Part 1 Sample Essays Topic 1.A Why go to university? University is no longer a fresh word to people nowadays.

Since the beginning of this century, more and more youngsters choose to enter university after they have completed the study in high schools rather than to join the army or become an apprentice. Therefore, it is kind of interesting to find out the reason behind. First of all, students can only learn fundamental knowledge during high school while they are able to focus on their own interested majors in universities. This period is the key to knowledge accumulation, which will contribute a lot to the future of an individual. Moreover, university is no doubt the symbol of high education. t offers more than pure knowledge. ! degree from a university gives people certain identity that makes them stand out among their competitors. t can be seen from the fact that most international companies will only hire those who have at least a "achelor#s degree. Sincere dreams might also be the reason for university or college. For instance, in the $%s and &%s, people in 'hina e(perienced hard times. Many of them had to give up advanced education and take up the burdens of life at their early age. )ow, as they became parents or even grandparents, their dream for university education had no doubt reali*ed by their younger family members. Those young people, as reported, often study very hard in order to fulfill the e(pectations of two generations. There is no doubt that university can be the turning point of one#s future, because higher education will provide people with not only knowledge prepared for their careers, but also the fulfillment of their life goals. Mean+ while, the society has improved its strength to sponsor higher education. 'ompared with the past, people now attend universities also because they are able to secure various scholarships and supports from different channels. ! very good e(ample is that many 'hinese students are now studying in the U. S. Their incentive for application should be attributed to not only to their own performance but also the comprehensive education frame+ works in the U. S. "roadly speaking, people who study in universities have their hopes, to fulfill themselves. !t the same time, our society generously provides such an environment for people to achieve such goals. Therefore, when we see more and more fresh smiles on the campus of universities, let us just wish them a promising future. Topic 1.B Why go to university? ! university degree often helps a person achieve his goal with more ease. -owever, do we attend university just in pursuit of a degree. /oes a university only provide us nothing beneficial besides a paper+made diploma. !s far as am concerned, we enjoy university education in the following aspects, Firstly, with the knowledge learned at a university, we will have a deep understanding of our society. t is true that genuine knowledge comes from practice, but it cannot be denied that genuine knowledge tells us how to practice. ! systematic study in a college or a university, of course, enables us to reali*e how the society works and how to cope with certain problems arising from it in a more efficiently, and more skillful way. Second, a university education usually makes it possible that we get hold of a decent job. !s a result of the accomplishment of a four+year study, it is not difficult for us to find a good job in most cases. -ow can we imagine that a graduate majoring in astronomy has to be a vendor in the street0 )o doubt, he1she should sit in his1her laboratory, doing research on aircraft science before a computer. 2bviously, a university education assures him1her a decent job. 3ast but not least, we can help others much better if we put what we have learned at a university into practice. ! university education fortifies our values, enhance our skills, and broaden our hori*ons. 4ith those, we are more capable of giving a hand to those who are in need of help. 5nowledge is power. 4hen achieving a degree at a university, we can get a better understanding of the society, find a decent job in an easy way, and help others better. !ll of those are due to the knowledge learned at a university.

Topic 2.A Are parents best teachers? 2bviously, the first teachers we have in our lives in most cases are our parents. They teach us to walk, to speak, and to have good manners before we reach 6the real world. 7 More than even the professional teachers that we have at school, parents are generally the most involved in the development and education of children. !lmost for sure our parents are the best teachers at the beginning of our lives, which actually corresponds to the parents# role in nature. 8arents are most committed and involved in teaching their children9 they have a kind of instinct to sacrifice a part of themselves for the betterment of their children. They love us and have great patience while passing down their knowledge to us. They wish us a success and thus will not teach us bad things. !nd of course, implicit learning occurs when children unconsciously copy some of their parents# habits and styles of behavior. /uring the second stage of child development, adolescence, parents can still be in the best position to offer advice even though the children might not accept it. n this case, perhaps the child#s friends would be the best teachers. !dolescents are notoriously rebellious in many cultures and may automatically reject any advice from their parents. My first marriage for instance, was solely a matter of doing the opposite when my parents tried to intrude in offering their advice. So in such matters, parents should be much more fle(ible and be rather the partners with their children. So we can see that being a teacher of growing child become more and more complicated case as the time passes and many parents are simply not able to meet the increased demands. 2n the other hand, would say that parents are not professional teachers and they tend to be very biased by their love of their children. So wishing good things and an easy life may prevent children from maturation. n any case, parents usually can present only one viewpoint of the world, while good teaching should be based on different attitudes. Thus, when children go to school and have a great diversity of teachers, they learn much more than their parents could probably give them. Furthermore, once our parents get older, they become more conservative and cannot always be objective in regard to modern trends and fashions. Thus we need to take their advice with caution during that period. -owever, some kind of intuition that believe shared between relatives about what everybody needs and great love that e(ists in families still makes our parents very good teachers and advisers at any time. n conclusion, while parents are not the ideal teachers, and well+rounded children will generally need a great diversity of teachers in their lives in order to have a more accurate view of the world, parents are generally the most committed of all teachers and have the greatest emotional investment in their children and their future. Topic 2.B Are parents best teachers? 2ur entire education system is based on what we accumulate each day of our life. n spite of the fact that school teachers are those who give us lots of information in a variety of fields, our parents are still the best teachers9 they start their educational process as soon as we were born and never stop teaching us. n the initial years of our life, our parents are involved in guiding us in modulating our personality and making us understand the differences between right and wrong. 4hen was five, my parents bought me a dog9 they taught me how to take care of him, feed him, play with him and bath him. Thus, learned that we all have responsibilities. :ven if parents are not speciali*ed in education, their role in teaching the children to be aware of the need of improving their knowledge at school is tremendous. 2ur parents are not supposed to teach us Math, 'hemistry or "iology, but they are very much involved in giving us les+ sons about being independent, strong and confident in ourselves. !s my mother said to me, ;fight your own battles because will not be always able to protect you.; Teenagers have to be informed about all the negative effects that can occur if using drugs, drinking alcohol, or smoking. <egarding this issue, parents have to cooperate with school teachers to make children aware of those possible risks. believe that parents are the best teachers because their lessons last forever. My parents are old now. :ven when am a grown up person, consider that they can still give me very good advices when need them, based on their life e(perience. My parents have the most important roll in my education during my

life and will always be grateful for everything they have taught me. Topic 2.C Are parents best teachers? 8arents are the most committed, the most influential, and almost the best teachers any child can have. The amount of time a child interacts with parents makes them the most influential force in a child#s life. The child gets to learn the most basics of things like walking, speaking and interacting with others. t is under the protections of parents that a child learns to behave in society and to com+ fort him or herself. !lthough parents are the most influential teachers in their children#s life, they may not be regarded as the best teachers. 8arents generally provide a biased view of the world9 they always favor their child, and thus they cannot provide a complete panoramic view of the society. !lso parents may set a bad e(ample for their child by abusing and fighting amongst themselves. 8sychologists and re+ cent crime charts have proved that young outlaws generally come from disrespectful families, and have grown up in e(treme environments. ! child interacts with many kinds of teachers at schools and colleges. !lthough these teachers, being professionals, have limited time to devote to a child, they provide a complete and diverse view to their students. They pro+ vide unbiased guidance to a child. /uring the years of adolescence, children tend to be aggressive and non+conforming to others# views. So parents need to act like friends rather than teachers. :ventually, it is the parents who provide an environment for a child to develop and mature, and thus have the capacity to be the best teachers to their child. 4hat is important is to pro+ vide an unbiased view to their child, to motivate independent thinking and actuate timely maturation.