1. The　GDP　Growth　of　Country　X

    As　can　be　clearly　seen　from　the　table,　the　gross　domestic　product　(GDP)　of　Country　X　has　soared　from　300　billion　dollars　in　1980　to　1,000　billion　dollars　in　2000,　more　than　200　percent　higher.　The　rapid　increase　tells　us　vividly　how　well　the　economy　has　developed　during　the　past　two　decades.

    As　far　as　the　reasons　for　this　change　are　concerned,　we　can　list　several　most　important　ones.　To　begin　with,　the　government　of　the　country　has　adopted　the　policy　of　reform　and　opening　up　for　more　than　twenty　years,　which　liberated　people　from　old　constraints.　What's　more,　while　all　the　people　have　been　actively　involved　in　economic　activities　in　order　to　better　their　lives,　they　contributed　a　lot　to　the　national　economy.　Last　but　not　least,　the　enterprises　have　taken　advantage　of　this　golden　opportunity　to　make　big　profits,　thus　unintentionally　speeding　up　the　economic　growth.

    There　is　no　denying　that　the　country　has　successfully　and　smoothly　developed　its　economy.　As　long　as　all　the　parties　concerned,　the　government,　the　people　and　the　enterprises　make　concerted　efforts,　the　GDP　growth　will　be　even　faster　and　healthier.　(188　words)

2．Private　Cars
1） 发展私人汽车的好处（提高人们的生活水平；刺激经济增长）；
2） 私人汽车带来的问题（环境污染；交通事故）；
3） 我的看法。

参考范文：
    Private　cars　have　become　an　important　aspect　of　people's　life　in　many　parts　of　our　country,　especially　in　large　cities　such　as　Beijing,　Shanghai　and　Guangzhou.　While　they　bring　much　convenience　to　people,　they　are　also　widely　criticized.

    There　are　some　arguments　for　owning　private　cars.　In　the　first　place,　cars　allow　people　to　move　around　freely,　which　greatly　improves　our　living　standard.　We　can　easily　drive　cars　for　sightseeing　on　weekends.　In　the　second　place,　cars　are　a　comfortable　way　to　travel,　especially　in　bad　weather.　Last　but　not　least,　the　car　industry　can　boost　economy　by　creating　many　job　opportunities　in　production　of　steel,　rubber,　glass　and　so　on.

    However,　there　are　also　many　good　arguments　against　cars.　First　of　all,　they　pollute　the　environment　by　emitting　harmful　gases　and　giving　out　loud　noises.　In　addition,　cars　cause　a　large　number　of　traffic　accidents,　which　bring　great　misery　to　the　victims'　families.

    As　far　as　I　am　concerned,　we　should　limit　the　number　of　private　cars　by　providing　better　mass　transportation　and　better　service　for　the　people.　Everyone　should　sacrifice　his　or　her　own　interest　for　the　common　good　of　the　society.　(194　words)

3.  Homework
    As　can　be　clearly　seen　from　the　cartoon,　the　mahjong　pieces　occupy　most　part　of　the　desk,　while　a　book,　an　exercise　book　and　a　pencil　box　lie　at　the　corner.　This　picture　vividly　tells　us　how　poor　the　condition　is　for　the　child　to　study.
    This　phenomenon　gives　rise　to　a　lot　of　negative　effects.　In　the　first　place,　while　the　parents　are　playing　mahjong,　they　make　a　lot　of　noise,　which　disturbs　the　child's　study.　In　the　second　place,　the　child　will　have　no　place　to　study　if　his　parents　spend　all　day　playing　mahjong.　However,　time　is　crucial　for　him　to　acquire　the　knowledge,　because　practice　makes　perfect.　Last　but　not　least,　the　child　will　learn　to　play　mahjong　from　his　parents.　Just　as　the　old　saying　goes,　"Like　father,　like　son",　so　the　child　will　abandon　his　study　and　be　a　gambler　like　his　parents.
    Serious　as　it　seems,　we　can　think　of　some　measures　to　deal　with　the　problem.　To　begin　with,　the　government　should　make　stricter　rules　to　prohibit　parents　from　playing　mahjong.　What's　more,　the　parents　should　give　up　playing　mahjong　for　their　child's　sake.　

4.  Intelligence-Nature　or　Nurture?
1） 有人认为智力是天生的；
2） 也有人认为智力是环境决定的；
3） 如何更好地发展智力。

    Are　some　people　born　clever,　and　others　born　stupid?　Or　is　intelligence　developed　by　our　environment　or　experience?　Strangely　enough,　the　answer　to　both　questions　is　yes.
    On　the　one　hand,　if　we　take　two　people　at　random　from　the　crowd,　it　is　very　likely　that　their　degrees　of　intelligence　will　be　completely　different.　However,　if　we　take　two　identical　twins,　chances　are　that　they　will　be　as　intelligent　as　each　other.　Therefore,　a　conclusion　can　be　drawn　that　intelligence　is　to　some　extent　something　we　are　born　with.　The　closer　the　blood　relationship　between　two　people,　the　closer　they　are　likely　to　be　in　intelligence.
    On　the　other　hand,　though,　if　we　put　two　identical　twins　in　different　environments,　for　example,　we　might　send　one　to　university　and　the　other　to　a　factory　where　the　work　is　boring,　we　would　find　differences　in　their　intelligence　several　years　later,　which　indicates　that　environment　does　play　a　crucial　role　in　our　intelligence.
    Just　as　every　coin　has　two　sides,　our　intelligence　is　partly　born　and　partly　developed.　The　sure　way　to　develop　our　intelligence　is　intelligent　parents　as　well　as　a　good　environment.　(192　words)

5.   Brain Drain in China
1） 中国人才流失的现状；
2） 对人才流失的看法；
3） 如何解决人才流失。

Composition for reference

    Nowadays, one of the most serious problems China is faced with is brain drain. While shortages of talent trouble many universities and state-owned enterprises, millions of talented people either emigrate to developed countries or work for foreign companies. At the same time, a big crowd of well-educated people who are determined to follow their footsteps take TOEFL or GRE as their passport to the West.

    However, people see this phenomenon in different perspectives. Some hold the opinion that China suffers a lot from brain drain. They argue, on the one hand, that brain drain considerably weakens our international competitiveness. On the other hand, they believe that the talent should serve their native country first. In contrast, others highlight the advantages of international exchange and cooperation. They claim that Chinese youths should go abroad to study and gain more experience. What's more, the long-term benefits will outweigh losses we suffer now.

    Brain drain poses a challenge. China should go all out to attract talented people in order to better compete in the world. For one thing, decent living and working conditions should be offered to specialists. For another, we have to better develop our economy, which is a sure bait for all kinds of talent. (204 words)

6. A Speech on Tele-education

Ladies and Gentlemen,

    With the rapid development of science and technology, tele-education has sped up in our country. While many people speak highly of its advantages, others see more disadvantages deriving from it.

    The advocates of tele-education give their arguments as follows. For one thing, tele-education makes it possible for people in remote areas to learn the subjects they are interested in. For another, people have a wider range of choices as to teachers and lessons through tele-education, because they can listen to the best lessons by the best teachers in the country, or even in the world.

     Just as "Every advantage has its disadvantages", the opponents believe that not all the people have access to tele-education because many are poor. In addition, the students cannot contact teachers, but interpersonal relations are important to their study.

    As far as I am concerned, we should develop tele-education more rapidly to benefit more students. Meanwhile, we can design some programs to help teachers and students to contact each other.

    Thank you for being with me. Good-bye. (171 words)

7．Health or Wealth?

    Which is more important, health or wealth? When given this question, different people have varied answers. Some insist that health plays a more important role in our life, while others see more advantages arising from wealth.

    The first group of people quote the old saying "Health is above wealth" to prove their idea. They argue that, on the one hand, a strong person can do almost anything as long as he/she tries hard. On the other hand, however, rich people will not be able to enjoy the wealth if their days are numbered.

    In contrast, the advocates of wealth have such arguments as follows. For one thing, wealthy people will be able to buy more healthful foods. For another, they can enjoy better facilities to improve their health. (Take my neighbor, Lao Wang, as an example. He had a heart attack and is in hospital. However, he cannot afford the expensive operation, which costs as much as 100,000 yuan. Therefore, he has to lie in bed hopelessly. If he were a rich man, his life could be saved.) (括号中的部分同学们自己可以在别的文章中发挥。)

    As far as I am concerned, both health and wealth are important to our life. We should try to strike a balance between them and gain wealth with a healthy body.

8. Overpopulation

    The large number of our population has become one of the most serious problems of our society. According to a recent survey of the National Bureau of Statistics, there are more than 1.3 billion people in our country, which account for about 1/5 of all the people in the world. The same survey also predicts that our population will grow quickly in the years to come.
   
    Overpopulation has brought about a series of negative effects to our economic development and social security. In the first place, too many people impose a heavy burden on our environment. As a result, we suffer from a shortage of fresh water and natural resources. In the second place, as the supply of labor greatly exceeds the demand of the society, many people become employed. This is a source of social unrest. Last but not least, we have to manufacture all kinds of products to meet the needs of the people, which causes environment pollution to our lakes and land.

    Serious though the problem seems, we have to take some measures to tackle it. On the one hand, the government should carry out more strictly the policy of family planning, thus reducing the total number of population. On the other hand, all the people should realize the harms of overpopulation. With the concerted efforts of all the parties concerned, we’re sure to solve the problem in the future. （233 words）

9.  Should CET-4(6) Be Abandoned?
1． 有人认为应该废除大学英语四（六）级考试；
2． 其他人认为应该保留四（六）级考试；
3． 我的看法。

    There has been a heated discussion about whether to keep the College English Test Band 4(6) in the universities. Some people argue that the test has become an obstacle to the teaching of English on campuses, while others maintain that the advantages of the test outweigh its disadvantages.

    As far as the first group of people are concerned, they give the following arguments. For one thing, many students spend most of their time preparing for the test, therefore their focus is not on learning English better but on getting a high mark. For another, many teachers don't concentrate on how to improve the students' abilities. They only care how many of their students can pass the test. However, there are many people who believe the test should stay. To begin with, the test is the most effective way to measure how well the students have learned English. What's more, we can come up with some ways to lessen the negative effect.

    As far as I am concerned, each side is right in a certain way. We have to keep the test so students will have better motivation to learn English. However, we can't attach too much importance to the scores of the test. After all, it is just a test, isn't it? (212 words)

10．On Overseas Study
1． 有人认为出国留学是个人发展的最佳选择；
2． 也有人坚持在国内也能实现自己的理想；
3． 我的看法。

    With the deepening of reform and opening-up of our country, many people dream of going abroad for further study. They insist that there are more modern research facilities, world famous professors and excellent environment in some foreign colleges and universities, which lay a perfect foundation for their future development.

    However, there are still many people who favor studying at home. They argue that, for one thing, studying abroad is too expensive and therefore doesn't pay off. For another, there are no language and cultural barriers if they study in our country.

    Just as the old saying goes, "Every advantage has its disadvantage," so I believe both opinions are acceptable in some sense. If students have the chances and financial resources, they should seize the opportunity to go abroad and broaden their eyes. On the other hand, if conditions don't permit, they can pursue their studies at top universities in our country. What counts is not the place where they study, but what they can learn. (165 words)