Moreover, even if people have the spare time to do something, they prefer to develop their own interests or travel with friends rather than improving the neighborhood. With the development of the society and modern technology, people could enjoy different types of entertainments, such as playing online games, traveling, shopping, to name a few. Those activities occupy most of people’s leisure time today; on the contrary, entertainment activities were very limited in the past, and people then did not have too many choices to kill time except for visiting their neighbors. Based on the above discussion, it could be seen that people today are less interested in improving the neighborhood.

To sum up, because of the busy life and the pervasion of various types of entertainment activities, people today lack the time and the willingness to maintain their relationship with neighbors.

4.Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important for the government to spend money on new buildings than to preserve historic or traditional buildings and homes.

In today’s big cities, many governments prefer to invest new buildings because more and more people tend to work and live in big cities and thus need a place to stay. It seems that spending money on new buildings could benefit a large group of people. However, to my understanding, it is more important for the governments to encourage and fund the preservation of traditional and historic buildings for the following reasons.

Traditional buildings depict a city’s history, culture, as well as traditions, thus they should be protected though preservation and restoration might cost a large amount of money. Traditional and historical buildings represent the aesthetic value of a certain time period, reflecting the architects’ design and the choice of color of that time. It is not exaggerated to say that many traditional buildings are telling stories of an era. The stories, together with the styles of those buildings should be known, protected, and learned by people today. Sometimes, traditional and historic buildings could be used as examples in students’ textbooks. Imagine how wonderful it will be if students still have the opportunity to visit those buildings and feel the history conveyed by the architects’ styles of design! Therefore, I believe that traditional and historic buildings must be protected and should not be demolished, so that people could learn the knowledge of a time period through visiting those buildings.

If traditional and historical buildings are well protected, they will benefit local tourism and economy as well. In my hometown, there are some buildings constructed several decades ago by the first generation of foreign immigrants. Those buildings, which are very different from today, used exotic collaboration of colors and special materials of construction. The local governments have spent lots of money on preserving those buildings, and turn the buildings into scenic spots. Every year, those buildings have attracted people all over the world and contribute a lot to the local economy. This example shows that the preservation and restoration of traditional buildings could benefit a city’s local tourism as well as economy growth.

Indeed, many modern buildings are well designed and constructed using durable constructional materials. However, some of those constructional materials are not eco-friendly, which could be harmful to the residents’ physical health. If the governments have to invest new buildings, it is better not to use hazardous materials and ensure that the buildings are eco-friendly.

To sum up, I strongly advocate that the governments spend more money on preserving traditional and historic buildings because of their cultural and historical values. Moreover, well preserved traditional buildings could stimulate local tourism and thus boost the economic growth in a city.

5.Some people think that giving students time during a class to discuss ideas with each other is a good way to help students learn; others think giving students time for discussion is ineffective or a waste of time. Which idea do you agree with, and why?

As is known to all, the education in China is exam-oriented. Everything students learn in class is for passing the exams. There are few open topics for students to discuss in Chinese class. It is believed by both Chinese teachers and students that discussion in class is an ineffective way to learn. I totally agree with it.

To begin with, Chinese students have got used to the way they are educated. Most students are required to listen carefully to the teachers and take as many note as possible in the class from primary school to senior high school. It will be too much to ask for students to accept class discussion within a short period of time. It is possible that students might not know what to say in the first place. When topics were given in class, it would be possible that the whole class would be silent. It is not only a waste of time, but also embarrassing.

In addition, the effectiveness of class discussion depends on the students’ personality. Unlike students from western countries like the United States, Chinese students are introverted who are reluctant to express their ideas in front of their fellow classmates. Some students might be afraid of speaking in public. They are worried if they do something wrong, it will be quite humiliating. Some students are just not interested in sharing although they have plenty of amazing ideas in mind.

Moreover, in order to conduct successful class discussion, the teacher plays the most crucial role. It is quite tough for the teacher to supervise the process. He is supposed to be capable of dealing with various challenges. He has to know how to start the topic when the whole class remains silent. Also he has to know how to engage as many students as possible. He has to know what to do when the discussion is absolutely off the topic.

In sum, class discussion might be an effective teaching method in other countries. However, it is not the case in China. It takes time for Chinese students to get familiar with it. It might be good when students become more extraverted. The qualification of the teacher matters the most in carrying out a successful class discussion.

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