Sleepless in LA

Thought you all would get a kick out of this story that ran in the Tulane magazine this week. Remember that big tip I blogged about this fall? A writer and photographer from the Tulane magazine followed me around for a few days. I have to say- I think the the story turned out great! I hope you all will really enjoy it. Read it here. 

A little snippet from the story. Go read it!

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Can't Make it to Campus? Next Best Thing!

Hey all-

In case you haven't checked it out yet, we created a brand new virtual campus tour last year. It took a full semester to shoot, and nearly a full summer to edit and get on the new site. I think it turned out great! The goal was to just hit campus and interview random students we came across. With the exception of the tour guide hosts, who are our Green Wave Ambassadors, all the students you see interviewed we just picked on the spot to hear what they had to say. Hopefully you enjoy it and it gives you a organic, honest and fun look at everything our campus has to offer.

Check it out here!

Also, if you are an admitted student and can't make it to Destination Tulane this month or next, check out President Scott Cowen's welcome speech here. If you are coming in the next six weeks, don't watch it yet- you may get to see it live if Scott's in town during your visit! He loves meeting our admitted students.

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On Losers and Laughers

I admire champions of lost causes: the beautiful losers, to borrow the title of an early Leonard Cohen opus, by far his best. The Japanese, apparently, have great respect for them; the Japanologist Ivan Morris wrote a whole book about it. Yet the kamikaze pilots don’t entirely qualify—any more than do Muslim suicide bombers--because their sacrifice did not entail what they thought of as a lost cause.

My feeling for lost causes began with an early boyhood French primer, one of whose anecdotes indelibly impressed me. It seems that on a rainy day Voltaire set forth for abroad when he noticed his boots still covered with yesterday’s mud. When he questioned his valet, the fellow replied, “What would be the use cleaning them when today is just as rainy and they would gather just as much mud?” “Very well,” said Voltaire and went out, muddy boots and all. Forthwith the valet came running after him, “Sir, sir! You forgot to leave me the key to the pantry for my lunch!” “What’s the use,” Voltaire answered, “when in no time you will be just as hungry as before?”

There it is: those boots are a notable lost cause. And perhaps, after all, so are the kamikaze pilots, who could not be sure that they were dying for a winning cause, but not the Muslim suicide bombers, who can look forward to gaining paradisiac bliss from 72, or is it 73, virgins servicing them? (When it comes to virgins, one or two more or less makes no major difference.)

When I write in favor of fighters for lost causes, it is, to be sure, somewhat pro domo. For is not criticism of my kind, like so many intellectual endeavors nowadays, a lost cause? How many intellectuals earn a millionth part of what some fellows who can hit a ball with a bat or sink it into a basket make? I don’t deny that those skills come at some sacrifice, but lost causes they most certainly aren’t.

Now just try, as a teacher in the humanities in most colleges, to grade a student with a D, to say nothing of an F, however well deserved, and get away with it. Or try, as a drama critic, to rate plays as they truly deserve and—except in some remote, minor publications—not get fired. In America, you can attack a politician of one party as long as there is a two-party system. But try to question every conceivable prize and award being lavished on some minority playwright of questionable talent (I refrain from naming names) and, bingo, you are a racist, sexist, elitist and whatever other piece of “non-pc-ism” they can accuse you of.

And then, apropos lost causes, there are our theater audiences. Those people will laugh at just about anything: feeble jokes or no jokes at all that they conceive as jokes. As a result, the rest of us lose some needlessly drowned-out stage dialogue.

The customary explanation is that people who spent a lot of money for a good time will imagine they are having fun no matter what. There may even be a more depressing reason though: that because they themselves have no conversation and wit to speak of, they are impressed by whatever seems like cleverness to them. And compared to their ineptitude, it may even be witty. And so they laugh at almost anything. But because the actors expect no laughter there, they rightly do not pause for any, and so lines get lost, which justifiably annoys those who know better.  It is the sort of thing that can make one despair of the human race.

Is there any cure for it? Probably not. Things like sophistication cannot be taught. Neither can honesty, i.e., not pretending that you have understood something that isn’t there. Nor is there a cure for the notion that a good time can be had only from lots of jokes, or nonstop suspense and all kinds of surprises. This clearly overlooks  the appeal of ideas (not understood) or insights (not appreciated).

 Eventually, even a benighted audience may become tired of pretending, whereupon boredom sets in as does bad behavior. Legitimate wit becomes even more ignored, as an insult to unintelligence is even more fateful than an insult to intelligence, and almost guarantees failure of the show.

There is a book out now by Scott Weems entitled Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why, which I haven’t read as yet. But from a review of it I gather that it does not concern itself with dumb laughter in the theater. It does, however, tell us things like men wanting women to smile much to the chagrin of feminists, and that women laugh less as they age, whereas men do not.

Well, my wife certainly laughs less and less at my jokes, even though I find them just as funny as ever. So about that, at any rate, Dr. Weems seems to be on target.

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Tour de Dorm

I may be getting old, but I just assumed that everyone watched the MTV show "Cribs" from a few years back, but over the past few weeks of meeting admitted students on the road, I realized that that was not the case. Last year we debuted our TruTU Residence Hall virtual tour, so have a look! This should be especially helpful for the class of 2018, who will start making decisions as to which residence hall you'll want to live in. Have a look at each of the residence halls and get a real sneak peak tour, (Cribs-style!) hosted by the current students who live there. I have broken down each video here, but you can also view them all in one spot here. Enjoy!

Monroe- Monroe happens to be where I lived as a freshman. It is one of our two largest first year residence halls and houses students on 12 floors, co-ed by hall. 

Sharp- Sharp is our other large residence hall for freshmen. It is seven stories and is also co ed. 

Wall- Wall is our main residential college for first year students. There is a professor-in-residence and each student resident participates in a Wall committee. Wall also requires an application, which you can view here. It is due May 3rd.

Paterson- Paterson is our wellness community here at Tulane. They have PlyYo regularly in the social lounges as well as field trips to Whole Foods. It houses freshmen and sophomores and is co ed. 

Josephine Louise- We call it JL for short, and it is our all-female residence hall. Around 1/4th of our freshmen females live here in this beautiful historic building. 

Butler-  Butler is our Honors residence hall, and around half of the students in this co-ed freshman residence hall are a part of the Honors Program. 

Warren- Warren is centrally located on campus and is co-ed. There are both freshmen and sophomores who live here. 

Enjoy the videos, and we look forward to having you on campus soon, class of 2018!

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Topic 90. If you could meet a famous entertainer or athlete, who would that be, and why?

If you could meet a famous entertainer or athlete, who would that be, and why? Use specific
reasons and examples to support your choice.

Sample essay.

Everyone dreams to be handsome, rich and happy. Famous actors and actresses, pop stars or
athletes are so popular because they realized the dreams many ordinary people have. If I could
meet a famous entertainer or athlete, this person will be Julia Roberts.

Julia Roberts is a very talented actress. She can play many characters and each one is new and
different. She seems to become the person she is portraying and gives a 100% to the performance.
Pretty Women is my favorite because it was the first Julia movie that I saw and it was her big
break. I still watch the movie to this day and enjoy it. Steel Magnolias is 2nd. Julia was in the
company of a very talented cast and held her own. It’s a classic, something you always enjoy
watching.

I loved Nottinghill because the movie was full of many emotions. It made you feel happy after
seeing it. I enjoy all of her movies. I see them even if the critics dish the movie. If she is in a
movie I know her performance will be worth seeing. Her Oscar was very worthy of her as she was
of it. Her Oscar was a long time coming. I'm sure we can all look forward to many more great
films to come and her always Oscar winning performance. Julia Roberts is not only beautiful, but
she executes the characters she plays so well, that she can almost bring us to tears… almost.

If I had a chance to meet Julia, I would also thank her for always thinking of the poor and the
needed. After the disaster in New York and Pennsylvania, her face looked the sincerest of all of
the stars. Also, I heard on the news that Julia gave $2 million as a tribute. Recently, you pleaded
at US congress for money on a children’s disease. Thank Julia for helping with such a kind heart
especially during a time when so many have lost so much! I know that they appreciate your
support and thoughtfulness, Julia.

Such is Julia Roberts, a pretty woman and America’s sweet heart, and she is the star that I
definitely want to meet the most.

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Topic 89. If you could travel back in time to meet a famous person from history, what person would you like to meet?

If you could travel back in time to meet a famous person from history, what person would you
like to meet? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Sample essay.

If I could travel back in time to meet a famous person, I would most like to meet and speak with
Siddhartha Gautama: The Buddha. If by "enlightenment" one means a complete understanding of
the universe, then Buddha, having achieved "enlightenment", would be fully capable of answering
all questions relating to the origins, condition, and destiny of the universe.

Perhaps the first thing I would like to discuss, upon meeting Buddha, would be the events
surrounding the birth of the universe. How and why did the universe come into being? Are
contemporary physicists correct in assuming that all matter emerged spontaneously from a single
point beyond time and space? The Big Bang! And does this theory compliment or contradict the
theories of other great religious thinkers who claimed that all life emerged from a primordial
source. The "void"

Following our discussion of the origins of the universe, I would like to ask Buddha a number of
questions concerning the "human condition." Why are Mankind, the planet Earth and the universe
structured the way they are? What is the purpose of life? Why does existence contain such drastic
opposites: love and hate, good and evil, joy and suffering?

Having gained an understanding of both the universe and the human condition, I would then like
to move on to a discussion of Mankind's destiny. What is then ultimate fate of the universe, and in
turn, life? Is it true, as some great thinkers have suggested, that the universe and everything in it
return to the void from which it emerged? And what about God? Is God a personal entity, as some
religions claim? Or is God the impersonal source of all that exists? The impersonal source of the
void!

Throughout history, intelligent men and women have thought deeply about God, fate, destiny, and
the origins of the universe. The opportunity to have these questions answered by one who lived in
the not too distant past, would truly be a remarkable experience.

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Topic 88. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Telephones and email have made communication between people less personal.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Telephones and email have made
communication between people less personal. Use specific reasons and examples to support your
opinion.

Sample essay.

At first glance, this statement may sound plausible because except from personal contact, every
other forms of communication, including telephones and emails, are indirect ways of
communication. But shall we get a conclusion that telephones and email have made
communication between people less personal? To answer this question, we should look at the
following points:

First, telephone and email are more efficient ways of communication. Telephones and email are
becoming more and more important for us today. We use telephones for conversations to our
friends and family; we use email to transfer important information and documents, even photo and
multi-media files. With a phone, we can order services and make enquires regarding a service
without physically present in the place, this will save us so much time and energy. In time of
emergencies, when it is impossible for us to physically go to a police station or a hospital, we can
simply call 911, a emergency vehicle will come to us in ten minutes. Imagine how hard it will be
for us if we do not have access to a telephone under emergency situations.

Second, telephones and email increase the chances that people communicate. Although face-toface
personal contact is more close and intimate than making phone calls or sending emails, we
actually do not have much time to visit each other. Furthermore, people have their own private
life. Sometimes they do not want to be disturbed by visitors. A phone call or an email message is
always the most proper and courteous way to make contact with people, and are not restrained by
time or occasions. For example, during the Chinese New Years, more and more people make
phone calls to our friends and folks, or send electronic cards through email, wishing them a happy
new year, instead of actually travel to their friends’ house to make a visit.

In conclusion, telephones and email are convenient ways to communicate and can actually
increase the communication between people. They maybe less personal, but they are surely more
effective means of communication.

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Topic 87. What discovery in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country?

What discovery in the last 100 years has been most beneficial for people in your country? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Sample essay.

I think the most important discovery that has been the most beneficial for people in my country is
the invention of Internet. So far as I can tell, the Internet has been beneficial to people around the
globe. My view is a commonsense one, based on the fact that the Web is a vast storehouse of
information and opinion, which can be scientific, literary, political, sporting or sexual. Anyone
with access to a computer and a dialup connection can unlock the door and trawl through its
offerings.

The Internet can be used as a broad base of knowledge that contributes to the educational system.
Students and teachers benefit from the use of the Internet, as well as administrators and others
outside of formal education. Students benefit because the Internet provides a resource to
supplemental information for any subject. Educators benefit because the Internet provides a vast
knowledge base to prepare for topics. People are not only learning from the Internet, they are
contributing and sharing knowledge through networked communities. The Internet is the
advancement of education for all its users.

Internet can deliver better customer services to people. The Internet is changing the way we do
business. Using Internet broadcasting, we are able to target the right audience, prepare and present
a technical presentation on a popular topic, interact with new customers, and collect hundreds of
highly qualified leads. As Internet companies continue to find innovative ways to leverage the
capabilities of the Internet for businesses, the more we will learn how to provide optimal solutions
for customers. Which in turn, will greatly benefit people.

The Internet today is a way to transfer and share information. On the whole, it is a benefit to
individuals of all kinds. We do have problems surrounding the Internet that need to be solved, but
as with all new technologies there are debates and opinions. Since the Internet technology is
spreading, it will soon become as popular as all other forms of communication. If you have not
tried it, do so.

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Topic 86. If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? Why?

If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? Why?
Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Sample essay 1.

Back to January 19th,2002

Till now, there is only one thing that makes me feel repentant of. My girlfriend died in Japan, and
at that time I was doing my TOEFL test. If I could go back to some time and place in the past, I
choose to go back to January 19th 2002...

I will use a story to show the reasons for choosing this time in the past. My girlfriend's was
Christina. Her father is Japanese, and her mother is Chinese. That is why she looks as beautiful as
an angel. Last winter vacation, I was preparing for the TOEFL test. Of course, I did not pay
enough time for her as usual. I only saw her for twice a month. The night before the TOEFL test,
she came to my house. I enjoyed her cooking, and everything looked fine as usual. The next
morning, she cooked the breakfast for me.

Before I left, she kissed me and said " Jackey, good luck. I love you!" I replied: "Thanks, honey! I
love you, too." The test goes fine. After the test, my cell phone rang as I turned it on. It is one of
my best friends Moon. He said " Jackey, Christina went back to Japan. She tried to kill herself.
Now she is in the hospital and she is in danger period. You must arrive to the airport in three
minutes. The visa, passport and the air ticket are in the car. You have to come to Japan right now.
We will see you in Japan!"

When I saw her, she said, " I think your business is more important than me. I do not think you
need me any more! Goodbye, forever." She sleeps forever. If I go back to the time, I will stay with
her and spend much more time on her. I even can drop my business.

In fact, it is impossible for backing that time! Christina is died. There is not another Christina for
me, but will have four times per year for the TOEFL test. The lost would never be back.

Sample essay 2.

If I were afforded the opportunity to go back to a specific time and place in the past, I would
venture back to ancient Greece. During the 5th century B.C., the Greeks were in the process of
developing and reforming a wide range of cultural, social, and scientific pursuits which still have a
significant impact on the world today.

In the arts, Greece excelled in many fields, particularly dramatic literature. The works of
Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes have had a tremendous influence not only on western
literature, but also western thought in general. The works of these playwrights are still performed
on stages around the world today. However, it would be a rare and exciting opportunity to see
these plays performed for the first time.

The ancient Greeks also excelled in the social sciences. Perhaps their greatest contribution in this
area came in the form of democracy. The Greek words "Demo" and "Cracy" mean "People" and
"Rule" respectively. Today, many of the world's great nations have adopted, and to a certain
extent, modified the ancient Greek system. Yet, its birth and early maturation period all took
place in ancient Greece.

Academic subjects such as Philosophy, Astronomy, Physics and Biology also received a great deal
of attention in the ancient Greek world. The philosophical writings of Heraclitus, Plato, and
Aristotle have had a profound influence on western scholarship for well over two thousand years.
The Mathematical theories of Pythagoras and Euclid, combined with theories from other great
ancient civilizations, provided a foundation upon which later mathematicians such as Newton and
Einstein based their work.

The world of the Ancient Greeks would most certainly be an exciting and stimulating place to go
back to. Politics, Drama, Physics, and a number of other subjects were still in their infancy, and
all were being fiercely debated and examined. It would undoubtedly be and enriching experience
to observe and take part in such a fascinating civilization.

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Topic 85. A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this visitor go on that day? Why?

A foreign visitor has only one day to spend in your country. Where should this visitor go on
that day? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Sample essay.

If a foreign visitor has only one day to spend in my country - China, I will recommend him to live
in an average Chinese family for that special day. There is no denying that the one-day experience
with a average Chinese family will be invaluable for his life and future career, if given a chance to
work or live in China in the foreseeable future!

As is known to all, to live with an average Chinese family for only one day, the foreign visitor
could not get an overall picture of the average Chinese's life style and their culture; but in another
way, even at the very beginning of being enthusiastically welcomed at the threshold of the house,
he must be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm delivered by Chinese people who are famous for their
hospitality; so that he is given a vivid lesson about the characteristics of the Chinese people. Of
course, hospitality is merely one of the virtues Chinese people possess, but it is of vital importance
to get familiar with the natives, to read the thoughts of the natives through their manners, or even
their gestures, and finally be emerged into the life of the native Chinese more harmoniously than
those who do not have such an experience!

Besides, to live with an average Chinese family, a foreigner will get first-hand information about
the situation of the common Chinese people's the life quality, their main expenses, and their
hobbies in their spare time and so on. This first-hand information is of preliminary importance if
he wants to get an insider’s view of this country.

The third reason is that it is the best way for a foreigner to confirm whether he has read or heard
in his own country is true or not is to look into the average Chinese people's life in person. If a
foreigner is also a well-informed person, he must be buried with bulks of information all shouting
about the so-called "insider's view" about the circumstances of the life of the Chinese people in
today's China; and if he is a critical reader, he should not swallow all that without even asking "is
that true?" Accordingly, I would say to the foreigner that to live with an average Chinese family
will deserve all your endeavour and it is the perfect way to spend your one-day tour in China!

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Topic 84. Some people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Others think access to so much information creates problems. Which view do you agree with?

Some people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Others
think access to so much information creates problems. Which view do you agree with? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Sample essay 1.

What things can be widely used in education, business, government, family and almost all the
other fields all over the world? One answer is the Internet, which is a great communication tool in
the 21st century. Some people claim that the 21st century could not exist without the Internet.
Therefore, children and young adults should use the Internet freely everywhere. Personally, I
have the impression that there are some flaws in this seemingly indisputable proposition. Children
and young adults should not use the Internet freely for three reasons, and some safe programs and
filters are indeed needed in the Internet.

For one thing, the children and young adults that use the Internet freely might get the wrong
information by chance. Children and young adults can be influenced easily by many new things.
The Internet is so wide that it includes some wrong information such as violence and pornography.
That information can cause many bad effects on the children and young adults, which are bad for
them are growing. For example, there is some violence information in the Internet. After the
children and young adults watch that by chance, they might follow the violence way from the
Internet to solve the problems. Consequently, we have to use some kinds of software to block this
kind of information. This highly technical software has already been developed well. Parents can
just trust this kind of software in order to prevent children from accessing the blocked websites,
which includes the wrong information.

For another thing, the children and young adults using the Internet freely might cause some
computer problems. As the Internet is used on the computers, it is related to the computers
closely. The computer is a highly technical machine that sometimes is hard to control. As a result,
some bad things may have loopholes to get into the computer such as the computer viruses. If the
children and young adults use the Internet freely without some safe programs their computers will
probably be infected with computer viruses. For example, many years ago, I used my computer on
the Internet without any safe programs. One day, I found my computer was abnormal and called a
computer expert to look over it. He said my computer must be infected with computer viruses
from the Internet and suggested I use the safe program to prevent the viruses. Since then, I have
used the Internet with the safe program every time and never get the computer viruses any more.
In addition, there are also some computer hackers on the Internet who always attack others’
computers or steal the data from others’ computers, which is a serious problem for the computer
users. Therefore, a safe program is really needed for the computer users to prevent the viruses and
hackers while they are using the Internet.

Furthermore, by using some filters we can save a lot of time to distinguish the useful and
unnecessary information. Most people use the Internet to find and get information. There are so
great quantities of information on the Internet that we usually have to spend quite a long time to
find the useful information. Whereas, if we use some filters, we can distinguish the useful and
unnecessary information easily. For example, my E-mail box always receives some pornographic
junk mail, which are very disagreeable. After I use the filters to block those mails’ senders, that
mail cannot get into my E-mail box any more. However, the Internet is such an interesting thing
that people who enjoy it may keep on surfing on the net. People who have little ability of self
control will lose themselves in the information highway spending a long time in front of the
screen, which is absolutely bad for their health. Thus, the filters are quite useful when we use the
Internet.

Some people hold that children and young adults use the Internet freely can widen their eyes of
the world. However, I think using the Internet with the filters can also get the information much
enough to widen their eyes. Most parents do not use the filters because they do not know how
useful the filters are. The filters are so good now that we can choose the different ways to get the
different kinds of information. Using the filters can make the limit to help the children and young
adults kown more about the things that are useful for them. If the children and young adults use
the Internet freely, they may lose their directions. As a result, they might not only widen their
eyes, but also waste a lot of time. The filters can help us to prevent getting into the websites that
we will never use them anyway so that we could widen our eyes of the world by using the filters.

As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the way of using Internet will also become more
and more advanced. Consequently, children and young adults should use the Internet with some
new advanced programs to get the information easily. They should try to learn the better way to
use the Internet such as by the safe programs and filters. As a result, the Internet will be really
good for them.

Sample essay 2.

The Internet Provides people with a lot of information, but is this information valuable, or so
much information create problems for us? In my point of view, every thing has its two sides, and
the value of the Internet far outweighs the disadvantages it brings to us.

The Internet has been beneficial to people around the globe. My view is a commonsense one,
based on the fact that the Web is a vast storehouse of information and opinion, which can be
scientific, literary, political, sporting or sexual. Anyone with access to a computer and a dialup
connection can unlock the door and trawl through its offerings.

The Internet can be used as a broad base of knowledge that contributes to the educational system.
Students and teachers benefit from the use of the Internet, as well as administrators and others
outside of formal education. Students benefit because the Internet provides a resource to
supplemental information for any subject. Educators benefit because the Internet provides a vast
knowledge base to prepare for topics. People are not only learning from the Internet, they are
contributing and sharing knowledge through networked communities. The Internet is the
advancement of education for all its users.

Internet can deliver better customer services to people. The Internet is changing the way we do
business. Using Internet broadcasting, we are able to target the right audience, prepare and present
a technical presentation on a popular topic, interact with new customers, and collect hundreds of
highly qualified leads. As Internet companies continue to find innovative ways to leverage the
capabilities of the Internet for businesses, the more we will learn how to provide optimal solutions
for customers. Which in turn, will greatly benefit people.

The Internet today is a way to transfer and share information. On the whole, it is a benefit to
individuals of all kinds. We do have problems surrounding the Internet that need to be solved, but
as with all new technologies there are debates and opinions. Since the Internet technology is
spreading, it will soon become as popular as all other forms of communication. If you have not
tried it, do so.

Read More →

Topic 83. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Modern technology is creating a single world culture.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Modern technology is creating a single
world culture. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Sample essay 1.

I strongly agree with the statement that modern technology is creating a single world culture.
Modern technology like computer and internet is bringing people together, and making the world
getting smaller.

First of all, with the development of modern technologies such as computers, English is becoming
the most important language in the world, and the importance of other languages is getting weaker
and weaker. Admit or not, the most common language used today on the internet is English, this
makes English becomes the one and only most important language in the world. On the other
hand, computers can cross the barrier of human language. No matter where people are, and no
matter which language people speak, they always use computers the same way, and basicly they
are using the same kind of software packages, like Windows Operating Systems and word
proccessing software packages. Computer language is also a universal language. Programmers
from different part of the world can work in the Silicon Vally. Although they might have
difficulties in communication in English, they have no problem at all writing programs with Java,
or C++.

Besides, the development of the internet is uniformizing people's life style. Internet is being used
in almost every corner the world. People are doing almost everything with the internet, like getting
all sorts of information, shopping online, paying for their bills and checking their balances in the
online bank. Over 90 per cent of people in the world use the same kind of internet browser - MS
Internet Explorer, and almost every internet page looks like the same, although they use different
language and design. People from all over the world are doing the same thing each day on the
internet, and their living habit is becoming closer and closer with each passing day.

In addition, modern technolgy has facilitated the communications among people from all over the
world, and therefore result a single world culture. For instance, people can chat with a friend or a
stranger who lives abroad on the phone, internet, and they can also see and listen to him/her
through a camera and a microphone just like face to face. This helps one culture learns from other
culture, and bring the world together. Before people can see each other through TV, they used to
wear their local costumes; nowadays T-shirt and blue jeans have become a universal custom for
people. This is a concreate example that modern development is creating a single world culture.

Based on the points discussed above, we can see why I agree with that modern technology is
creating a single world culture.

Sample essay 2.

In modern society, technology has brought us amazing surprises everyday. Someone claims that
modern technology is creating a single world culture. I completely disagree with this statement. I
will list some of my reasons here.

Firstly, I believe that modern technology has improved multi-culturalism and the communication
between cultures. With modern communication technology such as TVs and phones, we can see
what people at the other end of the world is doing, and with a modern airplane, we can travel to
every corner of the world. This will greatly help us understand the cultural diversity of this world,
and we will learn to appreciate the cultural difference of people from different part of the earth.

Secondly, modern technology increases the communication between cultures. Eastern people can
learn good virtual from western culture such as politeness and self-cultivation; and western people
can also learn a great deal of good virtual from eastern culture such as modesty and filial pity of
one’s parents. By communication, one culture can learn from other culture and evolve.

Thirdly, modern technology helps us to preserve our cultural relics and world treasures, and
discover our culture in the past. We can also explore and discover more about our past, and have
a better understanding of now and the future. For instance, Xi’an is famous for its figures of
warriors and horses buried in the emperor’s tombs. In the modern world, we explore some of
these tombs so that we would understand the remote and longstanding culture of Qin Dynasty in
China’s history.

Indeed, modern technology has shorten the distance between cultures, and made this world
smaller. But we cannot say that it is creating a single world culture. On the contrary, with the help
of modern technology, we find this world more and more diversify and colorful.

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Topic 82. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising can tell you a lot about a country.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Advertising can tell you a lot about a
country. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Sample essay.

Nowadays some may hold the opinion that advertising can tell you a lot about a country. As far as
I am concerned, I agree with this statement. My arguments for this point are listed as follows.

One of the primary causes is that advertising is always a reflection of a country’s culture and
customs. Advertising varies from country to country, depending on the country's particular
conventions. For example, a Japanese advertisement may feature a Japanese lady with traditional
kimono, while an American advertisement may feature a western cowboy with a hat and ride a
horse. Through advertisement, we can have a general understanding of what people from other
countries look like, what they wear during their daily life, what they eat, what kind of
transportation they use, and what they do during their spare times. We can always learn different
cultures of different countries through these culture specific advertisements.

A further more subtle point we must consider is that we can understand a country by its products.
When we see a Toyota or a SONY advertisement on TV, we realize that Japanese people see
quality as a vital aspect of their products, and we know that how these people are always trying

their best in high technology development, and ensure the best quality in their products. When we
have gained a deeper understanding of a product, we can also gain a deeper understanding of that
country and people.

What is more, when we become curious about the culture and customs of a country through
advertisement, we are willing to spend more time on reading about the country, explore more
deeply about it, and even someday travel to a country we like to visit. All these might have started
with a small advertisement on TV! Is that amazing?

In short, advertising can really tell you a lot about a country's culture and customs.

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