Task 1
1. A friend of yours always gets up late in the morning and misses his morning classes. The professor has told him that this behavior will affect his grade. What advice would you give him and why?
Personally, I would suggest him sleep early, actually he should go to bed before 10 o'clock, and then he can take a good rest, hence the next day he can go to the class refreshed. Additionally, I would say he should talk to the professor and ask him or her if it is possible for him to make up the absence in another way, like doing an extra credit assignment and I bet if he is sincere enough, the professor will understand his tough situation and might say yes to him, so eventually he can keep a higher GPA.
2. Your friend has a lot of work to do. Suggest a hobby to him to help him spend his weekend more delightful.
Personally, there are lots of hobbies he can develop so that he can release the nerve strains he has about his work and I think playing basketball can be the most helpful. To begin with, it is pretty intense to play basketball, and he needs to run around on the court, therefore he burns lots of fat within his body and that helps him stay healthy and keep fit, and it benefits his cardiovascular system. Additionally, Playing basketball can help him make lots of friends, and it is also a great way to connect with old friend, since it requires the spirit of teammate work.
3. Describe a person whom you would like to spend time with. Explain why you would like to spend time with this person.
Well, I would like to spend time with my friend Iddie, I met him when I was on an exchange program to study in America. I would not say he is a smart or intelligent person, but the fortitude and willpower he has to achieve something he really aspires are so inspiring. He grew up in Ghana, a underdeveloped country in Africa. Though he had lots of setbacks in his life, he never complained about anything, and he just hunkered down and made an effort to make his life better. His passion and attitude for life are so contagious that I always look up to him.
4. What personal quality do you admire the most? Creativity, courage or intelligence?
Personally, I would say my most admirable quality is creativity. As the most famous physicist Einstein once said, imagination is more important than knowledge. Indeed, creativity and imagination can make lots of things happen. For example, it is creativity that helped Steve Jobs to design the best and most convenient desktop, not courage and intelligence. Actually, lots of professions require a person to be creative, like artist, designers and even salesmen. For instance, A artist can use his or her creativity to draw vivid art work even though the stuff in their art work might not even exist.
5. Talk about a memorable experience you had in a restaurant or cafe. Explain what happened and why it was memorable. Give specific details in your response.
I would say my most memorable experience in a restaurant is my 18th birthday party, my best friend Alex helped me to organize the party. I can still recall that it was a Mexican restaurant called Siesta, the food there was really great, like the taco, tortilla chips with some chili sauce and guacamole, and it was so fresh. Additionally, the places was decorated like a tropic jungle with lots of exotic plantations, I felt like I was in a tropic forest when I was dinning there. Most importantly of all, I felt like I am so lucky to have lots of friends celebrating my birthday, and I am so grateful to them, actually, that occasion in this restaurant brought me and my friends closer.
6. Which one of the following factor do you think is most important when it comes to traveling. Low cost, good weather, or various activities?
Well, Personally, I would say the most important factor is the activities that I can do during the trip. If I go to beautiful places, I will definitely appreciate the natural beauty, and it will be a shame for me to miss out the chance. If I am going to travel in a coastal city, I like water activities, surfing, water skiing, you can never say that you have been traveling in a coastal city without trying out these aquatic activities. Additionally, it will be a great shame for me not to do some camping if I plan to climb a beautiful mountain.
7. Choose one of the following natural environment and explain why you would like to live there most: mountain, forest, desert, prairie, seashore or somewhere else?
Personally, I prefer to live by the seashore. To begin with, the scenery of a coastal city can be breathtaking, for instance, I can appreciate the beauty of mother nature, the sunrise and sunset can be really spectacular, and at the same time, I get a chance to see the tropical plants, like coconut tree, banana tree and even palm trees. Additionally, I have the opportunity to taste the local seafood, like salmon, shrimp, and even lobster. Lastly, I could try out some water activities, like, surfing, scuba diving, and tubing, which is pretty thrilling.
8. Which of the following forms of art would you choose to learn: sculpture, portrait, or landscape painting? Explain why. Please include reasons and details in your explanation.
Personally, I prefer to learn to draw landscape. By choosing this kind of art form, I got a chance to travel to different places with various kinds of terrains, like desert, lake, coastal city, tropical rainforest, and even mountainous areas. Apart from that, besides learning how to draw these beautiful landscapes, I can learn local culture, customs, and even local dialects by interacting with the local people, so I can broaden my horizon and enrich my experience accordingly.
9. Talk about an activity you enjoyed doing with your family when you were a child, explain your answer in details.
My most memorable experience when I was a kid is to take the vacation on the beach with the whole family. Since, my home town is not far from a coastal city in China. We went there, enjoyed bathing in the sun while appreciating the beautiful scenery alone the seashore, like the blossom and palm trees and stuff. We tried out the sea food like salmon, tuna and even some lobsters. Apart from that, the most exciting stuff I did when visiting this nice and beautiful city was sea and water activities like snorkeling, wakeboarding and even jet skiing with my dad. But I remembered that I got a little sun though.
10. What measure can you suggest to help improve the campus environment?
I would say the university should invest some money to provide garbage bins that allows the students and faculty members to categorize their trash. As known to all, some of the trash is recyclable like soda cans, paper and glass. One of the major reasons why there is rampant littering in my campus is that there are not enough trash cans on campus. By providing more trash cans, and with proper education, hopefully we can make the community members more environment conscious and make our campus a better place.
11. Which of the following do you think is the most difficult and challenging for university students? Being far away from families, finding time to relax or making new friends.
I think finding time to relax is the most difficult one for a college student. As known to all, the tuition keeps rising from year to year, in order to relieve the financial burden, lots of students took two even three part-time jobs off-campus like, bar-tender, dining server and delivery driver. Apart from that, the coursework is pretty tough. They have mid-terms, research paper, and presentation to work on during the whole semester. They are bombarded with both their part-time job and workload from school, so the most difficult thing is to find time to relax.
12. What kind of characteristics or components should a good school have?
Well, personally, I think prestigious universities should have better facilities, science students depend on lab equipments to test theories in books, just learning theories without experiment in the lab is too boring and unproductive, so facilities, like research centers are very important. On top of that, professors are the key resource of a university, cuz they are the ones who can motivate the students and develop their skills and make them more creative, thus giving the students a better chance to be successful in the future.
13. If you can have a part-time job at the university what position would you choose? A lab assistant, a campus tour guide or a library assistant?
Personally, I prefer to be a lab assistant. By being a lab assistant, I got a chance to use the lab equipment and apply theory in practice, thus the knowledge that I learn in classrooms can be tested by myself, and that can be very awesome. Apart from that, I can also interact with the scientist working in the lab and enlighten myself. Working together with them can be very meaningful, since I plan to get my Ph.D in physics and become a physicist in the future. The working experience as a lab assistant can be very valuable when I am applying for the graduate school, it will give me a better shot to get scholarship.
14. Describe a time when you needed help from others, how he or she helped you and what was the result?
When I was in junior high, I had to learn English for the first time, and it was really hard for me to pick up at first. The words, grammar and sentence patterns are just so different from Chinese. But with the help of my English teacher, I gradually learnt some basic words and useful phrases, and I started practicing English with foreigners whenever I got a chance, the more I acquire, the more I am willing to learn and I put more effort and I am determined to be really good in English. Now, after so many years, I am still a big fan of the English language, and I cannot live a single day without it.
15. Which of the following teaching methods do you consider the most effective, a field trip to local places of interest, tutoring sessions that provide individual help or presentations given by local leaders? Please include reasons and examples to support your choice.
I would say the best way learn is to go on a field trip, and actually I still remember my field trip back in primary school. We went to the zoo, not like watching a video, I got a chance to interact with animals under the instruction of the zoo keeper, they were so lovely. What I am trying to say is that students can discover stuff that doesn't come across in pictures or videos or even in a classroom. Apart from that, learning through exploration is more fun and effective. There are students who got a hard time reading textbooks, however, going on a field trip, they are totally engaged in the stuff they are going to see, thus they concentrate better and can learn more.
16. Your community center now offers classes on the weekends for free, which of the following class you will choose to take, give reason to explain your choice. 1) A financial course to help you manage money 2) car maintenance and repair 3)Review of Latin-American music
I would say I like to take a financial course, cuz, it is very important for someone to be financially independent and manage their money efficiently, by going to a financial course one can learn lots of stuff, like
when it is the right time to invest in stocks, or to buy gold as a form of asset, or even understand the overall economic condition of the country. A friend told me that he recently signed up a on line lecture on how to make wise investment in stock market, and he followed the instructions, and it turned out that he made a very good call by buying the stock from a company, which was recommended in the class, and made a big killing in it.
17. Describe an occasion in your country where people give gifts to each other and what is the most common gifts.
Well, people give gifts to one another on lots of occasions, like getting married, having a new baby, or even on a graduation day. But I would like to talk about Chinese lunar new year, generally, seniors in the family, like grandparents, aunts and uncles give red envelopes to the younger generation. It is basically some pocket money, and it has great significance. It symbolizes that the kids are loved and cared by the senior, and they will be blessed for the rest of the year.
18. Talk about an organization or club you want to join and why.
I would like to join in the swimming club, cuz if I joined the club, I would have a chance to compete together with my teammates to represent my university. That would be a great honor to get to do that. In some competitions, I have to work with my teammates to win the game, and it gives me a strong sense of belonging and I feel I am needed by the team, my teammate and I would cheer up each other and get inspirations, encouragements from my fellow teammates. On top of that, I am a big swimming fan, when I am swimming in the pool, I feel so relaxed and it is a very good way to keep fit.
19. Talk about how cell-phone has changed people's lives. Explain your answer in details.
I do think that cell phones improved people's lives, to begin with it helps people to contact with family member and friends when they are far away from home, we can send instant messages or make phone calls whenever we want to, I think cell phone has brought people closer than ever, it makes communication so instant. Plus, with wifi access and a smart phone, we can shop on line. With just a click of the button, the next moment you know, your order is delivered right at your door. It is also easy to compare the prices offered by different on-line stores and get a bargain. That is why I think cell phones improved people's lives.
20. Imagine that you have to give up watching TV for one month, would this be difficult for you? Explain why.
Well, personally, I would say it will not be difficult for me to do that. Cuz, honestly, I am not a fun of watching TV, since most of the time, I am pretty busy with my school assignment, like presentations, group projects and research papers, and stuff. Plus, even if I really need some information of current events, like sports, technology, and politics, I can always use my smart phone and with a touch on the screen, the whole world is basically in front of me.