1 Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Children should be required to help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

　　In the past in America, children were valuable workers. For example, they helped on the arm or in the family business in order to bring in money. Just a couple of generations later, attitudes have changed. Now children are hardly expected to work at all. Modern children often don’t even do chores. This is sad, because I think that they are missing something if they don’t help out at home. Sharing in household tasks benefits children of all ages.

　　First of all, household tasks build skills. Very young children learn motor skills and classification skills when they pick up their toys and put them away. Talking about how to do things helps them learn to analyze situations. Older children learn skills they’ll need as an adult. Cleaning and cooking may seem dull, but knowing how to do them well makes life a lot easier. How many young adults leave for college unable to do their own laundry or cook anything besides a frozen microwave dinner? It’s amazingly common.

　　When everyone in a family helps out, the family is happier. Nowadays it’s common for both parents to work . when they come home, they have more work to do. Life is stressful and there’s no time for fun. By sharing household tasks, everyone gains. Children can help their parents with simple tasks such as picking up their own rooms, putting away their own laundry, starting dinner occasionally, or taking care of younger siblings. Then the family can relax together, and parent won’t feel like servants to their “couch potato” offspring.

　　The most important thing children learn from helping with household tasks is responsibility. Handling everyday tasks teaches organization and time management skills. Children learn that chores have to be completed before they can play, or before they get their allowances. Children who understand that effort pays off will be more successful later in life.

　　Kids should not work all the time. A happy life needs balance. But if they can successfully handle tasks at home, they will handle life better too. They will know the satisfaction of doing a good job, be involved in family life, and become more confident and responsible adults.

　　2 Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

　　Many high schools, both public and private, require students to wear uniforms. I think that such a policy is an excellent idea because uniforms can make things more equal for all students.

　　First, uniforms make students equal on an economic level. With uniforms, students from poor families dress the same as students from rich families. This can prevent envy and jealousy about stylish clothes. It can also encourage students to form friendships based on personality, not clothes.

　　Second, uniforms can reduce unequal treatment by teachers. Research suggests that teachers often have higher expectations for more attractive students, which include those students with nicer clothes. This special attention can include providing more challenges and opportunities for these students. Uniforms help teachers make judgments based on ability, not appearance.

　　Finally, uniforms encourage the individual students of a school to feel like part of a bigger group. Their feelings of being together, working together and having something in common are all helped by uniforms.

　　It is my opinion that all schools should have a policy requiring uniforms. Uniforms give every student an equal chance.

　　3 Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Playing a game is fun only when you win. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

　　I agree with the old saying, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” I don’t need to win. I have fun playing all games because it gives me time to be with friends, learn new things, and work as a team.

　　Tennis is one game that I enjoy. It’s a great opportunity to socialize. Of course, you can’t carry on a conversation while you’re playing, but my tennis partner and I talk a lot before the game. Since we have to reserve a court, we have to talk to one another to find a convenient time to meet. Then we have to make sure that the court is available at that time. This often takes many phone calls and, of course, we talk about many other things during the same conversation. Once we get to the court, we often have to wait. That gives us another opportunity to chat. After the game, we usually go out for a soda or a meal and talk some more. We don’t even talk about how well or how poorly we played. Tennis is just an excuse for us to get together.

　　The board game Scrabble, on the other hand, is a real skill builder. It’s a challenge to form words from the letters in front of you and on the board. I always learn a new word from my opponent, although sometimes I’m suspicious whether the word really exists. Often we don’t even keep score. We just do it because it’s fun and we learn new English words.

　　Soccer is the most competitive sport I’m involved in. I do my best, but it doesn’t matter to me if my team loses. I enjoy just being with my friends and traveling to different schools in different cities to play. I learn a lot about teamwork when we practice. Our coach tells us the most important thing is to play well as a team. It seems she just wants us to have fun and not worry about winning.

　　All in all, I just enjoy having a good time. Presumably that’s our purpose in life. Isn’t that better than worrying about who wins and who loses all the time?

　　4 Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? High schools should allow students to study the courses that students want to study. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

　　I think high school students should be allowed to choose some of the subjects they study. However, the basic subjects, like mathematics, literature, and science, should be mandatory for all students.

　　When I was in high school, we were allowed to choose three electives each semester. Electives were subjects that weren’t part of the basic curriculum. They included things like music, journalism, art, and various kinds of team sports. Choosing some of these subjects to study gave me a chance to experiment. I was able to get a head start on what I was going to study in college.

　　However, college preparation shouldn’t be the main factor. I think all students should be allowed to take a certain number of courses just because they’re interested in them. For many students, high school is the last chance to learn about things they’re interested in. Maybe once they have a job there won’t be time for studying.

　　Of course, it’s also important that students study certain basic subjects. If I’d had a choice, I know I wouldn’t have studied mathematics or science. I wasn’t very interested in them. However, once I was in class, I found myself getting interested. I wouldn’t have known this if I’d been given the choice, because I would have chosen not to take the courses.

　　High school students aren’t always the best judges of what they’ll find useful in the years ahead. They need the guidance of experts in the field of education. However, they also need some freedom to follow their curiosity and individual interests. They should be given the freedom to choose some courses, while being required to take others.