convinced to waste money they do not have. Surrounded by advertisements, people are too unwise to perform a balanced act between income and expenditure. Increasingly, what seems to be good for economy begins to backfire because advertising is misleading consumers deeply into commercial debts which they probably could not afford to pay in due time. Thus, instead of improving people's lives, advertising may be considered as a "necessary evil" in modern time. Furthermore, as manufacturing and service companies are competing to have a larger share of the market, it is next to impossible to expect the media to reduce the amount of dishonest advertising. Besides, when it comes to making money, companies and the media are in the same religion.

After all, greed being a human instinct, consumers have only themselves to blame for their foolishness toward advertisements. Since outlawing commercial advertising is out of the question, people should educate themselves to be more prudent in buying and spending behaviors. As for consumers, what better measures can be taken to protect themselves other than self-control?

解析：

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1、【题目】People throw things away and buy new ones instead of repairing them and using again. What do you think may be the reasons for this? What problems might this cause in society?

答案：

Ours is a throw-away society strongly influenced by consumerism as we value convenience over environmental protection. Even though we are environmentally conscious to some extent, we do not appear to be serious enough in taking measures to reduce consumption, let alone repairing and re-using old things instead of buying new ones. Much is known about what is happening whereas little is being done to effectively prevent the serious situation from becoming worse.

The causes of the development of the "throw-away society" are clear, so are its effects on the environment. We throw away out of convenience because societal conventions have us constantly move on to the next new fad or technology. For example, we are dumping large quantities of thrash, such as plastic bags and diapers that can pollute the environment. Likewise, we are discarding televisions, cell phones, computers and other plastics in exchange of new ones that unsurprisingly will become our future garbage. It is as if a product were designed or intended on purpose to fail or become less desirable over time, only to be thrown away after a certain amount of use. So much so, we are filling the environment with more rubbish than we can possibly dispose of, and as a result pollution is the price we are paying for the popular culture of consumerism in the age of mass production.

Nevertheless, there are no ready solutions to consumerism-related problems due mainly to the fact that the "throw-away" habits die hard, especially when often it could be more costly to repair old products than to buy new ones. Consequently, although many people have a critical view of over-consumption and excessive production of short-lived items, few people are actually able to resist the systematic attempts of business to make us wasteful as well as debt-ridden and permanently discontented individuals. To relieve the environmental impacts, we pretend to believe that one ideal solution should rest on educating consumers to voluntarily do "positive" buying--recycled and re-used. Without a doubt, this might be nothing but wishful thinking since such a measure is easier said than done in a well-to-do society, imagining that only extreme poverty could perhaps stop the "throw-away" trend. Fortunately, the good news is that there exist some kinds of technological know-how that may kindle the hope of finding a "green" solution, commonly called Waste-To-Energy (WTE) plants. Of course, it remains to be seen how efficiently those WTE plants can reduce waste volume and also contribute to resource recovery, thereby protecting the environment.

What with education and what with technology, it is expected that more could be done to combat the key problems in the "throw-away society". To be sure, environmental awareness alone is not enough to spare our planet from being further damaged if we do not change that consumer lifestyle which is not doing any favor to the environment. In a society gradually being used to obsessive consumerism, the cruel reality is that too many people now prefer convenience to environmental protection, while too few measures are likely to become effective anytime soon.

解析：

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1、【题目】Wehavethreeimportantpartsofeducationreading,writingandmathematics.Somepeoplethinkeverychildwillbenefitfromthefourthskilladdedtothelist:computerskills.Doyouagreeordisagree?

答案：

Twelve years into the new millennium, individuals have witnessed the universal utilization of computer in the fields of culture, science, military and so forth. When it comes to the education frontier, computer-related skills as well as their diversified applications，to a large extent，have facilitated students and schools throughout the world. However, whether computer skills should be enlisted in our curriculum, as a forth compulsory component, has sparked heated discussion recently. From my viewpoint, computer skills are important but not necessary in terms of public education.

Admittedly, youngsters would , for certain, gain more popularity in the future job market provided that computer techniques are offered in schools, since computerized products and technologies have penetrated virtually every aspect of every industry. In addition, acquiring the essential knowledge regarding computer or even the internet could, to some degree, help children improve the efficiency and quality of their school learning, which tend to be onerous and monotonous based on the current education system.

On the other hand, it seems pointless to add computer skills into the schooling list just like the other three, namely reading, writing and math. Firstly, the burden of students nowadays is fairly considerable. Adding a forth compulsory subject would undoubtedly frustrate and exhaust them, or even undermine their passion for studying all together. On top of that, computer skills, along with the widespread of personal computers in common household, can be gained in various means besides educational institution. It has been a quite common phenomenon that a major group of adolescents learned how to type by chatting online, how to save files by downloading the very first movie, and how to maintain operation system by installing anti-virus software.

Considering all the factors above, I personally reach the conclusion that computer skill should not be added into the current school disciplines, even though it is, indisputably, an essential technique to survive in the modern society.

解析：

暂无解析

1、【题目】More and more companies are allowing employees to work at home. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

答案：

The rapid advancement of computerized technologies and the deepened division of labor have made it possible for increasing number of individuals to accomplish their daily routine at home. Yet whether this development could be a blessing for not only employees but also for employers and the whole society has evolved into a case that bothers businesses and governments worldwide. From my own perspective, I agree that telecommuting would collectively bring more benefits than harm to the general public.

To start with, citizens’ time, particularly of those who live in a distant location from downtown area, can be saved and the depressing traffic congestion will be eased to a large extent, provided that most workers could perform their regular work at home (mostly online). Moreover, employees would feel more relaxed and clear-minded in a familiar surrounding, which might improve the quality and efficiency all together. By contrast, workers who are reluctant to stay in the office merely try all sorts of maneuvers to kill time until 5pm. On top of that, for certain companies like Google and Microsoft, granting employees the priority to work at home is a highly advisable approach to decline the expenditure on rent and furniture, which could eventually constitute a large proportion of their overall budget.

Admittedly, a series of resulting drawbacks would also be brought with the widespread of telecommuters. The primary one, undoubtedly, should be the absence of teamwork, which is the key to success of majority of projects. In current society, not only businesses but also individual workers have been increasingly integrated with one another, and therefore separated employees can hardly communicate and coordinate with their colleagues in person. Aside from that, supervision would be confronted with various obstacles, and it is both immoral and illegal to install a surveillance camera up the roof of employees’ home.

In a nutshell, even though permitting staff to work at home will inevitably face the challenges from supervision and teamwork, I am still convinced that teleworking, from an enlightened standpoint, should be encouraged publicly.

解析：

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1、【题目】Insomeculturesoldpeoplearemorevalued,whileinotherculturestheyouthismorevalued.Discussboththeseviewsandgiveyourownopinion.

答案：

In this essay, I shall explain why I think we that should value old age and youth, without suggesting that one is better than the other.

I feel that we should celebrate the fact that so many people make it to old age. In the past, thanks to war, disease and the dangers of childbirth, most people were not so fortunate. Particularly in Western societies, a large (and growing) proportion of the population is past the age of retirement and most of those people are enjoying life. Many have saved enough money to live well and travel around the world or to play golf or to do whatever it is that they enjoy. They value the time they have and want to make the most of it. Simultaneously, societies around the world value the elderly for the experience and knowledge that they have gained over the years.

At the same time, cultures and individuals around the world value youth. Some people value it so much that they are prepared to spend plenty of money on maintaining a youthful look, through the use of make-up and plastic surgery. Youth is often seen as a time to be dynamic and fun, developing new ideas and trying things differently. This can be very useful to an economy. Would China have been able to develop so quickly in recent decades without a large supply of young people ready to take their chances in Shenzhen or Shanghai?

These are the main reasons why I think that it is a mistake to value either old age or youth and not the other. Of course, most people will value one more than the other, possibly depending on their age. However, as a culture - as a society - we should value both.

解析：

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1、【题目】In some countries around the world men and women tend to have their children late in life. What are the reasons for this development? What are the effects on society and family life?

答案：

These days, owing to the advances in biomedical technology, there is a growing tendency in some countries for fresh couples to have children late in their life. From my perspective, this notable trend may associate with women themselves as well as with the increasingly soaring cost of living.

Obviously, women tend to receive longer education in their life span, which means they may get late marriage and consequently have postponed child-bearing. Furthermore, with longer and better education, women may reconsider their role in marriage. To be specific, they may attach more attention to their career trying to be professional in their field, compared with their traditional counterparts mainly performing the role of mother in a family. Apart from the reason coming from women themselves, the high cost of living in some countries may also contribute to this phenomenon. Not only can feeding a family be burdensome for young couples, but offering high quality education for their offspring could be an even more daunting task, which to a large extent hinder their progress to be parents.

Admittedly, having late child-bearing may enable women to fulfill their career ambitions and allow young couples to establish a solid financial base. However, despite the contribution of medical science, late child-bearing may make women be confronted with the pregnancy problems such as low fertility and the high risk of genetic disorder, which could be detrimental to their physical and mental health. Furthermore, postponed child-bearing could also trigger the decline of overall population, which in turn can exacerbate the problem of ageing population, ending up with more pressure on feeding the elderly for our future generations.

To conclude, although having postponed child-bearing could pave the way for women's career development, and enable young couples to better prepare for parents in terms of financial support, the risk of such practice for individuals and society should not be ignored and the analysis seems to indicate its drawbacks outweigh its merits. Thus, government and communities are supposed to do more to help our young couples to get balanced in this issue.

解析：

暂无解析