Writing Feedback / TOEFL essay:The world is changing fast, people are less happy [3]

The human being is something of a paradox in the modern society. On the one hand, we lead an affluent material life, which is hardly anticipated by our ancestors, thanks to the progression of science and technology; on the other hand, complaints that we are not as happy as before are often heard. What is accountable for this vast contrast? In my opinion, the alteration of life style, keen competition and work pressure, and lack of communication, are three factors which weigh heavily against our feeling of happiness.

First of all, the complex life style exerts a negative influence upon people. Nowadays, our household life is overwhelmed with a variety of automated electrical appliances. Meal can be cooked by electrical cooker; dishes and bowls can be cleaned by dish washer; and clothes can be washed by washing-machine and so on. These appliances liberate us from boring and onerous household work greatly, but it arouse new problem-we need to learn a number of application manuals. The more function the appliances have, the more complex the manuals are. People are supposed to spend considerable time to grasp their complete function lest their advanced function is neglected. This process of reading sophisticated manuals is not fun for young people, let alone old people. As a result, when we enjoy the convenient life brought by high technology which aims to elevate our life standard, simultaneously, we are also troubled by it, and lose the happiness of simple life.

Furthermore, the stiff competition and the peer pressure in job make people fairly anxious and stressful. Most people in our society are anxious social climber; they commit to mean ambition and devote to material things. They strive for superiority over peers avidly, but not for the work per se. Burdensome work and pressure of long time make people in poor physical condition. In addition, the fear of future economy meltdown and concomitant layoff make people live at the atmosphere of pessimistic and anxious.

Last but not least, the prevailing of new media lead to less face-to-face communication. Today, we are willing to contact friends or family members by cell phone or email, and are reluctant to meet face to face. Although the new media bring us great convenience, it impairs our natural communication which is supposed to have more humanity.

All in all, human beings are lost and entrapped in the artificial life which is fabricated by themselves. Maybe this is the reason why some people seek more simple life in tranquil and serene villages that cut off from the outside world. I advocate that people try simple life and have more time with nature periodically after a period of busy work.

Writing Feedback / what job do you want? high salary but have to leave your family or the contrary. [3]

Young people usually confront a dilemma when they hunter their jobs: a job with temping salaries but having to stay far away from families and friends or a job with modest salaries but can enjoy the time with families and friends. The priority and decision may vary. As far as I am concerned, I would like to accept few salaries but possess benefits staying with my family and friends rather than pursue considerable salaries but cut off from family and friends.

To begin with, family is a part of my core value. Working near my family provides me the benefit of looking after family. It makes me happy and comfortable. I love every member in my family and each one of them is invaluable and indispensable to me. We owe a lot to our parents. They bestow us life and do their utmost to bring us up when they are young. However, when we grow up and are able to make a living, they turn old and are inflicted by distressing disease. They need us. Likewise, we have responsibility for our children. We bring them into the world, but they are young and tender. We should nurture them like our parents foster us. If I work near family, I can have supper at home with my family, and talk story for my children at night; I can visit my parents periodically, and when they need help, I can arrive immediately. Nothing is happier than possessing a family with love. In addition, family is the safe and comfortable shelter. When I am perturbed by setback in work, my family will bolster me go ahead. Given the priority of family, I prefer a job which allows me spend more time with family, even it only offers meager salaries.

Secondly, friendship plays an important part in my life. I enjoy the feeling of staying with my friends. I like talking with friends, and going to party with friends. We have a lot of fun together. When I confront problem in my work and life, my friends always give me advice and lend a hand. Likewise, when my friends are in trouble, I do my best to help them. A perpetual friendship can be established by long mutual trust and help. If I work in a place far away from my friends, I will be lonely and uncomfortable.

Taken together, if it is tough to reconcile the demand of considerable salary and the desire to stay with family and friends, I opt for a job allowing for staying with family and friend because family relationship and friendship is superior to money. More money can never compensate scarcity of family relationship and friendship.

Writing Feedback / Is giving the same grade to every student in a group a good way to evaluate students? [5]

Some high schools and universities require students to work on group projects. On completion, all the students in the group receive the same grade. Do you agree or disagree that this is a good way to evaluate students? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Nowadays, some high schools and universities call for students to participate in group projects, and offer the same group grade to every student in a group. I disagree with this kind of unwarranted schooling because the disadvantages brought about from it outweigh its advantages.

To begin with, giving the same grade to each student is oblivious to difference of students, and it interferes with the sound evaluation of individual student performance. In a group, the overall performance of a certain group is ascribed to aggregate skills and efforts of all students, so it is hard for teachers to distinguish individual student who has good skills from others. Consequently, the teacher is unable to select top students in a bad performed team, and vice versa. A more undesirable consequence is the ignorance of rare genius students. Since the teacher may focus more on the group performance, some talented students will be left out. The teacher would not pay much attention to them and give them special care. As a result, the special talent of students cannot be developed and nurtured as early as possible, and the possibility to fulfill their maximum potential is reduced. No doubt, it is a huge loss to our society. In addition, the parents may be anxious if they only can receive a group grade from school because they cannot know their children individual performance exactly.

Next, giving the same grade to every student poses a threat to students' motivation and enthusiasm. Motivation plays an essential role in the study of students. If a student is praised by his or her teacher, he or she will be greatly stimulated. As a result, he or she will perform better later because of the positive feedback they received from the teacher. However, if all the students be given the same grade, the superior students cannot perceive their strength, and their desire for recognition is stifled, thus they would not be spurred. Worse, some even lose enthusiasm for good performance. In addition, since all the students have the same score, the beneficial competitions are eliminated. Some students will hold that if it makes no difference even we did badly, why should we work hard? Nothing is worse than lose enthusiasm and motivation in study.

Admittedly, there are some justifications for advocating the same grade in a group. Some bottom students will not be prejudiced by teachers or other students. And they are unlikely to lose their confidence and be anxious if as less as people know their performance. But there are some remedies for problem like these. For example, the teacher can make every students know his or her individual grade but do not make it available to other students.

Collectively, the education model that giving all the students the same grade is unreasonable for it masks the differences of different students, and hinders an effective education. We should advocate education that recognizes the individuality of students and offers specific attention to potential of students.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL:both books recording real things and imaginative things is worth reading. [2]

Question:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "People should read only those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts."

Should we read only books recording real things? In my opinion, those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts are good, but we can also miss some intriguing books which are full of imagination and romance.

Reading books which record realistic things should be highly valued for it tells us the accurate facts and renders us the right value. Take history books for example. A serious and prestigious history book should only have actual things and not have false and exaggerated facts. From this book, we can learn what had happened in the past and understand the profound impact of human mind and acts on the development of human society. For instance, we will recognize that we owe a lot to some great scientists and inventors who propose great theories and invent new technology and products, thereby boosting the productivity and making our life better; on the other hand, we can read that some vicious leaders like Hitler who seeks hegemony and boasts notorious racism stir up hatred and war among nations. The cruel war kills millions of people and the human civilization suffered from devastation. But if we read books that record fabricated facts like what had been wrote in the autograph of Hitler, we will be misled by him and regard him as the hero of German nation. The unfortunate consequences arising from misleading is that millions of people fight for this vicious leader. Therefore, we will understand good and evil through reading books which have real accounts of history, and it is essential for us to establish the correct value.

However, it is not necessary for us to refuse other types of books which are full of fantastic imagination and romance instead of the real things. As a matter of fact, we can benefit from them. A case in point is the fairy tales. We know a famous book called the Antusen's fairy tale, and a large number of people had read or listen to it when they are children. Some well-known stories I can still remember are Cinderella, the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Mermaid etc. These stories do not describe the real people, real things in the world, but the fabricated plots do not stop the love of people to them, especially children. These stories offer children a beautiful virtual world, and they never do the least harm to them. Instead, they stimulate and nurture their imagination. It is a commonsense that imagination is a critical part of human intelligence. In addition, for some adults who are fans of science, they like to read science fiction. Science fictions describe some fancy things that do not exist currently but happen in future. Although it is not true, it reflects the wonderful hope of human toward future and unknown world. In fact, some great discoveries are inspired by science fictions. Another beneficiary of fiction books is archaeology. We all know that the accounts of the sagas or legends many years ago are not real; however, archaeologists can learn a lot from them. From these sagas, they can get a lot of information about the origin and migration of human ancestors. Hence, we can benefit a lot from books, and even if they do not record the real things.

Taken together, we should keep open-minded to accept fictional books for both realistic and fictional books are good for us.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL: Study in home country or study abroad, which choice is the best? [3]

Question:

Some university students wish to complete their studies in their home country, while others want to experience studying abroad. Which choice is best? Give specific reasons.

With the advent of globalization, there is a proliferation of students going to study abroad. On the other hand, some university students prefer to pursue their education in homeland. Which one is the optimum option? In my opinion, I would study abroad rather than receive my education in home country. Because studying abroad could help students to expand their outlook, acquire science and technology which is not available domestically and nurture students' independence and autonomy.

To begin with, studying abroad is able to enlarge students' vision. You could witness and experience a variety of exotic things including food, clothes, architecture etc in a foreign country on your own if you study abroad, otherwise you can only see them on TV. Take the westerner going to East Asia for example. They will be amazed to find the daily diet of the easterner is rice, obviously different from those of them; and they will be impressive of the elegant using of chopstick as utensil for diner. More important, as a foreigner, you will experience distinct tradition and customs from that of your homeland. For example, the family bond is stronger in East Asia than those in the western; and old people are always respected as the source of wisdom and have higher society status. It is beneficial and important for young people to recognize and understand that there are various cultures in the world and every culture is unique and should be given equal respect. As a result of socking in distinct culture, young people is less likely to be insular mind, even they had parochial outlook before and are more likely tolerant to different culture.

Secondly, studying abroad promotes the communication of science and technology. As to the developing countries, they need advanced science and technology to boost their productivity and economy development. They will benefit a lot from sending students to study in developed countries. For example, some arid and barren African countries have difficulties obtaining and conserving rare water resources. If their students had mastered the related techniques by learning from developed countries, the terrible situation would be significantly improved. Even among the developed countries, it is not uncommon to send students to study in one another. Every country has its strength and weakness in science and technology. One country can improve their weak field by sending students to study abroad.

Finally, studying abroad can nurture students' independence and autonomy. It is conceivable that the students will confront a series of problem which they had never encountered at home. To fulfill their study requirement, they had to adjust themselves promptly to adapt a new environment; they need to get used to local lifestyle as soon as possible, be proficient in foreign language skills and manage their finance well. All these challenge impel them to become independent. In addition, as a result of independency and autonomy, the students will become more confident than before.

Taken together, studying oversea offers you brand-new experiences and evident advantages and the young should be encouraged to pursue education abroad.