1 . Human beings are extremely diverse in many ways. People differ in opinions, races, nationalities, lifestyles and so on. Yet we are all human species, we feel pain and joy despite the differences. Today, it is impossible for any group of people to live without interacting with others outside their group.     1    .

Diversity creates richness in opinion. Some problems can’t be solved by a homogenous (同种类的) group of people.     2     . A diverse group will offer fresh ideas to solve problems. Diverse groups have been found to be creative and thus producing better solutions to problems.

Diversity makes us compassionate (有同情心的) about others. When we interact and try to understand others, we won’t judge them. This instead makes us compassionate about others.     3    . Compassion allows us to realize that all human beings are the same.

Diversity is a growing trend. Today, there is no country in the world that has only natives living there.     4    . In the process, people of different cultural backgrounds often find themselves going to the same schools, working in the same offices and so much more. As citizens of this world, we are therefore left with no choice other than to embrace our diversity.

    5     Through diversity, entrepreneurs (企业家) have been able to reach new markets. Today, we have multinationals setting up offices in different parts of the world. This further creates employment opportunities for people in those parts of the world.

2 . There was a time when a trip to the supermarket in the United States often ended with a seemingly simple question from the cashier, “Paper or plastic?” Well, which type of bag would you choose?

While both types of bags have some influence on the environment, it has long been supposed that paper bags are better. They are made from a renewable source, are broken down easily, burn without giving off thick smoke and can be recycled. However, the producing process behind paper bags uses more energy than that of plastic ones. How can this be true?

Studies show that paper bag production requires four times as much energy as plastic bag production. And the amount of water used to make them is twenty times larger. Besides, the influence on forests is very serious. It takes about fourteen million trees to produce ten billion paper bags, which happen to be the number of bags used in the United States yearly. In terms of recycling, the idea that paper bags are more environment-friendly than plastic ones can be quickly discarded. Research shows it requires about 98% less energy to recycle plastic than it does to recycle paper.

Even though paper bags might be more harmful than plastic ones, plastic still seems to be considered as the more harmful of the two by governments. In Ireland, for example, a tax has been introduced to discourage the use of plastic bags. People have to pay 22 cents for every plastic bag, and as a result, their use has dropped quickly.

There’s no doubt that it makes more sense to reuse these bags. However, we don’t seem to be doing that at present. That may be because they fall apart quickly. If so, cloth bags are a better choice, but still, their production also has a bad influence on the environment. So what to do? How should we answer the question of “Paper or plastic?” It seems that we first need to ask ourselves one more general question: “What can I do to help the environment?”

5 . Social media is taking over our lives: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now, TikTok. These social media platforms have changed from a way to stay connected to an industry where even kids can make money off their posts. While this may seem like another opportunistic innovation, it’s really full of hidden false realities.

The median income (中位收入) recorded in the United States of America was about $63,000 in 2018. TikTokers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 for a TikTok brand partnership, and TikTokers with over a million followers can make up to $30,000 a month—$360,000 a year. They are making more than the average person trying to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads simply by posting a 15-second video.

This is mad in more ways than one. Not only is it an overpaid “job”, it promotes undeserved admiration from viewers and a false sense of reality. Many of these famous TikTokers are still teens and the effects of fame at such an early stage in life might cause issues later in life, such as mental illness. Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 make up 27% of TikTok viewers, who can be easily influenced by what they are watching. They can put a false sense of self-value into who they look up to and what they represent: money, fame, being considered conventionally attractive.

While TikTok has become a great tool for marketing, it’s important to understand how this content affects young viewers. If we’re constantly consuming content that shows us all we need to do to be successful is be conventionally attractive and post a 15-second video featuring a new dance, it will challenge our knowledge of what really makes someone successful and will in turn affect our individual work ethnics (伦理). What about the people who miss birthdays and family holidays due to their jobs and aren’t getting paid nearly as much as these TikTokers?

Richard Colyer, president and creator of Metaphor, Inc, had his own view on this issue. “It sounds great that kids can make money for doing the latest dance moves in a 15-second video, but we should feed the minds of kids and not just their bank accounts. TikTok can be great if used properly. Money alone is not good; technology alone is not good and connectedness can be bad if it is only online.”

Again, as a fellow consumer of TikTok, I do enjoy the app when I have some time to kill and need a good laugh. I’m not against someone making a living on entertainment, but what does getting famous by posting a 15-second video teach young people?

Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will     1     (probable) say that they go to learn languages, history, science and some other knowledge. That’s quite true, but do you know why they learn these     2     (thing)?

We send our children to school to prepare them    3     the future when they grow up and have to work for     4     (they). Nearly everything they study at school has some practical use in their life. But is that     5     only reason why they go to school?

Actually, there is more in education than just    6     (learn) facts. We go to school above all to learn how to learn, so that when we graduate we can continue to learn.     7     a man really knows how to learn, he will be     8     (success). Because when he has to do something new, he will not only be able     9     (do) it well himself, but he will also be able to teach others how to do it in the     10     (good) way. So the purpose of schools is not to teach languages, history, science, etc., but to teach students the way to learn.

My wife is crazy about shopping on the Internet.    1    seems that she can’t control herself well. Let me tell you what happened last night. It was the fourth time she    2    (shop) online for hours. I had already had an heated argument with her before she    3    （buy） anything, but she ignored what I said and replied confidently, “With the New Year    4    (come), preparation is necessary.    5    , I haven’t bought things on the Internet for a whole week.” Hearing her words, I was     6    (real) speechless. In most cases, the things she has bought aren’t good value for money. Maybe she just enjoys    7     process of buying online.

Nowadays,    8    the development of technology, online shopping is becoming more and more convenient. Those    9    stay at home can buy whatever they want. In the meanwhile, it causes a series of problems. One of them is more spending than before, because people are    10    (easy) attracted by the discount and advertisement claims. So how to buy things that you really need is a lesson everyone should learn.