1. The Functions of Music in Daily Life
Music is everywhere. We can hear it in restaurants, airports, railway stations, supermarkets, department stores, banks, hospitals, and many other public places. Music of all kinds is now available, and tapes and CDs are not very expensive.
Music plays an important role in our everyday lives. Music can give us a better feeling about ourselves and about everything around us. It can change our attitudes toward many things. When we feel sad, music can cheer us up. When we are tired and bored, music can make us relaxed. When we are working or studying, music can provide us with a pleasant environment so that we can work or study more efficiently. Music can make people work faster and with more energy. Music can lull babies to sleep and can even make cows produce more milk. In a word, life without music would be boring and monotonous.
2. Four Words to Make Life Worthwhile
Over the years as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to life’s challenges, I’ve come across f our simple words that can make living worthwhile.
First, life is worthwhile if you learn. What you don’t know will hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences — negative or positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experience, both positive and negative.
Second, life is worthwhile if you try. You can’t just learn; now you have to try so mething to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best and go all out.
Third, life is worthwhile if you stay. You have to stay from spring until harvest. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. But just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.
And lastly, life is worthwhile if you care. If you care at all you will get some results, if you care enough you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.
3.Smoking
It is almost known to all that smoking is bad for people's health. Scientific researches show that smoking can lead to heart disease, cancer and other problems .The World Health Organization says diseases linked to smoking kill at least two million five-hundred-thousand persons each year.
Still, many people find it difficult to stop smoking. One reason is that smoking usually becomes a habitual behavior and habits, whether good or bad, are not easy to be given up. Another reason is the effect of nicotine, the substance found in cigarettes works on people somewhat as drugs do.
Measures have been taken to help people keep away from the harm of smoking. In many cities, smoking is forbidden in public places. The danger of smoking is warned of everywhere. And newspapers are asked not to publish advertisements for cigarettes. World "No Tobacco Day" is observed every year as the biggest campaign against smoking.
4. 创建和谐的宿舍生活
1. 宿舍生活有时会出现不和谐的情况;
2. 一个和谐宿舍生活的必要性;
3. 如何创造和谐的宿舍生活。
On a Harmonious Dormitory Life
Dormitory life is an indispensable part of college life. But sometimes the harmony in the dormitory be disturbed in one way or another.
As is known to all, a harmonious dormitory life is important to college students and benefits all the members. On one hand, we can have a good rest and put our heart into study. On the other hand, we will have a good mood and enjoy being together.
There are several ways to create and maintain a harmonious dormitory life. Firstly, you have to evaluate your life-style and try to get rid of your dirty habits, if there are any. Secondly, when an annoying situation arises, you’ll just have to learn to tolerate each other and co-exist. Thirdly, you’ll have to share with each other and make good friends.
In conclusion, we should try our best to build a harmonious dormitory life for the sake of good study and good life.
5. 大学生就业
1. 近几年出现了大学生就业难的现象
2. 产生这种现象的原因(如大学生追求的目标过高，专业不对口等)
3. 如何解决这一问题(改变就业观念，大学生再培训等)
College Students’ Job Hunting
In recent years, college students find it increasingly difficult to get a job. It sounds strange since young college students are usually intelligent, well-educated phenomenon, aspirant and eager to bring their talent into full play. Then what underlies the strange phenomenon?
There are several reasons for this. To begin with, nowadays college students aim too high. All they want are ―good‖ jobs which could offer good salary, comfortable working conditions, high social status among others. Consequently, most college students are unwilling to accept vacant jobs they consider not ―good‖ enough. Another reason is that there is a big gap between the majors some students study in school and the demands of vacant jobs. So companies think some students are not fit for the jobs.
Solution to the problem requires efforts on both the society and the students. The companies should value the students, talent and knowledge while the latter should not merely aim at material gains. They should be down-to–earth in building up their career. Furthermore, they should face their weak points so as to improve themselves and be more competent.
6. 心理健康
1. 心理健康问题往往是导致疾病的原因
2. 分析人们产生心理健康问题的原因(可从失业、压力过重、缺乏支持、缺乏人际交往能力等方面分析)
3. 你认为人们应如何保持心理健康
How to Keep Psychologically Healthy?
One in four people will experience some kind of mental problem in the course of a year. When you fail to manage these problems, they are likely to cause various mental illnesses.
The causes of mental health problems often vary a lot from one case to another. In today’s society, a good number of people are suffering from heavy pressure. Others lack communication skills. In addition, a lot of people are ignorant of psychological knowledge about how to keep mentally fit.
There are a lot of ways to curb mental health problems and keep psychologically healthy. Firstly, find the real cause of your mental health problem and see whether you can do something about it. Secondly, learn to relax yourself and take exercises to release the pressure. Lastly, you may find it helpful to talk to your partner or friend about your problem, or seek support and advice form a psychological consultant
7. Income Gap
1. 有些人认为收入差距的存在是合理的；
2. 有些人认为收入差距的存在是不合理的
3. 收入差距对社会的影响
There has been a heated discussion over the growing income gap now. Some people hold that the gap is natural because it reflects different contributions that different people make in their work. In their view, those people with high income work hard and long. Besides, these people bring high efficiency, and create more wealth. Accordingly, they deserve high pay.
On the other hand, there are always some people who view this gap negatively. They believe that a lot of crimes happen as a result of this income gap. Some people make so little from their work that they risk taking criminal acts to get rich. In fact, experts have long found out that most cases of crime are directly related to low income. There is another point to back up a negative view against income gap. For most people, income gap may destroy the satisfaction that they obtain from work.
As anything has two sides, so has the problem of income gap. Personally, I believe that this gap may motivate people to compete better in job market. When this gap is growing too wide, however, our government should make some policies to get rid of its negative consequences.
8. Cooperation
There is a picture like this: two handicapped men are walking quite quickly by binding their disabled legs together and holding fast to each other’s shoulders, with their crutches（拐杖）left behind. What respectable persons they are!
They have surpassed their own physical deficiency（缺陷）and explored a smoother and easier way of advancing by drawing strength and support from each other. Obviously, what is highlighted in the picture is cooperation.
In modern times, cooperation has become an efficient and effective way to solve many problems. To begin with, through cooperation, we can heighten our strength so as to accomplish the things that are impossible to be done only by one person. We all have our own limitations and with the fast development of science and technology, we are facing a world that is more and more sophistica ted. Therefore, we often need to combine others’ abilities and resources to gain success. What’s more, cooperation is not the simple addition but fusion（融合）of all partners’ strength. Making use of
different members’ strong points, offsetting（去掉）the weaknesses, supporting mutually and sharing resources with each other, we can then attain to a capacity that is much stronger than the sum of all partners.
All in all, by cooperation among each other, we will be able to explore a wider world and reach further.
9. The Value of Time (1)
The proverbsays ―Time‖ is money‖. This means that every moment well spent may put some money into our pockets. If our time is usefully employed, it will either turn out some useful and important piece of work which will fetch its price in the market, or it will add to our experience and increase our capacities so as to enable us to earn money when the proper opportunity comes. There can thus be no doubt that time is convertible（可转化的）into money. Let those who think nothing of wasting time, remember this; let them remember that an hour misspent is equivalent to the loss of a bank-note; and that an hour utilized is tantamount to(等于) so much silver or gold; and then they will probably think twice before they give their consent（同意）to the loss of any part of their time.
Moreover, our life is nothing more than our time. To kill time is therefore a form of suicide. We are shocked when we think of death, and we spare no pains, no trouble, and no expense to preserve life. But we are too often indifferent to the loss of an hour or of a day, forgetting that our life is the sum total of the days and of the hours we live. A day of an hour wasted is therefore so much life forfeited. Let us bear this in mind, and waste of time will appear to us in the light of a crime as culpable（有罪的）as suicide itself.
The Value of Time (2)
There is a third consideration which will also tend to warn us against loss of time. Our life is a brief span measuring some sixty or seventy years in all, but nearly one half of this has to be spent in sleep; some years have to be spent over our meals; some over dressing and undressing; some in making journeys on land and voyages by sea; some in merry-making, either on our own account or for the sake of others; some in celebrating religious and social festivities; some in watching over the sick-beds of our nearest and dearest relatives. Now if all these years were to be deducted from the term over which our life extends we shall find about fifteen or twenty years at our disposal for active work. Whoever remembers this can never willingly waste a single moment of his life. ―It is astonishing‖ says Lord Chesterfield ―that anyone can squander（浪费）away in absolute idleness one single moment of that portion of time which is allotted（分配）to us in this world. Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it!‖
10. Examination
There are many arguments about the advantages and disadvantages of examination. Some people think examination is the only best way to test what and how examinees have studied. Meanwhile, it is the only measurement for examiners to select the talents they need. While, on the other hand, some object that examination can't measure how the students have really studied. They say it can do nothing but burden the students.
As for me, I think for both examiners and examinees, the examination can show what and how much the examinees have mastered. The results of examinations are just like mirrors for both examiners and examinees.
Through examination the examinees can check their work and get aware of which aspects they have not done well, so that they'll make much improvement in their work. As far as examinees are concerned, they can not only know how they have studied but also find out what they still unknown or what they haven't mastered well. Thus, they will be
inspired to greater efforts to improve their studying method so as to make greater progress. Of course too many examinations are burdens to both examiners and examinees.
In sum, the examination does more good than harm for both examiners and examinees. We must take a correct attitude towards examination. We should take full advantage of it and avoid its disadvantage.