18 Beautiful Essaysfor the Final Examination of Audio-Visual-Oral English (I) for BIT First-Year Undergraduates (Examination Time: January 10th, 2009)1. On IdealsEveryone cherishes his ideals, fanciful or substantial. We dreamed of becoming scientists when we were school boys and girls; now we hope for a better society and are determined to work for it. And we strive, one way or another, to realize our ideals.One should be sensible whether one’s ideal is well-founded or not. If it is, one has to plan and work hard for its realization. Effort, skill and persistence are all necessary. And very often, one has to get help from others, including advice and support in different forms. In most cases, the realization of personal ideals is in the interest of the society. On the other hand, social ideals such as the preservation of natural environment for the improvement of human living conditions and the production of sufficient material wealth for the world’s population concern the whole of society, and their realization calls for contribution by all. We should always try our best to help such ideals come true.2. WasteMankind is wasting things everywhere and every day. Wherever we turn, we can see that paper, bottles and cans are thrown away; food is wasted just because of its poor taste; clothes are discarded simply due to their old fashion. Not only are things and money are wasted, but natural resources are abused as well. Trees are cut down merely for fuel; wildlife is killed simply for food; oil, coal and minerals are exploited in a bad way. It is time to call for an end to waste.We must save natural resources and make full use of them; otherwise human beings will be faced with the scarcity of natural resources and suffer from the pollution caused by waste.3. No Pains, No GainsThe height which great men reach and keep is not attained by asudden flight.Most of us feel envious of the famous and successful people. We donot understand why they are so popular and honored while we are mere simple common folks. In our misconception, we think thatpeople are prosperous because they are especially gifted or that they are “just lucky”.All these have taken root in our stubborn minds, and we refuse to believe that most great men have a mind which is the same as, or perhaps even simpler and duller than ours.Yet, their triumphs are great. Why? Because they are apt to fight difficulties with perseverance and without fatigue, undergo sufferings without minding the wounds; they realize that hardships form the road which they must pass through before reaching their destination. Their endurance is more powerful than that of ours for the simple reason that they submit without complaint to each storm in life.4. Rome Was Not Built in a DayThe good old proverb, “Rome was not built in a day,” reminds us that great things are never done without much time and labor. It takes us back to Rome, the capital of the greatest empire of the ancient world and the most brilliant city of ancient times. Indeed, Rome was built through the labors of many a great man who had been striving against difficulties.As human beings, we are eager to win merits for ourselves. It is, however, only patience as well as endurance that can help us to succeed in performing great deeds; for difficulties are in fact unavoidable, unless we do not engage in anything at all.Young people are, however, mostly impatient. Brave as they may be in the beginning, they often give up halfway in the face of what seems to be insurmountable. Most of such a type can hardly expect to succeed.5. Don’t Give UpIf we would ever accomplish anything in life, let us not forget thatwe must persevere. If we would learn our lessons in school, wemust be diligent and not give up whenever we come across anything difficult. We will find many of our lessons very hard, butlet us consider that the harder they are the better they will be for us if we will persevere and learn them thoroughly.But there are some among us who are ready to give up when they come to a hard example in mathematics, and say, “I can’t do this.”They never will if they feel so. “I can’t”never does anything worthwhile; but “I’ll try” accomplishes wonders. Let us remember that we will meet with difficulties all through life. They are in the pathway of everyone. If we will only try and keep trying, we will be sure to conquer and overcome every difficulty we meet. If we have a hard lesson today, let us strive to learn it well and then we will be prepared for a harder one tomorrow. And if we learn to master hard lessons in school, it will prepare us to overcome the hard things that we will meet in life when our schooldays are over.6. Time is a BankEach of us has a bank whose name is TIME. Every morning, TIME credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as loss, whatever of this you have failed to invest in good purposes. It carries over no balances. It allows no overdraft.Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.7. How to Learn English WellOf course, every student wants to study English well, but how?First we should know the importance of learning it. We’d better find out the obstacles we have in our studies and try to solve them as early as possible.Secondly, we must form good habits in our English studies and we can obtain better results in the following ways:1. We must plan our time carefully. Each day we set aside enough time to complete our normal reading and work assignments. Besides study we should have time for other activities.2. We should make good use of our time in class. While listening, we can also take notes. That means less work later.3. Study and review our lessons regularly. We should go over the important points in each lesson at least once a month.Lastly whenever we meet difficulties in our English studies, we should not lose heart but try to overcome them. And we can ask our teachers for advice. In doing so we would make great progress in our studies.8. The College ExperienceGoing to college! What a thrill! It’s a trip that has everything greatthat you have heard about if you make it so. It is also a very seriousbusiness. To a great extent, you will be on your own. True, there are an awful lot of people ready to help you, but generally you musttake the initiative and seek them out.Today’s world is full of precious knowledge, whether it be in thearts, literature, a profession, or a vocational skill. College is your chance of a lifetime to explore these areas. Each facet can be as exciting when discovered by you as it was when discovered by the original author or explorer. Let yourself explore beyond your immediate career objectives. A student in auto mechanics in most schools also can take courses in history, philosophy, music, or art. There is no reason a craftsman can’t also be a great thinker, or an explorer in the vast areas of unlimited knowledge. For a rich full life he or she should make the most of the opportunities at hand. Going to college means a lot more than earning a grade. To limit your college experience will be a waste to you and to all of people, past and present, who have invested their pennies, dimes and dollars —often at great personal sacrifice —to make educational opportunities open for you. Putting it bluntly, college is a place to be greedy —take all you can get and then some more. Thus, as you stand on the threshold of your college career, commit yourself and stand by that commitment. From the first day of class, discipline yourself to make learning fun, not a chore, and to get the most from the educational opportunities open to you.9. On ReadingReading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. As by the one,health is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated; by the other,virtue, which is the health of the mind, is kept alive, cherished and confirmed. But exercise becomes tedious and painful, when wemake use of it only as the means of health, so reading is apt to grow uneasy and burdensome when we apply ourselves to it for our improvement in virtue. For this reason, the virtue which we gather from a fable or an allegory is like the health we get by hunting; as we are engaged in an agreeable pursuit that draws us on with pleasure, and makes us insensible of the fatigues that accompany it.10. FriendsFriends are important. It has often been said that “No man can live like an island.”As our population increases in size, this is becoming increasingly true. A person will have trouble coping with society without friends.Friends should not be confused with acquaintances. Acquaintances are people whom you may see often. But, you could never share joy and sadness with an acquaintance. Acquaintances are usually with you for what they can get. Maybe, they like to be with you because you are popular. People usually have few friends and many acquaintances.Friends are always there when you need them. They are dependable and responsible. They share your sorrow and happiness. They are not interested in what they can get from you. They influence your development, maturity and sense of responsibility. They also warn you when you are in danger of doing wrong. Yes, friends are wonderful. It is nice to enjoy the warmth radiating from good friends.11. Don’t Seek PraiseIt is quite easy to get approval if we ask enough people, or if we askthose who are likely to tell us what we want to hear. The likelihoodis that they will say nice things rather than be too critical. Also, we tend to edit out the bad so that we hear only what we want to hear.So if you have produced a pleasantly acceptable piece of work, you will have proved to yourself that it’s good simply because others have said so. It’s probably OK. But then it’s probably not great, either.If, instead of seeking approval, you ask, “What’s wrong with it? How can I make it better?”, you are more likely to get a truthful, critical answer. You may even get an improvement on your idea. And you are still in a position to reject the criticism if you think it is wrong.12. Don’t Cover Your IdeasGive away everything you know, and more will come back to you. You will remember from school other students preventing you from seeing their answers by placing their arms around their exercise books or exam paper. It is the same at work, and people are secretive with ideas. “Don’t tell them because they’ll take credit for it.”The problem with hoarding is that you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale.If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. Somehow the more you give away, the more comes back to you.Ideas are open knowledge. Don’t claim ownership. They’re not your ideas anyway: they’re someone else’s. They are out there floating by on the ether. You just have to put yourself in a frame of mind to pick them up.13. Don’t Escape from ProblemsSome people who find themselves unable to solve a problem reactby just giving up. But it is not good to escape from problems bygiving up or by making excuses for failures. You may be sure that all young people go through the same difficult process that you aregoing through: meeting new situations, developing new skills, and testing their abilities.If you are unhappy about something, face it. Try to state the problem in a few words, so that you will know exactly what you are up against. Then see if you can “put your finger”on the cause of your unhappiness.In many cases, we only “think” there is no solution to a particularproblem. But often we can overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.14. ImaginationImagination is a world in which everybody enjoys the greatest freedom. You may imagine anything you like and keep it a secret. But some people are quite ready to share their interesting imagination with others.Imagination is a distorted reflection of reality and our wish. In ancient times when people knew very little about nature, imagination often involved gods. With the increase of knowledge, our imagination is generally more scientific.Imagination is not quite so absurd as some people may think. In fact, if man limited his mind to what he knows in reality, he could never learn anything new.15. SunlightIt is cold, so cold. The frost has the earth in its grasp, and the trees stand stiff in their coats of rime. We shiver, and think, will Winter never end?Take heart, for the earth is just sleeping and renewing its strength. Soon it will awaken, the green shoots will start to appear, and the sun will gradually gain strength and warmth. Just like life, in fact.From time to time we all need a period of rest in which to think and restore our jaded spirits, a peaceful interlude to reflect, to plan, and give ourselves strength for the days ahead. Keep that thought in mind, and today’s cold and frost will surely be full of hope for the future.16. Think PositivelyIf you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then just never, never, never give up.The secret of life isn’t what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.Help other people to cope with their problems and your own will be easier to cope with.Never use the word “impossible”seriously again. Toss it into the verbal wastebasket.Self-confidence is the first secret of success. So believe yourself! Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.Joy increases as you give it and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate more joy than you ever believed possible.How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself, so always think positively.Plunge head first into life; give it all you’ve got. And life will give all it has to you.17. Natural BeautyNatural beauty is an all-pervading presence. The universe is itstemple. It unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring. It wavesin the branches of trees and the green blades of grass. It haunts the depth of the earth and the sea. It gleams from the hues of the shelland the precious stone. And not only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the setting sun —all overflow with beauty.The power to appreciate beauty not only increases our sources of happiness —it enlarges our moral nature. Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the field or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.18. Sand and StoneThe story goes that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the fright, he wrote on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?”The other friend replied, “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away; but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessing in stone.。
