现代教育话题

题目：People attend college or university for many different reasons(for example, new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

People attend colleges or universities for a lot of different reasons. I believe that the three most common reasons are to prepare for a career, to have new experiences, and to increase their knowledge of themselves and the world around them.

Career preparation is becoming more and more important to young people. For many, this is the primary reason to go to college. They know that the job market iscompetitive. At college, they can learn new skill for careers with a lot of opportunities. This means careers, such as information technology, that are expected to need a large workforce in the coming years.

Also,students go to colleges and universities to have new experiences. This oftenmeans having the opportunity to make people different from those in their home towns. For most students, going to college is the first time they’ve been away from home by themselves. In addition, this is the first time they’ve had to make decisions on their own. Making these decisions increases their knowledge of themselves.

Besides looking for self-knowledge, people also attend a university or college toexpand their knowledge in subjects they find interesting. For many, this will be their last chance for a long time to learn about something that doesn’t relateto their career.
I would recommend that people not be so focused on a career. They should go tocollege to have new experiences and learn about themselves and the world they live in.

点评：本文从三个方面说明了人们上大学的原因。第一，上大学是为了以后的工作做准备。由于现今劳动力市场竞争性很强，人们需要在大学里学习一些技术，以便增强竞争性。第二，上大学为了获得经验。上学对年轻人来说是他们第一次离开家门，并且要独立做出决定，从而在实践中增加他们的知识。第三，上大学能够使他们在自己感兴趣的科目中扩展他们的知识。最后，作者发表了自己的观点，指出人们不应过分关注他们未来的职业，而是应该通过上大学来获得更多的知识。

 

现代生活话题
题目：Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

The twentieth century has brought with i tmany advances. With those advances, human lives have changed dramatically. In some ways life is worse, but mostly it is better. Changes in food preparation methods, for example, have improved our lives greatly.

The convenience of preparing food today is amazing. Even stoves have gotten too slow for us. Microwave cooking is much easier. We can press a few buttons and a meal is completely cooked in just a short time. People used to spend hours preparing an oven-cooked meal, and now they can use that time for other, better things. Plus, there are all kinds of portable, prepackaged foods we can buy. Heat them in the office microwave, and lunch at work is quick and easy.

Food preparation today allows for more variety.With refrigerators and freezers, we can preserve a lot of different foods in our homes. Since technology makes cooking so much faster, people are willing to make several dishes for even a small meal. Parents are more likely to let children be picky, now that they can easily heat them up some prepackaged macaroniand cheese on the side. Needless to say, adults living in the same house may have very different eating habits as well. If they don’t want to cook a lot of different dishes, it’s common now to eat out at restaurants several times aweek.

Healthful eating is also easier than ever now.When people cook, they use new fat substitutes and cooking sprays to cut fatand calories. This reduces the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol. Additionally,we can buy fruits and vegetable fresh, frozen or canned. They are easy to prepare,so many of us eat more of those nutritious items daily. A hundred years ago,you couldn’t imagine the process of taking some frozen fruit andice from the freezer, adding some low-fat yogurt from a plastic cup and some juice from a can in the refrigerator，and whipping up a low-fat smoothie in the blender!

Our lifestyle is fast, but people still like good food. What new food preparation technology has given us is more choices. Today,we can prepare food that is more convenient, healthier, and of greater variety than ever before in history.

点评：文章指出 2 0 世纪以来，准备食品的新技术的出现，大大地改善了我们的生活。从三个方面展开说明，第一，准备食品更方便了，过去使用炉子做饭很费时间，现在使用微波炉既快又方便。第二，由于冰箱的使用，我们可以保存很多食物。因为做饭速度的加快，因此人们可多做几道菜。第三，食品更有利于健康，人们可以使用新的脂肪的替代物，减少食物中的脂肪和热量，从而减少心脏病和高胆固醇症的发生。最后作者指出由于新技术的应用，人们可以比以往任何时候获得更方便、健康的食物。这说明作者的清晰的写作思路，考生在考试中能做到这一点是十分难得的。

 

现代文明话题

题目：1. Many people visit museums when they travel to new places. Why do you think people visit museums?Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

People love to visit museums when traveling to new places. I think this is because museums tell them a lot about the culture of those places. Museums are also fun. It’s almost impossible to get bored in a museum. Every museum will have at least one thing of interest to somebody.

When visiting some place new, you can find out about the culture of that place in many ways. You can go to a movie or aplace of worship or a nightclub. Another option is to sit in the park andlisten to the people around you. The easiest way to learn about a place’s culture, though, is by visiting its museums.Museums will show you the history of the place you’re visiting. They’ll show you what art the locals think is important.

If there aren’t any museums, that tells yousomething, too.

Museums are fun. Even if you’re not interestedin art or history, there is always something to get your attention. Many museums now have what they call “hands-on” exhibits. These were originally designed to keep children occupied while their parents were looking at exhibits. However, museums have found that adults enjoy hands-on opportunities just as much as children. These exhibits have activities like pushing a button to hear more about what you’re looking at, creating your own work of art, or trying on clothes like those on the models in the museum.

People also enjoy visiting museums about unusual subjects. For instance, in my hometown there’s a museum devoted to the potato. This museum has art made out of potatoes. It also tells all about the history of the potato, and sells potato mementos like key chains and potato dolls.

People enjoy visiting this museum because it’s different. It’s not some-thing they’d find in their hometown and the museum’s curator enjoy talking about the Great Potato.

Museums are popular because they are about us. They reflect our creations, our values, and our dreams. No matter who you are or what you like, somewhere there is a museum that will amaze and interest you.

点评：博物馆对于大多数旅游者来讲，总是要去光顾的地方。本文作者提出了自己的一些看法。指出博物馆可以反映出当地的文化背景，十分有趣；并对来访者具有相当的吸引力。试想一下，如没有博物馆，谁会告诉你这些呢？同时博物馆还被变成有趣的地方，诸如土豆博物馆等。不论你是否喜欢博物馆，它总是会给你带来惊奇和乐趣的。文章引经据典，说服力强，很有借鉴之处。

 

经济改革话题

题目：What are some important qualities of a good supervisor (or boss)? Use specific details and examples to explain why these qualities are important.

Even though job situations can be very different,there are several qualities that all good supervisors have in common. A good boss treats all her employees fairly. He doesn’t single out one employee for better (or worse) treatment than the others. A poor supervisor has favorites.Sometimes he’ll even use his favorites to spy on other employees. He expects them to tell him what the others are saying about him. This can cause a lot of bad feeling among employees.

A good supervisor gives clear and understandable directions. He doesn’t constantly change his mind about what he wants employees to do. He also doesn’t get angry with an employee who is confused and needs him to explain the directions again or more fully.Delegating authority well is another quality of a good supervisor. He knows how to use the skills of his employees to best advantage. A poor supervisor insistson doing everything himself. He is unwilling to give any authority to others.

A good boss evaluates his employees on a reasonableset of criteria, not on how he feels about them personally. And he lets the employees know what those criteria are, so they have a fair chance of meeting them.

He gives both praise and criticism in a straight forward manner. He also offers guidance when needed. A poor supervisorwill criticize without giving any suggestions on how to improve.

Most importantly, a good supervisor set the standards for his employee by his own behavior. He works hard and treat semployees like valuable assets to the company. This promotes good morale amonghis workers, and this is of great benefit to his business.

点评：作者认为尽管人们的工作多种多样，但一个好的管理者应具有下列特征：公平地对待他的员工，给予员工的指令清晰易懂，很少对员工发火，给予员工一定的权利。运用统一合理的标准来评价员工等。作者通过对比方式展开全文，思路清晰、论据充分、层次分明，很有说服力。

 

环境保护话题

题目：A company has announced that itwishes to build a large factory near your community. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new influence on your community. Do you support or oppose the factory?Explain your position.

New factories often bring many good things to a community, such as jobs and increased prosperity.However, in my opinion, the benefits of having a factory are outweighed by the risks. That is why I oppose the plan to build a factory near my community.

I believe that this city would be harmed by a large factory. In particular, a factory would destroy the quality of the air and water in town. Factories bring smog and pollution.In the long run, the environment will be hurt and people’s health will beaffected. Having a factory is not worth that rise.

Of course, more jobs will be created by the factory. Our population will grow. To accommodate more workers, more homes and stores will be needed. Do we really want this much growth, so fast? If our town is going in growth, I would prefer slow growth with good planning. I don’t want to see rows of cheaply constructed townhouses.Our quality of life must be considered.

I believe that this growth will change our city too much. I love my home-town because it is a safe,small town. It is also easy to travel here. If we must expand to hold new citizens, the small-town feel will be gone. I would miss that greatly.

A factory would be helpful in some ways. However, I feel that the dangers are greater than the benefits. I cannot support a plan to build a factory here, and hope that others feel the same way.

点评：本文作者陈述了自己的观点。认为尽管在社区旁建设一个大型工厂有一定的利益，但总体来讲，弊大于利。因而作者反对在社区旁建工厂，其依据是建工厂会破坏环境，使空气和水受到污染。同时，作者也不想使所居住的社区受到破坏。虽说整篇文章给人一种杂乱的感觉，但从总体上还是不错的。如果作者能具体地分析建设工厂的重要性，并能够对题目的要求进行展开，而且在用词方面更加精细一些，那就是非常完美的范文了。

 

文化娱乐话题

题目：You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasonsand details to support your answer.

The choice between spending money on tickets to a concert or spending money on jewelry is an easy one. Given this choice, I would buy jewelry. The reasons are obvious, jewelry is an investment; it is permanent; and it is fashion-able.

Jewelry like a gold bracelet for example is a very good investment. It is important for women (andfor man, too) to have gold jewelry. If you have some serious financial problem,you could always sell your jewelry to help you over any rough spots. You couldnot sell your used concert ticket.

Jewelry, unless yousell it, is permanent. You always have it wear. Each time you put it on, you will remember the day you bought it. It will give you pleasure for years andyears. You could not wear the ticket stub from the concert.

Jewelry is very fashionable. I would feel very smart wearing a beautiful gold bracelet or diamond pin. People would comment and tell me how much they loved my jewelry.They would complimented me on my good taste.

I would feel very rich with my jewelry. I would have a good investment which is permanent and fashionable. Then, when someone invites me to a con-cert (and pays for my ticket), I will have something beautiful to wear.

点评：选择一种观点进行论述是托福考试最常见的题型。一般而言，用钱去投资珠宝或是观看音乐会不同的人有不同的选择。本文作者倾向于购买珠宝。理由是这是一项长久、时尚的投资。当你缺钱时，又可将珠宝卖掉。日常生活中随时佩戴珠宝往往能得到别人的夸奖，给生活带来乐趣。投资珠宝给人一种富有的感觉。而购买音乐会票则没有这些好处，只是一次性投资。

 

多彩人生话题

题目：“When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success.” Do you agree or disagree with the quotation above? Use specific and examples to explain your position.

When people succeed, it is because of hard work, but luck has a lot to do with it, too. Success without some luck is almost impossible. The French emperor Napoleon said one of his generals, “I know he’s good. But is he lucky?” Napoleon knew that all the hard work and talent in the world can’t make up for bad luck. However, hard work can invite good luck.

When it comes to success, luck can mean being in the right place to meet someone, or having the right skills to get a job done. It might mean turning down an offer and then having a better offer come along. Nothing can replace hard work, but working hard also means you’re preparing yourself opportunity. Opportunity very oftendepends on luck.

How many of the great inventions and discoveries came about through a lucky mistake or a lucky chance? One of the biggest lucky mistakes in history is Columbus’ so-called discovery of America. He enriched his sponsors and changed history, but he was really looking for India. However, Columbus chance discovery wasn’t pure luck.It was backed up by years of studying and calculating. He worked hard to provehis theory that the world was round.

Success that comes from pure luck and no hard work can be a real problem. For example, consider ateenage girl who becomes a movie star. Imagine she’s been picked from now here because of her looks. She is going to feel very insecure, because she knows she didn’t do anything to earn her stardom. On the other hand, think about an actress who’s spend years learning and working at her craft. When she finally has good luck and becomes a success, she will handle stardom better, she knows she earns it.

People who work hard help make their own luck by being ready opportunity knocks. When it comes to success. I think that hard work and luck so hand in hand.

点评：本文一开始就表明了观点，成功来源于辛勤的劳动。但机遇也很重要。然后论述了其理由。通过三个实例说明了机遇的重要性。但只有机遇而不辛勤劳动也是不可取的。最后作者指出有机遇的时候，人们更应辛勤工作，抓住机遇。这样才能获得成功。文章既有例证，又有充分的论据，给人一种说理较强的感觉。

 

风俗习惯话题

题目：Some people prefer to eat at food stands or restaurants. Other people prefer to prepare and eat food at home. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Some people like to eat out at food stands and restaurants, while others like to prepare food athome. Often it depends on the kind of lifestyle people have. Those with very busy jobs outside the house don’t always have time to cook. They like theconvenience of eating out. Overall, though, it is cheaper and healthier to eatat home.

While eating inrestaurants is fast, the money you spend can add up. When I have dinner atrestaurant with a friend, the bill is usually over twenty – dollars. I can buy a lot of groceries with that much money. Even lunch at a fast-food stand usually costs five or six dollars for one person. That’s enough to feed the whole family at home.

Eating at home is better for you, too. Meals at restaurants are often high in fat and calories,and they serve big plates of food — much more food than you need to eat at one meal. If you cook food at home, you have more control over the ingredients. You can use margarine instead of butter on your potatoes, or not put so much cheese on top of your pizza. At home, you can control your portion size. You can serve yourself as little as you want. In a restaurant, you may eat a full plate offood “because you paid for it”.

It’s true thateating out is convenient. You don’t have to shop, or cook, or clean up. Butreal home cooking doesn’t have to take a lot of time. There are lots of simplemeals that don’t take long to make. In fact, they’re faster than eating out,especially if you think of the time you spend driving to a restaurant, parking,waiting for a table, waiting for service, and driving home.

Both eating atrestaurants and cooking at home can be satisfying. Both can taste good and be enjoyed with family and friends. I prefer cooking at home because of the money and health issues, but people will make the choice that fits their lifestyle best.

点评：本文作者对于就餐方式( 在家中就餐、在餐馆就餐) 提出了自己的看法。认为在餐馆就餐方便快捷，不用自己采购、清洗、烹制。但不利之处是花费较高，食物中含有过多的脂肪热量。同时还要考虑到交通及停车场等问题。而在家中就餐经济、安全，可自己控制食量，不需要花费太多的时间。总之对于工作繁忙的人来讲，更倾向于在餐馆就餐。作者在最后明确指出自己的观点，出于经济、健康原因倾向于在家中就餐，与家人、朋友分享喜爱的食物。整篇文章对于利与弊分析透彻，观点明确，十分具有可信性。

 

其他热点话题

题目：It has been said, “Not everything that is learned is contained in books.” Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why?

“Experienceis the best teacher” is an old cliché, but I agree with it. The most important,and sometimes the hardest, lessons we learn in life come from our participationin situations. You can’t learn everything from a book.

Of course, learning from books in a formal educational setting is also valuable. It’s in schools that we learn the information we need to function in our society. We learn how to speak and write and understand mathematical equations. This is allinformation that we need to live in our communities and earn a living.

Nevertheless, I think that the most important lessons can’t be taught; they have to be experienced. No one can teach us how to get along with others or how to haveself-respect. As we grow from children into teenagers, no one can teach us how to deal with peer pressure. As we leave adolescence behind and enter adultlife, no one can teach us how to fall in love and get married.

This shouldn’t stopus from looking for guidelines along the way. Teachers and parents are valuable sources of advice when we’re young. As we enter into new stages in our lives,the advice we receive from them is very helpful because they have already had similar experiences. But experiencing our own triumphs and disasters is reallythe only way to learn how to deal with life.

点评：“经验是最好的老师”。作者用一句古谚语表明了自己的观点。他指出并不是所有的知识都是从书本中学到的。接着作者从两方面加以阐述。首先他肯定了书本中知识的重要性；然后又指出有些重要知识是不可能被教会的。只有通过实践才能获得。最后作者再次重申通过实践获得的知识才是最重要的。文章层次分明，深入浅出，语言浅显易懂，有一定说服力。