24. In today’s society, competition and cooperation are equally important. People are cooperators in their life. They share information, natural resources, human resources and many other things. Cooperation is the way to a happy life. At the same time they are competitors. In competition, they learn from their opponents, gain courage and confidence. Without competition, science and technology would not have been developed so rapidly. And without cooperation, the world would be quite different. Cooperation and competition are like two sides of a person. They can’t be separated.

20. Dear Tom, 　　 I felt terribly sorry to learn that both your parents had been killed in the September 11th Incident. In this incident the World Trade Centre, which used to be one of the tallest buildings in the world, was completely destroyed and thousands of people lost their lives. I’m very angry about the terrorist activities. 　　 We are against all forms of terrorist activities and support the war against the terrorism. 　　 Don’t be too sad. Don’t lose heart. After all, the majority of the people in the world love peace. I hope you can recover from the sadness as soon as possible. Be sure to take good care of yourself. Best wishes.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　 Yours, 　　　　　Xiao Fang 21. Ladies and gentlemen, Yesterday our teacher of English asked me to say something about pollution. Now, I give you my views on this vital question. As a matter of fact, the effects of industrial pollution are well known to everyone --- polluted air, polluted water and polluted earth. Though a great deal is already being done to control these effects, the problem of pollution is still serious. Continued population increase, smog and chemical waste produced by factories and cars, not only threatens to exhaust our resources, but also pollutes our environment. We do need clean air, safe water and our children’s health. In my opinion, to solve the problem of pollution, everyone must refrain from polluting our environment. We should know that this is the duty of every individual, not that the government alone. 22. 　 Last week, we did research into how laid-off workers get their new jobs. We had a discussion in three groups and then began our research separately. 　 Group One surfed on the Internet and learned that most of the laid-off workers had already got their new jobs. In the vocational training center, the students in Group Two were told that there were five training courses for laid-off workers. After training, they began working as repairers, cooks, typists, household workers and salespersons. The other students interviewed some laid-off workers who had got new jobs. A woman said, “With the help of the city government, I’ve found my job. …” What a great deal we’ve learned through the research. 23. The Way to Keep Healthy It’s very important for us to keep healthy in our everyday life. But how? Here is some advice for you to follow. First you should have a healthy diet. It’s a necessary to eat enough fresh fruit and vegetables, because they contain all kinds of vitamin that you need every day. But do not eat too much fat, such as cheese, butter or anything too fatty. Too many sweets can do harm to your teeth. So you had better not eat too many sweets or chocolates and keep off coffee. Good habits can help you keep fit. Doing regular exercise is certainly a good way to ensure your body is healthy. After a day’s work, an eight-hour sleep is needed. And avoid working too hard. Remember smoking can damage your health, so never smoke.

19. Attention, please! I’m going to give you a summary of today’s discussion about whether we would go online in our spare time. Most students think they (we) can go online as much as possible in our spare time because we are free then. Through the Internet, they can gain plenty of the newest knowledge and the latest news at home and abroad. What’s more, network offers them(us) a convenient way to communicate with each other. The Internet makes their lives outside class colourful and various. On the other hand, a few students partly agree to this idea. Going online is part of our daily life. They suggest a time limit. They’ve found that more students are playing computer games instead of studying their lessons. There’re few students who are often absent from school for days.

18. 　　 About the discussion we’ve had about whether China should devote major efforts to developing car industry, opinions are divided on the question. 　　 60% of the students think China should fully develop car industry. They believe this will speed up the development of the national economy. More workers will be employed. With cars the people’s life quality will be raised. They will save time and be more convenient in their life and work. 　　 On the other hand, 40% of them think China should control its car industry development. Otherwise, the city traffic will be even heavier and more traffic accidents will take place. At the same time, more land will be used for the new roads. What is more, air and noise pollution will become more serious.

16. Dear Mr. Headmaster, 　　 I am writing this letter to tell you something about our canteen. 　　 There are many kinds of food in our canteen, and generally they are cheap. Some food is delicious. The dining environment has been improved, with the walls painted and some pictures posted up. The students are satisfied with the new look. 　　 But students are not given a proper helping of every dish. Also, as the number of the students continues to increase, there is not enough space for us to have meals there. As a result, many of us go out to have meals. 　 All in all, there is still much room for improvement in food quality and service. Best regards, Sincerely yours, 　Li Ming 17.　　　　　　　 Students Like Optional Courses This term our school had offered more than 10 optional courses, from which students can choose. The courses are given from 3:30 to 5:00 every Tuesday afternoon. Students take great interest in the optional courses. Their favourites are computer, spoken English, arts and so on. They say they have got a great deal of practice and they have learned a lot that is not taught in textbooks. However, students hope more optional courses will be offered while their homework should be reduced. They suggest more trips and visits should be organized so that they can learn more about what is going on outside school.

12. Dear Editor, 　 I’m writing to tell you about our discussion we had on the afternoon of last Wednesday about the good and bad sides of setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival. 20 boy and 20 girl students attended the discussion. As a result, 40% of them believe that setting off firecrackers certainly adds pleasure and joy to the festival. Therefore, it is a wonderful tradition. But another 40% of the students think that setting off firecrackers causes air and noise pollution, and what’s more, it sometimes causes terrible accidents to us and to our property. The other 20 % have never thought about it or don’t care a bit. In my opinion, …… 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Yours truly, 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Li Hua 13.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Pollution 　　 A chemical factory lies near my home. The manager was criticized by the government because the pollution had harmed people’s health, but he paid no attention. Then the factory was forced to stop production and the manager said angrily, “ Is there any fact that we have harmed people’s health? In fact, we haven’t.” Just then, a doctor came, with the result of the medical exam of the manager, saying the manager was suffering a lung cancer. It is very clear that the population has harmed not only to people’s health but also the manager himself. He was realized the importance of keeping air clean. 14. Fire causes Fire, one of the most terrible killers in out modern society, is mainly caused by smokers, as can be seen from the graph. In 2002, thousands of fires happened in China. About 50% of them were caused by smokers who left cigarette-ends everywhere. 30% were caused by defective insulation and 20% by children playing with matches. No matter what type of the fire was, there was one thing in common: carelessness. We should warn children of the dangers of playing with matches. Workers should know the importance of good insulation to people’s lives. Smoking should not be in public places. 15. Hi, Jason, You asked me about Yao Ming. Here is something I got when I searched the websites at home. Yao Ming, who is now 2.26 metres tall and 134kg in weight, was born in Shanghai on the 12th of September,1980. It is said he likes meat most and his favourite colour is blue. The man he respects most is late Premier Zhou Enlai and the one he believes in most is himself. He joined Shanghai basketball team in 1997 and became a member of China national team Shanghai won the champion of CBA and he was among the top players in the team. In the same year he went to the US and became Number One Overall in the NBA draft, which helped him join Houston Rockets. After many matches as well as struggles he now feels a little tired. Up to now he says he still hasn’t got any further definite plan.

10. Dear Mary, 　　 I’m glad to receive your letter again. You want to know something about what is going on in our school. In short, great changes have taken place since our school began to carry out the research-based learning. 　　 In the past, the teachers almost took up all the period, writing on the blackboard, explaining the points, and answering the questions raised by themselves. We students are the slaves of study. But now, we’ve taken up most of the period, discussing the questions raised by the teachers or ourselves, exchanging our ideas, or solving the problems. We are now the masters of study. 　　 After class, we enjoy different kinds of activities instead of doing endless homework. We go to the library to read books, have sports on the playground and surf the Internet for various kinds of information. 　　 How happy we are now. Welcome to our school. 　　 Best wishes.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　 Yours truly, 　　　 Wang Ping 11.　 Nowadays, it is usual for students to find part-time jobs. This winter vacation, I worked as a waiter at a McDonald’s. It was the first time that I had earned money by myself. With the money I could buy something I needed. I was quite excited about it. 　　 Now, as a result of a part-time job, I needn’t ask my parents for money as before. I think it’s helpful for a student to know about the outside world and I also think that will help me to make preparations for the future job. I not only understand the value of money, but also know how to get along with others. In a word, I had a fruitful vacation.

9. April 13, Sunday　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Fine 　　 Spring has come. Early in the morning, I went to Xiangshan Park for sightseeing with my parents. While walking around the park, we couldn’t help admiring the beauty of nature. Of course we took a lot of pictures. 　　 However, I was quite disappointed to find some bad behaviour. Some people littered anywhere as they liked. Some even climbed up the trees and picked flowers. Although there were some signs warning people not to touch the lawn, still some people enjoyed themselves there. 　　 I hope that such bad behaviour will soon be got rid of and everybody will protect the environment.

8.　 Advertisements appear everywhere in the modern society. When we walk along the street. We can see large advertisement boards with pretty girls smiling at you. In newspapers, we often see half of the pages covered with advertisements. We turn on the TV set and we see advertisements again. Whether we like it or not, they are getting their way into our life. 　　 Advertisements help us choose what we need and then we spend our money on it. They also guide us in finding suitable jobs. However, too many advertisements annoy us. And quite often, they give us false information.

7.　　 In my opinion, you are never too young to do things. For example, Tara Lipinski, the American ice skater, won an Olympic gold metal when she was fifteen. Pele, the great Brazilian soccer player, became a professional soccer star the same age as Tara Lipinski. And Mei Lanfang, a famous Chinese opera singer, first performed Beijing Opera when he was ten. Another example is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who started writing music at four. There are still more examples. Shirley Temple was a movie star at the age of three and Tiger Woods starts golfing when he was only ten months old!