Task 1

1. Describe an event or celebration you attend recently. Why people have a good time together?

Well, last week, a bunch of my colleagues and I went fishing in a state park. We drove to the park around 6 o'clock in the afternoon. and then set up the fishing pole and began to fish. it was very quiet and the air was very fresh, the water was super crystal. it was very enjoyable. we were very lucky that today and scored lots of fish. and then we set up the grill and baked the fish on the grill. it was very delicious. Everybody there had a wonderful time.

2. Which of the following brings you more pleasure? Spend time with friends, study by yourself or doing sports? Explain why in details.

Personally, I would say I like to play sports, cuz there are actually lots of benefits, to begin with, one can socialize with their peers and make new friends. I also learned the importance of cooperation and responsibility when I am playing team sports, me and my teammate struggle together for a common goal, offer each other motivation along the way, and I feel that I care something bigger than myself during the game, and I think this is very meaningful. Additionally, I have to deal with disappointment when losing the game, and on other occasions I feel really confident and proud of myself when our team is winning the game.

3. Describe an important day in your life. Explain why it is important.

The most important day in my life was my college graduation day. I graduated from a prestigious university in the Unites States, but it was challenging for me. Four years before I graduated from college, the first time I set foot on the land of America, I felt so isolated and had tremendous language barriers. However, during my four years in college, not only did I improve my English language proficiency, but also kept a high GPA and was on the dean's list every year. But, I know that this day does not come easy, it symbolizes the time and effort I put to get my diploma.

4. What do you think is the most important advancement over the past 20 years in your country? Use reasons and specific examples to explain why you think that is important.

I would say the most important advancement of my country in the higher education. For the past 20 years, the central government invested lots of money for university to renovate their facilities, like recreation center, library, and even dining halls. If you get a chance to go the recreation centers in a university, you are very likely to see lots of advanced equipment and facilities, some of which might have sauna and spa service, and apart from that the frequent exchanges of scholars with other famous professors and researchers around the world have helped improve Chinese scholars overall capability, and they can publish lots of papers in world class journals and have an impact in their field.

5. Which of the following volunteer work would you choose and why? 1. Working as a home tutor 2. Helping adults 3. Helping old people

If I were given a chance to do volunteer activities, I would help the seniors. Now there are more and more retirees in my country, and the nursing homes and senior centers are not doing a very good job to help the seniors. There are quite a few things that I can do to help the seniors, I can read them newspapers, to help them get access to what is happening around the world. I also could assist them to tidy up their rooms so they might have a very good mood every day. Apart from that, I can just talk with them, seniors get lonely easily, and by interacting with them, they will feel a sense of belonging to the community and that there are someone out there who care about them. With all the above reasons and more, I would volunteer to help seniors.

6. If you were to do a project, which of the following would you choose? 1. A recycle program 2. Teaching children about vegetable growing 3. Teaching children about healthy eating

I would chose to attend a recycle program simply because our environment is jeopardizing dramatically in recent years, and recycling is a great way to help to deal with that. One of the major reasons that there is rampant littering in the city is that there are not enough trash cans on the streets. Garbage bins should be provided so that people can categorize their trash. As known to all, some of the trash are recyclable like soda cans, paper and glass, and not only can the trash be reused, but also there will be less littering, thus that will make the environment much better.

7. Which of the following extracurricular activities would you recommend children to take? playing sports, listening music, or visiting art galleries? Explain why

Actually, there are lots extracurricular activities one can do. I would suggest children play sports. They can choose to go the gym, actually, here are lots of facilities in it, like a very nice swimming pool, basketball court, badminton court and stuff like that. There are lots of benefit to play sports, to begin with, it helps to keep fit and be athletic and develop one's agility and strength at the same time, so the kids do not look awkward. Additionally, one can socialize with their peers and make new friends. Also, when playing sports with old friends, one can connect more with them emotionally, and that helps to sustain your friendship forever.

8. Your suggestions on how to save our planet since we are facing serious environment problems.

Firstly, we should cut down the usage of cars and other vehicles, thus the car exhaust can be reduced. The decision makers should invest more money to improve public transportation, like adding more bus routes, making public transportation more accessible; developing express local trains and repave bumpy roads. Secondly, the government should put forward some policies to punish factories who discharge lots of waste into the air, for example, they can impose a heavy tax on these factories. Plus, we can subsidize the environment conscious companies that use renewable energies like natural gas, wind power and nuclear power.

9. Describe a time you learned a new subject./ Describe a difficulty which you have overcome with the help of your family, friends or classmates. Explain how they helped

When I was in junior high, I had to learn English for the first time, and it was really hard for me to pick up at first. The words, grammar and sentence patterns are just so different from Chinese. But with the help of my English teacher, I gradually learnt some basic words and useful phrases, and I started practicing English with foreigners whenever I got a chance, the more I acquire, the more I am willing to learn and I put more effort and I am determined to be really good in English. Now, after so many years, I am still a big fan of the English language, and I cannot live a single day without it.

10. Which one of the following factor do you think is most important when it comes to travelling. Low cost, good weather, or various activities?

Well, Personally, I would say the most important factor is the activities that I can do during the trip. I like to go to places where I can appreciate the natural beauty, and get a chance to get away from the city concrete jungles. Actually, I just want to go to beautiful places with great natural scenery, like tropical rainforests, coastal cities, or mountainous regions. As for the activities, I like water activities, surfing, water skiing, also I like climbing mountains. cuz, doing these stuff I can keep fit, and improve my cardio vascular system, that's why I think activities are the most important.

11. If a foreign visitor comes to your country, what food will you introduce to him/her? Explain why.

Personally, I would recommend the huoguo, and its direct translation is hot pot. It can be cooked in a very easy way. Firstly, you need to throw in some species and other kinds of condiments, than boil the water, after that you can throw anything you like ranging from vegetables to seafood, like broccoli, potatoes, shrimp, tuna scallop and stuff like, and it is a pretty healthy way to eat. On top that, eating hot pot around a big round tables symbolizes a sense of reunion, lots of people have hot pot as their Spring Festival dinner. I mean, it doesn't have to be on Spring Festival, you can also have it when eating out with friends.

12. If you have a chance to learn something new, which of the following would you like to learn? Flying an airplane, playing a sport or playing an musical instrument.

I would definitely choose to play a new sport. I find it very relaxing when I play sports, it helps me to release my tension and depression that I got from both my life and study. Apart from that, playing sports is a very good way to keep healthy and try to be in good shape. It helps you to build up some muscles and be athletic, it is also good for your cardio vascular system. Lastly, I get a chance to meet new friends and broaden my social network when playing a sport, getting to know different people is a very thrilling experience for me.

13. Which of the following volunteer work would you choose and why?

1. Working as a home tutor 2. Helping adults 3. Helping old people

If I were given a chance to do volunteer activities, I would help the seniors. Now there are more and more retirees in my country, and the nursing homes and senior center are not doing a very good job to help the seniors. There are quite a few things that I can do to help the seniors, I can read them newspapers, to help them get access to what is happening around the world. I also could assist them to tidy up their rooms so they might have a very good mood every day. Apart from that, I can just talk with them, seniors get lonely easily, and by interacting with them, they will feel a sense of belong to the community and that there are someone out there who care about them. With all the above reasons and more, I would volunteer to help seniors.

Task 2

1. Some students prefer to go to universities or colleges in their hometown. Others prefer to go to universities or colleges in new cities or towns. Which do you prefer and why? Include details and examples in your explanation.

Personally, I prefer to study in a new city. I think it is very boring to stay in your city, where you have been living for almost 20 years, they people you will meet are still those you met during primary school and high school. However, to be able to study in another city, you get a chance to learn their local cultures, appreciate the natural beauty, and above all meet more exciting people, and by interacting with local people and making new friend in that city during college, you can broaden your horizon and enrich you life experience.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the most important teachers for a child.

Personally, I would say parents indeed are the most essential teachers for young children. More specifically, parents are the very first teachers in our psychological development, and they, together with other family members shape our early behaviors, values and even habits. For example, like if your parents are zealous readers of books and newspapers, one is likely to be a big fan of reading, and that will positively influence our intelligence. Also, for other personal idiosyncrasies are also influenced by our parents, like if parents are coffee lovers, the kids also tend to like coffee.

3. Which do you prefer? A job with a high salary but a lot of business trips, or a job with a low salary but no business trips.

Personally, I would to choose a job that can give a chance to travel around. I am the kind of person who likes new and exciting things and exploration. Just staying in one place, I will get extremely bored. I might not have a high efficiency at work and might not be very productive. On top of that, When doing business in different places, I got a chance to talk to locals and get to know their culture, customs and way of living. By interacting with them I can broaden my horizon and have new perspective on things, also I got paid more, it's like kill two birds with one stone.

4. Are you willing to carefully choose the gift which your friends like or choose whatever you like?

Personally, I would carefully choose a gift that my friends like. The reasons are quite obvious, the only reason why we buy gift for our friends is because we want them happy and feel that they are loved and cared by us. Anyone with a clear mind should not randomly choose gifts, otherwise, if we end up choosing a gift that our friends don't like, they might be angry and that will jeopardize our friendship. However, if you choose a gift carefully, the friend will appreciate the time and effort you put in selecting the gift for him or her, and thus one can bond more with their friends.

5. Do you agree or disagree that teachers should encourage students to have class discussion during class? Give specific reasons and details in your response.

Personally, I agree with this. I would say the best way to learn is to participate in class discussion, to begin with, students need to do lots of search and prepare notes for the class discussion. They can learn a lot by actively preparing for this. Additionally, the whole class gets a chance to hear multiple points of view, although some points might not be as thought-provoking, you can learn a lot of stuff beyond the textbooks anyway, and understand how an idea works in real life when people share their personal experiences.

6. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The success of a school largely depends on the resources it has such as textbooks and journals.

I don't agree that the success of a school largely depends on the resources it has such as textbooks and journals. I admit that they are contributing factors of a good school, but I think facilities and professors are big part of the success of a school. Firstly, science students depend on lab equipments and facilities to test theories in books, just learning theories without experiment in the lab is too boring and unproductive, so facilities, like research centers are very important. On top of that, professors are the key resource of a university, cuz they are the ones who can motivate the students and develop their skills and make them more creative, thus giving the students a better chance to be successful in the future.

7. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The most important influences that young adults have are from their families.

Personally, I would say families indeed influence young adults a lot. More specifically, parents are the very first teachers in our psychological development, and they, together with other family members shape our early behaviors, values and even habits. For example, like if your parents are zealous readers of books and newspapers, one is likely to be a big fan of reading, and that will positively influence our intelligence. Also, for other personal idiosyncrasies are also influenced by close family members, like if parents are coffee lovers, the kids also tend to like coffee.

8. What kind of job will you choose? A job through which you can get a lot of money or a job through which you can get great personal satisfaction.

I guess it really depends on the scenario, if the job that gives me great personal satisfaction can help me to pay all my utility bills and all other living expenses, I will choose the job that gives me great personal satisfaction. Cuz, one has to work on a profession for a few decades before retirement, a job with high salary might not be the one you really like. One might suffer from constant depression and pressure doing that kind of job and it will be detrimental to both their physical and psychology healthiness. After all, the experience is more valuable than salary.

9. When you give gifts to others, do you prefer gifts that are fun or gifts that can be used?

I would choose the gifts that can be used, cuz to begin with, I don't want to buy gifts cost me lots of money and end up being useless, like some painting works, figurines, and stuff like that. Things like a hat, an enlightening book, or even a movie CD, are more valuable to a friend, cuz there is a purpose of using these stuff, a hat can shelter the friend from the sun, a friend can have unique perspective when reading an interesting book, and they can relax themselves when watching the movie CD. Plus, they will remember your friendship when they are actually using and enjoying these gifts.

10. Some students prefer to write their course papers a day or two before the paper is due. Other students prefer to start working on their papers much sooner, spending a little time each day to complete the paper. Which do you prefer? Explain why.

I prefer to finish the paper sooner rather than later, to begin with, to finish lots of paper, you might spend a long time to find relevant references, figure out the data and the models you need to apply in the paper, starting to work on the paper early can make sure you have sufficient time to finish it on time. Plus, If you chose to work on the paper a day or two before it is due, you might have some scheduling problems, and be bombarded with other kinds of assignment, like group projects, presentations and stuff.