独立写作

　　1.Doyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatement:Childrenarebenefitedinimportantwaysbytakingcareofpet.

　　Nowadays,moreandmorefamiliesarekeepingpetsandtreatingthemasfamilymembers.Itisnotdifficulttoimaginehowmuchhappinessourpuppiesandkittenshavebeensharingwithus.Infact,thehappinessisnottheonlytreasurethatpetsbroughttopeople,especiallyforthosewhohavechildren.Thisisbecausechildrencouldlearnandbenefitalotfromkeepingapetinvariousimportantways.First,takingcareofapet,childrenwilllearnthedifficultiesthattheirparentshavebeenthroughwhilebringingthemup.Inordertokeeptheirpetshealthyandhappy,childrenneedtofoodanddrinkthemontime,toshowerthemregularly,tospendtimeplayingwiththemeveryday,andtolookafterthemwhentheyaresick.Itseemsthat,toacertainextent,thoseresponsibilitiesaresimilartothoseofparents’whentakingcareoftheirownchildren.Becauseofthosesimilarities,childrencouldhaveopportunitiesto“perform”parentingrolesandthuslearnhowharditistobetheirpets’“parents”.Oncechildrenareawareofthedifficultiesofbeingafatherormother,theywillbecomegratefulforeverythingthattheirparentshavedoneforthem,andlovetheirfamiliesmorethanever.Second,childrenwillnotfeellonelyiftheykeeppets.Intoday’sfamilies,especiallyfamiliesinbigcities,moreandmoreparentschoosetohaveonlyonechild.Itisverylikelythatachildfeellonelyifhisorherparentsarebusywiththeirworks.Admittedly,childrenfromdifferentfamiliescouldgettogetherandplaywitheachotherwhenparentsarenotathome.However,veryfewparentswouldallowtheirchildrentodoso,becausetheyarereluctanttotaketheriskthatsometroublemakersamongthosekidswillaccidentlyhurttheirchildren.Inthiscase,keepingapet,suchasaloyalpuppyoracutekitten,seemstobeabetterchoice.IrememberthatwhenIwaslittle,IhadakittennamedOrange.ThoughOrangeseemedtobeindifferenttoeverythinghappeninginthisworld,hewouldalwayslovetosticktomewhenmyparentswenttowork.Wespentalotoftimetogether,readingbooks,watchingcartoons,anddrawingpictures.WithOrange,Ineverfeltlonely.Therefore,Ithink,itisnotanexaggerationtosaythatkeepingapetcouldbenefitkidsinimportantways,suchasteachingchildrenhowdifficultitistobe“parents”.Moreover,childrenwillnotfeellonelywiththeirpetsaround,sharingeachsweetmomenttogether.

　　2.Doyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatement:peoplenowaremoreinterestedinimprovingtheneighborhood(theareathattheylive)thaninthepast.

　　ThereisanoldsayinginChinesethatourneighborscouldofferusgreaterhelpthanourrelativeswhenweareintrouble.Thissayingshowsthatneighborshavebeenplayinganindispensablepartofpeople’slifeinChina.Nowadays,somepeoplestillbelievethatthemajorityofusareinterestedinimprovingtheneighborhood.However,inmyopinion,peopletodayneitherhavethetimenorthewillingnesstomaintaintheirrelationshipwithneighbors.Tobeginwith,peopletodayhaveintensivescheduleofstudyorwork,thustheyhavelittletimetospendonimprovingtheneighborhood.Forworkerswhoneedtofinanciallysupporttheirfamilies,theyneedtocompletedemandingassignmentsduringworkdays;sometimestheyevenneedtoworkoverloadandovertime.Therefore,workerswillbeexhaustedafterfivedaysofworking,andmightsimplyrelaxathomeduringtheweekends.Intermsofstudents,theyusuallydonothangoutwithfriendsasstudentsinthepastdid,becausetheyneedtowritenumerouspapersinordertoearncreditsandprepareforthecollegeentranceexam.ThisphenomenonisespeciallytrueinAsianwherestudents’academicperformanceisreferredtoasthestandardofgoodstudentsorbadstudents.Inthissense,studentsdonothavetimetoplaywiththeirpeers,letalonemaintainrelationshipwithneighbors.Moreover,evenifpeoplehavethesparetimetodosomething,theyprefertodeveloptheirowninterestsortravelwithfriendsratherthanimprovingtheneighborhood.Withthedevelopmentofthesocietyandmoderntechnology,peoplecouldenjoydifferenttypesofentertainments,suchasplayingonlinegames,traveling,shopping,tonameafew.Thoseactivitiesoccupymostofpeople’sleisuretimetoday;onthecontrary,entertainmentactivitieswereverylimitedinthepast,andpeoplethendidnothavetoomanychoicestokilltimeexceptforvisitingtheirneighbors.Basedontheabovediscussion,itcouldbeseenthatpeopletodayarelessinterestedinimprovingtheneighborhood.Tosumup,becauseofthebusylifeandthepervasionofvarioustypesofentertainmentactivities,peopletodaylackthetimeandthewillingnesstomaintaintheirrelationshipwithneighbors.