Tài liệu Answers to all toefl essay question part 20 pptx

Topic 61 Should parents make decisions for their teenage children?. The issue of whether parents or other adult relatives should make important decisions for their teenage children arous

Topic 60 Are games important to adults?

The young of most mammals, including humans, likes to play Scientists claim

that with lions, for example, play fighting prepares the cubs for their future life

as a hunter and killer The question is whether games teach humans about life

Many people believe that games accustom the player to life-skills such as

perseverance and competitiveness

However, I disagree with the title statement because I consider games to be

mainly for children In childhood, we do not have responsibility for the world

The child is always eager to grow up - to become a year older or to reach the

legal age of an adult Children find happiness in games by pretending to be an

adult in the real world The problem is that games are optional; they contain too

much happiness and too little hardship to ever be real An adult, by contrast,

finds meaning in his life by accepting that there are greater things 1n the world

than his own happiness

One of the dangers of games is that some people attempt to translate the rules

of a game onto reality The modern example of this problem is television and

computer games People in the West are now growing concerns that children

and teenagers occasionally imitate violence that they see on the screen Death is

fun on a computer game; and unstable teenagers who kill people in computer

games can forget the value of life American films are often accused of making

violence glamorous

This is not to say that games did not deceive people before the invention of

television and the microchip Success as a sports-star can lead a player to self-

importance If a football player is made captain of his team and receives praise

from the local press, he might be tempted to assume that he is the boss in other

areas of his life, such as within friendships Also, he might be surprised to find

that sport is simply not important

Finally, gambling should also be mentioned as a dangerous game Although

gambling and the acceptance of luck are acceptable features of many cultures, a

selfish gambler can neglect his financial duties towards his family Eventually,

Topic 61 Should parents make decisions for their teenage children?

The issue of whether parents or other adult relatives should make important

decisions for their teenage children arouses much controversy among people

with different perspectives and backgrounds Some people believe the

statement is legitimate, because children are not mature and have not enough

experiences to determine the optimal choice On the other hand, people claim

that no body can control other's life even their parents People should be

responsible for their own behaviors and determine their lives As far as I am

concerned, I would like to refute the former and support the latter In the

following discussing, I would like to address some evidence to substantiate my

point of view

In the first place, the most important reason for me to choose this position 1s

that old teenagers have their own thoughts and ideas The fact that the thoughts

of children are not perfect and logical dose not mean their parents have right to

eliminate their decision without considering the children's intentions In the era

of rapid social and technological changes leading to increasing life complexity

and psychological displacement, the good decision in parents’ time would be

out of data

In the second place, the job of parents is not to make decision for their children,

but to help them to choose In this period of 15 to 18 year-old children, they are

always radical If their parents make decisions instead of themselves, they will

not obey these decisions Parents had better told their kids about their opinions,

worries and experiences as friends Give much more room for their kids to

think and decide Respect and believe their kids will choose the better one and

will face the result directly

In sum, considering the aforementioned reasons I support the statement that

older teenagers had better make decisions by themselves Admittedly, our

parents are our best and most early teacher They would give us more important

advices to help us choose the best decision

Topic 61 Should parents make decisions for their teenage children?

First of all, it is not easy to define if people at the age of 15 to 18 are adults or

children because they are physically grown up and intelligent enough to carry

out general work like adults do in a company, while a lot of them are under

their parents’ control I believe that they should be able to make important

decisions by themselves, no matter how hard for them

Needless to say, the recognition of age and maturity is not universally identical

There were some times that 15 to 18 years old were recognized as adults and

supposed to think and act independently It was usual for women at the age of

15 to get married in my grandmother's generation in Japan Even in the present

days, it is still a common thing in some developing countries Thus, I guess it

depends on whether the community is wealthy enough for 15 to 18 year-old

children to be children or not Women in my grandmother's generation needed

to get married as soon as possible and have about 10 children in order to get

enough labor forces for their family business and have them taking care of their

parents and grandparents In those days, children must have grown up with

prediction of earlier age they had been supposed to become independent

These days, women in developed countries do not need to have so many

children anymore and they can go on to higher education, by comparison with

early times It has enabled mothers to get a job as well as fathers in order to

make their family wealthier and keep their children beside them longer As

children are not expected to be important labor forces for their family anymore,

it may not really matter if they are mature enough to make important decisions

Then how do children predict themselves to be independent at the age of 15 to

18 in such a situation?

I strongly believe that this phenomenon has made today's adults more immature

and immoral I could not believe that a lot of 20 year-old Japanese people

attended the ceremony for Coming of Age Day with their parents this year

Unless adults stop treating young people like children, future adults will

become even more immature They still need parents' and other adults' advice

to make important decisions but I cannot agree with the title statement: parents

Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

A lot of characteristics make a good friend However, in my opinion, having a

friend who is intelligent can do you good in many ways

An intelligent friend can share your problems and help you solve them properly

You are overwhelmed with stuff? He can show you the order to finish them on

schedule You are having problems with someone? Tell him and he will find out

the appropriate way to satisfy you and the other friend of yours Let's imagine

you were stuck in an elevator for instance You could be very upset and unable

to get out of it The situation could change dramatically if you had an

intelligent friend beside He could calm you down and quickly find the way to

rescue you

An intelligent friend is also a good example for you to learn from In fact, you

can get a lot of interesting and invaluable things from this knowledgeable

friend You can better yourself by learning his unique way of thinking and

handling things My friend is very intelligent, not only in his study, but also in

his everyday life He can solve problems in the way that I can never think of

Having him my close friend for ages, I have learnt a lot of things from him that

may help me much in my life He taught me the way of finding and solving

problems, and even changing unchangeable situations in some intelligent ways

Indeed, having an intelligent friend can give you the motivation to keep on

trying to be equal to him This makes you become competitive, or emulative in

some positive ways You may have a thought: "Why could he do that but

couldn't I ?" And you will try your best in order not to be inferior to your friend

You then will change your old and conservative way of thinking and doing

things, becoming open-minded to grasp new things and develop your true

potentials

All of these fabulous things an intelligent friend brings to you can be a stable

basis for a long-lasting friendship However, friendship requires a thorough and

mutual understanding So, you, yourself, also play an important part to make it

last forever, with whoever friends you have

Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

Almost every person in the world needs friends Different people hold different

opinions in choosing friends Some consider intelligence as the most important

characteristics in their friends; others regard a sense of humor as the most

significant personality As far as I am concerned, reliability, which means faith,

confidence and trust, is of vital importance The reasons go as follows

Firstly, based on reliability, friendship can be lasting On the one hand, when

your friends are faithful, you would love to get in close touch with them For

instance, you could reveal your secrets to them without worry about being

betrayed, and tell them your pleasure so as to double the joys On the other

hand, when you are loyal to your friends, they would also like to keep

relationship between each other Undoubtedly, you will be frequently invited to

friends' get-togethers and discussions, in which your opinions will be fully

taken into consideration since your friends respect you and know your

suggestion does good not only to yourself but also to them as well Thus,

willing of both your friends and you to continue the formed friendship will lead

to your perpetual friendship

What's more, reliability makes real friendship more solid and deeper Take

borrowing money as example, it is almost completely sure that, probably

besides your family, people you ask for money are your most reliable friends

You turn to them because you trust their sincerity to give you help, and, at the

same time, they exert themselves to meet your need because they are confident

of your attitude to your friendship, to be more specific, your promise to return

money Friendship between those friends and you, thereby, gets further

development and finally becomes really invaluable friendship just in coincide

with the old saying- a friend in need is a friend indeed

In conclusion, reliability can be a norm to exam the real friendship and

motivate people to deepen their friendship When I choose my friends,

reliability is the foremost factor to be considered Not only should my friends

be reliable to our friendship, but also I should too

Topic 62 What do you want most in a friend?

What is the most important quality in a friend? Is it intelligent, humorous, or

reliable? As far as I am concerned, I think it is reliable Among countless

factors that influence the choice, these are three conspicuous aspects as follows

To me, reliability is the most important quality of a friend A friend is person

whom we know, like, and trust We may know and like a person who is

intelligent, or who has a sense of humor, but we cannot call him a friend unless

he is also faithful and trustworthy Perhaps we all know the famous novel by

Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris, and wish that we had a friend like

Quasimodo Although he is ugly, the man has a kind heart and a very loyal

nature He seems dedicated to anyone who will show him true kindness Even

if someone we know who does not have a sense of humor, or does not

intelligent enough, he can still be our friend because he is the one who we can

trust

Another reason is that a friend must be a person whom we can depend on He is

willing to listen to us, give us supports, and lend a helping hand to us when we

are in need "A friend in need 1s a friend indeed " A friend is a person whom

we can trust our feelings and inner thoughts with, and do not fear that he will

betray us It is hard to imagine that anyone will share his thoughts with a person

who afterwards will spread the content of their conversation to everyone else in

the world

Of course, intelligent and humorous are also important qualities of a friend A

friend who i is mentally acute can give us sound judgment and rationality when

we face problems; a friend who is funny can give us an enjoyable time, and add

spice to our life But for me, I still think that the most important quality ofa

friend is being reliable

Topic 62 Friends

Friends are as precious as priceless treasures sent by angels Every individual

are longing for sincere and congenial friends Among various virtues that

contribute to an ideal friend, I believe that it is honesty that I value most

The foremost reason for an honest friend is that I can always count on him

whenever I am involved in some trouble As the saying goes? A friend in need

is a friend indeed? Come what may, the loyal friend always gives me a feeling

of security and warmth What is more, it is my sincere friend that inspires me

and shows me the courage to carry on Some so-called friend may draw back in

the case of a serious adversity while the honest friend would reach out his

hands to me, unconditionally and sincerely

Another subtle explanation is that an honest friend always laudable and

exemplary It is a great honor and fortune to own such a convincingly

honorable friend and, definitely, following his step as an honest person is never

too excessive a thing to do Honesty is, most of us believe, the indispensable

part of a person's valuable traits/peculiarity Never can a person achieve many

accomplishments nor have a high prestige without the conspicuous sparkling

quality: honesty There are numerous instances closely fit the notion, just like

the American president George Washington His bravery to be honest was

acknowledged by the story readers and it was of no accident that he later

became one of the greatest American presidents

In addition, the third reason I would like to mention 1s that a truthful

companion points out my shortcomings and it is definitely a tremendous help

for me Unaware of the innate defects, I am apt to make the same mistake again

and again unconsciously Friends, some of who are more or less sophisticated

and artful, are reluctant to rectify my mistakes in fear of irritating or offending

me Things would be completely different if I am fortunate enough to have a

truthful friend By his hearty advice, I am persuaded to go the right way; by his

pertinent blame, I am able to be free form making repeated mistakes; by his

good intentional warning, I am alert to the conceivable danger

Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

Some people argue that most experiences in our lives that seemed difficult at

the time, can later become valuable experiences I cannot agree with them more

There are numerous reasons why I hold confidence on this opinion, and I would

explore only a few primary ones here

Difficulties are beneficial to our personal growth In the course of our life, we

are going to face numerous difficulties and obstacles, and each difficulty will

help us grow up, and become a valuable lesson for the future A toddler fells off

the ground for many times before he knows how to walk, and a child learns

how to swim after he drinks water in the swimming pool In addition, only after

we experienced failures, we know the value of success We will never

appreciate anything that comes so easy Difficulties can make us feel stronger

and be more confident for the future obstacles

Furthermore, difficulties in our work can help us gain more experience and

knowledge Most of the times we can gain knowledge and experiences faster

through experiencing difficulties in our life and trying to find a solutions to the

perplexities that we face There is a famous saying, "no pain, no gain." For

example, when we take on a new job that we do not have much experience in,

the first few weeks can be extremely painful and we may feel enormous

pressure and difficulties And we will try our best to adjust, to learn and to

think, how to do this job better The more difficulties we feel, the harder we try

to acquire the skills and knowledge to overcome it Learning and this stage is

extremely efficient and our problem-solving skills well increase After we

overcome more and more problems, we can become an experienced worker in

this field and will be able to take on more challenges We will never fear that

we will face the same kind of problem again This means that we have

accumulated valuable experiences for the future

In a word, a difficult experience is a gift that life gives us We should appreciate

it and take it as a precious opportunity to gain knowledge and experience about

our study, work and life

Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

No one in the world can escape some kind of difficulties for perhaps they are

given by fate and they will accompany us for a whole life Success is one of the

most important life goals for everyone, but every mature human being has to

admit that success will be a blank dream without difficulties

From childhood, my parents and teachers told me that there is no flat and paved

road for me and I have to explore the road by myself I do not know what are

waiting for me in the unknown future, but what I know is that if I withdraw

without courage to face difficulties, I will never reach my success Every time

when I met difficulties, I always felt upset and sometimes I felt so hopeless that

I think the world is closing the door on me; but looking back afterwards, my

life experience always tells me that what I felt at that time was wrong Life

consists of all kinds of difficulties and these difficulties are the most useful

lessons given by life

We bring about most of the difficulties by ourselves It's a rule that making

mistakes will result in difficulties, and by dealing with difficulties we will

reduce mistakes I think that is a process of making progress At the same time,

difficulties can teach us how to face life and help us to gain courage Once you

have courage and deal with all difficulties with a healthy mood, you will really

know what life is like and to some extend, you have achieve a kind of success

All in all, difficult is the best teacher for us

Topic 63 Are difficult experiences valuable lessons for the future?

Life experiences definitely come in many different forms and shapes They can

be really sweet and really painful just as well There is an opinion that sooner

or later all of the above mentioned experiences would turn into valuable lessons

of some kind

I think it is a little naive and somewhat childish approach This is the way

people want it to be, not the way it actually happens in real life I am convinced

that, unless some supernatural powers interfere, no experiences will start

turning into anything of value It seems to me that some efforts must be applied,

because experience is not the sort of things that can come naturally, so to speak

To give an obvious example, if a student flunks his or her examinations one day,

and gets into big trouble with the faculty and the dean put together, how likely

is this student to do well on the exams next term? It remains to be seen, unless

the student in question had given the whole thing some thought and decided to

do everything possible not to get in such a jam over again I suppose that if he

hadn't done that, he would simply repeat the whole mess once more

Quite naturally, things don't work out this way all the time There are people

who do learn from their mistakes The bad part about this very peculiar kind of

learning is that 1t always hurts, one way or another If one has the habit of

learning only after some first-hand experience, he will most certainly suffer

from it I personally can tell from my own experience that it's way more

reasonable to stay on the safe side and avoid unpleasant experiences Because

when you have to deal with some of them you rarely think about all of the good

things that can come with it some time in the remote future What you really

think about in such moments is how uncomfortable, upsetting and painful the

whole experience is and how much it hurts to go through it

Still I have to admit that it can do you some good later on But it's necessary to

work on the difficult experiences that happen to you once in a while, if you

really want them to turn into valuable lessons in the future Gain is how we

learn, said C.S Lewis That's the way things go But not always, unfortunately

Sometimes people happen to die if the pain is too big And therefore they don't

learn anything anymore