41. Land for human needs or endangered animals Some people think that human needs for farmland, housing, and industry are more important than saving land for endangered animals. Do you agree or disagree with this point of view? Why or why not? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
『分析』选择不同意更好写一些。列举两三个保护endangered animals的重要性。同时不要忘了说明人类也确实需要更多的土地。只不过不能只顾眼前利益(short term benefits)而已。
『范文』 When making decisions about land use, some say that human needs should come before animal needs in every case. While I agree that human needs should have primary consideration, humans have a special responsibility to protect the land that endangered animals call home. Animals adapt very slowly to sudden changes in their environments. Many endangered animals can only live in one place, or in a specific type of place. Humans, on the other hand, have a special ability to adapt quickly to changing and hostile environments. For instance, if humans need to live in a very dry environment they can use technology to locate and drill for water, or build pipelines to bring in water from outside. Thousands of years ago the residents of Xinjiang province dug underground tunnels hundreds of kilometers long to carry water to oasis towns like Turpan. Because humans are thus flexible while many animals are not, humans should make an effort to use up all available space before encroaching upon the habitats of endangered animals. One of the important reasons to protect endangered animals is that the delicate ecological balance of an area might be irreparably harmed by their extinction. For example, if humans chop down forests and use the land to grow corn, they might simultaneously destroy the habitats of a kind of bird that eats locusts. The next year because the locust population can grow unchecked, locusts might destroy the entire nearby corn crop. Not only do the birds lose their homes, but humans are also harmed. The ecological balance of many natural habitats is still not well understood and humans interfere in it at their peril. Finally, humans have much to learn from endangered species. One example is in the field of medicine. By observing a particular species of endangered monkeys in South America, scientists have discovered that monkeys eat a certain kind of plant when they get sick. Through research the scientists discovered that this plant also has medicinal value for humans. If the monkey's habitat had been destroyed to create more farmland, not only would we lose the plants and the monkeys, we would also lose life-saving medicines and the potential for medical research.
42. One skill needed to be successful in the world today What is a very important skill a person should learn in order to be successful in the world today? Choose one skill and use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. 参见：[15]。也可以用[27]作为答案。
『范文』 People succeed not merely because they have one or more certain skills. However, if I have to choose one skill which is supposed to be useful to success, I think it should be the ability to convince or persuade others. By convincing or persuading we get what we want from others. When we were children, we always managed to persuade our parents to buy us candies; when we were in the high school, we had to persuade our classmates to play with us; when we applied for a job after graduation, we had better be able to successfully convince the employer that we are qualified employees. Besides, some day, we will all have to convince a person whom we love that we are in deed outstanding husbands or excellent wives. By convincing or persuading we become more and more sturdy and powerful. Nobody is capable of doing every thing perfect. By persuading others to cooperate with us, we can achieve much more than we could only by ourselves. Mr. Yu Minhong, CEO of Beijing New Oriental Education & Technology Group, had successfully convinced his alumni including Mr. Wang Qiang and Mr. Xu Xiaoping to strive after an ideal—to build a most influential private university in China, and today, they have been so close. Mr. Yu, while answering a journalist, said that he once persuaded Chinese students to go abroad, his current work is to convince those students to return to their homeland with their enhanced intelligences. Ironically, it is ourselves who need us to persuade and convince most. We by nature are weak, yet have to be stronger to face up to tough surroundings. All too often we need encouraging. Amazingly enough, it is ourselves who can in deed encourage. When we are in trouble, we need convince ourselves not to give up, when we are in plain sailing, we need persuade ourselves no to be negligent. By convincing ourselves, we become more and more independent, and more and more robust, both of which are characteristics essential to success.
43. The attractions of dangerous activities Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.