Happiness

Are you happy? Do you remember a time when you were happy? Are you seeking happiness today?
Many have sought a variety of sources for their feeling of happiness. Some have put their heart and efforts into their work. Too many turned to drugs and alcohol. Untold numbers have looked for it in the possession of expensive cars, exotic vacation homes, and other popular "toys". Most of their efforts have a root in one common fact: people are looking for a lasting source of happiness.
Unfortunately, I believe that happiness evades many because they misunderstand the process and journey of finding it.I have heard many people say that,"l' II be happy when I get my new promotion,'or "1' II be happy when I lose that extra 20 pounds." This thinking is dangerous because it presupposes that happiness is a "response” to having, being or doing something.
In life, we all experience stimulus and response. Stimulus is when a dog barks at you and bares his teeth. Response is when your heart beats faster, your palms get sweaty and you prepare to run. Today, some people think that an expensive car is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A great paying job is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A loving relationship is stimulus. Happiness is a response. This belief leaves us thinking and feeling:"l'll be happy when..."
It has been my finding that actually the opposite is true. I believe that happiness is a stimulus and response is what life brings to those who are truly happy. When we are happy, we tend to have more success in our work. When we are happy, people want to be around us and enjoy loving relationships. When we are happy, we more naturally take better care of our bodies and enjoy good health. Happiness is not a response rather, it is a stimulus.
Happiness is a conscious choice we make every day of our lives. For unknown reasons to me, many choose to be miserable, frustrated and angry most of the time. Happiness is not something that happens to us after we get something we want -- we usually get things we want after we choose to be happy.
I have made only one simple rule for my own happiness: Every day above ground is a good day. Therefore, I tend to have a lot of good (and happy) days in succession.

Lottery

In the last decades, the development of market oriented economy has brought a large number of newly emerging things into our daily life. Yet when it comes to one of these new things lottery, welfare lottery in particular, some people believe that it creates a good social atmosphere while others argue that the opposite is true. There is probably a little bit of truth in both statements. But in recent years, lottery has done a lot to support the view that it does more good than harm.
On one hand, welfare lottery encourages people to do small kindness for the welfare of others as well as for the profit of oneself. When we read the daily newspapers, we are frequently appraised of the "Big Kindness" performed by well-to-do philanthropists who donate large sums of money for the establishment of schools, libraries, free hospitals for the poor, orphanages, and the like. These, of course, are laudable acts of charity that deserve wide public acclaim. But in my estimation, not all the people have the financial ability to support these "Big Kindness", and those many minor acts of kindness performed daily in different situations by public minded citizens who receive no recognition or praise from the mass media are equally commendable. Similarly, welfare lottery provide the majority of people a chance to perform this kind of small kindness.
On the other hand, in a large city like Shanghai, where the general tendency of the people is "to look out only for one's own", the atmosphere is cold and miserable for those unable to keep up with the rapid pace of competitions. By launching a personal campaign such as welfare lottery, we can try to remedy the present situation and to make our society a much better place to live in.
However, every coin has two sides. Lottery, inevitably, has some side effects. As to the general criticism that it encourages some people's opportunistic attitudes and makes them unwilling to make a living by finding a job, I believe that the tax system in our society will keep the necessary balance between the poor and the rich, thus maintains the stability and unity of our country.
Recognition of a problem is the first step toward its solution. Since we are now generally aware of the advantages and disadvantages of lottery, it seems necessary that we improve this scheme to meet the public needs. If we are to succeed as a society in 21st century, a better society atmosphere should be created.

Abortion

Opinion: Abortion should be allowed.

• First of all, pregnancy can be unexpected which will lead to heavy burden for the family in the future. If the family has already had a lot of children and can't afford another one, abortion will be the choice if the mother are pregnant accidentially.
• Second, abortion can help some teenage mothers. Some teenage girls are too young to be a mother and they are not ready to take the responsibility. If they don't want the baby at all, it will be unfair that they give birth to the children for both of the mothers and babies. So abortion can be a better way out for teenage mums.
• What's more, in some countries like China, every couple is allowed to have only one child due to the huge population. If the wife get pregnant when the family has a child already, abortion seems like the only choice because it's illegal to have a second child.

Similarities and Differences: Outline

Thesis statement:
Dogs and cats are both popular animals. They share many similarities. But at the same time there are also differences between them.

Topic sentence:

First of all, they have a lot of similarities.

• For instance, they are relatively small animals.
• What's more, they always look adorable.
• And they are easy to feed.
• Most importanly, they are both good company for human beings.

These similarities make them perfect pets for people to keep.

Topic sentence:

However, they do have all kinds of differences.

• For example, they have quite different characteristics. Cats can be really cool and have some special habits, which makes them not so easy to get along with. On the contrary, dogs are more friendly and most of them have a kind nature.
• Moreover, cats are always sensitive so they become aggressive when feel threatened, even to their owners. But dogs seldom hurt owners if well trained.
• When it comes to habits, I have to say: cats are neat while dogs are messy and stinky.
• In addition, cats can't help people do too many things due to their physical limit. But many dogs, especially big dogs, can help their owner in daily life. They can be great assistant of the disabled.

Compare & Contrast

The are some similarities between these pictures. For example, the main objects of the pictures are both clocks. Besides, both are special clocks. However, there are also many differences. The most obvious one is that one picture is a photo while the other is a painting. In addition, the clock on the left is hung on a tree while the one on the right is placed on the edge of a table. Furthermore, it misses an eight on the right one. Also, the needles and numbers are actually not on the plane of the clock. And the surroundings of the clocks are quite different.

EXAMS...

In the past two weeks, I had been focusing on all kinds of exams which are extremely stressful for me. Surprisingly, I got A-in math and ece while I did poorly in Chinese history. So I wanna talk about exams. At the very end of the College Entrance Examinations of China, journalists always get a funny answer from graduated students: "Now, what I want to do most is to burn my textbooks and exam papers." It seems few students have other ideas than to count the total number of pages of all exam papers over a period of three years, or six years. It must be a extraordinary number---over two thousand or even more. Really, such a surprising quantity of exams harms not only students' health but also their social development.
First, overburdening exams destroy students' health. Every day, all they do is stay inside classrooms and study. Students have no time for regular exercise, which is an essential part of maintaining good health. Day after day they go without adequate sleep, which lowers their resistance to disease. In addition, worrying about endless exams, students lose their appetites and are incapable of relaxing themselves even during sleep. Suffering from lack of exercise, little sleep, bad appetites, and long-term tension, students look pale and sick when the Entrance Exam ends.
Besides bodies' destruction, lots of exams also make students socially narrow. Without good grades, a student may consider he is useless and doomed to failure henceforth. Probably, he would rather pursue high grades than deep friendship. He may take it for granted that improving his grades is more important than caring for his surroundings in his life as a human being, not a student. More ridiculously, a so-called "excellent student" can refer to one who is devoted to high grades, but indifferent to the benefit of his class. His young world seems to be built on exams and grades. Miserably, grades have deeply occupied his heart, brain, and dreams.
Of course, the proverb of "No pains, no gains." is doubtless true. However, entering a good school at the expense of healthful bodies and social awareness is too high a cost.

Popularity of Fast Food Restaurants

Thesis Statement:
Among reasons that lead to the popularity of fast food restaurants, four of them are the most significant: they are fast indeed; the locations are always good; the price is really low; the advertisements are attractive.
Topic Sentence 1:
First of all, it has to be mentioned that fast food is really fast.

• People don't have too much time to consider what they are gonna eat. Customarily, standing right next to the cashier, they are only given a few seconds to decide what to order and the choices are limited. People pay for the food immediately after they order. So fast food restaurants make customers fast.
• It usually takes less than 5 minutes to get your food, which is impossible in those first class restaurants.
• People like students and white-collar workers don't have too much time for lunch during workdays. They prefer fast food.

Topic Sentence2:
Secondly, the locations are always good so people can find a fast food restaurant easily.

• Most fast food restaurants are located near shopping malls, cinemas or other crowded areas.
• Some restaurants set their foot in theme parks.

Topic Sentence3:
Thirdly, fast food is really cheap.

• For less than 5 dollars, people get a generous portion of food.
• Fast food restaurants always give coupons to customers. With a discount, it only costs you less than 1 dollar sometimes.

Topic Sentence4:
Besides, the ads of those restaurants contribute a lot to their popularity.

• The ads look attractive since the food always look delicious.
• The ads are even more attractive for children when they claim that toys come with food.