Life Styles People have different attitudes toward living.

Some seek self-oriented happiness without any consideration for others. To them, happiness means wielding political or economic power over others. But most of these people turn out to e disappointed in their pursuit of happiness! since mans desire is endless, nothing can fully satisfy their needs. "ther people elieve that the first step to attaining happiness is to restrict personal desire. Priests, monks, and nuns are the most common representatives of this group. By refraining from worldly passion, they think they are happy ecause they live their lives in accordance with religious commands. But, can anyone without personal autonomy e genuinely happy# $ third group consists of very ordinary people. They have no great wealth or political authority. %hile they have religious eliefs, they do not turn their ack on they world. But they treasure their families& they value little things of everyday life. They are happy if they have three meals a day& a ca, a home, a vacation, enough money to educate their children' %hich group of people is the happiest# %ho knows# (f you think you are happy, then you are. )appiness is the result of how you think a out the world and your place in it. *uestions! +. %hat types of social activities do you engage in# ,. %hat would you think a out ecoming a priest, monk, or nun# -. %hat religion do you have# .. )ow do you spend your free time# /o you prefer spending it alone or with others# 0. /o you think the 1uality of your life is improving or getting worse# 2. %hat musical instruments can you play# 3. /o you en4oy singing# 5. )ave you ever done any volunteer work# 6. $re you usually on time for appointments# +7. )ow do you relieve your stress# ++. $re you forgetful# (f so, how do you cope with it# +,. /o you think you are happy# %hy or why not#

Traffic and Transportation (n modern societies, cars have ecome indispensa le for most people. They are needed for commuting to work, for shopping, and for leisure purposes. )owever, this widespread use also poses many traffic-related pro lems. 8or e9ample, since the roads are congested most of the day, the

meaning of rush hour is fast disappearing. $ lot of drivers complain that the police are more interested in collecting money from law- reaking commuters than in facilitating the traffic flow. (n addition, as more and more demand pressure is put on gasoline supplies, and as more ta9es are added y the government to regulate usage, prices are rising dramatically. %orldwide, the automo ile is pro a ly the num er-one contri utor to air pollution, and policies designed to protect the environment are e9pensive. So far, mass transportation systems such as su ways and uses : and electric or other alternatives to internal com ustion engines : have proved inade1uate for solving the needs of conveniently moving large num ers of people from place. "pinion Samples! . +. ;esterday ( got my first traffic ticket. ( was so angry that ( drove away recklessly. <ven though ( knew this was dangerous ehavior, ( couldnt help myself. But after nearly causing an accident, ( stopped my car, drank a coffee, and rela9ed for a few minutes. ( reali=ed that my ad driving was the reason ( had received the ticket in the first place, and this helped calm me down. Then ( was a le to drive the way ( know ( should. ,. %hen ( go downtown ( never drive. 8or one thing, it is very dangerous. The roads are crowded with cars all the time, and an accident or some road construction can cause me to e delayed an hour or more. So, driving never guarantees on-time arrival for appointments. $nd gas and parking are oth e9pensive. "n the other hand, the su way is safe, cheap and timely. Meals <ating is supposed to e one of the most pleasant things in life. Sometimes we are not sure if we eat to live or live to eat. )owever, these days, many people are eing deprived of regular meals. Some folks claim they are too usy to take the time, or they skip a meal ecause they are dieting. The meal that is most often missed is reakfast, so the eater or fi9er can stay in ed longer, even though health e9perts usually insist this is the most important meal of all. (n some cases, this phenomenon is ecause wives are working outside the home, in others ecause hus ands do not insist on reakfast. more convenient %estern ideas a out reakfast are ecoming popular! eggs, toast, cereal, coffee. >ater in the day, lunches are also ecoming more pro lematic, especially for salaried workers. The variety and 1uality of food seem to e declining, even as the restaurants themselves ecome more crowded and e9pensive. $fter work, it is usually an informal re1uirement to 4oin coworkers in a meal and drinks, so a family meal at home is out of the 1uestion for a lot of male workers.

Opinion Samples +. 8or too long we have though that common courtesy demands that one person pays for everyones meals. "ftentimes this leads to an em arrassing struggle over who will pay. "f course, each person is e9pected to take turns, ut the order is not always clear and this may lead to resentment y the others. ?eal costs are also constantly rising, so paying for multiple meals at one time is often inconvenient. %e could save ourselves a lot of trou le if we would agree to go /utch-each pays for his own meal. ,. (m very concerned a out getting poisoned y what ( eat. ( can never e sure if any fruit is pesticide-free, even after ( wash it. So, ( try to peel it efore ( eat it. $s a result, ( shy away from some of my favorite foods, like straw erries. ?y health is more important than my palate. Sleep (t is commonly elieved that every ody should get at least eight hours of sleep a day. But a lot of people try to get y on less, thinking that sleeping is 4ust a waste of their time. <ven some e9perts claim that it is the 1uality of sleep that counts rather than the 1uantity, and that we could live healthy lives with only three or four hours of good sleep. To them, good sleep is characteri=ed y @<? A @apid-<ye-?ovementB. (t is during this phase of sleep that we dream. /reams and their interpretation are other interesting phenomena associated with sleeping. Throughout history, seers have tried to use them as a guide to the future. Today, psychologists are apt to see them as the acting out of the an9ieties and fantasies we cannot e9press during our working hours. 8or Sigmund 8reud, they were sym olic e9pressions of se9ual desires. Opinion Samples +. %henever ( have a dream ( try to interpret it in a 8reudian manner. ?ost of my dreams relate to my everyday life, so understanding them helps me know more a out myself. Since 8reud was a pioneering genius in the field of psychology, any interpretation ased on his ideas must e accurate. ,. Three or four hours sleepC /oing that might save time, ut ( dont think most people could operate effectively that way. ( have tried to get y with this less sleep, many times, ut ( always felt tired and irrita le, and would have to take a nap at work 4ust to get me through the day. So, now ( make it a rule to get at least si9 hours of sleep, no matter what, and most nights ( get seven or eight. So, these days ( feel refreshed and energetic, and ( get a lot of more done. Vacation

$s people make more money, of they think that now is the time to en4oy themselves more. >eisure ecomes more important in their lives. $s their psychological hori=ons e9pand eyond 4ust earning an income, they also want to find out more a out the world. So they want to travel. "ne pro lem, however, is that they dont really know where they want to go or what they want to do when they get there. So they lindly go somewhere, 4ust ecause they think it is fashiona le to do so. "ften they take some package tour that offers them +7 countries in 3 days. That way, they collect a lot of stamps in their passports and a lot of predicta le photographs, ut they dont have much fun or rela9ation, and they dont really know very much a out where theyve een. $ much etter approach would e to decide where they really want to go, and why, and then plan far enough in advance in order to accomplish those goals. That way the vacation is oth more en4oya le and more afforda le. Opinion Samples +. (t seems to me that most people ( know only think a out taking a vacation in the summer. But thats a terri le season, since everyone else is rushing to all the same spots at the same time. So instead of a rela9ing vacation, they spend their time stuck in traffic or on an overcrowded each& service is stretched to limit, and prices are inflated. So they go ack home more tired than when they egan, glad their time in hell is over and looking forward to going ack to workC So ( take my sa atical in the winter. <ven the seashore is very pleasant then, although it is too cold to swim or get a tan, ecause it is very 1uiet. ( can calmly reflect on my life, take my time doing what ( really en4oy, and charge my atteries ack up. So when ( return to my 4o (m a le to work more effectively. ,. The ideal vacation for me is to make a trip alone. ( think vacations should e a chance to reflect on myself and think a out what ( am doing and what ( do with my life. "nly traveling alone makes this possi le. Special Days %hich day is the most important to you each year# (s it your irthday# Perhaps the irthday of someone you love# "r an anniversary# ?any people have their own special days and want to cele rate them in some distinctive way. The cele ration may e a special meal or dining out, or a gift, perhaps a trip. ?ay e even a greeting card is enough to mark the occasion. But the point is that they sym oli=es some important even, and that is importance is recogni=ed y other significant people as well. Traditional holidays are also important, ut they have group significance instead of a personal meaning. Dsually some religious or national figure is commemorated. These occasions may e marked y community

cele rations, or especially y family get-together. $s families ecome more fragmented and scattered, these holidays may e ever-more important, since they provide a chance for people to share their lives with each other again. Opinion Sample +. (ve decided to take a week off and travel for my ne9t irthday. ( want to free myself from my nine-to-five 4o , my friends and my relatives in order to spend some time discover myself. ( have a good 4o with an ade1uate income& ( have an active social life. But is that my purpose on earth# $m ( eing too selfish# So ( want to get away y myself and rela9 and think a out my future. But ( wonder if ( have the courage actually to change my life. ,. These days a lot of parents throw a party in an e9pensive restaurant for their childrens irthdays. They do this to show off their wealth, and ecause theyre too la=y to prepare food and drinks at home. This might send the wrong signal to their children, who would naturally enough think that cele rating a special day re1uires money, and who might e disappointed if their irthday party is not more lu9urious than their friends. This is the worst thing parents can do in raising their children. Friends )ow many friends do you have# %here do you think is etter, having many friends or 4ust a few very close ones# /o you think your friends would stay with you if you were in trou le# ;ou know people say, E$ friend cant e known in prosperity.F $ lot of those who say this claim that their conclusion is ased on personal e9perience of losing a supposed friend when they are in a difficult situation. (f so, it seems friendship is more a matter of social convenience than character or shared interest. )owever, others can point to une9pected support during a serious crisis from someone whom they did not e9pect to e a good friend. So, ( guess the 1uestion of friendship can cut oth ways! in some cases it is mere lip service and in others it is genuine commitment. "pinion Samples! +. 8riendship often turns sour ecause of money pro lems. People think its okay to lend money to a friend, ut when they try to get the money ack they ecome estranged. ?y point is this! E>end money to your friend if you want to lose them oth.F ,. $s in marriage, understanding is the most important thing in friendship. )aving a friend means that you may often e angry, hurt, even disappointed y your friend. %henever you are in such situation, you must e EreadyF to understand your friend, however. (f not, the friendship will reak up sooner than later. %ithout understanding, you cant overcome the ups and downs of any relationship.

Hobbies "ne of the main reasons people have ho ies is to kill time. ?any of the great developments in science and technology have given us all a lot of time eyond that which we fill with necessary activity. But few of us use that e9tra time creatively, so we get ored. So we need a ho y to make the time pass en4oya ly! we collect stamps or learn how to cook or 4ust listen to our G/s. "ne of the pro lems, though, is with having e9pensive ho ies. Dsually they are intended to show off our wealth or eing up-to-date with some supposed trend, rather than supporting any genuine interest. Too often, we cant really afford it, ut even if we can, we 4ust feed our general discontentment ecause we are spending a lot of money ut not relieving our oredom. "pinion Sample +. )aving a ho y is supposed to e an en4oya le way to rela9. "n weekends or at night, too many people have no interest in going anywhere or doing anything, so they 4ust stay at home watching TH or nagging their families. But if they could develop an interest in something else, they would e too a sor ed in it to other the other people at home. /omestic tran1uility would e achievedC <ven etter would e something the entire family could en4oy together. $ fun, stimulating, ine9pensive ho y would help keep the family close and comforta le with each other. ,. (m happy whenever ( meet someone who shares my interests. %e usually ecome friends right away ecause we often have similar characteristics. %e can immediately understand each other, and we have something vital to talk a out. (n fact, talking itself is one of the greatest ho ies we can en4oy, dont you think so# $nd its certainly one of the least e9pensive : is that what people mean when they say Etalk is cheap# JOBS ?ost people in modern society spend more than eight hours a day working. Some are successful in their 4o s, ut many more are under stress. %orkers are classified into two groups& self-employed and employees. $nd interesting fact is that the self-employed envy the employees, and vice versa. The reason# People tend to e9aggerate the others enefits they dont have. Businessmen seem to have greater satisfaction from their 4o s than ordinary workers do. They have the power to decide things y themselves. Thats why ordinary workers are envious of them. But usinessmen must

take responsi ility for their decisions, and if something goes wrong they could go ankrupt. <very employee has a certain 4o responsi ility, ut if he does what he is e9pected to he is usually e9cept from ad conse1uences. )e has a sta le position. "n the other hand, a competent worker may en4oy many promotions and raises, ut still e at the mercy of manipulations of corporate e9ecutives. %ho is happier is not the 1uestion. The important thing is that people must decide which category they should elong in y evaluating themselves honestly. "pinion Sample +. People have different priorities in getting 4o s. Some put their emphasis on making more money& others want 4o security, promotion opportunities, work they are comforta le with. $s for me, ( want my own usiness. $fter ( 1uit my first 4o ( never thought a out working for anyone again. %hen ( work for someone else and cant sell my ideas to the oss that disappoints me. $nd often employees ecome the scapegoats for marketing failures. ( love to work alone with my ideas and plans, knowing whether my usiness succeeds or not is up to me. ,. ( really want to have my own usiness, as most employees do. But a oss must have many special characteristics. 8irst of all, he must have creative ideas and know when, where, and how to apply them. "f course, he must have the nerve to go ahead with his plans against difficult markets. he must cultivate customers, ecause success largely depends upon human relationships. (f he has solid relationships with his usiness partners, he may e a le to make up for temporary financial straits. Men and Women The traditional roles of men and women are changing. <ven though men have not een freed from eing the principal readwinners, they are also e9pected to help with household chores. %omen too are making money outside the home, ut they still operate under the assumption that childrearing is primarily their function. ?en and women alike cry under the load and insist they are overworked and underappreciated. Both are pro a ly right. But women still have more to complain a out than men. ?ore of the housekeeping urden falls on their shoulders than on their hus ands, and at work they are paid less and promoted less often. %hat may e worse, the stress eing placed on them may e taking its toll on their children and spouses& society needs to understand that women are 4ust human, not superwomen. Opinion Samples

+. ?en and women alike seem fame and fortune& it is part of human nature. But womens am itions have een thwarted throughout history, either through lack of opportunity Arank, education, etc.B or ecause of domestic duties. So, many of them have sought vicarious success in their hus ands or children. ,. (n terms of theft, men and women are e1ually honest& which is to say that most people will not steal, either out of ethical consideration or the fear of eing caught. But ver al and emotional honesty is a different matter. %hile it is true that some men will say anything else to seduce a woman, most women will lie shameless a out their true feelings in order to entrap a man in marriage. ( suppose that the primary difference is that the man is only looking for a rief moment of en4oyment, ut the woman elieves her entire lifes finances may e at stake. -. (d love it if ( could stay home all day. %ith the modern conveniences availa le, most of the drudgery of housework is gone. ( could finish everything that ( needed to e done y noon without even straining myself, and (d have the rest of the day to rela9, read, paint, compose, or 4ust watch TH or listen to music. %hats wrong with a life like that# .. The vast ma4ority of people in modern society, whether male or female, have dull, oring 4o s. They work, 1uite simply, ecause they need the money, not out of any enduring interest in the work itself. $nd increasingly, oth mates have to get 4o s 4ust to make ends meet. 0. ( chose not to marry. (ts not ecause (m opposed to marriage and having a family, ut ecause women are changing. Todays woman cares far more a out her profession than she doest a out her family. 2. %omen are e9pected to perform the traditional wife-and-mother roles whether or not they have paid 4o s, ut men can focus on getting ahead in their career Aeven if they do contri ute a it to the housework, as a sort of ho yB. Dntil it ecomes socially accepta le for males to take a more active part at home, the superwoman myth will continue to edevil the modern female. Ten years ago women complained that housewifery was too confining, and they wanted their chances to clim the corporate ladder. Iow, whichever rung, they may have reached, these same women feel stuck there are emoan the lack of time they can spend with their children. Health People say that health is the most important thing in life, ut it seems to have the least significance in their actual lives. %e see many people in modern society undermining their health through lack of e9ercise and having un alanced diets. $lcohol, smoking, and 4unk food also aggravate this phenomenon. $nother new factor adding to many peoples health pro lems is

stress. <9perts say we cant avoid stress as long as we live in this everchanging world. So what counts is not how to avoid it, ut how to reduce it and cope with it effectively. "n the other hand, modern medical researchers still suspect our genes have considera le control over our destiny. This means our health is still in the hands of Jod. )owever, that doesnt necessarily mean we cant do anything a out our odies. @ather, we should continue to stay fit y temperate living : no smoking, moderate drinking, a nutritional diet and ade1uate e9ercise. That way, to some e9tent, we can make up for the genetically undesira le aspects in our physicality. "pinion Samples +. ( dont trust doctors, not ecause they are not intelligent ut our are too comple9 to understand. Their 2 years of study is not enough. odies

,. %hen people have a cold or the flu, they rush to the doctor e9pecting to e cured. But so far, no effective treatment e9ists. The est anyone can do is get plenty of rest and vitamin G, especially y drinking orange 4uice. -. %hen it comes to dental pro lems, precaution is always the est option. Hisiting a dentist regularly guarantees dental health. %hen you feel something is wrong with your teeth, it is always too late to cure it. ood Habits and Bad @ather than sudden, grave resolution, your life is pro a ly more affected y trivial, repetitive, unthinking ehavior. Dntil the day you die, your ody and mind will e governed y good ha its and ad ones. These acts determine the 1uality of your e9istence. <veryone knows that ad ha its are easy to form, since they are 1uite agreea le to mans la=y and selfish nature& ut good ones are difficult to fa ricate ecause they need perseverance and lack social reinforcement. But nevertheless, though ad ha its are hard to reak, it is never too late to start making good ones : you 4ust need determination and dedication. /oing something over and over again until you dont have to think a out it is how actions ecome ha itual in the first place. "pinion Samples +. Though (m not even aware of most of my ha its : they 4ust happen naturally : sometimes ( have taught myself to do things automatically. >ike getting up early in the morning. ( have done this for so long that ( no longer need an alarm clock. Dnfortunately, ( get up even on holidays when ( could sleep in. But all ha it ac1uisition comes from training. 8orce yourself to do the same thing at the same time under the same circumstances every day, and it doesnt take very long to make it a ha it.

,. %e need to develop good ha its in our children from an early age& the younger they are, the more likely this ehavior will last them though their lives. They need to learn to work diligently, e o edient to their parents, tell the truth, and take care of their personal hygiene. (f they master those 1ualities they are likely to have happy, fruitful lives. -. People watch too much television : or, rather, they dont watch it at all in any meaningful sense. They turn it on indiscriminately and then leave it on whether they are watching it or not. (ts on, making noise, whether they are eating or talking to each other or taking a nap. So people should carefully limit their TH time to a few shows they really want : sports or news or whatever : and spend the rest of their time more actively engaged! reading a ook, playing a musical instrument, or taking a walk. .. ?erchandisers know that most purchases are spot decisions rather than carefully considered acts. %e all uy things we dont really need and spend too much for them. So we should devise a careful udget every week or every month and stick to it, avoid temptation y leaving our cash and credit cards at home when we go out. (f we a solutely have to get something, we should plan our moves as carefully as general preparing an attack! what do we need e9actly, how much are we willing to spend, and where can we get it the cheapest# !ars Today a car is not 4ust a lu9ury item& for many, it is almost a necessity. People factor in a lot of considerations when uying one. So, even though a compact car may e convenient and economical in terms of price, mileage, insurance, and ta9es, some people would rather get a larger, more e9pensive model ecause of its higher social status and etter safety. Thanks to the e9ploding demand for cars of all kinds, roads are ecoming ever more crowded. Jovernments around the world are actively trying to discourage or limit the use of automo iles. But most of these plans, 1uite naturally, clash with peoples interests. Perhaps the simplest method of control is to impose heavy ta9es& ut in the long run, a etter approach would e investing in pu lic transit y uilding or upgrading light rail systems and su ways, us lines, and so forth. (f these systems were safer, more convenient, and more comforta le, more people might e willing to put aside the time, energy, and money consuming activity of driving. "pinion Samples +. Price is my first consideration in uying an auto. Since the 1uality of most cars is mandated y the government, cheapness doesnt have to e a pro lem. Gompact cars not only cost less to uy, ut also continue to save money in terms of insurance, ta9es, and fuel. (n addition, the yare easier to

park and maneuver through heavy traffic. (n my view, a car is a tool pure and simple! %hy pay more money 4ust to gain a status sym ol# ,. /riving a new car is e9pensive ecause of the various ta9es. So ( ought a used car first. ( paid less money, and ( didnt have to worry a out many kinds of ta9es. Iovice drivers can hardly avoid having minor accidents& eginners who drive new cars are nervous a out scratching their cars, ut used-car drivers are less worried a out that. ( strongly recommend a used car for eginners. Ievertheless, one draw ack is that used cars are more likely to reak down, so their drivers must e prepared to invest fre1uently in parts and repairs. Money ?oney is often said to e the permanent source of malice among human eings. %e see many people who have ecome slaves of money. They think money is everything and that they can do anything if they have enough of it. They also claim money defines our social status. "thers think thats not true, even though they agree money is an important part of life. But serious pro lems arise when people dont know how to spend money. "ur parents say making money is easier than spending it, and may e afraid that almighty money has ad effects on their kids character. (t is certainly true that spending money wisely re1uires a lot of practice. Sample Practice +. (m going to teach my children how to spend money, of course. (ts very important to prevent them from ecoming either a cheapstake or a ig spender. 8irst, (ll have my children make their own pocket money when they are +0. That will teach them money is not easy to get, and theyll e more careful a out spending it. ( also have to teach them when and where to spend money. Ghildren must learn the difference etween generosity and waste. ,. Gredit cards certainly promote spending money, even though they are convenient means of purchasing. %hen people have credit cards they seem to e under the illusion that they have money in their account, so anks end up suffering from skyrocketing ad loans. )owever, this is due to their random issuing of credit cards to ineligi le people. The government should strongly enforce the law and restrict the issuing of cards only to those 1ualified. -. ( give no money to any charity. %e cant e sure if its honest. ?any charities are 4ust scams. They get rich from the money they collect from individual donors. They ehave like usiness corporations, not aid organi=ations.

.. ;ears ago ( orrowed some money from my rother-in-law when my usiness had pro lems. ( appreciated his help and paid him ank-level interest. ( know we are usually e9pected to pay dou le the ank-level interest on a private loan. But ( think ank-level interest is okay for loans among relatives. reat "nventions The good ideas of rilliant people can change the world. Givili=ation itself is the progressive accumulation of novel notions. But sometimes we overlook the simple inventions of everyday life, ecause we take them for granted. <lectricity, for e9ample : can you imagine a world without electricity# The electric light alone, in effect, has prolonged our very lives y giving so many hours of added activity. "r take knitting, which has saved more lives than medicine has. Simple eyeglasses have opened worlds of knowledge and entertainment to the nearly lind, allowing them to lead full, active lives. "pinion Samples +. %hat we need more than anything else an empathy device. (f we knew directly how our actions affected others, wed e a lot more careful a out our ehavior. 8or instance, if ( insulted someone and then felt for myself how sharply the humiliation stung, (d pro a ly ad4ust my words a little etter the ne9t time. ,. There is no danger of running out of new ideas. Kust a century ago, some of the worlds leading scientists were convinced that all the secrets of the universe had een uncovered, and that the only task remaining was to refine and perfect e9isting methods. Iow the ody of knowledge dou les every decade. The more we know, the more we find out how little we actually understand& one good idea generates a hundred more. The danger we face is an overflow of information, not a drought. -. ?y only pro lem with plastic surgery is its cost Aand the fact that medical insurance doesnt cover itB. (ts truly ama=ing that we can all ecome as eautiful or handsome as we desire. %e can look younger than our actual age, remove ugly irth defects, change the shape of our nose or eyes, and correct the de ilitating effects of ad accidents. ( dont understand why people have a pro lem with any of this. .. The Jreeks used to e a le to recite the whole of )omer, ecause they had learned it y heart. Iow we cant remem er the names of our fellow graduates after only a few years have passed. The printing press has destroyed our memory and forced us into linear ways of thinking, instead of maintaining traditional cyclical attitudes toward nature. (t has limited our creativity and destroyed our taste for poetry. (n addition, it has made it too easy for vicious, harmful ideas to spread among foolish people, causing untld trou le to the world.

#arents and !hildren %hat is the est relationship etween parents and children# Some people say they should e friends. They say this kind of relationship provides a comforta le atmosphere for children, so they will grow less stressed and have a more positive character. But others elieve that a friends-like-relationship etween parents and children is somewhat dangerous for oth of them. Dnder this relationship, no strict discipline can e enforced, so the children may ecome trou lemakers. $s these people say, if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. $nother issue is whether it is good for them all to live together after the children get married. (t is true that a ig family has many advantages that an nuclear family one doesnt. But most children dont want to live with their parents saying, E%e dont want to e interfered with.F /o you think parents have a right to critici=e their children for refusing to live with them# "pinion Samples +. ?y parents say theyre only happy if (m healthy and my usiness is going well. They have no other wishes e9cept my familys well- eing. ( know they have spent their lives worrying a out safety, education, and success. They never received any formal education themselves, ut their top priority fell on my getting a college education. %hen ( passed my college entrance e9am they looked like the happiest people in the world. ?y dad said learning is everything and knowledge is more valua le than money. ,. %hen it comes to educating my children, spanking is the last thing ( want to do. $ll parents should know children are wiser than we think. They understand their parents every intention. 8or them, advice and persuasion are stronger weapons than force and violence. Spanking can never e 4ustified as a means of education. (t can never e regarded as anything ut violence against children. $nd violence egets violence. TV and Movies $ lot of people in modern society are hooked on TH. The idiot o9 has ecome a third parent to our children and a second spouse to our wives and hus ands. (ndeed, in some homes the children, and individually the parents, spend more time with the television than each other. Gritics worry that passively watching TH is too a sor ing of our time and attention& we not only do not get enough physical e9ercise, ut we do not stimulate our mental activity either.

$nother pro lem is the tendency toward copycat ehavior! we dress, talk, and ehave in ways that we model after characters on TH and in the movies. This is especially worrisome since so many of these programs are e9cessively violent and se9ually suggestive. ?any legal e9perts elieve that delin1uency pro lems are made much worse y young people imitating what they see in the media. Two steps need to e taken. 8irst, parents need to do a etter 4o of policing their TH sets, not only in terms of what their children watch ut also how much time they spend doing it. Second, parents and teachers must educate kids to develop a more conscious, critical attitude toward what they watch, instead of 4ust a sor ing it all like a sponge. Opinion Sample +. ( dont think watching TH is education. (t re1uires no effort, and people dont have to e9ercise their imagination, ecause TH swiftly shows what comes ne9t. People ecome stereotyped and uniform. )owever, some programs documentaries for e9ample, give opportunities to e9plore new worlds, roadening our e9perience and giving us the chance to think. ,. ( change the channel when commercials come on. (f there is a move, commercials are show at least twice efore the show egins. they last at least +7 minutes, and most of them are already familiar to me. So, ( watch a different channel for a couple of minutes. ( often miss the first several minutes of the movie when ( return, ut ( dont care. $nother reason ( hate commercials is that they are designed to encourage us to spend. They tempt us to uy things for which we have no need. Boo$s% &e'spapers and Ma(a)ines Today we live in the (nformation $ge. %e get vital knowledge of all sorts from ooks, newspapers, maga=ines, television, radio, and the %e . But significant differences e9ist etween print and electronic media. Gertainly the latter are more immediate and more appealing to our senses, ut the former are usually more relia le and thoughtful. ( suppose this attitude comes from long familiarity& people tend to elieve what they read, ut they dont always trust their own senses. Ievertheless, pu lishers and editors are often motivated y commercial interests. They may e perfectly willing to slant their coverage to achieve their own private needs. "r they may pretend to know more than they do, and present stories ased more on assumptions than facts. (t is always important for info-consumers to maintain a skeptical, critical attitude toward their sources, no matter y which medium the message is delivered.

"pinion Samples +. ( elieve some of the information in the newspapers. But even so, the articles are always personally or commercially iased. %e should reali=e that there is always an invisi le ackground ehind every story on politics or usiness. $nd then we can take what we read with a grain of salt. (ts safer that way. ,. %ell-presented ads always seem plausi le. But that does not mean they are always, or even usually, truthful. Their makers are very skillful at revealing only what they want to e9pose a out their products or services. They e9aggerate, present as facts what may still e unproven, or slander rival goods. But mainly, they appeal to our emotions rather than to our intellects. Sports (n our modern world, sports have ecome a part of our daily life. People are cra=y a out many kinds of sports. There are two ways to en4oy them, playing or watching them on TH. Professional sports are ooming here in Lorea. %e have pro ase all and soccer. $nd, recently, asket all ecame professional and is growing ever more popular. Players are making more money and playing etter, and fans are en4oying high-1uality games. Some national athletes have even gained international attention. So every ody seems to enefit from professional sports. But the players and coaches are under heavy stress. Players must compete for positions and coaches are the mercy of their win-lose record. $nd many players, the ones on the ench, are still living from hand to mouth. "pinion Sample +. ;ou know what makes professional players do their est- ?oneyC They face cut-throat competition every day, and their play determines their salary. They must make their money while theyre in their est years. $nother reason is 4o responsi ility. Their 4o is their lifes goal, and people only glorify gold medalists. ,. $lthough ( think playing sports is an important part of growing up, ( would never encourage my children to ecome professional athletes. (t would mean a life of constant in4uries, hard competition, stress, and eventual disappointment and disillusionment when their playing days are over. ?any can never ad4ust to eing out of the pu lic eye after they retire. $nd the most important reason is that a sports life is very short& no one can find a lifelong career in it. *d+cation

Ione are more interested in their childrens education than Lorean parents. They even have a saying that emphasi=es their asic attitude! Eno learn, no food.F $s a result, most Lorean parents are willing to sacrifice their own en4oyment and comfort in ehalf of their kids educational opportunities. ?any e9perts regard this passion for schooling as the asis for the strong economic development of the last few decades. ?ost Loreans continue to elieve that a college degree is the license needed to enter high society. @ecent developments have highlighted this asic tendency, such as so called genius education. (n addition to providing special education for gifted children, it also seeks to turn ordinary children into intellectual over-achievers through constant stimulation from a very early age, often through very direct maternal participation. (n other words, two-or three year-olds may already know how to play several musical instruments, have advanced math and communication skills, and e a le to speak one or more foreign languages. But this approach also has its shortcomings. 8or one thing, long-term studies seem to show that whatever advantage these forced prodigies may have over their ordinary classmates tends to disappear within a few years of entering school, and the education gap narrows considera ly : unless active, prolonged stimulation is continued. But this development merely underlines what many see as the programs more serious pro lem! children who are under heavy pressure to study against their will are apt to suffer from depression and have difficulty ad4usting to their peers. (n the long run, the concern is that they may turn into right ut malad4usted adults who can never find happiness or satisfaction. "pinion Samples +. ;es, a college degree is one of the most important things we can get in life. ( dont mean the diploma itself. %e learn many important things on our own. %e train for a profession, life, love and human relationships. %e learn a lot of things while e9periencing the ups and downs of life. But college life provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (t forgives our mistakes, permits e9tremism to some degree, encourage a different life style. )ow could we ever en4oy the feeling of loving someone, or eing loved, more strongly than on a college campus# ,. ( dont think a college degree is everything in life. ( admit students learn many things in college and train for many occupations. But the essential life skills are the ones you have to develop on your own. (n some ways, in fact, the artificial structure of college life uffers you from real life and merely delays entry into the cruel world of adulthood. Passing a test on paper is not a su stitute for having to apply the necessary skills to genuine situations. (n the real world, mistakes are not long tolerated& errors have conse1uences

which are painful and perhaps permanent. (nstead of sending my kids to college right away, (d rather they fist e9perience how tough-and satisfyinghaving a 4o , making decisions, and eing responsi le for themselves and others can e& later, when they matured and gained a fuller understanding what an education really entails, they can return to school for a degree or to fulfill their intellectual curiosity. $fter all, you have to get into the water to learn how to swim, you cant 4ust stand around the pool. -. ( know school is important for all of us. But some people are poor students and not interested in learning anything. %hat does a diploma mean to them# (f they cultivate the same patience that graduates have, and have some common sense from reading or from e9perience, they are intelligent enough, at least, to live in society. $ diploma itself has no meaning. The 1uestion is whether or not people have the patience to get through an ever-changing life. Family Today most people live in small nuclear families, and many wives work outside the home. This situation has led to the latchkey kid phenomenon. $fter school, children go home to an empty house, with oth parents gone. (t is feared that kids with career moms are lonelier than those form large families, and that they have more trou le adapting to society. "n the other hand, latchkey kids do not necessarily ecome pro lem children, if their parents spend time with them whenever possi le. The solution seems to e love and ade1uate discipline. (f parents are good role models, and perform their parental responsi ilities well, most of the time their children grow up to e conscientious adults no matter what their family structure. "pinion Samples +. ( think if a wife is contri uting to the familys financial situation y working outside the home, at least the hus and should help her with the household chores. %hy should she have to do two 4o s all y herself# But there is another advantage for hus ands and wives if they oth work in and outside the home! she can have an insight into how the usiness world works, and he learn how difficult housework is. That way they can understand each other and avoid a lot of trou le in their marriage. ,. %hen my son was orn, ( was thrilled. So were my parents. %e all elieve that this is etter than having a girl for the first child. (t makes my family continuance easier and more predicta le. But when my second child was a daughter, ( was over4oyed. She grows cuter every day, and is so sweet. ?y son always seems to e causing trou le around the house. But ( love them oth, and ( suppose it doesnt really matter if we sons or daughters. !rime and #+nishment

The nations per capita income has steadily grown, and educational opportunities have e9panded, ut its crime rate has also increased. (n particular, 4uvenile delin1uency is growing rapidly. (f conditions are improving, why isnt criminality on the decline# The crime itself and its punishment are oth costly. (t not only destroys individual lives ut entire families. The ill for confinement is also getting more e9pensive, and ta9payers are complaining a out their money eing used t support welfare for law reakers. %hat is the key factor in criminality# Jenetics# 8amily pro lems# Social alienation# Peer pressure# Gultural upheaval caused y the switch-over from a traditional to a modern society# /rugs andMor alcohol# >ack of individual conscience and responsi ility# The glorification of violence in the media# The phenomenon of copy-cat crimes# %hile the cause of criminality is still ine9plica le, the cure is necessarily even more so. (s etter education the answer# )arsher punishment# ?ore intrusive social intervention#