Passages for Reading
1. Smoking
It is known to all that smoking is bad for health. Scientific research show that smoking can lead to heart disease, cancer and other problem. The World Health Organization says diseases linked to smoking kill at least two million five-hundred-thousand persons each year.
Still, many people find it difficult to stop smoking. One reason is that smoking usually becomes a habitual behavior, and habits, whether good or bad are not easy to be given up. Another reason is the effect of nicotine, the substance found in cigarettes works on people somewhat as drugs do.
Measures have been taken to help people keep away from the harm of smoking. In many cities, smoking is forbidden in public places. The danger of smoking is warned of everywhere. And newspapers are asked not to publish advertisements for cigarettes. World "No Tobacco Day" is observed every year as the biggest campaign against smoking.
2. My First Job
Before I started at university, I took my first job as a waitress in a nice restaurant. At the night before my first day, I was too excited to go to sleep and as a result, I got up late in the morning. I threw on my clothes and rushed over to the restaurant.
In a great hurry, I didn't hear clearly the head waiter's instruction that we should go into the kitchen through one door and out from the other. So when I took two plates of eggs and bacon and an orange juice out to the restaurant, I went straight towards the wrong door and collided with another waiter coming in!
Worst of all was that I wore a pair of smart shoes but with high heels! A few hours later I was in agony yet had no time to change them. By the time we finished serving dinner at about 10:30 I was completely exhausted. Nevertheless, I learnt something through my experience.
3. Money
Money is what everybody desires. It can be used to buy food, clothes, books, bicycle, furniture and many other things people need or want.
Money is considered by many people as the most important thing in life. With money, they can go wherever they please and do whatever they want. With money, they can buy a fine house to live in, fashionable clothes to put on, and a nice bicycle to ride. And with money, they can employ attendants to serve them. In a word, money can make people comfortable and bring them happiness.
However, money is also the source of all crimes and brings them misery. Since money is so tempting, quite a few people are attracted by it and begin to go astray. By hook or by crook, they try to make money. To get more money, they gamble, swindle, steal, rob or do many other evil things, for "money makes the mare go". As a result, money leads them to jail or even to the execution grounds.
Of course money is useful and desirable, yet we should make money in proper way and spend our money on proper things.
4. My View on Opportunity
Different people have different views on opportunity. It is held that there are few opportunities. But it is also held that there are opportunities everywhere.
Those who hold the first opinion think that there are too many people and there is always an intense competition for limited opportunities. In contrast, those who hold the second view think that if one is not prepared, he can hardly have any opportunities: however, if one is prepared, he can have a lot of opportunities.
As to me, I agree with the latter. Admittedly, there is really an intense competition for limited opportunities, but it is not to say the one can't create opportunities himself. In most cases opportunities are created by people themselves. For example, many people lost their jobs in recent years. Some people wait for opportunities in vain. However, others create opportunities themselves and get self-employed. Eventually they become employers themselves.
Therefore, to some extent, one can take his destiny into his own hands.
5. Job-hopping
Different people have different views on job-hopping. Some people would like to always engage in one work because they think that if one sticks to one work, he will be quite familiar and skillful with the work. However, others would like to change jobs constantly because they consider it fashionable to do so and besides they think they can get different work experiences.
As to me, I am in favor of the former group of people's attitude. I think that if one always works in one field, he can accumulate a lot of experience in that field which in turn will further improve his work. Therefore he will become an expert in that field. However, if one hops from one job to another, he can never amass experience in one field. Although he can get different work experiences, he can't make use of these experiences in one particular work. Therefore, he will always be a jack-of-all-trades.
In conclusion, if one wants to be an expert in one field, he should not hop from one job to another.
Passage 6
I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next town. On the way, a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. As soon as he had got into the car, I said good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language. Apart from a few words,I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey. I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, 'Do you speak English?' As I soon learnt, he was English himself!
Passage 7
Last week I went to the theatre. I had a very good seat. The play was very interesting. I did not enjoy it. A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me. They were talking loudly. I got very angry. I could not hear the actors. I turned round. I looked at the man and the woman angrily. They did not pay any attention. In the end, I could not bear it. I turned round again. "I can't hear a word!" I said angrily. "It’s none of your business," the young man said Rudely."This is a private conversation！"
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