托福范文系列 (Part 8)

　　1 AD Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Television, newspapers, magazines, and other media pay too much attention to the personal lives of famous people such as public figures and celebrities. Use specific reasons and details to explain your opinion.     
 
　　I think the media pay too much attention to the private lives of famous people. Television, newspaper magazines and web sites dig up all kinds of past bad actions. They say that these are true reflections of a person's character. This may be true if they occurred only a few years before, but some of these are things people did as teenagers. People in their forties are expected to explain something they did when they were fifteen. If they killed someone, obviously that's more than a youthful mistake. Usually, though, these incidents involve experiments with drugs or being reckless in a car. They're not something that the public needs to know.

　　The media love to say that the public has a right to know. That's not true. We don't need to know if a movie star or politician has had an extramarital affair. That is something of concern only to the people involved. We do need to know if someone we're electing to public office has been involved in shady business deals, but we don't need to know if he or she defaulted on a loan twenty years ago.
   
　　It seems the media dig up these facts without giving thoughtful consideration to what might happen. It has an effect on the celebrity's family, especially the children. A celebrity's good name and credibility may be ruined before he or she can prove that rumors are false. If a case goes to court, paying a lawyer can use up all their money. Even if it doesn't come to that, they may find their career ruined.
   
　　When are we, the public, going to make it clear to the media that we're tired of having to watch this kind of thing on the news? Wouldn't it be better if they would concentrate on more important issues?

　　2 PR Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed(damaged) by human activity. Others that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

　　The quality of human life has improved greatly over the past few centuries, but Earth is being harmed more and more by human activity. As we develop our technology, we demand more from our planet.  Eventually, this will harm people as well.
      
　　Our planet gives us everything we need, but natural resources are not endless. Strip mining devastates whole regions, leaving bare and useless ground. Deforestation removes old growth trees that can't be replaced. Too much fishing may harm fish populations to the point where they can't recover. We are too careless in taking what we want without giving anything back.
      
　　There are more people than ever, living longer that ever. So is it any surprise that many areas suffer from too much development? Anyone living in or near a city has experienced "urban sprawl". There is a new shopping area on every corner and new houses, townhouses and apartments everywhere. Traffic gets worse and worse because planners can't keep up with growth. Keeping up with human demand is hard enough. Environmental concerns come in last.
       
　　With growth comes pollution. Companies and communities dump waste into water. Landfills are full of trash. Emissions from factories pollute the air. Barrels of industrial waste and worse, radioactive waste, have no safe place to go. If we're not careful, we can harm our planet beyond repair.
       
　　People need to respect the Earth and try to preserve it. If we don't, what kind of future will we have? 

　　3. It has recently been announced that a new high school may be built in your neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details in your answer.

　　I oppose having a new high school built in my neighborhood. Although I know there’s a real need for a new facility, I have to say that I don’t want one built so close to me. I think it would cause a lot of problems.

　　First of all, there are very few teenagers in this neighborhood, or in our suburban subdivision, for that matter. Most of the residents here are either retired or are just starting out with young children. This means that the kids coming to the new high school wouldn’t be walking. They would come on buses or would be driving to the school. Either way, this would mean a lot more traffic on our streets.

　　In addition to the traffic on school days, there also would be traffic whenever there was a sporting event, such as a basketball or football game, or activities at the school. Would there be enough parking in the school lot for everyone attending those events?  Probably not. Consequently, those extra cars would end up our neighborhood.

　　My neighbors and I would also be upset about the loss of the park, which is the site that’s been selected for the high school. Mothers with young children gather there every morning for their kids to play together. People my age like to take a walk after dinner. On weekends, that park is a place for picnic and relaxation. We’d be sorry to lose our neighborhood park.

　　I also have some concerns about all those young people being in our neighborhood. Would there be problems with drugs or fights? Could the school district guarantee us that security would be a priority? These are concerns that I don't think can be addressed sufficiently for me to support a new high school in my neighborhood.

　　4 Some people spend their entire lives in one place. Others move a number of times throughout their lives, looking for a better job, house, community, or even climate. Which do you prefer: saying in one place or moving in search of another place? Use reasons and specific examples to support your opinion.
   
　　Even though I have lived in the same house, in the same neighborhood, in the same city my entire life. I know I would be happy living in a variety of place. Moving would expose me to new people, new weather, and new housing.

　　Even if I were to move to another part of my city, I would encounter new people. Each neighborhood has a distinct personality. When I move to that neighborhood, I would meet the shopkeepers and residents that shape that personality. I may even adopt part of there manner as my own so I could be recognized as part of that community.

　　If I want to encounter different weather patterns, I would have to move beyond my city. Where I live now, it is the same temperature all year, I would like to go to a place where there are four seasons so I can experience really cold temperatures. I would like to walk in the snow and perhaps go skiing. I could learn winter sports if I lived in the north.

　　Now of course, I live with my parents in their home. It is a one story house built around a courtyard where our family spends a lot of time. If I were to move, I would like to live in an apartment on a very high floor so I could see all around me. I could also meet my neighbors in the elevator and we could get together for coffee in my apartment.

　　The more I move the more I would experience change. I would meet new people in every place I lived; I could move to sample countries with four seasons or even a continent like Antarctica which only has two. Wherever I lived, I would experience living in housing particular to that area. I would then be a citizen of the world, wouldn’t I? Could you call me a foreigner if I called everyplace my home?