85. Where would you recommend a foreign visitor to go in your country for one day? - TOEFL Writing Topics 085

TOEFL Writing Topic #085

85. Where would you recommend a foreign visitor to go in your country for one day?
85. Where would you recommend a foreign visitor to go in your country for one day? - TOEFL Writing Topics 085

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.

China is an enormous country with an intensely varied landscape. If a foreign visitor were coming for just one day

to see our country, it would be difficult to choose just one place to spend the day. However, I posit that the best place in China to visit would be Beijing. As the capital city, Beijing offers a diverse look at China. I would suggest that the main sites to see would be the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and Tiananmen Square.

The Forbidden City offers the visitor a look at what it was like to live in historical China. The Forbidden City is located in the heart of Beijing, and is the biggest palace complex in the world. This particular site would be of interest to a tourist because it was once the home of many emperors. One can see the actual rooms from whence the ancient China was ruled by the emperors. When the visitor walks through the palace confines, he/she will see many examples of classic Chinese architecture. A walk through the gardens is particularly peaceful with jasmine trees abound.

The Great Wall is also a must-see in China. The people of China hold the Great Wall as having particular significance to their culture because of its long history. The wall, built of dirt, stone and brick, was used as a defense barrier against invading nomads and wandering tribes. This is the largest engineering and building project ever carried out by humans. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural significance.

Finally, Tiananmen Square should be on the list of things to see while visiting Beijing. This square is one of the largest in China, and possibly in Asia. At this square, one can visit the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, one of the greatest leaders ever in China. The Chinese Revolutionary Museum and the Chinese History Museum stand to the east of the square, the Great Hall of the People to the west and the magnificent Tiananmen Tower to the north. As the visitor will see, there are numerous interesting exhibits at Tiananmen Square that offer up a variety of Chinese heritage.

Of course, it is very difficult to name one city in China over all others as "the place" to visit. China is the host to such a wide variety of beautiful places, and a visitor really should spend much more time exploring them all. However, with only one day, I believe that Beijing is the best place to visit.

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84. Internet information: valuable or problematic? - TOEFL Writing Topics 084

TOEFL Writing Topic #084

84. Internet information: valuable or problematic?
84. Internet information: valuable or problematic? - TOEFL Writing Topics 084

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.

The Internet is a great invention be cause it disseminates information freely. Freedom of information is in the

interest of a country and its citizens, but, in light of the information anarchy on the Internet, people need to learn and understand how to evaluate and use the information they find at their fingertips.

The Internet promotes freedom of information and freedom of speech, which are integral part of a successful modern democratic society. With innumerable news sources at their disposal citizens have the opportunity to educate themselves, and this knowledge will allow them to contribute to the progression of their society. Similarly, the ability to consult different viewpoints, especially those diverging from their own, will allow people engage in meaningful dialogue with other citizens. The result of this continued discourse will be a more open minded and also tolerant society. As a vehicle of communication the Internet will connect people of the same interests and the same concerns. Thus connected citizens will be encouraged to work together and they will become active participants of society rather than passive subjects.

Critics of the Internet's free flow of information are concerned that people will fall victim to bad or rather incorrect information and act on it. This concern is warranted in so far that the Internet is intrinsically anarchic, and anybody with a computer can create Website and post information thereon. As a result, it can be very difficult to determine what information is correct or reliable and which is not. However, difficult as it may seem, there are ways that one can navigate the information jungle of the Internet and arrive at conclusions. In order to do so one has to learn to valuate sources of information. For example, the Website of a research scientist at a major university or that of a well-known non-profit organization is a more reliable source of information than the personal Website of a senior school student.

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83. Is modern technology creating a single world culture? - TOEFL Writing Topics 083

TOEFL Writing Topic #083

83. Is modern technology creating a single world culture?
83. Is modern technology creating a single world culture? - TOEFL Writing Topics 083

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.

Through modern technology such as TV, telephone, and the Internet, it has become easier for people from different

cultures to communicate. In a sense the world has become a smaller place. However, it is questionable if technology is creating a single world culture, because, even though a cultural exchange is taking place, accessibility of this technology is still very limited, and, more importantly, people have come to value the differences inherent in their cultures.

People around the world are taking advantage of the opportunities, presented by modern technology, to learn about other cultures. Not only foreign movies, music, and books communicate with the locals, but the different cultural values do, which are readily available on DVD, CD and via the Internet. Similarly, TV broadcasts fashions across the world and a new style of dress will likely catch on quickly in different parts of the globe. People adopt foreign things they like and make them their own. In this sense cultural assimilation is taking place.

However, while some societies and their cultures are technologically advanced and thus connected with other parts of the world, the majority of the world's population lives largely isolated. Such isolation is the result of limited technological resources, which in turn is, generally, related to poverty. For example, nearly the entire continent of Africa is impoverished. Its people have few means to learn about other cultures, and even if they did they would have little use for Western culture, which to a great extent is a consumer culture. They are also extremely limited in the ways they can educate people from other parts of the world about their cultures.

Finally, people who are learning about foreign cultures generally come to appreciate and accept the differences between other cultures and their own. They recognize the value of variety. The enjoyment they derive from experiencing foreign languages, dances, songs, visual and culinary arts, also allows them to see the value in their own cultures' achievements. Therefore, cultural exchange does not necessarily result in the melting of many cultures into one.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 085

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 085
Author: Li Xiaolai

85. The term fishery is also used to describe the species of fish being harvested (because most of them are edible), which include familiar finned fish species, like cod and flounder; mollusks, including oysters and squid; and crustaceans, such as shrimp and crabs. Lesser-known fisheries include echinoderms, like sea urchins; some amphibians, including frogs; and cnidarians, such as jellyfish. Even the harvest of whales is usually considered a fishery.

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82. Can advertising tell you a lot about a country? - TOEFL Writing Topics 082

TOEFL Writing Topic #082

82. Can advertising tell you a lot about a country?
82. Can advertising tell you a lot about a country? - TOEFL Writing Topics 082

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.

Advertising does not mean to educate or illustrate. Primarily it is a vehicle for business and it aims to sell

products. As a result, the information we can gather from looking at advertisings is quite limited. However, the cultural ideas used to sell commodities reveal a society's value system, and from the nature of the advertising and the product it aims to sell we can draw conclusions as to which social demography might be the most affluent.

In order to be most effective an advertising campaign will make use of the cultural values of a country. Obviously, companies will be able to sell more products if a great many people relate to the goods and the images used to sell them. For example, in a country like the United States where a great percentage of the population is

religious, advertisers use expressions such as heavenly, divine, or revelation, because these have connotations that prospective customers will likely identify with. Similarly, advertisers will try to employ fashion models who embody a culture's ideals of personal beauty, because attractive men and women will sell more products than unattractive ones.

Companies identify social demographics or parts of society that are most likely to buy their products and design their advertisings accordingly. For example, teenage girls are more likely to buy mobile phones than retired factory workers. Thus companies will make use of fashion trends in their ads and probably pay a famous pop singer a big chunk of money to endorse their product. If the majority of all advertisings in a country are geared towards a specific target market or audience, then this part of the population probably has the most financial resources at their disposal.

Although we can learn some things about a country by looking at its advertising we have to remember that this knowledge is limited. After all, advertising is only directed at people who have the means to buy consumer goods. Thus advertising does not tell us anything about the overall prosperity or likes and dislikes of a country. Also, advertising not only reflects but also tries to shape and change cultural values. Therefore, it does not accurately reflect the exact state of a country's culture.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 084

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 084
Author: Li Xiaolai

84. All fishes are vertebrates (animals with backbones) with gills for breathing, and most of them have fins for swimming, scales for protection, and a streamlined body generally with a pointed snout and posterior and a broad propulsive tail for moving easily through the water.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 083

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 083
Author: Li Xiaolai

83. Except in combinations such as waterfowl and wildfowl, in modern usage the word fowl usually is restricted to the common domestic fowl, or chicken. In poultry markets, fowl commonly means a full-grown female bird. Young birds of both sexes, such as broilers and fryers, are called chickens. On poultry farms, male chickens are called roosters or cocks; females, especially those more than a year old, are called hens; females less than a year old are called pullets; very young chickens of either sex are called chicks; and castrated males are called capons.

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81. Has technology made the world a better place to live? - TOEFL Writing Topics 081

TOEFL Writing Topic #081

81. Has technology made the world a better place to live?
81. Has technology made the world a better place to live? - TOEFL Writing Topics 081

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Technology has made the world a better place to live. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Technology is a tool for humanity. As such it merely supports human actions, good and bad, and does not contribute

in and of itself to the progression of the world. Nevertheless, while people have utilized technology to improve their living conditions and also as a means to control and harm others, I believe that technology has allowed and will continue to allow mankind to solve our most serious problems and thus make the world a better place to live.

Technology has aided us in the fight against the two most serious threats to human life, hunger and disease. With the help of technology we have been able to save millions of lives by developing vaccinations, cures, and treatments for diseases that used to be considered fatal. Similarly, technology has figured prominently in the area

of food production and may one day allow us to stamp out hunger all over the world. The development of telecommunication and information technologies has encouraged communication between countries and their peoples and thus prevented political conflict.

Of course, technology has also helped mankind to become more destructive and exploitative. The ever-growing arms industry has been able to build bigger bombs and more efficient killing machines. As a result, armed conflicts have become more and more devastating and cost more human lives than ever before. In addition, governments have used technology to limit information and suppress opposition, and businesses continue to use it to maximize profits by replacing workers with machines. None of these practices can be considered beneficial to humanity.

However, while the development of technology might have contributed to some of these contemporary problems, it offers the most likely solutions to many of them. People in many parts of the world still die of starvation, and further developments in food science will hopefully end this unfortunate situation. Also, the global energy shortage presents a problem only technology can solve, and the further development of existing technology is necessary to reduce and stop environmental pollution and degradation.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 082

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 082
Author: Li Xiaolai

82. Migrating birds use a variety of cues to find their way. These include the positions of the sun during the day and the stars at night; the earth’s magnetic field; and visual, olfactory, and auditory landmarks.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 081

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 081
Author: Li Xiaolai

81. Among the best-known birds are the birds of prey. Some, including hawks, eagles, and falcons, are active during the daytime. Others, notably owls, are nocturnal, or active at night. Birds of prey have hooked beaks, strong talons or claws on their feet, and keen eyesight and hearing. Scavengers that feed on dead animals are also considered birds of prey.

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80. A custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt - TOEFL Writing Topics 080

TOEFL Writing Topic #080

80. A custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt
80. A custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt - TOEFL Writing Topics 080

Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.

My favorite custom from Chinese culture that I wish that other countries would adopt is "Respect the Old, Love the

Young." These two ideas have been part of traditional Chinese culture for thousands of years, but they are more important than ever in contemporary Chinese culture. If adopted by Western countries, these two traditional attitudes could help them solve some of their social problems.

One major problem in many Western countries is what to do with old people when they can no longer take care of themselves. A Chinese family will often have three generations of one family living under the same roof. They love and respect the older generation, and consider them wise. Western people believe that living with one's own parents is inconvenient and embarrassing. Instead of respecting old people, some think that they are stupid and ugly. When Western families' parents get old, they would rather send them into nursing homes and retirement homes than live together with them. Only old and sick people live in these places and they are considered depressing, in the worst cases they might seem like a prison to their inhabitants. Old people in the West would be much happier if they adopted these traditional Chinese attitudes.

Juvenile delinquency is another serious social problem in Western cultures. Its causes can also be traced back to a lack of respect for old people and love for young people. Children are not taught to respect the wishes of their parents and instead value their relationships with their friends more. Because in many Western families both parents have jobs outside of the home, children often lack adequate supervision. Chinese families, by contrast, often have at least one parent, or a grandparent at home to take care of and love the children. Children without proper guidance and love from a young age might start to smoke, drink, use drugs, and commit crimes. This occurs much less frequently in China because people pay more attention to their children and have the children's grandparents nearby to help raise them.

The West puts the "Individual" before the "Family". Traditional Chinese culture puts the interests of the Family first, and the Individual second. Chinese mothers and fathers place higher value on their child's development, than on their child's independence. Children place a higher value on then-parents' happiness than on their own convenience. While there are many excellent lessons that Chinese people can learn from the West, Western people would do well to learn from these essential Chinese traditions.

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79. Whom in your country would you choose to build a statue for? - TOEFL Writing Topics 079

TOEFL Writing Topic #079

79. Whom in your country would you choose to build a statue for?
79. Whom in your country would you choose to build a statue for? - TOEFL Writing Topics 079

Your city has decided to build a statue or monument to honor a famous person in your country. Who would you choose? Use reasons and specific examples to support your choice.

If my city has decided to build a statue to honor a famous person in my country, I would choose a late singer,

Teresa Teng. She was born in 1950s, and died of a severe asthma attack at age 41 in May 1995 while holidaying in Chiang Mai, Thailand, triggering an outpouring of grief among her legions of fans in Asia and elsewhere. During her brilliant stage career, favored by fans all over Asia, she moved millions of people. Her famous songs include "sweet", "story of small town", and "the moon represents my heart", etc.

It was said that it was her who introduced several generations in China to a certain field of popular music. Her songs have accompanied the growth and development of many people in China. In the home of these generations' soul, her sweet voice has become immortal beauty and memory. Although she's gone, her sound of singing has never vanished. She is constantly commemorated; from Beijing to Taipei, Hong Kong to Singapore, her ubiquitous fans observe her commemoration from time to time, cherishing her incredible beauty, and her voice that sounds to come from heaven. Her sweet songs made her a legend, and are still regularly heard on radio, and continue to have a following in Chinese communities all over the world.

She should be remembered not only because of her beauty and voice, but also because of her great charity. She founded "Teresa Teng Foundation" during her lifetime. The purpose of the foundation is to cultivate and support gifted artists, and at the same time the foundation includes a trust to distribute scholarship to make sure that art students have opportunities to accomplish what they actually can. Every year, The Teresa Teng Foundation also send a great amount of money as a charity to help homeless children. And these activities are supported by her fans all over the world.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 080

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 080
Author: Li Xiaolai

80. For breeding, most birds build nests, which help them to incubate, or warm, the developing eggs. Nests sometimes offer camouflage from predators and physical protection from the elements. Nests may be elaborate constructions or a mere scrape on the ground.

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78. Work with a group of people or work independently? - TOEFL Writing Topics 078

TOEFL Writing Topic #078

78. Work with a group of people or work independently?
78. Work with a group of people or work independently? - TOEFL Writing Topics 078

Is it more important to be able to work with a group of people on a team or to work independently? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

While some people emphasize great importance of cooperation, others argue that the significance of individual

competition should not be rejected or neglected. To examine whether one is more important than the other, we have to look carefully into further details.

There are circumstances where the ability to work with group is much more important than that to work independently. More often than not, in most fields, a team can achieve much more extensive scope than an individual can, because one has less strength than many have. In team-played sports, such as football, basketball, volleyball, etc. , teamwork is often highly valued and is of essence. To get a goal or make a point, team members have to cooperate with each other, nobody could achieve without others’ help. Although individual competence is a must, too much accent on his personal ability will lead him even the whole team to a disaster.

On the other hand, there also are inverse circumstances. In vital decision-making, for example, one has to make a final choice with his/her own judgment. Let's consider the same situation mentioned above, on the very same sports ground, each opposite team has only one and should have only one coach, who must work independently to make important decisions, including which player should be replaced, which player should present on what kind of special circumstances, and so many other critical choices. The coach, like the commander in the war, stands on a position where he/she has to be competitive, and his/her only rival is the coach of the other side. Even if he/she at the same time has to consult with others, it is him/her who takes the final step, and he/she essentially has no choice but to have an excellent ability to work independently.

There seldom exists a circumstance where cooperation and competition do not coexist. The point is that emphasis on cooperation doesn't mean competition should be neglected or rejected, and vice versa. Therefore, it hasn't gone too far to say that both the ability of working with group and that of working independently are equally important.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 079

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 079
Author: Li Xiaolai

79. Instead of heavy jaws with teeth, modern birds have toothless, lightweight jaws, called beaks or bills. The eyes of birds are protected by three eyelids: an upper lid resembling that of humans, a lower lid that closes when a bird sleeps, and a third lid, called a nictitating membrane, that sweeps across the eye sideways, starting from the side near the beak. This lid is a thin, translucent fold of skin that moistens and cleans the eye and protects it from wind and bright light.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 078

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 078
Author: Li Xiaolai

78. Birds have two legs; the lower part of each leg is called the tarsus. Most birds have four toes on each foot, and in many birds, including all songbirds, the first toe, called a hallux, points backwards. Bird toes are adapted in various species for grasping perches, climbing, swimming, capturing prey, and carrying and manipulating food.

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77. Should boys and girls attend separate schools? - TOEFL Writing Topics 077

TOEFL Writing Topic #077

77. Should boys and girls attend separate schools?
77. Should boys and girls attend separate schools? - TOEFL Writing Topics 077

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Boys and girls should attend separate schools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

In my country, China, many people in a sense live in a ridiculous culture where young boys and girls should never

say "love" to each other. Moreover, it is absolutely a shame that such affairs happen in campus. To avoid alleged shame or danger of it, some people assert that boys and girls should attend separate schools.

The point is, is there anything wrong when a little boy says "I love you" to a little girl? Gone are the days when "love" was a forbidden word in our culture, it has now, nevertheless, actually quite different connotations from that of the word in western society. It can be seen that people in Hollywood movies often say "I love you" to almost everyone naturally, readily and easily, including friends, family members, partners in work, even an unknown taxi driver! But in China, not surprisingly, many people have never said "I love you" to their parents, even seldom to their mates or children. "Love", in Chinese word, does in fact carry subtle connotations related to immoral affairs. It seems not a problem of is there anything wrong, but one of there must be something wrong if a teenager dares to say anything about "love!"

Even if there must be something wrong when a teenager falls into love, is it something so appalling even evil that adults have to take action to prevent or even fight? Did we ever discover any prudent evidence which clearly prove it is really something bad? Hardly. It is in fact quite natural that a little boy admire a beautiful girl or a little girl feels a smart boy appealing. And such emotions do not harm anything. Alleged "puppy love" simply is a nonsense concept invented by ignorance. Girls and boys actually do not even know what love is! Perhaps they merely imitate behaviors of adults around them. What we adults should do is not to make them believe "love" is evil, but to teach them what true love really means. Regrettably, those adults never realize that they actually fail to assume their responsibility, but presumptuously believe they are capable of eliminating Jove among boys and girls by separating them into different school. It will never work.

Separate school once was one of evil signs of discrimination of women, but today reemerges to prevent "love affairs" among teenagers—a high school in Beijing recently announced that it has already separated girls from boys into different classes. I can hardly imagine any benefit that such a scheme could produce except for further distortions of teenagers' natures.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 077

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 077
Author: Li Xiaolai

77. Nearly all birds have a tail, the paired flight feathers of which, called rectrices, extend from the margins of a bird’s tail. Tails may be square, rounded, pointed, or forked, depending on the lengths of the rectrices and the way they terminate.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 076

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 076
Author: Li Xiaolai

76. Bird wings are highly modified forelimbs with a skeletal structure resembling that of arms. The shape of a bird’s wings influences its style of flight, which may consist of gliding, soaring, or flapping. Flight muscles are located in the chest and are attached to the wings by large tendons. The breastbone, a large bone shaped like the keel of a boat, supports the flight muscles.

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76. Should children begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school? - TOEFL Writing Topics 076

TOEFL Writing Topic #076

76. Should children begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school?
76. Should children begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school? - TOEFL Writing Topics 076

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

More and more international corporations build their business in my country, China. At the same time, more parents

tell their children that English is one of necessities to be successful in the future. Students work so hard to master English that English learning related publications have always been on the top of the best-seller list.

It seems clear that one will be better off if he/she is a bilingual, and if the second language is English, even better! However, learning a foreign language must have been painful, since people are continuously creating all sorts of methods and suggestions on how to learn it more easily, more quickly, and more efficiently. Some people propose that children should begin learning English as soon as they start school. But would it really work? Hardly.

It seems true that children have natural amazing ability to develop their language skills. Statistic figures show that a 6-year-old boy can virtually memorize nearly as many as 150 words a day! But things become different when the child is learning a foreign language. When children are learning their mother tongue, they are not alone, and they are learning with numerous handy aids around. Parents, friends, and all the people around them are talking the same language, without any grammar error and nearly uniform intonation and pronunciation. However, when they are learning a foreign language, all of those natural aids disappeared. And words become really foreign and abstract after they leave classes. And even worse, their teacher might have a bad accent or even wrong pronunciation. Some may adduce children in Luxembourg as evidence, but the point is that almost all parents in that place are trilingual!

Learning a foreign language well involves much more than merely memorizing handful vocabulary or several grammar rules. If a girl is able to say hello in a standard American accent, does that really mean she has learned a second language well, or she will go so far as to be a linguist? In fact, learning a foreign language in some sense is beyond the capacity of children, especially as little as first grade pupil, for language is used to express thoughts and ideas, both of which are naturally cultural and historical, and are sometimes too complex for children to comprehend. After all, learning earlier doesn't automatically guarantee learning quicker or better.

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75. Should students be required to take classes in many subjects or to specialize in one subject? - TOEFL Writing Topics 075

TOEFL Writing Topic #075

75. Should students be required to take classes in many subjects or to specialize in one subject?
75. Should students be required to take classes in many subjects or to specialize in one subject? - TOEFL Writing Topics 075

Some universities require students to take classes in many subjects. Other universities require students to specialize in one subject. Which is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Universities that require their students to take classes in many subjects offer a very different educational

experience from the universities that encourage specialization. As higher education becomes a more accessible commodity students will be able to choose between these two different forms of instruction. The answer to the question of which system is better depends on the student's interests and the goals of their studies.

Students who complete a degree at a university which requires them to take classes in many different subjects will receive a well rounded education. Here they will be able to develop their knowledge in different areas, and they will also have the opportunity to find out what their interests really are as they will be exposed to a variety of fields of study. Therefore, this kind of university is ideal for students who have many interests or don't know what their interests are. Also, students who have an interest in education and consider the possibility of graduate school will be able to gain a broader knowledge base before specializing later on in their academic careers. They will be able to pursue education for education's sake and not just to learn a trade. When they try to find work after graduation their versatility will allow them to apply for a wide range of jobs.

On the other hand, students who specialize will have a great advantage over students who don't when it comes to finding a job in their specific field of study. Naturally, companies will be most interested in job applicants who have superior knowledge and can thus make the greatest contributions. At the same time, the specialization system allows students to focus on their interests and the subjects relevant to them. Students majoring in physics or chemistry would feel very out of place in a course on ancient poetry or Western literature. They might consider it a waste of their time and energy. This might then have a negative effect on their educational progress in general.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 075

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 075
Author: Li Xiaolai

75. The main component of feathers is keratin, a flexible protein that also forms the hair and fingernails of mammals. Feathers provide the strong yet lightweight surface area needed for powered, aerodynamic flight. They also serve as insulation, trapping pockets of air to help birds conserve their body heat. The varied patterns, colors, textures, and shapes of feathers help birds to signal their age, sex, social status, and species identity to one another. Some birds have plumage that blends in with their surroundings to provide camouflage, helping these birds escape notice by their predators. Birds use their beaks to preen their feathers, often making use of oil from a gland at the base of their tails. Preening removes dirt and parasites and keeps feathers waterproof and supple. Because feathers are nonliving structures that cannot repair themselves when worn or broken, they must be renewed periodically. Most adult birds molt — lose and replace their feathers — at least once a year.

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74. Is traveling in a group led by a tour guide the best way to travel? - TOEFL Writing Topics 074

TOEFL Writing Topic #074

74. Is traveling in a group led by a tour guide the best way to travel?
74. Is traveling in a group led by a tour guide the best way to travel? - TOEFL Writing Topics 074

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The best way to travel is in a group led by a tour guide. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Those lucky enough to travel, particularly those fortunate enough to visit foreign countries, face the decision of

traveling in a group with an experienced tour guide or traveling by themselves. The choice is a difficult one as both ways of travel have advantages. Personally, I believe that, although traveling in a group with a tour guide is obviously convenient, the benefits are often not significant enough and in many ways traveling in this kind of way can limit one's travel experience.

The conveniences of group travel with a tour guide include the fact that one easily meets other people and thus has a more enjoyable and comfortable travel experience. This is particularly important when traveling in a foreign country where a language barrier prevents interaction with the locals and isolation can become a problem. The tour guide is often experienced in generating a jovial atmosphere within the group, and his/her knowledge of the foreign culture and places of interest provide travelers with a greater appreciation of their trip. Also, and maybe most importantly, when traveling with a guide the individual traveler normally does not have to worry about hotel reservations and transportation. Those aspects are taken care of.

On the other hand, convenience might not be important to a traveler, and traveling alone allows far more personal freedoms. For example, one can easily make changes to the travel itinerary. The traveler can choose to stay in certain places or move on more quickly than otherwise possible, because he does not follow a set schedule. Learning about culture and places of interest is also easy as that information is readily available in books. Furthermore, travelers tend to congregate, and it is very easy to meet fellow vacationers who might have insightful tips as far as where to go and what to do. Generally, basic command of the English language suffices to have such informative exchanges with other travelers and locals, who are often eager to share their customs and culture.

Therefore, traveling outside a large tour group can result in a richer and more genuine experience, and I believe this experience to be more exciting to me.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 074

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 074
Author: Li Xiaolai

74. Birds are the only animals with feathers, collectively called plumage, although some other animals, such as insects and bats, also have wings. Nearly all birds can fly, and even flightless birds, such as ostriches and penguins, evolved from flying ancestors. Many characteristics and behaviors of birds are distinct from all other animals, but there are some similarities. Like mammals, birds have four-chambered hearts and are warm-blooded — having a relatively constant body temperature that enables them to live in a wide variety of environments. Like reptiles, birds develop from embryos in eggs outside of the mother’s body.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 073

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 073
Author: Li Xiaolai

73. Insects and diseases are a continuing menace to forests. Various insects, such as the gypsy moth, the tussock moth, and the spruce budworm, devastate extensive areas by defoliation. Other insects serve as carriers for the causative agents of diseases that destroy trees. Parasitic tree diseases may be caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes, or by such parasitic plants as the mistletoe or dodder. Noninfectious diseases of trees include sunscald; drought injury; root drowning, or suffocation; nutritional excesses or deficiencies; winter injury; and injury from smoke, gases, and fumes.

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73. Computers and human life - TOEFL Writing Topics 073

TOEFL Writing Topic #073

73. Computers and human life
73. Computers and human life - TOEFL Writing Topics 073

Some people say that computers have made life easier and more convenient. Other people say that computers have made life more complex and stressful. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

For every individual who praises the advent of the computer age there seems to be a computer phobic person. Truly,

many people are having a difficult time warning up to this machine and its ubiquity. The computer appears to have made life more complex because it can be difficult to understand and it has quickened our pace of life and thus caused stress, but once people learn how to use it they will be able to appreciate the conveniences it has to offer.

Many people, especially older generations, are not familiar with computers and therefore uncomfortable with them. They find the machine's workings too complex and difficult to understand. Even the terminology seems like a completely different language, because twenty years ago nobody knew what words like software, hardware, or network connection meant. When people heard the word mouse they thought of a rodent. This has changed today, and few teenagers would make the same mistake as their grandparents.

It is also true that computers have quickened the pace of life by allowing us to communicate and do business more efficiently, and this can certainly result in stress. After all, time saved is usually spent on accomplishing more tasks, and thus personal and professional schedules have become more crowded. The stress factor increases yet again when the technology on which we rely breaks down. Few people understand their computers well enough to fix them, and as entire companies depend on this technology to handle all of their business needs, a single broken computer can wreck a lot of havoc.

Nevertheless, computers and the Internet have become an integral part of everyday life. Computers are here to stay, because they facilitate many of our everyday processes and we have already grown dependent on them. Today computer owners use their machines not only to communicate and do business but also for entertainment. As people learn more about computers they will become more comfortable with them, and technological progress will fix many of the small annoyances that cause stress to their owners.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 072

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 072
Author: Li Xiaolai

72. Members of an ant colony typically fall into categories known as castes, each with a different role. The majority of colony members are female worker ants that are unable to mate. Worker ants do not have wings and perform most of the work of the colony, including searching for food, nursing young, and defending the colony against ants from other colonies. Queens are larger than worker ants and are the only females of the colony capable of mating. Queens are born with wings, which they break off after mating. They mate with winged male ants, later using the sperm from the mating to produce fertilized eggs, which hatch to produce more worker ants and a new generation of queens.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 071

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 071
Author: Li Xiaolai

71. Ant colonies have elaborate social structures in which the various activities necessary for the feeding, shelter, and reproduction of the colony are divided among specially adapted individuals. Ants belong to an order of insects called the Hymenoptera, a group that also includes bees, wasps, and sawflies. Some species of wasps and bees resemble ants in that they live in colonies and are therefore said to be social, but ants are the only hymenopterans in which every species is social. Ants are distinguished from other hymenopterans in that they have bent, or elbowed, antennae and an indented abdomen that forms a narrow waist.

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72. Do grades encourage students to learn? - TOEFL Writing Topics 072

TOEFL Writing Topic #072

72. Do grades encourage students to learn?
72. Do grades encourage students to learn? - TOEFL Writing Topics 072

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students to learn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Does grade really encourage students to learn, and guarantee a qualified education? Hardly. Given the opportunity,

students spend time using their intelligence to figure out how to get a higher or top grade without doing the real work of the course and without thinking, rather than spending the same time thinking and exploring, regardless of what grade this may bring them. It isn't that these students are not motivated. It's just that they're not motivated to learn as much as they're motivated to get good grades. Once one became grade-oriented in your thinking, it is difficult for him/her to stop thinking that way.

Anybody who gets top grades is, in some sense, a winner of the system. But these seeming winners are, far too often, losers of a more important game. To win the grade competition in high school, most of these "winners" learned to ask what was expected of them and then do just that. They had to make sure they got high SAT scores by memorizing endless vocabulary words and by practicing a 1001 uses of the Pythagorean Theorem. They wanted to know from their high school teachers if the material being covered on a given day was going to be on the test, because they realized early on that the test is all that matters.

When these "successes" of the system arrive in college, they, of course, have not changed their attitudes. They fear open-ended assignments. They are impatient with discussions mat are not going in any particular direction except where the interests of the discussants dictate, since they know that such discussions waste time that could have been better spent studying for a test. What these students have learned from school is the underlying message that the world is run by authorities who have definite points of view. The system has taught them that the way to get along in the world is to understand and to cater to those points of view espoused by the educational "authorities". Cleverness pays, but disagreement does not. Such students are in the process of becoming "yes men."

On the other hand, students who do less well in high school are often rebelling against curricula they see as irrelevant to their lives. This type of student judges what goes on in school according to how well it relates to his own day-to-day concerns. If algebra does not seem relevant to the problems such students face, then they see little need to pay attention to it. Under such circumstance, the school might have been able to embed algebra instruction inside a task they cared about, causing them to want to know algebra because it would help them do something they wanted to do. But schools generally don't think like this, so the conclusion drawn by many students is mat since so much is irrelevant, they might as well tune it out. These students learn to get by as well as they can, separating themselves from other kids who are willing to play the game.

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71. Choosing a job: high-paying with long working hours, or low-paying with short working hours? - TOEFL Writing Topics 071

TOEFL Writing Topic #071

71. Choosing a job: high-paying with long working hours, or low-paying with short working hours?

Which would you choose: a high-paying job with long hours that would give you little time with family and friends or a lower-paying job with shorter hours that would give you more time with family and friends? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details.

I am optimistic that through my studies and continued hard work I will be able to find a job that will provide my

future family and me with financial security. We should be able to afford the necessities of life, such as a modest home, enough food to nourish us and keep us in good health, as well as education for our children. Hopefully, I will find myself in the fortunate situation where I can decide between a high-paying job with long hours and a lower-paying job with shorter hours. I would choose the job with the lower salary and greater personal time without hesitation, because my family and friends are the most important things in my life.

Time is the greatest investment I can make into the relationships with my wife and my children. A marriage is not just a decision one makes but a promise that one keeps. In order to do so one has to be there for the other person and share moments of joy as well as times of difficulty. Nowadays, too many relationships wither away as the partners are unable to work out their problems or bond through meaningful experiences. Personal careers become too important and family time becomes a rare occurrence.

The absence of one parent, due to professional career or divorce, can have a very negative effect on a child's development. The child might question his value to father or mother (depending on which one is continually absent) and develop low self-esteem. Without the presence of either or, worse, both parents, the child will be more likely to make bad decisions as he is lacking proper guidance. And there is one point should also be mentioned, i.e. neither expensive toys nor fancy clothes can compensate for this.

Lastly, I can derive more pleasure from spending time with my friends than I ever could from driving a sports car or taking luxury vacations. The inner peace and balance that I enjoy from their company are invaluable to me. Also, a million dollars in the bank would be worth nothing if I didn't have the time to enjoy these riches with my friends.

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70. Has automobile improved modern life or caused serious problems? - TOEFL Writing Topics 070

TOEFL Writing Topic #070

70. Has automobile improved modern life or caused serious problems?

Some people think that the automobile has improved modern life. Others think that the automobile has caused serious problems. What is your opinion? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Over the course of the past one hundred years the automobile has become a staple of modern society, and its impact

has been considerable. Yet the question of whether it has improved our live or caused serious problems is irrelevant, because the automobile has done both. Consequently, we should develop its strengths and seek to correct the problems it continues to cause in order to reap greater benefits from this tool.

With the invention of the automobile the age of transportation shifted into another gear. Quickly it became possible for people to travel more comfortably and conveniently to destinations near and far, and the figurative world moved closer together. Trucks carried cargo across countries and soon became serious competition for trains and ships. As a result, food and other consumer goods have become available even in remote areas, overall living standards have improved, and the automobile industry, which has grown fantastically over the course of the past century, employs millions of workers worldwide.

However, as societal reliance and global economic dependence have grown together with the automobile industry, many significant problems have surfaced. Car and truck exhausts pollute the air in metropolitan areas around the world and thus create serious health problems. The continued use of fossil fuel engines and the scarcity of oil have led to much political strife and even war, particularly in the oil rich region of the Middle East. As the powerful automobile industry remains reluctant and has yet to successfully promote an engine type that does not rely on gasoline power, the problem of fossil fuel shortage will become an even more serious problem.

Since the automobile is here to stay we must not only enjoy its conveniences, but we must also aim to reduce the problems it has caused, for example air pollution and over reliance on fossil fuel engines. In the same vein, we must encourage the usage of alternative fuel sources, which have been researched and developed successfully. Then the benefits of the automobile will outweigh the serious problems.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 070

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 070
Author: Li Xiaolai

70. The eusocial, or truly social, bees live in large colonies consisting of females of two overlapping generations: mothers (queens) and daughters (workers). Males, called drones, play no part in the colony’s organization and only mate with the queens. Larvae are fed progressively — that is, cells are opened as necessary or are left open so that workers can tend the larvae. Parasitic, or cuckoo, bees are those that do not forage, or make nests themselves but use the nests and food of other species of bees to provide for their parasitic young.

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69. Choose a subject that you have never had the opportunity to study - TOEFL Writing Topics 069

TOEFL Writing Topic #069

69. Choose a subject that you have never had the opportunity to study

If you could study a subject that you have never had the opportunity to study, what would you choose? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details.

Students graduating from colleges today are not fully prepared to deal with the "real world." It is my belief that

college students need to be taught more skills and information about personal finance management to enable them to meet the challenges that face everyone in daily life, which includes playing the credit game, planning their personal financial strategy, and consumer awareness.

Learning how to obtain and use credit is probably the most valuable knowledge a young person can have. Credit is a dangerous tool that can be of tremendous help if it is handled with caution. Having credit can enable people to obtain material necessities before they have the money to purchase them outright. But unfortunately, many, many young people get carried away with their handy plastic credit cards and awake one day to find they are in serious financial debt. Learning how to use credit properly can be a very difficult and painful lesson indeed.

Of equal importance is learning how to plan a personal budget. People have to know how to control money; otherwise, it can control them. Students should leave college knowing how to allocate their money for living expenses, insurance, savings, and so forth in order to avoid the "Oh, no! I'm flat broke and I don't get paid again for two weeks!" anxiety syndrome.

Along with learning about credit and personal financial planning, graduating college students should be trained as consumers. The consumer market today is flooded with a variety of products and services of varying quality and prices. A young person entering the "real world" is suddenly faced with difficult decisions about which product to buy or whose services to engage. He/She is usually unaware of such things as return policies, guarantees, or repair procedures, information of this sort is vital knowledge to everyday living.

For a newly graduated college student, the "real world" can be a scary place to be when he or she is faced with such issues as handling credit, planning a budget, or knowing what to look for, when to make a purchase and whom to purchase it from. Entering this "real world" could be made less painful if people were educated in dealing with these areas of daily life. What better place to accomplish this than college?

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 069

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 069
Author: Li Xiaolai

69. The primitive bees, like their relatives the wasps, are solitary. Each female makes her own burrow, in which she constructs earthen chambers to contain her young. Some bees are communal. They are like solitary bees except that several females of the same generation use the same nest, each making her own cells for housing her eggs, larvae, and pupae.

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68. Is daily homework necessary for students? - TOEFL Writing Topics 068

TOEFL Writing Topic #068

68. Is daily homework necessary for students?

Many teachers assign homework to students every day. Do you think that daily homework is necessary for students? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

For students the only good homework is no homework. This has been a truism for as long as schools have existed.

However, the practice of newly acquired knowledge and the preparation for new lessons are essential parts of the learning process. Teachers understand this and give assignments accordingly. Nevertheless, there is such thing as too much homework. Whether daily homework is useful or not depends on the age of the students and the subjects in which the work is assigned, and teachers also have to take into account the possible negative effects of overwork.

The age of a student or, better yet, the stage of the personal development of a student has to be considered when deciding on the amount of homework assigned. Elementary school students respond differently to daily homework than senior school students. They are more limited in their ability to concentrate on a subject and take in knowledge. These are skills that are developed over time. In addition, they will need time to learn other important lessons, for example how to interact socially and behave in a group of their peers. Thus, instead of daily homework, these students need time to play with their friends.

The need for daily homework also differs from subject to subject. For example, in the areas of mathematics and languages continuous engagement with the subject matter is necessary, because it allows a student to internalize important concepts and mechanisms. In the field of history, on the other hand, it is more important that students grasp greater concepts. Memorizing dates and places is important, surely, but, if forgotten, these can always be looked up in the textbook. In these subjects daily homework is not only unnecessary but it might discourage students from taking an interest in the topic.

After all, learning is largely a voluntary activity, and teachers have to consider the possibility that too much homework will frustrate the students. As a result, students might become less interested in the subject or less willing to learn. Consequently, the good intentions of the teacher could very well have the opposite effect and a student will learn less.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 068

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 068
Author: Li Xiaolai

68. Bees are dependent on pollen as a protein source and on flower nectar or oils as an energy source. Adult females collect pollen primarily to feed their larvae. The pollen they inevitably lose in going from flower to flower is important to plants because some pollen land on the pistils. (reproductive structures) of other flowers of the same species, resulting in cross-pollination. Bees are, in fact, the most important pollinating insects, and their interdependence with plants makes them an excellent example of the type of symbiosis known as mutualism, an association between unlike organisms that is beneficial to both parties.

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67. Hire an Inexperienced worker with low salary or an experienced one with high salary? - TOEFL Writing Topics 067

TOEFL Writing Topic #067

67. Hire an Inexperienced worker with low salary or an experienced one with high salary?

If you were an employer, which kind of worker would you prefer to hire: an inexperienced worker at a lower salary or an experienced worker at a higher salary? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

A company's human capital might very well be its greatest asset. As a result, a lot of thinking has to go into

hiring a new employee. Naturally, in order to maximize profits, a company will want to employ a well-qualified candidate who is willing to work for very little money. Depending on the position that is to be filled, experience is an important qualification for which a company will have to pay a high salary, but often other intangibles such aptitude, initiative, and creativity are just as important, and they might be compromised by prior experience.

There are positions for which extensive experience is absolutely necessary or at least extremely helpful. For example, an airline will not hire inexperienced pilots to fly their biggest passenger planes for good reason, and an investment firm will not allow a recent college graduate to manage the portfolios of their most important clients. In these areas specialized knowledge gained from experience is mandatory. Similarly, when it comes to managing or supervising other workers, knowledge of the subject matter is important but even more important is the ability to communicate effectively. This skill can only be developed through experience. Therefore, a company that wants to be successful immediately will have to pay for this kind of experience.

Sometimes a company will be better off hiring a candidate with less experience. Not only will this prospective employee command a lower salary, but his/her lack of prior experience will allow him/her to learn new procedures more quickly, as he/she will not have to unlearn old ones. Similarly, employers often complain that seasoned workers have become rusty in their established routines. They lack the initiative and drive of their youthful counterparts. Finally, creative positions are often filled with people who have little experience because these individuals are still open to new trends and movements, as opposed to being committed to old fads. Therefore, if I was an employer, I would try to make a decision based on the requirements of the position I have to fill and the qualities of the candidates applying for the job.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 067

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 067
Author: Li Xiaolai

67. Caterpillar, larval stage of butterflies and moths, members of the order Lepidoptera, and corresponding in this special order to the grub, maggot, or larva phase in the life history of other insects. The caterpillar develops like any other larva from the segmented egg and differentiating embryo and undergoes several moltings, or ecdyses. It later falls into a quiescent pupa stage, and the pupa is usually sheathed in a silken cocoon.

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66. Are classmates a more important influence than parents on a child's success in school? - TOEFL Writing Topics 066

TOEFL Writing Topic #066

66. Are classmates a more important influence than parents on a child's success in school?

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Classmates are a more important influence than parents on a child's success in school. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

It is extremely difficult, maybe even impossible, to generalize the relationships between parents and children.

After all, personalities, temperaments, and values differ from person to person as does the ability to raise children. Furthermore, the relationship between parents and child changes over time, and the same is true for relationships between classmates. As a result, the question of who is a more important influence is difficult to answer, but what is undeniable is that parents should and classmates can have significant impact on a child's success in school.

Parents are responsible for raising a child, and they should instill the value of education in him. After all, a child who enjoys education and learning is more likely to do well in school. This success will open up all kinds of opportunities in his future, from studying at a reputable university to finding a good job. Therefore, parents should take an active interest in their child's education and help him through difficult times by encouraging and motivating him. Nevertheless, parents must be careful not to force their child to success, particularly in early adolescence. Many teenagers become temporarily alienated from their parents during this period of their life, and a parent's insistence on academic excellence against the child's will could further erode their relationship and also have a negative effect on the child's schooling.

Relationships to classmates have a significant effect on a child's academic performance, because it is in their company that most of a student's learning takes place. Since it is important for children of all ages to be accepted by their peers, much of a student's life is spent trying to fit in. Ideally, students will motivate and learn from each other, but often the opposite is the case. A student who shines in the classroom can become a social outcast, because his/her classmates are jealous of his/her performance. This can then cause him/her to become less inclined to study and work hard, because acceptance by the classmates is more important to him/her than high marks.

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iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 066

iBT TOEFL Topic Vocabulary Breakthrough Unit 066
Author: Li Xiaolai

66. Insects are invertebrates, animals without backbones. They belong to a category of invertebrates called arthropods, which all have jointed legs, segmented bodies, and a hard outer covering called an exoskeleton. Two other well-known groups of arthropods are crustaceans, which include crayfish and crabs, and arachnids, which include spiders, ticks, mites, and scorpions. Many types of arthropods are commonly called bugs, but not every "bug" is an insect. Spiders, for example, are not insects, because they have eight legs and only two main body segments.

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65. Should historic buildings be preserved or be replaced with modern buildings? - TOEFL Writing Topics 065

TOEFL Writing Topic #065

65. Should historic buildings be preserved or be replaced with modern buildings?

Should a city try to preserve its old, historic buildings or destroy them and replace them with modern buildings? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

Tall glass towers, whose shiny facades are as cool as their air-conditioned insides, are becoming part of cityscapes

from South America to North East Asia. In the process, old buildings are making room for the seemingly unstoppable advancement of modernity. Thus the face of the global city is changing, and city planners are facing the difficult choice of either preserving historic building or replacing them with modern ones. As there are strong arguments for either option, the final decision will depend on a thorough analysis of the specific situation at hand.

It is important to preserve historic buildings and parts of cities because they are part of the cultural heritage that gives identity to a community. Old homes and living quarters are a part of history, and, once destroyed, leveled, and buried under thousands of tons of concrete and steel, they will be lost forever. The constructions erected in their places in too many cases lack any sort of connection to the place. These buildings are anonymous and cultureless edifices that could stand tall in any other part of the world. They lack the charm and character of their historic predecessors.

Yet the construction of new buildings is a sign of modernization. Not only will many people find work in the process of building these structures, but their existence will attract future investments and thus greatly benefit the economy of an area or country. In addition, these new buildings often have lower maintenance costs in comparison to the aged constructions. More importantly, newly development homes and office spaces include the comforts of modern life, e.g. air-conditioning and modern kitchens, are thus comfortable to live in.

Sweeping generalizations are impossible here. A city government should try its best to preserve the old, historic charm of a city and its people. Yet at the same time, they have to look forward and modernize old, rundown buildings in an effort to make their city a more comfortable place to live in and a more successful place to do business. Therefore, a city should think about its general interests and goals and then try to make specific decisions in individual situations.

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