Topic 98 What would you choose to represent your country?

If I can send one thing to represent my own country - China to an international

exhibition, I would choose a book that has graphical illustrations besides each

context.

The main reason is that paper was invented by one of our ancestors and it is

essential to our everyday life. Were it not for the paper, many documents would

not have been passed down for centuries. In addition, with the written language

being used, many famous people and great things about my country can be

recorded in this book. For example, it can explain the educative theories of

Confucius, one of the greatest educators in our country.

On the other hand, with the universal language of graph, people around the world can understand more easily with the help of the vivid presentation. In this way, even a young child who does not read will learn what I want to tell them.

In a word, people attending the exhibition will know that Chinese people discovered paper, and Confucius was one of the greatest educators in China. Besides, this book also reminds us how clever our ancestors are and what we need to do to keep up. With these wisdoms (знаниями), we can invent more convenient equipments or make important discoveries to better our lives for the future.

In conclusion, if I have the opportunity to introduce one thing to people in the world, I would bring a book that documents all the traditional inventions and people of my own country. In that way, the world will understand more about my country.

Topic 99 Would you rather choose your own roommate?

Some students do not prefer to have the university choose their roommate.

However, as far as I am concerned, this is part of the university experience.

Therefore, I would rather have the university assign a roommate to share a

room with me. I base my views on the following reasons.

First of all, even though the university will assign, it is actually not totally a

matter of chance. For instance, we all filled out information sheets. The school

knows what we are majoring in, what our interests are, and our study habits and

our goals. I think they are probably very good at matching roommates using

this information. Besides, if a mistake is made, I can change my room

assignment next semester.

Secondly, it is a lot of work to choose your own roommate. For example, if I

did want to choose my own roommate, I would first pick some candidates from

the list supplied by the university. Then I would write to them and they would

write back. Through our letters, we would find out if we shared common

interests, such as sports or movies. Because of my investigation, I would

probably get someone compatible with me. However, it takes time and labor to

go through, though. Besides, the process of finding similar interests is not all

that different from what the university does.

Finally, trying to predict whom I am going to get along with is not a science. I

might choose someone who sounds just like me and still find that the two of us

just do not get along as roommates.

Besides, I think it would be boring to room with somebody who is just the same

as me. I would rather be with someone who has different interests and likes to

do different things. Maybe I would even get a roommate from another culture.

In conclusion, having the university choose a student to share a room is a far better choice for me. Assigning roommate in body may suit some students. However, I think it is always important to meet new people when we enter a university. Besides, another reason I am going to the university is to be exposed (подвергаться) to a lot of new experiences. These new things would allow me mature in character.