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Topic 35 A live performance vs. television broadcast

To many people, attending a live performance, such as a melodrama, a concert, or a sporting event is so incredibly attractive that they will go all out to get a ticket, regardless of the expense or the difficulty involved. But why not enjoy the performance on television while you can comfortably lie in your sofa or couch with popcorn at hand? That is because attending a live performance provides you with far more enjoyment than watch it on TV.

In a live performance, you will feel that you are in the company of many friends who are indulged in the same interest, who can share your sorrow or pleasure or excitement. This kind of resonance at heart is so rarely sensed in our daily life that this one reason itself is sufficient enough for many people to attend a live performance. While watching it on TV, we certainly find it hard to feel the emotion sharing, and our loneliness is hardly mitigated.

Furthermore, attending a live performance gives you a sense of participation that cannot be replaced by watching on TV. Live performance is an interaction between the audience and the performers, and both parts of the performance decide whether it will be a wonderful one. In this way, you may lament or laugh, may sob or smile as you are so influenced by the misfortune or happiness of the characters. You may fall into the indescribable intoxication while listen to a favorite piece of music. And correspondingly, the performers will receive the response of their audience and act accordingly. So the final success of the performance results also from the participation and interaction of the audience, of which you are a member.

With these foregone advantages, we may say that attending the live performance is definitely much more enjoyable than TV watching.

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Topic 36 Which transportation vehicle has changed people's lives?

The ancient Chinese people dreamed of flying to a place thousands of miles away within minutes by utilizing the force of a special wind. In many ancient mythologies, deity heroes who had the magic power of traveling a long distance in minutes were highly admired by the common people on earth.

The invention of airplane, which I think is probably one of the greatest achievements of mankind, has helped people fulfill such dreams. In the past, it was a very difficult and daunting task for a person to go far away. Confucius, the great ancient Chinese scholar, once said that a man should not travel a long distance while his parents were still alive. By this, he not only stressed the importance of interpersonal relations among family members but also indicated the difficulties and the time spent on going far way. In ancient books, we can find numerous descriptions of the hardness and risks travelers often faced, not to mention the long time they had to spend on the road.

However, the invention of modern transportation means, airplane in particular, has greatly transformed people's way of traveling. Now, they can easily go within hours to places thousands of miles away, a distance which people would have taken several months to go in the previous time. Besides, airplanes make traveling much safer and comfort. Sheltered from sunlight, rain, hot or freezing temperatures, people can now fly in the air and avoid being exposed to bad climates and strong winds. Another advantage of airplanes is that they can transport people as well as goods swiftly to other places. For instance, airplanes play an important role in sending rescue teams and goods to an area damaged by an earthquake, as a result of which the lives of thousands of people are saved. Now, in the global anti-terrorist war, military forces can be dispatched and deployed in a short time to areas where an terrorist attack occurred.

Airplanes have undoubtedly changed people's lives. The earth has become "smaller" now because of the convenient exchanges of people and commodities made possible by airplanes. We can accomplish many things that could never have been done by the ancient people.

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